Egg curry/ Anda masala curry
In most of non-vegetarian families, eggs are amongst the favorite and quick breakfast or evening snack options. All over the world, protein-rich eggs come to easy rescue as a healthy start of the day from yummy omelets to peppered boiled to lightly scrambled and the list is endless. So, today let’s admire this versatile food and give it some space in the main course as well. How about adding some curry factor to the eggs…...yummy isn’t
??
Egg curry is an appetizing main course or a side dish which doesn’t take much time to prepare. The curry adds a nice tangy flavor to the mild taste of eggs, making the recipe simply delectable. I have even seen the fussy little ones who may not relish the original taste of eggs, happily eat them in the disguise of delicious curry.
Dahi Ki Arbi/Colocasia or Taro Root in Yoghurt Gravy
It’s no surprise that so many of our memories are attached to food. Some dishes simply act as a time travel capsule for me, transporting me back into my mother’s kitchen many many years ago! And so was the case with today’s dahi ki arbi (If I can warrant a translation – colocasia or taro root in yoghurt gravy). This simple yet so beautifully tasty dish reminds me of the warmth of mother’s cooking and also a little bit of her cheating! : P I was never into trying something new as a kid and I loved potato so I pretty much stayed with it. So the first time my mom tried arbi, she told me it was potato! And the gullible me, believed it and what can I say: lucky me, loved it! :)
Read more: Dahi Ki Arbi/Colocasia or Taro Root in Yoghurt Gravy
Paneer Capsicum/ Cottage cheese with capsicum
Paneer Capsicum is my “exotic in minutes’ recipe! Do you often get surprise guests for dinner at home? It happens here quite often and while there are times time pizza delivery is the only option, I try to keep that to a minimum. For times like those I have recipes like this one – under 20 minutes. Paneer or cottage cheese has always been a special occasion dish on any Indian dinner menu and while most preparations take a long time, this one gets done in a jiffy! The red, green and yellow capsicum (bell peppers) gives a nice juicy, sweet and crunchy texture that compliments the softness of cottage cheese. This one is bound to impress and believe me your guests will never know that this was a less than 20 mins job.
Cauliflower, potato and peas fry/ Gobi, aloo, matar ki subzi
I love the mild taste of cauliflower, be it as a stuffing in a parantha, rice dishes or just a stir fry. May be it’s the flavor cauliflower adds or the spices that gels well with it making it an enticing ingredient in a range of recipes. This cauliflower delicacy is my favorite since childhood. My mother revives my memory and tells me that I used to pick out the cauliflower florets from mine as well as her plate and just eat them leaving aside everything else. In my family, if cauliflower is in season, this recipe gets cooked at least once a week de facto.
Cauliflower, potato and peas fry is a quick and easy meal and works well for a main course recipe and is served along with a plain parantha or Indian flat bread. Due to its popularity especially in North India, it is mostly included in the party lunch or dinner menus.
Read more: Cauliflower, potato and peas fry/ Gobi, aloo, matar ki subzi
Palak Paneer/ Cottage cheese in spinach gravy
I really feel amazed at mother’s energies when it comes to feeding their children. A mother’s heart is torn between feeding them healthy and feeding them what they like. How many children do you know who don’t fuss about eating?
Zero – is my number. We were ourselves very fussy so I don’t we have any right complaining about our kids. My niece is coming next week to stay over for a week during her summer break and I have already got a list of things she likes to eat from her. “Masi make bhindi, pasta, black daal and palak paneer.” And when I asked he what about the other 4 days, she says “we will repeat!” :D
Dal Makhani/Creamy whole black lentils
Dal Makhani or ma ki dal is a famous Punjabi delicacy and is served in almost all eateries from a small roadside food vendor to the finest Indian restaurants serving North Indian food. Not only in India, dal makhani is cherished as one of the main Indian dishes internationally as well. Its presence in most of the North Indian lunch and dinner party buffet menus is de facto. The creamy flavor, velvety texture and enticing aroma of dal makhani can awaken anyone’s taste buds asking……”what’s cooking…?”
Whenever we go out for a north Indian dinner outing, dal makhani is undisputedly preferred as one of the options. So I thought why not share the recipe for dal makhani this time. And for all those health conscious folks, lentils are a good source of essential proteins, fiber and minerals.
Potato- Eggplant Vegetable Fry
If eggplant is my favourite vegetable, potato stands just next to it. In fact potato was the king according to me until I discovered the various delights of cooking with an eggplant! This recipe of potato-eggplant fry brings two of my most loved vegetables togetherJ. As a kid I didn’t eat eggplants just because I thought a vegetable cannot be purple in colour! Whenever my mom made this dish, I would single out the potatoes and eat just those. Times have changed and I’m a total eggplant convert! So much that I can write a whole book on just eggplant recipes! The beauty of this dish is that neither overpowers the other. We ate it in dinner with raita and rotis. There was some leftover which I used as a filling in a tortilla to make a wrap for my lunch!
Everyday Cooking - Aaloo-gajar ki subzi
A usual meal on my dinner table consists of one dry vegetable fry, one daal, chapatti, curd and salad. And after work there isn’t too much time to make elaborate dishes, so everyday meals have dishes like aaloo-gajar, okra fry, aaloo baingan and radish fry etc. These dishes are nutritious and take no more than 20mins end to end. Along with daal and chapati the whole meal take no more than 30-40 mins to cook. Some of my friends feel cooking is difficult and time consuming. One of the reasons of sharing these quick recipes is to counter that myth. I feel cooking is beautiful. More than that I feel when you cook for your family, you add that secret ingredient called love which no cook would add! So it’s time to reclaim
your kitchen and your family's health!
Raw Tomato Vegetable Fry
I’ve recently caught the bug of growing an apartment garden and while researching I came across a lady who does it. I went to her house to get tips on what kind of plants can I grow and how to compost at home etc. When I was about to leave she gifted me 8 green raw tomatoes right from her garden! I had never used raw tomatoes before. She just told me to use these lovely green tomatoes as a vegetable and not as gravy base we normally use the red tomatoes for. “you will figure out the rest” is what she said and I did J. Here is a super quick recipe for raw (green) tomato vegetable fry or Kachche (hare) tamatar ki subzi
Turnips-Fenugreek (Shalgam-methi ) vegetable fry
Shalgam or Turnips are normally a part of salad in my home. Until yesterday I had never actually cooked them! When I saw this recipe for shalgam-methi vegetable fry on one of the cookery shows almost 4 months ago, I had made a mental note of trying it out sometime. Yesterday when I was thinking about what to post in this column, I suddenly remembered this one. Turnips won’t be in season for long so it gave me reason enough to go down to the grocery store and bring them home.
I hope this recipe gives you reason enough to bring them into your home too!
Green Chutney/Green dip (scallions, mint and coriander)
Dips or chutneys can spice up any savory recipe be it dumplings or pakoras, crepes, pulao or just plain normal bread.It gels undisputed with the breakfast recipes to the evening snacks till the main course at dinner. What’s more to ask if the side dip is full of healthy greens and free of fats. Every bite dipped in the green chutney makes the food more appetizing andundoubtedly healthy.
The green chutney interestingly came into picture. We had invited some guests for a dinner party last week and along with other veggies, I got a lot of mint, coriander and scallions for salad and garnishing. While doing the clean-up after cooking, I was storing the surplus vegetables in the refrigerator.Then the tangy taste bud became active and I decided to make the chutney with the remaining mint, scallions and coriander. Although tamarind chutney was already a part of the dinner menu, but my green chutney became the hit for the day, both with the snacks as well as during the dinner.
Read more: Green Chutney/Green dip (scallions, mint and coriander)
Punjabi chole/ Indian Style chickpea curry
Chole Kulche is a quintessential Punjabi dish but finds its followers all over the country. No Indian fast food menu can be complete without Chole Bhature or Chole Kulche. For the diet conscious this has to be reserved for the days when you decide to splurge on eating… However since the unhealthy part here is the bhatura/ Kulcha (made with maida) else you can replace them with whole wheat rotis or rice. We give you the recipe for just the curry here; do let us know what you combined it with!
Radish Greens Vegetable Fry
The tangy (and slightly chilly!) white radish is a common ingredient in salads as raw and also in paranthas, the stuffed Indian bread. But the leaves of the radish are possibly the most nutritious part of the vegetable.
Mooli ke patton ki sabzi radish greens vegetable fry is a common preparation in my home. While many don’t add Radish per se to the recipe, I do. You can also add spring onions for a slightly sweeter flavour. The Radish greens wilt very quickly, so eat the greens within a couple of days of bringing it home.
Curry Paneer
Paneer is almost like a vegetarian chicken in Indian cuisine. Every chicken dish like chicken makhanwala, chicken tikka, kadai chicken etc. there is a paneer equivalent for the vegetarians. No Indian restaurant can run without these on their menu :)
At home, Paneer or cottage cheese is the festive or party dish in a typical vegetarian Indian household. When I was a kid, I used to look forward to guests coming home, because I knew the will be paneer on the dinner menu then. My mom used to make cottage cheese at home, but you can buy it from any dairy or you also get frozen paneer in Indian supermarkets.
Pickled Eggplants/ Achaari Baingan
We come back to one of the most versatile of vegetables – eggplant! Pickled eggplant is a fusion of pickle seasoning and stuffed vegetable recipe. Pickles are a common accompaniment in every Indian meal. In this recipe I use the seasoning used in traditional Indian pickles to stuff baby eggplants with. The dish goes great with Indian flat bread (rotis) but these baby eggplants are a delight non their own as well!
The stems in the picture look a lot like tentacles but it just makes it easier to turn them while cooking and easier to hold them while eating as is!
Palak Kadhi (Spinach Kadhi)
Kadhi is an excellent way of including yoghurt in the menu. A comfort food for many, kadhi has a different recipe is almost every state in India. Moreover, this recipe combines the goodness of spinach into a popular dish. It’s also a good substitute for daal for the diet conscious.
Baingan Patiala (Stir fried eggplants)
Baingan or eggplant is called the King of vegetables in India. I’m sure it’s true in other cuisines also because of its versatility across and within cuisines. I first had Baingan Patiala at a local restaurant in Udaipur and immediately fell in love with the preparation. Till then my usual eggplant dish was Baingan Bharta or stuffed baingan but never a stir fried dish. After the meal, I actually pestered the chef to give me the recipe and now it’s a frequent accompaniment on our dinner menu!
Daal Fry (Yellow Daal/ Mixed Daal)
Daal or pulses are a major source of protein in an Indian vegetarian diet. They have so many varieties and variations across India that it will be a tough task to do a listing. So many Indian chefs have cookbooks dedicated entirely to daal recipes. Daal-Rice has to be the comfort food for majority of us Indians. It just slides down the throat and gives this nice warmth to the body.
Another thing which makes daal fry a comfort food for me is the ease of cooking it. All in 30 minutes this dish always brings a smile on my face. Take some steamed rice in a bowl; pour some daal fry over it and enjoy!
