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.

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.

Spicy and Tangy Tomato Rice

I cannot imagine my life without tomatoes. I use them almost every day in my cooking, besides eating them raw and using them in salads. My mom prepares yummy tomato rice which is spicy and tangy. She used to serve with generous amount of ghee and it used to be mouth-watering. Here’s the recipe for it:

IngredientsRice: ½ kg
Finely chopped onion: 2
Tomatoes: 2-3, pureed
Finely chopped tomatoes: 5-6
Finely chopped green chillies: 5-6

Grated ginger: 2 tsp
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 3-4 tsp
Salt: To taste
Cinnamon: 2 inches
Cloves: 5-6
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1-2 tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

For Seasoning
Mustard seeds: 2-3 tsp
Cumin seeds: 2-3 tsp
Bengal gram: 2-3 tsp
Urad dal: 2-3 tsp
Dry red chillies: 3-4, broken into pieces
Curry leaves: 3-4 springs
Asafoetida: ¼ tsp
Cashew nuts: 4-5 tsp
Ghee: 3-4 tsp
Oil: 3-4 tsp

Method
Cook rice and spread it on a plate to cool. Once it is cooled, add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee and separate each grain with the help of a spoon and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts till golden brown, drain them and keep aside. Heat oil in the same pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add Bengal gram, urad dal, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and broken red chillies. Sauté well till the lentils turn golden brown. Add asafetida and curry leaves and sauté for a few more seconds. Add chopped onion, green chillies and ginger and sauté till onion pieces turn translucent. Then add finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, and red chilli powder and mix well. Cook the mixture till tomatoes release juice, on a medium flame. Add tomato puree, garam masala and salt to taste. Simmer for 5-6 minutes and add the mixture to the rice. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and fried cashews and mix well. Serve tomato rice with yogurt or any raita of your choice.

Note: Cashew nuts can be substituted with peanuts.

Hara Bhara Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 4-5 medium sized, boiled
Green peas: 1 cup, boiled
Spinach: 1 bunch
Green chilies: 1 tsp, finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp, finely chopped
Ginger: 1 tsp, finely chopped
Chaat masala powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As per taste
Corn flour: 2-3 tsp
Oil: For deep-frying

 

Method
Grate the boiled potatoes and mash the boiled green peas. Cook spinach leaves in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes and wash the partly cooked leaves in cold water and squeeze out the excess water before finely chopping the leaves. Mix grated potatoes, peas and spinach and add chopped green chilies, chopped coriander leaves, chopped ginger, chaat masala powder and salt. Add corn flour to the mixture for binding. Divide the mixture into 25 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball and then press it in between your palms and flatten it. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the kebabs in hot oil for three to four minutes.

Note: If you are too diet conscious, you can shallow fry the kebabs on a tawa. To make kebabs look dark green, you can add more spinach leaves, but have to add more corn flour for a good binding.

Aloo Tikki

Ingredients
Potatoes: 3-4 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Salt: As per taste
Black pepper: ½ tsp


For stuffing
Green peas: ½ cup, cooked well
Ginger: ½ tsp minced
Garam masala: ¼ tsp
Salt: As per taste
Red chili powder: ¼ tsp
Cumin: 1tsp, dry roasted, coarsely grounded
Oil: For frying



Method
Mash the cooked green peas. Add all the stuffing ingredients except oil and mash well. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and keep aside. Mash the potatoes very finely and add salt and pepper and knead until properly mixed. Divide it also into 10 equal portions. Rub your palms with little oil.  Take each portion of potato mixture and make a ball. Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the centre and fold the edges together very finely so that the mixture does not come out. Very gently flatten the stuffed ball into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces. Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan. Slip in the patties and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding oil if required, on a very low heat. Serve tikkis with tomato sauce or mint chutney.