AAMTI(Indian Spicy Soup)

Aamti(Indian Spicy Soup):-
Preparation Time:- 10 to 15 minutes
Cooking Time:-10 minutes
Serves:-6

This Soup or Aamti is sure to be there in the menu of Puran Poli(Indian Stuffed Sweet Bread). There is no fun of Puran Poli(Indian Stuffed Sweet Bread) without this Aamti. This is one of the ultimate combination of Maharashtrian Cuisine i feel. In some regions of Maharashtra it has some sweet and sour taste,but my mom make it very spicy. And it really goes very well with the Sweet Puran Poli.
The water we have saved in the Puran Poli(Indian Stuffed Sweet Bread)post is used in this recipe.The masala used for making this dish can also be used in making any non vegetarian dish if you are a spice lover.
I make this combination on  the occasion of Holi. Hope you all Enjoy it. Apologies for posting this post so late. So here is the recipe
Ingredients For Paste:-
1)Medium Sized Onion 1 number
2)Red chili Powder 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
3)Garam masala 1/2 table spoon
4)Meat masala 1 table spoon
5)Turmeric Powder 2 to 3 pinches
6)Salt to taste
Ingredient For Whole Garam masala Powder:-
1)Poppy seeds 1 table spoon
2)Cumin seeds 1 tea spoon
3)Grated or Desiccated coconut 1 table spoon
4)Cloves 2 to 3 numbers
5) Cinnamon stick 1 inch
6)Black cardamom 1 number
7)Green Cardamom 1 to 2 numbers
Ingredients For seasoning:-
1)Oil 4 to 5 table spoons
2)Bay leaves 2 to 3 numbers
3)Curry leaves 1 strand
4)Extra red chili powder 1 tea spoon
Saved Ingredients:-
1)Chana Dal 2 to 3 table spoons
2)Water drained from chana dal
Directions:-
1)Dry roast all the Whole garam masala,allow it to cool,and grind to a fine powder
2)Dry roast the sliced onions until it changes its color to golden brown,allow it to cool and transfer it into a mixer grinder pot,add in all the Ingredients from Ingredients for paste except salt.Add in little bit water,and grind to a smooth paste
3)Take the dal saved from the Puran Poli ,coarsely smash it and mix with the water drained from the chana dal.(Refer the Puran Poli Post for this)
4)Heat oil in a deep pan,add in bay leaves and curry leaves fry for 1 minute or until the color changes.
5)Add in the onion paste fry for 3 to 4 minutes,add in the whole garam masala powder,mix well.
6)Pour in the dal water and if you feel its thick pour in the extra 1/2 to 1 cup plain water.
7)Add salt and extra chili powder,stir well.Allow it to boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot with Steamed Rice
or Sweet Puran Poli.
                                                            ENJOY!

Quick and Easy Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer(Cottage cheese and Spinach Curry) My Easy way:-
Preparation Time:- 10 minutes
Cooking time:- 10 to 15 minutes
Serves:- 4

Hello my dear visitors,here is the easy and quick Palak Paneer recipe. This is very simple and tastes really good best for surprise guest or in a rush time if u have spinach,paneer/cottage cheese and garlic in your house. This is my son's and husband's favorite recipe and mine too as it gets ready in no time. My family like it more eating with steamed rice.So here is my simple recipe.

Ingredients:-
1)Spinach blanched and pureed 2 cups
(Puree should be thick as it will become thinner when we add cream or milk at the end)
2)Cottage cheese or Paneer cubes 200 grams
2)Oil 2 table spoons
3)Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
4)Garlic Grated 1/2 tablespoon
5)Green chilies 3 to 4 numbers (Small size)
6)Lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon
7)Garam Masala 1 teaspoon
8)Fresh cream or Milk 1/4 cup
9)Salt to taste
Directions:-
1)Heat oil in a kadhai,add in cumin seeds allow it to splutter
2)Add in Garlic grated,fry for 2 to 3 minutes add in spinach puree
(Puree the spinach along with the green chilies)cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat
3)Add in lemon juice and Garam masala mix well.
4)Add in paneer pieces and salt ,mix and cook covered for 3 to 4 minutes
5)Add in fresh cream and mix well gently,cook for one minute and turn off the heat.
Garnish with fresh cream and serve with chapati or steamed rice.
                                                      ENJOY!

Stuffed bitter gourd/Bharvan karela/Bharli Karli

Preparation Time:- 30 minutes + marination time;-15 to 20 minutes
Serves:-2 to 4
Stuffed Bitter Gourd/Bharwan karela/Bharli Karli:- 

This is a sour and sweet taste recipe,with a bit natural bitter taste of bitter melon/karela,i have learnt this recipe from my mom, i love the taste,and also my friends liked this, this recipe is one of the hit dish in my hubby's office lunch time. So here is the recipe for my near and dear ones.
Ingredients For Marination:-
1)Bitter gourd/karela 2 numbers( Big size)
2)Onions 2 numbers(Medium sized)
3) Turmeric 1 teaspoon
4)Salt 1 teaspoon
Ingredients For Stuffing:-
1)Ginger paste/finely grated 1 teaspoon
2)Garlic Paste/finely grated 1 teaspoon
3)Red chili powder 1 teaspoon
4)Everest meat masala 2 teaspoons
5)Everest garam masala 1 teaspoons
6)Tamarind paste/pulp 1/2 tablespoon
7)Sugar 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
8)Cinnamon,about 1 cm flake
9)green cardamom 1 to 2 numbers,
10)black cardamom 1 number (Optional)
11)White poppy seeds 1/2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
12)Oil 2 to 3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons for cooking karela/bitter gourd.
13)Salt as per taste
Method:-
1)Wash,cut,remove the white pith and seeds from the bitter gourd/karela
2)Mix salt, turmeric and rub in to the bitter gourd/karela(Refer the pictures in the movie) and
let it marinate for 15 to 20 minutes
3)After 15 to 20 minutes heat 2 tablespoons of oil ,add karelas stir well
and turn them for 2 to 3 minutes,sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water
cover and cook till tender/ready cooked by turning them in every 2 to 3 minutes and adding 1 tablespoon of water every time. And again cover  and cook. Totally 1/2 cup of water is needed to cook the karelas
and it will get cooked in 15 to 20 minutes(cook on medium and low heat according to the cooking progress)
4) Meanwhile the karelas are cooking you can prepare all other things required for this dish like,Dry roast cinnamon,cardamom,cloves and poppy seeds and grind to a fine powder
5)Cut the onions lengthwise,heat 1 teaspoon of oil and dry roast the onions till translucent and brown in colour.(Refer the picture in the movie)
6) Don't forget to have a look on your cooking karela/bitter gourd in between.
Remove the roasted onions in a grinder pot,add meat masala, garam masala  2 tablespoons of water and grind to a fine paste
7)Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan/kadhai and fry the onion paste for 3 to 5 minutes
8)After 5 minutes add ginger and garlic paste/grated ,mix well and fry till it changes the colour to red and oil starts to separate.
9)When the oil starts to separate add in red chili powder,cinnamon,clove cardamom and poppy seeds powder,mix well
10)And cook for 2 to 3 minutes stirring in between.
11)Add in tamarind pulp ,sugar and salt ,mix well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes
(You can adjust the tamarind and sugar as per your taste. You can use the lemon juice also if you don't have the tamarind but i prefer tamarind taste)
12)Now the stuffing masala is ready (Refer the pictures)
13)Check with the bitter gourd/karela,it must be ready by this time.(Refer the pictures )
14)Stuff the bitter gourd/karela and stir them in the same kadai in which you have prepared the masala and cook for 2 minutes.If you want this as a dry curry then remove it in a serving bowl.
15)If you want it as a gravy add in 1/2 cup of water,mix well gently (so that karelas won't break and the masala stays in) and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
16)Remove it in a serving bowl ,sprinkle some coriander and serve with chapati or rice
                                                            ENJOY!


Sending this to Jagruti's Event http://www.jagrutidhanecha.com/2012/09/announcing-event-im-well-stuffed.html

Dahi Bhindi/Okra

Dahi Bhindi/Okra:-

This recipe contains fried crispy Bhindi in dahi,cashew gravy, South indian style,very yummy very easy. This recipe is passed around to me from one of my best friend . First i tried this recipe for one of my other best friend  :)  on her farewell dinner, She loved it very much.  And have prepared third time in my friends potluck and everybody want me to share this recipe with them And my husband loves it too,so now this is one of  the routine recipe in my kitchen.  A big thanks to my friend  for passing this wonderful recipe to me.Must try it and please don't forget to share your experiences with me through comments. So here is the recipe for my friends.

Ingredients:-
1) Bhindi/Okra 250 gm to 300 gm
2) Medium size onions 2 nos.(Finely chopped)
3) Small size tomatoes 2 nos.( Pureed)
4) Cashews 10 to 15 nos.( Soaked in water for 2 to 3 hours)
5) Ginger paste/finely grated 1 teaspoon
6) Garlic Paste/finely grated 1 teaspoon
7) Yogurt 1/2 cup
8) Fresh Cream 1 tablespoon ( Optional)
9) Dry grated/desiccated coconut 2 tablespoons
10) Urad dal/black gram  1 tea spoon ( I used the one without skin)
11) Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
12) Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
13) Garam masala 1 teaspoon
14) Red chili powder 1 teaspoon
15) Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
16) Whole red chilies 2 to 4 nos.
17) Water 1/2 cup
18) Oil 7 to 8 tablespoons                                                                 
19) Oil for frying bhindi
Method:-
1) Heat oil in a kadai/pan,add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,allow them to sizzle
2) Add in curry leaves,urad dal stir well for 2 seconds
3) Add in chopped onions,cook till golden brown
4) Add red chili powder give it a stir and add in tomato puree
5) By the time tomato puree gets cooked, grind together soaked cashews and coconut to a smooth paste
6) When the oil starts to separate,add in garam masala turmeric powder and the coconut cashew paste.
7) Mix well and cook for 3 minutes, add in salt.
8) Beat the yogurt to a smooth consistency,turn off the heat, add the yogurt,mix well
9) Turn on the heat on low flame and add in water in small amount as required .( The water needed is depends upon the yogurt consistency,so be careful while adding the water into it.)
11) And cook for 3 minutes. The gravy is ready
12) Wash and pat dry bhindi and Cut it in two parts or you can cut it in two halfs (Refer the picture)or you can use the whole bhindi ,as you prefer.
13) Heat oil in a kadhai pan , add the bhindi one by one and fry till golden brown,do not burn.and remove on the paper towel.
14) And add it to the gravy.
15) lastly fry the red chilies and add to the gravy.(Instead You can add the red chilies at the beginning before adding the chopped onions in to the oil )
16) Dahi Bhindi is ready, serve with chapati or rice. Enjoy!..

Patra/Aloo wadi Curry

Patra/Aloo Wadi Curry:-

This recipe what i made is a very easy curry recipe,Originally its not , Originally in this recipe first u need to make the Aloo wadi/Patra rolls using colocasia leaves (Aloo chi pane in Marathi) which we can get easily in India but as so far, i didn't see them here in Australia.So i have used the frozen Patra for this recipe,which made it easy to prepare this curry. This is a very convenient dish for tifins in the rushy mornings, if u have frozen Patra rolls in your refrigerator. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
1) Medium onion 1 number
( Very finely chopped)
2) Patra roll slices 10 to 12 numbers.
3) Red chili powder 1 tea spoon
4)Turmeric powder 1/4 tea spoon
5) Everest Garam Masala 1 tea spoon
7) Whole garam masala powder 1 tea spoon
( Cloves,cinnamon,green cardamom,black cardamom,Dried lichen(Dagad Phool),Coriander seeds,star anise cumin seeds,red chili, dry roasted and grinded to a fine powder)
6) Cumin seeds 1/2 tea spoon
7) Ginger paste 1/2 tea spoon
8) Garlic paste 1/2 tea spoon
9) Lemon Juice 1/4 tea spoon
10) Sugar 1/2 tea spoon
11) Oil 3 to 4 table spoons
12) Salt to taste ( I needed 1/2 tea spoon)

Method:-
1) Heat oil in a pan/Kadhai
2) Add Cumin seeds,allow them to sizzle.
3) Add chopped onions, fry for 4 minutes add in ginger and garlic paste
4) Fry still it changes to golden brown color
5) Add red chili powder,garam,masala, turmeric powder Stir well
6) Add sugar,mix it .
7) Seperately in a pan heat 1 to 2 table spoon oil and add patra slices and shallow fry till it become golden brown.
8) Add the patra slices in to the onion masala pan/kadhai  mix gently,sprinkle the lime juice,mix gently
9) Finally sprinke 1/4 cup water ,cover and cook for 5 minutes
10) Garnish with chopped coriander Leaves. Serve with chapati.Enjoy.

1 medium size onion
finely chopped

Oil,Ginger and Garlic Paste

Cumin seeds,sugar,chili powder,garam masala,
whole garam masala powder,lemon juice and turmeric powder

Aloo Wadi/Patra slices

Heat Oil

Add the cumin seeds
let it splutter

Add in chopped onions

Add in ginger and garlic paste after 4 minutes

Add chili,masala,sugar mix well
and add shallow fried
patra slices

Mix Gently and sprinkle in lemon juice

Sprinkle Water

Finally add salt

Cover and cook for 5 minutes

Bharwan Baingan/ Bharli Wangi/Stuffed Brinjals

Bharli Wangi/Stuffed Brinjals( Thai baby Eggplants):-

Bharli Wangi/stuffed Brinjals is my Dads fevourite. In this recipe  pea nut powder can also be used but I am replacing it With cashew paste,using cashew paste is totally optional,while using peanut powder add the powder to the grinned onion paste both recipes have there own taste, u can use whatever u like.I like both. So this recipe is for my Dear Dad.
Ingredients:-
1)Brinjals 8to10 numbers
2)Medium onions 2 (sliced length wise)
3)Ginger paste 1/2 teaspoon
4)Garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon
5) Cashews 8 to 10 numbers (Soak in lukewarm water for atleast 1 and 1/2 hour)
6) Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon ( Or as per your taste )
7) Everest Garam masala 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon
8) Home Made black gram masala 1 teaspoon (optional)
9) Everest meat masala 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
10) Turmeric powder 1/4 tea spoon
11) Oil 5 to 6 table spoons
12) Salt to taste

Ingredients to dry roast and powder:- 
1) cloves 2to4 numbers
2) green cardamom 1 number
 3) cinnamon 2 inch piece
4) black cardamom 1 number
5) white poppy seeds 2 tea spoons
6) dry coconut grated 1 table spoon

Method:-
1) Cut the end stem of the whole brinjal and then cut it into 4 slits ( Refer the picture).
    Place them in a bowl full of water.
2) In a pan/kadhai roast the above  whole garam masalas recpectively as Cloves,cinnamon,cardamoms both,roast for 2 minutes, add Poppy seeds roast for 1minute,and add Coconut, roast till it becomes golden. cool it and grind into a powder.
3) Add 1 tea spoon of oil in a pan/kadhai,and roast the onions by stirring in between, till onions become translucent (Refer the picture)
4) When the onions are ready,cool and remove to the grinder pot, add red chilli powder, garam masala,and 1to 2 table spoons of water. Grind it to a smooth paste (Refer the picture)
5) Mix the whole masala powder and the onion paste
6) Stuff the Brinjals with this masala one by one and keep aside
7) Grind the soaked cashews into smooth paste
8) Heat oil in a kadhai or deep pan, add the remaining paste into it and fry till oil starts to separate, Add brinjals and mix gently, stir in  cashew paste ,mix gently add the salt.
9) Add 1/4 cup of water ,(use the water from grinder pot by washing the pot after grinding the cashew paste and onion paste) cover and cook till the brinjals become tender. ( check in between by puting the knife edge to the stem side of the brinjal , because that side is thicker compared to front side)
10) When the brinjals are ready decorate with chopped coriander.And serve with Rice or Chapati. Enjoy.