Kimchi salad

Kimchi salad is a very popular chinese and Korean salad. Kimchi salad is served at most Chinese restaurants.

Recipe of kimchi salad

1/2 medium cabbage (patta gobi/ band gobhi)

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp vinegar

2 tbsp tomato sauce/ ketchup

2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp chopped garlic

2 dry red chillies

1. Deseed and soak red chillies in water for 10-12 minutes.

2. Chop cabbage into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Put 4 cups of water in a pan and add 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar. Bring it to boil. Add cabbage. Turn off the heat immediately.

4. Strain the cabbage and refresh in cold water.

5. Drain the red chillies. Using little water, grind red chillies, ginger and garlic together to a coarse paste.

6. To this paste, add tomato ketchup, soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and vinegar.

7. Mix this paste with cabbage gently. Serve kimchi salad at room temperature.

roti ki sabzi

Happy janmashtami to all my readers. Roti ki sabzi may not be the best recipe shared on this auspicious day i.e. Lord Krishna’s birthday but this is the recipe I am sharing with you today (hehehe). If you have some leftover rotis from last night’s supper, then you can put them to good use by making roti ki subzi.

Recipe of roti ki sabzi

5 sookhi (dry) roti

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

2 tomatoes- chopped

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing.

2. Add tomatoes and all the spice powders and salt. Cook till tomatoes get mushy.

3. Break sookhi rotis into small pieces and add to the pan. Cook till rotis become soft. Serve roti ki sabzi hot.

mirchi ke pakore

My hubby and FIL love mirchi ke pakore. Here I have given the recipe of stuffing chilli with chutney but I also make them by stuffing aloo (potato) masala. Mirchi pakoda tastes great both ways.

Recipe of mirchi ke pakore/ green chilli fritters

8-10 bhavnagri mirch (large, broad not so hot green chilli)

1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

Salt to taste

Green (dhania pudina) chutney- for stuffing

Oil to deep fry

1. Wash and wipe mirchi. Make a slit on one side without separating from the base or slitting other side. Remove seeds of mirchi.

2. Take besan in a bowl and add salt. Add water little by little, mixing with other hand so as to prepare lump free batter. Batter consistency should be like pancake batter.

3. Stuff green chutney into each mirchi.

4. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/ wok. Dip each stuffed mirchi in besan batter and put in hot oil. Deep fry on medium heat, turning as needed till golden brown.

5. Drain bharwa mirchi ke pakore on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Khichdi

This is one of the simplest recipes of khichdi you can imagine. Great not just for sick people but also when you want to eat light after a heavy lunch. Skip adding ghee on top of khichri if you are calorie conscious.

Recipe of rice moong dal khichdi/ khichri

1 cup rice

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

4 cups of water

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

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

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they turn darker, add hing.

3. Add rice, dal, salt, both the spice powders and water. Mix and close the lid of the cooker.

4. Pressure cook to 3 whistles and let the pressure drop down naturally before opening the lid. Serve khichdi hot with ghee on top and curd/ yogurt on the side.

Aloo chaat

This is a very simple recipe of aloo chaat or potato chaat. Aloo chaat is very popular among chaat and street food lovers.

Recipe of aloo chaat

3-4 aloo (potatoes)

1 tsp chaat masala

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

Green coriander chutney- to taste

Sweet tamarind chutney- to taste

Salt to taste

1. Pressure cook aloo for 1 whistle. Turn the heat to low and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure drop down before opening the lid of the cooker.

2. Peel the aloo and dice them into 3/4 inch cubes.

3. Heat oil in a non-stick tava (griddle) and fry potatoes till brown from all sides. Take out in a bowl.

4. Add salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder and chaat masala. Pour coriander chutney and tamarind chutney over the aloo chaat and enjoy!

Stuffed tomato

Yesterday I cooked stuffed tomato or bharwa tamatar for dinner. I used paneer for stuffing tomato but you can also use paneer with boiled and mashed potato for this recipe. Stuffed tomato is a very delicious side with rotis. Try it to believe it. What’s more, it can be made quickly if you are entertaining some guests.

Recipe of stuffed tomato

5-6 medium tomatoes (tamatar)

100 gms paneer (cottage cheese) - crumbled

1 inch piece ginger- grated

1 onion- chopped

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)

2+2 tsp oil

Chopped coriander leaves

1. Wash tomatoes and pat dry. Remove top of the tomato like a cap and keep aside.

2. Scoop out pulp of the tamatar and chop the edible portion of the caps. Set aside.

3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add onion and ginger. Sauté till light brown.

4. Add pulp and chopped caps of tomato. Add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala. Cook till pulp turns dry.

5. Add paneer and kasoori methi. Cook, mixing, for 1 minute. Remove from fire and let the paneer masala cool.

6. Preheat oven at 180 degree C. Stuff this paneer mixture inside the hollow tomato. Arrange the stuffed tomato on a greased baking tray.

7. Pour 2 tsp oil mixed with 1/4 tsp salt on all the tomatoes. Bake at 180 degree C for 15 minutes or till tomato turn soft. Take out stuffed tomato in a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Stuffed tomato in Microwave

Place stuffed tomato in a microsafe bowl and cover with a microsafe lid or a cling film with holes pierced. Before covering, Pour 2 tsp oil mixed with 1/4 tsp salt over the bharwan tamatar. Cook on a High for 5 minutes or till tomato turn soft.

Bharwa tamatar

Cereal chivda

Cereal chivda or corn flakes chivda is a healthy alternative to deep fried namkeen available in the market. At times we all want to munch on crispy, crunchy, salty snacks but are afraid of putting on weight or their adverse effects on health. So, this is my kind of guilt free snacking. Try it!

Recipe of healthy cereal chivda

150 gms murmura (kurmura/ mamra/ puffed rice/ moodhi)

50 gms bhuna chana (roasted chickpeas)

50 gms peanuts (moongphali)

Few curry leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 tsp salt or to taste

75 gms corn flakes or rice flakes (unflavored)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp oil

1. Heat oil in a big kadhai/wok. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add curry leaves and cook till they crisp out.

2. Add peanuts and bhuna chana. Roast till they change color but don’t burn them.

3. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powders. Cook for few seconds.

4. Add murmura and corn flakes. Mix them really well and on medium heat, keep mixing them for 2-3 minutes till murmura turns crisp. Turn off the heat.

5. Let the cereal chivda cool down completely before storing it in an airtight container.

Note- You can use Kellogg’s corn flakes or rice flakes or any other unflavored variety.
Earlier I also blogged about poha chivda, another guilt free snack. You can also check it out.

bharwa tinda

Yesterday, I made bharwa tinda or stuffed tinda with dal to go with rotis. I cook  both bharwan and sliced tinda sabzi since I am a fan of gourds and this is no exception.

Recipe of bharwa tinda

300 gms or 7-8 small tinda (apple gourd/Indian baby pumpkin)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1 tsp saunf (fennel) powder

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1 tbsp oil

tinde stuffed with spices

1. Peel and wash tindas. Make ‘+’ shaped cuts on each tinda without separating them from the base.

2. Mix salt and all the masalas (except turmeric powder and hing) in a small bowl.

3. Fill this masala in all tinda (as shown in picture).

4. Heat oil in a pan and add turmeric powder and hing. After few seconds, add bharwa tinda.

5. Cook, covered, and on a low heat till tinda gets lightly browned from the underside. Turn over tinda and cook, covered till other side also gets cooked.

6. Serve bharwa tinda hot with roti or paratha.

Aloo bonda

Aloo bonda is a famous Indian deep fried savory snack. It’s crispy on outside and soft inside. Aloo bonda or potato bonda is liked by adults and kids alike. In South India, this snack is called aloo bonda and in Mumbai, it is known as batata vada.

Recipe of aloo bonda

4 (potatoes) aloo - boiled, peeled and mashed

1 1/2 cups besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

2 onions- chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

2 green chillies- chopped

Salt to taste

Few curry leaves

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Coriander leaves- chopped

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.

2. Add aloo, turmeric powder and salt.

3. Cook for 2 minutes and add coriander leaves. Mix and turn off the heat. Remove in a bowl and let it cool.

4. Make lemon sized balls out of the potato mixture.

5. Now for the batter, mix besan, red chilli powder and salt. Add water, mixing with other hand to get smooth, lump free batter of dropping consistency.

6. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. Dip the aloo balls in the batter and deep fry in the oil. Fry till golden brown.

7. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve alu bonda hot with tomato ketchup or some chutney.

coconut burfi

Coconut burfi or nariyal ki barfi is a popular Indian sweet which is made on festive occasions. So many of us have fond childhood memories of our mothers or grandmothers preparing coconut burfi on festivals like Janamashtmi. Here is an easy recipe of coconut barfi.

Recipe of coconut burfi/ nariyal ki barfi

2 cups desiccated coconut

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

1. Grease a thali (platter) with few drops of ghee or butter and keep aside.

2. In a kadhai/wok, take water and sugar and cook on medium-low heat till sugar dissolves and syrup (chashni) comes to boil.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, till syrup reaches 2 thread consistency. To test this, take few drops of the syrup on a plate and touch with your thumb and forefinger. As you stretch the syrup, it should form some threads.

4. Add coconut and cardamom powder and mix well. Cook, stirring, till coconut begins to clump together and leave the sides of the kadhai.

5. Immediately pour this mixture on the greased thali and spread evenly with a big spoon.

6. Let it cool and harden slightly. Cut into diamonds or squares. Let the burfi cool completely. Store coconut burfi in an airtight jar.