The other day I had a delicious tomato and drumstick soup at my friend, Mala's home. I liked it so much that I asked her for the recipe and promptly tried it out the next day. It turned out just as good as Mala's and is one of the simplest recipes that I have come across. So here I am sharing it with you -

Tomato & Drumstick Soup

Ingredients :-

1. 4-5 red and firm tomatoes
2. 2-3 drumsticks
3. 2-3 cups of water
4. salt and pepper to taste
5. few Coriander leaves finely chopped, for garnish (optional)

Procedure :-

Wash and scrape drumsticks and cut into large pieces, about 3 inches in height. Cut tomatoes into big pieces. Put chopped tomatoes and drumsticks in a pressure cooker, add water and pressure cook for two whistles. 

When cool, open cooker, scrape out the pulp of the drumsticks and put back into the cooker and throw away the skins. Now put the cooked tomatoes and drumsticks pulp in a blender and blend till smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

If you find the soup too thick, dilute with a little hot water. 

Serve hot, either by itself or with garlic toast or croutons.

When I opened my Fridge this morning to take a look at both raw and cooked vegetables to decide what to serve for lunch, one of the things I saw was a bowl of cooked cabbage leftover from last nights dinner. Instantly, I decided to use the cabbage , but make something different out of it. Here's what I did.

I mashed one large boiled and peeled potato in a large thali/plate. I put the cabbage in the mixer and gave it one spin. The mashed cabbage was then added to the mashed potato.. To that I added the following: 1 small onion finely chopped, 1 green chillie finely chopped, 1 tsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tsp rawa or sooji, 1 bread slice soaked in water and squeezed out, 1/2 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp jeera powder, 1/2 tsp shah jeera, 1/4 tsp red chillie powder, salt to taste and a few coriander leaves finely chopped. I mixed all the ingredients well into a nice dough. Made small balls from it and flattened each into a round cutlet and lightly coated each with breadcrumbs. At lunch, these were fried in just 2 tbsps of oil on a non stick pan, till both sides were golden brown and served with green chutney and ketchup. 
The patta-gobi aloo tikkis/cutlets turned out to be quite a hit and will probably feature often on my weekly menu!

Dal Pakwan is an all time favourite for Sunday breakfast/ brunch among Sindhis.
Here's how you can make it at home and perhaps invite family/friends enjoy it with you.

CHANA DAL (for serving with Pakwan)

Ingredients:

1. One bowl Chana Dal (soaked in water for about one hour)
2. one medium sized onion finely chopped
3. 1 medium sized tomato (grated)optional
4.One inch piece of ginger finely chopped
5. 2 green chillies finely chopped
6. 3 tbsps oil
7.1 tsp coriander powder
8. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
9. Salt to taste
10. Few coriander leaves finely chopped

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add ginger, green chillies and chopped onion. Sauté for a few minutes till onions are translucent. Now add Chana Da land stir for a few minutes. Then add dry spices and mix well. Add grated tomato and turn around for a couple of minutes. Finally, add salt and 2 cups of boiling water, mix well and close the pressure cooker. Lower flame after first whistle, cook for 5 minutes and turn off flame. Allow cooker to cool for a couple of minutes. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

TANGY TAMARIND CHUTNEY

Ingredients:

1. A golf ball sized ball of tamarind, soaked in a cup of water
2. 1 small onion finely chopped
3. 1 green chillie finely chopped
4. 1/4 tsp red chillie powder
5. Few coriander leaves finely chopped
6. 1 inch piece jaggery(optional)
7. Salt to taste
Procedure:
Soak tamarind for about 30 minutes. Squeeze out pulp mixing well and draining through a sieve. Put pulp in a bowl. Now add all other ingredients and mix well. Serve with Dal and Pakwan

PAKWAN

Ingredients:

1. one bowl maida or refined flour
2. 4 to 5 tsps oil( for making the dough)
3. Salt to taste
4. Oil for frying the pakwans

Procedure:

Empty out flour on a flat tray/Thali . Add oil and salt and mix well. Now make a chappati like dough by adding water. The dough should be harder than that for chappatis. Mix the dough very well and smoothen with a little oil on your hands. Divide dough into small balls. Cover each ball with dry flour, flatten and roll out round and thin like a chappati. Prick holes in the rolled out pakwan with a sharp knife or fork . Heat oil in a Kadai. When hot, lower flame and put one rolled out pakwan at a time. Fry on low flame till both sides are golden brown. Drain out excessl oil and remove on a tissue.
Serve freshly made pakwans with Dal and Tangy Tamarind chutney.

With the extremely busy lives that most of us lead, we have very limited time for cooking, but still don't want to eat out all the time. Tomato chutney is a very quick and easy recipe to make and very versatile too. It can be had with bread as breakfast, used as a pizza sauce, base for egg curry or Bhajia curry, filling for sandwiches , can be used to transform left over rice with a tadka of ustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Here's how you can make it

TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingredients:

1. 4 medium sized tomatoes
2. 2 green chillies finely chopped
3. Few coriander leaves
4. 2 tbsps oil
5. 1 medium sized onion
6. 1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
7. 1 tsp coriander powder
8. Salt to taste

Procedure:
Chop all vegetables fine and keep separately. In a thick bottomed kadai, heat oil. Add finely chopped ginger and green chillies. Lee them crackle for a minute, then add onions and stir on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes till translucent. Add tomatoes, coriander powder, salt and half the coriander leaves. Cover with tight lid and cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix well with wooden blender. The tomatoes should now have a thick puree like consistency. Serve hot, topped with remaining coriander leaves, with plain or toasted bread. Can also be used as a sauce for pizza or converted into a main course by adding slit boiled eggs.

Continuing with the seasonal American Corn! Here is a recipe that you could tr over the weekend.

BAKED CORN AND CAPSICUM



Ingredients

1. 1 packet American corn / Corn of one cob
2. 1 Capsicum (finely chopped)
3. 3 - 4 spring onions (finely chopped)
4. 1 glass milk
5. 2 tbs butter
6. 1 tbs Maida / cornflour
7. 2 tbs cheese spread / grated cheese (for the sauce)
8. 1 tbs of grate cheese (for the crust)
9. 1 inch piece ginger (finely chooped)
10. Half tsp dry parsley
11. Quarter tsp garlic powder
12. Salt & Pepper (to taste)
13. 3 - 4 thin slices of capsicum

Procedure

Steam the corn for 5 - 7 minutes and keep aside after draining the water. Make white sauce - Heat butter in a pan and add Maida / Cornflour to it and mix well. slowly add the milk, while stirring continously to avoid lumps and so the Maida gets well dissolved in the milk. Add 2 tbs of grated cheese and ginger and mix well on a low flame.

After the sauce has thickened, add steamed corn, chopped onions, capsicum, salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix well for a minute and turn off flame.

Empty out in a baking dish. Arrange capsicum slices on the top and sprinkle grated cheese lavishly. Bake in pre - heated oven for 10 - 15 minutes till the crust is golden brown. Serve hot with garlic toast and Tabasco sauce.

While American corn is available round the year in Mumbai, its particularly fresh and in abundance in the monsoon months. In this weather, a delicious hot snack is always relished!

MAZEDAR AMERICAN CORN

Ingredients :-

1. 1 bowl of American corn
2. 1 tblsp finely chopped ginger
3. 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
4. 1 medium sized tomato finely chopped
5. 1 capsicum finely chopped (optional)
6. 1 tsp chaat masala
7. Half tsp red chilli powder
8. Salt to taste
9. Juice of half a lemon
10. Few coriander leaves finely chopped

Procedure :-

Steam the corn for 5 0- 10 minutes. Drain the water out and take the corn out in a pan. Add all the ingredients except coriander leaves and mix well.

Serve in an attractive glass bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

A walk on the streets of "Hamara Bharat" can always bring out a burst of laughter!!

Sharing the recipe for a very traditional Sindhi lunch dish.

 Rai Jo Teewan or Aur Jo Teewan 

(Vegetables cooked in gravy with Tadka of Mustard and garlic)

Ingredients:

1. · 4 to 6 baby potatoes peeled 
2.  4 to 6 small onions peeled 
3. I carrot scraped and cut into vertical pieces of 2 inch 
4. 8 to 10 guar beans cut into two after removing the tips 
5. 2 inch piece of dudhi or lauki peeled and cut into 4 to 6 pieces 
6. 1 small brinjal cut into 4 to 6 pieces 
7. 1 drumstick scraped and cut into 2 inch length pieces 
8. 1 or 2 amritsari wadis 
9. 1 medium sized tomato grated 
10. 1 small ball of tamarind - marble sized 
11. 1 to 2 green chillies finely chopped 
12. 1 inch piece ginger finely chopped 
13. 1 tsp mustard seeds 
14. 1 tsp coriander powder 
15. ½ tsp turmeric powder 
16. 8 to 10 flakes of garlic , peeled and finely chopped 
17. 2 tsps wheat flour 
18. Few coriander leaves finely chopped 
19. 6 to 8 curry leaves 
20. 3 tbps oil 
21. Salt to taste 
22. Water

Procedure:

Soak tamarind in a little water and keep aside. In a thick bottomed pan put all the chopped vegetables and wadis broken into small pieces. Add ginger, green chillies , coriander pwder,turmeric powder and about 3 cups of water and boil on medium flame for about 5 to 10 minutes till vegetables and wadis are cooked. Insert a knife in each and check.

Now add grated tomato and salt. Mix wheat flour in water in a small bowl to a smooth batter like consistency. Add to vegetables being cooked. In a couple of minutes you should have a nice gravy in the vegetables. Now squeeze out the tamarind water and add to vegetables. Cook on low flame for a couple of minutes. Next heat oil in a tadka kadai. When hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves and chopped garlic. Allow to splutter for a minute. When mustard seeds stop crackling transfer oil and spices to the cooked vegetables and cover immediately. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve in an attractive glass bowl with hot rotis.

July - August are months when the mango season is at its fag end but, we see a lot of Totapuri mangoes in the market. These mangoes have a distinctive diamond shape and differ in taste from the favorite Alphonso mangoes.

Totapuri mangoes are excellent for making Mango Murabba, a great accompaniment wit any meal. Here is how you can make it -

Mango Murabba

Ingredients:

· 2 medium ripe Totapuri mangoes about 3/4 kg in weight
· 2 cups sugar
· 15 cardamoms
· 2 glasses water
· 1 pinch Boondi/ food colour

Procedure:

Peel the mangoes and cut into vertical strips. Peel the cardamoms and lightly crush the seeds.

In a thick bottomed pan put sugar and water and bring to the boil. Lower flame and let the sugar syrup boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Now add the mangoes and cardamom and allow to cook on low flame for about 15 to 20 minutes stirring occasionally, till the sugar syrup becomes thick. Add a pinch of colour and let the mangoes cook for a minute or two. Turn off flame. Allow the murabba to cool by placing the pan in a thali/ utensil with water and covered with a clean cloth. When cool, empty in a glass jar. Serve with hot puris or rotis. Refrigerate the bottle.

Rava Kesari (Sooji Halwa)

Monsoon is the perfect time to have hot rava kesari/ sooji halwa either for breakfast, dessert after lunch or a tea time snack. Sooji halwa is quick an easy to make and here's how you can do is yourself

Ingredients -

1. 1 small bowl/katori of rava or sooji 
2. Half bowl/katori sugar
3. 10 - 12 strands of saffron
4. 3 - 4 cardamoms (deseeded and crushed)
5. 3 - 4 tbl spoons pure ghee
6. 8 - 10 cashew nuts (slit into half)
7. 25 - 30 raisins 
8. 1 pinch bundi/food color (orange)
9. 2 bowls of water

Procedure - 

Put sugar, water, cardamom and saffron in a pan and boil till sugar is completely dissolved. Turn of flame and keep aside. In a thick bottomed can or kadhai, heat ghee, lower flame and add sooji/rava and saute in the ghee by turning it around for a few minutes till it gives out a strong aroma. 

Add sugar water and a pinch of colour and allow it to cook for a minute or two on a medium flame till the water is almost dry. Cover the pan and lower flame and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add cashew nuts and raisins and serve hot in an attractive glass bowl.

You can also serve individual helpings as shown in the picture. Fill a stainless steel bowl with the halwa and then turn it upside down on a plate

Hershey's now at Paanwalas

Innovation in food continues at all levels...from 5 star cuisine to the street corner sandwich wala and now also to the paanwala in Delhi.

This picture was taken on a recent visit, when I was amazed to see every paanwala in Connaught Place having an exotic menu board of offerings and a range of Hershey's syrups displayed on the counter, to dip the paans in.

Sauted Mushrooms & Raw Papaya and Carrot Salad

Over the weekend, I had a nice meal with friends at Salt Water Cafe in Bandra. We ordered their sauted mushrooms as a starter. They were really tasty. The mushrooms were slit into two, and sauted in a little butter, with finely chopped spring onion, a little ground garlic, salt & pepper and chopped parsley/ cilantro. A very quick, easy to make yummy starter.

We also ordered an interesting salad.... Raw papaya and carrot in mayonnaise dressing. The papaya and carrots were peeled and cut into very fine , long shreds and mixed with a little mayonnaise and served as a semi circular heap. Very unusual combination, but great taste!

With today's focus on eating healthy, most of us try to include easy to make and low on calories foods and recipes. One such very convenient thing to make and have at home is fresh Yogurt based Dips made every day. They go very well when served with roasted khakhras, all kinds of chips, fresh vegetable sticks like, carrot and cucumber . They can also we used as a spread on crackers or in sandwiches.

YOGURT DIPS

Here's what you need and how you make it.

Ingredients:

1. 2 small bowls of low fat or regular yogurt (one bowl for each variant)
2. 2 to 3 flakes of garlic , peeled and crushed
3. 2 to 3 sprigs of coriander leaves ( washed and finely chopped)
4. 2 to 3 sprigs of Dil (washed and finely chopped)
5. 1 to 2 spring onions ( peeled and finely chopped)
6. salt and pepper to taste 

Procedure:

Put yogurt in a muslin cloth, tie ends and allow to hang for an hour or two till all the water has come out.
Empty yogurt half and half in two bowls. Mix yogurt in each bowl well. Now in one bowl add garlic, coriander and salt and pepper and mix well with a spoon.
In the second bowl add chopped onion , dil and salt and pepper and mix well with a spoon.
Cover both bowls with cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

Both dips are now ready to serve in any of the ways shared above.

Dudhi Pakodas

The rains are upon us and its the weekend too. Most people would love to have friends over or just chill and enjoy the lovely weather with a hot plate of crisp pakodas and a steaming cup of chai or coffee.
Pakodas made out of aloo, pyaaz, gobi, mirchi, palak etc are quite common and popular. However not many people think of making Dudhi or White Pumpkin Pakodas.
Dudhi Pakodas are very light, delicious and melt in the mouth. Here is how you can make a plate full of the delicious Dudhi pakodas.

Ingredients-

1. 2-3 inch (length) piece of Dudhi / Lauki
2. 1 small bowl of gram flour / Besan
3. 1/2 tsp Ajwain
4. 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
5. 1 pinch soda bicarb
6. Salt to taste
7. Few coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)
8. 1 bowl of oil for frying

Procedure -

Peel the Dudhi / Lauki and cut into wafer thin slices, keep aside in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix gram flour with spices. Slowly add water and blend well, to make a smooth batter, slightly thinner than ketchup consistency.
Heat oil in a kadhai. When really hot, lower flame to medium and dip each Dudhi slice in the batter and gently put into the hot oil. Fry 4 - 6 slices at a time and turn around until golden brown on both sides. Remove from oil and place on tissue, to drain out any excess oil.
Serve hot with green chutney / ketchup / pickle. And slices of pau bread (optional)

Its monsoon time and time for enjoying tasty and hot snacks with a cup of tea or coffee, after a long day at work or just to relax over the weekend.

Kheema tikki is a delicious light and nourishing snack which my family and guests all love. You can try it out soon and delight your loved one

Kheema (Mince Meat)   Cutlets

Ingredients:

· 250 gms. Kheema
· 2 small potatoes
· 2 slices of bread or one small pav
· 1 piece ginger finely chopped / crushed
· 1/2 tsp. cummin seeds powder
· 1 tsp. coriander powder
· ¼ tsp. garam masala powder
· 2 green chillies finely chopped
· Few coriander leaves finely chopped
· Salt and pepper to taste
· Oil for frying
· 2 tbsps bread crumbs (optional)

Procedure:

Wash and put kheema in a pressure cooker with washed potatoes, ginger, chillies, coriander powder and 1 cup water. Pressure cook for 10 minutes after first whistle. Open cooker when cool and remove potatoes. If there is any water in the kheema dry it on high flame for a couple of minutes. When kheema is cool, empty it on a tray / plate.

Peel the potatoes, mash them and add to kheema. Add salt, pepper , garam masala and cummin seed powder to kheema mixture. Soak bread in water for a minute or two, squeeze out the water and add to kheema. Finally add coriander leaves. Rub a little oil on your hands and mix the kheema with all ingredients to make a soft dough. Divide the mixture into 8-10 portions. Flatten and shape each into a round cutlet. Cover in bread crumbs (optional)

In a non-stick pan heat a little oil.When hot put in four to six cutlets at a time and fry till both sides are golden brown. Serve hot with fresh salad, ketchup / chutney and bread.

Spinach, Grape & Chicken Salad

With the monsoon round the corner, most of us love to plan picnics and and outings with family and friends, with a food basket.

Along with any snacks or meal you carry try this Japanese-inspired salad with “greens”  and a  rice-vinegar dressing with caramelized ginger.

Ingredients 

1. 2 cups Washed fresh spinach
2. 1 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled (or broil on high in your oven) and then diced
3. 1/2 cup Peeled, seeded cucumber, in half-inch chunks
4. 1 cup Green seedless grapes, halved
5. ½ cup Frozen shelled soybeans/tofu
6. ½ tsp Toasted sesame seeds

Sweet ginger dressing:

1. ½ cup         Seasoned rice vinegar
2. 1 clove        Fresh garlic, minced or pressed
3. 1 tbsp          Minced caramelized ginger
4. 3 tbsp          Vegetable oil

   Procedure:

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Or, for a more textured dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, chicken, cucumber, grapes and soybeans. Toss with the dressing and add salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve immediately. 

Having come back from a one month stay in the US, which had a beautiful cool weather, I'm finding Mumbai even more hot and humid! The summer heat really gets one down with a loss of appetite and a desire for cold and refreshing beverages and food. Some of the items on my daily menu include a variety of milkshakes - mango, chikoo, banana, peach and strawberry. Lassi and chaas, cut water melon and juice, marsh melon and some chilled iced tea, nimbu paani, a combination of vegetable juices like beet root & tomato, carrot & mint etc.

For the milk shakes put one small bowl of chopped fruit and a glass of milk with one tsp of sugar. Blend in a blender till smooth. Chill and serve!

For the vegetable juices, put one bowl of grated/chopped vegetable, 1 glass of water. Blend and strain through a sieve. Chill and serve.

My favorite milkshakes and juices are -

1) Banana in the morning and mango/chikoo in the evening.

2) Carrot & orange & mint.

3) Orange and sweet lime (mosambi)

Kill the scorching summer with a few of these chilled drinks!!

"I have been in the US for two weeks now in Rochester on the East Coast and thought I would share some of the interesting things I have experienced with Food. I visited Wegmans the Food Super Market that my children buy their food and groceries and have been amazed by the sheer number of products and variety in each that it offers. It takes me a long time to just go through the fruit and vegetable sections , since there is so much variety - 10 different types of tomatoes... several types of spinach ... cut and packaged in different ways to suit various needs. That's just two items. There are hundreds such with as much variety. The section on milk has at least 10 to 15 types of milk with different fat content , enriched etc. I could spend the whole day browsing through their dairy, meats, Bakery , confectionery, provisions and other aisles.

I was surprised to see in my children's Fridge packets frozen food - Masala Dosa, Mysore Masala Dosa, Idlis and Khandvi which they pick up from the Indian store , but was a little 

skeptical of how they would taste. But have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the Dosas which tasted good and were almost as good as enjoying dosas in an Udupi restaurant in Mumbai!

That's Indian enterprise... doing things to make Indians abroad feel at home giving them the convenience of having the food they love, without having to spend hours preparing it!"

I was in Delhi recently and had an interesting and new type of chaat at a restaurant called Veda. Spinach (palak leaves) (stemscut) were dipped in a very thin batter of besan, salt and chilli powder and fried crisp.

These were arranged on a serving dish and topped with sweet and sour tamarind chutney and beaten yogurt and garnished with a lot of fine sev. It was an extremely light, delicious and crunchy starter.

All of us love to snack and if you are looking for an easy to make snack to go with drinks or at tea time, try making these Mini Moong Dal Kachoris

Mini Moong Dal Kachoris

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup or katori of yellow moong dal
2. 2 green chillies finely chopped
3. 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
4.  ½ tsp ajwain
5. ¼ tsp shahjeera
6. ¼ tsp red chillie powder
7. One small bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped
8. One pinch soda bicarb (about1/8th tsp)
9. Salt to taste
10. On small bowl of oil for frying

Procedure:

Soak moong dal in 3 cups of water for an hour or two . Then drain out water and grind dal, ginger and green chillies in a blender/grinder. Remove ground dal in a bowl. Add all the

remaining spices and mix the batter well. 

Heat oil in a thick Kadai. When the oil is hot, slightly lower flame and put in one teaspoon of of the batter at a time to make small pakodis. Gently turn them around till they are evenly golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a tissue. Serve hot in an attractive serving dish with coriander-mint or tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup.

5 Tips to Beat the Summer -

1. Have 2 - 3 classes of chilled Nimbu Paani (daily)
2. Have a bowl of cucumber salad with dil and salt and pepper
3. Have a bowl of dudhi raita for lunch and spinach raita for dinner
4. On weekends indulge with a chilled glass of Mango Milkshake
5. When hungry, go for a plate of chilled water melon or tender coconut

Resist the urge to eat junk food, stay healthy and let the summer not get you down!!

Last evening, a friend and I decided to catch up at Yoga House, a small cute Yoga place cum restaurant opposite St Andrews church, in Bandra. Yoga House is a chilled out and informal place, half outdoor and half indoor. You're expected to take out your shoes/slippers before getting in. The whole place is simple but tastefully done and conducive to relaxing.  Yoga House has three areas - the yoga room, where classes are held, a shop that sells a lot of yoga related props and materials besides books and a lot of other natural products.
The food menu comprises of an all vegetarian, healthy foods and juices.
Since we went in the evening, much before dinner time, we decided to order the clear vegetable soup and tartini, cheese snack. The soup was nice with many vegetable - capsicum, broccoli  carrots etc, served in a brass bowl and plate, along with two toasts of ten grained bread. The tartini was four pieces of ten grained bread grilled with mozzarella cheese and topped with fresh chopped tomato. It was a light and tasty snack. we enjoyed our experience at Yoga House.
So if you are in a mood to chill out for a while and have some healthy food/snack you must try this place!

Sharing below the recipe for a favorite sindhi holiday lunch dish.

Tomato Curry

Ingredients

1. 8 medium sized tomatoes
2. 1 medium sized potato
3. 6 -8 ladyfingers
4. 2 small brinjals
5. 2 drumsticks
6. 8 - 10 cluster beans (guar)
7. 1 carrot
8. 3 green chillis
9. 1 and a half inch of ginger
10. 8 - 10 curry leaves
11. 1 tsp. methi seeds
12. half tsp. jeera
13. half tsp. mustard seeds
14. quater tsp. tumeric powder
15. 3 tbps basan/ gram flower
16. few coriander leaves
17. salt to taste
18. 4 tbps. oil

Procedure

Boil the tomatoes in 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 5 mins, after the whistle. Allow to cool. Blend tomatoes in a blender and keep aside.Heat oil in a thick bottom pan. When hot, put methi seeds followed by mustard seeds and then jeera seeds.
Allow to splutter. Lower flame and add ginger, green chillis and curry leaves. Mix well.
Now add the basan and keep turning till it becomes golden brown and gives out a nice aroma. 
Now add the blended tomatoes and mix well. Add tumeric and put 3 cups of boiling water. Now add all the chopped vegetables and salt to taste. Bring to the boil. Lower flame and partially cover the pan and let the curry cook for 10 - 15 mins, after which pierce one piece of each vegetable with a knife to check if done. If all vegetables are cooked, turn of the flame and add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot in an attractive glass dish with steamed white rice. Goes well with aalu tikki too.

With the temperature rising, its good to keep the stomach light with more of salads, juices and other cooling food. You can mix up an interesting tossed green salad to accompany a meal or even as a mid - morning or evening snack.

Tossed Green Salad

Ingredients -

1. 1 small iceberg lettuce (layers taken out and broken intotwo)
2. 10 - 15 spinach leaves (cut off stems and break into two
3. 2 spring onions (peeled and cut into fine rings)
4. 1 small capsicum (cut into fine vertical strips)
5. 1 small bowl of american corn 
6. 8 - 10 baby tomatoes
7. A small bowl of sprouts (optional)
8. A small bowl of grapes (optional)
9. 4 - 5 dry figs (chopped into pieces)
10. 1 - 2 tablespoons of crisp peanuts
11. 1 tablespoon grated cheese (optional)

For Dressing -

1. 4 tablespoons olive oil
2. Juice of one lemon or 2 tablespoons of red vinegar
3. 1 teaspoon sugar
4. 1 pinch of salt

Procedure -

Toss up all the vegetables and fruit in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a smaller bowl well and add to the salad. Mix well so that the dressing is evenly covers all the vegetables.

Arrange in an attractive glass bowl and decorate with grated cheese and baby tomatoes.

Summer is here!! Its time to cool down with chilled beverages and ice creams. There is nothing like some home made Kulfi to complete a chilled out weekend meal. 

So why not try making Kulfi this weekend?

KULFI

Ingredients

1. 1 litre full cream milk
2. 1 tin Milkmaid condensed milk
3. 10 - 15 cardamoms (peeled and ground)
4. 10 - 15 almonds (cut very fine vertically)
5. 10 - 15 pistachios (cut very fine vertically)
6. 1 heaped teaspoon custard powder

Procedure

Heat milk in a thick bottom pan and bring to the boil. Lower flame, add ground cardamoms and allow to simmer for about 10 - 15 mins. Open the Milkmaid condensed milk tin and add contents to the boiling milk. Simmer for 2 - 3 mins.

Mix the custard powder with 1/3 cup of cold milk and add to the thickened milk. Stir and cook for a minute or two. Turn of flame and add the chopped Almonds & Pistachios and mix well. Allow to cool.

When cool fill in Kulfi molds. close the lids and put them in the deep freezer. Should be set in 4 - 5 hours.
To serve, remove the lid of each kulfi with a knife, loosen the sides and turn it over on a plate. Cut into slices and serve.

Having always had a lot of Parsi friends and having been exposed to their food, when Jumjoji recently opened as an authentic Parsi cuisine restaurant in Bandra, a friend and I decided to have our Sunday lunch there.

Jumjoji is a small restaurant with a few tables, not ostentatious and located in a lane parallel to Lilavati hospital. The menu is limited but named interestingly after various aunts of the owner. We settled for "Aunty Dhanu's Cheese & Veg fingers" as starters. They were really good and served with a sweet and sour sauce. We also ordered the traditional Parsi Raspberry drink. For the main course, being vegetarian, I ordered the "Veg shtew" and my friend ordered "Patra ni Machi" ,both named after some aunt. The Shtew though tasty was a dry dish, while i expected it to be with gravy. My friend enjoyed the fish and we rounded off the meal with "Lagan nu Custard"

All in all, a fairly satisfying meal. If you have a craving for Parsi food you could step into Jumjoji.

Koak Palla Fish

Sindhi's love Palla fish because of its distinctive taste. Though the fish has a lot of bones, the preparation called Koak Palla is a universal favorite for a sunday lunch.Here is how you can make it.

Ingredients:

· 1 palla fish ( washed, cleaned and slit from the centre into two halves
· 2 medium sized onions very finely chopped
· I medium sized tomato very finely chopped
· 2 green chillies finely chopped
· 1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
· 2 tbsps dahi or yoghurt
· ¼ tsp turmeric powder ( Haldi)
· 1 tsp coriander powder
· ¼ tsp red chillie powder
· ¼ tsp amchoor (dry mango) powder
· Few coriander leaves finely chopped
· Salt to taste
· 2 to 3 tbps oil

Procedure:

In a bowl mix dahi and all the chopped and dry spices, add salt, mix well and our topping is ready. Keep aside. Heat oil in a non stick pan and lightly fry the fish on both sides . When done take off from flame, evenly spread out the topping masala on the inner side of the fish. Cover the pan with a fitting lid and allow the fish to steam for a few minutes. When the topping masala is steaming and has seeped in well into the fish, turn off flame. Serve hot in a flat serving dish. Goes well with curry rice,dal rice.

Winter is the time for fresh juicy carrots and for a few days one also sees fresh garlic at select shops in the vegetable markets. The combination of fresh carrots and fresh garlic in a water based carrot pickle makes for a delicious and mildly flavored pickle that goes with rice, roti or even bread and snacks.

Paniwala Gajar Ka Achar 

Ingredients: 

· 2-3 long, juicy carrots ( available in winter) 
· 8 to 10 flakes of fresh garlic (also available in winter) slit into two lengthwise. If fresh garlic not available , use regular garlic 
· ½ tsp red chillie powder 
· ¼ tsp turmeric powder 
· ½ mustard seeds ( coarsely ground) 
· Salt to taste 
· 2 cups water 

Procedure: 

Wash and scrape carrots and cut into 1 cm thick slices. Boil carrots with 2 cups of water in a pan for 5 minutes. Allow to cool. When they are at room temperature , add garlic , spices and salt. Mix well and transfer the contents to a glass jar. Expose jar to sunlight if you can. The pickle will be ready too eat in 2 days. This pickle should be finished in 3 to 4 days as it will get more sour each day. So make enough for 3 to 4 days and enjoy it.

During winter, one sees fresh, crunchy and mild raddish at all vegetable vendors. The winter raddish with brinjal or eggplant makes delicious and out of the ordinary vegetable dish which goes extremely well with hot roti and dahi.

Here is how you can make Mooli Baigan ki Sabzi.

Mooli Baingan ki Sabzi

Ingredients :

·  4 to 5 small brinjals (approx 250 gms) 

· 1 long raddish
· 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
· 2 to 3 green chillies finely chopped
· 2 tsps of finely chopped ginger
· 1 tsp dhania or coriander powder
· ¼ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
· Salt to taste
· 3 to 4tbps oil
· Few coriander leaves finely chopped 

Procedure:
Wash and scrape raddish, cut into small pieces and soak in a bowl of water with a little salt added. Cut brinjals into slightly bigger pieces and soak separately in a bowl of water. Heat oil in a thick kadai. Add ginger and green chillies , sauté for a minute , then remove raddish pieces from water and put into the kadha. Saute for a few minutes till the raddish is partially cooked. Now add the chopped brinjal pieces, sauté for a minute or two. Add coriander& turmeric and mix well . Sauté for a minute or two, then add tomatoes and salt and sauté for a minute or two more. Now add half the coriander leaves , cover the kadhai , lower flame to minimum and cook for a few minutes till both brinjal and raddish are cooked. Serve hot with hot rotis and yoghurt.

Kheema Pav

Ingredients:

1. 250 gms. Mince meat (kheema)
2. 2 medium sized onions finely chopped
3. ½ tsp. Garam masala powder
4. 2 large tomatoes grated
5. 8 to 10 flakes garlic
6. 1 inch piece ginger
7. 2 green chillies
8. 1 tsp. Coriander powder
9. ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
10. 1/2 tsp red chillie powder
11. 5 to 7 Bay leaves or Tej patta
12. 3 tbsps. oil
13. A few coriander leaves chopped
14. 1 small onion cut into rings
15. 1 lemon
16. Salt to taste
17. 3 loaves of fresh Pav bread

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Coarsely grind green chillies, ginger-garlic in a mortar and pestle and add to the hot oil. Stir for a minute or two. Add chopped onions and brown on low flame till light brown. Now add Kheema that has been washed well. Add dry spices and chopped tomatoes, salt and half the coriander leaves. Cook on medium flame while stirring now and again, till the mixture is golden brown and tomatoes are blended. Add one mug of boiling water, close the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes on low flame.
Serve hot garnished with onion rings, balance coriander leaves and lemon slices along with fresh bread.

Potatoes or Aalu are a universal favourite in most homes. But Aalu when cooked with Methi and other spices has a very distinctive flavour. Methi Aalu goes well with roti and Dal chawal too.


METHI ALOO
Ingredients:

· 6 medium sized potatoes (boiled, peeled and cut into small pieces)
· 1 small bunch of Methi leaves washed and finely chopped
· 2 small tomatoes finely chopped
· 2 green chillies finely chopped
· 8 flakes garlic and 1inch piece ginger ground together
· ½ tsp red chillie powder
· 1 tsp coriander powder
· ¼ tsp turmeric
· Salt to taste
· 3 tbsps oil

Procedure:

Heat oil in a thick kadai and add ginger- garlic and green chillies. Saute for a minute or two till ginger- garlic is golden in colour. Now add methi leaves and turn around for a minute or two. Next add tomatoes, mix well and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the dry spices , mix well cover kadai and cook on low flame till tomatoes are soft and well blended. With a wooden hand blender, blend the tomatoes and methi to a smooth paste. Then add the potatoes and salt and mix well Cover kadai once again and cook for 5 to seven minutes till the potatoes are steaming. Serve hot with roti, puri or dal rice.

Masala Puri

Winter and weekends are times for Big breakfasts and Big meals.... Masala Puri is an extremely simple to make, quick and delicious breakfast or meal accompaniment.... .

Ingredients:

I small bowl wheat flour
½ tsp pepper powder
1/tsp jeera powder
Salt to taste
4 tsps oil for the dough
Oil for frying

Procedure:

Put the flour in a large plate or bowl. Add all ingredients and knead into a soft dough with water. Make small balls of the dough . Roll out each into a round puri. You can roll out a few puris and place them on a sheet of paper. Now heat oil in a kadai. It should fill about one third of the kadai. When the oil is really hot, gently put in one puri. Allow it to drown in the oil. It will swell up like a balloon, Turn it over . Let both sides be golden brown. Drain out oil , remove puri and place on tissue to remove any excess oil. Fry all puris in this way. Serve hot with aloo bhaji, dahi, pickle and papad.

Red Chicken Curry

All of us tend  to entertain more in winter, have richer and more elaborate meals and more of non vegetarian food. Chicken Curry and rice is a universal favourite for a Sunday lunch or to serve to guests. Here's my recipe  of Red Chicken Curry... simple and tasty.

Ingredients:
• 2 chicken legs (each cut into 2)
• 2 chicken breasts (each cut into 2) In all 8 pieces
• 4 medium sized onions finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste or 1 piece ginger and 8 to 10 flakes of garlic finely chopped
• 3 large tomatoes
• 2 green chillies finely chopped
• 2 tsps. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• ½ tsp. cummin seed powder (optional)
• ½ tsp. red chillie powder
• Salt to taste
• Few coriander leaves
• 5-6 tbsps oil

Procedure:

Clean and wash chicken pieces. Apply chilli powder, turmeric and cummin seed and keep aside. Heat oil in pressure cooker. Add ginger garlic. Cook for a minute. When it changes its colour reduce flame and add onions. For a few minutes cook onions till golden brown on low flame. Now add chicken pieces, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well and stir for a minute or two. Now chop tomatoes finely and put them in the cooker, add salt and cook on low flame turning chicken pieces till tomatoes are soft and blended and the chicken has a reddish brown colour. Add salt, coriander leaves and 2 cups of hot water. Close cooker and cook for 10 minutes after first whistle. Serve hot with chapattis, bread or rice.