Kadhi Pakoda

Ingredients

For Kadhi

2/3 cup Besan flour 
1 1/4 cup Sour Curd
6 cups water
1 big onion sliced
1 in piece ginger, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds(methi daana)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1 tbsp mustard oil

Salt to taste

For Pakodas

3/4 cup besan
1 small onion. finely sliced
1 small green chilly, finely chopped
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

For Tempering

1 1/2 tsp Ghee
 2 whole red chillies

1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida(hing)

Method

For Kadhi

1. Beat the yogurt. Mix in gram flour and turmeric. Mix until there are no lumps. Add 3 cups of water slowly and mix well and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Add fenugreek seeds to it and cook them till they r light brown.
3. Add onions, ginger and green chillies to it and cook till onions are glossy.
4. Lower the flame and add corriander powder with a tsp of water so spices dont burn.Give a stir.
5. Now add the yogurt mixture and keep stirring (to avoid lumps) until it comes to a boil
6. Add 3 cups of water and let it boil and turn the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally and let the kadhi cook for between 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 
7. When the kadhi is cooked, add salt. Adding the salt after the kadhi is cooked will prevent the yogurt from breaking. 

Tip :You can adjust the thickness of the kadhi to your liking by adding water.

For Pakodas

1. Mix enough water to the besan flour to make the batter of slight pouring consistency.
2. Add salt to it and whisk it in circular motion till there are no lumps for 2,3 minutes. The batter will become light and frothy.
3. Add rest of the ingredients now and mix well.
4. Heat the oil in a flat pan. The oil should be about 1/2 inch deep.
5. To check if the oil is ready put one drop of batter in oil, the batter should come up but not change color right away,
6. Place about 1 tablespoon of batter into the oil. Batter should not be covered with oil. This will allow the pakodas to expand. The pakodas will be softer if they are shallow fried. 
7. Fry the pakoras in small batches until golden-brown.
8. After the pakoras are fried, soak pakoras in room temperature water for about 10 minutes.
9. Next, squeeze the pakoras gently to takeout the water, without breaking the pakoras.
10. Add the pakoras to the hot kadhi and let it boil on low-medium heat for approximately 10 minutes.

For tempering

1.  Heat ghee in a small pan.
2. Add cumin seeds to it. When they start crackling add whole red chilly, asafoetida and red chilly powder.
3. Immediately pour it over the kadhi and cover the kadhi for 1,2 minutes.
4. Kadhi is ready to be served hot.

Veg chowmein (Indian style)

Ingredients

For noodles

1 small packet noodles around 400 gms
5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp oil

For final preparation

1 onion sliced
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 capsicum sliced
1 carrot julienne
1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp soya sauce
2 tsp garlic paste
2 green chillies julienne
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp cumin powder
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

How to Proceed

For noodles :

1. Bring the water and salt to boil. Add noodles to it.
2. Boil them to the stage that they are 'bite-like'. Dont cook much as they will be soggy. Just let them be mildly raw.
3. Drain immediately and cool under running water.
4. Work 1/2 tbsp of  oil into the noodles and keep aside. 

For final preparation

1. In a skillet heat oil and add cumin powder and chaat masala to it.
2. After 2 seconds add the onions and cook them till they turn glossy.
3. Add garlic paste and chillies now and all the vegetables and stir for few seconds. the veggies should remain mildly raw.
4. Now add the salt and black pepper powder and mix well. Add boiled noodles now and mix well. Take care that noodles dont break.
5. Add in the soya sauce, vinegar and stir fry for a minute.
6. Serve hot.

Note
Increase or decrese soya sauce ,vinegar and chillies according to taste. I like it spicy :)

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients :

1 cup grated fresh coconut/ dry cocunut
1 tbsp Chana dal
3-4 Garlic cloves
2-3 Green chilly
2 in piece Ginger
5-6  Coriander stems with leaves
3 tbsp yogurt ( a bit sour )

For tempering :

1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-3  dry whole Red Chilly
Asafoetida a pinch (hing)

Salt to taste

Method

1.  Dry roast the chana dal to slightly brown.
2. Let it soak in water for few minutes. Keep aside.
3. Dry roast coconut till it gives a aroma and slightly changes the colour.
4. Dry roast ginger, green chilly and garlic to remove the raw smell.
5. Dry roast coriander leaves for few seconds. 
6. Put all these ingredients (along with chana dal) in a blender with yogurt, salt and blend to a smooth paste.
7. For tempering add oil in a pan. Put mustard seeds and let them splutter.
8. Switch off the stove and add red chilly immediately and asafoetida. Cook for 10-12 seconds.
9. Pour the tempering over the chutney.
10. Serve hot or refrigerate for a week.

Multigrain Buns

Ingredients ( makes 4 buns)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup gram flour
1/4 cup soyabean flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp oil
1 tsp sugar
1 cup water...

Method

1. Take 1/2 cup luke warm water in a deep bowl add sugar and dry yeast powder to it. Cover it and let it sit for 5 minutes. It will rise and become frothy.
2. Mix all the flours, salt and oil thoroughly.
3. Now take the yeast mixture and add to the flours slowly( part by part) kneading it to make a dough. Take water if the yeast mixture is less.
4. The dough will be a bit sticky. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit for 10 minutes.
5. It will rise to double its volume. Knead the dough again 8-9 times and make balls out of it ( size of your fist).
6. Place them on a baking tin lined with parchment paper,  around 3 inches apart, as they will rise.
7. Cover with a damp cloth and let it sit for 30 minutes.It will rise to double its volume.
8. When risen brush the top with little bit of oil.
9.  Now preheat the oven to 170 C and bake the buns for 15 minutes or till they turn golden brown on top.
10. Use fresh when cooled for making burgers or as pav for pav bhaaji :)

Tomato (tamaatar) ki Chutney

Ingredients

3 large ripe tomatoes
2 pods garlic, chopped
1 green chilly
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp fennel powder(saunf)
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups water 
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Oil for frying, approx 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

1. Boil the tomatoes in water in microwave for 15 minutes and peel off the skin when they cool off. Keep the water as it'll be used later in the recipe.
2. Mash the tomatoes coarsely. Keep aside.
3. Now in a skillet (on medium flame) add oil. When its hot add cumin seeds. Lower the flame then.
4. When they start cracking add garlic and chilly and saute for less than a minute.
5. Add all the spices i.e red chilly powder, corriander powder, fennel powder with a tsp of water so the spices dont burn. Give a quick stir.
6. Now add the tomatoes and cook till they start leaving oil on sides.
7. At this stage add water and salt and cook till you get a little thick consistency. Remember it should remain juicy.
8. Switch off the flame and add sugar and lemon juice to it.
9. Refrigerate when its cooled. It remains good for a weak.
10. Tastes best when chilled.

Corriander and Mint Chutney

Ingredients

1 bunch of corriander
1 bunch of mint leaves( without stem)
1 in piece ginger
2 pods garlic
1 small onion
3-4 green chillies
1 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste(imli)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds(saunf)
1/4 tsp asafoetida(hing)
 Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and clean the corriander and mint leaves. Donot pluck out corriander stems as its the stems that add the real taste to recipe.
2. Now add all the ingredients in a grinder and grind o a smooth paste.
3. You can adjust the chillies. I added 4 as i  like the chutney to be hot. Accordingly adjust the salt and sugar and tamarind according to your taste.
4. Store in a refrigerator. It remains good for a weak. Tastes best when its mildly chilled.

Multigrain walnuts and raisins cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter , at room temperature ( I used salted. If you are using unsalted add 1/4 tsp salt to recipe)
1 tbsp olive oil (You can use any vegetable oil)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup gram flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup oats
 1 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp walnuts (chopped)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coffee powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)

Method

1. Take butter and add sugar and oil to it and whisk till the mixture becomes creamy.
2. Now take a bowl and mix the dry ingredients i.e. all kinds of flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, coffee powder and nuts ( walnuts and raisins). Coffee and cinnamon powder add a distinct flavor to it.
3. Add this mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and fold in the ingredients till they mix properly.
4. Now in a baking tray line a parchment paper and scoop out the cookie mixture in  form of small cookies. You can use moulds of any shape. Though i made them with my palms :)
5. Make sure there's a gap of approx 1 inch between each cookie. They rise and spread while baking.
6. Preheat the oven to 170 C and bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes or till they become golden light brown on top. 
7. Turn the cookies and bake for another 10 minutes. This allows even cooking from both ends.
8. Serve hot or store in an air tight container when they are cooled.

Tip:

If you want you can use eggs in this recipe. Reduce butter to half the quantity and add 1 small egg. Personally i dont like eggs in my cookies. I feel an eggy flavor though i do add it to cakes and breads and find them good :).