Mix veg in green gravy

This ones from mom. A hot favorite when it comes to cooking an elaborate meal. Easy to make and tastes wonderful with rotis, this is a must have if it is dinner/lunch for get-togethers

Ingredients

Mix Vegetables (like peas, cauliflowers, potatoes, carrots) – finely chopped
Dry coconut – ½ cup
Onion- 1 (cut in 4 halves)
Green chillies-2
Coriander leaves
Ginger & garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
Sugar and salt to taste
Ghee -1 tablespoon
Lemon- 1/2
Dry masala (Finely ground mix)
Jeera
Black pepper-1
Clove-1
Dalchini – ½ cm

Method

First fry the onions a little to ensure that the pungent smell of onion is gone. Once cooled, take the onions, coconut, coriander, green chilies, ginger and garlic and make a fine paste in the mixer.

In a pan, heat some ghee and add the mix veg to it and sauté well. Add some water and let the vegetables cook for sometime.

Add the fresh ground coconut-onion mixture to the cooked vegetables and bring it to boil.

Sprinkle the dry masala.

Add sugar and salt to taste and bring it to boil.

Squeeze lemon after the gas is turned off, to retain the lemon flavor.

Piping hot, spicy mixed veg with green gravy is ready to serve.

Tomato Curry

Tomatoes are usually used as an ingredient in some vegetable, curry or Dal but very rarely as a main ingredient in itself. This dish is something that you can make when you are in a rush and have absolutely no time to prepare some elaborate vegetable. This is my favorite when it comes to preparing quick lunch :)

A recipe taught by a friend of mine on one of those days when your friends land up on your doorstep to stay over and you are at a loss with two of your major ammunitions not firing i.e MOM and Vegetable supplies :D

Tastes good with rotis or as a side dish.

Ingredients

Tomatoes -2

Onion -1

Garlic – 4 pieces – finely chopped

Green chilies -2 finely chopped

Coriander leaves

Salt

Jaggery to taste

Cumin seeds and mustard seeds

Method

• Cut the tomatoes and onions and keep aside
• Take a little oil and add cumin and mustard seeds. Once crackling add the garlic and green chilies.
• Add onions and fry till they turn pale and tender. Add the cut tomatoes and let it simmer
• Add salt and jaggery to taste and garnish with lots of coriander leaves.

Its easy to make and doesn’t take long to cook and hence you have a tasty curry in a jiffy.

Thepla

A roasted, wheat based dish, it makes a healthy and sumptuous breakfast or lunch. This food item is a native of Gujrat, India and was made famous in other parts of the country by the traveling business clan of Gujrat. Ideal for long distance travel as is easy to carry and stays fresh for around a week.

Ingredients

Methi leaves – 2 bunch

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Besan (chikpea flour)– 3 table spoons

Red chili powder – 2 spoons

Green chilies – 2

Garlic – 1 teaspoon

Sugar and salt to taste

Jeera (Cumin seeds) + til seeds – roasted and ground

Method

• Finely chop the methi leaves and keep aside
• Make a fine paste of green chilies, salt, sugar and garlic
• Take the wheat flour and add the red chili powder
• Mix besan (chikpeas flour) and methi leaves in it
• Add the green chili paste and Jeera + til powder
• Make a thick dough of this mixture
• Roll thin round rotis on a rolling pin and roast it in a pan
• Brush little oil on the roti’s while roasting

These methi theplas taste yum with curd, pickles or butter.

Yummy Kadhi

This ones for my friend. She is a foodie and a North Indian. A deadly combination when it comes to cooking up elaborate meals and mouth-watering sweets. She not only loves eating but is equally thrilled about cooking.

It was she how taught me the nuances of making amazing Kadhi. Something that’s not elaborate yet yummy. So here goes… with due credit to Garima

Kadhi

Ingredients

Curd 500 grams

1 tablespoon Besan

1 centimeter ginger- finely chopped

1 green chili - finely chopped

1 teaspoon Sugar

Salt as per taste

¼ teaspoon haldi

Hing, Jeera and oil for simmering


Method

Take the curd in a bowl.

Add the Besan and haldi

Blend this well in a mixer/blender

Bring it to boil. Add ginger, green chili, salt and sugar

Let it boil for 5 min.

In a fry pan, simmer a little oil/ghee. Add jeera. When crackling add hing and pour it on the kadhi just before serving.

PS - Tastes amazing with rice.

Quick and instant Wheat Dosa

This credit goes to my granny. She is a great cook; like all grannies and has mastered the art of quick cooking. She can come up with these amazing recipes that can be made in a giffy and taste amazing! She is my survival guide for making quick and yummy breakfast. :)


The other day when I was visiting her, she made these quick and easy to make wheat dosas and obviously that meant she had to teach me how to do it! And I pat my back for the fact that I actually tried the recipe before I forgot, and am also penning it down for future reference!


Wheat Dosa

Wheat flour-1 cup

Rava- ¼ cup

Salt, Sugar as per taste

Green/red chilies two

Ginger – 1 centimeter

Oil for simmering

Method

Mix the Wheat flour and rava. Add sugar and salt.

Simmer oil then add Jeera, Rai; when crackling add hing (asafetida) green chilies and ginger.

Pour this in the flour mix. Add water and make a batter. Keep the consistency equal to Dosa batter.

(Can add a spoon of curd if available)

Heat the pan and pour the batter and spread it like Dosa. After cooking it well from both sides. Serve it in a plate with ghee and groundnut chutney

Ragada Patties

I had this sudden craving to have Ragda patties and was not interested in going out and trying some new place! (you see you can never be sure what you would end up having, if it is not a tried and tested place! ) So the only other option was to make it at home.

After rummaging through the recipe books for some time I stumbled upon one recipe but their ragada had coconut in it! I have never tried a Ragada with coconut gravy base and was certainly not going to try it today. So the next SOS call was to mum dear, who as usual was readily available and very forthcoming with the recipe. I guess that’s a pre-requisite to be a mom!

Well the chaat came out amazingly well and I relished having it after a long time! Not to mention nik loved it and we ended up having Ragda patties as dinner! So here’s the recipe with due credit to mum!

Ragda Patties – serves 2 people

Ingredients

For patties

Potatoes - 2

Chilli paste – 1 teaspoon

Ginger paste- ½ teaspoon

Lime juice – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

2 bread slices

Maida flour for brushing

For Ragda

White peas/ watane soaked for 7-8 hours

Ginger paste – ½ teaspoon

Garlic paste - ½ teaspoon

Green Chilli paste- 1 teaspoon

Chole masala – ½ teaspoon

Onion finely chopped- 1

Salt and sugar as per taste

Lime juice – 1 tablespoon

Method

For patties

• Boil potatoes and mash them well in a mixing bowl.
• Add ginger, chili, salt and mix well.
• Soak the bread slices in water, drain the water and then put the crumbs in the mixture. Add limejuice at the end.
• Make small balls of the mixture and flatten them a little. Brush it with maida powder and shallow fry.
• 
  

For Ragda

• Boil the peas and set aside.
• Take some oil in a pan and add Jeera, Rai, Hing, Turmuric powder.
• Add ginger garlic paste, green chili paste and onions.
• After the onions are fried golden brown add the boiled peas and bring it to boil.
• Add salt, sugar, limejuice, chole masala
• 
  

While serving

Place two patties, pour ragada over it. Sprinkle finely chopped onion, coriander leaves and chaat masala. Serve it with tamarind chutney.

Bhel

Ingredients

Puffed rice
Tomatoes, chopped
Onion, chopped
Corriander leaves
Mumbai Pharsan
Thin Sev
Boiled Potatoes, chopped
Ginger + Green Chillies paste

Tamarind Syrup- Soak tamarind + Jaggery ( double the tamarind size) + little black salt in water for atleast 5-6 hours. Add unseeded, microwave heated dates to it and grind in a mixer. Strain well and keep aside.


Method

Mix all the above ingredients well in a vessel. Add Tamarind syrup, salt and red chilli powder as per taste.

Before serving, garnish it with lots of corriander leaves and Sev