Monday, February 19, 2007

Recipe - Vegetable Dalia

This is something I make when I am not in a mood to make something elaborate. This one dish suffices for the whole meal - for the whole family. And everybody loves it.

Ingredients:
1 cup dalia (broken wheat)
1/2 cup moong dal (green - with chilka)
Seasonal Mixed Vegetables -Cut into small pieces/shredded - About 3 cups
(I use carrots, capsicum, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, potatoes, peas - whatever is available in the season )
Salt - as per taste
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - optional
Chopped Coriander Leaves - for garnish.
Water - 4 cups

Method:
Dry roast the Dalia. Wash and soak the dal in water.
In a pressure cooker - add the ghee and when it is hot - add the vegetables. Now cook the vegetables lightly for a minute or two. Add the dalia, drained dal, water and salt and put the lid of the cooker.
When the cooker whistles once, put the gas on slow, and let the dalia cook for about 15 more minutes.
After the cooker cools down enough, open the cooker and mix the garam masala and the coriander leaves to the dalia. Serve immediately.

Tip:
1. I just put all the vegetables (except potatoes) in my food processor - and chop them roughly instead of cutting each of them separately.
2. The dalia can be served with chutney, pickles, papad etc.

This is a very healthy and low calorie dish - especially good for kids and elders.

Recipe - Peanuts and Chana chutney

Hi again - Today I am giving u the recipe for a chutney I made on Sunday. It was not from a specific recipe - and I had never made it earlier - still I decided to go ahead with my gut feel.

Ingredients:
Shelled Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Roasted Chana (Bengal Gram) - 1/2 cup
Whole red chillies - 3
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Jaggery (Gur) - size of a ping-pong ball
Tamarind - size of a ping-pong ball - soaked in water
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water

Method:
In a non stick pan - dry roast the peanuts on a low flame - till the aroma fills the air. Now in the same pan roast the chanas till golden in color. Follow this by dry roasting the red chillies (after breaking them into pieces)
Now put all this in a mixie, add salt, chopped green chillies and ginger. Also add the water extracted from tamarind paste. Process it till the chutney becomes very fine. If it is a bit dry - u can add a bit of water.
In a small kadhai, take the vegetable oil, add the mustard seeds till they start splattering. Now add the processed chutney and jaggery - and cook for 5 minutes or until the jaggery melts completely. If at any point of time u find that the chutney is dry - add more water.
The chutney is now ready - keep it in the refrigerator after it cools down.
The taste of this chutney is best the day after as masalas get some time to get absorbed.

PS: You can also add a tomato to ths chutney while grinding. In case u want the chutney to be a bit more sour - add 1/2 tsp on amchoor to it.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Aaloo Mutter

This is a simple recipe for potato+peas.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes - washed and cut into squares
1 cup fresh peas - washed and shelled (u can used frozen thawed peas as well)
3 medium tomatoes - pureed
2 green chillies - chopped finely (optional)
1/2 inch ginger root - chopped finely
2 cups water
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asaefotedia
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp dhania (coriander) powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric) powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

Coriander leaves - chopped finely for garnish

Method:
In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and add asaefotedia. After 2-3 seconds, add cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add the green chillies, ginger and tomato puree. Along with that, add all the dry spices (except garam masala and amchoor). Now roast this a bit on low heat - till it starts leaving oil. Now add the cut potatoes and the peas along with the water. Put the lid on the pressure cooker, and cook it for abt 3 whistles (~10 minutes)
When the cooker cools a bit, open it up, mash 2-3 pieces of potatoes , add the garam masala and the amchoor powder.
Garnish with the coriander leaves when serving with rotis.

PS: the quantities of red and green chillies are variable - based on how spicy u want the subzi to be

Recipe - Shahi Paneer

Since mine is a joint household, I stay with my in-laws.
My MIL doesnt eat oniios - hence most of the dishes i make dont generally have onions in them.
This recipe is for Shahi Paneer - without onions. this is especially for my friend Sudeshna, who used to love it.

Ingredients:
250 gm paneer - cubed
5 tomotoes
2 green chillies (optional)
1/2 inch ginger
1 cup milk (hot)
Water - abt 2 cups
Salt - to taste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asoefitedia
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder (adjustable)
2 pinches garam masala
1/2 tbsp sugar
little oil - for tempering

For garnish -

handful of nuts (cashews and raisins)

Method:
Roast the nuts a bit (can be done in a microwave)
Puree tomatoes, green chillies and ginger.
Heat oil in a kadhai , add asoefitedia and cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle - add the tomato puree. Cook it for some time till it starts leaving sides. Now add the hot milk slowly and keep on stirring the mixture. The milk needs to be hot - otherwose it will curdle. Also - do this step on low flame (or remove the kadhai from the fire).
Now cook this for abt 4-5 mins. add all the dry spices and cook for another 2 mins.
Now add the water and sugar and bring it to a boil. The amount of water will depend on the consistency you want.
Once water boils - add the cubed paneer pieces and cook for just 2 minutes more. Do not over cook - as the paneer pieces might break.
Garnish with coriander and nuts and serve hot.

Tip: Around Diwali - there are a lot of leftover sweets. 1 pc of Barfi can be used in this. To use the barfi, crush it and add when you add milk and drop the sugar out of the recipe.
PS: Onion lovers can add 2 onions - and grind it with tomatoes in the second step.

OMG

You just wont believe it - I had completely forgotten that I had signed up with blogspot some time back.
I am ashamed (blush)
Well - i promise myself that I will be a bit more regular with my blog from now on.