Methi Paratha with Boiled Lentils

Ingredients

Fresh Methi leaves (finely chopped ) 2cups
Maida i cup
Atta or whole wheat flour 1 cup
Sattu or fried Chana Powder 1/2 cup
Green chilly paste 2 tbsp
Salt
Refined oil
A little fenugreek seeds ( methi seeds) coarsely ground

Procedure

Grease a wok ( do not add too much of oil ) and add the coarsely ground methi seeds along with the washed and dried methi leaves. Sprinkle salt and stir fry till the water evaporates. Let it be cooled. Add the green chilly paste and sieve together along with maida, atta, sattu and a little refined oil. Keep aside for two hours. Make parathas out of the dough in desired shape. Fry with a dash of refined oil till brown. Be paitent while frying the crispy parathas....
Serve hot with chutney / pickle and of course with the boiled lentils garnished with onion and coriander leaves.

For the boiled lentils soak matar, chana, chana dal, rajma and  whole mung (green) together  overnight Boil them in a pressure cooker till it becomes soft. Then add coriander powder, jeera powder, red mirchi powder, black salt,  tamarind chutney and bring it to boil. Now before serving with methi paratha garnish the boiled lentil with finely chopped onion, tomato, green chillies and fresh coriander leaves and a dash of lemon juice.
 

This combo ( Methi Paratha with Boiled Lentils ) is an ideal evening snacks..

Dhokla..an ideal low-calorie evening snack!

•  Gram flour ( Bengal Chana Dal Besan) 2 cups
•  Fresh Curd (Stirred) 1 cup
• Salt to taste
• 1tsp Soda bi-carb or Eno fruit salt
•  Juice of one Lemon
•  A pinch of turmeric powder
• A pinch of red chilly powder
• Refined Oil 2 tsp (1 tsp for batter and 1 tsp for tampering (chaunk/foron)
• Fresh Curry leaves
• 1tsp Mustard Seeds
• Freshly grated Coconut
• Green chilies (vertically slit)
• Tamarind-Jaggery Chutney

• In a bowl take gram flour (besan), Curd and luke warm water.
• Mix well and make a smooth batter. The batter should be of thick consistency.
• Add salt, haldi powder, red chilly powder cover with a lid and set aside for 4 hours
• Keep the steamer or cooker ready on gas.
• Grease a baking dish (it should fit in the steamer or cooker).
• Now in  a small bowl take 1 tsp. of soda bi-carb or eno fruit salt, 1tsp oil and lemon juice and mix well.
• Add this to the batter and mix well.
• Pour the batter into the greased pan and steam for 10-15 minutes or till done( ensure bu pricking with a toothpick or knife)
• Cool for sometime and cut into big cubes.
• Heat little oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves; allow to splatter. Remove and pour it over dhoklas.
• Garnish the besan dhokla with grated coconut and slited green chilies.
• Serve with Tamarind-Jaggery chutney.

Raw JackFruit Cutlet ( এঁচোড়ের কাটলেট )

an ideal evening snack

 

• Raw Jackfruit ( 2 cups kernels, cut into small pieces, boiled in a pressure cooker)
• One large potato (boiled and mashed)
• Finely chopped green chilly
• Grated ginger -1 tbsp
• Garam Masala powder- 1 tsp
• Dry fried Cummin powder- 1 tsp
• Dry fried Coriander powder- 1tsp
• Roasted peanuts- coarsely ground
• Chopped coconut slices
• Salt & Sugar
• Mustard oil for frying
• Bread Crumb
• One egg or Cornflour

jackfruit tree in the backyard of our Kharagpur Bungalow

• Mash the boiled jackfruit and mix all the ingredinets with it except the last three.
• Use your clean hand to mix them lightly and thoroughly
• Make flat cutlets between your palms
• Coat the cutlets first with beaten egg or  cornflour mixed with water
• Then coat with breadcrumb
• Deep Fry the cutlets in hot mustard oil.
• Serve with raita or tomato ketchup

 

 

Broccoli Soup

• Broccoli Forets : 1 cup (cut into small pcs)
• Milk : 1 cup
• Butter : 1tsp
• Onion :  One medium size ( grated )
• Garlic : crushed ( 2 tsp0
• Red Chilly Flakes ( 1 tsp)
• Black Peeper Powder
• Corn flour : (2 tsp)
• Salt & Sugar
• Fresh Cream (optional)

• Cook the broccoli florets in  2 cups of water by adding a little salt
• Heat butter and fry onion and garlic together 
• Add this to the broccoli broth 
• Stir the whole mixture with the help of a bar blendar
• Add a little sugar 
• Finally add milk and cornflour and stir thoroughly to make it smooth
• Boil for another five minutes
• Sprinkle red chilly flakes and black pepeer powder
• Add a little fresh cream 
• Place a blanched broccoli on top of the soup
• Serve hot with garlic bread

GO GREEN with SPINACH SOUP this winter!

• 1 tbsp. Butter  
• 2 cups. Fresh Spinach (chopped)
• 1 Small Onion (chopped)
• 1 cup Milk
• 1  tbsp. Flour (Maida)
• 1 tbsp Refined Oil
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1 Green Chilly (finely chopped)
• Fresh Cream (optional)
• 1/2tsp sugar
• To taste. Salt & pepper

* Blanch spinach in hot water with a pinch of salt.  and refresh in cold water.
    * Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and sauté. Add crushed garlic, chopped green chilly salt, sugar and pepper.
    * Puree together with boiled spinach.
    * Make a thin white sauce by melting butter in a nonstick pan.Then add maida and cook for 5-7 mins. Slowly add the milk so that no lumps are formed.
    * Add the spinach puree to this and bring it to a boil. Add a little water if required.
    * Add 2 tsp fresh cream (optional) and serve spinach soup hot with bread croutons/ soup stick.

Dash-ratan Kofta

1. Finely Chopped Carrot 4tbsp
2. Finely Chopped Beans 4tbsp
3. Finely Chopped Cabbage 4tbsp
4. Cauliflower Florets 4tbsp
5. Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves 4tbsp
6. Boiled Green Peas 4tbsp
7. Boiled and mashed Potato 2tbsp
8. Diced Capsicum 2tbsp
9. Chopped Cashew Nuts 2 tbsp
10. Chopped Raisins 2 tbsp

• These are the TEN principal ingredients for making DASH-RATAN kofta. In addition to these ten ingredients some other masala and binding agent is required as given below

1. Sattu ( Dry fried Gram Flour) 2tsp
2. Chopped Green Chillies 2tsp
3. Ginger Paste 2tsp
4. Dry Fried  Jeera Powder 1tsp
5. Garam Masala Powder 1tsp
6. Salt & Sugar
7. Ghee 1tsp
8. Refined Oil
9. 2 tsp Besan

In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the oil  and 2tsp Besan and mix them well with your hand. Make the Koftas -- big balls say 3 inches diameter . Next roll the koftas  in the Besan and then fry them slowly in a high flame in refined oil.

Now make the gravy in a conventional manner. I prefer the completely vegetarian way of making the gravy i.e without adding garlic and onion. Heat the oil and add the  chaunk of garama masala and bayleaf followed by ginger paste, red chilly powder, tomato puree, a little beaten curd followed by a paste of poppyseeds and cashew nuts. Saute' for a few minutes. Add salt and sugar and then a little water. Place your previously fried koftas on this gravy and bring them to boli for a while. Sprinkle fresh  coriander leaves , green chillies and ghee on top. Pour 2 tbsp milk. Serve with roti/ paratha/chapati

Chilly Cheese Uttapam ... simply AWESOME !

 
Whenever I go to the BIG BAZAR at Kharagpur we somehow end up having  "Chilly Cheese Uttapam" . It's simply GREAT! If you happen to be in the neighbourhood do not miss this  CCU @ Big Bazar, Food Court.

Last night I decided to make it at home, in my kitchen. Though I did not have the time or the energy to make sambar, the coconut chutney more than made up for it when I served it with the crispy mout;watering uttapam.  Unfortunately I do not have a grinder-mixer in our bungalow Kharagpur  (where my husband is a professor at the School of Management at IIT ) so i had to ask my maid to paste it using a SHIL-NORI.
Do you remember the famous song? "Shil-Nori bina chutney kaise boni ?"   Anyway enough by way of prelude; time for the real stuff ... for which you need the following ingredients to make this CCU

• 2 Cups of rice flour and 1 Cup urad dal powder, soaked in water for over night and mixed well to make a thick batter.
• pinch of salt
• One large onion (finely chopped)
• Green Chillies ( finely chopped)
• Cheese (grated)
• Refined oil

Heat a nonstick pan , grease it with refined oil and place1 tablespoon  thick  batter. Spread it with a spatula. Then sprinkle onion, chillies on top.Turn upside down and add grated cheese on the hot side of the uttapam. Keep it on the nonstick tawa till it becomes crispy and the cheese melts.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.