Broccoli Potato with Cumin

Broccoli - cut into medium sized florets, 2 cups
Red Potato - 1, small, cut into small cubes
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilli - 2, chopped
Red Onion - 1/2, thinly sliced
Turmeric - a pinch
Ginger - 1/2 tsp, grated
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Aamchur / Dried Mango powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Water - 2 tsp

Heat a cast iron skillet. Add oil, cumin seeds, green chillies. After a minute add the sliced onion.

Saute till the onion gets a little soft. Add the chopped potato, ginger, turmeric and salt. Saute till the potato cubes are cooked.

Now add the broccoli florets, coriander powder, cumin powder and aamchur. Toss well. Sprinkle a little water and cover and cook for a couple of minutes.

The broccoli florets should be bright green and crunchy and should not be overcooked.

Caramel Custard

Whole Milk - 2.5 cups
Eggs - 3
Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup  + 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp

Take a round steel pan which can fit into a rice cooker. Keep aside

Heat the milk along with 1/2 cup sugar till the sugar melts. Add vanilla essence and let it cool to room temperature.

Take a saucepan and add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. Heat on low fire till the sugar melts. Increase the heat to medium high. The mixture becomes bubbly and changes color. Keep on heat till the sugar caramelises and becomes golden brown. watch carefully so that it doesnt burn. As soon as it caramelises and reaches golden color, pour the sauce in the steel round pan. Leave it to cool down.

Beat the eggs well and add to the milk. Once the caramel cools down, sieve the milk egg mixture and pour it on the caramel. The mixture has to be sieved to get a smooth custard texture. Cover it tightly with an alluminium foil.

Add 3.5 cups of water to the rice cooker and place the steel pan with the custard mixture in it.

Steam for around 40 minutes. Remove and cool down. Place it in the fridge for atleast an hour.

Remove the foil and invert it on a serving plate.

Boondi Raita

Besan - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

Yoghurt - 2 cups
Rock salt - a pinch
Sugar - 2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Paprika - 1/4 tsp

Sift the besan with a flour sifter. Add water slowly and make a batter by mixing simultaneously using a wire whisk. The batter should not be too watery and should be of dosa batter consistency.

Heat oil in a kadai over medium heat. The oil should be sufficiently hot before dropping the batter. This can be tested by putting a drop of batter in the oil. The drop should immediately bubble up.

Now hold the ladle over the kadai and pour some batter on it. The drops of batter will fall on the oil and immediately bubble up. Remove the boondis once they begin to change color. Leave the boondis on a paper towel to soak excess oil.

Before frying the next batch of boondis, wipe the ladle completely clean. If the ladle has some batter clinging to it, the next batch of boondis will not be round and they will have an elongated shape. Continue frying like this for the entire batter.

Beat the curd well with rock salt, sugar, cumin and chilli powder. Reserve a handful of boondis and add rest of them to the curd and mix well. Leave on for 10 minutes so that the boondis can soak up some liquid and become soft. Sprinkle paprika and the reserved boondis on top and serve.

Red lentil Soup with Baby Spinach

Dried Red Lentil / Mushurir Dal - 3/4 cup
Tomato - 1, chopped
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Water - 3 cups
Shallots - 3, finely sliced
Garlic - 4, thinly sliced
Green Chilli - 2, finely chopped
Baby Spinach - 2 cups
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, add shallots, garlic and green chilli. Cook till the shallots begin to change color.

Now add the red lentil, chopped tomato, salt, turmeric, water and cover and cook till the lentils is done. It should take around 20 minutes.

Once the soup reaches the desired consistency, remove the cover and add the spinach leaves. Cook for a few minutes more till the leaves begin to wilt. The leaves should remain bright green and should not be overcooked.

Remove from heat, add a dash of lemon juice on top and serve immediately.

Alu Bhaja

Red Potato - 2 medium sized or Japanese Yam - 1 big
Salt
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Peanut Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash the potato and leave the skin on. Cut them into thin strips. Take a large pan full of water and put around 2 tsp salt in it. Soak the potato strips in the salted water for atleast 30 minutes. Then drain the water and keep the strips aside.

Take a cast iron skillet and heat the peanut oil well on medium high heat. Once the oil is heated enough, add the potato strips and chilli powder. Toss well and cook stirring occasionally till the potato gets slightly browned and crispy. Check seasoning. Additional salt may not be required as the potato was soaked in salt water.

Remove on a paper towel to soak excess oil. Serve with mushurir dal and steamed rice.

Kale Chips

Kale - 1 bunch
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Salt
Red Chili Flakes

Wash the leaves well and dry with paper towel. Remove the stem and tear the leaves into bite sized pieces.

Spread the leaves on 2 baking sheets. Add olive oil, salt and red chili flakes and mix well.

Bake in 375F preheated oven for 20 minutes until the edges are brown and the leaves are crispy.

Uttapam

Brown Rice - 3/4 cup

Urad Dal - 3/4 th cup
Methi Seeds - 10
Brown Rice powder - 2 tbsp
Salt
Onion - 1/2, finely chopped
Tomato - 1, finely chopped
Green Chilli - 4, finely chopped
Cilantro - 1/2 bunch, finely chopped
Oil for cooking the uttapam

Soak brown rice, urad dal and methi seeds overnight. Wash, drain and grind the mix finely adding a little water as required. Add rice powder and salt and cover and leave it to ferment for 12 hours.

Mix a little water to make the consistency like pancake and add chopped onion, tomato, chilli, cilantro. Adjust salt.  Heat a non stick pan. Put a ladle full of mixture, smear a little oil and cook till golden brown on both sides. Serve with sambar and chutney.

Papaya Curry, in Pressure Cooker

Raw Papaya - 1 small, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes
Potato - 1, Yukon gold, cubes
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp.
Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp
White Onion - 1 small, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Yogurt - 1 tbsp.
Turmeric -1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Tomato - 2, grated
Water - 2 cups
Ghee - 1 tbsp. (optional)
Cilantro - a handful, chopped (optional)

Mix , cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric and a little water with the yogurt to make a thick paste. Keep aside

 Heat a pan and add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion and ginger and cook for a few minutes.

Then add the spice paste in yogurt and grated tomato and cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes stirring continuously, till the spices are cooked and oil releases. 

Add papaya and potato, saute for 5 minutes and then cook in pressure cooker for 10 minutes after full pressure is reached..

 Remove from heat, cool a little and add a tbsp of ghee and some chopped cilantro on top and serve.