Fruit Cream

A colorful chilled dessert for summers that takes hardly 10-15 minutes to prepare. If you are calorie conscious you can omit the whole cream part and use cream cheese instead. It tastes the same and is healthier enough. You can use any seasonal fruits of your choice . Just remember they shouldn't be sour enough and should have a bit soft pulp to combine with the smooth texture of the dessert. 

 Ingredients

1 Apple
2 Bananas
100 gm Grapes
2 slices papaya
1 pomegranate
2 Oranges or Mosambi
1 Mango
200 ml low fat cream (I used amul's at room temperature)
50 gm hung curd or cream cheese
Sugar to taste

Method

1. Slice all the fruits to bite size pieces except 1orange ( to balance the sweetness of the cream. You can even use any citrus fruit such as lime if you dont have orange). Keep them in juice of one orange. This avoids discoloration of the fruits. Keep aside.
2. Mix cream, hung curd and sugar till the sugar dissolves.
3. Add this over the chopped fruits. 
4. Keep in refrigerator for 3-4 hours so that the fruits release their flavors. 
5. Serve chilled garnishing with few mint leaves.

Dahi vada

 

Ingredients

For vada
2/3 cup urad dhuli dal
1/3 cup moong dhuli dal
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp Ginger-green chilly paste
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

For final preparation
1 Cup thick curd, chilled
Roasted cumin seed powder
Red Chilly Powder
sweet-and-sour-tamarind-chutney
Salt to taste

Method

1. Soak urad and moong dal in water for 2 hours. Blend to a coarse paste with very little water.
2. Add ginger-chilly paste, salt and baking powder and whisk till it becomes a bit fluffy. This will take a minute or two.
3. Heat oil. Take a serving spoon. Wet it and take a helping of mixture and slide it in the oil for frying. Do the same for each dumpling wetting the spoon everytime. 
4. Fry each batch till all the dumplings turn golden brown on each side. Strain on a tissue paper Keep aside.
5. Before serving whisk the curd. Add salt. 
6. In hot water add the dumplings and keep for a minute to soften them. Drain the water out of them by squeezing them in your palms, maintaing the shape of dumplings.
7. Add them to curd. Cover the entire dumplings with curd.
8. Garnish with roasted cumin powder, red chilly powder and sweet-and-sour-tamarind-chutney. Keep in refrigerator for 10-12 minutes so that vada's soak all the flavors.
9. Serve chilled.

Sweet and Sour Tamarind Chutney

 Ingredients

50 gms tamarind
50 gms jaggery
10-12 raisins
1/2 tsp red pepper powder
1/2 tsp fennel seeds powder
1/2 tsp dry ginger powder (or juice of 1 inch piece of fresh ginger)
Salt to taste

Method

1. Boil tamarind in a cup of water for a minute. Cool it and strain to get tamarind pulp ( press the tamarind gently through strainer till you are left with pulp below and seeds atop strainer.)
2. Cook this pulp along with all the spices, jaggery and salt.
3. Adjust the consistency of jaggery and salt according to your taste. Cook till pulp turns thicker as per your requirements. 
4. In the end add raisins after turning flame off. They will eventually soak the flavor.

Garlic Kulche and Chholey

Ingredients

For dough
2 cup maida
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup curd
6-7 garlic pods, chopped
Warm water

For chholey
dry-chhole-masala

Method

1. Mix salt and flour, on your working space. Make well in centre. 
2. Put curd in well. Sprinkle baking soda over curd. Allow to stand for 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour oil in well and mix gradually. 
4. Use water as required, to make a soft stiff dough. 
5. Brush dough will oil. Keep aside for 4 hours in a warm place in a bowl covering with a cling film. Longer if weather is cold.
6. Grease palms well and punch dough till soft and elastic. Cover again and keep aside for 10 minutes. 
7. Break a lump of dough. Roll or pat to a thick round.  Brush lightly with oil, sprinkle some garlic. Seal the lump into a bun and roll out again into a thick chapati of around 4 inches. The kulche are made thicker than chapatis.
8. Roast on a hot griddle, or tandoor, till golden spots appear. Serve hot with dry-chhole-masala

Curd Rice, South Indian Style

 Ingredients

1 cup boiled rice
1 cup curd
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp bengal gram dal (chana dal)
1 tsp dhuli urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 green chilly, chopped
2 inch piece ginger, chopped
3 pods garlic, chopped
7,8 curry leaves
3,4 coriander twigs, chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh coconut
A pinch of asafoetida
Oil

 

Method

1. Just before serving mash the rice a bit, add curd and milk to it and mix well. Keep aside.
2. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds, when they start spluttering, add bengal gram and urad dal. Cook till they turn slightly brown.
3. Add green chilly, ginger garlic, asafoetida and black pepper. Stir a bit and add curry leaves. Stir for few seconds.
4. Add this to the curd rice mixture. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Mix and serve hot immediately.

Haldi Doodh (Turmeric Milk)

The mixture of turmeric and milk is often touted as an all-natural cure for a variety of ailments and to promote good general health. Fights free radicals, helps in digestion and gives a great relief in common cold and cough. These are few of the benefits of turmeric. Follow the simple recipe below

Ingredients

A glass of milk
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
A pinch of black pepper powder
Honey to taste

Method

1. Boil milk. When it reaches a boil add ginger and black pepper and boil the milk for a minute on low flame so that the spices release their flavor.
2. Just before serving add turmeric powder. Strain the contents in a glass.
3. Add honey. Serve hot

Knol knol Curry

Ingredients

3-4 medium sized knol-knol (peeled, washed and cut into cubes of 1 inch)
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped
3 garlic pods, chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut
Few twigs of corriander, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
Oil
Juice of a lemon

Method

1. Boil knol- knol in a pressure cooker with a glass of water till it turns soft. i.e. after first whistle lower the flame and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Now in a deep fry pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds, when they start spluttering, add onion and green chilly.
3. When onions turn translucent add coriander powder and turmeric and salt. Stir and add tomato, garlic and ginger.
4. Cook till tomatoes turn soft. Now add boiled knol-knol along with its water and grated cocunut. Cook for a minute, add lemon juice in end and garnish with coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot with chapati.

Deli sandwich

  Ingredients

2 Brown bread slices
Lettuce leaves ( dipped in chilled water before serving)
1 paneer-cottage-cheese-pattie
Onion slices
Tomato Slices
Cucumber Slices
1 egg omellette
Salt and black pepper
Mayonnaise

Method

1. Arrange a bread slice. Top it up with lettuce leaf, tomato slices, onion slices, cucumber slice and salt and pepper on it.
2. Prepare a small omelet just to cover the bread slices and top the above bread slice with this omellete.
3. Top this up with paneer pattie and mayonnaise on it.
4. Cover it with another slice and enjoy the meal :)