Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Corn-Peas-Carrot Masala Sabzi


I was thinking to make a dry mix veggie dish for my son's birthday party but was confused what to make.Finally I decided to go with corn-peas-carrots as they are very colourful and the outcome was awesome with our Indian spices.I also made dal makhani,fruit cream,ras malai,stuffed crescent,dahi vadas at home and ordered chicken curry,paneer makhani,naan,jeera rice from Indian restaurant.Everybody enjoyed the food and got lots of complements for this mix veg sabzi,dal makhani and ras malai.I have already posted the recipes of stuffed crescent and ras malai and will post the other recipes soon.


Ingredients
Corn shells 1/2 cup
Peas 1/2 cup
Carrots 1-2
Onion 1 Medium
Tomato Puree 1 tbsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Coriander pw 1 tsp
Red Chili pw 1/2 tsp
Turmeric pw 1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil 1 1/2 tbsp

Method
1. Peel off the skin of carrots, wash and cut in small equal size pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan/kadhai and add chopped onions.Fry till golden in colour.
3. Add tomato puree and all the masalas(garam masala,coriander powder,red chili
powder,turmeric powder).Fry till the oil leaves the masala.
4. Now add all the veggies(corn,peas,carrots),salt and mix all the ingredients together.Cover and cook on medium-low heat till the veggies are done.Stir occasionally.
5. Serve hot with roti/chapatis or as a side dish.

Sending this to the event Vegetable Marathon hosted by PJ and originally started by Silpa.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Vanilla Cup Cakes


Its my DS(Akki)s birthday today.It's hard to believe that he is already 4 and can manage all his things by his own.To celebrate his bday I make these cupcakes as he and his friends love cup cakes.I am also planing to make his favourite chola-bhatura later on.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour/Maida 2 cup
Baking Powder 2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Eggs 4
Unsalted Butter 3/4 cup
Vanilla Extract 2 tsp
Sugar 2 cup
Milk 1 cup

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F and line up your muffin tray with paper liners.
2. Sift together all purpose flour,salt and baking powder in a bowl so that there will be no lumps.
3. Take butter and sugar in a separate bowl and beat it till it becomes soft and fluffy.
4. Now add eggs one by one to this butter-sugar mixture and beat till it becomes creamy.Stir in vanilla extract.
5. Add flour and milk alternately in parts so that you start and end with flour( flour-milk-flour-milk-flour).Mix all the ingredients well.
6. Pour this batter into the tray up to 1/2-3/4 of the height and bake for 20-25 minutes or till they are nicely done.To check this insert a toothpick at the center of the cupcake if it comes out clean it means they are done.
7. Let them cool completely and then decorate with your favourite frosting.I used chocolate frosting.

Note: All the ingredients should be at room temprature.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Bathua Paratha


Last time when I visited my farmer's market I was extremely happy to see loads of green veggies.From the very first time I saw these fresh bathua(hindi name) leaves there.In India these leaves are also known as paruppukkirai,pappukara,vastuccira,chakvit and fat hen,pigweed,lambs-quarters in english.These leaves are very nutritious and contain protein,Vitamin A,calcium,phosphorus and potassium.Here is the recipe of parathas made of bathua.


Ingredients
Bathua Leaves 1 Bunch
Wheat Flour 2 cup
Salt
Cumin Seeds 1 tsp
Green Chili 1-2
Oil/Ghee(Clarified butter)

Method
1. Take the bathua leaves and discard the stems.Wash the leaves in a colander under running water and chop them finely.
2. In a big bowl take the flour and mix in it the chopped leaves,salt,chopped green chillies,cumin seeds with your hands.
3. Now add little water at a time to knead it into a medium-soft dough.Cover it and keep aside for 20-25 minutes.
4. Make round balls from this dough and roll it into a small circle with a rolling pin applying dry flour.Apply a little oil/ghee on this and close it from all the sides,forming a round ball again.
5. Roll this ball into a round circle as we do in roti/chapati.
6. Cook this paratha on a preheated tava/griddle over medium flame.Apply oil/ghee on both sides of the parathas.Remove it from the tava/griddle when it is golden brown from both sides.
7. Serve hot with pickles/relish/chutney.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Bhareli Mirchi(Stuffed Pepper/Jalapeno)


Here comes a recipe, from the state of Maharashtra,which is very hot.In this recipe big green chillies/peppers are stuffed with besan/gram flour,spices and then cooked.

Ingredients
Big Green Chillies/Peppers/Jalapenos 5-6
Besan/Gram Flour 3/4 cup
Coriander pw 1/4 tsp
Cumin pw 1/4 tsp
Saunf/fennel pw 1/4 tsp
Green coriander leaves(chopped) 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida 1 pinch
Salt

Oil

Method
1. First of all wash the peppers then slit them along the length side.Let the stems remain and deseed them(to reduce the hotness).
2. In a bowl add besan,cumin powder,coriander powder,saunf powder,salt,chopped coriander leaves,1-2 tablespoon oil(to hold the mixture together) and mix the ingredients together.
3. Fill the peppers with this stuffing.
4. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan/kadhai and add mustard seeds,asafoetida in it.Let the seeds crackle.
5. Add peppers, a very little salt to this.Give it a stir.Now cover and cook(stirring occasionally) them on low heat till the peppers are done.
6. These stuffed peppers can be served as main/side dish with roti/chapati.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Shami Kebabs


Shami Kebabs are patties made of minced/grounded meat,chickpeas(ground) and spices.It is an extremely famous snack in India.

Ingredients
Minced Meat(lamd/goat/turkey) 1 lb
Onion 1 small
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic 2-3 cloves
Green Chili 1-2
Chana Dal 1/2 Cup
Garam Masala 1 tsp
Mint Leaves(chopped) 2 tbsp
Green Coriander Leaves (chopped) 2 tbsp
Red chili pw 1/2 tsp
Egg 1
Salt
Oil

Method
1. In a pressure cooker heat 1 tablespoon of oil and add chopped onion,green chili.Fry till the onions are golden in colour.
2. Add chopped ginger,garlic and fry it for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add chopped mint,coriander leaves and give it a stir.Now add minced meat,salt,chana dal and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water.Pressure cook it till the meat it tender.Allow it to cool.
4. Now blend this meat mixture in a blender to make a fine paste.Do not add water to this.
5. Take this mixture into a bowl and add garam masala,red chili powder.Mix all the ingreidents thoroughly.
6. Make small patties out of this mixture applying little oil in your hands.
7. Now take the egg into a bowl and whisk it.Dip these patties into egg liquid and shallow fry these patties into a nonstick pan from both sides.
8. Serve hot with mint/coriander chutney,onion rings and lemon wedges.

Note: 1. You can use besan in place of chana dal.
2. Mix bread crumbs into the meat mixture if it is little watery and keep refrigrated for 20-30 minutes before making patties.