Kid's Lunch Box Ideas| Stuffed Cream and Fenugreek Flatbread | भरवाँ मेथी मलाई पराठा | Step Wise

Hi all!!

Fenugreek greens is a family favourite but unfortunately I get to see these greens rarely here. Last week when I visited my vegetable mart, I saw that fresh greens had just arrived and I was tempted to buy all the varieties. But knowing that the greens perish very fast, I controlled my temptations and narrowed my purchase to the fenugreek greens, coriander and mint.

When I returned home and asked S what he wants me to cook with the fenugreek, he gave me his favourite options of Methi Bhaath and Maatvadi Palya. Both I and the kid were in no mood to eat South Indian food, so I asked S to suggest more options, to which he replied conveniently ‘then you decide’. I was a bit annoyed initially that again I had to sit, then I thought of making mushroom methi matar but I didn’t want to go elaborate and make rice, daal, roti  too. I was about to give up and make a simple methi daal but then the grey cells decided to work …

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हरी मिर्च-अदरक के स्वाद वाले राजमा | Light to eat - green chilli and ginger flavoured Kidney beans & Jeera Rice | Lunch Combo-1 | Step Wise | No Onion & Garlic Recipe

Hi all!!

The vacations have got over and the younger kid started his school. Can’t believe that the younger one is in 9th grade. He continues to be the carefree, careless lad and I continue to be the worried mother . My prayers these days are largely for both my children, I hope and pray that they grow up into sincere, sensible human beings. The elder one has taken up photography seriously and wants to make a career in that. It’s his vacation time and he has been spending time with us. So, while he is around I ensure that I cook his favourites too and since he understands photography much better than me, pick up some photography tips as well , while I click.

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Makhani Rajma…Kidney Beans in a Makhani Gravy

hi!
Makhani gravy is one of the most popular gravy’s from North India. I make various versions of this gravy and one can check out more options here and here.

Today I’m posting an extremely delicious and finger-licking curry which my family thoroughly enjoyed. If you enjoy restaurant style food, this gravy is a must try. S loved it to the core and demanded more of it. Sadly I could not provide him more as whenever I try something new I make a small batch and if we like it  I make more again. Surely the next time I make this I will make it more.

The gravy is delicately flavoured and is a winner in itself. I used rajma/kidney beans to bring about some innovation and I must admit that the beans go very well with this gravy. It’s an excellent side dish for a north Indian party.

To read step by step, how the basic makhani gravy was made, read here.

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Sarson-Aloo ka Saag

Hi.

With the onset of winter one can see the market getting flooded with greens, though this year because of floods there’s no overflow of greens yet but one can see some sight of greens surely. So when my regular veggie vendor asked  me for mustard greens, I nodded happily and picked up a small bunch.

Sarson ka Saag and Makke di roti is one of the most popular searched items  from my space and I can assure you that the recipe is a winner and I have tried to explain the entire procedureit in great detail.  I will surely post another version of the saag later, but today, I post a simple combination of these flavorful greens with potato. This tastes best  again with  makke ki roti but also with plain steamed rice. I normally do  not add tomatoes to these leaves but for a change I used them and was extremely happy with the result, but of course I would not add them to my sarson ka saag. 

Ingredients

a bunch of mustard greens

2 potatoes cubed

1/2 tomato

2 onions chopped

4-5 garlic pods

4-5 green chilies

a piece of ginger

1 tbsp tomato paste

ghee for cooking

some cumin seeds

red chilies for tempering

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp coriander pwd

a large pinch garam masala (optional)

a pinch of asafetida

Method

Wash the greens and chop finely. Mix 3-4 garlic pods, green chilies and ginger and pressure cook with a cup of water. I was in a hurry so used the pressure cooker method. Best is to blanch the greens and then grind it to keep the green color intact, check out the sarson da saag post for that.

Cool and grind to a paste.

Heat a tbsp of ghee and add the onions and brown them.

Add the chopped tomato and potato. Add salt to taste.

Add the tomato paste and mix.

Add the turmeric and coriander pwd and saute for a few seconds. Cover and cook till potatoes are done.

Once the potatoes are done, mix the mustard greens paste. Add half a cup of water and some garam masala (optional).

Heat another tablespoon of ghee/oil and add cumin seeds, once they crackle add one finely chopped garlic, asafetida and 2 red chilies. Pour this tempering on the curry.

Mix and serve immediately.

Paneer Makhanwala

Hi!

Cottage Cheese/Paneer is an all time favorite with my kids especially my younger one. I keep trying various preparations with it so that it can be enjoyed every time we eat. One can surely read many recipes with this versatile product here in my space.

When I say it is versatile it means that it can be used to make curry, starters, desserts etc. Since it has quite a plain taste, as a foodie we can play with many flavors and spices with it. I personally like my curry a little spicy. This particular preparation is quite simple to prepare and does not need any special ingredient and surely tastes good. S, who is on a diet could not stop asking for more of this. As for my younger one he could not resist it and had an early dinner and loved eating it.

For the simplest of the curry to get the right flavor I insist that the masala be roasted properly, that surely is the key to any curry and I am quite patient about it, I surely do not compromise on that. I might use low oil while roasting/bhuno the masala but I ensure that it’s well cooked and the aroma spread out. When I was roasting the masala for this curry, my elder one had just come back from school and the first question he asked is “What are you making?” I could smell the masala at the main gate. Now the main gate is about 40m from my place but as the masala was well roasted the aroma had spread out. Check out this simple but amazingly tasty curry and yes, well roasted too!!!

Ingredients

250gms Cottage Cheese/Paneer cut into cubes

3 onions roughly chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

4-5 garlic pods

1/2” piece ginger

2-1/2  tbsp Tomato Paste

2 tbsp Kasoori Methi

1 tsp degi mirch

1 tsp red chili pwd

1 tbsp coriander pwd

2 tbsp fresh cream

1/2 tsp garam masala (mine is verry strong)

1/4 tsp of turmeric pwd

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Method

Grind together onion, ginger, garlic and cumin together.

Heat about 2 tbsp oil and add the onion paste and saute on low flame till it’s cooked.

 

Meanwhile in a shallow pan in few tsp oil roast the cottage cheese cubes on either side till golden brown.

To the onion paste add the tomato paste and mix thoroughly.

Add salt to taste, both the chili pwds, turmeric and garam masala and cook till oil separates.

 

Add about 1-1/2 cups water and bring the curry to a boil.

 

Add the cream, simmer and cook.

Finally add the Paneer and kasoori methi and cook for about 5 mins.

Garnish with some cream and grated paneer and serve hot with roti/ naan or jeera rice.

Sending this to Flavours Of Punjab hosted by me, an event started by Nayna of Simply.food

Also reposting Flambeed Capsicum in Red Gravy without any Liquor

Paneer- Kaju Pasanda and Garlic Naan

Paneer Dilkhush

Dhaba Style Palak Paneer

Kadhai Paneer

No Oil Chana Masala and Instant Whole Wheat- Bread Bhatura

Hi Friends!

The food from the state of Punjab is extremely popular throughout India and one can find many restaurants catering to this world famous cuisine. I am sure everyone  is fond  of the world famous combo food Chana-Bhatura but as it’s high on oil and calories we eat that once in a while.

Today I share this extremely popular combo food recipe cooked in my style and in a healthy way. I guess all Indian food blogs will surely have the recipe to this, so one might ask, what’s new here?

New is that, I have still not read any one contributing to a NO OIL CHANA, yes this recipe has absolutely ZERO OIL but is high on taste and one surely does not miss out the oil factor.

I had learnt this recipe from my colleague who is a Punjabi Sikh. She would bring this in her lunch box and we all used to love it. She used to call this 'Keechad Chana' or Cheekad Chana, which translates to 'Muddy Chana' in English, probably for the blackish colour of the curry. When I had asked her for the recipe, I was shocked and surprised to hear that it had absolutely no oil, as one can’t make out that difference. I found it a very unusual recipe, very healthy, low on calories and still scrumptious….unbelievable, right?!?!  Do try this and then believe it. As for me, as I finished cooking S entered the kitchen saying, “What are you cooking? It’s smelling good” .

A normal bhatura is made with refined flour and yogurt and the process of fermentation takes 3-4 hrs. This Bhatura recipe is my Mom’s. I have repeatedly mentioned that she is a marvelous cook and I still can’t match the speed with which she cooks. My Mom uses bread which has natural yeast in it so it helps fermenting fast and the bhatura can be rolled in half an hour after the dough is kneaded.

I have always found Bhatura made in this  way is crispy, does not soak the oil  and also  it does not turn chewy on becoming cold unlike the regular bhaturas. One can make this completely with refined flour but being a health conscious Mom I replaced the 'All Purpose Flour' largely and made a whole wheat version.

The Combo made in this fashion becomes a healthier substitute to the normally high fattening version. So next time you are scared on binging chana-bhatura try my method and you will never regret.

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Sprouted Masoor Pilaf and Restaurant Style Punjabi Dal Fry | Step Wise | Gluten Free

Hi!

There are days when you do not want to cook elaborately but the taste buds demand for tasty food. An option would be to make a one pot meal, another option can be to order out but this time I did not do either of that, I utilized things in my refrigerator and did cook an wholesome  combination. Today I am writing about a very interesting, extremely tasty and a healthy combo.

A few days back when everyone in the family had left for school and office, I finished my morning chores and sat down quietly on my bed. My thoughts took me back to about 20 yrs back when I was still a school going girl and my Mavshi (maternal aunt) and cousins had come to stay with us at my Mom’s place and all of us had gone to see the dam. While returning back it rained heavily and we had fun in rain and then played antakshari while we drove back home.

After reaching home, everyone was tired and the ladies in the house were surely in no mood to cook elaborately. My aunt initiated to cook and introduced us to this simple pilaf using Masoor while my Mom made the raita and fried some crispies.

I was suddenly extremely excited remembering this Pilaf and wanted to try it immediately. Though my aunt had used masoor directly, I thought of sprouting them to make the preparation more healthy. Along with the pilaf I made S’s all time favorite Punjabi Dal Fry or Dal Tadka. Whenever we go to eat out in North Indian restaurants, DH prefers to order this and the last few times the dal was not up to his taste, so I decided to pamper his taste buds.

The dal turned out extremely tasty and everyone was asking for more of it. S’s compliment was the best …he said, this beats any of these Punjabi restaurant preparation!!! So, if you are in a mood to try restaurant style, err sorry better than that dal fry, do try this, I will vouch for the taste! Pilaf is very light to eat and has no heavy flavors. We just loved it for it’s simplicity.

                                              Sprouted Masoor

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Mixed Veggies In a Very Low calorie Makhani Gravy…but no compromise on taste!!!! | मिलीजुली सब्जियाँ लो क॓लरी मक्खनी ग्रेवी में

Hi friends! My regular readers would know that these days I am trying to cook and post curries which are low in fat. I  am trying to make curries without compromising on the flavour but surely the calories.

As foodies we all know that a Makhani gravy as the name describes is made in butter (makkhan) and cooked in a cream. I have posted two of these variants earlier Daal Makhani and Cauliflower Butter Masala, which also happens to be a very popular recipe from my site.

In the Makhani gravy the main base is tomato flavoured with whole spices. It’s easy to work with tomato and whole spices as they do not add to the fats, the real work goes in replacing cream and the butter as they are the fattening agents and add to the overdose of calories.

One can surely use a low fat butter and a low fat cream but that reduces calories to some extent but if one wants to indulge in an extremely low calorie affair then there comes the real challenge. I have surely not used any cream or butter here, so then what did I do? I found a very interesting ingredient which provides a creamy texture and still does not add much to the calories, this does not let one miss that creamy texture added by the cream…it’s the skimmed milk powder. It just conveniently replaces the cream in the makhani and one just does not miss it!!

Ingredients

a large handful of peas (I used frozen)

2 potatoes cubed

8-10 french beans chopped

1 small cauliflower cut into small pieces

1 carrot cubed

one onion boiled and pureed

2 tbsp ginger & garlic  paste

3/4 pack of tomato puree

6-7 tbsp milk powder

whole spices (bay leaves-3, cinnamon stick-1, black cardamom-2, green cardamom-4, cloves-4)

a pinch of nutmeg

1 tbsp kasoori methi

1 tsp sugar

2-3 tsp kashmiri chili pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

a pinch of turmeric

a pinch of garam masala

oil for cooking about 1 tbsp+ 1 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

Method

Boil  and cook all the vegetables in water.

Heat the oil and ghee mix and add the whole spices and let them crackle.

Now add the kasoori methi and saute for few seconds without letting it burn.

Add the g-g paste and add the kashmiri chili pwd.

Put the boiled onion paste and cook for a minute, now add the tomato puree and sugar.

Add the coriander pwd, turmeric and mix. Remove from fire and add the milk powder mixed in water, this prevents curdling of the milk. Saute for a few more minutes.

Now add the veggies, salt and garam masala and cook for a few more mins. Just before removing from the fire add the nutmeg and mix.

This curry goes well with Jeera rice, Whole wheat Naan, Paratha or Roti.

Just show off with some cream on top.
Tips-

One needs to be careful using the milk powder as it curdles easily. That’s the reason salt is added at the finishing stage plus when the milk powder is added as a slurry, remove the pan from fire.

I have used the skimmed milk powder, one is free to use any.

Sending this to Sara and  Sunita’s- Think Spice Think Garam Masala.

Spicy Punjabi Style Egg Curry

Hello.

I have been quite irregular with my blog. Inspite of trying to be regular I have failed because of some or the other reason. It seems my unidentified fever of over 15 months will surely be diagnosed by my new doc whom I am seeing these days. I do not want to talk much about my health and make you all worry, but few of my friends keep asking me about that so I mentioned it here. I am fine otherwise and want to be completely healthy and rocking again. God willing it will surely happen!!

I am posting today a very tasty and a quick fix meal recipe of an egg curry which was shared by my Coordinator a few years back. She is a Punjabi and an excellent cook. Living in a joint family she would always  concoct versions which were simple and yet so tasty. I  would always attack her Tiffin during lunch time and she would gladly share her stuff with all of us. So here’s her version of Punjabi Egg Curry which we had with Ajwain Parathas. The two make an awesome combo, try it to believe it!!

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs

3 onions coarsely chopped

4 large garlic pods

an inch of ginger piece

2 tbsp Tomato Ketch Up

1/4 cup ready made tomato puree or 2 tomatoes pureed

1/4 cup thick yogurt beaten

Salt to taste

oil for cooking

Spices

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp red  chili pwd

3 tsp corianader pwd

1/4 tsp garam masala

Method

Peel the boiled eggs and shalow fry them in a tea spoon of oil to give them a crunchy golden crust.

Crush the ginger and garlic to a coarse paste. Grind the onions to a paste.

Heat a few tea spoons of oil and add the GG paste and saute, do not let it burn and add the onion paste, saute it on low flame till it’s nicely brown in colour.

Now add all the spices except the garam masala and saute again.

Add the tomato ketch up and tomato puree. Saute till oil separates.

Switch off the flame and add the beaten yogurt. Mix thoroughly and put it back on flame.

When the oil separates on the edges add water to make gravy.Sprinkle the garam masala and mix.

Cut each egg into 4 pieces longitudinally. Arrange them in a dish and pour the gravy.

Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

Serve with Ajwain parathas or rice.

My Version of दाल मखनी | Black Gram Lentils Simmered in Makhani Sauce | Gluten free

Hi.

As I have mentioned earlier too that on weekends I do not like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, with the temperature soaring high it is now becoming a regular feature. I abhor to stand in the kitchen sweating and cooking elaborate meals these days, instead I am looking out for one pot meals or a quick combo.

On Saturday morning I was thinking what I could make for the Sunday breakfast and lunch. I wanted something more wholesome for the BF and Lunch so that we could have a light dinner. So I made Masale wale parathe for the breakfast (the recipe I will surely post sometime) which I served with Mango pickle and curds and I made rice and Dal Makhani for the lunch.

The Dal Makhani I guess is loved by all Indians and my family is no different, they are in love with the preparation. I guess each food blog posts the recipe to this preparation and each of us claim that it’s tasty and I am sure it is. I am no different! I too claim that my preparation is good, in fact just not good it’s very good!!LOL.

I might laugh at myself to write such a statement where I am boasting about my culinary skills of making a tasty Dal Makhani but I have tasted many Dal Makhanis in the best of Restaurants who have won  gourmet award for this preparation (one of them is ITC too)  and S declared I make better than them. When S certifies me for anything I take it quite seriously as he is a well travelled person and being a connoisseur of food, I understand the authenticity of his comments.

Dal Makhani as we all know is a lentil preparation from Punjab. As the name suggests that loads of butter and calories go into it but I try to make this in less calories and still not compromising with the taste. I do not claim that this is a low calorie stuff but it surely has calories much less than what’s served in the hotels. The best way to cook this dal is to simmer it overnight which is mighty impossible for me in this heat but I did let it cook for an hour on low flame.

The dal did turn too good. My younger one who on a regular basis has one round of food asked for a second helping for lunch and wanted to have it again for dinner. As for the remaining three in the family, we are all gluttons when it comes to good food. LOL.

So here goes the recipe..

Ingredients

1 cup whole Urad dal

4 tbsp Kidney beans

7-8 medium sized garlic pods

an inch of ginger piece

2 kashmiri red chilies

2 tsp red chili pwd

3-4 tsp coriander pwd

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp nutmeg pwd

salt to taste

100ml cream

3-4 tbsp ghee/clarified butter for cooking

1/2 pack of readymade tomato puree or about 2-1/2-3 cups of tomatoes pureed

1/2 cup yogurt

Method

Grind together garlic, ginger and red chilies(GGR) to a paste.

Soak the urad dal and Rajma for 5-6 hrs. In a pressure cooker put the soaked lentils, Rajma, salt to taste, half of the GGR paste and a table spoon of ghee. After one whistle simmer and cook for about 30 mins. Let the pressure drop, mash the lentils properly.

Heat the remaining ghee and put the remaining GGR paste followed by the tomato puree. Saute till the oil separates. Now add salt, coriander pwd, red chili pwd and saute.

Remove from the fire and mix in the beaten curds.

Put back on flame and cook till oil separates. Put this gravy in the dal and cook it on low flame and cook for an hour.

Before removing from fire add the cream, garam masala and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and serve it with steamed Basmati rice. The NUTMEG adds an excellent flavour to the dal, so do not miss that.

Cauliflower Butter Masala, the Feel Good Hormone…my experience with Kashmiri Red Chilies | फूलगोभी बटर मसाला

Hello!

I am on a cooking spree these days thanks to the feel good hormone which is doing some justice to me now. The last fortnight was quite bad in a sense that I was generally feeling too low, nothing seemed right in life. My elder one who is in his adolescent stage has been arguing and answering back for the pettiest of the things and I get extremely hurt when kids answer back and spent nights shedding tears trying to convince myself things will be right some day... To add to all this I was cursed badly this month so had to rush to a gynaec, stress paid me well. Shucks!!! Typing all this too also makes me feel sad, so it’s better I discuss the feel good hormone and elevate my mood again.

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Mushroom-methi-matar .. A delectable curry

Hi.

One can confirm from my previous posts that ever since the onset of winter I have concentrated largely on greens. Seasonal produce is what I love to cook with.

When we visit any North Indian restaurant Methi matar malai is usually seen in the menu card and I wanted to play around this combination sans the malai.

I was keen on cooking with Mushroom. Now, S is not a die hard fan of it, he kind of compromises when he  eats them. I definitely ensure to make something interesting with Mushroom so that he can eat them pleasurably.

S loves Methi (fenugreek leaves) in any preparation, that did offer me a good chance to experiment with Mushroom with Fenugreek too as one of the key ingredient.

We all know that the greens reduce largely in volume on cooking, so do the Mushrooms. That’s how the peas came into the picture..err the curry.. They helped to increase the volume of the curry and also  aided in providing more texture.

Any curried vegetable tastes good if the curry/gravy is made to perfection. I strongly believe that making a good curry is an art and I guess all my blogger pals will agree with it.

The addition of perfect blend of spices along with the basic onion-ginger-garlic combination is what I have surely learnt over the years and have been appreciated by many for my curries. At the same time I do not shy away from taking  tips from the experts for the same.

While I was roasting the  masala for this curry my friend M had come to catch up with me. She entered asking what I was making? She then commented that she could smell Methi and when she eventually entered the kitchen, she said she could smell Cinnamon/ Dalchini too.

She quickly picked up from me what all I had added to the gravy and said she was making it for sure.. as it  smelt so good.

In this preparation  since I had replaced the Malai with the Muhrooms from the Methi malai matar combo,  the curry was not rich  but surely it was delectable. It had the nice aroma of Fenugreek and the Mushrooms had absorbed all the flavors and spices very well.

The peas were placed elegantly in this trio. It’s  a perfect side dish for every day cooking and is worth enough to charm your guests. My children loved every bit and I did not see S fussing at all,  in fact I just heard…it’s very nice.

Ingredients

200 gm Mushroom chopped
a large handful of fenugreek/Methi chopped
a cup of peas boiled

To grind together
2 large onions roughly chopped
2 tomatoes
4-5 garlic pods
1/2 inch piece ginger
a small piece cinnamon
2-3 cardamom
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
5  tsp desiccated dry coconut

spices…
1/2 tsp turmeric
2-3 tsp red chili pwd
3 tsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin pwd

Method

Heat about 6-7 tbsp oil. Fry the chopped fenugreek leaves till crisp and keep aside.

Frying  Methi helps reduce the bitterness to a great extent plus adds a nice texture.

In the same oil add the ground paste and sauté  it till the oil separates.

Now add all the spices except the garam masala and sauté  for  a minute.

Add the mushrooms and salt and cook till done.

Add  the peas and fried Methi and mix properly, check the consistency, if required add a little water.

Just before turning the flame off add the garam masala and mix.

At the end, garnish with some fresh cream and serve with Naan or Paratha.