Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

1 Pack mushrooms
1 capsicum
2 onions
1 tomato (chopped)
5 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp ginger & garlic paste
2 tsp butter
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¾ tsp pav baji masala powder
Few coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method

Wash mushrooms well in warm water.
Heat butter in a pan, add onion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add ginger & garlic paste saute.
Add tomato, capsicum and mashroom saute for 2 minutes.
Add turmeric powder, pav baji masala powder and salt.
Add tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes.
Add coriander leaves mix well and serve hot.
Goes well with  naan / roti.

Palak Dhal

Palak Dhal

Ingredients

1 Bunch palak  (washed & chopped)
½ cup green moong dhal (soaked overnight)
2 onions
2 tomatoes
2 green chillies
1 red chillie
Few garlic
¼ tsp red chillie powder
2 tsp oil
¼ tsp mustard
¼ tsp jeera
A pinch turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook green moong dhal for 3 whistles and set aside.

Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add onion and saute for a minutes.
Add tomato and saute for 2 minutes.
Add turmeric powder, red chillie powder, green chillies.
Add some water and allow to boil for 2 minues.
Add palak, salt and cook for 5 minutes.
Add boiled green moong dhal and cook for 2 more minutes.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard when it starts spluttering,
add  garlic, jeera and red chllie.
Add this to the above dhal.
Ready to serve palk dhal.

Goes well with hot rice / Roti.

Broccoli Creamy Soup

Ingredients

1 cup broccoli florets
10 to 15 Almonds (soaked in hot water and removed outer skin)
½ bunch spring onion
½ cup milk
1 onion
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp butter
1 tsp oil
2 tsp fresh cream
½ grated carrot (just for color)
¼ tsp white pepper powder
salt to taste


Method

Blanch the broccoli and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add onion, garlic, spring onions and saute.
Add grated carrot, almonds and saute.
Allow to cool, then grind to a fine paste and set aside.

Heat butter in a pan, add the above paste and cook for 5 minutes.
Add ½ cup of milk, 1 cup water and cook for 2 minutes.
Add broccoli, pepper powder, salt , cream to the above and cook for 2 minutes.

Garnish with spring onion and serve hot.

WHAT IS BLANCHING

WHAT IS  BLANCHING

This technique is used to partially cook vegetables, fruits or greens.
They are to be cooked in boiling water for short period.(1 or 2 minutes)
After which they are to be quickly immersed in ice cold water for 1 or 2 minutes and to be filtered.
Do not keep in hot or cold water for long time.
Otherwise your vegetables will become soggy.            
Blanching keeps vegetables crisp, helps to retain it's color.
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Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

½ kg tomatoes (chopped)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp mustard
3 tbsp gingelly oil
1 tsp red chillie powder
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste


Method

Grind tomatoes and make puree.(with out adding any water)

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the pan, add tomato puree.
Add turmeric powder, red chillie powder and cook for 5 minutes.
Add salt and sugar, cover with lid and cook.(stir in between)
Cook till it absorbs water completely.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add mustard when it starts spluttering
add curry leaves and add this to the above chutney.
Ready to serve tomato chutney.
Goes well with Idly / Dosa.

For best taste needs to be prepared and served fresh.

Gram Dhal & Dates Halwa

Ingredients

1 cup gram dhal(soaked in water for 2 hours)
1 cup  seed less dates (chopped)
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp chopped almonds
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Few saffron (soaked in hot milk)

Method

Heat milk in a pan, add gram dhal and boil well.
Cook until milk reduces completely.
Allow to cool and grind to smooth paste.

Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan, add dates and saute for 2 minutes.
Add gram dhal paste and cook for 5 minutes.(stir continuously)
Add sugar, saffron with milk and remaining ghee.
Stir continuously until it becomes thick in consistency.
Switch off the gas and garnish with dates & almonds.
Serve hot or cold.

Tomato & Garlic chutney

Ingredients

4 Tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp gram dhal
2 tbsp coconut
3 Red chillies
A pinch red chillie powder
2 tsp oil
¼ tsp mustard
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add garlic saute for a minute.
Add gram dhal, red chillies roast well.
Add tomatoes, salt and cook for 5 minutes.
Add coconut , cook for a minute and switch off the gas.
Once it came to room temperature grind to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, when it starts
spluttering, add curry leaves and red chillie powder.
Add this to the above chutney.
Goes well with Idli / dosa/ Aapam

Rava Idli

Rava Idli (method II)

Ingredients

2 cups boiled rice
1 cup urad dhal
Grated carrot curry leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste

Method

Wash the rice and dhal.
Soak rice and dhal separately for 3 hours.
Grind uradh dhal to a smooth paste.
Rice to a coarse paste.
Now mix both the urad dhal paste & rice paste in a
bowl, add salt to this and mix well.
Keep aside for 10-12 hours for fermentation.
Mix well the fermented batter and your idli batter is ready to use.

First steam the cooker well then keep ready your
idli plates greased with oil.
Take a ladle of batter to the idli plate.
Pressure cook without weight for steaming.
(Steam it for 10 to 12 minutes)
Allow to release the pressure, after 5 minutes
hot Rava Idlis are ready.

Serve hot with any of your favorite chutney

Paruppu Vadai

Ingredients

¾ cup toor dhal
¼ cup gram dhal
2 tbsp  urad dhal
1 tbsp roasted gram dhal powder (optional)
2 tsp curry  leaves (finely chopped)
3 red chillies
1 green chillie
¼ tsp asafoeitida
Oil for deep fry
Salt to taste

Method

Soak all dhals together along with red chillies in water for 1 hours.
Drain the water completely and grind to a coarse paste.
Add roasted gram dhal powder, asafoeitida,curry leaves, salt and mix well.
Make small balls out of them.

Heat oil in a pan.
Flatten the balls into vada shape and deep fry in the oil
until it turns to golden color.
Crispy paruppu vadai is ready to serve.

Thippli Rasam

Ingredients

1 tsp Thippili
Small gooseberry size tamarind (soaked in warm water)
2 tsp Ghee
2 tomatoes
1 tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp jeera
¼ tsp pepper
A pinch turmeric powder
A pinch asafoetida
Lots of curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method

Dry roast thippili, make a fine powder and set aside.

Heat ghee in a pan add coriander seeds, pepper, jeer,
asafoetida and curry leaves saute.
Add tomatoes and tamarind saute for 2 minutes.
Grind this to a fine paste.

In a bowl boil one cup of water.
Add the above tomato paste, thippili powder,
turmeric powder, salt and cook this for 5 minutes.
Add some more water, cook until frothy and switch off the gas.
Thippili Rasam is ready.
Serve  with hot rice.
You can serve this rasam as soup also.

Health benefits

Thippile is very effective for cough and cold.
It will cure all digestive problems.

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Puli Inji

Ingredients

1 cup tamarind ( 75 to 100 gms)
( soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and extracted about 2 cups juice)
½ cup green chillies (finely chopped)
½ cup ginger (finely chopped)
½ cup powdered jaggery
½ tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp gingili oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp channa dhal
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard when it starts spluttering,
add channa dhal roast them.
Add green chillie, ginger and saute.
Add tamarind water, turmeric powder and salt.
Allow to boil for 10 minutes.
Add jaggery and cook until thick consistency.
Ready to serve puli Inji.
Goes well with curd rice and upma.

You can store this in a bottle more than a month.
If you want more spicy reduce the jaggery according to your taste.

Palak (spinach ) & corn cutlet

Ingredients

1 cup sweet corn
½ bunch palak leaves (Finely Chopped)
2 tbsp spring onion (Finely Chopped)
3 tbsp gram dhal
¼ tsp chillie Powder
1 tsp chopped garlic
½ tsp masala powder
2 tbsp grated cheese (optional)
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method


Dry roast gram dhal until nice aroma comes and set aside.
Boil sweet corn for 5 minutes and drain the water, blend it to a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a pan, add garlic, spring onion, red chillie powder and masala powder.
Add palak  cook for 2 minutes and switch off the gas.
Add gram dhal powder, corn paste, grated cheese and salt to  the
above palak and combine well.
Make small balls out of it, shape each portion into a cutlet.

Place the prepared cutlet on hot tawa and cook.
Apply oil flip it over and add oil cook both sides well.
Palak and corn cutlet is ready.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Bottle gourd (Soraka) stir fry

Ingredients

1 Cup bottle gourd (chopped)
1 green chillie
2 tbsp roasted gram dal powder
¼ tsp mustard
¼ tsp urad dal
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp oil
A pinch turmeric powder
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil, add mustard when it starts spluttering, add urad dal,
garlic, green chillie, curry leaves and bottle gourd mix well.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder and cook in low flame for 5
minutes.
Add salt cook for 2 more minutes.
Add roasted gram dal powder mix well cook for a minute.
Bottle gourd stir fry is ready.

Health benefits

Bottle gourd is rich in minerals, iron, protein, fiber,
vitamin C and B vitamins.
It's very low in calories.

Vegetable side dish

Ingredients

1 Cup boiled vegetables (potato, carrot, beans peas etc...)
½ Coconut paste
Ingredients for coconut paste
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp Roasted gram dhal
1 tbsp chopped Ginger & garlic
2 red or green chillies
( Fry ginger, garlic and red chillies in oil.
Add this to coconut & roasted gram dhal, make a fine paste)
Onion paste (2 onions grind to a smooth paste)
Tomato puree (5 tomatoes grind to a smooth paste)
½ tsp masala powder
½ tsp red chillie powder
A pinch turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
Few coriander leaves for garnishing
salt to taste


Method

Boil all vegetables with salt and turmeric powder and set aside.

Heat oil, add onion paste and cook until raw smell goes.
Add turmeric powder, red chillie powder and salt saute.
Add tomato puree cook for 5 minutes.

Add boiled vegetables, half cup water and cook for 2 minutes.
Add coconut paste and masala powder cook for 
2 more  minutes and switch off the gas.
Granish with coriander leaves.

Goes well with chapathi / poori / Phulkas

Palak Paneer

Ingredients

2 cups paneer  cubes (cottage cheese)
2 bunches washed and chopped spinach (palak) leaves
2  chopped onions
10-12 cashew nuts (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes)
2 green chillies
1 tsp  ginger & garlic paste
¼ tsp masala powder
2 tbsp fresh cream (optional)
2 tsp butter / oil
1 tbsp grated cheese
Salt to taste
A pinch black salt
A pinch sugar

Method


Boil water add spinach, green chillies and sugar, after a minute filter the water.
Now add this in ice water for 2 minutes.(to retain the green color)
Again drain and blend to a smooth purée, and set aside.

Boil soaked cashew nuts and onion in water for 5 minutes.
Blend to a fine paste.

Heat butter in a pan, add ginger & garlic paste and saute.
Add onion and cashew nut  paste, cook for 2 minutes.
Add palak puree, salt to the above and saute.
Add the paneer cubes, masala powder and mix gently.
Add black salt, cream  and mix well,
bring to a boil and switch off the gas.
Garnish with grated cheese  and serve hot.

Goes well with  Roti / Naan / Phulka

Vegetable Paratha

Mix wheat flour, salt, oil, and water knead in to soft dough for parathas.

Ingredients for stuffing

1 Green & Red bell peppers (chopped)
2 tbsp grated carrot
2 tbsp grated cabbage
¼ tsp red chillie powder
¼ tsp masala powder
¼ tsp garlic paste
¼ tsp jeera
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method

In a pan add oil in that add jeera, red chillie powder, masala powder, ginger past and saute.
Add all vegetables, salt and saute for 2 minutes.
Switch off the gas and allow to cool.

Divide the dough into small size balls, spread into round shape.
Flatten it, fill the stuffing and cover it.
Roll out in to round shape by dusting wheat flour.

Heat a tawa, place the prepared paratha on the hot tawa and cook on low flame.
Apply a tsp of oil flip it over and add another tsp of oil.
Cook both sides well.
Vegetable Paratha is ready to serve.
Enjoy these Parathas with curd / raitha / pickle