Cracked wheat and spinach khichdi

Ingredients

1 cup coarse cracked wheat
3/4 cup yellow moong daal
2 cups spinach chopped roughly
1/2 tsp whole black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
1 sprig curry leaves
1 whole red chilli
2 tbsp clarified butter/ghee
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
5 cups water

Recipe

Pressure cook cracked wheat, moong daal and spinach in 5 cups of water for 3 whistles.
In a small pan, heat oil and clarified butter together on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add cumin and mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add black pepper corns, asafoetida, red chilli. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the cooked cracked wheat.
Add salt to taste.
Drizzle ghee/clarified butter on top(optional).
Serve hot with a pickle of choice.

Idli

Ingredients

1 cup Urad Daal
2 cups Idli rice
1 cup of Regular oats
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
Water as needed
Salt to taste

Recipe

Soak urad daal and fenugreek seeds together in a bowl for 40 minutes. Soak rice and oats in a separate bowl for 1 hr.

Drain and grind urad daal and fenugreek seeds till a smooth fluffy mixture is formed.Use water as needed to aide in grinding.

If a 1/4 tsp of ground urad daal is put in water,it should float and not sink to the bottom.This is when it is done.Keep this aside.

Next, grind idli rice till a coarse mixture is formed. 

Finally, grind the urad daal mixture and rice mixture together with a 1/4 tsp of salt, till everything blends in well.

Put the batter in a tall container and leave it in a warm place for the batter to ferment and rise.It takes approximately 8-10 hrs in a cold climate.During summer it may take much less time.

Once the batter ferments, add required amount of salt to taste(already there is a 1/4 tsp of salt, so be careful while adding more). Mix well.

Take an idli stand. Apply oil/ghee and pour in batter(do not fill batter to the brim,leave some place for the idli to rise while steaming). 

In a cooker/idli steamer, add water and bring it to boil. Put idli stand in and steam for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes take the idli stand out, and let it rest for a minute or so. Use a blunt knife to take idlis out.

Apply ghee on top and serve hot with Sambhar/chutney/spice powder of choice.

Some tips for proper fermentation in cold weather:

• Fill a large container with warm water and place the idli batter container in that. Leave this in a warm place.
• Keep batter in a warm oven. Switch on the oven light.
• Put idli batter container  near the stove while cooking

If batter does not ferment and rise even after doing all this. Make dosa/uttapam with the batter and try again next time.

Kadhai Paneer

Ingredients

7 oz Paneer cut into bite size cubes

2  Medium Carrots cut into Discs

1 Big Green Bell Pepper cut into bite size pieces

1 Medium onion cut into bite size pieces

1 Roma tomatoes cut into bite size pieces

1 inch ginger grated

3 cloves Garlic grated

1 green chilli

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1 tsp crushed Kasuri methi

1 Tbsp tomato paste

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

4-5 mint leaves

Water as needed

3-4 Tbsp oil

Recipe

Add oil into a pan and heat it up.

Once hot, add carrots , saute till tender, remove from pan and keep aside.

Add bell peppers into the same pan, saute till tender , remove from pan and keep aside.

Do the same with onions, when onions are slightly translucent, remove them from pan.

Saute Paneer for 30 seconds and keep aside.

Finally add tomatoes, Saute for a minute. They should not turn mushy. Keep aside.

In the same pan add cumin seeds. once they splutter, add tomato paste,grated ginger,garlic and green chilli. Saute till the raw smell is gone. 

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder,turmeric powder,Kasuri methi, fry for 30 seconds, Add 1/2  cup water to make the paste thinner.(Add more or less depending on the preferred consistency)

Let it come to a boil. once small bubbles appear, add the vegetables and Paneer pieces, salt to taste and Garam masala powder. Mix gently.Finally add mint leaves to garnish on top.

Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes so that the flavors develop.

Serve hot with jeera rice, pulao or Naan.

Tomato rice

Ingredients

 4 Roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 green chilli
1 sprig curry leaves
3 Tbsp mint leaves finely chopped
3 Tbsp cilantro finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Chana daal(Bengal gram)
1/4 tsp urad daal(Black gram)
1/8 tsp hing
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Garam masala
2 Tbsp oil
2 cups of Sona masoori rice
3 cups water
Salt to taste

Recipe

In a rice cooker, cook 2 cups of rice in 3 cups of water. Keep aside.

Heat a pan on medium , add oil .

Once oil is hot, add chana daal.vFry till the color changes to light brown.

Add urad daal,cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Wait till they splutter then add curry leaves and hing.

Add chopped onion, fry till translucent. 

Add chopped garlic,slit green chilli,cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry for 1/2 a minute.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the tomatoes are soft and paste like.

Add tomato paste and saute till the raw smell is gone. 

Add sugar,salt and cooked rice.

Finally add garam masala, mint leaves and cilantro.Mix well

Serve hot.

Lime Rice(Nimmakaya Pulihora)

Ingredients

 1 cup Sona Masoori rice
2 cups water
1 big Lime
1 Tbsp Chana daal
1 Tbsp Urad daal
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Turmeric powder
6 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Recipe

Boil 1 cup rice in 2 cups of water.

Once cooked, add 1 Tbsp of oil, fluff it up with a fork put it in a mixing bowl.

In a frying pan, add the remaining oil and heat it up.

Once the oil is hot add the chana daal, fry till the color slightly changes.

Add urad daal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Fry till the cumin and mustard seeds splutter.

Add Hing, curry leaves, turmeric powder and salt.

Add the oil mixture to the rice in the mixing bowl.

Squeeze out the juice of the lime into the rice bowl.

Mix well.Serve hot.

Spiced Sesame Seeds Powder

Ingredients

1 cup  white sesame seeds
1/2 cup red chillies(add more or less depending upon the spice levels)
Salt to taste

Recipe

Dry roast sesame seeds till the color changes to very light brown.
Dry roast the red chillies for 1/2 a minute
Put the dry roasted sesame seeds,salt  and red chillies into a grinder.
Pulse until everything comes together in the form of a powder. Do not grind continuously. Use pulse mode,Otherwise the oil from the sesame seeds will make the powder mushy.
This powder can be mixed with hot plain white rice and ghee or can be added in curries. It can also be eaten with plain dosa, idli etc.

Masala dosa

Ingredients

For Dosa:

1 cup Urad Daal
3 cups Idli rice
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste

For Potato Curry:

4 medium boiled potatoes
1 medium green chilli chopped finely
1 inch ginger grated
1 tsp urad daal
1 tsp chana daal
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 medium onion sliced
1 sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste

Recipe

The batter:

Soak urad daal, Fenugreek seeds together in bowl of water and rice in another bowl for 4 hours. Grind them together into smooth paste, cover and leave it in a warm place to ferment(should double in volume) overnight. Once the batter ferments mix well and the batter should have the consistency as shown in the picture.

If the batter is too thick, add water. Finally add salt and mix well.Keep aside

The potato curry:

Take a pan and heat it up. 

Add oil,once the oil is warm, add the chana daal and fry till it changes color to light brown. Add urad daal,cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Once they Splutter, add curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, onion, and turmeric. Fry till the onions turn translucent. Add salt. Mash the potatoes and add it to the above mixture.Mix well. The potato curry should look something like in the picture.

The masala dosa:

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan.
Pour a ladle full of batter on the griddle and make a thin crepe.
Once the crepe has dried a bit, add oil all over the crepe and to the edges.
Once the crepe starts turning brown, remove it onto a plate.
Serve hot with the potato curry and chutney of your choice.

Paneer Paratha

 

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 and half cups of water
2 cups Grated Paneer
1 green chilli
1 medium size onion minced
4-5 mint leaves finely chopped
Finely chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt to taste
1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Recipe

Prepare the dough

In a bowl take the whole wheat flour, add water slowly and make a dough. Refer to chapathi/phulka post to know how to make a dough. Keep the prepared dough aside for at least 10 minutes.

Prepare the filling

Heat a pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds

After cumin seeds splutter, add grated paneer chilli, minced onion, mint leaves,cilantro,lime juice, salt garam masala powder and ginger.Keep sauteing till excess moisture gets evaporated.This is to make sure the paneer mixture is dry.

Prepare the paratha

Heat a Tawa/pan. Make equal number of balls of the dough and paneer mixture. The balls should be of same size. Take a dough ball and roll out a small chapathi. Stuff paneer into the chapathi and close the edges of the rolled chapathi together to make a ball again. Dust the stuffed ball in dry wheat flour and roll out gently to make a paratha. put the paratha on the tawa and wait till the paratha changes color. flip it to the other side and cook.keep pressing the paratha with the spatula. once brown spots appear, drizzle oil/butter on the paratha and cook till a golden brown color is seen on both sides. Serve hot with Raita and pickle or a curry

Gutti Vankaya(Stuffed Eggplant)

Ingredients

7-8 small Indian eggplants
2-3 tbsp oil
1 cup of Kura podi(Lentil spice mixture)
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp of tamarind paste

Recipe

Wash and clean the eggplants.
Take an eggplant retain the green stem and make a cross cut on the opposite side.
Stuff the eggplant with the lentil spice mixture.
Heat a pan and add oil.
Add the stuffed eggplants into pan once the oil is hot.
Cover and cook on medium low heat.

Sprinkle water on to the pan if it looks like the eggplants are getting burnt and again cover and cook.
Repeat the above two steps till the eggplants are tender soft and completely cooked.
To know if the eggplants are cooked, press the area under the green stem on the eggplant with the back of a spoon.It should be soft to touch.
Take a bowl and add the tamarind paste and some water to make the consistency thin.
Sprinkle this tamarind water on to the cooked eggplants.
Serve hot with rice.

Quick Spinach Saute

Quick Spinach Saute

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen spinach
1 small red onion finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger grated
2 Thai chillies finely chopped
1/2 tsp of urad daal/black gram
1/2 tsp of chana daal/bengal gram
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
5-6 curry leaves chopped
1 Tbs of oil
Salt to taste

Recipe:

Heat a pan and add oil.
Once oil is hot add chana daal, urad daal, asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry till the color changes to light brown.
Add curry leaves, grated ginger, chopped green chillies and fry for a minute.
Add finely chopped onion and saute till they turn translucent.
Add chopped spinach and saute till the leaves wilt.
Add salt to taste.
Serve hot with rice/phulka.

Phulka- Flat Bread made with Whole Wheat Flour

Phulka

Ingredients

1 cup of whole wheat flour(Makes 5 medium sized phulkas)
3/4 cup of water
1 tsp of oil
Butter/oil to apply on top

Recipe

Add the Whole wheat flour into a bowl.

Add dry flour to a bowl

Slowly add water to the dry flour and keep mixing.
After mixing in all the water the dough should look something like below.

Mix in water to the flour

Knead the dough for a minimum of 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes it should look soft and smooth, something like below

Soft and smooth dough after kneading for 5 minutes

The dough should not be too hard  or too soft  (it should not be sticking to the hands).
Drizzle 2-3 drops of oil on the dough,spread it evenly.
Cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

Cover and rest

After 10 minutes, knead the dough for half a minute and make balls of equal size

Make balls

Heat up a flat griddle/Tawa . Medium-high is the usual setting that i use. A really hot griddle is the secret behind a good phulka.

Take one ball and dust it in dry whole wheat flour

Dust in dry flour

Start rolling with the help of a rolling pin.
Make sure that the thickness is even. If the phulka is uneven, then it may not fluff up.

Roll it even and flat

Put it on the hot tawa/griddle.

Put it on the hot tawa

Once the color starts to change and there are some brown spots on the bottom of phulka , flip it and let the other side cook for couple of seconds till some brown spots appear.

Flip once brown spots appear

Once the second side also gets brown spots,put it directly on the flame or here, i am using a steel mesh over an electric coil. This mesh can also be used on flame.

Put it directly on flame

Once the phulka puffs up turn it to the other side and keep it on for couple of seconds so that there are no uncooked spots.

Puffs up

Take off the flame and put it on a plate.
Apply oil/ghee on top and cover it with a tissue paper. This step can be ignored by health conscious people.

Stacked up phulkas

Serve hot with curry/daal/raita.

Anapakaya nuvvula podi kura(Bottle gourd with Sesame seeds powder curry)

Bottle gourd with sesame seed powder

Ingredients

1 medium size bottle gourd
1 cup of sesame seed powder(Recipe here)
1 tsp of chana daal
1 tsp of urad daal
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 dry red chilli
Pinch of hing
Sprig of curry leaves
2 Tbsps of oil(olive/canola/vegetable)
1 cup water to cook the bottle gourd

Recipe

Heat pan and add oil and warm it up.
Once oil is hot add chana daal, urad daal, asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry till the color changes to light brown.
Add red chilli, curry leaves.
Add chopped bottle gourd 1/2 cup of water.
Cover it and cook till bottle gourd is completely cooked. It usually takes around 10-15 minutes on medium heat.
Keep an eye on bottle gourd and make sure to mix it couple of times in between.
Once bottle gourd is completely cooked add the sesame seed powder.
Mix well and serve with hot white rice.

Spinach moong daal

Spinach Moong daal

Ingredients

3 cups of finely chopped spinach
1/2 cup of yellow moong daal
2 table spoons of sambhar powder
1/2 table spoon of tamarind paste
salt to taste
1/2 tea spoon of mustard seeds
1/2 tea spoon of cumin seeds
Pinch of hing
1 dry red chilli
1 sprig of curry leaves
2 table spoons of olive/canola/vegetable oil

Recipe

Heat a pan.
Add oil and warm it up.
Add mustard and cumin seeds. let them splutter.
Add red chillies,curry leaves and hing.
Add the finely chopped Spinach.
Saute till all the water evaporates from Spinach.
Once Spinach looks done, add the turmeric powder and Sambhar powder.
Saute for a minute.
Now add the cooked moong daal into the spinach mixture. (pressure cook moong daal for 3 whistles)
Take tamarind paste and add some water to thin it down.Fresh tamarind can also be used instead of paste. Take a lemon ball size tamarind. Let it soak for couple of minutes in water and squeeze the pulp out.
Add 1 cup of water and simmer for 4-5 mins.
Serve hot with Rice/Phulka/chapathi.