Kohlrabi in spicy gravy

Kohlrabi is a vegetable which is not too popular with every household.It belongs to cabbage community and has a very strong taste.I love it even raw with a great dip.It tastes very nutty and crunchy.Since I have very few vegetables here,I thought I should try and make this into a curry and add in potatoes so that its not too much of a shock for the kids to see a different vegetable on the plate.But the gravy was so lovely that the curry fell short with rice!The kids ate up quickly and my husband was keen to know was it that was on their plate,well as for me I just smiled and said"magic".

Ingredients
Kohlrabi cut into 1" pcs            1 no
potatoes chopped                     2 nos
green peas                                100 gms
chopped tomatoes                     2 nos
chopped onions                          1 no
garlic peeled                               2 tbsp
ginger chopped                           1 tbsp
red chilli                                      3 nos
black pepper                               7-8 nos
chana dal                                     1 tbsp
tamarind                                       walnut size
sesame seeds                               1 tbsp
methi seeds                                  1/2 tsp
coriander seeds                            1 tbsp
jeera                                            1/2 tsp
mustard seeds                               1/2 tsp
hing                                              1/2 tsp
curry leaves                                  1/2 bowl
oil                                                 2 tbsp
salt to taste                                                      

Method
Heat oil and add hing,methi,coriander,chana dal,sesame seeds,black pepper,red chilli,mustard,half the curry leaves,ginger, garlic,onions and tamarind.Saute them till roasted well.Add tomatoes and cook till a bit of water dries up.Cool and grind to a fine paste.
In another pan, heat oil and mustard seeds and curry leaves and let them splutter.Add the chopped kohlrabi and potatoes and let them saute well.Pour in the paste and mix well.Add the peas and salt to taste.Adjust water .Cover and cook till vegetables are soft.Top with coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Palak paneer/tofu

      Just this morning having heard 2 people mention this dish, I thought even if I am not able to upload the picture of this lovely dish, I need to put up this recipe on the blog.Hetal ,this is specially for you and I am so happy you are liking my recipes and enjoying them.
     There hardly anyone I know who does not love palak paneer.It is healthy, delicious and very nutritious.Its mum's favorite thing to make and kids too love it, but for different reasons.Mums for the greens and kids for paneer.I substitute it many times for tofu.The kids barely make out the difference.India does have lovely spinach leaves fresh out of the fields.Love the colour and the tender green ones.Here in Germany the spinach is much different, but if made well, the kids would just have it anyways.
     I would make it quick by even using the frozen spinach with cream.It cuts down my job to nearly few minutes in the kitchen.No cleaning boiling and crushing.But here I would give the recipe with both options.I love my palak paneer suited to my taste.I do not like my spinach pureed completely but like it a bit crushed roughly as it does away with that little bitterness spinach has.I just whisk it once with the handblender to get a rough texture.So here is my version.I would upload the picture shortly.
Ingredients
Paneer/tofu                               200gms
boiled spinach                          250gms
cream                                       25 ml
or frozen spinach with cream     250 gms
chopped onions                        1 no
chopped tomatoes                    3 nos
chopped garlic                          2 tbsp
chopped ginger                         1 tbsp
chopped green chillies               1/2 tsp
coriander powder                      1 tsp
chilli powder                              1tsp
haldi                                          1/2 tsp
salt to taste
cumin seeds                               1/2 tsp
hing                                            1/4 tsp
garam masala                              1/2 tsp
ghee                                            1 tbsp+1tsp
Lemon juice                                1 tsp

Method
Run the hand blender in the boiled spinach such that the spinach is just crushed.Heat 1 tbsp ghee, add hing and jeera.Let it splutter.Add chopped 1 tbsp garlic and chopped ginger.Saute well.Add chopped chopped onions and saute till they are slightly brown.Add finely chopped tomatoes and all the dry masalas and cook till ghee seems to separate.Chop the paneer/tofu into 1'' pieces.Add it to the cooking tomatoes.Pour in the spinach and cook.(If using frozen spinach with cream, defrost that and pour in now, do not add the cream in this case).Cook well.Add the cream and cook  for 10 mins.Pour in lime juice and mix well.
Heat 1 tsp ghee and add the other tbsp of garlic.Saute till golden brown add 1/4 tsp chilli powder and pour on top the curry.Serve hot with hot rotis or parathas.

Baked penne in white sauce with spinach and mushrooms

I love the taste of pasta in white sauce baked with golden cheese on top melting and tempting you.My daughter is more fond of pasta with tomato sauce.So it was tough trying to get her to eat it, but I wouldn't give up and finally this recipe got her asking for more.It had spinach and so its a mum's dream to have her kids tucking it all in.The right mix of ingredients are a great way of doing a good dish and getting acceptance from all.
Ingredients
Pasta of choice                    400 gms
White sauce                         200 gms
finely chopped spinach          3 cups
chopped onions                     1 no
chopped garlic                       1 tbsp
cream                                    50 ml
sliced mushrooms                   250 gms
olives                                      14-15 nos
chopped dry red chillies          2 nos
Mixed Italian herbs                 1 tbsp
salt to taste
olive oil                                   2 tbsp
grated cooking cheese             100gms

Method
Boil pasta in salt and water with some olive oil till just done.Rinse in cold water and keep aside.
Heat oil and chopped red chilles and saute.Drop in garlic and saute.Put in the chopped onions and saute till translucent.Add the sliced mushrooms and spinach and cook on high heat to reduce the water in them.Sprinkle the herbs and salt.Pour in cream and olives.Add the boiled pasta and mix well.Pour in to a baking dish.Top with the white sauce and sprinkle cheese and bake at 200deg till the top is golden brown.Delicious pasta is ready to enjoy.

Wild rice idlis with brinjal sambhar

   We are ardent fans of South Indian food.My husband loves the thought of steaming hot idlis with spicy chutney and dunk them into steaming sambhar.Over the years I have learnt and perfected the sambhar recipe which has been loved by all who have eaten at our place.Today the recipe for sambhar is only with vegetables.I have used brinjal and I often substitute various vegetables as this sambhar is light and very quick to make and it also uses up left over chutney in case you have some in the fridge.I am putting the recipes down for each one.
    The wild rice idlis were made as I had this packet of wild rice lying with me last 8 months and I never used it as the thought of black rice was difficult to imagine on my plate.Well the experiment turned out good only less fluffy but the taste is very nice.The colour was a bit grey but the taste is great.I made dosas too out of the batter, they were crisp and very tasty.Wild rice is very good for diabetes.
Idlis
Ingredients
Wild rice                      200 gms
Parboiled/normal rice    250 gms
Urad dal (white)            200 gms
methi leaves                  1 tsp( helps in fermenting)
salt                                2 tsp
Method
Soak rice and dal separately overnight.Add methi to rice too.Next morning grind the urad dal with little water to a fine paste.Keep aside and whip well.Grind the rice to a fine paste too.Mix into the dal and add salt. Adjust batter to pouring consistency.Keep  aside for 8 hours till the batter is double.Grease the idli stand with ghee and pour spoonfulls in each slot.Steam for about 10 mins and allow to cool.With a sharp spoon, de- mould idlis and serve with sabhar and chutney.Tastes great with Chilli tamarind chutney too.

BrinjalSabhar
Ingredients
Brinjal                         1 cup chopped
Chopped onions           1 cup
chopped tomatoes        3 nos
crushed garlic               2 tbsp
coconut grated              2 tbsp
roasted bengal gram      1 tbsp
ginger                            1 tsp
curry leaves                    2 tbsp
hing                                1/4 tsp
mustard seeds                 1/2 tsp
cumin                              1/2 tsp
methi                               1/2 tsp
tamrind pulp                     2 tbsp
sambhar powder                2 tsp
chilli powder                    1/2 tsp
coriander powder             2 tsp
haldi                                 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
oil                                     1 tbsp
chopped coriander to garnish
        
Method
Grind coconut, garlic,gram and few curry leaves to a paste.Heat oil and add hing, all the seeds and let them crackleAdd curry leaves.Add the vegetables and saute.Add the paste and saute till a nice aroma comes. Add all the dry powders and saute well.Add water and pressure cook  for 5-6 mins.Let it cool.Open the cooker and pour in the tamarind paste.cook for 2 mins to absorb the tastes well.Top with chopped coriander and serve hot with idlis.

Vegetable French toast

   Breakfast and children's lunch box is always challenging.My kids need something exciting all the time.Once this idea struck in my mind and this was a hit with my kids and family  and friends too.In fact the other day my son took these to school and the teacher who looks after the lunch time in school was eyeing his box.She later asked me what it was and she was very tempted to have a bite!I obliged by sending her a few the next day which she throughly enjoyed and too the recipe too.Since my kids are not too fond of sweet french toast, I invented this and its quite frequently made now as breakfast, evening snack or even for dinner when we are hungry for a small dinner.Serve it with chutneys, sauces of choice or just the way it is, nutritious and delightful.
Ingredients
Bread slices                         6-8 pieces(of your choice,I like multigrain)
semolina                               1/2 cup
chopped onions                     1 no
chopped broccoli                   1/2 cup
grated carrots                         1/4 cup
chopped capsicum                  1/4 cup
sour curd                                1 cup
oregano                                  1/2 tsp
pepper powder                       1/2 tsp
chilli flakes                               1/2 tsp
oil                                            1 tbsp
grated cheese                          1/4 cup
salt to taste

butter to cook

Method
Keep the bread aside and mix all the ingredients in a bowl.Keep for 15 mins so that they blend well together.Add water to have a dropping consistency.Heat a pan.Put the mixture on the bread and put it on hot  buttered pan.Cook on medium heat and apply butter and cook on both sides.Press slightly to cook them well.Roast till golden brown.Cut into slices and serve with sauce or chutney of choice.

Chilli peanut chutney/dip

   We are very fond of spicy food .This afternoon my taste buds wanted something tangy to add to my Indian meal of rice,lentils and vegetables.So looked in and found the green chillis of 2 types,one long not so spicy and the other nice and sharp.So got some things together and came with this lovely stuff to eat with my meals as well as a spread and with chips too.This is lovely spicy,tangy and has a lot of texture with peanuts.
Ingredients
Long green chillies(mild)          8 nos
small sharp chillies                   8 nos
garlic peeled                            1 pod
roasted peanuts                       1/4 tbsp
sliced onions                            1 no
yellow mustard seeds               1 tbsp
olive oil                                    1/4 cup
salt to taste
lemon juice                             of  2 lemons
                                                
Method
Heat oil and put all the ingredients and saute till all the ingredients discolor slightly and onions are translucent.Add the lime juice and grind to a rough paste.Store in a bottle.Keeps for over a week.serve as a spicy, tangy accompaniment.

Calzone

    Germany is doing good for me in the sense I am trying new recipes each day with ingredients easily available in supermarkets.In India it is now getting easier to get all the ingredients but sometimes they are too expensive and sometimes available to far away or maybe all the ingredients are not available.So I was sometimes making pasta sauces at home which I don't need to here and so can try better recipes.My family is excited about me trying out new recipes.This week I had picked up potato bread ready made flour from the supermarket to try out something with it.I thought I would end up making pizza but then decided to make calzone.It is a very close to pizzas, only they are folded over with a nice stuffing and then baked.I sometimes top them with cheese and bake them too or just top up with some herb butter after they are baked.They are delicious.
Ingredients
Flour(ready made dry flour with active yeast)     500gms
olive oil                                                              2 tbsp
warm water                                                        325ml
alternatively
Flour                                                                 450 gms
dry yeast                                                            1 tbsp
sugar                                                                   1 tsp
warm water                                                          250 ml
salt                                                                       1 tsp
olive oil                                                                2 tbsp
For the stuffing
Broccoli  sliced                                                250 gms
sliced mushrooms                                             100gms
sliced onions                                                   1 no
sliced bell peppers                                           1 no
olives                                                               8-9 nos
chopped garlic                                                  1 tbsp
tomato puree                                                     200 ml
chopped tomato                                                1 no
Italian herbs                                                       1/2 tsp
chilli flakes                                                         1/2 tsp
salt to taste
olive oil                                                               1 tbsp
grated cheese                                                       100 gms

Method
If you are using the ready mix,just use warm water , knead well, add oil and knead and keep to rise for 1 hour for the dough to rise to double.
If using dry yeast,soak yeast in luke warm water with sugar and keep aside for it to bubble up.Make a well in the flour mixed with salt.Add the yeast mixture and add more warm water to knead into a soft dough.Put the olive oil and knead well.make into a pliable ball and keep in a warm place covered to double up.This should happen in 1 hour.
Now the stuffing.Heat oil in a pan and add chilli flakes.Add the garlic and saute.Toss in onions and saute.Put in the vegetables and cook on high heat.Sprinkle the herbs and salt.Mix well.Pour in the tomato sauce and cook till the vegetable is in thick gravy.
Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll into a balls.Roll with the help of some flour into a circle.Put some mixture on one side of the circle.Top with cheese and fold over into half.Press the sides to seal well.Brush with oil and put into a pre-heated oven at 200 deg for about 15 mins or till golden brown.Remove from oven and brush with butter and serve them hot.they work very well for snacks, for kids' lunch box or for travel.

TIP...you can also use left over baked vegetables or bakes as a filling.Works well and a good way to recycle  left overs from a parties or previous night dinner.

Kali dal

     Split kali urad dal is not a very popular or often eaten lentil in India.It is relished more in the Northern part of India.I have eaten this lovely dal cooked on slow fire in a earthen oven {chulah} which was fired by wood.This was served with hot rotis cooked in the fire of the chulah too.I can still savor the taste or feel the taste in my memories.If I do not share on my blog would be unfair to those wonderful memories and to people who are fond of good food and try new tastes.So do try this dal and serve it with chilli pickle,onion salad and ginger and chilli salad.Relish it with crisp rotis and butter.Yummmmm.Need to make it again.

Ingredients

Split urad dal                1/2 cup

chana dal                      1/4 cup

bay leaf                         1 no

cloves                            3 nos

cinnamon                      2' pc

cumin seeds                  1/2 tsp

chopped onions            1 no

chopped tomato            2 nos

chopped garlic              1 tbsp

chopped ginger              1 tbsp

chopped chilli                 1 no

hing                              1/4 tsp

chilli powder                  1/2 tsp

haldi                              1/2 tsp

dry red chilli                   2 nos

salt to taste

ghee                              2 tsp

lime juice                       1 tsp

Method

Wash and soak dal for 30 mins.Add haldi and salt and boil for 15 mins.Allow to cool.

Heat ghee and add hing.Add cumin seeds and red chillies.Add in the whole spices and when they brown, add chopped ginger and garlic.saute and add green chillies.Now put in chopped onions and saute till brown.Add the chilli powder and then the tomatoes.Let them cook and when they are mashed well, pour in the dal and boil again till well done.It should not get mashed up.Put in lime juice and top with chopped coriander.Serve with rotis or rice.

PS.. You can also add kasoori methi while sauteeing the tomatoes.It gives it a very different and exotic taste.

Stuffed Zucchini

I like to work with all local ingredients that are available near me .Its fun to try new things with limited and new ingredients and its great to see the surprise on my family's face each time I am able to put a new dish which they never thought about.Not only it is great way to use seasonal things which are nicer as far as nutrition goes and also they keep the excitement high and you don't get bored of cooking.
This a lovely dry vegetable.I use it as a starter or a side dish for my Indian meal.It is spicy,juicy and very succulent.Its simple and at the same time tastes very exotic.
Ingredients
Zucchini                             3 nos
baby potaoes(halved)         6 nos
chopped tomato                  1 no
chopped onion                     1 no
crushed garlic                       3/4 tbsp
chopped coriander                2 tbsp
hing                                     1/4 tsp
crushed peanuts                   1/4 cup
besan(Chickpea flour)          1/4 cup
chilli powder                         1 tsp
Coriander powder                 2 tsp
haldi                                       1 tsp
Amchur(dry mango powder)   1/2 tsp
lime juice                                1 tsp
saunf crushed                          1 tsp
garam masala                          1/2 tsp
sugar                                      1/2 tsp
salt to taste
oil                                           2 tbsp                                

Method
Cut zucchini in 3" pieces and slit them 3/4 way through on one side " + " this way to enable stuffing in.In a plate add crushed peanuts, besan,hing,coriander chopped,garlic,onions,tomatoes,spice powders ,sugar,salt and 1 tbsp oil.Mix well so that they become into a thick filling.Take the zucchini and open the crossed side carefully and stuff as much filling as you can into it.They are very fragile and so be very careful so as not to break them.Mix the left over stuffing with the potatoes.Heat oil in a non stick pan and arrange all the vegetables in it.Mix a bit to coat in oil and then cover and cook on low heat.Turn them to slightly brown on all sides.They get cooked quite easily and tend to dry up.Sprinkle water if required and cook till potatoes too are cooked and all the masala is coated on the vegetables and leaves the pan.Serve it hot sprinkled with chopped coriander with rotis or as starter.

Lobhia/black eye beans in coconut gravy

Lobhia has not been a very favorite of mine.My husband is very fond of it.It has a different taste and a good gravy gives it a good body and elevates the flavors.I tried various recipes but today the gravy was perfect after a number of times I tried.It has a southern touch and flavors and goes very well with rice.Lobhia/black eye beans are very nutritious too.So make them a part of your life specially if your are vegetarians like me to make your protein intake higher.

Ingredients
Labhia/black eye beans          250 gms
roughly chopped onions          2 nos
roughly chopped tomatoes       3 nos
garlic                                       25gms
ginger chopped                        1 tbsp
curry leaves                             1/4 bowl
tamarind                                  walnut size
methi seeds                            1/2 tsp
coriander seeds                       1 tbsp
chana dal                                1 tbsp
mustard seeds                         1/2 tsp
jeera                                        1/2 tsp
hing                                         pea size pc
red chiilies                               2-3 nos
grated coconut                       1/2 bowl
oil                                           2 tbsp
haldi                                       1/2 tsp
salt to taste
Method
Soak the lobhia for about 2 hours.Add water till level and boil with water and salt for about 10 mins.They should not get mashed. Heat oil and add all the seeds and dal and saute till they are colored.Add hing ,onions, garlic,ginger,red chilli,coconut,curry leaves and saute to lightly brown them.Add the tomatoes and tamarind,haldi and salt and saute again.Cool and grind to a very fine paste.Heat oil,add curry leaves and add this masala and cook for 5 mins.Add the boiled beans and let it boil to integrate well.Top with chopped coriander and serve with steamed rice and poppadums.