Mushroom peas masala

If you are lookin for a great accompaniment for roti you have come to the right place :) Mushroom and peas team together to create this yummy curry. You can absolutely give this to your kids as it is very mild tasting and with some butter, it just tastes divine.

Ingredients
2 cups chopped white mushrooms
½ cup frozen peas
2 tbsp onion paste
1 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp almond/cashew paste

Add oil to wok and add bay leaves. When it is a little brown, add the onion paste. When the onion paste has browned, add the ginger-garlic paste. When the raw smell disappears, add the tomato paste, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Simmer the sauce for a few mins and then add the peas. When the peas are half-cooked, add the mushrooms and the garam masala. When the mushroom and peas have cooked completely, add the almond/cashew paste and reduce the heat. Simmer again on low heat for a few more mins. Serve hot with roti.

Refreshing summer salad

A few weeks back I posted a recipe for black bean salad. That salad required cooking the black beans and roasting the capsicums. Here comes a no-cook salad. This salad has a slight fruity taste because of the addition of the cranberry raspberry juice. This salad takes very little time to assemble.

If you don't mind add some bocconcini cheese, torn, to your salad. The bocconcini cheese is my favourite cheese. It has lesser saturated fat and sodium than most of the other cheeses.

Ingredients
1 cup of mixed salad leaves
1½ tbsp red wine vinegar(reduce to 1 tbsp if you don't want the taste very sharp)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cranberry raspberry juice(no sugar added)
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
5 halved baby roma tomatoes
1 diced red onions

Mix the juice and vinegar. Slowly add in the oil. Whisk till the mixture becomes combines. Toss together the leaves, tomatoes and onion. Add the dressing. Add black pepper. Toss again to combine. Enjoy. You can improvise on this basic salad by adding olives, cheese or other vegetables.

Rajma masala

When it comes to favourite combos rajma masala and jeera rice is almost there in top of the list. When it is cooked well rajma can be soft and yummy. The crunchiness of the cumin complements the soft rajma very well.

Yummylicious!!

When cooking any dry beans, tomatoes and other acidic items cannot be added, as it will increase the cooking time. I learnt this trick from a site, long long time ago, which unfortunately, I don't remember - adding a bay leaf while rajma is cooking gives it a wonderful flavour. Don't add 3 or 4 but only one bay leaf.

Start by soaking the rajma overnight. Discard the water in which the beans soaked. Take the rajma in a pressure cooker. Add water till there is 1 inch of water standing on top of the rajma (I don't really measure the water using a cup). Add one bay leaf. Cook for 10 mins or until the rajma cracks a little but is not totally mashed up. This will allow the sauce to get into the bean. Remove the bay leaf when adding to the gravy. Also, I don't like to add the water in which the rajma cooked to the gravy. I feel it makes the whole thing bitter. Beans are very mild tasting so you need a great tasting sauce to make it zesty. Here comes the recipe for my version of rajma masala.

Ingredients
1½ cup Rajma, cooked using the above method
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 large onion finely chopped
3 tomatoes finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
½ turmeric powder
1½ tbsp garam masala

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds. When they start to pop, add onions. When the onions soften, add the ginger-garlic paste. When the raw smell disappears, add the tomatoes, salt and all the spice powders. Close the lid and cook until the tomatoes become mushy. Reduce heat, add the rajma and cook for 15 mins. Serve with roti or rice.

Rajma tastes great the next day too. You can increase the quantity of rajma and freeze half of it for later use.

Masoor dal

I like my food to be simple. Usually that is the way I cook food. Today was not such a day. I wanted to make masoor dal - restaurant style. Masoor dal takes very little time to cook and needs no soaking. Its always good to get your daily dose of lentils as it contains fiber and other essential nutrients. Diabetes comes with an added risk of heart disease, so meeting your daily requirement of fiber is essential for your heart health.

Ingredients
1 cup masoor dal
1 tomato chopped
1 green chilli slit horizontally
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 onion sliced lengthwise
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillies
2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly

Cook the dal with tomato, green chilli and turmeric powder. Add oil to a pan. When hot, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the onions. After the onions have softened, add it to the cooked dal. Add salt and garam masala and allow it to simmer for a few mins. Again, add some more oil to the pan and add the red chillies and garlic. Fry the garlic in oil for a few mins. When it is completely cooked, add it to the dal just before serving.

Personally, I like the garlic flavour. If you don't like it then add a tsp of cumin seeds instead of garlic.

Egg curry

Egg curries were made frequently in my home when I was a child. It was made more like a dry curry without adding tomatoes. You can make whichever way you prefer. Both versions taste equally good. I like it tomatoes added. If you are watching your fat intake skip the egg yolks.

Ingredients
2 hard boiled eggs
2 onions chopped finely
1 large green chilli deseeded and chopped finely
1½ tomato roughly chopped
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp dalia(roasted channa dal)
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp almond meal/shredded coconut
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

Heat oil in a kadai. Add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds pop, add onions and cook till they soften completely. Add the green chilli and tomatoes. When the tomatoes have softened, add chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Add salt. Cover with a lid and allow it to cook.

Meanwhile grind together dalia, fennel seeds and almond meal/coconut(whichever you are using) to make a fine paste. Add this paste and kashmiri chilli powder and cook for a few more mins. Finally add the halved eggs. Combine carefully so that the eggs don't break. Cook till the eggs become slightly browned. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

If making a dry curry skip the tomatoes and use cumin powder instead of cumin seeds.