Green Chickpeas and Soya Curry

We always use dry brown and white chickpeas to make curry. But I like fresh green chickpeas most. In India we used to get that one but here its very hard to find fresh one, but there is always a way if there is a will so I get the frozen one. Its not that as good as fresh but hey, beggars are not choosers. I always keep that in my frozen and add it in greens or just make  Green Chana and Spring Onion subji. But I wanted to make something else this time so I go ahead and use another one of my favorite  Soya chunks and made this easy but fast and delicious curry, which perfect with rotis.

Ingredients :

2 cups of frozen green chickpeas
1/4 cup soaked soya chunks
1 white onion chopped
1 tomato chopped or 1 tbsp. tomato puree
1 tbsp. ginger, garlic , chili paste
1 tbsp. Red chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin - coriander powder
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
1 tsp. garam masala powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp. oil

Method:

Heat a pan, add oil in it.
Add onion and cook till its pink.
Add tomato puree , ginger garlic paste, all powder masala and cook till oil floats.
Add chana and soaked and squeezed soya granules in it.
Add cup of water and cook and cover till chana cook.
You can have gravy as per desired  so adjust the water quantity. I wanted dry one so I didn't add too much water in it.
Serve hot with rice or roti or puris.

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Sweet Potato with Fenugreek leaves | Mitha Aloo with Methi

I heard lot of times , people don't like methi (fenugreek) because of its bitter taste. For me its not a big deal, I love to eat methi or karela without adding any sweetness in it like typical gujju dishes. But this dish is for the people who have difficulties making  and using this vegetables just because of its taste. I think I have found solution of it, add sweet potatoes in it and you won't have that bitterness of methi. Try it to believe it.

Ingredients :

1 Sweet potatoes cut in big chunks
1 bunch of methi, washed and chopped
2 tbsp. of oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp. red chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin coriander powder
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
1 tbsp. ginger, garlic and chili paste
salt to taste

Method:

Pick, clean, washed and chopped methi and keep it aside.
Heat a pan, add oil in it.
Add onion and cook till its pink.
Add ginger, garlic paste, all powder masala and cook for a minute.
Add sweet potatoes and cover and cook for five minutes of low flame.
Add washed methi in it and mix it and cover and cook till its done.
At the end, add salt because methi will shrink down and if you add it before, you will fool by quantity and it will be salty later on. so always add salt in greens when they are about to done so you get the idea of real quantity.
Serve hot with roti and dal , chawal (rice).

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Eggplant Fry

My mom used to make this eggplant dish same way she makes fish fry. The masala is same, but she sometimes replace fish with eggplant, we used to love both that time. But after marriage when I became vegetarian, I started making this with eggplant as my mom's. Its like fritters or pakoda but without deep frying and vegetarian. You have to make thick batter than pakoda so it coats the thin slices of eggplant and just shallow fry it and you can enjoy this with rotis or as it is.

Ingredients :

10 round slices of big purple eggplant
1 cup of besan (chickpea Flour)
pinch of ajwain (carom seeds)
salt to taste
1 tsp. of red chili powder
1 tsp. of Turmeric powder
1 tsp. of ginger, garlic and chili paste
3 tbsp. of oil

Method:

Cut the round thin slices of eggplant and keep it aside.
Take a bowl and add besan, ajwain, salt, powder masala, ginger, garlic and chili paste and add little water to make thick batter.
Add oil in shallow pan.
When its hot, take one slice and coat the slice on one side and put the coated side on heated oil.
Apply batter on other side too. Cook till its brown on other side and flip it.
Cook that side too and when its done, take it out on paper towel.
Finish with rest and serve hot with rotis.

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Dry Garlic Chutney

I love spicy food its not hidden. and this chutney plays a big role in my food too. I sprinkle it in everything, chat, regular curry dish, add oil in it and have it with dosa, idlis too. Last time  when I posted on my FB page about  Methi na Dhebra with dry garlic chutney , lot of people were asking me about chutney recipe so thought instead of giving just like that let's share it with everyone so who ever likes it , make it and enjoy it. I never posted chutneys in my blog but after the successful post my Trio Chutneys, I am eager to share this with you all.

Ingredients :

1 whole bulb of Garlic - peeled
1/3 cup dried coconut flakes
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp. Deggi Mirch powder
1 tsp. Whole coriander seeds
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. citric acid
1 tsp. oil


Method:

In a big pot, dry roast sesame seeds and keep it aside.
Add coconut and dry roast it with coriander seeds. Make sure not to burn coconut.
Add everything in blender and make a coarse powder.
No need to add water in it. Just dry ingredients only.
Store it in airtight jar and use it as necessary.
Goes very well with vada pav or any chats.

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Baked Ziti - Healthy way

Regular ziti is kinda  not healthy, it has regular ziti pasta, which is not whole wheat, had lot of both cheese, ricotta and mozzarella and no vegetables, so make it healthy , I cut it ricotta and added little heavy cream to give some body to sauce. then add vegetables and above all its Whole wheat penne. Final result, awesome cheesy pasta is ready. Yes you can call it , it just cheesey pasta Italian way. For kids portion I put it lot of cheese, for us just a little bit. Pair it with garlic cheese bread and side of salad and dinner was done.

Ingredients :

1/2 box uncooked WW penne
1 big carrot finely chopped
1 onion chopped
1/4 cup frozen corn
Few black olives
Few stings of basil leaves
As per taste Italian seasoning and red chili flakes
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp. EVOO - Extra virgin olive oil
As per taste garlic powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup of Mozzarella cheese
1 Jar of Best quality Marinara sauce
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Method:

Cook and cool pasta as per package direction and keep it aside.
In a big pan, add olive oil in it.
Add garlic and flavor the oil for few seconds.
then add carrot, onion, corn in it.
Add seasoning, red chili flakes , garlic powder and cook it.
Add marinara sauce , leave 2-3 tbsp aside to coat the baking dish.
Add heavy cream and mix it, nicely and cook on low to medium flame for 5 minutes to give that whole day cooking flavor.
Add pasta in it and mix it nicely.
Add basil , olives in it.
Preheat the oven at 400 F.
In your baking dish, spread that reserve marinara sauce so pasta doesn't cook while baking.
Add half pasta and spread mozzarella cheese, then spread leftover pasta and more cheese on top.
On top sprinkle some parmesan cheese and put it in oven for 15-20 minutes or cheese is nice and melting.
Take it out, serve it along with salad and garlic bread.

Again, add your choice of vegetables, just make sure , cooking and baking don't make it mushy.

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Tameta Nu Shak | Tomato Curry My Mom Way

My mom was a working woman in her whole life and she had irregular hours of work sometimes she has morning shifts, sometimes evening but she make sure that we had hot and fresh food every day, so for morning shifts she woke up early , cook lunch for us and packed her with us and go to work and for evening shifts, she made dinner for us and took her and go. So when I see now people working and feeding families day old food, sometimes I wonder how my mom all this. Since I started working I also wonder because I also have to come home, cook diner , feed kids and clean up and then go to bed. So now my evening goes very fast and that's the reason for now I go for quick and easy but healthy dinner ideas. This shak as we Gujarati says, its very fast and delicious to go with hot rotis. I never made it since I came to US but one day I had lot of tomatoes in fridge and have to use it so made this and enjoy it to the core. For the tadka you have to put cloves in it so when you are eating it , make sure you take out or don't bite it, otherwise you ruin your palate.

Ingredients :

4 big red tomatoes cut in big chunks
1 white onion chopped
4-5 cloves
1 tsp. cumin - coriander powder
2 tsp. red chili powder or as per your taste
Salt as per taste
2 tsp. oil

Method:

Heat a pan, add oil in it. When its hot, add cloves in it and cook till its soaks oil and become little big and flavor the oil.
Then add onion and cook till its just soft.
Add chopped tomato, both powder and salt and 2-3 tbsp. water , cover and cook till tomatoes are cook.
Its not going to be runny sauce, just to dip the rotis in it and enjoy it.
Serve hot with hot rotis. Diner is done.

 I had with Sweet and spicy mango pickle and Radish kachumber.

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A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table: Eat Your Greens

Dalia Chole Pulav | Broken Wheat Chickpeas Pulav

Once I had leftover chole and next day I added it in rice, it was good. So next time when I was thinking what to make for dinner,  thought of making chole for a quick dinner but was not interested to make paratha with it, needed one pot dish, so thought of making pulav with it, but already had that so thought lets try something new, took out my broken wheat bag , make chole masala, add dalia in it, one pressure cook whistle , patiently waited till cooker cools down. Then enjoyed it with simple tomato onion salad , which we called kachumber.

Ingredients : 

1 can chickpeas, washed 
1 cup broken wheat (dalia)
1 big onion chopped finely
2 big spoonful of tomato puree
1 chopped tomato
2 tbsp. chole masala
1 tbsp. red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp. freshly made ginger, garlic paste
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Jeera
few black peppercorns
2 dry red chilies
salt to taste


Method:

Heat a Pressure cooker,
Add oil in it. Add Bay leaves, dry red chilies, black pepper corns. When its crackle, add jeera in it.
when its changes the color, add onion in it and cook till its pink.

Add tomato along with chole masala and cook it till nice aroma comes.
Add ginger, garlic paste, red chili powder, chole masala, turmeric powder and mix it.
Cook it for a minute. Add dalia and roast it for a minute.
Then add chana along with 3 cups water and add salt and mix it and cover the cooker.
Put the whistle on. On medium flame , cook it till one whistle and then cook on low flame for 10 minutes.
Shut off the gas and let it cool down the cooker.
Open it up and serve warm one pot meal along with simple onion-tomato slices or plain yogurt whatever you fancy.

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January’s Family Foodies | Eat your veg, Bangers & Mash
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Achari Potatoes with Yogurt

I am in love with my achari mix. So when in doubt what to cook and how to cook , just use it that spice mix and lovely dish come out. I so wanted to make this and made it, I didn't wanted dry one so instead of just sprinkling lime juice or vinegar for that achari taste, I added yogurt and it was just perfect, pair with fulka rotis and diner was done , of course with side of dal too. You can use it other vegetables too. But this time I just wanted to eat potatoes, simple.

Ingredients :

2 potatoes
2 tbsp. Achari mix
salt to taste
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. yogurt
1 tbsp. ginger, garlic, chili paste

Method:

Heat a pan, Add oil in it.
When its hot, add paste and cook it for 30 seconds
Add potatoes and cook on medium flame till its fry little bit.
Then add achari mix and salt and water , just to cook potatoes.
Cover it and let it cook.
When potatoes is done, add yogurt and cook for a minute.
Turn off the gas and enjoy hot and spicy potatoes with fulka rotis.

Quick and flavorful dish is ready so when you are in jiffy , make this and savour it.

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