All time favorite Pav Bhaji

The photograph for this recipe did not come clear, but the pav bhaji tasted awesome. Here is the recipe.

1 large onion finely chopped
3-4 green chilies
2 carrots (roughly chopped)
4 potatoes (roughly chopped)
3-4 cauliflower florets
½ cup green peas
2 tbsp chopped green capsicum
5-6 large cloves of garlic roughly chopped
6-7 large tomatoes (pureed)
2 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste
2 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp pav bhaji masala powder

To serve:
Butter cubes
Pav
Chopped onion
Chopped coriander leaves
Lime juice

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add potatoes, carrots, capsicum, cauliflower, green chilies, green peas and garlic and pressure cook with 1 cup of water on a medium flame for 15 – 20 mins or till the potatoes are boiled.

Transfer to a large bowl and mash all the ingredients well and keep aside. In a large pan, heat oil and fry the onions till they turn their color to slight pink. Add the tomato puree to the pan and mix well. Add salt, red chili powder and pav bhaji masala. Now add the mashed vegetables to the pan and mix all the ingredients well. Let it cook for 15 -20 mins. Adjust the consistency by adding water as required. Add lime juice and chopped coriander leaves.

To serve, heat the pav with butter on a non stick pan or tava (griddle) and serve along side with the bhaji. Add butter, chopped coriander, lime and chopped onions to the bhaji and enjoy this roadside treat in your own home with as much delight as you would in a neighboring fast food or pav bhaji joint.

Baked Shell Pasta

On a cool chilly night nothing is more comforting as hot and yummy food and to add to it my baked pasta shells are healthy and comfortable dish that you can enjoy in less than 30 mins while you sit with a cozy blanket wrapped around you enjoying a good movie and glass of wine on the side.



Ingredients:

1 cup large shell shaped pasta
1/2 cup marinara sauce
2 tbsp part skim grated mozzarella cheese
1 tsp chopped coriander or basil leaves
garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp corn


Method:

Pre- heat the oven to 400 degree F. Boil the pasta shells with salt till they are al dente. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add 2 tbsp marinara sauce to the shells along with corn, garlic salt and pepper. Now take a baking dish and add 2-3 table spoons of shell mixture to the bottom of the dish. Now add some of the remaining marinara sauce over the shell mixture. Add grated mozarella cheese and chopped coriander or basil leaves. Repeat the layering process with shell mixture followed by marinara sauce, mozarella cheese and basil leaves. Cover the top with the remaining mozarella cheese. Bake it in the oven for 15 mins till you get a golden brown color to the top layer of the cheese. Serve hot.

Tip:
Add some bread crumbs along with the mozarella cheese to get a crusty baked topping over the shell pasta. Yummmmmmmmm

Mixed Lentils Dosa

Mixed lentils dosa is a quick and easy dish which is rich in proteins; has similar ingredients to one of my previous posts i.e. Mixed Lentils Idli and when paired with coconut chutney and sambar it tastes awesome! Mixed Lentils Dosa is a healthy dish and is a great recipe for kids as well and it helps to get the kids eat their lentils which they normally run away from. This recipe is figure-friendly as well as the amount of oil used to make the dosa is negligible.

Ingredients:
½ cup urad dal
½ green moong dal
½ tovar dal
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil

Method:

Mix urad, tovar and moong dal in a bowl and wash them thoroughly. Soak the dals (lentils) for couple of hours. Grind the lentils together to get a thick paste (adding small amounts of water). Add salt to the batter and add enough water to get pourable consistency.

Heat a non stick tava and pour the ladle full of batter on the tava and roll in out on the tava starting from the center and moving across the circumference of the tava. Let the dosa get crispier from one side. Flip the dosa with the help of the spatula and let the dosa cook from the other side as well.

Serve hot!!!!!!!!

Capsicum and Spring Onion Uttapam

Incontiuation of my previous post of the "All so famous Dosa"; here is a very simple recipe for the Capsicum and Spring Onion Uttapam which is a refreshing change from the regular uttapam that we normally eat in udipi restaurants.

Red capsicum and green spring onions makes the uttapam very colorful and very delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1/4 cup urad dal
1 tsp methi dana
1/2 cup poha (pressed rice)
Salt to taste
Water to blend
1 table spoon red capsicum (finely chopped)
1 table spoon spring onions along with the greens (finely chopped)
1 tsp oil

Method:

Soak the rice, poha, urad dal and methi dana in a bowl for atleast 4-5 hours. Drain the water completely and transfer the soaked rice and dal to the blender. Blend the rice and dal along with poha and methi dana adding water in small amount to the blender to form a thick batter of pourable consistency. Transfer the batter to a bowl and cover with a lid and keep it in a warm corner overnight or atleast for 8 hours. The batter will rise and ferment during this time.

Now add salt and enough water to the batter incase the batter is thick enough. Make sure that you control the amount of water is added to the batter as we need a thicker batter to make the uttapam. Heat a non stick tava, pour the laddle full of onion uttapam and start rolling it across the circumference of the tava. Make sure that we dont thin out the uttapam. Now add the finely chopped green onions and red capsicum all over the uttapam. Let it cook from one side. Now add oil over the side of the uttapam that has the onions and capsicum and turn the uttapam upside down and press it with the spatula and let it cook on the other side for 5 mins till it is crisp and ready to be served.

Serve hot with coconut or green coriander chutney!!!!!!!

Yogurt Curry with Onions and Tomatoes

Yogurt curry with Onions and Tomatoes is qucik and easy dish which gets ready in less than 10 mins and is a so delicious to taste with the sweetness of the tomatoes and the tangy taste of the yogurt. My mom in law shared her secret with me and I am sharing this recipe with all of you. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did making and serving this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes thinly sliced
3-4 green chilies thinly sliced
1 cup yogurt ( whisked)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilly powder
Salt to taste
1 table spoon olive oil
1 table spoon chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced green chilies to the pan. Now add the sliced onions and tomatoes and sprinkle salt over them as it helps in removing the moisture from them. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add turmeric and red chilly powder to the pan and mix all the ingredients well. Adjust the seasoning by adding more salt as desired. Now remove the pan from the heat and add the whisked yogurt to the pan and mix the onions and tomatoes well. Add coriander leaves to the yogurt curry and serve hot with hot roti or steamed rice.

Tip:

Remember to keep the yogurt out from the refrigerator atleast 30 mins before making the recipe.

You can also prepare the onion and tomato mixture and keep ready. Just before serving, reheat the onion and tomato mixture and add yogurt to the mixture and serve.

Italian Panini with Indian Twist

Panini in italian means sandwich which is normally made from Cibatta bread which is cut horizontally , filled with the filling of ones choice and is sometimes served hot.

Panini can be made using typically any kind of bread and is a great last minute option for suppers and can be eaten in thye form of snack as well.

This sandwich or panini is made with the Italian flavors but is finished with the Indian touch.

Ingredients:

1 Cibatta bread
2-3 basil leaves
Mozarella Cheese 2 slices
1 tomato sliced
1 medium sozed onion sliced horizontally
2 table spoon green chutney
2 table spoon tomato ketchup
1 table spoon butter ( for grilling the panini)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Slit open the cibatta bread. Place sliced tomato, onion and mozarella cheese on one side of the bread. Apply green chutney and tomato ketchup on the other side of the bread. Place the basil leaves over the sliced mozarella cheese and sprinkle salt and pepper over the cheese. Place the other slice of the bread over the one holding the tomato, onions and mozarella cheese. Butter the cibatta bread from outside on both the sides of the bread. Heat the griller and place the panini on the griller and grill the panini till you have the grilled marks on both the sides of the sandwich.

Alternatively,if you dont have the griller, heat the tava or a gridle and place the buttered sandwich on the tava and place a heavy bottom pan over the panini, so that the weight of the pan presses the panini to the hot tava and we have a toasted panini sandwich with the Indian Twist ready to be served hot with some more green chutney and tomato ketchup. The Italian flavors of tomato, mozarella and basil blends pretty well with green chutney and tomato ketchup which adds the Indian twist to the sandwich.

Poori Aloo

This dish originated in the Northern parts of India, New Delhi to be precise. This is one dish which can be eaten during breakfast, lunch or dinner and the name of poori aloo brings water to my mouth and I am sure it is the same with all of you as well. It is am amazing treat to the eye and once they go into the mouth you would not look left and right before finishing them up.

Ingredients:

To make Allo ki Sabji:

3-4 boiled aloo ( cut into small cubes)
2-3 green chillies
4-5 chopped tomatoes
3-4 kadhi patta leaves
1 tsp rai
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 table spoons – chopped coriander leaves
1 table spoon olive oil or any cooking oil.

To make Poori’s:

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp of oil
1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
Oil for frying.
Water to make the dough.

Method:

• To make the poori’s ; mix all the ingredients together (except the water) and add sufficient water to the flour mix and knead the flour to get a slightly tighter dough than the one that you would make for roti’s. Tighter dough helps in rolling the poori’s better. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and keep it aside for around 30 mins.



• Heat sufficient oil in a frying pan. Take the dough and prepare smaller round shaped poori’s and keep aside. The size of the poori is smaller than that of a roti. Once the oil is heated enough, add the poori to the hot oil and fry them till you get a golden brown color on the poori.
• In a pan; heat the oil and add rai, jeera, green chilies and kadi patta. Once the oil is fragrant add the chopped tomatoes. Add salt to the pan as it helps to release moisture from the tomatoes. Sauté the tomatoes for 5 mins.
• Now add the dry masala’s; i.e. coriander powder, chilly powder, cumin powder, amchur powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Now add the chopped boiled potatoes to the pan and mix all the ingredients well. Simmer the gas on a medium flame and let it cook for another 10 mins.
• Adjust the seasoning and add more salt if required. Now add the chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot pooris and aam ka achar.

Voila!!!!! You are up for a treat.

Tip: Instead of making the pooris with whole wheat flour (atta) you can also use all purpose flour (maida).

Fenugreek Parantha (Methi ka parantha)

2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup – 1 cup fenugreek leaves
1tsp salt
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp caraway seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp oil to be added to the dough
Oil for making the tortilla (parantha)
½ cup water (to make the dough)




• Take wheat flour in a bowl, add fenugreek leaves, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, caraway seeds, chilly powder, oil into the bowl and mix well.
• Add water to the bowl and mix well to make dough of a consistency similar to that of a pizza dough. Let it sit aside for 10 mins.
• Take some of the dough and roll it between your palms so that you have a round ball like shape. Dust some of the wheat flour on the board and put the dough on the dusty board and with the help of the rolling pin, flatten the dough to make a round shape tortilla.
• Heat the griddle and once it turns hot place the tortilla to the griddle and cook it on one side. Apply oil over the tortilla and turn it over to cook the other side. With the help up of the spatula press the tortilla evenly so that you get a nice brown color on both the sides of the tortilla.
• Apply some butter over the hot tortilla (parantha) and serve with curd.