CHANA PALAK

Chole Masala, one of the most popular and favorite Indian dish all over the world. Chole also called as chick peas, chana, or garbanzo beans. But ,today i like to talk about a good and healthy combination of a vegetable(spinach/palak) and Legume/Dal (chick peas) i.e. chana palak.

Chana palak is one of the classical dish that is made using chick peas, palak and tomatoes. This is surely full of flavour and nutrients.Chole are a good source of protein, folic acid etc. It helps in lowering High BP and a low calorie food. And coming to spinach as we all know a very nutrient-dense leafy vegetable, a good source of iron, folate, fiber.
Serve this dish with chapatis/rice and raita to make it a balanced meal. How about getting all these good benefits from this great combination dish called Chana or chole palak.

Ingredients:

Chole/Chana/Chick peas/Garbanzo beans - 1 small can (15 oz).

Palak - 1 bunch.

Tomato - 1 chopped.

Onions - 1 medium size, chopped.
Turmeric - 1/2tsp.
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/2tsp.
Green Chillies - 2 or 3 slit longitudinally or chopped.
Chilly Powder - 1/2tsp.
Coriander (Dhaniya) Powder - 1 tsp.
Garam masala - 1/4tsp
Jeera/Jilkara - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - For flavour and garnish.
Oil - 1tbsp

Method:

Drain the chana from can, wash and keep aside.

Wash palak leaves, blanch in hot water for few sec. let it cool and puree it.

Add oil to pan, add jeera, then chopped onions. Fry until transparent, then add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, and chopped green chillies. Add chopped tomatoes, red chilly powder and coriander powder. Cook until tomatoes are soft and cooked. Next add the chana to it, then the palak puree. Mix properly, add required salt and cook until spices blend in. Finally add coriander leaves and sprinkle garam masala. Try it with hot chapatis / rotis.

TIP OF THE DAY:
Does your cutting board smell from the previous day's remains? Use baking soda to clean and deodorize your cutting boards. Sprinkle baking soda on damp sponge, scrub and rinse clean. Another way to clean and disinfect your wood cutting boards is to wipe with vinegar or lemon, the natural disinfectants.

VANKAYA MENTHI KARAM

Brinjal , also called as Eggplant and Aurbergine. It is one of the versatile vegetable that can be prepared in to different dishes along with other vegetables or using different spices. Guthi Vankaya, one famous andhra dish that comes first thing in our mind when we think of Brinjal and also a famous dish that is always in any parties/functions. Going farward will share more different brinjal dishes. Today i would like to share a dish called Vankaya menthi karam.
This is a recipe i got it from one of the cooking show on TV. The fenugreek seeds and mustard powders used in this give a strong flavour to the dish. Try it. It is easy and fast.

VANKAYA MENTHI KARAM

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 6-7 cut in to small pieces

Tamarind juice - 1/2cup

Onions -1 chopped

Curry leaves - few

Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2tsp

Urad dal (minappappu) - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 3-4

Salt - required

Turmeric - 1/4tsp

Oil - 2 sp

Method:

Put the chopped brinjal, salt , turmeric and tamarind water in apan and cook until brinjal is cooked. Add more water if required to cook.

Take a pan, add 1 sp oil then add urad dal, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and red chillies. fry all these lightly and make a paste with water and salt.

Now Put some oil in another pan, add the masala paste, curry leaves and then the cooked brinjal to it . Mix properly, check for salt and spicyness. Add coriander leaves, mix and serve.

* you can adjust the redchillies according to your spiciness.

* Receipe asked for 1 cup of tamarind water, i used 1/2 cup tamarind and 1/2cup water. You can vary depending on your taste. I added a 1/4tsp sugar to this dish to adjust the tangy flavour, it is not required if you like.

BEETROOT FRY

Beetroot is one of my favourite dish. Especially i love to drink beetroot juice. I was not very good at making beetroot fry, i use to chop it in small pieces and do, but never would come out well. When you grate the beetroot and use it in this receipe , it really works out and also cooks faster in its own steam. This way it is quick to make. I got this receipe from my friend Jaya.
Beetroot is one of the healthiest vegetable which can be eaten raw, cooked or in form of juice. It is best known as blood purifier. It is a natural source of Vitamin C, calcium, iron. It helps building blood in body. It has many more healthy benefits to be included in our regular diet. Hope you all will enjoy this receipe.

BEETROOT FRY

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 3 medium size

Onions - 1 finely chopped

Green chillies - 3/4 slit

Curry leaves - few

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2tsp (optional)

Groundnuts - 1/4 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/4cup finely chopped

Salt - required

For tadka (Seasonning)- Mustard seeds, Jeera/ Jilkara, Red chillies.

Method:

First peel the beetroot and grate the vegetable.

Put some oil in the pan, add the seasoning/tadka. When mustrad seeds splutter, add chopped onions and wait until they tuen translucent, then add ginger garlic paste. fry until teh raw smell is gone. Now add turmeric, curry leaves, green chillies, and ground nuts. Let it fry for few minutes. Next add the grated beet root and fry for few min. Cover the pan for few min until the beetroot is cooked. Then add salt, chilli powder, simmer for few minutes. Finally add coriander leaves, mix and remove from stove. Beet root fry is ready. Serve with hot Rice & ghee or chapatis.

TIP OF THE DAY:

Worrying from cold. Drinking lemon juice with hot water and a little honey is the best treatment for colds.

VEGETABLE PULAV

Today i would like to share one of my favourite receipe i.e. Vegetable pulav. This is one dish you can add as many different kind of vegetables to make this dish colourful. This dish can be prepared in no time.

VEGETABLE PULAV



Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2cups

Vegetables (1-Carrot, 7-8Beans, 1/4 cup-Peas, 1cup-Cauliflower, 1 -Potatoes) Cut in small pieces or cut longitudinally.

Onions - 1 medium size

Ginger-garlic Paste - 1tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup chopped

Mint Leaves - 1/2 cup chopped

Green Chillies - 4-5

Chilly Powder- 1 tsp

Biryani Masala Powder - 2 tbsp ( i used Shaan biryani masala)

Curd - 1/2cup

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Salt - required

Whole Garam Masala(Elaichi, Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamom, Shajeera)

Peppercorn - 1/2tsp

Oil/Ghee - 1tbsp

Orange Food colour - 1/4tsp

Method:

Heat some oil in a pan, add whole garam masala, next add the onions and fry until transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until raw smell is gone. next add the slit/chopped green chillies, mint and coriander leaves. Fry for 2 sec. Then add all the vegetables and stirfry for few min , then add turmeric, chilly powder, biryani masala powder. Mix properly and add curd and salt. Mix and keep it aside.

Wash the basmati rice. Transfer the vegetable mix and rice to the rice cooker and add 31/2 cup water , mix properly and check for the salt. Switch on the cooker. When the rice is almost done add the food colour mixed in teaspoon of water and just add on the top and close and lid. let it cook until done. Serve with boiled eggs and raita.

* Can also use mushrooms in the dish.

* Instead of Biryani masala, you can use coriander powder & cumin powder.

TIP OF THE DAY

Finding hard to set the home made curd in winter, then here is a simple tip. Boil the milk , cool it until lukewarm, add 2 sp of culture along with 1 red chilly. Keep it in a warm place. The curd will be ready within 4-5 hours, creamy and thick. Try it.

MUTTON KEEMA KOFTA CURRY (korma)

Today i would like to share with you a hyderabadi receipe, Keema kofta Curry , that i learnt it from my mom. This is one of the delicious curry of mince meat (keema)blended with spices and herbs, which are made in to small balls and deep fried. Then these balls are simmered in a rich korma gravy. This is sure to try dish.

In this dish you can skip deep frying of the balls and instead just boil the koftas in water, drain and directly use it in the curry. This way you can cut calories without deep frying.

Ingredients:

For Koftas (meat balls):

Mutton mince - 1 lb

Onions - 1 small, finely chopped.

Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 ( or more according to your spicyness)

Salt - required

Turmeric - pinch

Coriander leaves - finely chopped 1 tbsp

Mint leaves - finely chopped 1 tbsp

For the sauce:

Onions - 1 medium size, chopped or sliced

Tomatoes - 1 medium, chopped

Ginger Garlic - 1 tsp

Cashews - 1 tbsp

Coconut powder - 2 tbsp

Poppy seeds(khus-khus) - 2tbsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 2-3 slit

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Mint leaves - 2tbsp, finely chopped

Curd - 3tsp

Whole garam masala (Elaichi, cloves, cinnamom, shajeera and bayleaf)

Method:

For the koftas-

Clean the keema . Add all the ingredients for kofta, mix properly and make in to small lemon sized balls. Deep fry these balls or as i said can also be boiled in water and drain and keep aside.

For the Sauce-

Heat some oil in a pan, add chopped onions, saute for few minutes then add ginger garlic paste fry until the raw smell is gone, add chopped tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cashews, salt. Saute these for 2-3 min and remove from the pan, let cool. Then blend this mixture to a fine paste.

Heat a pan, add 1tsp oil, to this add whole garam masala, add the blended paste, chopped coriander and mint leaves,slit green chillies, curd and mix properly, also add the meat balls. Add some water and let boil until the raw smell is gone and oil oozes out. Check for the salt. Sprinkle garam masala and coriander leaves and simmer for 2 more minutes. Serve hot with chapatis or rice.

MIX VEGETABLE QUICHE

It is a quick, wholesome and healthy dish that can be prepared within no time. This is one dish which i like to prepare on weekends as a quick breakfast or brunch. The vegetables hidden in this gives vitamins , fibre and minerals. The eggs used as a base gives protein and iron. And calcium from the milk and cheese added. It is a healthy dish for picky eaters who skip their veggies. In this dish you can use any kind of vegetables and combinations, and as many veggies as possible. I had very few veggies in my fridge so i ended up using only those; brocolli, spinach and green capsicum.
You can also use veggies with different colours, to make the dish more clourful and flovourful. I learnt this receipe from one of my friend during my college days, but made some changes to it by using paneer and coriander powder giving it a indian touch

Ingredients:

Eggs - 6

Milk - 1/3 cup

Onions - 1/3 cup

Brocolli - 1/2 cup chopped in to 1" pieces

Spinach - 1/2 cup finely chopped

capsicum - 1/2 cup chopped

Salt as required

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Cheddar cheese and Paneer - 1/2cup finely shredded.

Oil - 2tsp

Method-

Take a pan and add oil, to this add onions, saute for few seconds and then add brocolli, spinach and capsicum. Saute the vegetables for 2min and keep aside. Now in a different bowl beat all the 6 eggs and whisk them, to this add milk and cheeses. Mix well and add pepper, coriander powder and required salt. Now take pie shell, spray some cooking spray and spread the sauted vegetables, then add the egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35min. Insert a knife in the center to test if its done. If it comes out clean, it is done or else bake for some more time. Enjoy the yummy quiche.

Mushroom, Capsicum, and Corn Masala.

Today i like to share a really delicious dish, Mushroom, Capsicum, and Corn Masala which, i learned it from my mother who has got this receipe from a cooking show on Tv. This receipe is definitely a healthy dish with combination of capsicum and mushroom.

One day i wondered if i can add some other vegetable to this, and i ended up with sweetcorn which was lying in my pantry thinking what to be done. It really added an extra taste and healthiness to this dish.The cashewnut powder added to this gives an extra richness to the curry. Goes well with chapatis/Naan.Try it and you will love it.

As we all know Mushrooms, a healthy, fat free vegetable, which helps in reducing high blood pressure, cholestrol. It helps in enhancing immunity and also a good source of iron and fiber. Capsicum, a good source of Vitamin A & C. Sweet corn again a good source of dietery fiber.

Ingredients:

Mushrooms - 6 or 7 no.
Capsicum - 1
Sweet corn - 10 no.
Cumin/jeera - 1/2 Tsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium size (pureed)
Onion - 1 (pureed)
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (slit/chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 Tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tsp
Coriander powder - 1Tsp
curd - 1 Tbsp
Garam masala - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - required
coriander Leaves - chopped for garnish.

Method:

Wash the vegetables, chop or slice the vegetables as per your requirement.

Heat oil in a skillet, then add cumin/jeera. Then add onion paste and let it fry until the raw flavour is gone, next add ginger garlic paste.
Fry for couple seconds. Now add add turmeric powder, mushrooms, capsicum and corn and fry for few minutes until slightly tender. Add the tomato paste, coriander powder,
chilli powder , cashew powder and little water and cook along with the vegetables few minutes until oil oozes. Once the vegetables are done, add required salt, curd, garam masala.
Simmer for few minutes and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapatis / rice.

** You can adjust the consistency of the sauce as required. Chilli powder also can be adjusted as per your required spiciness. Amount of vegetables used can vary according to your like/dislike.