Paneer Paratha

Gaming is such an addiction - be it a 12yr or a 6yr old, both can play the same video game. Yes, believe it or not, they both are going crazy with the shooting...

Video games these days are so advanced that, they look so natural and very close to as though a person playing on the screen.

My son always argues that it improves one's motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and logical thinking. We also have a few traditional games and board games which have made it to the screens.

But whatever said and done the effect of sitting together and playing in group is by far better than just playing against a machine or even a person behind the same. The latter doesn't need any s/w or h/w upgrade or even any body aches and pains too.....

I think board games let us bond well and can become a routine soon while screens can just be a filler here and there.
We enjoy the range from traditional games to the latest board game over this holiday season - alguli mane, chowka bhara, Uno, Game of Life, Scrabble, Monopoly, etc

Overall it is a good time to bond with your friends and family!

Ingredients
Makes - 6
For the stuffing

Grated Paneer - 2 Cups
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies finely chopped - 1
Ginger grated - 1 tsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Spring Onions finely chopped - 6

Paratha dough
Multigrain atta or whole wheat flour - 1 Cup
Salt to taste
Water as required for kneading
Wheat flour for dusting
Oil for roasting

Method
For Panner stuffing

• In a large bowl, mix together the Paneer, ginger, all the masalas, Salt, Ajwain and Spring Onions.
• Keep this aside.

Dough Recipe

• In a large bowl, add the flour, Salt and Water.
• To this add water little by little and mix well to make a dough.
• Knead this well and cover and rest it for 20 minutes.

Making of Parathas

• Take a fistful of dough and roll it into a 5-
• inch circle in diameter.
• Place the prepared stuffing in the middle of the circle.
• From the edge pull the dough together to the center and seal the stuffing in the middle.
• Sprinkle some flour and roll it into a Chapati size.
• Heat tava on a medium flame.
• Place the rolled dough on the tava.
• Add some Oil/ghee or butter and press slightly.
• Cook on both sides until well done.
• Finally, hot Parathas are ready to be served with Pickle and Yogurt/Raita!

Lauki Kofta

Lauki Kofta is a North Indian style subji. Koftas are kind of balls that are deep-fried, steamed, baked, or grilled and served in a spicy sauce.

Lauki also known Sorekayi in Kannada and Bottle gourd in English is believed to be the first plant to be grown in the world. This vegetable was used to make vessels to store water.

It has a very neutral flavor and cooks very fast.  When combined with desi spices we can rustle up a list of interesting dishes like koftas, halwa, dal, handvo, raita, etc...............

This veggie also has a lot of health benefits like - it has a lot of water content which helps in reducing the body heat especially during summer months. It is light on the stomach and easy on digestion too. And of course not to forget our weight loss, a healthy heart and regulating diabetes, etc

Having said all the above, we still felt its a very pale/dull vegetable to eat. Though we want to adapt to our regular cooking somehow it never gained its priority. But this exotic recipe struck our senses and left us asking for more - truly scrumptious + Laukilicious ;)!!!!
So go on....why not try one recipe at a time!!!!

Ingredients
Serves - 4

For Koftas
Lauki / Sorekayi - 1
Besan /Kadle hittu - 1/4 Cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

For gravy
Oil - 2 tsp
Onions finely chopped - 1
Tomatoes finely chopped - 2
Ginger grated - 1 tsp
Garlic grated - 1 tsp
Cashews - 10 nos

Other ingredients
Oil - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Yogurt - 1/4 Cup
Kasuri methi - 1tsp
Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnishing

Method
Kofta preparation

• Peel and grate the Lauki. To this add some Salt and keep it aside.
• Squeeze well and collect the water in a separate bowl to use later.
• Add the Besan and spices to the grated Lauki.
• Mix well, make small balls and flatten it to make koftas.
• Deep fry this and drain, keep this aside.

Gravy

• Heat Oil in a pan, add Onions, ginger, garlic, and saute for a few minutes.
• Then to this add the tomatoes and mix well until mushy.
• Lastly, add the cashews and mix well.
• Once cooled, grind this into a smooth paste.

Final preparation

• Heat oil in a pan, add Cumin seeds, Bay leaf.
• Then add some hing, turmeric powder, red chili powder.
• Next, add the grounded onion tomato paste and saute.
• To this add Salt, Garam masala, Coriander powder, and mix well.
• Then add the Lauki Water and Yogurt and mix well on low - medium heat.
• Once this comes to boil, lower the flame and add the fried Koftas.
• Then add the Kasuri methi and keep this covered for 3-5 minutes on low flame.
• Lastly, garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot!

Pair it with Rice / Roti and serve it as a main course at lunch or dinner too!

Thalipeeth

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day....many of us know this. It refuels us after a long snooze and get us moving for the day!

We generally are food buffs and would love to try anything vegetarian ranging from hummus to hayagreeva ;)! These days we have cut down on using refined flours as much and more of fibre diet. This has helped us well in managing our weight and metabolism. Of course tasty dishes are always on our list - here's one such breakfast item called Thalipeeth.

Thalipeeth is a Maharashtrian and Uttara Karnataka dish. It uses various flours + Veggies of your choice. It keeps us full for a long time and hence reduces our hunger pangs for those sinful-bites. So this has become our family's favourite brunch on our day outings too!

Ingredients
Makes - 6

Jowar flour / Jolada hittu - 1 Cup
Besan / kadale hittu - 1/4 Cup
Wheat flour / godi hittu - 1/4 Cup
Bajra - 1/4 Cup
Rice flour / Akki hittu - 1/4 Cup
Ginger garlic grated - 1 tsp
Green chillies finely chopped - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves finely chopped - handful
Onions finely chopped - 1
Cucumber peeled and grated - 1
Carrot peeled and grated - 1
Salt to taste
Oil for roasting

Method

• In a large mixing bowl or a paratha, add all the flours and mix well.
• To this add the ginger, garlic, green chillies, Coriander leaves, Ajwain, Sesame seeds and all the masala powders, mix well.
• Add Salt and further mix it into a dough. Make sure all the ingredients are combined well.
• Now take a small ball from the prepared dough and start patting on the greased tava.
• Make few holes on the patted dough to pour some Oil in them.
• Cook this covered on low-medium heat .
• Smear some additional Oil over the thalipeeth.
• Flip the thalipeeth and further cook covered for few minutes.
• Finally transfer this onto a serving dish with a dollop of butter, Pickle of your choice and plain yogurt.

Taste bhi Health bhi :)

 

Dabeli

Dabeli is a famous Gujarathi street food. I was told by one of my friends that 'Dabeli' in gujarathi means pressed and here as the Potato mixture is pressed / stuffed in the Pav and toasted on the tava, thats how the dish got its name.
Our town centre shopping would never end without visiting this small cafe at the corner on the main road - yes 'Aumkar'. It was a gujarathi outlet and we loved all the dishes there - Poha, sabudana vada, bombay sandwich, dabeli, vada pav etc. There were times even when we carried packed thali lunches for our day trips :):). It was the best combo hot & spicy food with cold weather!

So here's the very easy and a quick dish which can be carried as on the go lunch/snack too!

Ingredients
Makes about 6 servings

For the stuffing

Oil/Butter - 2 tsp
Onion finely chopped - 1
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 Cup
Potatoes boiled and mashed - 2
Salt to taste
Tamarind chutney - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves chopped

For Garnishing
Onion finely chopped - 2 tbsp
Masala peanuts - maybe about a handful
Coriander leaves finely chopped
Pomegranate seeds - handful

For layering
Pav / Bun - 6
Garlic chutney - 6 tsp
Onion finely chopped - 1/4 cup
Butter for toasting
Sev - 1 Cup

Method 

• Firstly, in a large pan, add butter or Oil and saute Onions till they are golden brown.
• Then add chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and chaat masala.
• Saute on low flame for a minute.
• Then add a Cup of Water. Add the mashed Potatoes and mix well.
• To this add Salt and water if required.
• Mix well and mash the Potatoes using a masher.
• Now add the Tamarind chutney.
• Lastly add the Coriander leaves and mix well.
• Transfer this to a plate or a tray and start layering.
• Top the mixture with Onions, masala peanuts, coriander leaves and Pomegranate seeds.

     To make the Dabeli

• Firstly cut the pav/bun  without breaking into apart.
• Next add the Garlic chutney on one side and tamarind chutney on the other side.
• Then place some chopped Onions and a spoonful of Dabeli stuffing.
• Then toast on both sides with some butter on a hot tava.
• Lastly roll the dabeli over Sev covering the edges.
• Finally serve with some green chutney, Meetha chutney and fried chillies!!

Happy snacking!

Cut Mirchi Bajji

Cut Mirchi Bajji is a popular street snack in Andhra. The chillies vary from region to region - some use thin and spicy ones while the others use a bit thick and medium spice ones.
Our Hyderabad days reminds me of this yummy snack - Taj tristar served this snack at its best!! So here we enjoyed the pleasure of staying at home while adding this to our lockdown series :))!

Ingredients

Long Chillies/Banana Peppers - 5
Oil for deep frying
For the batter
Besan - 2 Cups
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric -1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
For the filling
Tamarind paste thick - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Hurgadle/Putani powdered - 2 to 3tbsp
Salt to taste
For garnishing
Onions finely chopped - 1
Coriander leaves finely chopped - handful
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Chaat masala - 1 tsp

Method

• Firstly in a large bowl - mix Besan, Soda, Ajwain, Turmeric, Oil and Salt into a thick batter. Keep this aside.
• In another bowl - add Tamarind paste, Chilli powder, Ajwain, Putani and Salt. Mix well into a thick paste.
• Now take the Green Chillies, slit it and remove all the seeds. This will reduce the spice level of the Chillies i guess.
• Fill the Chillies with the prepared Tamarind and putani mixture.

• Dip these prepared Chillies in the Besan batter and deep fry until slightly golden in colour.
• Drain this on a kitchen towel and let them cool.

• Cut these fried Chillies into inch pieces and deep fry them again until crispy.
• Drain this on a kitchen towel.
• Arrange these fried cut mirchi on plate and top it with Onions, Coriander leaves, some roasted Peanuts, Chaat masala and a dash of Lemon!!

Ready to attack as a starter!!!!

Methi na gota / Methi recipe

The Corona Virus lockdown has turned many of us into Master chefs :)! I really can't make out if its the extra time on hands or we got more organised with no helpers around :-p.
The whole thing has got us munching something or the other throughout the day.
So here's one deep fried snack ( its fine to indulge as we are doing so many household chores and burning fat anyways :)) for this week called Methi na gota - its a gujarathi dish something similar to pakodas.
Having lived in Harrow for 10+ years we liked most of the gujarathi dishes like Kamman dhokla, khandvi, Muthiya, Tepla etc. We miss having the authentic ones here at a stones throw away - so we said lets try this dish and enjoy :)! Here's the instructions I followed.

Ingredients
Makes about 10-12 pieces

Water - 1/2 Cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 1 finely chopped
Ginger grated - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds crushed - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing -1/4 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Methi finely chopped - 1 cup
Coriander leaves chopped - 3 tbsp
Fine rava - 2 tbsp
Besan - 1 Cup
Oil for deep frying

Method

• Firstly in a large bowl, add Water, Oil, Sugar, Chillies and ginger paste.
• To this add the coriander seeds, ajwain, pepper powder, turmeric, chilli powder and hing, mix well.
• Next to this mixture, add lemon juice, salt and baking soda.
• Using a whisk mix well making sure all the spices are combined well.
• Now add the methi leaves and coriander leaves, mix well.
• Then add the Rava and Besan. Whisk and mix together to form a thick batter. Make sure there are no lumps.
• Now drop the batter into hot Oil forming small balls.
• Stir occasionally to make sure the pakodas are cooked completely. Fry until golden and crisp. 
• Drain off on the kitchen towel and enjoy methi na gota with green chutney!

Have a good day!

Karibevu Chutney pudi

Mother's Recipes are the best ones as the name says it all! We all love my mom's masala powders especially sarina pudi (Rasam Powder) and chutney pudi. She has some magical hand. She waves and makes some flavoursome recipes.

She makes variety of chutney pudis like normal bele chutney pudi which is tasty and has proteins too, peanut chutney pudi - good for heart and weight loss, flaxseed chutney pudi - loaded with Omega fatty acids and other Vitamins and last but not the least the simple yet yummy Karibevu chutney pudi - helps in reducing hair loss, aids in digestion and have heard that helps in weight loss too! Yes it does remove toxins from our body and maybe thats the reason the new moms are given this with rice and ghee at the beginning of every meal.

With the lockdown now and the eating marathon we are having at home - all my pudis got over. My little one is an ardent lover of her ajji's chutney pudi - she has it with her rice, dose, idli, bread toast - just digs in her tiny finger in the chutneypudi + ghee mixture and licks it till the last bite :). This forced me to get the recipe from my mom and try it out today. And Voila!!! It turned out delicious!!

Ingredients
Curry Leaves - 2 Cups (approx) washed and dried
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Chana dal / Kadlebele - 1/4 Cup
Urad dal / Uddinabele - 2 Tbsp
Coriander seeds / kotambri beeje - 1 Tbsp
Tamarind / hunasehannu - small piece
Dried red chillies - 4 (i use byadgi variety)
Desiccated coconut/ onakobbari - 2 Tbsp
Jeera - 2 Tbsp
Asafoetida / hing - pinch
Salt to taste

Method

• Firstly, in a large pan dry roast the curry leaves on low flame until they turn crunchy. keep this aside.
• In the same pan, heat the Oil and to this add both the dals and coriander seeds. Roast until dal turns golden. Keep this aside too.
• Next to the same pan , add the tamarind, red chillies, jeera and coconut. Roast it until the coconut turns golden. keep aside.
• Now first blend the dal mixture. 
• To this add the coconut mixture and blend together to a fine powder without adding any water.
• Lastly add the Curry leaves, Salt and Hing and further blend to a fine powder.
• Once cooled, store this in an air tight container and enjoy as a healthy accompaniment upto a month.

Happy Cooking!

Tangala Pettige

Life without the gadgets isn't imaginable these days. Had this lockdown came 15 or 20 yrs back we all would have gone mad. Thanks to our gizmos like iPhones, dishwashers, Television, washing machines, mixie, ac, fans, refrigerator etc. While we are getting comfortable with this new routine of our's, we really can't say which gadget is our favourite - as such. I wonder how largely dependant we are on these machines. Hats off to those who don't have access to all of these and still enjoy life - lots to learn from them I guess - Patience, caring for plants and their folks, creativity, be it rangoli or best out of waste, folktales, etc...

Lesson learnt - I woke up,
                         I have clothes to wear
                         I have running water
                         I have food to eat
                         Life is good
                         I am thankful!

Tada another try out from our kitchen for all those Kebab lovers - Hara Bara Kebab! Its made with fresh veggies and leafy Veg. It can be eaten as a starter or a party food. Good way to get fussy eaters their veggies too!

Ingredients

Palak/ Spinach - 1 bunch blanched
Oil - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 1finely chopped
Capsicum - 1 finely chopped
Beans - 3/4 cup chopped
Peas - 3/4 cup fresh or frozen
Potatoes boiled and grated - 2
Paneer crumbled - 3/4 cup
Coriander leaves chopped - 3 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
bread crumbs - 2 tbsp
Kashmiri  red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Breadcrumbs - 1 cup for coating
Cashews halved - 8
Oil for deep frying


Method
Heat Oil in a large pan, add chillies. Then add capsicum till all the moisture is gone.
Next add beans and Peas and saute.
Once this mixture cools, grind this in a blender along with blanched Palak.
Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add the Potatoes, Paneer and coriander leaves.
Further add corn flour and bread crumbs
Add all the spices, salt and mix well.
Grease hands with a bit of Oil and make small patties.
Dip this in the bread crumbs and top it with a cashew.
Now deep fry this on medium heat.
Serve it with chutneys of your choice!