What we need :
1 lb wheat berries
1 lb Rice
1 lb Jwari ( White Millet )
1/2 lb Chana Dal
1/4 lb Moong Dal
1/4 lb Udad dal
1/2 cup Coriander Seeds
1/4 cup Cumin
This is a copy of a diary my FIL maintained of all the family recipes . Yes , he is a great cook and is definitely passing his love of cooking to Junior and Princess Pea .
How to :
1) Dry roast all the ingredients except the cumin seeds till they change color slightly .
2) When cool , grind them .
3) Store in an airtight container .
Previously I have used my Nutrimill grain mill and my Vitamix dry grinder with great results . My dearest hubby surprised me with Kitchen Aid grain mill attachment and this time I used i with equally great results .
Enjoy !!!
What we need :
2 cups Bhajani Flour ( recipe for the bhajani can be found here )
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
Handful cilantro leaves chopped
Handful of crushed roasted peanuts ( optional )
2 tsp oil
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp haldi
a pinch of hing
salt to taste
oil for roasting
To serve :
Butter
Yogurt
To make the thalipeeth :
1) Mix all the ingredients except oil for roasting to form a soft dough and divide the dough in smaller portions .
2) Press and shape them in around 8" circle a cold pan . Alternately you can press them on a plastic sheet / foil .
3) Make holes in them to ensure proper roasting.
4) Add couple of oil drops in each hole .Cover and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or you hear the water from the steam sizzle in the pot .
5) Turn the thalipeeth and roast on the other side till well done .
6)Serve hot with freshly churned butter and yogurt .
Enjoy !!!
What we need :
For Vada :
1/4 cup moong dal
1/4 cup urad dal
2 green chilies
1" ginger
5-6 curry leaves
2 tbsp fresh coconut slices
1 tsp Eno fruit salt
For soaking the vada :
1 cup buttermilk / water
pinch of salt
Dahi for the vada :
3 cups yogurt
1 tsp chat masala
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
salt and sugar to taste
Green Chutney :
2 cups of cilantro
1/2 cup mint leaves
3-4 green chilies
1/2 tsp cumin
1 slice of bread crust removed
Khajoor Imli Chutney :
1 cup dates
1/2 cup tamarind( Imli)
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
To Garnish :
chopped cilantro
cumin powder
red chili powder
chat masala
Shev ( optional )
To Proceed :
Sweet /Khajoor Imli Chutney :
1) Boil the tamarind and Dates for 5 minutes . Let it cool .
2) Grind with remaining ingredients , stain and keep aside .
Green Chutney ::
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney and keep aside . My Vitamix grinds it without adding any water but you can add some to make it into a smooth chutney .
Dahi for the vada :
1) Whisk the yogurt and add rest of the ingredients . Chill in the refrigerator till ready to use .
Vada :
1) Soak both the moong and urad dal in warm water for 1 hour atleast .
2) Grind into coarse paste along with rest of the ingredients except Eno fruit salt .
3) Add Eno fruit salt and mix well .
4) Add 1 Tbsp of the prepared batter each in four bowls .
5) Microwave high for 1 minute 10 seconds .
6) Let stand for a minute .
7) Soak the vadas in buttermilk for about 10 minutes .
8) Repeat with the rest of the batter .
Assembly :
1)Press the vadas gently in between the palms to squeeze buttermilk out of them .
2) Place vada in a serving bowl .
3) Add prepared dahi/yogurt .
4) Garnish with green and sweet chutney and chopped cilantro .
5) Sprinkle some red chili powedr , cumin powder and chat masala if you like .
6) You can even garnish it with shev if you like .
Enjoy !!!
Being in a school district where there are hardly any Indians , packing lunch becomes difficult . The younger kids are not open to different scents , nor looks . It's easier to say in theory , kids should be nice and kind to other kid even when they get nauseous after smelling or looking at somebody's food . Oh ..no... I am not complaining . I have been there . The smells that appeal the most to me ( Indian tadka )might be painful for the other and I know exactly how I feel when I pass the sea food counter or a steak house . Age just teaches us how to hide our feelings to not to hurt anyone . My solution to this is fusion food .Sandwiches top that list . This is one sandwich that kiddos and their daddy love . Traditional food meets modern bread .
What we need :
1 medium/large onion finely chopped
3-4 medium tomatoes finely chopped
1/4 green pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup zucchini finely chopped
2 green chilies finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt / to taste
2 cups besan / gram flour / chickpea flour
1 1/2 cups water
oil for coating the pan
12 slices of bread of your choice
To Proceed :
1) In a deep bowl , mix besan , salt, asafoetida ,turmeric powder and 1 cup of water to make a smooth a batter .
2) Add tomatoes,onions,peppers,zucchini ,chilies and cilantro and mix well .
3) Adjust the consistency of the batter by adding more water .
4) The consistency of the batter should be like the pancake batter .
5) Heat a frying pan or griddle on medium low heat .
6) Brush the hot pan with little oil .
7) Spread 1/4 cup of batter in a pan and spread like a pancake .
8) Let it cook on each side for about 3-4 mins or till little brown .
9) Toast the bread slices and apply butter on them .
10) Cut the omelette in 4 pieces and arrange them on the buttered side of the bread .
Serve with date-tamarind chutney .
*** You can add ginger-garlic paste to the batter if you like.***
*** Any vegetable of your choice can be added to this .***
*** Tomato ketchup or any other sauce / chutney can be applied to the bread along with butter .***
*** Instead of making sandwich , this can be eaten as is with chutney or ketchup .***
There are very few things my kiddos eat without any fuss . Paneer butter masala or orange gravy as Princess Pea calls it ,tops the list . Many times when I ask her what she would like to eat she asks for the ' orange gravy ' . Though I like to make the gravy using the freshest ingredients , sometimes the time is not in my favor . That's when this semi-homemade concept comes handy . I am a big fan of the show "Semi homemade with Sandra Lee" on food network . Store bought ingredients make this preparation super easy . Many new moms and the students in the dorm have been asking for the simple form of this recipe and that's the reason it made to my blog .
Ingredients :
1 tbsp + 2 tsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp ginger -garlic paste ( I like to grate ginger and garlic freshly )
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp kasoori methi
16 oz tomato sauce ( I prefer no sodium sauce and season it according to my taste)
1/8 cup heavy cream or whole milk
14 oz paneer
2 tsp chopped cilantro
salt to taste
2 cups water
To proceed :
1) Cut the paneer into desired shape . I cut it in bite size cubes.
2) Place the cut paneer with 2 tsp oil in a ziplock bag . Give it a nice shake so all the paneer cubes are coated with oil .
3) Toast the paneer in a heavy bottom pan on medium low heat till golden brown . This is to eliminate frying the paneer .
4)Boil 2 cups of water and add a the toasted paneer to it . Let it sit for 5 minutes .This will make the paneer super soft .
5) Heat butter and oil in apan .
6) Add ginger garlic paste and a tsp of water and fry for 2 minutes .
7) Add the tomato sauce and let it boil for 5 minutes .
8) Add garam masala and red chilli powder .
9) Microwave kasoori methi for 30 sec and crush it between your palms to make a coarse powder .
10) Add kasoori methi to it .
11) Add salt according to your taste .
12) Add heavy cream .
13) Drain the water from paneer and add it to the gravy .
14) Let it simmer for couple of minutes .
15) Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves .
** If you want to make the makhani gravy using fresh tomatoes ,you can findthe recipe here.**
Serve the paneer butter masala with plain or jeera rice ,naan,roti or paratha .
Enjoy !!!
