Coriander Chickpeas spicy Curry( Dhaniya Chana Masala Curry)

 

Many people like the taste of boiled Chickpeas/ Garbanzo beans/Chana. My kids love, if I make any dish with boiled chickpeas. It has very good nutritional values of fiber and calcium.

Chana masala curry is a very popular dish in Northern part of India. This Coriander Chickpeas spicy curry has unique taste and procedure. You can eat this curry with Chapathi, Poori, Roti, Vegetable rice or even with South Indian popular dishes Dosa, Appam or Puttu as well. So everyone can try this curry and enjoy with your favorite dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans/Chana
• 2 small size potatoes
• 2 small size carrots
• 1 small size onion
• 1tsp. Ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1tsp. Cumin seeds
• 1 big bay leaf
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. store brought Chana masala powder or normal masala powder.
• Masala ingredients:
• 1 ½ tbsp. Poppy seeds
• 1 tsp. Fennel seeds/Somp
• 4 cloves
• 1 small Cinnamon stick
• 1 small size onion
• 3-4 green chilies
• 2 small size tomatoes
• 1 ½ tbsp. grated coconut
• 1 bunch Coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Soak Chickpeas 8-10 hours and then wash it and boil in a pressure cooker with sufficient water up to 6 pressures.
• Slice potatoes length wise and cut carrots like round pieces.

• Chop onions, tomatoes and green chilies.
• Wash coriander leaves and chop them.
• Dry roast poppy seeds, fennel seeds, cloves and Cinnamon stick in a pan until color changes; take this out and cool it down.

• In the same pan put 1 tsp. of oil and add half of the chopped onions, green chilies fry them for a while; once onions turns golden brown color then add coconut and fry it for a while. Take this out in a separate plate and cool it down.
• Slightly toss chopped coriander leaves and tomatoes in the same pan with 1 tsp. of oil. Keep it aside and cool it down.

• Now in a blender grind the above roasted and fried items altogether like a chutney texture with little bit water.

• Now warm up the pressure cooker/pressure pan, put the remaining oil, Cumin seeds, and the remaining sliced onions. Once onions turns golden brown color then add ground masala; fry it well until the oil comes out from the surroundings of the gravy.

 

• Now add sliced potatoes, carrots and boiled chana along with the boiled water in the pressure cooker/pressure pan, then add Chana masala powder, Turmeric powder, Bay leaf, Salt and little bit amount of water. Close/cover the cooker with the cooker lid and cook for 1 to 2 pressures. Now switch off the heat.

• Open the pressure cooker once pressure releases then stir it nicely and add 1 tbsp. butter and cook it for a while without covering the lid. Now you can take this curry in to the serving dish and enjoy with your favorite dish.

Aaloo Tikki Chaat (Spicy Potato Patty with Peas Soup)

Tangy and spicy Chaats are highly popular fast food varieties in India. The gravy part of the chaat is mainly made with green/white dried peas or garbanzo beans. This chaat is served with potato patties and garnished with finely chopped tomatoes, freshly chopped coriander leaves and mixture. This dish is delicious & healthy evening whole some meal. For this recipe we need to prepare Peas-chaat and Aaloo tikki/patty separately.    Aaloo tikki/patty recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4-5 Medium size potatoes/Aaloo
• 1 tbsp. Ginger & garlic paste
• 1 ½ tbsp. Green chili paste
• Required amount of salt
• 1 tsp. Chaat masala
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. Coriander powder
• 2 bread slices
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

• Cleanly wash potatoes, each potato cut into half and pressure cook them with little bit of salt.
• Remove brown part sides of the bread then cut it like a small pieces and sprinkle few table spoons of water on top of the bread pieces; keep it for 15 minute.
• Once the boiled potatoes are completely cools down then peel the skin and grate all boiled potatoes.
• Now gently mash soaked bread slices and combine with grated potato mixture and then gradually add salt, ginger & garlic paste, green chili paste, Chaat masala, Coriander powder,  and lemon juice and mix them well.
• Grease your hands and take small amount of above mixture and make it like a patty shape; keep it aside. Do the same thing with rest of the mixture.
• Heat the wide non-stick skillet and shallow fry the patties on both sides with little bit of oil until the patties outer layer turns golden brown color.

Peas-Chaat recipe:

I made this chaat with little bit different than other chaat recipes. For this chaat; no need to make tamarind and mint chutney separately. It has all kinds of flavors and taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry green peas
• ¼” ginger
• 3 green chilies
• 1 tbsp. thick tamarind paste
• ¼ cup of canned tomato puree/ finely chopped tomatoes.
• Small piece of Jaggery (optional)
• Hand full amount of mint leaves
• Few coriander leaves
• Required amount of salt
• 1 ½ tbsp. chaat masala
• 1 tsp. Coriander powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin powder
• ½ tbsp. butter/cooking oil

Preparation:

• Wash and soak dry green peas at least 4 hours.
• Cook the soaked peas in the pressure cooker up to 6-7 pressures. (Make sure peas should not be mashed)
• Blend Ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves and mint leaves with some amount of water like a chutney paste.
• Put the butter in the wide & deep skillet then add the ground masala and then fry it about 2 minutes.
• Then add tomato puree/chopped tomatoes; cook it for about 5 minutes.
• Now add tamarind paste, jaggery, chaat masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, cooked peas and required amount of salt; cook it for about 5 minutes.
• Now add the required amount of water and cook the chaat at medium heat.
• Adjust the spiciness according to your taste.

Serving procedure:

 Garnishing ingredients:

• Chopped tomatoes
• Chopped onions
• 1 tbsp. chaat masala
• Store brought/homemade snack mixture.
• Yogurt (optional)

First place an Aaloo tikki in the serving container, pour the peas chaat on top of the tikki then garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes, onion, little bit chaat masala, Yogurt and Mixture.

 

Avocado spicy roti/Chapathi

I love the taste of Avocados. Avocados are packed with rich protein and good fat. The creaminess of the Avocados keeps the roti smooth and fluffy and gives the roti/chapathi a wonderful buttery taste and texture. These roties don’t become hard it will be always soft.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 medium size ripped Avocados
• 2 small green chilies
• Required amount of salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Water for kneading

Preparation:

• Wash and cut the Avocados vertically and discard the seed.
• Now with a spoon gently scoop up the pulp and keep it aside.
• In a blender blend the scooped avocado pulp, chopped green chilies, salt and lemon juice like a fine mixture.

• Now mix this ground mixture and the wheat flour in a wide bowl.

• Now gradually add sufficient water to the above mixture and mix it like normal roti/Chapathi dough; cover the dough and keep it aside for 1 hour.

• Now take large lemon sized dough and roll it like a round shape ball and flatten it.
• Using roller pin roll the flatten dough like a thin round circle.
• Heat up the skillet and place a rolled roti/chapathi and cook it both sides till golden brown.
• Apply oil/ghee as per your desire.
• Repeat this procedure with rest of dough.
• Serve this wonderful smooth roti with curd or pickle or any curry.

Carrot Rasam

 

Rasam is a one of the common and popular dish of South Indian food. Normally Rasam is prepared with already prepared or store brought Rasam powder. But in my recipe I have used the freshly prepared masala ingredients. For that reason this Rasam preparation is extremely unusual but the taste is super delicious. You can serve this Carrot Rasam with hot rice along with crunchy Papad/Chips. If you’re suffering from flu or cold or having cough then this is the best choice dish and you really have wonderful relief.

Note: You can also prepare this Rasam with Beat root instead of Carrot.

Ingredients:

• 1 big carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ tbsp. of thick tamarind paste/freshly squeezed tamarind pulp
• 2 tbsp. Toor dal
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds
• ½ tsp. Pepper corns
• ¼ tsp. Fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp. Coriander seeds
• 1 -2 dry Red Chilies
• Sal to taste
• ¼ tsp. Turmeric powder
• A small piece of jaggery

Tempering Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. oil
• ½ tsp. Mustard seeds
• Few curry leaves
• Pinch of Hing/ Asafetida
• Few coriander leaves for garnishing.

 

Preparation:

• Wash and Scrap the carrot skin and dice into small cubes and peel the garlic also.
• Mix Toor dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, Black pepper corns, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry red chilies in a bowl with required amount of water.
• In a pressure cooker put the masala ingredients bowl and diced carrot pieces, garlic separately; cook them up to 4-5 pressures.

 

• Once the pressure cooker completely cools down then blend the boiled masala ingredients and carrot pieces together.
• Mix this ground mixture with tamarind paste and water in a vessel.
• Now add turmeric powder, jaggery and required amount of salt; keep it for boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Then prepare a tempering with oil, mustard seeds curry leaves and Hing; pour it on top of the Rasam; Switch off the heat.
• Garnish with finally chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve this hot & spicy Carrot Rasam with Rice or you could have like a side dish.

             

Semolina Rava & oats Instant Idly

 

If you want to eat Idly and you don’t have idly batter don’t worry, you can make this tasty & soft Idlies instantly with semolina Rava/Sooji and Oats. This recipe is very easy to make and with the below mentioned easily available ingredients. This recipe has good source of nutritional values. You can serve this in a breakfast or at the dinner time with creamy coconut chutney.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Semolina Rava or Sooji
• ¼ cup whole grain oats
• 2 tbsp. soaked Chana dal (optional)
• 1 ½ cup thick butter milk
• Salt
• ½ tbsp. ginger & green chili paste
• 1 tbsp. Lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. Eno fruit salt (for instant fermenting)

 Note:  This fruit salt you will get in India grocery stores.

• ½ tsp. Baking soda
• 4 tbsp. grated Carrot
• Few chopped coriander leaves
• Seasoning ingredients:
• 1 tsp. Cooking oil
• 1tsp. Mustard seeds
• Few pinches of Asafetida
• Few curry leaves
• Few broken pieces of Cashews

Procedure:

• Slightly roast and grind the Oats in a blender like a coarse Rava.
• Then slightly roast Semolina (Sooji/Rava) as well and keep it aside.
• Mix Semolina, Oats and butter milk in a wide mixing bowl and soak it for half an hour.
• Soak chana dal for an hour and drain the water from the Chana dal; keep it aside.
• Then mix salt, lemon juice, Baking soda, grated carrot, soaked chana dal and Eno fruit salt to the soaked Semolina & Oats mixture and mix all these ingredients thoroughly.
• Now add grated carrots and chopped coriander leaves to the above batter.
• Now prepare the seasoning using the oil, mustard seeds, cashews, curry leaves and Asafetida; pour this as well in the batter and mix it well.

• Now grease the idly plates with little oil, pour the required amount of batter in each section.

• Now steam them in an idly vessel or pressure cooker (without the pressure) up to 12-15 minutes.
• Serve them with your desire chutney, I like to serve with coconut chutney.

Here is the Coconut chutney recipe link: http://rekhasveggiecuisine.blogspot.com/2012/06/coconut-chutney.html

Crunchy-Nut Noodle Salad

 

This salad looks different and also packed with tons of nutritional values and taste. Who doesn’t like crunchy and nutty taste with noodles? Ya! Everybody will like it. This can be served like a snack or side dish. I learnt this recipe from my friend Sudha G.

 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup finally chopped Cabbage
• ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
• ½ cup chopped cucumber
• ¼ cup chopped onion (optional)
• ½ cup chopped nuts (Almonds, Cashews or any other nuts you like very much)
• ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
• ¾ cup Maggie/Top Ramen noodles
• 2 - 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• Salt
• 1 tsp. Store brought hot chili sauce (I have used “Sriracha” brand Thai sauce)
• ½ tsp. sugar.
• 2 tbsp. Olive oil

Preparation:

• Dry roast Maggie noodles in a skillet; keep it aside.
• In a wide mixing bowl mix Olive oil, lemon juice, hot chili Thai sauce, salt and sugar very well.
• Then gradually add all veggies one by one; mix it well.
• Now add nuts and dry roasted noodles.
• Adjust the spicy and saver taste after tasting it.
• Serve it immediately.

Eggless Banana & Walnut muffins

 

Wow! These Banana Muffins are yummy and my kids love these muffins. I use over ripe bananas for making these muffins. I also make Banana bread and Banana milk shake using the over ripe bananas.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All- purpose flour
• 1 cup Brown sugar
• ½ tsp. Baking soda
• ½ tsp. Baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. flax seed meal (this is an egg substitute)
• ½ cup canola oil/cooking oil
• 1 cup mashed bananas (approximately 3 medium size bananas)
• ¼ tbsp. warm water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

• Pre heat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease the paper cupcake liners and place them in muffin pan.
• Whisk/blend the flax seed meal with warm water and keep it aside.
• Sieve all-purpose flour and mix baking soda, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl.
• Now blend cooking oil, mashed bananas, flax seed mixture, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl one at a time.
• Now mix dry ingredients mixture with wet ingredients mixture; blend them until well mixed.
• Now gradually add walnuts and chocolate chips and mix them gently.

• Now scoop 2-3 tbsp. of batter in each muffin cup and bake them for 12-18 minutes. (To check whether it is properly baked or not, you can insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin and the toothpick should come out clean. Nothing should stick to the toothpick. If the batter sticks to the toothpick then bake them for couple of minutes more.
• Once it is properly baked, cool the muffin tray on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the pan and keep it aside to cool down.

• To keep them fresh, store it in an air tight container.