Macaroni & Tomato Salad

Summers is setting in, so all of us like to include a good salad in our meal or even make a meal of the salad. Here's something you could try.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup macaroni
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons salad oil
• 1 tablespoon red vinegar
• Few basil leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Boil macaroni in 4 to 5 cups of water with salt for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain out as soon as done. Chop tomatoes in thin vertical slices. In a pan heat oil, stir macaroni for a minute with tomatoes. Put off flame. Add pepper, salt, vinegar and basil leaves. Serve in a flat tray or glass bowl.

Sindhi Mutton

Most Sindhis love non-vegetarian food and Sindhi mutton is a delicacy that other communities also find delicious. One of the reasons for it being so tasty is the fact that it is cooked on very slow flame for a long time with spices that really get into the flesh and give it a "to die for" taste. We Sindhis generally buy particular pieces of meat called (chops & mushk). In fact most meat shops, at least in Mumbai will give you these, if you ask for Sindhi Mutton.

Ingredients
1/2 kg mutton cleaned and washed
4 medium sized onions finely chopped
10 - 12 garlic flakes
1 inch piece ginger
2 green chillies
2 tsps coriander powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 large tomatoes finely chopped
Coriander leaves finely chopped
6 - 8 cloves
4 - 5 tej patta
1 inch piece cinnamon
Salt to taste
4 tbsp cooking oil

Procedure
Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add ginger-garlic paste, lower flame and add chopped onions. On low flame brown the onions to a rich golden brown colour. Add the washed mutton pieces and saute on low flame for a few minutes. Add all the dry spices and continue to saute (bhuno) on low flame for atleast 10 minutes. Now add chopped tomatoes and once again saute (bhuno) till the tomatoes are well blended and has a rich brown colour. Add salt to taste and three cups of hot water and pressure cook for 10 minutes on low flame after the first whistle. The mutton should have thick gravy.

Serve hot with onion rings, hot rotis or rice.

Walnut Roll

Yesterday for Holi I tried a new and interesting sweet recipe, instead of the conventional galebis and ghevar. Its quick and easy to make yummy to taste and nutritious.
Ingredients:
• 1 tin Milkmaid’s condensed milk
• 42 Marie biscuits powdered
• 150 gms of shelled wall-nuts cut very fine.

Procedure:
Pour out condensed milk on a large thali / tray add powdered biscuits and chopped walnuts and knead together and shape into a roll. Keep in the refrigerator for an hour or two. When it hardens, cut into slices and serve with tea.

Crispy Rice Bhajias

Weekend is a time to chill and enjoy leisurely and big meals. All of us tend to cook more dishes and more quantities on weekends, resulting in having a lot of left-overs, rice being one of the most left over dish. The next time you have left-over rice, you could look at making a very crispy and tasty snack out of left-over rice.

Ingredients
1 cup / bowl left-over rice
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup of gram flour or besan
1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped or crushed
2 green peas finely chopped or crushed
¼ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 pinch soda bi-carb
Few Coriander leave finely chopped
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Procedure
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Slowly add water and blend to a smooth and thick batter (consistency of Mayonnaise). Heat oil a thick kadai. Put one spoon of batter at a time in the hot oil. Turn around and fry till golden brown. Remove on tissue and serve hot garnished with onion rings and green chutney and ketchup.

Seyal Maani/ Rotis in Green Masala

I am sharing a popular Sindhi recipe today, which can transform any left over rotis or bread into a mouth watering dish that Sindhis love to have for breakfast, an evening snack or sometimes even as a light meal on the weekend. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves( cleaned and washed)
A few methi leaves cleaned and washed( optional)
1 medium sized onion chopped
8 to 10 flakes garlic
1 inch piece ginger
2 green chillies
1 big tomato grated
3 tbsps oil
6 to 8 leftover Chappatis of 2 to 3 pav breads
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp coriander powder
A marble sized ball of tamarind soaked in ½ cup warm water.

Procedure
Grind coriander leaves, methi leaves, onion, ginger garlic and chillies with a little water coarsely in a grinder. Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai and add the ground masala. Cook on low flame for afew minutes. Add dry spices and grated tomato and once again cook for about 10 minutes mixing occasionally. Squeeze out water from the soaked tamarind and add. Now put in 3 cups of boiling water and salt and cook for a couple of minutes on low flame with the lid on. Now break the chappatis into quarters or pav into slices and quickly drop into the gravy. The gravy will get soaked in by the rotis or bread, so you need to quickly ensure that the pieces are properly covered with the masala and gravy. Reduce flame and cover and let it steam for 2 – 3 minutes. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves and roasted papad and chhaas or lassi.

Sai Bhaji

In most Sindhi homes, Sai Bhaji is a regular dish on the menu just like sambhar would be in a South Indian home. Sai Bhaji is highly nutritous and tasty dish which combines the food values of greens, vegetables, carbs and iron. Sindhis generally have aloo tikki, french fries or fried bhindi or brinjal as an accompaniment with Sai Bhaji and rice.

Ingredients:
3 tbsps Chana Daal - Split Bengal Gram washed and soaked in warm water for 2 hours
2 bunches Spinach, roots cut off, washed and chopped roughly
1 handful of fresh dill leaves
2 large tomatoes chopped fine
1 handful fenugreek leaves
1 large potato cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion cut into 1" cubes
1 small brinjal finely chopped
8-10 French beans, tops and tails cut off finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
2 inch piece of pumpkin doodhi finely chopped
10 - 12 cloves garlic
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1" piece of ginger grated
3 tbsps cooking oil
10 - 12 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 finely chopped green chillies
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add cummin seeds and allow to splutter. Add ginger garlic and green chillies. Let them splutter. Now add chopped onion and saute till transluscent. Then put the remaining vegetables and dal, except spinach, dil and methi. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add dry spices and chopped tomatoes and again cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally. Now put in the spinach, dil and methi leaves. Stir, add one glass of hot water and salt to taste. Close pressure cooker and cook for ten minutes on low flame after the first whistle. When cool, open and blend with a blender till the dal, grains and vegetables well blended. Serve hot with brown rice, moong dal khichdi or peas pulao, dahi and papad.





•Mix the chana daal, all the vegetables, coriander powder, turmeric powder and ginger together in a deep pan/ pressure cooker. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook till the daal is done - fully mashed. At this stage, there should not be too much water in the Bhaaji. If there is, dry it up by cooking some more.
•Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Stir well.
•Heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, cumin seeds and green chillies to it. Fry till spluttering stops and then add this mixture to the cooked vegetables. Stir to blend.
•Serve piping hot with fresh Chapatis.

Daliya Upma

Rava Upma is a very popular breakfast dish and snack in South India and now across the country. While Rava Upma is delicious, in order to be soft and melt in the mouth, it needs a lot of ghee / oil. On the other hand, Daliya Upma made out of broken wheat and vegetables is not only tasty, highly nutritious, but also requires comparatively very little oil. Besides being a good breakfast or mid-meal snack, on some days when you feel like a light meal, it can be just what you want when had with Coconut Chutney, pickle, dahi and papad (all or any).

Ingredients
1 small cup Daliya
1 cup very finely chopped vegetables (carrots, potato, french beans and peas)
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
1 medium sized tomato finely chopped
8 - 10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Few coriander leaves finely chopped
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
Juice of half lemon (optional)

Procedure

Heat oil in a thick-bottomed kadai. When hot, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Put in chillies, ginger and curry leaves . Lower flame and add onion. Saute for a few minutes till onions become translucent. Now add chopped vegetables and keep turning for a few minutes till the vegetables are soft (check with a knife). Now add tomato, cook for a few minutes till tomato pieces blend with the vegetables. Add Daliya and stir for a couple of minutes. Finely add 2 1/2 cups of boiling water and salt. Let the mixture cook till the water is absorbed. Reduce flame, cover and cook for a minute or two on very low flame. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves. You may add the lemon juice, if you may desire.