Broccoli stir fry.

I had brought broccoli & wanted to try a  stir fry.I googled  Sangita Khanna's blog healthfood desi videshi .I was amazed to see many recipes using broccoli.I selected this  detox recipe.

I did not have soy nuggets.Hence ,I made this sir fry without soy nuggets.

Ingredients :  3 cups broccoli florets,1 medium onion finely chopped,1 tomato chopped,2 green chillies chopped,1 tsp ginger  & garlic (both grated),1 tsp pepper powder,2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp  oil,salt to taste.

Method : Warm oil in a pan.Add grated  ginger garlic & saute it.Add green chillies & onions.Saute them as well.The onions will get translucent,Add the soya sauce & 1 tbsp  water.Mix nicely.

Add broccoli florets.Add salt.Stir all the ingredients well.Add pepper powder.Mix again.Cover with a lid & cook for five minutes.Add chopped tomatoes & mix with all ingredients.Cover with lid & cook for 5-10 minutes.

Serve hot with rotis.I ate this with rotis & loved the new flavours that I discovered.

Add salt carefully as soya sauce contains salt & green veggies have their own salt content.

Sprouted lentils usal

Lentils when sprouted are healthier.Mixed lentil sprouts can be made into usal or sprouts curry.This can be made watery or thick.Watery usal will go great with rice.This usal will be an excellent side dish to chapptis,puris,etal.Usal pav or misal pav  is a popular Mumbai or better still,a Maharashtrian street fare.Misal is usal which has been granished with liberal sprinkling of farsan like sev, chuda, namkeen ( chickpea flour or besan  flour savouries in numerous forms ).

Any of the lentils can be used.Since ,I had moong,amtki,chawli & white peas at home,I ued them.Even black chana,white kabuli chana,kala vattana,etc can be used.

Ingredients : 1.5 cup mixed lentils soaked overnight,for 1 night & then sprouted for 1 day in a cloth tied into knot or sprouted in the sprout container,1 medium onion finely chopped,1 medium tomato finely chopped,1 small carrot peeled & grated( optional ),1/2 red capsicum finely chopped,1/2 yellow capsicum finely chopped, a bunch of fresh coriander leaves cleaned & finely chopped, juice of half a lemon,1/2 piece ginger cleaned & grated,1 green chilli finely chopped, 1/2 tsp haldi,1/2 tsp hing,1tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp sambhar powder,1 tsp rasam powder,1 tbsp oil,salt to taste.


Method : Pressure cook on high flame, the sprouted mixed lentils for 2 whistles.Then lower down the flame & cook for 5-10 more minutes.Put off the gas.Keep aside.

Take a kadhai .Heat oil in kadhai.Add mustard seeds.After they splutter,add the chopped green chilli piecesfollowed by the haldi & hing.Now add the pressure cooked lentils to the kadhai.Mix all nicely.Add sambhar & rasam powder .Mix all the ingredients in the kadahi.The lentil mixture will be boiling now Add salt & mix nicely.Pleas see the water content .If you feel it is too watery ,let it boil for more time till it gives a a consistency desired.If water is too less ,add some water & let it simmer so that all is nicely mixed.Put off the gas.Add lemon juice & mix nicely .

Serve usal in bowls.Garnish with fresh veggies finely chopped.Top the fresh veggies with finely chopped dhania..Serve with chappatis or rice.

We had it just like that for a protein rich  breakfast !

Aloo matar

I love aloo matar -it is a curry type dish,My kid has it -only aloos & no matar.I am surprised that kids nowadays rarely eat peas.I still eat peas while I am opening the pea pods.They are so tender & fresh -so juicy !

Ingredients : 2-3 large potatoes.1/2 cup peas,2-3 tomatoes, 1 small carrot, 1 medium onion,1-2 green chillies, 1/2 inch ginger,1 sprig of  kadipatta,1 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp jeera, 1/4 tsp pepper powder ( optional ),1/ 4  tsp garam masala powder( optional ) ,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,1 tbsp oil,salt to taste.

Method : Cut onions ,green chillies,ginger Blend them in a mixer .In a pressure cooker or  pressure pan  , take oil.Heat up the oil.add jeera. When they splutter, add the green chillies-ginger-onion mix.Let it be on slow gas.

Dice the carrot into small pieces.Add diced carrot pieces in mixer.Run the mixer.The carrot will get diced into smaller pieces.Add roughly chopped tomatoes & run mixer again .After 2-3 grinding in mixer, there will be smooth carrot tomato puree.Meanwhile the smell of raw onions would have gone away from the pressure pan  where the green chilli onion ginger mix is getting heated.Add this carrot tomato puree to the pressure pan .Mix nicely.Add dhania powder.If adding black pepper powder, please add at this stage.Mix nicely.Add haldi powder.Mix.Add salt .Mix. By this time,smell of raw tomatoes would have gone away. Please keep gas on slow mode.

Add washed peas to the pressure pan Cut potatoes .Add these potatoes to the pressure pan.Mix all ingredients nicely in pressure pan.Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water water to mixer grinder .so that whatever puree is sticking to grinder insides is mixed with water.Add this water to pressure pan.If adding garam masala powder, please add in end ....just before closing the pan with lid & whistle. Put on lid of pressure pan with whistle.Increase gas to high mode.Pressure cook for 1 whistle .Then lower the heat ( make gas on slow mode ) & cook for 10-15 minutes on slow gas.Put off gas.After cooker cools,remove lid.The aloo matar is ready to be served.

Remove lid.All matar curry is ready to be served-garnished with grated cheese and or fresh dhania.

If a thinner curry is desired ,then more  water can be added to the pressure pan before pressure cooking.In the alternative, if the curry is thick after opening lid of pan ,add water & bring it to boil once.

If curry has got very thin, 1/4 tsp flax sed powder or more ( not more than 1 tsp ) can be added & mixed. After 15-20 minutes, curry wil get thicker. Or one can add roasted gram powder to curry. Mix nicely so that no lumps remain. Bring curry to a boil by stirring occasionally so that no lumps are formed. Alternatively, one can add 1 tbsp chickpea flour ( chana dal flour ) to thicken the curry. Bring curry to boil while stirring so that no lumps get formed.

For those who do not eat onions, skip adding the onions.

Tomato rice

I learnt this dish some years back.Then I had forgotten all about it.Recently,I packed this for my kid's tiffin box.She ate it & that is a big deal as she seldom eats rice !

Ingredients : 1/2  cup rice ,2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 green chilly, 1/4 inch ginger, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp gram masala,1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp mustard, 1/4 tsp cumin ,1/4 tsp urad dal,1/4 tsp haldi ,1/4 tsp hing,1 sprig of curry leaves,salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook rice.After the cooker has cooled ,spread the rice on a plate so that the grains do not form lumps.

In a kadhai, warm oil.Put mustard seeds followed by jeera or cumin.When they splutter add urad dal.They will become golden brown.Add chopped green chill pieces & chopped curry leaves.Add finely sliced onions & grated ginger.Fry all nicely till onions get transluscent.Add chopped tomatoes.Fry nicely.The mixture in kadhai will be reddish.Add haldi,hing ,garam masala ,red chilli powder & salt.Mix nicely.The red mixture will start separating from the oil in the kadhai. Put the cooked  rice into the kadhai & mix nicely.Cover with alid & cook for 2-3 minutes.Put off the gas.

Tomato rice can be served by garnishing  with fresh coriander.

Even left over rice can be used in place of freshly cooked rice.

Savoury Chapati snack

My Maharashtrian friends have taught me a tasty chapati snack.

Ingredients-4-5 leftover chapatis ,  1 onion finely chopped, 1 small capsicum finely chopped, 1 green chilli finely chopped, 1 tomato chopped ( optional ) 1/ 2' ginger grated, 1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp powder hing, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds,1 tbsp oil, salt to taste, a sprig of kadipatta ( optional ) , some fresh dhania.


Method : Take chapatis & break them into quarters& shred them into tiny pieces in your mixer by giving just 1-2 spins. Put off mixer.

Take a kadhai .Put the oil.in the kadhai to warm on the gas.When the oil is hot,put the mustard seeds.After they have spluttered,add onions & green chilli pieces & grated ginger.Fry till onions become transluscent.Now add haldi & hing.Add capsicum.Mix nicely.Fry all for 1 -2 minutes.Add tomatoes. Mix nicely.Add salt. Next, add the shredded chapati pieces.Mix all in the kadhai .ow,put off gas.

Your chapati snack is ready.You can also add jeera ,udad dal &  curry leaves whilst making the seasoning.Garnish it with coriander.Add a dash of lemon juice  before serving to give a tangy taste.4/5 leftover chapatis can serve 2 persons.

This is upcycling of leftovers to make a tasty snack which is healthy & gets ready fast ! And it helps in minimising of food getting wasted !

In case, one wants to avoid adding tomatoes, one can add lemon juice after gas is put off & mix it. Also can add gated carrots & fry them with capsicum.