ALOO KA HALWA / POTATO DESSERT

Ingredients (Serves: 4 - 6)

Potatoes: 750 gms (boiled and mashed)
Ghee: 150 gms
Sugar: 350 gms
Cardamom: 4-5 (powdered / crushed)
Dry nuts: Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, etc finely chopped
              (choice depends on availability)

Method:
1.  First heat ghee in a non-stick heavy pan.
2.  Once heated, put crushed cardamom in it.
3.  Put mashed potatoes in the pan.
4.  Fry the mashed potatoes on low and medium heat continuously stirring,
5.  Once it turns light golden brown or the aroma starts coming, add sugar.
6.  Mix properly, continuously stirring on low heat only.
7.  Stir the mixture till the mixture leaves the pan or the halwa leaves the ghee.
8.  Pour the halwa on a tray and with the help of flat spatula spread on the tray.
9.  Garnish the halwa with the nuts available.

Allow it to set and cool. Cut into pieces before serving.
Alternatively, it could be served warm also without setting.

RICE SEWAI UPMA / RICE VERMICELLI UPMA

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Rice sewai / vermicelli: 100 gms

Onion: sliced ½ cup

French beans: 100 gms

Carrot: 1 medium sized

Green capsicum: 1 medium sized

Curry leaves: 10-12

Coriander leaves: finely chopped 2 tsp

Mustered seeds: ½ tsp

Lemon juice: 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil: 1 tbsp

Method:

1.      Wash all the vegetables and cut them into small pieces.

2.      Boil the vermicelli in water along with salt and little amount of oil.

3.      Once boiled drain out the excess water and keep the vermicelli aside.

4.      Heat oil in a frying pan, put mustered seeds and curry leaves.

5.      When mustered seeds start sputtering, add sliced onions and sauté them till light brown.

6.      After this add carrot, beans, and capsicum in the onions and sauté them.

7.      When the vegetables are half cooked add the sewai / vermicelli in the pan. Mix well.

8.      Add salt as per taste, lemon juice and 1 tsp chopped coriander and mix well.

9.      Once mixed properly  take out the sewai in a serving bowl and garnish with left over coriander.

10.  Serve hot.

MOONG DAL CHEELE / PANCAKES

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Moong dal: 250 gms soaked for 2-4 hrs

Onions: finely chopped 1 cup

Coriander leaves: ½ cup

Green chilies: 8-10 finely chopped

Roasted cumin powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil

Method:

1.      Wash green gram properly and grind into a fine paste.

2.      Take the paste in a mixing bowl, and mix all the above ingredients in the paste properly.

3.      Heat a crepe pan and spread a small amount of oil on the pan.

4.      Now take the batter in a table spoon and spread it on the pan like a pancake.

5.      When the pancake turns light brown underneath, turn the cake over and let it turn brown the other side.

Plate it on a serving plate and serve hot with tomato chutney / green chutney / garlic chutney.

BESAN CHEELE / GRAM FLOUR PANCAKES

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Besan / Gram flour: 400 gms

Onions: finely chopped 2 cups

Coriander leaves: 1 cup

Green chilies: 8-10 finely chopped

Roasted cumin powder: 1 tsp

Water as required

Salt to taste

Oil

  

Method:

1.      Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, add water to make a thin batter of the besan.

2.      Heat a crepe pan and spread a small amount of oil on the pan.

3.      Now take the batter in a table spoon and spread it on the pan like a pancake.

4.      When the pancake turns light brown underneath, turn the cake over and let it turn brown the other side.

Plate it on a serving plate and serve hot with tomato chutney / green chutney / garlic chutney.

DAL TIKIYA

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Wheat flour: 1½ cups

Pigeon-peas / Split Red Gram / Yellow lentil / Tur daal: 1½ cups

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Onion: 1 medium sized finely chopped

Tomatoes: 2-3 medium sized

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp

Dry red chillies: 4-5 (fried)

Garam masala: ½ tsp

Cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Roasted cumin powder: ½ tsp

Chopped coriander: 2-3 tsp

Curry leaves: 12-15

Ghee: 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

1.      Take a mixing bowl add wheat flour and knead a dough out of it as in case of chapattis. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

2.      In a pressure cooker put tur dal with 4 cups of water and turmeric powder and salt for cooking. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.

3.      Now heat a frying pan, put ghee in the pan and let it heat up.

4.      Now add mustard seeds in ghee, when they sputter, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and red chilies.

5.      Then add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute.

6.      Add onions and sauté till light brown.

7.      Once onions are cooked add chopped tomatoes and cook them till they are completely cooked and mashed.

8.      Once the tomatoes are cooked, add garm masala powder, cumin powder and coriander leaves and sauté for a minute.

9.      Add salt as per taste.

10.  Mix the cooked tur dal in this tadka and mix well.

11.  Add water if dal is too thick.

How to make tikiya:

1.      Make small balls of the dough and roll them upto 6 cms diameter ( like small puris ).

2.      Make around 10-12 rotis of the same size or you can also roll a big roti and with a small round bowl cut small rotis out of it.

3.      Now add these rotis one by one in the boiling dal, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes.

4.      Once tikiya are cooked in the dal, plate it on a serving dish.

5.      Garnish with chopped coriander and fried red chillies.

BANANA ROLLS WITH SWEET AND SOUR CURD DIP

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Raw banana: 4 (boiled )

Potatoes: 2 medium sized (boiled)

Gram flour / besan: ½ cup or sufficient for binding

Chopped coriander: 2-3 tsp

Chopped green chilies: 4-5

Chopped ginger: 1 tsp

Chat masala: 1 tsp

Carom seeds: ½ tsp

Maida: 4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Curd dip ingredients:

Hung curd: 1 cup

Sugar: 1- 2 tsp

Red chilly powder: ½ tsp

Roasted cumin powder: ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

1.      In a mixing bowl, add banana and potatoes, and mash the properly.

2.      Add besan and the other ingredients except maida in the bowl and mix well.

3.      Add per salt as per the taste.

4.      Now take maida in a separate bowl and add double the quantity of water and mix well.

5.      Make small balls of the banana mixture and give them the shape of oval rolls.

6.      Heat oil in a pan.

7.      Dip the rolls in liquid maida, one by one and put in the oil for frying.

8.      Fry on medium flame.

9.      Once fried put them on the paper napkin.

10.  Plate them on a serving plate and serve with curd dip.

Curd dip preparation:

1.      Take curd in a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients in the curd.

2.      Mix well.

3.      Pour in a serving bowl to be used as an accompaniment with banana rolls.

SOYA CUTLETS

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

Soya nuggets: 1 cup (boiled)

Green peas: 1 cup (soaked)

Potato: 1 cup (boiled and mashed)

Maida: 1 cup or sufficient for binding

Roasted cumin powder: 1 tsp

Red chilly powder: 1 tsp

Chat masala: 1 tsp

Black pepper powder: ½ tsp

Crushed fennel: 1 tsp

Chopped coriander: 2-3 tsp

Chopped ginger: 2-3 tsp

Bread crumps: 1cup

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

1.      Take soya nuggets and green peas in a grinding jar and grind coarsely.

2.      Take a mixing bowl, empty the contents of the grinding jar, add mashed potatoes, cumin powder, chilly powder, chat masala, pepper powder, fennel, coriander, ginger and salt as per taste.

3.      Mix the ingredients well.

4.      Now start adding maida in the mixture to make dough.

5.      Make round balls of the dough and flatten them into desired shapes as round, diamond shape, heart shape, etc.

6.      Heat oil in a pan.

7.      Once oil is heated wrap the cutlets in bread crumps and put in the oil for frying.

8.      Fry on medium flame till golden brown.

9.      Once fried, take the cutlets on a paper napkin.

10.  Plate them on a serving plate and serve with coriander chutney / tomato sauce.