Schezwan Paratha

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Stuffing
1. ¼ cup of grated cabbage
2. ¼ cup of grated carrot
3. 1 small capsicum finely chopped
4. 2 medium potatoes, boiled & mashed
5. 1 medium onion finely chopped
6. 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
7. 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
8. 1 tsp red chilli sauce
9. 1 tsp tomato sauce
10. 1 tsp soya sauce
11. 1 tsp ground pepper
12. Salt to taste
13. 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Paratha
1. 4 cups of wholemeal flour
2. 2 cups of water
3. 1 tsp Salt
4. 1 tsp oil
5. some butter for frying.
Procedure:
1. In a frying pan heat some oil, throw in the ginger and garlic and then the onion.
2. Saute the onion for a few minutes and then add the cabbage, carrot, capsicum and mix well.
3. Add salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, chilli sauce and finally the soya sauce and give it a good mix n switch off the flame. Mix in the mashed potatoes and the stuffing is ready.
2. Now, mix the flour, some salt & oil and add some water to make a medium soft dough.
3. After the dough is ready, put a few drops of oil on it and knead once again.
4. Now, make two small dumplings of equal size to be rolled as the parathas.
5. Place a decent amount of stuffing on one of the parathas and cover it with the other one, seal the edges completely.
5. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium high flame. Put the paratha on the hot skillet.
6. Let it be a bit golden brown and then turn over. Now apply some butter around it and again turn over.
7. Once you see some golden brown spots on the paratha, remove it from the skillet.
8. Schezwan Parathas are ready, serve hot with tomato ketchup

Tamarind (Imli) Chutney

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. 200gms of Tamarind or 1tbsp tamarind paste (both available in any Indian Grocery Shop)
2. 3 cups of Water
3. 1 cup of Jaggery or Sugar
4. Spices: 1tsp each of Red pepper powder, roasted-cumin powder, roasted-fennel powder.
5. 2-3 soft Dates (khajoor), finely chopped
6. Salt to taste
Procedure:
1. Soak the tamarind in water for an hour or if you are using the tamarind paste, you can use it instantly by dissolving it in the water.
2. Start heating the tamarind solution on medium high flame. Squeeze out the tamarind pulp before heating, in case of the former solution.
3. Add the jaggery to it and bring it to a boil.
4. Now, add all the spices and the dates and give it a good stir.
5. Keep stirring frequently while you boil the sauce (chutney).
6. Switch off the flame when the sauce has reduced to almost ½ its original quantity and it also thickens a bit, at this stage.
7. Keep it aside to cool and you'll notice it thickens more as it cools down.
8. Tamarind Chutney is ready, serve cold as a dip with on-trays or can be used in chat as well.

Aamsul (Kokam) Kadhi

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. 5-6 pieces of kokam (available in any Indian grocery shop), soaked in 1 cup of water for ½ an hour
2. 1tbsp of Gram flour (besan)
3. ½ a cup of Jaggery (can be replaced by sugar if not available)
4. ¼ cup of peanuts
5. 2-3 cloves of Garlic
6. 1 tsp cumin seeds & mustard seeds, each
7. Salt & Red pepper to taste
8. 2 tsp Oil
9. 3 cups of Water
Procedure:
1. Grind the garlic and the cumin seeds to a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium high heat, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
3. Now, add the garlic paste and the peanuts and saute till the peanuts are half cooked.
4. Then add the kokam, without draining, and some more water to it. Keep stirring it.
5. Add the jaggery, salt and red pepper and bring it to a boil.
6. Meanwhile, make a solution of the gram flour and water and add it slowly to the kokam sauce.
7. Bring it to a boil while you give quick stirs in the middle.
8. Aamsul Kadhi is ready, garnish with celantro and serve hot with any meal.

Note: This dish is usually served with Daal Baati (will be uploaded soon).

Vegetable Raita

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. 3 cups of beaten Yoghurt
2. 1 cup of finely chopped tomato
2. ½ a cup of finely chopped onion
3. 1 cup of finely chopped cucumber
4. ½ cup of finely chopped lettuce, carrot (optional)
5. 2 finely chopped green chillies or 1tsp of red pepper
6. ½ a tsp of roasted-cumin powder
7. Salt to taste
Procedure:
1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour and the Vegetable Raita is ready.
3. Serve cold with Hot Biryani, Pulao or any meal.

Note: The veggies may be replaced by the readymade Boondi (available in any Indian Grocery Shop) and finely chopped celantro to prepare the Boondi Raita

Palak Paratha

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. 250gms of Spinach (palak)
2. ½ cup of Gram flour (besan)
3. 3½ cups of Plain flour
4. 2-3 cloves of Garlic
5. 2-3 Green chillies
6. 1 tsp Cumin seeds
7. 1 tsp of Carom seeds(Ajwain) and Sesame seeds (Til), each
8. Salt to taste
9. 1 tbsp Oil
10. 2 cups of Water
Procedure:
1. Grind the spinach, garlic, green chillies and the cumin seeds to a fine paste. Add a few drops of water if needed.
2.Mix the flours, the carom and sesame seeds, salt and the spinach paste to make a medium soft dough. Add some water, only if needed. The spinach paste is usually enough to soften the dough, so avoid using water.
3. After the dough is ready, put a few drops of oil on it and knead once again.
4. Now, make small dumplings of equal size to be rolled as the parathas.
5. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium high flame. Put the paratha on the hot skillet.
6. Let it be a bit golden brown and then turn over. Now put a few drops of oil around it and again turn over.
7. Once you see some golden brown spots on the paratha, remove it from the skillet.
8. Palak Parathas are ready, serve hot with pickle or chutney

Pav Bhaji

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. ½kg of cauliflower, 3 medium size potatoes, 1 big carrot, 1 big bell pepper, all broadly cut (Any other veggies can also be added to this)
2. ½ cup of green peas
3. 3 medium size onions, finely chopped
4. 3 medium size tomatoes, finely chopped
5. 2tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
6. 1tsp of cumin seeds and mustard seeds, each (optional)
7. Spices: 3tsp coriander-cumin powder, 1tsp garam masala, 1tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp Pav bhaji masala (available in any Indian Grocery shop)
8. Salt & Red pepper to taste
9. 2tbsp Oil
10. 100gms Butter
11. 2 cups Water
Procedure:
1. Pressure cook the broadly cut veggies with some water till 3 whistles.
2. Meanwhile, add some oil to a sauce pan and heat it on a medium high flame.
3. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them splutter.
4. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and chopped onions and saute till the onions become golden brown.
5. Now, add the green peas, chopped tomatoes and all the spices and saute till the tomatoes become melting soft.
6. Once these spices are done, add the cooked veggies along with the water in it and coarsely mash them down with a potato-masher.
7. Add some water, if needed, to bring the bhaji to a medium thick consistency and then add the butter.
8. Mix well and bring it to a boil for 2mins.
9. Bhaji is ready, serve hot with butter-roasted pav or bread.

Methi Thepla

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. 250gms of Fenugreek leaves (methi), finely chopped
2. ½ cup of Gram flour (besan)
3. 3½ cups of Plain flour
4. 1 tbsp of Garlic paste
5. 1 tsp of Carom seeds(Ajwain) and Sesame seeds (Til), each
6. Salt & red pepper as to taste
7. 1 tbsp Oil
8. 2 cups of Water
Procedure:
1. Mix all the ingredients except oil to make a medium soft dough.
2. After the dough is ready, put a few drops of oil on it and knead once again.
3. Now, make small dumplings of equal size to make the theplas.
4. Roll the dumpling into a moderate sized thepla with the help of a rolling pin. You can apply some plain flour to the dumpling, to avoid the thepla from sticking to the base.
5. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on medium high flame. Once the thepla is rolled, put it on the hot skillet.
6. Let it be a bit golden brown and then turn over. Now put a few drops of oil around the thepla and again turn over.
7. Once you see some golden brown spots on the thepla, remove it from the skillet.
8. Methi Theplas are ready, serve hot with pickle or chutney

Aloo Palak

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. 2 Medium potatoes, boiled & cut in broad pieces
2. 250gms Finely chopped spinach(palak)
3. 1 Medium onion, finely chopped
4. 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5. 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
6. Spices: mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander-cumin powder and salt to taste
7. 2 tbsp Oil.
Procedure:
1. Heat the oil in a pan, add some mustard seeds and cumin seeds, let them splutter.
2. Add the green chillies, garlic, onion to it and saute till the onion becomes light golden.
3. Now add the spinach and all the spices and fry it for 5 mins.
4. Once the spinach becomes softer, add the potato pieces and mix well till the potatoes are well-coated with the spices.
5. Keep it on low flame for 2-3 mins and then serve hot with breads like chapati or naan.

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