Mushroom Munchurian

Ingredients

Mushroom: ¼ kg
Ajinomotto: 1 pinch
Ginger and garlic paste: 2-3 tsp
Soy sauce: 2 tsp

Vinegar: 2 tsp
Pepper powder: 1 tsp

Red chilli powder: 2-3 tsp
Egg: 1
Corn flour: 3-4 tsp
Chopped green chillies: 2-3 tsp
Chopped garlic: 2-3 tsp
Oil: To fry
Salt: To taste
Spring onion: 3-4 tsp

Method
Marinate mushrooms with soy sauce, salt, 1 tsp chilli powder, pepper powder, ajinomotto, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger-garlic paste for 3-4 hours. 

Beat the egg, add the remaining chilli powder, salt and corn flour. Be careful while preparing the mixture, as it should not be too thick. Mix well and add the marinated mushrooms in the egg mixture and mix well until all the mushrooms are well coated. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the mushrooms till they turn golden brown.

Heat a little oil, add the chopped green chillies and garlic and sauté well. Add the fried mushrooms and sauté for a minute. Garnish with chopped spring onions before serving.

Note: Can use coriander also to garnish.

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.

Vegetable Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 2 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Paneer: 1 cup
Cauliflower: 1 cup
Cabbage: 1 cup
Green chili: 2, finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Maida: 1 cup
Chili powder: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tsp
Salt: As per taste
Water: 1 cup
Oil: For deep frying



Method
Grate the boiled potatoes, paneer, cabbage and cauliflower. Heat ghee in a pan and fry both cabbage and cauliflower for 4-5 minutes. Then add potato, paneer, green chilies and salt. Check the salt at this stage and cook till all the water from the vegetables dries up. Remove from the fire and allow it to cool. Make small balls of the mixture and flatten between your hands and keep aside. Make a batter by mixing maida, ¼ tsp salt, chili powder in 1 cup of water. Heat oil in a frying pan, dip all the kebabs in the maida batter and deep fry them till golden brown. Serve them hot with pudina or tomato sauce.

Tadka Raita

Ingredients
Yogurt: 1 cup
Salt: As per taste
Green chili: 1
Mint leaves: 1 cup
Curry leaves: 2-3 strands
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tsp

Method
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add curry leaves and green chili and sauté till they are crisp and remove from fire. Add it to the yogurt and check for salt. Mix well and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve chill.

Onion Raita

In summer, we all love to keep our body cool and when we have spicy food, we feel like having yogurt and a plain yogurt will not satisfy our taste buds. So here is what I do with yogurt, turn it into tasty raita with few additions.




Ingredients
Yogurt: 1 cup
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Green chili: 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 3-4 tsp finely chopped
Salt: According to taste

Method
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Check salt and add if required. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with coriander leaves. Chill and serve.

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 Shami Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 4-5
Chana dal: 1 cup
Garlic: 12 cloves
Cumin: 1 tsp
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Dry red chili: 10-12
Black cardamom: 1
Green cardamom: 3-4
Clove: 3-4
Cinnamon: 1 inch piece
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp
Onion: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Green chili: 1tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Saffron: A few strands
Sweet kewra: A few drops
Salt: As per taste




Method
Peel, wash and boil potatoes with chana dal, garlic, cumin, black pepper, dry red chili, black cardamom, green cardamom, salt, clove and cinnamon, together until chana dal becomes soft but not placid. The water level over the ingredients should be only 1 inch above the ingredients. Grind the cooked ingredients without adding any water. Check salt at this stage. Then add chopped green chili, chopped onion, chopped coriander leaves, kewra, saffron and lemon juice to the paste. Make small balls and flatten between your hands like an aloo tikki. Heat oil in frying pan and shallow fry kebabs till golden brown and serve with pudina chutney.

Note: If the paste becomes too soft, you can add some roasted gram flour as a binding agent.

Aloo Raita

Ingredients
Potato: 1 cooled, peeled and cut into small cubes
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Green chili: 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp finely chopped
Yogurt: 2 cups
Salt: As per taste
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dry chili: 2 broken
Curry leaves: 2-3 strands
Oil: 1 tsp




Method
Mix yogurt, potato cubes, coriander leaves, chopped chili and salt and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add dry chili and curry leaves. Saute till they are crisp and add tadka to the raita. Mix well and for few seconds and then transfer the Tadka to raita and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Chill the raita before serving.