Recipe: Moong Dal Chaat

Snack time usually becomes the junk eating time. I personally crave for some chaat, samosa, fried food  along with my evening tea. Having said that it's definitely not a good idea to eat all these due to the obvious health reasons. I recently experimented with moong daal to prepare a chaat version of it which turned out to be really good and tasty. The green or sprouted moong daal provides the required protein nutrient and at the same time, it's delicious too. Give it a try to this moong daal chaat and let me know how was it.

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Chicken Momos Recipe 
2 minutes Microwave Instant  Mug Cake 
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Moong Dal Chaat/ Green Moong Dal Chaat/ Sprouted Moong Dal Chaat:

 

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup Soaked Moong Daal (Overnight)/Sprouted Moong Dal
4 Tablespoon Curd
3 Tablespoon Imli sauce or imli Chutney (prepared at home)
1 Tablespoon Red chilli Powder
1 Tablespoon Chaat Masala
1 Tablespoon Oil
2 Tablespoon Moong dal Namkeen (Available in the market - Optional)
1 Medium sized chopped Onion
Coriander for garnishing
Salt as per taste

Method: 

Soak moon dal overnight or use the sprouted moong dal.
In a pan add oil and add moong dal, salt, red chilli powder. Stir well and cook it for 8-10 minutes.
Transfer it to the plate.
Add curd, imli chutney, chopped onions, moong dal namkeen (it gives a crunchy flavour),chaat masala.
Garnish with coriander and any nameen of your choice.
Serve and Enjoy

Recipe: Mint- Yogurt Dip - Quick and Refreshing

Mint yogurt dip tastes totally amazing. You can enjoy this with any appetizer (tikka , cutlets or parathas) as it gives a good refreshing twist to the regular chutney or even you can have it with any meal as raita.

 

Mint Yogurt Dip:

Ingredients :

Mint Leaves - 1 cup
Yogurt (Curd) – 1/2 cup
Green chilies – 2
Salt – 2 pinch
Black salt – 2 pinch

Method :

Blend together all ingredients for 2 minutes and its ready :)

See I told you its quick and easy. Try it out....

 

Recipe: Tomato Soup - The Healthy Version

A bowl of tomato soup is always soothing and comforting. I enjoy tomato soup in any weather (usually people prefer in winters). There are many versions of tomato soup available at restaurants or people make at home. My version of soup is neither creamy nor do I add cornflour but tastes amazing. It is suggested to have soup before dinner to all the weight watchers.

Tomato Soup
Serves 3
Takes 30 minutes

Ingredients:

 3 big sized Tomatoes
1 Onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Garam masala
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
Salt as per taste
Pinch of Sugar


For Garnishing:
Coriander leaves
Paneer( Optional)


Method:

Heat a pan and add butter.
Add the cumin seeds and after 2 minutes add all the ingredients together.
Allow them to cook for 10-12 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and have become pulpy.
Cool the mixture and then grind it into a fine paste.
Strain it through a strainer and now add water as per the desired consistency.
Boil the soup in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Adjust salt and add pinch of sugar.

and Taddaaa.... the tasty Tomato soup is ready. Sprinkle some coriander leaves for garnishing. You can add cornstarch if you want the soup to be thick. Some people also prefer to add cream to the soup to make it more rich. You can toast some bread pieces on the Tawa and enjoy them with the hot soup.
I love paneer so I added few paneer cubes to my soup to make it more yum :)

Recipe: Sambar - Yummy and Healthy !

Sambar is one of the main items of South Indian cuisines. Sambar is served in various combinations with rice, idli, dosa, etc. I am a big sambhar lover and can have it as soup in my any meal. It is very nutritious as the pulses are loaded with lots of vegetables and at the same time it is  tasty too. Lots of people make Sambar in a different style. I am sharing my version of Sambar, hope you will like it. And yes, feel free to get in touch if have any questions or suggestions.

Sambar
Serves 4
Takes 40 minutes

Ingredients:

 1 and 1/2 cup Tur Daal
2 Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 finely chopped onion
2 cup bitter goud
1 brinjal
1/4 cup tamarind
2-3 cloves garlic
1 carrot ( medium sized)
3 tsp Everest Sambhar Powder
1/2 Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
 1 tsp red chilli powder( adjust acc to your taste)
Salt as per taste
Pinch of Hing powder

For Seasoning:
1 and 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
7-8 Curry Leaves


Method:

Soak daal for 10 minutes. Pressure cook daal and add 1 tomato, turmeric and salt to it. Make sure it is cooked.
Heat some oil in a pan and add cumin seeds after 1 minute add onions, fry for next 2 minutes.
Add chopped garlic, tomatoes, and all the vegetables you want to add to sambar.
Add sambar powder, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder. Cook the vegetables for 15 minutes at low flame.
Now add all the cooked vegetables to the cooker containing tur daal.
Pressure cook daal along with vegetables again for next 10 minutes.
Open the cooker and add tamarind or lemon as per the taste.
Add tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Taddaaaa.... Tasty sambar is ready. You can adjust the consistency as per your taste. I like the soupy one. Now, enjoy the delicious sambar with idli or dosa.

Recipe: Rava Idli - Healthy and Tasty !!

Rava Idli is always my favorite because they are "fast to cook and good to eat" :) They don't require that much effort and time as needed with rice idli ( although I love both). Rava idli are said to be light and are easy to digest. Rava is very useful in making many quick, easy and tasty breakfast items.
So, I will share my version of Rava idli:

Rava Idli: 
 
Serves 3 (makes 16 idli)
Takes 30 minutes

Ingredients:
 
3 cup Rava ( Sooji/ Semolina)
1/2 cup Curd
Salt as per taste
1 sachet Eno/Fruit Salt ( Regular One)

Method:

 Soak rava in curd for about 15-20 minutes and add water to make a thick batter.

After 15 mins check the consistency of the batter, add water if needed ( it should be exactly same as the rice idli batter neither thin nor thick)

Add water and heat the idli cooker.

Add Eno just before putting the batter on the Idli making tray.

Grease the tray with oil and pour the batter.

Steam it for 5-8 minutes and check by inserting knife of fork weather the idlis are cooked nicely.

 

 

 Taddaaa...Your tasty and soft Rava Idlis are ready. You can serve it with coconut chutney or can have them with sambhar. 

     

Enjoy !

Restaurant Review: Bademiya - Colaba, Mumbai

                                                             Image Courtesy: Google

Bademiya is more than a restaurant, it has actually become a landmark of that area. One of the famous veg/non-veg restaurants of Mumbai, which actually started from a small street stall. It is one of those restaurants which are part of Mumbai's nightlife. I have been to Bademiya twice, one was at normal time around 8:30 pm so the place was crowded as expected, but the next visit was at 2:30 pm and to my surprise I was unable to park my car. The area was so full and everyone was there to taste the divine food offered at Bademiyan. Okay, so let's talk about the experience:

Ambiance: It is an open street kind of restaurant where people take the food from the counter and enjoy it in open. Now, they have arranged an area where they have put some chairs descent enough to sit and eat. Frankly, not at all fancy, but worth the food you actually taste.

Service: In both my visits, service was excellent. Right from the time you order food, it is served and at last when the person comes to offer you water to wash your hands (which touched me the most). The service was quick, the staff was courteous. Even, that late at night they were on their toes, smiling, running after orders which was really awesome. This kind of service lacks, even in most of the high end restaurants. So, I am very impressed with the service, they are really doing good work here.

Food: Ahhhh... Bademiya is one of those restaurants about which people say "Colaba gaye and Bademiya mein nahi khaya". I tried non-veg both the times. Kebabs always win my heart. They are just superb. So, I would highly recommend to try their kebabs. As they are well cooked, rich in flavor and full of taste. I tried chicken bunna which was disappointing, not at all up to the mark, so not my recommendation list. Rest, seekh kebab roll was a hit. Rumali rotis are good in size and fulfilling. I tried their Chicken Baida Roti, which his staff suggested us, it was nice crispy, big roti filled with minced chicken, but some garam masala was very prominent in taste which was not very pleasing  but it was ok overall.

Things I tried: Chicken Reshami Tikka, Seekh Kebab roll, Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kebab, Chicken Baida Roti, Chicken Bhunna and Rumali Roti.

Will I visit again: Yes

Total rating: 4/5

                                                    Chicken Reshami Tikka

                                                    Chicken Seekh Kebab Roll

                                                      Chicken Seekh Kebab Roll

                                           Chicken Bhunna and Rumali Roti

My opinion and words are not biased and the review is totally based on my experience at the restaurant. But rightly said, “Food is subjective and everyone has own taste” so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is reviewer’s personal opinion. 

Recipe: Palak Paratha....Simple and Healthy !

Palak Paratha is an interesting options for those who don't like to have it in the form of sabzi in any meal( like me..:p)
I am always in search of some interesting recipes to make spinach worth eating. Here is one of such colorful paratha which I can have in any meal of the day.
Below is the recipe to make this paratha.

Palak Paratha
Serves 3 (makes 10 medium sized )
Takes 20 minutes

Ingredients:

 2 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp oil
2 green chilies
4 garlic cloves
A handful of coriander, chopped
1 cup Spinach chopped
1 tsp  Ajwain/Carom seed
Water, for kneading
Tata salt lite, to taste
Ghee/oil to grease the pan.

Method:

Blend together all the ingredients spinach, coriander,garlic and chilies to make a paste.( Don't add water).
Add this paste to the wheat flour, add salt to taste, ajwain and oil to the mixture and knead together to make to a smooth dough.
Take a  medium sized ball from the dough, flatten & sprinkle some flour over it.
Roll to a size of a roti.
Heat the non-stick tawa and place the rolled paratha on the tava.
Flip  a couple of times to get the parathas browned and cooked well.
Usually well browned and crisp parathas are preferred, so we brown them more.

Taaddaa.... the parathas are ready. You can pair them up with any curry ( like I paired with aloo matar) of your liking or simply enjoy the with chutney.

Enjoy !!