Paneer Mixed Veggie Parantha

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tbspn salt
Warm water
Little oil

1 cup grated paneer
2 handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
1/2 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 lemon/lime juice
1/4 cup peas, boiled
1 medium potato, boiled and smashed
1 inch ginger, chopped finely
1-2 green chilles, choppped
1 tbsp dhania-jeera powder

Method:

• Knead the flour with oil, salt and warm water enough to make a soft dough. Set aside for 15-20 mins.
  
• Mix all the other ingredients and smash well.
• Roll out a small of dough and stuff a small ball of the stuffing.
• Enclose it properly and roll it out gently.
• Do not worry if the stuffing comes out a bit. It looks and tastes better :)
• Cook the parantha on both sides till golden brown using oil or ghee.
• Enjoy it as is with some butter and/or with curd and pickle!

Neer Dosa

Neer dosa or water dosa is the best thing to make when you feel like having dosa but haven't soaked and fermented the dal-rice combo as required to make the usual dosa. Since it requires about an hr or so of soaking the rice, you can make this real quickly and is a good dish to serve when you have surprise visitors.

The authentic way of making this dosa, is to grind the rice with some coconut. But I wanted to avoid using coconut just so that its is healthier. So I completely avoided it and also I added chopped curry leaves and chopped cilantro to the batter just for that zing. But its not the authentic way.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice, soaked in warm water for a min. of 1 hr
1 spoon rice flour (optional)
2-3 curry leaves, torn
2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
Salt as per taste

Method:

• Grind the rice with as little water as you can add.
• As the rice starts grinding, add more water and keep on grinding.
• Remove the batter in a bowl, and add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Add more water if required. The consistency should be watery.
• To make the dosas, heat a griddle and wipe some oil on it.
• Neer dosas are not made like the traditional dosas where you to spread the batter.
• Instead you splash the watery batter on the tava (griddle) and swirl around if required.
  
• It should form thin layer.
  
• It should form small holes on the surface.
• Let it cook completely on the bottom.
• If you want it crispier, turn on the other side and heat it as well.

Enjoy with chutney and sambhar.

Cilantro-Dalia Chutney

When one thinks of chutney, one invariably thinks of idlis and dosas!! And its the same vice versa!! Thats exactly what I had for lunch today! Neer dosa with green cilantro chutney.

Mom used to make chutney with coconut as the main ingredient. But after I got married, I learnt this chutney from my MIL. What mom used to make is imprinted in my mind and soul... and I LOVE it. But for a healthier version, read using lesser coconut, I make this chutney on a regular basis at home now.

A simple chutney can be enhanced by giving it some tadka (tempering). It just changes the whole look and taste of a chutney.

Like most of my cooking, even the chutney I make, I NEVER measure ingredients. But have tried my best to make a note while I made it today.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup grated coconut OR About 2 1/2 sq. inch of coconut piece
1/2 cup Split Dalia
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
8-10 curry leaves
3-4 green chillies
3-4 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1/2 tspn sugar
1 inch tamrind ball
Salt as per taste

For tempering:
1 tbsp ghee
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 pinches of asofoetida (hing)
1 dry red chilli, broken into pieces
2-3 curry leaves

Method:

• For the chutney, grind all the ingredients with water.
  
• If required, add more water till you get the desired consistency.
• And then add the tempering/tadka of mustard seeds, hing, dry red chillies and curry leaves in ghee.

Black Eyed Bean Soup

Wanted to have some protein rich food for dinner. So I had soaked black eyed beans in noon to make some sabzi out of it. But then thought of eating sabzi roti for dinner wasnt too inviting. Gave some thought and decided to make soup out of the beans instead. I had no clue how it would turn out but decided to go ahead with the experiment. And it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 cup black eyed beans
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 stalk leek, chopped
1/3 cup carrots, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1/2 tspn dried parsley
1/2 tspn dried rosemary
1/2 tspn dried thyme
3-4 sorigs cilantro, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Method:

1. Pressure cook the beans with some salt with some water. Reserve the water to use as stock.
2. In a stock pot, heat some oil and add garlic, chili and onions and saute till the onions turn transparent.
3. Now add the celery and leek and saute further.
4. Add the beans, carrot, dried herbs, stock and cilantro. Mix.
5. Add salt n pepper and let it simmer for about 20-25 mins on low heat to let all the flavors bind.

Have it as is or with some garlic bread :)

Green Beans Sabzi

This vegetable is so versatile in its use. You can just steam it, boil it, add in soups etc etc. But I love to have it as a sabzi cooked the indian way. At my mom's place we used to make this very simple. You can make it as a curry to but I used to like it this way coz it retains its crunch. The best way to cook this is to make it crunchy and not over cooking and making it soggy! I always like to have this simple meal with some roti and dal too.

Lunch yesterday was roti, farasbi bhaji (green beans sabzi) and some sweet n sour lime pickle given by a friend. Simpleee :)

Ingredients:
3 cups green beans, chopped
1 potato, cubed or medium sliced (optional)
1-2 green chillies, chopped or slit vertically
1/2 tspn ajwain
2-3 curry leaves
1/4 tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn jeera (cumin seeds)
1/4 tspn turmeric
A pinch of Sugar
Salt to taste

Method:

1. In some oil, put a tempering of mustard seeds. As they start spluttering, add the curry leaves and jeera and saute.
2. Add the ajwain and saute a bit.
3. Add the turmeric, sugar, beans, potato and salt.
   
4. Cover and cook for about 8-10 mins.
5. When cooked, the beans should have a crunch but not undercooked either.

Enjoy with rotis.

Palak Khichdi

This is what I had for lunch today! I love this simple yet heart warming dish. Just the perfect rice dish to have in winter... and any other time ofcourse.

My first introduction to this dish was some 4-5 years ago in THE shopping suburb of Bombay.. BANDRA.. in this restaurant which I visited for the first time too... Sheetal Bukhara. I still remember the first bite I took of the palak khichdi and my romance with this dish has blossomed since then :) Truly heart pleasing, comforting, simple dish... which let me add... a few restaurants still suck at! You have to get the right soggy consistency and the right amount of garlic and onion bites in between. I cant stop raving about this dish!!

When in Bombay (I still don't like it calling Mumbai but slowly getting accustomed with the new name), I never attempted making this dish. When I it tried here for the first time a year back.. it had the right taste but not the right consistency. But now I get it PERFECT!! Mom says she still cant make it right.. M dying to feed her my haath ka palak khichdi.. For heavens sake.. this must be THE one dish I can make better than mom!! :)

Today I made this with baby spinach that I had in the fridge. You can use spinach bunch too, as I usually do :) I always use basmati rice for this dish as it imparts its own special flavor!

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice, washed and drained
2 cups water
About 2 handfuls of baby spinach
4-5 garlic pods, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tomato, chopped (optional)
1 green chili
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garam masala
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of turmeric
1/2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee

Method:

• Blanch and puree the spinach with the green chili. Set aside
• In a hot saucepan, add the oil and ghee.
• Add the garlic and saute for about 5 seconds, then add the onion and saute till they turn pink and translucent.
• If using, add the tomatoes and stir.
  
• Now add the rice and mix well with the onion and garlic.
• Add the spinach puree, turmeric, sugar, garam masala, salt and stir well.
• Add the water and milk.
• Cover and let it boil on medium heat.
• The dish is done when the rice is fully cooked and **the spinach puree still floats on top.

Enjoy with a dollop of ghee if desired :)

Note:
** Check in between when the rice is cooking. If desired add 1/2 cup water more. You want the end result not seperate rice grains but a sticky mushy khichdi.

Pohe

Speaking of pohe/poha brings back sooo many memories!! Mom used to usually serve this as breakfast on Saturday mornings or as an evening snack on saturday evenings. Its such a versatile dish.

I know it is prepared all over the south of india, but for some reason I used to always associate it as a maharashtrian dish! This dish can be stirred up on a moments notice and is a staple snack when you have unexpected guests!!! Hot poha served with garma garam chai!! Ahhhh.. bliss!!

As easy as it is to make this dish, it is still considered an expertise by some. The whole expertise lies in how much the poha needs to be soaked. The end result should be separate poha and not sticky. You get basically 2 kinds of poha.. thin and thick. With the thin poha you can make daDppe pohe which I will post sometime later. Thick poha is used to make this dish.

I remember this as one of the first breakfast dish I learned to make... well I only made it maybe twice before I got married :) and that too the poha was soaked and squeezed and given to me by mommy dear. hehe.

Also, every maharashtrian knows this.. its kinda funny. Traditionally... for an arranged marriage, when someone comes over... like you know... when the guy with his family meets the girl and her family... this is the STANDARD dish to be served.. POHE!!!! I remember someone saying (jokingly ofcourse) that they declined the proposal cause they were not served pohe... hahaha. You get the idea... pohe is that much associated with this tradition!! But ofcourse the norm is changing in some households where they don't serve poha on this occassion... :)

Also, this is such a verstaile dish... you can make just kanda pohe that is poha with just onions like I have made today. Or Batata pohe... poha with potatoes or kanda batata pohe, which was the usual way it was made at mom's place. You can also make it by adding some veggies like tomatoes, peas and/or carrots! Cool isn't it?

And it is always garnished with chopped cilantro leaves and grated coconut... I don't use coconut as I try and limit coconut usage in my house.. You know lesser calories ;)

Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
2-3 Curry leaves
1/4 tspn mustard seeds
A pinch of hing (Asofoetida)
A pinch of sugar
Salt as per taste
1 green chilli chopped, or sliced vertically
1/2 onion, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 cup thick poha
1/2 - 1 tbsp lemon/lime juice
Cilantro for garnishing

Method:

• In a hot pan, add a tbsp of oil and put a tempering of mustard seeds.
• As it starts spluttering, add the curry leaves, green chillies and hing.
• Now add the onions and saute till they turn translucent.
• Meanwhile as the onions are turning translucent, wash the poha in water and soak it for about a min.
• Squeeze out all the water and transfer the poha on a dish and separate it out.
  
• After the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes if wanted.
• Add the turmeric, sugar and salt.
  
• Add the soaked and squeezed poha.
• Mix well.
• Add the lemon/lime juice and stir well.
  
• Serve on a plate and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Enjoy!!!