Masoor Dal Pakora

Ingredients

Masoor Dal: 1 cup

Chopped onion: 1 cup

Chopped coriander: ½ cup

Chopped green chilies: 2-3 tsp

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste
Oil: For deep frying

Masoor dal pakora

Soaked masoor dal

Coarsely grinded masoor dal

Mixture ready for frying

Method

Soak masoor dal for 3-4 hours, drain and grind it with green chilies without adding water. Add chopped onion, chopped coriander, ginger paste and salt to the paste and mix well. Heat oil in a pan and make small balls from the mixture and deep fry the pakoras till golden brown. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Falafel

Ingredients
Dried chickpeas: 1 cup
Dried fava beans: ½ cup
Chopped onion: 1 cup
Chopped parsley: 3-4 tsp
Chopped coriander: 3-4 tsp
Garlic cloves: 5-6
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Cumin powder: ½ tsp
All-purpose flour: 2 tsp
Salt: To taste
Oil: For frying

Falafel stuffed in pita bread

Soaked chickpeas

Soaked fava beans

Mixture

Falafel

Method
Soak chickpeas and fava beans overnight. Drain chickpeas and fava beans and grind it with garlic, onion, coriander, parsley, cumin, coriander powder, salt and chili powder, without adding water.  Transfer the thick mixture to a bowl and add all-purpose flour. Mix everything well and make small balls from the mixture and slightly flatten them between your palms. Deep fry them in oil till golden brown and serve falafels hot.

I serve falafels sometimes as an appetizer with hummus and tahini and often I stuff it in pita bread along with lettuce, tomatoes, tahini, salt and pepper. Yesterday evening, I used them instead of patties and served them in burger and my hubby loved it :)

You can follow tahini recipe here: http://arjunpurikitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/hummus-and-tahini.html

Sesame Noodles

Ingredients

Spaghetti noodles: 200 gm

Chopped spring onion: 1 cup

Sliced capsicum: ½ cup

Sesame seeds: ¼ cup

Soy sauce: 4-5 tsp

Sesame oil: 2-3 tsp

Canola oil: 2-3 tsp

Vinegar: 2 tsp

Red chili flakes: 2 tsp

Salt: To taste

Method

Cook spaghetti till tender according to the directions mentioned on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, add 1 tablespoon of oil and set aside.

Dry roast sesame and keep aside. Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, vinegar, red chili flakes and salt.

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan and add spring onion and capsicum, sauté for a minute and add whisked soy mixture. Add noodles and toss well. Remove from the heat and add roasted sesame. Garnish with spring onion before serving.

Cucumber Dip

Ingredients

Cucumber: 4 (Peeled, seeded and grated)
Cream: 1 cup

Yogurt: 1 cup

Chopped spring onion: ¼ cup

Chopped mint leaves: 1 tsp

Chopped dill: 1 tsp

Chopped coriander: 1 tsp

Pepper powder: ½ tsp

Salt: To taste

 

Method
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. This dip goes well with pita bread, chips and even with rice.

Veg Fried Rice

Ingredients

Basmati rice: 1 cup

Chopped carrot: ¼ cup

Chopped beans: ¼ cup

Chopped capsicum: ¼ cup

Chopped spring onion: ¼ cup

Minced ginger and garlic: 2 tsp

Slit green chili: 2

Soy sauce: 2 tsp

Vinegar: 2 tsp

Oil: 2-3 tsp

Salt: To taste

Sesame oil: 1 tsp

Hot sauce: 2 tsp

Coriander leaves: 1 tsp

Method

Cook Basmati rice and spread the rice on a plate and allow it to cool.

Heat oil in a pan and add beans and carrot stirring for 3-4 minutes. Add capsicum, spring onion, ginger, garlic, green chili and salt and cook till the vegetables are just tender and it took me 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce and vinegar to the pan and sauté for 30 seconds. 

Remove from the heat, add sesame oil and hot sauce and stir well.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Crispy Noodles

Ingredients

Rice noodles: 100 gms

Paneer: 1 cup, cut into strips
Oil: For deep frying

For Sauce
Chopped garlic: 1 tsp

Chopped onion: ½ cup

Soy sauce: 2 tsp
Sugar: 2 tsp
Lemon juice: 2 tsp
Vegetable stock: 1 cup

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Olive oil: 2-3 tsp

Salt: To taste

For Garnishing
Diced cabbage: 1 cup
Bean sprouts: ¼ cup
Chopped spring onion: 1 cup

Boiled cauliflower florets: ½ cup

Slit red chilli: 2

Method
Heat oil and deep fry the noodles till crisp, drain and keep aside. Deep fry paneer till crisp, drain and keep aside.

To prepare sauce, heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and onion and sauté till onion turns translucent. Add soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, stock and salt and stir till the mixture starts to thicken. Add the fried paneer, chilli powder and mix well. Add the fried noodles, just before serving. 

Serve garnished with the cabbage, bean sprouts, spring onion and cauliflower and top with the slit red chilli.

Stir Fried Vegetables

Ingredients
Cubed cabbage: 1 cup

Cubed carrot: 1 cup

Baby corn: 1 cup

Mushroom: 1 cup

Broad beans: 1 cup

Cauliflower florets: 1 cup

Cubed capsicum: 1 cup

Oil: 2-3 tsp

Soya sauce: 2-3 tsp

Ginger, garlic and chilli paste: 2-3 tsp

Roasted sesame seeds: 3-4 tsp

Pepper powder: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste

Method

Fry the vegetables on high heat for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce and chilli paste. Add the roasted sesame seeds, pepper powder and salt and sauté well till all the vegetables are coated well. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Cauliflower 65

Trust me when I came across the word Chicken 65 for the first time, I was thinking how a single person can eat so many pieces! But later realised it's just the name and god knows why they gave that name to that dish. So thinking about that yesterday I had prepared Cauliflower 65 and here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets: 2 cups
Maida: ¼ cup

Besan: 2 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp

Ajinomoto: A pinch

Salt: To taste

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

For Seasoning
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Chopped onion: 1

Green chillies: 3

Curry leaves: 2 springs

Chopped coriander: 2-3 tsp

Method

Boil the cauliflower florets in salt water for 5-6 minutes. Drain and keep aside. 

Prepare batter by mixing besan, maida, salt, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder and ajinomoto by adding sufficient amount of water. Let the batter be neither thick nor thin. Dip each florets in the batter and deep fry till golden brown.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, chopped green chillies, onion and sauté for a minute. Add the fried cauliflower pieces to the seasoning mixture and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with tomato ketchup.