Microwave sooji ladoo..........

Macroni with Desi twist!

What you need:-

Boiled Macaroni-2cups
chopped Red bell pepper-1 cup
Chopped Green bell pepper-1 cup
Chopped yellow bell pepper-1 cup
chopped mushrooms-1/2 cup
chopped baby corns-1/2 cup
chopped onions- 1 cup
chopped garlic-1tbsp
oil-2 tbsp
Chaat masala-2tsp
black pepper-1tsp
salt to taste
lemon juice-2-3 tsp
 Method
Put oil in a pan. Add garlic and sauté it for a while. Then add onions, and rest all vegetables.Sauté them on high flame. Add black pepper, salt and boiled macaroni. Give it a toss and add chaat masala over it. turn off the gas and add lemon juice. Serve hot!!

 

Soya Calzone!

Ingredients
Soya granules soaked2 cups
Refined flour 2 1/2 cups
 for roll Soda bicarbonate 1/2 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Milk 1 cup
Oil 2 tbsps.  oil1 tsp for grease
 Onion 1 medium
Mushrooms chopped4-5
Green capsicum finely chopped1/2 cup
Black pepper powder 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli flakes 1 tsp
pasta sauce 1/2 cup
Cheese 100 grams
Recipe-
Step 1

Mix together refined flour, soda bicarbonate, little salt, milk, 1 tbsp oil and knead into a soft dough. Apply 1 tsp oil on the dough and set aside.
Step 2

Heat 1 tbsp oil in non-stick pan. Finely chop onion, add to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Step 3

Add soya granules, mushrooms and green capsicum and sauté for a minute. Add black pepper powder, 1 tsp red chilli flakes,  salt and mix well. Switch off the heat, and tomato pasta sauce and mix well. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Step 4

Preheat the oven at 180° C.or set microwave at convection
Step 5

Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll out each into a 6 inch roti. 
Step 6

Place a portion of the stuffing in the center of each roti. Cut cheese into small cubes. you can skip cheese .Place a few cubes over the filling and sprinkle a pinch of red chilli flakes. Fold the roti into half to make a calzone. Seal the edges and make a pattern with the help of a fork.
Step 7

Grease a baking tray with oil, brush some oil over the calzones and place them on the tray. Bake in a preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or microwave it for 6 min on convection

Bengali Dum Aalo

 What you need
•5-6 medium potatoes or 12-15 baby potatoes
•3 to 4 tbsp mustard oil/sarson ka tel
•1 bay leaf/tej patta
•½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder or degi mirch (adjust as required if using a hotter variety of chili powder)
•½ tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
•½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
•1 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
•1 cup water
•½ tsp sugar or as required
•salt as required
grind to a semi fine paste:
•2 medium onions
•½ inch ginger
•2-3 garlic cloves
make a semi coarse puree of:
•1 large tomato - approx 1 cup tomato puree
powder or grind:
•1.5 to 2 inch cinnamon
•3-4 cloves
topping:
•1 tsp ghee (optional)
Method
1.rinse the potatoes very well. if using baby potatoes, then remove the mud lodged in the peels with a soft brush.
2.then parboil the potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker.
3.when the potatoes are cooking, you do the following.
4.grind the onion, ginger and garlic in a grinder or blender. no need to any water while grinding. make a semi fine paste and not a smooth paste.
5.chop the tomatoes and pulse them in a blender till you get a puree which is not smooth but semi coarse. you can also finely chop the tomatoes.
6.grind the clove and cinnamon in a dry grinder or coffee grinder to a fine powder.
7.once the potatoes are parboiled/half cooked, let them cool. then remove the peels and dice them. for baby potatoes you can keep the peels and prick the potatoes with a fork. an optional step.
8.sprinkle ¼ tsp turmeric powder on the potatoes and mix well.
9.heat the mustard oil in a pan. fry the potatoes till light golden. drain and keep aside.
10.in the same oil, fry the bay leaf till fragrant for a few seconds.
11.add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. saute till oil starts to leaves the mixture and till the paste becomes a light brown.
12.add the tomato puree, the remaining ¼ tsp turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander power, salt and sugar. saute till oil begins to leave the onion-tomato masala paste.
13.then add the potatoes and stir till the masala coats the potatoes well.
14.add 1 cup water along with the ground cinnamon and cloves powder.
15.you can also add about ¼ tsp of garam masala powder instead of the cinnamon and cloves powder.if adding garam masala, then add it towards the end once the dish is cooked.
16.simmer the dum aloo on a low flame till the water almost dries up and the gravy has coated the potatoes well.
17.when serving add a teaspoon of ghee on the dum aloo. serve bengali dum aloo hot with luchis or pooris.

Bengali Chana daal!!

 INDEGRIENTS
•1 & ¼ cup chana dal/ split and husked bengal gram
•3 cups water for pressure cooking or 4-5 cups water for cooking in a pot
•1 tbsp golden raisins/kishmish
•1 tbsp cashews/kaju (optional)
•½ tsp turmeric powder/jeera powder
•2 tsp sugar/chini or as required
 METHOD
 1.pick and rinse the dal well.
 2.soak the dal for an hour in water.
 3.if you want to reduce the soaking time, then heat water and soak the dal in hot water for 30 minutes.
 4.drain the water.
 5.add the soaked chana dal, turmeric powder and 3 cups water in the pressure cooker.
 6.on a medium to high flame pressure cook the dal for 4-5 whistles.
 7.the grains should be separate and yet cooked thoroughly.
 8.once the pressure settles down on its own then remove the lid
 9.add sugar and salt to the dal.
 10.stir and and keep the cooker on a low flame to simmer the dal, till the water reduces a bit.
 11.when you add the tempering to the dal, it should have the right consistency - meaning it should be slightly thick. remember that on cooling the dal will become more thick.
 12.while the dal is simmering and has begun to get thick, prepare the tempering.
 13.heat ghee or oil in a pan.
 14.first add all the whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and dry red chilies.
 15.fry till they become aromatic. this takes some seconds.
 16.add the asafoetida and fry for a few seconds.
 17.now add the coconut and fry till the coconut becomes light brown.
 18.pour the whole tempering mixture in the simmering dal.
 19.stir and then add cumin powder, red chili powder, raisins and cashews.
 20.simmer cholar dal for 1-2 minutes more.
21.serve cholar dal with luchi, bengali peas kachori and even steamed rice if you prefer

Mushroom Tikki

What you need
4 French beans
8-9 button mushrooms
2 cup boiled potatoes
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste
oil to shallow fry
Method
Slice French beans and Mushrooms into small pieces. Mix everything and make tikkis. Shallow fry them...and serve with chilli sauce!

Laal Parantha-A healthy way to start your weekend!

What you need

Grated Beetroots-2 cups
Grated ginger-1/4 cup
chopped onions-1 cup
chopped coriander leaves-1/4 cup
chopped green chilly-1 or 2
salt to taste
oil for cooking paranthas
whole wheat flour -3 to 4cups

Method
Put salt in beetroots and keep them aside for 15 minutes. Make your dough by simply adding water and salt. Now squeeze excess water from beets and in a bowl mix them with chopped onions, ginger, salt, green chilly and coriander leaves. Fill in this mixture in dough balls and roll them into paranthas. Cut them in desired shapes to make them look attractive to kids. Serve with chutney or daal fry!