Radish Paratha and Strawberry Chutney

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Radish/Daikon (Mooli) Paratha

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp of Yogurt ( I used Fat Free)
1 tsp of Salt
3/4 cup of Grated white Radish or Daikon
1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder (or more per taste)
1 tsp of Turmeric Powder
1/4 cup of water (less or more as needed to finish the dough)

Method:
1) I use the food processor with dough blade, add all the ingredients apart from water and mix well. Then add very little water as needed until the dough forms.
2) If you are doing this with hand, same process. Add all the ingredients together in a bowl except water and mix well and then add as little water as needed to finish the dough.
3) Put the dough in a container and store it in the fridge for at least 20-30 mins.
4) Make golf ball sized balls out of the dough. Sprinkle some dry flour on a rolling board, roll out the dough. Keep it a bit thick. Heat a flat pan, put the rolled paratha and cook on both sides with oil.
5) Hot Moooli Paratha is ready to serve. You can eat this with some yogurt dish, or pickle or like I did with Strawberry Chutney (Recipe Follows)

Notes:
1. You can also add chopped Corriander leaves to the dough.

Strawberry Chutney

Ingredients:
2 cups of Chopped fresh Strawberries
1/4 Cup of Jaggery or Brown Sugar
Salt To Taste
Black Pepper to Taste
2 Tsp of Jeera Powder
Oil for Sauteeing
Mustard Seeds for Seasoning

Method:
1) Heat a pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Add chopped strawberries once the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped strawberries and saute for a little while
2) Add the salt and Jaggery and cook until the strawberries get cooked. Add black pepper and jeera powder and the chutney is ready :))

Notes: You can add other spices like Coriander seed powder etc, I just kept it simple.

Black Eyed Pea Salad

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups of Dry Black Eyed Pea
1 Red Apple Washed and chopped Finely
Handful or more of Cherry Tomatoes washed and chopped
1 Cucumber Chopped Finely
1 small or half Red Onion Chopped Finely
1 or 2 Avocado's Chopped
6-7 Mini Sweet Peppers Chopped Finely
1/4 Cup of Finely Chopped Cilantro
1-2 Thai peppers or Jalapeno peppers chopped Finely

Dressing:
2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:
1. Wash and Soak the Black Eyed Pea for 3-4 hours or atleast for an hour. Pressure cook them with a little salt for about 3-4 Whistles. You can also cook them on stove top until they are cooked and soft.
2. Drain the water out of the cooked black eyed pea and a mixing bowl - mix all the chopped ingredients, the cooked black eyed pea and the dressing ingredients.
3. Toss well and serve it warm, room temperature or cold.

Notes:
1. I prefer this salad at room temperature.
2. If you cannot soak the black eyed pea, then you just have to pressure cook it for a longer time.
3. You can also add other fruits like strawberries and blueberries.
4. You can also add other ingredients to the dressing like Oregano or Thyme or whatever else that your taste buds prefer.

Channa Daal and Methi Scramble

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup of Channa Daal (Picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight or at least 4-6 hours)
1 bunch of Methi Leaves (Washed and Cleaned)
1 inch piece of Ginger
3-4 Green Chillies
Salt to Taste
Oil to Sautee
Mustard Seeds for Seasoning
Hing for Seasoning

Method:
1. Drain the Channa daal.  Grind the Soaked Channa Daal, methi leaves, ginger, green chillies and salt in the food processor with no water. . You can make it into a very smooth paste or just a bit coarsely like I have done it.
2. Steam this ground mixture in the pressure cooker for just three whistles. If you do not own a pressure cooker, you can steam in a microwave steamer for about 6-8 minutes.
3. In a pan, heat some oil and add Mustard seeds and once it splutters, add hing and then add the pressure cooked channa daal mixture and mix well.
4. Channa Daal and Methi Scramble is ready to be eaten. You can eat this by itself with a piece of toast or some crackers or you can serve with some rice or chapathi.

Notes:
Channa daal is very healthy and has very low Glycemic Index and does not get mushy very easily making it easy to use in many recipes. Here is one of my favorite links on Channa Daal.

Cabbage Paratha with Bran

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup of Finely Chopped Cabbage
1 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup of Wheat Bran
1/2 inch of Ginger Chopped Finely
Salt to Taste
1/4 Cup of Yogurt (fat free)
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
2 Tsp of Jeera Powder
1 Tsp of Coriander Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder (or more if you want it spicy)
Oil for cooking

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients except Oil in a wide bowl and mix well. Add very little water in increments to knead the dough.
2. Put the mixed dough in refrigerator for at least 20-30 mins. This helps the bran to absorb water and the paratha will be softer.
3. Take the dough out and then make it into small balls (maybe slightly bigger than golf size balls), and Knead them thoroughly. I found that kneading these smaller dough balls is much easier and more effective. Roll it out using wheat flour.
4. Put it on a heated pan and cook it on both sides using oil. Make sure you cook the paratha on medium fire. This takes a bit longer, but cooks it well.
5. Serve the paratha hot with either Pickle or Yogurt or both.

Notes:
1. You can add Cilantro as well. I forgot to add this time.
2. You can skip the yogurt if you are not inclined to add it, but I have found out that Yogurt and keeping it in the fridge helps the bran soften quite a bit. But I have tried it without yogurt as well and it works perfectly well.
3. If you do not like the taste of cabbage, you can chop it much more finely in the food processor before mixing it with the flour.

Tindora Gravy Curry

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Chopped Tindora
1 Medium Onion Chopped
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
1 inch piece of Ginger
1 Tsp of Poppy Seeds
1 Tsp of Sesame Seeds
2 Tsp of Coriander Seeds
1/2 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp of Cumin Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder
A few pinches of Hing
1 Tsp of Tamarind Paste
Mustard Seeds for Seasoning
Curry Leaves
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil for Sauteing
Salt to Taste

Method:
1.  Steam the chopped Tindora. I used a Microwave steamer (Steamed it for 6 Mins). But you can para boil it or just steam in a rice cooker or even pressure cooker.
2. Roast Poppy Seeds, Sesame Seeds and Coriander seeds with a few drops of oil until they are golden brown. Take it out of the pan and in the same pan add a bit more oil and fry the Onion.
3. Once the Onion is transclucent, then add the ginger and garlic and fry a bit more.
4. Let all of this come to room temperature. Then grind all the ingredients that you roasted into a smooth paste with tamarind paste. Use as little water as you can. You really do not not need too much water.
5. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and hing. Also add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and Cumin powder and roast for a little bit.
6. Turn the fire to low, and then add the ground masala paste and fry for 5 mins or so on very low fire.
7. To this add the steamed Tindora & Salt to taste and let it cook well on low fire.
8. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve it hot with Rice or Chapathi.

Notes: You can add either roasted ground nuts or coconut in the masala. But I skipped both to keep it a bit more healthier version.

Eggplant in Poppy seed Gravy

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Medium Eggplant Chopped (Keep the chopped eggplant in water to avoid discoloration)
1 Big Red Onion Chopped Fine
3 Tsp of Poppy Seeds
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder or 2-3 green Chillies
1/4 cup of Chopped Coriander leaves for Garnish
Salt to Taste
Oil to Sautee

Method:
1. Sautee the chopped Eggplant in pan with some oil and once it is done, take it out on a plate.
2. In the same pan, add some more oil and saute 1/2 of the chopped onion and when it is half done, add the poppy seeds and fry some more until you see the poppy seeds changing color. Take this mixture out and let it cool to room temperature.
3. Grind the onion and poppy seed mixture along with some Red Chilli Powder or Green Chillies into a smooth paste. It will take some time as poppy seeds are kind of hard to grind.
4. In a pan, add some oil and add cumin seeds. Then add the remainder of the chopped onion and Sautee well. Add the ground paste to this and cook for a little while. Add some water if need be. Add the chopped Eggplant and salt and cook it on low fire until it all mixes together well. You can add some more water at this point as Eggplant will also absorb it. Add enough water until you get the gravy consistency that you want.

Eggplant with Poppy seed Gravy is ready to be served hot with either Chapathi or Rice.

Black ChickPea, Avocado and Bell Pepper Salad

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Kala Channa (Black Chick Eyed Pea) - Soaked overnight and then pressure cooked.
1 Avocado Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
1/2 Red Onion Chopped
1/2 Cup of Cucumber Peeled and Chopped
Cilantro for Garnishing

Salad Dressing:
2 tsp of Lemon Juice
2 Tsp of Olive Oil
1/4 tsp of Ginger grated finely
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix the Cooked Kala Channa (I drain out any excess water) along with the chopped Avocado, bell pepper, onion, cucumber and cilantro.
2. Add all of the salad dressing ingredients to this mix and toss well. You can always increase the lemon juice if you prefer more tangy.
3. Kala Channa salad is ready to be eat.

Notes:
1. I prefer to mix warm Kala Channa and not cold as Kala Channa does not taste that great when it is cold.
2. You can also add Tomatoes and other Vegetables to this Salad.

Paneer Stirfry with Cabbage and Bell Peppers

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Fresh Paneer (Cubed)
1 small head of Cabbage - Finely Chopped
1-2 Bell Peppers  - Chopped (I used a combination of Yellow and Red Bell Peppers)
Oil To Sautee
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 Tsp of Cumin Powder
1 Tsp of Corriander Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder
Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Pan fry the paneer cubes with very less oil in pan and keep it aside. In the same pan, heat some more oil and sautee the bell peppers.
2. In a Wok, add some oil and once it is hot, add some cumin seeds and then add all the dry powders and saute for a few mins and then add the chopped cabbage and cook it for 10 mins with a lid on and very slow fire. This way you can cook the cabbage completely and yet keep it crisp and not soggy.
3. Once the cabbage is done, add the paneer and the bell peppers, salt to taste and mix well. You can garnish this with chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer stir fry is ready and can be eaten with Chapathi or Rice. I had it just like this with some salad.

Green Moong daal Crepe with Tomato Onion Chutney

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Green Whole Moong Daal Crepe
Ingredients:
1 Cup of Whole Green Moong Daal (Soaked Overnight)
1 inch piece of Ginger
4-6 Garlic Cloves
3-4 Green Chillies (or per taste)
1/4 cup of Finely Chopped Onion
2 Tbsp of Finely Chopped Cilantro
Mustard Seeds and Hing for Seasoning
Salt to Taste
Oil to Cook

Method:
1. Grind the Soaked Moong daal with ginger, garlic and Green Chillies. Do not add too much water. The batter should be fairly thick.
2. To the ground batter, add the salt, chopped Onion and Cilantro. Add seasoning of mustard seeds and Hing.
3. Heat a flat pan and pour the batter and spread the best you can (it is kind of hard with the chopped onion on it).
4. Cook it both sides with some oil.
5. Moong Daal Crepe is ready to be eaten with some chutney.


Tomato Onion Chutney
Ingredients:
1 Medium Onion Chopped
2 Roma Tomatoes Chopped
3-4 Red Chillies
Salt
1/2 Tsp of Cumin Seeds

Method:
1. Roast the Onion with some oil until it starts browning.
2. Add the red chillies and roast some more.
3. Add the tomatoes and saute until tomatoes become soft.
4. Let this mixture come to room temperature. Then Blend this into a paste with Salt and Cumin Seeds.
5. Tomato Onion Chutney is ready :)

Notes: Optionally you can add garlic cloves along with red chillies and you can add Tamarind paste or Lemon Juice while grinding it to a paste.

Dalia Upma

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 Cup of Dalia (Broken Wheat)
3 Cups of Water (To cook Dalia)
1 Medium Onion Chopped Finely
1/2 of Medium Green Bell pepper chopped finally
1/4 inch of Ginger Root Chopped Finely
5-6 Curry leaves
2-3 Green Chillies Chopped
3-4 tbsp of Oil for Sauteeing
Mustard Seeds for Seasoning
1/4 Cup of Finely chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

Method:
1) Heat 1 Tbsp of Oil in pressure cooker, add the Dalia, Roast it for 5-7 minutes and then add 3 cups of hot water and pressure cook it for 3 Whistles. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook the Dalia on stove top in a regular pan as well.
2)  In a separate pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. And as soon as the mustard seeds splutter, add ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. After a few seconds of frying these, add the chopped onion and bell pepper and saute them for 5-7 minutes until you see the onion turning brown.
3) Add the cooked Dalia and salt and mix it well and cook it for a few minutes on slow fire. You can add the Cilantro for garnishing.
4) Eat it Hot with some Curds or Achaar.

Notes:
1) You can also add Tomatoes in this. Add it after Onion has been fried. Add Dalia after Tomatoes become a bit soft.
2) You can also add some lemon juice for garnishing if you are not adding tomatoes and want some sourness to the dish.
3)You can also add other vegetables like Peas, carrots and Potatoes. I wanted to keep it low carb and low sugar, so I did not add these vegetables.

Corn and Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Taco's

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 Corn Tacos (Store Bought)
1 Cup of Paneer cubes (I cut them into kind of smallish cubes)
1 Cup of Cooked Sweet Corn Kernels
2 Tbsp of Cilantro - Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup of Finely Chopped Onion (I used Red Onion)
1/4 Tsp of Lemon Juice
2 Tsp of Date-Tamrind / Sweet Chutney
Oil for Sauteeing

For Seasoning:
1 Tsp of Jeera (Cumin) powder
1 Tsp of Dhania (Corriander) Powder
1 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder (Adjust this according to your taste)
Salt to Taste

Method:
1. Heat the Oil in a pan and add the chopped Onions and Saute until they are translucent.
2. Add the Sweet Corn and Paneer Cubes and Saute for a few more mins.
3. Add the Masala powders including the salt. Also add Cilantro and Lemon Juice and saute until everything is mixed well.
4. Heat the Taco's in the Oven per the box directions, take it out and fill the taco's with the Corn and Paneer Mixture. Drizzle the sweet sauce on top and serve it Warm.

Notes:
1. Instead of Taco's, you can use Pita Chips, Corn Tortilla Chips or Papdi poori's on a plate and spread the corn paneer mixture on it and then add the sauce.
2. You can even wrap this mixture in a plain paratha for lunch box.

Spinach and Kidney Beans Curry

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 6 oz Pkt of Fresh Spinach Washed and Chopped Finely
1 Large Red Onion Chopped Finely
2 Cup of Red Kidney Beans (Soaked and Cooked)
2 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder
1 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
2 Tsp of Cumin powder
2 Tsp of Corriander Powder
1/2 Tsp of Garam Masala
Salt to Taste
Oil for Cooking

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion and saute until onion is browned and a bit carmelized.
2. Add  chopped spinach and saute well until spinach is cooked.
3. Add the dry masala powders to this mixture - Turmeric, Red Chilli powder, Cumin Powder and Coriander powder. Mix them all and saute for a few more minutes.
4. Add the cooked red kidney beans at this point and mix well.
5. Add salt to taste and some water and cook on low heat for 10 mins or so.
6. Add the Garam Masala powder and mix well.
7. You can also mash some of the red kidney beans and that will add some more thickness to the curry.

Serve it hot with Chapathi or Poori.

Notes: You can also use two 15 oz cans of red kidney beans instead of soaking and cooking dry beans.

Kadai Paneer

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Chopped Paneer
1 Medium Sized Onion - Chopped Fine
3-4 Roma Tomatoes Chopped 
1-2 - Capsicum (Green Bell Pepper) - Chopped
3 Tsp of Dry Corriander Seeds
5-6 Red Chillies (or more according to taste)
2 Tsp of Jeera Powder
2 Tsp of Garam Masala
Jeera for Seasoning
Oil for Sauteeing

Method:
1. Pan fry the Paneer cubes with little bit oil. Keep it aside.
2. In a pan dry roast corriander seeds and red chillies together. Grind them into a smooth paste with tomatoes.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and add some jeera seeds. Then add chopped onions and sautee until brown. Then add the ground tomato paste and saute for some more time until the raw smell of tomato is gone.
4. Then add the chopped capsicum, Jeera powder and garam masala and fry for a few minutes. We do not want to over cook the bell pepper. Then add the paneer pieces, salt and cook for some more time until paneer absorbs some of the masala.
6,. Kadai Paneer is now ready to be served with either Rice or Chapathi.

Easy Kulfi

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Can of Evaporated Milk
1 14 oz Can of Condensed Milk
1 8 oz Can of Cool Whip
3 Slices of White Bread
2-3 Tsp of Cardamom Powder
2-3 Tbsp of Mixed Nuts Coarsely powdered (Cashew nuts, Pistachios and Almonds)

Method:
1.  Thaw the Cool Whip or defrost it in the microwave.
2. Cut the brown edges of the bread and then powder the three slices of bread in a food processor. Food processor works better than blender to dry powder the bread slices.
3. In a big mixing bowl, add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cool whip and bread powder/crumbs and mix well. I use a hand mixer for this. You have to beat/mix the mixture until you start seeing air bubbles. That is what indicates that it has all blended together. Also you should not be able to see the white cool whip. Everything should be mixed well together.
4. Now add the cardamom powder and mix again.
5. Pour this mixture into a glass pan or into individual molds or cups. Sprinkle the coarsely ground nuts on top of this and then freeze it overnight. Make sure that it is covered to avoid freezer burn.
6. I just pour into rectangular class pan with  lid and when ready to serve, I just cut it into pieces.

Notes:
1. I use fat free evaporated and condensed milk and also either lite, fat free or sugar free cool whip and it turns out the same.
2. I use Mrs.Bairds white sandwich bread. Bread is what provides the texture and binding. So do not skip the bread and the finer you can powder it, the better.
3. You can use Almond essence instead of cardamom powder or vanilla essence. You can even add Mango Puree to this to get different flavors of kulfi

Wheat Flour Dosa

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Wheat Flour
1 Cup - Fine Sooji (Chiroti Rave)
1/4 Cup - Grated or powdered Jaggery
4-6 - Green Chillies - Chopped
1 inch - Ginger Chopped
1 small bunch of Corriander Leaves - Chopped Finely
3-4 Tbsp - Fresh grated coconut
1-2 Tsp of Red Chilli Powder
Sour Yogurt or Buttermilk
Salt to Taste

Method:
 1. Sieve Wheat flour and fine sooji together with salt.  Add yogurt to it and mix it well without any lumps.
2. Add jaggery,  salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Also add the chopped ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and coconut and mix well. Add some water if needed.
3. The batter must be soft but thicker than dosa batter.
4. Heat a pan and spread the batter with a spoon, since it is a thicker batter and a bit hard to spread thin, I make it into smaller diameter dosa.
5. Add some oil and cook well on both sides.
6. Serve it hot with chutney or pickle.

This is a very typical Havyaka Dish called "Ele Holige". I had really missed this and thanks to my Uncle for reminding me about this.

Notes:
1. Jaggery adds a bit of sweetness to this dosa, if you do not like it, you can skip it.
2. You can add a few table spoons of rice flour to make the dosa a bit crispy.

"Langar" wali Moong Daal

(From Banu's Cookbook)

We were at Gurudwara the other day and they had made this awesome Daal for Langar (Community Meal). I just fell in love with this Daal. I did research this on the Internet and this recipe is not exactly like any of those. I just took some tips and made my own recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Green Whole Mong Daal
1 Cup - Black Whole Urad Daal (Chilkewali Urad Daal)
1/4 Cup - Channa Daal
1 Big Red Onion - Chopped Finely
4 Medium Roma Tomatoes - Chopped Finely
1 Tbsp - Ginger Garlic Paste
2-3 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
3 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
3 Tsp - Roasted Cumin Seeds - Powdered
1 Tsp of Garam Masala
1/4 Cup of Finely Chopped Cilantro
Oil
Salt to Taste

Method:
1. Dry roast the cumin seeds and powder it into a fine powder.
2. Wash and Soak all the daal together for at least 6 hours or over night.
3. Cook the soaked daals in pressure cook with 1 tsp of oil and turmeric powder. Cooking time depends on the pressure cooker you have. You want the daal to be cooked but not totally mashed. If you are doubtful, you can cook it on stove top, it takes probably about 30 to 40 mins to cook.
3. In a separate pan, heat some oil. Add Cumin Seeds and Bay leaves for seasoning. Add the finely chopped red onion and cook well for 7-8 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook for 10 mins or so until the tomatoes are soft. Do not add any water other than the tomato juice that was part of the chopping.
5. Add a bit more turmeric powder, red chili powder and the roasted cumin powder at this point. Mix well and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Add this onion tomato masala to the cooked Daal (if your cooked Dal has lots of extra water, remove some of it first before you add the paste), add salt to taste and let it boil for some time until everything has blended well together.
7. Add the chopped Coriander Leaves and mix it well.
8. Switch off the heat, add the garam masala powder just on the top and cover the vessel with a lid and let the garam masala powder be absorbed slowly into the Dal.
9. Stir well before serving it.

Notes: All the langarwali daal recipes on the Internet called for just the mixture of black urad daal and Channa daal. I was not sure if I would like that and plus the daal that I had eaten felt like it had some green moong daal in it. So, I choose this combination of daal. But please do let me know if you try some other combination.

Carrot Halwa (Pudding)

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 Big Carrots Grated - This is about 1/2 to 2 Cups of Grated Carrot
1/2 Cups of Milk (I used non fat milk)
1/4 Cup of Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp of Cardamom Powder
3 Tbsp of Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Nuts for Garnishing - I used Slivered Almonds and Pistachios

Method:
1. Boil the Milk in a non stick or heavy bottomed pan on medium heat until it starts boiling well and reduces a little bit. I do not really reduce it to half or anything. As long it is boiling completely and it looks a bit reduced that should be good enough.
2. Heat another non stick pan or heavy bottomed pan, put 2 tbsp of Ghee in it and the grated carrots and saute them for 7-8 minutes until the carrots get slightly tender. You can see a bit of color change in the carrots at this point of time.
3. While I was sauteing the carrots, I kept the milk boiling on low heat. Then I added the hot milk to the sauteed carrots and cooked them on medium low heat. Stirring quite a bit so that it does not stick to the pan.
4. This takes about 15 min or so to cook and all the milk to be absorbed. If you reduce the milk quite a bit in the first step then this cooking time is reduced as well. But I like the carrots to cook a bit longer in the milk as it gives it a more of creamy texture and taste.
5. Once all the milk has been absorbed, add the sugar and cardamom powder and cook for a few more minutes. Approximately 5 minutes. You can see that the mixture will start leaving the side of the pans and that is when you know it is done.
6. Roast the pistachios and slivered almonds in the remaining ghee and add it to the Halwa and Halwa is ready to be eaten. This can be served hot or cold. I personally prefer it hot. :)

Hope you get to try this and let me know your comments and suggestions.

Notes:
1. I prefer to use a steel vessel with double lined bottom to boil milk with near continuous stirrings rather than non stick pan. But again that is just my personal preference.
2. Also it is better that you keep a separate non stick pan and wooden spoon for sweet dishes and do not use them for savory dishes. Because how much every you wash them, there can be traces of sourness or spiciness in the vessel that can spoil a sweet dish.
3. You can also use butter instead of ghee. It is just personal preference. Both of them give the same end result.
4. You can also use Cashew Nuts for Garnishing.

Peas and Carrot Paratha (flat bread)

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cup Frozen Peas and Carrots (You can use fresh as well)
1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
1 Tsp of Cumin Powder
1/2 Tsp of Garam Masala
1 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt to Taste
Less than half cup of warm water
Oil for Cooking

Method:
1. Thaw the frozen peas and carrots and put some water and cook it in microwave for about 4 mins or so. Drain it and keep it aside.
2. Heat about 1/2 tsp of oil in a pan and saute the peas and carrots. Add a pinch of salt, cumin, chilli powders and also the garam masala. Saute for a few more mins.
3. Add the flour, turmeric powder, salt to taste, 1 tsp of oil and the sauteed peas and carrots mixture and make it into a dough by adding warm water. Add water slowly and little bit because there is already moisture due to the peas and carrots.
4. Roll out the dough like regular chapathi and cook into the tawa with some oil. Cook well on both sides on medium flame.
5. Serve it with some Raita.

Here are some pictures I took of making of the paratha,

Please let me know if you happen to try this recipe. Any comments and critiques are welcome.

Note: You can make most of the dough and just before removing it add the sauteed peas and carrots and pulse it once. This way you can actually see the carrots and peas - if you happen to like that.

Instant or Easy Kaju (Cashewnut) Burfi

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Raw Cashew (unsalted)
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp of Fat Free Milk Powder
3 Tbsp of Milk
3 Tbsp of Butter


Method:
1. Grind the Cashew nuts into a smooth powder. I found out that food processor works the best for this.
2. Melt the butter slightly in the microwave.
3. In a microwaveable dish, mix all the ingredients and make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
4. Heat the mixture in Microwave for 1 minute. Take it out and stir it well. You should see some bubbles at this stage. Do not worry if you do not.
5. Put the mixture back in the microwave and heat for another 1 minute. Take it out and stir it well again.
6. Now put it back in the microwave for the last minute. Here you might want to keep an eye to make sure that it is not burning.
7. Pour the mixture into a well greased plate - keep it about 1/4 to 1/2" thick. Cut them into squares when slightly cooled. You can also decorate them with small pieces of cashew nuts. I just decided to leave them plain.

I hope you get to try this and let me know how it turns out.

Notes:
1. You can use Khova instead of Fat Free Milk powder for more richer texture and taste.
2. You can also replace the sugar with Sugar and Splenda mix as well.

Orange Peel Chutney

(From Anuradha B Rao's Cookbook)

 Ingredients:
Peel of 7-8 small Oranges (cuties, tangelos etc)
3 Tsp of Tamarind Paste
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
6-7 Red Chillies
1 Cup of Fresh Grated Coconut (I used Frozen Coconut Defrosted well)
1/2 Tsp Ural Daal for Seasoning (Split Bengal Gram Daal)
1/2 Tsp of Mustard Seeds for Seasoning
Oil for Seasoning
Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt to Taste

Method:
1. Pressure cook the Orange Peel with Tamarind paste, Turmeric Powder and Salt in the pressure cooker for just 1 minute. If you do not have a pressure cooker, just cook them in an open pan until the peel is soft.
2. Dry Roast the Red Chillies.
3. Grind into a smooth paste the boiled Orange Peel, Roasted Red Chillies and Fresh Coconut.
3. Heat oil in a small pan, add Mustard seeds and Urad daal. Once they splutter, add it to the ground chutney.
4. Enjoy it with Hot Rice.

Due to the coconut that is present in this recipe, this is suitable only for South Beach Diet Phase 2.

Thanks for stopping by. If you do try this, please leave your comments and inputs on this recipe.