Sunday, August 31, 2014

MINT CHUTNEY WITH CURD - GREEN CHUTNEY

Mint Chutney 


using curd as one ingradient is delicious and tasty chutney that goes well with any Tandoori dish be it Panner Tikka,all Tikka or Non Veg Items 
Very Simple to make and with minimum Ingredients 



Main Ingradients 



  • 3 to 4 tbsp fresh curd/yogurt 
  • 1 and half cup fresh mint leaves/pudina
  • 1 cup fresh coriander leaves/dhania
  • 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
  • 1 small onion/pyaaz, chopped
  • ½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves/lahsun, chopped (optional)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
  • 1 tsp chaat masala
  • 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur or dry pomegranate seeds powder/anardana powder
  • black salt or rock salt as required


Method 


  1. take the curd in a bowl and beat it with a whisk or spoon or egg beater till smooth.
  2. mix the spice powders and salt with the curd.


  3. grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, onion and green chili with little water.

  1. mix the freshly ground green chutney with the Masala Curd


  2. blend both of these till they become uniform and one in color.


  1. serve the mint chutney with any tandoori snack or starter.

Vegetable Sandwich from Paka Shala Indian Kitchen

INDIAN VEGETARIAN SANDWICH (BOMBAY SANDWICH)
This is a famous street food of Mumbai and Best Breakfast,Lunch Box Item and for journeys.a health recipe with raw vegetables,Easy and Quick one to make 

Ingredients  cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
for the  veg sandwich

  • 8 slices of white or brown bread
  • 1 potato, boiled and sliced into rounds
  • 1 beetroot, boiled and thinly sliced
  • 1 cucumber thinly sliced
  • 1 small onion thinly sliced
  • 1 tomato, thinly sliced
  • 1 small bowl of green mint coriander chutney
  • butter as required
  • chaat masala as required
  • black salt to taste
  • roasted cumin powder - optional
  • freshly milled black pepper - optional
  • tomato ketchup or sauce to be served with the sandwiches
for the mint cilantro chutney:

  • 1 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
  • 1 cup fresh chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
  • 1 green chilli ( add more chillies if you want the chutney to be spicy)
  • ½ inch ginger/adrak
  • 1 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder - optional
  • juice of ½ lemon - optional
  • salt or black salt

Method
making the mint cilantro chutney

  1. in a mixie or blender grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste using little water. Mix salt in the chutney. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
preparing the veg sandwich:
  1. trim the edges of the bread slices.
  2. butter the bread slices.
  3. now apply the chutney to the slices.
  4. place all the veggie slices one by one.
  5. sprinkle the black salt and chaat masala.
  6. cover the sandwich with the other bread slices.
  7. slice the sandwich into triangles and rectangles.
  8. serve veg sandwich immediately with tomato ketchup and the mint cilantro chutney
Notes
tips:

1: you can cook the potato in the microwave. wash the potato well. prick the potatoes with a fork and microwave in the oven for 4-5 minutes.

2: when the potatoes are getting cooked, you can slice the other veggies and even make the chutney.

VEGETARIAN HOT DOGS From Pakashala Indian Kitchen


VEGETABLE HOT DOGS USING SOYA CHUNKS AND POTATO
This dish is for Breakfast and Lunch Item,Normally kids love this dish,But I have added Soya chunks (mealmaker) as Soya chunks are Protien Rich and alternative to meat.Mothers like to feed their child tasty as well as health oriented recipes to their wards,but it is a tough job to incorporate this goodness in the daily menu as many youngsters and even grown-ups shy away from this ''wonder bean,So I have Tried to incorporate Soya in kids Fav dish  

Ingredients:

  • 1 boiled soya chunks(meal Maker) alternatively you can use Potato
  • 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 piece of Ginger
  • 1 Green Chilli
  • 1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup chopped Coriander Leaves
  • 2 tbsp Corn Flour
  • 2 tbsp Bread Crumbs
  • Salt to taste

  • For Seasoning 

  • Mustard Sauce
  • Tomato Sauce
  • 3 Hot Dog Buns
  • 1/4 cup chopped Green Pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped Onion

Method

  • Boil Soya chunks(meal Maker) in warm water 
  • Boil  Potataos in pressure cooker just until one whistle. Peel boiled potato and mash really well.
  • Mix whole coriander seeds, green chillies, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, lemon juice in a blender and grind to make very smooth paste.
  • Add ground masala to Soya Chunks and mashed Potato, also add salt to taste, coriander leaves, corn flour, bread crumbs and mix well.
  • Form long patties from above potato mixture.
  • Heat up pan over medium heat add a tsp of oil and shallow fry patties till it gets nice golden crust from all the sides.
  • Make sure to flip patties once in a while to avoid sticking of it to pan.
  • Once all patties are shallow fried, butter hot dog buns inside out and roast on the same skillet till it gets nice crust.
  • Now to assemble hot dog take one of roasted hot dog bun, on the middles of that place hot dog Pattie.
  • Stack green pepper and onion on the side of hot dog.
  • Add mustard and tomato sauce on the hot dog patties.
  • Serve hot with extra mustard or tomato sauce!

DAL MAHARANI - From Pakashalaindiankitchen

Dal Maharani is a very famous staple food item from Punjab Region of India.This is a side dish for Chapathi or for Plain Rice.The word dal is also used to name the thick stew prepared from these pulses, and the fried garnish for dal goes by many names, including chaunk and tadka.


1/4 cup Rajma
1/4 cup Whole Urad dal
1/4 cup Chana dal
1 Onions, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
3 Green chillies, sliced
1/2 inch Ginger, Grated
Salt To taste
1 Pinch Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
Corainder leaves
1 tbsp Handful Butter
1/4 cup Cream
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

Preparation:


  • Soak rajma, urad daal and chana dal overnight.
  • Pressure cook the urad dal, chana dal and rajma. Mash them a little. Keep aside.
  • Heat butter in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and fry until they splutter. Add ginger and chillies.
  • Fry for few minutes. Add chopped onions and tomatoes. Cook until done.
  • Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and stir well.
  • Add the mashed dals and boil for few minutes.
  • Add cream, corainder leaves and mix well. Serve the dal maharani hot with roti.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Health focused Recipe Oats Dosa From Pakashalaindiankitchen

Oats are hailed as one of the easiest to use ingredients, no matter which cuisine. They help thicken gravies, work as healthy substitutes to refined flours and grains, and spread flavor across the dish's other ingredients. In fact oats are a perfect ingredient for Indian dishes, especially for Indian vegetarians; oats also help in keeping hunger pangs at bay by lowering ‘bad’ LDL Cholesterol levels and providing much needed fiber and protein content. Every Health and Food enthusiast must experiment with oats for nutritious and tasty oats recipes. To get you started, today, I bring you our  best oats recipes for Indian dishes Oats Dosa


Oats dosa
Ingredients: 

3/4 cup oats 
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
1 green chilly, chopped
Few coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds and pepper
1 onion, chopped
Salt and water, as needed

Method:


 Make a thin batter of the all the ingredients except onion. (You can mix onion in the batter if you want to).

 Heat pan and sprinkle the onions, if not mixed with the batter 
 pour the batter to make dosa.
 Add oil towards the edges. 
 Cook in medium flame and no need to flip,
 when the dosa becomes golden brown, 
 take out and transfer to the serving plate.

Panner Tikka (on Tawa) Resturant style From Pakashala-Indian Kitchen

Paneer tikka is an Indian dish made from chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor. It is a vegetarian alternative to chicken tikka and other meat dishes. It is a popular dish that is widely available in India and other countries with an Indian Expatriate population





main ingredients:
  • 250 to 300 gms paneer
  • 1 medium to large bell pepper (green, yellow or red)
  • 1 medium to large tomato
  • 1 medium to large onion
for the marinade:
  • 250 gms thick or hung yogurt/curd/dahi, about 2.25 cups of thick yogurt
  • 4 tbsp besan/gram flour
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder or white pepper powder
  • ½ tsp carom seeds/ajwain
  • ½ tsp caraway seeds/shahjeera
  • ½ tsp kasuri methi, crushed
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chaat masala powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder or tandoori masala powder
  • 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur powder
  • 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder, if using a hotter variety of red chili powder, reduce to 1 tsp
  • ¾ tbsp ginger garlic paste, about 5 to 6 medium to large garlic cloves and ¾ inch ginger crushed in a mortar-pestle
  • ¾ tsp lime juice
  • 2 to 3 tbsp oil or as required
  • ¾ tsp regular salt or rock salt or add as required
Instructions
prepping the paneer & veggies:
  1. slice the paneer into ¼ inch squares or cubes or rectangles.
  2. rinse the veggies. halve the onion and remove each layer one by one.
  3. dice the capsicum/bell pepper into square shaped slices.
  4. dice the tomatoes too the same way. remove the seeds from the tomatoes.
  5. keep the veggies and paneer aside.
preparing the marinade:
  1. first whisk the thick yogurt till smooth in a bowl or pan.
  2. add all the spices and herbs, besan/gram flour and salt, except oil. stir and mix well. taste the marinade and add salt it required
  3. add the diced vegetables (onion, tomato and capsicum) along with paneer slices.
  4. with your hands mix very well. so that the marinade coats the paneer and veggies evenly.
  5. cover the bowl & keep the marinade in the fridge for 45 minutes to 3 hours. you can also keep overnight.
  6. heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan/tawa or a well seasoned griddle. coat the paneer and veggies with the marinade and place them on the tawa. you can fry at a low flame or medium flame.
  7. in all i fried in 3 batches and overall used about 3 tbsp oil. another way is to skewer the paneer, veggies and then fry them. i chose to fry them directly as they get fried evenly and the texture is better.
  8. when one side gets browned, gently lift and turn over. the paneer cubes will get cooked faster than the veggies.
  9. you can can char or brown the veggies more. but remember to remove the paneer cubes as soon as they are golden. if you want you can fry the paneer cubes first and then the vegetables. remove them on a plate.
  10. while still hot, then skewer the fried paneer cubes and veggies on to a wooden skewer or toothpick.
  11. you can also have them straight away without skewering. sprinkle some chaat masala & lemon juice on the paneer tikka.
  12. arrange them in a serving plate and serve the paneer tikka hot or warm with pickled vinegar onions (sirke wale pyaaz), or pyaaz lachcha (onion lemon salad) or mint yogurt chutney.

Lemon Rice/Nimmakaya Pulihora From Pakashalaindiankitchen

Lemon Rice in Andhra Pradesh is called "nimmakaaya pulihaara". It is a popular dish of Andhra and every household prepares it during the festive times and religious occasions. It is a traditional dish. It is tasty and easy to prepare also.

Main Ingradients

  • 2.5 to 3 cups cooked or steamed basmati rice/chawal/or Long Grain Indian Rice
  • 1.5 to 2 tbsp lemon juice/nimbu ka ras or as required
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
  • 1 tsp urad dal/spilt & skinned black gram
  • 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
  • 2 dry red chilies/sookhi lal mirch
  • 12-15 curry leaves/kadi patta
  • a pinch of asafoetida/hing
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
  • 1 tbsp cashews/kaju, halved or chopped (optional)
  • ¼ cup peanuts/moongphalli (optional)
  • 2 to 3 tbsp groundnut oil/or any edible Oil for Tadka/Popu/Thalimpu
  •  regular salt/namak as required
  • Lemon Salt (optional)

Method
 
  1. first cook about 1 to 1.25 cups rice in 4-5 cups of water till the grains are cooked completely. (will yield approx 2.5 to 3 cups rice, depending on the type and quality of rice)
  2. drain and spread the rice on a plate or in a bowl.
  3. cover and let the rice cool.
  4. in a small frying pan, first roast the peanuts till they are crisp and browned.
  5. remove the peanuts and keep aside.
  6. then in the same frying pan, roast the cashewnuts till light brown.
  7. remove the cashewnuts and keep aside.
  8. now heat the edible oil in the same pan.
  9. add the mustard seeds and urad dal.
  10. crackle the mustard and brown the urad dal.
  11. add the red chilies, green chilies and curry leaves.
  12. fry for 12-15 seconds.
  13. then add the peanuts and stir.
  14. add the asafoetida and turmeric powder.
  15. fry for 2-3 seconds.
  16. fry everything on a low flame, so that the spices don't burn.
  17. switch off the fire and add the lemon juice along with salt.
  18. stir and immediately pour this mixture on the rice.
  19. mix very well.
  20. keep the lemon rice covered for the flavors to blend for 4-5 minutes.
  21. then serve the lemon rice with papads or vadaims/frayams  and coconut chutney or just have lemon rice plain 
  22. Note : you may add lemon salt for more sourness if you like it

Ganesh Chathurdhi Speacials :Chakra Pongal/Pongali From Pakashalaindiankitchen

Chakara Pongal/Pongali is a sweet and buttery porridge-like dish that is traditionally prepared in South India for any festival as prashad to Hindu dities. The ven pongal variety differs only in the spices added, and the two are often cooked together from the same batch of rice and dhal.

Chakkarai Pongal
Ingredients
  • ½ cup rice
  • ⅓ to ½ cup moong dal / pesara pappu or Soaked Chana Dal (Chik peas)
  • ½ cup powdered or grated jaggery
  • ⅛ tsp. green cardamom powder
  • Small Pinch of edible camphor / pacha karpooram (optional)
  • 2 to 3 tbsps. Ghee (you can reduce it to 1)
  • 1 tbsp. raisins 
  • 1 to 2 tbsps. Cashews broken
  • 1 to 2 cloves (optional)
Note :Chana dal should be soaked for at least 2 hours 
Instructions
  1. Add moong dal or  to a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker and roast it till they turn fragrant
  2. Add rice to the same pan and wash them at least twice.
  3. Pour 2 ¼ cups of water. add soaked chana dal  Cook till soft either in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles or in the pot.
  4. Pour ¼ cup water to grated jaggery. On a low flame stir and melt it. Keep this aside.
  5. When the pressure from the cooker is down, remove the lid and mash the rice.
  6. Filter jaggery syrup to the cooked rice dal
  7. Add green cardamom powder. Mix and cook on a medium flame till the jaggery syrup blends well with rice. It should begin to bubble up well. Off the stove
  8. Heat a pan with ghee, add cashews, clove and fry till golden, off the stove and add raisins, camphor. Mix this with the rice.
Notes
Adding too much of camphor, can leave bitterness to the pongal.
Before you add jaggery to the rice, make sure it is cooked thoroughly soft. Rice tends to harden if the rice is not mashed or the pongal is overcooked