My pachi(mausi) is visiting us in Hyderabad and we are having a gala time having tasted all the specialties Hyderabad has to offer!! 
On one of the evenings when we were tired of going out, pachi cooked this awesome dish. I had never eaten this before and instantly liked it.




Method
1. Wash and clean around 300 gms of okra /bhindi and let them dry or pat dry them with a towel. 
2. Cut off the bottom hard part of the okra and then Slit them lengthwise such that it has 2 vertical slits but don’t cut all the way till the end. Cut it such that it can hold the stuffing.
3. For stuffing, add 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida, 1/2 a lemon, 3-4 green chillies and a handful of coriander leaves and salt to a coarse paste with little water (chutney consistency)

4. Fill the stuffing in the bhindi
5. In a pan, take 2-3 tsp oil. When hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, pinch of asafoetida and saute. Add the stuffed bhindi and mix well. Cook on low heat with water on the lid. This helps in condensing the steam and cooks the bhindi quickly without scorching.
6. Remove from heat when the bhindi is cooked. The bhindi cooks in 15-20 mins on low heat. 

I had tasted Pithla at my friend Mona's home and liked it a lot but never ventured to cook it on my own. This is the first time I tried it and I have decided that I am going to cook it regularly

So here is my modified version of Mona's Pithla recipe..

Method

1. Add 3/4 cup besan to 2 cups water and mix well so that  you do not have any lumps. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil in pan. When hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds.  When they splutter add 2 finely chopped green chillies and 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Also add a pinch of asafoetida and saute well. 
3. Now add 1 finely chopped onion and 3-4 finely chopped cloves of garlic and some salt. When the onion is slightly pink add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and continue sauteing till onion is brown in color.
4. Add  1 finely chopped tomato and 1/2 cup of spring onions greens. (Spring onion is not part of the original recipe - but I added it for the added taste.)
5. Adjust the salt as required and 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder(again not part of original recipe) and saute. Now add the besan mixture and keep stirring regularly to avoid lumps 
6.  Cook for 10 mins or till the raw taste of besan goes.
7. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, some spring onion greens and serve piping hot with Jowar Rotis (Bhakris)

I have always liked nachos with refried beans and cheese - but what I like even more was always the salsa that came with it.
I tasted store bought nachos with this salsa recently at Deepali's place and loved it. Have tried this recipe many a times after that...is an awesome starter esp when you have vegetarian guests :) Thanks Deepali!



Method
1. Take 3-4 tsp of olive oil in a bowl. 
2. Mix 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 2-3 tsp of red pepper, yellow pepper and green pepper finely chopped. You can also choose to blanch the tomatoes and coarsely grind it before adding it to the mixture. But I left it like this for crunchiness.
3. Add salt, juice of 1 lemon, red chilli flakes, 1 tsp pepper, oregano and mix well (you can adjust the spices according to your taste). I also added some 2 tsp of raw mango sliced finely just for added sourness.
4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving with Nachos

I am not a big fan of potatoes in my gravy and sabzis but this one dish is an exception.



Method
1. Boil 2-3 big potatoes. Peel them and chop them into cubes and keep aside.
2. Finely chop 1 onion. 
3. Finely grate 1 cup coconut. Dry roast the coconut till it turns reddish and leaves a nice aroma.
4. Grind coconut with 1 tsp coriander seeds, 5-6 red chillies and 1 marble sized ball of tamarind to a smooth paste.
5. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a pan. Fry the onions till they are pink. Add the potatoes and the masala and salt and let it cook. Add a little bit water and cook till the masala is cooked. You can adjust the water depending on the consistency you want.

This is an amazing side dish with rice, goes well with chappatis and also rice rotis.

This is a very simple dish of one of my favorite vegetables - I believe one can hardly go wrong with bhindi.

Method

1. Wash, pat dry  and cut 1/2 kg of  Bhindi (OKRA) into 2 pieces lengthwise after cutting off the edges.

2. Take oil in a pan. When hot, Add 1 tsp cumin seeds and  a pinch of asafoetida (hing)and  2 -3 crushed garlic pods .

3. Add  bhindi  when the cumin seeds crackle and stir for 5 mins or till the  bhindi  looks slightly cooked.

3. Now add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp amchoor powder and saute till the  bhindi  is coated well with the masalas.

4. Add salt and 1-2 tsp besan powder and saute till the bhindi is well cooked.

Serve hot with chapatis.

Felt like cooking something rich today. This recipe certainly fit the bill with its cream and cashew component :)


Method
1. Cut 500 gms of paneer into cubes. Sprinkle salt, chilli powder and turmeric on the paneer pieces and keep aside for sometime.
2. Take 2-3 tsp of oil in a pan and saute these paneer pieces till slightly cooked - say 3-4 mins.
3. Remove paneer and keep aside
4. In the same oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2-3 pepper corns, 2-3 cloves, 1 inch cinammon and saute.
5. Add 1 big onion finely chopped and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute till onion is brown in colour.
6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and let them cook with lid on. After 5 mins add chilli powder (According to taste) and 1 tsp coriander powder, 2-3 cashew nuts finely chopped, add water to the dry mixture and cover lid and let it cook.
7. Now when the mixture looks cooked, remove it from heat. Let it cool a bit and make a fine paste of it in the grinder
8. Again add the paste to the pan and cook it till it comes to a boil. Add the paneer pieces and some kasoori methi (finely crushed in between the palms of your hand) and add salt and sugar according to taste. I also added 2-3 tsp of fresh cream.
9. Cook for 2-3 mins and then remove from heat. Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves and serve with chapatis.

This recipe is heavily inspired from Vah re Vah video. However I avoided the elaborate stuffing and deep frying of paneer for the sake of time/effort.

This is a very easy dish to cook and the spinach and corn combination is very tasty. Really good for a light meal.






Method

1. Wash 2 cups of basmati rice and keep aside to remove the starchy content.
2. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker, add whole garam masalas like 3 cloves, 1 cardamom, 5-6 black peppercorns, 1 inch cinnamon stick and 2 medium sized onions finely chopped and saute till brown. Now add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and saute.
3. Add 1 cup of finely chopped spinach and 1/2 cup of sweet corn kernels chopped into 2. 
4. Add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp garam masala powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder and stir for 1 minute.
5. Add drained rice and saute for 2 mins till the masala coats the rice well.
6. Add 5 cups of water. Mix well. Add salt to taste and cover the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles or till rice is just well cooked.
7. Garnish with coriander and serve

We had relatives visiting us on Friday and I had to cook after coming back from work and did not have much time. So tried this quick recipe which I had written down in my book but had never tried before. I wasn't very sure how it would taste. But at the cost of sounding immodest, I must tell you that this turned out better than dishes served in restaurants:) 

Method

1. Take a non stick pan and fry 1 grated onion in 1 tbsp oil/butter and saute till brown. I add some salt while sauteing the onions as the salt gets absorbed and the dish tastes better.
2. In the meantime, take a bowl. Add 2 tsp of coriander powder, 2 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp of kasoori methi powder, puree of  2 tomatoes and half a cup milk and whisk it and leave aside. I add spices always   based on my judgement and my preferred tastes..so you can change this according to your liking.
3. Add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste to the onion and saute. Now add the above mixture and let it cook on a slow flame for 3-4 mins.
4. Add  250 gms paneer cubes and salt to taste and bring it to one boil. Garnish with coriander and serve with Chappatis. You can add cream if you want but I skipped it.

The video for this recipe can be found here at http://www.vahrehvah.com/Paneer+Butter+Masala:3536. I used fresh onions and fresh tomato puree instead of fried onions and ketchup that the chef is using here.

Another tasty evening snacks recipe that I like.

Method

1. Soak 1 cup  urad dal in water for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Wash and drain the urad dal and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender.
3. Add a pinch of cooking soda  and salt to the urad dal paste and mix well till the batter is light and fluffy. Add 2 tsp each of finely chopped ginger , green chillies, curry leaves and coconut. You can also add ginger, chillies to the urad dal while grinding it but I like the crunchiness and hence don’t grind them.
4. Take oil in a kadhai for deep frying. Wet your hands with water and take around 1 tbsp of the batter and shape it into a circle and drop them into the hot oil. Cook the vadas on a slow flame till they are golden brown. This should take 7-8 mins for each batch.


5. Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside. The vadas can be served with chutney as an evening snack. We call it biscuit ambado in Konkani.
6. Soak the vadas in warm water for 10-15 mins. Take 2 cups curd, whisk it. Add salt, pinch of sugar, cumin powder, rock salt, chilli powder, and amchur powder according to taste.
7. Remove the vadas from water and squeeze out the water and add it to the curd.
8. Garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve.     

This is one of my favourite roadside chats which I miss a lot here in Hyderabad. Hence I decided to try this recipe out. The potato and the white peas make it so filling that it is almost a complete meal in itself.



Method

For the Patties

1. Boil and mash 3 potatoes. Add 1 cup of bread crumbs, 1tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1tsp each of turmeric, coriander powder, jeera powder, chaat masala and garam masala
2. Add the salt according to taste.
3. Make patties from the mixture and shallow fry on a pan on slow flame.

For the Ragda

1. Overnight soak 1 cup of dried white peas. Add 3 cups water a pinch of haldi and cooking soda and pressure cook for 3 whistles or until the peas are soft.
2. Add 1tbsp of oil in a pan. Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, pinch of  hing (asafoetida)
3. Add 2 medium sized onions chopped finely. Once brown add 1 tsp red chilli powder, haldi powder and 1 tsp garam masala and salt. Sauté and once the masalas have left their raw taste.
4. Add 1 finely chopped tomato. Add 1 green chilli finely chopped.
5. Add cooked peas and add 2cups of water and let it come to a boil. 

Serve with tamarind and green mint chutney. Add finely chopped onions and coriander leaves.

I stumbled upon this Middle Eastern recipe long time back and had it written in my dairy. Yesterday while going through my dairy I again saw this one and decided to cook it today. I love masoor dal and hence this recipe was a natural choice.

Today while cooking I again checked the internet for the recipe, read 2-3 versions and finally cooked my version which is a mix of all that I read :)

A very easy recipe to cook ...


Method

1. Wash and Soak 1 cup masoor dal for an 30 mins in 2 cups of water. Take a vessel and cook the dal for 15-20 mins or till the dal is cooked. I added 1 Bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon stick and one slit green chilli to the water while boiling for added taste.Dont overcook. Drain the masoor dal and keep aside. I saved the water used for boiling Masoor.
2. Now cook 1&1/2 cup of Basmati rice in the same water used for boiling Masoor.You can add additional water if needed.  This way the rice is flavored with the same spices and you don't lose out on the nutrition. Add 1 bay leaf if needed. Cook the rice till its just done, drain and set aside.


3. Add 3 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in a vessel. When hot, add 2 thinly sliced big onions and saute them till they are caramalised. For this you can use medium flame till the onions are translucent and then cook on high flame till the onions are brown and crispy. Add salt and pepper powder to the onions.
4. Now mix the rice, masoor dal and top it with caramalised onion and serve.  I added 1 tsp each of ginger powder and cinammon powder on top for additional flavour. Adjust for the salt.
5. Serve with raita

Punjabi cuisine is incomplete without the mention of sarson ka saag and makke di roti. This dish is prepared in every Punjabi kitchen during the winters when these mustard leaves are widely available. Again a recipe from Rajneet's kitchen. 

Method

1. Clean 2 bunches of saag , 1 bunch of spinach and ½ bunch of bathu (if easily available). The general proportion of saag:spinach:bathu is 4:2:1. Scrape and use even stalks of saag as they enhance the taste.

2. Wash the saag leaves thoroughly and boil it for 15-20 mins on a low flame. Now add washed spinach and bathu leaves and boil it for more 20 mins. Then blend it in a grinder.

L--R Saag, Bathu, Spinach 

3. Take a pan, add ghee and the above mixture. Add salt, red chilly powder ( or you can use finely chopped green chillies) and cook it for around 30 mins. Keep stirring to prevent burning.

4. We generally prepare this in the evenings till this stage and leave it overnight. The next day before eating add the tadka. This gives an uncomparable authentic tatse. Also saag is prepared in bulk traditionally, so it is stored in fridge after this stage and tadka is added to the quantity to be consumed.

5. For the tadka, take ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. After they crackle add grated ginger garlic (2-3 inches piece of ginger and around 7-8 cloves of garlic) and sauté till they turn light brown. Then add the cooked saag. Heat it for more 10-15 mins while stirring in between. Adjust the water and salt.

6. Add little butter and serve it hot with makke de roti and onions.

For Makke Di Roti

Method
1. Take 1 cup makki (maize) flour in a large plate and add little salt and pinch of ajwain. You can also add ¼ grated raddish (after squeezing water), finely chopped green chillies and cilantro if you wish as the original taste is quite bland. 
2. Add little warm water and mix it thoroughly. Knead it to a soft smooth dough applying little more pressure than required for the normal dough. Divide it into equal parts. 

3. This roti is not made with a belan but by flattening with your hands.
Now the traditional method goes this way. Take 1 part and roll it into a ball with your wet palms. Flatten it by applying little pressure in between the palms and then roll it to roti by just transferring the flattened ball from one hand to the other. Smoothen the edges with fingers and put it on hot tava. (This flour tends to dry quickly, so you can use few drops of water if required in this process). 
4. The other modified techniques are to place the ball on the tava and flatten it directly over it with your palm taking care that you don’t burn your hand. 
The most easiest way is to place the ball on a thick plastic sheet, sprinkle few drops of water. Then place another thick plastic sheet over it and apply pressure with your palm or a flat based plate. Transfer it to hot tava.

5. It will take slightly longer to cook this as it is thicker than the normal roti. Flip it over when one side is cooked and spread ghee over it immediately. Cook the other side too and again apply ghee. 
6. Repeat this with all the remaining parts of the dough. 1 cup flour will make around 5-6 rotis. This roti is crispier and even the ghee required is little more than the normal rotis. (They should be consumed immediately after they are cooked as after storage it becomes difficult to eat them).
7. Serve it hot with sarson ka saag. The traditional bland taste of this roti goes well with the delicious saag.

My very good friend Rajneet is excited about my blog and keeps sending me new recipes as and when she cooks it. It is nice as she is a vegetarian and a Punjabi and the dishes she makes are very different from the dishes that come out of my kitchen. They add to the range in this blog. 





Here is her awesome Vegetable Manchurian recipe.

1. Finely chop 2 medium sized onion, 1/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup cabbage, 1/4 cup capsicum and grate 1 carrot. Squeeze out extra water out of these veg. You can do it directly with your hands or using a muslin cloth.

2. In a bowl, take 5 tsp all purpose flour (maida), 2 tsp corn starch, 1tsp soya sauce , salt and above vegetables and mix them properly. If required you can sprinkle few drops of water and make small sized balls out of that mixture.

3. Deep fry them on a medium flame . Drain the oil and keep aside

4. In a separate pan, take 2 tsp oil and add 1 tsp each of chopped garlic, ginger and 1 onions and sauté them till they turn light brown.

5. Add 1 tsp each of soya sauce, vinegar, red chilli sauce and a pinch of salt and sauté for few seconds.( while adding salt remember all the sauces already contain some amount of it)

6. Add some water and let it boil.

7.  Now add 1 tbsp dissolved corn starch ( in a bowl mix 1 tsp corn starch in little water) drop by drop and mix it till the required consistency.

8. Add Manchurian balls to this gravy and cover and cook for 2 mins.

9. Serve it hot with fried rice.

10. If you want to cook dry Manchurian, add fried Manchurian balls after step 5 and cover and cook for 2 mins.

 I am a big fan of Pongal since my MBA days. Pongal used to be served regularly at IIMA along with Medu Vada. It was a combination that I used to look forward to at breakfast. Recently I searched online for quick pongal recipes and found this one which comes very close to what was served on campus.

Method

1.     Wash 2 cups rice and ½ cup Moong Dal (Basically 4:1 proportion)

2.     Now cook the rice and moong dal in a pressure cooker with 7-8 cups of water and 1 tsp of turmeric for 2-3 whistles. The rice needs to be well cooked till soft.

3.     Remove from flame. Add salt to taste

4.     Give a tempering (chaunk) of whole 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 twigs of curry leaves and 1inch ginger finely chopped in 2 tbsp of ghee.

5.     Add to the rice mixture and serve.
You can also add ghee - fried cashews if you like.

Recently I was part of a chain mail series with a difference. A friend emailed me about a recipe Exchange program where you email recipes back to the sender and then send the same email to your friends asking them for quick recipes.
My dear friend Nisha sent me this recipe. Though I like potato wedges a lot, I had somehow never ventured to cook it as I always thought that it needs an oven. I really liked this recipe. Quick and yummy.

Method

1. Slice potatoes into slim wedges (leave the skin on for extra crunchiness. Place in water for 10 mins to get rid of excess starch, drain and leave to dry
2. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan to medium heat. Add 1 tsp of jeera and around 1 twig of curry leaves
3. Add 1 tsp each of coriander powder and chilli powder and a pinch of turmeric powder and cook it but don’t allow it to burn
4. Add the potatoes before the masala burns out and add salt. Cover with a lid and let the potatoes cook on a small flame to about 75%
5. Add 1 tbsp seasame seeds and cook without lid. Add 1 tsp garam masala when the potatoes are fully cooked
6. Spike the heat up to crispen the potatoes (dont burn ;))
7. You can choose to garnish with Coriander leaves 

This recipe is ideal for a quick snack. You can replace the Indian spices with chilli flakes, pepper and some oregano.

As a child I never liked methi or spinach. But now that I have to cook on my own, I have suddenly started liking the taste of spinach and use it almost once a week in my cooking. I tasted this dish in a buffet and liked it so much that I searched for this recipe the same day. I have made it many times now and it is the perfect dish to eat with chapattis.

Here is my recipe for this dish

1. Blanch 2 cups of spinach and 1 cup of methi leaves (for blanching, boil water and soak the leaves for 5 mins and drain). Blend in a mixer  along with 2 green chillies to get a fine puree.
2. Add 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 tbsp cumin seeds to it and sauté
3. Add 1 bay leaf, 2-3 cloves, 1-2 cardamom, 1inch cinnamon
4. Add 2 medium sized onions  and 5-6 garlic flakes neatly chopped and sauté till onion is brown.
5. Add a pinch of turmeric, ginger garlic paste. Add the puree and sauté. Add 1 tsp coriander powder and a pinch of sugar and cook till the oil separates.
6. Now adjust the water and salt according to your taste
7. Add 200 gms of grated paneer and cream and cook for 10 mins on a low flame

Add 1 tsp garam masala and garnish with coriander and cream and serve.

This is one quick Konkani dish to cook and requires no heating. This goes well with rice.

Method

1. Grind together 1 onion,1 cup grated coconut, 1 marble sized ball of tamarind, and 3 dried red chillies to a very smooth paste, adding sufficient water and salt. The consistency should be thinner than chutneys as this is used as a substitute for curry with rice.

Fine pieces of onion and ginger can also be added in the end to give it a crunchier texture.