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!