Category: Main Course

It is a great healthy recipe esp. when one wants to do a quick thing without too much of hassles. God for gut health also

Ingredients

• One cup rice
• Four five tablespoons chana dal
• One bowl of Boiled and Pureed palak (spinach)
• Half a cup of onion slices
• Two green chilies  slit
• One teaspoon Grated ginger
• Three cups Water
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of Asafetida
• Half a teaspoon of turmeric
• Two teaspoon Ghee
• One teaspoon cumin seeds

Method

1)  Wash and soak Rice and Dal for 30min

2)  Pressure cook Dal and Rice with salt, turmeric and asafetida with 3 cups water.

3)  In a separate pan add ghee, cumin seeds, ginger, and onion. Sauté for some time

4)  Add Pureed spinach to the pan and sauté for another 2min

5)  Add the cooked Dal and Rice mix it well and roast for some time till you get a smooth consistency

6)  One can adjust salt and consistency of water

7)  Serve hot with Butter or curd

The other one-pot method is put the seasoning in the pressure cooker and palak puree and then add the soaked dal and rice. You can pressure cook everything together. It tastes equally good but drizzle some ghee over it before you have the same

Sattu is recommended by Dieticians esp. for vegetarians as it helps to give u good protein. Usually, it is taken as a drink in the summers and Bihar ( state of India ) it is eaten in Litti and Parathas. It is very yummy if had with tomato chutney

Ingredients

For chutney

• Two whole tomatoes – grilled till charred on gas or oven
• Two cloves of garlic – chopped
• One small onion Diced
• Half cup chopped coriander leaves
• Two green chilies – chopped
• One Teaspoon Heated and cooled Mustard oil
• Salt to taste

For paratha filling

• One small onion Diced
• Half cup chopped coriander leaves
• One chilly – chopped
• Half a lemon juice
• Two inches of ginger – grated
• One cup of Sathu
• One Tablespoon Mango pickle

For dough

• Two cups wheat flour
• One teaspoon desi ghee
• Oil for making the paranthas

Method

For chutney

• Remove the skin of charred Tomatoes and mash the same in a bowl
• Mix the remaining ingredients with tomatoes

For Paratha Filling

• Mix everything and if it is too dry then u can sprinkle some water. So that it can bind like a ball

For Paratha

• Knead the dough with water and ghee till it makes a soft dough
• Rollout a small ball put the filling and roll it again
• Fry it on a griddle with oil on both sides
• Cook on medium heat until golden brown
• Serve it hot with tomato chutney

There are a lot of Sattu Brands available in the market but for mine I have used the Sathu Maavu of Home Kouzina brand.

It is great feeling on the 72nd Independence day for India. It feels liberating. Typically I make something in the national Tri-colour like sandwiches, puri, cutlets, dhokla or rice. Today keeping my tradition in mind and influence of Bangalore I created this tri-colour rice using our natural ingredients. This rice has a personal history as it connects with my favourite person in my unmarried days. My Sister-in-law used to make it and we like gluttons use to polish this off in minutes. I have tried to get the same flavour.

Ingredients

• 2 cup Boiled Long grain Rice
• 1/2 cup boiled spinach puree
• 1/2 cup curd
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 tsp oil
• salt and chilli to taste
  

Method

1. Make 3 equal portions of the boiled rice.
2. For the Green Colour :  Take a wok & put 1 tsp oil and heat. Add mustard seed, onion ginger, spinach puree and saute. Then add 1 portion of rice with salt & chilli and saute for some time. Keep Aside
3. For White colour : Take a wok put 1tsp oil and heat. Add mustard seeds and salt and rice and saute. Let the rice cool and then add curd to the same. Keep Aside.
4. For orange Colour : Take a Wok put 1 tsp oil and heat. Add Mustard seeds, ginger, tomato, grated carrot and saute for some time. Add salt, chilli and rice and saute for some time. Keep Aside
5. For assembly of the rice please take a glass flat bowl and layer the same. Since curd rice can bleed so after that layer put in fridge till it sets and then put the third layer.

My family just love to eat it like this or with some pickles or Lentils. Do share your version and combinations.

Jai hind

Wishing all my readers a very happy new year. It’s been a hectic Christmas season for BakesNGrub thanks to all of you. Finally managed to make time for the blog this week.

Spaghetti is a favourite in my family especially with my father in winter mornings for breakfast or at dinner with soup and garlic bread. I often make this baked spaghetti which is a variation of the standard white sauce recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1 pack noodles or spaghetti
2. Fresh spinach leaves
3. 80 gm butter
4. 1 onion chopped finely
5. 2 bell peppers chopped finely
6. 1- Capsicum chopped finely
7. 1 cup sour cream
8. Salt and pepper to taste
9. Cheese for garnishing
10. 2 eggs optional ( taste better) or substitute with 1/2 cup milk mixed with cornflour

Method

• Cook Noodles or spaghetti as per the instructions in the pack
• Take spinach leaves and blanch them. They need to be just limp
• In a bowl beat the eggs, sour cream and salt and pepper
• Saute the onion, bell peppers and capsicum in butter
• Mix the vegetable mixture with noodles and spinach
• Pour the eggs & sour cream mixture on the noodles and vegetable mixture
• Mix properly and pour in greased casserole dish
• Put some grated cheese for garnishing

Bake the casserole in a preheated oven at 180 degree for 30 min.

The egg and sour cream gives it a very creamy texture . It tastes very different from the regular white sauce casseroles. The best thing is its a balanced meal in itself loaded with vegetables, proteins and carbs. Kids love this healthy dish.

Please do try  and let me know how it turned out.

Sharing with you a very special recipe of Methi (Fenugreek) with a twist cooked with Amla (Goose berries). This dish has lot of memories attached to my in-laws house. My Mother in law to keep my father in law diabetes under control used to use lot of amla. I anyway love eating it raw or in pickle. Eating it like a sabzi was new and I must tell you that it tastes awesome.

Ingredients

1. Fresh Amla (Goose berries) – 1/2 Kg

2. Fresh Methi ( Fenugreek )- 200gm

3. Dry spices- Cumin Seeds, Coriander powder, Chilli, Turmeric powder, Garam Masala

4. Salt to taste

5. Sugar- 1/4 tsp.. (opt) use it only if the Amla are too sour

6. Green Chillies

7. Oil- 1tsp

Method

1) Pressure cook the Amla like we boil potatoes. Remove seed and cut in slices

2) Heat Oil in Pan

3) Put Cumin seeds and other dry masalas

4) Add the boiled amla and saute for a minute and then put the methi leaves

5) Add salt to taste and green chillies

6) Cook till the vegetables are tender and add garam masala

This is a variation of Potato and Methi vegetable. You can add peas or carrots along with it but you would need to steam and add the same since Goose berries are boiled.

This vegetable is rich in Vitamins. It helps to reduce blood sugar levels and boost immunity.

My family loves the malai kofta and me the health conscious mom is always saying no as it is fried. So I have simplified the traditional recipe and made it simpler. My koftas are usually a hit in any gathering, but it’s cumbersome to fry each kofta . So came up with the baked version.

For the kofta

• 100 gm grated paneer

• 1 boiled potato grated

• Kasuri methi

• Milk Powder- 1tbsp

• 1 tsp cornflour

• salt to taste

Method to make the Kofta

1) Mix all the ingredients and make small balls with greased hands.

2) Use an air fryer to bake them at 180 degrees for 15min.

3) You can stuff the koftas with dry fruits like raisins and cashews. I have not done so as my kids do not like them.

For the Gravy

• 10 cashews soaked in milk for an hour

• 1 big black Cardamom (elaichi)

• 1 green small cardamom (green elaichi)

• 1 bay leaf (tej patta)

• 4 tomatoes

• 1 small onion (optional)

• 1/2 inch ginger

• 1 green chilli

• Roopak Kashmiri Masala- 1tsp

• Turmeric Powder- 1tsp

• Coriander Powder- 1tsp

• Salt to taste

• Jeera seeds- 1tsp

• Cream- 1 tbsp

• 1/2 cup milk apart from soaking

• Ghee for the gravy

Method

1) Grind all the ingredients till Green chilli into a fine paste

2) Take a pan and put some Ghee and heat

3) Put jeera seeds and add the dry masalas – kashmiri masala, turmeric powder, corriander powder and heat for a minute

3) Now add the tomato and cashew paste to the pan. Keep roasting the same till the ghee separates from the gravy

4) Now add 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water and salt and boil the same.

5) Add the koftas and cream and let it simmer for a minute

6) Serve in a shallow dish with a swirl of cream

Hope u enjoy making this.