DAAL MAKHANI

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup whole urad daal (urad sabut)
• 1tbsp Red kidney beans (Rajma)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tomato finely chopped
• 1" Ginger piece
• 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
• chopped coriander leaves
• 4-5 flakes Garlic paste
• 1/2 cup stirred curd
• 1/2 cup fresh stirred cream (malai)
• 2tbsp butter
• 1tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2tsp Garam masala
• Red chili powder to taste
• 1/2tsp dhania powder
• Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak rajma and black urad dal in water overnight.

Add water & little salt and pressure-cook Rajma and urad daal till soft for about 20-25 minutes. Mash and boil again for 15-20 minutes and add curd and cream to the daal.

Now in kadhai heat oil, splutter cumin seeds and add garlic paste, fry till light brown. Add onions and fry till golden brown.

Now add ginger, green chilies and tomatoes and fry till tomatoes soften.

Now add dry masalas (turmeric powder, chili powder, dhania powder & salt) and fry again for a moment.

Add daal and stir on medium flame. As soon as it starts boiling remove from the gas stove.

Sprinkle garam masala powder and garnish daal makhni with cream and add butter.

Serve daal makhni hot. Goes well with laccha paratha, naan or rice.

BAINGAN KA BHARTA (EGGPLANT CURRY)

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant

1 large onion chopped very fine

1 large tomato chopped very fine

2 green chillies chopped very fine (optional)

7-8 cloves of garlic chopped very fine

1/4 cup chopped coriander

2 tbsps mustard oil

Salt to taste

1/2 lime

METHOD:

Baingan Ka Bharta requires that the eggplant be roasted. This can be done in several different ways:

• Roast on a gas cooktop by just placing the eggplant straight on the burner and keeping the flame on low setting. Keep turning and cooking till all the skin on the eggplant is charred and the inner flesh looks really soft. A good sign to watch for is that the eggplant seems to 'cave in' on itself! OR
• Grill in your oven grill or on your barbecue grill. Again, keep turning periodically till all the skin on the eggplant is charred and the inner flesh looks really soft OR
• Preheat oven to 400. Slice eggplant lengthwise and sprinkle salt on the fleshy side. Rub both sides with olive oil and roast, skin side up for 25-30 minutes until tender. When the timer goes off, switch oven to broil and roast another five minutes until caramelized and golden.
• Once the eggplant is roasted, allow to cool fully and then peel off and discard the charred skin and stem.
• Mash the eggplant roughly, in a mixing bowl.
• Add the mustard oil, onion, tomato, green chillies, garlic, coriander leaves and salt to taste. Mix well.
• Add a squeeze of lime juice and mix well.
• Serve with hot rotis.

VADA SAMBHAR

INGREDIENTS:
FOR VADA

• 1/2 cup Urad Daal
• 1/2 cup Moong Daal
• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 1-2 Green Chilies finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda

FOR SAMBHAR

• 3/4 cup toor dal
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/4 cup tomato
• 1/4 cup potato
• 1 tea spn sambar powder
• A pinch turmeric
• Oil
• 1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
• A pinch asafoetida
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 2-3 strands cilantro leaves
• Salt 

METHOD:

FOR VADA

• Pick, wash and soak daals for 3-4 hours.
• Grind them coarsely in a blender.
• Now add onions,ginger, green chilies salt and baking powder and mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan or kadhai and deep fry a spoonful of batter till golden
• Serve with chutney as a breakfast or sambhar or rasam as a meal.

FOR SAMBHAR:

Cook toor dal with turmeric. Cook potato, tomato and onion separately, I mean do not mix them with dal while cooking. (If you have the cooker vessels, use the down one for the dal and the upper one for vegetables. This way the dal cooks faster than the vegetables). Around 3-4 whistles are enough in cooker. (If using microwave, cook both separately one after the other). Mash the dal with a spoon. Add the vegetables to dal and add sufficient water (this sambar tastes good when the dal is cooked well and mashed well). Heat the dal, vegetables mixture. Add salt. When it starts boiling, add the sambar powder (Do not hold the entire packet of sambar powder on boiling sambar. The steam gets into the packet and the powder gets spoiled. So use spoon to take out the powder away from the boiling sambar and then add the powder). Add the chopped coriander leaves and cook for 2-3mins. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add asafoetida and curry leaves (tear the curry leaves into two to increase the aroma). Add this seasoning to Sambar and immediately close the lid.

  

PEANUT-GARLIC CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup dry coconut
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts coarsely ground
• 1 full head of garlic (15-20 cloves)
• 2 dry red chillies
• Salt to taste

METHOD;

• Roast the coconut on a low fire till it begins to turn golden.
• Roast the sesame seeds in the same way.
• Mix all the ingredients except the peanuts together and grind in a food processor.
• When done add the peanuts and mix well. Season with salt.

MINT-CILANTRO CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch fresh mint (approximately 100 gms/ 0.22 lbs)

1 bunch fresh coriander (approximately 100 gms/ 0.22 lbs)

5 cloves garlic

1" piece of ginger

2 green chillies

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

METHOD:

• Cut off roots from the cilantro and any thick stalks from the mint and discard. You should now have enough coriander and mint to loosely fill 1 1/2 to 2 cups with each of them.
• Peel garlic and ginger and remove stalks from green chillies. Wash all these ingredients thoroughly.
• Grind all the ingredients (including the salt which you can add more of later to suit your taste) into a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Chill and serve.

TAMRIND DATE CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

• 200 gms tamarind (remove seeds)
• 100 gms dates (pitted)
• 150 gms jaggery
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp fennel
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (roast and grind coarsely)
• 1 tsp salt
• Red chilli powder as per taste

METHOD:

• Put the tamarind, dates, jaggery and water in a saucepan and cook on a medium flame till the dates and tamarind are soft.
• Turn off flame and allow the mixture to cool.
• Use a food processor or hand blender to blend mixture together into a smooth sauce.
• Put sauce back into the saucepan and onto a medium flame and add remaining spice ingredients.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and turn off.
• Allow to cool, then chill and serve.

VADA PAV

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients:

• 8-10 potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
• 2 tsps garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 3 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 6-7 curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups bengal gram flour
• Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil for deep frying
• 6 Pav buns (square buns that look like burger buns but are smaller, so you can substitute)
• 1 cup Tamarind Chutney (refer to chutney recipe)
• 1 cup Mint-Coriander Chutney (refer to chutney recipe)
• 1/2 cup Shengdaana Lehsun Chutney (peanut garlic chutney) -refer to chutney recipe

METHOD:

• Mix the gram flour with enough water and salt to taste, to make a thick, smooth paste. Keep aside.
• Mix the ginger and garlic pastes and add the green chillies to them. Grind into a smooth paste in the food processor.
• Mix this paste with the mashed potatoes. Season with salt.
• Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a pan on a medium flame and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and tumeric powder. Fry till the seeds stop spluttering.
• Add this to the potato and mix well.
• Divide the potato mix into portions slighter smaller than a tennis ball. Smoothen by rolling between slightly greased palms.

• Heat the oil for deep frying on a medium flame.
• When the oil is hot, dip one potato ball at a time into the gram flour batter to coat well and then deep fry till golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Take one Pav bun, slit in half (not completely - leave one edge joined) and put a spoonful each of Tamarind Chutney, Mint-Cilantro Chutney and Shengdaana Lehsun Chutney (peanut garlic chutney) each on it. Place a potato ball on the bun and fold over, pressing down gently. Serve while the potato ball is still hot.

BHINDI FRY (OKRA FRY)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 kg fresh okra tops and tails cut off and diced into 1" pieces
• 2 tsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion sliced thin
• 2 green chillies chopped fine
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp dry mango powder
• 1 tsp red chilly powder
• Salt to taste

METHOD:

• Heat the oil in a wide pan on a medium flame and add the cumin seeds. Fry till they stop sizzling.
• Add the onion, green chilli and garlic and fry till the onions turn light brown.
• Add the okra and mix well.
• Add the coriander and dry mango powders and mix again. Season to taste. Fry for 5-7 minutes.
• Add red chilly powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Serve immediately with hot chapatis (Indian flatbread) or parathas (pan-fried Indian flatbread).

PAV BHAJI

INGREDIENTS:
For The Bhaji
1 tbsp oil
2tbsp butter
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 1/2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes
1/2 cup green peas, boiled and lightly mashed
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro for garnish
METHOD:

1. Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of butter on a large tava (griddle) or in a kadhai and add the cumin seeds.
2. When the seeds crackle, add 2 tbsp of chilli-garlic paste and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.
3. Add the green pepper and sauté on a medium flame for a minute.
4. Add the onions and sauté on a medium flame till they turn light pink in colour.
5. Add the tomatoes, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, salt and ½ cup of water, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes or till the oil separates, while mashing continuously with a potato masher.
6. Add the potatoes, green peas, coriander, 1/3 cup of water and remaining 1 tbsp of butter and mash well using a potato masher and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring continuously.

  7.   Place ¼th of hot bhaji, 2 pavs, ¼ cup of onions, a lemon wedge and finely chopped onions on a plate.

  8.   Top the bhaji with 1 tsp of butter and serve immediately garnished with 1 tsp of cilantro.