Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji...the very name makes me nostalgic.... .If someone asks you what is pav bhaji you can just say "it's a kind of Indian mixed vegetable curry served with dinner rolls" or you can say"It's delicious ,aromatic, flavourful,spicy,mouth watering ,addictive dish made from vegetables". If you ask me I would go with the second description. Not just tasty...it's also healthy with loads of veggies .

My friend would make her son eat this dish by saying 'power bhaji' instead of pav bhaji( boys..all the power stuff works very well with them).Anyways this recipe justifies it's nick name as power bhaji with lots of carbs,vitamins and minerals ,fiber from veggies....So i think it's time to actually make the recipe and enjoy it instead of drooling( the very thought of it makes me drool).

Ingredients:
6 Burger buns or pavs
1 medium onion
3 medium potatoes
2 cups of cauliflower florets
1 big bell pepper/capsicum
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup peas
2 medium tomatoes
1 cup Green beans
2-3 tsps ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
red chilly powder(depends on your spice level)
oil/butter

Recipe:

• Boil potatoes ,peel , and mash them.


• Boil the vegetables and mash them.


• In a heavy bottomed pan heat oil/butter (i use both about 1/4 th stick butter) and add Green chillies and diced onions.


• Add ginger garlic paste and pav bhaji masala when the onions are translucent.


• Add diced tomatoes and cook for a while.


• Add red chilly powder,salt and add mashed vegetables and potatoes(at this point you can add little water )


• Cook this on a medium flame till you get the desired consistency.


• Garnish with diced onions and lemon juice.


• Heat a skillet and add little ghee(clarified butter)/butter/oil to it.


• Place the buns/pavs on the skillet and toast them a little.

enjoy hot pav bhaji with toasted buns....

Minestone soup

Mmmmm......minestrone soup one of my favourites at olive garden.Hot steaming soup , a perfect company for a cold winter day.Minestrone soup is loaded with lots of fresh veggies ...so you can sip without guilt.This soup is so versatile that you can experiment with different veggies on hand,different consistencies..and so on.Here is my version......

1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
2 medium tomatoes diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green beans
2 cups kidney beans and green beans (soaked overnight,1 cup un soaked )
(I use mixture of 16 beans easily found in grocery section)
2 table spoons Italian seasoning(you can use fresh herbs if available)
1/2 cup pasta (elbows,shells etc)
3-4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

-Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add garlic , onion ,and Italian seasoning to the oil.
cook them stirring occasionally till the onions are translucent.
-Add the veggies ,salt and beans and let them cook for a while covered(you can pre cook the beans or use canned beans if desired).
-Once the beans are cooked add the vegetable broth.
-Bring it to a boil and simmer it.
-Add cooked pasta to it and let it simmer.
-season with pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro/parsley/cheese.

Methi paratha

I tasted Methi paratha for the first time at my friend's house.It was cool outside and she served me hot methi paratha with mint chutney and it tasted so yummy.It's that moment i decided to try out methi paratha......from then on it is one of our family favorites. It's yummy and healthy at the same time.


Ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup methi leaves(fenugreek leaves) finely chopped

salt to taste

1 tbs plain yogurt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1tsp chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin powder

2tbs oil

Recipe:

• Mix wheat flour,salt,turmeric,cumin powder,meethi leaves,tbs oil .



• Add water to the mixture and make a dough.



• Leave it for sometime(about 1/2 hour).



• Tale the dough and roll it into little balls(about lime size).



• Roll the dough into a circle(they should not be very thin).



• Heat the griddle and place the rolled paratha on the griddle.



• Flip the paratha and coat the surface with little oil.



• Flip it over and add oil to the other surface as well.



• Flip it again and roast it



• Serve hot with curry of your choice or chutney of your choice(my daughter likes it with ketchup).

Healthy junk.....

The other day my daughter was asking me a question."mom why can't all the junk food be healthy and you never have to say no to junk food ?"...( Her favorite foods are potato chips,corn chips and if feels to eat healthy food then vegetable chips). I smiled and said "if it is junk food it can't be healthy and if it's healthy it can't be junk". she is like "awwwww you are confusing me".That's how i got the idea of healthy junk and i got a recipe that qualifies for the title.The recipe is vegetable pakora. Mmmmm...enough with my chatter and let's dive into the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cup chick pea flour/besan
• 2tsp garam masala
• 1tsp red chilly powder or according to spice level
• 1 cup cabbage diced(like you do for noodles)
• 1 medium size onion
• 1 bell pepper diced(big size,any color)
• 2 carrots diced into thin and long (1 inch) pieces
• 4 green chillies(optional)
• oil for frying

Recipe:

• Dice all the vegetables uniformly, add salt and mix thoroughly
  
• Keep them aside for 5-10 min so the water oozes out from the veggies.
  
• Add garam masala,chilli powder t the besan/flour and mix.
  
• Now add the flour to the veggies little by little and mix thoroughly.
  
• You can add water at this point to mix the flour and veggies.
  
• The batter should not be too loose.
  
• In a kadai/pan heat oil for frying .
  
• Once the oil is hot take the pakora mixture and add little by little to the oil.
  
• Fry till they are golden brown and remove.
  
• Serve hot with ketchup or your favourite sauce.

**You can add any of your favorite veggies to this recipe.I also add some rice flour or corn flour to besan to make the pakoras crispy.

They make a great snack especially on a cold winter day........have fun!!