Instant Dahi Vadas

Hi Friends,
Sometimes we get unexpected guests and we want to serve them something unusual in a jiffy. For such occasions I am sharing dahi vada...yes I did share dahi ki gujhiya recently but this dahi vada u can make within 5 minutes and ur guests won't easily be able to know the difference. Here goes the recipe..
INSTANT DAHI VADA:

INGREDIENTS:
White bread slices
Curd
Sugar 
Bhuna Jeera (Roasted cumin seeds) powder
Lal Mirchi (Red Chili) powder
Kala Namak (Black Salt)
Salt
Khajoor/ Imli Chutney
Coriander leaves

METHOD:
Cut the bread slices into round shape with the help of a round cookie cutter or any utensil of round shape.
Pass the curd through muslin cloth and add sugar in it.
Arrange bread roundels on a serving dish and pour the sweet curd on them.
Pour khajoor/ Imli chutney on dahi vadas and sprinkle bhuna jeera powder, lal mirchi powder, black salt and salt on them and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve chilled.

Happy cooking....

Kathal ke pakode ( Raw Jackfruit fritters)

Hi Friends,
I try to share the recipes which are different.Today I will share the recipe of Kathal ke pakode which are made with raw kathal (jackfruit). Here goes the recipe..
KATHAL KE PAKODE:

INGREDIENTS:
Kathal (Jackfruit)
Rice flour
Onion
Garlic
Jeera (Cumin seeds)
Haldi (Turmeric) powder
Dhania (Coriander) powder
Lal Mirchi (Red chili) powder 
Oil

METHOD:
Peel, core the middle portion and cut the  kathal into about 1" pieces- every piece can have one seed in it. Steam kathal pieces with a little salt and a spoon of oil so that they don't stick together. Press the pieces between your palms to squeeze the extra water and keep aside.
Peel onion and garlic-put them into grinder with jeera, haldi, dhania and mirchi powder and a little salt because we had already put the salt while we steamed the kathal. Make fine paste of all the masalas and add it into rice flour. Add enough water to make a thick batter. Let this batter rest for about half an hour so the rice grains get soft.
Now dip the cooked kathal pieces in this rice batter and fry in hot oil till they are golden brown and crispy. Drain on tissue paper and serve with tomato ketchup or a chutney of your taste.

TIP:
Instead of rice flour, you can simply soak rice for 2-3 hours and grind it with onion, garlic and other masalas (spices).

I observe that lots of my readers have been trying my recipes  and are sharing their experiences with me. You have your queries too which you ask me through mails  but if you write on the blog, it can benefit more people. Your comments and suggestions are welcome- please feel free to write here.

Happy cooking....

Tasty tangy Dahi ki Gujhiyas

Hi Friends,
Every time after meetha (sweet), we think of chatpata (spicy) and so I am going to share my special recipe of Dahi ki Gujhiya which is a variation of Dahi Vada but has tasty filling inside. Come, let's start...
DAHI KI GUJHIYA:

INGREDIENTS:
Dhuli Urad ki daal (Black gram skinned)
Dahi (Curd)
Namak (Salt) 
Lal Mirch (Red Chili) powder
Bhuna Jeera (Roasted cumin) powder
Sugar
Oil
Hara Dhania (Coriander leaves)
Adrak (Ginger) 
Hari Mirch (Green Chilies)
Kishmis (Raisins)
Gari (Dry coconut)
Chironji (Charoli)

METHOD:
Soak urad ki dal overnight and grind the soaked daal into  fine paste. 
Prepare the filling by mixing finely chopped hara dhania, hari mirchi, adrak, grated gari, chironji  and kishmis. 
On a wet muslin cloth spread a tablespoon of daal batter and with wet hands spread it  into a vada of about 3-4" diameter. Now put some filling on one side of vada  and fold the other end on it with the help of muslin cloth to make a semi circular gujhiya. Deep fry these gujhiyas in hot oil and put them in warm salty water. 
We put gujhiyas in salty hot water to make them soft- after about 5 minutes, when gujhiyas are softened,take them out and press between the palms to squeeze the water from it and arrange these gujhiyas on serving platter.
Pass the curd through muslin cloth to make it smooth. Add sugar in this curd and pour the curd over soaked gujhiyas.
Sprinkle salt, lal mirchi and bhuna jeera on dahi ki gujhiyas and serve with khatti meethi khajoor  or tamarind chutney.

TRICK:
While soaking urad dal, you can soak larger quantity and keep the remaining paste for making urad dal bhajiyas or kachoris next day as same daal peethi (paste) is used for all the three recipes.

Happy cooking....

Another Lucknawi dish- Shahi Toast or Shahi Tukda.

Hi Friends,

It has been a long time since we cooked some sweet dish and without a sweet dish, meal is incomplete so today I am going to share the recipe of a famous Lucknawi dish called Shahi Toast or Shahi Tukda.

SHAHI TOAST/TUKDA:

INGREDIENTS:

White bread

Oil 

Cheeni (Sugar)

Kesar (Saffron)

Badam (Almonds)

Pista (Pistachio)

Rabdi (Thickened milk)

Silver foil

METHOD:

Discard the hard edges of bread and cut them diagonally into triangular pieces. Deep fry bread pieces to golden brown and drain on tissue paper to remove excess oil.

Make chashni (sugar syrup) using sugar,and water in equal quantities. The consistency of chashni should be of double thread- for this take a drop on your thumb and with the help of index finger lift it- if you get 2 threads of chashni, great, if not, give it few more boils to get double thread consistency.Add  saffon during last few boils of chashni.

Soak the golden brown bread pieces in chashni for ten minutes- take out on serving platter and decorate with rabdi (thickened milk) and shavings of pista , badam and silver foil. 

Serve it hot or cold. 

TIP:

To make it more attractive, you can decorate it with  some Rose petals too but they are not a must.

Happy cooking...

Chatpate aaloo

Hi Friends,

In my earlier posts I had shared Daal kachori's recipe with you and had mentioned that the kachori's go well with dry masala aaloo. Today I will share the recipe of Chatpate aaloo which I usually serve with daal kachoris- you can enjoy these as chaat too with some innovations of yours.

CHATPATE AALOO:

INGREDIENTS:

Aaloo (Potatoes)

Hari Dhania Coriander leaves

Oil

Salt

Whole Red chilies 

Coriander seeds

Laung (Clove)

Khadi kali mirch (Pepper corns)

Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Badi elaichi (Black cardamom)

Dalchini (Cinnamon)

METHOD:

Wash the potatoes thoroughly as we are not going to peel them. Dice them in 1" cubes.

Dry roast all the dry  masala (spices) except salt.Coarsely ground the roasted masala.Deep fry the diced potatoes on medium heat till golden brown. Mix roasted coarsely ground masala and salt in the fried aaloo and garnish with hari dhania.

Your chatpate aaloo are ready to be served with kachoris or without kachoris -choice is yours.

TIP:

My mother always preferred using baby potatoes for this recipe as baby potatoes taste much better. If you use them then there is no need to chop them, you can use whole potatoes.

Happy cooking...

Refreshing Aam ka panna.

Hi Friends,

Till now I have been sharing the recipes of food but today I will share a refreshing drink's recipe and we call it Aam ka panna. 

AAM KA PANNA:

INGREDIENTS:

Kacche aam (Raw mangoes)

Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Lal Mirchi (Red chili) powder

Kala Namak (Black salt)

Pudina (Mint) leaves

METHOD:

Boil the raw mangoes till they get tender. Peal it, mash and strain the pulp. Roast and grind cumin seeds. Grind mint leaves into fine paste. Now add mint paste, roasted ground jeera, kala namak and lal mirch powder into raw mango juice. Add water to dilute it and your tasty aam ka panna is ready.

Garnish with mint leaf and serve chilled. It's very refreshing drink and protects you from heat stroke.

TIP:

For those with a sweet tooth, replace mint leaves with  gud (jaggery) and you get sweet and sour aam ka panna.

Happy cooking...

Mughlai parathas- a Lucknawi breakfast or mini meal

Hi Friends,

Today I am going to share a recipe which refreshes my memories of late 70s Lucknow.After watching the evening show of a movie, we used to stop at the only 5 Star hotel's restaurant to have this delicious dish called  Mughlai Parathas for our dinner.It can also be served as breakfast or a mini meal.

MUGHLAI PARATHAS:

INGREDIENTS:

Maida (All purpose flour)

Salt

Oil

Eggs

Butter

METHOD:

Knead maida with salt, little oil and water. Let it rest for half an hour.

Now make small balls and roll out a thin chapati. Spread some butter, sprinkle some flour and fold it. Roll again and repeat this process four five times- idea is to give layers to paratha. Finally roll it back to a chapati and now this chapati will have layers in it. Cook it from both sides on a tava (griddle) but remember that you will have to cook it again with the egg in it so just cook it half for now.

Beat the eggs and add salt as per the taste. Spread this beaten egg on chapati and seal it  from all four sides  like a square envelope- you can use beaten egg to seal the chapati envelope and please do it carefully as it has beaten egg inside it.

Now cook this paratha on low heat so that egg inside is cooked properly. Keep adding oil from the sides and cook from both the sides.

Serve this delicious mughlai paratha with salad, green chutney and curry of your choice.

TIP:

I have given the basic Mughlai paratha recipe and you can try variations like adding ginger, green chilies and chopped coriander leaves with egg. Why only these 3 ingredients, try whatever you want to try- after all you are cooking for your loved ones and know what they like.

Happy cooking...

Bread Rolls- a snack as well as breakfast.

Hi Friends,

I gave a small break to my blog due to my other engagements  then my mail box has been flooded with requests for a snack recipe and so today I am sharing a recipe which is good for snack as well as breakfast provided you don't mind a little more oil in the morning. Here is the recipe for Bread Rolls:

BREAD ROLLS:

INGREDIENTS:

White bread

Potato

Green chilies

Coriander leaves

Saunf (Aniseed)

Kalonji (Onion seeds)

Haldi (Turmeric)

Garam masala

Aamchur (dry mango) powder

Salt

Oil

METHOD:

Heat a little oil in a pan. Add saunf, kalonji and chopped green chilies in it. After they splutter, add potatoes peeled and diced in small pieces. Add haldi powder and salt and cook till done. Now add garam masala,  aamchur powder and chopped  coriander leaves.Your filling is ready now.

Take a white bread slice, put it in water for few seconds and take it out- press between your palms to squeeze the water. Now put some filling on the bread slice and roll it into a roll- seal the end nicely. Make more rolls with the same process and then fry in hot oil till golden brown.

Serve piping hot with tomato ketchup and green chutney.

TIP: You can add green peas too in the filling and also try making these cutlets with paneer(cottage cheese)  filling.

For making bread rolls always use white bread as it gives good binding to roll.

Happy cooking.

Sabudana vadas, on reader's request...

Hi Friends,

Thanx for your tremendous response and requests.I have got lots of requests from my North Indian readers for Sabudana vadas and so I am sharing this simple and tasty snack recipe which is very popular in South India.

SABUDANA VADA:

INGREDIENTS:

Sabudana (Sago)

Potato

Green chilies

Coriander leaves

Salt

Oil

METHOD:

Soak sabudana overnight. Boil potatoes. Chop green chilies and coriander leaves.Mix all these ingredients with salt and make vadas which will be like patties. Deep fry them in hot oil and your sabudana vadas are ready to be served.

This popular snack goes fantastic with green chutney with added sugar and little water to give it flowing consistency.

TIP:

In case you like peanuts, you can add some roasted and coarsely ground peanuts too in vadas but remember to remove the brown peel of peanuts else it will spoil the taste.

Happy cooking...

Samosa- the most popular Indian fast food.

Hi Friends,
On one of my regular reader's request today I will share the recipe of most popular Indian fast food/snack which has crossed the boundaries and has become  popular in so many western countries too...you guessed it right...Samosa it is and here is the recipe...
SAMOSA:

INGREDIENTS:
Maida (Refined flour)
Salt 
Mirchi (Red chili) powder
Oil 
Potato
Saunf (Aniseed)
Kalonji (Onion seeds)
Whole Red chilies 
Garam Masala
Aamchur (dry mango) powder
Coriander leaves

METHOD:
Add salt and enough oil to maida to give it a texture of bread crumbs. Knead this maida with enough water and keep aside for at least 10 minutes.
For filling cut the potatoes (no need to peel) in small pieces. Heat little oil in a pan and add saunf , kalonji,pieces of red chilies in oil and then add potatoes in it. Fry for 2 minutes and add salt & mirchi powder and let it cook. Now add garam masala, aamchur powder and chopped coriander leaves in it and your filling is ready. 
Now take small balls of maida and roll into oval puris which are thicker than normal puris, Cut it into half -take the half cut piece in your palm and fold into a cone-seal it with a little water. Now put the filling in this cone and seal the open end. Make rest of the samosas same way and  deep fry on medium heat.
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

TIP: You can add some cashew nut pieces and raisins in filling to give it richer taste.You can also try adding green peas in the filling.

TRICK: To give perfect shape to samosas,  put a pleat on outer side of open end- the one away from vertical seam, after filling and before sealing.This takes care of that extra width at open end and gives samosas a professional look.

Happy cooking...

Besan ka chilla ( Chikpeas pancake )- a delicious and healthy snack/ mini meal.

Hi Friends,

It's a snack/mini meal today...yes, I am going to share a recipe made with besan (chikpeas flour) and we call it Besan ka Chilla...to make this traditional recipe more healthy, I use some vegetables in it...here goes the recipe...

BESAN KA CHILLA:

INGREDIENTS:

Besan (Chikpeas flour)

Pinch of Haldi (Turmeric)

Salt

Curd

Brown mustard seeds

Oil

Hari mirch (Green chilies)

Gajar (Carrots)

Hari Simla Mirch (Capsicum) 

Pyaz (Onion)

Curry patta ( Curry leaves)

METHOD:

Make a paste of besan, a little curd,finely chopped green chilie, salt and a pinch of haldi to give it better looks. Paste need to be of pouring consistency as used for dosas.Let it rest for at least 20 minutes else chillas will not be soft and crispy.

Slice onion and separate the rings, slice carrot and capsicum  in thin slices, wash the curry leaves.

In a non stick pan heat some oil...crackle some mustard seeds and then add some curry patta, onion rings, carrot and capsicum slices...saute for a minute and then pour chilla paste on it and spread evenly like a pan cake. Let it cook on slow heat...once done, sprinkle some oil on it and turn upside down to cook the other side too.

Serve with vegetable side up. These chillas can be served with curd and green chutney.

TIP: To give this healthy recipe a good look, arrange onion, carrot slices and capsicum slices nicely on the pan and then pour the batter. Remember that vegetables should not be over cooked.

Happy cooking....

Chatpati Matar ki chaat

Hi Friends,
Enough of curries and pulaos..let's have some tasty tangy chaat today. The mention of chaat brings a big smile on our faces and so I am sharing the recipe of Matar chaat with you..
Matar Chaat:









INGREDIENTS:
Safed matar (Dried white peas)
Onion
Tomato
Ginger
Green Chili
Coriander leaves
Lemon
Garam Masala
Bhuna jeera (Roasted and ground cumin seeds)
Kala Namak (Black salt)
Salt
Oil

METHOD:
Soak safed matar overnight and cook them with a little salt till they are done.
Fine chop onion, green chilies, ginger, coriander leaves and tomato and mix it with cooked matar. Add bhuna jeera,garam masala and kala namak and make patties of this mixture. Shallow fry these patties on medium heat and add lemon juice. Garnish with chopped onion,coriander leaves, ginger Julian and some bhujia and serve hot.

TIP: This recipe is complete and does not need any accompaniments but if you want, you can serve it with chutney of your choice. If you don't mind using deshi ghee, use it to shallow fry and you will get that typical zyaka from North India.

Happy cooking....

Urad daal kachoris

Hi Friends,

The festive season is around so today we will make daal ki kachori and here goes the recipe...

DAAL KI KACHORIS:

INGREDIENTS:

Maida

Oil

Dhuli urad daal

Saunf (Aniseed)

Mirchi (Red chili) powder

Salt

Garam masala

Aamchur (Dry mango) powder

Heeng (Asafoetida) powder

METHOD:

Soak dhuli urad daal overnight and grind it in a mixer. In a pan heat some  oil and add heeng powder, ground saunf and  ground daal with salt and mirchi powder...fry well and then add garam masala and aamchur powder in it  and your stuffing is ready.

Take maida and add little salt and enough oil to give it bread crumb like  consistency. Kneed this maida with water and leave it for about 10 minutes.

Make small balls of the maida and stuff it with daal mixture. Deep fry on medium heat and your kachoris are ready.

These kachoris go great with dry masala aaloos and khatti meethi chutney made with Imli( Tamarind) and Khajoor (Dates)...I am sure you can make this dry aaloo sabzi of you choice and chutney too but in case you want me to share these recipes, I will do so in my further recipes.I always look forward to your suggestions and requests.

TRICK:To avaoid sticking of ground daal paste in ur pan, you can make daal bhajiys with salt and  mirchi power in it ...once cool, you mash it well...add garam masala, heeng powder, roasted ground saunf, aamchur powder in it...this trick was invented by my mother and we used to eat some bhajiyas with chutney too.

Happy cooking...

Healthy stir fry without any preservatives...

Hi Friends,
Sorry for the delay in posting today's recipe...actually I had a hectic day helping someone with doctor and medicines but here I am to share today's recipe with you. Today it will be a Stir Fry but without any preservatives..after all we need to keep it healthy.. so here we go...

STIR FRY WITHOUT PRESERVATIVES:

INGREDIENTS:
Paneer (Cottage cheese)
Red Bell Pepper
Yellow Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Sweet Corn
Onion
Tomato
Lemon
Salt
Sugar
Oil
Ginger garlic paste
Oregano

METHOD:
Wash and dice all the vegetables into 1" cubes. Boil sweet corn .
Heat little oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste...fry for a minute and add all the vegetables. Remember you have to do it on high flame else vegetables won't be crunchy.Toss vegetables for about 5 minutes or till they are done and then add salt, freshly ground pepper, oregano, sugar and salt and mix well till sugar melts.Take it off and add lemon juice. Serve hot.

TIPS: You can use many more vegetables like Broccoli, Mushrooms, Baby corn, Asparagus or anything which has same cooking time.
If you want it more spicey, you can use fresh green chutney too but remember we want to make it healthy so choose your ingredient wisely.

Happy cooking...

Lucknawi Sewaiyon ki kheer

Hi Friends,

Sewaiyon ki kheer is farmaish of my kids for today's post and so here it is...

SEWAIYON KI KHEER:

INGREDIENTS:

Sewaiyan ( Vermicelli)

Milk

Sugar

Chironji

Kishmis (Raisins)

Almonds

Desi ghee

Choti elaichi (Green Cardamom)

METHOD:

Put a little desi ghee in thick bottomed pan. Add ground choti elaichi and fry sewaiyan in it till they are golden brown.

Add milk and let it cook till milk reduces to half.

Add sugar, chironji, almond pieces and raisins and give it another 3-4 boils.

Your delicious sewaiyon ki kheer is ready to serve.

TIP: To thicken the milk you can use Milkmaid too but add it when sewaiyan are properly cooked in milk.Remember that Milkmaid is sweetened so adjust sugar accordingly.

Stuffed Bhindi (Okra) North Indian style.

Hi Friends,

Let's share the recipe for stuffed bhindi (Okra) today....You all must be cooking Okra in your styles and every style has a unique taste too...let's see how you like stuffed okras in a typical North Indian Style.

STUFFED BHINDI (OKRA):

INGREDIENTS:

Bhindi (Okra)

Onion

Garlic

Dhania (Coriander) powder

Haldi (Turmeric) powder

Mirchi (Red chili) powder

Methi dana (Fenugreek seeds)

Saunf (Aniseed)

Kalonji (Nigella seed)

Aamchur (Dry mango) powder

Salt

Oil

METHOD:

Wash and slit bhindis and keep them aside.

Grind onion and garlic and fry it in hot oil. Add dhania powder, haldi powder and mirchi powder in it and fry well.

In a separate pan roast Methi, Saunf and Kalongi in a proportion of 1:3:1 and grind coarsely. Add this masala in the other masala with aamchur powder and fry till the masala starts leaving oil..that's the indication that masala has been fried.

Let the masala cool a little and fill it in bhindi.

Now take a pan...smear it with little oil and place all bhindis in it.Cover it with the lid and let it cook on low heat...keep turning gently so that stuffing doesn't come. Serve hot.

TIP: The same masala can be used for stuffed baigan (brinjal/egg plant), stuffed, taroi (ridge gourd) or karela (bitter gourd)....I use a little jaggery/sugar too when I use this bharwa masala for karelas.

Happy cooking....

Green Chutney..for that added taste in ur meal.

Hi Friends,

Let's talk about something that adds up spice in your food...yes, I am talking about chutney which we have with our meals, snacks and is an essential ingredient of sandwiches.

It was during my last US trip that i realized that my NRI friends there don't have right ingredients for making chutney and so I tried to use the ingredients available there and came up with some tasty chutneys.Today I will share one of them with you and that is:

GREEN APPLE CHUTNEY:

INGREDIENTS:

Green apple (Granny Smith apple)

Garlic

Coriander leaves

Green chilies

Salt

METHOD:

Wash, de-seed and cube the apple, wash coriander leaves thoroughly, peel 2-3 pods of garlic.

Put apples, coriander leaves, green chilies, garlic and a little salt in grinder and make a smooth paste. This chutney should taste sweet and sour...more sour than sweet.

TIP:1. In case you don't get Coriander leaves, you can always use Mint leaves.

2. Pack the chutney in small batches and put them in freezer. Just keep a small bottle in fridge for use...that way chutney will remain fresh for a long time.

Happy cooking...

Dry Cauliflower Curry- my style :D

Hi Friends,

Today's recipe has some identity crisis...actually all my life I called it Kashmiri Gobhi knowing fully well it had nothing to do with Kashmir so I am leaving it up to you to give it any name you like...for now I will still call Kashmiri Gobhi :D and here is the recipe...

KASHMIRI GOBHI:

INGREDIENTS:

Phoolgobhi (Cauliflower)

Potato

Ginger

Green chilies

Garam masala

Aamchur (Dry mango) powder

Sugar

Oil

Tejpatta (Bay leaf)

Green coriander for garnishing

METHOD:

Wash and separate cauliflower florets ... peel and dice potatoes in a size that takes same time for cooking as cauliflower. The ratio of cauliflower to potato should be roughly 3:1.

Add tej patta,chopped ginger and green chilies in hot oil..fry for a minute and then add cauliflower and potatoes along with salt...cover and cook till done.

Now sprinkle garam masala, dry mango powder and a little bit of sugar and mix well...add the ingredients in a way that sabzi (curry) tastes sweet sour....that's the main feature of my Kashmiri Gobhi 

Fry a little more and garnish with green coriander.

This dry curry goes well with parathas.

TRICK: To mix the garam masala, sugar and aamchur powder well with sabzi, you can mix all these with a little water and then pour it on  sabzi...when you fry the sabzi, extra water will evaporate.

Happy cooking...