When Archana announced One D Salad,i thought i will come up with some good sort of salad,since i always have simple sliced cucumber,radish,beetroot etc as salad or at the most,the gujrati style cucumber-tomato-onion chopped salad.

I thought i will search some good salad recipes and post them.Meanwhile i boiled some moong to make moong parathas for my son.Now, to tell you the truth i just don’t like any parathas except aloo parathas.But i always eat whatever i cook for my son,just to  depict a good impression on him,that its not good to fuss about the food

But that day i just couldn’t convinced myself to bite on those parathas.I did not had time to make something else . I kept staring at  the boiled moong  ,still with the same question in my mind  “To eat or not to eat”?

Darn… i can’t let them go waste,nor was i ready to give in to those parathas.Thats when Archana’s one D salad hit my brain(ouchh…its still hurting !)

So i just threw in together,in a bowl ,everything i had in my refrigerator ,along with those boiled moong ,spiced it up to suit my palate and yo….i was ready with an entry for archana’s event which called for a protein rich salad

Moong beans also called Green gram is a pulse/legume. While pulses are generally high in protein, and the digestibility of that protein is also high,Moong beans also contain good amounts of calcium and Vitamin C.  Cooking does not affect the protein content of this pulse.(source asavadha.com).so i guess Archana ,this fits  the bill since 100 gms of moong are supposed to have 3 gms of proteins

Simple moong salad:

Ingredients

• Boiled Moong(better if sprouted) one cup
• Boiled potato 1 small
• Boiled beetroot 1small
• Carrot 1
• Lettuce or cabbage leaves  -few
• Lemon juice 1 spoon
• Red chilly powder
• Salt(white or rock salt…i prefer later)
• Coriander leaves
• Almonds(optional….i didn’t used any,but i have read, its good to add some)
• Chaat masala powder few pinches

Method:

• Wash and soak moong for few hours.Boil them with little water,salt,turmeric ginger,green chillies till just cooked(not mushy)
• You can use the moong sprouts(much healthier) that are available in food malls,or you can wash,soak and then keep the moong wrapped in moist napkin for a day or two till moong sprouts up
• Mix in salad bowl,the boiled moong, and chooped carrots,boiled beetroot,onion,boiled potato,cabbage(either or all of them)
• Sprinkle  salt,red chilly powder ,chaat masala powder,lemon juice ,fresh coriander leaves and enjoy

I would like to share with all my dear visitors a happy news…Roma of Roma’s space honored this humble blog of mine with a  BRILLANTE Award

Here’s what Juliana lair has to say about this award rules

The Above recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers.

So Roma i hope i can pass on this wonderful award to some of the blogs that i find awesome

Srivalli

Sia

Medhaa

Indrajeet

Sunshine mom

Hope you guys will be kind enough to pick this up from here

Ps: Some time back ,i had posted Special daal recipe which was  by Sk(my bro-in-law)

This budding cook had send me yet another breakfast made by him .Here’s what he has to say”  Its yogurt with kaala namak(rock salt), Jeerey ka tadka (tempered with cumin seeds), salt and garnished with coriander leaves. Made papad in oven and cooked Roti on frying pan”

A typical sindhi breakfast!

Wish him loads of lucks …..for his culinary experiments

Few days back there was a food event where in the host called upon for Pakora recipes,and being a sindhi i have no reason not to participate in that,coz Sindhis are world illfamous  famous for their love for crispy pakoras ,fritters,Tikkis etc,basically anything deep fried

But i wanted to make something special….something which is closely associated to Sindhi cuisine,is something unusual yet delicious….My thoughts wandered from Palak pakora to mix vegetable pakora but i wasn’t satisfied.Then after spending many days in deciding what to come up with,i zero in  down on Bhee Ji Tikki….a stuffed lotus stem,coated with chickpea flour batter and deep fried.

But my enthusiasm was crushed ,when i was unable to find lotus stem in our regular veggie market and despite of many rounds in market i could not hunt them in required time.I missed out the wonderful event

I was bit upset ,and just over a casual talk,i told my mother about it,and as everyone knows how Mothers are…..these crispy lovely Tikkis landed at my doorsteps in no matter of time

Yes… my father grabbed some Bhee from God- knows- where and my mother made the tikkis from them and send them to me.No marks for guessing how much i enjoyed them!

So now I am sending this to dear pooja ,and this is my yet another entry for Pooja’s Theme of the week-Saffron white green

Bhee(kamalkakdi or lotus stem) Ji Tikki

Ingredients:

• Bheeya(Kamalkakdi or Lotus stem) 250 gms
• Coriander leaves  -A small bunch
• Green chillies 4-5
• Garlic 10-12 cloves
• Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
• Coriander Powder  2 tspn
• Amchoor (Optional) 1/4 tspn
• Gram flour(Besan) 1 small cup
• Salt as per taste
• Red chilli powder 1/4 tspn
• Baking soda a pinch
• Oil for frying

Method:

• Wash thoroughly kamalkakdi,and cut it into pieces of about  2 inches long
• Now boil these in a pressure cooker with some salt and water ,till 1 whistle
• Prick it with knife to check whether kamalkakdi is almost cooked or else boil it further.Depending upon the quality of kamalkakdi,the time to cook ,varies and if you are one of those unlucky people who is cooking bhee that just refuses to soften even after hell lots of cooker whistles ,then make them cook faster by adding few drops of oil or sindhi papad(my MIL gave that tip) while boiling
• Meanwhile mix  chopped coriander leaves,green chillies and  garlic in mortar-pestle (Hamam Dasta) and pound it to obtain a coarse mixture.Please do not grind it,in case you don’t have mortar pestle just crush them on flat surface with rolling pin etc
• Add salt,turmeric powder,coriander powder,amchoor powder(optional) and mix it properly
• Now take besan in a bowl,add some salt,red chilly powder and baking soda and mix it properly.Add water to make a batter of thick consistency
• Now take each piece of boiled kamalkakdi,slit it vertically and stuff the mixture properly
• Dip it in besan batter and coat it properly
• Fry it in hot oil on medium flame for a while,then take it out and press a little in between your palms(carefully so as to not break it) and fry again till crisp and golden colour.Repeat the procedure for all pieces
• Serve this Bheeya ji tikki with coriander and mint chutney,and get praised for your hard work

Well to mark the occasion of Indian Independence day which falls on 15th of August,Pooja asked every participant to write something about India,its culture or its history.

I on my part would like to end up this post with lyrics of this song, that describe Indians according to my perspective;please do take it on lighter note:-)
Hum logon ko samajh sako to samjho dilbar jaani
Jitna bhi tum samjhoge utni hogi hairaani
Apni chhatri tumko dedein kabhi jo barse paani
Kabhi naye packet mein bechein tumko cheez puraani
Phir bhi dil hai hindustani
Phir bhi dil hai hindustani
Phir bhi dil hai hindustani
Phir bhi dil hai hindustani

(If you can understand we Indians, then do try,the more u know about us,the more you will be amazed.On one hand we can hand over our umbrellas to the needy, when its raining and on the other hand we can even cheat you out by selling you outdated stuff ,but after all said and done…we are Indians at our heart,with loads of love for our nation)

15 th August,The  Independence Day of Our India,is truly a special day for all Indians.

To salute the spirit of this day,Pooja of My creative Ideas came with a wonderful event

As per Pooja  Here are the rules to participate in this event:

 ”Cook anything with 3 colors of flag of India. (Orange , White and Green – you can cook dish finally resulting in any of these 3 colors / any single color / all of 3 , slight variation in color of final dish is perfectly OK”

I simply loved the idea,because for people like me who cannot actively contribute to the  festivity of this Memorable day,what is better than to cook a thing as special  as the day itself?

So here I come with a Typical Sindhi Mithai,made with dessicated coconuts.I know there is still a week to go for the D Day,but considering the pathetic situation of non availability of Electricity for almost 8 hrs everyday and Internet connections going Kaput every now and then, hence i didn’t wanted to wait till next week.Despite of all the jabbering against the place i live,i still love my India.So wishing you all a very patriotic Independence day !

This is also my entry for Easycraft’s WYF-COlour in food event since i had used Green colour in this mithai, and green is my favourite colour in food

 

Nariyal mithai:

Ingredients:

• Dessicated coconut powder(easily available at stores as naariyal ka chura) 250 gms
• Milk powder 2 spoons
• Sugar 250 gms
• Water 2 small cups
• Green colour(edible food colour)
• White rose essence few drops

Method:

• In a thick bottom pan,add water and sugar,and let it boil for few minutes till a syrup of thick consistency is obtained(this is tricky one,as syrup should not be too dilute ,nor too thick)
• Now divide this syrup into two halves,add little amount of green colour in one half and leave the other half as it is
•  Now mix milk powder in the coconut powder
• Put the colourless syrup in the pan and add half of the coconut mixture in it and cook it,mixing continuously,so that the coconut doesn’t get burned or charred
• Cook till the mixture start sticking to pan
• Put it off the flame and mix few drops of rose essence and pour the mix on greased plate and smoothen down till the layer is at least 1 inch thick(a little more or less is ok)
•  Now repeat the same procedure with green syrup and remaining coconut powder,and lay it over the white layer,smoothing it down (you can wet your hands ,coz the hot mixture is sticky)
• Let it cool for a while and then cut it into pieces of desired shape

Paneer or cottage cheese is THE  most famous ingredient (after potato)which is generously used in Indian cuisine.Every restaurant caters number of paneer dishes,and it is almost compulsory  in our community to cook atleast one paneer based dish ,when some guests are expected to dine with us

So when dear  Srivalli of Cooking4allseasons ,announced yet another event called Curry Mela ,i could think of nothing else but this Rich gravy based paneer delicacy

I know Health freaks would raise their brows when they hear rich gravy,or butter paneer,but guys hold on…..you can totally skip”Richness” and yet enjoy this most sought after paneer dish.
Ingredients:

• Paneer(cottage cheese) 150 gms
• Onions 3 +1(???…explained below !)
• Tomato 2 small
• Green chillies 2
• Ginger
• Garlic 5 cloves
• Milk 1 cup
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
• Garam masala powder 1/4 tspn
• kitchen king less than 1/4 tspn
• kasuri methi 1/4 tspn
• Salt
• Butter 1 tspn(optional)
• Fresh cream 2  tspn or Unsweetened mawa(optional) 2 tspn or more
• Cashews 5
• Tejpatta(Bay leaf) 1
• Cloves 2
• Javitri(mace) just two small strands
• Dal chini(cinnamon stck)just  a bit

Method:

• Cut the paneer into cubes and keep them is salted water
• Peel and slice 3 onions
• Shallow fry them in 1 tbspn of oil,in a heavy bottom kadai/pan/nonstick pan,on medium flame,till evenly browned(do not char the onions)
• Meanwhile  grind ginger garlic with little of water to make a paste
• Boil cashews in a cup of water for 2 min,then grind them to make cashew paste
• Grind tomato and green chillies and keep aside
• Peel and grind one onion (this expalins 3+1 onions in ingredients list) with little of water and make a paste.Keep it aside
• Now finally grind browned onions(phew…..so much of grinding !) and keep this paste aside too
• Now in the pan/kadai,put some oil,and saute a tejpatta ,javitri,cloves,dalchini,and add ginger garlic paste
• Saute it till the paste changes to pinkish colour,then add raw onion paste
• Saute it properly till onion paste turns brownish(this paste give the dense  smooth texture to gravy) .You can also boil the onion first and then make paste
• Now add browned onion paste,tomatochilly paste,salt,turmeric powder,garam masala powder,kitchen king,kasurimethi and mix properly till the oil separates out
• Now add cashew paste,milk ,butter(optional),fresh cream/unsweetened mawa(optional)(….i never use them,i prefer adding milk) and adjust the seasoning
  Finally add paneer cubes and mix properly
• Let it simmer (add some water if needed) for few minutes
• Garnish with coriander leaves and/or grated paneer/fresh cream and serve with roti/phulka/naan
•  Note: This gravy taste better if curd is used(1/2 cup),in that case reduce the quantity of tomato But since i avoid using curd and milk together in gravy,u can proceed with adding curd and skipping milk

Other related posts:

Paneer burji

Other curry based recipes

Wadipatata, Macroni peas patata , Sindhi kadhi chaawal