Matar ka Parantha

Chef: Niru Gupta

Ingredients: 2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup water
dry flour to help with rolling
small bowl of water to dip fingers in while working


For the filling grind together
1 cup shelled and boiled greens peas
1/8 tsp asafetida-powder
1 1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder


Method: Make a dough with the flour and water and make small balls of it. After you have flattened the round balls between, press flat a little more with your fingers, to make rounds.

Pinch the edges to about one-third way towards the center, so that the edges are thinner than the center, and form a sort of a cup.

Place a tbsp of the ingredients ground together in the center of the cup.

Dip your fingers in the water so that any filling sticking to them is washed off, and wet the edges before bringing them together to enclose the filling. Pinch to seal.

Roll out to smoothen and then dip in dry flour to coat well before rolling again.

On a surface dusted with dry flour, roll out the parantha as thinly as you can without tearing it, as you would roll a chapatti. More care is needed with this, as the wet filling inside causes it to tear more easily.

Heat the griddle till very hot.

Lower the heat and place one parantha on the hot griddle. When the edges start lifting, make a trail of ghee along the outer edge of the parantha, so that some ghee trickles under it. Then smear some ghee on the surface.

When underside is a golden brown, increase heat and turn the parantha over. Lower heat and cook on the other side. Take off when both sides are brown. Serve hot.

(Note: Substitute the matar filling with alu filling for alu ka paratha)

Onion Rava Dosa

Chef: Niru Gupta

Ingredients: 1 cup rava (semolina)
1 cup rice flour
3 green chillies-chopped
1/2 inch finely grated ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida
3 onions-finely chopped
3 tsp cashew nuts-roasted & broken
oil

Method: Mix the rice flour and rava with some water and mix till its a smooth batter. Add the asafoetida, cumin seeds and salt. Cover and keep it in a warm place for a few hours to ferment.

Mix the chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, cashew nuts and black pepper in a bowl and keep it aside.

Heat a flat pan (tawa) and grease it with a spoon of oil. Add some water in the dosa batter and make it into a thin batter.

Pour 1/2 cup of the batter in centre of the pan and quickly spread with outward spiral motion to form a thin pancake of about 8 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle some onion-green chilli mixture on top of it. Dot the edges with little oil and cook until golden brown.

Using a spatula carefully fold the dosa and remove from the pan. Serve hot with chutneys or sambhar.

User's comments:
delicious and heavy breakfast. good for health also as it contains asafoetida, ginger and coriander leaves.

Masala Dosa

Chef: Niru Gupta

Ingredients: 2 cups rice-preferably parboiled
1/2 cup split and husked Black Gram (Dhuli Urad)-soaked with rice for 5-6 hours
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp salt
Oil to smear the pan for cooking the dosas

Masala for dosas
500 gm (3 cups) potatoes-boiled, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups onions-sliced not very thin
2 green chillies-chopped coarsely (optional)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
6-7 curry leaves or 1/2 tsp dried curry leaves
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp powdered turmeric
1/2 cup water

Method: Grind daal mixture together to a very smooth consistency. Add salt and enough water to make into a dropping consistency. Leave to ferment for about 5-6 hours, till a little
spongy.

If thickened too much, add a little water to thin a bit. Heat tawa, and brush oil over it. When really hot, splash a little water over it, and immediately pour batter onto it, spreading it thin, with a circular motion. This will have to be very swift and will need a bit of practice.

After spreading the batter, lower the heat and dribble a little oil around the edges so that it seeps under the dosa. When edges start browning a bit, pass a flat spoon under it to ease the dosa off the pan.

Put desired filling in the centre, and fold the two edges over. Serve accompanied with sambhar and chutney.

For the masala filling, heat the oil in a heavy based pan and add the mustard seeds, then onions, curry leaves and green chillies, and saut� over high heat till the onions are a little transparent.

Add the salt and the turmeric and mix well, before adding the potatoes. Turn the potatoes around till well mixed, and add the water, and let it simmer, for 2-3 minutes.

User's comments:

A tsp each of chana dal and udad dal can also be added to the oil before frying the onions. A pinch of hing powder will increase the flavour. And for variety, vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, peas etc. can be added along with the potatoes which will also make the filling more nutritious. Boiled soya nuggets can also be included.

1/4 CUP OF TOOR DHAL SHALL BE ADDED ALONG WITH URAD DHAL WHILE SOAKING. THIS WILL AVOID SNUGGYNESS OF DOSA WITH MASALA.

Pesarattu (Green Gram Dosa)

Chef: Niru Gupta

Ingredients: 2 cups moong dal -cleaned and soaked for an hour
1/2cup rice-cleaned and soaked for an hour
green chillies-chopped to taste
1/4tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp salt
1/4cup coriander leaves-chopped
1/4cup onions-chopped fine
oil for pan frying

Method: Drain the dal mixture and grind coarsely. Mix in the chillies, salt, coriander and onions and enough batter to make a dropping consistency.

Proceed to make like dosas�heat tawa or griddle, splash some water over it and immediately pour some batter and spread out.

When edges start to rise, put oil all around and a little bit on top. Will come off clean when cooked. Serve with coconut chutney.

User's comments:

u can also add a pinch of asafoetida

just add two bunchs of corrinder leaves,ginger and three chillis(green)to soaked rice before grinding to make it more tastier and green.

what happened to the soaked rice.Incomplete reciepe

pls tell about the rice and water quantity

The receipe is complete.It is common sense that dal and Rice has to be mixed and girnded coarsely.This is also called as dal Dosa in KARNATAKA

You could also have this with Gur.

It is not moongdal the whole moong with rice to be soaked together for almost 2-3 hrs, add ginger and green chillies while grinding. After spreading on the pan sprinkle finely chopped onions

Sprinkle jeera over the dosa and onions, chopped ginger and green chillies...

CELESTIAL VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients Carrot, ½ inch cubes 1 medium Green peas, shelled ½ cup Green capsicum, seeded, ½ inch pieces 1 medium Fresh button mushrooms, quartered 8-10 Sweet corn niblets 2 tablespoons Vegetable stock 3 cups Cornflour 2 tablespoons Oil 1 tablespoon Salt to taste Sugar a pinch Red chilli flakes ½ teaspoon Method 1. Boil carrot and green peas in vegetable stock for two to three minutes. Set aside. Dissolve cornflour in half a cup of water. 2. Heat oil, add green capsicum and mushrooms and cook for two to three minutes on high heat. 3. Add carrot and green peas along with vegetable stock and sweet corn niblets. Bring to a boil. Add salt, sugar and red chilli flakes. 4. Add blended cornflour and cook on high heat, stirring continuously, for one minute. Serve piping hot.

GARLIC RASAM

Ingredients Garlic 15-20 cloves Pigeon pea split (toovar dal), soaked 3 tablespoons Pure ghee 2 tablespoons Tamarind ½ a lemon sized ball Salt to taste Asafoetida a pinch For rasam powder Cumin seeds ¾ teaspoon Peppercorns 6-8 Whole dry red chillies 4 Coriander seeds 1 tablespoon Bengal gram split (chana dal) 1 teaspoon Coconut, scraped 1 teaspoon Tempering Mustard seeds ½ teaspoon Whole dry red chillies 2 Curry leaves 10-12 Method 1. Peel garlic and sauté in about half tablespoon of ghee for a minute. Remove and keep aside. 2. Boil dal with one cup of water till soft. Mash and reserve along with the water. 3. Soak tamarind in one cup of warm water, remove the pulp, strain and reserve. This is tamarind water. 4. Heat one tablespoon ghee and fry the rasam powder ingredients to a light brown, cool and pound to a powder. 5. Add three more cups of water to tamarind water and boil it with salt, asafoetida and the masala powder for five minutes or till the tamarind smell goes. Add the garlic and continue to simmer. 6. Add mashed dal to the rasam. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. 7. Heat the remaining ghee and add mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle add red chillies and curry leaves. Add the tempering to the rasam and cover immediately to trap the flavors. 8. Serve piping hot. Chef’s tip: You can pound the garlic very lightly before adding to give a better and stronger flavor. You can pressure cook the garlic separately and then add to the rasam. Increase or decrease the garlic as per personal preference

HOT AND SOUR VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients Carrot, finely chopped ½ medium Cabbage, finely chopped ¼ small French beans, finely chopped 4-6 Green capsicum, finely chopped ½ medium Bamboo shoot 1 medium slice Cornflour 2 tablespoons Oil 2 tablespoons Garlic, finely chopped 2-3 cloves Onion, finely chopped 1 medium Ginger, finely chopped 1 inch piece Fresh button mushrooms, finely chopped 2 Celery, finely chopped 2 inch stalk Soy sauce 2 tablespoons Sugar ½ teaspoon MSG ½ teaspoon Vegetable stock 4-5 cups Green chilli sauce 2 tablespoons Salt to taste Vinegar 2 tablespoons White pepper powder ½ teaspoon Spring onion greens, chopped 1 stalk Method 1. Boil bamboo shoot slice in one cup of water for two to three minutes. Drain and chop finely. Dissolve cornflour in quarter cup of water and set aside. 2. Heat oil in wok on high heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger and stir-fry briefly. Add chopped French beans, carrot, mushrooms, bamboo shoot, celery and stir fry. 3. Add soy sauce, sugar, MSG and mix. Add vegetable stock and mix. 4. Add green chilli sauce, cabbage and green capsicum and continue to cook. 5. Add the cornflour mix and let the soup thicken. 6. Add salt to taste, vinegar and white pepper powder. Sprinkle finely chopped spring onion greens and take off the heat. Serve hot.

LEMON AND TORTILLA SOUP

Ingredients Lemon juice 1 tablespoon Corn tortillas 2 Saffron a pinch Oil 2 teaspoons + to deep fry Onions, chopped 2 medium Green chillies, chopped 4 Vegetable stock 4 cups Salt to taste Tomato, chopped 1 medium Walnut kernels, halved 8 Fresh cream ½ cup Lemon, quartered 1 Method 1 Cut tortillas in five by one centimeter strips. Dissolve saffron in warm water. 2. Heat sufficient oil in a deep pan and fry tortilla strips in hot oil until brown and crisp. Drain and place on an absorbent paper and set aside. 3. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a large saucepan, add onions and green chillies and sauté till onions become soft. 4. Add vegetable stock and salt. Cover and simmer for twenty minutes. 5. Add tomato and simmer for another five minutes, then stir in lemon juice, walnut pieces and saffron. Remove from heat. 6. Add fried tortilla strips and cream. Garnish with lemon pieces and serve hot. Chef’s Tip: To make vegetable stock boil roughly chopped vegetables like carrots, French beans, onion, leeks, celery, garlic in plenty of water. Once it comes to a boil simmer for ten minutes. Strain

AVIYAL

Ingredients Yam (suran), 2 inch batons 100 grams Carrot, 2 inch batons 1 medium White pumpkin, 2 inch batons 200 grams Raw banana, 2 inch batons 1 medium French beans, 2 inch batons 6-8 Broad beans, 2 inch batons 6-8 Drumstick 2 inch pieces 1 Green peas, shelled ¼ cup Curry leaves 10-12 Salt to taste Coconut oil 2 tablespoons Paste Coconut, scraped ½ cup Green chillies, roughly chopped 4 Cumin seeds 1½ teaspoons Rice 1 tablespoon Yogurt 1½ cups Method 1. Grind coconut, green chillies, cumin seeds and rice to a fine paste. Whisk in yogurt and keep aside. 2. Boil yam separately in salted water. Drain and reserve. 3. Boil carrot, white pumpkin, raw banana, French beans, broad beans, drumstick, peas and curry leaves in one and half cups of salted water. When vegetables are almost done, add yogurt mixture and boiled yam and stir thoroughly. 4. Bring to simmering point and remove from heat. Lace with coconut oil and serve. Chef’s tip: If you do not like the smell of raw coconut oil, then heat up the oil add curry leaves and temper the aviyal. You can also add raw mango to aviyal. If you do so, reduce the yogurt to three fourth cup only. Do not reheat aviyal.

MEDU VADA

Ingredients Split black grams (dhuli urad dal) 1 cup Salt to taste Asafoetida ¼ teaspoon Curry leaves, chopped 8-10 Cumin powder 1 teaspoon Black peppercorns, crushed 8-10 Oil to deep fry Method 1. Wash and soak split black grams in two cups of water for six hours. Drain and grind into a fine paste. 2. Add salt, asafoetida, curry leaves, cumin powder and crushed black peppercorns to the batter and mix well. 3. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. 4. Wet your palms and take a little batter into your palms. Shape into balls and make a hole with the thumb in the center like a doughnut. 5. Gently lower the vada into the hot oil and deep-fry until golden brown and crisp. Drain and place on an absorbent paper. 6. Serve hot with sambhar and coconut chutney.

Pyaaz Ki Kachori

Ingredients Onions, chopped 3 large Refined flour (maida), sieved 2 cups Ghee ¼ cup Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon Asafoetida a pinch Coriander seeds, crushed 2 teaspoons Salt to taste Garlic, chopped 5-6 cloves Ginger, finely chopped 1 inch piece Green chillies, finely chopped 2-3 Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped 2 tablespoons Oil to deep fry Method 1. Heat one and a half tablespoons of ghee in a kadai. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the cumin seeds begin to change colour, add crushed coriander seeds and sauté for half a minute. Add chopped onions, salt and continue to sauté. When onions are lightly browned add chopped garlic, ginger, green chillies and red chilli powder. Mix and sauté for a minute. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool. 2. Take refined flour in a bowl. Add the remaining ghee (melted) and salt. Add sufficient water and knead into a stiff dough. Cover with a moist cloth and rest for fifteen minutes. 3. Divide the dough into twelve equal portions. Apply a little ghee and roll out into small puris. 4. Add chopped coriander leaves to the onion mixture and mix. Divide into twelve equal portions. Place one portion in the centre of the puri, gather the edges and seal. Press gently and pat with hands to flatten the kachori a bit, keeping the sides thin. Prick with a fork. Similarly prepare other kachoris. 5. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai till hot. Deep-fry the kachoris on high heat till golden. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve hot.

Fried Herbed Mozzarella

Ingredients Mozzarella cheese 400 grams Refined flour (maida) ¾ cup Cornstarch ¼ cup Salt to taste Peppercorns, crushed ¼ teaspoon Breadcrumbs 1 cup Fresh parsley, chopped a few sprigs Dried basil ¼ teaspoon Oil to deep fry Method 1. Cut the mozzarella cheese into thick slices (one and a half inch square with one centimeter thickness). 2. Take refined flour, cornstarch, salt, crushed peppercorns and some water in a bowl and mix to make a batter of coating consistency. 3. Take breadcrumbs in a bowl, add chopped parsley, dried basil and mix. 4. Dip the mozzarella pieces in the batter, coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat this process once and shape with hand. 5. Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the mozzarella till golden. Drain on absorbent paper. Cut into two and serve hot immediately garnished with a sprig of parsley.

Crunchy Paneer Pakora (by Sanjeev Kapoor)

Ingredients Cottage cheese (paneer) 250 grams Oil to deep fry Boondi 1 cup For garlic chutney Garlic 8-10 cloves Oil 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder 1 tablespoon Salt to taste For the batter Gram flour (besan) 1 cup Ginger ½ inch piece Garlic 5 cloves Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon Soda bicarbonate a pinch Salt to taste Method 1. Cut cottage cheese into two inch by half inch by half inch sized batons. Slit each baton but do not cut through. 2. Crush the boondi with your hand and keep aside. 3. To make garlic chutney, roast garlic in one teaspoon of oil. Mix with red chilli powder and salt and grind to a smooth paste. 4. To prepare batter, grind ginger and garlic to a paste. Mix gram flour with this paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, soda bicarbonate and salt. Add sufficient water and whisk well to make a batter of a coating consistency. Rest the batter for about fifteen minutes. 5. Stuff garlic chutney into the slit of each cottage cheese baton. 6. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai, dip each baton into the batter, roll in the crushed boondi and deep fry on medium heat till crisp and golden brown. Drain and place on an absorbent paper. 7. Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.