Keerai Kulambu/Spinach Gravy

Keera kulambu is the healthy south Indian dish served with rice. Keerai/Spinach is cooked with dal & Indian seasonings. This is my mom’s signature dish. This taste great with potato fry, beetroot poriyal and papad / Appalam. Cooking is just as creative and imaginative activity. Cooking requires the real passion rather than exact measurements.


Ingredients
Spinach / Keerai – A bunch - Separate the leaves and wash well.
Toor Dal – ½ cup
Green chilies – 2
Tomato - 1 (if its small use 2 tomatoes) finely chopped
Salt to taste
Mustard – ¼ tsp
Hing/Asafetida – 2 pinch
Cumin Seeds – ¼ tsp
Red chilies – 2
Water – 1 cup
Oil/ghee

Method
In a pressure cooker, put toor dal, green chilies, Tomato, spinach, salt and water. After three to four whistles turn off the fire and let it cool down. By using hand blender smash the cooked ingredients in the pressure cooker. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin seeds, hing, red chilies and add it in the Pressure cooker/cooked spinach.




Note : Serve with rice...more of this spinach gravy and less amount of rice.

Buckwheat Dosa

Buckwheat dosa is a ekadhasi recipe. Usually on ekadhasi people who fast from grains would commonly take milk, milk products, milk sweets, fruits, sabudhana khichdi. Instead of these routine ones we can make crispy dosas made of buckwheat which are as good as the normal dosas made of rice. I got this idea from my friend Vishaka Lila Devi Dasi in Seattle. It is not necessary that one should cook this recipe for ekadhasi only. You can  make it on any other day and enjoy the delicasy.


Ingredients:
Whole hulled buckwheat- 1 1/2 cup (available in whole foods)
whole black pepper- 1/4 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
cilantro (coriander leaves)- 1/4 bunch
curry leaves- a string
salt to taste
water
oil/ ghee to make dosa

Preparation:
Wash the buckwheat and put it in a blender. Add black pepper, cumin seeds, cilantro leaves, curry leaves, salt. Add required amout for water to so that the batter's consistancy is appropriate to make dosa. Blend it into a smooth batter. Heat a flat pan. Pour the dosa batter on the pan and spread it evenly in circular motion and then add ghee or oil and allow it to cook. Then flip the dosa and allow it to cook on the other side. Remove the dosa from the pan and serve hot with tomato chutney or peanut chutney or any vegetable curry.

Paneer with Mixed Veggie Paratha / Cottage Cheese Veggie stuffed Flat Bread

Paratha is our all time favorite and we make different types of paratha. One of them is paneer mixed veggie paratha which is my favorite. I add grated paneer to make mixed veggie paneer paratha. Adding Panner always enhance the food in my kitchen. Traditionally parathas are served with some ghee or butter, simple raita and spicy Indian pickle.

Ingredients
Dough
All purpose flour– 1 cup
Wheat flour – 2 cups
Butter – 2 tbs
Water – 1 ½ cup
Salt
For Filling
Paneer – 400g grated
Cabbage – 1 cup
Tomatoes – 21/2 chopped finely
Cashews – 10
Mixed veggies – 1cup ( I used frozen )
Coriander powder – 1 ½ tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Amchur powder – a pinch
Madras Curry powder- ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Cilantro – 1 tbs finely chopped
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Fennel seeds- ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil

Method
Dough
Mix all the flour in a bowl, add salt, butter and water. Mix it until becomes a pliable dough. Add more flour if it’s sticky or little oil if it’s too dry. Set it aside for 15 mins.
Filling
Grate the panner. In a hot wok, add oil, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cashews and cabbage. Fry it for 3 mins. Now add tomatoes, all the powdered ingredients and fry them for till the tomato becomes mushy. Now add the mixed veggies, cilantro and salt. Leave this for 5 mins. Finally add the grated paneer and mix it for few mins. Turn off the fire.
Take a small amount of the dough and roll it in your hands to make a ball shape. Take some flour for dusting. Now, dust this ball shape dough with little flour and press it with your palms to flatten it a bit. Use a rolling pin to flatten it a bit more. Take a small amount of the filling and make a small ball shape. Place this filling in the centre of the dough. Now cover the filling with the dough by bringing the ends upwards enclosing the filling all sides. Pinch the dough together on the top to cover the filling completely. Make sure the filling is completely covered. Use a rolling pin to flatten the filled dough /bread. In a hot pan /tawa, place the paratha and apply some little oil on all sides and on top. After 2 mins flip to another and repeat the process the rest of the parathas.

Note: The filling should be dry.

Punjabi chole / Spicy Black chick pea gravy

Chole or chenna masala is a spicy gravy with chick pea from Punjabi cuisine. There are two main kinds of  chickpeas namely Desi and Kabuli. Desi varieties are small, dark seeds and rough coated. Kabuli varieties are larger seeds, light coloured and smooth coated. I have used the Desi variety in my recipe. The spices that I have used for my recipe are fresh ground which gives a nice aroma to the dish.


Ingredients:
Black Chick pea/ Desi chena/ Garbanzo beans - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 2-3 (medium sized)
ginger (grated)- 1 tsp
hing/ Asafotida- a pinch
Amchur powder/ Dry mango powder- 1 tsp
kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)- 1 tsp
Bay leaf- 1
Channa chat masala- 1 tsp
salt to taste
cilantro (coriander leaves) to garnish
Baking soda- a pich (optional)
butter- 1 tbsp


Masala

corriander seeds (dhaniya)- 1 tsp

cumin seeds (jeera)- 1 sp

cinamon stick- 1 (1 inch)

Black pepper- 1/2 tsp

Red chillis- 2

cloves- 3-4

cardamon- 1

Preparation:
Boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with a pinch of Baking soda. Stain the boiled chick peas and save the stock. Dry roast the ingredients for the masala. Cool it and blend them with a handful of boilded chickpeas to get a fine paste. Heat a pan and add butter. Add grated ginger, chopped tomaotes, hing, kasoori methi and saute them till the tomatoes become tender. Add the masala and amchur powder and fry it for two minutes. Add the chick peas along with the stock and salt allow them to cook. Add channa chat masla and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro and serve with lemon wedge.


Note: Chole goes well with pooris and Batura. I can also be serve with rotis and rice.


Health facts: Chickpeas are good source of proteins, folate and zinc. Desi variety in particular has a higher dietary fiber content than the lighter ones and hence it is a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with diabetes or insulin sensitivity.