Upma

• 3 cups of semolina
• 1/2 cup of green peas
• 1 medium onion - sliced
• 6-8 curry leaves
• 4-6 green chillies - finely chopped
• 1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tea spoon of vegetable oil
• 2-3 cups of water

Directions:

Take the semolina in a dry pan. Heat it on a medium flame and stir it for 10 minutes until it turns light brown.
In another pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Add curry leaves and fry till they're crispy. Add the onions and chillies and fry till the onions are brown. Add the green peas, turmeric (optional) and salt. Add the semolina and stir for a minute on high flame. Add water (1 cup at a time) and keep stirring. Place a lid on this and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Sprinkle a bit of lemon while serving. Garnish with shredded coconut if you like.

Salmon

• Salmon - 1 fillet
• 2-3 slices of onions
• 1/2 tea spoon of garlic paste
• 1-2 cups of water
• Basil leaves
• Oregano
• Cilantro
• Black pepper
• Salt to taste
• Few drops of lemon juice

Directions:

This is not my recipe. I saw G prepare it for me (which means it is one of the simplest recipes for fish I have known so far :P ) and wrote this down. Fill the pan halfway with water and add the garlic paste and chopped onions. Stir and bring to boil. Add salmon and sprinkle with cilantro, black pepper, oregano and basil leaves for seasoning. Put the lid on and cook on medium flame. Occasionally check if the fish is done using a fork. Should be done in about 5-8 minutes. Once done, remove the scales off the bottom and take the fish out on a plate. Sprinkle salt and lemon juice. Add seasoning if required. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes or rice.

Tada.... one of the simplest fish recipes and yet the yummiest salmon preparation.

PS: I think it'd be a good idea to try it with a little bit of soy sauce.

Rajma

• 1 bowl of kidney beans soaked overnight
• 1 bowl of tomato puree
• 1 big sliced onion
• 1 pinch of turmeric
  
• 4-6 curry leaves
• 1 tea spoon of red chilli powder
• 2 tea spoons of MDH Rajma masala
• 1 table spoon of vegetable oil
• 1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
• 2 bowls of water
  

Directions:

Heat the oil, add cumin seeds. Add the curry leaves and fry till they are crispy. Add and fry onions till they turn brown. Add the tomato puree and stir on a high flame. Add red chilli powder and turmeric to the mixture. Simmer and let it cook until it changes color. Throw the water off the soaked kidney beans and add them to the mixture. Add 2 bowls of water, salt and close the lid on it. Let it cook on a medium flame for about 10-12 minutes with occasional stirring. (I prefer cooking them inside and pressure cooker and letting off 2 whistles instead, quicker that way.)

Paani puri

1. Puris
2. Plain fine sev
3. 1 finely chopped onion
4. 2 boiled potatoes
5. Paani

For the paani -

• 1 tea spoon of tamrind paste
• Sugar to taste
  
• Mint chutney
• 2 cups of water
• Salt (optional)
• Everest paani-puri masala
  

Directions:

This is for those who want a quick yummy snack. Everyone who has tasted the pani puri I made keeps asking me about the recipe for the pani. And since the puris and sev are pre-made I think the main contents of the recipe should be the pani indeed. So there are no hard and fast measures for the pani, you have to go through a couple of iterations (adding one thing or the other in each round) in order to get the perfect taste :)
Add a tea spoon of tamarind paste and mint chutney to 2 cups of water. Add a tea spoon of pani puri masala. Add about half a cup of sugar and stir till the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle a bit of salt if needed. Now keep adding any of the above if you like.
Mash the boiled potatoes and add some red chilli powder and chaat masala to it and mix well. Add about half a tea spoon of salt to the mixture.

Now, crack open the puris, add the potatoes mix into the puris. Add a little onions. Pour about 1-2 tea spoon of pani in each puri and add sev (optional). Tada .... pani puris are ready!

Methi

• 12 oz. methi (fenugreek)
• 1 big onion (finely sliced)
• 2 tea spoons of vegetable oil
• 1 tea spoons of cumin seeds
• 4-6 curry leaves
  
• 4 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 1 tea spoon of garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 3 tea spoons of peanut powder
  

Directions:

Heat oil and add cumin seeds when it is hot. Add the onions and fry them till they are brown. Now add the curry leaves, garlic paste and chillies. Fry them till the chillies turn crisp. Add the fenugreek, stir well and put a lid on. Let it cook on the steam for at least 5 minutes. Take the lid off and add salt and stir. Put the lid back on and let it cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the peanut powder one spoon at a time and keep stirring. Close the lid once more and simmer the flame. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Take the lid off and keep stirring well. The more you cook this, the crispier it gets cos of the peanut powder.

Cauliflower Rassa

• 20 oz. chopped cauliflower
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tea spoon of garlic paste
• 1 bowl of green peas
• 1 bowl of tomato puree
• 1-2 pinch turmeric
• 5-8 curry leaves
• 1 pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
• 2 tea spoons of vegetable oil
• 1 tea spoon of red chilli powder
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil. Add cumin seeds, onions. Fry for a minute or two. Add garlic paste, asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric. Increase the flame to high and fry till the onions turn light brown. Mix the tomato puree and red chilli powder. Put a lid and let it cook for 2 minutes. Add the green peas, cauliflower and a cup of water and stir well. Add salt. Put a lid and let it cook for 5 minutes on high flame. Take off the lid and check if the cauliflower is done. If not, simmer the flame and keep stirring until done.

Bhendi

• 12 oz. chopped okra
• 1 finely sliced onion
• 1/2 tea spoon cumin seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 5-8 curry leaves
  
• 4 finely chopped green chillies
• 1/2 tea spoon garlic paste
• 1 tea spoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 tea spoon tamarind paste
• 1/2 bowl of green peas
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil. Add cumin seeds when the oil is hot. Add asafoetida and curry leaves. Add onions, chillies and garlic paste. Fry till the onions are golden brown. Add the turmeric paste and stir it for a minute. Now add okra and cook on low flame until the okra is half done. Add salt and stir well. Add the green peas and cook until the okra and peas are done.

Aaloo - Pudina style

• 3 medium potatoes - boiled
• 1 tea spoon mint chutney
• 1/4 tea spoon green chillies paste
• Salt to taste

Directions:

This is a quick recipe. I personally try to avoid frying potatoes which is why this recipe doesn't have a fodni. Boil the potatoes and chop them into small chunks. Add the mint chutney and chilly paste. Sprinkle salt to taste. Stir for a while and microwave for 2 minutes. It is now ready to eat.

Moogachi Usal

• 1 bowl green moong (whole green bean)
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/2 cup tomato puree (feel free to use tomatoes, I am just lazy to chop tomatoes everyday and like the uniform consistency of puree)
  
• 1 pinch of turmeric
• 4-5 curry leaves (karipatta)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
• 1/2 tea spoon of kanda-lasun (onion-garlic) masala
• 1/2 tea spoon of red chilli powder
• 1.5 cups of water

Direction:

Soak moong in water overnight. Dry them out and tie them in a cloth for another day. They will sprout. Now heat oil, add cumin seeds. Add curry leaves and onions when the seeds splatter. Fry till the onions turn golden brown. Add turmeric and kanda-lasun masala and continue frying for another minute. Add the tomato puree, red chilli powder and salt and cook (~2 minutes). Now add the sprouted moong beans and water. Bring to boil. Once they started boiling, close the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the beans are well cooked. (I personally prefer making this in a pressure cooker and letting 2 whistles.) You can add shredded coconut to garnish. Can be served with chapatis or rice.

Most of my cooking style is influenced by my mom who is a typical Puneri, (Maharashtrian cuisine) from a Brahmin family (not very spicy food), but I try to experiment with other styles too. G loves my cooking style so far (over 8 months) and thinks that Puneri food is much more healthier than what he is used to. Predominantly he is amazed by the variety of vegetables and beans curries in the Indian cuisine which avoids us from resorting to eating meat simply cos of lack of options. He says Puneris add peanut powder for consistency while Americans use cheese (more on that in another post).

Aaloo mutter

• 2 tea spoons oil
• 1 tea spoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 4 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 1 tea spoon garlic paste
• 8 curry leaves (karipatta)
• 2 onions (finely chopped)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 boiled, peeled potatoes (golden) cut into small chunks
• 2 pinches of turmeric
• 1 tea spoon red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 bowl of green peas
• 1 cup of water

Directions:

Heat oil. Add cumin seeds. When they splatter, add chillies and curry leaves. Fry onions till they become golden brown. Add garlic paste and cook for a minute. Add tomato puree, turmeric, salt and chilli powder. Let this cook for 2-3 minutes on medium. Add green peas and put the lid, simmer and let this cook for another 2-3 minutes. Mash half a potato and add it to get a consistent mixture. Finally add the remaining cubes of potatoes and a cup of water, stir and put a lid. Let this cook for another 5 minutes. Tada .... aaloo mutter is ready. Can be served with rotis, chapatis, naans or even rice. I personally am a big chapati person while G prefers curries with rice. Aaloo mutter was his second favorite dish at Indian restaurants.

Note that the amount of oil, salt and chilli powder can be varied according to preference in taste. I happen to live with someone who likes minimal oil and salt in his food but can handle surprisingly large amounts of spice. So most of my cooking is light on oil, butter and salt. I try to keep it as healthy as possible (remember no one likes being too drowsy after a meal).

I know that good food caters to the triad of being good in appearance, taste and smell. (I can only potray the former two here.) Will try to be as accurate as possible in the portions of the ingrediants (to ensure good taste) and I should (hopefully) get better in taking good pictures of what I cook with time.
So, until next time.

iCook ergo iBlog!

So everyone who knows me from back home (where I stayed with my parents) laughs at the idea of me cooking (even my parents!). Ever since I came to the US I started cooking. And everyone who knows me since then thinks I am a good cook. And it is a riot of disbelief and laughter when people from the aforementioned groups meet and the topic of my cooking comes up. Anyway, so a close friend (and my roomie) moved away and missed my cooking. She suggested I start a blog and write down recipes of things I cook (even the mundane basic stuff) so that she can try them out too. And since she is not much into food (cooking or eating) I figured writing here would would encourage her to venture into the kitchen more enthusiastically.
And who knows what this little journal might turn into, someday :)

So here's to Tanvee. The motivation to start this blog is thanks to her.