Crackers with fancy topping

It is very difficult to make kids eat veggies. So here is a good solution. Just grab some crackers and make them colorful with variety of vegetables and cheese. Add some fun by letting your young one help you to make them.

Ingredients:

Crackers

1 Avocado/Boiled Potato

Cherry tometoes

1 Cucumber

Ketchup

Chesse

Coriander

1 tsp Chat masala (optional)

(You can add vegetables of your choice to make it more interesting)

Method:

Mash avocado, add some cheese and mix well. Cut cucumber and cherry tomato in round slices.

Arrange crackers in a plate and layer with mashed avocado, cucumber, cherry tomato, ketchup and coriander, sprinkle some chat masala and serve.

This bite size snack is definitely a hit recipe for all ages.

Enjoy!

Chana Masala

 

A very popular restaurant dish, from northern India  “chana masala or chole”. This mouth watering spicy curry with chickpeas in onion and tomato gravy is absolutely delicious, served with bhatura, puri or paratha topped with a dollop of butter or ghee.

Chickpeas are high in protein, zinc and dietary fiber. They are low in calories and can be enjoyed all year round.

Ingredients:

2 cups of chickpeas/chana

2 onion finely chopped

2 tomatoes finely chopped

2 green chilles

3-4 cloves of garlic

½ inch ginger

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp asafetida/hing

1 tsp cumin powder

1tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp lime juice

½ cup finely chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Method:

Pressure cook chickpeas till pressure is released 3-4 times (3-4 whistles).

Blend together one onion, chilies, ginger, garlic to a fine paste.

In a pan heat oil add cumin seeds and let them crackle, then add asafetida and finely chopped onion and sauté for 2 min or till onion become translucent. Now add the fine paste and sauté for another 2 min.

Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin and coriander powder, garam masala and sauté till the color starts to change and the oil separates

Then add salt, sugar, and cooked chickpeas and mix well. add water if the gravy is too thick. Cover and let it simmer for 5 to10 min. add chopped coriander and lime juice and serve hot with bhatura, puri or paratha.  

Enjoy!

  

Shahi gulkand roll

My husband has a sweet tooth, every day after lunch or dinner he wants something sweet. Sometimes it’s a big challenge for me, so I am always looking for good and simple dessert recipes.

Few days back my mom gave me this recipe. I tried it and trust me it’s simple, easy but delicious and was ready in less than a hour.

Ingredients: 

roasted gram dal

For outer layer

1 cup roasted gram dal (Phutana dal in marathi)

½ cup powder sugar

½ cup milk powder

½ cup Melted butter/ghee

Desiccated coconut

Pink/red color

For filling

½ cup dry fruits

½ cup gulkand

Method:

Grind roasted gram dal to a fine powder. Mix powder sugar, milk powder, butter/ghee and knead the dough. Divide the dough in 16 equal parts.

Now mix together dry fruits and gulkand. Divide this mixture also in 16 equal parts.

To make rolls take one part of dough and spread it little on your palm, now add the dryfruit and gulkand mixture and roll it in cylindrical shape. Repeat the same process with remaining dough and filling mixture.

Color the desiccated coconut in pink/red.

Cover the rolls with colored coconut and cut each roll in 3 pieces.

Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Mejwani Etv marathi

Semolina vegetable cake

 

This savory semolina/ suji/ rawa cake is perfect dish for a evening snack.

Loaded with vegetables and tempered with mustard and cumin seeds.

This tasty and healthy cake is also a good option for your kid’s lunch/snack box.

Ingredients:

160 grams semolina/suji/rawa

½ cup yogurt

½ cup mix chopped vegetable like corn, carrots, green beans and green peas  

½ tbsp baking powder

1½ tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sesame seeds
Salt to taste

Method:

In a bowl mix semolina, curd, vegetables and baking powder.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and cumin seeds, and let them crackle. Then add turmeric powder, salt and mix it with semolina mixture.

Pour this mixture in a baking dish and sprinkle sesame seeds on top, to give nice crunchy crust. now bake in a preheated oven at 350⁰F for 40 to 45.

Cut into small pieces and serve with tomato ketchup.

Enjoy!

Kashay (cup full of nutrition)

Kashay (in Konkani) is a milk beverage, spiced with coriander, fennel and cumin seeds.

It is full of nutrition and has cooling effect to our body, a good substitute for tea and coffee. Perfect for any season specially a rainy afternoon, this always reminds me of my home town… GOA J



Ingredients: (For kashay powder)

1 cup coriander seeds

½ cup fennel seeds

½ cup cumin seeds

Method:

Dry roast (without oil) all the spices separately till

it starts to change color and give nice aroma. Now let it cool and grind it to a fine powder and Store in an airtight container.



kashay powder



Kashay:

Ingredients

1 cup of milk

½ cup water

2 tsp sugar or according to taste

1 tsp kashay powder

½ tsp grated ginger

Fresh lemon grass

½ tsp turmeric powder(optional)

Mix together milk, water, sugar, kashay powder, ginger and lemon grass and bring to a boil. Then simmer for about 5 mins and turn the gas off, cover it and let it sit for few mins. Strain it just like tea and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Green Plantain Manchurian

Green plantain or raw banana is quite starchy and flavor is much like potato.

Plantain is naturally low in calories and a good source of vitamins and minerals, so it’s a very good option to cook a healthy and a tasty dish.  

Ingredients:

4 green plantains

1 onion finely chopped

1 cup spring onion or green onion

½ cup thinly sliced mushrooms

5-6 pods of garlic

1 inch ginger thinly sliced

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp chili sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp black pepper powder

½ cup finely chopped coriander

3 tbsp oil

2-3 tbsp water

Salt to taste

Method:

Boil green plantain till they are well cooked, peel and grate them. Now add chili powder, garam masala, salt, onion, chopped coriander, and mix well.

make small lemon size rounds of the mixture and place them in a baking dish.  Coat them with little oil and bake in a preheated oven at 325⁰F/ 160⁰C for 20-25 min.

Now is pan heat oil and add finely chopped garlic, ginger, mushrooms and sauté till they are cooked. Then add soy sauce, chili sauce, black pepper powder, brown sugar, salt, green onion and water, cook about 5 min. then add  plantain balls and sauté for another 3-5 min.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve hot with fried rice or tastes good even with chapatti or phulka.

Enjoy!

5min Cornflakes bhel

This healthy and tasty bhel is a real super simple recipe. Just 5min and its done.

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups cornflakes

1 small onion finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped coriander

½ cup fine sev

1 tsp chat masala

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients, garnish with chopped coriander, sev  and  serve immediately.

Enjoy!