Tomato Kadhi

This recipe is very much close to Tomato soup or Tomato saar which is a very popular dish in Maharastrian cuisine. The taste of gram flour(besan) with a perfect blend of spices adds a very nice flavour to this curry.

Ingredients -

4 large tomatoes
3-4 curry leaves
salt as per taste
2-3 green chillies
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 tbsp gram flour
2 tbsp jaggery grated
a bunch of chopped cilantro for garnishing

Method -

1) Boil the tomatoes and blend them into a smooth puree. Drain the puree and keep aside.
2) Heat oil in a skillet and add all the ingredients except chilli powder and jaggery. Cook for 2 minutes.
3) Add the pureed tomatoes with 2 glasses of water.
4) Add chilli powder, jaggery and salt and bring it to a boil.
5) Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot.

Raw Mango-Onion Takku

This is a delicious preparation tending to be sweet rather than hot. Its origins are from Gujrat and now popular all over.



Ingredients -

1 Raw Mango(medium size)
1 medium sized onion chopped finely
salt as per taste
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp jaggery grated.
1 tbsp Oil

Method -

1) Peel and grate the raw mango. Add onion and jaggery to it.
2) Heat oil in a small kadai. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and the powders.
3) Pour this tadka on the mango-onion mixture. Add salt and mix well.
4) Serve it with hot chapatis or rotis.

Mutter Paneer

Paneer is a kind of soft cheese used in Indian Cuisine. It is similar to Mozarella or Ricotta cheese. Most varieties of Paneer are simply pressed into a cube and then sliced and chopped. Unlike most cheeses in the world Paneer is completely vegetarian and is a primary source of protein. Paneer is prepared by adding lemon juice in hot milk so that the curd is seperated from the whey. The curds are then drained in a muslin cloth and the excess water is drained. What remains is the PANEER.

Ingredients -

1) 1 cup frozen/fresh peas
2) 1/2 cup paneer cubes
3) 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4) 1 bay leaf
5) a pinch of asafoetida
6) 1/2 tsp turmeric
7) 1/2 tsp chilli powder
8) 2 tsp cumin-coriander powder
9) 2 large tomatoes
10)1/2 inch ginger
11)2-3 green chillies
12)Oil

Method -

1) Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and fry the paneer till it gets brown from both the sides.(I prefer this method instead of deep frying the paneer)
2) Blend tomatoes, ginger and green chillies in a blender.
3) Heat oil in a wide skillet and add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Once the seeds crackle add the blended mixture.
4) Add asafoetida, salt and all the powders. Stir well. Cover and cook till the tomato mixture becomes half.
5) Now add the peas and paneer cubes with 1 cup water. Mix well and add salt and chilli powder if required as per your taste.
Cook for sometime and Mutter Paneer is ready.
6) Serve hot with Parathas.



One of my friend told me to add 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with water forming a paste at the last stage so that the gravy becomes thick as we get in restaurants and does not remain watery. I didnt have corn starch so did not use it.

Beet Raita

I love this pink coloured raita. This ones very easy.



I made this simply by grating the boiled-peeled beets. Adding curd, green chillies salt and sugar. Garnishing it with cilantro. Thats it!! So, easy...

Masoor Dal

I like to include lentils in my meals than the usual yellow toovar dal.


Ingredients -
1) 1 cup masoor dal
2) 1 medium onion chopped finely
3) 1 medium tomato chopped finely
4) 2-3 green chillies
5) 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
6) 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
7) 1/2 tsp turmeric
8) a pinch of asafoetida
9) 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
10) 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
11) 1/2 tsp cumin-coriander powder
12) 1/2 tsp garam masala
13) Oil
14) a bunch of cilantro finely chopped

Method -


1) Pressure cook the masoor dal. Make 3 whistles
2) Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they crackle add cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric.
3) Add onions and saute till it turns light brown.
4) Add tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste, cumin-coriander powder and saute little more.
5) Add the cooked masoor dal and some water as per the consistency needed (i had made a little thick).
6) Add the chilli powder, garam masala and salt and let it boil for a few minutes.
7) Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and serve hot with chapatis or rice.

Palak Paratha

I had not tasted Palak Paratha until marriage. My mother-in-law introduced these green coloured parathas to me. She used to serve these hot parathas and i immediately fell in love with them. I liked them so much that now i have them on my dinner table on a weekly basis. You will need -

Ingredients -

1) 1 cup spinach
2) 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3) 2 large garlic cloves
4) 2 cups whole wheat flour
5) 3-4 green chillies
6) salt as per taste
7) Oil

Method -


1) Grind the spinach, green chillies, cumin seeds and garlic together to a fine paste.
2) Take this mixture in a mixing bowl. Add flour, salt and 1 tsp oil and knead this mixture to a soft dough with as much water as needed.
3) Make small equal sized balls of the dough and roll each ball gently to a falt round paratha applying flour whenever necessary.
4) Place the paratha on a heated griddle and add few drops of oil on each side.
5) Repeat till all the balls are used up.
6) Serve these parathas hot with your choice of pickle or any other spicy gravy.

Note : The picture has not come out very attractive(I am very poor at clicking good photos). But believe me these tastes good. Try them out!!

Pasta

Before starting with the recipe I would like to tell something about my grandmother. I have stayed with her for almost 7 years before marriage and I owe a lot to her. She is a gem of a person. She is a wondeful human being and lives life to the fullest. She loves food, all types of food and loves eating out. She loves chocalates and ice creams though her dentures does not allow her to eat. Pizza and garlic bread being her favourite, she loves Pasta too with lots of cheese on it. She also makes lovely Pasta. We used to have this as our Sunday morning breakfast quite a lot of times. I made this over the weekend for our Saturday brunch. So, this one's for you, my dear ajji....muaaaaaahhhhh :)




Ingredients -

1) Any kind of Pasta. I used Macaroni
2) 1 cup veggies of your choice. I used green peas, corn, red peppers and carrots.
3) 1 medium onion chopped finely.
4) 2 large tomatoes chopped finely.
5) 1/2 tsp chilli powder.
6) Grated cheese
7) Tomato ketchep
8) Salt
9) Oil

Method -

1) Cook pasta as per the instructions. Drain and keep aside.
2) Heat oil in a wok/kadai and add onions. Saute till light brown.
3) Then add the tomatos and saute.
3) Now add all the veggies. Add chilli powder and tomato ketchep. Mix well. Cover the lid and cook the veggies till tender.
4) Add the pasta. Mix it well with the veggies and add salt as per taste.
5) While serving add the grated cheese and Enjoy!!!