Jhat pat mushroom rice

This was a result of an experiment while deciding on what to pack for Paresh's lunch. Except for the mushrooms, the fridge had a deserted look. So I got rice and the mushroom together and the end result, must I say was so fantastic that I had to share it. Plus, it just took 15-20 minutes to get it all ready. Here is what it took to get this dish done.

1 cup rice
Salt
2 spoons oil
200 gm or 1 packet Mushroom (sliced)
Corriander
2 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp chilli sauce

Start of by boiling the rice in an open vessel with a tsp of salt. Boil rice till is is 90% done. Once ready, drain out the hot water and soak it in some cold water to arrest further cooking. Add a few drops of oil if you want to. This will help keep the rice from sticking to one another.
In a separate wok, heat oil and let it smoke. Throw in the mushroom and cook till it appears glossy. Note: Mushroom does not take too long to cook. To this add the soya sauce, vinegar and chilli sauce. Saute for a min and add all the rice to the wok. Cook covered for 2-3 mins. Allow the rice to stand for 5 minutes before you un-lid the container. Garnish with lots of chopped coriander.

Matar pulao recipe

1 tablespoon ghee. You can used butter or oil if you prefer.
6 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 Aniseed
1 tablespoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 handful mint leaves
2 green chillies
1 onion, sliced
1 cup fresh/frozen peas
2 cups rice. (use basmati rice for added smell)
1/2 a lemon.

If you are using basmati rice, it is a good idea to soak the rice in some water while we prepare the rest.
In a pressure cooker, add ghee, then the clove, cinnamon, aniseed, bay leaf and the cumin. Next add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, mint leaves and the onion. Fry till the onion turns pink and then add the peas. Add rice and fry for 2 mins. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into it. Add 4 cups water and, salt, according to the taste. After one whistle, turn the gas to low and cook for 5 min. Wait till the pressure in the cooker is released. Open and serve with dal tadka.

Clear veg soup

Rainy weather, runny nose and some-one to piping hot cup of vegetable soup with lots of pepper. Only that there isn't anyone to make me the soup. So it is all up to me to make myself the soup. Enjoyable never the less. 

6 baby corns,
A handful of spring onions
Some chopped French beans
Half a carrot, sliced
A few mushroom
And finally, clear vegetable stock which was made by boiling cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and spring onions for 20 mins in 4 cups water. All the vegetables were then discarded.

Stir fry, on high heat, all the vegetables mentioned above in a spoonful of oil. 2 to 3 minutes should be enough. Add the vegetable stock to this along with salt. Let this boil for 2 min. The soup is ready to  be garnished with coriander, pepper powder, vinegar and soy sauce.

Snake beans porriyal recipe

Ingredients:
Snake beans (1 bunch/250 grms)
Potato (1 Medium size)
Lobia (A hand ful)
Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
Asafoetida (1 pinch)
Curry leaves (A few springs)
Green chilli (2, slit length wise)

Method:
Cut the potato into bite size cubes.
Boil the dal (lobia) and potato in a pressure cooker or open vessel till soft.
Heat a spoonfull oil in a pan and add asafoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies.
Add the beans, lobia and potato.
Sprinkle some water on it and cook covered on a low flame for 10 min.

Oats dosa recipe

Time and again we have been hearing the goodness of oats. But if you are one of those who just can't seems to enjoy oats as a porridge, then this is a recipe just for you. It is easy to make, good to taste and loaded with health benefits.

To make the dosa, you will need:
Oats – 1 cup
Rice flour – 1/2 cup
Rawa - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1 cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Green Chillies – 1 or 2, finely chopped
Curry leaves - few springs

Start by dry roasting the oats over a low flame. Next, mix, the oats, rice flour, rawa, maida and salt. Add water and make a batter having the consistency of a regular dosa batter.
Using a hot non-stick tawa, spread a ladle of batter. Sprinkle the chopped onions, chillies and curry leaves and cook covered on a low flame. (You do not have to cook it covered, but I notice that cooking it covered uses less gas and cooks it evenly). Flip the dosa and heat the other side as well.

Your oats dosa is ready. Enjoy with chutney podi, chutney or sambar.

Note: You can make this dish healthier and more colorful by adding grated carrot, chopped green leaves and more. Make these additions when you are sprinkling the chopped onions. You can also, sprinkle some pepper powder or chilli powder at the same time to add some zing to the taste.

Piddi or Steamed rice dumplings recipe

I am not sure what the actual name for this dish is, but when I was a baby, I used to address this dish by this name and it stuck. My grand mother used to make this for breakfast every time we visited her. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Water - to make dough
Salt - one pinch
Coconut - either grated (1 cup) or tiny pieces. I personally prefer tiny pieces.

Method:
Add a pinch of salt in the water and heat. We do not want the water to be too hot, just drinkable type hot. Add the coconut pieces/gratings to the rice flour.
Use the hot water to make a dough out of the flour+coconut mixture. I
Once the dough is ready, make lemon sized balls out of it. My grandmother used to allow us use our imagination to create various shapes like a cup, a mortar and pestle. My brother was good at making a bird out of it. So, shape does not matter.
Steam these balls using an idli vessel or in a cooker for 5 min.
To check if the dish is ready, poke a tooth pick into it. If it comes out clean, it is done, else, let it steam for a bit longer.
Our steamed rice dumplings are ready.
This can be eaten as it is, with chutney podi or you can add spices to it.
if you want to add spices,
heat a spoon full oil in a pan, tamper some asafoetida, urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and add the rice dumplings into the pan. You may want to put the entire dumpling or cut the dumplings into half or one-forth. Just use your imagination and let your sense of smell and taste bud guide you.

Aaj ka khanna

Plain white rice with fish fry, fish curry, stuffed eggplant and papad

Kozhukattai recipe

I do not have much of a sweet tooth. But kozhukattai is one of my favorites which I learnt from my grandmother when I was in 5th Std. So you can imagine how simple this is to make. Also, called as modak, this is a very popular dish during ganesh chaturti. Kozhukattais are easy to make and very low on calories as it uses zero amount of oil. So lets get started with it.

All you need is,
Rice flour – 2 cups
Jaggery (powdered) – 2 cups
Coconut (grated) – 2 cups
Cardamom powder - teaspoon.
Salt - just a pinch

Heat 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt added to it. Using this water to make a dough out of the rice flour along with the cardamon powder. The dough should have the consistency of the roti dough.
Next mix the grated coconut and jaggery.
Take a ball of the dough, say the size of a lemon. Using your thumb, press the ball in the center so that we can fill in the coconut-jaggery mixture to it.
Fill the cocnut-jaggery mixture in the depression created in the dough and seal it back. Do the same with the entire dough and steam it in the cooker for 5 min.
Enjoy piping hot kozhukattais.

Simplest shahi tukda recipe or Double Ka Meetha

This Hyderabadi sweet dish is normally made by deep frying white bread in ghee and then soaking it is rich cream milk and seasoning it with dry fruits. Looks like just thinking about the recipe can increase the waist line to 2 inches or more. So here is an easy to make and light on the calorie scale recipe for the dish.

You will need:
Rusk - 4 Nos(Any type will do. I used sooji rush)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom Powder - a pinch
Saffron - few strands (optional)
Milk - 1 cup
Dry fruits- 1 spoon (I mainly used almonds, but you may want to add a mixture or cashew nuts, almond and pista)

Method:
Mix sugar and water and let it boil for 5 min till it thickens up a bit.
Soak the rusk in the sugar water till it becomes soft and arrange it on a serving plate.
In the meanwhile, mix saffron and cardamon powder to the milk and boil on low flame for 5 min.
Pour this milk mixture over the rusk and garnish with dry fruits.

Lauki Channa dal recipe

I learnt this recipe from a friend of mine called Sood. While on a diet, He and I were experimenting with low fat stuffs in the kitchen and came up with this recipe. The aroma was irresistible and the taste simply superb. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients: 

Bottle gourd (I used 1/2)

Onion (1, finely chopped)

Channa dal (1 cup)

Ginger-garlic paste(1 spoon)

Cloves (2-3)

Asafoetida (1 pinch)

Oil (2 spoon)
Turmeric powder (1/4 spoon)
Chilli powder (1 spoon)
Garam masala (1/2 spoon)
Amchoor powder (1/2 spoon)
Salt (as per taste)

Method:
Heat 2 spoons oil is a pressure cooker. Once hot, add a pinch of asafoetida/hing and the cloves.
Add chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
Next add the chopped tomatoes and salt and let it cook for 3-4 mins.
Add turmeric, chilli, garama masala and amchoor and cook for a min. Add the dal into the cooker and stir for 2 min.
Put in the bottle gourd, add 2 and half cups of water and let it pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
Garnish with coriander.

Cabbage Poriyal

A typical South Indian style of cooking cabbage. Here is what you will need.

Cabbage - 1
Bengal Gram Dhal - 2 tablespoons
Coconut gratings - 1 tablespoon
Onion - 1 medium size
Green Chilli - 2 or 3
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 2 teaspoon
Mustard - 1/2 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Salt

Boil some water along with turmeric powder and add the bengal gram dal and cook covered till soft.
In the meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, and tamper the mustard seeds, add urad dal, curry leaves, green chilli and onion and fry for 2 min. Add chopped cabbage, salt and cook covered on a low flame. Note, cabbage can easily get burnt if cooked on high flame. So always cook cabbage on a low flame. Soon the cabbage will look a bit transparent and that is when is it cooked. Add the cooked dal to it and garnish with coconut gratings.

Oats and borken wheat porridge

Oats once used to be my every day breakfast. My friends used to think I am crazy to be able to manage oats every single day and mom thought I was plain lazy. But to tell you the truth, Paresh and I were just so addicted to having it for breakfast everyday. Gradually, I began experimenting with oats and "breakfast" until I lost the habit of oats for breakfast everyday. Anyway, here is a simple and delicious recipe. Not only is it healthy, but it helps one loose the post pregnancy weight great deal.

To serve 2, you will need:
1 cup broken wheat (dalia)
2 tbs oats
1 spoon butter
1 cup milk
2 spoon sugar (or as per taste)
One stick cinnamon
one pinch cinnamon powder
Chopped dry fruits, apple and banana

Heat a spoon of butter in a pressure cooker and throw in the cinnamon stick into it. Add the washed dalia and let it roast for 3 min.
Next add oats to it and roast for 2 min.
Add all the milk and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles
Add sugar along with dry fruits and fresh fruits.
Garnish with cinnamon powder.

Sol kadi

Every time I visit my in-laws in Goa, I find this on the lunch table. This extremely simple to make drink is  popular amongst the coastal folks, and can be enjoyed as a stand alone or mixed with white rice. I prefer it as a stand alone though.

For 4 glasses of the kadi, you will need:

8-10 kokum, soaked in hot water

Milk of one coconut

Garlic, 2-3 cloves, smashed

2-3 Pepper pods, gently crushed

1 Green chilli, slit into half
Salt
coriander leaves for garnishing

Soak the kokum in hot water for 5 min and then discard the kokum. Take care not to squeeze them. Even gentle squeezing changes the color and taste of the kadi.
Add the coconut milk to this along with salt, pepper, garlic and chilli
Garnish with coriander
Serve chilled or as it is.

Goan ghatti recipe

Having married a Goan, I picked up a few recipes that my husband likes. This is a recipe I picked up from my mother-in-law. Apart from Paresh loving this curry, it is healthy, tasty and goes well will plain white rice, roti, dosa, poori and even (white) bread.

You will need:
2 handful sprouted green gram dal. To sprout them, simply wash and soak them in water for 3 hours. Wash again, wrap it in a cloth and keep it covered overnight. the next day you should see the dal spouted enough.
1 large onion
1/2 a coconut, scrapped
Green or whole red chilli (I use them lavishly, like 20, but 5-6 of them should do)
1 spoon Garam masala
Kokum, 3 should be enough to give the required tang. If you do not have kokum, one spoonful tamarind pulp should do the trick.
1 tbs jaggery
1 spoon chilli powder
1/2 spoon turmeric powder
salt
Mustard and curry leaves for tampering.

Method:
In a open vessel, boil the sprouts for 10-15 min till they are tender. You will notice that as the dal boils, the skin of the dal separates and floats on the top. Using a spoon or tea filter, remove this skin and continue boiling.
In the mean while, let us prepare the masala.
For this, we will have to grind, the coconut, onion, chilli and garam masala into a fine paste.
In a pan take a spoon full of oil and throw in some hing, mustard, and curry leaves.
Add the ground masala to it along with turmeric and chilli powder. Add salt, kokum and jaggery.
Add the boiled sprouts.
Add water based on the consistency you desire.
Our gatti is ready. Garnish with coriander.

Stuffed Baingan

I used a modified version of Tarla Dalal's recipe to make the stuffed egg plant. Here is what I used.

Small brinjals (8)

Cumin Seeds/ Jeera (half a spoon)

Asafoetidia/ Hing  (a pinch)

Ginger-garlic paste (half spoon)

Finely chopped onion (1)
Grated potato (1)

Turmeric (one-forth spoon)

Red Chilli powder (1 teaspoon, change according to your taste)
Tamarind pulp (1 table spoon)
And of course salt.

In a spoonful of oil, fry the cumin seeds and asafoetida and ginger garlic paste. To this add the chopped onion and fry till it turns golden brown. Add the grated potato, turmeric, chilli powder and cook for 2 mins. Add the tamarind pulp and salt to finish.

This is going to make the filling of out egg plant. To stuff the egg plant, slit the egg plant into 4. Take care not cut the head off. Lavishly stuff the filling into it. Pressure cook this for 2-3 whistles along with any left over masala.

You can even fry or microwave the eggplants if you do not wish to pressure cook them. Remember frying them will add calories and it will show on your waist now and heart later ;-) Microwaving is a good idea. Be sure you brush the egg plant with oil before tossing them in, else they tend to get very dry.

Simple Kerala Fish Curry

To make this curry, we will need:

 Fish slices -- Of, course!

Grated coconut (1 cup)

Onion (1)

Chilly powder (1 spoon)

Turmeric powder (1/4 spoon)

Cumin seed (1 spoon)

Garlic (4 cloves)

Tamarind pulp (1 spoon)

Mustard seed (1 spoon)

Curry leaves ( a few)
Asafoetida (1 pinch)
Fenugreek (1 pinch)
Oil (1 spoon)
Salt (As per taste)
Coriander leave

The preparation:
Dry roast the coconut until you see a slight change in its color and get a nice aroma. Get this out of the heat and into a mixer jar.
Next, dry roast the onion for 2-3 min. Add this to the mixer that has the coconut.
Similarly dry roast the cumin seeds and fenugreek and transfer it to the same mixer bowl.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, garlic into the mixer bowl and grind using a little water.
Once done, heat one spoon oil in a pan. Add a pinch of asafoetida, mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves.
Empty the content from the mixer bowl into the pan, add some water (according to the consistency of the curry you want), add salt, tamarind pulp and then the fish pieces.
Let this boil for 5 min.
Our fish curry is ready to be garnished with coriander and served with white rice.

You may want to alternate the recipe, by not dry roasting any of the ingredients but simply grinding them all together. It is just one simple step but it changes the taste to a great degree. Also, you may want to use, dry red chilli for seasoning. I have given it a miss here.