ALOO POSTO

INGREDIENTS:
5-6 Medium sized Potatoes
4 green chillies
1/2 tsp Nigella seeds (Kalonji)
6 tbsps Poppy seeds (posto dana)
3 tbsps mustard oil
1 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste


METHOD:
Grind poppy seeds and green chillies with little water. Make a smooth paste.

Cut the potatos into small dices. Wash thoroughly.

Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a wok. Add nigella seeds in it, stir for 1/2 minute.

Now add diced potatos and fry till light brown. Add sugar and salt in it. Now add poppy seeds paste and stir continuously.

If required add 1/2 cup of water. cover the lid and stir occationally till the potatos fully cooked.

When poppy seeds paste is closely mixed with the potato cubes, switch off the oven. Keep in mind, it is a dry preparation, so if excess water is there, evaporates the water by heating high.

Now Add ghee and mix well.

This is a preparation you can serve with steamed rice only.

CREAMY FENUGREEK CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb / 500 gm Boneless Chicken
2 tsp Dry Fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
2 tsp green chilli paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup of yoghurt
1 tsp crushed garam masala (cinamon, cardamom & clove mixture)
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp oil


METHOD:
Cut the chicken into cubes.

Marinate the chicken with garlic paste, green chilli paste, dry fenugreek leaves and yoghurt for 4 hours.

Now heat oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds in it, stir for 20-30 seconds.

Now add marinated chicken in it. Cover the lid and cook for 10-12 minutes on medium heat, stir occassionally.

Lower down the heat, add red chilli powder, salt, sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.

Now add crushed garam masala and sour cream in it. Stir well.

    

After 2 minutes, remove the pan from heat and serve hot with Chapati, Paratha or Pulao.

SHAHI COCOA TUKRA

INGREDIENTS:

12 Bread Slices
1/2 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
3-4 Cardamom (crushed)
1/2 Cup Drinking chocolate Powder
3 tbsp Clarified butter (ghee)
4-5 tbsp Oil

METHOD:
Cut all four hard sides of the bread slices. Now cut each square piece diagonally.

 In a saucepan, put water, sugar and cardamom. Bring it to boil for 15 minutes in a medium heat.

Heat oil and clarified butter in a pan. Fry all pieces of bread till light brown. Just dip each fried piece of bread in the syrup and rolls it on the chocolate powder. So that chocolate coats each bread slice eventually.

Now arrange all pieces in a tray one by one and serve as a dessert item.

PARSI DAAL

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup red lentils (Musoor Daal)
1 chopped green chilli
1 flake of garlic (chopped)
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Nigella seeds (kalonji)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (Jeera)
A pinch of red chilli powder
1 tbsp clarified butter (Ghee)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Cook red lentils in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric powder, Salt and sufficient water.

Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

After cooling down, mash the lentils a little and keep it in a sauce pan.

In a pan heat 1 tbsp of clarified butter. Add cumin seeds, nigella seeds, chopped garlic, green chilli and red chilli powder. Fry for 1 minute on low heat and pour over the boiled lentils.

Now put the sauce pan in a low heat and add a little water if required (checking the consistency of lentils). Now cook for 2 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapati or steamed rice.

VEGETABLE CUTLET

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium boiled potato (grated)
2 medium carrot (grated)
1 beet-root (grated)
1/2 cup finely chopped long green beans
2 green chillies (finely chopped)
Handful of green peas (frozen)
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chaat masala
3 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped)
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp cashewnuts
1 tbsp peanuts
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup bread crumb
Oil 6-7 tbsp
Salt to taste


METHOD:
Roast peanuts and cashewnuts and crush roughly.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds and grated ginger in it. Stir for 30 seconds. Now add chopped onion and fry till golden brown.

Add green beans, carrot, beet and green chillies in it. After stirring 2 minutes, add red chilli powder, garam masala and green peas in it.

Fry till all water evaporates. Now add crushed cashewnuts and peanuts. Stir for 2 minutes. Add flour in it and mix thoroughly.

Take grated potato in a large bowl. Put the fried mixture in it. Add coriander leaves, salt and lemon juice. Mix altogether very well.

Take one table spoon of mixture, give a flat round shape with your palms and coat with bread crumb. Keep it aside. Make all the cutlets accordingly.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Put 6-8 cutlets on the pan. Fry one side of each cutlet for 3 minutes and reverse side for another 2 minutes. So that each side of cutlets should be crispy and brown.

Put kitchen paper towel on a tray. Keep fried cutlets on it, so this paper towel absorbs excess oil from cutlets. Sprinkle chaat masala on the top of cutlets.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

TASTY BEET-ROOT

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Beet roots

Handful of raw peanuts
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 red chillies whole
2 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Grate beet roots.

Roast peanuts and crush roughly.

Roast red chillies, cumin seeds and coriander seeds. After roasting, grind smoothly.

Heat oil in a wok. Add finely chopped garlic and crushed peanut. fry till light brown.

Now add grated beet and stir fry. Meanwhile, add salt and cover the lid. Cook untill beets become tender.

Add grinded masalas in it. stir well. Make sure that all water evaporates and it supposed to be dry.

Remove from heat and mix coriander leaves and butter thoroughly.

Serve hot with roti or steamed rice.

KADHI RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

For Pakoras:
1 Cup gram flour (Besan)
1 tsp ajwain
1/4 Cup of chopped potato
1/4 Cup of chopped onion
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp grated ginger
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

For Kadhi:
1 Cup of yoghurt (curd)
1/4 Cup of gram flour (Besan)
2 cloves (Laung)
1/2" cinnamon stick (Dalchini)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (Hing)
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (Methidana)
1 tsp mustard seeds (Rai)
7-8 curry leaves (Curry patte)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder Haldi)
1 tsp red chilli powder (Lal Mirch)
1 tbsp clarified butter (Ghee)
1 tsp salt.

METHOD:
Except oil, mix all pakora ingredients and add 1/2 cup water. Mix thoroughly.
Heat oil in a wok. After making small balls from this mixture, deep fry these pakoras till golden brown.

Beat yoghurt and mix gram flour in it. To ensure that there are no lumps, blend thoroughly. Add 3 cups of water into it and blend the mixture again.

In a pan, heat clarified butter. Add crushed cloves and cinnamon stick. Then add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chilli powder, curry leaves and fry.

Now add the blended yoghurt-gram flour mixture and stir continuously till it boils. Add salt and turmeric powder into it. Cook in a reduced flame.

After 15-20 minutes, add pakoras. Cook it for 5 minutes more.

Remove from heat and serve hot with steamed rice.