Pinni: A traditional and super nutritious Punjabi dessert

Pinni is a traditional Punjabi sweet. It is usually prepared during winter in Punjabi households. It can be stored for almost a month in air tight container.

Ingredients:
Approx. 24 Pinnis

• Whole wheat flour – 3 cups
• Brown Sugar or Gur – 2 cups
• Khoya (Mawa) – 1 cup grated [optional]
• Flax seeds – 4 tbsp powdered
• Poppy seeds – 2 tbsp
• Almonds – 1/2 cup coarsely chopped
• Walnuts – 1/2 cup coarsely chopped
• Cashews – 1/2 cup coarsely chopped
• Desiccated coconut – 4 tbsp
• Clarified butter(Ghee) – 2 cups
• Fresh Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Milk – 2 tbsp

Method

• Roast all the nuts separately and keep aside to cool down. Chop then coarsely and keep aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat ghee.
• Add wheat flour and cook it on low flame.
• Keep stirring continuously, till it becomes light brown.
• Now add grated mawa or khoya to it. Mix well. Add flax seed powder and roast for another 3-4 minutes.
• When flour is evenly browned and aromatic, add the sugar and stir for a minute.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Add the almonds, walnuts, cashews, desiccated coconut, poppy seeds and cardamom powder.
• Transfer it to a large plate and allow cooling a bit.
• Mix the contents well. Drizzle the milk (for binding) and mix well.
• With the above mixture, while it is still warm, start making ping pong size balls.
• Decorate with chopped nuts.
• Let the pinnis cool completely, before storing them in the airtight containers.

Enjoy pinnis all winter long for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Tofu with Red bell pepper

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic green chili paste

• 1 red bell pepper diced

• 1 red onion diced into 1 inch cubes

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ½ tablespoon corn starch

• ¼ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

• 1 package firm or extra firm tofu, cut into desired shape

• 1/2 tablespoon tamarind paste

• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

• Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Cut tofu in desired shape and Airfry for 10 minutes on vegetable setting.

2. In a bowl, add corn starch in a cup of water and create a slurry. Add tamarind paste to it and mix well. Keep aside.

3. Add olive oil in a large pan and place over medium high heat. Add in cut onions and red bell peppers and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add peanuts to the pan and sauté for another 2 minutes. Next stir in ginger garlic green chili paste to it. Sauté for 2 minutes.

4. Add tamarind slurry to the pan. Mix well. Add in salt, brown sugar, and ground black pepper to the pan.

6. Gently add in airfryed tofu and stir. Garnish with green scallions. Serve immediately with rice.

Enjoy!

Poha: A complete breakfast

Poha : A complete breakfast

Cooked poha or flattened rice is simple and healthy breakfast. It can be served with tea, coffee in the morning or with fresh juice, lemonade for evening snack.

Ingredients:

Approx. 4 servings

• Poha (flattened rice) – 2 cup
• Onion – 1/2 chopped
• Potato – 1 peeled and diced
• Green chili – 1 finely chopped
• Green peas – 1/2 cup
• Curry leaves – 6
• Cumin seeds (Jira) – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds (Rai) – 1 tsp
• Asafetida powder – 1 pinch
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Fresh lime juice
• Cilantro for garnish
• Cooking oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash poha gently, drain and keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let it splutter.
3. Add asafetida powder, Sauté for a minute. Now add chopped onions and green chilies. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add curry leaves. Sauté.
4. Add peeled and diced potatoes and green peas. Mix it and cover the pan. Cook potatoes and peas for further 5 minutes.
5. In the soaked poha, add salt, turmeric powder and sugar. Mix it gently.
6. Add this poha to the pan. Gently mix well. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of water on top and cover the pan. Turn the heat to low. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
7. Uncover the pan, add lime juice and mix again. Cover for 3-4 more minutes.
8. Poha is ready to be served.

Garnish and serving suggestions:
Garnish Poha with fresh chopped cilantro, namkeen sev (bhujiya) and cut lime wedges. Enjoy poha as morning breakfast or an evening snack.

Badam Kheer: Almond Pudding

Badam Kheer is a rich and creamy dessert for all occasions. It is very easy to prepare and serve. It can be cooked in slow cooker. So make it ahead of time and serve it warm or chilled.

Approx. 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 mins (except soaking time)
Cooking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients: 

• Almonds – 2 cups
• Milk – 1 quart
• Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Cardamom powder (elaichi) – 1 tsp
• Saffron (kesar) – 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Soak almonds in water over night.
• Next morning, peel the almonds and keep aside.
• Coarsely grind half of the peeled almonds using very little milk. Keep the coarse paste aside.
  Slice rest of the almonds.
• In a heavy bottom pan, boil milk. Once it is boiled, add saffron strands and cardamom powder and let it simmer on low heat till it reduces to half of volume.
• Now add coarse almond paste and half of the sliced almonds to the milk. Let it simmer for 5 more minutes. Add sugar/sugar substitute and mix well.
• Badam Kheer is ready to serve.

Garnish and Serving suggestion:
Badam kheer can be served hot or chilled. I prefer chilled. Garnish badam kheer with remaining sliced almonds and few saffron strands.

Holi Special: Instant Gulab Jamun

होली और रंग पंचमी के शुभ अवसर पर,
होली के रंग, मिठाइयों के संग।

Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun is my favorite dessert since my childhood. My mom makes the yummiest gulab jamuns of all. On almost all the occasions, in India, she makes them from scratch.But here in US, since I don’t get mava as we get in India, so with my mom’s suggestion, I tried these Gulab Jamuns from the Chitale gulab jamun mix [from Pune]. They turned out pretty good.
Chitale gulab jamun mix is now available is most of the Indian grocery stores in Bay Area.

Ingredients: For Gulab Jamun (50 pieces)

Chitale Gulab Jamun mix- 1 pkt [400 gms]
Sugar – 6 cups
Cardamon powder (Elachi powder) – 2 tsp
Saffron strands (Kesar) – ¼  tsp
Goldan raisins (kismis) – 1/2 cup
Water – 240 ml (1.5 cups for making gulab jamuns)
Water – 6 cups [for syrup] 

Method:

• In a bowl, gradually add little by little, 1.5 cups of water to the mix. Mix well.
• Gently knead the mixture to make it an even dough.
• In another large vessel, take 6 cups of water and add 6 cups of sugar. Also add saffron and cardamom powder to it. Bring it to a boil. Mix it well and boil again.
• Take the dough and divide it into small 50 parts. Take golden raisin and put one raisin in the center of each portion. Roll each portion into a smooth ball. Make all the balls and keep aside.
• In a pan, heat cooking oil for frying the gulab jamuns. Deep fry the gulab jamuns on medium high heat. It should take approx 7-8 minutes to become golden brown. If it happens before that, oil is too hot and jamuns won’t be able to cook all the way through. If it takes more time than 7-8 minutes, the oil is not hot enough.
• Drain all the fried gulab jamuns on a kitchen towel. Let it sit for 4-5 minutes and then add all jamuns to the sugar syrup. Let them completely soak for couple of hours.
• Gulab jamuns are ready to eat.

Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy Gulab jamums hot or chilled. I prefer them hot with chilled vanilla ice-cream on the side.

Mixed Vegetable Raita (Indian Yogurt Condiment)

Raita is a cool refreshing condiment with spicy curries, parathas or pulavs. It can be prepared with different ingredients each time.

Approx. 5 Servings
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

Yogurt – 2 cups
Milk – 1/2 cup
English cucumber – 1
Tomato – 1
Sweet onion – 1/2 medium
Green chili – 1
Mint leaves dry –  1/2 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder (freshly ground) – A pinch
Red chili powder – A pinch
Black rock salt powder –  A pinch OR
Raita masala – 1 tsp
Sugar – 2 tsp
Cilantro leaves  – 1 tbsp finely chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

• Finely chop cucumber, tomato, onion and green chilies. Keep aside.
• In a bowl, beat yogurt  with milk for couple of minutes to make it smooth.
• Now add all the above cut vegetables, mint powder, cumin powder, black pepper, red chili powder, black salt OR raita masala, sugar and salt. Mix well and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Serve chilled as a side dish with your favorite pulav or garma garam parathas.

Dal-Dhokli: Ultimate comfort food

Dal-Dhokli means cooked Indian flat-bread bites, submerged in spicy and tangy lentil soup. Dal-Dhokli is ultimate comfort food in Gujarati household. My Dal-Dhokli recipe is inspired by the famous Gujarati chef Tarla Dalal. Each time it comes out perfect. It is great for soggy rainy weather.

Approx 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
For Dhokli:

• Whole wheat flour – 1.5 cups
• Besan (Bengal gram flour) – 1/2 cup
• Ajwain (Carom seeds) – 2 tsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Asafetida – 1 pinch
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp

For Dal:

• Tuwar dal (yellow lentils) – 1 cup uncooked
• Tomatoes – 1/2 cup
• Boiled peanuts – 2 tbsp
• Ginger  – 1 tbsp finely chopped
• Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
• Curry leaves – 8
• Jaggery (gur)- 1 tbsp
• Tamarind pulp (Imli) – 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste

For tempering:

• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
• Asafetida (Hing) -1/4 tsp
• Finely chopped cilantro – 2 tbsp (for garnish)

Method:
For Dhokli:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and knead into soft dough, using enough water.
2. Cover and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll out each portion into 6″ diameter and 1/8 inch thick circles.
4. Heat griddle or tava and cook each roti lightly from both the sides.
5. Cut each roti with pizza cutter or knife into diamond or desired shapes and keep aside.

For Dal:

1. Cook dal in the pressure cooker with turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in large sauce pan and add cumin seeds. When seeds start crackling, add finely chopped green chilies and ginger. Sauté for a minute.
3. Now add asafetida powder, red chili powder and the cooked dal. Mix well and bring it to a boil.
4. Add the curry leaves, tomatoes, jaggery, tamarind pulp and peanuts. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Garnish and Serving Suggestions:
Garnish hot dal with freshly chopped cilantro. For plating, just before serving add prepared dhoklis to hot dal and serve immediately.

Note: Add dhoklis one by one to the dal or it will form a lump.

Tangy Mango Salsa

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cooking time: Nil
Serving size: 6

 Ingredients:

• Ripe Mango – 1 peeled, seeded and chopped
• Tomato – 1 chopped
• Sweet onion – 1/2 chopped
• Fresh cilantro – 1 tbsp finely chopped
• Fresh green chili – 1 finely chopped (Optional)
• Lime juice – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Red chili powder – 1 pinch
• Chaat masala – 1 pinch
• Salt as per taste

Method:

Combine all the above ingredients in a large bowl. Mix it well till all the flavors combine. Refrigerate it or leave it at room temperature for half an hour before serving.

 Serving Suggestions:

Serve fresh and tangy mango salsa with your favorite chips. Enjoy!

Vegetable Kofta Curry

Vegetable Kofta Curry

The word kofta is derived from Persian language. In Persian, Kuft means “to beat” or “to grind” and hence Kufta means “beaten” or “ground”. Vegetable koftas are fried pakoras (dumplings) in rich cream gravy.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
For Vegetable Kofta: Approx 12 Koftas

Bottle guard (Lauki) – 1 peeled and grated
Cabbage – 1/4 grated
Carrots – 3 peeled and grated
Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
Besan (gram flour) – 2 cups
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying the koftas

For Gravy:
Whole garam masala – 1 tbsp
Onion – 1 (pureed)
Tomato puree – 2 cups
Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
Paneer – 2 tbsp grated
Cashew powder – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tbsp
Green chili – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Heavy whipping cream – 1/2 cup
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar/ Honey – 2 tsp.
Salt as per taste
For Garnish:
Kasoori methi – 1 tbsp

Method:

To make Koftas:

1. In a bowl, add grated cabbage, carrots, bottle guard. Mix well.
2. Now in a large bowl, add besan and all the dry spices for making koftas.
3. Add all the above vegetables to it. Mix well and make a pakora like batter. If it is dry add very little water as grated bottle guard (lauki) makes the batter little watery.
4. In a pan, heat cooing oil and deep fry marble size koftas carefully till they are golden brown in color.
5. Drain and keep aside.

To make Gravy:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala. Let it crackle.
2. Add pureed onions and saute it, till turns light golden. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and chopped green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add tomato puree, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt.
4. Add grated paneer (2 tbsp) and cashew powder. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.Add sugar or honey and stir in heavy cream. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and gravy is ready.
5. Add koftas to the gravy 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish and Serving suggestions:
Garnish Vegetable kofta curry with fragrant dry kasoori methi. Enjoy with fresh roti, paratha or steamed basmati rice.

Quick and Healthy: Colorful Fried Rice

Happy New Year to everyone! Let’s start this year with this quick and healthy recipe for fried rice. It can be prepared with all the vegetables you have or all the vegetables you like:)… Enjoy this easy recipe!

Approx. 4 servings

Ingredients:
Basmati rice – 1.5 cup
Onions – 1 medium (sliced)
Cauliflower or Broccoli – 1 cup (small florets)
Red bell pepper – 1 (cup cut strips)
Green peas – 1/2cup
Garlic – 1/2 tbsp minced
Ginger – 1/2 tbsp grated
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Garlic chili sauce -1 tbsp

Spices:
Cumin seeds (Jira) – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash basmati rice twice. Cook the rice with 3 cups of water.
• Clean and cut all the vegetables as directed. Keep aside.
• In a pan on medium heat, add olive oil. Add cumin seeds, when it starts to crackle, add sliced onions. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
• Add ginger-garlic and all the vegetables. Sauté on high for 3-4 minutes.
• Add all these cooked vegetables to the cooked rice and add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt.
• In the end, add garlic chili sauce, mix well and slow cook the vegetable fried rice half covered for 4 more minutes.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve steamy vegetable fried rice with boondi raita (spicy yogurt).