Daal Baati Churma

Bati:

2 cups atta+salt+1/4 tsp Baking powder+1/2 desi ghee ( I used Amul ghee since that was the only one available here) —>Mix well and make a stiff dough.
Preheat oven to 180 degree. Take lemon size portions of the dough. Press firmly and roll into round balls. Grease a baking tray and place batis on it. Press slightly and bake @180 deg till done ( may take 15-20 min). When done, serve it hot with a bowl full of ghee to soak them and Rajashtani Daal.

Daal:

For dal, soak moong daal, urad daa and chana daal in about three cups of water for an hour. Boil the dals with turmeric powder and salt till done and mash them properly. Heat oil in a pan. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds+ a pinch of�asafoetida+2 whole dry red chillies+2�bay leaves+ 3�cloves+ 1 in piece�od cinnamon+ 2 cardamoms+ 5-6 curry leaves+ 1 tbsp ginger chopped + 3 green chillies chopped + 2 chopped medium tomatoes+ 1 tsp red chilli powder; fry till the oil gets seperated from the mixture. Add the cooked Dal and blend properly. Finish off with lemon juice ( 1 medium lemon) and chopped coriander.

Churma:

2 cups atta+4 tbsp semolina+ 1/2 cup ghee —-> mix well. add milk as required and knead into a stiff dough. Divide the dough into lemon size balls. Heat sufficient ghee in a kadai and deep fry the balls on medium heat, till they are well done ( pinkish ). Drain into an absorbant paper and cool. Coarsely grind the wheat balls in mixer. Chop handful of cashew nuts and almonds. Wash some�raisins and pat dry. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp green carsamom powder and one cup warm ghee to the coarsely ground wheat ball powder. Mix well. You can also make ladoos while its still warm and you can store the churma ke ladoo in a air tight container. But I used it as churma only with the dal and bati.

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.

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.

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 :-)

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.

stuffed capsicum

Yesterday I went to this Indian grocery shop and they had these lovely small capsicums ( not the usual big ones ) and I remembered how my mum used to make stuffed curry from them. I tried it and it turned out really good and Bunty who doesnt like capsicum at all, gobbled it up.

I used
6 small capsicums and took the stem out.

Boiled two medium sized potatoes, mashed them and added 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp garam masala, 1/2 lemon juice, salt to taste, coriander powder and kept aside.
then stuffed this mixture in the capsicums.

Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp cooking oil, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp salt. Once they splutter, add the above prepared capsicums, cover it and let it cook on medium heat.

Turn them over from time to time so that they get cooked from all sides. cook untill the skin changes colour and looks soft. take it out in a serving dish and I served it with roti and daal for dinner.

steaming hot daal

Its no-fat, high in protien, the garlic and turmeric are both good for your cold - Just what you need on a cold night. My daughter loves drinking it as it is or with toasted bread. Here's how I make it.

pressure cook 1 cup - toor dal ( yellow lentils).

add 3 cups warm water, one chopped tomato, one slit green chillies ( you can increase or reduce it as per your taste), crushed 1 or 2 cloves garlic, handful of chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, salt to taste and let it boil till the tomatoes are soft.

Heat a small pan, add 1 tsp jeera ( cumin seeds ) and 1/2 tsp rai ( mustard seeds) and a pinch of hing ( asaefotida ), stifry for 1/2 min or untill the cumin starts spluttering and then add this to the boiling daal.

now you can eat it the way we did with roti and curry or just with some toasted bread.

or the way my son likes it - take a cereal bowl, pour daal in it and break one roti in small pieces, add a dollop of ghee and eat.

This daal can be used as a basic recipe. Since its a must have for us for dinner, I do lots of variations to it so as not to make it boring. Depending on whatever is there, sometimes I add finely chopped spinach to it, when you are boiling it or onions or grated carrots etc etc...and serve it with a curry and roti or hot steaming rice.