• Moringa leaves 1 cup• Amul Butter 4 teaspoons• chopped garlic 6 cloves• chopped Shallots 6 bulbs• chopped celery 2 teaspoons• All purpose flour 4 teaspoons• crushed peppercorn 1 teaspoon• Amul Milk 1 cup• Amul fresh cream • Salt to taste Method:-Blanch or steam moringa leaves and keep it aside. Melt butter in a saucepan and add chopped garlic, onion, celery and saute till light brown. Add maida (APF) and keep stirring. Add equal quantity of milk and water. Allow to boil. In a blender, Grind above and pass it through a sieve and keep to boil. Grind moringa leaves and add along with it. Add peppercorn and salt to taste. Garnish with croutons, fresh cream and serve hot.
An Italian dish prepared out of Sliced eggplant shallow fried, layered with tomato sauce,cheese and baked.
Ingredients:-
• Large eggplant.2 nos • Mozzarella cheese 100 gms• Parmesan cheese 100 gms• Olive oil 2 tbs• Butter 1tbs• Fresh Basil leaves • Tomato paste 250 gms• Chopped onion 2 med sized• Crushed peppercorn 1tbs• Salt to taste.
Method:-
Slice eggplant thinly sprinkle salt and leave it for an hour. This allows to remove excess water from the eggplant. Take a pan and heat at mediumflame. Pour olive oil and butter. Once it’s hot, add finly chopped onions and saute till it’s translucent. Add tomato paste, crushed peppercorn,salt to taste.
Take few fresh Basil leaves, chop it and add to sauce and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. Rinse salted eggplant slices In water, squeeze out water and dry each slices using paper towels.
Oil in a pan and heat on to medium flame and fry out the egg plant and leave it drain all oil.
Now time to layer eggplant in a baking dish. Spread few spoonful of tomato sauce in to the bottom of baking dish and spread across evenly. Spread a layer of eggplant and sprinkle Parmesan cheese and fee slice of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layering process till the baking dish is almost full. The final layer topping with tomato sauce, grated Parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 15 minutes in a pre heated oven at 180 degree centigrade. Remove the foil cover and bake again for about 10 minutes to get cheese melted and get golden brown color. Slice it out and serve hot with Basil leaves as garnish.)
This is made during religious festivals and consumed by those on fasting subject to avoiding few ingredients that are not recommended to consume during fasting. I have made this with various tubers such as Cassava, Sweet potato, Elephant foot yam & Colocasia and not prepared inline with fasting norms.
Ingredients:- • Cassava, Colocasia, Sweet potato and Elephant foot yam, cleaned and diced 250 gms each. • Grated coconut 1 cup• Green chilly 6 nos• Shallots 8 pods• Garlic 6 cloves• Cumin seed 1 tsp• Mustard seeds 1 tsp• Dried red chilly 3 nos• Amul Butter 4 tbs• Curry leave 2 sprigs• Rock salt to taste.
In a pan, boil water and cook the root vegetables soft. Drain the water and allow to cool. Crumble it using a wooden spatula. Grind coconut, shallots, garlic, cumin seeds and green chilly to a coarse consistency. Meantime, heat a skillet and pour the ghee into it. Add mustard seed, red chilly and curry leaves. Once mustard seeds start sputtering, pour in the grounded paste and add the cooked tubers. Add salt as required and give it a good mix. Happy Cooking!
Basa, a native fish of Sout east Asia and it’s a substitute to Cod and Haddock due to it’s meat texture and taste. Basa its rich in Protein and low in calorie, therefore a beneficial food for those diet conscious. Sow Thistle:-Is a nutritious plant which contains several minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, Phosphorus, sodium, potassium and zinc. Abundance of vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B3, B6 and C makes this plant a super healthy food. It’s also has antioxidants benefits.
Ingredients:- • Basa fillet 400 gms (2 pcs) • Orange juice 1 cup• Honey 1tbs• Lemon juice 1 tsp• Amul butter 50gms• Virgin olive oil 2 tbs• Crushed blk peppercorn 1/2 tsp• Chopped garlic 1 tsp• Chopped shallots 1 tsp• Salt to taste• Sow Thistle few leaves.
Method:- Wash and drain water from the fillet. Sprinkle little salt and crushed pepper and leave it aside. In a pan, melt butter. Add orange juice and lemon juice. Stir for a while. Add honey and keep stirring till it get reduced and you get a thick glazy consistency. Add zest of orange and lemon for better flavour. Simultaneously, heat another pan with butter and oil in it. Heat the pan on medium flame and saute chopped garlic and shallots till light brown. Insert the fillets and cook one side for about 3 minutes and turn other side and cook for same time. Blanch sow thistle leaves and drain water. While plating,keep the fillets on a bed of orange & honey sauce and serve along with sow thistle as shown in picture. Ideal accompaniment for this would be, mash potatoes / French fries / boiled vegetables. Happy Cooking!
• Sweet potatoes 500 gms• Medium sized onion 500 gms• Virgin Olive oil 2 tbs• Amul Butter 100 gms• Chopped parsley 2 tbs• Crushed Black pepper 1 tsp• Salt to taste. Method:-# Par boil the Potatoes, peel it and slice it. # Peel the onion and slice it.
Step 1
Place a pan on stove over medium heat. Melt the half quantity of butter and add 1 tbs olive oil. Add sliced potatoes, crushed pepper, salt to taste and cook for about 5 minutes and turn sides and allow to cook for same time. Follow the same step with onion rings too except reducing cooking time to 3 minutes each sides.
Step 2
Take a baking tray or any flat container, grease it and start arranging the potato and onion layering ( one slice potato overlapping a slice of onion and followed)
Step 3
Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes till it’s golden brown. Serve hot with finely chopped parsley sprinkled over. Try it out. It taste yummy with Sweet potatoes. Happy Cooking!
• Urad dal 1 cup (washed and dried) • Grated coconut 1 cup• Dried red Chilly whole 8 nos• Shallots chopped 2 tbs• Garlic chopped 1 tbs• Ginger chopped 1 tbs• Seedless tamarind block 1 tbs• Curry leaves 2 sprigs• Mint leaves 1 sprig• Coriander leaves 1 sprig• Mustard seeds 1 tsp• Coconut oil / Rice bran oil 4 tbs• Salt to taste
Step 1
Heat a thick bottom pan and add 3 tbs oil. Once oil is hot, add urad dal and saute. When it’s start light browning, add along chopped shallots, garlic and ginger. Saute for a while. Add grated coconut, 6 nos red chilly and the tamarind block and curry leaves. Saute until coconut turns light brown. Add the rest of chopped coriander and mint leaves and mix it well. Remove the pan from stove once roasted urad dal smell starts emitting. Spead the mixture in a tray and allow to cool at room temperature. Once it’s cold, grind it in a mixer grinder. Add little water and grind to a coarse paste.
Step 2
For tampering, heat a pan, pour a tbs of oil and add mustard seeds, red chilly whole and curry leaves. Once it splutter, pour the content to chutney. Add required salt and mix well. An excellent accompaniment for Idly, Dosa, Steamed rice. Happy Cooking!
A very simple, easy to make pasta dish with limited ingredients. Boil water, add a teaspoon of oil and then the pasta. Stir it well. Cook for about 15 minutes and then drain it. Preserve half a cup of the starch water. Take a sauce pan, put on to heat. pour a tablespoon of olive oil,add a teaspoon each of chopped garlic and onion. Saute until it gets soft and light brown. Add tomato paste and salt to taste. Add the water from pasta and cook for a while and add pasta and mix well. Serve it hot with grated cheese. ( it could be parmesan or mozzarella) Garnish with fresh Basil leaves. Happy Cooking!
Poori making: Take a mixing bowl, put the wheat flour in it. Add a cup of water and salt to taste. Kneed it thoroughly. Make sure the dough is not too thin or thick, but soft and pliable consistency. Keep kneading for a while and roll out and cut to tiny balls and flatten them placing on a flat surface and rolling pin. Keep sprinkling flour on surface to avoid sticking and shape out to nice circle about 4″ diameter. Heat oil in a wok and fry poori in medium – high temperature.
Potato curry: Peel potato, wash and cook for about 15 minutes. Once cooked, take out the potato and allow to cool in room temperature. Take a wok, keep on a medium flame. Pour oil and once it’s hot, add Channa dal, urad dal and saute for about a minute. Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves. once mustard seeds start sputtering, add chopped onion, green chilly, ginger and cook till onion start softening. Add turmeric powder and stir. Boiled potatoes need to be coarsely mashed and added along to onion. Keep mixing it properly. Final touch to perfection is the tampering with • Cinnamon• AniseedsPan on low flame. Add ghee and once it’s hot, add cinnamon and stir for 2 minutes. Add aniseeds and fry till it starts about to brownAdd 2 cups of water in to it and boil. Once the water is boiled, add the potato mix and check for salt. Mix it nicely and put off the flame. Add chopped coriander leaves. Now you can observe an yellow & parrot green tint for the sauce generated out from cinnamon and aniseeds. Happy Cooking!
• Arbi / Taro root 500 gms.Peeled, washed and cut in length about 2cm thick. • Grated Coconut 1cup• Dried RedChilly whole 8 nos• Cumin seeds 1tsp• Garlic 1large pod peeled • Shallots 1 cup• Turmeric powder 1 tsp• Curry leaves 3 sprigs• Tamarind paste 1 tbs• Mustard seeds• Amul Ghee 2 tbs• Cooking oil 2 tbs• Salt to taste.
Step 1
Take a hard bottom wok put on low flame and once it’s hot. Pour oil and add the followingGrated coconut. ( save1tbs for final process) Red chillies( save 2 for final stage) shallots, garlic, curry leaves, turmeric powder and roast it till light brown. Ensure that the ingredients are not burnt out. Keep stirring or those who can, toss it frequently. Once done, leave it to cool and then grind it to a coarse paste without adding any water to it.
Step 2
Take a pan with water. Keep it for boil. Once the water starts boiling, add arbi and cook it for about 10 minutes. Once done, remove excess water if any, but retain half the water so as we get maximum nutrients. Add the grounded paste and mix well. Add tamarind paste and salt to taste. Wait for the gravy to bubble. Off the flame and let’s do the final touch.
Step 3
Take a pan, put on to heat at medium heat. Add ghee and once it’s hot, add mustard seeds, red chilly, grated coconut and curry leaves. Keep stirring.saute till it’s light brown. Now mix this to the cooked arbi. Give it a good mix and your Arbi curry is ready. An ideal combination with Tandoor breads, steamed rice or for Idly & dosa. Happy Cooking!
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