Mixed vegetable upma (Upittu)

Cooking time: 20min
Preparation time: 20min
Serving: 4 persons

Ingredients:
Sooji (Rawa) - 2Cups
Onion - 1 large
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 6 to 8 cloves
Kadipatta
Asofoetida
Jeera
Mustard seeds
Green chilly - 1
Carrot - 2 small
French beans - 200 gms
Peas - 50gms
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Lemon - 1/2
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Water - 2 and 1/2 cups
Cilantro leaves
Grated coconut (Optional)


Below in powdered form:
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamom - 1 cm
Black Pepper - 3-4


Method:
1. Chop the Onions into cubes.
2. Grate garlic and Ginger.
3. In the meantime, keep a kadai on flame. Then when hot add rawa and dry roast it till slightly brown.
4. Chop green chilly. Add less chilly as we already have other spices into the upma.
5. Chop Carrot into cubes. Also chop beans finely as it will cook faster.
6. By now the rawa would be done. So take it out and keep it aside.
7. In the same kadai, add oil and allow to heat.
8. Now add Asofoetida, Mustard and Jeera. Allow mustard to splutter.
9. Then add Kadipatta, Green chilly and Ginger-Garlic. Allow Garlic to become golden brown.
10. Then add Onions and fry for 5min. Then add all the vegetables. Fry for a minute or two. Add a little salt and cook well with closed lid of the kadai.
11. Now add the powdered masala and fry for sometime.
12. Once above is cooked well, Add the Water and allow to boil.
13. To the water add salt, Lemon juice, Cilantro leaves and sugar. Mix well.
14. Add the rawa to boiling water, mix quickly and close the lid as it starts to splutter all over.
15. After 2 min, Open the lid and mix well.
16. Now put 2tsp of ghee and mix it well. Close the lid and allow the raw to cook.
17. Garnish with cilantro leaves and grated coconut. Serve it plain or with Farsaan.

Corn Cheese chops

Cooking time: 40min
Preparation time: 15min

Ingredients
Corn kernels - 2 cups
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 6 cloves
Green chilli - 3-4
Onion - 1 medium
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Crushed black peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves - 2 tablespoons
Bread crumbs - 2 1/2 cups
Mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup
Cornflour/ corn starch - 2 tablespoons
Sticks a few

Method
1. Peel ginger and garlic and chop in a chopper with green chillies.
2. Peel and finely chop onion.
3. Heat 2 tbsps oil in a non-stick pan, add ginger-garlic-green chillies and sauté. When garlic turns a light brown add onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Coarsely chop corn kernels in the chopper and add to the pan. Mix well and sauté for a while. Add turmeric powder, salt and mix. Transfer into a bowl and add peppercorns, coriander leaves and mix.
5. Add 1½ cups white bread crumbs and mix well.
6. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai.
7.Thickly slice mozzarella cheese and then cut into small cubes.
8.Mix cornflour with water to make a thick batter. Spread the remaining bread crumbs in a plate.
9. Dust your palms with a little cornflour, take a portion of the corn mixture, keep a cheese cube in the centre and roll to cover it completely and shape into a oval chop.
10. Roll it in a little cornflour and pierce an ice cream stick at one end. Shape it again.
11. Dip it in cornflour batter, roll in remaining bread crumbs and deep fry till golden. Drain on tissue paper. Serve hot.

Cheese Corn Balls

Cooking time: 15min
Preparation time: 15min

Ingredients:
Processed cheese,grated - 2 cups
Sweet Corn - 1 cup
Sweet corn ( cream style) - 2 tablespoons
Green chillies - 3
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece
Refined flour (maida) - 4 tablespoons
Salt to taste
baking soda a pinch
Oil to deep fry

Method:
1. Take cheese in a bowl.
2. Drain sweet corn and rinse in fresh water and add to the bowl.
3. Add cream style sweet corn. Finely chop green chillies and ginger and add.
4. Add refined flour, salt and baking powder and mix well. Cover and rest the mixture in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
5. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Shape the mixture into small balls and deep fry on medium heat till golden.
6. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with your choice of chutney.

Garlic Chutney (Wet)

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking Time: 0 Minutes
Makes 0.75 cup

Ingredients
1 cup roughly chopped garlic (lehsun)
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp tamarind (imli) pulp
2 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a mixer with ¼ cup of water and blend to a smooth paste.
2. Refrigerate and use as required.

Channa dal and Palak Kebab

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Makes 8 kebabs

Ingredients
For The Chana Dal Paste
1 1/2 cups cooked chana dal (split bengal gram)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lehsun) paste
salt to taste

Other Ingredients
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 1/2 cups blanched and puréed spinach (palak)
1 1/2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
salt to taste

For Serving
garlic chutney

Method
For the chana dal paste
1. Combine all the ingredients in a broad non-stick pan and sauté on a medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Cool slightly and blend in a mixer to a coarse paste. Keep aside.

How to proceed
1. Heat ½ tsp of oil in a broad non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds.
2. When the seeds crackle, add the spinach purée and cook on a slow flame, while stirring continuously, for 2 to 3 minutes or till the water evaporates.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients along with the chana dal paste and cook on a medium flame for another 3 to 4 minutes, while stirring continuously.
4. Sprinkle a little water if the mixture becomes very dry.
5. Cool slightly and divide the mixture into 8 equal portions.
6. Roll out each portion into a 67 mm. (2½”) flat round kebab.
7. Heat a non- stick tava (griddle) and cook each kebab, using 1/8 tsp of oil, till they turn golden brown in colour from both the sides.
8. Serve hot with garlic chutney.