Ridge-gourd skin Chutney. ( Ghosale sheere chutney )

Ingredients :

Ridge-gourd skin ( ghosale sheere )  – 8 to 10 ( washed and cut into 1 inch pieces )

Fried Red chillies – 5 to 6

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Cumin seeds ( Jeera ) – 1 tsp

Ghee – 1 ½ tsp

Salt – To taste

Method :

Dry roast grated coconut till the water evaporates ( about 2 minutes ). Keep aside.

In a kadai, heat ghee. Add cumin seeds. After it starts to splutter, add ridge-gourd skin and roast till golden browned. Remove roasted ridge-gourd skin from kadai Keep aside.

Grind fried coconut + fried red chillies + salt ( WITHOUT ADDING WATER ). Before removing the ground paste, add roasted cumin seeds + ridge-gourd skin. Grind again into medium consistency paste by adding little water.

Serve with cooked rice and Dal ( dalitoy ).

Sprouted Moth bean Masala

Ingredients : 

Sproued Moth bean / Matki – 2 cup

Tomatoes – 2, large

Salt – To taste

Oil – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – Little ( finely chopped )

For preparing paste :

Onion – 1, sliced

Poppy seeds / Khus - Khus – 4 tsp

Cinnamon – 3 sticks

Cloves – 3

Pepper-corns – 3 to 4

Garlic – 2 cloves

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Roasted Red chillies – 6 to 7

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and roast poppy seeds + onion slices + cinnamon sticks + cloves + pepper-corns + coriander seeds + roasted red chillies. Grind the roasted ingredients into a coarse paste. Before removing the paste, add garlic and grind again fine paste by adding little water. Transfer the ground paste in a bowl and Keep aside.

Cut  the tomatoes into big slices. In a deep bottomed vessel, add the sliced tomatoes + ¼ cup of water and cook. Blend the cooked tomato slices into a smooth consistency puree by adding the water used for cooking. Keep aside.

In a deep bottomed kadai, add the sprouted moth beans, ground paste, 2 to 3 teaspoons of water and cook for 10 minutes. When cooked, add the pureed tomato and salt. Cook again for 5 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapatti. 

Paneer in Carrot-Tomato gravy

Ingredients :

Paneer – 1 cup ( cubed )

Carrot – 1, big ( boiled and pureed )

Tomatoes – 2 ( boiled and pureed )

Red chilly powder – 2 tsp

Asofoetida / Hing – A pinch

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Milk – 2 tsp

Salt – To taste

Oil – 3 tsp

Curry leaves – A strand

Coriander leaves – Little ( finely chopped )

Method :

In a kadai , heat oil. Add mustard seeds and asofoetida. When mustard seeds begin to crackle, add curry leaves, ginger paste and fry till the raw smell disappears. Then, add red chilly powder, pureed tomato and cook till the oil is left on the sides of the kadai.

Add pureed carrot and mix evenly. Cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and cook again for 2 minutes on high flame. Add cubed paneer and cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add milk, stir evenly and cook for a minute.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / chapatis.

Soya – Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients :

Paneer – 1 cup, crumbled

Soya granules – 1 cup ( soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes & then drain the

                                               water completely )

Tomato – ¼ cup , chopped into small pieces

Onion – ¼ cup , finely chopped

Capsicum – 1, small ( chopped into small pieces )

Green peas – ¼ cup ( blanched / boiled )

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Red chilly powder – ¾ tsp

Green chillies – 2 , chopped

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Salt – To taste

Oil – 3 tsp

Coriander leaves – Little, finely chopped

Method :

In a kadai, heat oil. Add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start to crackle, add onion pieces and fry till it becomes translucent. Then, add tomato pieces and green chilly pieces. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add crumbled paneer, soya granules and cook again for 3 minutes. Add capsicum pieces , green peas. Cover the kadai with lid and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / chapatis.

Potato – Palak Curry ( Aloo palak )

Ingredients :

Baby Potatoes – 4 to 5

Palak / Spinach – 1 bunch

Green chillies – 1 ( slit length-wise )

Onion – 2 ( finely chopped )

Cumin seeds / Jeera – ½ tsp

Ginger – garlic paste – ½ tsp

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp or according to taste

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Kasuri Methi ( Dry fenugreek leaves ) – ½ tsp ( crushed )

Milk-cream – 2 tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – To taste

Method :

Wash the baby potatoes. Prick the baby potatoes with a fork and pressure cook by adding little salt and water as required. ( pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles ). Then allow the cooked baby potatoes to cool for some-time. After the potatoes gets cooled peel the outer skin of the potatoes. In a pan , heat a tsp of oil. Add the cooked and peeled baby potatoes. Shallow-fry till golden browned on all sides. Transfer the baby potatoes on a cooking paper tissue and keep aside.

Wash the palak thoroughly. In a deep-bottomed vessel, add a cup of water, the washed palak and slit green chilly. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the water ( Do not throw the water used for cooking ). In a mixer, add the cooked palak and green chilly. Grind into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds begin to crackle, add finely chopped onion, turmeric powder and fry till onion turns golden browned. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add coriander powder, red chilly powder and mix evenly. Add the palak-green chilly paste and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the cooked and shallow fried baby potatoes and cook again for 7 to 8 minutes. Now, add the water used for cooking palak, salt to taste and cook again for 5 to 6 minutes. Finally, add the crushed kasuri methi , little milk-cream and mix evenly. Continue cooking for 3 minutes.

Serve hot with rotis/ chapatis.

Garlicky Palak Dal

Ingredients :

Toor dal – 1 cup

Palak – 1 bunch ( chopped )

Onion – 1 ( finely chopped )

Tomato – 1 ( chopped into small cube sized pieces )

Green chillies – 2 ( slit lengthwise )

Ginger – ½ tsp ( finely chopped )

Garlic – 3 cloves ( finely chopped )

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder - A pinch

Cumin seeds  ( Jeera ) – ½ tsp

Water – 1 ½ to 2 cups

Oil / Ghee – 2 tsp

Salt – To taste

Coriander leaves – Little ( finely chopped )

Method :

Pressure cook toor dal by water as required for 3 whistles.

In a kadai, heat oil or ghee. Add cumin seeds. After the cumin seeds begins to crackle, add ginger and garlic pieces. Fry till garlic becomes light browned. Add onion pieces and fry for 5 minutes. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, green chillies and mix evenly. Add chopped palak and sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomato pieces and sauté again for 5 minutes. Add pressure cooked toor dal and salt. Mix evenly. Cook on medium flame for about 8 to 10 minutes without closing the kadai with a lid. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / chapatis or cooked white rice.

Garlic Potatoes

Ingredients :

Baby Potatoes – 10 to 12 ( boiled and peeled )

Garlic – 15 cloves ( peeled ) + 4 to 5  cloves

Grated Coconut – 1 ½ cup

Long Red chillies – 10 to 12

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Carom seeds / Ajwain / Oam kaalu – ½ tsp

Tamarind – A little

Salt – To taste

Oil – 2 tsp

Coriander leaves - little ( finely chopped )

Method :

Grind grated coconut + Tamarind + coriander seeds + 15 cloves of garlic + carom seeds + salt into smooth masala by adding little water.

In a kadai, heat oil. Add 4 to 5 garlic and fry till it becomes reddish. Then, add the ground masala and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Finally, add the boiled and peeled baby potatoes. Mix evenly and Cook for 10 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot.

Mushroom Tikka Masala

Ingredients :

For Marinating and frying vegetables :

Mushrooms – 12

Red Capsicum – 1

Green Capsicum – 1

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Red Chilly powder – ¼ tsp

Strained yogurt – 1 cup

Oil – 1 tbsp

For Preparing Gravy :

Onion – 1, big ( finely chopped )

Tomatoes – 3,medium ( pureed )

Cumin seeds – ¾ tsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Red Chilly powder – ¼ tsp

Kasoori Methi – 2 tbsp

Salt – To Taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves –Little ( for garnishing )

Method :

Clean mushroom and capsicums. Cut the mushrooms into half. Deseed the capsicums and cut into medium square pieces.

In a bowl, add the mushroom & capsicum pieces, strained yogurt, turmeric powder and red chilly powder. Mix evenly and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a pan, heat oil. When the oil gets heated, add the marinated veggies. Fry and Cook on medium heat till the vegetables become light browned. ( Do not stir the veggies much as they won’t become browned )

In a kadai, heat oil. Add cumin seeds. When it starts to crackle, add the onion pieces and fry till golden browned. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomato puree, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Bring to boil. Simmer and let the gravy to cook till the gravy becomes thick ( If the gravy becomes too thick, add ½ cup water ).

When the gravy is done, add the cooked mushroom and capsicum pieces to the gravy. Add kasoori methi and salt. Cook on medium heat till the capsicum gets cooked. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / phulkas.

Saag Paneer

Ingredients :

Paneer – ½ cup ( cut into equal sized cubes )

Palak ( Spinach / Saag ) – 1 bunch

Onion – 1, medium ( finely chopped )

Tomatoes – 2 , medium ( pureed )

Green chillies – 2 ,chopped

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsps

Cumin powder – 2 tsps

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala powder  - A pinch

Salt – To taste

Oil – 2 tbsp + for frying

Method :

Wash the spinach thoroughly, cook it for 5 minutes by adding enough water. Remove and add it to the mixer along-with the chopped green chillies and grind into a smooth consistency paste.

Marinate the chopped paneer by adding ½ tsp turmeric powder , ½ tsp red chilly powder and ½ tsp salt. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. Then, take deep bottomed frying pan, heat oil. Add the marinated paneer cubes and fry till all the sides of the paneer becomes golden browned. Remove from oil and drain the excess oil from paneer on a kitchen tissue paper. Keep aside.

In a kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the finely chopped onion, ginger-garlic paste and fry till golden browned. Add the remaining red chilly powder + turmeric powder + coriander powder + cumin powder and fry till the raw smell of the spice powders disappears. Then, add the tomato puree and cook by stirring frequently till the oil gets separated. Then, add the palak puree and salt to taste. Close the kadai with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Finally, add garam masala powder and cook further for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with chapatis / phulkas.

Malabar Spinach and Raw papaya curry ( Vaali Ambat )

Ingredients :

Raw Papaya – 1, small ( peeled , deseeded and chopped into square pieces )

Malabar Spinach (vaali / basale ) – 1 bunch , ( 1 kaatu in Konkani ) , chopped and washed

Onion – 3, medium

Toor dal ( yellow pigeon peas ) – 1 cup

Grated Coconut – 2 cups

Roasted Red chillies – 8 to 9

Tamarind pulp – 1 tsp

Oil – 2 tsps

Jaggery – As per taste

Salt – To taste

Water – As required

Method :

Chop 2 onions into small square pieces and 1 onion into fine pieces.

Pressure cook toor dal till 3 to 4 whitles. Mash it. Keep aside.

Grind grated coconut + roasted red chillies + tamarind pulp into a smooth masala by adding water as required. Keep aside.

Cook raw papaya for 10 minutes. Then add chopped Malabar spinach to it and cook again for 10 minutes. Then, add the 2 onion ( cut into square pieces ) to it and cook again for 10 minutes. Then, add the mashed toor dal , salt . Mix evenly and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ground masala and stir evenly. Then, add jaggery and cook again on low flame till the jaggery gets melt.

Meanwhile, in a seasoning ladle heat oil. When oil gets heated, add the finely chopped onion pieces and prepare a seasoning till onion gets dark browned.

Finally add the seasoning to the Malabar spinach and papaya curry and mix evenly.

      Serve hot with steamed rice.

Cluster Beans Masala ( Mitkesaang Masala / Javalikayi Masala )

Ingredients :

Cluster beans ( Mitkesaang / Javalikayi ) – 150 gms ( washed and cut into 1 inch pieces )

Onion – 1, big ( finely chopped )

Tomato – 1, medium ( finely chopped )

Ginger–garlic paste – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Cumin ( Jeera ) seeds – 1 tsp

Red chilly powder – As per taste

Jaggery – Little

Salt – To taste

Oil – 2 tsps

Water – As per required

Method :

In a kadai, add oil. When it gets heated, add cumin seeds. When it crackles, add finely chopped onion and fry till golden browned. Add finely chopped tomato and fry till it gets mushy. Then, add ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 turmeric powder, red chilly powder and fry for 3 to 4 minute. Add salt and little jaggery. After jaggery gets melt, add cluster beans pieces and little water. Cover the kadai with lid and cook till cluster beans gets tender. If you want more gravy finallly add more water.

Serve hot.

Corn in creamy Spinach gravy

Ingredients :

Corn – ½ cup ( chopped into 1 inch pieces )

Spinach – ¼ bunch

Tomato – 1 ,medium ( chopped into small pieces )

Onion – 1 , small ( chopped into small pieces )

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp

      Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

      Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

      Coriander powder – ½ tsp

      Cumin powder – ½ tsp

      Salt – To taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Method :

      Wash and chop the spinach leaves.

Boil spinach leaves, tomato and onion together for 5 minutes , adding 1 cup water and little turmeric powder to it.

Boil the corn for 2 minutes.

Now cool the spinach mixture and grind along-with the water used to boil into a smooth paste .

In a kadai, heat oil. Add the ground paste and stir for 2 minutes. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder , cumin powder , ginger-garlic paste and salt . Mix evenly.Finally add the boiled corn and cook for 2 minutes.

      Serve hot.

Mushrooms with Spring Onion in Gravy

Ingredients :

Button Mushrooms – 2 cups ( chopped )

Spring onion greens – 20 stalks ( chopped )

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Garam masala powder – A pinch

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – Little ( finely chopped )

Salt – To taste

Oil - 3 tsp

For grinding masala :

Tomato – 1 ( chopped )

Red chillies – As per taste or 3

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Saunf / Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Coriander seeds – 2 tsps

Cashewnuts – 10 ( soaked in water )

Method :

Grind  tomato + red chillies + peppercorns + fennel seeds + coriander seeds + cashewnuts into a fine paste by adding little water. Keep aside.

 In a kadai , heat oil. Add cumin seeds. After it starts to crackle , add chopped spring onion greens and sauté for a while. Add chopped mushrooms and turmeric powder. Stir continuously. Add garam masala powder and mix evenly. Add ground paste ( If the gravy is too thick, add little water ). Add salt to taste and mix evenly. Cook till oil gets separated from the gravy. Finally , garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / chapatis / phulkas.