Category: Uncategorized

Curried Potatoes from Old Delhi- दरीबे के आलू रस

On By lavinamehraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment


SERVES: 4-5

COOKING TIME: 10-15 Minutes

GLUTEN FREE- LOADED WITH POTASSIUM (more than a banana), VITAMIN C, B6 and IRON

QUICK TO MAKE

Why this recipe? How is it green? How am I contributing to making this earth green by following four steps or less recipes?

Using Pressure Cooker will take 10-12 minutes whereas it will take 20-30 minutes in a regular pan. 

You save: 40% of fuel energy and 15 minutes of your precious time that is about 8 to 10% of the total time you spend in kitchen on an average(assuming you spend a total of 2-3 hours in a day in the kitchen).

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon of oil
1 pinch of asafoetida powder
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 tablespoons crushed fennel seed
4 teaspoons Methi chutney masala, if available or
(1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds and 2 whole red chilli)
2 small tomato chopped
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
4 palm sized potato chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 inch frozen crushed green chilli
1 teaspoon mango powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
Fresh or frozen coriander leaves

STEP 1. Put asafoetida powder, Cumin, fennel seed powder and all other seeds (if not using Methi chutney masala) in heated oil
STEP 2. Sauté for less than a minute, then add tomato and red chilli powder and cover the pan for 3-4 minutes till tomato become soft.
STEP 3. Add potatoes, salt, turmeric powder, frozen crushed green chilli and Methi chutney masala (if available)and enough water to submerge everything plus 2-3 inches, let the cooker give 2 whistles or leave the pressure cooker with whistle on for 10 minutes on fire)
STEP 4. Open cooker lid, add mango powder, garam masala and coriander leaves to garnish before you serve.

thumb_IMG_0280_1024HANDY TIPS:
1. Always wait for the steam in pressure cooker to release by itself. This is a safety precaution as well as retains all flavour of the food.
2. When done, before serving crush a few potatoes in the curry to thicken the density of the curry.

 

SPICY COCONUT DIP-नारियल की चटनी

On By lavinamehraIn Dips to lift your spirits up!, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Gluten Free, quick and nutritious

It is a complete food rich in calories, vitamins, and minerals.

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
For Dip:
200 grams frozen shredded coconut
50 grams of dry roasted chickpea or peanuts
2 fresh green chilli or 1 inch of frozen crushed green chilli
100 ml milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 inch of frozen grated ginger

For Garnish:
1 teaspoon of oil
1 tablespoon of black mustard seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
2 whole dried red chilli

STEPS:
STEP 1. Put all ingredients for coconut dip in a food processor/grinder until it forms a smooth paste, keep adding milk if needed and let it grind for a minute or two for shredded coconut to get smooth.
STEP 2. For garnish, heat oil in a small ladle, add mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves until lightly roasted.
STEP 3. Add this to the dip, mix well, let it sit for 15-20 minutes for flavour of garnish to permeate.

IMG_1612HANDY TIPS:

  1. You can use fresh or frozen shredded coconut, the taste of the dip will be the same.
  2. roasted chickpeas can be replaced with peanuts or almonds, they will give the same smoothness and a different flavour to the dip.

Avocado Chive Yogurt Dip- अवोकाड़ो दही का चक्का चटनी

On By lavinamehraIn Dips to lift your spirits up!, UncategorizedLeave a comment
thumb_IMG_1382_1024Gluten Free, quick and nutritious
Ingredients:
500 grams greek yogurt
1 ripe large avocado
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon all spice powder
10-12 strands of chives chopped
Preparation:
If you do not use greek yogurt, you will need to extract water from regular yogurt.For this put yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang it for 1-2 hours for the water to drain out.
STEPS:
Step 1. Mash Avocado
Step 2. Add salt, mashed avocado, frozen crushed green chilli, chives, lemon juice and all spice powder to greek yogurt or block of yogurt in muslin cloth.
Step 3. Mix everything thoroughly and it is ready to enjoy.
AvocodoHandy Tips:
1. You can be as creative as you want to be , replace  chives with other herbs like spring onion, dill weed, rosemary, basil, mint, coriander or spices like red chilli pepper, black pepper.
2. You can also add finely chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms or cucumber.

Smoking Hot Tip-धुँआदार सलाह

On By lavinamehraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Here is a tip to get a real smoky flavour for a recipe that conventionally requires use of clay oven or Tandoor.  Heat up a small (thoroughly washed) piece of charcoal until it becomes red hot. Put this smoking hot piece of charcoal in a pan or on a steel plate and pour a few drops of cooking oil on it. When the smoke starts to emanate, put the main ingredient like roasted/baked eggplant (for baigun bharta/aubergine mash) or chicken tikka on the same dish as smoking charcoal and cover it for 2-3 minutes for the smoke flavour to infuse. Discard the charcoal when flavour is infused.