Mushroom Tawa Masala

Cooking in Tawa is an old tradition. Tawa is not only used for making rotis, but so many delicious dishes can be made using it. One of them is Mushroom Tawa masala.  The main flavor comes from butter. Only BUTTER. No oil. So, calorie conscious people , beware.... ;) This dish can be had with roti, chapathy or naan.Its really quick to prepare, yet tastes great. I prepared it using button mushrooms. You can use any mushrooms available in your market. Also, I added cherry tomatoes to this. You can use ordinary tomatoes as well. You can add/ omit the spice powders according to your taste.

Ingredients

• Button Mushrooms - 150 gms cut in to medium sizes
• Butter - 2 tblspn
• Garlic - 5 cloves , very finely chopped
• Onion - 1 , very finely chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 cup, cubed
• Tomatoes - 1/2 cup, cubed
• Tomato puree- 2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 tblspn , finely chopped
• Curd - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Onion rings - to garnish
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - to garnish

Spice Powders

• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Dried mango powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds powder - 1 tsp
• Pav bhaji masala - 2 tsp

Method

• Heat butter in a tawa and add garlic chops and coriander leaves. 

 

• Add onions

 

• Add all the spice powders, salt, sugar and give it a good mix

 

• Now add mushrooms, tomato puree and capsicum and toss them well in the gravy. Allow the mushroom to cook in its own water. 

 

• Once all the water is evaporated, add curds and tomatoes. Cook it for 3 or 4 minutes, until the tomato is cooked. It will not take much time. 

 

• Switch off the gas and transfer it to the serving dish. Garnish them with onion rings and coriander leaves. Squeeze some lime juice. (I also used cherry tomatoes for garnishing)

Serve it sizzling hot along with rotis/ phulkas / naan. This can also be served with any mild pulavs

Notes

• You can add the tomatoes when you add mushrooms and capsicum. I dont want the tomatoes to be mashed completely, hence I added along with the curds.

Simple cabbage dal

 

 There are many people who is not a big fan of cabbage. But, this dish, made with cabbage and yellow moong dal, packed with proteins and fiber, will make you love this vegetable more and more. I had this dal for the first time at my friend's place. We both liked it a lot and asked her the recipe. From then, I started preparing this dish very often. It is simple, comfortable and tasty. 

Cabbage is packed with many health benefits such as lowering the cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, etc. The main surprising advantage is that, it helps in weight loss. Having half a cup of cooked cabbage a day will provide you 47% of Vitamin C required for your body.

Let's see how to prepare this.

Ingredients

For Grinding: 

• Coconut - 1 tblspn
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp (Optional)
• Shallots / Onions - 2 tsp 

For Seasoning:

• Oil - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 2 nos
• Curry leaves - 1 spring

 Other Ingredients:

• Cabbage - 1 cup , shredded
• Yellow moong dal - 3/4 cup
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 big size
• Tomato - 1
• Green chillies - 2 nos
• Salt to taste

Method

For Grinding:

• This step is completely optional. If you do not like the fennel seeds flavor, u can avoid this step.
• Grind all the ingredients under "to grind" heading, without adding any water. 
• Keep it aside

How to Proceed:

• In a pressure cooker, heat some oil and all the seasoning ingredients one by one as under "For Seasoning" heading.
• Add onions, green chillies and salt. Cook for 3 minutes and then add tomatoes and cabbage.
• Add turmeric powder and cook for a minute. Now add in the washed moong dal to this and give it a good mix.
• Check for the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Add enough water and close the pressure cooker lid. Allow it for 5 whistles or until the dal is perfectly cooked.
• Let the pressure release by itself. Open the pressure cooker lid and add the coconut mixture to it. Mix well
• Serve it hot with hot steamed rice.

Moong Dal Sheera / Halwa

It was my best friend's anniversary and I was thinking of preparing a sweet which I have never tried before. Then the idea of making this delicious sweet came to my mind. Inspired by vahrehvah.com, I prepared this with lot of time and effort. I can say, all the efforts were totally worth it. The final results were just amazing. You will forget the entire hard work and time invested to prepare this awesome dessert once you dig in.

Lets see how to prepare this.

Ingredients

• Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup (200 gms)
• Ghee - 1 cup (200 gms)
• Full Fat milk - 1/2 cup
• Hot Water - 1/2 cup
• Condensed Milk - 2 tblspn
• Sugar - 1.5 cups
• Cardamom powder - 2 tsp
• Dry fruits and nuts of your choice 

Method

• Soak Moong dal over night with enough water. If you forgot to soak it over night, soak it atleast for 3 hours. Grind it to a coarse paste, adding very little water.
  
  
  
  
•  In a non-stick pan, add ghee. Before it becomes hot, add the moong dal paste and mix well to avoid any lumps. 

 

• After some time, you can see that the mixture might have become like a crumble. 

• Cook it in a slow flame for about 1 hour, stirring it continuously.

  

• It would have become more darker in color than the beginning, after 1 hour.

In the beginning

After 1 hour

• At this point add water, condensed milk and hot milk to it. Keep stirring it until it becomes thick again

 

• Mix dried fruits. You can even roast in ghee before adding i. I skipped this step. Just added it as it is

 

• Add sugar and cardamom powder. Sugar will start melting in few seconds. Mix it until it becomes thick again.

  

• Let it cool down a bit and serve. 

Stuffed Capsicum Gravy

I got these fresh, long, light green, bell peppers and was wondering what to prepare with this. Finally, I came up with the idea of stuffing these beautiful peppers with potatoes, peanuts etc and then prepare a gravy for this as an accompaniment for roti.

This is my own way of preparing the stuffing. You can add / modify the ingredients as per your taste. I just filled the peppers with potatos, ground peanuts, onions, coriander leaves and some spice powders. You can even add paneer instead of potato or along with the same mixture. And what I am trying to say is that, stuffing is all your choice.

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• Bell peppers of your choice 
• Boiled mashed potatoes - 1 cup
• Onions - 1 , finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - few , finely chopped
• Ground peanut - 1 tblspn
• Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Processed cheese - 2 tblspn (Any cheese of your choice, Optional)
• Salt - as per your taste
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tblspn for shallow frying

For the Gravy

• Onion - 1 no , to fry
• Onion - 1 no , to boil
• Almonds - 1 tblspn
• Cashews - 1 tblspn
• Green chillies - 3 nos
• Water - 1 cup
• Oil / butter - 1 tblspn
• bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon - 1 small stick
• Cardamom-   nos
• Cloves -  nos
• Ginger garlic paste -  tblspn
• Tomato puree - 1 tblspn
• Yoghurt - 1 tblspn
• Cream - 1 tblspn (Optional)
• Coriander - Cumin powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - to garnish
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 1 tsp

 Method

For stuffed Peppers

• Combine all the ingredients under "For the stuffing" heading except Bell Pappers and oil. 
• Mix everything well and keep it aside.
• Slit the peppers from one side and carefully discard the seeds. Make sure not to remove the top part of the peppers. That holds the shape of the vegetable.
• Stuff the bell peppers with the potato mixture, very gently. Do not over fill the peppers. 
• In a pan, Heat oil and place the stuffed peppers on that. Cook in a medium flame until it is cooked from all the sides. Take care of 2 things at this point. One is, not to burn the peppers. So keep flipping it often. The second is, make sure the stuffing does not come out.
• Once cooked, drain the peppers in a kitchen towel and keep them aside.

   

For the Gravy:

• Boil water in a vessel and add onions, almonds , cashews and green chillies. Cook it for 15 minutes.
• While that is getting done, slice 1 onion and deep fry / shallow fry them until it becomes golden brown.
• Let everything cool down completely and grind all together into a very smooth paste. Any chunks of cashews also should be smoothly ground.
• Heat oil / butter in a pan. Add bay leaves, Cinnamon, Cardamom and cloves. Fry till it releases its nice aroma. 
• Add Ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute. Now add in the prepared onion paste and tomato puree. Allow it to come to 1 boil.
• Add yoghurt, coriander powder, cumin powder and water. Let it cook in a slow flame for about 30 minutes, stirring it in between and adding water as and when it becomes thick
• Check for salt and add accordingly.
• Add garm masala and sugar. At this point, if you wish, you can add cream, but it is completely optional. Switch off the flame.
• When you are ready to serve, First place the stuffed bell peppers i a serving dish. Pour the gravy on top of that and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with hot rotis / phulkas / naan.

 

Paneer Makhani

Hiii,

Paneer has been my all time favourite and Paneer Makhani is one dish I order regularly when I go to restaurants. I googled the recipe and found few and tried few. Recently I made this with my own twist and I can say it almost tasted like I have it in restaurants. That is the reason why I thought of sharing this recipe in my blog.

The main taste for this dish comes from kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves. Also using good quality fresh paneer is recommended.

So, lets begin with the instructions.

Ingredients

For the makhani gravy:

• Onion - 1 cup , sliced
• Tomato - 1 cup , chopped
• Cashews - 1 tblspn
• Almonds - 1 tblspn (Optional)
• Melon seeds - 2 tsp (Optional)
• Cinnamon - 1 small stick
• Red Chillies - 4 to 6 nos (Preferably kashmiri chillies)
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 2
• Water - 2 cups

  Other Ingredients:

• Paneer - 200 gms , cubed
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tblspn
• Bay leaves - 1
• Butter - 1 tblspn
• Tomato puree -   tblspn
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi - 1 tsp, crushed
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (Optional)
• Salt - as per taste
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Honey - 1 tsp (Optional)
• Cream / Yoghurt - 1 tblspn
• Coriander leaves - to garnish

Method

For the Makhani Gravy:

• Bring water to boil and add onion, tomato, cashews, almonds, melon seeds, Red chillies, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Boil it for 15 minutes to 20 minutes in a slow flame.
• Cool it and discard cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and grind the rest in to a very fine paste along with the water. Make sure to grind everything really well inorder to get the right texture on the gravy.
• Keep it aside.

How to Proceed?:

•  In a pan heat butter and oil. Add bay leaf and ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw flavor of ginger and garlic goes. 
• Add in the prepared paste, tomato puree and water and bring it to 1 boil. 
• Then add coriander powder, cumin powder and crushed kasuri methi.
• Keep the flame in low and boil it for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring it occasionally. Add water in between if the mixture becomes too thick. 
• Now add garam masala, salt, sugar and honey. Add the cream / Yoghurt also. 
• When it starts boiling, add the paneer pieces and cook it for another 2 minutes and switch off the flame.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and Cream / Yoghurt
• Serve it hot with Paratha / Chapathy / Naan/ Phulka or anything of your choice. 

Notes

•  Almonds and melon seeds are optional. Adding cashews will give you nice texture and flavour to your dish and adding almonds and melon seeds will make your gravy thick.
• If you do not have cream, you can also add condensed milk / Evaporated milk. After adding cream or condensed milk or yoghurt, make sure not to cook it for long time. 
• You can add the paneer cubes just like that or you can shallow fry them in oil / butter and then add it to the gravy.