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.

 

Chole

Chole is one of my favourite dishes .It is simple to make and of course great to taste. It can be savored either with chapathis or puris.

                                                                                                                                     

Ingredients:                                                                                                              Serves 4

Chickpeas(kabuli channa)-200g

Onions-4 medium sized

Tomatoes-3 medium sized/2 big

Potatoes-2

Ginger-1 small piece

Cinnamon-1 inch piece

Red chilli powder=2tsp

Jeera-1/2tsp

Green chillies

Coriander leaves-1 small bunch

Jaggery-2tsp

Tamarind-1small lemon sized

Oil

Salt to taste

 

Method of preparation:

1.Soak channa for 6-8 hours.

2.Pressure cook the soaked channa and retain the water.

3.Cut potatoes into cubes and boil them separately.(If boiled with channa ,potatoes become too soft and get mashed as channa requires more time to get cooked).Also, soak tamarind in ½ cup water.

 4. Cut onions and tomatoes .Heat 1tsp oil in a wok and sauté the cut onions and tomatoes along with ginger and cinnamon for 2min.Allow it to cool.

 5. Grind the sauted ingredients in a mixer. Add little water if required.

 6.Heat 1tblsp of oil in a big wok or in a pressure pan . Add jeera along with 1 slit green chilli. Add the ground paste and sauté for 2minutes.Then, add the boiled potatoes, cooked channa along with the water that was retained .Add redchilli powder ,tamarind water(extracted from soaked tamarind) , jaggery and required amount of salt. Allow to cook for about 10-15 min and keep stirring inbetween.

 7.Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with green chillies ,finely chopped onions and cut coriander leaves. Yummy chole is now ready!!!serve hot with chappathis or puris.

 

Ash Gourd Curry

Ash gourd is also called as white gourd, wax gourd or white pumpkin. I am sure all of us, especially those that live south of India, use this vegetable often. It is loaded with nutrients and has many medicinal properties. 
Ash gourd curry is as tasty as other dishes made from this simple, watery vegetable.

Ingredients:

• Ash gourd - 1kg
• Coconut scraped or finely cut - 1 small cup
• Green chilles - 4
• Turmeric powder
• Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
• Oil (preferably ground-nut) - 2 tblsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Asofoetida - 1/4tsp
• Jaggery - 2tsp
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation:
1. First of all, cut the ash gourd into small cubes. Like this:

2. Heat 2tblsp oil in a wok and splutter mustard seeds. Add the ash gourd cubes and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Saute them "without" adding any water (adding water makes it soggy). Since ash gourd contains lot of water,it leaves out water when heated. This itself is enough for cooking.Make sure to saute the cubes often. Takes about 20mins for the cubes to be cooked.

3. Meanwhile, saute greenchillies and asfoetida with 1/2tsp oil in a small frying pan.
                
4. Grind sauted greenchilles , asofoetida, pinch of turmeric powder  along with small cup of scraped or finely cut cocnut in a mixer.

5. When the Ash gourd cubes are almost cooked ,add required amount of salt ,jaggery,  ground paste  and  finely chopped coriander leaves.Mix well and allow to cook completely.

6. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with more coriander leaves.The very healthy and tasty Ash gourd curry is ready and can be had either with chapathis or rice.

Instant Chitranna

 This is an instant rice delight, very easy to prepare and very tasty.So,what do we need to prepare this dish? Note these...

Ingredients: 

                     Rice -3 cups                                                            

                     rasam powder-4 tsp

                     tamarind-1 lemon sized

                     oil -3-4tblp

                     ground nuts-1 cup

                     mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

                     urad dal-1/2 tsp

                     bengal gram dal-1/2 tsp

                     curry leaves-8-10

                     jaggery-1/2 cup

                     salt to taste.

Method of Preparation:

1. First of all cook the rice,and soak tamarind in 1/2 cup water.

                                    

  2.Tranfer the cooked rice to a broad vessel ,spread it and allow it to cool.

                                        

3.Extract tamarind water and keep aside.Heat oil in a wok for seasoning.Splutter mustard seeds,add groundnuts first and fry for few seconds.Then add urad dal,bengal gram dal,curry leaves and fry for few seconds.

 4. Now, add tamarind water(if using tamarind paste,mix 1tsp of paste with 1/2cup water)to the above seasoning and boil for 5min in medium flame.While this is being done, add jaggery and stir. (Thickens to form a paste).

 5.Now we have tamarind jaggery paste.Switch off the flame and add the rasam powder.(Dont add rasam powder while the flame is on ,as it gets burnt and loses its taste.)Add required amount of salt.Stir the whole mixture and immediately transfer it onto the cooked rice.

                                           

 6.Well....what else is left?Just mix it well,add some more salt if required ,transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

                                    This is how our instant chitranna looks!

So, next time you have an unexpected  guest or you want to prepare something quickly ,try this!

Raw Banana Curry

 Raw bananas are rich sources of potassium and vitamins A and C.They are high in carbohydrates and thus serve as energy boosters.They are also rich in dietary fiber.
Try this atleast once and you will want to eat it again and again.You can either eat this curry as a side dish with chappathis or just like a snack!
                                So,here we go:
  Ingredients: Raw bananas-3                                                                      serves 4

                      greenchillies-4

                      turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

                      asfoetida-1/4 tsp

                      coriander leaves-1 small bunch

                      curry leaves-6-7

                      coconut scrapings

                      mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

                      urad dal-1/2 tsp

                      bengal gram dal-1/2 tsp

                      oil-2 tblp

                       salt to taste.

Method of preparation:

1.                       Take 3 raw bananas.

                                        

    2.            Put them in a vessel with water and boil till it starts turning black.(about 10min).(If the bananas are already black due to refrigeration,then after 10min of boiling take them out of the vessel.)

                                          
          3.            Allow them to cool.Then peel off the skin.

                                                    

          4.           Grate the peeled bananas (gratings should not be too small or too thin).Looks something like this!

                                 Don't they look like cheese or coconut gratings:)

 5.         Heat oil for seasoning(2tblsp for this curry,to prevent sticking to the vessel) in a wok. Splutter mustard seeds.Add cut/ground green chillies(however you like them).Add asfoetida,turmeric powder and finally add the gratings of raw bananas.Sauté them well.

                                   Hmm...we are almost done!wait till you to see the final product.  ;)

6.     To the above 'almost' done curry, add finely chopped coriander leaves and coconut scapings and mix well.This completes the curry, but not yet ready to serve.
7.    To serve, transfer the curry into a serving bowl. Fry curry leaves,urad dal and bengal gram dal separately.Garnish the curry with these along with more chopped coriander leaves and coconut scrapings. Yes!Our Raw banana curry is ready .

                          See how simple it is to prepare this tasty and nutritious dish!