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Baby corn capsicum masala

This recipe of baby corn capsicum masala is handed down to me by my mom. She also adds broccoli to the dish but since broccoli was not available, I skipped it. I also made simple moong dal and we had it with tava fresh rotis.

Recipe of baby corn capsicum masala

7-8 baby corns

1 capsicum- thick slices

1 carrot- chopped

1 onion- thick slices and separated

2 tomatoes- pureed

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp oil

Chopped vegetables

1. Wash and pressure cook baby corns in little water for 1 whistle. You can also boil baby corns in a pan for few minutes. Strain and chop the baby corns.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add baby corns and all the other vegetables except pureed tomatoes.

3. Add all the spices and salt and mix well. Lower heat and cook covered till carrot gets tender.

4. Add tomato puree and increase heat. Cook uncovered till gravy gets dry, stirring occasionally. Serve hot baby corn capsicum masala sabzi hot as a side with any bread.

baby corn

Matar ghugni

There are types of ghugni like chana (chickpea) ghugni and matar ghugni. Earlier I made a blogpost of chana ghugni. This is my version of matar ghoogni. For those of you who don’t know about it, it’s a favorite evening snack in Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Orissa. Ghugni is also a chaat item in Eastern India.

Recipe of matar ghugni

2 cups matar (green peas)

1 onion- chopped

1 tomato- diced

1 inch ginger- grated

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/4 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp oil

1. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok or a pan. Add fennel seeds and after few seconds add onion.

2. Fry onion till light pink. Add ginger and all the spices and salt. Fry for 2 minutes.

3. Add tomato and cook till tomato pulp out and softens.

4. Add matar and give it a mix. Cook stirring till matar begins to shine.

5. Lower heat, sprinkle some water and cook covered till matar is tender.

6. Uncover and increase heat so that all moisture evaporates. Turn off heat, add lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve matar ghoogni hot with either puri or luchi. You can even enjoy a bowlful as a snack.

Healthy Bytes (Nutrition Info.) - Matar or green peas are a good source of vitamin K thus they are important in maintaining bone health. Matar support energy producing systems of the body thus help you if are often sluggish and fatigued.

masala aloo

This is a very tasty recipe of masala aloo. While adding salt to aloo, please remember that chaat masala and masalas like sambar and pav bhaaji also contain some salt. If you don’t have these masalas, you can also add any other masala of your choice. Feel free and experiment with ingredients. This is the fun of cooking guys!

Recipe of masala aloo

4 medium (aloo) potatoes- boiled, peeled and cubed

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp chaat masala

A big pinch of sambar powder

A big pinch of pav bhaji masala

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

boiled aloo mixed with spices

1. Mix salt and all the spice powders with aloo.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.

3. When they crackle, add spiced aloo.

4. Cook till aloo gets a roasted appearance, stirring occasionally.

5. Turn off heat and add lemon juice and mix gently. Serve hot masala aloo with some Indian bread or on their own.

aloo palak (spinach potato dry curry)

Today as I was wondering what to cook, I opened the fridge. I saw that I had very few vegetables left and a bunch of palak was staring at my face. The palak was still in a good shape so I decided to cook aloo palak with phulkas. I used a very simple recipe but believe me aloo palak turned out very tasty.

Recipe of aloo palak

1 bunch palak (spinach) -stems removed and chopped

2 medium (aloo)  potatoes- peeled and cubed

2 tomatoes

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp oil or ghee (clarified butter)

Palak

1. Grind tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger together to form a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil or ghee in a kadhai (wok). Add cumin seeds and when they turn dark, add onion-tomato paste.

3. Add all the spices and salt. Cook till oil begins to separate from the masala.

4. Add spinach and potatoes. Mix well and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook covered, stirring occasionally.

5. Cook till potatoes turn tender. Then uncover and increase the heat so that all moisture evaporates, stirring in between.

6. When curry turns dry, turn off heat. Serve aloo palak hot with rotis.

Potato, apple and celery salad

This cool salad of potato, apple and celery is very refreshing during these days. It tastes best when chilled.

Recipe of potato, apple and celery salad

7-8 baby potatoes - peeled

2 red apples

2-3 celery (shalari, ajmud) stalks

1 tbsp oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Salt to taste

Black pepper (coarsely crushed) - to taste

1. Place 4 cups of water in a pan with 1 1/2 tsp salt and baby potatoes. Bring it to a boil. Lower heat and cook covered till potatoes turn fork tender. Strain.

2. Core apples and cut into 1/2 inch cubes without peeling. Chop the celery stems.

3. Place potatoes, apples and celery stems in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 tbsp oil and lemon juice.

4. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

5. Just before serving, add the mayonnaise and 1/2 tbsp oil. Gently mix and serve chilled.

Note- Cut apples just before mixing and immediately add lemon juice and oil to prevent discoloration of apples.

Healthy Bytes (Nutrition Info.)- All of us have heard that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ but few of us realize its meaning. Consuming apple reduces your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma. It’s also helpful in keeping Alzheimer at bay.

Adai

Adai is a type of dal dosa and a popular Tamilian breakfast. It’s very nutritious and protein packed since it uses so many dals (lentils). It’s healthy, tasty as well as filling and the best part is, you don’t have to ferment the adai batter. To make it tastier, you can also add finely chopped onion or cabbage or both to the adai batter.

Recipe of adai (dal dosa)

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup toor dal (arhar dal/ red gram)

1/4 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1/4 cup chana dal (Bengal gram)

1/4 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)

2 green chillies

Salt to taste

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Few curry leaves

Oil to shallow fry

1. Wash and soak rice and dals for 2-3 hours. Drain.

2. Grind dals and rice in a blender adding little water into a coarse paste. Remember not to add too much water as the batter for adai is usually thick.

3. Add salt, hing and curry leaves to the batter. Beat the batter well.

4. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle). Grease it and wipe off the excess oil. Pour a ladleful of batter in the center of the tava.

5. Spread it in the circular motion to make a round. Drizzle some oil around the edges and on top of the adai.

6. When the underside is cooked, turn over and cook from other side also till brownish. Similarly make other adai from rest of the batter. Serve adai hot with chutney or chutney powder.

Aloo choliya

So many of us have childhood memories of peeling the pods and consuming straight the seeds inside called choliya or green chickpeas.  Some people used to roast the stems containing pods over fire and get roasted chholia. Besides eating them raw, here is a recipe of choliya curry combined with potato.

Recipe of aloo choliya

2 medium aloo (potato) - peeled and cubed

150 gms choliya (hara chana/ fresh green chickpeas)

2 tomatoes

1 onion

1 inch piece ginger

3-4 cloves garlic (optional)

2 green chillies

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1/4 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp oil

choliya (fresh green chickpeas)

1. Grind together onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies into a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing.

3. Add onion-tomato paste and all the spices and salt. Fry till oil begins to separate.

4. Add choliya and potato. Add 2 cups of water and close the lid of the cooker. Pressure cook to 3 whistles. Serve aloo cholia hot with roti or rice.

Healthy Bytes- Chickpeas are a good source of Zinc, Protein and Folate. They are high in dietary fiber and low in fat. Chickpeas are good for diabetics.

Ven pongal (khara pongal)

Today being Sunday, we ate heavy breakfast. By afternoon, we wanted to eat something light and easy on stomach. I made ven pongal or khara pongal for lunch. Usually ven pongal is made for breakfast but it was our lunch today. Ven pongal is a type of moong dal khichdi except that the seasoning is different.

Recipe of ven pongal/ khara pongal

1 cup rice

1/2 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 tsp ginger paste

6-7 black peppercorns (kali mirch) - crushed coarsely

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

3 1/2 cups of water

Lightly fried or toasted cashew nuts for garnish

1. Wash and soak rice and moong dal together for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add ginger paste and crushed peppercorns. Fry for 1 minute.

3. Add rice and dal and stir fry for 1 minute.

4. Add water and salt. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.

5. Garnish ven pongal with fried cashew nuts and serve hot.

Ghugni

Ghugni is a Bengali version of chole or ragda. Here I have used chickpeas but green peas or matar is also used for making ghugni. In Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam, ghugni is usually eaten as an evening snack. It is also a popular chaat and street food.

Recipe of ghugni/ ghoogni

1 cup kabuli chana (chickpeas/ garbanzo beans)

1 onion- chopped

1 tomato- chopped

1 bay leaf (tej patta)

1 black cardamom

1 green cardamom

2-3 cloves (laung)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 1/2 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1 onion- cut into rings for garnish

1. Soak the kabuli chana overnight. Drain.

2. Pressure cook chana with water for 25-30 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok. Add bay leaf, cloves, cumin seeds and cardamoms. Let them splutter.

4. Add onion and sauté till light brown.

5. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute.

6. Add tomato and rest of the spices and salt. Cook till oil begins to separate.

7. Crush a handful of chana and add along with rest of the boiled chana.

8. Boil on a high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Cook till you get the desired gravy consistency.

10. Garnish with onion rings and serve ghugni hot with either roti, luchi, poori or rice.

sooji halwa in microwave

Sooji ka halwa is a popular Indian dessert which is usually made in a kadhai (wok) or a pan. Here I would like to share a recipe in which sooji halwa is being cooked in a microwave in easy steps. Try it and let me know if you found it any different from traditional sooji ka halwa in pan.

Recipe of sooji ka halwa in microwave

1 cup sooji (semolina/ rawa/ suji) - roasted

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1/4 tsp green cardamom (elaichi) powder

Nuts like cashew nuts and raisins- to garnish

2 cups milk

1. Take a microwave safe bowl and place sooji and ghee in it. Cook on High for 2 minutes.

2. Add milk, sugar and cardamom powder and mix. Cook covered on micro High for 3 minutes.

3. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve sooji halwa hot.