Matar Paneer - The best Indian Side dish ever!

As far as I am concerned Matar(Peas) Paneer is the best side dish. I really don't have words to explain the taste of this dish. It goes perfectly well with Naans, Chapatis, Pulao or any rice variety for that matter. If you wish, you can substitute Paneer with an healthy version- Tofu and this still becomes the best side dish ever. Paneer is Indian cottage cheese and very easy to prepare at home. I will post a recipe of how to make homemade paneer soon.



Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Paneer
1/2 cup of Matar (peas)- You can use the frozen ones.
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup of tomatoes, fine chopped
1/2 tbspn of cashews
2 tbspn of oil
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cardamoms
Salt to taste
2 finey chopped green chillies
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp Kasturi methi leaves
1 tbspn chopped coriander leaves





Method:

In a pan, add 1 tbspn of oil. Add the cashews and fry them till light brown.

Now add the chopped onions, salt and saute them till they are light brown.

Now add the tomatoes and mix well. cook till the tomatoes are mashed.

Allow the mixture to cool. Grind it to a thick puree with adding very little water.

In an other pan, add oil, bay leave,cinnamon stick,cardamom,cloves.

Now add the puree and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder,chili powder, green chilies and mix well.

Add the Kasturi Methi leaves and mix well. This is the ingredient which gives the buttery texture to the dish and if you don't have this, its okay, the recipe still tastes good.

Cook the mixture in Sim flame for 10 minutes.

Now add the Matar(peas) and cook for 3 minutes.

Now add the Paneer and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes in Sim flame and garnish it with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Naans/Rotis/Rice and enjoy!

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Vegetable Manchurian (dry) Reicpe - An Appetizer

I tried this vegetable Manchurian, which is similar to Gobi Manchurian. Last week, I prepared some spaghetti and I wanted some side dish to go with it. So I prepared vegetable balls, the recipe of which I will share soon. While preparing that dish, I prepared some dry ones which can be used as an appetizer in parties are even on Sunday Meals.



I learnt this from the vah chef and I would suggest everyone to try this. So instead of Spaghetti and Meat balls, we ended in Spaghetti and vegetable balls. It was my first time eating spaghetti and I would say a person who loves pasta has all reasons to love spaghetti too!

Ingredients:

1 cup of vegetables, fine chopped (carrots,beans,cabbage,celery etc)
1 cup boiled rice OR 1 egg
3 tbsp chili paste
3 chopped green chillies
1 tbspn chopped garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp corn flour
1 large ginger, finely chopped
Oil to fry
1 medium onion
2 tsp pepper powder
Salt to taste
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup spring onions


Method:

Add little water and steam the finely chopped minced vegetables in a pan. Steam it for 2 min and drain the vegetables by squeezing and store the water for making the sauce. This water is like vegetable stock so do not throw them away.

In a bowl add the cooked vegetables, salt, few chopped green chillies,pepper powder,ginger,soy sauce,chili paste,corn flour and mix well.

Now you can either use egg or 1 cup of boiled rice to this mixture to make small dumplings.

In a pan, heat the oil and deep fry these dumplings.

Note: If the dumpling breaks, add some more boiled rice to the mixture.

To make sauce:

In a pan, add oil. Add cumin seeds, chopped garlic and ginger.

Add onion and saute them.

Add green chili, pepper powder, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and chili sauce.

Add required amount of salt and spring onions.

Add the vegetable dumplings and coat them with this sauce.

The vegetable Manchurian (dry) is ready and serve hot!

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Authentic Tomato Rasam Recipe

Rasam contributes to the basic South Indian Meals. It is a tamarind sauce which is prepared with different variations making it taste completely different every time. Tomato Rasam is one of the most famous form of Rasam. It will be served in all the South Indian Functions, Marriages.



Milagu Rasam which is made from Tamarind and Pepper is considered to be medicinal and is usually consumed by people suffering from cold and fever. Garlic Rasam is also medicinal and I personally love this recipe. But today, I am sharing Tomato Rasam Recipe with you.

Ingredients: (For 2 people)

1 cup Tamarind juice
1/2 cup of cooked Toor dhal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup tomatoes chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Rasam Powder
2 dry red chillies
1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
1 tsp Hing powder


Method:

Pressure cook the toor dhal for 2 hisses, by adding enough water and a pinch of turmeric. Mash the mixture.

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When the seeds pops, add the hing powder.

Now add the tomatoes, Saute.

Add the tamarind juice. Cook for few minutes.

Now add the cooked Toor dhal, Rasam powder, red chillies,salt.

Bring it to a boil.

Finally add chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rice. It can also be consumed like a soup.

Potato goes very well with Rasam Rice. You can also eat it with Papad.

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Sambhar Vada

This is a very famous Breakfast recipe in South India. The very thought of this recipe makes me drool. Generally it is the Medu vada soaked in Sambhar, a tangy tamarind sauce. But the Sambhar which is used for this recipe is slightly different from the Sambhar we prepare to eat with rice. It tastes different and more saucy.

Any South Indian Hotels will have this in their menu card and the very sight of this recipe makes you go glutton. Here is the Medu Vada recipe. Now for the Sambhar in which it is soaked.



Ingredients:

1 cup Onions,Finely chopped
1/2 cup Toor Dal/Red gram Dal
1 cup tamarind juice
2 Tomatoes, sliced
Small bunch of Coriander leaves, Chopped finely
2 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp Mustard
1/4 tsp Hing/Asafetida
Few curry leaves

To Roast & Grind:

2 tsp Dhania/Coriander Seeds
11/2 tsp Urad Dal/Black gram Dal
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Channa/Bengal gram Dal
4-5 Red Chillies
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/4 cup of Grated Coconut
2 tsp of oil

Method:

Heat the Oil and fry the 'Ingredients to Roast & Grind' until golden.

Grind to a smooth paste.

Heat Oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds pops add hing and cumin seeds and curry leaves.

Now add the onions and and fry for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the Tomatoes and mix well.

Add enough water and cook it till soft.

Cook red gram dal in pressure cooker and mash well.

Add mashed dal, tamarind extract, and ground paste with salt and enough water to the cooking onions and tomato mixture and bring it to boil.

You can also serve this sambhar with Idly/Dosa.

Soak the vadas for 10 minutes and then serve.

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The famous Potato/Aloo Curry

Potato is the ONE vegetable which is loved by everyone. God has blessed this vegetable, that it tastes delicious however we cook it. Even an amateur cook will prepare a scrumptious potato recipe. Kids go glutton over this vegetable. I love Potato curry with Rasam (A tamarind Sauce) Rice. It tastes yummy!



This is a basic South Indian way of preparing Potato as a side dish. It is very simple and tastes great. This curry goes well with any rice variety or even as a side dish for chapati/Roti.

Ingredients : (For 2 people)

4 medium Potatoes
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp oil
3-4 garlic flakes, crushed
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
A pinch of Hing powder
Few curry leaves.

Method:

Cut the Potatoes into small cubes. Pressure cook the Potatoes and peel them.

In a pan, add oil. Add mustard seeds. When they pop add the Hing powder and cumin seeds.

Add curry leaves.

Now add the chopped onions and saute them till they are light brown in colour.

Now add the chopped tomatoes. Saute them.

Add the spices(chilli,cumin,coriander,turmeric powders) and 1/2 cup of water.

Cook until the tomatoes are mashed.

Now add the boiled potatoes and mix well with the masala.

Cook for 2 min and serve hot.

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Avial - A famous Kerala recipe

Recently I was chatting with my friend who was working with me in India. One thing I have to tell about her mom is that she is an awesome cook. Daily, or most of the days during lunch time or even before (sometimes I couldn't control) I along with few other friends will inspect her lunch box. God!Those were fun days!

Every time I look for Vazhapu vadai (banana flower fritters) in her lunch box.Though I know that no one will prepare the same recipe daily, it has become my practice, something I couldn't avoid. I really don't know if I got the English name correct but, I can surely say that it is one of her mom's best recipes. Even today, if I eat those vadas I will surely be reminded of her mom's recipe.


You may wonder why the post title is Avial Recipe and this girl is taking about vazhapu vada? It is because, this friend requested me to post Avial recipe. Also, I had invited few friends for dinner last week, which gave me the perfect occasion to serve Avial.




How to make Avial? - The famous Kerala recipe, which is a must in most of the South Indian Marriages and also in festive lunches. The secret ingredient for Avial is the few drops of coconut oil. I can't call it a secret ingredient because everyone knows that coconut oil is the key performer here, but then just wanted to give it a twist.

Ingredients:

1 cup of vegetables chopped lengthwise. This can include carrots, beans, Peas, Drumstick, potato, cauliflower, eggplant etc. Any vegetable of you choice. More the vegetables, more the taste.

2 tbspn of curd
Salt to taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 cup of Grated fresh coconut
3 - 4 Green chillies
few Curry leaves
1 tbspn Coconut oil (A must! Do not substitute. As I said before, it is the key ingredient for Avial recipe)



Method:

Wash the vegetables.

Boil the vegetables until just done, with turmeric powder and salt.

Be careful not to overcook the vegetables.Some vegetables may get cooked sooner. So add them accordingly, with the longer to cook first followed by the easily cooked.

Grind the coconut with green chillies, without using water.

Drain the vegetables.

In a pan,add the coconut mixture, beaten curds, curry leaves and gently toss for few minutes.

Now add the vegetables and coconut oil and mix so that all the vegetables are coated with coconut oil.

Serve hot! Can be refrigerated and used too. Just reheat it before serving.

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Baingan Bhartha - Eggplant gravy/curry

When it comes to spicy gravy/curry recipe, no recipe can compete with the Indian recipes. They have their own 'it' factor that makes them unique. Baingan Bhartha is one such South Indian recipe, an Andra Recipe to be precise. I had bought a big eggplant to make Bagara baigan, one of the famous eggplant recipe prepared the Indian way. Unbeknownst to me, I had been preparing baingan bhartha. Got a little confused with the names. Whatever may be the case, I was happy that the recipe turned out to be highly tasty.



This is a simple and easy way to cook eggplant and it goes great with any type of biriyani, pulao, chapathi, roti or even naan. You can find these recipes in my recipe index.

Ingredients for Baingan Bhartha:

1 large eggplant/Brinjal OR 2 to 3 medium sized eggplant
1 cup of finely chopped onions
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp Oil
50 ml Tamarind juice
Jaggery (small lemon size)OR 2 tsp of sugar
3 cup Water
Salt to taste

To make the paste:

1 cup Groundnuts
2 tbsp Dry coconut powder
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 Green chilli

Whole Garam Masala

1 Bay leaf
1 stick of cinnamon
2 to 3 Cloves
3 whole cardamom OR 1 tsp cardamom powder



Method:

In a pan, dry roast ground nuts, coconut powder and sesame seeds. Allow it to cool.

Blend it to a coarse paste with water and green chilli.

In a pan,add oil.Fry whole garam masala,mustard and cumin seeds when they start to splatter add onions turmeric,Ginger Garlic Paste.

Add cumin and coriander powder.

Now add the paste we had prepared earlier. Add salt to taste and cook for 10 min.

Now add the tamarind paste and jaggery and cook till oil oozes out in a Sim flame.

Meanwhile, cook your eggplant either by showing it directly to the flame in your stove or using a pressure cooker. The choice is yours.

If using pressure cooker, do not cut your eggplant. Add little water and a pinch of salt. Pressure cook for 3 hisses. Allow it to cool.Peel the skin and mash it with a spoon or masher.

If going to cook eggplant directly in the flame, be careful. Don't hurt yourself. Slowly cook till the skin peels off by itself. It will take time and make sure that you don not burn the eggplant too much, which undoubtedly will spoil the taste for you.

Personally, I made this gravy by cooking eggplant directly in the flame. It gives a very unique flavor to the recipe.

Now, add the mashed eggplant to your gravy which is already cooking. Mix well.

Cook for at least 15 min so that the eggplant absorbs the flavor from the gravy.

Serve hot. You can also store refrigerate it and use it for later use. Reheat before serving.

This is going to MM (Sensational Side dish) started by Meeta and this month hosted by Ruth.

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Spicy Indian Omelet - Its HOT!

If you are an omelet lover, you really enjoy this recipe. This very love for omelet made me start 101 omelet recipes. I was reading a cookbook, the other day for Vietnamese recipes. Though most of them required meat, the book had a great deal of luring recipes. In the Indian section, I found this spicy omelet recipe. Really spicy! I would suggest you to prepare the omelet the same way, without altering the spice level. It tasted great! If you are a spice lover then you ought to try this.OK, enough of praising, lets go to the details.



Ingredients: (Makes 3 to 4 omelets)


2 Eggs
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of pepper powder
1 finely chopped green chilli
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of milk
few strands of cilantro to garnish



Method:

Beat the eggs along with the milk. This makes your omelet fluffy!

Take a scoop of the beaten egg and pour it in the pan.

Immediately sprinkle onions, green chillies and tomatoes.

Add the spices and cook it in Sim flame.

Finally garnish it with cilantro!

You can eat them with bread for your breakfast or for your snack time.

Be sure to have a glass of water with you, if you are not used to highly spicy recipes.

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Vegetable Omelet

There was a problem viewing my vegetable omelet which was posted previously, so I am re posting it for the 101 Omelet series event.

Ingredients for vegetable omelet:

2 Eggs
1 cup of mixed vegetables, which includes grated carrot, onions, tomatoes,mushrooms or any of your favourite vegetable
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tsp oil
1 green chilli finely chopped



Method:

Beat the eggs with yellow in high for 2 min and in low for 1 min.

Add the vegetables, green chillies and salt and mix well.

In a non stick pan, add oil and take a scoop of this beaten egg and pour it in the center.

This will automatically spread into a round or some amoebic shape.

Now, add pepper and allow it to cook.

When one side is cooked, turn and cook the other side of the omelet.

Ta-da! Vegetable Omelet is ready and Serve hot!

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Aloo Muttar - Potato and Peas takes you to heaven, the Indian way!

Are you the person who craves for something spicy? Do you love potatoes in any form? If you are answering at least one of the above as 'Yes', Aloo Muttar is 'the one' for you. Aloo is Potato and Muttar is Peas in Hindi,an Indian Language. This is a gravy made with potatoes,peas and some Indian spices to make you go crazy! It has such a divine taste to it.



Whenever you visit any Indian restaurant, you can find Aloo Muttar listed along with Paneer Tikka Masala, Gobi Manchurian in the Side dish category, a hundred percent. Indians love these side dishes and feel even proud in making them available to others. Here I am taking the pride of sharing the famous recipe so that you can prepare this at home and surprise your family with a different cuisine/Recipe.

The preparation time for this recipe is around 20 mts and I assure you that you will never stop eating this.



Serves : 2

Ingredients:

1 cup of Potato, Pressure cooked and peeled.
1 cup of finely chopped onions
1/4 cup of finely chopped tomatoes
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of Asetofieda/Hing
1 cup of Curd
1/4 of cold milk
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 flakes of minced garlic
1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro for garnishing
Ghee/clarified butter Or oil


To Puree:

2 flakes of Garlic
1 medium sized onion
1 small size tomato
1 piece of ginger
1 Green Chilli



How to make this famous Aloo Muttar at home:

In a blender make a paste with the items to puree. Keep it aside.

In a Pan, Add ghee/oil and mustard, when it pops add cumin seeds and hing. Now add the paste and saute them till the raw flavour is vanished. It may take up to 3 minutes.

Add the chopped onions and saute them till light brown.

Add tomatoes, the spices (Cumin powder,coriander powder,chilli powder and salt) and milk and cook it in Sim flame for 5 minutes.

Then add curd and peas and mix well.

Finally, add the potatoes and mix well. cook in a Sim flame till the ghee oozes out.

Garnish it with freshly chopped cilantro and your side dish is ready.

Tip:

1.Aloo Muttar is best when served with Indian flat breads (Roti,Naan,Chapatti), Any Pulao, Any briyani. You can find these recipes in my Recipe Index.

2.Do not replace curd with anyother ingredient as Yugurt/Curd is the ingredient which gives the unique taste to this recipe.

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Cluster Beans or The Indian Beans (Kothavarangai) Poriyal

Whenever we go for grocery shopping, we come across this cluster beans/Indian beans/Kothavarangai, but will be highly hesitant to buy because of its price. Yes, it is costly! at least in our Chicago area. Though we both do not have that much love for kothavarangai/cluster beans/Indian beans, this time I decided to try it out. Now, I was in a dilemma whether to cook this kothavarangai either as poriyal or as kootu. Both can be used as side dish. However, I remembered one of my in law's recipe and hence decided to do Kothavarangai/Cluster beans/Indian beans Poriyal.

Ingredients:

Cluster beans/Indian beans/Kothavarangai - 1 cup

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp channa dal

Few curry leaves

2 tsp chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp mustard

A pinch of Hing

2-4 tsp of Groundnut powder

2 tsp of oil

Method:

Cut the cluster beans and wash them.

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When the seeds pops, add hing, urad dal, channa dal and curry leaves. Saute them for few seconds.

Add the cut cluster beans and some water to cook the beans. Throughout this process do cook in a medium flame.

Occasionally stir and see if it requires more water to cook.

When you are sure that the beans is cooked, add the groundnut powder and mix well.

Serve hot.

Note:

For the groundnut powder, just grind the raw ground nut or roast the ground nuts and grind them into a fine powder. Either way it adds great flavour to the dish.

While cooking the beans, make sure that you do not overcook or add excess water. This may spoil the dish.

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Paneer Tikka Masala (Marinated Cottage Cheese cubes cooked the Indian way)

Paneer - One word that makes me drool. I know there are many like me who loves to eat paneer, however cooked. There are numerous recipes with Paneer - The South Asian cottage Cheese , Can I say? Paneer is a protein rich food and I thought why not cook something with Paneer and send it to my Eat Healthy Protein Rich Contest. Of course This entry will not be considered for the prize. LOL! ok fine. Now coming to the great Paneer Tikka masala. Whenever I think of tikka masala I just can't keep thinking about the Chicken Tikka served in hotels. Though I am a vegetarian, I love the way few non-vegetarian recipes are presented and served in the hotels. And this food is one among them. When I thought of a substitute for chicken to try at home, two things came to my mind. One is Soy (meal maker) and the other is Paneer. I don't know how Soy Tikka masala will taste like, but can tell you for sure, that Paneer Tikka masala will make you go glutton.

Paneer can be prepared easily at home and there are a numerous blogs that teaches you how to prepare paneer at home. I have not tried it, so my blog doesn't have one yet. But will soon be trying, so a post on how to prepare homemade paneer is on its way. When I was searching for a recipe to prepare this scrumptious food, I came across this lovely blog Cook Easy by Rachna. Though, I guess she has stopped writing (Her last entry was on Nov 30, 2006), this recipe was really luring me to cook. She has explained it so very well that I did not add anything to her recipe. Mine is an exact replica of hers. Take a look at her Paneer Tikka Masala recipe.

Now for my experience with this delicious recipe. I first wanted to prepare Paneer at home and try this recipe. However, I didn't have the patience to wait till next week because I did not have curd in my kitchen. Oops! so what else ...the next minute I was running (not literally ;)) to the grocery shop near by. Great, now I have all the ingredients to prepare my favourite paneer Tikka masala. This is the first time I prepared this recipe and I am so very happy that it came out really good.

The very next thing that came to my mind is, Your Recipe Rocks. Though I know about this event for more than 3 months, I couldn't participate. Really do not know why. But, now I have this Paneer Tikka masala recipe walking to Your Recipe Rocks event hosted by Madhuram of Eggless cooking. I love eating this food the way it is. In Tamil we say, 'Appidiye sapiduven' like in horlicks advertisement!

This recipe is also walking to Curry Mela hosted by Srivalli. Another inspiring food blogger. With her roti mela and dosa mela I learnt a lot about the varieties and with this curry mela I hope to learn more and become a pro.

And one more... off it goes to Paneer: A delicacy hosted by Vandana of Cooking up something nice.

So...what do you say about my multitasking Paneer recipe :) - One recipe to 4 events!

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Vazhaikai (Plantain) Poriyal

This blog is so close to me that I feel very lonely if I do not post and interact with fellow bloggers. This blog is kind of my family now. I have reached India safely and I am enjoying my stay. I was at my in-laws for the past few days but now I am at my parents place as my hubby's office is near from my mom's place.Yes! he has to work from here for 2 weeks only after that the real vacation starts. Anyways I have started to give my menu details to my mom and my mother-in-law. Both are great cook and I like many of their recipes. Today I am posting one of my mom's recipe which is my favourite. Vazhaikai Poriyal is one of my first choice when it comes to side dish for More kozhambu, an authentic South Indian gravy done for marriages and for festivals. I am sending this to JFI-Jihva for Tamarind .Here is the link to the JFI main page which was started by Indira of Mahanadi.

Ingredients:

1 Raw Plantain (Vazhaikai)- peeled and sliced
1 cup tamarind juice
Salt to taste
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of hing powder
2 Red chilli whole
2 tsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 or 3 curry leaves
1 tsp of oil

Method:

In a pan, add the sliced plantain (vazhaikai) and add tamarind juice with turmeric powder and required salt.

Cook until the Plantain is tender. Switch off and keep it aside.

In an other pan, add 1 tsp of oil and add mustard seeds. When it pops add hing powder and urad dal. Saute for few seconds. Now add the curry leaves and red chilli whole.

Now add the cooked Plantain (Vazhaikai) and mix well.

Add grated coconut and mix well.

Serve hot.

As I told earlier, I love it with More kozhambu, but you can have it with any of your favourite rice item.

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A simple sambhar and a break!

As I already posted about my trip to India, you all must be knowing by now how excited I am. I am leaving today and will be back after a month. I will try to post as frequently as possible but you know how it works on vacation. But surely I will keep myself updated and try to post often. Before leaving I wanted to post a very simple recipe which I can send to JFI-Jihva for Tamarind. Yes, it is the South Indian way of making Sambhar, a gravy using tamarind which can be eaten with plain rice.

Ingredients:
Tamarind (Lemon size)
1 cup of Toor Dal (yellow split peas)
1/2 cup of onions finely chopped
1/2 cup of Tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp of Cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp of mustard
a pinch of Hing powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
2 tsp of sambhar powder
salt to taste
1 tsp of oil
1 strand of curry leaves
1/2 cup of vegetable (Carrots or pumpkin or ladies finger or any veg of your choice)

Method:

Soak the tamarind in water for 1 hr. After 1 hr, take the tamarind juice. To know how to take the tamarind juice check out this how to make tamarind juice video.

In a pressure cooker, cook the toor dal with turmeric powder and enough water for 3 hisses. Let it cool.

Now, in a pan, add a tsp of oil, mustard seeds. When the seeds pops, add hing, cumin seeds and curry leaves.

Optional: Add the vegetable of your choice, add some water and let it cook for 5 min. If you add carrots it becomes carrot sambhar, if ladies finger then it becomes ladies finger... if no vegies then it becomes plain sambhar. Easy huh?

Add onions and saute them till they become light brown. Add tomatoes and saute them for few seconds.

Add the tamarind extract and add salt. Let it come to a boil. Now add some water add let it boil.

Now add the sambhar powder/chilli powder, when it comes to a boil switch off the stove and serve hot.

Here is the link to the JFI main page which was started by Indira of Mahanadi

By the way, Do not forget to participate in Eat Healthy-Fiber Rich Event. which ends on 14th Jun,Midnight CST.

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Moong Dal Fry - A healthy Side dish

Out of all the dal varieties, moong dal is more healthy and cooks fast too. The split moong bean is called moong dal and is either green(with husk) or yellow(when de husked) in colour.

The nutritional value of moong bean per 100g when boiled is as follows,

calories:110Kcal

carbohydrate: 19.15g

Sugar: 2g

Fat: 0.38g

Dietary Fiber: 7.8g

Vitamin C: 1mg

Calcium:27mg

There are a lot of recipes with moong dal as its main ingredient. One such recipe is Moong Dal fry. This is a very tasty and easy to prepare recipe. You can use this as side dish for dosa, idly, chapatti or you can also mix it with rice and eat.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Moong Dal

1/2 onion finely chopped

2 Red chilli whole

1tsp mustard seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

a pinch of hing powder

1tsp urad dal

1tsp channa dal

1 strand of curry leaves

2 - 3 garlic flakes

salt to taste

oil

2 cup of water

Method:

Pressure cook the moong dal and garlic with water for 4 hisses.

Mash the cooked moong dal and garlic. In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When the seeds pops, add cumin seeds, hing powder, urad dal and channa dal and saute.

Add red chillli whole, curry leaves. Now add the onions and fry till they become brown.

Add the cooked moong dal and let it come to a boil. add salt and stir occasionally.

Serve hot.

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Channa Masala - A traditional Punjabi Recipe

When I was in India, my neighbour aunt always calls me if she makes channa masala in her house. She is an extraordinary cook and channa masala is one of her speciality. Even restaurant's channa masala can't compete with the taste and look of her recipe. I am very happy to share her recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

1 cup of channa (chickpeas)
1 tsp of channa masala powder
1 springs coriander leaves finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 number gr chillies
1tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp oil
2 number onion finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 number tomatoes finely chopped
1 pinch turmeric
few piece whole garam masala (cardamom, bay leaf, Cinnamon,cloves)

Method:

Soak the channa for 4-5hrs and then pressure cook it with a pinch of salt for 3 hisses. Make sure you add required amount of salt (required for channa alone) while pressure cooking, otherwise you have to say bye bye to your dish.

In a pan, add oil ,cumin seeds and whole garam masala and wait till you get the aroma of the masalas. Add the finely chopped onions and fry them till they are brown.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute. Now add green chilles, and tomatoes and saute them for few minutes.

Add turmeric and chilli powder and mix them well. When the tomatoes are well cooked , add channa masala powder and add the water that we drained from the channa while pressure cooking. Add salt.

Let it come to a boil. Now add the channa and mix well. Cook for 5 - 10mts in Sim flame. Garnish it with finely chopped cilantro and finaly add some lime juice and serve hot with Batura, Parathas, roti, puri or you can have this as a chat.

Variations:

1.You can make a paste with onions, garlic and coriander and use that instead of chat masala

2.You can also mash few channa and add it to your gravy for better mixing.

Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, protein. They are also very high in dietery fiber and which results in a healthy source of carbohydrate for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetic. One hundred grams of mature boiled chickpeas contains 7.6g of dietry fiber and thats what we are talking about. This goes to my Eat healthy- Fiber rich event.

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Vegetarian delight - A Calcium rich recipe

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "The average dietary intake of calcium by children and adolescents is well below the recommended levels of adequate intake." This can mean that these children will not develop their optimal bone mass, which can put them at risk of fractures and osteoporosis.

What is osteoporosis?: Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.

While women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease, men also suffer from osteoporosis. Reading these information from http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/index.htm I was totally shocked. It all happens because of the calcium deficiency and so here is a calcium rich recipe.

I have used broccoli,cabbage,carrot,garlic,spinach,tomato,egg,black pepper,lettuce - These are calcium rich.

Ingredients: ( for 2 Person)

1/2 onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1 carrot cut lengthwise
1/4 cup green peas (optional)
1/4 cup cabbage
1/4 cub spinach
1/4 cub lettuce
2-3 Garlic flakes finely chopped
1 Egg with yellow or 2 egg whites (Optional)
2 to 3 Roti (optional)
Salt to taste
1tsp of olive oil
1tsp coriander powder
2tsp pepper
1 cup water

Method:

In a Pan, add oil. Add the onions and saute. Add tomatoes and garlic. fry them for a min. Now add all the vegetables and 1 cup of water.

Half cook the vegetables. Add salt,coriander powder and pepper.

(optional) - In a tawa, do roti with wheat flour. Make it into pieces and put it in the cooking mixture. Try Missi roti -A Rajasthani food for this; it surely does add some flavour.

Add the eggs and mix well. Cook the mixture in a medium flame. Stir continuously so that the egg forms a coating with the vegetables and all the water is evaporated. This takes around 5 to 8 min. Serve hot.

Variations:

1.You can avoid egg and instead add yogurt.
2.You can avoid Roti and use it as a side dish for your main course.
3. You can mix this with pasta and prepare a vegie pasta delight too :)

Note: I am considering Egg as vegetarian, for those who don't use egg in their diet can replace it with yogurt.

I am sending this as an entry to beautiful bones event hosted by Susan.

Eat Healthy and Stay healthy !

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Gobi Manchurian Recipe

Gobi ( Cauliflower) Manchurian is a very famous recipe in India. I know people who go to hotels just to eat this recipe. They feel that though it is possible to prepare Gobi Manchurian at home, it won't taste the way it does in the hotels. Why not? Nothing is impossible. Preparing Gobi manchurian in India is slightly tedious because the Gobi (Cauliflower) that we get in India has worms in them and hence we need to cook it in salted boiling water so that the worms are dead and can be easily removed. However in the US, we get all clean cauliflower and hence preparing Gobi manchurian is not that difficult.

Ingredients:

1 medium Gobhi (Cauliflower)

1/2 cup All purpose Flour (Maida)

1 tbsp Corn Flour

Salt to taste

1 tsp chilli powder

1/4 cup spring onions finely chopped

3-4 flakes of garlic finely chopped

1-2 Chopped green chili

11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste

11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste

1 cup finely Chopped Onions Finely Chopped

Coriander Leaves

1/4th tsp Ajinomoto

2 tbsp Soya Sauce

2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup or chilli sauce

Oil for frying

Ghee (Cleared butter) 1tbsp

Method:

Make a paste with all purpose flour, corn flour and salt using water. This paste must be littile thick (Semi solid).
Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste.

Add a tsp of chilli powder to the paste and mix well.

Cut the cauliflower into small florets.
Dip the Gobi florets in the paste and deep fry in oil till golden brown. Keep aside.

Heat Ghee in another pan and add 1tsp of ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to it. Fry them till the oinion turns light brown.

Now add Spring onions and Garlic to it.
Now, mix aginomoto, soya sauce and tomato sauce/chilly sauce to it. Please note that aginomoto is not good for pregnant ladies and so avoiding it is good. Instead you can use salt.
Add fried Gobi kept aside and mix well.

Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot.

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Soy Meal Maker Recipe

This is a very healthy dish. You can eat this as a snack or as a side dish. Though it is vegetarian, my friends say that it tastes like chicken. So non-veg lovers, try Soy meal maker instead of chicken to reduce your calorie intake. This dish was also introduced to me by Rekha. You get Soy Nuggets as a packet in all the grocery shop.

Ingredients:

Soy Nuggets (Meal Maker/Nutrela) : 1/2 pack

Water : 2 1/2 glass

Salt to taste

Red Chili pwdr : 1 tsp

(Coriander) Dhaniya pwdr : 1 tsp

Oil for shallow frying

Curd : 2 tbsp

Black pepper pwdr : Little

Method:

Heat the water in a big vessel and when it starts boiling, add the soy nuggets and cook for 5 min.

When the Soy is cooked, drain the water and marinate with curd, chilli powder, dhaniya powder,salt and pepper. You can also use garam masala.

Allow it to rest for 15mts. You can keep it in fridge or you can keep it outside.

Now add some oil preferably in a nonstick pan and when the oil is hot, add this marinated soy.

Close the lid and allow it to deep fry.

Occasionally stir and add check for the spices. If you need more you can add them now.

Cook for 20mts in a Sim flame, serve hot.

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Palak Dal Recipe

Most of us like dal. Even kids love to eat dal rice. When it is done with Palak (Spinach), it is more healthier and delicious. Rekha prepared this dish for us and it came out the same way as my mother's recipe.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1cup

Spinach (finely chopped)- 1 cup

Urad dal - 1tsp

oil - 2 tsp

mustard - 1tsp

cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 2 nos

Hing- 1tsp

Salt - to taste

Optional:

Onion - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1/4 cup

Ginger - 1 piece crushed

Garlic - 2 flakes crushed

Method:

Cook the dal with turmeric powder, Garlic, Ginger in a pressure cooker for 4 hisses.

Let it cool and then mash it.

In a pan add some oil, mustard seeds. When the seeds pops, add hing,cumin seeds.

Add Urad dal and when it turns light brown, add onions, red chillies and fry for 1 min.

Now add the tomatoes and fry.

Add the cut spinach and some water and cook.

When the spinach is cooked add the dal from the cooker.

When it comes to a boil add salt and stir.

Let it cook in a Sim flame for 2 min and then serve hot with rice,chapatti.

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