Homemade Garam Masala Powder

Garam masala is an indispensable part of North Indian cuisine. Not only it adds it's distinct around a to the food but also makes it super delicious. Garam masala finds mention even in Ayurveda wherein it is considered as a medicine that generates body heat, ergo the name "Garam Masala". The recipe here is my own concoction that has helped me a lot. This is a life saver since it dramatically changes flavour and colour of the food.

For one jar

Time taken: 15 minutes

Ingredients
Fennel seeds 1 tbsp
Black Cardamom 5 nos
Black pepper 3 tbsp
Bay leaf 3
Cinnamon 5
Cloves 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
Dried ginger 2 pcs 1" each
Green Cardamom 7
Kalpasi/ dagad ke pool 2 pcs
Nutmeg 1
Mace 3
Star Anise/ chakra pool 5

Method
1.  Heat a kadahi/ wok and dry roast all the spices into it.
2.  Cool them completely.
3.  Grind the spices into slightly coarse powder. Do not fine grind, unless all oil of the spices will soon evaporate.
4.  Store in an airtight container.

Chicken in vegetable stew

Sometimes we are too tired to cook or else want to eat something tasty yet not complicated. In such times I believe in serving my family this stew. This stew is not just super simple but highly unconventional and yummy.

Serves: 3 persons

Time taken:
Preparation 5 mins
Cooking 20 mins

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken 250 gms; cut in strips
Potatoes 2 nos medium sized; quartered length - wise
Pointed gourd/ parwal 3 nos; quartered length - wise
Ladyfingers/ bhindi 9 nos; cut the stump only
Tomatoes 2 nos small; sliced length - wise
Garlic 4-5 cloves; chopped
Onion 2 nos small; sliced length - wise
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Dry red chilli 2 nos whole
Bay leaf 1 nos
Oil 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder 2 tsp
Red chilli powder 2 tsp
Coriander powder 3 tsp
Garam masala powder 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water 1 cup

Method:
1.  Heat oil in a kadahi/ wok. In a bowl take potatoes and smear them with salt and turmeric rest for a minute and fry until half done, set aside. Repeat the process with the pointed gourd and ladyfingers. Set aside all the vegetables.
2.  In the remaining oil n the kadahi, add cumin seeds, whole dry red chillies and bay leaf. As they start crackling add the chopped garlic and sliced onions.
3. As the onions get translucent, add the tomatoes and cover and cook until the tomatoes are done.
4. While tomatoes are cooking in a bowl add turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder along with some water to make a thin paste. Once the tomatoes are done add this paste. Fry until oil leaves from its side.
5.  At this point add all the vegetables and chicken strips. Add salt and fry them in the masala for 5 minutes. Add garam masala.
6.  Add water and let the stew boil for next 5 - 10 mins.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Sev Bhaji - no onion no garlic

Sev Tamatar Bhaji is a favourite across Western India be it Gujarat, Rajasthan, Western Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra each of these states have their own version of sev Bhaji. Back in old times, this dish served its purpose in military camps and during dry spells. However, in modern times too it has not lost its charm and is relished with equal ease. The present recipe, however, is my version without any onion or garlic.

Serves: 2-3 persons

Time taken: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
Tomatoes 4 nos big (pureed)
Ratlami sev/ long sev 1 cup
Ginger 1 inch grated
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
Hing ⅛ tsp
Chopped green chillies 2 nos
Oil 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Kashmiri mirch 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Curry leaves 2-4 sprigs
Water 1½ cup

Method:
1.  In a wok /kadahi heat oil. Add Mustard, fenugreek seeds along with chillies and curry leaves. Let them crackle.
2.  Add tomato puree and ginger; stir fry. Once it is almost done add turmeric, cumin, coriander, Kashmiri mirch powder respectively. Add 4 tbsp water and let the masala fry until oil leaves from its side.
3. Once done add water and bring it to boil. Reduce the water a bit and add sev to the gravy.
4. Serve hot and garnish with chopped coriander.

Usal/misal - no onion no garlic

Misal is a savoury dish from the state of Maharashtra...made primarily of sprouted moong dal. One must appreciate that there are two similar dishes -misal and usal. Usal is watery I'm consistency and is spicy while misal is made out of usal sans the watery consistency and loads of namkeens. Since misal is made of sprouts it goes without saying that the dish is an excellent source of folic and amino acids thus is highly nutritious. This dish, however, deviates from he traditional recipe and has no onion or garlic in it.

Time Taken: For making sprouts a day; for misal 20-25 minutes

Serves: 3-4 persons

Goes well with: pav, bread or even rice.

Ingredients:
Usal:
Moong dal sprouts 2 cups
Tomatoes 2nos finely chopped
Ginger 3" grated
Green chillies 3-4
Curry leaves 4-5 sprigs
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Degi mirch powder ½ tsp
Kashmiri mirch powder 2 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Goda Masala (optional) 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tbsp

Misal:
Usal
Fine sev 1 cup
Mixture sev/ farsaan 1 cup
Coriander leaves finely chopped

Method:
1.  Heat oil in a pressure cooker add mustard seeds, chopped green chillies and curry leaves to it. Let them crackle.
2.  Once they crackle add grated ginger and let it dry slightly. Add finely chopped tomatoes to the oil.
3.  When the tomatoes are half done add the sprouts along with turmeric, degi mirch, Kashmiri mirch, goda Masala, coriander powder and salt.
4. Fry for 2-3 minutes and add water. Close the cooker and set on high flame until one whistle after which let it cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
5. What you get is basically USAL to make misal continue with the method below.
6. Take a bowl first place fine sev in it. With help of a ladle just take out the sprouts and put them in the bowl. Now add some mixture sev or farsaan over it and garnish with chopped coriander.

Plating:
In a plate place the pav or bread along with some kachumbar salad. Serve it with misal and in another smaller bowl serve the watery usal as well.

Gaadhi kadhi wali Bhindi

Bhindi is one of the family favourite veggies I have hardly heard of anyone disliking Bhindi. However Bhindi in most houses is restricted to fry or masala dishes. Gaadhi Kadhi bhindi is basically fried okra cooked in thick kadhi based gravy.

Serves: 3 persons

Time Taken: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Ladyfingers or Bhindi ½ kg
Tomato 1 small
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Coriander for garnish
Green chilli 1
Fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds ¼ tsp
Jeera seeds ¼ tsp
Hing ⅓ tsp
Salt to taste
Curd ½ cup
Besan ½ cup
Water 1 cup
Turmeric 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Chilli powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Oil

Method:
1. Cut bhindi into one inch long pieces. Heat oil into the kadahi and fry Bhindi (without salt) until done. Remove and keep the Bhindi aside.
2. Add 1tbsp oil into the same wok and add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and hing. Let them crackle. Add curry leaves and chopped green chillies
3. Add finely chopped tomatoes and let it dry until soft. At this point add well whipped curd into the masala. Immediately add besan, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder along with water. Stir continuously and let it boil.
4. Once done add salt and sugar to the kadhi. And reduce water content. Once thick add the fried Bhindi and cook for 5 minutes in cover.
5. Once done remove from heat and serve it garnished with chopped coriander leaves

Plastic Chutney - Raw Papaya Chutney

Papaya is considered as one of the friendliest fruit. Not only it is good for health by also acts as a superfood for gut. Plastic chutney is basically a sweet chutney made of raw papaya. It's called "plastic" owing to the translucent form papaya takes once cooked. This chutney can be had especially when serving heavy meal since the chutney aids and soothes the stomach. Also it can be given to babies as it is excellent food for them.

Time Taken: 30 mins

Serving: 4-5 persons

Ingredients:
Raw Papaya 1 small
Sugar 1 cup
Water 2 cups
Kewra essence 2-3 drops

Method:
1.  Peel the raw papaya, de-seed and grate it. Keep aside.
2.  Heat water in a kadahi or wok and as it heats add the grated papaya.
3.  Cook the papaya until the water reduces to half. At this point add sugar.
4. Cook until the water and sugar combines into one string syrup and the papaya is translucent.
5.  Let the water reduce. Take off the wok from heat and add kewra essence to the chutney.
6. Preferably cool the chutney in the refrigerator for at least an hour before enjoying.

Shrimps in Coriander and Mustard

Shrimps are one of my favourite food, I simply love the nutty sweetness that they have. In my opinion unlike fishes shrimps can be easily experimented upon. Therefore, there are so many versions of cooking them and no matter which recipe you may try they all will turn unique and equally delicious. This recipe is taken from kitchen of my grandma and offers both nutty sweetness of shrimps, earthiness of Coriander as well as pungency of mustard. The outcome of that is a dish that becomes comfort food after a tiring day. That's not it this dish is not just tasty but is made in no time and quick.

Time taken: 15- 20 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

What to eat with: primarily a Bengali dish so rice is super with this but rotis also go complimentary to this.

Pointers:
1. I like using skinned and deveined shrimps for this dish. Just ensure that before cooking they are marinated with salt and turmeric for at least 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1. Shrimps 250 gms
2. Coriander leaves fresh 250 gms
3. Mustard powder 1 tbsp
2. Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
3. Oil ( I used mustard oil) 3 tsp
4. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Make paste of the coriander leaves, keep aside. Also make paste with mustard powder and keep it aside.
2. In a kadahi or wok heat oil and as it becomes hot add the shrimps. Sauté it.
3. Once half done add coriander paste turmeric and salt. Let it cook until dry.
4. As the gravy becomes dry add tge mustard paste reduce the flame and let it cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Once oil leaves side of the gravy, take the wok off the flame.
6. Shrimp in Coriander and Mustard paste is ready to be relished.

Mediterranean style three bean salad

It's summer in India and as always it's humid and very very hot. Obviously in such climate it becomes onerous to cook as well eat a heavy meal. At such times - especially - salads come to rescue. Personally I love eating salads not just because they are healthy but also because they taste so incredibly good. Among many salads that can be quickly fixed my favorite is the Three Bean Salad. This salad is full of proteins and amino acids and is especially good for expecting and lactating women. Three bean salad is slightly Western in taste, nonetheless, I took the liberty to make it - through this recipe - palatable to Indians as well.

What to eat with: My dad loves it with parathas while my mum enjoys it on top of toasted garlic bread just like bruschetta.

Pointers:
1.  There are many versions of this salad which require boiled, par boiled or raw beans. But I prefer boiled beans since we Indians are accustomed to them more.
2.  You can use a wide variety of beans for this salad but in this recipe I have used kidney beans, black eyed beans and garbanzo beans.
3. Though olive oil is recommended for salad dressing I have purposely avoided it in this recipe.

Ingredients
1. One fist full of Rajma or kidney beans
2. One fist full of lobiya or chawli or black eyed beans
3. One fist full of chole or white chana or garbanzo beans
4. One medium sized cucumber chopped
5. One medium sized tomato chopped
6. 10-12 leaves of Mint part chopped and part whole
7. Juice of 1 lemon
8. Pinch of lemon zest
9. Pinch of salt
10. ½ tsp honey
11. Pinch of pepper

Method:
1.  Soak and boil all the beans and then place them on a colander for the water to strain.
2.  In a bowl add lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper and whisk until all the ingredients mix together.
3. Into the bowl add the strained beans, cucumber, tomato and mint leaves and combine the salad.
4. Once done add pinch of lemon zest and combine again.
5. Place the salad into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
6. Once done three bean salad is ready. Bon appetit

Chocolate Pancakes with Strawberry Salad

Everyone loves pancakes. However it stands important that a perfect pancake be not just round and soft but also tasty. Another important issue while making pancakes is that usually they are made of Maida but the version I make is out of flour or atta making these pancakes much more nutritious. This version of pancakes is a perfect Sunday treat for my family. Bon apetit. 
Time Taken: 15mins
Serves: 2-3 persons

Pointers:
1. Perfect circles or near perfect circles are essential for restaurant quality pancakes. You can easily achieve that by using a blender jug or any other jug to pour the batter into the pan.

Ingredients
1.  Flour/atta 1 cup
2.  Eggs 2 no's.
3.  Sugar ( preferably castor) ½cup
4.  Chocolate powder (I use Hershey's) ½ cup
5.   Oil (refined) ¼ cup
6.   Baking powder 1 tsp
7.   Vanilla extract ½ tsp
8.   Milk ½ cup
9.   Strawberries 10-12
10.  Chocolate sauce (I use Hershey's)
11.  Honey 1 tbsp

Method:
1.  Take a blender jug and add flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate powder, oil, baking powder, vanilla extract and milk into it. Blend the mixture into a smooth bubbly consistency. Set aside.

2. Heat a nonstick pan. Once hot add a small amount of the mixture into it. 

3.   As the round cakes on the pan cook you will find bubbles on the surface. And as the upper surface becomes somewhat dry turn and cook the other side. Don't overcook them. With the mixture I make around 6-7 pancakes.

4. Simultaneously, remove 5-6 large strawberries and finely chop the remaining ones. Take honey in a bowl and add the finely chopped strawberries into it and mix well.

5.  On the serving plate place one chocolate pancake on top of it generously pour chocolate sauce and place another chocolate pancake on top if it. Garnish the pancake with chocolate sauce half cut strawberries and strawberry salad on the side.