Dal Khichdi,Indian,

Normally Khichdi sounds boring , but this one NOO! trust me it could do wonders for ur palate:)
This one pot meal, is eaten by my dad almost everyday. Its a Gujarati dinner tables must have.
If you are a spice lover! don't get scared to add in a extra kick, it will make it taste better. I would highly recommend you to prepare this dish with "ghee"only and while serving drizzle it with a spoon full of it whole heartedly.:)

MIX VEGI KHICDI
1/2 cup Tur dal
1 cup Basmati rice
2 cups Water
2 .Cloves
1"piece. Cinnamon
pinch of Turmeric powder
Salt To taste
pinch of red chili powder
pinch of garam masala
Ghee
asafoedita
1tsb cumin
few curry leaves
Mixed veggies cubed. (onion, potato, beans, carrot)1tbs crushed ginger garlic paste.
Rinse the dal and rice with enough water to clean and soak them for about an hour or more.
In a heated pan, add cumin seeds, asafoedita, and curry leaves, then throw in the
clove and cinnamon .As you smell the fragrance add ginger and garlic paste, saute for few seconds and
add all the mixed chopped veggies. stir them for a minute or more and add all the
dry spices.Let the spices cook for about a minute, then add rice and dal to the pan.
saute the mix well with the veggies and add salt.

Let all the water in the pan dry. As the rice starts to stick the pan add the measured quantity of water and cook on
low flame until cooked sprinkle some kasoori methi.garnish with coriander.
You could also do this in your rice cooker.
Just saute the veggies and rice and after that add the mix to your rice cooker with measured water. :)
enjoy it with curd n pickle:)

Tofu sandwich.

TOFU SANDWICHES

Another dish that i made on valentines day:) easy, low cal , tasty:)

Regular bread or long Parmesan bread sliced diagonally.

Salad mix. (you can throw in any greens u like)

Thin slices of Tomato.

Thin slices of red onion.

Jalapenos

Olives sliced.

Hummus.

One pack of hard tofu (momen tofu).

For tofu marinade.

4-5tbs Olive oil.(you could use less if you want it to be low-cal)

2 tbs finely chopped garlic

1 tbs vinegar

sprinkle of mixed herbs(fresh is better)

salt

black pepper

red chili flakes.

First cut your tofu into long rectangles and marinade them for about 2 hours or more.After its stayed on, heat a nonstick pan and put the tofu cubes on them carefully. You do not need oil in the pan because the marinade has enough oil. cook both sides until nice crisp brown.Assemble your sandwiches when you are ready to serve.Spread a good spoon full of hummus on the bread first, throw in your greens, keep a slice of tomato and onion, tofu, olives, jalapenos and cover with another slice of bread spreaded with hummus:)

p.s I love you :)

This post is due since valentines day. But something or the other is keeping me occupied enough to blog down.Well old saying's never go amiss:) "WAY TO MANS HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH"It hold perfectly true for me. A dull day but some delectable food can bring smile on his face:)I could not do much for valentines day for him because of my on the run routine with kaira(my baby girl) . But i knew i had to make some nice food for him. It had to be something ITALIAN for sure. spaghetti was habitual, Lasagna was not too appealing.. It had to be something I've never made before, RAVIOLI:) yes! I've never made that before, always wanted to try it, had a can of mushrooms lying around since long, had some lovely basil and fresh spinach too:)It sure is time consuming and tedious to make it but WORTH it:) trust me!



SPINACH MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

For the raviolis:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. olive oil
water
pinch salt

For the filling:
1bunch of spinach,chopped
Half cup finely chopped mushrooms
2 tbs. bread crumbs (to make it more creamier)
1 tsp fresh basil chopped
1tbs cottage cheese or any other creamy cheese u like.
salt Red pepper (as per Ur taste)

For the sauce:
1 can tomatoes
1 onion minced or finely chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic crushed.
1 big basil leaf
salt and pepper to taste
dash of lemon
Red pepper according to taste

For the ravioli dough:In a bowl, combine the ingredients to make a dough. Wrap in a wet towel and let sit for 30 minutes.

For the sauce:
Saute the minced onion in the olive oil until the onion is pink.add garlic and saute. Add the tomatoes and reduce heat to simmer add basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and continue to simmer on a low heat. Season to taste with additional salt, pepper and red pepper.

Making the ravioli:
Roll the dough into a big oval and cut out your ravioli shapes and fill with the filling. Place the top part of the sheet over the filling and close with a fork. Keep it aside fr 15 min.Put your ravioli into the salty water and cook. They are ready when they come floating to the top.When ready to serve, put a layer of sauce on the plate and lay the raviolis on top.
enjoy:)

DAL PAKWAN

DAL PAKWAN

This is normally a Sunday breakfast for sindhi's :)
Yes it sure is hi on fat :) but it tastes yum :)

Pakwan

2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp jeera
Oil to deep-fry
Knead stiff dough with the above ingredients
Roll into flat large rounds as thin as possible. Prick all over with a fork.
Heat the oil and put the pakwan in and fry to a light golden.
Once cool store in an air tight box.

Dal
2 cups Chana dal
Salt
1tbs jeera
1tsp turmeric
1tbs red chili
1tbs coriander pwd
1tbs amchur pwd
Green chilies

Boil channa dal with salt and turmeric till cooked but not over cooked, it should stay whole.
There should be very little water remaining after it’s cooked.
Transfer the dal to your serving dish. And prepare the tadka.
Heat some ghee and add cumin and slit green chilies
Pour this over the daal and sprinkle all the dry masalas
Serve with the pakwan and chutney.

BESAN CHILA

BESAN CHILA

1 cup besan (gram-flour)
1 cup water
salt to taste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ajwain

green chillies-finely chopped
1/2 cup methi leaves-finely chopped (optional)
Half a onion finely chopped
1 tomato (optional)
Oil

Mix all the ingredients, except oil, to make thick batter.
In a non stick add a little oil and add a big spoonful of batter and spread like a dosa.
Cook on low heat and Flip it over to on the other side.:).

METHI THEPLA

My love for Gujarati food will never diminish. I love sweet and spicy food. My mom would make these in bulk and keep them in a casserole on the table. And any time of the day we kids were hungry we would just grab one and dab some pickle on it and :) yeaaa yummy treat!
The bitter taste of methi and a light tinge of sugar give it that perfect gujju taste:)

METHI THEPLA
cups atta
2 tbsp oil
½ cup dried methi or 2 cups fresh methi
salt
2 tsp ginger
green chillies
1 tsp garlic
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp sugar
yogurt to knead

Knead with yogurt and make small thin paratha’s .

RAVA IDLI

My cousin asked me for some quick recipes :) well here are some instant posts just for u :) Mrs. U :)

Rava idli, one of my most favourite diet foods:) Its quick and easy to prepare. Tastes yum!,

Goes well with absolutely anything at home. Just a sprinkle of podi powder, any kind of chutney, rasam ,sambar, dal.. jus dip it with anything or not its simple flavours would make you want it more.

RAVA IDLI
2 cups sooji/rava (semolina)
1 cup dahi (yogurt)
1 tbs oil
1 tbs mustard seeds
1/2 tsp hing (asafoedita)

1/2 tsp baking soda (soda-bi-carb)
1 tbs chana dal (split chickpea)
1 tbs urad dal
3 dry red chilies cut into half
Curry leaves,
Coriander
Chopped green chilies
Salt
Heat oil in a heavy pan. Splutter the mustard and hing.
Now add the red chilies and the curry leaves.
Stir for a few seconds and add the dals.
Make a paste like batter of sooji adding curd and a little water if required.
Add the tadka that uve made to the batter and at the end add the baking soda and stir well.
Pour the batter in a idli case or a cake pan n steam for about 10 min :)