Palak Masoor Dal

Masoor Dal / Dried Red Lentil - 3/4 cup
Turmeric
Salt
Oil
Red Onion - 1/4, chopped
Spinach Leaves - washed and chopped, 2 cups
Garlic - 6 pods chopped
Green Chillies - 2
Cilantro - 1/2 bunch
Boil the masoor dal  in a cooker with salt, pinch of turmeric and water. Heat oil in a pan. Add the slit green chillies and the garlic. Fry for a minute and add the chopped onion. Fry the onions till they are caramelised. Now add the boiled dal and the chopped spinach in the pan. Add a little water if required. Adjust the salt. Boil for a few minutes till it reaches desired consistency. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Gota Mushurir Dal / Brown Lentil Soup

Whole Masoor Dal / Brown Lentil - 1 cup
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
Roasted Cumin coriander powder - 2 tsp
Tomato - 1, chopped
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Green Chilies - 2
Cilantro - a handful chopped

Boil the masoor dal in a cooker with tomato, grated ginger, 1 tsp cumin coriander powder, salt, pinch of turmeric and water.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the slit green chilies and the chopped onion. Fry the onion till they are caramelised.

Add the boiled dal in the pan. Add some cumin coriander powder and a little water if required. Adjust the salt.

Boil for a few minutes till it reaches desired consistency. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve hot.

Tomato Masur Dal

Masoor Dal / Dried Red Lentils - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 big
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Green Chilies - 2
Curry leaves - 5
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cilantro - a handful, chopped

Boil the masoor dal in a cooker with chopped tomato, salt, pinch of turmeric and water. Mash the tomato a little once the dal is cooked.

Now heat oil in a pan. Temper with mustard seeds. Then add the slit green chillies, curry leaves and the chopped onion. Fry the onion till they are caramelised.

Add the boiled dal in the pan. Add a little water if required. Adjust the salt. Boil for a few minutes till it reaches desired consistency. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Masoor Dal / Red lentil Soup

Masoor Dal / Dried Red Lentil - 1 cup
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Green Chillies - 2
Cilantro - a handful, chopped
Boil the masoor dal in a cooker with salt, pinch of turmeric and water.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the slit green chillies and the chopped onion. Fry the onion till they are caramelised.

Add the boiled dal in the pan. Add a little water if required. Adjust the salt. Boil for a few minutes till it reaches desired consistency. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Green Beans with Sambar Powder

Green Beans - ends trimmed and chopped into very small pieces
Mustard Seeds
Hing
Curry Leaves
Green Chillies - chopped
Onion - chopped into very small pieces
sambar powder
salt
Oil

Temper oil with mustard seeds and hing. Add chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Then add the chopped onion and cook till it becomes transparent. Add the green beans and cook covered. The beans should not be overcooked and be left a little crisp. When they are half done, add salt and the sambar powder. Cook for a few more minutes and serve hot.

Shahi Paneer

Paneer cubes - made of 1 litre milk, lightly fried
onion - 1 small, cut into 4 quarters(keep big pieces)
Cashewnuts - 25
Tomato - 1 peeled and chopped
Potato - 1 chopped
green peas - handful
Ginger - 1 inch grated
sugar - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Bayleaf - 1
salt
green chillies - 4 chopped
oil

Put the large pieces of onion and the cashewnuts in a little water in a pan. Boil till the onions become transparent. Pick up the onion slices from water and grind to a paste in a blender. Keep aside. Add the cashewnut pieces and some of the water to the blender and grind to a smooth paste. Keep adding water little by little while blending. Remove and keep aside. Peel the whole tomato (or blanch it in boiling water for a minute and take out the peel)  and blend it in the blender till smooth. Now heat oil in a wok and temper with cumin seeds and bayleaf. Add the chopped green chillies. Then add the blended boiled onion. Cook till the onion becomes pink and oil leaves the sides of the pan. Then add the cashew paste and cook for some time. Add the blended tomato. Add the chopped potato and green peas, salt, sugar and cook on low heat till the potato is cooked. Add a little water if required. Once the potatoes are cooked and the gravy reaches desired consistency, add the fried paneer and toss for a minute. Serve hot.

This is my entry for JFI-Paneer hosted by Trupti @ The Spice who loved me.

Tomato & Date Chutney

Tomatoes - 6 small- peeled and chopped
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Whole Dried Red Chillies - 3
Brown Sugar / Jaggery - 6 tbsp
Dates - 8
Vinegar / lemon juice - 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 2 tsp
Grated ginger - 1/2 tsp
Water
Oil - 1 tbsp
Panch Phoran(5 spice mixture) - roasted and ground - 1/2 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Temper with mustard Seeds and red chillies.

Add the chopped tomatoes and the grated ginger, a little water to cover the tomatoes and cook covered till the tomatoes are mushy and completely cooked.

Add  vinegar/lemon juice, tamarind paste, chopped dates and sugar/jaggery. Cook till the desired consistency is reached.

Sprinkle bhaja panch poran guro on top. Serve with roasted plain papad.

Lemon Rice

Brown Rice - 1 cup, cooked
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
Whole dries red chillies - 4
Green Chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Curry Leaves - 6
Urad Dal / Black Gram - 3 tbsp soaked in water for an hour
Roasted Chana Dal / dalia - a handful
Peanuts - a handful
Cashewnuts - a handful
Juice of one lemon
Salt
Turmeric - a pinch
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp

Heat ghee in a wok. Temper with mustard seeds, hing and red chilies.

Then add the turmeric, ginger and soaked urad dal and stir till the dal becomes light brown.

Add the chana dal, green chillies and curry leaves. Then add all the nuts. Stir for a minute.

Add the lemon juice and the boiled rice. Mix everything well, toss for a minute more and serve hot.

Payesh / Kheer

Milk - 1/2 gallon
White Rice - 1 heaped tbsp. (use gobindabhog or kaljira variety rice for creamy kheer)
Sugar - 1 cup
Bay leaf - 1
Green Cardamom - 1
Raw cashew nuts and raisins - a handful

Soak the rice in water for a few minutes.

Boil the milk with bay leaf and one green cardamom. Once the milk comes to boil, add the soaked rice to the boiling milk and cook on low fire stirring often till the rice is cooked and the kheer becomes thick. This takes about one hour.

Add sugar and cook till the sugar melts and the consistency becomes creamy. Remove the bay leaf and cardamom and discard. Add broken cashew pieces and raisins. Remove from heat and serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Caramelised Sweet Potato / Ratalaycha Sheera

Sweet Potato - 2,  cut into thin roundels with skins
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 2 tbsp
Coconut Palm Sugar / Turbinado Sugar- 1/2 cup
Milk / Milk Powder - 1/2 cup (optional)
Dry Fruits for garnishing

Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add the sweet potato slices. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes tossing frequently.

Then cook on low heat  till the sweet potato is completely cooked. If using milk or mawa, add it when the potatoes are half cooked.

Add the sugar and cook till the mixture becomes a little dry. Sprinkle some more sugar on the bottom of the pan and cook the mixture undisturbed for a few minutes till a nice brown caramel is formed.

Similarly sprinkle some more sugar on the top and flip it and cook undisturbed for a few minutes for the caramel to form.

Sprinkle some dry fruits on top and serve when cooled.

Black Bean Salsa

Black Beans - 1/2 cup, soaked overnight and cook in cooker till done. Drain the liquid and keep aside
Cucumber - 1/2, cut into small pieces
Onion - 1/2, chopped
Cilantro - handful
Tomato - 1/2, chopped
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Green chilies - 2, finely chopped
salt
pepper

Mix all the above together and leave for an hour. Serve it with baked corn tortilla chips

Alu Jhinge Posto

Potatoes -1 small, diced
Ridge Gourd - 3, peeled and cut into small pieces
Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp
Nigella Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies - 3, chopped
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped (optional)
Garlic popds - 3
Poppy Seeds / Posto - 2 tbsp, soak in a little water for an hour
Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp (optional), soaked with poppy seeds, if  using
Fresh coconut - 1 tbsp, grated (optional)
Salt
Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Drain water from the soaked poppy seeds. Add a little salt and grated coconut and blend in the mixer to make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil and temper with nigella seeds and green chilies. Add the crushed garlic and fry for a few seconds.

Add onion and cook till transparent.

Add the potatoes. Cook for a few minutes.

Now add the chopped ridge gourd, salt and the poppy seeds paste.

When the vegetables are completely cooked, add the sugar. Mix well and cook for a minute more. Serve hot.

Aloo Bhaja with Posto

Potatoes - boiled with skin and cooled completely (preferably boil them previous night and keep in fridge)
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Coarsely ground pepper
salt
Poppy seeds -  1 tbsp

Heat oil. Add the chopped boiled potatoes. Add salt and lots of fresh ground pepper.

Sprinkle a few tsp of poppy seeds. Cook till the potatoes become light brown and crunchy.

Mator Dal / Split Yellow Peas with Vegetables

Yellow Split Peas - 1 cup
Mixed Vegetables - 2 cups (cucumber, radish, bottle gourd, pumpkin)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Bay leaf - 2
Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili - 2
Green Chilies - 3

Wash and cook 1 cup of  mator dal in the pressure cooker/rice cooker with a little turmeric and sufficient water.

In a deep bottomed pan heat 1 tbsp oil

Temper with 1/2 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera, 2 cracked Dry Red Chili and bay leaf. Add chopped onions and cook till soft.

Then add the vegetables and 3 slit green chilies.

Fry for 3-4 minutes till you get a nice aroma of the veggies.

Add the cooked Dal and mix well. Add salt and add water to get the desired consistency. Let the dal come to a boil. Just before taking off the heat add a little ghee.

Vegetable Chop / Vegetable Croquette

1 Beetroot
2 Carrots
1 Potato
Frozen Green Peas - 1/2 cup

1 Onions (sliced)
1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
2 tbsp Oil
1 heaped tsp roasted Cumin Powder
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs / Corn Meal for gluten free option
1/2 cup Cornstarch / Arrowroot
2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts (coarsely ground)
Oil for deep frying
 
Steam the vegetables in a steamer and let them cool, Mash the vegetables coarsely and add salt.

Heat oil in a big vessel and add the chopped onions; fry the onions till golden brown. Add ginger paste, cumin powder, chili powder and saute.

Now add the mashed vegetables and fry for 5 mins. Turn off the flame and add roasted peanuts to the above.

Make small balls out of this mixture. Now mix the cornstarch with some water to make a batter. Dip each of the above-made balls in the batter. Afterwards coat each ball with the bread crumbs, press to make like patties and place onto a plate.
Repeat the process for all the balls and then place them in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer.

Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry each ball till golden brown. Alternatively they can also be shallow fried in a cast iron skillet with little oil.  Serve with salad and ketchup.