Doodhi (White Pumpkin) With Chana Dal

Continuing with the vegetables that are cooling and good in the summer heat, I share today the recipe for Doodhi with Chana Dal, a delicious and nutritious dish that goes well with both rice and roti.

Ingredients

250 gms doodhi (White Pumpkin) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 to 3/4 cup chana dal (soaked in water for one hour
2 onions finely chopped
3 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped or grated
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
Few coriander leaves finely chopped
1/2 tsp jeera seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.  Lower flame and add jeera seeds.  Allow to splutter. Add green chillies, ginger and chopped onions.  Saute till onions are light pink in colour.  Now add chana dal, chopped doodhi and saute for a couple of minutes.  Add all the dry spices and cook for another minute or two and then add chopped / grated tomatoes.  Keep turning around on low flame till the tomatoes are well-blended.  Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of boiling water.  Close cooker and cook for 5 - 7 minutes after the whistle.  This dish should have a thick gravy, accordingly add a little hot water on opening the cooker if required. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with roti / rice with pickle and yoghurt (optional).

Ridge Gourd - Turai Sabzi

With the Mercury rising each day, homemakers are always looking for ideas for mails that are light on the stomach, yet appetising. Turai or Ridge Gourd is a vegetable that is delicious, nutritous, but very easy to digest and makes a perfect dish for the summer months.
Ingredients
1/2 kilo Turai peeled and finely chopped (preferably buy the ones with smooth surface)
2 medium sized onions finely chopped
4 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3 tbsp oil
Few coriander leaves finely chopped
Salt to taste
Procedure
In a thick-bottomed pan heat oil. Add ginger, green chillies and onion and saute on low flame till onions are transluscent and pinkish in colour. Now add the chopped Turai and cover for a few minutes and cook on low flame. The Turai will give out some water. Let that dry. Now add the dry spices and tomatoes and saute for atleast 10 - 15 minutes on low flame till the tomatoes are well-blended. Reduce flame and cook on extremely low flame by placing some water on the lid, so that the Turai does not burn, but cooks in its own juices. After a few minutes check to see if the Turai and tomatoes are well cooked. With a wooden hand blender, blend Turai to a smooth paste like consistency. Add a little boiling water and garnish with coriander leaves and serve with dal khichdi or chappati.

A delicious new versatile snack from Britannia - Snackuits

A couple of days ago while doing my grocery shopping, I saw very colour and attractive packs of Britannia 50:50 Snackuits, a new product launch by Britannia and bought all three flavours because they looked absolutely yummy. 50:50 Snackuits is a delicious, but healthy snack in three flavours - Swiss Cheese & Chilly, Chinese Hot &Sweet and Italiano Pizza. They are a perfect tea-time or on-the-go snack. They also go well with a chilled lemonade or other drink on hot summer days that we are presently experiencing.

I also got a little adventurous and experimented with toppings and accompanyments that could go with Snackuits and here are some of my suggestion


On the Chinese Hot & Sweet, I topped it with lightly fried paneer pieces and crispy fried spinach.


On the Swizz Cheese and Chilly, I put a topping of finely chopped tomato, spring onion and red capsicum with a dash of salt pepper and lemon juice.


On the Italiano Pizza, I topped it with finely chopped chicken salami, corn and red chilli flakes.

All the three flavours go well with a dipped tarter sauce or even a green coriander chutney.

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.