Methichi Kachhi Bhaji

 

Ingredients

1. Bunch of Methi (Fenugreek leaves)
2. Garlic: 10-12 cloves
3. Mustard seeds: 1/2 Tablespoon
4. Red Chill Powder: As per taste
5. Roasted groundnut powder:  2 tablespoon
6. Salt: As per taste
7. Oil: 1 Tablespoon

Procedure

1. Finely cut, wash and drain fenugreek leaves. Place in one bowl.
2. Add salt as per taste.
3. Add groundnut powder.
4. In small Kadai (tadaka pan), take oil, add mustard seeds and garlic cloves. Once garlic cloves are fried till golden brown, remove from heat and add red chili powder. Mix well.
5. Immediately add this tadaka to the bowl with fenugreek leaves.
6. Mix well with hands.
7. Serve with chapati or as a salad.

This recipe tastes very good in Winter when you get very good Methi in the market, is very healthy and good for diabetes patients.

Poha Chivada

During these days of the pandemic, we are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Since all family members are at home and there are fewer food resources available, we are always struggling to find the answer to the question "What to cook now"?   On top of that if you are busy with your work from home and kids have finished their online school and are hungry, we tend to give them some readymade food.  Many times "junk food" like chips/cookies.  Instead of that try this poha-chviada which is less oily and made from rice-flakes (poha)  And you can make as spicy as you and your kids will love to have. It's very easy and takes hardly 20 mins to make. Your kids will definitely like this crispy snack.

 

Ingredients:

1. Thin poha - 250 gm
2. Peanuts (unroasted, unsalted) - 3 tablespoons
3. Green chilies - 4 - 5
4. Curry leaves - 10 - 12
5. Chili powder - 2 tablespoons
6. Salt - As per taste
7. Turmeric powder - 2 teaspoons
8. Mustard seeds - 1 tablespoon
9. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
10. Oil - 4 Tablespoons

Procedure:

1. First, take poha (rice flakes) in a pan and dry roast on medium heat for 5 mins. This makes poha crispy.
2. Take oil in a properly big pan (big enough to stir all poha together )  and put it on heat.
3. Once the oil starts heating, first add peanuts in it as peanuts take longer time to fry. Keep stirring for 3 mins.
4. Add mustard seeds and let them splatter. Then add green chilies and curry leaves. Make sure chilies and curry leaves are fried till they become crispy.
5. Add a pinch of turmeric in the oil. We are not adding all the turmeric powder as it may burn.
6. Now add roasted poha, chili powder, remaining turmeric powder, salt, and sugar. Mix everything well.
7. Keep stirring for almost 10 mins. Switch off the heat.
8. Your chivada is ready.  Let it cool for 1 hour. Then store it in a dry, airtight container.  
9. Enjoy chivada with evening tea. :)

Prawns Curry

iSaltPepper: Prawns Curry with Chapatis

Being born in a vegetarian eating family, I know nothing about non-vegetarian food and never thought that I will ever cook it in my life. My husband introduced me to non-vegetarian food and a new world of food opened to me. I liked it, so I started to cook it.

Today I am going to share with you a recipe of Prawns curry. There are many different ways in which prawns or any type of fish are cooked in India. But among all other Indian curries and their recipes I know and have tasted, this prawns curry is the easiest recipe to do and is my most favorite.  Let's see how to make it!

Ingredients

1. Raw prawns (fresh or frozen)
2. Garlic - 6 or 7 cloves
3. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup (If it is frozen heat in the microwave for 1 min). 
4. Kokum - 3 pieces or Tamarind - 1.5-inch piece or Lemon - 1/2
5. Coriander  - Finely chopped, 1/2 cup
6. Green chilies - 2
7. Chili powder - 3 Teaspoons
8. Salt
9. Garam Masala - 1 Teaspoon  (optional)
10. Turmeric powder - 1 Teaspoon (optional)
11. Oil - 3 Tablespoon
12. Water - 2 cups

iSaltPepper - Prawns Curry Preparation

iSaltPepper - Mixed ingredients before boiling

Procedure

1.  Peel and wash prawns and marinate with little chili powder, salt, and turmeric powder. Keep aside.
2. Cut garlic into small pieces.  Make a fine paste of garlic, coriander, green chilies, and coconut.
3. In a pan, take above paste made in step 2, prawns, and kokum. Add chili powder, salt, and turmeric powder. Also, add 2-3 pieces of kokum. If you don't have kokum, you can use tamarind or lemon juice. Add oil and water.  Mix everything stirring lightly.
4. Keep on medium flame/power and let it boil for 8-10 mins.  Switch off the gas.
5. Prawns curry is ready. Serve it hot with Rotis/chapatis and rice.

Pure Ghee

iSaltPepper: Pure Ghee

Pure ghee, means clarified butter. An important ingredient used in Indian Gastronomy. Lots of Indian dishes are cooked using ghee. Some of these dishes can be cooked without ghee also. But ghee makes them delicious. Health-conscious people try to avoid ghee as it has lots of saturated fats. Definitely, it should not be eaten in excess. But if it is eaten in controlled portions, it has lots of advantages for your health.
We all know the traditional process of making pure and tasty ghee at home. We have grown up seeing our grandmothers and mothers making ghee in the traditional way. But it is time-consuming. In today's fast-paced world it is always not possible to follow that method of making ghee. And if you are living in foreign countries with different weather conditions, different kinds of milk processed in a different way available in markets, then the end product of ghee doesn't come out as expected.  That's why I am sharing below my simple method of making ghee using butter available in any supermarket.  I use ghee made by this method for all my cooking like making laddus, sweet sheera, to apply on rotis/ chapatis and to eat with rice or khichadi.  It tastes delicious.  It's very easy and is done in 15 mins.

Ingredients:

1. 2 packs of unsalted butter available in any supermarket

Pure Ghee

Method:

1. Take bricks of butter in a pan
2.  Keep the pan on slow flame/power
3. Butter starts melting, keep stirring intermittently.
4. Once all butter is melted it starts getting clarified.
5. Switch off the gas before it starts boiling. Otherwise, its color will become brownish.
6. Strain the melted butter with a strainer and let it cool. Pure ghee is ready.
7. Store it in a dry jar. 

Cucumber Salad (Vegan)

iSaltPepper: Cucumber Salad (Vegan)

Ingredients

1. Cucumbers - (1 big or 2 small)
2. Crushed (or coarse powder of)  roasted unsalted peanuts - 2 tablespoons
3. Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
4. Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
5. Green chillies -2 (Optional)
6. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
7. Oil - 1 tablespoon
8. Salt - As per your taste
9. Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Coriander - 1 tablespoon

Procedure

1. Wash and peel cucumbers.
2. Cut cucumber in small square pieces. Take in a bowl.
3. Add crushed peanuts, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, and sugar.
4. Cut green chillies in small pieces.
5. In small pan heat oil, once it is hot add mustard seeds and green chillies. Fry chillies for 1 minute, remove the pan from heat.
6. Pour oil with mustard seeds and chillies on cucumber mixture.
7. Mix well.
8. Garnish with coriander.

Vegetarian Masala Toast Sandwich

iSaltPepper-Vegetarian Masala Toast Sandwich

Ingredients

1. Medium size potatoes -2
2. Ginger - 1/2 inch
3. Garlic - 3 cloves
4. Tomato -1
5. Onion - 1
6. Lemon -1
7. Mint - small bunch
8. Coriander -small bunch
9. Bread slices -4
10. Salt 
11. Paprika / red chilli powder 
12. Tomato sauce
13. Cheese slices -2 (optional)
14. Butter (optional)

Procedure

Prepare potato filling

1. Boil and mash potatoes
2. Make the ginger-garlic (2-cloves) mix paste. 
3. Heat oil in a pan
4. Add ginger-garlic paste, fry for 1 min, add mashed potatoes, salt and paprika as per your taste and mix well.
5. Stir and fry for 2-3 mins.
6. Garnish with some coriander

Prepare green chutney (optional)

1. Wash and cut (by removing stems) mint and coriander
2. In a mixer bowl take mint, coriander, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, salt( as per your taste) and grind it to paste.
3. Green chutney is ready

Sandwich

1. Take 2 bread slices. Remove/cut sides if you like want.
2. Apply butter on one side of each slice.
3. On one slice spread green chutney (optional) 
4. Then put a small portion of mashed potatoes on it and spread evenly.
5. Put slices of tomato and onion on top of it.
6. Put a slice of cheese on it. 
7. On the other slice spread tomato sauce.
8. Put this second slice on the first slice with potatoes in such a way that tomato sauce is on the inner side of the sandwich.
9. Toast this sandwich on a pan with or without butter (Toasting is optional), cut it in triangles.
10. Your vegetarian masala sandwich is ready. 
11. With the remaining ingredients, you can make one more sandwich.