Oats Tomato Omelette

Oats Tomato Omelette
Tomato Omelette as we all know is a besan based pancake. Addition of oats makes it healthier as well as gives it a nice crusty feel. It is a good alternative for vegetarians who do not eat eggs. It is very easy and quick to make and serves as an anytime-filling snack.

Ingredients-

1.5 cups Oats grinded in the Mixer Grinder to form a fine powder

1 cup - Besan / Gram flour

1 cup Onion, finely chopped
1 cup Tomatoes, finely chopped

2 teaspoon Ginger + Garlic Paste
2 medium Green chillies finely chopped

3/4 cup - Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon – Turmeric Powder
1/2 teaspoon - Red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon – Carom Seeds (Ova / Ajwain)
½ teaspoon Cumin Powder
½ teaspoon Coriander powder
A pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt to taste
Water (approximately 2 cups. Adjust the quantity so as to form a batter which is a little thinner than the normal dosa batter)
Oil – 1 teaspoon for the batter + for making the Omelette
 

Method -

1 ) Mix besan and oats powder in a mixing bowl. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger + garlic paste, coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, all the spices, 1 teaspoon oil and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients very well. Add water little by little and keep mixing simultaneously so as to ensure that no lumps are formed. The batter should be of dosa batter consistency.
 

2 ) Heat a non-stick Tava. Grease with little oil. When the Tava is hot, add a ladleful of the batter and spread in circular motion. Then drizzle some oil on the top and the sides. Cover the Tava with a lid for around a minute. Bubbles will start forming on the batter and the bottom will start turning golden brown in color. Using a spatula, turn the pancake over and cook on both sides evenly.

3) Once done, top it with butter and serve hot with toasted bread, Tomato Ketchup and green chutney.

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Dill Daal Wada

Dill Daal Wada
Daal wadas make a great tea time or evening snack. The addition of Dill / Shepu gives daal wadas a unique taste your family will surely relish. You can try it out using other leafy vegetables as well like fenugreek (methi) or spinach (palak). So here is the recipe...

Ingredients –

Chana Daal (Split Bengal Gram) – 2 cups
Finely chopped Dill (Shepu in marathi) – 1 cup
Finely chopped Onion – ½ cup
Finely chopped Curry Leaves – 10-12
Finely chopped Coriander leaves – a handful
Green Chillies – 2
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 5 pods
Cumin Seeds – 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seeds – 1 tablespoon
Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
Baking Powder – ½ teaspoon
Lemon Juice – 2 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method –
Soak the Chana Daal overnight in water.

Next morning remove all the water from the soaked Daal and wash it again. Strain out the excess water.
Grind the soaked chana daal alongwith the green chillies, ginger and peeled garlic pods. Do not use any water to grind the daal. Grind 2-3 times till the you get a fine paste.

Transfer this grinded daal in a bowl and add in the chopped dill, onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Your Dill Dal Wada mixture is ready.

Heat oil in a wok or a deep pan for frying the wadas.

When you are all set to fry the wadas, add in the baking powder and mix well.

Take a plastic paper and slightly moisten it with water. Now place a ball of the daal mixture on the plastic paper and flatten it gently using your fingers.

By this time your oil would be sufficiently hot. Drop in a dal-sized ball into the oil to check if it s properly hot. If the ball comes to the surface of the oil immediately, then the oil is hot. Otherwise, heat the oil for some more time.

Once you are sure that the oil is sufficiently hot, drop in the flattened wada into the oil. Be careful while dropping the wada as the hot oil is likely to spill out when the wada is dropped.

Depending on the size of your pan and the quantity of the oil that you are using, deep fry as many wadas as possible at a time. To freely move the spatula make sure that you do not fry too many wadas at a time.

Fry on medium heat. When the colour of the wada changes, flip it and fry on the other side as well. Fry till both the sies of the wada become golden brown and crispy.

Remove the wadas from the oil and place them on a paper napkin.

Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.

 

Have a great evening! Happy cooking...

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Panch Foran Diye Niramish Torkari (Mixed Vegetable with Panch Foran)

Panch Foran Diye Niramish Torkari  (Mixed Vegetable with Panch Foran) 

Recently I had been to my Bengali friends Jayanti and Jayashree Das’s place for Satyanarayan Puja and for the first time I had the opportunity to taste some authentic Bengali food there. 

All these years when it came to Bengali cuisine, the first thing that came to my mind was their sumptuous fish dishes. Fish cookery is undoubtedly one of Bengali cuisine’s better-known features and distinguishes it from the cooking of the landlocked regions. Bengal's countless rivers, ponds and lakes teem with many kinds of freshwater fish and the Bengalis prepare fish in innumerable ways – steamed, fried or stewed with greens or other vegetables and with sauces that are mustard based or thickened with poppy seeds. But, not many of us are aware that the Bengalis also excel in the cooking of vegetables. They prepare a variety of imaginative dishes using the many types of vegetables that grow there year round. The use of spices for both fish and vegetable dishes is quite extensive and includes many combinations not found in other parts of India. The Panch Foran (Five Spice Blend) is one such spice combination and I think it is the trump card of Bengali cooking. 

The Panch Foran is a mixture of five whole spices viz., 
1. Cumin Seeds (Jeera), 
2. Fennel Seeds (Saunf), 
3. Fenugreek Seeds (Methi), 
4. Nigella Seeds(Kalonji) and 
5. Black Mustard (Rai / Mohri). 

My friends and their mother who is an expert at Bengali cuisine had made the Niramish Torkari especially for the Puja. Niramish means without onion / garlic and Torkari means vegetables. So this dish is a mixed vegetable dish made on auspicious occasions like pujas when one is supposed to avoid onions and garlic. This recipe has not much of spices added to it and the only unique and dominant taste is that of the Panch Foran. I liked this preparation so much that I decided to make it today being the first Shravani Shanivar (First Saturday of the month of Shravan). Sharing the recipe here… I am sure all of you will like it as much as I did. Do try it out friends and let me know your Niramish Torkari turned out…

Ingredients –

1. Cauliflower Florets – 1 cup

2. Potatoes peeled and diced into cubes – 1 cup

3. Chopped French Beans – ½ cup

4. Carrots peeled and diced into cubes – ½ cup

5. Brinjals / Eggplants chopped into cubes – 1 cup

6. Shredded Cabbage – 1 cup

7. Chopped Capsicum – ½ cup

8. Drumsticks peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces – 8-10 pieces

9. String Beans (Shravan Ghevda) – Strings removed, halved 
and chopped into half an inch pieces

10. Chopped Tomatoes – ½ cup

(You can also add Pumpkin, Radish and Cucumber all peeled and chopped into cubes. I haven’t added them only because these were not available at my place) 

11. Green Chillies roughly chopped – If you have the dark green lavangi mirchis, use 4-5 and if you are using the light green lesser hot chillies, you can use 8-10 depending on how spicy you want your Torkari to be)

12. Panch Foran Mix (see top) – 1 teaspoon (mix all the whole spices except fenugreek seeds in equal proportion. Use smaller proportion of fenugreek seeds [7-8 seeds] because of their mildly bitter taste)

13. Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon

14. Salt to taste

15. Sugar – 1 teaspoon

16. Freshly chopped Coriander – a handful

17. Oil – 3 tablespoons

Method –
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a deep pan or Kadhai. Add Cumin Seeds. Once they splutter, add in the potatoes. Fry them till they turn golden brown. Remove and keep aside. 

Heat the remaining Oil in the Kadhai. Once hot, add the Panch Foran mix. Let it splutter. Then add the chopped green chillies. Saute for a minute. Then add in all the vegetables except the cabbage and tomatoes. Stir continuously till they mix well. Cover with a lid and let it cook on low heat for around 10 minutes. Remove the cover and now add in the shredded cabbage and chopped tomatoes. Again stir well, cover and let it cook for around 10 more minutes. 

Remember that this Torkari is to be cooked on very low heat and no water is to be added. The vegetables will get cooked in their own moisture. 

Now add turmeric powder, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well. Again cover with the lid and cook till all the vegetables become tender and blend well. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. 

Goes well with phulkas, chapatis or puris… anything you like! 

Wishing you all Happy Cooking ! :)

 

 

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Power Poha

Power Poha

A very good morning friends!!! January has just started and here in amchi Mumbai mornings are getting a little colder day by day. How about making something fresh and hot for breakfast? A hot breakfast with a cup of masala tea on a cold winter morning is all you need to enjoy the bliss of this season, isn't it?

So here is yet another recipe... a tasty and ...more nutritious twist given to regular poha by addition of soya chunks, soaked chana dal, peanuts and I added some fresh vegetables too (a slight variation in the original recipe) to enhance its health and nutritional quotient. Power Poha truely makes a power breakfast snack as both soya chunks and chana dal are packed with proteins. A healthy way to start the day! Here is the recipe for you...

Ingredients-
2 cups thick poha

1/2 cup soaked gram / chana dal

1 cup soaked soya chunks (As far as possible use the mini chunks)

4 tbsp peanuts

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped cabbage

1/4 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped capsicum

1 tsp mustard seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

10-12 curry leaves

4-5 finely chopped green chilies (+/- depending on your taste)

3 finely chopped garlic pods

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp oil

A handful of chopped coriander

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Method-
Take the Poha in a colander and wash under running tap water. Let the excess water drain out and leave aside.

Boil 3 cups of water and add soya chunks. Let the chunks cook in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Turn Off the heat, cover with a lid and leave aside to cool a bit. Then remove the chunks from the water and squeeze them with your hands so as to remove excess water.

Heat oil in a kadhai / wok. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilies and garlic and stir fry on low heat.

Now add in the peanuts and stir for a minute so that the peanuts become crisp.

Now add onions, and saute for 2 minutes .Add all the vegetables, turmeric powder and salt and saute for 1 minute. Now add the soaked soya chunks, stir well, cover with a lid and let it cook for 2 minutes.

Uncover and add the soaked poha. Stir and mix well all the ingredients. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add lemon juice, sugar and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

You can garnish it with fresh grated coconut and sprinkle some sev on it while serving.

Enjoy! Have a great day ahead!!!

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Spinach Rice Casserole

Spinach Rice Casserole

Spinach Rice Casserole is a yummy continental dish which combines the ever popular rice with the goodness of fresh spinach. Many of us love rice, but are often bored having plain rice or varieties of normal pulavs and biryanis. In such cases, the spinach rice casserole offers a good and interesting change. Makes a great main course menu item for those parties you throw at home. When you give a first glance at the recipe you may find it a bit complex as it involves a few steps like making plain rice, white sauce, spinach layer, sautéed vegetables, etc. But, believe me it is not so difficult if you pre-plan properly eg., you can make the spinach and white sauce in advance and store it in the fridge. Also, keep all the ingredients ready before you actually get started with the cooking part so it becomes easier and hassle-free. So here is the recipe….

(A)   For the Rice-

Ingredients-

(1)    Raw Rice – 1 cup

(2)    Olive Oil – 2 tbsp

(3)    Cumin Seeds (Jeera) – ½ tsp

(4)    Black Pepper Corns – a few

(5)    Sliced Onion – ½ cup

(6)    Salt to taste

Method –

(1)    Wash the rice. Here we need not soak the rice in water. It is only to be washed.

(2)    Heat Oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and pepper corns. Stir and add the sliced onions. Saute till the onions turn brown.

(3)    Now add the washed rice and mix well.

(4)    Add 1 ¾ cups of water and salt to taste and stir well.

(5)    Turn the gas on low and cover the pan. Cook till the water evaporates.

(6)    Once the rice is cooked, remove it in a plate and allow it to cool.

 

(B)   For the White Sauce –

Ingredients –

(1)    Butter – 1 tbsp

(2)    Olive Oil – 1 tbsp

(3)    Plain Flour / Maida – 2 tbsp

(4)    Cheddar Cheese – 2 tbsp

(5)    Milk – 1 ½ cup

(6)    Water – ½ cup

(7)    Oregano – ½ tsp

(8)    Basil – ½ tsp

(9)    Pepper Powder – ½ tsp

(10) Salt to taste

Method –

(1)    In a pan add olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts add plain flour and cook stirring continuously. You know it is cooked once the colour of the maida changes and it releases aroma.

(2)    Now take a whisker and slowly add in the milk while whisking the mixture simultaneously. Do not add the entire milk at one go. Add the milk little by little and whisk continuously in order to avoid formation of lumps.

(3)    Then add in the water also and whisk properly.

(4)    Now add in shredded Cheddar Cheese and again whisk well.

(5)    Add Pepper powder, Oregano and Basil and mix well.

(6)    Stir all the time and cook till the sauce becomes thick.

(7)    Before you add in the salt, check the taste of the sauce because cheese also has a considerable amount of salt content. Check the taste and then add salt as per your requirement. Your white sauce is ready.

 

(C)   For the Spinach Layer – 

Ingredients –

(1)    Spinach – 1 bundle

(2)    Onion – 1 (diced)

(3)    Tomato – 1

(4)    Green Chillies – 3 to 4 (+/- depending on your taste)

(5)    White Sauce – ¼ cup

(6)    Crushed Garlic – ½ tsp

(7)    Nutmeg Powder – ¼ tsp

(8)    Salt to taste

(9)    Water of Jalapeno / Olives

Method –

(1)    Remove the stems of the spinach leaves and wash the spinach thoroughly.

(2)    Boil the spinach leaves with 1 diced onion and 1 tomato till the onion becomes translucent. It normally takes around 5 minutes.

(3)    Once done, immediately wash under cold water so that the green colour of the spinach leaves remains intact.

(4)    Grind the spinach, tomato and onion to form a paste.

(5)    Heat Oil in a pan. Add crushed garlic. Saute till it turns brown. Then add in the chopped green chillies and saute again.

(6)    Add white sauce, salt and nutmeg powder.

(7)    Cook till the sauce thickens.

(8)    Add around 2 tbsp of Jalapeno / Olive water to give it a tinge of sour taste.

 

(D)   Sauteed Vegetables –

Ingredients-

Cauliflower florets – ½ cup

Sliced Babycorn – ½ cup

Sliced Mushroom – ½ cup

Baked Beans – ½ cup (You can use the canned baked beans which are readily available in the market or home-cooked pink rajma)

Red Bell Peppers chopped – ½ cup

Red Chilli Flakes – 1 tsp

Oregano – ½ tsp

Basil – ½ tsp

Crushed Garlic – 1 tsp

Salt to taste.

Olive Oil – 1 tbsp

Method –

(1)    Par boil the cauliflower florets only till they soften a little. Do not cook completely.

(2)    Heat oil in a pan. Add crushed garlic and stir. Add the sliced mushrooms and sprinkle salt to taste. Saute well. Then add in all the other vegetables and again sauté till they acquire a tinge of golden brown colour.  

(3)    Add in the baked beans / cooked rajma and mix well.

(4)    Add all the herbs and the red chilli flakes and mix.

How to assemble the Spinach Rice Casserole-

(1)    In a baking dish spread the first layer of rice.

(2)    Then evenly spread the spinach layer followed by a layer of the sautéed vegetables.

(3)    Spread grated Cheddar cheese.

(4)    Repeat till the vegetable layer is on the top.

(5)    Sprinkle grated Mozarella cheese on top.

(6)    Garnish with chopped onion, red bell peppers, capsicum rings and jalapenos and sprinkle freshly grounded black pepper on top.

(7)    Bake in a pre-heated oven till the upper cheese crush turns golden brown.

(8)    Serve piping hot!

Here are a few images of the step by step cooking process to make things easier for you...

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