Sambar

Ingredients:

Toor dal- 1 cup

Vegetables – 1 cup ( Ex: beans, potato, peas, carrots. You can use any vegetables of your choice)

Tamarind juice – 4 to 5 tbspns

Jaggery – little less than the size of a small lemon.

Tomato – 1 big

Geera – 1 tspn

Mustard seeds – 1 tspn.

Curry leaves

Coriander for garnishing.

Salt to taste.

Red chilli powder – 1 tspn

Turmeric powder – ½ tspn

Sambar powder – 1½  tbspn.

Water – 3 cups

Oil – 1 tbspn

Cooking Method:

• Take 3 cups of water in a sauce pan. When water starts to boil add washed toor dal. When it startes boiling again add chopped tomatoes. Alternatively you can pressure cook the toordal with 3 cups of water and tomatoes. You can also cook vegetables in it. Or choose your way of cooking the toor dal.
• Boil vegetables and keep aside.
• Take the water left behind after boiling toordal and vegetables and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add geera and mustard, let them splutter.
• Add curry leaves, tamarind juice and jaggery. Bring it to boil.
• Then add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder and all the boiled vegetables. Cook for 2 mins.
• Meanwhile mash toor dal and add it to the boiling mixture.
• Cook for 5-10 mins and garnish with coriander.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve hot with idli, rice, dosa etc. its yummy.

Matar Paneer (peas panner)

Ingredients:

Fresh Peas – 1 cup

Paneer- 200 grms(cut into small cubes)

Onion- 1
Tomatoes- 2
Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tspn
Garam masala- 1 tspn
Red chilli powder- ½ to 1 tspn
Turmeric- ¼ tspn
Salt to taste
Oil – 3 tbspn
Cumin and mustard seeds- 1 tspn
Fresh Cream or milk-1/2 cup (i usaully use milk as it contains less fats)

Cooking Method:

• Grind onion in a blender to make paste. Keep it aside now.
• Grind tomatoes in a blender to make paste. Keep it aside now.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add Cumin and mustard seeds, let them splutter.
• Add ginger-garlic paste. Then add onion paste. Fry till golden brown.
• Add tomato paste. Mix it well and cover the pan and cook for 5 min or till all the tomato smell is gone.
• Then add all the powders. That is Garam masala, Red chilli powder, Turmeric and mix well. Fry till the oil comes out.
• Add fresh peas and cream or milk cook for 5 mins.
• Add paneer cubes, mix well and cook till they are soft.
• Garnish with coriender and serve hot.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve hot with chapatti or puri.

Palak paneer(Spinach and indian cheese curry)

Ingredients:

Palak or spinach – 250 grms(washed and chopped)

Paneer- 200 grms(cut into small cubes)

Onion- 1 chopped

Tomatoes- 1 chopped

Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tspn

Garam masala- 1 tspn

Geera and dhaniya powder- ½ tspn each
Red chilli powder- ½ to 1 tspn
Turmeric- ¼ tspn
Salt to taste
Oil – 3 tbspn
Cumin and mustard seeds- 1 tspn
Butter(optional) -1 tspn

Cooking Method:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add Cumin and mustard seeds, let them splutter.
• Add ginger-garlic paste. Then add onion. Fry till onion are golden brown.
• Add tomatoes and salt. Mix it well and cover the pan so that the tomatoes turn into paste.
• Then add all the powders. That is Garam masala, Geera and dhaniya powder, Red chilli powder, Turmeric and mix well. Fry for 1 min.
• Add paneer cubes, mix well and cook till they are soft.
• Then add spinach or palak and mix well and cook for 3-4 mins to retain all the nutrients in spinach. If you cook more the the healthy nutrients are lost.
• You can add butter or cream or even curd(yogurt) at the end and take off the heat.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve hot with chapatti.

Suji halwa or shira or kaseribath

Ingredients:

Suji or fine Samolina – 1 cup

Ghee – 2 tbspn

Cardamom power - ¼ tspn

Sugar- 1 cup

Water-  2½  cups

Cashewnuts(optional) - 10

Cooking Method:

• Roast the semolina or suji in 1 tbspn ghee till it’s a little light brown (not too much) and keep aside now.
• Roast the cashewnuts in ghee till they are golden brown.
• Meanwhile put water and sugar in a saucepan or a vessel and bring it to boil.
• And when the sugar is melted and ¼ tspn of cardamom power. This will bring the best flavour.
• Now add the remaining ghee and semolina. Stir well.
• When its cooked and turn into paste like consistency, take off the heat.
• Decorate with cashewnuts. Cashewnuts can be added in the boiling water and sugar mixture as well.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve hot with ghee and papad.

Dessert made from banana

Ingredients:

Bananas -2

Milk -100 ml

Sugar -6 tspn

Cardamom powder- ¼ tspn

Cooking Method:

• Take milk in a vessel and warm it up.You can use microwave for this or just on stove.
• Dissolve sugar in it and add cardamom powder as well.
• Cut the bananas into small pieces or slice them into thin pieces.Actually smaller pieces are better.
• Add them to the milk.
• You can alwys taste the dish and alter the amount of sugar.

Serving Suggestion:

serve with puri or chapati. Or else can be just eaten as dessert.

Sesame Seed Snack Bar(Chikki)

Sesame seeds are good to consume in winter. This is a healthy snack. Can be eaten any time.

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds- 1 cup

Groundnuts or peanuts- ¼ cup

Jaggery-  ½ cup

Ghee- 1 tbspn

Cooking Method:

• Roast the sesame seeds till they are a little crispy and keep aside for now.
• Roast the peanuts and break them into small pieces.
• Now heat ghee in a pan, add jaggery and stir till the jaggery pieces are dissolved.
• Add sesame seeds and groundnuts(peanuts) and mix well.
• Grease a plate and put the above mixture in it.
• Now pat it when it is still hot. With the help of knife mark it with the shapes you like. (this all should be done when its hot else you cannot shape because it hardens.)
• When cooled just break into marked shapes.

Sending this to SNACK MELA by Srivalli. Can't wait to find out snack recipes.

Beetroot-Carrot Salad

I always like to eat healthy salads with my meal, so i

Experiment lot of things. This is one of the results of my experiments. I like it so much that I prepare it every alternate day.

Ingredients:

Beetroot- 1 cup grated

Carrot- 1 cup grated

Onion- ½ chopped

Green chilli- 1 or red chilli powder-1/2 tspn

Salt to taste

Oil- 1 tspn

Lemon juice-1 tbspn

Coriander

Cooking Method:

• Heat oil in a vessel. Add onion, fry for sometime. Add green chilli or red chilli powder.
• Add grated beetroot and salt. Cover it with the lid and allow to cook for 2-3 min.
• Add carrot and mix well. (if you want carrot to be soft then cook for 2 more mins otherwise just cover it with the lid and turn off the heat)
• Add Lemon juice, mix well and Garnish with coriander.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve as side dish with chapatti, or any bread.