Bhindi Masala

This is a simple and everyday way we cook Bhindi. Though it is full of spices like all rajasthani dishes.

You need:
Bhindi (ladyfinger) - 250 g
Onion - 1 medium - cut in cubes
Green chilly - 1 - sliced vertically
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
dhania (coriander) powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 3 tbsp (sorry ppl, no oil no taste)

How to:
Put 2 cuts in each bhindi vertically to split it in 4 parts. Don't cut all the way down and let the parts stick together. By the way, make sure you have washed the bhindi and chopped off the heads and tails before you start making these cuts. If you wash it after chopping you have a big gooey mess to deal with.

So then, heat oil and temper the cumin seeds. Add the bhindi and green chilly and stir fry a bit till it changes color. Add all the spices and stir well. Take a steel plate that has raised edges and use it to cover the bhindi pan. Put a thin layer of water on this plate. Make sure no water goes in to the cooking bhindi. Cook on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Keep stirring in between. When the oil starts to leave the sides it is done.

Remove the bhindi from the pan and saute the onion in the same masala. Add on top of the cooked bhindi. If you like a slightly tangy taste add some dry mango powder (amchur) or a few drops of lemon juice to the dish.

Crunchy Veg Salad

The health conscious are making me bow to their wishes! So here is a salad that I like to munch on when I am looking for a light eat.

You need:

• Lettuce - 1 cup torn leaves
• Cucumber - 1/2 cup diced
• Tomato - 1 diced and seeds removed
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Cottage cheese - 1/2 cup cut into small pieces
• Feta cheese (optional) - just a little bit to sprinkle
• Walnuts - a handful of small pieces
• Black olives - a handful
• Bread cruotons - 1 handful
• Juice of one lemon
• Chilli Vinegar - 1 tbsp
• White pepper - 1 tsp (if you don't have it opt for black pepper)
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Honey - 1 tsp
• Fresh coriander leaves - to garnish
• Salt - to taste

Mix everything together, toss well and serve immediately.

Dal Makhani

Another one of my experimental dishes that I have put together after trial and error. Quite popular at dinner parties. Sarah, this is for you :)

You need

1 cup Black whole urad dal (lentils)

1/2 cup Jammu Rajma i.e. red kidney beans (these are smaller and lighter in color than the normal variety)

3 onions

2 tomatoes

2 green chillies

1 inch piece of ginger

3-4 cloves garlic (optional)

1/2 cup curd

1/2 cup milk

1 stick dalchini (cinnamon)

2-3 laung (cloves)

1 big illachi (cardamom)

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

fresh coriander leaves to garnish

oil - 2 tbsp

ghee - 1 tbsp

Butter and cream to garnish (optional)

How to:

• Soak the lentils and kidney beans overnight.
• Grind 2 onions to a paste
• In a pressure cooker add the soaked lentils, onion paste, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, turmeric powder and 4 cups of water. Steam on high flame for one whistle and simmer on low flame for 20 minutes
• Meanwhile, chop the remaining onion finely.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion till golden brown
• Mix tomatoes, green chillies, garlic, ginger and grind to a paste. Add this paste to the cooking onions. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
• In the curd, add half the red chilli powder, all of coriander powder and garam masala and mix well. Add this curd to the cooking tomato paste and mix well. Cover and cook till the oil leaves sides. Stir often to avoid sticking to the bottom.
• When the pressure cooker opens, add this paste to the lentils, close the cooker and steam again for 1 - 2 whistles on high flame . Add more water if needed.
• When the cooker opens, add the milk and bring to a boil.
• This dal tastes best when it has been cooked for a very long time. So simmer and cook as much as possible.
• While serving, take the dal out in a bowl. Heat ghee and temper cumin seeds. Add the remaining red chilli powder and pour over the dal. Add a dollop of butter and a swirl of cream and sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves.

Rajasthani Kadhi

This is a staple Rajasthani dish. I remember as children we had a fixed meal of kadhi chawal everyday. Rajasthani kadhi is different from it's other Indian counter parts like Punjabi and Sindhi kadhi. This sour concoction is quite simple and doesn't use too many spices. A hot bowl of Kadhi on a cold day is bliss indeed.

You need:
2 cups sour curd or 4 cups sour buttermilk
2 cups of water if you are using curd
4 tbsp gram flour (besan)
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
mustard seeds (rai) - 1 tsp
methi dana (optional) - 1/2 tsp
red chilli pd - 1 tsp
ghee - 1 tbsp (actually marwari's believe more the ghee the better so feel free to pile it on)
salt to taste

How to:
Mix watered curd or buttermilk with gramflour and mix well. Make sure that no lumps remain. Add salt and methi dana and put on the flame. Bring to a boil while stirring continuously. Reduce the flame and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid the mix sticking to the pan. The more you cook it the better it tastes. Rajasthani Kadhi is very watery in consistency and if the mixture gets too thick add some more water.

Heat ghee in a separate pan. Temper the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Remove from flame and immediately add red chilli powder. Pour on top of the simmering curd mixture. Mix well and bring to a boil. Ready to eat :)

Rajma Masala

Rajma (red kidney beans), especially with rice, is a very popular north indian dish. Today's lunch was Rajma so i thought might as well pen down the recipe quickly.

You need:
1 cup rajma
3 onions
2 tomatoes
Garlic - optional - 4-5 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green chillies - 2
Dalchini (cinnamon) - 1 stick
Laung (Cloves) - 2 pieces
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (or more if you want it spicy)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp (level)
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
oil - 4 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves - to garnish

How to:

• Soak the Rajma overnight (or if you want to make it the same day, at least for 4 hours in hot water)



• Grind 2 onions to a paste



• Put Rajma, onion paste, cinnamon, cloves, salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water. Cook on high flame for one whistle and then simmer for 20 minutes on low flame.



• Meanwhile chop the remaining onion finely.



• Heat oil and temper the cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion and fry till it starts turning brown.



• Mix tomatoes, green chillies, garlic and ginger and grind to a paste. Add this paste to the frying onions. Add red chilli powder and coriander powder. Cover and cook till the oil leaves the sides.



• Add the boiled rajma to the masala and mix in the garam masala. Bring to a boil.



• Simmer till the gravy attains required thickness



• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve

For my calorie conscious friends: You can make this in a non stick pan by using just 1 tbsp oil. Although, the taste is in the oil i say :D

Chocolate cake

This is by far my favorite recipe. I have picked it up from somewhere during the teenage baking experiments, so not original like the rest.. but great. This is a basic chocolate cake so u can dress it up as u like. My favorite topping is to add a scoop of chocolate/vanilla icecream and pour chocolate sauce on it.

You need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
5 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp powdered sugar
100gms butter
1 tin milkmaid
300ml pepsi/coke/soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

How to:
I make it on a gas oven, so someone has to help me with the oven temperature. But in any case pre-heat the as oven for 10 minutes.
Mix butter, milkmaid and sugar and beat well till all lumps dissolve.
Mix maida, cocoa pd, baking soda and baking pd and sift 2-3 times to evenly distribute all ingredients.
Add half this dry mixture to the milkmaid mix and fold in. Add some pepsi and flour alternatively and keep stirring. When all the pepsi and flour is added the mixture should be of a pouring consistency without any lumps. Add vanilla essence and stir. Add to the container of the gas oven and bake on low heat for 45 minutes. Insert a knitting needle to check if it is done (the needle should come out clean). Cook for some more time if not done. Remove from flame and let it stand for one minute. Loosen the sides with a butter knife and tap it out on a plate.

Cool and serve with the topping of your choice. If you want icing let me know and i'll put up a recipe.

Poha

This is the quintessential Indian breakfast. Hot poha has a slightly sweet and spicy taste, perfect with a cup of tea. To add crunchiness, we eat it with a topping of namkeen.

You need:
Poha - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium - finely chopped
Raw peanuts - a fistful
Potato - 1 small - chopped in small cubes
Green chilly - 1 - finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Juice of 1/2 lemon
oil - 3 tbsp
Red chilli powder - to taste
Salt - to taste

How to:
If you have thick poha, wash and drain it before starting the preparations so that it has time to soften. If you have thin poha, wash it just before you need to add it to the pan.

Heat oil in a pan (preferably non stick) and fry the peanuts till dark brown in color (don't burn them). Remove the peanuts and keep aside. Similarly, fry the potato cubes till golden brown and keep aside. Add cumin seeds to the remaining oil and then fry onions in it till slightly brown.

While the onions are frying mix salt, sugar, red chilly pd, turmeric pd and green chilles with the poha. Once the onions are done, add the poha mixture to the pan. Add peanuts and potatoes and mix well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in between. Check to see if the poha is soft and cooked. Remove from flame. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and namkeen and serve hot...

Penne in white sauce

I love pasta... there is no time of the day when I'll say no to pasta and a glass of wine. I'm sharing my favorite recipe today, which is also quite popular among my friends. It is a secret weapon i use to establish my reputation as a cook. So here goes...

You'll need:
Penne pasta - 100 gms
Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (peas, broccoli, carrot, corn, mushroom)
Cheese - 6 cubes (use amul/ britannia cheese cubes)
Oregano - 1 tsp (you can also use the leftover seasoning seasoning from any pizza place)
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Milk - 1 cup (slightly warm)
Flour - 1 tsp ( you can use wheat flour or maida)
onion - 1 small - grated or ground to a paste
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Butter - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to:
Add some salt to a pan full of water and heat. Once it starts boiling add the pasta to it and cook for 10 minutes or till soft. Drain the water and keep the cooked penne in a pan of iced water.

Blanch the vegetables (except mushrooms) for 2 minutes in boiling water and keep aside.

Heat butter, preferably in a non-stick pan. Add the grated onion and saute till transparent. Add the flour and cook for a minute stirring continuously. Remove from flame and cool a bit. Add milk while stirring the mixture to avoid any lumps. If lumps form just strain the sauce to remove them. Put on medium flame and cook till the sauce starts to thicken. Add some more milk if needed. Add the cheese and stir continuously till it dissolves.

Add all the remaining ingredients including Penne and vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes. Ready to eat.