Bread Dosa

Ingredients:
Bread - 4-5 slices (left over bread also is fine)(I used Brown bread)
1 cup Rice flour
1/2 cup Rava
Besan - 2 table spoons
Onion - 1 medium sized (chopped fine)
Chopped coriander - 2 table spoons
Green chillies - 2 (chopped)
Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
Salt to taste
oil to fry the dosa

For the tempering:
1 spoon oil
1 tea spoon mustard seeds
1 tea spoon urad dal
1 pinch of Hing
1 tea spoon chopped curry leaves

Method:
1. Soak bread slices in water for a few minutes and squeeze out extra water
2. Grind this bread with rice flour, rava and besan
3. Add salt and chilli powder
4. Add chopped onion, green chillies, coriander leaves and enough water to bring it to dosa consistency.
5. Heat one spoon oil and fry mustard seeds, when they crackle, add the urad dal, curry leaves and hing and when urad dal is browned, pour over the dosa batter.
6. Heat the tawa and pour the dosa fry both sides until golden brown on both sides.
7. Serve with Coconut chutney and vegetable kurma.

Variations:
1. Vegetables like finely shredded cabbage, green onions, cauliflower, carrots, capsicum etc can also be added to make vegetable dosa.
2. In addition to the green chillies, 1 tsp of grated or chopped ginger also can be added.
3. This dosa can be made plain instead of any vegetables too. Tastes very crispy without any vegetables.

Mustard Leaves

SCHEZUAN FRIED RICE

Ingredients:
2 cups short grain rice – cooked
½ cup green beans,
½ cup green cabbage- shredded/julienned
½ cup cauliflower + broccoli florets
½ cup carrots – julienned
½ cup fresh green peas (thawed if frozen is used)
½ cup sliced sweet peppers (green, yellow, red- or a combination of all 3)
½ cup sliced onion
1 table spoon grated or finely chopped ginger
1 table spoon garlic – chopped fine
1 table spoon red chilli paste (ready paste is available in local groceries- You can also make it by soaking a few dry red chillies in hotwater until they become soft. Grind to a paste with a little salt, add vinegar or lemon juice if required)
1 table spoon tomato ketchup
1 table spoon chilli garlic sauce
1 table spoon soya sauce
1 tea spoon white vinegar
2-3 green chilli peppers- finely chopped
Salt to taste
White pepper powder- to taste
1 small bunch green onions- chopped fine

Method:
1. Cool the rice completely so that each grain is separate
2. Heat oil on high heat, and fry the garlic, ginger and green chilli peppers for 1 minute.
3. Add onions and the sweet peppers and cook till just soft
4. Add tomato ketchup, soya sauce, chilli paste, chilli garlic sauce, pepper powder, vinegar and salt and mix well.
5. Add the vegetables and cook in the sauce for about 2-3 minutes
6. Add the cooled rice and toss until mixed well.
7. Check for seasoning and garnish with chopped green onions.
8. Serve hot with Vegetable Manchurian on the side.

VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN WITH HOT GARLIC SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 cup cabbage- very finely chopped or finely grated
1 cup green beans – finely chopped
1 cup carrots – grated
4-5 florets- grated cauliflower
1 small bunch green onions- finely chopped
2 table spoons white corn flour
1 tea spoon soya sauce
1 tea spoon finely chopped garlic
1 tea spoon white pepper powder
Salt to taste
Water as required
Oil for Frying
Method:
Mix all the vegetables with salt, corn flour, soya sauce and white pepper powder.
If it is too dry, add a little water and mix well to form into small balls.
Heat oil in a wok or a fry pan and deep fry these vegetable balls until golden brown.
Can be consumed as is or with the accompaniment of any ketchup or sauce.

For the Hot garlic Sauce:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
1 table spoon finely chopped ginger
1/3 cup red chilli paste
¼ cup tomato ketchup
1 table spoon soya sauce
1 tea spoon white pepper powder
1 pinch MSG (Mono sodium glutamate) – Optional
2 table spoons oil
1 table spoon chopped sweet green peppers
1 table spoon sliced onion
1 table spoon green onions
1 table spoon corn flour dissolved in 2 table spoons of cold water
Salt and according to taste
Sugar- optional
Method:
1. Heat oil and fry the ginger and garlic on high heat
2. Add sliced onions and green peppers and fry again for 2 mins until soft
3. Add pepper powder, MSG (if using), salt, soya sauce, tomato sauce, red chilli paste and fry for 1-2 minutes
4. Add ½ cup water and let it boil; check for seasoning; add sugar if needed and if it is too spicy.
5. Add the corn flour slurry and adjust the consistency
6. Remove from fire.
7. Garnish with chopped green onions.

To serve:
Arrange the vegetable balls on the serving dish, and pour the sauce on top. Serve hot, garnished with chopped green onions with a side of schezuan fried rice.

Variation:
As mentioned above, prepare the vegetable balls and set aside. Prepare the sauce without the water. Add the fried vegetable balls in it and toss so that it coates them. Do not fry or mix for a long time as they become soft and soggy. Just toss for less than a minute on high heat and remove from fire. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately to retain the crunch.

MAKKI ROTI WITH SARSON KA SAAG

For the Rotis:
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Maize flour
½ cup Wheat flour
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil + oil for shallow frying the rotis
Water as required (preferably warm water)
Optional- Chilli powder according to taste and 1 tea spoon thymol seeds (Ajwain)

Method:
Mix all the ingredients with warm water to form soft dough. Divide into small balls and roll out into rotis carefully into circles and toast on a hot griddle with oil on both sides.
NOTE:
1. These rotis are generally done by hands and it needs a lot of experience. It can also be rolled with a rolling pin if done carefully.
2. These rotis are generally eaten hot as it tends to harden when cold.

For the Sarson-ka-Saag:
Ingredients:
1 bunch Mustard leaves (Rapini can be substituted)
1 bunch Spinach
1 table spoon butter+ 1 tea spoon oil
1 large onion – chopped fine
1 tomato- chopped fine
1 inch piece ginger- chopped fine
2 cloves garlic – chopped fine
3-4 green chillies- Finely chopped
3 tablespoons maize flour
1 tea spoon ground coriander
1 tea spoon garam masala
1 tea spoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Lemon juice, if required
Method:
1. Boil the Mustard leaves/ Rapini and spinach in Salted water to remove the bitterness of Rapini; cool and mash the greens, set aside
2. In a pan, heat butter and oil together so that butter does not get burnt
3. Fry the chopped green chilli, ginger, garlic for 1 minute and then add onion and fry until browned.
4. Add the maize flour and fry until the flour is browned (about 3-4 mins). There should not be any raw smell of either the onion or the flour
5. Now add the tomato and fry for 2 mins until the tomatoes are soft. Mash the mixture with the back of the spoon if there are any lumps formed during the process
6. Add ground coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder and salt.
7. Add the ground rapini+spinach mixture and mix well and boil till thick.
8. Check for salt, and add lemon juice if required.
9. Serve hot with the corn rotis (Makki rotis)

Pasta Mint Salad

I tasted this at Pizza hut in Bangalore, India and since then, it is one of our favorite dishes. Usually, if I like something, I try to dig in and figure out what is in it which is making it so interesting and I like to try it out myself. This was very easy and it tastes exactly the same. It is a bit on the sweeter side because of the ingredients used, but believe me, it tastes great!
Generally, we don't have many choices in salads (Ones without Lettuce - this is one version for those who do not like salads with lettuce or greens)
This tastes great when served chilled. It's a great side dish with a slice of garlic bread or Focaccia.


Ingredients:
1 cup elbow pasta (macaroni) cooked al dente and cooled (Any other pasta like penne, rotini, bow, shell can be used)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 Roma tomato, deseeded and diced
1/4 cup pineapple chunks (if using canned, reserve the juice)
1 kiwi fruit (deseeded and chopped fine - leave the skin on, it tastes fine)
1 tea spoon sugar (check for pineapple, if it is naturally sweet, you can omit this sugar)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Method:
Cook the pasta according to instructions with olive oil and a pinch of salt. drain and cool until used.
Mix together pasta, tomatoes, pineapple (without the juice), kiwi fruit. Chill until used.
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sugar (if using) until thick along with any reserved pineapple juice. Add chopped mint leaves and add it to the pasta.
Mix well, chill and serve.
(Note: Adding lemon juice or vinegar preserves the colour of the mint to stay green and also does not alter the taste. Chop the mint leaves just before mixing in to avoid any discoloration.)
Serve chilled.

PANEER

Ingredients:
1 Litre Whole Milk
Juice of 1 lemon/Lime
Cheese cloth

Method:
Boil Milk and ddd the lemon juice. Continue to heat the milk until large lumps of cheese form. Drain this using a cheese cloth. Tie a knot to the cloth and hand it over night or until all the water is drained. Squeeze to remove extra water (This water is called whey and it can be used while making rotis to the wheat flour and the rotis turn out to be very soft)
Transfer this cheese to a plate or a block and keep a heavy weight on it and leave it over night in the fridge to set. This removes excess water if there is any. Cut into cubes or use it as required in recipes which call for paneer.