Namakpaare/Nimki

I made this using whole wheat flour. It is a traditional snack item by my mom. As a kid this was one of the most common and readily available item on the shelf. A delicious crispy, crunchy munch. An all time favourite of mine which I made over the weekend so to pass the taste of aata nimki to my little one.

Ingredients
Whole wheat flour/ Aata- 3 cups
Refined Oil- 1 cup
Salt - 3tsp
Ajwain/carom seeds- 1tsp
Kalonji/Nigella seeds- 1 tsp
Water for kneading - 1/2cup
Oil for Frying

Method
Mix the flour and oil together.
Add salt, nigella and carom seeds
Add water and knead to a tight dough
Make balls of the dough and roll into a thick circle
Cut this into thin strips 1"x4" in size

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan
Add the cut strips and fry till golden in color
Store in airtight container

In our homes this is a common snack item to serve with morning/evening tea.

P.S. I need help from someone who can guide me on how to post pictures of my recipes in the blog. :-(

If this were true.....

The kid promised to never ever leave me and go anywhere, while talking to me last evening. This took my heart away Iwas left wondering if I had made the same promises to my mom when I was a child. And then I thought, if life were so simple...so to never have to leave your parents and be with them all your life but what with all the aspirations and ambitions.

Spring Rolls

Made spring rolls last evening and here is the recipe...will upload the pics too. I didn't forget to take pictures this time..


Ingredients:
For the filling
You would need 1/2 cup of each of these chopped finely.
Cabbage
Carrot
Capsicum
Beans
Onion
Mushrooms
Ginger Garlic paste- 1/2 tsps
Pepper - 1/2 tsps
Red chilly flakes-1/2tsps
Ajinomoto-1/2 tsps
Soy Sauce(optional) - 1/2tsps
Vinegar(optional)-1/2tsps
Salt as per taste

For the dough
Maida/Refined flour - 1 cup
Oil- 2tsps
A pinch of salt
Knead together all of the above into a tight dough.

Method
Boil water and add the chopped vegetables to it along with salt.
Remove from heat immediately after adding the vegetables
Drain excess water using a strainer
In a pan heat 3tsps oil and add the ginger garlic paste to it
Add vegetables and saute for sometime
Add salt,chilly powder, pepper powder and ajinomoto
Add the vinegar and salt to the vegetables
Mix together and let it cook for sometime
This should take approximately 10 mins to cook

To make the rolls
Take small portions of the dough
Flatten to make thin round puris
Place one/two spoonful of the vegetable filling in the centre of the puri
Roll the puri lenghthwise and fold at the ends/ (see pic below)

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan/kadahi
Keep theflame on high while heating the oil then bring to medium
Deep Fry the rolls on medium/low heat
Remove the rolls from oil and place on paper towel
Serve hot with sauce of your choice.

Note: The best is to keep the flame high initially, moving it to medium after you add the rolls and then altering between medium and low so that the rolls turn crispy.

Daal Dhoka

I have been highly inspired recenlty with the number of food blogs I have been visiting and so I decided to post recipes freqeuntly. People say I cook well and honestly, that when I didn't know any till 9 years back is a HUGE Compliment. :D.
As I mentioned earlier too, I am having a hard time deciding the food menu every other day as I have decided to stick to a strict vegetarian diet this year, all through the month of sawan. Head scratching and all I made Daal Dhoka for dinner last evening and as always forgot to click the pictures :(
But of course I have the recipe here for those of you who may some day visit my blog. The recipe I used is from my mom. She used to make the same using masoor daal also, but the one here I did using chana daal.

Daal Dhoka Curry

Ingredients:
Chana dal- 2 cups
Ginger paste 3 tsps
Cumin powder-2 tsps
Coaiander Powder-2tsps
Red chilly Powder (Optional) - 1tsp
Turmeric Powder-2 tsps
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1 tsp
Salt-2 tsps or as per taste
Tomatoes- 4 (finely chopped)
Green chilly/Whole Red Chilly: 4
Mustard Oil for frying

Method
Soak the chana daal for 2-3 hours
Grind the daal to a fine paste using little water.
Mix the ginger paste, chilly powder, turmeric and salt
In a Heavy bottomed pan, add 1 tsp oil and splutter the cumin seeds
Add the Dal mixture to this and cook for sometime till the paste starts becoming a little sticky
Oil a flat dish/plate
Pour the daal mixture into it flattening it with a spatula while still hot
Let it cool for around 10 mins.
Cut into diamond shaped pieces
The dal dhoka is ready

To fry the dhokas now:
Heat oil in a kadahi/wok
Deep fry the daal dhoka till they turn brown
Fry all the pieces

In the remaining oil
Splutter the fenugreek seeds and add the whole red chilly or green chilly
Add the ginger past, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and tomatoes.
Fry for sometime till oil starts leaving the bottom of the pan
Add 2 glasses of water.
Boil for sometime and then add the fried dhokas
Garnish with Coriander leaves
Serve with roti or rice

I need readers for my blogposts. Especially the recipe posts. I don't know how to go about it yet..would ask a few friends to link my blog to theirs.

Sawan ka Mahina- Vegetarian food month

Well, It is July and according to hindu calender is the month of Sawan and is going to be a vegetarian month for me. Now that is tough....I am out of ideas for cooking everyday meals. The whole thing is going to last for a month. Eating veggies everyday and what's more you are expected to provide varieties to hubby dear. :(
Now that is my problem because he has not asked me to not cook or eat mutton/chicken/fish/eggs. Rather he is eating non veg khana even after my instructions to not do so. He can't live "HAPPILY" without it for more than a day or two.
But head bent as I am to not eat non veg during this time, am left scratching my head every time I have to plan dinner/lunch menu -whatever....
I have been making Aloo Patal Dum for Sunday lunch for the past two weeks and the husband has been eating the same without a word-- gave me the idea that it must be definitely good enough to post here.
Patal belongs to the gourd family of vegetables and here is what I could find about the vegetable:
Trichosanthes dioica is a good source of carbohydrates, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It also contains major nutrients and trace elements (magnesium, potassium, copper, sulfur, and chlorine) which are needed in small quantities, for playing essential roles in human physiology. (source wikipedia)

Aloo Patal Dum/Aloo Parwal Dum/Potato and Pointed Gourd Curry

Ingredients
Potatoes(medium sized ) - 4 cut into cubes
Patal/parwal/pointed gourd- 8 scraped and cut into halves
Onion- 1 grated
Bay leaf- 2
Dhania Powder(Coriander)- 3tsps
Jeera Powder(Cumin)- 2tsps
Kali mirch(Black pepper) powder -1/2tsps
Garam Masala Powder-1/tsps
Cumin Seeds-1/2tsps
Dried Whole Red Chilly- 2
Ginger paste-3tsps
Garlic paste - 1tsps
Haldi- 2tsps
Salt -2 tsps or as per taste
Oil - 6tbsps I usually use mustard oil

Method
Heat oil in the pressure cooker.
Shallow fry the patal/parwal and potatoes each at a time
Remove from oil and keep aside.
In the remaining oil add the bay leaf, red chilly and cumin seeds.
Add the onion paste and fry till the color changes to pink
Add the Dhania, jeera, kalimirch powder, Ginger garlic paste, salt and haldi
Fry for sometime or till oil starts separating from the mixture
Add the potatoes and patal/parwal and mix
Add 2 cups of water, sprinkle the garam masala powder and cover the lid of the cooker
let it pressure cook for 5 mins. The cooker should not whistle/release pressure in this time.
Remove from heat and wait till the pressure is released
Open lid and add 1tsp of ghee for the flavor
Serve with plain Rice along with Dal or serve with vegetable pulao.

Chilly Paneer

Since Chilly Paneer is a hot favorite among my collegaues when I bring it to lunch at work, I decided to let it show here

Chilly Paneer (Cottage Cheese in Chilly Garlic Sauce)

Ingredients
Paneer-250gms
Oil- 6tbsp
Capsicum (diced)- 2
Onions (diced)-2
Whole Green chilly
Pepper
Salt
Cornflour
Ginger-50gms(finely chopped)
Garlic-15 cloves(finely chopped)

For the sauce mixture:
Mix 2tbsp cornflour, 3tbsp Tomato Sauce, 2tbsp Green Chilly Sauce and 2tbsp Soya Sauce in a bowl

Method
Cut the paneer into 1 inch cubes
Mix 2tbsp of cornflour, salt and pepper to sprinkle
Spread the paneer on a plate and sprinkle the cornflour over it.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the paneer pieces till golden
In the remaining oil saute the ginger, garlic,chilly, onion and capsicum
Add salt and pepper according to taste.
Add the sauce mixture to this and let it cook for 5 mins.
Add the paneer pieces, stirring slowly and cook till the paneer is evenly coated with the sauce.

Note:
I sometimes use ginger garlic paste instead of the chopped ginger garlic and it does give the flavor to it. If you do not like the ginger or garlic taste much, you can try this

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