Indian nachos

As a mother I faced a lot of problems when it can came to feeding my kids, especially my eldest daughter. Sometimes it becomes hard to make kids eat the regular food, roti-sabzi. Here's a quick fix for all you mothers to make them eat what you want while they enjoy it too.

Ingredients
4 Chapatis
Any sabzi
2 tbspn green/red pesto
1 cube cheese
2 tomatoes (finely chopped)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 cucumber (finely chopped)
2 tbspn oil

Recipe
Cut chapati into 4 pieces, heat oil in a pan and roast the chapatis till they turn crisp. Mix pesto in the sabzi and grate cheese in it. Spread the sabzi on roasted chapatis, top it with chopped tomatoes, onion and cucumber. You can garnish it with more cheese if you wish. serve it to the kids with a glass of milk shake. I am sure they'll love it. If your kid doesn't like pesto you can use salsa dip or plain tomato ketchup instead.

Nimboo, adrak, muli, hari mirch ka achaar (Lemon, ginger, raddish, chilly pickle)

Ingredients
Lemons10
Ginger 100 gms
Radish 3
Green chillies 100 gms
Mustard seeds 15 gms
Salt 2  tbspn

Recipe

• Wash and peel ginger and radish and cut them into thin and long slices. 
• Remove the cap of green chillies and make a lengthwise cut in them. 
• Cut lemons into 8 pieces. 
• Crush mustard seeds, mix all the ingredients in a glass jar and keep it sun for 2 to 3 days. 
• It's ready to eat after 3 days.

Note: This pickle should be consumed within 3-4 days or should be stored in refrigerator.

Nimboo ka khatta achaar (Lemon pickle - sour)

Ingredients
25 Ripe Lemons
Salt - Equal to the weight of 5 lemons
Hing 2gms
Garam masala 4 tbspn
Roasted ajwain powder 2 tbspn
Red chilly powder 4  tbspn
Sugar 2 tbspn

Recipe
wash lemons and let them dry. Cut them into 8 pieces. Take lemon pieces in a pressure cooker, add rest of the ingredients and cook them. remove from gas after two whistles. Let it cool and transfer in a glass jar. Pickle is ready.                                                                                                                                                    

Nimboo ka meetha achaar (Lemon pickle - sweet)

Ingredients
Ripe lemon 50   
Clove 20  
Black cardamom 15
Black pepper 20gm  
Cinnamon 5gm 
Mace(javitri) 5gm 
Bayleaf 5
Nutmeg (jaifal) 1/2 
Asafoetida (heeng) 1/2 tsp
salt - equal to 10 lemon (in weight)
Sugar - equal to 20 lemon (in weight)  

Recipe
Wash lemons and dry them. Cut each lemon into 4 pieces. Grind all the spices a bit rough (mota). Put all the lemon pieces in a glass Jar (martaban), add heeng, salt, sugar and ground spices.Cover the jar with a clean cloth and keep it in the open (under the sky) for 15 days (and nights). After 15 days Pickle will be ready to eat.

Note: for this pickle sun light (dhoop) and dew (oas, shabnam) are equally important.                                                                    

Sarson ka saag with Makke ki roti

The winters are here (well, almost here for Mumbaikars) and it's time to eat some sarson ka saag and makke ki roti. This recipe has become pretty famous in my family and among friends and every season I end up making it multiple times. Recently, my husband took help of a friend for train reservations (yes, it's a huge challenge in India to get last minute train tickets) and when he asked how can he return the favour, the friend asked for some sarson ka saag. So, here I am sharing the recipe with you. Try it, eat it and let me know how was it. You can also send me the pictures at kavitamehrotra05 (at) gmail (dot) com. I would love to see them.

Ingredients
For Saag
Sarson ka saag - 1kg
Spinach -1/2kg
Bathua saag - 1/4 kg
Chana saag - 1/4kg
Cauliflower - 1/2kg   

For Tadka
Red onion - 1
Green chillis -15
Ginger - 25 gms
Garlic - 1 pod
Mustard oil  - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

For garnishing
White butter - 1 tsp                                   

For makke ki roti
Makke ka atta 1kg
boiled potatoes 2-3

For malida
Jaggery - 200 gms
Makke ki roti - 2
Desi ghee - 4 tbsp

Recipe:
Sarson ka saag

• Boil sarson, spinach, bathua and chana saag together and grind into paste. 
• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies and 2 tbsp makke ka atta.
• Chop cauliflower and add that too. 
• When the onions are fried add the saag paste and salt and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.

Makke ki roti

• Make soft dough of makke ka atta with luke warm water. 
• Mix the boiled potatoes too so the dough binds well. 
• Make round rotis with hands and cook them on a pan.

Malida
It is a dessert enjoyed after the meal and helps digestion too.

• Take two makke ki rotis and break them into pieces. 
• Heat a pan and mix these pieces with jaggery and desi ghee and cook till jaggery melts.
• Serve hot

Garnish the saag with white butter and serve with makke ki roti. Enjoy this Punjabi speciality with buttermilk or mattha and sliced radish on the side.               

Spinach and mushroom pasta

My daughters love to experiment in kitchen. While I stick to Indian recipes they cook a lot of International  dishes. Here's one recipe from their kitchen.

Ingredients:
250 gms penne pasta
500 gms spinach (spinach)
200 gms mushroom (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
2 tbspns green pesto
Salt to taste
2 tbspn olive oil

Recipe:
Boil pasta in a big utensil with lots of water (don't add salt or oil). While it's boiling heat oil in a pan, crush ginger and garlic and put it in pan. Add mushrooms, saute them for a minute or two and them add spinach. Once the spinach is cooked add pasta and salt. Mix it well. Garnish it with green pesto and oregano before serving.

Cauliflower, carrot, turnip pickle

Winters have arrived and the vegetable market is stocked. This is the best time to make vegetable pickles. The one I am going to tell you here is very famous up North. It's also known as Punjabi achaar (pickle).

Ingredients:
3 kgs cauliflower
2 kgs carrot
1 kg turnip
1/2 kgs green peas
1/2 kg green chilies
250 gms ginger
500 gms salt
150 gms blackrock salt
100 gms red chilly powder
100 gms turmeric
100 gms garam masala
100 gms fennel (powdered)
50 gms kalaunji (onion seeds)
150 gms rai (mustard seeds)
2 gms heeng (asofoetida)
1 kg mustard oil
1/2 cup vinegar

Recipe:
Cut cauliflower, carrot and turnip into small pieces. Put a long incision in the chilies. Boil the vegetables (including peas) for 2-3 minutes, spread them on a cloth and keep them in the Sun for a day. Add salt once they dry up. Heat oil in a pan, add all the spices and vegetables and let them cook for few minutes. Add vinegar after it cools down. Preserve in a bottle.

North Indian kachori thali

The kachori thali is very famous across Uttar Pradesh. The meal consists of urad dal stuffed puris/kachoris, potato sabzi, kaddoo (pumpkin) sabzi, lauki (bottleguard) ka raita and methi (fenugreek) chutney. It's almost a compulsion to make it whenever my whole family is together. Here's the recipe for you. A little hard work is required but it'll pay off once you eat it.

Kachori
Ingredients:
4 cups wheat flour
Oil
Salt

For filling-
200 gms urad dal
2 tspns saunf (fennel)
1 tspn methi (fenugreek seeds)
3-4 dry red chillies
1/2 tspn heeng (asafoetida)
1 tspn corriander seeds
Salt to taste

Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients for the filling and grind them dry. Add water and make it like dough.
Add half tspn salt and 2 tbspns oil in flour, pour some water and knead it tightly. Take some dough, fill little stuffing and roll it flat like a puri. Heat oil in pan and fry these puris till they are crisp and brown.

Aloo ki sabzi
Ingredients:
5-6 medium sized potatoes (boiled and peeled)
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tspn fennel
1 pinch of heeng
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn dry mango powder
Salt to taste
1 tbspn oil

Recipe:
Heat oil in a deep pan, add cumin seeds, fennel, heeng and let them split. Mash the potatoes with hand and them in the pan. Add salt, coriander powder and dry mango powder. Pour atleast 500 ml water and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Kaddoo ki sabzi
Ingredients:
1/2 kg kaddo (pumpkin) cut into small squared pieces
1 tspn methi
1 pinch of heeng
3 dry red chillies
1 tspn dry mango powder
1 tspn coriander powder
Salt to taste
50 gms jaggery
1 tbspn oil

Ingredients:
Heat oil in a pan. Split heeng, methi and red chillies in oil. Add kaddoo and rest of the ingredients and let it cook for 15 minutes on low flame.

Lauki ka raita
Ingredients:
1 medium sized lauki
1/2 kg curd
2 tspns sugar
Salt to taste
1 tspn red chilly powder
1 tspn cumin powder

Recipe:
Grate lauki and boil it in a pressure cooker adding two cups of water. Take it out once done. Drain out the water and mix the lauki with curd. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Methi ki chatni
Ingredients:
100 gms methi (soaked in water for 3 hours)
100 gms tamarind (soaked in water for 15 minutes)
5 green chillies finely chopped
1 pinch of heeng
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tspn sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 tbspn oil

Recipe:
Heat oil in a pan, add heeng, cumin seeds and chillies and let them split. Drain out water and add methi too. Add rest of the ingredients and tamarind pulp and let it cook for 10 mins.

A typical North Indian kachori thali is ready. Now its time to get a taste of all your hard work.

Have fun and Happy Diwali.

Mutton Shami Kababs

This is something from my husband's kitchen. He makes it so yummy that even a vegetarian like me can not resist eating them.

Ingredients:
500 gms minced mutton
200 gms bengal gram (chana dal)
2 big onions (peeled and cut in two pieces)
10-12 cloves of garlic
4 green chillies
2 inch long piece of ginger
1 inch long cinnamon stick
4 big cardamoms
8 black pepper pods
5-6 cloves
Salt to taste
Oil

Recipe:
Take all the ingredients in a cooker and pressure cook them (3 whistles should be enough). Grind the mixture into a fine paste (Keep it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes if the consistency is not thick enough to make patty). Add salt. Heat some oil in a flat pan, make small round patties from the mixture and fry them till they turn brown and crisp from both the sides. Serve with onion rings, green chutney and paranthas.

Phirni (Rice Pudding)

Since Diwali is just around the corner, I am sharing the recipe for phirni which is a famous Kashmiri dessert. Its available in almost all the Punjabi and Kashmiri restaurants these days. I like to make it the traditional way with a little kewda water.

Ingredients:
200 gms basmati rice
1 ltr milk
2 cups Sugar
2 tbspns Kewda water
Chopped almonds
Chopped pistachios

Recipe:
Soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Drain the water and spread it on paper and let it dry overnight. Grind the rice next day, roast the powder in a pan till it turns pink. Add milk and sugar, let it simmer on low flame till the rice is cooked and the pudding becomes thick. Mix kewda water and let it cool. Pour the phirni in small earthen bowls, garnish with almonds and pistachios and refrigerate before serving.

Nariyal (Coconut) Laddoo

Here comes one more sweet dish from my kitchen. Very easy to make and a quick fix if you are out of dessert.

Ingredients:
250 gms Dry coconut powder
Half can of milkmaid or any sweetened condensed milk
Edible color (optional)

Recipe:
Mix the coconut powder and condensed milk. Add color. Make small equally sized balls from the mixture and roll them over some dry coconut powder. Ready to be served.

Muskmelon (Kharbooja) Seeds Barfi

The festive season in on in India so I decided to share a sweet dish recipe this time. Hope you have fun making it.

Ingredients:
200 gms Muskmelon seeds (kernel removed)
1 big bowl of Sugar
2 tbspn clarified butter/ghee

Recipe:
Clean the muskmelon seeds and roast them in a pan. Remove the seeds. Take a small cup of water in a pan, add sugar and heat it to make toffee (chashni). Add 1 spoon ghee in toffee. Drop some toffee in water, if it becomes solid that means its ready. Add roasted seeds in the toffee. Spread 1 spn ghee on a steel dishe. Pour the seed mixed toffee in the dish and spread it. Let it cool. Once its thickened cut into diamond shaped pieces. Its ready to be served.

Sauteed Green peas

Ingredients:
250 gms green peas
2 spns chopped coriander
1 finely chopped green chilly
1 tspn cumin
1 pinch asofoetida (heeng)
1 tspn chopped ginger
1 tspn sugar
Salt to taste
4 tspn lime juice
1 tbspn oil/ghee

Recipe:
Boil the peas till they are soft. Heat the oil in a pan, add asofoetida, cumin seeds, chilly and ginger. Saute the peas, add salt , sugar and garnish with coriander and lemon juice. ready to serve. YOu can also serve it with drinks.

Chakri Samosa

A snack I used to make during the Holi festival. They taste pretty much like normal samosas, just the shape is different and they are a lot easier to make.

Ingredients:
200 gms flour
150 gms boiled potatoes
200 gms refined oil
Salt to taste
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn dry mango powder
3 tspns chopped coriander
2 tspns coriander powder
1 tspn red chilly powder

Recipe:
Sieve the flour, add 2 tbspn oil, some water and knead it. Peel the boiled potatoes, mash them and add all the ingredients. Take some dough and make a round flat bread using the rolling pin. Prick the flat bread using a knife or a fork (it'll keep the flour covering ceisp). Spread the potato mixture over it and roll it in such a way that the mixture is inside. Cut the roll into small discs and fry them in oil. Serve with green or red chutney.

You can keep these rolls in the fridge and use them later.

Bread rolls

A very simple breakfast recipe. My daughters love it and it's on their to-eat list whenever the come home.

 Ingredients:
5 big size potatoes (boiled)
6 bread slices
Salt to taste
2 chopped green chilies
2 tbspn chopped coriander
1/2 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn dry mango powder
Oil for frying

Recipe:

• Peel the potatoes and mash them.
• Dip bread slices in water and mash them in the potatoes.
• Add the rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well. 
• Make small rolls from the mixture
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the rolls till they turn golden brown. Serve them with tomato sauce or red/green chutney.

Tamarind and ginger powder chutney (dip)

In my previous recipe of samosa I had mentioned a red chutney. I thought that before proceeding towards my next main recipe, I should tell you how to make this yummy, lip smacking dip.

Ingredients:
1 tspn mustard oil
100 gms ripe tamarind (seedless)
100 gms jaggery
20 gms garam masala
10 gms red chilly powder
1 pinch of hing (asofoetida)
5 dry dates (chuhara)
10 gms raisins
1/2 tspn black rock salt
11/2 tspn table salt
1/2 tspn dry ginger powder (sonth)

Recipe:
Wash the tamarind and let it boil (on low flame) in 1/2 ltr water. Add jaggery too. If possible use an aluminium pan. Let it cool and sieve the liquid. Heat oil in the pan add asofoetida and let it split. Now add the tamarind and jaggery liquid. Add all the spices, salt and raisins. Chop the dry dates and add them too. When the liquid gets thicker remove it from the flame and let it cool. The dip can be used for 15-20 days. Serve it with samosas, pakodas or any other snack.

Samosa

This snack is a favorite among all the Indians and is available in almost every part of the country. Here's a quick recipe of this fried and spicy tea-time snack.

Ingredients:

200 gms flour
200 gms potato
Salt to taste
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn red chilly powder
2 tspn coriander powder
2 tbspn chopped fresh coriander
1 tbspn dry mango powder
Oil for deep frying

Recipe:
Seive the flour, add 2 tbspn oil and mix it in the flour with hands. Add water and knead the dough. Cut potatoes into small peices without peeling it off. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes till they turn golden. Add all the spices, salt and coriander to the potatoes and mash them. Take some dough (size of a lemon) and flatten it with a rolling pin. Cut it into half, fill in the potatoes, close it so that it looks like a triangle. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the samosas. Serve them with red and green chutney and a cup of hot tea.

Stuffed moong dal cheela

Here's the stuffed version of my previous recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup moong dal (split green gram)
100 gms cottage cheese
Salt to taste
A pinch of  heeng (asofoetida)
1 tspn cumin powder
2 chopped green chillies
1 tspn chopped ginger
1/2 cup chopped corriander
Oil

Recipe:
Soak moong dal for two hours. Drain out the water and grind the dal into a fine paste. Add heeng, cumin powder, and salt while grinding. Take the paste in a bowl and stir with hand for few minutes. Add some water. Mash the cheese, add salt, chillies, ginger and corriander. Heat a flat pan, spread some oil on the pan and pour two tbspns of batter on it, spread it like a pancake. When partially cooked spread the cheese over it and fold the pancake. Take it out when crisp and serve with curd or green chutney.

Moong dal cheela (pancake)

Ingredients:
1 cup moong dal (split green gram)
Salt to taste
A pinch of  heeng (asofoetida)
1 tspn cumin powder
2 chopped green chillies
1 tspn chopped ginger
1/2 cup chopped corriander
Oil

Recipe:
Soak moong dal for two hours. Drain out the water and grind the dal into a fine paste. Add chillies, ginger, heeng, cumin powder, corriander and salt while grinding. Take the paste in a bowl and stir with hand for few minutes. Add some water. Heat a flat pan, spread some oil on the pan and pour two tbspns of batter on it. Spread it like a pancake and cook from both the sides. Serve with curd or green chutney.

Sabudana Khichdi

Sabudana khichdi is the staple diet of Indians when they are fasting. Here's my take on this delicious snack.

Ingredients:
1 cup sabudana (tapioca pearls)
4 tbspn roasted and coarsely powdered groundnuts
1 potato peeled and chopped
4 green chillies chopped
4 tbspn clarified butter or oil
Salt to taste (or rock salt if you are fasting)
1 tspn dry mango powder
1 tspn sugar
Green corriander for garnish

Recipe:
Wash sabudana and let it soak in the water for half an hour. Remove extra water and leave it overnight.

Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the potatoes, add green chiliies, groundnuts, dry mango powder and sugar and fry till the potatoes are cooked. Add sabudana and salt and mix it well. Garnish with green corriander and serve with curd. You can also add almonds and cashew-nuts to make it rich.

Chawal ki kheer

It's Ganesh Chaturthi today so I thought of sharing a dessert recipe. And what better dessert than chawal ki kheer, the most common in all Indian households.

Ingredients:
100 gms basmati rice
1 ltr buffalo milk
1 tspn raisins
8-10 chopped almonds
1/2 tspn cardamom powder
1 tbspn clarified butter or ghee
150 gms sugar

Recipe:
Wash the rice and drain out the water. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the rice on low flame. Add little water and when rice starts to cook add milk. Let it cook on slow flame. When it starts to thicken add sugar, raisins, almonds and cardamom powder. Let it cool for a while and refrigerate before serving. Enjoy with your family and friends.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganpati bappa Morya!

Bread Samosa

A filling and heavy breakfast for a winter morning. I love making them for my family whenever we are together during winters.

Quantity: 8 Samosas

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread

4 boiled potatoes

2 tspn chopped cabbage

4 tspn grated carrot

4 tbspn green peas

1 tspn chopped ginger

1 tspn green chilly

2 tspn chopped corriander

Salt to taste

Oil

Recipe:

Mash the potatoes and mix the ingredients (except bread and oil). Dip a slice of bread in water, press with both hands to squeeze out the water. Place the mixture in the centre and wrap the bread around it. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the samosas. Serve with sauce or green chutney.

Dal and rice mixed dosa (Pancakes)

These dosas are a very healthy breakfast options and my family loves them especially with green chutney.

Ingredients:

1 small cup Lentil (whole Masoor dal)

1/2 cup Urad dal

1/2 cup whole moong dal

1/2 cup bengal gram (chana dal)

1/2 cup arhar dal

1 cup rice

Salt to taste

1 pinch asofoetida

1 inch ginger

2 green chillies

Oil

Recipe:

Soak all dals and rice overnight. Drain out the water, mix them together and grind them into a fine paste. Add asofoetida, salt, chopped ginger and chopped green chillies. Heat a non stick pan, spread some oil on it and make medium sized and thin pancakes. Take it out when its cooked and crispy and serve with green chutney.

Moong dal kachori

A great brunch on a Sunday when the whole family is together.

Ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup semolina (suji)

1 cup refined flour (maida)

1 cup milk

Oil for frying

For filling:

1 cup moong dal (split green gram)

4 tspn greeen corriander - finely chopped

1 tspn chopped ginger

1 tspn chopped green chilly

Salt to taste

1 tspn cumin powder

a pinch of asofoetida (hing)

Recipe:

Mix wheat flour, refined flour and semolina, add milk,water and a pinch of salt and knead the dough. Keep aside. Heat 1 spoon oil in a pressure cooker, add cumin powder and asofoetida and moong dal, puor some water and pressure cook for a while. Take it out once cooked, let it cool and grind it. Add rest of the spices to make a nice filling. Now make small balls from the dough, fill the mixture and make round, flat circles with a rolling pin. Heat oil in a pan and fry the kachoris. Serve hot with green chutney or aloo (potato) ki sabzi.

Green chutney (dip)

Here's the recipe to my favorite corriander chutney or dip. A perfect accompniment with corn patty, bread rolls or kebabs.

Ingredients:

100 gms fresh corriander

100 gms mint leaves

2 small onions

4-5 cloves

3-4 green chillies

1 inch ginger

1 lemon

Salt to taste

Recipe:

Take all the ingredients (except lemon) in a mixer jar and grind them well. Squeeze the lemon and mix it well. The dip is ready.

Corn Patty

After a lot of thinking over what should be my first recipe I though that since breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, I should start with the same. So here's my quick recipe for corn patty or tikki as we call it in Hindi.

Ingredients:

250 gms boiled potatoes

100 gms grated cottage cheese

50 gms sweeet corn

1 tspn finely chopped greeen cilly

1 tspn finely chopped ginger

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Recipe:

Peel and mash the potatoes, add all the ingredients, mix well and make round patties. Heat oil in a pan and fry the patties till they turn golden. Serve hot with green chutney (recipe for that will follow).