Green paratha

This is my own experimental paratha, so try it at your own risk :p I have used bottle gourd which is also known as dudhi bhopla in Marathi, lauki in Hindi and sorekai in Kannada along with spinach.

Ingredients:

1 cup of finely grated bottle gourd

2 cups of boiled spinach

2 cups of whole wheat flour (atta) and some more for dusting

1 tsp of ajwain (carom seeds)

1 tbsp of crushed garlic

red chili powder to taste

salt to taste

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

Oil for cooking

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients with 1/2 tbsp of oil in a mixing bowl

2. Using water as required, knead the above mixture into a silky dough. Smear some oil and keep aside for at least 10 min

3. Meanwhile place a griddle (tawa) on stove with low flame

4. Make a lemon sized ball from the dough and dust it with flour

5. Now gently roll the dough ball into a disc of 4 to 5 inch diameter. Do not make it too thin as it tends to harden on cooking.

Actually it is supposed to be a perfect circle :p

6. Grease the griddle with oil and place the paratha on it and cook each side on a high flame. Release oil from the sides occasionally. The cooked side turns light brown. Keep the paratha wrapped in a cotton cloth to secure its softness

7. Repeat the steps from 4 to 6 for the remaining dough

The above recipe yields 7-8 parathas. Serve them hot with your favorite pickle, curds or chutney!

Onion tomato chutney

Onion tomato chutney can be relished with idli, dosa, vada or even as a spread on your favorite bread.

Ingredients:
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 medium sized onion
3 dried red chili
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of urad dal (skinned and split black lentils)
1/2 tsp of hing or asafoetida
3-4 curry leaves
2 1/2 tbsp of oil for cooking
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Chop coarsely onion and tomatoes
2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add onion, cumin seeds, fry until light brown
3. Add tomato and red chili and cook until tender. Turn off the heat and keep aside for cooling

4. Add salt and grind the above into a smooth paste
5. For seasoning, heat the remaining oil  in a small pan and add mustard
6. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves, urad dal and hing
7. Turn off the heat when urad dal turn light brown
8. Add the above seasoning to the paste and mix

Serve with idlis, dosa, vadas or even spread it on a slice of bread!

Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji is an Indian street food mostly found in the western part of the country. Street food and healthy usually don't go together, but this recipe is an exception! It has five different vegetables along with onion, garlic and ginger.
I agree, this recipe does have a little lengthier cooking time, but I usually prepare it in big quantities and refrigerate it and I am done cooking for the next few days!

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
2 big potatoes, I usually use russet potatoes, but even white potatoes are good
2 medium sized green bell peppers
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 small head of cauliflower, separated into florets (around 12-15 florets)
1 cup of green peas
1 large onion finely chopped
4-5 big cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of crushed ginger
1 cup of cooking oil
Red chili powder or paprika to taste
2 tbsp of pav bhaji masala, you can find it in the Indian aisles or Indian stores

Cilantro for garnishing
Salt to taste
Salted butter or Amul butter for toasting pav
You can find the typical pav in the Indian stores. I usually substitute with Francisco dinner rolls found in most of the grocery stores

Preparation:
Boil potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower and green peas until tender. I prefer to pressure cook the potatoes for one whistle, since it is faster. Also, I boil the cauliflower separately and discard the water in order to get rid of the pungent smell.

Boiled, peeled potatoes

Boiled cauliflower

Boiled peas, tomatoes, green bell peppers

 Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok
2. Add onion to the wok and fry for 2 min on medium flame
3. Add garlic and ginger and fry until onion is translucent

4. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and gently mash all the boiled vegetables and keep them aside. Take care that they are not mushy
5. Once the onion is translucent, add red chili powder or paprika, salt and pav bhaji masala and mix

6. Now add the mashed vegetables and 2 cups of water and mix thoroughly. Make sure the mixture is not too runny
7. Cover and cook for around 10 min on a low flame, stirring occasionally as it tends to stick to the bottom of the wok
You can adjust the salt, paprika as per your need
8. Turn off the heat and squeeze half a lemon and garnish with chopped cilantro

Your bhaji is ready.

Pav:
For pav (dinner rolls), heat a tawa or griddle. Meanwhile, make horizontal slits in the roll without completely separating the two halves.
Add some salted butter to the griddle and toast the pav one side at a time until golden brown.

   

You can also eat this bhaji with roti or rice.

Tamarind paste

I use tamarind paste in many of the recipes. Here is how to prepare tamarind paste.
Soak lime sized tamarind in half cup of water for around 15 minutes.

Or, if you are in a hurry, microwave the soaked tamarind for 15 seconds.
Then, squeeze the tamarind firmly and discard the leaves.