Hara Kaddu Sabji (Green Pumpkin Curry)

This simple dish tastes great with hot parathas (pan-fried Indian flatbread). Team with a dal and you've got a terrific vegetarian meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound green pumpkin chopped in small cubes
• 1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 dry whole red chili
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
• 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp mustard oil

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan and add asafetida, whole dry red chilies and methi seeds.
• When the seeds begin to splutter, add the garlic and stir-fry till brown.
• Add pumpkin and fry for a minute. Add salt, chili powder, turmeric and stir to mix well.
• Add the green chilies and cook covered till pumpkin is cooked. Mix in amchoor powder.
• Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Cottage Cheese Salad

One can prepare salad with anything - fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, fruits, eggs and seafood. Here I have prepared salad with cottage cheese along with peas and baby mushrooms. Tomatoes not only provide nutrition but give color also to the salad platter therefore they are added to salad..

Ingredients:

• ½ pound Cottage Cheese slices
• ½ pound Green Peas
• 5-6 Button Mushrooms
• 2 small firm tomatoes
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro finely chopped
• Salt
• Black pepper powder
• Chaat masala
• 1 lemon/lime

Method:

• Heat butter in a frying pan and sauté paneer slices. Take them out in bowl.
• Stir fry peas and mushrooms in the same frying pan in remaining butter. Take them out in a separate bowl.
• Crumble the paneer and add salt, chat masala, black pepper powder and chopped green chilies. Mix well.
• Add salt, black pepper powder and chat masala in peas and mushrooms also.
• Cut tomatoes in fancy styles.
• Arrange in a salad plate. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Squeeze lemon over paneer, peas and mushrooms.
• Serve fresh.

Aloo Matar Gobhi Ki Tehari (Vegetable Pulao UP Style)

Tehri is a rice dish, very popular in North Indian Homes. Rice is cooked with Potatoes, Cauliflower and Peas.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 1 large potato peeled cut into big chunks ( around 8 pieces)
• ½ pound cauliflower cut into chunky flowerets
• ½ cup green peas
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 green chili chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 1 tsp dry ginger powder
• ¼ tsp asafetida
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 4 cups water
• 3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add asafetida, bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Stir for few seconds. Add chopped onion and fry till onion is light brown.
• Now add potatoes and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add in cauliflower and peas, stir fry for another 3-4 minutes. Add all other ingredients along with rice, except water.
• Stir fry rice for 3-4 minutes. Now add water and stir.
• Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Only one whistle is enough to cook rice (You can cook in covered pan also till rice is done).
• Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool.
• Serve hot with Salad, Onion Raita, Pickle/Chutney and Papad.

Do You Know?

Rice absorbs water during cooking (either by boiling or steaming).

Rice is cooked by two methods:

1. In one method it is cooked in just as much water as it absorbs (the absorption method),

2. In another method it is cooked in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving (the rapid-boil method).

Electric rice cookers, popular in Asia and Latin America, simplify the process of cooking rice.

Rice is often fried in oil before boiling, or oil is added to the water; this is thought to make the cooked rice less sticky.

Moong Dal Halwa

This is a traditional recipe of making Moong Dal Halwa (Green Gram Dal) in which dal is first soaked and ground and then fried in ghee. Although this process is little lengthy but outcome is really good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups split skinned green gram (Dhuli moong dal)
• 1 cup ghee ( clarified butter)
• 1 cup khoya
• 2 cups sugar ( can be modified according to taste)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp powdered cardamoms
• 2 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
• 1 tsp Rose water
• Few strings of Saffron

Method:

• Wash and soak lentils for 1 hour.
• Blend it with minimum water to a make a thick paste.
• Fry dal in ghee, in a heavy bottom skillet, on medium fire until it becomes light brown in color.
• Put the sugar and water to boil in another pan. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves completely. Boil for 5 minutes.
• Add this sugar syrup to fried dal. Cook, stirring vigorously until the mixture becomes thick. Add khoya, dry fruits, cardamom powder, Saffron, rose water and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Garnish with nuts and serve hot.

Do You Know?

Khoa or khoya or mawa is a dried whole milk. It is normally white or pale yellow, similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey.

There are three types of khoya - batti, chickna, and daan-e-daar. Batti, meaning “rock,” has 50% moisture by weight and is the hardest of the three types; it can be grated like cheese. It can be aged for up to a year, during which it develops a unique aroma and a mouldy outer surface. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture. For daan-e-daar, the milk is coagulated with an acid during the simmering and has moderate moisture content. Different Khoa is used for different preparation.

Khoa was originally produced by heating milk in an open iron pan and placing over a medium fire for several hours. The milk was simmered at 175–180°F (about 80°C), an ideal temperature to avoid boiling and minimize scorching.

Paratha Stuffed with Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

We Indians love to eat parathas… especially during winters…for morning breakfasts. Crispy paratha stuffed with paneer is nutritious and easy to prepare. Enjoy it with green coriander chutney and/or pickle.

Ingredients:
For Dough

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup Maida (all purpose flour)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• Warm water

For Stuffing:

• 1 cup grated cheese
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chaat masala
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp oregano or crushed ajwain
• Ghee (clarified butter) or cooking oil to pan-fry parathas

Method:

• Mix wheat flour, Maida, salt, oil and knead it into smooth dough using warm water. Cover the dough with moist kitchen towel and keep aside for 1 hour.
• Mix all the ingredients for stuffing.
• Follow : Method VI Making Paratha
• Divide the dough into 6-8 equal sized balls. Flour a clean surface and roll each ball out into a puri (circle) about 3-4" in diameter.
• Place a tbsp of stuffing on one puri and cover with another puri. Press the edges together well.
• Roll out to the size of paratha very gently (sprinkling some whole-wheat flour on the surface where it is rolled out) so that the filling does not come out.
• Heat a griddle on medium flame and place a paratha on the griddle. Flip the paratha when tiny bubbles rise on the surface. Drizzle a bit of ghee on the top and spread well over the surface of the paratha. Flip the paratha again after few seconds and drizzle ghee on this surface too. The paratha is done when both sides are crispy and golden brown. Remove from the griddle and repeat with the other parathas until all are cooked.
• Serve with green cilantro chutney and/or pickle.

Churmuri Salad (Grated Radish Salad)

Simple nutritive and quick to make salad made with grated radish, tomato and green chili.

Ingredients:

• 2 Mooli (radish) peeled and grated
• ½ tomato finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• Green bell pepper and boiled potato for decorating salad plate

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients and arrange on a serving plate.
• Add salt just before serving.

Do You Know?

Radishes are suggested as an alternative treatment for a variety of ailments including whooping cough, cancer, coughs, gastric discomfort, liver problems, constipation, dyspepsia, gallbladder problems, arthritis, gallstones, kidney stones and intestinal parasites.

Methi Aloo (Baby Potatoes with Fresh Fenugreek Leaves)

In winter nothing like eating hot crispy parathas in breakfast with vegetable made of fragrant fresh methi leaves (Fenugreek Leaves) cooked with Baby Potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound baby (small) potatoes (washed and scrubbed well)
• 2 small cloves of garlic
• ¼ tsp asafetida
• 2 cups finely chopped fresh fenugreek leaves (methi)
• 3-4 tbsp mustard oil or any other cooking oil
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp crushed red chili
• salt to taste
• 1 whole dried large red chili

Method:

• Remove the stems of methi and chop the leaves finely. Wash methi several times in the water. Strain it.
• Wash and scrub the potatoes. Do no peel them. Cut them into half.
• Heat oil until it smokes, reduce the flame and add asafetida and whole dried red chili. Immediately add chopped garlic and fry until medium brown. Do not burn the garlic otherwise it will become bitter.
• As soon as the garlic changes color add potatoes, and fry till pink over low heat. Potatoes should be more than half done after frying.
• Add chopped methi leaves, turmeric powder, salt, and red chili powder and mix well. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or till the potatoes are done.
• Uncover and cook till all water, if it is there, is evaporated.
• Serve with hot crispy paratha.