Jeera Paratha

Paratha with cumin flavor.

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - a pinch
• Red Chili Powder - to taste ( you can use chopped green chillies instead )
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - to drizzle

Circular Paratha

Directions: 

• In a mixing bowl, take flour, add cumin seeds, turmeric powder, chili, salt and mix.
• Add lukewarm water little by little to knead the dough. Click here for step by step procedure. 
• Roll out and make parathas on hot griddle till golden brown. Click here for step by step Procedure
• You can either make it in circular shape or triangular.
• To make triangular paratha,  roll out a ball  into a 4-5 inch disc, then drizzle few drops of oil onto the rolled out chapati and evenly coat it all over.  Fold the disc into half forming a semi-circle, coat the surface with few more drops of oil. Again fold the semi-circle into half forming a triangle. Dip this triangle into the dry flour and coat all the sides.  Roll it out again with a rolling pin. Try to maintain the triangular shape.
• Place this rolled out paratha onto a hot tava or griddle and cook till golden brown on both the sides.
• Serve with any curry or raita of your choice.

Triangular Paratha

Variation:

You can similarly make Ajwain Paratha, by replacing cumin seeds with Ajwain ( Carom Seeds ).

Instant Rawa Dosa / Onion Rawa Dosa

 If you crave for dosa and do not have time for fermentation, this is the one for you.
Here's what you gonna need for making instant rawa dosa.


Ingredients:

• Sooji ( Semolina ) - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 cup
• All Purpose Flour ( Maida ) - 1/2 cup
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Hing - 1/8 tsp
• Chopped Green Chillies - to taste
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - around 7 cups
• Oil - for drizzling

Directions: 

• In a large mixing bowl mix all the ingredients ( except oil ) . 
• Add water as needed without forming any lumps. The consistency of the batter should be more runny,like buttermilk. It is usually thinner than the normal dosa batter.
• Let the batter sit for about 15 minutes.
• Heat the griddle or tawa on high heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the the tawa, the droplets should sizzle and dry up. Now reduce the heat to medium.
• Pour a laddle full of dosa batter on the hot tawa. You will not be able to pour the batter in the center and rotate outwards just like the other dosa. You can pour it into a circle and then try to fill in the circle with some more batter. It will look netted.
• Alternatively, instead of using a laddle, you can sprinkle the batter using your hand. Take handfuls of batter and sprinkle all over the pan gently, filling all the gaps.
• Drizzle very little oil all over the dosa. Let it cook for till the bottom part is brown and crispy.
• Flip the dosa and cook for just half a minute. 
• Fold the dosa into  half and remove it on a plate.
• Clean the pan with a wet paper towel after each dosa.
• Serve with any chutney or pickle.

Variation:

• The other form of this plain rawa dosa is onion rawa dosa. 
• For that, add finely chopped onions to the batter and then make the dosa in the similar way as mentioned above.
• You can also add chopped curry leaves to the batter.

Vankaya Kothmeer Kharam

Vankaya = Eggplant ; Kothmeer = Cilantro ; Kharam = chillies
So, it is basically an eggplant curry cooked in the gravy of cilantro and green chillies.
Mix this curry with the plain steamed rice and eat. You can also eat as side for dal rice or chapatis.

Ingredients:

• Eggplants - 3-4 long ones or around 8-10 small ones
• Cilantro - 1 thick bunch
• Green Chilles - 3-4 or to taste
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Tamarind Pulp - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garlic - 2-3 cloves
• Oil - 2-3 tbsp
• Hing ( Asafoetida ) - 1/8 tsp

Directions: 

• Cut the eggplant into 2 inch long pieces. If you are using baby eggplants, you don't need to cut them through, just slit a cross for around 3/4th length, keeping the stem intact. Keep aside in a bowl of water.
• In a grinder, take chopped cilantro, green chillies, garlic, turmeric powder, tamarind pulp,hing, cumin seeds, salt  and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add eggplant . Fry uncovered till it is 3/4th cooked, stirring ocassionally.
• Now add the ground mixture to the curry and mix well. Cook till the eggplant is done and the oil starts separating. Adjust salt. 

Bread Pakora

Spicy , crispy bread pakoras are absolutely the best snack on a rainy or a snowy day . It can be made very easily and quickly. And if you eat them while sipping your smoking hot chai... mmmmmm    it's magical.
Kids love this finger food. You can have them with ketchup or green chutney or tamarind chutney.

Ingredients:

• Bread ( white or brown ) - 4-5 slices
• Gram Flour ( Besan ) - 1 cup
• Water -  3/4 cup
• Cumin Seeds ( jeera ) - 1/2 tsp
• Carom Seeds ( Ajwain ) - 1/2 tsp
• Chopped Green Chillies - 1 or to taste
• Red Chili Powder - to taste ( optional )
• Chopped Cilantro - 1/4 cup ( optional )
• Salt -to taste
• Baking Soda - a pinch ( optional )
• Chat Masala - to sprinkle ( optional )
• Oil - for deep frying

Directions: 

• Cut each slice of bread into 4 pieces. You can cut either into 4 squares or 4 triangles. You can even cut them in just 2 pieces diagonally, i.e 2 large triangles. keep them aside.
• To prepare the batter, take besan in a mixing bowl, add all the other ingredients( except oil ) to it and mix.
• Add water little by little to make a smooth batter. Batter should be of the consistency of pancake or dosa batter.
• Heat oil for deep frying. To check if the oil is ready, put a small drop of batter in oil, it should sizzle and come up right away. ( if it sits at the bottom for long, the oil is not hot enough whereas, if it comes up and turns black rightaway, the oil is too hot ) Keep adjusting the heat while cooking as needed.
• Now, dip the bread slices in to the batter one by one and carefully drop them in the oil. Depending on the size of your pan, decide the number of slices you want to drop at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan.
• Let it fry till it turns golden brown and then flip to the other side and fry till golden brown.
• Remove them on a kitchen towel.
• Sprinkle a pinch of chat masala on each pakora.
• Serve them hot with ketchup or green chutney or tamarind chutney.  ( Click on the link for the recipe of chutneys )
• Enjoy your cold evenings with hot pakoras and hot chai and do not forget to exercise for 15 extra minutes the next day ;)

Skin of few fruits and veggies have nutrients in them

•  Potatoes have their nutrients in their skin. So try using potatoes without peeling it.
•  Eat fruits like apples and peaches along with its skin.
• Even the garlic skin is good for heart . Try to use the whole bulb with the skin.
• I know, the skin of the kiwi fruit is little hairy and just not tasty. But it has anti-cancer properties. Try if you can eat them with the skin on, otherwise,  the best way to intake the skin of kiwi would be to  use the skin if you are juicing it.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section. 

Suran Curry

Suran or Jimikand ( in hindi ) , Kanda ( in telugu ) is an Indian yam you can find in Indian grocery stores. You can either find it fresh or frozen. I usually buy it frozen as I find it little difficult and messy to peel and chop the fresh one.
I remember whenever my mom cooked this, my dad used to call it "non-veg curry"  because of  it's texture.lol. Nevertheless, I like to eat it with plain steamed rice or jeera rice. It can be eaten with chapatis as well.

Ingredients:

• Suran Cubes - 1 packet ( frozen )
• Mustard Oil - 2 tbsp
• Cooking Oil - 2 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Black Cardamom - 2
• Cloves - 4-5
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
• Bay Leaves - 2
• Amchoor - 1 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp or to taste
• Coriander - Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder- 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - 2-3 cups ( adjust accordingly )
• Cilantro - 3-4 springs

Directions: 

• Wash and dry the suran pieces.
• Heat mustard oil in a pan and shallow fry the suran cubes till slightly golden brown. Remove and keep aside.  ( Mustard oil can be replaced with any other cooking oil.)
• When cooled, prick them with a fork or a toothpick all over so that it can absorb the flavors of the gravy.
• Grind onion, ginger and garlic in a grinder to a smooth paste , keep aside.
• Heat cooking oil in a heavy bottom pan, splutter cumin seeds, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.
• Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and fry till the oil separates.
• Add turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder, chili powder and amchoor. Mix well.
• Add the shallow fried suran pieces and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add 2-3 cups of water and cook covered on medium heat till the suran pieces and tender. If you feel the curry is too dry , add more water.
• Add salt, garam masala and chopped cilantro. Cook for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat.
• Serve with rice or chapati.

Tip : Do not overcook the suran, it might get mashed up.

Burrito Bowl

Burritos ( wrap or bowl ) are one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Oh I love Chipotle !!
Burrito is tortilla wrap filled with rice and bean, etc, whereas, a burrito bowl is all the contents put together in a bowl.
Pair this dish with tortilla chips and guacamole or salsa dip and a coke. mmmmm........ yummmm......

Ingredients: 

• Lime and Cilantro Rice - 1 cup
• Spicy Black Beans - 1/2 cup
• Pico de gallo - 1/2 cup
• Cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup ( shredded )
• Sour cream - 1 tbsp
• Jalapeno Sauce - 1 tbsp ( optional )
• Guacamole - 2 tbsp or to taste
• Cialntro - for garnish
• Iceberg Lettuce - 1/4 cup
• Lime juice - 1 tsp

For Veggie Fajita:

• Bell Pepper - 1/2 ( Sliced )
• Red Onion - 1/2 ( sliced )
• Sweet Corn - 1/4 cup
• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Directions: 

• Click here for the recipe of  Lime and Cilantro Rice .
• Click here for the recipe of  Spicy Black Beans.
• Click here for the recipe of  Pico de gallo .

For Veggie Fajita: 

• Heat olive oil in a pan. 
• Add sliced onions, sliced bell peppers. Fry them for a minute. Let them be crispy. Do not cook till tender. If you can grill them, even better.
• Add sweet corn .
• Season with salt and oregano.
• Pic Below:

Assembly of Burrito Bowl : 

• In a serving bowl, make a bed of lime and cilantro rice.
• Add a layer of black beans.
• Lay the veggie fajita as the next layer, along with sliced lettuce.
• Sprinkle  Pico de gallo all over.
• Add guacamole, sour cream, jalapeno sauce and cheese.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and sprinkle little lime juice if needed.
• Experince Chipotle at home :)