Aloo Gobi gosh ka salan

Aloo means potato, gobi means cauliflower, gosh means meat and salan means curry. This is a very simple and easy to make curry. Many varieties of curries, fritters (pakodas) are made using cauliflower. 

Ingredients for cauliflower-lamb-potato curry:

Chopped white cauliflower 1 bowl

potato meat cauliflower curry

Lamb small pieces or meat mince 2 cups.

Potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces.

Red chili powder 3 tsps.

Turmeric powder1 tsp.

Ginger-garlic pastes ½ tsp.

Salt to taste

Oil ½ cup

Chopped onion 1 cup

Chopped green chilies 2 tsps.

Chopped coriander ½ cup

Preparation of Cauliflower-lamb-potato curry:

• Heat oil in a pan fry onions,
• Add meat, red chili powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, salt.
• Fry till the water of the meat is absorbed
• Add water and cook until the meat becomes soft
• Now add chopped cauliflower, potato and green chilies.
• Add water and let it cook till potato and cauliflower becomes soft.
• Add coriander.
• Cook till the water is absorbed.
• Serve this simple curry with chapattis, phulkas, rice, puri etc.

Masala Vada with chickpeas

This masala vada one of indian fritters is very famous in India. This is one of the street food of India. some times we prepare this crispy masala vadas in our home and here goes the recipe...

masala vada

Ingredients for masala vada:

Split chickpeas (Chana dal) 1 ½ cup.

Green Chilies - finely cut4-6

Curry Leaves ½ cup.

Onion - finely chopped ½ cup

Ginger-garlic pastes ½ tsp.

Coriander leaves chopped ½ cup

Red Chili powder ½ tsp.

Turmeric powder ½ tsp.

Salt to taste

baking soda 1/2 tsp. 
rice flour 2 tsp.

Oil for deep fry

Preparation of Masala Vada:

• Wash and soak chana daal in enough water for about 4-5 hours.
• Drain the water completely and keep 2 tbsp. chana dal aside.
• Grind together red chilies, curry leaves, chana dal. 
• Make a thick coarse paste. Do not add any water. don't make smooth paste.
• Transfer to a bowl chana dal (2 tbsps. which we have kept aside earlier), chopped onion, finely cut green chilies, all other ingredients. Do not add any water.
• Mix well with your right hand. the batter should be like the above image....

• Heat oil in deep wide pan/kadai.
• Mix paste thoroughly and check for taste. Add more salt-chilies if necessary.
• Make lemon size balls with this chana mixture and on wet palm pat them into small patties keeping the center thick and tapering towards the end with approximately 2 inch diameter.
• Once the oil is heated nicely drop these chana patties into it and deep fry them. Fry first one side then the other till golden brown.
• Add about 4-5 depending on the size of the pan at the same time.
• Remove from oil, when done and place on tissue paper to remove excess oil.
• Serve these hot vada with any type of chutney or sauce or ketch up.

Gulab jamun

Gulab jamun is a dessert often eaten at festivals or major celebrations such as marriages, Diwali (the Indian festival of light) and the Muslim celebrations of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. There are various types of gulab jamun and every variety has a distinct taste and appearance.

Ingredients for making gulab jamun:

Gulab jamun mix 1 packet
Whole milk just enough to make the dough

For the Sugar Syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Oil for frying

Preparation of gulab jamun:

• You can buy a ready-made instant gulab jamun mix. 
• Just takeout the powdered min into a plate, 
• mix a little bit of milk to make a thick dough, make small balls(very smallballs because balls will become big when added to sugar syrup).
• fry in oil don't fry in ghee.
• Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one.
• They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. 
• After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right.
• If the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly.
• The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. 
• This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.

Sugar Syrup:

• The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. 
• To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". 
• Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
• Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove.
• Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. 
• Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. 
• They can be served warm or at room temperature with any ice cream.

Indian savoury doughnut/vada

Vigna mungo, known as urad, urad dal, black matpe bean, black gram, black lentil [not to be confused with the much smaller true black lentil]. The product sold as "white lentil" is the same lentil with the black skin removed.

Vada is a traditional South Indian food known from antiquity. Although they are commonly prepared at home, Vadas are as well a typical street food in India. They are usually a morning food, but in street stalls and in railway stations, as well as inside the Indian Railways, they are available as a snack all through the day.

This is never the main course and is had as a light snack or on the side of another dish and usually not separately as a meal. Vadas are preferably eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy and is served with a variety of dips ranging from Sambar (rasam) to chutney to curd.

Ingredients for making vada:

Urad Dal (black gram skin removed) 2 cups.
Onion finely chopped 1
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp.

Green Chilies finely chopped 2-3
Salt to taste

Baking Soda ¼ tsp.

Curry leaves chopped 2tsp.

Preparation of vada:

• Wash and soak dal (overnight).
• Grind them coarsely in a blender, like a thick paste.
• Now add onions, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves, salt and baking powder and mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan or kadhai.
• Deep fry a spoonful of batter till golden.
• Serve with chutney as a breakfast or sambar or rasam as a meal.

Note: try out making Vadas like a donut/disc shape, but this is very difficult and very tricky. No problem if you can’t make it into disk shape let it be in any shape its taste doesn’t change.

Puri Recipe

Puri means “Fried, Puffed Whole Wheat Flat Breads”. Puri is most commonly served at breakfast in India. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions, along with other vegetarian food. Puri can be served with halva, korma , Chana masala, dal, potato based curries, shrikhand. In some parts of India, puri is also served with a mixed vegetable dish, and a dessert prepared with rice, milk and sugar. Sev-puri is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve chat. Puri will be available almost in every Indian restaurant.

Ingredients for puri:

Indian whole wheat flour 2 cups.

Vegetable oil for deep frying.

Salt to taste

Water as required.

Preparation of puri:

• Slowly add about 3/4 cups warm water, just enough to form a firm dough, and knead till smooth.
• Cover, let rest at least ½ hour, and knead again briefly.
• If resting more than 1 hour, punch and knead dough again before rolling out.
• Divide into small balls about ball size, and roll out into 6" rounds on an oiled board.
• Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan.
• Fry the puri one at a time, holding them under the oil on the first side until they puff.
• Turn and fry till light brown.
• Take it into a plate, repeat this for making rest of the puri.
• Serve as soon as possible; these breads are not as good later.
• serve it with any Indian curry.

Spinach mutton curry

Spinach is very good for health. This curry is very simple and is very easy to make. It’s a very good combination of meat and spinach.

Ingredients for spinach mutton curry:

Spinach chopped 500gms.
Oil 4 tbsp.
red chili powder 1tsp.
mutton 250 gms
sliced onion 1 cup

Ginger-garlic pastes ½ tsp.

Green chilies chopped5-6

Salt to taste

Milk/cream 1cup

Preparation of spinach mutton curry:

• Clean, wash and cut lamb into even sized pieces.
• Heat up oil in a thick bottomed pan.
• Mix in sliced onions.
• Stir fry till onions are translucent.
• Mix in ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder and then mix in lamb pieces.
• Stir fry on high flame heat up stirring constantly.
• Mix in three cup of water and stir fry covered until lamb is almost done.
• Mix in salt and spinach and stir fry till lamb is fully mixed with spinach and tender.
• Add milk/cream.
• Cook till the water is absorbed completely.
• Take it into a serving bowl.
• Serve it with chapatti, puri, phulkas (chapatti without oil or ghee) and rice.

Flattened rice/Poha

Flattened rice can be eaten raw by immersing it in plain water or milk, with salt and sugar to taste, or lightly fried in oil with nuts, raisins, cardamoms, and other spices. The lightly fried variety is a standard breakfast in India; it can be cooked in many varieties.

Ingredients for poha:

Poha (flattened rice) 2 cups

Vegetable/ sunflower cooking oil ½ cup.

Mustard seeds 1tsp.

Curry leaves ½ cup

Green chilies split lengthwise (optional) 2

Dried red chilies 2

Medium onion chopped fine 1/2

Handful of unsalted peanuts (skins removed)

Pinch of turmeric powder

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander to garnish

Preparation of poha:

• Wash poha under running water for 2 minutes. Keep aside to drain.
• Heat the oil in a pan on a medium flame and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chilies.
• Fry till the spluttering stops and then add the onion. Fry till soft and translucent.
• Add the peanuts stir frequently, cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the turmeric powder and stir well to blend all ingredients.
• Drain the poha completely to remove all water and add it to the above mix. Cook for another minute.
• Turn off the fire.
• Pour lime juice over the poha and mix well.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve while hot.
• Poha tastes great with Mint-Coriander Chutney.

Onion fritters

Onion fritters are one of my favorite snacks. Indian name for onion fritters is “piyaz ke pakode” piyaz means onion and pakode means fritters. These are very good in taste and very crispy. The more you use curry leaves, green chilies, coriander and onion the better taste you get for these yummy-crispy pagodas’.  In India many type of fritters are made using various vegetables, meat and chicken which I’ll post later. Remember use less water app.1or2 spoons.

Ingredients for onion fritters:

Onions - Chopped lengthwise 4
Chickpea flour/besan 1 cup
Curry Leaves  1bunch
Green Chilies 4-5
Red Chili Powder 1tsp.
Salt to Taste
baking Soda 1pinch

Fresh ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp.

Turmeric powder ½ tsp.

Chopped coriander ½ cup.
Oil for deep frying.

Preparation of onion fritters:

• Take a big bowl add onions and add all the other ingredients mix it well with your right hand.
• Add chickpea flour/besan to it. If required add very little water.
• In the meanwhile take a kadai/pan and pour oil in it. Let the oil become heat.
  Once the oil turns hot,
• Then start pouring about 1 spoon full of mixture prepared earlier into the hot oil.
• Once you pour the mixture to the hot oil turn the flame slow.
• Fry this mixture till little brown.
• This gives crispy as well as good taste to it.
• Then remove it from the oil and put it on a paper towel.
• Arrange it in a plate or tray and serve hot.

Dalcha

Dalcha is basically lentils (dal) cooked with mutton, bottle guard. Dalcha is a Hyderabad-south Indian curry. This curry is served as a side dish with fried rice and mutton curry (one of my recipes posted previously).

Ingredients for dalcha:

Bottle guard (kaddu) ½ medium sized

Mutton 1/2kg (500 Gms.)

Yellow lentils (Chana ki dal) 1 cup

Tomatoes chopped 2 cups

Sliced onion 2 tsps.

Chopped green chilies ½ cup.

Salt 2 tsps.

Turmeric powder ½ tsp.

Oil ½ cup

Fresh ginger-garlic paste ½ tsp.

Curry leaves ½ cup.

Preparation of dalcha:

• Boil yellow lentils (Chana dal) in a pressure cooker add some salt, 1/2 cup green chilies, water.
• When the lentils are boiled mash or blend it in a blender and keep it aside.
• Boil mutton and keep it aside.
• Take the bottle guard, peel it, remove seeds and cut it into small pieces and keep it aside.
• In a big deep pan heat some oil and fry onions.
• Add fresh ginger-garlic paste, fry for 1 min.
• Then add bottle guard, tomatoes, add red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder and fry for a few sec.
• Add boiled meat.
• Add 1 glass of water and let it cook for 5 min.
• Now add boiled and mashed yellow lentils paste.
• Add curry leaves.
• Let it cook nicely like soup.
• Add coriander and remove it from flame.
• Serve Dalcha with hot fried rice and mutton curry.

Spicy Rajma curry

This rajma curry is very good in taste and is very healthy dish. this need to be served with chapati, rice, phulkas.

 

Ingredients for spicy rajma curry:

Rajma (kidney beans) 1 cup

Chopped tomatoes 1 cup

Chopped onion ½ cup

Oil ½ cup.

Red chili 2 tsps.

Salt 1tsp.

Turmeric powder ½ tsp.

Fresh ginger-garlic paste ½ tsp.

Green chilies 4-5

Chopped coriander 1bunch

Preparation of spicy rajma curry:

• Soak rajma overnight.
• In a pressure cooker boil rajma till it becomes a little soft.
• Then blend it in a blender to make a thick paste or you can mash.
• Keep 2 tsps. of boiled rajma (unblend) aside.
• In a pan heat some oil and fry onions till golden brown.
• Add tomatoes and all other ingredients fry nicely.
• Add 1 glass of water cook for 2 min.
• Add rajma paste and boiled rajma 2tsps which we have kept aside earlier.
• Cook it into a thick gravy.
• Add coriander and turn off the flame.
• Garnish with coriander and butter on top.
• Serve it hot with rice, chapatti, and phulkas (chapatti without oil).

Potato Capsicum Curry

This is a very simple and easy to make vegetarian dish. This curry can be served with chapatti or rice. When I was a student my mom used to give this in my lunch box with chapatti or rice.

Ingredients for potato capsicum curry:

Medium sized onion chopped 2

Medium sized Potato 2

Medium sized capsicum 2

Oil 3 tsp.

Red chili powder 1½ tsp.

Salt ½ tsp.

Turmeric powder 1/4^th tsp.

Ginger garlic paste 1/4^th tsp.

Chopped coriander 2 tsps.

Preparation of potato capsicum curry:

• In a pressure cooker heat oil and fry chopped onions till golden brown.
• Cut potatoes and capsicum into 10-12 small pieces and add it to the pressure cooker and fry for few sec.
• Add all other ingredients and fry for few sec and add 1 glass of water.
• Cover the pressure cooker and let 2-3 whistles to come.
• Remove the cooker and let it cook until the excess water is absorbed.
• Add coriander and turn off the flame.
• Serve it hot with chapatti, phulka(chapati without oil), and rice.

spicy rice with meat (Tahari)

 This is a non-vegetarian dish, where meat is prepared separately like a curry and then in a big cooking bowl fried rice is prepared like my fried rice recipe posted earlier then meat curry is added to it and covered with a lid with charcoal on top(Dam). But I like this simple method that my mother has taught me. This is one of my favorite dishes. As a combination to this tahari curd chutney is served. Pure Indian ghee is also very good with this hot and spicy tahari.

Ingredients for Tahari:

Meat ½ kg.(500 gms.)

Rice 1 glass

Water 2 glasses

Chopped tomato 1 cup:

Mint leaves 1 cup

Chopped coriander ½ cup

Green chilies 5-6

Fresh lemon 1

Onion finely sliced ½ medium sized

Oil ½ cup

Salt to tase

Fresh ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp.

Whole garam masala: cloves 1, Cardamom 1, cinnamon 1inch, Caraway (shah zeera)

Preparation of  Tahari:

• First in a pressure cooker heat oil and fry sliced onion till light pink in color.
• Then add fresh ginger garlic paste, mint leaves, meat, red chili powder, salt, turmeric, whole garam masala.
• Fry these till the water from the meat is absorbed completely.
• When you leave the meat to absorb the water, wash the rice nicely with water.
• Once the water is absorbed add chopped tomatoes, let it cook for 2 min.
• Then add washed rice to the pressure cooker, add some green chilies.
• Add 2 glasses of water in the pressure cooker.
• Cover the pressure cooker and let it cook up to 3 whistles and then turn of the heat .
•  After half an hour open the pressure cooker, squeeze a lemon on top and mix it well.
• Then serve the hot and spicy tahari with yogurt chutney (dahin ki chutney/raita).

Spicy Vermicelli

This is a very simple and easy to make recipe, the only difficulty is at the frying part of vermicelli we need to be very careful otherwise it gets burnt at the bottom. This is a vegetarian dish, you can also add egg in the end when the water is absorbed but a little is remaining.

Ingredients for vermicelli:

Bambino vermicelli (mote semiya) 2 cups

Water 5 cups

Chopped onion 1 small sized

Red chili powder 2 tsp.

Turmeric powder 1/4^th tsp.

Salt to taste

Oil ½ cup

Fresh ginger-garlic paste ½ tsp.

Tomatoes chopped ½ cup

Green chillies chopped 2

Coriander chopped 2 tsp.

Garam masala  :
Cloves (laung)        1
Cardamom(ilaichi)  1
Cinamon(dalchini)   2 to 3 inches
Shazeera                 1 tsp

Preparation of spicy vermicelli:

• Heat half of the oil in a pan and fry vermicelli till it turns into light brown, keep mixing don’t burn it.
• After frying vermicelli take it into a plate and keep it aside.
• In a pan heat the left over oil and fry chopped onions till light brown then add ginger-garlic paste.
• Add tomatoes, fry for a few seconds, then add red chili powder, salt and turmeric.
• Fry these for a few seconds and pour water.
• Now add green chillies, coriander and whole garam masala.
• Make it like a soup, bring it to a boil.
• Now add fried vermicelli which we have fried earlier.
• Cook it till the water is absorbed and vermicelli turns soft.
• Serve it hot.

Murukku-savoury

A savoury snack made of rice and spices, Murukku can be stored over large periods of time. This is a very common savoury in India it is made in every kitchen. Homemade Murukku are very good than the readymade packets. These are very crispy and tastes good. Murukku has different names all over india but tastes similar, it is made in lots of varieties.

Ingredients for murukku:

Butter 1 tsp.

Chili powder ½ tsp.

Oil for deep frying

Rice flour 4 cups.

Salt ½ tsp.

Sesame seeds 1 tsp.

Urad dal (white gram) 1 cup

Water as required.

        Preparation of murukku:

• Wash and clean the rice well. Leave it to dry.
• Once it has dried completely, powder it nicely or you can use rice flour.
• Fry the white gram and powder it.
• Keep it aside.
• Mix together the powdered rice, powdered gram, white sesame seeds, cumin seeds, butter and salt. Do not add water.
• Take a little of this mixture and add water to it to get a dough like consistency.
• Now make boll and stuff this dough bolls into the murkul frame.

 this is the murukku frame these are in 2 models i prefer first from the left will be easy to use it has app. 5 blades you can prepare murukku in 5 patterns. 

• Heat oil in a kadhai or a pan.
• To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a pinch of dough into it. If it sinks, the oil isn`t hot enough.

• If the dough springs to the top with bubbles all around it, then the oil is ready.
• Now slowly press the murukku frame so that the dough drops into the hot oil and fry till golden brown Keep flipping the sides till the murukku is done.
• Store in an air tight container.

Coconut sweet

This coconut sweet is called as "nariyal ki barfi". If you cut it into pieces and if you make it into small bolls  it is called as "nariyal ke ladoo". This is very good for health as it is made from coconut.

                                

Ingredients for coconut sweet:  

Sugar 2 cups

condensed milk 2 cups
coconut (dry and ground) 5 cups
cardamom powder 1 tsp.

ghee ½ cup.

Water 2 cups

Dry fruits for garnishing like almonds, pistachio, cashew nuts.

 Preparation of coconut sweet:

• Mix condensed milk,sugar, coconut and cook them lightly with ghee on a low heat.
• cook until it gets hard to mix and it doesn't stick in the pan anymore.
• Add cardamom and mix well.
• Grease the plate and spread the grated nuts on it.
• Spread the prepared evenly over the plate and allow it to cool.
• Now with the knife, cut it into desired shapes. Or make balls.
• Turn them over so that nuts covered part appears on the top.
• Nariyal ki burfi is ready to be served.