Brown Gravy

Ingredients :

• Tomato - 1 [ finely chopped ]
• Big onion - 1 [ cut in slices ]
• Ginger, garlic grated - 1 tsp
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbl. sps.
• Tamarind paste - 2 tsp
• Wheat flour - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Dhania powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Dry roast together cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, whole dry red chillies [ each 2 no. ]

Method :

Dry roast wheat flour to a light pink, stirring continuously. Keep aside. Heat oil, add onions, fry till well browned. Drain well by pressing, putting back oil in pan. Make it cool and grind in mixie. Keep aside.In remaining hot oil, add cumin seeds allow to splutter. Add asafoetida, tomato, ginger garlic stir fry for a minute. Add all dry and ground masalas, flour, stir well. Add tamatind paste, salt and stir. Simmer till gravy is thick and oil starts to separate. Add prepared veg and stir, keep cooking for 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, serve with parathas, rotis, etc.

Basic gravy

Ingredients :

• Tomato - 2
• Onions - 2
• Garlic flakes - 3 to 4
• Ginger - small piece
• Dry red chillies - 4 to 5 [ deseeded ]
• Fresh curds - 1 / 2 cup
• Cashews broken - 7 to 8
• Oil - 1 tbl. sps.
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Dhania powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Garam masala powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Cinnamon - clove powder - 1 / 4 tsp
• Salt as required

Method :

Grind all ingredients together except oil [ use mixer if hand grinder not available ]
Heat oil, add paste, stir. Fry till oil separates. Then add 1 cup of water, bring to boil, simmer till the gravy become thick. Can be prepared by onion and tomato. Grind to a smooth texture.
Can be stored in freezer for 3 to 4 days.
Use this gravy with vegetables and make side dish for paratha, roti.

Capsicum Chat

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Ingredients :

• Red capsicum - 3 [ cut in to round pieces ]
• Thin sev - 1 / 4 cup
• Sweet chutney - 1 / 4 cup
• Green chutney - 1 / 4 cup
• Chaat masala - 2 tsp
• Kala namak [ black salt ] - 1 tsp
• Anar dana - little
• Boiled potato - 2 big [ peel and mashed ]
• Onion - 2 big [ finely chopped ]
• Fresh curd - 1 cup [ beaten ]
• Boiled rice - 1 / 4 cup
• Salt - as required
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - for frying
• Cabbage - 1 / 4 cup [ grated ]
• Carrot - 1 / 4 cup [ grated ]
• Bread grums - 3 tbl. sps.
• Conflour - 3 tbl. sps.
• Chopped coriander leaves - little

Method :

Heat the oil in kadai, add finely chopped onion and saute for a minute. Then add grated cabbage, carrot, finely chopped green chillies, ginger. Then add mashed potatoes. Mix well.

Add salt, chaat masala, red chilli powder and then boiled rice. Mix all together and keep aside. Then stuff the mixture to red capsicum [See photo]. Sprinkle conflour and bread grums on bot the sides. Keep it in a hot tawa, add little oil [Shallow Fry]. When it becomes golden brown on both the sides, remove from the tawa and arrange them properly in a plate. Before serving, pour 1 tsp of beaten curd [See photo], 1tsp of green and sweet chutney. Sprinkle little anar dhana, chopped onions  chopped coriander leaves and sev. Ready to serve.

Sprouted green gram [ moong ] fried rice

Ingredients :

• Sprouted green gram - 1 / 2 cup
• Basmathi rice - 1 cup [ soaked in water for 15 minutes ]
• Green chillies - 2 [ slit ]
• Big onion - 2 [ cut into small pieces ]
• Carrots - 2 [ cut into small cubes ]
• Capsicums - 1 big [ chopped ]
• Fresh green peas - little
• Caramalised sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbl sps.
• Ghee - 3 tbl. sps.

For seasoning :

• Cinnamon - 1inch piece [ cut into small pieces ]
• Cloves- 2 to 3
• Cardamom - 2
• Bay leaf - 2

Method :

Soak rice for 15 minutes. Slice onions, carrots, capsicums. Prepare sprouted gram previous day. Cook rice in enough water to which little oil and salt is added. Drain through a colander and allow to cool. Then heat oil and ghee together on frying pan, add seasonings. When it spulter add onions, green chilli. After a minute add carrots, peas, capsicum and sprouted gram in the order given one by one leaving gap of 1 or 2 minutes in between. When the vegetables and green gram become soft add  cooked cooled  rice, caramalised sugar, garam masala. Check the salt. Stir in a high flame for 5 minutes till rice becomes hot. Remove from the gas. Serve hot with boondhi raitha and banana wafer.

[ soak whole green gram[ moong ] in water for 6 to 8 hours. Strain through a clean muslin cloth and tie well. Hang it for a day to sprout. Sprinkle water in between. ]

Poha [ aval ] spicy pongal

Ingredients :

• Poha [ aval ] - 1 cup [ thick ]
• Moong dal - 1 / 4 cup [ boiled ]
• Oil - 3 table spoon
• Water - 4 cups
• Ghee - 3 table spoon
• Black pepper - 3 tsp
• Cummin seeds - 2 tsp
• Ginger - 2 tsp [ peeled and chopped ]
• Cashew nuts [ halved ] - 2 table spoon [ fried in ghee ]
• Green chillie - 1 [ chopped ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Asafoedida - 1 / 4 tsp

Method :

Take one small cooker. heat ghee and oil together, fry cashew nuts, green chilli, pepper, cummin seeds, asafoetida, and  curry leaves. When it splutters, add poha and fry till it turns in colour. Then add boiled moong dal, salt , 4 cups water and pressure cook till 3 whistle comes. Then remove from the gas. Then open the lid add  more ghee and mix well. Serve hot  with coconut chutney.

Guvar ki subji [ Gujarati Type ]

Ingredients :

• Guvar [ kothavaraikai ] - 1 / 2 k. g.
• Onions - 1/ 4 k. g. [ cut in lenth wise ]
• Tomatoes - 2 [ chopped ]
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Coriander, cumminseed powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 / 4 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves - little

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 tsp
• Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method :

Wash and cut the guvar in to one inch pieces. Then heat the oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds. When  the mustard seeds splutter add asafoetida. Put the onions, saute till golden brown. Add the guvar pieces and a little water. Cover and cook till the subji  is tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and all the dry masalas. Continue cooking for 10 minutes in low flame. When the subji gets ready remove from the gas. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti and rice.

Dal Banjari

Ingredients :

• Urad dal [ split black lentils with skin ] - 1 cup
• Chana dal [ split bengal gram ] - 1 / 2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Sliced onions - 1 / 2 cup
• Cloves [ laung ] - 2
• Cinnamon [ dalchini ] - 1 stick 
• Dry whole red chillies - 2 [ broken into pieces ]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Finely chopped green chillies - 2
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Ghee - 2 tbsp

For the garnish :

• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Ginger [ cut into thin strips [ juliennes ] - 1 / 2 tsp

Method :

Clean and wash the dals together. Pressure cook with the turmeric powder, salt and 3 cups of water for 4 to 5 whistles or till the dal is cooked. Then heat the ghee in a pan, add the onions, cloves, cinnamon and red chillies and saute till onions turn into golden brown. Then add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies and red chilli powder. Saute for 2 minutes. Add this to the cooked dal and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot garnished with the chopped coriander and ginger strips.