Matar Paneer

Paneer is also known as cottage cheese and is used a lot in Indian vegetarian dishes. They are rich in calcium. Many gravy dishes as well as sweets are prepared from it in India. Here is a simple paneer gravy dish made along with peas. This is one of the favorite dishes of many vegetarians as well as non vegetarians.

Ingredient
Tomato 2 Medium Sized
Cashew Nuts - 6-7
Kastoori Methi Dry
Paneer 100 gms
Peas 1/2 Cup
Salt to taste
oil 2-3 tsp
Garam masala powder
Kashmiri red chilly powder

Method
Soak the cashew nut in water for 1-2 hrs. Make a fine paste of soaked cashew nuts and chopped tomatoes. Dont put water while making the paste as tomato itself has lot of water.
Cut paneer into cubes and keep aside.
Now heat oil in pan. add the above paste to it and let it cook for 10 - 12 minutes.
When the paste is roasted well and starts to leave oil, add 1 tsp of dry kastoori methi to it. After that add 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp red chilly powder, peas and salt to it and let it cook for 1 min. Now add around 2/3 cup water to it. As water starts to boil add paneer to it and let it cook for 2-3 mins till gravy becomes little thick.
Enjoy it with Paratha or roti.

Dahi Vada

Dahi vada is a yogurt based dish, generally prepared on the festival of holi in India. This can be enjoyed as desert after food or can also be eaten as snack. The main ingredient of it is Urad Dal also known as black gram and curd. So here is the recipe, do try it out.


Ingredients

For Vada

Urad Dal 1/2 Cup
oil for frying 3/4 Cup
Asafoetida/hing 2-3 pinch
Coriander Leaf - 1 tsp chopped
Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Green chilly (optional)
Ginger 1/2 tsp grated

For Curd and Garnish
Curd 1 Cup
Red chilly Powder 1/4 tsp
Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder 1/2 tsp
Chart masala  ( optional)

Method 

Clean urad dal nicely and soak it in water over night. Now grind it with little water into thick paste. Add hing, chopped coriander leaves, salt, grated ginger, cumin seeds and chopped green chilly (optional) and mix it well.





Now heat oil in a pan. And make small balls of the paste with whole at the centre and dip it in oil, one by one.








Fry it on both the sides on slow to medium flame till golden brown. Many people like to eat vadas like this also. So you can also enjoy fried vadas like this.





Now to make it more soft when you dip it in curd, you can dip it in warm water for 10 - 15mins. Press it softly and see if it has become soft. Now sqeeze extra water gently, if little water remains it okai, nothing to worry.



Now add whipped curd to the soft wada as shown.

Garnish the Dahi vada by sprinkling it with chopped coriander leaves, chilly powder, roasted cumin seeds powder, salt and chat masala.

You can also serve it with emli ki chutney (  tamarind chutney) or simply like this. Enjoy it with friends and relatives.

Jeera Rice with Cashew Nuts

Ingredients

Rice -1 Cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Cashew Nuts - 7-9
Salt to taste
Biryani Masala
Water - 2 Cup
Ghee or oil - 3 tsp

Method
Heat oil or ghee in a cooker. Add jeera and cashew nuts in the heated oil. Fry for 1-2 mins till cashew nuts start becoming golden. Add the washed rice. Now add salt and biryani masala around 1/2 tsp and fry it for 4-5mins.
Heat 2 cups of water separately and add in fried rice. Now put the cooker lid and wait for 2 whistles. Switch off the gas and wait for sometime till the steam comes put of cooker naturally. this may take 10 -15mins.
This can also be cooked in electric cooker or microwave.
Serve it with any curry.
Note: If you want cashew nuts to be crunchy then fry it golden brown and keep aside. Garnish the rice when cooked with it.

Carrot Salad

If anyone asks you which fruit or vegetable are the best for your eyes, the obvious answer which comes to the mind of most of us is "CARROT". Yes, carrot is indeed an amazing vegetable with a huge list of nutritional benefits. It has vitamins like A, C, K and Potassium. It prevents heart diseases, cancer, eye sight problems, diabetes and the list goes on.

People enjoy eating carrots raw. Some also like to have carrot juice or add it in their salads. Adding carrot in salad is an easiest way to have it in your daily meal. So, here is an extremely easy and quick carrot salad recipe.

Ingredients

Carrot - 2 Medium Size
onion - 1 small
Coriander leaves  4-5 Stems
Lemon
Salt to taste

Method

Grade the carrots. Finely chop onions and coriander leaves. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix everything well.

Enjoy this amazing and extremely easy salad with your main course.

Note: If you want to make it spicy, you can also add chopped green chillies.

Pav Bhaji Indian Cuisine

Pav Bhaji is an Indian fast food dish which is famous in the western India, mainly Maharastra and Gujrat. The dish is also famous in all parts of India and will be found in most of the restaurant menu cards across the country. It is also very famous as street food and sold by street vendors. This fast meal consists of Pav which is very similar to western bread or bun and Bhaji which is a mixed vegetable gravy. The gravy has potato as its main ingredient.

Ingredients

• Pav - 1 Packet
• Onion - 1 Medium
• Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
• Garlic Paster - 1/2 tsp
• Capsicum - 1 Small
• Carrot - 1 Small
• Beans - 5-6
• Potato - 3 Medium
• Pav Bhaji Masala 2-3 table spoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato - 3 Medium
• Coriander Leave - 1/4 Cup Chopped
• Lemon 1 Small
• Cauliflower - few small pieces
• Peas - 1 Handful
• Salt

Note: You can vary the quantity of individual vegetables as per your taste. Pav Bhaji Masala is a ready made masala which is available by various brands like everest, eastern, MDH, etc which can be used.

Method

Finely chop all the vegetables except potato and keep aside. Boil the potatoes separately in the meantime and mash it.

Now heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions to it. As onion is cooked for 2-3 mins and add ginger garlic paste to it. Let the ginger garlic paste get cooked for 4-5 mins.Then add all the chopped vegetables in it. Close the lid. Let it cook for 5mins in slow flame. The add turmeric and pav bhaji masala and let it cook for 5-6 mins. Now add tomatoes to it and mix it well. Simmer it and let it cook for 4-5mins till all vegetables are cooked properly. Now add mashed potato to it. You dont need to mash it into too fine paste. Some course pieces of potato can be left. Now add water to it and let it boil for 2-3 mins. Squeeze half lemon into it. Just taste if you need to add salt, pav bhaji masala or lemon. Adjust as per you taste. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves.



For the pav. You can buy readily available packets. Cut the pav into 2 halves horizontally. Apply butter on both sides and roast it on tawa from both sides to golden brown. Now serve this hot pav with bhaji. You can garnish bhaji is a small cube of butter.

Black Chole (Easy and Yummy !)

Ingredients
Chole - 1 Cup
Tomato - 3-4 Medium Size
Chole Masala Powder - 3-4 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing - 2 Pinch
Jeera - 1/2 Tsp
Oil - 2-3 Tsp
Tea Powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Soak the chole over night in water.

Boil the chole with water, whole garam masala and salt till cooked in cooker for 3-4 whistles.
It should take around 10-15mins to get cooked.

Now heat oil in a pan, add jeera to it. After 1 min add hing to it. Immediately add tomatoes to it and let the tomatoes cook now for 3-4 mins.

When tomatoes are cooked, add boiled chole to it and also add chole masala. Dont put the water of boiled chole, keep it aside.

Now take the water kept aside from boiled chole and keep it on another flame, add tea powder to it and bring it to boil. Let it boil for 2-3 mins till water gets the dark color from the tea.

With the cooking spoon, mash few chola pieces while mixing so that it brings little thick texture to the gravy.

Now strain the tea powder and add that water in the chole which is cooking with tomatoes and chole masala. Just taste it if more salt or chole masala is required. You can add more if you want.

Let it cook for 3-5 mins till the gravy becomes thick.

Enjoy it with Puri or Bhaturas..

Mushroom Chilly ( Less Oil recipe..Quick and simple..)

Ingredients

Button Mushroom 200 gms
Refined oil 3 tsp
Garlic 8 flakes
Green chillies 1-2
Grated ginger 1 tea spoon
Capsicum - 1 Medium
Onion - 1 Medium
Spring Onion - 2-3 Strands
2 table spoon of tomato sauce
2 tea spoon of chilly sauce
2 tea spoon of soya sauce
salt

Method

Wash the button mushrooms.

Cut it into 4 pieces as shown.

Finely chop all the vegetables keep aside as shown.

Heat oil in a pan.

In same oil add finely chopped garlic. When garlic starts becoming golden add onion and capsicum to it.

Add salt to it. Let this cook for 1-2 mins till it softens. Then add grated ginger to it and let it cook for another 1 min. As the vegetables start turning golden. Add the mushrooms to it.

Mushrooms leave lot of water so need to it add water. Let it cook for 5- 8 mins in medium flame till water dries.

Now add all the 3 sauces to it and let it cook for 1 -2 mins. Now garnish it with the finely chopped spring onion.
Serve it hot with paratha, chinese rice or noodles.

Paneer Chilly (Easy Recipe)

Ingredients

200 gms of Paneer
3 table spoon of refined oil
10 flakes of garlic finely chopped
3 green chillies cut vertically into 2 pieces each
Grated ginger 1 tea spoon
1 capsicum
1 Onion
2-3 Strands of Spring Onion
2 table spoon of tomato sauce
2 tea spoon of chilly sauce
2 tea spoon of soya sauce
salt

 Method
Chop all the vegetables finely and keep aside. Also cut paneer into medium size cubes and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add panner pieces to it and let it become golden on both sides. Remove it from oil and keep aside.
In same oil add finely choppen garlic. When garlic starts becoming golden add onion and capsicum to it.  Add salt to it. Let this cook for 3-4 mins till it is cooked. Then add grated ginger to it and let it cook for another 2-3mins. As the vegetables start turning golden. Add all the 3 sauces to it. Also add half cup of water. Taste the salt and add again if required. Remember sauces also have salt so you should not add too much salt to it in beginning.

Now add fried paneer pieces to it and let it cook for 2-3 mins till water dries and gravy and paneer get mixed well.

Add the finely choppen spring onion to it and switch it off.

Note: I cut chillies vertically so that it is easily seen and can be removed while eating. Cutting vertically will allow all spicy taste to go in gravy well. If you want you can finely chop chillies.

This can be served with noodles, Chinese rice or hot parathas.