Carrot, cauliflower, turnip pickle and Amla pickle

Gajjar, shalgum aur Gobi ke achar, Amla achar. Winter mein achar fresh bananeka maza hi kuch aur hai!!

Gajjar, shalgum aur Gobi ke instant achar

Wash and peel gajjar and shalgum cut into thin pieces

Cut Gobi florets.

Red chili powder 1 tsp

Haldi 1 tsp

Nimbu juice 2 tsp

Panch phoran 1/2 tsp

Salt as required

Red chili two broken into halves

Oil two tablespoon

Method of preparation

In a heated kadai pour oil, add panch phoran, add one or two red chili broken into halves. Once spices turn mild golden brown add chopped vegetables,mix well, add turmeric,red chili and salt. Mix well cook it for a few minutes off stove add lemon juice and mix well. It's ready to serve.

Amla achar

Ingredients

Amla 10 cut into thin pieces, discard seeds.

Til oil 2 tablespoon

Mustard 1/2 tsp

Methi seeds 1 tsp

Haldi 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder 1 or 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method of preparation

In a heated kadai pour oil add mustard and methi seeds. Let mustard splutter. Add chopped Amla, turmeric,salt and mix well. Allow Amla to turn into golden brown. Now add red chili powder, mix well. Off stove. Adjust salt and Serve it.

Tuvar dal with drumsticks and leaves

Tuvar dal with drumsticks and drumsticks leaves

Ingredients

Step 1 :

Tuvar dal 1 cup

Channa dal 2 tbsp

Turmeric 1/4 tsp

*Wash and pressure cook both dals by adding turmeric in three cups water. Keep aside.

Step 2:

Drumsticks - a few cut into 2 inch pieces

Beans a few cut into one inch

Carrot one cut into two inch lonh

Tomato one cut into four

Green chilli one slit half

Ginger a small piece grated or chopped

* Cook all the vegetables by adding little water and a little salt. Cook till all are soft and tender. Keep aside.

Step 3:

For the tadka

Ghee 1 tbsp

Jeera 1/2 tsp

Mustard 1/4 tsp

Red chili broken into half

* Pour ghee in a small kadai heat and add jeera, mustard and allow it to crackle. Add red chili and once its roasted add chopped drumsticks leaves and saute for few minutes. Off stove.

Step 4:

Now add cooked vegetables into prepared dal and mix well adjust salt and pour tadka and mix well. Serve with rice or phulka.

Nimboo achar (lemon pickle)

Making lemon pickle from home grown lemons.  I have selected nimboos which are pale yellow, they were fresh and juicy. 

Explained the procedure from day 1 to 3.

Day 1 Wash and clean nimboo (lemon) and cut into small pieces. I have used about 40 medium sized nimboo. Added 2 cups of rock salt and kept in food graded plastic container/ bottles Mixed it well. 

Day 2: mix well two times. 

Day 3: Sun dry red chillies( If you are not get good sunlight dry roast chillies in low flame and powder) About 200 grams spicy chilli(you can use guntur or ordinary spicy red dry chilli) and 200 grams for colour (I use badagye chilli) once it becomes crispy powder chilli.  Dry roast in a heated tawa a big piece of hing and little methi dana. Roast in low flame and crush it into coarse powder. Add red chilli powder, hing, methi dana powder and a teaspoon full of turmeric powder. Mix well. In a heated kadai pour 1 cup gingly oil and make it hot. Don't let it emit smoke. Off stove let oil cool down. Pour it on prepared lemon pickle. Mix well and allow it to become tender. Everyday make sure you mix well or shake the container. After about 15 days you can start using nimboo pickle.

Brown cucumber raitha (Kakadi Koroda)

Here is a recipe shared by Ashwini Naik, the brown cucumber which I found very fascinating in Nainital Market. 

Brown skinned cucumbers? Have you seen it? Does it tastes same like ordinary green one? Do you make any dish out of it?

The brown cucumber can be used to make typical Vidarbha style Kakadi Koroda.

Peel n grate them.Make a tadaka of rai,curry leaves green chilly and hing.Add haldi powder and grated cucumber.Add salt cover and let it cook for a few minutes.Now mix little besan with dahi and pour over cooked cucumber.Mix well so that no lumps are formed.Cover and cook for a few minutes.Serve hot with jawar roti or rice.If you like raw oil then pour  a bit of ground nut oil on each serving like we take on malagapodi.

Egg omelette with homegrown red amaranth leaves

A masala omelette for Sid with onion, red amaranth(lal saag) tomato, green chillies, curry leaves, salt, crushed pepper and ginger.

Eggs 2

Onion 1

Tomato 1/2

Ginger a small piece

Green chilli one finely chopped 

Red amaranth(lal saag) a few leaves

Curry leaves a few

Salt as required

Crushed pepper 1/4tsp

Olive Oil for cooking omelette 

Method of preparation

Beat eggs by adding a little salt and pepper.

Chop curry leaves, onion, ginger, half tomatoes, red amaranth(lal saag) leaves, green chillies. Keep aside.

Heat tawa pour a little oil add all greens and vegetables. Cook for a while till vegetables turn into mild golden brown. Now add the cooked vegetables in the beaten eggs, blend well. Pour little more oil in tawa and spread a thin layer of eggs and vegetable mixture. Allow it to cook till golden brown , turn the other side and serve.

Upma with dhaliya and with suji/ bansi rava

Upma is a lifesaver for those busy mornings, a little preparation you can make delicious upma with minimum oil.

Broken Wheat /dhaliya upma

1 cup lapsi/broken wheat(soaked and cooked in the pressure cooker)

1 cup of mixed chopped fresh vegetables like cauliflower, carrot, green peas, beans

1 onion(thinly sliced)

1/2 capsicum(chopped)

2 green chillies(sliced)

One small piece of ginger peeled and grated

A few fresh curry leaves

A pinch of heeng

For the tadka

2 tablespoons of peanut oil/gingelly/ghee

1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon of urad dal

1 broken red dry chilli

Method

* Wash and soak broken wheat for about an hour in 3 cups of water. Pressure cook and keep aside.

*Add half a cup of warm water in the pressure pan add chopped fresh vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes. Off stove.

* In a heated pan pours oil, mustard, urad dal and red chilli, allow the mustard to splutter.

*Add chopped onion and capsicum. Cook till mild brownish.

*Add the cooked dhaliya, vegetables and tasks, adjust salt, mix well. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve with sambhar or curd.

*Please try and leave a comment.

***

Recipe 2 for suji and Bansi rava

 

Bansi rava mixed vegetable upma for breakfast.

Step by step method of preparation. 

Ingredients

1cup Bansi rava 

2 tablespoons of gingly oil(til ka tel)

Method 

Step 1

*In a heated iron kadai pour oil add bansi rava and fry in medium flame till its roasted. 

Step 2

*Chop the following vegetables and leaves and keep aside. 

1 Onion 

1 Tomato (optional)

1 Capsicum 

10 Beans 

1 carrot

A handful of green peas

A few cauliflower florets

Curry leaves a few

Coriander leaves a few

Ginger a small piece

2 Green chillies 

Heeng a pinch

Salt as required 

Variation

2 tablespoon grated coconut

1 green chili

(Grind it into a coarse paste)

Step 3

*Use the same kadai in which you roasted rava.

* Pour a little oil do a quick tadka of mustard, urad dal. Once mustard splutter add vegetables one by one first onion, ginger, green chillies, followed by tomato and other vegetables. 

*Add turmeric, salt, hing, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Allow vegetables to cook well.

* Now add roasted rava and mix well.

*Boil water and our Kadai kadai, make sure you add sufficient water upma to cook. 

*The thumb rule is 1:3 but I add half a cup more. So 3 1/2 cups of water. Allow it to bubble, reduce flame put a lid and let upma cook till soft and fluffy. 

*At the final stage add ghee(optional) and mix gently. Add ground coconut and mix in, it adds a delicious aroma and flavor to the upma. 

*Off stove.

*Close lid and keep for a few minutes before serving. It releases all flavours in the upma.

Happy cooking!

Bansi rava vegetable upma

Good morning! Bansi rava mixed vegetables upma for breakfast.

Ingredients and step by step method of preparation. 

Bansi rava 1 cup

Gingly oil(til ka tel) 2 tbsp

In a heated iron kadai pour oil add bansi rava and fry in medium flame till its roasted. 

Chop the following vegetables and leaves and keep aside. 

Onion 1

Tomato 1

Capsicum 1

Beans a few

Curry leaves a few

Coriander leaves a few

Ginger a small piece

Green chillies 2

Hing a pinch

Salt as required 

Use the same kadai in which you roasted rava. Pour a little oil do a quick tadka of mustard, urad dal. Once mustard splutter add vegetables one by one first onion, ginger, green chillies, followed by tomato and other vegetables. Add turmeric, salt, hing, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Allow vegetables to cook well. Now add roasted rava and mix well.

Boil water and pour into kadai, make sure you add sufficient water for upma to cook. The thumb rule is 1:3 but I add half a cup more. So 3 1/2 cups of water. Allow it to bubble, reduce flame put a lid and let upma cook till soft and fluffy. At the final stage add ghee(optional) and mix gently. Close lid and keep for a few minutes before serving. It releases all flavours to upma.

Happy cooking!

Neiyppam, (Karthigai deepam special)

Neiyppam is a sweet snack made using rice flour, ripe banana, jaggery, grated/thinly sliced coconut, elachi. Traditionally its deep fried in appe pan using ghee. Getting the perfect crunchy outside and soft inside making Nei Appam is an art. It can be served as an evening snack with masala chai or filter coffee.

Neiyappam 

1.Soak 1 cup rice for several hours.

2. Grind to a very smooth paste adding very less water. 

3. Next add 2.5 cups jaggery to batter & grind fine. Now batter becomes quite watery.

4. Take a ladle full of this batter in a pan, add little water & cook it on stove top stirring all the time, till it boils and looks like kanji/ koozhu.

5. Switch off and add this koozhu to ground batter & mix well. 

6. Add coconut pieces to batter.

7. Make neyyappams in ghee. 

Note: 

Can add 1 spoon wheat flour to batter to get soft appams.

Recipe courtesy: Sheela Shekhar

Variation 2

Ingredients

Raw rice flour 2 cups

Ripe Nendran banana (the big variety) 1

Jaggery 1large block (I have added water to it and boiled jaggery in a sauce pan and sieved it to remove any impurities)

Cardamom (elachi) 6 (crushed and deskinned)

Coconut grated/thinly sliced - 3 tbsp

Oil/ghee for frying

Process

In mixer grind, banana, rice flour by adding water in a paste consistency, to this add jaggery juice, grind together. Pour into a bowl, add crushed cardamom, grated/thinly sliced coconut. Mix in. Keep it as it is for about 3 to 4 hours.

In appe pan pour oil, when medium hot slowly pour using a small ladle prepared batter. Adjust flame, allow nei appam to turn into golden brown. Using skewer turn it and cook until both sides are of the same colour. Use skewer to remove nei appam. Serve it when its still warm.

Bhindi do pyaza

Bhindi do pyaaza. Narayan ke special dish,  Khud bhindi aur pyaaz kate kitchen mein voh ab masala crush kar rahain hai.. aur  hum bane photographer!!

Hum mixed dal aur phulkas banaye tab tak bhindi do pyaaza bhi ready ho gaya.

Bhindi do pyaaza recipe

Fresh bhindi 1/2 kg

Tomato one

Onion 2

Green chilli 2

Ginger one small piece

Oil 2 to 3 tablespoon

Anchor powder 1/2 tsp

Turmeric 1/4 tsp

Fresh Coriander leaves (chopped)

For dry roast

Jeera 1 tsp

Dhaniya 1 tsp

Hing one small piece

Methi 1/4 tsp

Dry red chili 3(remove the stem)

Roast all together till crispy. Crush  dry roasted masala using mortar and pestle. 

Method of preparation

*Wash and pat dry bhindi and slit bhindi.

*Chop onion, tomato into bit large pieces.

*Chop ginger and green chilli

In a heated pan pour oil and add onion and tamato. Cook till onion truns to mild brown. Add ginger and green chilli. Mix well now add bhindi, turmeric powder and mix all vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes in high flame toss it now and then. Add ground masala toss again and reduce flame. Cook for further 10 minutes till bhindi cooks into tender. You can add salt (Add salt only after bhindi is tender, as after cooking bhindi reduce its quantity.) At this point add amchor powder. Mix all together and garnish with coriander leaves. Off stove. Serve with phulkas.

Turmeric pickle

Winters we get plenty of raw turmeric rhizome. The tricky part here is scrapping the peel without getting your hands tan with yellowish colour. You can use a glove if you want or scrap it without like I did, since I am going to apply henna in my hands, attending a wedding.

Well wash, peel and grate raw turmeric using a sturdy large grater. It's a hard root and you need to put little extra effort to grate it. 

The recipe I followed is very simple, 

Turmeric pickle 

Ingredients

300 grams turmeric roots, peeled and grated

3 tablespoon red chilli powder 

Salt as required 

3 tablespoon gingly oil

1 tsp mustard seeds 

3 tablespoon lemon extract 

1 tsp chopped ginger

Method 

*In a medium sized preheated kadai pour gingly oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. 

*Now add grated turmeric roots and  ginger. Mix in. 

*Cook for about 4 minutes, then add red chilli powder, salt and cook further for 5 minutes. 

*Off the stove, let the pickle cool down. Add lemon extract and blend it with a spatula. 

*Adjust salt if required and start using the pickle as a spread for bread, stuffing for roti, side dish for rice. Its yum 💞 

Besan chilla filled with cheese and paneer

Garam flour comes is a great ingredient when you want to create something different and unique for children. A few ingredients and a quick whisk you are ready with the batter. All you need is to spread the thin batter into the hot griddle, flip and your crepe is ready.

Besan chilla

Ingredients 

1 cup besan(gram flour) 

2 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 red chilli powder 

For the filling 

200 grams paneer 

A few amaranth/ malabar /palak (spinach) leaves 

3 to 4 slices of cheese

1/2 crushed pepper 

Salt as required 

Olive oil/butter or any other oil you prefer 

Method 

*Prepare the batter for Besan chilla by adding besan, water, salt and red chilli powder to a thin flowing batter. 

*Slice paneer into thin stripes, in a griddle pour oil and roast paneer, sprinkle salt and crushed pepper, flip the stripes so that all four sides evenly get roasted. 

* Directly place the green leaves and cook for a few seconds. Remove and keep aside. 

*Place the chilla on a plate, Place a slice of cheese, cooked leaves and two to three pieces of paneer, roll. Cut in the middle. 

* In a serving plate arrange the besan chilla and serve with sauce of your choice. Its taste good as a snack. Filling, easy to make and looks interesting for children. 

Do try, comment and share. 

Aloo, paneer tikka, omelette and bajjis, lunch platter

Paneer, vegetables and cheese uttapam

Breakfast is something which you can play around with colourful vegetables, cheese and cottage cheese.

When we grind for idly /dosa it lasts for about 4 days, then the innovation helps you to work with the batter.

Today I tried to make uttapam with a twist. 

A few finely chopped vegetables are added to dosa batter and the uthappam is spread in the tawa, garnish with thin stripes of paneer, sliced cheese, bell peppers, crushed pepper and finally a little molagai podi. Yum it was a wholesome breakfast with carbs, protein, spices, vegetables and greens.

Ingredients 

1 chopped carrot

1 chopped onion

2 green chillies thinly sliced 

A piece of ginger grated

1 green bell peppers chopped 

1bajji chilli chopped 

A tablespoon dill leaves 

100 grams paneer thinly sliced lengthwise 

2 slices of cheese

2 tomatoes chopped 

A few cauliflower florets chopped 

Salt as required 

1 tsp crushed pepper 

1 cup dosa batter 

Method 

*wash, chop all vegetables of your choice, thinly slice green chillies and grate ginger. 

*keep a few tsp of onion, bell peppers and dill leaves for garnish, in the batter, mix well. 

*Mix in rest the chopped vegetables, add a little salt. 

*In a preheated tawa, apply gingly oil, use a napkin to oil the tawa, pour two ladies full of batter, spread it. Gently add onion, bell peppers and dill leaves on top of the uthappam. 

*Arrange cottage cheese slices, crushed pepper, molagai podi, cheese on top of the uthappam, cook it in slow flame.

*Use a lid to cover the uthappam and cook, so that the cheese starts melting and the batter is well cooked. 

* (optional :Flip it for a few seconds and quickly remove or the uthappam may get stuck to the tawa and cheese may burn.) 

*Serve with chutney.