Urad Kadhi Pakori

Ingredients:

Pakora:

1 cup Urad Dal (soaked overnight, grinded to a thick paste and fermented for atleast 4-6 hours)

1 tea spoon garam masala

1 tea spoon dhaniya powder

1 tea spoon turmeric

½ tea spoon red chili

½ tea spoon amchur

1 green chili finely chopped

10 gm grated ginger

2-3 flakes of crushed garlic

salt to taste

Kadhi:

1 tea spoon fenugreek seeds

1 bay leaf

2-3 whole red chilies

1/ teaspoon black mustard seeds

1/2 cup besan

1 tea spoon amchur powder

1 table spoon mustard oil

Water

Salt to taste

Method:

To prepare the kadhi, put one table spoon of mustard oil in a kadhai. Once it’s heated add the bay leaf, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Once it starts spluttering add the red chili and amchur powder. Then add besan and water and keep stirring the kadhi. Keep it on medium flame and let it cook for the next 10 minutes.

For Pakora put all the above ingredients in the Urad dal batter. Make small balls and deep fry them. Once they turn slight golden brown remove them from oil and put it in the Kadhi. Garnish this Kadhi with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Kadhi tastes best with Rice.

Fish Fry

Ingredients:

½ kg Fish (sliced )

Masala:

2 Green chilies

6-7 garlic flakes

25gm ginger

½ teaspoon garam masala

1 cup coriander leaves

½ cup pudina leaves

½ lemon

salt to taste

Method:

Marinate the Fish with salt and turmeric for 15 mins.

Take the above ingredients and grind it into a dry paste. Apply this masala on the fish. Apply dry besan on all sides of this fish and shallow fry it.

Serve it with onion rings and lemon.

Methi Malai Paneer

Ingredients:

200 gm Paneer

½ cup kasuri methi

100gm fresh cream

1 onion

2 cinnamon sticks

1 Badi elaichi

2 cardamom

1 table spoon butter

Salt to taste

Method

First sauté cinnamon stick, badi elaichi, cardamom on a heated pan. Then grind and make a powder and keep it aside.

Put 1 tablespoon ghee in the frying pan. Add the onion paste to it and sauté it for three mins. Then add 1/3^rd of the gram masala powder to it. Then add kasuri methi and fry it for another two mins. To this add another 1/3^rd portion of garam masala.Then add fresh cream and some water. After two mins follow it up with paneer . Allow it to cook for two mins and then add the remaining Garam Masala and salt to taste.

Please remember that the freshly prepared garam masala powder is the main ingredient of this recipe. And brings out the flavour of this dish.

Serve it hot with roti.

Paneer Aaloo Pakora

Ingredients:

100gm grated paneer

2 boiled grated potatoes

1 chopped green chilli

1 tea spoon grated ginger

chopped coriander leaves

½ tea spoon chaat masala

1 tea spoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

For the outer crust:

½ cup of maida(mix it with water and make a thick paste)

Suji/rava ½ cup

Mix the all the above ingredients and make small balls. Dip this ball into the white paste and roll it over suji(or bread crums). Then deep fry it till it turns golden brown.

This pakora tastes best with dhaniya or pudina chutney.

Methi Corn Puri

Ingredients :

2 boiled potatoes

1 cup of chopped methi leaves

½ cup corn

1 cup wheat flour

½ cup maida

½ cup besan

1 table spoon oil

pinch of ajwain

1 chopped green chilli

1 tablespoon shopped coriander leaves

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients together and make dough. Roll out small puris and deep fry them. Since the dough will be a little sticky because of potato, put a little more flour on the puri while rolling it.

This Puri is best for picnics and can be stored for two to three days.

Makuni / sattu ka paratha

Ingredients :

Stuffing:

1 cup sattu

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

one green chilli

half cup finely chopped coriander leaves

½ lemon

4 garlic flakes

Salt to Taste

Mix the above ingredients together.

Paratha:

Wheat Atta 2 cups

One tea spoon oil and ½ tea spoon salt.

Mix the above ingredients and make soft dough. Make small balls and place the mixture in the middle. Then roll it into round Parathas.

This paratha tastes best with aloo matar curry.

Nemona or Matar Kheema:

Nemona or Matar Kheema:

One of my mother’s winter specialties Nemona is a typical North Indian dish made mostly in the season of Matar which is winter.

Ingredients:

250gm matar (frozen or fresh)

2 medium sized onion

1 small tomato(oiled and pureed)

1 medium sized Potato

Green Chilli 2

2 tea spoon ginger garlic paste (best if fresh grounded)

1 tea spoon Dhaniya Powder

½ tea spoon of Chilli powder and turmeric.

Salt to taste

Best made in Ghee

Method :

Boil the peas for over 5 min and grind it with green chilies into a thick coarse paste. Then fry it in a pan with 1 tablespoon of Ghee. This part will take some time…but for best results let it turn a little golden brown. Then remove it from flame.

Grind onion ginger and garlic together. To start with put 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan and add a bay leaf and jeera into it. Once it starts spluttering add the grinded mixture of onion ginger and garlic. Keep frying the mixture till it turns golden brown. Then add the tomato puree and mix it well for two mins. Then add the chilli ,turmeric and dhaniya powder. Sauté it for another 5 minutes. Then add the grinded matar, boiled and chopped potato and salt to taste. Add some water and let it cook for another 5 mins. A pinch of garam masala and freshly chopped coriander leaves will enhance the taste.