Saboot Masala Subz Pulao

Serves 4
Ingredients

Basmati Rice 1 cup washed & soaked
Oil 5 tbsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Potato 1 cut into 1/2″ pieces
Cauliflower small 1/2 of it cut into florets
Carrots 2 cut into 1/2″ pieces
Green peas 1 cup
Tomato 1 cut into 8 pieces
Green chillies 1-3 cut into thin strips
Mint leaves 1 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Cilantro

Spice Bag (crush together & tie in a piece of muslin cloth)
Black pepper corns 10
Fennel seeds 2 tsp
Green cardamom 3-4
Black cardamom 3-4
Cloves 4
Cinammon 2 sticks

Get Cooking!
1. In a braod dish, take oil, ginger & garlic paste, cauliflower, potato, carrots and peas. Microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Drain the soaked rice. Add the rice, 2 cups water, turmeric poweder, red chilli powder & salt. Mix well. Add the spice bag. Microwave covered for 6 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, mint, cilantro, green chillies, lemon juice. Stir gently with a fork. Microwave covered for 7 minutes.
4. Wait for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Remove spice bag.
5. Serve with raita.

Eggless Cake with Mocha icing

Microwave chocolate cake topped with yummy mocha icing.

Serves 6

Ingredients
Sweetened condensed milk 1/2 tin
Milk 1/2 cup
Butter 1/2 cup (75 gms)
Powdered sugar 1 1/2 tbsp
Plain flour 1 cup (100 gms)
Cocoa powder 1/4 cup
Soda bicard 3/4 level tsp
Baking powder 3/4 level tsp
Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Mocha glaze icing
Cocoa powder 4 tbsp
Butter 2 tbsp softened
Instant coffee 1tsp
Icing sugar 1 cup sifted
Nuts 2-3 tbsp chopped (preferably walnuts)
Water 4 tbsp

To soak
Cola (like Coke) 1/4 cup

Get Cooking!
1. Sift the flour with cocoa powder, soda bicarb & baking powder. Keep aside.
2. Mix sugar and butter. Beat till very fluffy.
3. Add condensed milk and beat well.
4. Add the milk, vanilla essence, maida. Beat well for 3-4 minutes till the mixture is smooth and light.
5. Transfer to a big, greased deep dish of 9″ diameter.
6. Microwave for 5 minutes and let it cool.
7. Cut the cake into 2 and soak with cola drink.
8. For the icing, microwave 4 tbsp water in a bowl for 1 minute. Add coffee and mix. Add the cocoa & butter, mix well. Return to microwave and microwave at 70% power for 1 minute or till butter melts. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar. Mix well.
9. Glaze the cake with the icing, making peaks with the spoon. Decorate with the nuts.
10. Refrigerate until glaze is set.

Tips
Serve with ice cream
I found that the butter melts without microwaving when making the icing. Less work ;)  I used chopped almonds which worked well enough

Stick a tooth pick/knife and see if it comes clean after cooking the cake, if not microwave for a few more minutes till it does.

Bean Casserole

Red kidney beans & cauliflower baked in creamy cheese sauce.
Serves 6

Ingredients
Rajmah 1 ¼ cups boiled
Onion 1 chopped
Cauliflower 4 cups finely chopped
Tomatoes 3
Tomato Ketchup 2 ½ tbsp
Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp (this is what I replaced )
Cheese 1 ½ cups (150 gms) grated
Cream ½ cup
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt & Pepper to taste

Get Baking!
1.Put the tomatoes on a plate and microwave for 3 minutes. Remove peel after they cool. Chop finely.
2.Take the onions, cauliflower and oil in a dish. Mix well and microwave for 6 minutes.
3.Add 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp pepper. Add the tomatoes, boiled rajmah, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Check salt and pepper.
4.Add half of the grated cheese.
5.Mix the other half of the cheese with cream. Add ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Pour cream over the vegetables and spread gently.
6.Set oven at 180°C and preheat.
7.Place the vegetables in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes. Bake till golden brown. Serve hot.

Tips
I replaced the Worcestershire sauce with some red chilli powder, garam masala. I had also tried chat masala once.
The recipe’s salt content can be reduced as I found it a bit too salty for my taste especially since I used cheddar cheese.

Péla Pindi

A quick and nutritious snack.

Ingredients
Wheat flour
Sugar
Milk

Get Cooking!
1. Dry roast the wheat flour till you get a nice aroma. Switch heat off.
2. Add sugar to the bowl.
3. Sprinkle some milk such that it wets the roasted flour…take care not to add too much milk and make it watery. The consistency should be such that it is powdery yet wet.

Tips
You could jazz this up with some roasted, chopped nuts, cardamom powder, grated coconut (roasted or not). You could roast the wheat flour in a few drops of ghee too

Dakshini Crisps

Serves 4

Ingredients

Bread Slices 4
Potato 1
Rava 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Onion ½ finely chopped
Tomato ½ deseeded & finely chopped
Curry leaves 2 tbsp finely chopped
Mustard seeds ½ tsp

Get Cooking!

1. Wash the potato, cook, peel and mash well.
2. To the potato, add onion, tomato, curry leaves, salt, pepper. Mix well.
3. Add the rava and mix lightly.
4. Spread the potato mixture on the bread slices, keeping the edges neat.
5. Sprinkle some mustard seeds over the potato mixture, pressing down gently.
6. Keep the bread in the grill and cook for about 15 minutes or till the bottom of the slice gets crisp.
7. Cut the toast into smaller pieces in the shape desired.
8. Serve with tomato ketchup or mustard sauce.

Tip(s)
You could use chilli powder/curry powder/ chat masala instead of pepper.
You could cook the potato in the microwave oven placing it in a plastic bag, microwave for 3 minutes. Peel and mash.
Grated carrots, paneer, cheese, small cubes of capsicum -top with any like this..let imagination run

Pai Podi

Ingredients

Fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
Coriander seeds 3 tsp
Chenna dal 1 tsp
Urad dal ½ tsp
Black pepper seeds ½ tsp
Red chillies 3-4
Asafoetida ¼ tsp

Get Grinding!
1. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds till they turn brown. Set aside.
2. Then dry roast all the ingredients except asafoetida separately.
3. Mix all the ingredients together and finally add the asafoetida, twirl it around in heat for a few seconds. Cool
4. Grind it to a powder.
5. This can be mixed in with tomato, lemon, mango or tamarind rice to give that extra zing

Tomato Gojju for tomato rice

Ingredients
Tomatoes (pureed or finely chopped)
Oil
Salt
Chilli Powder
turmeric powder
Mustard Seeds
Red Chillies
Green Chillies
Ginger grated or finely chopped
Curry leaves
Chenna Dal
Broken or whole skinned urad dal
Asafoetida
Peanuts and/or Cashew nuts (optional)
 
Get Cooking!

1. In a kadai, take some oil, sauté the mustard seeds, red chillies, green chillies, ginger, asafoetida, curry leaves, chenna dal, urad dal and peanuts till the dals are golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes with some salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix them well
3. Cook well until about the time the oil leaves the sides of the kadai. Keep stirring off and on to avoid burning!
4. Mix with rice and serve as tomato rice or serve as a side dish for rotis, idlis or dosas
 
Tip(s)
You could add finely chopped onions and sauté before you add the tomatoes in which case, it might not last that long. You could also add some daniya powder with the tomatoes or replace chilli powder with sambar/rasam powder…just experiment and you will get the combination that suits you and your liking
Try the pai podi

Khandvi

This is a Gujarati dish.  A friend of mine calls this with a very unappetising but kinda apt name “toilet paper rolls”

Ingredients
Besan ¾ cup
Yogurt ¾ cup
Green chilli- ginger paste 1 tsp
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Asafoetida
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
White sesame seeds 1tsp
Red chillies 2
Curry leaves
Oil

Get Cooking!
1. Whisk the yogurt with a cup of water.
2. Add the besan, green chilli-ginger paste, a pinch of asafoetida, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well to get a smooth consistency without lumps.
3. Transfer this to a kadai, cook this on a low heat sitrring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook till the batter becomes a little thick.
4. On a non-stick griddle (tava), pour out the batter and spread the batter out like one spreads icing on a cake. Make the layer thin.
5. Cook this on a low flame till the batter changes colour and obtains a kind of transparent look (which means the besan is cooked.)
6. Cool it. Cut into thin strips and roll the cooked batter up like a toilet roll
7. Make this with all the batter.
8. Season this with the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and red chillies.

Tip(s)
Garnish with grated coconut, chopped cilantro and squeeze some lime juice.

Phirni

Serves 4
Ingredients
Milk -3½ cups
Rice - ¼cup
Powdered sugar - ¼ cup or to taste
Rose water - 1 tsp (optional)
Cardamom - 2 or 3
Pistas - 5 or 6 sliced thinly
Almonds - 2 sliced into long thin pieces

Get Cooking!
1. Soak the rice in a little water for 2-3 hours. Grind this into a very fine paste.
2. Mix in the ground rice and milk in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Microwave this uncovered for 6 minutes. Stir with a wisk every minute to avoid lumps. Break the if any are formed.
4. Add sugar. Mix well. Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes, stirring in-between.
5. Mix well. Cool and add roase water and cardamom powder.
6. Pour into individual bowls.
7. Decorate with nuts and serve chilled after 2 or 3 hours.

Eggless Cake

Ingredients
Flour- 2 cups
Butter/ Ghee -1¼ cups
Sweetened condensed milk- 1 tin
Water -1 cup
Vanilla essence- ½ tsp
Salt -1 pinch
Baking powder -¾ tsp
Chopped nuts- 1 cup

Get Baking!
1. Beat butter till fluffy.
2. Mix in the condensed milk, water, creamed butter, chopped nuts in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from fire and cool.
3. Sift the baking powder, flour and salt together. Add to the cake mixture and beat well.
4. Add vanilla essence; pour into a greased and well lined 8″ cake pan.
5. Bake at 150 deg C for 1½ hours.