Lauki muthiya

• Lauki (Gourd) - 2 cup (grated)
• Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Sooji - 1 cup
• Gram flour - 1/2 cup
• Green chilli - 2
• Ginger - 2 inch long piece.
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
• Oil - 1 table spoon
• Salt - 3/4 tea spoon ( or according to the taste)
• Sugar - 2 tea spoon.
• Baking soda - 1/2 tea spoon.
• Coriander leaves - 2 table spoon (chopped)
• Cumin seeds
• Onion - 1 cup (grated)
• Hing
• Lemon Juice
• 
  

Ingredients for the tampering

• Oil - 2 table spoon.
• Cumin seeds - 1 tea spoon.
• Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon.
• Sesame - 1 table spoon.
• Curry leaves - 10-12
• Hing - 2-3 pinch.
• Salt - 1/4 tea spoon.
• Lemon - 1
• Coriander leaves - 1 table spoon (chopped)

Making: 

1. Make a paste of green chilli and ginger and take it out in a separate bowl.
2. Sieve the wheat flour, sooji and gram flour in a bowl and put grated lauki and all the other ingredients mentioned above to knead the flour into it. Make a smooth dough from this mixture and leave it covered for 15-20 minutes. You can use the the squeezed out water of the lauki to knead the flour.
3. Apply oil on your hand and take a small portion of the dough. Make as many long round rolls from the dough as you can. Now its the time to cook the prepared Muthias.
4. Now take a momo-maker or an idli stand to make muthia. Fill water in the vessel and put the stand over it. Start keeping all the muthia on the stand one by one and cover it with a lid. Steam the muthia for about 25-30 minutes. Now put a fork inside the muthia to check if it is properly steamed and cooked. If the fork comes out clean, then the muthia is ready. Turn off the flame.
5. Let them cool down and then cut into thick 1.2 inch pieces. Now it is the time to tamper these pieces. 
6. Heat oil in a pan and tamper the cumin seeds, heeng, mustard seeds, sesame and curry leaves into it. Once the cumin seeds turns brown in colour add salt, lemon juice, pieces of muthia and coriander leaves to it. Mix them well and cook it for another 5-6 minutes.
   Lauki nu Muthia is ready. Serve it with coriander chutney or pudina chutney.

Dahi Bhindi (Yogurt Okra)

Ingredients:

Okra – 200gms

Yogurt – 4 cups

Green chillies – 2

Curry leaves – 4-5 leaves

Cilantro – few sprigs

Sesame seeds – 4 tsp

Peanut – ½ cup

Asafetida – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Ghee – 4 tsp

Jeera – 2 tsp

Mustard seeds – 2 tsp

Salt to taste

How to make it:

-       Heat ghee in a deep pan

-       Wash, drain and wipe the bhindi to dry

-       Cut the bhindi in 1inch length

-       Put the bhindi in the ghee and fry it till it is cooked well

-       Take out the cooked bhindi and let it cool

-       In the heated ghee, put in Jeera, mustard, curry leaves, asafetida. Once they splutter, put in split chilly and fry for a min. Let it cool

-       Dry roast sesame seeds and peanut. Allow to cool and powder it

-       Beat the yogurt to smooth

-       Add salt, sugar and chopped cilantro and mix well

-       Add the bhindi, sesame-peanut powder and the tadka into the spiced yogurt and mix well. Serve with chapati or any rice.

Pumpkin kheer (pudding)

• Preparation Time: 10 mins 
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins 

INGREDIENTS
Pumpkin - 1/4 part
Madhuramruth vacuum evaporated sugarcane juice powder (jaggery) (healthy sugar) or any other form of sugar - For every cup of boiled mashed pumpkin 1 cup jaggery
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Clarified butter or ghee - 2 tsp
Milk -  2 cups for 1 cup pumpkin
Chopped nuts/dry fruits (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Peel the pumpkin and cut into cubes of 1 inch
2. Pressure cook the pumpkin
3. Once ready mash it coarsely 
4. Add the powdered jaggery and mix well
5. Add ghee in a deep pan 
6. Once it melts and heats up, pour in the pumpkin and allow to boil
7. Now add cardamom and cook for 2min
8. Now add milk and bring to boil
9. You can add chopped nuts and raisins if you like. This is totally optional but makes it healthier
10. Serve hot

Spiced turmeric latte

• Preparation Time: 2 mins 
• Cook Time: 45 seconds
• Total Time: 3 minutes 

INGREDIENTS
Turmeric powder - 1-2 tea spoon
Any dairy or non-dairy milk - 1 cup
Organic powdered black pepper - 1/4 tea spoon
Organic powdered Jaggery - as per your taste

MAKING THE LATTE

1. Take a cup with milk
2. Add powdered jaggery. Mix well
3. Add the turmeric powder 
4. Add black pepper
5. Either heat on the cooktop or microwave for 40seconds or more

Serve every morning for better health and growing immunity. Can be served with breakfast like pan cake or anything else.

Quick Eggless Whole Wheat pancake

• Preparation Time: 10 mins 
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 minutes 
• Yield: 6 pancakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Organic Whole Wheat Flour*
• ¼ tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almond milk or any milk of choice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons organic jaggery (I used Madhuramut jaggery)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• More oil to grease your pan/skillet, if necessary

MAKING THE PAN CAKES

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or another mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract until thoroughly blended. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with the cold milk, gently warm it in the microwave just until it liquifies again.)
2. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until combined, so only a few lumps remain (don’t over-mix or your pancakes will be tough!). If you’d like to mix in any totally optional add-ins (like chocolate chips or blueberries), gently fold them in now. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes so your pancakes will be nice and fluffy.
3. If necessary, lightly oil the cooking surface with additional oil (I don’t oil the surface of my non-stick griddle and my pancakes turned out great).
4. Using a ¼-cup measure, scoop the batter onto the warm skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes (you’ll know it’s ready to flip when about ½-inch of the perimeter is matte instead of glossy), and flip. Cook on the opposite sides for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. You may need to adjust the heat up or down at this point. Serve the pancakes immediately.
6. Can we served with a hot golden milk (http://houseofmasala.blogspot.com/2018/03/spiced-turmeric-latte.html)

Here is the awesome jaggery used:

Spicy Navratan Korma

Ingredients:

Total time: 45 - 60min    Serves: 6 people

• 225 g - Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
• 1/4 cup - Milk
• 15 g - Ginger
• 6 flakes - Garlic
• 1 cup - Coriander leaves
• 3 - Green chillies
• 3/4 cup - Water
• 1/2 cup - Ghee or Oil
• 300 g - Cauliflower cut into small pieces
• 2 cups - Peas shelled or frozen
• 1/4 kg - Potato peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
• 1/4 kg - Carrots peeled and cut into thin strips 4 cm long
• 1/4 kg - French beans cut into thin strips 3 cm long
• 1 tsp - Turmeric
• 2 tsp - Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp - Red Chilli powder
• 1 tsp - Garam Masala
• 300 g - Tomatoes pureed
• 1.5 cups - Curd beaten
• 2 slices - Canned Pineapple cut into 1 cm pieces
• 2 tbsp - Cashewnuts broken into pieces
• 12 - Almonds blanched and sliced
• A pinch Saffron dissolve in 1 tbsp hot Milk or hot water
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Grind ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and green chillies into a paste, adding a little water from time to time. 
• Divide the paneer into two batches. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan for 3 mins and fry each batch till golden brown and remove. 
• To the remaining oil, add ground paste. Stir-fry till golden brown, sprinkling a little milk from time to time. 
• Add all the vegetables, salt, turmeric, cumin, red chillies and garam masala powders. Stir-fry for about 2 mins. 
• Add tomato puree, curd and remaining water. Mix and cook covered on low flame till all the vegetables are cooked. 
• On medium heat, add paneer, pineapple, cashewnut and almonds. Stir and simmer for 3 more mins. 
• Add saffron and serve hot.

Palak rice with mixed vegetables

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

20 mins

TOTAL TIME

35 mins

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cup

Oil - 1.5 tb sp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tb sp

Chopped onion - 1 large

Chopped tomato - 2 large
Spinach - 2-3 cups

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya Jeera powder - 2 tsp

Garam masala - 2 tsp
Chopped green chillies - 1
Mixed vegetables (Beans, peas, Cauliflower, Carrot,
Curry leaves - few

Salt as per taste

Cashew - 10 - 15

Cilantro

Ghee - 2 tsp

Procedure:

1. Palak paste:
• Chop spinach coarsely
• Grind to paste: Spinach, ginger, garlic, Green chillies, little water to grind
• Keep aside 
2. Making the masala for rice:
• In a Kadhai, heat oil 
• Add Kadipatta
• Now add Jeera, mustard seeds, Haldi and hing
• Add chopped onion and fry till golden brown
• Add chopped tomato and fry till oil leaves from the sides in the kadhai
• Add Garam masala and Dhaniya Jeera powder
• Add Cashew nuts
• Add mixed vegetables and fry for 5 min
3. Making the rice
• Wash rice and keep it ready
• Add above masala and mix well
• Add salt
• Add the palak paste by measuring it as it is watery. Minus that much water. (i.e. if you use 1 cup of rice and the paste is half cup use a little more than half cup water)
• Add chopped cilantro 
• Cook it normally using pressure cooker or electric rice cooker
• Once ready add 2tsp ghee and mix well
• Serve hot garnished with some fresh coconut and cilantro with raita

Mumbai Mast Tomato Pulao

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

20 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 3/4 cup

Oil - 1.5 tb sp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tb sp

Chopped onion - 1/2 large

Chopped tomato - 1 large

Tomato ketchup - 1.5 tb sp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Chopped Red or green bell pepper - 1/2 

Paneer - 20 cubes

Cilantro

Ghee - 2 tsp

Procedure:

1. First wash and cook the rice in any method you prefer. Add few drops of oil while cooking to get well separated strands. Bring to room temperature and keep aside.
2. In case of using store bought paneer, soak it in hot water for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the water and keep aside.
3. Now, heat a pan with oil, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 secs. Follow it by onion and saute until translucent.
4. Now, add the tomato and give a stir. Then add the ketchup and give a quick stir. Follow it by turmeric powder, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala powder, salt and mix well.
5. Add the capsicum, give a nice stir and add 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and turn the flame to low-medium. Cook for a minute and then add the paneer cubes. Stir once and continue to cook until the mixture gets thickened up. By now all the raw smell of masala would be gone. 
6. Finally, add the cooked rice to the mixture and mix well until combined. Make sure not to break the rice strands. Turn off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves, ghee and mix well.
7. Serve hot and enjoy with a simple papad or raita.

Healthy kacche/dadpe pohe with masala chili

One of my most favorite dishes. I remember whenever I used to go home from where I was working, my mom always asked me "What do you want me to prepare?" I always had this on my list. Mom's immediate reaction "Such a simple dish?". My all time favorite and very very simple and healthy to eat.

Now I am passing on to my son. He loves it as much as I love it 😃

Ingredients:

Poha:
Thin Pohe - 6 cups
Buttermilk/curd chili - 4 nos
Oil - 4 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - 3 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 leaves
Raw Peanuts - 4 tb spoon
Black salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp

Toppings for the poha:
Chopped tomato
Chopped onion
Chopped Spinach
Chopped Cucumber
Grated carrot
Chopped cilantro
Lemon
Grated fresh coconut



Finally making and serving:

1. Heat oil in kadhai. 
2. Add Jeera, mustard seeds and sesame seeds. Allow to splutter.
3. Add asafoetida and Curry leaves
4. Now add the curd chili by roughly breaking them into halves or smaller (based on the size)
5. Allow the chili to be hard and fried well. 
6. If the chili are done, take them out or else can leave in the oil for more time to be fried
7. Add the raw peanuts and fry till they are fully roasted
8. Turn off the gas and allow to cool
9. Now add the poha to the oil 
10. Add salt, sugar and mix well
11. NOTE that this mix can be made and stored for long time as these are all dry ingredients

Serving:

1. In a separate bowl, take as much as needed to be served
2. Add all or any toppings mentioned above per liking
3. Give it a good mix and serve.
4. NOTE this dish is served cold and not to be warmed