BREAD PANEER ROLLS

INGREDIENTS:-

• 1 cup crumbled paneer
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp powdered cumin / jeera
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
• A small bunch of coriander, chopped fine
• 1 tsp tomato sauce / ketchup
• 4 slices of fresh white bread
• Butter to toast
• Salt to taste

Method:-

1. Place the crumbled paneer in a wide bowl.
2. Add the red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, chopped coriander, chopped onion, and cumin to this.
3. Mix lightly with your finger tips.
4. Then add the tomato sauce or ketchup and the ginger garlic paste.
5. Blend again with finger tips and set aside while you prepare the bread.
6. Remove the crusts from your bread. Use the regular white supermarket variety.
7. Roll out each slice as thin as you can. Regular bread that's fresh and soft should be easy to roll out
8. Place about 1 tsp or so of filling on one end of the rolled out bread slice.
9. Gently roll in from one end, making sure that the filling stays well within the first turn of the roll.
10. Repeat with the remaining bread slices.
11. Lightly toast in a skillet or pan until all sides are browned.
12. Cut and serve with tomato sauce.

MANGO PICKLE

INGREDIENTS:-

• 1 kilo/kg raw unripe green mangoes/keri/kairi/kachcha aam
• ¾ cup whole fenugreek seeds/methi ka dana or 1 cup split fenugreek seeds/methi kuria, about 125 grams
• ½ cup split mustard seeds/rai kuria, 50 to 60 gms
• ½ cup red chilli powder/lal mirch powder, 50 gms (i used kashmiri red chili powder)
• 2 tbsp turmeric powder/haldi, 25 gms
• ½ tbsp asafoetida/hing, 5 gms
• ½ cup heaped rock salt, 140 gms
• 3 to 3.5 cups sesame oil or mustard oil, 750 to 875 ml, add more if required

METHOD:-

1. take the fenugreek seeds in a grinder jar.
2. pulse and grind, till the seeds split and you get a coarse mixture. don’t make a powder. ¾ cup of whole fenugreek seeds, will roughly yield 1 cup split fenugreek seeds.
3. if you can get ready split fenugreek seeds from the market, then skip this first step.
4. rinse the mangoes and then dry them with a clean kitchen towel. there should be no trace of moisture on the mangoes. chop the mangoes into bite sized pieces or cubes. chopping is a bit tough, so use a good knife and be careful of your hands. you can also ask the vegetable vendor to chop the mangoes for you.
5. take all the chopped mangoes in a mixing bowl or pan.
6. add the coarsely ground fenugreek seeds and split mustard seeds.
7. add turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and rock salt.
8. mix very well with a clean spoon.
9. now add this pickle mixture in a sterilized glass jar. you can also use a bharni.
10. pour sesame oil. there is no need to heat the sesame oil.
11. if using mustard oil, then heat the mustard oil, till it reaches its smoking point. switch off the flame and cool the mustard oil completely. add the cooled mustard oil to the pickle mixture
12. the oil has to float at least 2 inches above the top.
13. close the jars tightly and keep them on your kitchen counter for 10 to 12 days, till the mangoes soften a bit and become tender. stir the jar after every 2 to 3 days with a clean sterilized spoon.
14. once the mango pickle is ready, you can serve them. whenever the amount of oil becomes less on top, add some more oil.

RED CHILLI CHUTNEY

spicy and hot red chutney for chaat snacks, made with just three ingredients - dry red chilies, garlic and salt. this chutney is versatile and can be added to chaat like sev puri, ragda patties, dahi sev batata puri, bhel puri and even to wraps, sandwiches or with pakoras (fritters). just a little is enough to spice up the dish.

INGREDIENTS:- 

12 to 14 dry kashmiri red chilies
¾ to 1 cup water for soaking red chilies
9 to 10 medium garlic/lahsun
¼ to ⅓ cup water or as required for grinding
salt as required

METHOD:-

1. break the chilies. deseed them if required.
2. soak the red chilies in hot water for about 30 mins. the water just needs to cover them.
3. peel and roughly chop the garlic.
4. drain the red chilies.
5. adding very little water grind both the red chilies and garlic in a chutney grinder or blender till smooth. the consistency of the chutney should be more towards thicker side or of medium consistency.
6. pour the red chutney in a small jar or bowl. cover and refrigerate.
7. when preparing chaat snacks, just add a small amount of red chili chutney while topping the chaat with other chutneys.

MASALA PAPAD

INGREDIENTS:- 

2 to 3 large urad dal papads or 4 to 6 medium sized urad dal papads
1 medium onion, finely chopped or ½ cup finely chopped onion
1 medium tomato, finely chopped or ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped coriander/dhania
1 tsp lime or lemon juice or add as requried
½ tsp red chili powder or 1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp roasted cumin powder/bhuna jeera powder (optional)
1 tsp chaat masala or add as required
salt as required
enough oil for shallow frying papads

METHOD:-

1. take all the ingredients for the masala toppings in a bowl - finely chopped onions, tomatoes, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala powder and salt.
2. add lime juice and mix well. check the taste and add more salt or any of the spice powders or lime juice if required. make this masala filling just before you fry the papads.
3. take the papads. you can take large papads or medium ones.
4. heat oil for shallow frying in a pan and slid the papad into the hot oil.
5. fry for some seconds till the papad is crisp. no need to brown the papads.
6. with a slotted spoon or with a tong remove the papad and drain the oil.
7. place the fried papads on a paper kitchen towel so that excess oil is absorbed. you can also turn the fried papads once oil is absorbed from one side. if you plan to serve the masala papads later, then store the fried papads in an air tight container. they will remain crisp.
8. spoon the masala filling on the fried papads.
9. sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.
10. serve masala papad immediately or else they turn soggy.

KALA JAMUN

INGREDIENTS:- 

for the jamun balls:

250 grams soft khoya or 1 cup tightly packed khoya/mawa/dried evaporated milk solids
100 grams paneer or ½ cup tightly packed grated paneer/cottage cheese
3 tbsp all purpose flour/maida
1 tbsp milk
oil or ghee for deep frying

for sugar syrup:

300 grams sugar or 2 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
¼ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rose water
½ tsp cardamom powder
12 to 15 strands of saffron/kesar

METHOD:-

preparing jamun balls:

1. take 250 grams of khoya in a plate or bowl. the khoya used for gulab jamuns is the soft khoya also known as hariyali khoya or chikna khoya. this is a soft khoya, so it mashes and kneads very well.
2. mash the khoya very well with your hands. keep aside. there should be no lumps or small bits or pieces in the khoya. you can also grate and then mash the khoya.
3. grate 100 grams paneer and keep aside. 100 grams paneer yields about ½ cup grated paneer.
4. now add the grated paneer and 3 tbsp all purpose flour (maida) to the khoya.
5. add 1 tbsp milk.
6. gently mix everything very well.
7. bring together this mixture and form into a dough. do not knead the dough. just mix and gather to a dough. if the mixture looks dry and does not cling together to a dough, you can add 1 tbsp more of the milk.
8. now pinch small marble sized balls from the dough and roll them in a round shape between your palms. roll lightly and not heavily.
9. now roll the ball again between your palms to give a oblong cylindrical shape.
10. roll all the jamuns this way and keep them covered with a cotton kitchen towel.

preparing sugar syrup:

1. take 2 cups sugar in a pan and add 1.5 cups water.
2. keep this pan on stove top on a low to medium flame and stir so that the sugar begins to dissolve.
3. when all the sugar is dissolved, add ¼ tsp lemon juice. the lemon juice does not allow the sugar syrup to crystallize.
4. cook the sugar syrup on a low to medium flame till you get ½ string consistency or the syrup becomes sticky.
5. when the sugar syrup is cooking, you can begin frying the jamuns. as when you add the jamuns, the sugar syrup has to be hot. heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or deep pan on a low to medium flame.
6. switch off the flame and add ½ tsp cardamom powder and 12 to 15 strands of saffron, crushed. also add 1 tbsp rose water.

frying jamuns:

1. for testing, slid a tiny dough ball in the hot oil.
2. the ball should come up slowly and not quickly. this is the temperature at which we will fry the jamuns.
3. keep the flame to a low and fry this small jamun till it becomes golden.
4. now gently slid the kala jamuns. do not crowd and add the jamuns as per the size of the pan.
5. when you see faint golden spots, turn over the jamuns gently.
6. keep on turning them in the oil, like a gentle swirling with the slotted spoon, so that they brown evenly. when frying the jamuns have to feel light and not heavy.
7. fry till they turn a shade or two darker than the golden fried color.
8. place them on paper towels.
9. whilst they are hot, quickly add them to the sugar syrup.
10. fry all the jamuns in the same way and add them to the sugar syrup.
11. cover and allow the jamuns to soak in the sugar syrup. once the sugar syrup cools down, keep the bowl covered in the fridge.
12. serve kala jamuns at room temperature or chilled as a dessert or sweet.

KACHHI DABELI

INGREDIENTS:-

for the dabeli masala:

1 red chili
1 tsp coriander seeds or coriander powder
½ inch stick of cinnamon/dal chini
2-3 cloves/lavang
½ tsp cumin/jeera

for the red garlic chutney

1-2 red chilies - soaked in warm water for 30-40 minutes
½ cup garlic/lahsun, chopped
½ tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

for the potato filling

3 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp dabeli masala
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
½ tsp cumin/jeera
2 tbsp tamarind dates chutney
¼ cup grated coconut
¼ cup pomegranate seeds/anar
¼ cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp water - optional
salt

for serving

4-5 buns or pav sliced and lightly roasted in some butter or oil
½ cup roasted peanuts
½ cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
½ cup nylon sev
½ cup pomegranate seeds/anar
garlic chutney as required
sweet tamarind dates chutney as required

Method:-

preparing the dabeli masala powder

1. dry roast the red chili, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds.
2. add all the ingredients in a dry grinder.
3. grind to a fine powder.
4. keep aside.
5. 
   

preparing the red garlic chutney:

1. in a wet grinder or blender, grind the soaked red chilies, garlic, lemon juice and salt to a smooth paste.
2. add water if required. keep aside.
3. 
   

preparing the potato stuffing:

1. boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or microwave oven.
2. peel and mash them and keep aside.
3. in a pan or kadai, heat oil. add cumin.
4. then add chopped onion and fry the onions till they become soft.
5. add asafoetida/hing and fry for a minute on a low flame.
6. add the sweet tamarind dates chutney to the onions and mix well.
7. add the mashed potatoes and again mix well.
8. add the dabeli masala powder to the mashed potatoes. mix well and add salt.
9. cook for 2-3 minutes stirring the mixture.
10. if the mixture looks a little dry then add 1 or 2 tbsp of water.
11. when done, spread the potato filling on a plate.
12. sprinkle some grated coconut on the potato filling.
13. add some chopped coriander on top.
14. now add pomegranate seeds or grapes or both.
15. keep the potato stuffing aside.

serving the dabeli:

1. assemble all the ingredients mentioned under serving in one place.
2. apply the sweet chutney on one slice of the bun and the red garlic chutney on the other side.
3. take a slice of the potato filling and put it on top of one of the slices of bread.
4. add some chopped onion and coriander leaves
5. top it up with some roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds.
6. sprinkle some dabeli masala also. lastly top it with sev.
7. cover with the other slice of bread.
8. prepare the remaining dabeli pav in the same way and serve dabeli warm.

NOTES

1: instead of the red garlic chutney you can also use mint coriander chutney. 

2: dabeli masala powder is easily available in the indian metros. so you could use ready dabeli masala. 

3:other variation is to add pav bhaji masala instead of dabeli masala. the dabeli will still taste good. 

4: lastly to add more spice, add spiced or masala peanuts instead of plain peanuts.

MOONG DAL BHAJIYA

INGREDIENTS:- 

1 cup moong dal/yellow mung lentils
1 or 2 green chilies, chopped roughly
½ inch ginger, chopped
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1 tsp whole black pepper/sabut kalimirch
1 tsp coriander seeds/sabut dhania
⅛th cup water or as required
salt as required
oil for deep frying or shallow frying

Method:-

1. soak moong dal in enough water for about 3-4 hours or overnight. drain the water and add them to the grinder.
2. add the chopped green chilies, ginger and asafeotida. add water and grind to a smooth paste. you can add some more water if required.
3. coarsely crush the black pepper and coriander seeds in a mortar-pestle.
4. add these to the ground moong dal batter. add salt and mix well.
5. stir the batter vigorously for a few minutes.
6. heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan.
7. drop spoonfuls of the moong dal batter in medium hot oil and fry till crisp and golden.
8. drain the moong dal bhajiya on paper napkins to remove excess oil.
9. serve the moong dal bhajiyas hot or warm with coriander chutney, tamarind chutney or just plain tomato ketchup.

KHANDVI

INGREDIENTS:- 

for the khandvi batter:

1 cup besan/gram flour, 100 gms
¾ cup sour curd/yogurt, about 150 gms + 2.25 cups water
OR 3 cups sour buttermilk/chaas
1 tsp ginger/adrak + green chili paste, about ½ inch ginger & 1 green chili crushed in a mortar-pestle
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
⅔ tsp salt or add as required
a pinch of asafoetida/hing

for the filling:

2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta

for the khandvi tempering/seasoning:

1 tbsp oil
8 to 10 curry leaves/kadi patta
1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
2 tsp white sesame seeds/safed til
1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped or ½ tsp red chilli powder

Method:-

preparing the khandvi rolls:

1. take the yogurt in a bowl. add water and stir well till smooth.
2. add ginger-green chili paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt.
3. if using fresh yogurt, then to add the sourness, add about ½ tsp of lemon juice.
4. add the gram flour/besan. with a wired whisk, keep on stirring and mixing till all the lumps are dissolved and you get a smooth batter. there should be no lumps in the batter. you can also use a hand held beater to mix the batter.
5. spread oil on plates or boards or tray. large steel lids or thalis work very well. you can also use the back of a large baking tray or your kitchen counter top.
6. also mix the chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. keep aside.
7. pour the batter in a sauce pan or a broad frying pan. switch on the stove top and keep the flame to the lowest. begin to stir.
8. keep on stirring when the khandvi batter is getting heated up. lumps begin to form and you have to continuously stir so that the lumps don't form.
9. the batter would thicken and keep on thickening. keep on stirring. best to use a wooden spatula or a heat proof silicon spatula.
10. the batter also should not be allowed to stick at the bottom. so you have to stir continuously.
11. do a plate test when the batter has thickened well.
12. spread a few teaspoons of the batter on a greased plate. let it cool a bit and then begin to roll. if you are unable to roll, then the batter needs to be cooked more.
13. the final consistency of the khandvi batter is shown in pic 17 above. it took me 17 minutes to get the correct consistency on a low flame. the timing will vary depending on the intensity of the flame, the thickness/thinness of the pan and the size of the pan. just do the plate test and when you can form the rolls, then the khandvi batter is ready. if the batter becomes too thick, then it becomes difficult to spread and you don't get thin layers in the rolls. in this case, still spread the batter. you will get thick slices, but still they taste good.
14. quickly pour about ½ to ⅔ cup of batter on a large plate and spread thinly & evenly with a spatula. you have to be quick with the remaining batter too. since even a bit of cooling and the batter becomes likes blob, difficult to spread.
15. allow to cool and then sprinkle the coconut + coriander leaves mixture sparingly. you can also skip this stuffing part and directly garnish with the coconut and coriander once you temper the khandvi rolls.
16. cut into equal sized strips.
17. gently roll each strip tightly. then place them in a serving tray or plate.if the tray or plate is large, then you will get large rolls. in this case after you finish rolling half, just cut horizontally and make a second roll.
18. arrange the khandvi rolls next to each other or stack them up neatly in a plate or tray.

tempering/seasoning:

1. heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds.
2. then add curry leaves, green chilies and fry for a few seconds.
3. add the sesame seeds and when they change color & crackle, pour the hot tempering mixture along with the oil on the khandvi rolls evenly.
4. you can garnish khandvi with some more coconut and coriander leaves, if you prefer. serve khandvi with coriander chutney or coriander mint chutney.