Sheera

As we all get ready to welcome Goddess Laxmi in our homes tomorrow with sweets, fruits, flowers, coconut etc, in our family we also make wheat, flour Sheera (kanah prasad) a delicious Sheera that we have been used to since childhood, served in all Gurudwaras and temples. Here's how you can make it at home.

Ingredients
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 pure ghee
A little over 2 cups of water

Procedure
Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed kadai. Reduce flame and add flour and stir. Separately in a pan boil water with sugar to make sugar syrup and turn off flame once sugar is fully dissolved and water is boiling. Keep stirring the flour on a low flame till it turns golden brown. Slowly add the sugar syrup stirring continuously on a slightly higher flame, so that there are no lumps. Keep stirring, reduce flame, cover kadai with lid and cook for five minute on low flame stirring occasionally. Delicious hot kanah prasad is ready. Empty in an attractive serving dish with lid and place at the Pooja. Distribute to family and friends after Pooja is over.

Cashewnut Barfis

Today is World Food Day and Diwali is also upon us. What better way to celebrate both making delightful Cashew-nut Barfi at home bound to be a big hit with family and friends, so why not try it out and let the compliments keep coming.
Ingredients:
• 500 gms. cashew nuts (you can buy the broken variety, they are cheaper)
• 225 gms. sugar
• 8-10 cardamoms – deseeded and powdered
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ tbsp. pure ghee
• 8-10 almonds and pistas each – finely chopped
Procedure:
Grind cashew nuts in a mixer to a powder. Please be careful not to over grind, as oil will start to come out. Grease a large round steel plate / thali and keep aside. Place a thick-bottomed / non-stick kadai on the flame. Put sugar and water and heat. As soon as the sugar dissolves, put in the milk, reduce flame and boil. In a minute or two you will have a frothy layer on the top with some dirt particles. Remove the frothy layer with a sieve and let the sugar syrup boil on low flame till it is sticky and of One String consistency. Now put in the ground cashew nuts, cardamom powder and pure ghee. Mix well for a couple of seconds and put off the flame.
Immediately remove mixture on a greased thali. Pat with hand to flatten and make a circle of 1 cm. thickness. Sprinkle chopped almonds and pistas and press with hand. Allow to cool. Cut into diamond shaped pieces and serve.

Methi Puri with topping

Ingredients
1 cup wheat flour
½ cup Sooji (Rawa)
1 tbsp pure ghee
1 cup methi (fenugreek ) leaves washed and chopped
¼ tsp jeera powder
¼ tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

For Topping (Optional)
2 medium sized potatoes boiled , peeled and cut into small pieces
1 tsp ginger, garlic and green chilli paste
½ tsp chaat masala
¼ tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Juice of ½ lemon
Roasted and chopped groundnuts 1 tbsp (optional)
Procedure
Mix all the ingredients for the puris and knead into a soft dough with a little warm water. Make small balls. Roll out into puris and fry in hot oil till golden brown. The puris can be had by themselves with dahi, pickle etc or with your meal i.e. vegetables, meat etc. You can also serve the puris as a tasty snack with topping. To prepare the topping, mix all the ingredients well in a bowl except the groundnuts. Arrange puris on a plate . Spread topping evenly on the puris and garnish with chopped groundnuts and coriander leaves.

Stuffed Capsicum

Capsicum whether greedn, red or golden yellow is a vegetable that looks good, tastes good and is very versatile. Used in salads, main courses, snacks and even as toppings on pizzas, puffs and other small eats adds a delicious flavour. Several parts of the country stuffed capsicums are also a delicacy, especially in vegetarian menues. From mince meat to panneer to green peas, soya bean, potatoes, cauliflower etc. are all used to make the simple capsicum a tastier and more wholesome dish. I am sharing below a simple and easy to make dish of capsicum stuffed with potatoe and onion stuffing.

Ingredients
4 - 6 medium sized fresh capsicums
3 medium sized potatoes (boiled, peeled and cut into tiny pieces
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
2 green chillies chopped
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
1/2 tsp jeera (cummin seeds)seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp amchoor powder
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
Few coriander leaaves finely chopped
Procedure
Wash and slit the capsicum vertically from top to bottom (just one slit. Heat a non-stick pan with 1 tbsp oil. Lower flame and put in the capsicum after draining out the water. Keep turning the capsicums around, so that they get evenly cooked on all sides and after 5 - 7 minutes, they are a little soft and golden brown. Remove from flame and keep aside the pan.
In a separate kadai, heat the remaining two tbsp of oil. When hot add jeera seeds, ginger and green chillies and allow to splutter. Now put in the chopped onion and cook on low flame for a few minutes till translucent. Add the chopped potatoes and dry spices, mix well and cook on low flame covered for 3 - 4 minutes. Add chopped coriander and turn off flame. Mix well and allow the mixture to cool.
Take the capsicums and fill in the potato mixture through the slit in each one slowly, so that you are able to fill up the whole capsicum with the potato mixture and bring the two ends together. Place all the stuffed capsicums on the non-stick pans. Cover with a fitting lid and allow to steam on low flame for about 10 minutes. Turn off the flame and serve hot on a plate decorated with tomato and cucumber slices. This preparation of capsicum goes very well with dal rice, curry rice or even just a pulao.

Kabuli Chana Dabal Roti

On weekends most of us who have a busy working week want to cook up a tasty meal, but one that's not too elaborate. Kabuli Chana Dabal Roti is a healthy, nourishing and yummy snack cum meal.
Ingredients:
• 250 gms Kabuli Chana soaked overnight in water
• 2 onions medium sized
• 1” piece ginger
• 2 red chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds roasted
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ground garam masal
• ½ tsp tumeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 4-6 tbsps oil
Procedure:
Boil Kabuli Chana in a pressure cooker till soft. In a thick bottomed pan or kadai heat oil, add ground masala and fry for about 10 minutes on slow flame. Put in boiled chana and other spices and stir for a few minutes. Now add 1 ½ cups water and cook on slow flame for 15 minutes. Serve hot with onion rings, lemon and fresh Pav / bread slices.