Badam Katli
Best sweet dish for festive season

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Almonds
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4th tspn Cardamom powder
Safron strands
1 tbspn Ghee/ clarified buter

Method
1) First soak Almonds in warm water for about 2 hours
2) Then peel off the skin and pat dry the almonds in a kitchen towel
3) Now grind the peeled/dried Almonds to form a powder
4) Meanwhile in a nonstick pan , add water and sugar and stir continously till it forms single string 
5) Dont over boil the sugar syrup otherwise the katli will become hard
6) Immediately add the almond powder along with cardamom powder and dissolved safron
7) On a low flame stir this mixture for about 3-4 minutes till the mixture starts leaving the edges
8) Dont overcook the mixture otherwise the katli becomes brittle like biscuit
9) Finally add ghee to it and transfer the mixture to a butterpaper
10) within a minute, start kneading the dough well and using a rolling pin spread it to form square shape
11) Give desired shape and garnish it with either nuts, safron strands, silver varak

Daal Vada shots
Green Mung Daal fritters are ideal dish for Monsoon in India
It is called by various names across different states like Vada, pakodis,etc
Served with Chutney, onions and green chilies

Ingredients

1 cup Green Mung Daal + 1/2 cup regular Mung Daal

3 cups water

1 tspn salt

4 green chilies

1 small piece of ginger

4-5 garlic cloves

1/4th tspn cumin seeds

Oil to fry

Method

1) Soak the Daal with 3 cups water for about one hour

2) Then drain all the excess water and grind the Daal with Garlic, chili, ginger paste 

3) Add cumin seeds crushed coarsely

4) Add salt and mix thoroughly

5) Heat the oil in a frying pan

6) With a spoon start adding small scoops of vada baater in the pan and fry them till they turn crispy brown

7) Serve them hot with onion, chillies,and chutney

Panki
Healthy Yummy and yet instant breakfast dish serving a visual treat along with its rich aroma

Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup water
1/4th cup curd
salt
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn ginger chili paste
Pinch of Hing
1 tbspn oil/ghee
Banana leaf

Method
1) In a bowl mix rice flour with oil , salt, turmeric, ginger chili paste, curd and water and mix thoroughly to make a smooth paste
2) Cut the banana leaf into to equal parts , wash and dry them
3) Grease the leaves on one side and pour a laddle of batter over it and spread on one side
4) Cover that side by folding the other hald side like a book page
5) Now slide this fold on a nonstick pan and cook it for 3-4 minutes on both the sides of leaf like a sandwich
6) Serve it hot by opening the fold and pulling the soft yummy panki from inside

Idada
A surti dish cooked during monsoon season
Generally we have it with Mango pulp juice (Ras)

Ingredients
1 cup rice
1 cup Urad Daal
3 tbspn curd
1 tspn oil
salt
1/4th tspn pepper powder

Method
1) Soak rice and Urad daal over night and then grind them to make smooth paste
2) To that add curd and leave it to 4-5 hours for fermentation
3) Then add salt, ginger chili paste and oil and mix well
4) Now put a steam vessel on stove and boil water
5) Add pinch of cooking soda to batter and pour it immediately onto a greased plate
6) Sprinkle the batter with pepper powder
7) Steam cook the Idada for 15 minutes
8) Then cut the idada into desired shape and serve hot with oil and or green chutney

Laddus
Traditional Indian sweet
My mom's legacy

Ingredients
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Ghee (Clarified butter)
1/2 cup jagger
1 cup ghee/ oil to fry
1 tspn khas khas
3 cardomom cloves(peeled and powdered)
1 tbspn coarsely crushed cashwes and almonds

Method
1) Take flour in a bowl and add 1 tbspn ghee and 1/2 cup water to make bit hard dough
2) Now make small flat balls from the dough
3) Fry the flat balls till they turn crisp and brown
4) Cool the balls and then make small pieces and grind it finely in a mixer grinder
5) To that add cardomom powder and cashew/almond
6) In another pan heat 1/2 cup ghee and to that add the jaggery
7) Stir well till the jaggery dissolves
8) Immediately pour the ghee jaggery into the mixture
9) Mix thoroughly and form small laddus 
10) Garnish it with khas khas

Veg Manchow soup

Ingredients
1 cup thin chopped carrots, cabbage, capsicum, beetroot
1/4th cup spring onions
1 tspn soya sauce
1 tspn chili sauce
1 tbspn garlic ginger paste
2 tbspn Tomato sauce
1 chopped onion
2 tbspn butter
2 tbspn corn flour
1 tspn rice vinegar
Boiled and fried noodles for topping

Method
1) In a pan put butter
2) Add ginger garlic paste and onions and saute it well
3) Then add the chopped vegetables
4) Add 3 cups vegetable stock
5) add salt to it and simmer it for 10 min
6) meanwhile mix corn four with 4 tbspn water and make a smooth paste
7) Add this paste to the soup
8) Add soya sauce and chili sauce
9) Add tomato sauce
10 ) You can even add pepper powder
11) Serve it hot with some topped fried noodles

Oats vegetable balls with chili chinese flavour

Ingredients
2 cups of chopped and blanched vegetables (carrots, peas, cabbage, potatoes,etc)
1/2 cup  oats coarsely crushed
1 tspn salt
1 tspn soya sauce
1/2 tspn green chili paste
1 tspn tomato sauce
oil for frying

Method
1) Blanch all the vegetables and mash them 
2) Then add salt, 1/4 th cup oats, soya sauce, chilis,tomato sauce
3) Make balls from the mixture
4) Now in a second plate take the crushed oats and coat the balls with oats
5) Refrigerate these balls for about 30 minuts
6) Deep fry the balls till they turn crispy and brown
7) Serve with Tomato sauce or Tamarind chutney

Ravioli with Mint and lentils 
Served with Zuchinni and carrot Salsa

Ingredients
1 cup All purpose flour
1 tbspn olive oil
salt
5 tbspn water
1 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup soaked lentils
1 cup chopped onions
1 tspn Garam masala
1 tspn ginger chili paste
1 tspn amchur powder
Oil to fry
For Salsa : chopped Zucchini, carrots, Oregano, Tomato puree, Choped onions, Garlic

Method
1) Mix dough, oil, salt and water and make soft dough and cover it with a damp towel
2) For filling, heat 2 tbspn oil in a pan , add onions, and lentils and add 3 tbspn water and salt and cover it with lid and cook it for 10 min
3) Then add Garam masala, Amchur, and mint leaves
4) Cool the mixture
5) Now make small balls from the dough
6) Roll them into rectangle shape and fill it with mint lentil fillings. Seal the pockets
7) Then deep fry the raviolis till they turn crispy
8) For Salsa, in a pan add olive oil, add chopped onion, garlic and tomato puree and cook for 5 min
9) Add salt , seasoning and finally add zucchini and carrot and cook for 5 min
10) Serve Raviolis with the salt

Swiss roll 
Apple jam filling and polka dots imprints

Ingredients
For the cake batter 
1 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
50 gm butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
2 tbspn milk powder
2 tbspn curd
1/2 cup milk

For imprint
4 tbspn butter
2 tbspn icing sugar
edible colours 

Method
1) Beat the butter and sugar and then add miada and all other ingredients and make a smooth batter
2) Now preheat the oven at 250C for 10 min
3) In a shallow baking tray, put buter paper 
4) Now mix the butter, icing sugar and edible colour.
5) Using a round nozzle or just a spoon put the drops of the imprint icing on the butter paper at equal distance
6) Now pour the batter
7) Bake the cake for 30 min at 180C
8) Now cool the cake by covering it with a damp cloth for about 15 min
9) Now you can spread any filling either apple, strawberry along with whipped cream on the top
6) Then take a big butter paper and lay the flat cake on it and start rolling from one edge and make sure that the cream doesn't ooze out
7) Cover the entire log properly with butter paper and refrigerate it for about 2 hours
8) Then remove the butter paper and serve

Surti Locho

My childhood favorite
Best breakfast to relish

Ingredients
1 cup soaked Gram daal (soak it overnight)
1/2 cup Beaten rice (Poha)
2 cups water
1 tbspn ginger chili paste
1 tbspn oil
Salt
1 tspn Fruit salt
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
For Garnishing : Sev, Coriander
For masala : 1/4 tspn Cummin powder, 1/4 tspn black salt, 1/4 tspn pepper powder

Method
1) Soak the Gram daal overnight and then grind it well to make a smooth paste
2) To that add the soaked Beaten rice (Poha) and mix well
3) Add salt, turmeric, ginger chili paste,oil and finally add fruit salt and mix thoroughly
4) In a steam boiler add water and start the stove
5) Grease a plate with oil and pour the batter and steam boil it for 20 min
6) Insert a toothpick in the plate and see if it comes out clean 
7) Then remove the plate and garnish it with Masala, corriander and sev and pour some raw oil and serve

Ragda Pattice

Ingredients
2 cups soaked Dried Green Peas
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped tomatoe
1 tbspn garlic
4 boiled potatoes
1 tspn salt
3 tbspn oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbspn chopped corriander
1 tspn Garam masala
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn red chili powder
1/2 lemon juice
4 cups water

Method
1) For Ragda, soak the dry peas overnight
2) Now boil the green peas in a pressure cooker
3) In a pan add oil and add onions, garlic,and tomato and saute them well
4) Add all the spices and salt and add some water and cook it till it becomes gravy
5) Finally add the boiled peas and cook for 5 minutes 
6) For Pattice, boil the potatoes and peel them
7) Mash them thoroughly and add salt and bread crumbs
8) Make flat tikkis and stir fry on a nonstick pan
9) Serve the hot ragda with tikkis , onions, tamarind chutney and sev

Platter : Soup shots + Corn Cabbage nuggets
A total meal for illness

Ingredients
For soup shots
1 bowl cabbage
2 tomatoes
1 big carrot
1 small onion
1/4th tspn pepper powder
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn sugar
1/4th tspn cummin powder
1/4th tspn Clarified Butter (Ghee)

For Nuggets
1 cup boiled corn kernels
1/2 cup boiled cabbage
1 boiled potato for binding
1/4th tspn Garam masala
1/2 tspn salt
1/4th tspn Amchur powder
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/2 cup bread crumbs 

Method
1) For soup: In a pressure cooker, add all the vegetables including onion and add one cup water and boil it for 2-3 whistles
2) Once done, blend the veges and add salt, sugar, cummin, pepper and simmer it for 3-4 minutes
3) Finally add Ghee to the soup
4) For Nuggers, blanch the vegetables and mix them thoroughly
5) To that add dry ingredients and finely chopped onions and bread crumbs
6) Make small square of the mixture
7) On a nonstick pan, add 1 tbspn oil/ butter and roast the nuggets till they turn brown and crispy
8) Serve the healthy soup with the very healthy nuggets