Cold Coffee

What is better on a sunny day than a gulp of cold coffee? Refreshing, rich, and caffeine kick. Sound right to me!

Serves 4. No preparation required.

Ingredients:
1. 3-4 scoops of vanilla ice cream
2. 2 cups milk
3. 3-4 tsp sugar or as per taste
4. 2 tsp coffee

Instructions:
1. Blend everything together and serve chilled.

AH!

Dahi Bhalla/Vada (Lentil dumpings in Flavoured Yogurt Sauce)

My post on Tamarind Chutney was a prelude to this recipe as well as one upcoming post.

Dahi Bhalla or Dahi Vada is a popular North Indian snack known as Chaat or street food. I learned how to make Dahi Vada by my mom. It was one of the first things I learned to cook. Today, I made this after some twenty years and it still turned out perfect! *Blushes*

1. 1 cup urad dal (while lentils)
2. Heeng
3. Salt
4. Thai chili, 1
5. Yogurt
6. Tamarind Chutney
7. Cumin powder (optional)
8. Sev (store bought, optional)
9. Chaat masala (optional)
10. Sugar

Instructions:
1. Soak the urad dal overnight.
2. Strain the water and grind the lentil in a food processor with thai chili, heeng, and salt. This will give you a batter.
3. Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Drop portions of the batter the hot oil with a spoon.
4. Fry until the drops turn golden brown. This will give you lentil dumplings.
5. Transfer the fried lentil dumplings to a pot with salted water.
6. Sqeeze the water out of the dumplings and set aside.
7. Whisk yogurt and add sugar, red chili powder, and cumin powder to it.
9. Pour this yogurt over the dumplings.
10. Garnish topped with tamarind chutney, sev, chaat masala.
11. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve chilled.

Egg Curry

I had a dozen eggs left over from the cupcakes. This is what I did to it.

Healthy and easy to make, it hit the spot!

Ingredients:
1. 8 hard boiled eggs, shell removed and cut in half.
2. 2 onions
3. 3 pods of garlic
4. 1 inch ginger
5. 1 thai chili
6. oil
7. 2 tsp coriander powder
8. tomato paste
9. salt to taste
10. tamarind pulp
11. turmeric powder, 1 tsp
12. red chili powder, 1 tsp
13. 1.5 tsp cumin powder
14. mustard seeds, 1 tsp
15. cumin seeds, 1 tsp
16. curry leaves, 3 sprigs (optional)


Instructions:
1. Blend the onion, thai chili, ginger, and garlic to form a smooth paste.
2. Heat oil in a wok.
3. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
4. Add cumin seeds and curry leaves.
5. When the cumin seeds sizzle, add onion-chili-garlic-ginger paste.
6. Fry till it changes colour.
7. Add turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook until it leaves the oil
8. Add tomato paste and fry for another few mins and mix well.
9. Add red chili powder
10. You can add tamarind pulp and some water at this point and boil it to increase the quantity of the gravy.
11. Add eggs and cover for 5 mins on medium to low flame.

Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao Ande!! :)

Serve hot with rice or roti.
C for Curry.

Basundi

Basundi is a Gujarati milk based dessert. Basundi is easy to make, tastes great, and is rather healthy (minus the sugar). I was introduced to Basundi by my new cookbook and while researching Gujarati recipes online. The first time I made Basundi, was also the first time I tried this dessert. Then I was unfamiliar with Charoli nuts (seeds of Buchanania lanzan) as an ingredient to this recipe. But later on, at a relative's place, when I tried Basundi with these nuts, I realized how it took the deliciousness of this dessert to the next level. I was extremely happy with the results this time around.

Ingredients:
1. Charoli seeds (can be found at Indian grocery stores)
2. Sugar
3. 1 L half and half milk
4. Saffron strands, 4-6
5. Almonds, soaked overnight
6. Cardamom powder (optional)

Instructions:
1. Boil the half and half milk.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer until it reduces to 1/4th quantity.
3. Add sugar to taste and saffron. Mix.
4. Let the milk cool then add charoli and almonds or any other nut of your choice.
5. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve chilled as a dessert or with lunch/dinner as a side.

Imli ki Chutney (Tamarind Dates Dip or Condiment)

Imli ki chutney is an interesting sweet-tangy sauce often used in Indian cuisine as a topping or garnish, key ingredient in various Indian snacks or street foods (chaat), and of course as a condiment or dip for samosas etc. This condiment may look gross to poeple who are unfamiliar with it but when you taste it, you will fall in love.

This was my first try and it turned out well. Thanks to Tarla Dalal.

Ingredients:
1. 2 cups dates (khajur), pitted
2. Jaggery (Gur), 1 cup
3. Tamarind (imli), 1/2 cup
4. Salt, 1/4 tsp
5. Cumin seeds (optional)

Instructions:
1. Add all ingredients and water to a pot and simmer for 30 mins.
2. When cooled, liquify in a food processor.
3. Refrigerate and use.

This can be stored for a few weeks in the fridge.

Vegetable Biryani

Holi Hai!

How best to celebrate Holi but with colours? Given that I am a neat freak, my splash of colours went my plate rather than my clothes! After all, Vegetable Biryani is well worth it when it comes to cooking for festivals. This is an authentic veg biryani recipe and not the phoney pilaf versions sold at some fake Indian restaurants.

Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. You will be well rewarded for your endevaour with the results. Thanks to my college chum Nidhi and blogger buddy Prathu for being my inspiration for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1. Safrron, 4-5 strands
2. cloves, 8
3. cardamom, 8
4. black cardamom (badi elaichi) 2
5. bay leaf, 1
6. yogurt 2 cups, whisked.
7. Salt to taste
8. .5 tsp red chili powder
9. Ghee or clarified butter, 2 tsp
10. oil, 4-5 tsp
11. cinnamon or dalchini, 2 1-inces sticks
12. Veg biryani masala, appx 4-5 tsp
13. veg biryani paste, 4-5 tsp
14. onions, 2, sliced.
15. tomato, 1 chopped in bite size pieces.
16. red bell pepper or shimla mirch, 1, chopped
17. cauliflower, florets abt 15
18. green beans, 1 cup, chopped
19. peas, 1 cup
20, carrots, 1 cup.
21. cashewnuts, a handful
22. rice, 2.5 cups
23. garlic, 2 pods, minced
24. ginger, 2 inches long, minced
25. potatoes, 2, diced
26. fresh curry leaves, 3 twigs
27. whole peppercorns, 4

Instructions:
1. Wash rice and in a rice cooker, add rice, water, bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon, peppercorns, 4 cloves, 4 green cardamom,2 black cardamom, salt, oil, saffron and let it cook.
2. When done, set it aside and let is cook.
3. In a big bowl, marinate potato, cauliflower in whisked yogurt.
4. In a big wok, heat ghee.
5. Add 4 cardamom, 4 cloves, 1inch cinnamon, cashewnuts,curry leaves, onion, garlic, ginger and fry until the onion turns golden brown.
6. Add the marinated vegetables in yogurt and then add veg biryani masala and paste.
7. cook until the potatoes turn golden brown and slightly coated with the spices.
8. Add red bell pepper, peas, carrots, green beans, some water and mix well.
9. Cook until all vegetables are al-dente and adjust seasoning as per taste. Add salt and mix.
10. In an oven safe dish, line it with aluminium foil.
11. Add a layer of rice then the cooked vegetables, alternate layers of rice and vegetables in this oven safe dish.
12. Cover with foil and put it in a pre-heated oven at 350 deg for 5 mins.
13. Mix well and cook for another 5 mins.

Serve warm

Quinoa Pilaf

As I discovered Avacado and other fruits and vegetables after moving to North America, I discovered some new grains. One such grain was Quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a high protein grain from South America. It comes in two forms: red and white. White Quinoa resembles sesame seeds. It tastes savory and slightly nutty when cooked right. It is hard for someone to not like quinoa as it can be tasteless if you cook it in water with a pod of garlic. Quinoa is very filling and nutritious and so it is guilt free indulgence.

This recipe is of Quinoa Pilaf.

Ingredients:

1.1 cup Quinoa
2. 2 tbsp olive oil
3. 1 small onion, diced.
3. 2 pods of garlic, minced
4. 1 tsp turmeric powder
5. 2 tsp coriander powder
6. 1 tsp red chili powder
7. 1 cup frozen vegetables
8. 3 cups water
9. Salt to taste
10. Coriander leaves, chopped (optional)
11. 1 cup minced potatoes, (optional)

Instructions:
1. Wash Quinoa and set aside.
2. Heat a wok then add olive oil.
3. Add the garlic and onions and saute till translucent
4. Add frozen veg and potatoes and then cook.
5. Add quinoa, salt, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, and water.
6. Boil on high heat till the tail of the quinoa appears.
7. Lower the heat and simmer till the water disappears.

Serve warm garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Shahi Paneer

Paneer is Cottage cheese. Paneer can be cooked in many forms such as Spinach Paneer, Peas Paneer, and many more.

One variant, however, is considered of a totally elite class. Shahi Paneer  - the literal translation is Royal Cheese. And indeed is this dish Royal. Shahi Paneer is cheese in a thick and creamy tomato gravy. 
It's a typical North Indian and Mughalai decadent that is popular on menus at restaurants and as a special dish at the dinner table at house parties.

Ingredients:
1. 1/2 kg paneer
2. Handful of cashewnuts
3.  3 tsp sugar
4. 1/2 medium onion
5. 70 ml tomato paste
6. 3-4 pods of garlic
7. 1 inch ginger
8. Salt to taste
9. 1 cup whip cream
10. 1 cup milk
11. 2 tsp coriander powder
12. 1/2 tsp red chili powder
13. 1 tsp turmeric powder
14. 1/2 tsp heeng
15. 1.5 tsp shahi paneer masala
16. Oil
17. 1 tsp garam masala
18. 1 small thai chili

Instructions:
1. Grind cashewnuts, onion, ginger, garlic, chili to form a paste.
2. Heat oil in a wok and then add this and cook until it changes color
3. Add the masala ingredients and tomato paste
4. Cook until this leaves the oil. Then add sugar and salt. Miz.
5. Add the paneer and cook for anther 5 mins.
6. Add milk and mix.

Garnish with kasuri methi and freshly chopped coriander leaves.

HAPPY HOLI!!