You can call it Cabbage Pacchadi or Cabbage Salad. A healthy salad than the usual ones. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups cabbage shredded and washed.
2) 1 tsp mustard seeds
3) 3-4 curry leaves
4) a pinch of asafoetida
5) 2-3 dried red chillies
6) 1 tspn chana dal and urad dal each
7) 3 spoonfulls of roasted and grinded peanuts
8) Oil
9) Salt and Sugar to taste
Method -
1) Mix the cabbage and the grinded peanuts in a bowl.
2) Heat oil in a small vessel and add mustard seeds. Once they crackle add the asafoetida and red chillies.
3) Now add the dals and stir until they are golden brown. Pour this tempering over the cabbage mixture and mix it properly.
3) Add salt and sugar as per your taste and mix it nicely.
4) Cabbage Pacchadi is ready.
I had some very little leftover spinach in the fridge and was wondering what can be made out of it. Suddenly Spinach Raita came into my mind. I had read this recipe somewhere before but dont remember exactly how was it. I tried my method adding a little mint to it. A little dash of blended garlic and green chillies gives a very soothing taste. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup chopped spinach
2) 1/4 cup chopped mint
3) 2 green chillies
4) 2-3 garlic cloves
5) 1/4 tspn mustard and cumin seeds
6) Oil
7) Salt
8) 2 cups curd whipped nicely
Method -
1) Whip the curd nicely and keep it aside.
2) Blend the garlic and green chillies together.
3) Heat oil in a vessel and add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle add the cumin seeds and the blended mixture. Saute for few seconds.
4) Now add mint and saute for a minute and then add the chopped spinach leaves.
5) Cover and saute for a few minutes till it becomes dry. spinach leaves water while cooking so make sure that the mixture is completely dry. Turn off the gas and let this mixture cool down.
6) Once it is cooled add it with the curd and mix it well. Add salt and mix it well.
7) Spinach Raita is ready..
You can refrigerate it before serving. It can go well with spicy gravies, biryani or even parathas. The flavour of mint gives it a nice aroma and taste. Try it and i am sure you would definitely love this.
Paneer Kadhai, a favourite dish for all Paneer lovers. Well, i am not much a fan of Paneer but i like the flavour of bell peppers in this dish. Simple and easy recipe, very quick to make and perfect for potluck parties. Here it is -
Ingredients -
1) 1/2 pound Paneer
2) 1 big green/red bell pepper
3) 3 tomatoes
4) 1 inch ginger
5) 3-4 green chillies
6) 1 tspn cumin seeds
7) a pinch of asafoetida
8) 1 tspn turmeric powder
9) 1 tspn cumin-coriander powder
10)1 tspn red chilli powder
11)1/2 tspn dried fenugreek leaves(kasoori methi)
12)Salt to taste
13)Oil for frying
Method -
1) Dice the paneer and bell peppers into cubes.
2) Heat oil in a kadhai/wok and fry the paneer cubes till slightly brown. Now fry the bell peppers for a minute.
3) Puree the tomatoes, ginger and green chillies together in a blender.
4) Heat cumin seeds in the oil. Once they crackle, add asafoetida and the blended mixture.
5) Add all the powders, salt and cook the tomato puree until it becomes almost half the quantity.
6) Now add the paneer pieces and the bell peppers. Mix well.
7) Cover and cook for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
8) Paneer Kadhai is ready. Serve hot with chapatis/rotis.
Hmmmm, Chicken Biryani!! The name itself makes our taste buds alive and no wonder our mouth starts watering. This was a much awaited post and finally got some time to blog it. Well, the whole credit for this goes to my aunt to send me the step by step process for this recipe and I just blindly followed it. Thank-You dear Atya!! It turned out to be just awesome and hubby dear liked it very much. So, without writing much lets directly go to the recipe -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups Basamati rice
2) 1/2 pound chicken pieces. (I used chicked breasts)
3) 3/4 cup curds
4) 4 onions (2 onions chopped finely and 2 sliced lengthwise)
5) 2 large tomatoes
6) 4-5 green chillies
7) Ginger-Garlic paste - 3 tblspn
8) Cumin-Coriander powder - 2 tblspn
9) Mint Leaves - 25 leaves
10)Coriander - a handlful
11)Pure ghee - to deep fry onions
12)Lemon
13)1 tspn turmeric powder
14)2 tspn chilli powder
15)Salt as per taste
For The Masala -
1) 5-6 cloves
2) 5-6 black pepperons
3) 4-5 cardamom
4) 2-3 cinnamon sticks
Grind all these to a fine powder
Method -
1) Wash the rice and soak it in water for about 20 minutes.
2) Wash chicken pieces. Apply turmeric powder, salt, curds and red chilli powder and marinate for about 1 hour.
3) Slice 2 onions lengthwise and deep fry in pure ghee and keep it aside.
4) Add little oil in a kadhai and fry the chopped onions and then add the marinated chicken. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes.
5) Add chopped tomatoes and green chillies and stir and cook for 1 minute.
6) Add cumin-coriander powder and garam masala powder to the chicken and stir. See that it is not very watery and remove from stove.
7) When chicken is slightly cooled down add mint leaves and coriander and stir. Also add some lime juice.
8) In a big vessel,boil lots of water. Add little salt to it, 1 tspn ginger-garlic paste, 1 bayleaf and bring it to boil.
9) Drain the soaked rice and put it in the boiling water. Let it boil till it is half done and drain the extra water.
10) Add little saffron to luke warm milk and mix it with your finger.
11) Now, in a vessel/wok put some curds at the bottom and put a layer of cooked rice. Then put a layer of chicken and spread fried onions on it. Again put a layer of rice and repeat ending with rice on the top layer. Spread fried onion on top.
12) Spread saffron mixed milk on the top.
13) Pour ghee left over from the fried onions along the side of the vessel and in the middle.
14) Cover the vessel tightly and heat it on direct flame for 5 minutes and then keep a tava on flame and the vessel on top of the tava. Keep it like this for half an hour on medium flame.
Chicken Biryani is ready. You can serve this with Dahi Kanda(onions mixed with curd).
We usually get raw tomatoes or green tomatoes in India very easily but we used to bring this vegetable very rarely. I came across these fresh green tomatoes here in US and thought of giving it a try. You will get these in Mexican Stores or Farmers Market. They are called as Tomatilla. I dont remember how we used to make it back home in India. I just tried my version and liked it. The sour raw tomatoes give a very different taste. I hope you will love this sometimes in your meal. Here is the recipe -
Ingredients -
1. 8-10 tomatillas washed and chopped into pieces
2. 1 large onion chopped finely
3. ginger-garlic paste
4. 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
5. 1/2 tspn cumin seeds
6. 1/2 tspn turmeric powder
7. a pinch of asafoetida
8. 3-4 curry leaves
9. 1 tspn chilli powder
10.1 tspn Garam Masala Powder
13.Roasted peanuts grinded finely
11.Salt as per taste
12.1 tspn sugar
13.Oil
14.A bunch of washed and finely chopped coriander.
Method -
1) Heat oil in a wide skillet and put mustard seeds. Once they crackle add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder and stir for few seconds.
2) Add the chopped onions and stir well till the onions become translucent.
3) Add the grinded peanuts and roast them with the onions.
4) At this point add the garam masala powder and saute till the oil leaves the masala.
5) Add the chopped tomatillas and mix them well. Add salt, chilli powder and mix them well with the tomatillas.
6) Cover the lid and let it cook for 5-6 minutes stirring after every 3 minutes.
7) Also add little sugar at this time as the tomatillas are very sour and will not taste good without sugar.
7) The tomatillas cook very quickly so be sure to check them in between as to avoid them from being mushy.
8) Garnish it with coriander and its ready to serve with hot chapatis.
Eggs are a wonder food. They are nutritious, inexpensive and easily available. Egg Rassa or Egg Curry is everyone's comfort food. It is prepared by many different ways but this is my version of Egg Rassa giving it a Kolhapuri tinge of taste. The spices give an authentic taste. Those who do not eat eggs, they can add any vegetables in the curry. Potato, Peas and Cauliflower is a very good combination.
Ingredients -
1) 6 hard boiled eggs
2) 1 large onion grinded to a paste.
3) 2 large tomatoes.
4) 4-5 garlic cloves
5) 1 inch ginger
6) 1 tspn mustard seeds
7) 1 tspn cumin seeds
8) a pinch of asafoetida
9) 1 tspn turmeric powder
10) 1 tbspn seasame seeds (My granny puts this. It can be optional)
11) 1 tbspn cumin-coriander powder
12) 1 tbspn Kolhapuri Masala (You can put chilli powder instead)
13) Salt as per taste
14) Oil
Spices -
1) 4-5 cloves
2) 2 cinnamon sticks
3) 4-5 peppercons
4) 1 bay leaf
Method -
1) Cut the eggs into 2 halves.
2) Grind all the spices except the bay leaf to a fine powder.
3) Grind the tomatoes, seasame seeds, ginger and garlic together.
4) Take a wide skillet and heat oil in it.
5) Add mustard seeds. Once they crackle add cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder and bay leaf. Stir for few seconds. Add the grinded spices and saute for sometime.
6) Now add the grinded onions and saute till they turn brown.
7) Then add the tomato-ginger-garlic paste and saute till the tomatoes are mushy.
8) At this stage add all the powders (cumin-coriander powder and Kolhapuri Masala). Saute till the oil leaves the masala.
9) Add water as per your desired consistency.
10)Now add the eggs, salt as per taste and bring it to a boil.
11) Garnish it with chopped coriander.
12) You can serve this with rice or chapati along with the onion-yogurt relish.
Masoor, the dark black-brown lentils and rice make a very good combination and with all the spices in it ends up in a tasty flavoured biryani. I followed a short cut so made this in the pressure cooker but you can also make the masoor masala and then mix it with the cooked rice giving layers of the masala. That makes a tempting flovoured Biryani. Here is how i made it.
Ingredients -
1 cup rice
1/2 cup masoor
1 large onion cut lenghtwise
1 tomato diced finely
1 tspn ginger-garlic paste
2 green chilis
1/2 tspn cumin seeds and mustard seeds each
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tbspn cumin-coriander powder
1 tspn chilli powder
2 cups water (double as that of rice)
Salt as per taste
Oil
Method -
1) Wash the masoor and rice together and soak it for sometime.
2) Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle add cumin seeds, asafoetida and green chillis.
3) Add the onions and saute for sometime. Then add tomatoes and saute for some more time till the tomatoes are mushy.
4) Now add all the powders and stir well.
5) At this stage add the masoor and rice and mix well so that all the masala would be nicely mixed with the rice.
6) Add water and salt. mix well and cover the pressure cooker. Make 3 whistles.
7) Remove in a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro. The Masoor Biryani is ready.
You can call it Cabbage Pacchadi or Cabbage Salad. A healthy salad than the usual ones. Here is the recipe.
