Khow suey

Ingredients:

1 packet rice noodles

1 cup mixed vegetables (diced carrots, green peas, beans, broccoli, capsicum, cauliflower, baby corn )

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 pods chopped garlic

1 1/2 inch piece chopped ginger

1 large lemon grass chopped or 2 teaspoons lemon grass powder (ok if not available)

2-3 kaffir lime leaves(ok if not available)

1-1/2 cups coconut milk

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons gram flour (besan)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder (dalchini powder)

Salt to taste

Chilli powder to taste

Oil 

Roasted peanuts, spring onion greens, lemon, fried onions, fried garlic for garnishing

Immerse rice noodles in hot water for 15 minutes until cooked, or cook as per instructions on the packet.

In a skillet, heat oil and  cook onion, ginger and garlic until onion is translucent, add in the line leaves and gran flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add vegetables, lemon grass and cook for a few minutes. Then add coconut milk, cumin and cinnamon powder, salt, chilli powder, sugar and some water and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Add in the lime juice.

To serve, pour this gravy over rice noodles and garnish with peanuts, spring onion green, fried onion and garlic and some lemon.

P.S - if you do not have kaffir line leaves or lemongrass - increase the quantity of lemon and ginger used in the recipe to double.

Cream Chicken (Chawla's Chicken style)

Ingredients:

250gms boneless chicken diced

1 tablespoon kasoori methi or dried 

regular methi

1-1 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger garlic paste

100 ml milk

50ml cooking cream

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder to taste

Oil (optional)

Marinate the chicken pieces with salt and the ginger garlic paste for about 30 minutes.

In a nonstick pan add the marinated chicken and cook for a few minutes (it's okay for the chicken to slightly caramelise/get colour). If you use a nonstick pan you do not need to use oil, but you may choose to do so.

Then add milk, black pepper and the methi and let cook until the chicken is cooked and the milk is dry.

If the milk dries but the chicken isn't tender, just add some more milk, do not add any water.

When the milk is almost completely dry add the cream and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Serve hot with roti or naan.

P.s: vegetarians can use paneer or soya chunks/mock meat instead.

Quick Chocolate barfi

Ingredients;

1 can condensed milk (200-250gms)

1/3 cup powdered sugar 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

Chopped nuts for garnishing (I like silvered almonds)

In a think bottomed pan melt the butter. Add all ingredients except the nuts.

Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and sticky. Constantly stir to prevent sticking.

Set on a greased tray and decorate with chopped nuts.

Cool and cut into pieces.

P.s you may add chopped walnuts to he condensed milk to make a choco walnut barfi or any other nuts for that matter.

Tosha - a sindhi desert

Ingredients:

250gms flour (maida)

1/2 cup curd

1/2 cup oil

1/2 teaspoon soda bicarbonate (cooking soda)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups sugar

Oil to fry

Make a dough using flour, oil, curd, salt and soda bicarbonate. Knead well to form a hard dough. Do not add water.

Shape the dough like kebabs or sausages and deep fry until golden brown.

In another pan heat 3 cups of water with 3 cups of sugar to form a thick pasty mixture. 

Dip the fried rolls into the sugar syrup and let cool (room temperature) before serving.

Can be garnished with chopped nuts and rose petals, before the sugar hardens on the rolls.

Chocolate cake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and keep aside.

In a big mixing bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until thick (about 1 minute)

Then add all the dry ingredients and mix so that no lumps are formed and its creamy in texture.

In a baking dish lined with butter paper or greased with oil pour the mixture and bake in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Prick a toothpick in the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is ready.

P.s : to make vanilla cake substitute the cocoa powder with all purpose flour and add 4-5 drops vanilla essence. For other flavours add essence for the flavour and a few drops/ teaspoon of edible colour.

Potato spinach and peanut pinwheels

Ingredients:

4-5 boiled potatoes mashed

1/2 cup blanched spinach, puréed(do not add water, must be as thick as can be)

1/2 cup coarsely grounded peanuts

1 teaspoon jeera

2 tablespoons mint leave finely chopped

Breadcrumbs as required

Red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

Coriander powder (dhania to taste)

Oil for frying 

Add the jeera, salt and red chillies to the mashed potatoes and mix well. You may need to add some breadcrumbs so that it doesn't break on frying.

Spread a layer of this on aluminium foil.

Mix the mint leaves with the spinach purée and add some salt. (If the purée is too thin, cook it a while until it thickens, if nothing held, add some gram flour and cook a bit).

Layer this on the potato.

Now with the help of the foil roll into a log. 

Dip this log into the crushed groundnuts and slightly press, so that the groundnuts firmly embed into the potatoes and not come out while frying. 

Cut into 1/2 inch thick circles and deep fry on medium high flame.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

Fusion mirchi pakodas

Ingredients:

12-15 green chillies ( the thick ones that can be stuffed)

15 green olives finely chopped

1/2 cup crumbled paneer

1/4 cup grated cheese

A handful of mint finely chopped

6-8 tablespoons gram flour (besan)

A pinch of cooking soda

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder to taste

Oil for frying

Slit the green chillies and scoop out the seeds. Soak in hot water for 3-5 minutes.

Ensure the chillies don't become too soft. The need to be slightly crunchy.

In a bowl mix paneer, cheese, olives, mint, salt and pepper. Stuff this mixture into the chillies. Don't overstuff or the filling will come out while frying.

In another bowl mix the gram flour, soda and some salt and make a thin paste using water.

Dip the stuffed chillies and deep fry on medium high heat.

Serve hot.

You can use capsicum instead of chillies, but will have to cut the capsicum pakora into slices before serving.

Colourful Coconut ladoos

Makes a variety of flavours

Ingredients:

1 tin condensed milk

1/2 kg grated coconut (can be fresh or dry)

For flavouring

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2-3 drops flavoured essence (mango, rose,pista,vanilla)

1/2 teaspoon or a few drops edible colour ( yellow for mango, red for rose, green for pista)

Add 8-10 tablespoons condensed milk in 5 separate bowls. Add the cocoa powder to one and mix, mango essence and yellow colour to the next, rose essence and red colour to the one after, followed by pista essence and green colour and finally vanilla essence in the last one.

Add some of the grated coconut in each of the bowls and ensure the mixture is hard enough and can be shaped into balls. The mixture mustn't be too hard or too soft.

Roll the balls in dry coconut and your colourful coconut ladoos are ready.

You may add nuts to the ladoos. If you add nuts, dry roast them before you add them to your ladoos.

Vanilla essence can be substituted for almond essence.

Quick Mutton curry

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo mutton

4-5 bay leaves (tej pata)

3-4 cloves (Laung)

2-3 one inch sticks of cinnamon (dalchini)

2 black cardamom (badi elaichi)

2-3 peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon shahi jeera

1 1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1 teaspoon red chili powder

3-4 Kashmiri chillies (any other dried red chilli will do)

Ghee (clarified butter)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

3 tablespoons browned onion paste (sauté onions till brown and make into a paste)

Coriander and cream for garnishing (optional)

In a thick bottomed pan heat about 5-6 heaped tablespoons of ghee and cook the mutton for 4-5 minutes, constantly stirring.

Then add the whole spices and chillies along with the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the salty, chilli powder and onion paste with very little water and cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Turn of the flame and stir in the garam masala powder.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander and cream and serve with hot roti/naan.

Potato wadas

Ingredients:

3 medium to large potatoes boiled

1/2 tablespoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

A handful of coriander leaves finely chopped 

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4 tablespoons gram flour (besan)

Water

Salt to taste

5-6 curry leaves

Red chilli powder to taste

Oil for frying 

Mash the potatoes with coriander, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.

In a small pan heat 1 tablespoon oil, add mustard seeds and let crackle. Then add. Curry leaves, ginger and garlic paste.

Add this to the mashed potatoes. And mix well. Shape into balls and keep aside

Make a thin paste of the gram flour, a little salt and water.

In a pan heat oil. Dip the potato balls in the gram flour and deep fry until golden brown or crisp.

Serve hot with coconut or coriander chutney or ketchup.

Can be fried a little and stored in the refrigerator (like in the picture). When you want to serve, just refry till golden brown. Can be stored for 3-4 days.

Makes 10-12 wadas.

Paneer chatpata

Ingredients:

250gms paneer (cut into bite sized squares)

4 tablespoons hung curd or Greek yoghurt

4 tablespoons maida

1 medium onion cut into cubes

2 tablespoons tomato purée

1 green capsicum  cut into cubes

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 tablespoon Kasturi methi

Oil

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder to taste

1 teaspoon tandoori chicken powder

1 teaspoon chat masala

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon dhania powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder.

Make a thin paste of the maida and water, add some salt. 

Dip the paneer pieces in this batter and fry on medium high heat and keep aside.

Mix all the dry spices and some salt and chilli with the yoghurt and keep aside.

In a pan heat the oil and toss in the ginger, garlic, onion and capsicum and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add 2-3 tablespoons on water to soften the info and capsicum. Once the water is dry, add the yoghurt, methi and tomato purée and sauté for a minute.

Add the fried paneer pieces and let cook on low flame for 2 minutes.

Serve hot with rotis/naan.

Creamy Mushroom soup

Ingredients:

1 big onion finely chopped

250 gms mushrooms (you may use button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms or any other kind of mushrooms or even a combination) finely chopped

1 litre full cream milk

11/2 tablespoon corn flour

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1/2 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

Pepper powder to taste

In a pan heat the oil and melt the butter. Add onions and cook till translucent. Then add the mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 mins on medium heat.

Take a little milk and dissolve corn flour in it. Add the remaining milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg and being to a boil.

Then add the milk in which corn flour has been dissolved and let simmer for about 8-10 mins.

Let it cool and with a hand blender make a purée. Do not make it pasty, let some mushroom pieces remain.

The consistency is usually perfect, but if you want you may want to thicken it by boiling or add water to make it thinner.

Serves approx 6.

Chicken burger

Ingredients:

250gms minced chicken

1 small onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Some coriander finely chopped

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder to taste

Bread crumbs to bind 

Oil to fry

Mix together all ingredients except the oil.

Let the mixture remain slightly soft. Do not use a lot of breadcrumbs.

Shape into burger patties and ensure it's soft. Leave in the freezer for 10 mins and then transfer to the refrigerator. This will ensure that the patties don't break (possibility of breaking is otherwise high since the pattys are soft).

On a grill or a fry pan add a few drops of oil and grill/shallow fry. Serve on a burger bun with mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, tomato slice, cucumber Alice, gherkins or jalapeños.

Tip: the softer the party before cooking, the juicier your burger.

Mushroom and cheese tikkis

Ingredients:

8-10 mushrooms

1 small onion

1/2 cup grated cheese

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 boiled potato

1 teaspoon chaat masala

Salt to taste

Oil for frying 

Bread crumbs (if needed)

In a pan of boiling water and the mushrooms and leave for five minutes. Strain and leave aside.

In a chopper add all ingredients except oil.

Shape to form tikkis. If the dough is too soft, add breadcrumbs.

Shallow fry on medium heat and serve.

Do not deep fry. Since this contains a lot of cheese it's likely to crumble.