Methi Paranthas!

Methi leaves are commonly used in many North Indian dishes, called as vendaya keerai in Tamil.

This receipe is a different variation, wherein the leaves are mixed in the dough and rolled out to make yummy parathas :-)

Ingrediants - ( 2 people)

1. All purpose flour ( wheat ) - 2 cups


2. salt - to taste


3. Methi leaves - 1 cup ( leaves plucked seperately ,washed several times and finely chopped )


4. chilli pdr - 1/2 tsp


5. Turmeric pdr - 1/2 tsp


6. Garlic - 2 or 3 cloves finely chopped (optional)


7. warm water to kneed the dough


8. oil

Method -

1. In a big kneading pan, add all the ingrediants and slowly add water to make a soft dough.


2. After making the dough , roll it again with a spoon of oil and allow it to sit for 1o to 15 mins.


3. Heat tava, roll out a portion of the dough and make them into puffed yummy parathas!

As you can see , i ve served it with dal and curd, pickle will also do.

Nutritional content:

Methi leaves are rich is protein, phosporous,calcium and iron in their natural forms, its mineral and vitamin contents are also very high and this is easily assimilated by our body.

Pav Bhaji !

Try out this delicious and mouth-watering chaat/snack.Dont count the extra pav/calories!














Ingredients:

To be boiled:

• cauliflower - 1 cup
• carrots - 2
• french beans - 1/2 cup
• green peas - 1 cup
• Potato - 1 cup

Keep aside

• Butter - 4tsp
• asafoetida - a pinch
• ginger garli paste - 2 tsp
• onions - 2 finely chopped
• capsicum - 1 finely chopped
• Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
• Green chillies - 4 finely chopped
• Red chilly pdr - 1 tsp
• corriander pdr - 1 tsp
• turmeric pdr - 1 tsp
• garam masala - 1 tsp
• cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• dry mango pdr - 1tsp
• salt - to taste
• Bombay pav bhaji masala - 3 tsp
• Pav bread - 8 pieces
• celantra leaves and onion/tomato /lime for garnishing.

Method of preparation:

• In apan add butter, asofoetida and ginger garlic paste and stir well
• Add the finely chopped onions and capsicum,wait for the onion to turn pink and translucent
• Add the finely chopped tomatoes,green chillies,pav bhaji masala,red chilli pdr,corriander pdr,turmeric pdr,garam masala and jeera,dry mango pdr and salt to taste.
• mix well and simmer for around ten mins.
• Now add all the boiled vegetables and cook for another 9 mins.
• mix all the ingrediants with a masher.
• Remove from heat and add juice of 2 lemons.
• Take another pan and add a dollop(big) of butterin it.
• Slice the bread rolls/pav at the centre and place them facing inwards.
• Turn them around in a minuteand let the outside turn golden brown.
• Garnish the bhaji with celantra leaves,onionand tomato slices
• Serve hot!

Peas Gobi Curry.

Jus had some extra peas in the freezer and a cauliflower, so tried to make a curry out of it which came out fabulous.













Ingredients:

• Peas - 1 cup
• Gobi - 1 medium size (cut and washed several times and soaked in warm water)
• jeera - 1 tsp
• salt - 1 tsp
• kasuri methi - 1tsp
• garam masala - 1 tsp
• red chilli pdr - 1 tsp
• corriander pdr - 1tsp
• oil - 2 tsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadai and when hot add the jeera seeds and fry them.
• slowly add the peas which are washed and fry till they are cooked.
• add the soaked gobi florets and stir fry.
• add all the spices fromsalt to corriander pdr as mentioned in the ingredients.
• Pour a cup of water and close the kadai with its lid and cook till all the spices are absorbed by gobi and peas.sprinkle celantra leaves if neccesary.
• Serve hot with paranthas/roti/naan.

Penne Florentine

Bored of the same indian food daily,try out some italian and mexican food !
I love thin crust italian pizza along with authentic italian soups, dinesh loves lasania.

I would like to share a simple receipe of pasta/penne , slightly indianised, so everybody would simply love it!

Ingredients for penne florentine:

• Penne - 100 gms
• palak/green spinach leaves - 3 bunches (depending on their size!)
• 2 cups of milk or 1/2 cup of cream
• black pepper - 1 tsp grounded/powdered
• green,red and yellow capsicum - each 1 sliced
• oil - 3tsp
• salt - to taste

Method :

• Cook penne/pasta as we do normally,strain and wash in cold water and add some oil so that it does not stick with each other.
• Clean and wash palak/spinach leaves several times,boil and grind them into a paste(as we do for palak panner)
• Heat a kadai add oil and fry the red ,yellow and green peppers and remove them in a cup
• now in the same kadai add the blended pureed spinach and when it comes to a boil add salt and the fried peppers
• slowly add the cooked penne and stir well snd wait for two mins so that the penne binds well with spinach
• Add a tsp of pepper for spice and milk or cream.
• Stir well for a minute and serve hot!

Serving suggestions:

Taste best along with garlic bread and some corn soup!