Moong Dal with Tadka

There are times when u don't like to indulge in heavy cuisine and tummy demands some thing light to digest. This tadka dal comes very handy which is very simple to make. For this kind dal you can choose moong dal or chana dal or arhar/toor dal. Ghee ka tadka enhances the taste of the dal and also assissts in digestion.

Ingredients:

100g moong dal and 1 onion

For tempering:

1 tsp ghee, ½ tsp jeera, ¼ tsp haldi, 2 green chillis and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and keep the dal ready for use. 
2. Chop the onion finely. 
3. Heat ghee in a pressure pan or pressure cooker, put jeera,onion, green chillis, haldi, salt and the dal, fry a little and add 500ml of water. 
4. Leave the dal for 3 whistles and simmer it for another 5 to 7 minutes before putting off the flame.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Spinach/palak Dal

This can also be made using arhar/toor dal or masoor dal or chana dal, as per the availability. Palak has to be fresh and with out holes. Only the leaves have to be chosen and the hard twigs can be discarded. It is generally safe to avoid greens during the rainy season unless one grows it in the kitchen garden, where hygiene is taken care of. I put more greens and less dal to gain more on vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:

100g arhar/toor dal, 300g palak, 3 tomatoes, 1 onion.

For tempering:

1 tsp ghee, ½ tsp jeera, ½ tsp mustard seeds, ¼ tsp haldi/turmeric, ½ tsp red chilli powder and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and finely chop the palak and set aside. 
2. Chop onion and tomatoes also finely. 
3. Wash the dal and keep it ready for use. 
4. Heat ghee in a pressure pan or small pressure cooker, put all the tempering ingredients except salt and fry a little. 
5. To this add onions, tomatoes and palak, stir a little and then add the dal and salt. 
6. Finally put 500ml of water and give minimum of 3 whistles, simmer it for another 5 to 7 minutes and put off the flame.

Serve hot  with rice or roti.

Spinach and Corn in White sauce

This again goes well with the continental menu. Considerable amounts of starch and fibre makes this dish sumptuous and nutritious. White sauce is the base for this. In fact vegetables like cauliflower, French beans, carrots, and broccoli can be boiled and put in to the white sauce which becomes more palatable to consume with a varieties of breads.

Ingredients:

500g spinach leaves and 200g shelled corn or one full corncob.

For white sauce:

2 finely chopped onions,2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp maida (white flour), 2 cups milk, ½ tsp white pepper powder, a pinch of nutmeg powder and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash spinach and microwave for 8 to 10 minutes and set aside to cool. 
2. Boil the corncob in the pressure cooker and pick out the corn from the cob. 
3. Once the spinach cools down squeeze out the extra water and finely chop the leaves. 
4. Heat butter in a pan, put chopped onions and sauté till it gives glazed look, to this add the flour and fry a little. 
5. Take milk and stir in to the onion flour mixture, see that there are no lumps, this is the main task of the white sauce. 
6. Keep stirring till it cooks to form a smooth and soft paste and to this add white pepper powder, nutmeg powder and salt. 
7. Finally blend in the cooked corn and spinach and bake at 170 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve hot with garlic bread or dinner roles.

Palak Do Pyaza

As the name suggests there are only two main ingredients in this recipe. They are palak(spinach)and pyaz(onion). Greens are a must in our every day diet plan. This recipe will be a change from usual paneer(cottage cheese)based recipes. This is a fat free dish with very little oil. Easy to cook and takes very little time.

Ingredients:

500g palak,200g onion,1tsp jeera,1tsp amchur powder,1tsp rice flour or corn(makka) flour, ½ tsp chilli powder,1 tsp of oil and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and finely chop the palak and set aside. 
2. Finely chop the onions, heat oil in a pan, put jeera and onions and fry till golden brown. 
3. Add a little salt while frying the onions, this helps in browning the onions faster. 
4. To this add the chopped palak, little more salt, amchur powder and chilli powder and cook well. No need to add water since palak itself would leave some water and gets cooked. 
5. Once it is soft and done add the flour for binding,cook for two more minutes and put off the flame. 
6. The subtle tangy taste of amchur is very encouraging to have more of this nutritious palak.

Serve hot with rice or roti. 

Palak pakoda.

Pakoda is a snack that can be had anytime and enjoyed more on a rainy day. There are a variety of vegetables used for the pakodas. Palak is one of them. It comes out tasty and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

500g palak, 2 onions, 1 cup besan (gram flour), 2 green chillis, ¼ tsp eno salt, ½ tsp ajwain seeds (oregano), ½ tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste and oil for deep frying.

Preparation:

1. Wash and microwave palak for 10 minutes, drain the excess water and finely chop.
2. Make thin slices of onions and add to the chopped palak.
3. Now add flour, chillis, ajwain, chilli powder,salt and mix well.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and drop the batter into the oil and fry till crisp. 

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Palak (spinach) pulao

Palak is very nutritious but any has to be consumed in moderation. A variety of dishes can be made with palak. It goes well with Indian and also continental. It is easy to cook and tastes good.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice,500g palak, 150g tomato puree, 2 onions, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste,1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, 3 green chillis, ½ cup chopped hara dhania (coriander),2 tbsp oil and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and cook rice with enough water and keep aside. 
2. Wash and microwave palak for 10 min and drain off the water, chop finely and keep aside.
3. Chop onions finely. 
4. Heat oil in a pan, put chopped onions and fry till golden brown, and to this, add all the spices. 
5. After frying for a while, add tomato puree and fry till it leaves sides. 
6. Now add palak and cooked rice and cook for a little while or microwave for 10 min.

Serve hot with plain curds or cucumber raita.

Spicy Bitter gourd

This is one vegetable which can never be forced down anyone's throat. Its natural bitterness is considered to be very good for the stomach because it can sorts out the harmful germs. But still, it is the same bitterness that keeps people off it. Bitter gourd juice, if had, first thing in the morning is very good for a diabetic. With a little effort we can make it interesting. But the one who likes it, relishes it in any form.

Ingredients:

500g fresh medium sized bitter gourd, 3 onions, 100g tomato puree, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste,1 tsp dhania (coriander powder), 1 tsp jeera powder, ¼ tsp haldi (turmeric powder), 1 tsp red chilli powder,1/4tsp garam masala powder and salt to taste, oil for shallow frying.

Preparation:

1. Wash and smoothen the rough surface of the vegetable using peeler or knife.
2. Make a slit in each of the pieces and scoop out a little of flesh and keep aside.
3. Chop onions finely and keep aside, heat oil in a pan and fry onions till golden brown, add ginger paste, garlic paste, dhania powder, jeera powder, haldi, red chilli powder, salt and fry a little.
4. To this add tomato puree and fry till the oil leaves sides.
5. Once the filling is thick and soft, add the peeled and scooped out flesh into the filling and cook for five more minutes.
6. Spoon the filling into the vegetable and shallow fry in oil till done.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Spicy Stuffed Bhindi

This one is stuffed with wet masala (spices), though a little long drawn tastes better for sure.

Ingredients:

500 g fresh bhindi, 3 onions, 100 g tomato puree, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp kasuri methi, 1 tsp jeera powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, ¼ tsp haldi, salt to taste and oil for shallow frying.

Preparation:

1. Wash, dry and give a slit to each of the bhindis and keep aside. 
2. Chop the onions finely, heat oil in a pan; put the onions and fry till golden brown. 
3. To this, add one by one ginger, garlic pastes and other dry spices, tomato puree and fry till the oil leaves sides. 
4. Once the stuffing is little dry and done, stuff the same into all the bhindis and fry till soft.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Raw vegetable banana pakoda

Certain vegetables add good taste to the pakodas along with usual onion.  In the south it is a very common feature of having variety of vegetables in pakodas like bhindi, potato, raw banana, baingan etc.

Ingredients:

2 Raw bananas, 2 green chillis, 1 onion, ½ tsp ajwain seeds (oregano), ½ cup besan (gram flour) salt to taste, ½ cup chopped coriander and a pinch of baking soda and oil for frying.

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and make very thin slices of the bananas. 
2. Chop the onion and chillis finely. 
3. In a bowl put flour, chopped onion, chopped coriander, chillis, ajwain, baking soda, salt and little water to make a thin paste. 
4. Heat oil in a frying pan and dip each of the banana slices first into the flour batter and then drop into the oil and fry till golden brown.

Serve hot and crisp with sauce/chutney.

Lauki kofta curry

This is another variation of lauki preparation. Unlike the other preparations which are less spicy, this one can take a little extra spice.

Ingredients:

500g lauki, 100g tomato puree', 2 onions, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp jeera powder, 1 tsp dhania powder, 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried herbs of fenugreek), ½ tsp haldi (turmeric), 1 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tbsp corn flour, 3 tbsp oil, separate oil for deep frying koftas, salt to taste and hara dhania for garnishing.

Preparation:

1. Wash, Peel and grate lauki and squeeze off and discard the water. 
2. To this add a little salt, haldi, red chilli powder and corn flour. 
3. Heat oil in deep frying pan, make small balls of grated lauki mixture and fry till golden brown and set aside.
4. Peel and chop the onions finely. 
5. For the gravy, heat oil in a pan, put the chopped onions, ginger paste, garlic paste and fry till golden brown, to this add jeera powder, dhaniya powder, haldi, mirchi, salt and kasoori methi and fry a little. 
6. Now add tomato puree and fry till the gravy leaves sides. 
7. Put the kofta balls into this and also a little water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with roti or rice. 

Bagara Baingan

This one is synonymous to Hyderabadi biryani which is a favourite with all those who have tasted it. The biryani can also be made with vegetables and bagara baingan is served with it. Bagara means thadka (tempering).

Ingredients:

500g small round brinjals, 2 onions finely chopped. 2tbsp khus khus(poppy seeds), 2tbsp ground nuts, 6 cloves garlic, 3 green chiilis, 3 red chillis, 1 small piece ginger, 1 small piece dalchini(cinnamon), 5 cloves, 3 green elaichi(cardamom), one black elaichi and salt to taste.


For tempering:

 4 tbsp oil, ½ tsp jeera, tej patta(bay leaf).

Preparation:

1. Soak khus khus in a little water along with other spices except jeera and tej patta and keep aside. 
2. Roast the ground nuts and grind along with other soaked spices. 
3. Wash and slit the brinjals without fully separating.
4. Heat oil in a pan, put tej patta, jeera and chopped onion and fry till golden brown. 
5. To this add the ground spices, salt and add one cup water and leave it to simmer. 
6. After frying for 5-7 minutes, drop the baingans slowly in to the gravy and cook for a while, checking in between for it not to get burnt at the bottom. 
7. Cook till it is soft.

Serve hot with biryani or plain rice or roti.

Spicy Onion Stuffed Baingan

This is another variety of stuffing for brinjals which can only enhance the taste of brinjals. For this also we can take round even sized brinjals.

Ingredients:

500g brinjals, 4 medium size onions, 2 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram), 1 tsp jeera, 1 small piece of ginger finely chopped (optional), ¼ tsp haldi(turmeric powder), 1tsp red chilli powder, 2 tbsp tamarind pulp, 2 tbsp oil and salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Chop the onions finely and add chana dal, jeera, ginger, haldi, salt, chilli powder and mix well. Wash and slit each baingan into four without fully disintegrating. 
2. Heat oil in a pan, stuff the spicy onion into each brinjal and leave them into the oil. 
3. After ten minutes of cooking add the tamarind pulp let it simmer for ten more minutes or till it is soft.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Spicy Baingan

Aubergine plant gives the best vegetable in the first lot of the season. The taste goes wild if the same plant is used for the second season. Baingan (brinjal) is always put in water after cutting, otherwise it goes black like apple which indicates the presence of iron content. It is the quickest possible vegetable to get cooked. Also it takes very little oil and salt whichever way it is made. Brinjal comes in purple, light green and also variegated green colour. Any variety of baingan can be made tasty using masala variations.

Ingredients:

500g slightly fat variety of baingan, 2 onions, 2 tbsp of oil,100g tomato puree, 1tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), 1 tsp jeera,1 tsp red chilli powder, ¼ tsp haldi (turmeric powder) ½ tsp garam masala powder, salt to taste and hara dhania (fresh coriander) chopped for dressing.

Preparation:

Finely chop onions and keep aside.Heat oil in a pan, put jeera, kasuri methi and fry a little. To this add chopped onions and keep stirring. Once onions are a little brown add ginger paste, garlic paste, tomato puree and continue to stir adding a little water. Also add chilli powder, haldi powder garam masala powder and salt. Cut baingan into thin round slices and apply a little salt and garam masala powder and keep it ready. After a while when the masala starts leaving the oil put the baingan slices and toss it well, cover the lid and cook on slow fire till baigan gets soft.

Decorate with chopped hara dhania and serve the baingan hot with rice or roti.

Hakka fried noodles

Chinese cooking has always been popular across the world. It is healthy since it takes very little oil with an exception of deep fried stuff. Some people are allergic to ajinomoto used in the dishes and also it is not safe for children below 12 years. So one can safely avoid it and the taste will not be affected.

Ingredients:

2 packets of hakka noodles, 2tbsp oil, 2tsp, green chilli sauce,1tsp pepper powder, 1/2tsp soya sauce, 1tsp vinegar and salt to taste.

Vegetables for seasoning:

1/4kg Cabbage, 1/4kg spring onions, or normal onions, 1/4kg red, yellow and green peppers, 1 small carrot, 1tsp garlic paste. All vegetables have to uniformly sliced for even cooking.

Preparation:

Boil water in a big vessel, add salt, a tsp of oil and the noodles and put off the gas. After standing time of two minutes put the noodles into a strainer and run through cold water and leave it aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add garlic paste, spring onions, cabbage, all three peppers and carrots. Keep stirring the vegetables and to these add the sauces, vinegar, pepper powder and salt. As the vegetables get little soft add the noodles, mix well and put off fire.

This can be had plain or with add on sauces.

Dhappadam

A variety of fresh vegetables can be put into this to give a fine taste to the dish. This is similar to stew and gives the taste as per the vegetables used and goes well with hot rice on a rainy day. It is a sumptuous dish with a whole lot of nutritive value.

Ingredients:

Fresh vegetables:

500g yellow pumpkin, a small bottle gourd, two small carrots, two onions, handful of string beans, three small brinjals(optional).

50g seedless tamarind soaked in little water, 50g jaggery, 2tsp cornflour.

1/2tsp chilli powder, 1/4tsp haldi powder 1/2tsp jeera( cumin) powder, 1tsp dhaniya (coriander)powder,1/4tsp methi (fenugreek)powder,1tsp salt to taste. For fresher aroma, methi, dhaniya, jeera and 2/3 red chillis can be fried in a little bit of oil and powdered fine in the mixer and then be used in this dish.

For seasoning:

1tbsp oil,1/2tsp mustard seeds, 1/2tsp jeera seeds, 2 pinches of hing(asafoetida) and 1 twig of kadipatta.

Preparation:

Cut the vegetables into medium sized cubes and put that much water to cover all the vegetables and cook on medium flame. Once the vegetables are soft add the dry masalas and stir well. Take the pulp out of the tamarind, add little water to corn flour and mix it with jaggery and add this to the vegetables along with tamarind pulp. Cook for a while, take a small pan, put oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing and kadi patta and as the seeds start spluttering add the seasoning to the dish before taking it off the flame.

This can be stored in the refrigerator. The taste in fact improves upon storing.