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Bottle gourd kheer(lauki ka kheer)

Though bottle gourd is widely used in south India,bottle gourd  kheer /lauki ka kheer  is popular in north India.Generally the bottle gourd is grated to make this sweet dish.I have made a slight variation to this by cooking the vegetable first and grinding it.I have also added dates for extra thickness,taste and energy.

 

Ingredients:

• Bottle gourd-1 big
• milk-1/2 litre thick milk
• sugar
• cardamom
• wet dates
• cashew nuts
• raisins
• pistachios
• ghee

 

Method of Preparation:

1.Select a fairly large bottle gourd.

 

 

2.Dice the bottle gourd .

 

 

3.Pressure cook it or cook directly in an open pan.

 

 

4.Allow to cool.Meanwhile boil wet dates in a pan till they soften.

 

 

5.Grind the cooked bottle gourd in a mixer(If there is any water left after cooking the bottle gourd,donot use it for the kheer as it becomes too watery.In a big vessel/wok, add the ground bottle gourd ,thick milk(if the milk is not thick, then boil about 1 litre milk and reduce it to half).Bring to a boil and simmer till it starts thickening.

 

6.Grind the softened wet dates in a mixer and add the paste(can be coarse),to the above "almost done kheer".Add about 1 cup sugar (or more if desired).Remember that since we have added dates,already there is some amount of sweetness.Add 1-2 tsp ghee.Continue cooking in a low flame for about 10minutes.

 

7.Heat 1tsp ghee in a frying pan and fry cashew nuts,pistachios and raisins.Transfer the kheer to a serving bowl and garnish the kheer with these.Bottle gourd kheer /lauki ka kheer is now ready to be served.

Serving Tip: 1.Serve the kheer hot and soon after its made(after a couple of hours,the kheer becomes a little watery.)

                        2.Allow the kheer to cool and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.Serve chilled.

Mixed vegetables in tomato puree.

Simple to make, tasty gravy.                     

                          


Ingredients:                                                                                                            Serves:4

• Potatoes-2 big
• beans
• carrot
• peas
• cauliflower
• onions-2 medium sized
• tomatoes-3 big
• mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
• red chilli powder-1tsp
• sambhar powder-2tsp
• oil
• turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• asafoetida
• jaggery/sugar
• coriander leaves
• salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Dice the vegetables-potatoes,few beans,2 medium sized carrots.Take 1 cup peas and few cauliflower florets.Wash them well and either pressure cook or cook directly in a vessel/pan.Add turmeric powder and 1tsp oil while the vegetables are getting cooked.

2. cut onion(julienne) and keep aside.

                                                 

 3. Cut tomatoes(ripe) and grind them in a mixer to make a smooth paste.Alternatively, ready to use packaged tomato paste  available in markets can be used.(mix 2tsp of this tomato paste with little water).

                                     

4. Heat 1 or 2 tbsp of oil in a wok.Splutter mustard seeds and add asafoetida.Add the julienned onions and saute for 5min.Add the ground tomato paste and little water.Bring it to a boil.Now lower the flame and add the cooked vegetables .Add red chilli powder,sambhar powder,1tsp sugar or 2tsp jaggery and required amount of salt.Continue cooking for another 10min.

5. After the desired consistency is reached(should be like any other gravy-semi liquid.The potatoes will help in giving thickness to the gravy), transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

                                           


"Mixed vegetables in tomato puree" is now ready to be relished with chapathis/phulkas.

Ash gourd halwa

"Ash gourd halwa" is a yummy and popular Indian sweet dish.

Ingredients:

• Ash gourd-1/2 kg                                                           Serves:2
• sugar-5tsp
• cardamom(elaichi)-5
• ghee
• cashewnuts-4 0r 5
• raisins-8-10

Method of Preparation:

1.Select fresh solid ash gourd.(ash gourd should not be too soft /soggy as it becomes difficult to grate).

 

 2. Remove the seeds from the ash-gourd and grate it.Looks like this:

 

3. Grind to-gether sugar and cardamom.

4. Transfer the gratings to a wok and let it cook.Since ash-gourd contains a lot of water, there is no need to add any extra water.Just saute every now and then.Takes about 15-20 min to cook.Make sure there is no water left.Add the ground sugar and cardamom.Mix well.

5. Add 2tbsp of ghee ,mix well and cook for another 10min.

     

                                             

6. Take a frying pan, heat one tsp ghee and fry the cashew nuts(4 0r 5) and raisins(8 -10).Garnish the halwa with these."Ash-gourd halwa" is now ready to be served.

                                          

Serving Tip: Serve fresh and hot .

                               or

                      Allow it cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours.Serve chilled.

Aloo-Bhendi Fry

"Aloo-bhendi fry" is a combination of potatoes and lady's finger/okra, both which are a favourite to many.Try this simple to make, tasty curry.

Ingredients:                                                                                                                serves: 2

• potatoes-2big
• okra-1/2 kg
• onion-1(optional)
• sambhar powder-2tsp
• garam masala-1/4 tsp(optional)
•  mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
•  jeera-1/2 tsp
•  asfoetida-1/4 tsp
•  turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
•  water  -1 cup
•   oil
•   salt to taste  

Method of Preparation:

1. Peel and dice potatoes.

2. Wash the diced potatoes.Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok.Splutter mustard seeds and add asfoetida.Now add jeera and  the diced potatoes, add turmeric powder .Saute for 2 minutes ,add 1cup water and let it cook. 

3. Select fresh ,tender okra.Wash them and wipe them with a clean cloth so that they are completely dry. 

4. Dice the okra(bhendi).

5. Cut onion.(this is optional, aloo-bhendi fry tastes good even without onion).

6 .By now, if the potatoes are cooked, keep them aside. Heat 1 or 2 tsp of oil in a kadai ,saute the onion till golden brown and keep aside.

7. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok, splutter 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and add the diced bhendi/okra. Fry them well ,till all the stickiness vanishes.Add the sauted onions .

8. Now, add the cooked potatoes,sambhar powder and 1/4 tsp garam masala powder(optional),required amount of salt and mix well.Saute for 2-3 minutes .Aloo-bhendi fry is now ready to be served.

Serving Tip: Serve "Aloo-bhendi fry" hot with hot chapathis or hot phulkas.

                                              

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is a yummy nutrious dish which contains iron rich spinach and protein rich cottage cheese.

Ingredients :

• spinach/palak-4 bunches
• onions-3
• tomato-1
• greenchillies-5
• ginger-1 inch piece
• oil/butter/ghee
• paneer/cottage cheese-250 gm
• fresh cream-1tsp
• sugar-1tsp
• cinammon-1 small piece
• garam masala powder-1/4 tsp(optional)
• salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1.First of all, cut the paneer into cubes and soak it in hot water.

2.Clean palak .Boil little water in a vessel .After the water is boiled ,soak the cleaned palak for just 5min and take it out.Retain the water.

3.Cut onions and tomato.Heat 2tsp of oil in a wok and saute the cut onions and tomato along with cinammon,ginger and green chillies.

4.After the palak is cooled ,grind it in a mixer to form a paste.

5.Grind the onion tomato sauted in a mixer.Heat 2tblsp oil/butter/ghee(using butter/ghee enhances taste) in a wok and saute the ground paste for about 5min.

6.To the above, add ground palak and 2 cups of water that was retained and let it boil for 10 min or till the raw smell is completely gone.Add required  quantity of salt and mix well.Meanwhile, take out the paneer cubes from water, heat 1 tblsp of oil/ghee in a frying pan and fry them .

7.Add the fried paneer cubes to the palak gravy.If the gravy is very thick,then add some more water and add some salt if needed , 1tsp sugar , 1/4 tsp garam masala powder (optional) and mix well. Cook for another 5 min or till the desired consistency(semi liqiud) is reached.

8.Last but not the least, garnish the yummy palak paneer with a dash of fresh cream and serve hot with chapathis/rotis/phulkas/kulcha/nan.

Quick hot and sweet platter

When there is no time to cut and cook vegetables for dinner,here is a quick recipe for a spicy onion tomato saute and another for mango raitha.

Ingredients for Mango raitha:  

• Ripe Mangoes-2
• jaggery-2tsp
• thick curds-2cups
• oil-1/2 tsp(for seasoning)
• greenchilli-1
• redchilli-1
• mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
• pinch of salt                                                                                   

Method of Preparation:

1.Select 2 juicy ripe mangoes.

 

2.Extract pulp from the mangoes and transfer it to a wok.Add jaggery and cook for 5min.Let it cool.

3.Now, add curds, pinch of salt and mix well.

 

4.Transfer the above contents into a bowl.Garnish with  green, red chillies and mustard seeds seasoned in 1/4 tsp oil.

  

 note:cooking mangoes removes any bad effects caused by eating mangoes as it is.

Ingredients for Onion Tomato Saute:

• Onions-3big
• tomatoes-2big
• greenchillies-2
• red chilli powder-2tsp
• kasoori methi-2tsp
• Jaggery-2tsp
• oil-2tblp
• turmeric-1/2 tsp
• salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

      1.Finely cut onions and tomatoes.

2.Pour oil in a kadai/wok, splutter mustard seeds ,add slit green chillies and finely chopped onions.Saute for 2 min,add turmeric powder and saute for another 2-3 min.

3.To the above, add finely chopped tomatoes,  jaggery, red chilli powder, salt and mix well.

4.Now,.add Kasoori methi(enhances taste ) and saute well for about 5 min.

5.Spicy Onion Tomato Saute is now done.Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. 

Serve both the mango raitha and onion tomato saute with hot chapathis.