Radish Stir Fry / Bori diye Mulor Chhechki

Daikon Radish - 1/2, grated
Radish Greens - one bunch, take only the leaves from the stem and chop them
Bori / Dried Lentil Dumplings - 1/2 cup
Olive Oil
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Dried whole red chilli - 4
Turmeric
Salt
Sugar

Heat oil in a pan. Add the dried dumplings and fry them for around 5 minutes till they are golden brown. Remove and crush them into small pieces using a mortar and pestle. Add some more oil to the pan and temper with cumin seeds, red chilli and bay leaf. Add the grated radish, radish greens, salt, turmeric and cook on medium heat till the radish is almost cooked. Add half of the crushed boris and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from heat, sprinkle the remaining boris on top and serve.

Doi Kopi / Cauliflower in yoghurt sauce

Adapted from http://www.bongcookbook.com/2009/12/doi-fulkopi-cauliflower-in-yogurt-sauce.html

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into medium sized florets and soaked in salt water for 15 minutes

Onion - 1/2, grated
Garlic - 1 pod, grated
Sugar - 1 tsp

Yoghurt - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Garlic - 1 tsp, grated
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt

Olive Oil
Bay leaf - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 4
Cloves - 4

Turmeric Powder - a pinch

Beat the yoghurt well and mix with ginger, garlic, chilli powder, garam masala, salt. Marinate the cauliflower florets in this mix for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan. Temper with bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves. Add the gtated grated onion, garlic and sugar and saute till the onion turns light brown.Pick the cauliflower florets from the marinade with a tong and add to the above masala in the pan. Don't add the marinade at this time and keep it aside.


Sprinkle a pinch of turmeric powder and fry the cauliflower. Once the cauliflower becomes a little golden  brown in color, lower the heat and add the marinade. Cook it for a few minutes. Add about a cup of water and mix well and cook till the cauliflower is just done.

Sprinkle a little Garam Masala on the cauliflower.

Mung Dal Dosa

• 1 1/2 cups mung dal
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1/4 inch piece ginger chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Oil
• Brown rice powder – 2 tbsp

Soak dal in sufficient water for at least four hours.

Drain the water. Blend dal, rice powder, green chilly, ginger  and a couple of tablespoon of water together and make a smooth batter.

Mix salt and cumin seeds in the batter. Add a little water  to make the batter consistency like pancake batter.

Use a cast iron skillet and place the heat on medium-high. You can check if the skillet is ready by putting a few drops of water on it. If the water sizzles right away, the skillet is ready.

Next,  pour about 1/2 cup of batter over center of the skillet and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

When the batter start drying , put 1 teaspoon of oil and spread over gently using a flat spatula. Wait about 30 seconds flip dosa with a spatula, just as you would a pancake.

Let the other side of the dosa cook for about one minute, or until golden-brown in color.

Serve with sambar or chutney.

Carrot Beans Stir Fry

Adapted from http://ahaar.blogspot.com/2010/09/green-beans-carrots-tumis-bunchis.html

Green beans - 30 pieces, chop into longish thin slices
Carrots - 1, chop into longish thin slices
Green chillies - 4, finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped
Shallots - 4, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves = 6
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice

Heat Oil in a cast iron skillet. When the oil is hot, add green chillies, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and onion.

Then add green beans, carrots and salt. Saute them all together over high heat for a couple of minutes. Then lower the heat, cover the pan and add cook for around 10 minutes till the carrots turn soft(sprinkle a little water in between so that the vegetables dont get burnt). Remove from heat, sprinkle a little lemon juice and serve.

Narkel Naru

Fresh grated coconut / Frozen Shredded coconut - 1 lb
Whole Milk - 1 ltr
Sugar - 3/4th cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

Mix the shredded coconut with milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to boil over medium heat.

Once it comes to boil, reduce the heat and cook the mixture for around 30 minutes, stirring frequently, till the milk almost dries up and the mixture begins to leave the sides.

Add sugar and cardamom powder and cook for a while till the mixture comes together and no longer sticks to the pan.

Remove from heat and spread it to cool a little.

Once it is cool enough to be handled, apply ghee on the palms of your hand and with gentle hand make balls of the mixture. Cool completely and store in air tight container.

Besan Ladoo

4 cups Ladoo Besan/gram flour
1 cup Ghee
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp Powdered Cardamom
1/2 cup chopped Almonds and Raisins

• Heat the ghee in a pan.

• Add the gram flour and fry it on a low flame stirring continuously till brown. This will take atleast 20 minutes.

• Once it is browned, let it cool a little.

• Add powdered cardamom and sugar. Mix well.

• Add chopped almonds and raisins.

• Shape into ladoos and serve.

Mexican Rice with Corn and Black Beans

 

Brown Rice - 1 cup, .
Fresh corn - 1
Hatch Chillies / Poblano Peppers - 5
Garlic - 6 pods
Cilantro - a handful, chopped
Roasted Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Crushed Red Pepper - 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper - 2 pinches

Peanut Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Shallots - 5, chopped
Cooked / Canned Black Beans - 1 cup, drain and rinse well if using canned beans
Salt
Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemon



Cook the brown rice with a little salt in rice-cooker/pot till done. Spread to cool

To make hot chili oil,  toast 1 tsp crushed red pepper till they become dark. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 pinches of cayenne pepper. Keep aside.

Roast the hatch chilies in the broiler for 8 minutes turning them frequently till the skins are blistered. Remove and cover with a foil till cool. Then remove the foil and discard the skin and the seeds.

Mix  6 garlic pods, chopped cilantro, 1 tsp oil and 1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds with the broiled hatch chilies and blend in a blender to make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Remove the kernels from the corn cob and toast them in a nonstick skillet till they have brown spots.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large wok. Add the cumin seeds and shallots. Cook till the shallots turn light brown at the edges.

Add the beans and cook for a few minutes more.

Then add the hatch chili, garlic, cilantro sauce to the pan; add salt and cook at high heat for 4-6 minutes till the oil starts to separate and the puree reduces in amount.

Add the corn and the rice and stir them together for a couple of minutes till the sauce is well combined with the rice. Squeeze fresh lime juice and serve hot with drizzled chili oil.

Adapted from http://www.ecurry.com/blog/rice/roasted-hatch-chile-and-corn-rice/

Varan / Simple Maharashtrian Dal

Tur Dal / Yellow Split Pigeon Peas - 3/4th cup
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
Dried Whole Red Chili - 2 (optional)
Garlic - 1 pod, chopped (optional)
Green Chili - 2
Cilantro - a handful, chopped
Water - 3 cups

Cook the dal in a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water along with turmeric.  Mash the boiled dal well with a fork.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, hing and the chilies. Add tomato and garlic and cook till the spices are done.

Add the cooked dal and salt and water if required. Bring it to boil and cook for a couple of minutes till it reaches the desired consistency. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with steamed brown rice.

Green Beans Almondine (La Madeleine Style)

Fresh tender green beans - 25, ends trimmed
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 pods, finely chopped
Slivered Almonds - 1 tbsp
Roma Tomato - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Lemon Juice - 1/4th lemon
Salt and Pepper

Boil water in a big pan, toss the beans in the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain water and immediately run the beans under cold water. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet, fry the garlic for a minute. Add the beans, salt and pepper and cook on medium flame for 5 minutes, tossing continuously. Add the slivered almonds, chopped tomatoes, toss well and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and serve hot.

Meatballs

Organic Ground Chicken - 1 lb
Salt
Pepper
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Allspice - 1 tsp
Cilantro / Parsley - 1/2 bunch, finely chopped
Almond Flour - 1/2 cup
Whole Milk - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Mix everything together gently. Wet hands and make small balls. Leave in the refrigerator to firm up. Cook on a cast iron skillet till golden brown.

If desired, heat hoisin sauce, soy sauce, molasses and pour over the meatballs for sticky meatballs.

Rasgulla

Makes 20 rasgullas

Ingredients:
Whole Milk - 1/2 gallon
lemon juice - 1/2 lemon or 1 lime juice or juice 1/4 cup white vinegar
Sugar - 1.5 cups
Water - 4 cups


Sieve the lemon juice so that it has no solid particles. Mix it with half cup of water and keep aside.
Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. When the curd starts separating from the whey, turn off the heat.

Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer lined with cheesecloth or handkerchief.

Wrap the cheese in the cloth, and rinse under cold water for atleast 3 minutes, and squeeze well.

Once it is drained, place on a dry, clean plate and knead the paneer by dragging the palm of your hand hard for atleast 20 minutes until the paneer almost rolls into smooth soft dough.

Divide the dough into 20 equal parts and roll them into smooth balls.

Mix the sugar and water in a pressure cooker/rice cooker on medium high heat and bring to a boil.

Add the paneer balls and close the cooker. After the pressure cooker starts steaming, turn the heat to medium and cook for about seven minutes or around 20 minutes in rice cooker.

Let the rasgullas cool in the cooker and soak them in the syrup for atleast another 30 minutes.

Healthy Masala Muri

Brown rice Puff - 6 oz
Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp
Pickle Masala Oil - 2 tsp
Roasted Peanuts
Roasted Whole Black Chana
Shev - 1 tbsp
Salt
Sugar

Heat Mustard oil in a big wokover low flame. Pick some oil and masala from any pickle which is at home. Add this masala to the heated mustard oil and mix well for a couple of minutes. Then add the brown rice puff and roast till crisp stirring continuously. Add peanuts, black chana, shev, salt and a little sugar. Mix well and remove from heat. Cool and store in airtight container.

Asparagus with Ginger

Asparagus - 1 lb
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Olive Oil

Trim the thick edges of the asparagus by a couple of inches. Save the trimmed ends for soup. Cut the asparagus pieces into half.

Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add cumin seeds and ginger and toss for a few minutes.

Then add the asparagus, lemon juice and salt and cook on medium heat for around 8 minutes, tossing frequently. Take care not to overcook the asparagus. Drizzle a few drops of lemon juice on top and serve.

Adapted from http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2009/03/22/asparagus-with-ginger/

Dahi Vada

Urad Dal - 1 cup, soaked overnight and blended very well with little water
Ginger - 1/4th tsp, grated
Green chilli - 2, finely chopped
Water - in a big pot, with plenty of salt

For  masala curd:
Curd - 2 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
Roasted Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Rock salt
Red Chilli powder
Sugar
Beat the curd well with water. Consistency should be slightly thicker than buttermilk. Mix the masalas and keep the curd aside.

Cilantro
Shev
Tamarind date jaggery Chutney

Oil for deep frying

Mix the grated ginger and chopped green chilli to the urad dal mixture. Heat oil in a kadai. Using 1 tbsp in each hand drop around 1 tbsp of the mixture into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes on medium heat and once the vada takes on a light brown color, fry on high heat till golden brown. Remove and immediately soak in salted water for atleast 5 minutes. Remove and sqeeze the water from the vadas. Then soak them in the masala curd for atleast 10 minutes. To serve, place a vada, put some curd and tamarind chutney on top, and garnish with cilantro and shev.

French Onion Soup

Big Yellow Sweet Onion - 1/2, sliced very thinly
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
garlic - 1 clove, finely chopped
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Sugar - 1 tsp
Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
Vegetable Stock (boil chopped celery, carrots, onion, peppercorns, bayleaf, thyme for 1 hour and seive the liquid and use it as vegetable stock)

Heat olive oil and add the sliced onion. Add salt to it and cook on low heat for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add the chopped garlic and sugar and cook for another 45 minutes till the onion becomes soft and caramelises well. The add vegetable stock, one tsp  soya sauce, fresh ground pepper and adjust the seasoning. Cook for about 10  minutes. Remove and serve hot with cheese toast.

Chili Chicken

Organic Chicken - 1 lb, wings or drumettes
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp for marinating plus 1 tsp
Vinegar - 2 tsp
Grated Garlic - 3 pods

Oil - 1 tbsp
Sliced Garlic - 1
Green Chilies - 2, chopped
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Capsicum - 1 small, chopped

Marinate the chicken in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic for a few hours or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add sliced garlic, chopped onion, green chili and capsicum. Cook till the onion softens.

Then add chicken, mix well and cover and cook. In between, lift the cover and toss a couple of times. Cook till the chicken in cooked through and releases oil. Add a tsp of soy sauce and a little sugar and sauté for a minute more. Serve hot.

Yellow Peas Chaat

Dried Yellow Peas - 1 cup (soaked overnight in water and boiled with a little salt, do not overcook)
Boiled Potato - 1, chopped
Red Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Ginger - 1/4th inch, very very finely chopped
Cilantro - chopped
Lemon Juice
Salt
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
Tamarind Date Chutney (optional)
Shev or crushed phuchkas (optional)

Mix all the above together and serve immediately.

Kurkure Aloo Bhaja

Yukon Gold Potatoes - 3

Salt - 2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 lemon

Oil for deep frying

Grate the potatoes with a grater over a big bowl of water with salt and lemon juice added to the water. Let the grated potatoes soak for atleast 15 minutes. Heat oil in a kadai, squeeze some grated potatoes and fry in the hot oil till golden brown and crisp. Remove onto paper towel to soak the excess oil. Fry in small batches. Serve hot with brown rice and masoor dal.

Sweet Potato Curry

Adapted from http://enjoyindianfood.blogspot.com/2010/09/ratalyachi-bhaaji-sweet-potatoes-curry.html

Japanese Yam - 1 (medium size), boiled and chopped
Curd - 1 cup, whisked well
Peanuts - 1/4th cup, roasted and made into coarse powder
Salt
Sugar
Cumin Seeds
Mustard Seeds
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Curry leaves
Turmeric - a pinch
Hing
Olive Oil
Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Heat oil in  a pan, temper with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, green chillies, turmeric, curry leaves.

Remove the pan from heat and add the chopped boiled sweet potatoes, whisked yoghurt and peanut powder.

Return to heat and add salt and sugar and cook for a few minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.