Tricolour salad

So, this week we have reached a milestone in our Facebook page with 1000+ likes!!Yayyyyy 🙂 🙂 

That’s a great news and achievement to celebrate. It has been great year in blogging and I am looking forward to the years to come. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the followers for the support:)

This Tri-colour salad recipe is a tribute to our country on the Independence Day which just passed by. The colour of the ingredients kind of represents our National Flag. It is easy to prepare with minimal ingredients and process.

Ingredients:
Couscous – ¾ cup
Carrot – 1 (grated or chopped as strips)
Chickpeas – 100g ( I used the chickpeas which comes in tin, drained the water for making salad)
Capsicum – 1
Coriander leaves – few chopped finely
Chilli flakes – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice

Method:
1. Bring 1 cup water to boil in a pan, add salt, ½ tsp oil and couscous and close the pan with a lid
2. Cook couscous in low flame for 3-5 mins. Switch off the stove and let it cool for 2 mins. Stir the cooked couscous with a fork and leave it aside
3. Chop carrot into thin slices or grate it. Also chop capsicum into small cubes

4. Mix all the ingredients, except lemon juice, mentioned above just before serving
5. Squeeze a bit for lemon juice whilst serving

Note:
1. Be careful not to overcook couscous as it really takes much lesser time than rice or pasta.

2. You can replace chilli flakes with crushed black pepper or maybe omit it according to your taste

3. You can also sauté capsicum in oil for 2-5 mins and add it to salad if you don’t want to eat it raw

Instant Onion Ragi Dosa

Instant ragi dosa is an easy and quick to make breakfast/ dinner which is nutritious and healthy. It doesn’t require much preparation like soaking or grinding and can be made with the ingredients at home.

Ingredients:

Makes: 6- 8 dosa

Time: Max. 20 mins

Ragi flour – 1 cup

Wheat flour – 1/2 cup

Salt – as needed for dosa batter

Onion – 1 big (chopped finely)

Green chillies – 2 (chopped finely)

Mustard – 1 tsp

Oil – for tempering and for making dosa

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add mustard and let it splutter. Then add green chillies and switch off the stove.
2. Mix ragi and wheat flour in a bowl, add 1.5 cups of water and mix it well so that the batter isn’t without lumps.
3.  Add onion, salt and tempered ingredients in step 1 and mix the batter well. The batter should be a bit runny unlike normal dosa batter (like rava dosa batter). See below image for consistency.

4. Heat dosa tawa and pour a ladle of batter like you do for rava dosa. Add some oil for the dosa to cook.

5. When the dosa is cooked on one side (as in second pic above), flip it over. Add some oil and let it cook for 2 mins. You could cook it in medium to high flame. Be careful not to burn the dosa.

6. Follow the same procedure for rest of the batter and serve it with chutney/ sambar.

 

Note:

1. You could make the dosa batter consistency as thick as well but I like it the way I have described. It takes a bit longer for dosa to cook if the batter is thick and also doesn’t cook well in the middle.
2. The colour of dosa is dark because of colour of ragi flour.
3. You could add little rice flour for more crispy dosa.

Vegetable Kohlapuri

Vegetable Kohlapuri is a no-so-time consuming simple dish from Maharashtra cuisine. It is full of goodness with lots of vegetables and spices.

 

 

Ingredients:

Potato – 2 (sliced into cubes)

Mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peas) – 1 cup

Paneer cubes – 1/2 cup

Oil/ghee – 3 tbsp

Onion –  2 medium sized (chopped finely)

Tomato – 1 medium sized

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Cumin  1 tsp

Garam masala powder – 2 tsp

Cumin powder  – 1/2 tsp

Coriander – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp (or more according to taste)

Water – 1 cup

For masala:

Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup

Black peppercorns- 8 to 10

Cinnamon – 1 inch stick

Cloves – 4

Sesame seeds – 1.5 tsp

Cashews – 6

Method:

1. Roast cinnamon, black peppercorns and cloves in a pan until you get nice aroma. Then add coconut and sesame seeds and roast for 2 mins.
2. Let the mixture cool and grind it along with cashews in a mixer jar. Add little water and make it to paste.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and let it splutter. Now add onion and fry it until it becomes translucent. Add tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Cook it until tomatoes become mushy.
4. Add in cumin powder, coriander powder and 1/4 cup water. Close the pan with a lid and let it boil for 3-4 mins. If the gravy becomes add little water.
5. At this stage, add garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric powder and all vegetables. Close the lid and allow the gravy to boil for 10 mins.
6. Finally add paneer and cook for 5 mins. Add salt and serve with roti/paratha 🙂

 

 

Dal Alamgiri

Dal Alamgiri is a Mughal dish which I recently came across in a TV show and I want to try it instantly. It’s very rich, creamy and aromatic dish made with black whole urad dal. It requires some preparation ahead of cooking as the dal needs overnight (7-8 hours) soaking.

 

Ingredients:

Serves: 2

Black urad dal – 1 cup

Ghee – 3 tbsp

Onion – 2, finely chopped

Ginger (chopped) – 3 tbsp

Red chilli powder – 2 tsp

Coriander – 1.5 tbsp

Milk – 1/2 cup

Thick cream – 1/4 cup

Hung curd/ Thick greek yogurt – 150 g

Coriander leaves – for garnish

For powder:

Cinnamon – 2 small sticks

Green cardamom – 5 to 6

Black cardamom – 4

Cloves – 4

Method:

1. Soak black urad overnight and drain water. Rub few dal in hand to remove it’s black skin. Add 3 cups water for 1 cup dal and add 1 tsp ghee and cook for 10 whistles. And then rest for 20 minutes. Drain excess water.
2. Heat a pan, add cinnamon, cardamom, black cardamom, cloves and dry roast for 3 mins. Cool it and grind as a powder in mixer.
3. Heat pan and add 3 tsp ghee, add chopped onion and cook till translucent.
4. Add 1.5 tbsp coriander powder and 2 tsp chilli powder and cook for 5 mins.
5. Add cooked dal and blend well. Add salt. Pour in milk and cream and let in boil in low flame for 15 min with lid of pan closed.
6. Then add hung curd. Leave it to boil for sometime.
7. Finally, add ground powder, chopped ginger and coriander leaves. Switch off the stove

Enjoy with roti/paratha 🙂

Instant Quinoa dosa

Quinoa is a super food which is very nutritious, high in protein. It is also a good source of magnesium and phosphorous; essential minerals not found in many foods. It is also called Foxtail Millet, seemai thinai in tamil, and available in most of the supermarkets in UK. This dosa is very easy to make and takes less preparation time.

 

 

Ingredients:

Preparation time: 20 mins

Makes 12 dosa

White Quinoa – 2 cups (400g)

Green chillies – 3

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Water (to grind) – 1.5 to 2 cups

Rice flour – just over 1/4 cup

Salt – as required to prepare batter

Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Take quinoa in a bowl and wash it in running water thoroughly so that the layer lining quinoa is removed. It is very important to do this step as this layer gives bitterness if used without washing.
2. Soak washed quinoa in water for 20-30 mins. Water level should be just over level of quinoa. Note that quinoa doesn’t absorb water and hence more water is not required.
3. Drain water after the specified time and put in a blender. Grind it with other ingredients except baking powder into smooth paste.
4. Transfer it to a bowl and mix baking powder. Make sure the batter is not runny. Consistency should be like normal dosa batter.
5. Rest the batter for 10 mins.
6. Meanwhile, heat dosa pan; spread a ladle of batter in pan and add some oil or ghee to make dosa crispy.

Serve it hot with onion chutney 🙂

Restaurant style Kaara chutney

Kaara chutney is a great accompaniment for dosa, idly and paniyaram. This recipe tastes exactly like restaurant style chutney which is very easy to prepare. Takes less than 15 mins to make with minimal ingredients available at every household.

 

Ingredients:

Oil – 2 tbsp

Urad dal – 3 tsp

Onion – 2

Tomato – 4 medium sized

Garlic – 2 cloves

Ginger – 3.4 inch piece

Red chillies (long) – 4 or 5 depending on taste

Salt – to taste

To temper:

Oil – 2 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – few

Method:

1. Chop onion and tomato into cubes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add urad dal and cloves. Saute until it turns golden brown.
3. Now add onion and fry until becomes transparent. Add tomato and saute until becomes mushy.
4. Finally add red chillies and ginger. Saute for 2 mins. Let the mixture cool,add salt and grind it into smooth paste.
5. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, let it splutter and turn off the flame. Add curry leaves and combine it with chutney.

Enjoy with hot dosa/idly.

 

Potato peas Kurma

Potato peas kurma is one of my favourite dish. There are 2 reasons for this dish being my favourite. One is the flavour, aroma and taste and the other is, it was prepared by my husband. My husband has always been my inspiration in cooking and he is a great cook than me.

This dish is suitable to be served with chappathi and paratha.

 

 

Potatoes – 2 large chopped roughly

Peas – 1/2 cup

Onion – 1 small sized finely chopped

Tomato – 1 medium sized finely chopped

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 and 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – just to garnish

Salt – to taste

To temper:

Oil – 2 tsp

Bay leaf – 1

Cloves -2

Cardamom – 2 (optional)

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch piece

To grind:

Coconut – 5 tbsp

Cashews – 10

Green Chilli -1

Fennel Seeds – 1 heaped tsp

Poppy Seeds – 1 tsp

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Garlic – 2 cloves

Method:

1. Peel the skin from potatoes,chop it as cubes. Set it aside

2. Grind the ingredients in ‘to grind’ smooth paste

3. In a pressure cooker, heat oil – add the items listed under ‘to temper’

4. Then add onion saute till it becomes transparent then add tomatoes and saute till mushy and raw smell leaves

5. Then add red chilli,coriander and garam masala powders.Add potatoes and peas and saute for 2 mins

6. Add required salt.Then add 2 cups of water

7. Cook for 2 whistles.Open the cooker and add the paste prepared in step 2. Then add 2 tsp oil, reduce the flame to low and let it simmer until the gravy becomes thicker. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Cornmeal dosa

Cornmeal or polenta (as it is called in UK) is coarse flour of corn. Corn meal dosa is a nice variation to traditional dosa and can be prepared easily and instantly. It doesn’t require prior preparation or fermentation as in traditional dosa. Goes well with any chutney and can be served for breakfast or dinner.

 

 

Ingredients:

Makes 12 dosa

Corn meal – 1 cup

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Rice flour – 1/4 cup (optional)

Green chillies – 3 (chopped)

Curry leaves and coriander leaves – few

Onion – 1 big finely chopped

Salt – as needed

Water – as required to prepare batter

Method:

1. Mix cornmeal, wheat flour and rice flour in a bowl and mix it well. (Rice flour is purely optional)
2. To this, add other ingredients and mix well. Now add enough water to prepare batter. Just more than 2.5 cups water should be enough to prepare batter.
3. Heat dosa tawa and pour a ladle of batter and spread it slightly to make dosa bigger. The batter may not be able to spread like normal dosa.
4. Add oil and cook it for 2 mins or until it is golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side.
5. Serve the dosa hot with chutney/sambar.

Oats Crackers Recipe

Oats crackers or cookies is a very healthy way to snack. It is very easy to bake with minimal ingredients available at home. It is a savoury cookie flavoured with Cinnamon, which gives it a nice distinctive flavour.

You could easily recipe cinnamon with different spices/seasonings.

 

 
Ingredients:

Porridge oats – 60g
Wheat flour – 65g
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1-2 tbsp
Water – 60 ml
Cooking oil or olive oil – 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Take porridge oats and sugar in a mixer jar and grind it into coarse powder
2. Transfer the powder into a mixing bowl, add salt, wheat flour, cinnamon powder and mix it well
3. Add oil to it and mix it to get a crumbly consistency
4. Now add water in small quantities and knead it into soft dough
5. Grease a baking tray with oil or line it a baking sheet. Pre heat oven at 180 deg C For 10 mins
6. Roll the dough into 3mm thickness and make into desired shapes
7. Place the cut cookies in baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins.

Mine was done in approx. 12 mins. Make sure you take it off the oven when it starts becoming light brown or it will be burnt easily
8. Cool the cookies and store it in air tight container

Mixed dal recipe

This mixed dal/ lentil dish is very easy to make with minimal ingredients available in all Indian houses. It is very flavorful and healthy at the same time. It goes well with Chappathi and rice.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Serves: 2

Toor Dal – 1/2 cup

Red lentils-1/2 cup

Split Green peas – 1/2 cup

Tomatos-1

Tamarind- half a lemon size

Red chilli powder-1 spoon

Onion – 1

Salt – to taste

Coriander leaves – a tiny bunch

To Temper:

Oil – 3 spoons

Dry red chillies-2

Cumin seeds – 1 spoon

Mustard seed – 1 spoon

Urid Dal – 1 spoon

Chana Dal – 1 spoon

Hing – a pinch

Curry leaves – few

Ginger garlic paste – 1.5 tsp

Coriander seed -1 spoon

Turmeric – ¼ spoon

Method:

1. Take the dal into pressure cooker and add water, tamarind, tomato pieces and close the lid. Let it cook for 6-7 whistles.
2. Now heat the oil in a pan and add red chillies, cumin, mustard, urid dal and Chana dal and let them splutter. Then add hing and curry leaves.
3. Add the sliced onion and fry it for 5 minutes. Then add turmeric, ginger garlic paste and coriander seeds.Fry for a minute.
4. Add the dal to this tempering and add red chilli powder and salt, let it cook for another 2 minutes. And finally add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.