Roti is similar to whole wheat tortilla, naan or pita bread. Every culture has its own style of making bread and in India there are differences within the country itself! For example, in the Northern part of India, the roti’s are thicker like a pita, whereas in the Western states they’re thinner, sometimes thinner than tortillas.
Although my ancestors hail from the state of Rajasthan, I grew up in the state of Gujrat and roti’s are a must with almsot every meal. Here in the US, I make roti’s very often, but I usually prepare the dough in a food processor.
Preperation Time: 15 mins
Serves : approximately 6 chappati’s
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour( keep it aside for applying to the dough while rolling into flat circles)
Directions:
- Put all he ingredients, except the water, in a food processor and run the processor on pulse once or twice.
- Slowly start adding water and run the processor till you see all the ingredients blended into a ball like shape.
- Now remove the dough in a plate, apply little bit of oil on your hands and roll it with applying some pressure and keep it aside for 5 min. This will make the dough more smooth and even .
- Divide the dough into 6 equal size balls and apply some dry dough to the ball as shown in the picture.
- Now try to roll each ball into flat circle and cook it on the flat pan and enjoy!
Notes:-
1) Make sure that the water blended dough is soft enough to roll chapati’s or else sprinkle some water and keep it aside for 5 minutes.
Pani Puri - This is something that everyone in India, young or old, thoroughly enjoys! While pani puri (or gol gappa for North Indians) is ubiquitous in India sold by street vendors to five-star hotels, the best pani-puri needless to say is found on the street!
It consists of “puris”: made from semolia. The puris are made round like a ball, hollow and deep fried until crisp.
“Pani” literally means water. The puris are filled with some “masala” and then dipped in the “pani” and then consumed! The “pani” consists of mint. cilantro and green chillies.
A couple of weekends ago was Raksha bandhan, which we celebrated at my aunts’ house. Like most Indian festivals, we had a ceremony followed for lots and lots and lots of food! For starters, we had pani-puri and sev-puri (another snack).
The puri’s are usually available at any Indian grocery store.
Preperation time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients (for the stuffing)
- 2 medium boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes
- 1 cup chana (black chickpea) soaked and boiled (canned chickpeas can also be used)
- Finely chopped cilantro to sprinkle
- 1/2 tea spoon of roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 tea spoon of salt
- 1/2 tea spoon red chilly powder (optional)
Directions:
- Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and keep it aside.
Ingredients (for the “pani”):
- 1 bunch of mint leaves
- 4-5 green chillies (adjust as per spice tolerance)
- 5-6 sticks of cilantro
- 1 thin slice of ginger
- 1/2 tea spoon black salt
- 1/2 tea spoon roasted cumin powder
- 1lemon juice
- 3 cups of water
- 1/2 tea spoon salt(adjust as required)
- 1 table spoon boondi’s (optional)
Directions
- Add mint leaves, green chillies, cilantro, ginger, lemon juice, salt and few sprinkles of water in a blender and blend it to a smooth paste.
- Put the paste in a large bowl and add the three cups of water, black salt, roasted cumin powder and stir well. Add salt and lemon as per your taste.
Consumption
To eat the pani puri, pour the “pani” in a largish bowl, then make a small opening in the puri and put some stuffing in it. Finally, dip the entire puri in the bowl with the “pani” until the liquid fills the “puri”. Open the mouth wide and consume!
Warning: Once you start, its hard to stop eating!
I usually keep a bag of spinach around in the house since there are so many delicious recipes that call for spinach! And if not that, the spinach leaves are a great addition to my lunch salad.
Moong dal is commonly found in most Indian kitchens. It is high in protein and easy to store (usually lasting for 6-8 months in an airtight container).
Moong dal Palak is a combination of spinach and lentils. The flavor comes from the spinach because the moong dal is added only to give the texture of a gravy/curry. It can be enjoyed with the rice or roti . I prefer to enjoy it with roti’s since Rahul loves to eat roti’s
A bag of spinach was lying around in my fridge, but I never got around to using it. So, I decided to make this simple and extremely satisfying meal.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
- 1 tea spoon ghee /oil (optional)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1/2 tea spoon Cumin seeds
- 1/2 tea spoon red chilly powder (adjust as per taste)
- 1/2 tea spoon coriander powder
- 1/2 tea spoon Salt (adjust as per taste)
- 1 bag of baby spinach (14.oz)( I prefer to use a prewashed bag of baby spinach)
- 1/2 cup moon dal
- 1 cup water
Directions:
- Run your knife roughly over baby spinach and put it in to the pressure cooker.
- Take the moong dal in a bowl, run it under water 2-3 times, drain the water and add it to the spinach in the pressure cooker, along with 1 cup of water and cook it up to 2 whistles.
- Take a deep pan and heat the ghee in it. Add the dry red chillies and cumin seeds and let it cook until the cumin seeds are golden brown.
- Now switch off the flame and quickly add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder and the cooked dal mix (from the pressure cooker).
- Then, switch on the flames and let the mix cook for a couple of minutes.
- While serving sprinkle some chopped cilantro on the top of the dal, and serve it with roti’s . Enjoy!
I have been meaning to put up this recipe ever since I found out that my family and friends love it when they come over and I make it. Before coming to the US, I had never heard of avocado, but after coming here I’ve probably consumed a few gallons of it!
Avocado has a smooth, creamy, greenish-yellow flesh with a high concentration of dietary fiber, vitamins and potassium. It also has fat - mostly monounsaturated fat.
While shopping for avocado, make sure it is ripe, especially if you plan to use it the same day. The unripe one’s are very hard, whereas the ripe ones can be gently pressed.
When cutting the avocado make sure you cut it in the middle, but do not attempt to cut the seed. When both parts are apart, just scoop it up with a spoon. The flesh is typically greenish yellow when ripe and oxidizes, turning brown very quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this,lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled.
Let’s make the dip now.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
- 1 very small garlic bud (optional)
- 1/4th tea spoon lemon (adjust as per taste)
- Jalapeño (as per spice tolerance)
- Salt and Pepper as per taste
Directions
- In a blender add the onion, garlic, tomato and jalapeño, and blend all of it.
- Take the avocado in a bowl, add the above mix, salt, lemon and pepper and mix it with the help of a fork.
- Enjoy it with tortilla chips.
Note:
- If you do add garlic, add very little, since it has a very strong flavor.
- Mixing with the fork is important as it gives the “chunky look”.
Khichadi means a mix/combination of rice and dal as the main ingredients. Some veggies are added as well. It is easy to cook, does not require much effort and/or ingredients either and is perfect when you just want quick Indian comfort food!
Since the weather was nice and warm, I wanted to spend some time at Union Square with Rahul relaxing and chatting with him. We both wanted to eat Indian food, but did not want to eat that greasy restaurant food. So I decided to make some khichadi and bengan aloo sabji (eggplant and potatoes) when we returned home. It took me 30 mins to prepare and lay the table, but the satisfaction you get is worth million dollar. Khichadi can be eaten with sabji, Kadhi or yogurt. This recipe is very simple with few ingredients, yet tasty. Hope you all enjoy it as well!
Preparation time:20 minutes
Serves:4 people
Ingredients
- pinch of asofotedia (optional)
- 1/4 tea spoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 tea spoon red chilly powder (adjust as per taste)
- 2/3 cup frozen veggies (carrots and peas)
- 1 tea spoon salt (adjust as per taste)
Directions:
- Take the rice and dal in a bowl and rinse it with water 2-3 times.
- In a pressure cooker , heat the ghee and then add cloves, cumin seeds and asafotedia, and sautee until it all turns golden-brown.
- Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, frozen veggies and stir for for a minute.
- Add salt, water, rice and dal mix and stir well.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and switch off the gas flames and let the rice and dal saok for 10 minutes.
- Turn on the flames and cook up to 1 whistle and then switch off the flames again.
- Once the pressure cooker cools down, ENJOY!
Note:
- Kichadi can be eaten with pickles (Indian style achaar), chaas (buttermilk) or Yogurt.
- While serving add a spoonful of ghee for more ehananced taste, if you like it.
Sprouts are good for health since they are high in protein. They taste delicious with onion, tomatoes, black salt and and a hint of lemon. A few days ago Rahul was craving sprouts for breakfast and I made it for him. So let me share this recipe and I hope you will like it too. Its perfect for a protein packed breakfast that keeps you going during the day!
How to sprout Mung beans at home?
- Day 1:Soaking: Take one cup mung beans and soak them overnight. Make sure they are soaked in double the quantity of water as the beans.
- Day 2: In the morning remove the water and wash them 2-3 times. Put them back in the same container and loosely close the container as if we are letting them breathe. Shake the beans such that the ones at the bottom of the container are at the top. Spray few drops of water. Do not let the water dry out.
- Day 3: Check the beans, they have sprouted.
Time to cook!!
Preparation time : 10 mins (after the mung beans are sprouted!)
Serves:4-5 people
Ingredients:
- 1 tea spoon cumin seeds
- Spouted Mung beans
- Pinch of Turmeric Powder
- Pinch of Red chilly powder
- 1 table spoon coriander powder
- 1 tea spoon oil
- 1 cup onions (finely chopped)
- 1 green chilly (finely chopped)
- 1/2 cup tomatoes (finely chopped)
- Lemon juice as per taste
- Salt as per taste
- Pinch of Black Salt (optional)
- Pinch of sugar (optional)
- Cilantro to garnish (finely chopped)
Directions:
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. Cook them until they diffuse their aroma.
- Add turmeric powder, chili powder and quickly add the sprouts (make sure you do not burn the turmeric and chili powder).
- Sprinkle a few drops of water and add coriander powder and close the lid and cook it up to 1 whistle.
- Carefully remove the mix from the pressure cooker in a bowl and add onions, tomatoes, chillies, lemon juice, salt/black salt, sugar(optional) and garnish with cilantro and serve.
Note:
1) You can find ready sprouts in the grocery stores.
2) You can also sprinkle some thin sev and yogurt for a change.
Tags: Add new tag, Brunch
Upma is made from Suji/Rava. This snack and lunch is prepared differently in various parts of India. In North India it is made spicy with a hint of lemon, whereas in the western part (Gujrat) it is prepared with sugar, salt and a hint of lemon. Not only does the taste differs, but also the style of cooking differs: Some add water to cook, while others add milk or yogurt.
Last week, we had some family come over to our place and I made Upma for brunch. This recipe is the traditional way of making Upma in Gujarat (my home state), however, the ingredients can vary based on your taste.
Preparation time:30 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Suji/ Rava
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 3-4 curry leaves
- 1 green chilly
- ½ tea spoon mustard seeds
- 1 table spoon Urad daal
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 table spoon oil/ghee (ghee is optional)
- 2-3 table spoon sugar (as per taste)
- 2-3 tea spoon salt (as per taste)
- 2-3 table spoons lemon juice (as per taste)
- 4 1/3 cup water
- Cilantro (finely chopped) to garnish
- 4-5 roasted cashew nuts to garnish
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Lower the flame to low-medium and add the curry leaves and Urad daal. Saute until the Urad daal turns light brown in color.
- Turn the flame to medium and add the green chillies and onions and saute it till onions turn translucent.
- Add the Rava/suji and saute it on a low-medium flame untill it turns light brown (approx 5-10 minutes)
- Now increase the flames to high and then add water and keep stiring constantly for approximately 1-2 minutes. The Suji will become thick in consistency after adding water.
- Add lemon juice, salt, peas and sugar to this mixture and close with a lid and let it all cook on medium-low flame for 5 minutes.
- When the mixture comes to a desired consistency, garnish it with cilantro and cashew nuts.
- Enjoy!
A lot of bakeries in India sell delicious bread and an assortment of pastries, with an Indian twist! Ever since I was a kid, my favorite has been the vegetable puff pastries that are now sold not only at bakeries but also at many fast food joint.
These puffs are filled with potatoes and peas, spiced and mashed and then baked inside pastry sheets. A couple of years ago, I found these pastry sheets at the grocery store and tried to make the vegetable puffs at home. They tasted delicious! However, after I discovered Masala burgers at Trader Joe’s, I figured making the mashed potatoes mix is such a waste of time. The masala burgers are vegetable cutlets in themselves, so I use them instead!
This receipe can be twisted a little bit if you taste buds crave for spices. You can always add ginger, garlic and green chilly paste to the stuffing and make is more spicy. Another option is to add mozarrella cheese. In this receipe, but I’ve not tried that yet.
It goes well with Indian Chai!
Preparation time: 30 mins
Serves: 2 People
Ingredients
- 2 Puff pastry sheets(room temperature)
- 1 Masala Burger (from Trader Joe’s)
- Water for brushing the edges to seal the pastries
Directions
- If the pastries are frozen, bring them to room temperature.
- Cook the Masala Burger in an oven until it is hot and ready to be eaten.
- Cut the burger into half and place this half on the pastry sheet as shown in the picture above.
- Seal the sheet by brushing some water over the edges.
- Cook it in the oven at 375-400 F until the puff turns light brown.
- Enjoy with tomato ketchup and hot chai!
Tags: Snacks
Redraks is the creator of instant food products, launched by our friends’ Vedant Rajput and his wife Rakhee years of research.
Most Indian folks have seen cooked food available in packets in the grocery store. You microwave it and eat it. But, how about food that is pre-dried and cacuum sealed that you cook at home by just adding water? No additional requirements and does not have chemicals or preservatives. Most of the items cook in about 5 minutes.
We’ve tried the Kanda Pohe, Dal Fry, Masala Rice and Pulao so far and all of these have been delicious! The quantity was enough for two people. We even had a few of our friends try it out (and some of these are real picky eaters and they loved it too!
Thanks to Rakhee and Vedant for bringing this wonderful product to all of us who miss the way food was in India!
Check out their website: http://www.redraks.com/ for a complete list of items offered. They’re superb!
Tags: instant food
Last weekend we went to our Uncle’s place where we did a long hike in the Saratoga hills, as well as some yoga. Since he starts the hike at 6 AM, we spent the previous night at his place. When we got to his place, he made us a delicious smoothie (with 13 ingredients, that we had to individually identify while we drank it!) which we enjoyed.
After coming home, we’ve been drinking this extremely nutritious and delicious smoothie everyday. It has different nuts and berries that are essential for the body and should be consumed daily. It can be made in advance and stays good for up to two days.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2 people
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Tags: smoothies
