Rice made With Spinach and Mustard Cress

This can be safely called Indian Risotto, our own Khichdi which is considered a death dish in the popular Masterchef  Cookery show. For people in our country this is a daily preparation, almost like a staple diet.

My khichdi though is a little different and a healthier version of the dish, since I have used brown rice, loads of spinach and mustard cress which grew so well in  my kitchen pot. I have skipped the pickle and papad too.

Ingredients

1 cup brown basmati rice,1 cup pigeon pea lentil ( toor dal ) Pressure cooked to three whistles with a small spoon of turmeric powder, a small spoon of salt, a pinch of asefoetida.
4 green chillies slit
1 bunch of spinach chopped roughly
Lots of mustard cress, just roughly torn
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder for tempering

Method

Take a wide bottomed pan and make a tempering of mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder, add the slit green chillies, then add the mustard cress and the spinach, let this saute well, then add the rice and lentil mixture, salt to taste, lemon juice and stir and mix well. Se that its consistency is a little soft and flowy. You can add water if required. Once done serve in a bowl topped with a spoon of clarified butter, like you can see in the picture. You can choose to have it with papad and pickle too.

Exotic Vegetables in Alfredo Sauce

I truly love this dish and relish the creamy cheesy preparation and every time I eat it, I like it more and more.

Ingredients

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1.2 cup fresh cream
4 crushed garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of crushed peppercorns
1 tspoon of mixed herbs
1 tspoon of chilli flakes
Salt if you feel the need
Milk 2 cups
2 table spoons of corn flour (mixed in a bowl of milk, see that there are no lumps)
A block of craft cheese to grate on top
Butter as required
Olive oil as required

1/2 cup, 1/2  brocolli and cauliflower, medium sized  florets removed intact ( Parboiled and kept ready)
1 each of red and yellow bell pepper chopped into medium sized squares
1/2 cup zuchini , green and yellow, chopped onto medium sized pieces
6 spinach leaves stalks removed and roughly torn into halves

In a pan take some olive oil, saute the bell peppers, zuchini and the spinach till almost cooked. add the broccoli and cauliflower, add some salt pepper powder and keep ready.


First in a pan heat some butter, add crushed garlic let it turn light brown, add milk, pepper powder and stir for a bit, add salt and grated parmesan cheese and the fresh cream, mixed herbs, chilli flakes, when there is a boil then ad the corn flour mix, stirring well to see there are no lumps, in abit add all the vegetables and mix well, remove in a pan which can be kept in the oven. Now grate some craft cheese over it, sprinkle some pepper powder and chilli flakes , keep it in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes till a nice crust forms over the mixture. Svour it as is or with Herbed rice or garlic bread. 

Smoothie made of Musk Melon and Kiwi

I made the drink and decorated the plate, put this flower which I brought from the garden. My husband asks me whether I used the flower in the recipe! No, I did not. This was only for the presentation purpose. So, the flower is only to beautify my drink, no idea whether is is edible or not. 

Ingredients

1/2 glass of milk
2 walnuts
1/2 cup musk melon pieces
1/2 a cup kiwi pieces
4 dates soaked for an hour and deseeded

Method

Blend all the ingredients in a blender to a smooth paste. It is a smoothie, so the thickness can be adjusted according to your taste .Chill and enjoy.

Raw Mango Sweet and Sour Chutney

A delicious colourful sweet sour chutney which is made with fresh raw mangoes and can be savoured with bread, roti, curd rice and also with lunch basically as a side.I remember my mom very promptly refilling the bowl of chutney every time we polished it off.

Ingredients

2 raw mangoes grated
1 tablespoon of grated jaggery
1/2 a tspoon of dry roasted mustard seeds
1/4 tspoon of dry roasted fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste
5-6 leaves of mustard cress
1  small spoon of chilli powder
Salt to taste

You need a tempering made of oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder and asefoetida, I have chosen to skip it though. 

My chutney has a garnish of lovely mustard cress from my tiny balcony, the bite of this gives a pungent, peppery heat to the palate.


Method

You just need to grind all the above ingredients to a not so fine paste, except the tempering which will be used as a topping after the chutney is transferred into the serving bowl. Enjoy friends till the season lasts.

This one is a Fruity Nutty Cool Spinach Drink.

 To make this you need
  
5- 6 spinach leaves
 4 soaked almonds
 2 soaked walnuts
 1/2 cup pomogranate seeds
1tablespoon of rose water
Salt to taste
 Sugar to taste 
 A pinch  of pepper powder

Grind all ingredients to a thick consistency. Remove in a tall glass, add one spoon of rosewater, decorate with pomagranate seeds. Enjoy on a hot summer afternoon.

Sev Dahi Batata Puri 

Save the routine chapati bhaji for the next day and have this dish as a tongue tickler for a change!! I do this sometimes when making and eating the same old stuff actually gets too boring. 

Ingredients

Puris which are used for making Paani Puri, number as required
2 boiled and roughly mashed potatoes with a little bit of salt
2 cups of pressure cooked sprouted green gram, that is moong, salt aded for taste,
Chopped fresh coriander for garnish
1 big bowl of yogurt in which salt has been mixed, some people like the yogurt sweet, for them there is the option of mixing sugar in it.
Thin variety of plain sev

Two chutneys are used in this 
Chutney 1
Grind together 1 bunch of fresh coriander, 1 onion, 1/2 a tomato, 1/4 cup grated raw mango, 4 garlic cloves, few leaves of mint, 1 inch ginger, salt to taste and 4 green chillies. Make a paste and keeep ready.

Chutney 2
Grind together 4 soaked, deseeded dates, 2 spoons of tamarind pulp, 1 spoon of cumin powder, salt to taste. Make a fine paste and keep ready.

Method

In a serving plate spread the puris, make pockets in each puri by breaking the upper portion, fill some sprouted green gram, some potato,  little bit of both the chutneys, fill them all with yogurt. Now sprinkle little of both chutneys again, sprinkle sev on all the puris, garnish with coriander and serve the plate full of pleasure. 

Simple yet tasty vegetable made out of Carrots

Ingredients

250 gms of carrots to be cleaned and grated
1/2 cup split green gram washed and drained
4 green chillies
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander for garnishing
Oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder and asefoetida for tempering

Method

In a kadhai take oil, add mustard seeds, let them splutter, then add little turmeric powder, little asefoetida, the chopped green chillies, saute a bit and add the grated carrots, mix well, add the split green gram lentil, add salt, 1 cup water and cook covered, keep stirring and cook till the lentil turns soft and also the carrot gets cooked, keep adding water in between if needed. The vegetable is done when the water in it dries up, but still it is moist enough to be ennjoyed  with roti.I was lucky enough to find the coriander flower to garnish my vegetable. It added colour and aroma to the dish.

A seasonal yummy easy dessert

This has Alphonso mangoes, Palmyra palm fruit (Tadgola in Marathi) and Lychee too. There are basil seeds, sago pearls, garden cress seeds and fresh cream to add to the delightful fruits.

Ingredients

1 mango
3 lychees
2 palmyra palm fruits
1 tspoon of basil seeds
1 tspoon of garden cress seeds
2 tspoons of sago pearls
2 tspoons of sugar

Method

First of all you need to soak the sago pearls and the other two seeds for about an hour. Boil all together with little water, see that it is not too runny, add a little sugar, keep this aside to cool.

Take a serving plate which is wide and a little deep, make a bed of chopped mango, palm fruit, lychees, now spread fresh cream over this, add the boiled and cooled mixture of the three ingredients, serve chilled.

Gavaarichi Bhaji, vegetable made out of Cluster Beans and Niger Seeds.

Ingredients

250 gms gavaar or cluster beans, cleaned and roughly broken into pieces as shown in the picture, with very little water, pressure cooked to only one whistle
1/2 cup niger seeds, in marathi they are called kaarla,they are small black long seeds and we use them to make dry chutney powder
2 table spoons of grated jaggery
Salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
1 tea spoon goda masala

Method

In a kadhai take little oil, add mustard seeds once they crackle add a pinch of asafoetida and a small spoon of turmeric powder. Then add the cluster beans, stir for a bit and add all other ingredients and cook covered. Does not take too long because the beans are already cooked, you only need to see that all the ingredients mix well, the jaggery melts and you get an aroma of the cooked vegetable. Now it is ready to be served garinshed with fresh coriander, with hot rotis.

Vegetable Paratha with a twist of cherry tomatoes and mustard sauce.

Parathas, the variety is endless and have learnt so much from my friends in a food group.

I would like to present one of my creations which I tried today for breakfast. My obsession for chillies!! I eat the parathas rolled with the chutney smeared on them, as shown in picture. I call them the Fiery Cigars. You can see the chilli I have drawn with the chutney on the side of the tray.

Ingredients

First step
2 and a 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup split bengal gram flour ( Besan)
1 big potato boiled and mashed
4 cherry tomatoes chopped into fours
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated beetroot
1/2 cup mashed cottage cheese
2 tspoons of mustard sauce
Salt to taste

Second step
Tempering made by heating 3 tablespoons of oil, adding 1 tspoon turmeric powder, 1 tiny spoon of asefotida, 6 green chillies finely chopped.
Method
Add all the ingredients from the first step mixing well, mashing the cherry tomatoes softly to mix them well with the other ingredients, once all the ingredients are mixed well, add the tempering which is prepared and mix to make a dough for parathas without adding any water as far as possible since there is so much moisture in the form of various ingredients. In place of amchur there is mustard sauce used which will make gives the sourness and the tempered chilli will give it the required heat. keep the dough to rest for about less than half an hour, after smearing a little oil on it and keep it covered.

Now make equal sized balls, roll them out and roast them well on both sides on a pan with clarified butter.

Akshay Tritiya Special --- Koshimbeer, Panha


Panha that is raw mango juice, Daalichi koshimbeer which can be called a salad, is made of  soaked  split bengal gram lentil and raw mango again. 

In summer when raw mango is available in plenty, this is an offering given to God in many Hindu homes. Specially on the festival of Akshay Tritiya this holds a special place in all our kitchens. Ladies are invited for a small get together called Haldi Kunku. They are given a snack together with the above mentioned dishes. An auspicious day spent together.

In my earlier blog I have given the recipe of the raw mango juice and today I will share the recipe of the Koshimbeer.

Ingredients

 2 cups chana dal or split bengal gram lentil, soaked for 3-4 hours and ground coarsely.

1/2 raw mango grated

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

3 dry red chillies

Finely chopped coriander for garnishing

For the Koshimbeer we use chana dal which is soaked for 3-4 hours and then water is drained off, It is ground coarsely in mixi. In this salt to taste, scraped fresh coconut, grated raw mango are added and mixed well.

 Tempering is done with oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asefoetida, and pieces of dry red chill, mixed well, garnished with finely chopped coriander. It is an accompaniment in your meals or can be had as a snack too.

Kokum Sharbat  ( Juice of  Garcinia Indica ) 

As the month of May approaches and the sun really starts burning down on you, this drink prevents you from having nausea, headaches and keeps you cool. 

This is made of a fruit called Kokum or Amsol in Maharashtra and is widely used in curries and many other dishes as a souring agent. it is also used in coastal curries all over india.

This can be made with the fruit which is dried and preserved by adding rock salt and is available in the market. The concentrate is also available which can be diluted in chilled water and had as a drink.
What I have done here is, boiled 5-6 kokums in three glasses of water with salt, sugar as per taste, people who can not have sugar can take it only with salt too, and cumin powder as required and strained it into glasses. U can chill this and have it.

Aloo Methi

Ingredients


3 potatoes boiled and peeled, chopped into squares
1 bunch methi, cleaned and finely chopped
1 spoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
3 tspns oil, a pinch of hing and a small spoon of haldi for tempering

Method
In a kadhai make tempering with oil, jeera, haldi and hing, put in the methi, stir well till cooked, add the potatoes, salt and chilli powder mix well cook for a bit and serve with roti or phulkas.

Egg Chutney Sandwich

This dish is the result of an unexpected experi-mental attempt, on a suggestion from my husband who is a fan of the green chutney. I was highly bored to cook, there were hardly any ingredients at home, what with maids on a holiday and no time to shop! Saw a few eggs,  a pack of whole wheat bread, some  fresh coriander and the thought of a dish came and was executed with success of the dish being tasty. Then came the thought of sharing with all of you.

Chutney is the combination of 1 bunch of coriander, few leaves of mint, a squeeze of lime, 6 green chillies, 4 garlic cloves, a piece of ginger, salt to taste and a big tomato roughly chopped. All this to be made into a chutney.

4 boiled eggs chopped into thin long pieces. 

Take each slice of bread, spread the chutney on it, arrange pieces of eggs and make the sandwich. Yummy dinner ready. 

Misal Pav

Misal Pav is a very tasty tongue tickler, which can be had at any time of the day, for breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner. A full meal in itself. A little indulgent yes, but nutritious too. I have skipped the pav and had it with brown whole wheat bread, which claims to be less harmful than the pav made of fine flour. Home made is the best no doubt, but this is available all over Mumbai, at the roadside stalls, small eateries and also a few restaurants which serve authentic regional cuisine. 

Ingredients

Ingredients

2 cups of sprouted Matki ( Moth Beans ) Pressure cooked to two whistles
2 onions finely chopped, 1 roughly chopped for grinding
4 green chillies
6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger chopped
1 tomato roughly chopped
1/2 cup grated dry coconut
1 smal spoon of turmeric powder
2 tspoons of tamarind pulp
1 small bunch of coriander finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 tspoons of saar masala

To Make the misal you need  mixed farsaan,  thin variety of sev and some chopped onion, chillies finely chopped and finely chopped coriander, lime pieces to squeeze on top.

Method

In a mixer jar take 1 roughly chopped onion, ginger, garlic, coconut, tomato, chillies, turmeric powder, tamarind paste, some coriander and grind to a fine paste. Keep this ready.

 In a deep bottomed pan take some oil, add the 2 finely chopped onions, add some turmeric powder, saute till golden brown, then add the ground paste, add  salt, the saar masala, cook till it leaves the sides of the pan, add the cooked matki, add water and let it boil and cook well till it forms  a nice gravy. Add water only if required. 

Once the curry or usal is ready, in a bowl, take some usal, farsaan, finely chopped onion, chillies, and mix well, remove in a serving plate and garnish with some onion, sev and chopped coriander, add a dah of lime finally if you like it a bit more sour, savour it as it is or with whole wheat bread or pav. the choice is yours.