Opo- Squash and Patra Subji

When I do not feel like cooking much I try to make food which is on hand or use leftover to make a new one. Today I had Opo- Squash ( Lauki/Dudhi) subji as leftover. My mother makes this subji often and it is liked by everyone in our house.

Just add frozen patra (available in Indian Grocery Store) to the Opo-squash subji and little bit of water and cook it some time and your subji is ready. Add patra just before serving otherwise it will loose its shape and will not taste good. Add chopped coriander on top of it to make it more flavorful.

Coconut and Nuts ladoo

Hey guys Diwali is approaching and I thought of making something quick and although healthy as sweet dish. I checked out things which I have on hand and quickly made this yummy ladoo. Moreover there is no butter (ghee) or any sugar added in this ladoo.

To make Coconut and nuts Ladoo you will need :-

4-5 tablespoon dry coconut

1 tablespoon cashew

10-12 pitted dates (washed properly)

1-2 fig

3-4 tablespoon golden rasins

Take all the ingredients and make small pieces of it except coconut. Add all this to mixture jar and blend till it gets crumbly mixture. Churn according to your liking.  Take this to a bowl and make ladoo the size you want. I like to make a bit size ladoo so I made it small.

Note :- You can also add coco powder or some chocolate syrup if you like.

Sweet Boondi

Last week I had some guest  to come over. I was thinking of making sweet dish at home. Then on searching I found that sweet boondi can be prepared. I had some left over gulab jamun and then I thought of mixing sweet boondi and gulab jamun and it taste really good. I have tasted such combination in India.

To make sweet boondi you will need :-

1 cup besan ( chickpea flour)

Water as needed

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water (for sugar syrup)

4-5 strands of kesar

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Oil for frying

Take a bowl and add besan to it and then add water as needed to make pouring consistency batter. The batter should be such that it should go down from spatula which has hole in it (jharo in India). Keep oil on wide pan and when the oil gets hot then take this spatula which has hole and pass this besan mixture from it. Do not overcrowd them. Be careful so that you do not burn. Then turn them after some time and when it gets cooked then keep it aside after taking out from oil with the help of spatula.

For making sugar syrup add sugar and add water till the sugar gets dissolved. Put it on flame and mix well. Allow it to boil. Then add cardamom powder and kesar to the sugar syrup.

Add all the boondi to sugar syrup and mix well. Soak boondi till 1-2 hours. After that it is ready to serve. It can stay good for 1 day at room temperature after that it stays good for 3-4 days in refrigerator.

Khichu (Papadi No Lot)- Microwave Recipe

I just love Khichu. Navratri is approaching and at that time in India at most of the navratri spot, khichu is available. I use to enjoy a lot during that time. I tried the easy version of Khichu in microwave.

To make Microwave Khichu you will need :-

1 cup of rice flour

2 cups of water

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon green chilly chopped

1/4 teaspoon carrom seeds

1 microwave bowl

Take a microwave bowl and rice flour and all the dry ingredients and then mix well. Add water and oil and then mix well. Put in microwave for about 2 minutes. Take it out and mix well. Do this procedure at every 2 minutes till the rice flour gets cooked. (My microwave took 6 minutes). Allow it to cool down  little bit and then enjoy.

Note :- Be careful while handling the microwavable bowl it might be hot so do not burn yourself. 

Tip of the day- Spicy Puffed Rice (Mamara)

Hey guys it is raining today over here and it feels so amazing that I like to had something warm in my morning breakfast. I checked my Puffed Rice (Mamara) and thought of making little warm. 

I just took a microwavable bowl and then put mamara in microwave for 10 seconds (time may vary as per your microwave) and it became warm to enjoy in my breakfast. 

Tip of the day- Making sandwich tastier

Hey guys I am back with my new tip. I try to make different sandwich at home with the toppings and spread which I like. Yesterday I tried with hummus and coriander chutney and it turned out too good. I also like tomato and avocado sandwich.

To make all these sandwich I always add little chaat masala to my spread or sprinkle it. It gives a unique Indian taste to all the sandwich.

Try this and you will surely love your sandwich.

Watermelon Juice

Fresh fruits refresh us and if fresh juice is made out of it than we can enjoy at anytime in lunch or dinner. Last weekend I had some friends at my place and I planned to make watermelon juice so that it can accompany in dinner with pav bhaji.

To make Watermelon juice you will need :-

4 cups of watermelon roughly chopped

1/4 cup water if needed

Salt to taste

Chaat Masala as per taste

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

Take watermelon pieces to blender and then blend it. Drain juice out of strainer. Then add salt, chaat masala and cumin powder as per your taste. Serve cold. You can also freeze it for a week.

Note :- If you are making it for vrat then you can avoid salt, chaat masala and cumin powder.

Paneer Bhurji Roll

Festival season has started and many people come and meet each other. Last weekend I have guest and I thought of making something unique although of traditional Indian taste. I here tried easy version of using Rasoi Magic Masala Mix of Paneer Bhurji. I thought of making Paneer Bhurji Roll which I use to eat often in my home town in India. One of the local bakery prepared such different kind of roll and they were so yummy. I thought of making the same way and it turned out really good.

To make Paneer Bhurji Roll you will need :-

1 packet of rasoi magic paneer bhurji masala mix

500 grams of paneer  cut into very small pieces

1 big bell pepper chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 cup onion chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Pinch of turmeric

3-4 tablespoon oil

4-5 hotdog buns

Ketchup as required

Pinch of salt (if required)

1/2 cup Onion and Bell pepper slices

Butter for roasting bread

Take a pot and oil to it. Add cumin seeds and allow it to crackle. Add chopped onion and saute it for some time. Add chopped bell pepper and tomato and saute it till it gets tender. Add to your taste paneer bhurji masala mix of rasoi magic. Add turmeric and mix well. Add chopped paneer and mix well.  Take out of stove. Now take a hotdog buns/ bread and then apply butter on both sides and roast on pan till little golden brown spots are seen. Now take out of flame. Apply ketchup as required on both sides of bread and then put paneer bhurji mix  about 3-4 tablespoon and top it up with onion and bell pepper. Do try this easy and yummy recipe.

Tip of the day - Mix-match of Papad

I had guest this weekend and I had prepared full Gujarati dish and then at last I started roasting papad.  I had only 2 of them of plain and more with black pepper. I thought lets mix and match papad.

I had also some garlic papad then I made my mind to roast plain, black pepper and garlic papad and make pieces of it and mix it. Nobody asked for the specific variety and all guest enjoyed this mix and match.

So whenever you ran out of stock of something think and there will be new way of serving the same dish.

Tip of the day- When you ran out of pomegrante seeds....

I prepared Dabeli (already shared recipe) last night and when I went to store to have some pomegranate to add in my dabeli, I didn't find any of the size which I want. All were so big that only 1/4 portion I would have used it.

So then I thought of adding black or red grapes to it. To my surprise the taste came so near to pomegranate. So if you ran out of pomegranate seeds then if you have on hand red or black grapes then cut them into very fine pieces and use it in your dabeli.

Sev Khamani (Easy)

Hey guys I am back with my new recipe and this time its really easy one. Whenever we think of making something new we always have a back in our mind that how much time it will take and how it will taste? But this easy version of sev khamani you will surely like it.

To make Sev Khamani you will need :-

250 grams of Instant Khaman Mix

Pinch of salt

Pinch of sugar

4-5 tablespoon water

1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup sev

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4-5 tablespoon oil

3-4 curry leaves

Shredded Coconut (optional)

1 tablespoon ginger chilly paste

Make khaman as directions given in Khaman Instant Mix ( I used Talod Khaman Mix). Allow it to cool down little bit. Now break unevenly and make a very fine pieces of it. Keep it aside. Now take a pot and add oil to it. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow it to crackle. Add ginger chilly paste and saute little bit. Add Khaman fine mixture to it. Add salt and sugar if desired. Sprinkle little water on it so that it becomes moist. Add coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds and mix well. Add sev on top of it while serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Note :- I have not added shredded coconut as I do not like it but you can add if you like.

Leftover Recipe- Cauliflower Pulav

I always try to make the most use of the leftover food. Yesterday I had leftover cauliflower subji. I thought of making something new out of it. I evaluated different ways of using it a little and thought in which it would will fit good either to make cauliflower paratha or to add in pulav and mix well.

Make pulav (already shared recipe) then add cauliflower subji to it and mix well. For more flavor add chopped coriander leaves and then mix well. It will taste so good that nobody will recognize that you have added the cauliflower subji to make it. 

You can also make pulav with the other subji like green beans, cabbage and carrot. Try this some day and you would love it and the leftover subji can be used in great way.

Frozen Strawberry

Strawberry are great source of energy. Many new different dishes can be made from strawberry. Strawberry pie, smoothie, milk shake, lemonade, short cake, etc. 

Take fresh strawberry then take out green leaf out of it and then wash it thoroughly. Take out of the water and pat dry all the strawberry. Take a paper towel and then allow it to dry. Take them to a plate after it is completely dried out and then put it in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. After that put all the strawberry in Ziploc and then take out air completely and then put it freezer. It can stay good for more than 3-4 months.

Note :- Check my earlier post on how to freeze Blueberry.

Spaghetti in White Sauce

Sometimes we need new things to eat so that we can enjoy our food and it just helps in changing our taste buds. To make Spaghetti in white sauce you will need :-

To make Spaghetti in White Sauce you will need :-

1 cup of boiled spaghetti

2 tablespoon all purpose flour

3-4 tablespoon butter

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

2-3 tablespoon frozen corn

1-1/2 cup lukewarm water

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper

Take a pan and add butter to it. Add all purpose flour and saute it. Add milk to it and add salt and sugar. Mix well. Allow it to cook well till it thicken. Add black pepper and mix well. Add corn and bell peppers and mix well. Add boiled spaghetti to it and mix well. Serve hot.

Add chilly flakes and ketchup if required on top of it before serving.

Upma

Healthy breakfast is very good to start in morning. It gives us energy all the day. I like to make quick recipe. Today I made Upma so that it gives us good day to start on.

To make Upma you will need :-

1 cup semolina

2 cups of water

3-4 tablespoon frozen peas

3-4 tablespoon frozen corn

Salt to taste

3-4 teaspoon oil

2-3 teaspoon yogurt

1 green chilly finely chopped

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

2-3 teaspoon coriander leaves

3-4 tablespoon onion finely chopped 

1-2 tablespoon carrot chopped

Take a pan and add oil to it. Add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Add finely chopped onions and carrot and allow it to saute. Add green chillies and saute it for some time. Add semolina and roast it. Add salt, peas, corn and mix well. Add yogurt to it. Add water and mix well and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes and cover it with lid. Add coriander leaves and serve hot. You can also add bell pepper and green onions if desired.

Chana Chaat

I like to make chaat in different ways. It just spice up your taste buds and feels like something good you have eaten. I always make chaat in different ways.

To make Chana Chaat you will need :-

1 cup kala chana (boiled)

3-4 tablespoon onion chopped

3-4 tablespoon tomato chopped

1/2 lemon juice

Pinch of coriander cumin powder

Pinch of red chilly powder

Salt to taste

Pinch of chaat masala

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

2-3 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped

Take a bowl and add boil chana, onion, tomato, lemon juice, coriander cumin powder, red chilly powder, salt, chaat masala, cumin powder and mix well. Add coriander leaves and mix well. Serve as tea time snack.

Frankie (Vegetable)

Vegetable can be served in many different ways. You can name it as vegetable burrito or frankie it is the same thing. I made tortilla at home and try to add new taste to my vegetables.

To make Frankie you will need :-

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon ginger chilly paste

2 teaspoon ketchup

1 teaspoon soya sauce

1/4 teaspoon red chilly sauce

Butter for roasting

2 teaspoon oil

Take tortilla (already shared recipe) and apply little butter on both sides and roast little bit. Keep it aside. Now heat up pan and add oil to it. When oil gets hot add all the vegetables and roast it for 3-4 minutes till it get tender. Do not cook it full. Add salt, ginger chilly paste, ketchup, soya sauce, red chilly sauce. Mix well. Allow it to cool down little bit. Put 2-3 tablespoon of vegetable mixture and roll in tortilla and then roast in panini maker or grill pan so that grill marks come on it. Serve hot.

Strawberry Smoothie

Berries are good source of energy. It can be combined with any of the dessert and it just change the taste and it always carry to higher next level. Hot summer days are going on and we should have something cold so that it can get us cold.....

To make Strawberry Smoothie you will need :-

2-3 strawberry medium size (washed and leaf taken)

1/2 banana chopped

2-3 tablespoon milk

1 cup yogurt

Sugar to taste (if required)

Take a blender and add strawberry, banana, milk and yogurt. Add sugar to taste if required. Churn them properly. Add ice cubes and churn then if you want it to be chilled. Add few pieces of strawberry if you like. Serve chilled.

Mango Milkshake

Mango is king of all fruits. I love in every form like raw and ripe. I always try to variate with mangoes and make new recipe. Today I am sharing very basic recipe but it is still loved most by us.

To make Mango Milkshake you will need :-

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup of chopped ripe mangoes

1 cup milk

In a blender add mango, sugar and milk and churn them properly. Add ice cubes if you want to make it chilled. Serve chilled in hot summer days.

Dudhi (Opo Squash/Bottle Guard) Paratha

Dudhi Paratha (Dhebra) is prepared in my house since years. It taste so good and it is loved by everyone. It can be made with bajri flour, wheat flour or by mixing them both. It can be used by using green chillies or you can use red chilly powder.

To make Dudhi Paratha you will need :-

1 cup shredded dudhi

1 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup bajri flour(millet flour)

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon sesame seeds

3-4 tablespoon yogurt

1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

2-3 tablespoon oil

Oil for roasting

Water as needed

1 teaspoon carom seeds

Take a bowl and add wheat and bajri flour to it. Add salt,shredded dudhi red chilly powder, sesame seeds, turmeric powder, oil, yogurt and carom seeds to it. Mix well. Your dough should be not too stiff not too soft. Add more flour (wheat) if your dough is not too stiff. Add water if your dough is too stiff. Cover it with lid and then allow it to rest for half an hour. After resting dough make small ball like golf size of dough and then roll it. Use wheat flour if you find it difficult to roll it. Heat up skillet and when it gets hot apply little bit oil and then roast paratha on both sides. Apply oil on both sides and roast. You can store it for 1-2 days at room temperature.

It is good snack at picnic or to carry out.