CORN SPINACH SANDWICH

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
8 slices of bread
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup cottage cheese grated
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 onion chopped
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
butter to taste (optional)
1 tbsp oil or butter

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add garlic ,saute for two minutes then add chopped onions and cook till they become pink i n color.
2. Now add washed and finely chopped spinach and corn kernels and cook for 3-4 minutes or tll the spinach and corn kernels are cooked.
3. Add grated cottage cheese ,salt and pepper and mix well. 
4. Apply butter on two slices of bread and place the filling between them.
5. Cook from both sides either on a griddle or in a patty maker while applying oil or butter on both the sides if you like.
6. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

SHAHI MUSHROOM/ MUSHROOMS IN RICH GRAVEY

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
200 gms mushrooms
2 tbsp refined oil
2 green cardamoms
1 tsp cumin seeds

2 medium sized onions

1 cup tomato paste/puree
1 inch ginger
4-5 cloves garlic

1 green chili

1/4 cup cashew paste
½tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp coriander powder
½ cup fresh cream
1 tsp salt or as per taste
1 tsp sugar /2 tsp tomato sauce(optional)

Method:

1. Wash the mushrooms and cut each of them in to four pieces and keep them aside.
2. Put sliced onions, green chili,ginger and garlic in a mixer and make a fine paste. 
3. Take oil in a pan. 
4. Add cumin seeds and cardamoms and fry till the oil becomes fragrant. 
5. Add the onion ginger and garlic paste and cook till it become brown. 
6. Add the tomato puree and saute for 2-3 minutes. 
7. Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, kitchen king masala powder, coriander powder and mix well. 
8. Add cashew paste. 
9. Stir and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala paste. 
10. Add approximately 2 cups of water and mushrooms and stir. 
11. Simmer and cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes till the gravy becomes thick. 
12. Add half the cream and salt. 
13. You can also add sugar or tomato sauce if you want a light sweet taste in the curry.
14. Garnish with rest of the cream and coriander leaves an serve hot with rice or chapati.

SOYA NUGGET STIR FRIED SALAD

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soya nuggets
1 onion diced
1/2 capsicum diced
1 small tomato diced
2-3 black olives sliced
2-3 lettuce leaves
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp tomato ketchup or honey mixed with lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Soak the soya nuggets in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze out all the water.
2. Heat oil in a pan and saute onions and capsicum in it and cook for a minute or two till the veges become crisp and add soya nuggets and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Now switch off the gas and add rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
4. The sald is ready to be served.

Notes:

1. If you like you can add chilli sauce and soya sauce as per taste.

STRAWBERRY BANANA SHAKE/SMOOTHIE

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : nill

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 cup cold milk or half milk half yogurt
1 cup strawberries or 4 tbsp strawberry crush or syrup
2 bananas
2 tbsp sugar or as per taste
2 tbsp crushed ice

Method

1. Wash the strawberries. Remove the stems and cut into halves.
2. Peel the bananas and roughly chop them.
3. Pour milk into the blender, add strawberries,bananas,sugar and crushed ice.
4. Blend well until smooth.
5. Pour some strawberry syrup or strawberry crush into the glasses if you like thn pour the shake into glasses,garnish with fresh strawberries and serve chilled.

CHOLLEY

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 60 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:
2 cups chick peas (kabuli channas)
1 tea bag
7-8 small pieces of dried Amla
3 large onions
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 2 green chillies
3 large tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato pure
1/2 cup coriander leaves
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp Amchoor or 1 tbsp imli pulp
2 tsp channa masala
salt to taste (1-2 tea spoons)

Method:

1. Wash and drain the water. Soak the chana overnight in approximately 6 cups of water. Boil in the same water with salt, dried amla and tea bag till tender. Remove amla and tea bag. 
2. Peel and chop the onions. Wash and chop the tomatoes, green chilies and coriander leaves. 
3. Heat oil in a pan and roast cumin seeds, add chopped onions and saute till brown. Add ginger and garlic paste and finely chopped green chilies and saute for sometime. 
4. Add coriander powder, red chilly powder, amchoor, channa masala and cook for 2 mins. Then add chopped tomatoes, chopped coriander and tomato pure. Cook till oil separates. You can add little water in between if required. 
5. Add the prepared paste to the chanas along with cooking liquor and salt. Cook till the chanas are well mixed with the gravy. 
6. Garnish with Julian of onion, tomatoes,ginger and green chilies along with chopped coriander leaves and slice of lemon.
7. Serve it hot along with  bhatura,puri,samosa,tikki,rice or with chapati.

AALU PAALAK PAKORA / POTATO SPINACH FRITTERS

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup besan/gram flour
1 cup spinach (palak) finely chopped
2 potatoes sliced like fingers

1 medium size onion, thinly sliced
1 green chili, chopped
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
1 tsp gaam masala powder

1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
a pinch of soda bi-carb (meetha soda)

salt to taste
oil for deep frying

chaat masala to sprinkle

Method:

1. Mix everything except oil and chaat masala and slowly add approximately half a cup water to make a thick batter.
2. Take spoonful or a forkful of batter at a time and fry the pakoras in hot oil till they are golden brown in color.
3. Drain out on an absorbent  paper,sprinkle chaat masala and serve aalu palak pakoras hot with green chutney or tomato sauce.

Notes

1. Spinach and onions release water when they are mixed with salt. So be careful while adding water.Add 1/2 cup of water first ,mix well and keep aside for 5 minutes. If the batter is still thick then add some more water.
2. It is convenient to drop batter in oil with the help of a fork than a spoon.

ZERO OIL VEGETABLE BROTH

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes                                                        

1 onion roughly chopped

1 potato
1 inch piece of ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1 carrot roughly chopped
100 gms bottle guard (lauki/ghiya)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 carrot grated
1 cup cabbage shredded
100 gms cottage cheese diced
coriander for garnising

Method:

1. Pressure cook tomatoes,onion,potato,ginger garlic,chopped carrot and bottle gourd with 3 cups of water till 3-4 whistles.
2. When the pressure releases mash the pressure cooked vegetables in a mixer or with a blender.
3. Add salt.sugar and black pepper and boil the broth for 5 minutes.
4. Add grated carrot,shredded cabbage and diced cottage cheese and cook further for two minutes.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot along with steamed rice or chapati.

SAMOSA

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves: 10-12
Ingredients:

2 cups refined flour (maida)
1/4 cup refined oil or ghee
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
4 medium sized boiled potatoes 
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida (hing) 
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp sabzi masala or garam masala
1/2 tsp sounf powder
1/4 tsp degi mirch
1 de-seeded green chili
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp kaju tukra
1 tsp raisins
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
salt to taste
oil for frying

Method:

1. Heat one and a half tablespoons of ghee/oil in a kadai. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida. 
2. When the cumin seeds begin to change colour, add chopped onions, salt and continue to saute.
3. When onions are lightly browned add  green chilies ,all the spices and sugar. Mix and saute for a minute,now add mashed boiled potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. 
4. Add kaju tukra and raisins. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool. Add chopped coriander leaves to it and mix.
5. 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.
6. Divide the dough into six equal portions. Apply a little ghee and roll out into small puris and cut each puri into half and make a cone . Divide the filling into twelve equal portions.
7.  Place one portion of filling in the center of the cone, seal the edges if required you can use water or a slurry of water and maida to seal the edges in the shape of a samosa. Similarly prepare other samosas.
8.  Heat sufficient oil in a kadai till hot. Deep-fry the samosas on high heat till golden. Drain out on an absorbent paper and serve hot with imli (tamarind) chuttney.

ORANGE ICE TEA

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup orange juice
2 tea bags green tea or black tea
2 tsp sugar
black salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil water in a pan and add sugar and when the sugar dissolves completely switch off the gas and brew the tea bags in hot water. 
2. Remove tea bags from the water and keep the water aside to get cool.
3. Fill a serving glass half with orange juice, add black salt and give a stir.
4. Add crushed ice if you like.
5. Place two orange slices in the glass and then pour tea over it.
6. Add some more crushed ice in the tea and serve chilled.

    

DAHI KI MEETHI LASSI / YOGURT LASSI

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time : nill

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup Yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

3-4 tsp sugar or as per taste

Method: 

1. Mix yogurt and sugar and beat it in a mixer till the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Now add ice cubes and beat again.
3. Pour out in a glass and serve.

Notes:

1. If you don't like chilled lassi then add one cup cold water instead of ice or half ice half water.
2. You can add flavours by adding cardamom or rose water or kewra essence or finely chopped paan leaves etc.

SCRAMBLED EGG / EGG BHURJI

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time : 5 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

1/2" ginger chopped

1 tsp geen chili chopped

1 tbsp peas (optional)

1/4 cup capsicum chopped (optional) 

1 tbsp coriander chopped

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp garam masala / black pepper powder

1 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds.
2. When the cumin seeds start to crackle add chopped onions,ginger and green chilies.
3. Stir fry till the onions become pink in color.
4. Add chopped capsicum,peas and tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add salt and rest of the spices.
6. Now break the eggs and add them to the cooked veges.
7. Let the egg set in the bottom for a while then start stirring continuously till the egg is cooked and mixed well with all the veges.
8. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with chapati, parantha or toasted bread.  

STRAWBERRY GREEN TEA

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time : 5 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 cup water
2 green tea's tea bags
2 tsp sugar or honey
6-8 strawberries chopped

Method:

1. Heat water in a pan and when it starts boiling add 3-4 chopped strawberries in it.
2. Now add sugar and boil till the sugar dissolves completely.
3. Strain the strawberry flavoured water in a jug.
4. Now take two cups and place one tea bag each in each cup.
5. Pour the flavoured water in the cups and add rest of the chopped strawberries. 

HOW TO BOIL RICE / PLAIN RICE

Method:

1. Soak the rice for 20-30 minutes.
2. Discard the water in which rice were soaked and add twice amount of water to the rice and it can be cooked in a pressure cooker or in a pan.
3. Add a tsp of oil and 1/2 tsp of salt in one cup rice and always boil the rice just a little less than done, to keep the grain whole and separate.You can also add 1 tsp of lemon juice after the rice are cooked to keep the grain separate.
4. Rice can also be cooked by adding in 3-4 times water in a pan and once the rice is cooked, you can drain out all the excess starch water and cool rice in a large plate.
5. Take a grain between thumb and index finger and press. If it breaks, on pressing but does not leave a hard speck, then it is done.
6. While using cooked rice in a pulao do take care whwther you have added salt while cooking or not and adjust the salt while making the tempering of the rice.

SOYA PULAO

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves: 6
Ingredients:

3 cups cooked rice
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 black peppercorns (kalimirch)
1" stick of cinnamon (dalchini)
1/2 cup soya chunks (nuggets) , soaked , drained and chopped
1/2 cup boiled green peas (optional)
1 tsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lehsun) paste
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)(optional)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp oil
salt to taste


Method :

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan; add the cumin seeds, peppercorns and cinnamon.
2. When the cumin seeds crackle add ginger-garlic paste and onions and sauté till they turn translucent in color.
3. Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and cook till the tomatoes are mashed. 
4. Add soya nuggets, peas, 1/2 cup water and salt and mix well. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the rice to the gravy and mix gently.
6. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes in a kadhai and serve hot.

DRY BHALLA SNACK

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves: 6

For the bhallas
2 cups yellow moong dal (split yellow gram) or urad dal (split bengal gram)
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
salt to taste
oil for frying

For  tempering
1 tbsp oil
1 spring kari patta
1/4tsp degi mirch powder

1/2 tsp chaat masala or as per taste
apinch of asafoetida powder


Method:

For the vadas

1. Soak moong dal/urad dal at least for 2 hours. 
2. Drain and grind the dal to a coarse paste using very little water.
3. Add the green chilli-ginger paste, fennel seeds, asafoetida and salt and mix well.
4. Heat oil in a kadahi and drop a tsp or a tbsp of batter at a time depending upon the size of bhallas you want.
5. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in colour.
6. Drain on absorbent paper and cool.
7. Cut the bhallas in two or four pieces and keep aside.
8. Make a tempering by heating oil in a pan and adding rest of the ingredients and add the bhallas in it and mix well.

GOBHI ,GAJAR,SHALGAM KA ACHAAR

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 15-20 minutes

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
500 gms cauliflower florets
500 gms chopped carrots
500 gms chopped turnip

350 ml white vinegar
4 medium sized onions

2 tbsp mustard seeds (rai/sarson)
1 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tbsp red chillies
1 tbsp turmeric powder (haldi)
3 tbsp garam masala

150 gms salt
150 gms ginger (adrak)
150 gms garlic (lehsun)
750 gms jaggery (gur)
400 gms mustard (rai / sarson) oil

Method:

1. Cut and clean cauliflour florets,carrot slices and turnip slices.
2. Boil water in a deep pan, add the cauliflower,carrots and turnip till just soft, drain and keep aside.
3. Spread all the vegetables on a cloth. Keep aside.
4. Combine onion, ginger and garlic and blend in a mixer into a smooth paste.
5. Heat oil in a kadhai, add the paste and saute till the onions turn golden brown in color.
6. Add the remaining masalas and saute for 3 minutes add the red chilli and saute for 1 minute.
7. Cool, add the vegetables and toss well. Keep aside.
8. In another pan, heat the vinegar and add the jaggery and mix well till the jaggery dissolves.
9. Sieve the mixture and add to the achaar and mix well.
10. Cover and keep aside for a week.