Veg Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Water (to cook rice) - 3 cups
Carrots - chopped into small bite size pieces - 1cup
Beans - chopped into small bite size pieces - 1cup
Spring onions - finely chopped - 1 bunch
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Indian green Chillies - 5 - finely chopped
Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 5 1-inch small pieces
Cardamom - 2-3 pods
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt (adjust to taste)
Oil for frying
Ghee for frying nuts

Procedure:

1. Cook rice separately.  Add just enough water, & not more; else the rice would become too soft.
2. Fry cashew nuts in ghee & keep them aside.
3. Heat oil (around 3 to 4 table spoons).
4. Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods & fry them a little.
5. Add ginger-garlic paste & fry.
6. Add chillies, carrots, beans, peas & fry.
7. Add spring onions & fry.
8. Add black pepper powder & salt & fried cashew nuts.
9. Add rice & stir so that the veggies are spread evenly. Cook for 2-3 mins & it should be ready to serve.

-->Soak the rice in water for 30mins before cooking. Drain the water & fry the rice for 3 minutes in 2 tablespoons of ghee.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana  -  3 or 4
Melted Butter  -  1/3 cup
Sugar  - 3/4 or 1 cup
Egg   -  1beaten
Vanilla extract  -  1 teaspn
Baking soda      -  1 teaspn
All purpose flour  -  1 1/2 cups
Salt - pinch

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Smash the banana's nicely using pestle or fork.
3. To this add butter, egg, vanilla extract, sugar, salt and baking soda and mix well.
4. Then add the flour and mix it well.
5. Pour the mixture into a buttered loaf pan and bake it for an hour. 
6. Cool on a rack then remove from pan and slice to serve.

--> To check if the bread is done, test it with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean without any bread sticking to it, then it means the bread the baked well else you will have to bake it for some more time.
--> You can add your favorite nuts to the bread and name it as Banana Nut Bread :-)

Coconut Milk Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

Chicken           1kg
Onion               1 and 1/2
Green Chilli     5
Garlic paste      1 tsp
Ginger paste      1/2 tsp
Coriander powder      2 tsp
Red chilli powder      1 tsp
Turmeric powder        1/2 tsp
Coconut milk             2 cups
Garam masala            1 tsp
Pepper powder           1 tsp
curry leaves                6-8
oil and salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a cooker and fry sliced onions, ginger/garlic paste and green chilli.
2. Take coriander/ red chilli/ turmeric powder in a cup. To this add some water and make a paste.
3. When the onion turns transparent, add the coriander/ turmeric/ red chilli powder paste with required amount of salt to cook the chicken and fry for 3 mins.
4. Now add the chicken, fry for 2 mins and then add 1 and 1/2 cups of coconut milk. Close the cooker lid and cook it for one whistle.
5. Open the cooker lid after all the steam escapes out, if it is too watery, boil it for 5 to 8 mins. 
6. Now add the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut milk, garam masala and pepper powder - fry it for 3 - 4 mins.
7. Garnish it with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Spinach Koottu

Ingredients:

Spinach          3 cups (i usually use 160 ml cup for measurment)
Toor dal          3/4 cup
shredded coconut    3/4 cup
Onion            1/2    
Tomato          1
Tamarind paste   2 tbsp
Green chilli   4
Turmeric        1 tsp
Cumin seeds  1 and 1/2 tsp
pich of Asafoetida     
salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Boil the toor dal in pressure cooker.
2. Chop onion and tomato.
3. Once the toor dal is boiled well, add the onion, tomato, tamarind paste, asafoetida, spinach, 1/4 cup water and required amount of salt. Mix well and boil it for 1 or 2 whistles.
4. Meanwhile grind the shredded coconut, cumin seeds, green chilli and turmeric powder in mixie into a coarse paste by adding little water.
5. When all the steam has escaped, open the lid of the cooker and check the water consistency of the spinach dal. If it is too watery, cook it in medium high flame till the extra water evaporates. Then add the ground coconut paste to it and cook it in medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes

->  at step 5, don't overcook the spinach dal to a very thick consistency because it gets more thicker after adding the coconut paste. So, keep stirring and check the dal, once it starts to get thick add the coconut paste.
-> I used frozen spinach and frozen shredded coconut.
-> You can add a tbsp of chopped onions along with coconut, green chilli, turmeric powder and cumin seeds while grinding. It will give a different taste, but this is optional. Onion is not added in the coconut paste in the traditional method.
-> You can also add the onions and tomatoes in the dal after frying it in the oil for 3 to 5 min.(either way it tastes good - frying or without frying)

Aloo Paratha

Ingredients for the stuff:

Potato   1big
Onion     1/2
Crushed cumin seeds   1/2 tsp
Chaat masala     1/2 tsp
Lemon juice      1 tspn
Salt         for taste

To Grind:

Green chilli  3
Garlic            3 pods
Coriander leaves   fist full

Grind green chillies, coriander leaves and garlic into a fine thick paste by adding 1tsp of water.

Procedure:

1. Boil the potato and mash it with the potato masher.
2. To this, add crushed cumin, chopped onion, ground green chilli/garlic/coriander leaves paste, lemon juice, chaat masala and the required amount of salt and mix it well.

Ingredients for dough:

Atta   1 cup
Water  1/2 cup
Salt    1/2 tsp

1. Add salt to the flour (atta) and mix it well with your hand.
2. Then gradually add water to the flour and mix it well until you get a soft dough. At the end apply 1/4 tsp of oil to the dough. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 15 min.

Procedure for making aloo paratha:

1. Roll the chappati dough to a medium size, then keep some mashed aloo mix in the center of the dough. 
2. Wrap the aloo mix with the dough so that it gets stuffed inside.
3. Again roll the dough gently to a required size. [Don't try to roll it thin, stuff may come out.]
4. Fry it in a pan by adding 3- 4 drops of ghee.

-> It is not necessary to grind green chilli, corainder leaves and garlic. You can add these without grinding also.
-> You can also fry the potato mix in a pan for 5 to 8 mins and then stuff it in a dough. Its completely optional.

Mango Dal

Ingredients:

Unripe Mango              1 (peel the skin and cut the mango into medium size cube pieces)
Thoor Dal                    1 cup
Onion                          1/2 chopped
Green Chilli                  5 chopped
Red Chilli                     2
Curry Leaves               5 - 6
Garlic                           4 pods
Turmeric powder         1/4 tspn
Cumin seeds                1/2 tspn
Mustard seeds             1/2 tspn
Asafoetida                   a pinch
Coriander leaves          for garnishing
salt                            For tatse

Procedure:

1.  Pressure cook the thoor dal for 2 whistle and mash the dal nicely with a masher.
2.  Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds starts to splutter add the cumin seeds, red chilli, chopped garlic,onion, green chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida.
3.  Then add the cut mango pieces. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover the pan with lid and cook it in low flame for 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Now add the mashed dal in the pan, add turmeric powder and salt. Add 1/2 cup of water and cover cook the dal and mango for another 5 minutes.
5. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

->  At step 3, if the mango pieces are not soft after cooking for 5 - 7 min, cook it again for another 2 min. It should be soft enough to mash it with your fingers.
->  At step 4, adding water and cover cooking the dal & mango is to bring the flavor of mango in the dal. You can adjust water according to your thickness consistency. If you want the dal to be thick, add less water else add more water.

Aloo Methi

This dish goes well with chappati and curd rice.


Ingredients:

Potato                              4
Fresh Methi leaves       1 bunch
Cumin seeds                1/2 tspn
Turmeric powder         1/4 tspn
Garam Masala             1/2 tspn

To Grind:

Ginger                         1 inch
Garlic                          5 cloves
Green chili                   6

 Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chili in a mixie.

Procedure:

1.  Wash the potatoes and cut into cubes.
2.  Wash the methi leaves thoroughly. (use only leaves not the stem)
3.  Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and turmeric powder. Once the cumin seeds starts to splutter add the potatoes and ginger, garlic and green chili paste. Add salt and fry them till the potatoes are half done.
4.  Now add methi leaves and cook it in medium flame till the potatoes becomes soft.
5.  Add garam masala and cook for 2 to 3 mins.

-> If you want it more spicy, add more green chili. Else add red chili powder.