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

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.

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.

Potato Wedges

Ingredients

Potatoes: 2-3

Oil: 2 tsp

Crushed garlic: 1 tsp

Garam masala: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Pepper powder: ½ tsp

Salt: To taste

Method

Peel and cut potatoes into wedges. Cook in water adding little salt till slightly soft. Drain and pat dry. Prick gently with a fork on each wedge and keep aside. Mix oil and all the seasoning together and add it to the potatoes. Toss wedges gently so that each wedge is coated evenly. Transfer to a baking tray and roast in microwave oven till golden brown and crisp. Serve with hot and sweet sauce.

Baby Corn Manchurian

Ingredients

Baby corn: 2 cups

Corn flour: 1 cup

Rice flour: ½ cup

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste

Oil: For deep fry

For Seasoning

Chopped spring onion: 1 cup

Sliced onion: 1 cup

Crushed garlic: 1 tsp

Soy sauce: 1 tsp

Hot sauce: 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup: 1 tsp

Ajinomoto: A pinch

Vinegar: 1 tsp

Olive oil: 2-3 tsp

Salt: To taste

Method

Cut baby corn length wise and cook for 5-6 minutes in boiling water adding little salt. Drain the corn and keep aside.

Add enough water and mix corn flour, rice flour, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt and prepare a batter which is neither thin nor thick. Dip cooked baby corn in the batter and deep fry till golden brown and drain on tissue towel.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan and add garlic, onion, spring onion and sauté till onion turns translucent. Add fried baby corn, and then add soy sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, salt, tomato ketchup and oregano one by one. Stir well and serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Schezwan Sauce

Ingredients
Sesame oil: ½ cup

Red chillies: 8

Finely chopped onion: 1

Finely chopped garlic: 2 tsp

Finely chopped ginger: 2 tsp

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Corn flour: 4 tsp, mixed in a cup of water

Vinegar: 2 tsp

Soy sauce: 2 tsp

Chilli sauce: 2 tsp

Salt: 2 tsp

Method
Grind together the onions, garlic and ginger. Heat oil in a pan and add red chillies and sauté on high flame till they darken. Add the onions, garlic and ginger paste and stir fry over high heat till glossy. Add the corn flour mixture and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and add chilli powder, vinegar, soy sauce, chilli sauce and salt and mix well. Cook for another minute and transfer to a serving bowl.

Quick Pasta

Ingredients
Boiled pasta: 2 cups (I use Penne Rigate for this recipe)

Finely chopped tomato: ½ cup

Finely chopped onion: ½ cup

Finely chopped capsicum: ½ cup

Chopped ginger: 1 tsp

Chopped garlic: 1 tsp

Chopped green chillies: 2-3

Salt: To taste
Olive oil: 2-3 tsp

Tomato sauce: 2 tsp

Method

Grind chillies, ginger, garlic and tomato sauce together. Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Saute well, add capsicum and then chopped tomatoes.  Add the paste and stir well. Add salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add water if you need gravy. Add pasta and toss gently so that the pasta is covered well with the masala. Serve hot.

Kadai Mushroom

Ingredients

Mushrooms: ½ kg

Oil: 3-4 tsp

Dry red chillies: 8-10

Finely chopped onion: ½ cup

Ginger-garlic paste: 7-8 tsp

Garam masala: 2-3 tsp
Kasoori methi: 1 tsp

Tomatoes: ¼ kg

Salt: To taste
Coriander seeds: 2 tsp

Black peppercorns: 1-2 tsp

Slit green chillies: 5-6

Chopped coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp

Method:
Boil tomatoes in water, peel the skin, deseed and chop them. Wash mushrooms and cut each of them into quarter. Dry roast coriander seeds and crush them coarsely. 

Heat oil in a pan and add dry red chillies, onion, ginger-garlic paste and sauté well. Add garam masala, kasoori methi and tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Add mushroom pieces carefully and toss well till the mushrooms are coated well. Add salt, coriander powder, pepper corns, green chillies and sauté. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.