Pasta

This is another of our favourites and it's just too simple to make. I make this for dinner whenever D is not there for dinner cause he doesn't like pasta, noodles, pizza etc for dinner - he likes proper dal-chawal-roti wala dinner.

I made this last night as he had to go to his Team dinner at work.

Ingredients:

Pasta- 500gm

Tomato & basil pesto (or normal tomato paste if pesto is not available)- 50gms

spinach- a cereal bowl full finely chopped ( or more if you like - I love it)

corainder- one bunch finely chopped

Garlic- 3 cloves finely chopped ( we get really big garlics here so adjust accordingly)

cream- 100-150ml

cheese- a cereal bowl full ( grated)

Olive oil- 2tbsp.

Onions- 1 finely chopped

tomato- 1 finely chopped

ground black pepper- as per taste

Method:

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the pack with little oil and salt. Drain the water when done, but still firm. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan ( I sometimes use butter instead of oil and it tastes great). Add garlic. Once it gets slightly reddish, add onions and cook till they turn golden brown. Add the pesto or tomato paste. Keep stirring till oil seperates. Add the cream and let it boil till the oil floats.

Turn off the heat and immediately add the pasta, spinach, tomatoes, coriander, pepper and cheese. Cover. Its done.

Since I am a little lazy when it comes to cooking, I add the cheese together with that. But actually it should be added on the top after mixing everything else and should go in the oven untill the cheese starts melting ( according to the original recipe which was given to me by a chef friend). But I just mix it all together and for the kids, I add extra cheese on the top when serving them and put their bowls in the microwave for a few seconds. Still tastes great.

You can adjust the pepper as per your taste, but I like when theres lots of it so I add it generously. You can also add brocolli along with spinach to make it more nutritious. I just love spinach to I add lots and lots of it.

Beetroot Raita

Grate half beetroot. Add 500ml thick yogurt and some salt. Mix. Take 2tsp oil in a heavy bottom small pan and heat it on high. Add 1/2tsp jeers(cumin seeds) and 1/2 tsp rai(mustard seeds). When it splutters, add a few curry leaves. turn off the heat and immediately pour it over the yogurt and beetroot mix.

It tastes great and can be used as a DIP with chips too.

Veg Fried rice

I made this for the pot-luck dinner last night. And the host made the yogurt raita to go with it. I enjoy eating it without any accompaniments, just with some green chillies in vinegar.

Short grain rice - 3 cups ( I didn't get short grain so used the sona-masoori)

mixed veges- 500 gms ( I used the forzen ones from th super market - I am just too lazy to chop them all)beans, carrot, peas,corn.

Green capsicum- 1 finely chopped

Spring onions - 2 bunches finely chopped

cabbage- 1/4 finely chopped( we get really big cabbages here)

green chillies - 3 finely chopped

garlic- 3 cloves finely chopped

Soy sauce- 4 tbsp

chilli sauce- 3 spoons

tomato sauce- 2 tbsp

black pepper pdr- 2 tspoons

Ajinomoto( chinese salt) - 1/2 tsp

oil - 3 tbsp

Soak rice for half hour in lots of water. Put 1-2tbsp cooking oil and salt and keep it on stove. Let it boil and one its almost done, drain the rest of the water and keep it aside to cool.

In a pan/wok, add 2-3 tbsp oil on high heat. Put the chopped garlic. Stir fry for a minute, add half of spring onions and capsicum. Keep stiring otherwise it gets burnt due to high heat. Once that look a little soft, add cabbage. Keep stiring. once thats softened a bit, add the rest of the frozen mix veges and stir till that looks 3/4th done. Add all the sauces, pepper, ajinomoto and salt. Cook on high for few more minutes untill done.

Mix it with the cooked rice and add the rest of the spring onions on the top and mix again slightly.

aloo paratha

I made this for the lunch box yesterday.



Boiled four potatoes. Peeled. Chopped roughly. In pan, took very little ( 2 tsp) oil, added little jeera and rai. Then added 1 finely chopped onion. When the onion turned golden brown, added the potatoes, red chilli pdr, turmeric pdr, salt, I didn't have coriander in the fridge, but it tastes good if you chop some coriander and put in it. I didn't add green chillies either as the 2B's wouldn't be able to eat it otherwise add those too. fry for a minute or two and then mash it nicely and let it cool in a bowl. Kneed a real soft dough from 2cups wheat flour. Make it as soft as you can roll. That't the trick if you don't want the potatoes mix to come out of the paratha while rolling and also to ensure even distribution. I learnt it too late ( very recently) so wanted to share it. Otherwise my aloo parathas looked really horrible !


Now took a small part of the dough to make a ball. Pressed it to make it flat and kept pressing around the corners to make it slightly bigger. now took the same amount of aloo mix and placed it in the centre. brought all the sides together and close it properly.





Placed it upside sown and started rolling it lightly. Placed it on a hot tawa and shallow fried both the sides till golden.





I cut it in half on the tawa itself if I am putting it in the lunch box. Just roll it once they are slightly cold and put it in the box. And offcourse add some butter on top of the parathas.

Hyderabadi tamatar ki chutney

I learnt this very simple recipe from a Hyderabadi friend of mine. It goes really well with khichadi which I made for dinner last night and served it with this chutney and papad.

2 cans chopped tomatoes - I used tinned tomato but 500 gms of fresh tomatoes can also be used.

1tbsp - ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric pdr

1tsp red chilli pdr ( or as per your taste)

1/2 tsp jeera ( cumin) pdr

salt to taste.

a handful of curry leaves.

put all of these together in a pan and let it cook till the tomatoes are really soft. pour this into a serving bowl.

Take a small pan or kadhai for seasoning. Add 3 tbsp oil, when it's hot, add 1tsp jeera, 1/2 tsp rai ( mustard seeds). when it splutters, add 3-4 dry whole red chillies, 1tsp grated or minced garlic, once the chillies are dark brown, turn off the heat and add 1/2 tsp red chilli pdr. Pour this immediatley over the cooked tomatoes and close the lid. Its ready to be served.

pav bhaji

I made it on the weekend and it is super easy and super fast and super yummy !

2-3 potatoes - peeled and roughly chopped
1cup - peas ( I used frozen)
1cup - chopped beans ( again I used frozen)
1cup - cauli florets ( yep, frozen again )

It was faster cos all I had to chop was potatoes, the rest came out of the freezer. Now, pressure cook the above, mash it and keep it aside.

In a pan, add some butter ( 50 gms) and immediately add 3 finely chopped onions. Fry till it turns golden. Add 3 chopped tomatoes, 3tbsps pave bhaji masala, a pinch of red chilli pdr ( if you want it spicy), 1/2 tsp turmeric, cover and let it cook till tomatoes are sift and butter floats on the top. Add the boiled veges. Mix properly and let it simmer for 10 min. Adjust the water according to how runny you want it. add salt and some lemon juice.

Cut the pav/hamburger buns, butter and cook on the tawa till it is golden. Serve with bhaji, some chopped onions and lemon.

CACTS sandwich

CACTS is the name I gave to this one - Cheese, Avocado, Cucumber, Tomato, Spinach sandwich !

I took two slices of white bread, buttered them. Spread a good amount of baby spinach leaves, arrange slices of cucumber and tomato on it. Cut some avocado and arrange on top of it. Grate some cheese and spread it on the sandwich before covering with the other slice. You can see some gree chutney on top too instead of cheese but since the 2 B's don't like it, I didn't.

Cut them in two halves and gladwrap them for the lunch box. I usually add a fruit, a fruit juice, a breakfast bar/one serve size chips packet/crackers to make it a healthy yet appealing lunch !

A filling salad

I eat this on its own as a light dinner. You need:

boiled chick peas - 1 cup
half telegraphic cucumber - chopped
1 carrot - chopped
1tomato - deseeded and chopped
spring onions - a handful ( chopped)
2 cloves garlic - minced
1green chilli - minced
a pinch of salt.

Mix it all together and its ready. Just for a change, I sometimes add 1tbsp of yogurt and finely chopped coriander too.

banana cake in a jiffy

I made this yesterday after having a sudden craving for eating a banana cake. Alright, alright, it wasn't a sudden craving, I was browsing the net for some easy banana cake recipe as I had three bananas browning up. Had no intention of making it straightaway but looking at all those mouthwatering pics along with the recipies, I jsut had to have one straightaway. And this one took 10min flat to prepare ( not counting the baking time ). I was planning to make some lemon icing too when I was browsing. But I didn't have icing sugar in the pantry, so we just ate it without icing - as usual :-)

You will need:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup milk

150gms melted butter ( I used only 100 gms though)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs ( I used egg replacer as usual)

1 cups self raising flour

3 large mashed bananas

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C. grease and flour a 20cm baking ring tin. Dissolve baking soda in milk. Beat the butter and sugar till creamy. beat in eggs. Stir in sifted flour, soda milk, banana. Turn into tin and bake for approx 45 min or untill a toothpick comes out clean from the centre of the cake.

cheese and tomato sandwich

These are again very simple to make and kids love them.

Butter a slice of bread. put cheese on top and then some slices of deseeded tomatoes. Sprinkle some pepper powder, put another buttered slice on top, cut in half and glad wrap.

salad sandwich

Yep, you guessed right, I make these for the 2Bs lunch boxes all the time.

As you can see, I used:

Wheatmeal ( brown) bread - 2 slices

Cucumber - thinly sliced

tomato- deseeded and sliced

salad leaves- I used the ready-to-use 'baby spinach and baby cos' from the supermarket.

Butter

Spread the butter on one slice. spread some salad leaves evenly, put a couple of tomatoes and cucumber slices on it and cover with another buttered slice of bread. Cut them in halves.

Glad wrap them and put them in the lunch bags.

Orange Paneer !

No, there are no oranges or any other fruit in this recipe - this is the name given to the dish by my 2Bs because of the colour of the gravy ! Palak paneer is green paneer for them !! And they prefer orange paneer :-)

So here's their favourite paneer curry and its easy ( otherwise I wouldnt make it so often ! ):

500 gms paneer cubes ( I use Taj's frozen paneer cubes, and find it really good)

1 tin - Indian style canned tomatoes ( grind it in a blender)

2 cloves garlic - thinly sliced

butter- 2tbsp

kasuri methi - 2 tbsp

kaju paste - 2 tbsp

saffron - a few strands ( soaked in a spoon of warm milk)

100ml - cream

chilli powder - as per taste

garam masala powder - 1 tsp

salt

Heat a pan on the stove top. add ghee and then add garlic. cook till light brown. add kasuri methi. stir for a second or two and then add the blended Indian Style tomato and half cup water. Let it come to a boil. Add kaju paste, saffron milk, chilli pdr, garam masal pdr, paneer and salt and cover and let it simmer for 10 mins. add cream now and simmer for 5 more mins. garnish with some chopped coriander. Thats it ! Oh yeah, we like to eat it with nice and hot rotis or paranthas :-)

Hyderabadi Biryani

Its offcourse vegetarian and is loved by all of us and all my friends when I make it for dinners or parties. I learnt this from my SIL who learnt it from a family friend who owned a restaurant and made a mean Biryani. They made nonveg in their restaurant but he taught the vegetarian version to my SIL and I tried to recollect how she made it once in India and have now been making it for years myself and this is one thing that I can make very confidentaly knowing that it will be liked by one and all.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups basmati rice

5- onions (big)

3-4 green chillies ( slit length wise)

3 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 tomatoes

3 tbsp yogurt

2 tsp - red chilli pdr

approx 3-400 gms beans slit lengthwise and then chopped in half ( I used the ready made frozen ones)

approx - 200gm peas

a few florets of cauli

3 carrots - slit lengthwise and cut into long thin pieces.

5-6 black pepper ( whole)

4 inch cinnamon stick

1 big black cardomom

4-5 small green cardomoms

2 tsp jeera

1 tsp garam masala pdr

a few strands of saffron soaked in about 1/4 cup of warm milk
2cups(tightly packed) - fresh chopped coriander leaves

1cup(tight packed) - fresh chopped mint leaves

1cup- halved cashews

Method:

Soak rice for 15 min in lot of water. Put 3-4 tbsp of cooking oil and some salt and put it on the stove on high heat. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat. Let it cook till it is almost done but not completely done. When you press it between your finger and thumb, it should be slightly firm but not very soft. Drain the excess water and spread it out on a big plate to let it cool.

In a pan, take about 6-7 tbsp cooking oil and heat it on medium heat. slice the onion thinly ( horizontal circles) and fry in the oil till they are golden brown like this and then drain it on a paper towel.

Now add jeera to the same oil, when it splutters, add the whole garam masala ( cinnamom, cardomom, pepper etc) and then add the cashews. once the cashews start turning pink, add the ginger garlic paste, chilli pdr, coriander pdr, garam masala pdr and stir till oil floats.

Add green chillies, chopped tomatoes and once they are softened, add yogurt and cook till the oil seperates. Now add all the veges, mix it properly, cover with a lid and let it cook till the veges are done.

now take a large bowl or an oven safe dish/container. Spread a layer of rice first. then put a layer of the cooked veges, then the fried and drained onions and then chopped mint and coriander leaves. Put another layer of rice and the same layers of veges, onions and chopped greens. I normally put one half of rice in the bottom layer and then half of veges and again the rest of the rice and the rest of the veges. but you can make as many layers as you want. It looks like this from above and the other pic shows how the layers look from side.

Now, sprinkle the saffron milk on it. With a serving spoon, take 4-5 big chunks of thick yogurt and put on top of the biryani. Cover it properly with foil and push it in the oven for 'dum' on low heat for 15-20 min or half hour depeding on the oven. I normally leave it there untill the guest arrive. Take it out at serving time and mix it very lightly and serve with 'mirchi ka salan' ( recipe coming up soon) and raita.

Tips

My jiju who turned vegetarian recently gave me a tip to add soya chunks after soaking them in warm water, along with the veges and once the biryani is done, it tastes exactly like mutton. I have never tasted mutton but my non-veg friends were really surprised when I first added that and now I am asked to add them all the time. Its good for us vegetarians too as the soya is a rich source of protien for vegetarians.

I also added Paneer once along with the veges to make it richer, and it was loved too !!

Baked Gujiya ( karanji )

Yep, that's right. I tried baking the gujiyas instead of deep frying to make it low calorie. 'D' loves sweets and hates anything that even mentions 'healthy' or 'low calorie'. He automatically thinks that it will taste bad.


When I gave one of these gujiya's to him ( and mind you I had tried it for the first time after giving up on it when I tried making them the traditional way a good 8 yrs back), I was sure that he is going to hate it, yet, I asked expectantly if they weren't 'that bad' for non-deep-fried gujiya and that he should expect it to be different than the deep fried ones and on and on. He just ate it and said - not bad, not bad, infact its good !!! That's a big complement coming from a sweet lover but 'low calorie' hater :-) He gave it a thumbs up and that its good enough to make ot for Diwali.

For making 24- 25 gujiyas, you will need:

for filling: ( I used the following but you can make a filling of your choice or taste)

One cup rawa/suji/semolina

half cup - dessicated coconut

half cup - milk powder

1tsp- elaichi( cardmom) pdr

sugar - half cup or as per taste

handful of chopped dry fruits of your choice

For Gujiya:

One and half cup - maida

3tbsp- rawa

2tbsp- ghee

3/4 cup milk

Heat a Pan and add rawa and roast on medium heat till it is slightly pink. Turn off the heat, let it cool and add the coconut, sugar. milk powder, and elaichi pdr and keep it aside.

Mix maida, rawa, ghee and milk in another plate and knead a semisoft dough. Make 23- 25 balls of it and cover with a wet cloth.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper or you can use a greased tray if you don't mind increasing the fat content. Take the balls of the dough and start rolling them out one by one into small puri like shapes. put one to one and half spoon of the filling in the centre of the rolled out puri and wet the corner outer lining of the puri with some water and fold it over to make a gujiya shape and press the ends with a fork and fold it slightly so they can't open during baking or you can also use th Gujiya moulds. Put these gujiya's on the baking tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes or untill they start turning pink. Take them out, cool and store in airtight containers.

The total fat used was only 2tbsp for so many gujiyas and it tasted great too ! I didn't even brush them with ghee before pushing them in the oven - can't get better than this :-)

Gavar( guvar) ki sabji

This is my personal favourite, which I learnt from a Marwari neighbour in India. The nutty gravy with a dash of tamarind gives it just the right taste to satisfy my south Indian taste buds !

Gavar - about 400gms chopped ( I used the frozen packet)

tamrind - about one medium lemon size ball

peanut powder( roasted and ground not very smooth) - 1 cup

hing - a pinch

red chilli pdr - 2 tsp

turmeric pdr- 1/2 tsp

dhania pdr- 2 tsp

garam masala pdr - 1/2 tsp

salt

cooking oil - 1 tbsp

jeera seeds - 1 tsp

Heat a pressure cooker, add oil and jeera. Once it starts spluttering, add hing and immediately add the gavar. Stir it for a minute or two. once it is coated with the oil, add turmeric, red chilli pdr, dhania pdr and fry for 5 minutes. In the mean time extract the pulp of the tamarind after soaking it in water for some time ( I used the ready made tamarind paste - 1 tbsp). Add this to the gavar and add 1 cup water only if you are using the ready made paste. put the cooker lid on and wait till one whistle and remove it from heat immediately. Once it cools enough to open the lid, add peanut powder, garam masala, salt and adjust the rest of the masalas as per your taste and boil it for 3-4 minutes. Serve it with hot rotis, which is how we love to eat it.

Daal Makhani

This is how I make Daal Makhani which is adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe and is a favourite with the 2Bs and even at the parties everyone asks me the recipe for this !

Whole urad dal - 1 cup

rajma ( kidney beans) - 1/4 cup

Butter- 2 tbsp

onion finely chopped- 1

ginger garlic paste- 3 tsp

tomato paste- 2 tbsp or two chopped tomatoes

cream - 50ml

red chilli pdr- 1 to 2 tsp

garam masala pdr- 1 tsp

Soak daal and rajma overnight and pressure cook till soft. Mash it and keep aside. In a pan heat the butter and add chopped onions. Fry till golden brown, add ginger garlic paste and stir for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomotoes or tomato paste, red chilli pdr and let it cook untill the fat seperates. Keep stiring from time to time to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. Then add the cooked daal, add some water if it is too thick. And bring it to a boil. Add cream and garam masala pdr and simmer for 5 mins.

We had it with hot rotis for dinner :-)

2BM's Alu-matar-methi-malai :-)

I know, I know wierd name but thats because this is my own creation ! I have seen people cooking curries in their cooker not just using it for steaming. One day I decided to try it and this is what I came up with. I have been making this for a last year or two and even cooked it for my buajis on Litle A's birthday when I last visited Hyderabad because they dont even eat onions or garlic and they couldnt believe that it didnt have any of that and thought it was just great ! Infact I have recieved a lot of compliments for this simple, yet, great tasting dish. So I made up a name for it based in its main ingredients.

3-4 Potatoes ( peeled and chopped in not too small pieces otherwise they will get all mashed)

1cup- peas ( I use the frozen peas)

2tbsp cooking oil

1tsp jeera

cream- 50ml

1tbsp - kasuri methi

whole garam masala ( bay leaf-1, cinnamon stick 1', cardomom pods-4, whole black pepper-6 )

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add jeera. when it splutters, add the whole garam masala stir it for a secone or two and add the chopped potatoes and peas. Stir for about 2-3 mins. add all turmeric pdr, chilli pdr and stir for another 2 min. add 1 cup water and put the lid on and let it whislte once only. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Open it , stir and add the cream, garam masala powder, kasuri methi and salt and bring it to a boil. Adjust the masalas as per your taste and its ready to eat with hot rotis or paranthas. I made puris with it last night as a special treat for the kids since only those two were having dinner and me and hubby were fasting !

Dalcha

This is a Hyderabadi dish and can be a kaddu( lauki ) dalcha or baigan dalcha. It goes well with jeera rice for dinner. If I am really in a 'cooking' mood ( which doesnt happen very often) I also make alu fry as an accompaniment otherwise just fry some papads. I prefer the kaddu dalcha( lauki or bottle guard) better simply for the reason that I dont like baigan ( eggplant) much. But last night I made the baigan ka dalcha when I saw some fresh eggplants at the vege shop.

You will need:

1/2 cup - chana dal
1/2 cup - toor dal
2-3 long eggplants or half lauki cut into not too small pieces
1 lemon size ball of tamarind ( I use the ready made tamarind paste -I love convenience ! )
a few curry leaves
1 or 2 green chiliies
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste ( again I use ready made ones available in Indian grocery stores)
1 tsp chilli pdr
1/2 tsp turmeric pdr
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp jeera ( cumin )
salt

Pressure cook the dals together. add 2 cups of water, slit green chillies, curry leaves, tamarind juice and let it boil. On the other side, heat a pan and add oil. put jeera and let it splutter then add baigan or lauki pieces and stir. Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli pdr and stir and leave it for a 2-3 mins. Now add the boiling daal in it, salt to taste and let it simmer on low heat for 10 - 15 mins or untill the oil floats on top. I also add a one inch stick of dalchini( cinnamon) just before switching off the stove and cover it - it gives a nice flavour.

Simple Bhindi

I love this simple recipe of Bhindi ( okra ). This recipe is from The spice who loved me and i have made it several times, infact its one of my favourite recipe for bhindi fry now :-)

Ingredients:

1/2 kg bhindi ( okra ) - I used fresh as the frozen ones I tried were not good at all, so I dont use frozen bhindi anymore.

1 tbsp - cooking oil

1/4 tsp - haldi ( turmeric ) pdr

1/2 tsp - pickle masala ( I got it from Indian grocery store )

a pinch - hing

1/4 tsp - jeera ( cumin seeds )

salt to taste

Heat a pan on the stove top and put oil in it. Add jeera, when it splutters, add hing and then haldi powder. Stir fry for 1/2 a min. Add chopped bhindi. Fry on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the pickle powder and salt ( I didnt add sugar which is the only variation I did from the original recipe and didnt use whole okra either ). Cook without the lid till the bhindi softens a little and take it off the stove.

Its ready and we ate it with daal and roti for dinner last night.

Banana and choc chip muffins

I make these atleast once a fortnigh or sometimes even once a week as they are great for morning tea time in 2B's lunch boxes.

I got this recipe from recipezaar I think, not sure, but did my own few variations and they come out perfect.

Will need:

2 eggs ( since we dont even eat eggs, I use Organ's 'no eggs, egg replacer' )

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup oil

1 cup low fat milk

3/4 cup soft brown sugar

1 cup standard flour+1 and half cup whole wheat flour

4 tsp Baking powder

1/2 cup choc chips

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Mix liquids, then mashed bananas ( I use fork to mash bananas) and sugar lightly. then add flour, baking powder and choc chips. Don't over mix. bake in the oven for 15-18mins. Cool for 2 mins and take out. Goes well with cup of coffee too :-)

Palak Paneer

This one is another favourite at our home, Bunty and Bubbly both love paneer and its very simple to make too. So here's my recipe of easy-peasy Palak Paneer.

500 gm- paneer cubes ( I used Taj's frozen paneer that you can get at any Indian grocery shop )1 bunch - palak ( spinach - washed and roughly chopped)

1' - ginger ( shopped )

1 - tomato

3 - green chillies ( or 2 , but I like it spicy so I used 3 )

1 - finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp - jeera ( cumin seeds)

100 ml - cream

1 tsp - jeera powder

Heat a pan on the stove top and put the spinach, gree chillies and ginger in it and let it cook till spinach softens a little ( it takes about 5 minutes on medium heat ). Add chopped tomato and let it cool. Grind all together in a blender and keep aside.

In another pan, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil, add jeera. When it splutters, add onions and cook till it turns golden brown. Now add the blended gravy and a cup of water if the gravy is too thick - bring it to boil and then add the paneer and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add cream and simmer for 2 more minutes and serve it hot with roti or naan.