Namkeen

This is again a very simple dish to cook and people from different region cook it in different way. If I am not wrong its called 'Vagharlela bhaat' in marathi and in my house it's called as 'Namkeen'. This is one of the dishes which I can eat almost every day. In my school days I have taken this daily in my lunch box for almost 2 years:) It was a major hit amongst my friends. So here is the recipe...

Ingredients-
Serves 2

Cooked Rice - 3 cups
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Green peas - 1/4 cups
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tbsp
sliced Onions- 1 cup
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
oil- 3tbsp
Kadi patta-3-4
Green chillies (as per taste)
Salt (as per taste)
For Garnishing-
Tomatoes(optional) - 1/2 cup
Grapes(optional)-1/2cup
Cucumber(optional)-1/4cup

Note- Rice should be preferably left over from the previous night or cooked 1-2 hrs in advance. This will prevent it sticking to the pan else it will become too soggy. I have used Basmati Rice but it tastes equally yummy with other rices too.

Method-
In a pan take oil. When its hot add peanuts. Roast it on medium heat for few minutes. When it will become slight brown in color add cumin and mustard seeds. when seeds will start spluttering add kadi patta and chopped green chillies. After 10-15 seconds add onions. Cook it for around 2 min till it becomes golden brown. Now add green peas. Cook it for 2 min. Add salt and termeric powder. stir it well and add cooked rice. Reduce the heat to low and mix it well. cover it and cook it for 2-3 min.if you want to add tomatoes this is the time to add chopped tomatoes. Add and cover the pan. The steam from the rice will cook the tomatoes. They will not become soggy but cooked and crunchy. Sprinkle some green coriander. Sever it hot. I garnish it with chopped cucumber and grapes. And if you don't have cucumber or grapes, squeeze some fresh lemon juice and it will increase the taste. Enjoy!!!

Crispy Salad

Though there is no rocket science in making salad but I am still writing the recipe. The blow Ingredients are the one which I like. You can substitute them or add some other veges also in the salad(what a tip ;))

Ingredients-
Serves 3-4

Zucchini
Squash
Carrots
Tomato
Cucumber
Romain/Iceberg Lettuce Leaves
Green and black olives
Corn
Red/Yellow/green Bell Pepper
Ready made Salad Dressing
Dry druits (almonds or sunflower seeds)
Cheese for garnishing

Method-
Though you can mix all the ingredients given above just like that but i prefer roasting my zucchini, bell peppers, squash and corn. You can roast them in oven but for me the easiest way is roasting them in a pan on high flame with less or no oil (preferably olive oil). I do one vege at a time. while they are roasting i put some salt and dried oregano (or any herbs you like) which gives it good taste and aroma. Allow to cool the veges naturally before using them. Now toss all the veges together. Add the dressing which are easily available in the market with good number of selection. Another thing which I do is I keep my veges after mixing (before mixing the dressing) in the fridge and whenever its time to serve mix the dressing, dry nuts and sprinkle some Feta/Parmesan cheese. Yummy salad is ready to attack!!!

Idli, Dosa & Uttapam

I think this is the simplest way of making Idli, dosa and uttapam. These are one of my favourite dishes. I want them at least once a week. But I hate all the work which is needed for making them. So here is something which my husband's taught me. It super quick idea of making fluffy Idlies,crispy Dosas and Uttapam.


Ingredients-
Rice Flour- 2 1/4 cup
Udar Flor- 1 cup
Dry Yeast - 1 tsp (I use Star Active dry yeast)
Salt to taste

Method-

Idli-

Mix Rice and Udad flour (which you will easily get in any Indian store),
add water as per the requirement(add little water at a time). Beat it till it forms a good paste. It requires loads of hardwork to mix the flour so I will recommend a hand blender for beating. The flour should be thick enough (thicker than the pouring consistancy). After that sprinkle the dry yeast
and keep it covered overnight (around 8-10 hrs). In the morning its size
will become almost double. so remember to take a big vessel. Before making Idlies or dosa add salt according to your taste. Mix it well. Grease the idli mould, add 1tbsp batter in each mould (it will become double the size) and steam the idlies for almost 6-7 mins. I use cooker without the whistle (My mother-in-law's trick). I use almost a cup and half of water (the lowest level of the idli stand should be above the water so you should adjust accordingly) Keep it on high flame for initial 2 min then on low flame for almost 3-4 min. You can open the cover of the cooker and see whether idlies are done or not (for that I poke a knife in the idli and if it's coming out easily and clean, its done). Allow the cooker to cool naturally and tadaaaa.... your idlies are ready to server. yummmmy!!! Serve it with hot sambhar and chutney.

Dosa-

I prefer the batter to be bit thinner as compared to idli batter. The trick is you should be able to make dosas smoothly. So adjust the water accordingly.

Uttapam-

I use the same consistenncy batter which I use for the Dosa.
Add onion, tomato, coriander and green chillies in that and server it hot

Note- After using the batter, keep it in the fridge as Yeast keeps on fermenting in a high speed and this way it will ferment very slowly and batter will last for a longer time. If possible don't keep the batter for more than a day as it will start smelling coz of over fermentation.

Mooli Paratha

Like any other North Indian, I also love parathas. Every paratha has its own distinct taste and one of them which is my favourite is Mooli Paratha. Though bit time consuming but tastes amazing. That day after seeing an oversized mooli(radish) in the groccery store, I couldn't resist myself from buying it. I made 2 things with that giant radish one is instant mooli pickle and another is Mooli paratha. For the pickle I will post the recipe later but here it goes the recipe for Mooli Paratha.

Ingredients-
6-7 parathas

Mooli (Radish)- 1 Medium
Wheat Flour for dough - 3 cups
Jeera powder - 1tsp
Saunf powder - 1tsp
Garam masala - 1tbsp
Chat masala- 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder 1tsp
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
ginger (finely chopped)- 1tsp
Green coriander (finely chopped) - 2tbsp
Green chilies (finely chopped)- 1 tbsp
Lemon juice
Salt to taste
Note- All the spices can be adjusted according to the taste

Method-
For Filling-
Grated mooli (approx 3 cups). Add salt and keep it covered for 15-30 min. After 15-30 min squeeze the water from the grated mooli. Please note, there should not be any water left else it will be difficult to roll the parathas. Don’t throw the water (It can be used in making dough). After squeezing water it will become half of its quantity (one and a half cups). In a pan take 1 ½ tbsp oil. Add chopped ginger, green chilies. Roast them well. After 1 min Add grated mooli. Roast it for 1 min without covering the pan. Now add all the spices one by one and roast it well for around 2-3 min. Add the lemon juice and green coriander in the end. Allow it to cool naturally. The mixture should be dry else it will be tough to make parathas.

For Dough-
Mix the Wheat Flour, salt and the squeezed juice from grated mooli (it will increase the taste). Please remember that the squeezed juice already has salt so adjust the salt accordingly. If required add more water. Bind all the flour together. Keep the dough covered for 15-20 min (It will make the dough soft). Now knead the dough well (approx 5 min) and it’s ready for stuffing.

For Paratha –
Take a small portion of dough. Roll it in small disk (puri). Take it in the Middle of your palm. Keep 1-2tbsp of filling in the puri. Cover it from all the side and roll it smoothly. Roast it well on both the sides by applying oil. Before serving put a teaspoon of butter and serve it with cool curd, salad and green chili pickle. Yummy!!!