Punjabi Chole Masala | Chana Masala For Batura,Puri & Roti | Chickpeas Curry | Poori Chola

Preparation Time: 60 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups White Chickpeas | White Chana | Chole
• 1 big Potato
• 2 Onions finely chopped
• 2 Tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 table spoon Cumin seeds
• 1 table spoon Chole masala
• 1 table spoon Red chilly powder
• ½ table spoon Chaat masala
• ¼ table spoon Turmeric powder
• A bunch of chopped coriander leaves
• Salt as per taste

 Method:

• Clean, wash and soak chole (chick peas) for over night or atleast 5 to 6 hours in water.

• Wash , peal and cut the potatoes into small cubes as shown in picture. 
• In a pressure cooker,add the soaked chana,enough water to cook it at medium pressure for 4-5 whistles.

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan, add cumin seeds.
• When it starts spluttering, add finely chopped onion. Fry it till it turns brownish.
• Now add ginger garlic paste and stir it for a second.

• Add finely chopped tomatoes and sauté till it becomes soft.
• When oil starts separating from tomato mixture, add all the dry masala one by one.

• Add Chole masala, Red chilli powder, Chaat masala, Turmeric powder, salt and sauté for 5 minutes on low flame.
• Now add the drained chole(Keep the access water aside), little reserved water and mix well. Let it cook on low flame for 2 minutes.

• Add more reserved water to get the required consistency and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add salt if needed.

• Switch off the flame when the gravy is a bit thickish.The chana will keep absorbing the gravy as it cools down.
• Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves.

• Chana Masala / Chole Masala is ready to serve with puri or batura or Roti.

Quick And Easy To Make Snacks Recipe : Bread Upma | Bread Usli | Konkani Style Breakfast Bread Upkari

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 10 Bread slices (brown or white, I have used brown bread here)
• 1 big Onion finely chopped
• 1 big Tomato finely chopped
• 1 tea spoon Chana dal (bengal gram dal)
• 1 tea spoon Urad dal
• 1 tea spoon Mustard
• 1 strand Curry leaves
• A pinch of Turmeric powder
• 2 Green chillies slit into 2 pieces
• Salt as per taste
• 1.5 tea spoon Pav bhaji masala
• 1 tea spoon Oil
• A small bunch of Coriander leaves

Method:

• Cut each bread slice into small cubes and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves and green chillies one by one.

• When mustard seeds start spluttering, add onion and fry till it becomes light brown.
• Now add tomatoes and fry it.
• Once it becomes soft, add turmeric powder, pav bhaji masala and salt.

• Mix it well, and let it cook for 3 minutes.
• Now add bread cubes and mix well.
• Add very little water, if needed, so that bread cubes wont stay dry.
• Close the lid, and let it cook for 2 more minutes.

• Finely add finely chopped coriander leaves.
• Tasty and healthy bread upma is ready to eat.

Konkani Randap : Jeer-Mirya Kadi | Jeera-Pepper Kadhi

It is another delicious and healthy dish from konkanis. As we use pepper and jeera, both are very good for digestion. This kadi goes great with white rice and any other side dish.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated coconut
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• 2 table spoon jeera
• 4-5 pepper seeds
• 2-3 red chillie
• 1 or 2 pieces of small tamarind
• 1 table spoon mustard seeds
• 1 strand curry leaves
• Salt as per taste 

 Method:

• Heat oil in a vessel. Fry jeera, pepper seeds and red chillies in it.
• Grind jeera, pepper seeds, red chillies, grated coconut, turmeric powder and tamarind together to get a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a vessel, fry mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Add the ground masala and water to get a rasam consistency.
• Boil the kadi for 10 minutes.
• Searve hot with white rice.

 PS:  A seasoning of 6 to 7 garlic pods give a great aroma to the kadi.

Mooli Paratha | Punjabi Muli ka Paratha | Radish Parantha Recipe

Here is a quick and healthy Mooli Paratha recipe.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 big Radish grated
• 2 cups Wheet Flour
• 1 medium Onion finely chopped
• 1 small bunch Coriander leaves
• 1 table spoon Red chilli powder
• ½ table spoon Garam masala powder
• ¼ table spoon Turmeric powder
• ½ table spoon Jeera powder
• Salt as per taste

Method:

• Add water, salt to wheat flour. knead it to make a soft dough.(similar to chapathi dough but not very soft). Apply oil to the dough and keep for around 1hr.

• Peel off the skin and grate radish.

• Now heat oil in a non stick tawa.

• Add onion let it slightly brown. Then add radish fry it for sometime. Now add all the spice powders along with salt.

• Now sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Keep it aside to cool down a little.
• Take small balls out of the dough. Roll it in circular shape like a puri.
• Take a ball(ping pong ball sized) of radish stuffing, keep it on the puri and close the puri over stuffing.

• Press the resulting dough gently and dust it with flour. Flatten to the size of roti. The pictures for the below steps are exactly same as Alu Paratha Recipe. The only difference is stuffing.
• Place it on hot tava. When it gets little brown, apply oil or ghee.
• Turn it and again apply oil or ghee on other side.
• Keep turning simultaneously until it gets golden brown.
• Tasty Radish Parathas are ready!!!  

• Serve it with curd or dhaniya chutni (coriander chutney)or butter or pickle.

Kannadiga Recipes : Nimbe Hannina Chitranna | Lemon Rice

 Chitranna is a favorite rice base dish of karnataka especially from Bengaluru and Mysore side. There are many varieties in Chitranna like Mavinakai Chitranna(Raw Mango Rice), Nimbe Hannina Chitranna (simply called Chitranna or Lemon Rice), Sabbasige Soppu Chitranna(Dill leaves Lemon Rice). Among all,  Nimbe Hannina Chitranna is very easy to make recipe yet liked by every one. Here it goes.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked Rice
• 1-2 table spoon Peanuts
• ½  tea spoon Mustard seeds
• 1 tea spoon Urad dal
• 1 tea spoon Chana dal
• 2-3 Green chillies cut into 2 halves
• ½  tea spoon Turmeric powder
• 2-3 table spoon Lemon juice
• A small bunch chopped Coriander leaves
• 1-2 table spoon Oil/ghee
• 1 strand of Curry leaves
• Salt as per taste

Method:

• Heat oil/ghee in a pan.

• When heated up add mustard, when it pops up add chana dal, urid dal, peanuts, curry leaves,green chillies. Fry a bit untill peanuts are fried. 

• Now add termeric, salt.
• When the mix cools down a bit, add cooked rice and mix well.

• At last add chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix well. Serve hot with curd or raita or just as it is.

Indian Snacks Recipes: Home Made Baby Food | Ragi Pudding For Toddles and Preschoolers

Ragi or what we call Finger Millet is very rich in proteins and calcium. All Doctors advice parents to give Ragi products to kids. I have already given one recipe of Ragi, Wholesome Porridge, which can be given to kids of age below 3 year. But as kids grow up, their taste buds also become active. J. They would want a change. So here is another healthy and delicious recipe of Ragi, which my son loves to eat as I call it Ragi Chocolate. It is also known as Ragi Halubai, or Ragi Duddali in Konkani.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Servings: Many, It can be preserved in refrigerator as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Ragi(Finger Millet)
• 2 table spoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup jaggary
• 2 cups water
• About ¼ teaspoon crushed cardamom
• 3 table spoon chopped nuts 
• 1 table spoon ghee for greasing

 Method:

• Mix Ragi powder, Cocoa powder and water thoroughly and pour it into a heavy bottom cooking vessel/kadai.
• Keep on stirring as it should not form lumps.

• Add more water to get the consistency for around 10 minutes.
• Add jaggary now, keep on stirring for another 15 minutes.

• Add cardamom and chopped nuts.

• Now it will start thickening.
• Grease a plate with little ghee and pour the mix.

• Make a medium thick layer so as to cut it into pieces.
• Ragi chocolate is ready to serve.

 PS:  It is a soft chocolate, which preschooler would love to eat.

Home Made Indian Complete Baby Food Recipe For Babies

Once baby completes 6 months, only breast milk is not sufficient for its growth. The biggest question in mothers mind regarding weaning is, what to serve and how to serve solid food for the first time to our tender love. As kids grow up, their taste buds also become active. They would want a change. Here is another recipe of Ragi for young kids, Ragi Chocolate.
Here is a very Healthy Meal Idea for infants.

Wholesome Porridge
Ingredients:

• Brown rice
• Raagi(Finger millet )
• Wheat
• Soya beans
• Green gram
• Brown chana
• Dried green peas
• Nuts like cashew, almond, pistachios, peanuts (to be added only while roasting, not to be soaked)

Method:

• Take 1 measure of all the above items(Say 100 gms) separately and wash them thoroughly.
• Soak them overnight separately.

• Remove the water(Drain it) from all items and get all the above items sprouted by keeping it warm for another 8 hours.
• Let all the items dry separately under sun for  a day.
• Roast all the items separately over stove till it turns to slight brown.
• Roast above given nuts, half the measure of other grains (say 50 gms).
• Grind all the items to fine powder.
• Store it in a air tight container.

Preparation:

• Take 2 table spoon of above powder.
• Mix it in warm milk to not to form lumps.
• Add jaggery, and milk.
• Move the container over stove on a low flame.
• Keep on stirring.
• When it comes to semi solid state, turn off the stove.
• A healthy meal for a toddler is ready with wonderful aroma.
• Serve the child warm porrdge, ghee, salt or cardmom if needed.

Here is the nutrition value of the recipe:

• Wheat is rich in Protein
• Raagi is rich in Calcium
• Brown rice is rich in Fibre, and Vitamin B
• jaggary is rich in Iron, Minerals and Vitamins
• Soya beans is rich in Proteins, Folic Acid and all the essential fatty acids
• Sprouted grains is rich in natural Vitamins, Food Enzymes, Amino Acids and Omega 3
• Nuts contain Vitamin E
• Green peas is rich in vitamin C

PS: To start with, take only 1 type of grain, if baby can digest then only add next one and continue. This recipe can be given thrice a day till 2 years along with other fruits and vegetables. After 2 years, when our baby is completely on regular food, then also we can give this porridge once a day. Because this recipe is very much rich in all the Vitamins and Proteins.

Here are few healthy breakfast recipes for preschoolers.....