Aloo matar
Whenever in the evening i feel tired or not in the mood for elaborate cooking, i cook aloo- matar. Rahul, my husband loves it which makes my job easy. What’s more it is ready in a jiffy and even a beginner can try his or her hands at it. Aloo matar contain green peas which has a high nutrition value. Peas are part of legume family. Peas are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, Iron and phosphorus. Frozen peas retain more of their nutrition and flavor and are lower in sodium than canned peas. What more can i say. Have your green peas any way you like.
Recipe of aloo- matar
4 medium boiled, peeled and cubed potatoes (aloo)
1 cup shelled (fresh or frozen) green peas (matar)
1 big onion
2 big tomatoes-pureed
4-5 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
3/4 tsp cumin seeds( jeera)
a pinch of hing ( asafoetida)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste
1. In a blender, blend together onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they turn brown, add hing. fry for 2 seconds and add minced onion paste. Saute till golden.
3. Add tomato puree. Stir in red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Cook for few minutes.
4. Add peas and 1 cup water and cook covered for about 10 minutes.
5. Add boiled potatoes and garam masala, lower heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy alu matar hot with parathas.
Rava upma
Rava upma is a favorite South Indian breakfast. They relish it with a good cup of coffee in the morning. When you add various vegetables and dals (lentils) to the upma as given in the recipe below, it gets packed with wholesome goodness. Rava upma or sooji upma is a nutritious and low fat breakfast and you can also have it as a snack. I usually roast 1 packet of sooji and store it in an airtight container in my refrigerator.
Recipe of rava upma
1 cup sooji (rava/ semolina)
3 cups water
1 medium onion- chopped
2 green chillies- slit lengthwise
1/4 cup shelled green peas
1 small potato- peeled and cubed
2-3 florets cauliflower, 3-4 french beans, 1/2 carrot- chopped
1 tablespoon cashew nuts- broken
1 tablespoon peanuts
1 teaspoon chana dal (bengal gram)
1 teaspoon dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
2 tsp + 2 tsp oil
salt to taste
1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add rava. Roast till nice aroma comes out and you can see some golden grains. Turn off the heat and take rava immediately out of the pan otherwise it will keep on roasting.
2. In the same pan, heat 2 tsp oil and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add chana dal. After few seconds, add urad dal, peanuts and cashew pieces. Roast till light brown.
3. Add curry leaves,onion and green chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Add potato, peas and chopped vegetables. Add water and salt. Cook covered on medium heat till vegetables are tender.
4. Add sooji little by little stirring by the other hand otherwise you will end up getting thick lumps.
5. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
6. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 3-4 minutes.
vegetable sooji upma
Healthy Bytes- 100 grams of rava (sooji/ semolina) contains 352k calories, 1mg Fat, 78mg Carbohydrates, 9gram Protein, 1% Vitamin A, 1% Calcium and 6% Iron.
baingan ka bharta
Baingan is also known as Aubergine, Eggplant and brinjal. There are many ways to roast baingan for bharta. You can roast them on naked flame, microwave them or broil in an oven. Baigan bhurta tastes good with phulkas, parathas or even rice.
Recipe of baingan ka bharta
2 medium baingan (brinjal, eggplant)
2 medium onions- chopped
3 tomatoes- chopped
1 inch ginger piece- chopped
5 cloves garlic- chopped
3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
salt to taste
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1. Prick baingan with a fork and roast on a naked flame till their skin appear blistered and they shrivel in size. Alternatively you can also microwave them on a High for 10 minutes.
2. Cool baingan by dipping them in water. Peel off the skin and mash them.
3. I prefer mustard oil for bharta. In a pan, heat mustard oil to the smoking point that is till vapors start coming out of it. Add cumin seeds. When they turn brown, add onions and saute till they are transparent.
4. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and tomatoes. Cook till oil begins to separate.
5. Add mashed baingan and salt. Cook for 7-8 minutes over medium heat stirring.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Healthy Bytes- Baingan is a source of Potassium and Folic acid. It can help control the cholesterol levels and can block the free radical formation.
Sabudana khichadi
Sabudana khichdi is a popular Maharashtrian breakfast. Sago is mainly a fasting food in India and eaten in fasts like Ekadashi. If you are buying sago, buy medium sized pearls for this recipe. After soaking sabudana, it really takes no time to cook sabudana khichdi.
Recipe of Sabudana khichdi
2 cups sabudana (sago)
1/4 cup peanuts
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (kali sarson)
7-8 curry leaves
3 chopped green chillies
1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) or oil
1 tsp lime juice
salt to taste
1. Wash sabudana in a colander or a strainer (chhalni) and soak for 3-4 hours in 1/4 cup of water.
2. Roast the peanuts and grind them coarsely.
3. Mix ground peanuts with sabudana.
4. Heat ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add curry leaves and green chillies. After a few seconds add sabudana mixture. Add salt.
5. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring all the time. Do not cover the pan otherwise you will get thick lumps. Each pearl of sago should be separate.
6. Add lime juice and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.
I sometimes add potatoes to this dish as a variation. I cut them into small cubes, put them in after the seasoning and cook them till tender and when all water dries up, i add sabudana mixture.
Sabudana khichdi
Potato chickpea salad
This aloo chana salad is a very healthy salad as no oil or high calorie dressing is used in this recipe.
Chana is also known as chickpeas in english, garbanzo beans in spanish and kichererbse in Germany. Chana or chole belong to legume family and are healthful. You can also use black chickpeas (kala chana) for this salad.
Recipe of Aloo chana salad
1 cup kabuli chana (chickpeas/ garbanzo beans)
2 small potatoes- peeled and cubed
2 small onions- chopped
2 small tomatoes- chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp chaat masala
salt to taste
2 green chillies- chopped
1. Soak chana overnight. Drain and and boil with potatoes, salt and water in a pressure cooker.
2. Strain the remaining liquid. You can use this liquid for some other dish.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to chana and toss.
4. Serve hot or refrigerate and serve cold.
Healthy Bytes- chane or chickpeas contain high amounts of protein. Half cup of chickpeas contain 140 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, slightly more than 1 gram of fat, Iron and Potassium. Canned chickpeas can be full of sodium so it’s better to rinse them before consuming.
Potato black chickpeas salad
aloo gobi
My husband is a potato lover and he also likes gobhi. So aloo- gobhi is made very frequently in my home. Even when gobhi is not in the season, i buy it from some vendor or the other although i must admit the taste is not as good as the seasonal gobhi. I also sometimes add matar (peas) to the dish which adds a nice variation.
Recipe of aloo gobhi
1 medium gobhi (cauliflower)
2 medium potatoes (aloo)
1 inch ginger- chopped
2 green chillies- slit lengthwise
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 red chilli powder
hing (asafoetida)- a pinch
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
chopped coriander leaves to garnish
1. Cut gobi into big florets. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. when they begin to crackle, add hing. Fry for a few seconds and add ginger and green chillies. Saute till they begin to change colour.
3. Add vegetables and add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix the vegetables and spices.
4. Sprinkle some water over the gobhi aloo and cook covered on medium heat till done, mixing in between.
5. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves.
As the name suggests, this bhindi (ladies’ fingers) subzi contains lots of onions and in two forms- sliced and big chunks. Onions in bhindi do pyaaza imparts a subtle sweetness to bland bhindi.This is a favorite North Indian dish which features on many Indian restaurant menus. Bhindi do pyaza is sure to turn a non believer into a fan as happened in case of my husband.
Recipe of Bhindi-do-pyaza
250 grams bhindi- cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions- sliced
1 onion- cut into chunks and separated
1 tomato- pureed
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves) - crushed
1 tsp saunf (fennel) powder
salt to taste.
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and when they turn brown, add onions. Stir fry them till they are transparent.
2. Add bhindi and add turmeric powder and salt and mix. Cook covered on low heat till bhindis are soft. Stir in between.
3. Add saunf powder, chilli powder and kasoori methi and mix well for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomato puree and cook further for 2 minutes. Serve hot bhindi do pyaaza with rotis or paranthas and a bowl of dal.
Dal makhani
This rich,creamy dal has huge fan following and it belongs to North Indian cuisine. The traditional recipe of dal makhani calls for hearty addition of butter and cream but i have deliberately reduced the amount of fat in the given recipe keeping in mind the health conscious generation of today (including me) who counts every calorie.
recipe of dal makhani
1/2 cup sabut urad (whole black gram)
2 tbsp rajma (red kidney beans)
1 inch ginger- chopped
2 tsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup malai (cream of milk)
Salt to taste
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1 tsp garam masala powder
3/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 big sized onion- chopped
2 tomatoes- pureed
5 garlic cloves- chopped
1. Wash and soak urad and rajma for at least 3 hours in hot water.
2. Cook the soaked dals with enough water, salt, red chilli powder and ginger in a pressure cooker till cooked.
3. Take a heavy bottomed vessel (kadhai) and heat oil and butter in it. Add cumin seeds. When they turn brown, add chopped onion and fry till golden brown.
4. Add garlic and saute and after few seconds, add tomato puree. Cook till oil begins to separate.
5. Add boiled dals and stir in garam masala powder. Give one boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add malai and simmer further for 5 more minutes.
Dal makhani is ready which tastes good with both paranthas and naan.
If say you are entertaining some guests at a short notice and you do not have time to soak the dal for 3 hours then i have a solution. Put the dal with enough waterin a pressure cooker and after 1 whistle turn off the heat.Take care not to open the lid of the cooker. Then after 1 hour boil the dal as usual. Your dal makhani will be ready in a short time.
Besan ki roti
Besan ki roti is very popular in Rajasthan. Besan (gram flour) is made from chickpeas and is extensively used in rajasthani cooking. Besan is a staple in indian food. Besan contains carbohydrates but no gluten.
Recipe of besan ki masala roti
Makes 5-6 rotis (parathas)
1 cup besan ( gram flour/ chickpea flour)
1/2 cup atta ( whole wheat flour)
Salt to taste
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp amchoor ( dry mango powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp oil/ ghee + for shallow frying
1. Mix all the above ingredients including oil and add enough water to make a pliable dough.
2. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
3. Take one part and roll out like a roti.
4. Heat a tava ( griddle) and cook the roti on both sides applying oil or ghee.
5. Serve hot with with curd,vegetables and pickle.
You can also add chopped green chillies to the dough of besan ki roti if you like.
Vegetable_dalia
Vegetable dalia features regularly in our breakfasts. It is healthy, nutritious and filling. The fiber present in dalia and vegetables keeps you full for longer. This breakfast is ideal for people who are watching their diets. What’s more vegetable daliya is easy and quick to make. You can also have it as a low fat snack, lunch or dinner. I usually roast 1 packet of dalia in a karahi (heavy bottomed vessel) and store in an airtight container so that daliya can be prepared quickly in the morning.
Recipe of vegetable dalia
1 cup dalia (broken wheat)
2 1/4 cups water
mixed diced vegetables like carrots, peas, french beans, potato, cauliflower, tomato
1 onion - chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
Roasted dalia
1. Heat half of the oil in a pressure cooker and roast the daliya. Take out dalia from the cooker.
2. Heat remaining oil and saute onion for 2 minutes. Add mixed diced vegetables and stir- fry for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add dalia, water, salt and pepper powder and close the lid of the cooker. Let 2 whistles come. Then, turn off the heat.
4. Let cooker be closed for 5 minutes. Vegetable daliya is ready to eat.
If you don’t want your onion to be all mashed up during boiling of dalia, then you can stir- fry the onion till golden and add later to the prepared dalia.
Healthy Bytes- When whole wheat is coarsely ground, you get broken wheat. It is very nutritious since the losses during milling is little. 100 grams of dalia provides 355k calories of Energy, 1.12% Fat, 78.93% Crude fiber, 0.85% Carbohydrates and 7.5% Protein. Please remember these are approximate values.
