Couscous pudina pulao

What you need:

1 cup couscous (cooked according to directions), and cooled by spreading on a plate
5-6 leaves of mint
2 cardomoms, 4 cloves, 5-6 green chillies, small piece dal chinni
1 tbsp of coconut(fresh or frozen)
Finely diced onion, beans, carrots, potatoes and frozen peas
1/4 tsp jeera, 1 tsp oil, salt to taste and cilantro to garnish

What to do:

Grind together the mint leaves, 1 cardomom, 2 cloves, green chillies and the coconut to a fine paste, adding little water.

In a shallow pan, add the oil, jeera. Now add the remaining spices (1 cardomom, 2 cloves and the dal chinni piece). After a few seconds, throw in the diced vegetables, staring with onions and frying the onions to a golden brown color. When the veggies have softened a bit, add the ground mint paste. Saute for a few minutes until the moisture content of the paste is lost, and the mixture has well blended with vegetables. Add salt.

Now mix the cooked vegetable blend with the couscous, and add cilantro to garnish.

For extra taste, you can add fried onions and cashews.

Serve with raita.

Brown Rice Tikkis

What you need:

1 cup cooked brown rice
Finely diced, onion, carrots, beans, cabbage, 2-3 green chillies, frozen peas, cilantro to garnish
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chilli powder
Corn starch( 1 tsp) or handful of poha washed in water ( and drained).
Salt to taste, 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp jeera, 1/2 tsp turmeric

Method:

In a shallow pan, add some oil. Add the jeera, tumeric, and green chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Add the onion and fry until golden brown. Now add the remaining vegetables, and sautee for a few minutes. Add the cilantro. Lower flame, and keep covered for 10 mins.
Then add, the garam masala, chilli powder and salt. Turn off flame and keep the mixture aside.
Take the cooked brown rice, and add to the cooked vegetable mixture. You can add a little corn starch or the wet poha which is mashed (basically these act as binding agent).

Make small balls from the mixture, and pat them into tikki patties. Shallow fry them on a skillet.

Serve hot with ketchup/chutney.

Masala Parathas -appetizer

Here is a new , fast and delicious appetizer that you can offer to take for a pot luck. If you are in mood for parathas eaten a little differntly, try this!

What you need

Plain parathas (available in the frozen section of Indian store)
1 small onion - diced small
cooked garbanzo beans
2 tomates - chopped
green chilles -3-4
peppers- red and yellow
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Kasoori Methi leaves (dried)
Garam masala pwder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
1 tsp lemon juice
Tadka items ( mustards, urad dhal, channa dhal, jeera, hing)
oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste,
Cilantro to garnish

Method
Soak the garbanzo beans overnight and pressure cook it with a lemon zest and a pinch of salt.

Rip the parathas and make small pieces.

In a skillet, add the oil and the tadka items. When mustard splutters, add green chillies and onions and fry.

Now add ginger-garlic paste , followed by kasoori methi. Now add the peppers and fry for 2 minutes. Then put in the chopped tomatoes.

Stir fry for 2-3 minutes on medium to high flame. Add garam masala powder and chilli powder. Mix well.
Finally add the garbanzo beans and mix thouroughly. Add salt. Cook the mixture for 2 minutes on low flame.

Now add the paratha pieces and mix well. Cover with lid and leave alone for 3-4 minutes. Then turn off the flame.

Cool and add the lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy with Raita!

"Left Over Rotis" Recipe

Did you order too many Rotis for party, and have a ton of them left over. Dont bother to reheat them and push yourself to munch on those "Stone-like" rotis the next day. Here is a yummy recipe for left over Rotis.

What you need
Left over Rotis - say 5- 8
small onion- diced small
green chillies- 3-4
few peanuts
1 lemon ( 2 tsp of lemon juice)
Choice of vegetables, like shredded cabbage, green/red/yellow peppers
mustard seeds, 1 tsp oil, salt to taste.
Cilantro to garnish

Method
Make very small pieces by ripping the rotis. Cut the green chilles.In a shallow skillet, add the oil, mustard seeds, and the regular tadka (urad dhal, channa dal). When the spluttering happens, add the green chiilies, followed by the peanuts. Fry until golden brown (dont over fry) on medium flame. Now add the onions, fry for a minute or so, then followed by the other veggies.
When the veggies are a little soft and cooked, add the rotis and stir for 2 minutes. Turn off stove. Cool for 3 mins.
Now add the lemon juice and mix well.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Can be eaten as appetizer or as evening snack:-)

Cranberry pudding

Craving something sweet with the sour cranberries. Here is a quick, easy recipe for Cranberry Jam.

Ingredients
Fresh cranberries- 1 pound
Butter - 2 tbsp
Sweetened condensed milk -1 can
1 tsp, silvered almonds
a pinch of cardomom powder

Method
Wash and run the cranberries in mixer, until smooth. Just mash any whole cranberry. Take a shallow skillet and heat it. Add butter, after a minute , add the blended cranberries. Stir for a few minutes. Then add the condensed milk and keep stirring until the whole mixture seperates out as a smooth ball.
Add the powdered cardomom.
Fry the silvered almonds in a very little amount of ghee, until golden brown and sprinkle it over the mixture.

Yummy cranberry pudding, ready to eat!

Cranberry pickle/dip

The cranberry season is here! Just try the cranberry recipes , and relish them before those crunch red berries are off the grocery shelves.

Ingredients:

A bag of fresh cranberries - 1 pound

2 tsp oil,

1 tsp chilli powder

Hing, mustard

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and run the cranberries in the mixer for just a minute. Do not grind them soft. They must be really course. It is okay to have quite a few berries as whole.

Take a shallow skillet, pour in oil, hing, mustard . When the mustard splutters, add in the salt and the cranberries. Keep stirring and mixing them, on medium flame. Witin 5 mins, you will see the mixture beginning to soliday as a soft mass. Refer to pictures, below.

Enjoy with Rotis, or as spread over bread!

Quinoa and Lentil Salad

This is my "own" recipe that I created. It is so healthy, yummy and a filling dish. A "must try" recipe.

Ingredients:

Organic Quinoa (can buy from COSTCO, TruRoots Brand) 1/2 cup
Brown lentils soaked (over night ).1/2 cup
Moong (Green dal) daal soaked (over night ).1/2 cup
Onion- 1 small
Red, Orange and yellow peppers.
Extra virgin Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tsp, if you need more sour taste, can add an extra spoon of vinegar
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash the Quinoa thouroughly. Cook quinoa , like Rice , in rice cooker. Cool and set aside.

Boil the lentils and Moong separately on stove, for 10 minutes. Drain away excess water and cool.

Dice the onion, peppers into small pieces. Toss the diced mixture, in a mixing bowl, along with vinegar and Oilive oil. Now add the cooked and cooled, lentils, moong and quinoa. Add salt to taste.

Mix thoroughly. Enjoy!!