Stuffed aloo-matar ke parathe

Aloo-matar ( potato-peas ) ke parathe is an Indian recipe and one of the most popular breakfast dish in all over India, especially in northern region. Aloo matar paratha is basically dough stuffed with a especial mixture of mashed aloo and matar ,which is rolled out and cooked on a hot tawa with ghee or any cooking refined oil. The stuffing which I am going to write here is very simple and easy to make. This paratha is generally served with curd, chutney, and lassi. 
Ingredients : 

• Wheat flour – 1 cup
• Water as required to knead
• Oil to cook the parathas 

  For stuffing : 

• 2 boiled and peeled potatoes (aloo)
• 100 gm peas (matar)
• 2 medium sized onion
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• ½ tsp of garlic paste
• 1 tsp of peppercorn powder
• 2-3 green chilli
• Salt as per taste
• A bunch of coriander leaves.
• Oil to fry. 

  Procedure : 

1. First take a round shaped vessel and pour wheat flour in the vessel.
2. Pour water as required and knead into a soft dough.
3. When the dough is ready, divide it into equal sized ball.
4. Take a pressure cooker and boil the potatoes and peas till it becomes soft.
5. Peel the skin of boiled potatoes and mash it well.
6. Add boiled peas and salt while mashing the potatoes.
7. Take a fry pan and heat it on a medium flame.
8. Pour oil into it and heat it for sometime.
9. Now put cumin seed and carom seed in the oil.
10. Add onion, chilli and garlic paste and stir till the color of onion changes to light brown.
11. Then add peppercorn powder and coriander leaves to the masala.
12. Add mashed potatoes-peas to the masala.
13. Stir for 3-4 minutes and stuffing is then ready.
14. Now roll out the dough into small round shape and keep the stuffing on it.
15. Seal the dough with the stuffing inside.
16. Now roll it out into round shape.
17. Then heat a tawa and keep the rolled out dough on it.
18. First heat it from one side and after 1 minute turn it to the other side.
19. Apply 1-2 tsp of oil on the top and turn it over to the other side.
20. Cook both the sides of paratha equally.
21. Our paratha is ready now. Serve hot potatoes-peas paratha with curd, chutney or pickles.

 

Chowmein

Chowmein is a Chinese dish. It is favorite among children and is liked by everyone. It is very simple to cook. It is usually served with variety of sauces including tomato, chilli, and vinegar. It goes well with manchurian as side dish. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 packet veg noodles
• finely sliced onions
• 2 green chillis
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp of  cooking oil
• Water as required to boil the noodles. 

Procedure : 

1. Take a deep bottomed container.
2. Pour water as required in the container.
3. Add 1tsp of oil and a pinch of salt to the water. This will avoid noodles from sticking to the container.
4. Now add noodles in the water.
5. Boil noodles for 5-6 minutes, do not overcook.
6. Now drain the water and keep aside in a separate plate.
7. Take a fry pan and heat it on medium flame.
8. Pour oil in the pan and heat it.
9. Add sliced onion and green chilli and fry for 20-40 seconds.
10. Add salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute.
11. Now add boiled noodles and mix well.
12. Then add vinegar and soya sauce to the noodles and stir well.
13. Now serve the hot chowmein.

 

Swadishta Ras Malai at Home

Ras Malai is a sweet desert usually prepared on special occasions and which is generally served after meal. The name ras malai comes from two parts in Hindi : ‘ras’ means Juicy and ‘malai’ means cream. Rasmalai is soaked in rich saffron flavored creamy milk .

I am going to prepare this rasmalai in 2 simple steps:

1. Preparing rasgulla.
2. Preparing creamy flavored saffron milk.

Ingredients:

For Rasgulla:

• Milk – ½ ltr
• Vinegar – 2-3 tbsp
• Maida – 1tsp
• Sugar – 1cup
• Water – ½ cup

For creamy flavored saffron milk:

• Milk – 1/2 ltr
• Sugar – 6 tbsp
• Green Cardamom (elaichi)– 3
• Kesar (saffron threads) – 4-5
• Almonds  ( crushed )– 10 pieces

Method to prepare Rasgulla:

1. First take a heavy bottomed pan and heat it on medium flame.
2. Pour milk in the pan and boil the milk.
3. As the milk comes to boil, add vinegar slowly to the milk and stir the milk continuously.
4. The milk fat (chena/paneer) will start separating from the whey, then turn off the flame.
5. Now, drain the whey using a strainer line with muslin cloth.
6. Wrap the paneer in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water and squeeze it well.
7. When all the water is squeezed, then wrap the paneer under a heavy pan about an hour.
8. When the paneer is ready, place it on a dry and clean surface and knead the paneer till it becomes smooth and soft.
9. Add the maida to the kneaded paneer and make soft dough.
10. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll them in smooth balls.
11. Now mix the sugar and water in a pressure cooker on medium heat and bring it to boil.
12. Add paneer balls to the syrup of sugar and water.
13. Close the pressure cooker, after the pressure cooker starts steaming; cook it for about 7-8 minutes.
14. Turn off the heat and wait a few minutes till the steam is released.
15. Take out the balls from the syrup and keep it aside.
16. Our Rasgulla is ready. 

Method to prepare creamy flavored saffron milk:

1. Take a deep bottomed pan and heat it on medium flame.
2. Pour the milk in the pan and bring it to boil.
3. When the milk is boiled, add the sugar, saffron threads and cardamom to the milk.
4. Stir continuously the milk and cook it for 10-15 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and then add the Rasgulla to the creamy flavored saffron milk.
6. Garnish with crushed almonds and cool it in the refrigerator.
7. Serve the rasmalai chilled.

Khasta Puri

Puri is one of the most common breads in our India. It is usually served at the time of breakfast with bhaji. Puri is also served with Halwa & Kheer as prashad in pujas.

Ingredients :

• Maida flour – 250 gm
• Ghee – 2-3 tbsp
• Cooking oil – 500 gm
• Water (as required) to knead

Procedure:

1. First take a round shaped bowl.
2. Pour flour and ghee in the bowl and mix well.
3. Add water little by little and knead to smooth dough.
4. Now make the small balls of the dough.
5. Dip the ball in the flour and give shape like small roti.
6. Now take a deep fry pan and heat it on high flame.
7. Pour the cooking oil to the pan and heat the oil for sometime.
8. Now fry the puris one by one.
9. Serve hot with bhaji, halwa, or kheer.

Palak (Spinach) Puri

Palak puri tastes awesome & very different from the regular plain puri. It suits with any type of gravy or raita.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of wheat flour
• 4 bundles of fresh spinach (palak)
• 2-3 tsp of butter
• 1 tsp of ginger paste
• 1 tsp of green chilli paste
• 1 tsp of cumin seed ( crushed )
• ½ cup plain curd
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil – 500 gm
• Water as per requirement.

Procedure:

1. First boil the spinach leaves in the water for about 3 minutes.
2. Now remove the spinach leaves from the water and make the paste of  boiled spinach.
3. Then, mix the paste with wheat flour and add crushed cumin seeds, plain curd, butter, ginger-green chilli paste and salt.
4. Make a soft smooth dough by mixing all the ingredients and some water as per requirement.
5. Now divide the dough into equal sized balls and roll them each in a flat round disc of 5 inch diameter.
6. Heat the oil in a kadai and fry each of the puris on both sides.
7. Serve hot (spinach) palak puri with any type of gravy or raita.

 

Homemade Fried Fish

Fish fry is a tempting dish and very popular among non vegetarians. Fish is considered to be a very healthy and rich of protein. There are many varieties of fish in the market such as rohu, katla, ghingi, etc. It can be cooked in different styles depending upon the variety of fish and taste. Here, I have written the recipe of my style of preparing fish fry with Mackerel.

Ingredients :

• Fish – 3 small fishes of same size
• Turmeric powder – 1tsp
• Salt (to your taste)
• Wheat flour 4 tbsp
• Water as per requirment
• Red chilli powder (to your taste)
• Curry leaves – 7-9 leaves
• Cooking oil – 250 gm

Procedure :

1. First wash the Pan-dressed fish (completely cleaned).
2. Take a round shaped vessel and put the fish into it.
3. Now add turmeric powder, salt, wheat flour, red chilli, curry leaves to the fish in the vessel.
4. Add some water to make paste.
5. Keep it aside to marinate for atleast ½ an hour as shown in the picture below.

 

 

     6.  After ½ an hour, take a deep bottomed fry pan.

     7.  Pour cooking oil into the pan and heat it on medium flame.

     8.  Keep the marinated pieces of fish one by one in the pan.

     9.  When the fish is fried, take it out of the pan.

     10. Serve hot as a side dish with steamed rice.

 

 

  

Matar paneer special

Matar Paneer  is a north Indian dish of Paneer and Matar  in a  onion and tomato based gravy. It is usually served with an Indian bread like roti, naan, parathe and also with rice. This post will explain the secrets of mouth-watering dish. 

Arrange the following ingredients before starting the actual preparation:

Ingredients:

  For marination:

• Paneer – 250 gm
• Matar – 400 gm
• Curd – ¾ cup
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
• Jeera Powder – ½ tsp
• Cooking oil to fry

 

 

  For gravy:

• Onion – 2 medium size
• Tomato – 2 small size
• Ginger paste – 1 tsp
• Garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp
• Black mustard (rai) – ½ tsp
• Black peppercorn – 6-7
• Cinnamon – ½ inch
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – ½ tsp
• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Water as required

 

Procedure :

  For marination:

 

1. First take a medium sized round shaped glass bowl.
2. Cut the paneer in any shape of small size and keep the paneer pieces in the bowl.
3. Now add curd ,blackpepper powder, jeera powder and turmeric powder in bowl.
4. Mix well and keep it aside for ½ an hour.
5. After  ½  an hour ,take a non-stick kadhai and heat it on a medium flame.
6. Now pour oil in the kadhai and heat it.
7. When the oil gets heated, add marinated pieces of paneer in the kadhai.
8. Fry all the pieces of paneer and keep in another bowl.
9. Now fry all the matar and keep in a clean bowl. 

  For gravy:

1. First cut the onion and tomato in the small pieces and keep it in a mixture jar.
2. Add ginger and garlic paste in the jar and grind together.
3. Take a non stick kadhai and heat it on a medium flame.
4. Pour the oil in the kadhai and heat it.
5. When the oil gets heated, add rai to the oil.
6. When its start crackling, add black peppercorn and cinnamon to it.
7. Now add the paste of (onion, tomato, ginger and garlic) to the oil in the kadhai.
8. Fry for 5 minutes and add salt and all the masala mentioned above.
9. Fry till the oil seperates from the masala.
10. Now add water as required to the masala and boil for 6-7 minutes.
11. Lastly add the fried matar and paneer to the gravy.
12. Mix well and serve hot with any Indian bread.