Pav Bhaji

Ingredients:

200 gms potatoes
100 gms peas
200 gms onions
100 gms tomatoes
100 gms cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
Pav (Buns, but they should NOT be sweet)
2 tbsp oil
coriander for garnish (optional)

Spices for tempering:
1 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch asafetida (commonly known as hing)
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ginger paste

Spices for flavouring:
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or 1 tsp if it's any other chilli powder)
1/2 tbsp Pav Bhaji Masala (Everst is the best brand to use. Badshah is good as well. But, I'd discourage anyone to use others, especially, Schwartz)
1/2 tbsp Garam Masala (Badshah Rajwadi is the best here. Or Everest. Same applies for the rest)
1 tbsp Chaat Masala
1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi (optional)

Method:

• Wash all the vegetables thoroughly. Boil the potatoes and peas. Peel the potatoes and mash them together roughly.
• Chop all the other vegetables finely.
• Heat the oil. Once the oil is warm enough, add all the spices for tempering. 
• Add the garlic and the onions. Cook until the onions turn translucent.
• Add the tomatoes and cook for one more minute.
• Add the potatoes, peas and cauliflower. Stir well.
• Add 2 cups of water and using a potato masher, mix all the ingredients and mash them on the heat. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add all the spices for flavouring.
• Again, using the masher, mix everything well and keep stirring.
• Cook until almost all the water has evaporated. The Bhaji should be of a thick, flowing consistency.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and finely chopped raw onions (optional). Serve hot with pav, a wedge of lemon and a spoonful of butter melting away in the hot Bhaji!

Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and Sweet Corn Salad

Ingredients:

200 gms Cherry tomatoes
50 gms black olives
100 gms sweet corn
For Salad Dressing:
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of half a lemon

Method:

• Boil the sweet corn in a micro-wave for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water.
• Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
• Cut the olives in half. (optional)
• Mix all the three in a bowl.
• Mix all the ingredients for the salad dressing and pour on the salad. 
• Toss well.
• Serve fresh.

Malai Kulfi

Ingredients:

2 litres full fat milk (or 1 litre of evaporated milk)
500 ml full fat cream
2 cups sugar
1 tsp powdered cardamom
handful of pistachios (optional - for garnishing)
8-10 plastic cones/ glasses (to be used as moulds for freezing the kulfi)

Method:

• Boil the milk till it reduces to half its quantity. Keep scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan and stirring the milk constantly while boiling.
• Refrigerate the milk for 3-5 hours.
• Beat the chilled milk with a hand-mixer for a couple of minutes and keep aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix the cream and the sugar and whip it for 2-3 minutes - until it gets a flowing consistency. Make sure you don't over-whip.
• Pour the whipped milk with the cream and sugar mixture and mix evenly. use the hand-mixer for a minute after mixing well to make the mixture even more even.
• Add the cardamom powder for the flavour and mix well again.
• Using a spoon, fill the cones or the glasses with the mixture. Seal the cones completely so that there is no space left between the mixture and the seal.
• Keep in the freezer over-night and let it freeze completely.
• Serve directly from the freezer, garnished with sliced pistachios.
• A Variation would be kesar-pista malai kulfi: Mix 6-8 strands of saffron with the milk while boiling it and add sliced pistachios instead of the cardamom powder. This gives a crunchier texture to the kulfi as opposed to the creamier texture of the Malai kulfi.

Chole (Chick Pea Curry)

Ingredients:

500 gms chick peas

1 large onion
1 tomato
2-3 tbsp oil

Spices for tempering:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafetida (commonly known as hing)
1 tsp ginger paste
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric

Spices for flavouring
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp Garam Masala
1/2 tbsp Chaat Masala
1 tbsp chilli powder
salt to taste
4-5 drops of lemon juice

Method:

• Soak chickpeas overnight. Boil chick peas with some salt until soft (takes about 20-30 minutes in a pressure cooker and about 90-120 minutes in a pan.) Drain excess water and set aside. 
• Chop onions and tomatoes finely. 
• Heat the oil in a pan. When the oil is heated enough, add all the spices for tempering. 
• Add onions and cook until they turn translucent. Keep stirring and tossing the mixture. 
• Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. 
• Add the boiled chick peas. Keep stirring. Cover and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Add the spices for flavouring and stir well. 
• Add 1/4 cup of water and let it cook until all the water boils off. 
• Garnish with coriander/ sliced tomatoes/ sliced onions. 
• Serve hot with puris/ bhatura/ roti/ paratha/ nan bread.

Bhindi Fry (Okra dry curry)

Ingredients:

500 gms Bhindi (okra)

2 tbsp Oil

Filling:
100 gms roasted and ground peanuts
salt to taste
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp Garam masala 


Spices for tempering:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch asafetida (commonly known as hing)
3-4 curry leaves
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 finely chopped green chilli
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Spices for flavouring:
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder (can put more if need spicier food)
salt to taste
4-5 drops lemon juice
1 pinch sugar

Method:

• Wash the okra and chop off the tops. 
• Vertically slit each okra for the filling in such a way that it doesn't break into two pieces but there is an opening from where we can fill the insides. 
• Mix all the ingredients for the filling well. 
• Using a spoon, fill the okra with the ground peanut mix. 
• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the spices for tempering once the oil is heated. 
• Put the okra in the pan and mix well. Cover and cook for about 10 mins. 
• Put in the rest of the spices for flavouring and mix well again. 
• Cover and let it cook for another 5 mins. Check if done. If needed, let it cook for 5 more minutes.
• Serve hot with roti/ paratha.

Coconut and Garlic Chutney

Ingredients:

1 grated coconut (Can use desicated coconut if freshly grated coconut is not available.)
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp red chilli powder (Kashmiri chilli powder - if you use any other chilli powder, use only 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp cumin powder
4-5 drops of lemon juice
salt to taste

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a blender until it forms a smooth paste. Add some water if needed and blend again. 
• Garnish with some grated coconut. 
• Use as a dip.

Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

Ingredients:

1 cup carrots
Full fat milk (enough to cover the carrots)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
A handful almonds

Method:

• Soak almonds in water for about an hour. Peel and slice them. 
• Peel and grate the carrots. 
• Cook grated carrot with milk on a medium flame till all the water content evaporates away. Constantly keep stirring while the carrot is getting cooked. (For a richer product, you can also use Condensed Milk along with milk. In that case, reduce the quantity of milk as needed.) 
• Once the halwa is almost dry and sticky, add sugar and cook for some more time. Keep stirring.
• Again, as soon as the halwa starts becoming sticky, add cardamom powder, mix well and take off the flame. 
• Garnish with the sliced almonds and serve hot. 
• Also goes extremely well with vanilla ice-cream.

Alu Tikki

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes
50 gms peas
salt to taste
2tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder (can add more if like spicy things)
Bread crumbs/ coarse semolina/ cornflour
oil

Method:

• Boil potatoes and peas till soft. 
• Mix and mash them well. 
• Add salt, cumin powder and chilli powder. Mix well. 
• Add bread crumbs/ cornflour/ semolina to bind the mash properly so that it doesn't break when it's on the pan. 
• Make small flat roundlets of the mash. 
• Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the cutlets till they are golden brown on one side. Flip and cook the other side. (You can even deep-fry them - it's tastier but considerably less healthy!) 
• Garnish with coriander leaves (optional). 
• Serve hot with chutney and/or ketchup.

Raita

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 small onion
Yogurt
2-3 tbsp cumin powder
1 tspn Chaat Masala (optional)
salt to taste

Method:

• Wash the vegetables and chop them very finely. 
• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 
• If the yogurt is too dense, add a little bit of water to it and then, mix again. 
• Can also use finely chopped coriander instead of onions. 
• Use as an accompaniment with rice or nan bread/ paratha. 
• Best eaten with a hot curry to balance the palate.

Chutney

Chutney is a versatile kind of accompaniment to be eaten with most Indian savoury dishes. Very much like Basil pesto, even chutney can be used with many, many number of dishes and in many number of ways. Though just an accompaniment, chutneys have a place of extreme importance in the Indian Thali. They add the right zing to the other dishes, in the Thali. They can be wet or dry, sweet, sour or spicy, solid or watered down, depending on its type. The best chutneys are prepared using a mortar and pestle [which is where the name of the blog comes from. :)] But, these days, it's just much more simpler to use a blender.

The most common type of chutney is the coriander chutney. Other varieties include mint chutney, mango chutney, garlic chutney, peanut chutney, dates chutney, tamarind chutney, coconut chutney and pretty much anything that catches your fancy. :) Here is a recipe for a minty, coriander chutney:


Ingredients:

1 bunch coriander
1 bunch mint
4-5 chillies
1 clove garlic
salt to taste
1 pinch sugar
1 tsp cumin powder
3 tbsp ground peanuts
juice of half a lemon

Method:

• Sort the leaves from the stems of coriander and mint. Wash thoroughly. 
• Mix all the ingredients with a mortar and pestle (a blender with work just fine too) until a smooth paste is formed. Put some water and pound/ blend more, if needed.
• Garnish with a sprig of coriander/ mint. 
• Serve with hot samosas or pakoras. 
• Can be refrigerated and use for a week at least.

• For variations, can add half a bowl of freshly grated coconut instead of the mint (or even in addition to the mint) for a different flavour.