Let's cook. And eat.

Easy one pot meal. Made it Rajasthani style because sugar in daal would not fly with Mr. S.  Here is the recipe I followed: https://www.mygingergarlickitchen.com/exquisite-rajasthani-dal-dhokli-recipe/ Except I made mine in instapot- pressure cooked for 7 minutes after adding the dhokli and natural release. 

The idea came from Reena Di. She suggested making halwa with quinoa. I was intrigued to no end so decided to make it. After all it was Ganesha’s birthday and he loves sweets.  Start off with dry grinding 1 cup of quinoa. Roast it in 4-5 tbsp of ghee. Meanwhile boil 1 cup of water or milk with 1 cup of sugar. Go less on the sugar if you like it less sweet. Add a tsp of cardamom powder and some saffron threads. I actually ended up using coconut sugar. Once the quinoa is roasted add the boiling liquid into the pan and stir quickly. Roast/stir for a couple of more minutes. Add some slivered almonds. Done. 

This recipe has been sitting in the draft box because I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. But I need to post it so it enters my recipe box.  The recipe itself is a mish mash of what I already knew and some of the tips came from my friendly neighbor- Mr. M. He once made the most awesome Kadhi and shared some.  2 cups of room temperature yoghurt whisked with 6-7 cups of water and about 2 heaping spoons of besan. Add turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder along with ginger-garlic paste and whisk.  Dry roast 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 2-3 dry red chilies. Add ghee, 1/4 tsp Asafoetida, thinly sliced onions (1 medium), a few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp methi daana. Sauté for a few till the onions are a bit translucent.  Add the yoghurt mixture and simmer for 30-50 minutes. Salt to taste. Add pakodis and cilantro. Simmer for another couple of minutes.  For the pakodis, use sliced onions with besan, carom seeds, salt, coriander powder. Fry like sma...

Inspired by Lady G. She made it and posted a picture, and it looked good. I went looking for a recipe and found this one.  https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/dahi-toast Used it as is, except I used ghee instead of olive oil. Homemade sourdough made it even better.  Lip smacking good. 

What I really liked about this recipe was how quickly the paneer tikkas that go into the roll came about. There was no marination required - hence no planning beforehand. Added bonus was Master S and I enjoyed grilling the skewered kebabs on the flame stove. This one is definitely a winner. We used store bought methi theplas to make the rolls.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKF1F6XfgrY

Kanda means onion, bhaji means pakoras or fritters. The beauty of this recipe is how easily it comes together. It was shared by my friend, and I was drooling just looking at the pictures. Shredded potatoes (2), shredded carrots(1-2), shredded bell peppers (1) - squeeze in a piece of cloth to drain our water. Add thinly sliced onions (1-2), besan 1 cup(chick pea flour), salt, cumin powder, chaat masala, turmeric, red pepper - basically any dry masalas to your taste. Make round flat tikkis or patties and heat them in oil on medium heat till dark golden brown.  For the chutney, take hung yoghurt 1 cup with some cilantro and mint - half cup each. Run in a blender. Salt and pepper to taste. 

The natural bitterness of fenugreek pairs well with the creaminess of paneer and cream. Methi malai paneer is a definite hit in our household. The recipe I generally follow resembles this one very closely - https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/methi-malai-paneer-recipe/ I skip the cashews. And instead of water I used milk in the gravy.  There is another simpler but equally delicious version of this paneer that my mom makes. Her version skips most of the masalas and the tomatoes. You start with sauteing onions and garlic in some oil along with some cumin and turmeric, and when the onion is translucent you add some cream, the paneer, some coriander powder and kasoori methi. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Her recipe comes together quickly and is equally delicious - the flavors are simple but oh so good!

Had to put that first harvest to use, so I decided to make aloo methi. I love the bitterness of the methi leaves paired with the crispness of sauteed potatoes. At home, whenever mom made aloo methi, we would eat it for lunch/dinner and then the following day snack on the leftovers with matthi (crisp indian snack bread). I like to keep the flavors of aloo methi simple and I typically follow the same steps that I saw my mom make with. For posting here though, I decided to go look for a recipe that's similar (since I am lazy to write measurements and most people prefer having some proportions to cook with). This one came pretty darn close. https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/aloo-methi-recipe-dry-aloo-methi-recipe/ Sometimes I add a bit of garlic - its totally skippable. And if I sprinkle the leaves with salt beforehand to remove the bitterness, I also add some turmeric to it (just a sprinkling, about 1/4 teaspoon). Enjoy!

I drool just thinking about Rajasthani food. My family in India knows it too - no wonder it was at my sister’s place that I first had daal baati churma. She loves to cook, I love to eat and when I visit she goes all out to pamper us all. Some people are a blessing and she is one such person in my life. Anyhow, when I made this dish for the first time, I followed Manali’s recipe. It’s easy and good - and the baati is baked. The saunf/fennel in the baati adds a nice touch of flavor. This dish has been made multiple times during the lockdowns. Definitely a winner!  https://www.cookwithmanali.com/rajasthani-dal-bati/ (With a crunchy pickled salad on the side)