Potato Sandwich

Potato Sandwich

Aloo Sandwich

A quick... recipe..good option for a Dinner or Breakfast or even a Brunch ...this is a second version of Potato filling sandwich
Hope you will Enjoy :-)


Makes: 8-9 Sandwiches
Time for preparation: 10 min


Ingredients:
6 medium sized potatoes (I took Salad potatoes)
2 green chillies, if medium hot. Or take as per your taste
1 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tsp grated ginger
10-12 twigs of coriander leaves. Chop them roughly.
1/4 portion of Lemon
Salt to taste
Butter to apply


Procedure:

1. Grind Chillies,cumin seeds,coriander leaves,Ginger together to a coarse paste.
2. Boil potatoes until soft. I pressure cooked them until real soft.
3. Pill of the skin of potatoes,mash them well and remove if any lumps are there.
4. Add the green chili mixture to the mash add lemon juice and salt. Mix well just once. Dont knead it too much which will make the mash loose.
5. Take couple of spoons of flavored Mash and fill into 2 slices of bread. You can spread this mash well into the slices.
6. Apply butter on the top of sandwich and grill until nice crispy top you get.
7. Serve with nice cool Buttermilk.

Snake Gourde Chutney - Padwalachi Chutney

Snake Gourd Chutney

Snake Gourd

Easy-Healthy-Tasty. A nice option for side dish. 


Ingredients:
2 Cups of chopped Snake Gourd ( chopped into Round slices) If the seeds are quite hard then de seed the slices.
1/2 Cup Grated Coconut
2 Tsp Roasted Groundnuts's powder ( danyache coot)
2-3 Or to taste green chillies
15-20 Twigs of coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1/2 Tsp Sugar ( for a complete taste)
couple of twigs of curry leaves
Turmeric powder 2  pinches
Cumin seeds 1/2 Tsp or to your taste
2 spoons Oil for cooking


Procedure:

1. In a pan keep oil for heating. Once heated add Cumin seeds, then when they splutter add curry leaves, turmeric powder, chopped  green chillies. Stir well.
2. Add Sliced Gourd. Stir well. Keep Hob flame on medium. Cover it with a lid. Cook for 5 min.
3. Remove and stir well. Again cover it and cook for 4-5 min and open it. ( If the slices were thin you just need to steam cook them like this only one time)
4. Once it changes it color, switch off the gas. 
5. Then to this slices mixture,add Coconut, Ground nut powder,salt,coriander leaves,sugar.
6. Mix well.
7. Once cooled down, shift the mixture into Mixer. Grind the mixture to a chutney consistency. Little bit of coarse is fine.
8. On the chutney, pour a  Tadaka. (Heated oil-Cumin seeds-Curry leaves.)
9. It goes well with any meal. Lunch or dinner.

Health benefits of Snake Gourd:

A tonic for heart,rich in calcium,a natural antibiotic.

It can disperse phlegm, remove pus, expel toxic matter and is anti-inflammatory. It creates a cooling effect in the body.

It helps stimulate the production of body fluids, relieving dryness.

It is considered useful in wasting and thirst, which is an ancient reference to diabetes. This has led to investigations of its potential to treat this disease. Modern Chinese treatments for diabetes frequently include Snake gourd root as an ingredient. Even otherwise, being a low-calorie food, this vegetable can be used liberally with advantage by Type-II diabetics to reduce weight and also at the same time get adequate nourishment.


Labels:
Snake Gourd,Schlangenkürbis,serpenter la gourde,zucca di serpente,ヘビヒョウタン,тыква змеи,บวบงู,Padawal,Padol Kai

Rava Dhokla - Semolina Dhokla - Savory Semolina Cake - Microwave Dhokla

Rava Dhokla

Ingredients:
1 cup fine semolina
1 Cup water
1 Cup yogurt
2 TSP fruit salt / Eno
2 TSP oil
1 TSP or less Salt or to taste
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
1 TSP grated ginger / ginger paste
1/4 TSP Carom seeds(Owa)
1/2 TSP Turmeric powder
For Tadaka and garnishing: Mustard seeds,cumin seeds,curry leaves,coriander leaves finely chopped


Procedure:

1. Take Semolina in a Bowl. Add Oil and Carom seeds to it. Mix well and remove lumps if any.
2. Add Yogurt and water and whisk well. Mix all the ingredients well.Add salt,turmeric,ginger paste,chopped green chillies to it.
3. Keep aside this mixture for 20 min.
4. I tried making Dhokla on steam and in Microwave both. The steam version becomes much much soft and looks healthy. Although microwave takes very less time as compared to Steam.So if you want to try it in Microwave, grease a microwaveable box with oil and keep it ready. Or, in a pan, keep water to boil and grease the pan to be used.
5. After 20 min,add Fruit salt ( ENO) to the mixture and mix well immediately.Mixture will foam up.
6. Pour the mixture in the Pan/trey keeping it half empty so that it will have space to puff up.
7. In microwave cook it for 2 minutes 40 sec. Remove and insert a fork or knife and check if the batter is not sticky. If so, keep for another 10-20 Seconds more.
8. If you are steaming it, keep it for 13 minutes inside steamer or pressure cooker(without having the whistle on it). It depends on the heat and time you keep it for, so it took 13 minutes for me,if you feel the batter is still not cooked keep for couple of minutes more.But with this quantity, it should cook within 13 minutes, if the water was boiling when you keep the trey inside.
9. Once cooled down, cut into required sized square pieces.
10. Prepare Tadaka in a frying pan. Pour 2 TSP oil. Once heated, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds,curry leaves, Sesame seeds to it.  Pour the pieces in frying pan. Add chopped coriander leaves. Mix gently so that the oil tempering gets applied to all the pieces properly.

Serve with Tamerind or pudina Chutney.

A healthier substitute for Gram flour Dhokla. It becomes very spongy and as soft as gram flour Dhokla. :-)

Bhendi Sambar/Bhindi Sambar/Okra Sambar

Bhendi Sambar

Ingredients:

10-15 Okra/Bhendi chopped into medium size pieces. Approx 2-3 off each
3 TSP Sambar Masala
Salt to taste
1 cup of Cooked Toor Daal/ Arhar ki Daal
1.5-2 cups water
3/4th to 1 TSP Tamerind paste/extract  or to taste
2 TSP Jaggery or to taste
2 TSP oil
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida(Hing) 
1/4 TSP Turmeric powder


Procedure:

• Pour oil in a pan and let it heat up. Once heated add Mustard seeds,Curry leaves,Asafoetida(Hing).
• Add chopped Bhendi/Okra pieces.(Before chopping the Okra, make sure it is not wet, it should be perfectly dry so that it won't become sticky while cooking.)

• Add Turmeric powder. Stir once.
• Cook for 5-7 minutes. You will see them soften up little bit.
• Add water, Sambar masala,Jaggery.
• Let the mixture come to proper boil.
• Add cooked daal to it.  
• Add salt.
• Cook for 5-10 minutes. Taste and add Tamerind/Jaggery/Salt as per your taste. Also, quantity of water depends on how thick or watery consistency you want.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with hot Steamed rice.

Health benefits of Okra:

superior fiber content which helps to stabilize the blood sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract.It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.Good for constipation,Good in normalizing the blood sugar and cholesterol level.Okra's vitamin C is an antioxidant.

Okra is good for preventing diabetes.

Kairichi Chutney/Green Mango Chutney/Aam Ki Chutney

Mango Chutney

Kairichi Chutney

Ingredients:
1 cup of Green mango pieces.
(Chop Small-medium size pieces of Mango.
80-90gm Of sugar. Since the mango I used was not so sour it had a sweet taste in it, i used 80 gm for this much quantity.If the mango you are using is quite sour use 100gm Sugar.
1/2 TSP Mustard seeds
1/4TSP Fenugreek Seeds ( methi seeds)
2 TSP Ghee
Procedure:

1. Pour ghee in a pan and let it melt. Once it is, add Methi.Fenugreek seeds. Once they turn brown add mustard seeds.
2. Once mustard seeds start spluttering, add the chopped Mango pieces. 
3. keep the flame on slow heat and cover the pan with a lid.
4. Let it coo for 5 minutes. Give a gentle stir.If the mango pieces have become soft, add the sugar. and mix well. If they are not soft yet, cover for another 2-3 minutes and let it cook. Basically we have to add the sugar to the soften mango.
5. Once you add sugar and mixed it well, coo for another 5 minutes (covered with lid).
6. Give a stir and make sure sugar and mango has blended together well.

That's it...it's done...

Serve this chutney with chapati as a side dish. 

Tag: kachhi kairi, kachha aam, Raw mango,Green Mango,Mango Chutney

Chenna Poda-Oriya Sweet / Paneer Cake/ Milk Cake

Chenna Poda/ Paneer Sweet/Paneer Peda

I heard about this from a friend and went for it....It is a traditional Oriya sweet. Made up with Home made Paneer. just 4 ingredients and super easy process...its little crispy outside and spongy soft inside...I would say a must try recipe...


Ingredients:
3 cups of Milk - This gives approx. 150gm of Paneer
1/2 Lemon's juice
5 gm Semolina
40gm Sugar
powder of 1 cardamom
To try at first time, take this much quantity, when you are happy with it,increase the quantity of milk in order to increase quantity of Paneer. For 800gm of paneer take 20gm of Semolina(Sooji/Rava)


Procedure:

1. In a non stick pan keep mil for boiling on medium flame. Keep stirring so that milk doesn't stick at the bottom of the pan.
2. Once the mil come to the proper Boil, switch off the stove.
3. Add the lemon juice. Give a stir.
4. Milk will start to curdle. Let it settle for couple of minutes and you will see the total separation of curdle milk and water.
5. Keep the oven to preheat at 160 deg.C
6. Drain the water through a muslin/cotton cloth and collect the curdled milk. Flow cold water on the Paneer/Chenna.
7. Remove the Paneer from the cloth totally and put it in a bowl.
8. Add semolina,add sugar,add cardamom powder and knead the paneer for 5-7 minutes until it becomes soft.Consistency of the paneer will be very soft. It is not a fluid batter consistency nor like a Chapati Dough. Something in between.
9. Oven must have been reached a decent hot temperature now.
10. Grease a pan with butter or Ghee and keep the Paneer mixture in it and keep for baking.
11. Bake for 30 minutes or until the upper layer turns light golden brown. After 30 minutes switch off the oven but keep the pan inside oven to get baked in that heat.
12. Remove after 5 minutes and cover the pan with  aluminium foil airtight.
13. After almost 30 minutes, see if it has cooled down. 
14. Remove the paneer from the pan and slice it with knife.

It is not at all a heavy dessert. Treat yourself with a nice soothing paneer Poda :-)

Tag: Paneer,Chenna

Paneer from 3 cups of Milk

Kairicha Bhat-Raw Mango Flavored Rice-Green Mango Rice

Kairicha Bhat/Raw Mango Rice

Quite summery....Tangy yummy Rice..must do in Mango season..
No cooking involved ..just a matter of 10 min.Good option for Lunch box or 1 dish dinner.


Ingredients:
1 Cup Basamati rice
Grated Green Mango  1 Cup
2 red chillies
1/2 TSP Turmeric powder
1 TSP sugar
Salt to taste
1 TSP Urid dal
Couple of Twigs of Curry leaves
1/2 TSP of Mustard seeds and Cumin seeds
3-4 Green chillies finely chopped or to the taste
1/2 Tsp lemon juice ( Optional and depends on Sourness of the mango you use)
                                                           
Procedure:

1. Pressure cook rice with 1.5 Cup of water. Or, Cook it anyway you are comfortable with but the rice shouldn't be too soft or soggy, the grains should be well cooked and separate. 
2. Spread rice in a large plate or a Bowl.
3. Add the grated mango, salt,sugar. Mix everything together gently.
4. If the Mango is not enough sour you can add more grated mango. Taste the mango before you add it to the rice. You know yours and your family's taste very well,so  take a call on the basis of amount of Sourness you wish to have in the rice. If the mango is Sweet then don't just increase the amount of mango but add little lemon juice to the rice for sourness.
5. Keep 3 or 4 Tsp oil in a pan to heat. Once heated, add Urid daal to the oil. Once it turns out light brown, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chopped green chillies, curry leaves and at the end full red chillies.
6. Pour this mixture on the Rice. Again,mix gently but making sure whole Tadaka gets applied to the Rice properly.
7. Serve with your fav. side dish with this. Either go for a spicy pickle or some chili flavored crisps or anything you like.

Tag: Mango, kachha amba,kairi,Kachha Aam,Raw mango

Fodnichi Poli / Spicy Chapati Churma / Spicy Chapati Mixture

Fodnichi Poli

This is something you will find in every Maharashtrian house. According to me this is a perfect dish we can make out of the "Extra Chapatis" which are left over from previous night.
Easy, tasty and quick.
This wasn't something I planned for the blog to post it, I had 3 Fulkas left over from previous day and so I prepared it.


Ingredients ( I used )It is sufficient for one person. You can enlarge it as per your need.
3 medium sized Fulka/Chapati. Crush them in Mixer or food processor to chop them in small pieces. As you can see it in the picture above.
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 or 2 Green chillies or as per your taste
15-20 Groundnuts/Peanuts
5-6 Curry leaves
Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds 1/2 TSP each
Turmeric powder 1/4 TSP
Salt to taste
Sugar 1/2 TSP


procedure:

1. Pour oil in a pan. Around 3-4 TSP ( 1TSP = 5 ml ;adjust as per your taste/usage)
2. Once heated, add mustard seeds, once they splutter add cumin seeds then curry leaves,turmeric powder.
3. Add chopped Onion, chopped green chili.Mix well. On medium heat cook the onion well. Add groundnuts/peanuts.
4. Once onion is cooked to soft, add Crushed chapati mixture to it.
5. Mix well. Add salt to taste.
6. Cover with lid and keep the flame on low-medium heat. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Before serving garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Note: If you put little salt in the Chapatis/Fulkas, please be careful while putting salt to this dish. It will become salty otherwise.

Treat yourself  :-)

Tag: फोडणीची पोळी, Indian bread, Spicy Bread mixture,Left over Chapati

Patties/Veg Puff/व्हेज पफ

Veg Puff ,Patties

In college days..we used to eat it almost every Sunday morning....
Very easy to make so you can make it at home.. a good option for accompanying tea...
serve hot with nice Masala Chai :-)
I am giving a generic Recipe, how to do it. Adjust your ingredients as per the number of Puffs you want to do it.
Basically,I did it with Potato sabji this time. Like Aloo masala of masala dosa. You can prepare mixed veg Sabji or any stuffing as you like. :-)
I would suggest, use 2 potatoes and prepare stuffing. and Make 2-3 Puffs from it and see how it goes.Later on you can try more numbers. :-)


Ingredients:
Puff pastry ( I used Jus-Rol Puff pastry 500 gm pack which will have 2  slabs/thick sheets 
it makes 25-30 medium sized Puffs )
You can use as much as you want to make Puffs. Its like frozen Dough ,so use and then freeze again.
For potato stuffing :
Medium sized potatoes ( ideal for mash ).
Green chillies to taste
Grated ginger
Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Coriander powder
Procedure:

1. De-frost the pastry  for 2-3 hours. Ideally keep it outside freezer to normal room temperature for more than 2 hours before you start rolling the pastry.
2. Boil potatoes in pressure cooker until soft and easy to be mashed. Mash the potatoes to prepare filing.
3. Preheat the Oven for 200 deg.C
4. Potato filling : Keep oil for heating. Once heated, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, Grated ginger, chopped chillies, turmeric powder. Stir well. Add the mashed potatoes.
5. Mix well and add salt to taste. Add Coriander powder for a nice Flavor.
6. Mix well and cook for just 5 min. Keep it aside to cool down.
7. The pastry will come as a square slab.Divide the slab into small squares.(Cut the Pastry slab with Knife into an approx. 3 cm wide roll and cut that roll into small square shaped chunks.)
8. Roll out each square into a round shape with roller pin. Dont make it very thin.Keep it medium thick.
9. Take a tsp full of filing and place on the rolled pastry.

       10.  Close it by all the sides and give a shape of a rectangle by pressing

               from both the sides. Make sure filling is not exposed by making sure

               that everything is well packed.

   11. In a heated Oven, place these Puffs on a Foil covered treys. 

         Keep the trey in a middle shelf of oven. Bake for 12-15 min or less or 

         more until they puff up and turn light golden brown.

Homemade Veg Puff

            

Tags:  Homemade Veg Puff/Aloo Patties/Patties recipe/Puff recipe/Kartoffel/ジャガイモ/картофель

Cucumber Sabji / Kakadi chi pith perun Bhaji / Kakdi Sabji

A quick recipe of side dish, if your fridge is running out of Veggies, a good option..coolant for your tummy. 
Add Cucumber to your diet during warm summer months.


Ingredients:

1 Tsp oil

Mustard seeds

Cumin seeds

Asafoetida

Turmeric powder

Curry leaves

Fresh Cucumber chopped into small cubes ( I took half of the long dark green Cucumber)

Red chili powder,
salt to taste
2-3 Tsp Coarsely ground Gram flour ( or just usual Gram flour)


procedure:

1. Peel of the Cucumber and cut into cubes.
2. Keep oil to heat up. Once heated, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds,asafoetida,turmeric,curry leaves.
3. Add chopped cucumber pieces.
4. Stir well. Add red chili powder as per taste. When you prepare this dish first time put little less than you think you would need. :-) you will get an idea next time. 
5. Add salt.
6. Mix well. Keeping flame on slow-medium flame. Cook the cucumber until soft but not soggy soft. Just soft enough that when you try to press it with the spoon it is not hard.
7. Once cooked well ( approx. 5-7 min should be enough) add 2- 2 and half Tsp of Coarsely ground gram flour or a usual gram flour. Mix well in order to apply the flour to the the full quantity of cubes. Adjust the flour as per your taste.
8. Cover with the lid and on the lowest flame, cook for 5 min. This is required to cook the flour now.
9. Mix it well and if you see the flour might be yet uncooked, cook for couple of minutes more.

Serve hot with chapatis.

Health benefits of Cucumber:

Rich in Vitamin C , good source of fiber and it comes naturally prepacked with essential fluids you need when consuming fiber. They contain an important mineral Silica.Also, a good source vitamin A,folate,magnesium.

For ladies::::  Cucumber juice is often recommended as a source of silica to improve the complexion and health of skin. Plus its high water content makes it Hydrating. Which is important for glowing skin...

So,Add this crunchy cool cucumber to your diet everyday :-)

Tab: Kakdi Sabji,Kakadichi Bhaji,Cucumber side dish,काकडी,ककड़ी,Gurke,キュウリ,огурец,खीरा,concombre

Seeing the E-Coli outbreak in Europe right now, It is better to cook the vegetables like Cucumber,Tomato than eating them raw.

Roasted potatoes / Crispy Potato wedges

A good option for Starters, healthy substitute to Chips ( no frying ) and no time spent cooking or preparing stuff...

Ingredients: 

4 small potatoes ( for the quantity in above pic )

1 Tsp Olive oil.. I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt for seasoning

Ground black pepper

Sweet chili sauce for a dip

That's all....... :-)

Procedure:

1. In an oven tray, lay an aluminium foil and keep it in Oven
2. Keep oven for preheating. Temp. 200 Deg. ( Appropriate one for Gas oven I think it mark 6. confirm it,am not sure)
3. Meanwhile,wash the potatoes and cut them into big cubes ( as shown in pic or whichever way you like ). Don't peel them off.
4. In a large bowl add potato cubes, Olive oil, salt, powdered pepper and mix.
5. Spread these cubes on the baking tray.
6. Roast for 30 min or until golden brown / crispy looking. Flip them in between to even roast all the sides.
7. Serve hot with fav. dip.

I had also kept couple of tomato slices for roasting. But they take 10-12 min. They need to be removed in less time than potatoes :-)

Health benefits of potatoes:

They are so rich in Vitamin C. If you take away the fat ( like in fried fries or chips or baked potatoes with cheese or butter) and then it is an exceptionally healthful low calorie high fibre food that offers protection against cardiovascular diseases. It also have blood pressure lowering potential, vitamin B6.

The potato skin is a concentrated source of dietary fiber, so to get the most nutritional value from this vegetable, don't peel it and consume both the flesh and the skin.


Tags: Crispy roasted potatoes / Oven baked Potatoes

Dudhi Koshimbir / Dudhi Raita

One of my fav. Raitas, a lot healthy and quite coolant for your tummy. Do include it in your diet once in fortnight.
I have not given Ingredients in gms or Tsp or anything. You can adapt it depending on how much you have to prepare.

Ingredients: 
Dudhi / Bottle gourd , peeled off and chopped into small cubes.
Yogurt
Cumin powder
Salt
Dried Mint leaves powder
Mustard powder ( Take 1 spoon of mustard seeds and grind in mortar and pestle
Sugar
For Tadaka,   oil, cumin seeds,green chili, curry leaves
for garnishing fresh mint leaves, coriander leaves finely chopped.

Procedure:

1. I took a medium sized Dudhi for raita. Peel of the Dudhi and cut into cubes. In a pressure cooker, put all the cubes in a container without putting water. just pour 2-3 spoons of water. or just sprinkle water. Pressure cook for couple of whistles or 3 whistles ( depending on the pressure cooker you have). Cook until they are soft but shouldn't be overcooked otherwise while mixing the yogurt and other ingredients it will become paste.  
2. Drain out the water if any in the container and keep the boiled cubes to cool down completely. I would suggest, keep them aside and carry on with your rest of the cooking.
3. Once cooled down properly, take enough Yogurt in another container and whisk it to have an even consistency in the yogurt and it doesn't leave water when poured into Dudhi. Quantity of Yogurt should be as much to cover whole quantity of Dudhi you have taken. Take little quantity at a time and add in if needed.
4. Pour the whisked yogurt into cubes, add little bit sugar ( to balance the taste), cumin powder,dry mint powder, mustard powder and mix well gently. 
5. Prepare Tadaka in different pan. First oil, once heated add cumin seeds, curry leaves,green chili/s. Pour this on Raita. Give a mix.
6. Garnish with couple of mint leaves and chopped coriander leaves.
7. Just Before you serve, add salt to taste and mix. If you put salt at the preparation time, it will leave water until you serve.

Health benefits of Dudhi / Bottle Gourd :

The cooked vegetable is cooling. It gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it.

Bottle gourd is very valuable in urinary disorders. 

The juice of bottle gourd is a valuable medicine for excessive thirst due to severe diarrhoea, diabetes and excessive use of fatty or fried foods.

Its use during summer prevents excessive loss of sodium, quenches thirst and helps in preventing fatigue.

The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of stomach acidity, indigestion and ulcers.

Bottle Gourd helps in constipation. Bottle gourd is not only rich in essential minerals, iron, protein and trace elements; it is also rich in Fibre. Fibre is known to be missing in the modern diet, the absence of which is the cause of not only constipation but other digestive disorders like flatulence and even piles. Hence diet using different preparations made from this vegetable are useful.

Chutney Pudi / Pud Chutney / Lentils Powdered Chutney

I tasted this Chutney after marriage. This is a recipe by my Mother in Law.
In Karnataka this is used as a side dish with Dosas , Idlys.
Having lentils in it makes it rich in proteins of course.
Try and tell me how do you find it.
At first you may find it dry so add little oil to it and then eat with Dosa/Idly.


Ingredients:
1 Cup Bengal gram
1/2 Cup Urid daal ( White lentils)
Red chillies to taste ( I took handful of them )
1 Cup Desiccated coconut
Kokum 2-3 halves (Garcinia Indica) Amsul in Marathi 
Turmeric 1/2 Tsp
Salt to taste
2 Tsp Jaggery ( optional or to taste )
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida
fresh curry leaves


Procedure: 

1. Take 1-2 Tsp oil in a pan and roast red chillies in it for 5-6 min on medium flame. Roasting it so that rawness of chillies is gone. Once you see they are turning little blackish immediately remove from the heat and keep aside.
2. Dry roast both the lentils separately( In different pans) ; until rawness is gone. Keep stirring continuously so that it wont burn. Once roasted well keep both the lentils aside.
3. Dry roast the desiccated coconut too on Low flame until it turns light brown.
4. Once all the ingredients are cooled down, put red chillies and lentils in mixer and grind coarsely.
5. Then add jaggery,Kokum,Salt and grind again.
6. In a separate pan  pour 2 Tsp oil. Once heated add  1-1.5 Tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter add Asafoetida, Turmeric ( 1/2 Tsp) , Fresh curry leaves. Switch off the stove now.
7. Add the ground powder to this seasoning.
8. Mix well with hands.
9. Store in a dry container.

While serving with a Dosa ; add little oil to it.

Enjoy Madi!  That is  Enjoy in Kannada. :-)

Palak Paneer - Spinach Paneer Curry

Its been a while I wrote something on my dear Blog...
It is Spring in England...sunny intervals along with a light shower of rains....Daffodils everywhere....Trees getting their fresh green leaves..it is such an awesome time to Paint....but one need to have that gift...
It's drizzling outside...but a bright day too...So thought of removing the dust from Blog...and post some awaiting recipes...
This one is not so "Hatke" but still we relish every time we eat it :-)


So friends...I hope you like the recipe and try it at home...


Ingredients:


I used a ready made Paneer pack which weighed 227g...
500g Fresh Palak / Spinach leaves
Green Chillies as per Taste
1 Onion medium sized
3-4 Garlic cloves ( or to the Taste )
Grated Ginger 1.5 Tsp
Coriander powder  3 Tsp
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Sugar
Salt to taste


Procedure:

1. Wash Spinach leaves and Cook them in Pressure cooker until soft. ( Usually 3 whistles are enough but cook it as per your Pressure cooker). Once it cools down, Drain the water ( But keep that water aside). Pour running cold water on the leaves in a strainer. 
2. Grind these leaves in Mixer to a fine paste.
3. Cut the Paneer into small cubes( Or you can buy already cubed Paneer )Pour 2-3 Tsp oil in a pan.
4. Keep the cubes one by on on the pan and fry them till golden brown. After some time flip them and try to shallow fry the cubes from both the sides as much as possible. Once done, keep the pan aside. Prepare for the gravy now..

1. Pour 1-2 Tsp oil in a Pan / Wok / kadhai .
2. Paste: Put chopped onion, garlic cloves, green chillies, ginger,Coriander powder with just enough water to smooth grinding in a mixer and grind it to a fine paste. 
3. Once oil is hot, add Cumin seeds, when they splutter add the ground paste and stir well.
4. Stir for 4-5 min on Medium flame so that paste wont stick to the pan. Cook it until the rawness of onion-garlic is gone...it turns little brown.
5. Add 1/2 Cup water to the pan now.(Use the drained water we kept aside from the cooked spinach ; we have saved all the nutrients ). 
6. Let it come to boil. 
7. Add the fine ground paste of Spinach. to this.
8. Once the mixture has come to a proper boil, pour the cubes one by one.
9. Boil it well. 
10. Add salt to taste. And mix gently so that paneer cubes wont break...

Serve hot n Enjoy with Chapatis or Naan.

Note: Add water as per your requirement of how thick or liquid consistency you want. 

And if you add more water by mistake, mix Gram flour in little yogurt and add to the mixture ( But do it before you add paneer cubes.)