Mooli ke Parathe/ Raddish Paratha Indian Flat Bread

Mooli ke Parathe/ Raddish Paratha Indian Flat Bread

“Roti khayenge?” Which will translate to,” will you have food? ”

Diversity is what India is all about not only in regions, languages but also in food. But this is a question you will definitely hear in North India! People will welcome you to join them for a meal.

Everyday food in India has good health packed in its ingredients and is a complete meal by itself. You will have proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins minerals and water when you have an Indian meal especially when you have a home cooked Indian meal.

I have already written about Indian flatbreads. Interested? 

In my place we have chapatti every day; rice is made only on demand.  I prefer to make paratha to chapattis.

Mostly I make the kinds in which the flour is mixed with the vegetables or dal.

 The girls of course prefer the aloo paratha! The complaint is mooli paratha or methi paratha?? And they dig in.

Mooli ke Parathe/ Raddish Paratha

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour/atta+ for application

  

  Mooli ke Parathe/ Raddish Paratha Indian Flat Bread

• ¾ cup white radish, grated
• ¼   cup radish leaves, chopped
• ½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
• 1 ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp dhania/ coriander powder
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin powder
• A pinch of chat masala
• 1 tsp oil
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

For Serving:

• Curd

Method:

• Mix the grated radish, radish leaves salt and all the dry powders in a bowl. Knead and combine well. Let it stand for a few minutes to ½ and hour.
• add the flour and 1 tsp oil  mix all the flour. 
• Knead with hardly any water. The water from the radish is generally enough but in case you need use water sparingly to make soft dough.
• Make 12 equal portions of the dough.
• Roll out each portion thinly into a circle, using a little whole wheat flour for rolling.
• Heat a non-stick tava/skillet  and cook each paratha, using ¼ tsp of oil, till they turn golden brown in colour from both the sides.
• Keep aside to cool slightly.

Variation:

Methi parathas:

• You can use 1 ½ cup of chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves instead of white radish and radish leaves for the above recipe.

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Paneer Masala with Capsicum

Paneer Masala with Capsicum

In continuation with the series North Indian side-dishes I have today this delicious dish that I had long ago found on the site cinnamon n spice. I had made it ages ago and remembered this yummy dish occasionally but since I could not remember the details I have just hoped to make it yet again.

The other day when I was cleaning up I found the scrap of paper on which I had written the recipe.

Paneer Masala with Capsicum

Paneer Masala with Capsicum

Recipe Source: CinnamonNspice

Ingredients:

• 400 gms paneer, diced
• 2 medium capsicum, diced ( I used coloured)
• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 4 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 large tomato
• 1 tsp garlic ginger paste
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek)
• 1 tbsp cashews
• 1tbsp raisins ( I did not use)
•  A pinch black salt
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• A pinch hing/asafoetida
• A pinch turmeric powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 2-3 tsp of North Indian Spice Masala

 Method:

• Heat a kadhai/wok and drop the  Kasuri Methi. Switch off the gas. Set aside. Once the pan cools crush the methi between fingers and powder it.
• If using soak raisins in hot water for a few minutes and drain.
• Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. Add cashews and sauté till golden in colour.
• Drain them. I get small pieces you could chop them to a smaller  pieces.
• In the same oil add capsicum sauté for a few minutes. Drain  and set aside.
• Now add hing/asafoetida, ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes away.
• Add the onions and sauté till transparent.
•  Add tomato puree and cook for a few minutes on low heat till oil separates.
• Now add salt, rock salt, sugar, and turmeric powder, red chilli powder mix and cook for a minute on low heat.
• At this point you can add the capsicum cover and cook for a minute. But since we do not like cooked capsicum much I did not do this step.
•  Add chopped tomatoes, salt and the ground masala. Cover and cook for few minutes till capsicum (in case you are cooking the capsicum) is tender yet firm.
• Add paneer pieces and salt mix well. Cover and cook for a minute or two. Add crushed kasuri methi. In case you are using raisins now will be a good time to add them.
• Switch off the heat add the capsicum in case you have not cooked it like me.
•  Add cashews. Garnish with coriander leaves.
•  Enjoy with hot with chapattis.

Paneer Masala with Capsicum

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

North Indian Spice Masala

This spice mix is amazingly delicious. I have used it occasionally and everytime I have used it I have had rave reviews. Just try it.

North Indian Spice Masala

Recipe Source: CinnamonNspice

Ingredients:

4 tbsp saunf /fennel seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp kalonji /nigella seeds

2 cloves

2 black cardamom

4-6 green elichi/cardamom

Method:

Dry roast all the masala ingredients and grind them to a powder.

Store in a air-tight container and use a dry spoon to scoop out the required quantity.

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Rajma/Kidney Beans Gravy

Rajma

North Indian cuisine brings back nostalgic memories of Delhi.

This blogging marathon for the next 3 days my memories of Delhi and Amma cooking.

Rajma

Serves: 10

Futura Pressure cooker time: 20 minutes

Recipe Source: Futura Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 tblspn ginger garlic paste
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 red Kashmiri chillies, dry and whole
• 2 large onions, grated
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp red chilli powder
• Salt
• 2½ kidney bean soaked overnight or in hot water for 2 hours and drained
• 4¼ water
• 1 tsp garam masala powder

Method:

Rajma

• Heat the oil in the cooker, add the chillies and stir fry for a few seconds.
• Add the onions and fry gently till golden brown.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste stir fry till you get a nice aroma.
• Add the tomatoes, chilli powder and salt.
• Mix and cook till oil separates. You will need to do this cooking on of course low flame and for about 5 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally.
• Now add the soaked beans and the water. Stir. Close the cooker and bring to full pressure on high flame.
• Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. In a regular cooker cook for 6-7 whistles.
• Once done cool the cooker naturally.
• Open the cooker. Partially mash the beans with the ladle.
• Add garam masala and serve hot with naans or rice. I served with onion and green chilli stuffed rotis.

Rajma n Roti

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 45

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Aloo Methi/Fenugreek and Potato

Aloo Methi

One of my fondest memories is Amma’s Aloo Methi. No matter how much I try I cannot make it like her.

Here also I was not satisfied with the taste.

Aloo Methi

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups potato peeled, cut in cubes
• 4 cups fresh methi /fenugreek (methi) leaves
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
• 1 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 tblspn ginger, chopped
• 2 red chillies, dry broken into pieces
• 1 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dhania/ coriander powder
• ½ tsp haldi
• ¼   tsp hing/asafoetida
• 4 tblspn oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash the fenugreek leaves and chop them finely.
• Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
• Add garlic, ginger, red chillies, stir.
• Add the potatoes and stir add salt mix well and cook covered for about 5 minutes till potatoes are almost done.
• Add the fenugreek leaves, coriander powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
• Cook covered for 10 minutes on a low flame.
• Serve hot.

 Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 45

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Pakke Pakke Tamatar/ Ripe Stuffed Cherry Tomato

In the book Vegetarian Fare at Taj there are delicious pictures some of them are doable at home some need a lot of thought process for substitutes but the pictures are wow so very delicious!  One such a dish is Kacche Pakke Tamatar!

The others that I have already attempted are VendakaiMelugu Peretti, Waal/Long Beans in Butter Garlic Sauce, Wok Fried Lotus Stemsand Assorted Veggies in Honey Chilli Sauce, Zunka Bhakar , Idli~ Old Wine in a New Bottle! Slowly plan to attempt them all.

I could not get kacche cherry tamatar, which is raw cherry tomatoes and so I made it as a pakke pakke tamatar.  You could use 1 cup of raw  cherry and 1 cup of ripe tomatoes. 

Matar Ka Nimona ~Indian State Uttar Pradesh

Matar Ka Nimona ~Indian State Uttar Pradesh

Remember this song" Khaike Pan Banaraswala"

Where is Banaras? Yes in Uttar Pradesh!  So let’s visit Uttar Pradesh today!

Uttar Pradesh, abbr. UP, is a state located in northern India. It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Lucknow is the capital and Kanpur is the commercial capital and the largest city of Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India, including Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Gurjara, Rashtrakuta, Pala and Mughal which many say was improved by the Nawabs of Awadh. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganga and Yamuna, join at Allahabad and then flow as the Ganga further east. The state has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, such as the Taj Mahal,  Varanasi, Piprahwa, Kaushambi, Kanpur, Ballia, Shravasti, Kushinagar, Lucknow,  Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Allahabad, Budaun, Meerut and Mathura. It’s also the area of some of the oldest existing cities of Budaun and Varanasi.

With this as the background what will the food here be like? What are the cuisines here called?

Mughlai cuisine is a style of cooking developed in the Indian subcontinent by the imperial kitchens of the Mughal Empire. It represents the cooking styles used in North India especially Uttar Pradesh. The cuisine is strongly influenced by the Persian cuisine of Iran, and has in turn strongly similarities to the regional cuisines of Kashmir and the Punjab region.  Mughlai cuisine the tastes vary from extremely mild to spicy, and is often associated with a distinctive aroma and the taste of ground and whole spices.

Awadhi cuisine is from the city of Lucknow the city of Nawabi Cuisines. The cooking is similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern India as well.

 Awashi cuisine boasts of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Awadh has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques and also the cooking from of Persia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad.

The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. Their spread consisted of elaborate dishes like  kebabs,  kormas,  biryani, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis, and  warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron.

So what is the typical day-to-day traditional vegetarian meal of Uttar Pradesh, like any other North Indian thali, consists of roti (flatbread), chawal, dal, sabji, raita and papad. Many people still drink the traditional drink chaach with meals. On festive occasions, usually 'tava' (flat pan for roti) is considered inauspicious, and instead fried foods are consumed. A typical festive thali consists of Puri, Kachauri, sabji, pulav, papad, raita, salad and desserts (such as sewai or kheer).

Many communities have their own particular style of cuisines, such as the Jains, Kayasths and Muslims.  Sweets occupy an important place in the Hindu diet and are eaten at social ceremonies. People make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including khurchan, peda, gulabjamun, petha, makkhan malai, and chamcham.

 The chaat in Lucknow and Banarasi Paan is known across India for its flavour and ingredients.

Given this background what does one make for UP?

Vaishali to rescue….

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Jeera Rice~Indian State Punjab

Punjabi Kadhi  Pakora with Jeera Rice~Indian State Punjab

Today we are Punjab the people who are real lively people who are fond of eating good food and enjoy life!! Hoy Bale Bale!!

Probably the most famous cuisine in Indian cuisine is Punjabi cuisine. Why not the Punjabis are the most enterprising people who have make their presence felt all around the world. Punjabi food is usually relished by people of all communities.  But Punjabi home cooking differs from the restaurant cooking style. At the restaurants, the chefs make a liberal use of desi ghee, butter and cream to make the food lip smacking and finger licking. At home just like you and me people prefer using sunflower oil or some other refined oil for cooking, with the basic idea of making the food low in fat content. 

The cuisine of Punjab has a variety of mouth-watering vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. The spice content ranges from minimal to pleasant to high.

 
Wheat is the staple food here but rice is also enjoyed. When it comes to food, each region in Punjab has an entirely different preference. In the preparation of Punjabi food, onion, ginger and garlic are used extensively to enhance the taste of the food. 

Traditional Punjabi thali consists of varied kinds of breads; some are baked in the tandoor such as tandoori roti, lachha paratha, naan and kulcha, while others are dry baked on tava like chapatti and jowar ki roti. There is another fabulous variety of roti called rumali roti, which is larger in size as compared to the normal one and is also easily absorbable. Also, there are breads that are shallow fried such as parantha. Aloo paratha, methi paratha, paneer paratha and deep fried such as puri and bhatoora. 

But what will you eat it with Butter Chole, Rajma, or Cauliflower and Potato vegetable, palak panner, peas paneer or corn palak, mattar paneer… the list is endless! But there are also stuff like kadhi chawal, peas pulao… whatever you eat top it all off with lassi or chaas!!

Today however we have shall eat Punjabi Kadhi Pakora with Jeera rice!!

Black & White Wednesday & Mattar Paneer~Blog Hop# 5

For today's blog hop I am paired with Radhika of Tickling Palates and the brain behind the wonderful Blog Hop.

Radhika has a number of exiting recipes and I have bookmarked quite a few recipes. In fact I made this delicious Mattar Paneer (click here for the link) last Wednesday when it was "Avidhwa Navami".

Paneer Bhurji

My friend, Sunita once brought a vegetable which she shared with me, it was finger licking delicious. All my queries as to what it was made off met with an enigmatic smile and reply, “Finish all this then I will tell you.” Afterwards she told me it was paneer bhurji, she had made out of the little milk that had curdled. Till then it had never occurred to me that a paneer bhurji is a nice way to get rid of the last one cup milk that has curdled. I make it quite often, since the last little milk and I cannot bear one another.

For paneer bhurji you will need to strain the curdled milk through a muslin cloth (traditionally) but I cant stand that piece of cloth ever again so I stain it through a maida sieve or a big strainer with fine holes. Discard the liquid what you have in the sieve or strainer is paneer

1 cup paneer
1 onion chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
A little kasuri methi
Coriander
Salt to taste

Heat the oil, add mustard when they splutter add onion. When the onions become translucent add garlic. Fry till light brown in colour. Add the tomatoes and fry till they become pulpy. Mash all the tomatoes with a ladle, add the dry powders. Fry for a couple of minutes then add the kasuri methi and paneer mix well. Add salt garnish with coriander.