Lemon Rice

So…what do we when Charit is not around for the weekend- We do what he does not enjoy so much! And one of them is “eat lemon rice”, he likes it but this is not his favorite. I and Arnav love it! My first memory of this dish is eating it as Prasad in temple. And then colleagues would often bring it…and I would finish it for them! I love the small packets of lemon rice that we get here in temples as Prasad.

Here is how the dish goes-

Ingredients:

3 cups boiled Rice

2 Tbsp Oil

1 tsp Black Mustard seeds/Rai

Pinch of Hing/asafoetida

Few curry leaves

3-4 chopped green chilies optional

3-4 Whole Red Chilies

1 tsp. turmeric powder

½ tbsp Channa daal

½ cup raw peanuts

Chopped Coriander

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat a tbsp of oil and add peanuts, roast until brown, drain and keep aside. To the same pan, add tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, once they crackle add hing, whole red chilies, green chillies, channa daal and curry leaves. Fry until the channa daal is brown. Now add the peanuts, and turmeric powder, stir fry for a minute. Now add cooked rice, salt and lemon juice, stir gently. Remember to add lemon juice in slight excess, the rice should be slightly more tangy, as by the time you sit to eat it the cooked rice will soak the additional flavor.

Garnish with coriander and eat it warm. This can be served at room temperature also. You can eat it with curd or a Chutney of your choice.

So here is the first dish for 2012, Mushrooms- not really my favorite but Charit and Arnav love it.  This one makes a perfect Sunday Snack! And if you in the kitchen cooking with your hubby, kid or friend, it is fun all the way!

I must tell my son Arnav is so fond of cooking and has started showing interest in various ingredients that go into cooking different dishes! He insists on making “Boost” for himself and it is a pleasure to see those little dexterous hands putting things together. He is awesome and today he cut a Kit Kat into pieces and poured a lot of Chocolate Sauce on it- just for me- to make it more chocolaty! ‘Cause that’s how I love it! Thanks You Arnav! You are such a sweetheart!

Will get to the stuffed mushrooms now! Here is how it goes!

Stuffed Mushrooms - Before Marinating

Ingredients-

7-9 mushrooms (preferably large)

For Stuffing

1 Cup paneer mashed

1 tsp Turmeric powder; 1 tsp Chaat Masala, 1 tsp dry mango powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, ½ tsp Garam Masala

Chopped green coriander & salt to taste; you can also add raisins and cashew nuts if you like or cut green chilies.

Combine all ingredients together and keep aside.

For marinating- Curd- 1 small bowl- hung for 15 minutes

Mix the curd 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste. If you’d like add some red chili powder do so as per taste and whisk it so that it is smooth.

Method-

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stem. Scoop it out actually and clean a bit. Fill the paneer mixture prepared above in the hollow of mushrooms and keep aside. Dip the stuffed mushrooms into the curd mixture and after 15-20 minutes thread onto thin skewers. Grill in the oven till it is complete.

Serve hot with green chutney or onion rings. You can also add Kasuri methi in paneer mixture for additional flavor. Happy time Snacking!

Thanks!

Daal Makhni

This one brings lots of memories back- my Bro’s favorite and I loved it too! Can never make it the way Mom does it but try to follow her recipe every time. She always added lot of butter to this and served us with hot chapattis with ghee – “YUM” I say, Mom you are the best!  As far as I remember my brother loved it with Rice- and if he loved it with rice I had to love it with Chapattis!

This goes well with chapattis and rice- I made hot Naans with it and it rocked, makes my weekend complete!

Ingredients-

150g whole urad dal (black lentils)

50g rajma (red kidney beans)

10g ginger, peeled and grated

3 – 4 garlic cloves paste, 2-3 bay leaves

2 green chilies- cut vertically

salt to taste1tbsp ghee or oil as perferred

1 tsp cumin seeds

Puree of 3 medium size tomatoes

Puree of 2 Onions

100g butter

30 ml cream

Chili powder to taste

1 tsp garam masala

2-3 tsp coriander powder

Method-

Soak the lentils (urad, rajma) in water for 6 hours, or preferably overnight. Wash it.

Add salt and water to the lentils and pressure cook the lentils. Drain off if there is excess water excess water and mash the lentils lightly with the back of a ladle. Keep aside.

To make the tadka, heat the ghee or oil in a heavy pan until hot, and add the bay leaves cumin seeds- once they crackle add the garlic and ginger paste and fry until beginning to color. Add the chopped onions and sauté them until they are brown and fried properly- this will take about 10-15 minutes. You can add a tbsp water if they start sticking to the pan.  Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for about ten minutes until the tomato is soft and cooked. Add to the cooked dal, mixing well. Bring the dal to the boil again, adding the chili powder, coriander powder, butter & cream. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Add the gram masala and chopped coriander. Serve hot with Chapattis or Rice or Nan- Delicious!

I and my husband just love these stuffed mirchis, I won’t talk too much and will just start with the preparation!

Besan ki Bharwa Mirchi- Stuffed Green Chillies

Ingredients:

8-10 Big Green Chllies

1 Cup Gram Flour (Besan)

1 – 2 tsp Coriander Powder (Dhaniya Powder)

2 tsp Dry Mango Powder (Amchoor)

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

Pinch of Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds (Zeera)

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

Red Chilli powder as per taste

Salt as per taste

Chopped Cilantro

1 tsp Lemon Juice

Oil- 2 Tablespoon

Method

Stuffing

For the Stuffing, roast the besan to brown, once it cools down add salt, red chilli powder, amchoor powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, chopped cilantro and a pinch of asafetida. Now Mix it all.

I have come across some recipes, where people add friend onions/ginger garlic paste etc. to this as well and that tastes great too!

Preparation

Slit the Green Chillies vertically. Now stuff the above mixture into the vertical cut made on the Chilies..

Heat oil in a pan; add 1/4 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of turmeric powder and asafetida. Put the stuffed mirchis in the pan, cover the lid, and let them cook for sometime If there is any extra stuffing left, sprinkle it on the stuffed mirchis. Keep the flame low and change the sides of the vegetable gently after every 5-7 minutes until its skin becomes soft. You can add additional salt for the mirchis as per taste. Sprinkle lemon juice over the Mirchis to add to the tanginess and there you are! Take it off heat and serve the tasty Karelas with hot chappatis- Just like I am doing it today!

Palak Methi Chaman

Palak Methi Chaman- (Spinach, Cottage Cheese and Fenugreek Leaves in Onion Base)

The best Methi Chaman I have ever had was made by nobody else but my husband he is ia pro!  It tasted yum and soon enough I learnt from him. But I can’t make it as good as he does- he has got it Love you Charit- this is just one the many reasons (thought I should clarify!! )

Methi Chaman is an Indian dish– pureed Spinach leaves and Fenugreek leaves with grated cottage cheese, cooked in onion base.

Here is how this delectable dish goes-

Ingredients-

1 Tbsp Oil

Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp;

Bay leaves- 1-2, Cloves- 3-4, 1-2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Onions Pureed

Garlic Paste- 1 tsp

Pureed Spinach (Palak)- 1 Bowl

Pureed Fenugreek (Methi) leaves – 1/4 Bowl

Grated Cottage Cheese (Paneer)- 1/2 Bowl

Cream- 1-2 Tbsp (optional- you can use low fat milk as well)

Cashewnuts – optional

Green chillies- 1/2 (optional, with Arnav around I seldom add green chilies)

Sugar- 1 tsp

Method

Wash the Fenugreek leaves and Spinach leaves nicely chop them, add them to a sauce pan with enough water and boil them for 3-5 minutes. Drain the water and puree the boiled chopped leaves- keep aside.

Now in a sauce pan take oil, once it heats  add add the cumin seeds and the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves. Once they splutter, add the onion puree and garlic paste. Let this cook for at least 15 minutes add water when necessary so that it does not stick to the sauce pan or lower the heat.

Once the onion puree is cooked, add the spinach and fenugreek paste and bring it to a boil- add coriander powder, red chilli powder & salt. Stir and add grated cottage cheese, let it be on heat for 2-3 minutes, add a tsp sugar  and now add the cream. Let this simmer for a couple of minutes and you are done! If you’d like, add cashew nuts.

Serve with hot Chappattis, Paratha or bread! You’d love it! Have a great weekend & Happy Navratris.

Dosa, Chutney & Sambhar

It is Saturday again! and whats cooking?

I love Dosa, Chutney and Sambhar! As a kid whenever Mom made it, I would invariably overeat. I loved the way Mom made different stuffings for Dosas and served me and bro hot dosas. I’d start waiting for these delicious treats as soon as she said she soaked the rice for dosa; Love you Mom for everything. I also remember not being good at making crispy Dosas so I’d make Uttampam when Mom was not around. I remember making it for my bro- am sure he would have conveniently forgotten it- that’s a different story altogether.

Am so glad I am in Hyderabad…there are so many South Indian restaurants around that serve hot dosas…as early as seven in the morning (and it is not early for us believe me, we wake up at 6:00 am, even over the weekends!!) And often times, we go for a drive and as soon as it is seven we have a breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants.

Nevertheless I made this at home today with the help of my cook, Jaishri who is a veteran at making Dosas and am putting up the recipe for Dosa and Chutney.

Chutney

Ingredients-

Coconut Chutney - Ingredients

Chana Daal or Bengal gram – ½ Bowl

Coconut – ½ cut into small pieces

Green Chilies- 4

Garlic cloves 2 (optional)

Tamarind as per taste (about a tsp paste is what I use) and this is optional

Rai/Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil 1 Tbsp

Chopped Coriander

Method- 

In a sauce pan take tsp oil, heat it for a minute and now add the Channa daal, fry it for 3-4 minutes until it is light brown, take it off the heat. In the same sauce pan add tsp oil and now fry the green chilies for a couple of minutes. Grind the green chilies, daal, garlic cloves, coconut pieces, tamarind; now add salt as per taste.

Now in the sauce pan take tsp oil, add mustard seeds, once they splutter add just a half tsp chana daal. Add this to the Chutney and garnish with the chopped coriander.  Chutney is ready!

Coconut Chutney

Dosas

Ingredients (will make 20 Dosas approx)-

3 cups rice

1 cup skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)

3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

1 tsp sugar (makes it crisp)

Oil

Method- 

Wash the rice and urad daal well. Add fenugreek seeds and fill the vessel with water such that it is more than double the rice and daal. Soak overnight (about 8 hours) and then drain the water. Grind this in a food processor add little water if required – form a grainy paste. Transfer it to a bowl and add water to the batter- the consistency should be such that if you dip a spoon in it the batter coats the spoon. Add salt and keep this covered aside for 6-8 hours to ferment.

After t ferments, stir it and add a spoon sugar (helps make the dosa crisp) The Dosa batter is ready! Now making dosas is an art which I have not been able to master. However, you can check out the videos and probably a photo tutorial for this- would help more if you have not tried your hand at it before this.

Gobi Matar Pulao- Rice with Cauliflower and Peas

I wanted to cook something simple for lunch- just one wholesome dish that the whole family would love on a lazy Saturday afternoon.  Opened the fridge and found peas and leftover cauliflower. Decided to cook rice in onion tomato base with a bit of spices and peas and cauliflower.  Coupled it with dahi raita- this made a nice Saturday afternoon lunch.

Ingredients (Serves Four)-

Rice 1 Bowl

One small cauliflower cut into pieces and peas – ½ bowl

3 onions pureed

2 tomatoes pureed

1-2 tsp garlic paste

4-5 cloves, 1-2 bay leaves, 1-2 cinnamon sticks

Oil- 1 Tbsp

Cream 1 Tb sp (optional)

Green Chilies- 1-2 – optional

Chopped coriander

Cumin Seeds 1 tsp, Coriander powder, Red chili powder and Garam Masala.

Method-

In a sauce pan, heat oil, now add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, cloves and the cinnamon stick. After a couple of minutes add the onion puree. Stir and add the garlic paste. Let this cook until the puree is golden brown (easily for  15 minutes) now add the tomato puree and stir add a bit of water if this starts getting dry. Stir and let it cook. I added a tbsp cream too at this stage but it is completely up to you- can be skipped.

Once the puree is cooked properly (I give it at least 30 minutes), add the peas and cauliflower and the spices, mix well. Now add the rice, stir softly and add water. Cover this and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.  Once done take if off the heat and garnish with coriander. Server it with plain curd or raita.

Alu Tamatar Sabji with Poori and Dhania Chutney

Quick and easy to make! Coupled with Pooris and Coriander Chutney this one is a perfect delight to feast on after a hectic day at work! My family loves this!

Ingredients- Alu tamatar Sabji

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

Boiled Potatoes- 5 medium size

Country Tomatoes- 3 sliced into long and thin pieces

Red Chili & Salt to Taste

Cumin Seeds

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

A pinch of Asafetida (heeng)

Oil – 1.5 Tbsp

Method-

Boil the potatoes, peel and keep aside to cool. Slice the tomatoes (make sure they are country tomatoes- this adds a tangy flavor and lot of zest to the gravy)

In a pan heat over a tbsp of oil, add cumin seeds and the heeng. Once they crackle and release their flavor, add coriander powder and red chilli powder. Stir this and now add the tomatoes pieces. Fry them for 2-3 minutes while stirring and now add the boiled potatoes and fry these. Stir softly. Now add water and bring it to boil. Let this simmer at low heat for five minutes.

Add chopped coriander and this is ready to be served with hot pooris or garma garam Chappatis or Paratha- have your pick!

The best part is that my husband makes it- how nice it is to come back from work and eat something cooked by your husband!

This one never fails! simple and pleasing and adding just 2 ingredients black salt and chaat masala, these sandwiches will sure make your taste buds jump in triumph!

Boil 4 medium size potatoes; chop coriander, green chilies (optional) add salt as per taste, black salt and zeera (cumin powder) Mash and mix and your stuffing is ready.

Spread ghee/butter on both sides of the 2 slices of brown bread and now spread the potato stuffing on one of these slices. Place the other slice on top of this and toast this. Once ready sprinkle a bit of chaat masala on the bread and you snack on!

Made for a perfect lazy Saturday morning breakfast!