Peas-Potato Rice Pulav

If you want to cook a single dish which is quick, spicy and filling, then the peas potato rice pulav is an excellent choice. You can add sliced carrot, cauliflower if you wish.
Ingredients -

• Rice
• Potato 
• English Peas (Matar)
• Onion
• Cumin Seeds
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Cardamom
• Bay Leaf
• Ginger-Garlic Paste
• Green Chili Paste
• Turmeric 
• Water
• Salt
• Ghee/Oil
• Coriander leaves, Coconut for garnish
  

Method - Wash rice and keep aside. Cut onion and potato into thin vertical
                    slices and keep aside. Put a ghee/oil in a hot pan or cooker.
                    Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf 
                    into hot ghee. When cumin seeds start to splutter add onion and
                    fry for few seconds. Add ginger-garlic and green chili pastes to it.
                    Saute till paste is brown. Add english peas(Matar) and potato. 
                    Then put rice and mix it well. Add turmeric very little. 
                    Add salt to taste. Put enough water as per rice quantity and 
                    cook till rice is done.
                    When rice is done, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and 
                    grated coconut.
                    Peas-Potato rice pulav is ready to serve. Kids love this pulav
                    and it's an excellent way to mix nutritional veggies.

Peas Potato Rice Pulav

Banana Salad

The banana salad(koshimbir) is sweet but spicy. Make the banana koshimbir 
when you are ready to serve. If you make it ahead of time banana starts to
turn black/brown.

Ingredients - 

• Ripe Banana
• Curry leaves
• Mustard Seeds
• Green Chilies
• Coriander leaves
• Ghee or oil
• Salt

Method - Cut Banana into thin slices. Cut green chilies, coriander leaves

Sliced banana , chillies, coriander and curry leaves

                   Heat ghee or oil in a pan. When ghee is hot put mustard seeds.

                   Add curry leaves, green chilies when mustard seeds splutter.

                   Pour this on the sliced banana. Sprinkle some salt on it. 

                   Garnish banana with coriander leaves.

                   Banana Koshimbir/Salad is ready to serve. 

                   It tastes nice with chapati/roti also.

Banana Salad (Koshimbir)

Alu Baingan (Potato Brinjal / Eggplant)

   One day I was getting late for preparing lunch. I was planning to cook stuffed Baingan which is a little time consuming. I got a call from my friend Rashmi. While talking to her I mentioned I was getting late to prepare my afternoon lunch. Rashmi then told me about this quick and easy recipe of Alu Baingan. Here is the recipe and the photos that I took that afternoon. Thanks Rashmi for sharing this Alu Baingan recipe.

 Ingredients -

• Brinjal/Eggplant
• Potato
• Chopped Onion
• Amchur powder( if not use tomato)
• Ginger- Garlic Paste             
• Cumin(Jeera) Powder
• Coriander (Dhania) Powder
• Turmeric
• Red chili Powder
• Garam Masala
• Oil
• Salt

Method -Cut Brinjal/eggplant into small pieces. Make pieces of potato.

Chopped brinjal, onion, potato

                   Heat oil into pan.  Add chopped onion once oil is hot. 
                   Put ginger-garlic paste. Add potato pieces into the pan. 
                   When potato is half cooked add brinjal into it.
                   Cook it till brinjal  and potato are soft. 
                   Add all powders cumin, coriander,turmeric,Red chili,
                   amchur( if amchur powder not available then add tomato pieces) 
                   and cook for few minutes. 

Chopped Tomatoes

                   Finally add garam masala and cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish 
                   with chopped coriander leaves.
                   Mouth watering Alu baingan is ready.

Alu Baingan served with chappati (flat wheat bread)

 

Urad Rava (Semolina) Dosa

Most of the people like dosa, but making dosa is time consuming. 

Normally you have to soak lentils and rice into water for overnight then

make batter, ferment the batter for few hours. All this takes time and if

you want dosa you have to be start preparations one day ahead.

So to make idli or dosa in 2-3 hrs I have an interesting recipe using

lentil flour and Idli-Rava flour.

Ingredients – 

• 1 cup urad(black gram/lentil) flour 
• 2 ½ cup Rava (Semolina) 
• Salt to taste

  Method – Mix Urad(black lentil) flour and Semolina together very well.
                       Add Salt for taste. Take hot water and add it to mixture to make 
                       nice thin batter. To make a batter very smooth and consistent,
                       whisk it. I always use Braun blender whisk attachment to make
                       batter lumps free. It also helps in aeration and fermenting batter.
                       Keep this batter aside for 1-2 hours.

                       Urad Rava  batter is ready to make dosa. Heat the pan or griddle
                       (Tava). Put some batter on the griddle with help of big spoon and 
                        spread it into a thin layer, as possible as you can.  
                        Heat it till golden brown.

Preparing dosa

                        Urad-Rava(semolina) Dosa is ready. Serve with green coconut 
                        chutney or any chutney you like.

Urad-Rava dosa with coriander-coconut chutney

Stuffed Lady's Finger (Okra / Bhendi) Fry

Lady's Finger (a.k.a Okra) which originated in Africa, is now a common household vegetable. Many people do not like the Okra due to it's mucilaginous (or slimy) nature. The recipe given below makes Okra crispy and very tasty to eat.

Ingredients - 

• Lady's Fingers (Okra) washed, dried with cloth 
• Grated Coconut
• Turmeric
• Red Chili powder
• Cumin powder
• Coriander Powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil 
• Sugar for taste

Method - Cut lady's fingers into slits and keep aside. Take turmeric, red chili 
                    powder, cumin and coriander powder, salt and sugar add it to the 
                    grated coconut.
                    Mix the above ingredients throughly and the stuffing is ready.

                    Now fill each lady's finger with this stuffing.

Freshly Cut and Stuffed Lady's Fingers

                    Heat little oil in a flat pan. 
                    Keep all filled lady's fingers in the pan and cover the pan with lid 
                    on low heat. Cook till all lady's fingers are soft and crunchy. 
                    Make sure to check each side of lady's finger is cooked.

Stuffed Lady's Finger ready to serve

Pumpkin Cutlet/Pattie

The pumpkin cutlet is an innovation of my mother. This recipe is for people who don't like 'sabji' made with pumpkin. Also kids will love to eat this pumpkin cutlet with tomato sauce and bread. This is a good snack.

Ingredients -

• Pumpkin cut into cubes
• Green chilies cut into half
• Curry Leaves 
• Cumin 
• Turmeric powder 
• Coriander leaves chopped
• Salt for taste
• Coconut grated (optional)
• Cumin Powder
• Coriander Powder
• Rice flour 
• Red chili powder
• Semolina (a.k.a Rava)
• Oil

Method - Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Once oil gets hot add 
                   cumin, curry leaves and green chilies. Add pumpkin cubes in a 
                   pan when cumin seeds start to splutter. Add turmeric 
                   powder and salt to taste. Continue to cook ( covering pan with lid)
                   till pumpkin is soft, if required add very little water.

Pumpkin saute with cumin, curry leaves and green chilies

                   
                   Once pumpkin cubes are cooked add grated coconut and 
                   coriander leaves. Keep this aside.

Pumpkin cooked, garnished with grated coconut

                   

                   Remove chilies and mash cooked pumpkin subji once it cools down.
                   Add cumin, coriander powder, red chili powder(if required), rice
                   flour as required  in pumpkin to make binding.

Pumpkin dough

                    
                    Make flat small round shaped cutlet of this mixture and cover 
                    with semolina.

Pumpkin cutlet covered with semolina

                   Shallow fry it in flat pan till cutlet gets golden brown color.

Pumpkin cutlet getting fried in pan

                   Your pumpkin cutlets/patties are ready. Serve with tomato sauce 
                   and bread.

Hot and Crispy pumpkin cutlets ready

               

                 Note -  You can make cutlet with boiled pumpkin instead of making
                                sabji and add other mentioned ingredients.