Dear Friends and family

I have moved to my own website, which my DH has built with great interest, trying to keep the same theme as the blog.

New Website

http://www.archanaskitchen.com/

New Features

• Rating of recipes and commenting
• User contribution of recipes (to be added soon)
• A request page where people can request recipes (to be added soon)
• If any more ideas come by i will try to get them in as well

Thank you

Archana

Upma is a very traditional South Indian breakfast dish. Savor this dish with coconut chutney

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: 20 minutes Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups semia/vermicelli
• ½ cup thinly sliced onions
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
• 5 curry leaves
• ¼ cup chopped carrots
• ¼ cup chopped beans
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon asafoetida
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Method

Cook the carrots and beans. See Cooking Vegetables

Heat oil in frying pan; add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.

Add onions, ginger, curry leaves and green chilles and sauté until onions are tender

Add asafoetida and the semia and sauté for a few more minutes on medium heat.

Add 1 cup of water; stir and keep the pan closed for a few minutes, until you see the water has been absorbed by the semia and the semia is cooked

With the heat in medium let it stand for 1 more minute. Turn off heat, add lemon juice and ghee and stir. While stirring take care not to mash the semia that it becomes guey and sticky

Keep it closed for a few more minutes with heat turned off for the semia to settle down and for it to remain in string form.

Ghee enhances the flavor of the upma. This is another tricky dish; experience helps you get the right texture. Serve hot with coconut chutney

Little crisp round shaped spiced Indian crackers spiced up with chutneys, yogurt and potatoes

Serves : 6 persons                          

Cooking Time:  10 minutes for the potatoes                Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe papdi’s
• 1 recipe of date and tamarind chutney
• 1 recipe of green chutney
• 2 cups of boiled and sliced potatoes (uses about 3 potatoes). See Cooking Potatoes
• ½ cup chopped onions
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes
• ½ cup sev
• 1 cup whipped yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chaat masala
• 2 tablespoon roasted cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder

Assembling the Papdi Chaat

Lay the papdi’s in large plate or in individual plates

Place the 1 slice of potato on each papdi. Add 1 tablespoon of whipped yogurt, 1 teaspoon of date and tamarind chutney and 1 teaspoon of green chutneyon each papdi

Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of onions and tomatoes on each papdi

Sprinkle chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and red chilli powder on each papdi

Lastly sprinkle sev on top of each papdi and serve immediately

Little crisp round shaped spiced Indian crackers used in making chaats or can be had as it is as a snack

Makes: about 40 papdi’s

Cooking Time: 15 minutes for frying the entire lot

Preparation Time: 30 minutes for rolling the papdi’s into rounds

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1 teaspoon carom/ajwain seeds
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste

Method

Mix all the flour, ajwain, oil and salt together. Add water a little at a time and knead the dough until it becomes firm and stiff. It should not be soft.

You can make 40 small balls and roll them out thin about 1 ½ inches in diameter

Or you can divide the dough into two portions and roll out into a big large circle and cut small rounds using a cookie cutter.

Make sure the papdi’s you roll out are thin.

After rolling prick the papdi;s with a fork all round to prevent it from puffing when deep fried

Heat oil on medium heat for deep frying

Add a few papdi’s at a time and deep fry until golden brown and crisp

Allow it to cool and store in an air tight container.

Alternative to Healthy Cooking: Baked papadi’s /Papdi

It becomes a healthy snack when baked and it tastes just as good

Preheat oven to 400 F

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper spread on it

Once rolled into 40 thin rounds and pricked with a fork, arrange them in the cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Monitor, as different ovens bakes differently, just make sure it gets the golden brown color and a crisp texture.

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: about 20 minutes Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups paneer cubes/ 250 grams ready paneer packet or Home Made Paneer
• ½ cup cooked peas/mutter.
• 2 cups pureed tomatoes (choose red ripe tomatoes)
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

Soak the paneer in hot salt water for about 30 minutes. This process makes the paneer soft and tasty

Heat a frying pan and sauté the onions oil. Once they turn mild golden color.

Add the tomato puree, turmeric, cumin powder, salt and red chilli powder. And sauté until tomatoes are cooked. Add 1/2 cup water to loosen the gravy a little bit, so that it’s not too thick

Add paneer and mutter to the tomato gravy and simmer for 5 minutes

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with phulkas

TIP: For the Peas to remain green and to taste sweet add, sugar and salt during the cooking process. The peas has to be completely submerged in water while cooking, this prevents it from popping/breaking into half. See Cooking Vegetables on different ways you can cook peas. This tip applies to organic peas/non frozen/non cooked/non sweet peas.

Ajwain/ Carom seeds used in this mixed vegetable gives it a Mediterranean flavor

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: 30 minutes                             Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup carrots cut 1 inch long length wise
• 1 cup beans cut 1 inch long length wise
• 1 cup eggplant cut 1 inch long length wise
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1 cup tomatoes cut 1 inch long length wise
• 1 teaspoon carom/ajwain seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 tablespoons Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• Salt to taste

 Method

Cook the carrots and beans. See Cooking Vegetables

Heat oil in a wok/frying pan; add ajwain seeds, onions and sauté until soft and tender.

Add the eggplant and sauté until cooked to tender.

Add turmeric powder, tomatoes, garam masala, chilli powder, cooked carrots and beans, and salt, sauté for few minutes until the tomatoes are cooked to tender. Leaving the tomatoes half cooked heightens the flavor

Add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with phulka’s and hot gujarati khadi

The combination of mint and cauliflower makes this dish very tangy

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: 30 minutes                             Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower (about 20-25 florets)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 cup whisked yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• Salt to taste

 Method

Heat oil in a wok/frying pan; add cumin seeds, bay leaf, ginger, onions and sauté until soft and tender.

Add turmeric powder, tomatoes, cauliflower florets, and salt, simmer for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is half cooked. Add the yogurt, garam masala and chilli powder and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add chopped mint and serve hot with phulka’s  or jeera pulav

These Parathas goes well as with any sabzi. It is best served hot

Makes: 10 parathas

Cooking time: 1 minutes per paratha

Preparation Time: 5 minutes kneading of dough and 30 minutes standing time for dough

Ingredients for dough

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Oil for cooking
• Ghee for cooking

Method

Add flour and salt in a large bowl, adding little water at a time to make soft, pliable dough.

Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Add 1 teaspoon oil to coat the dough and knead little more.

The dough will be soft and non sticky.

Set aside covered for 30 minutes. Make lemon sized balls and roll them out thin to approximately 3 inches in diameter. Note tossing the dough in dry flour while rolling will prevent it from getting sticky when rolling them out.

Put ¼ teaspoon oil and spread it on the rolled dough. We need to get a triangle shape, to do so, first fold into a semi-circle, then fold the semi-circle into half again.

Now toss it in some flour and roll out the triangle to make a bigger triangle.

Put the rolled parathas on the hot griddle/skillet. Cook for about ½ a minute, flip over and add 1 teaspoon of ghee in and around the paratha.

Lightly press the parathas while on the skillet so the dough gets cooked

Flip and cook the other side for about ½ a minute. Cook until light golden spots appear on the parathas and lightly crisp

These parathas make simply delicious and healthy meal by itself, had with a lemon or mango pickle or simply with yogurt. It makes this an ideal and wholesome snack for school children

Makes: 10 parathas

Cooking time: 2 minutes per paratha

Preparation Time: 5 minutes kneading of dough and 30 minutes standing time for dough

Ingredients for dough

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oil

Ingredients for stuffing

• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
• 1 cup crumbled paneer
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies (optional if given for children)
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

Add flour and salt in a large bowl, adding little water at a time to make soft, pliable dough.

Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Add oil to coat the dough and knead little more.

The dough will be soft and non sticky.

Set aside covered for 30 minutes. Make lemon sized balls and roll them out thin to approximately 3 inches in diameter. Note tossing the dough in dry flour while rolling will prevent it from getting sticky when rolling them out.

Add 1 tablespoon of the stuffing in the center. Gather the sides and bring them together, as shown in the picture. Remove the little excess dough which popped out when you brought them together.

Press the stuffed dough down. Toss it in some flour and roll it gently applying just even pressure to roll. Roll it to desired thickness and your comfort level in rolling.

Put the stuffed parathas on the hot griddle/skillet. Cook for about ½ a minute, flip over and add 1 teaspoon of oil in and around the paratha.

Keep pressing the parathas while on the skillet so the dough gets cooked and the stuffed also gets the heat and gets pressed down into the parathas.

Flip and cook the other side for about 1 minute adding 1 more teaspoon of oil. Cook until light golden spots appear on the parathas.

Note: Stuffed Parathas should be cooked on medium heat to get the best texture and the light crispiness.

Bajjis are an all time favorite hot snack in the entire India. Bajji’s can be made with any vegetable. Although the favorites vegetables are thinly sliced raw green plaintain, thinly sliced potatoes, thinly sliced ringed onions, cauliflower florets and sliced green capsicum

Makes: 15 – 20 bajjis

Cooking time: 20 minutes Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 peeled and sliced raw green plantain
• 1 peeled and sliced potato
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 cup of cauliflower florets
• 1sliced capsicum/green bell peppers
• Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for Batter

• 1 cup gram flour/chickpea flour/besan
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Salt to taste

Method

Mix all ingredients of batter adding enough water to form a dip thick enough to thickly coat back of a spoon. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok for deep frying

Coat each of the sliced/cut vegetables in the gram flour batter and gradually let it into the oil and deep fry until golden brown in color.

Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside

Serve hot with tomato ketchup/green chutney/date and tamarind chutney