Vegetable Salad with Beans and Cottage Cheese

Chick Peas and Cottage Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

• Chick Peas - 1 cup
• Cottage Cheese (Paneer) - 200 grams
• Fresh Coriander - 1 small bunch
• Butter - 20 grams
• Salt - To taste
• Freshly ground pepper - To taste

• 1 Kg. Raw Lal Kumhda/Pumpkin
• 2 Tbsp. – Raisins
• 1 Tbsp. – Chironji dana
• 1 Tbsp. – Khaskhas/Poppy seeds
• 4 – Dried Red Chilies
• ¼ Tbsp. – Turmeric powder
• ½ Tbsp. – Red Chili powder
• ½ Tbsp. – Coriander Powder
• 4 – Green Chilies, shredded lengthwise
• 10 – Curry leaves
• 1 Pinch of roasted Fenugreek powder
• 2 Tbsp. – Grated dried coconut (khobra)
• ¼ cup – finely chopped Coriander leaves
• 2-3 Tbsp. – Cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Ingredients (pic1):

• 1 Kilo Raw Mango cut into cubes along with the seed wood
• 1 cup Mustard Seed powder (coarsely ground)
• 1 cup Red Chili powder
• ¾ cup Salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp. Turmeric powder
• ½ tbsp. Fenugreek (Methi) seeds
• 1 litre Groundnut/Sesame oil

Method:

Preprocess (pic1): All ingredients must be moisture free and as dry as possible. First coarsely grind the mustard seeds and de-husk them of the black skin a little. You can leave some black skin on too to enhance the taste. Prepare the storage jar (preferable china or glass) by sun drying it and keeping it absolutely free of moisture.

Preparation – Part 1 (pic2): Day 1 – Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly in a big bowl. Now slowly add half cup of oil while mixing the mixture so that the mixture becomes moist with oil. Now add the raw mango pieces and ensure that each piece is thoroughly coated with this semi-oiled mixture.

Storage (pic3): Layer the bottom of the storage jar with a 1cm layer of the masala mix. Now put the mango pieces coated with masala inside the jar and pack them tightly together. With every batch you add to the jar press them all tightly together. Once all the mango pieces are in the jar, layer the top with the remainder of the mixture and spread it evenly. Close the jar air tight and store it in a cool but dry place. Now this jar has to be opened on the third day only.

Preparation – Part 2 (pic4): Day 3 – By the third day from preparing the Achaar, the raw mango juices must have seeped in with the masala and a nice juicy mixture can be seen in the jar. Open the jar mix the content uniformly with a long handled ladle. Once the mixture is homogeneously mixed, add oil half cup at a time, while constantly mixing the contents. The intention is that no part of the mixture remains dry. One the mixture is well mixed, press it down tightly in the jar and add oil on the top so that you have at least 1 cm of oil above the mixture to seal it to external air. Close the lid tight.

Avakai is ready to use! Savor it with parathas or plain rice, or any way u like it.

hmmm… in the name of YUMMY, I cant resist but share this recipe for a chutney. here we go…

Ingredients:

• clean bottle gourd (doodhi, lauki) peels diced — 1 cup
• roasted peanut powder or roasted sesame powder — 1/2 cup
• tamarind pulp — 1/2 cup
• dried red chillies — 4-6
• mustard seeds — 1+1/2 teaspoons
• urad dal — 1 teaspoon
• cumin seeds — 1 teaspoon
• turmeric powder — 1/2 teaspoon
• crushed jaggery — 1/2 cup
• vegetable oil — 2 tablespoons

Method:

Wash the bottlegourd thoroughly and peel it. Keep the peels (You can use the gourd to make sabzi). Dice the peels and set them aside.

Put 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok or frying pan and heat it to slightly smoke.
Add mustard seeds to it and let them pop, after that add urad daal and cumin seeds and when they are light brown add dry red chillies to it, now add turmeric powder and the peels to the frying pan stir saute for 5 mins. cover with lid and turn off the stove.
let it stay for another 5 mins.

Now in a grinder /mixer put the entire stuff that was in the frying pan and make a paste of it. add ground nut / sesame seed powder and crushed jaggery along with tamarid pulp and grind to a smooth paste. Add salt to taste and a little water to get desired consistency.

Serve in a bowl and its ready to go with parathas or chapatis or fresh steamed rice or can even be used as a Bread Spread!

Oh one more thing, when u rinse the mixer jar don’t throw away the water, add it to your dal and savor a different flavour !

YUMMY… isnt it!

An easy to make summer special chutney which goes well with chapatis, and parathas; Methamba is the best way to put to use the ‘kairi’ or raw mango which has started to ripen a bit. Such a mango is neither useful for tangy flavors nor can be counted as sweet, hence this use.

A chutney with a tang!

Ingredients:

1 cup – Raw2Ripening Mango diced
¾ cup – Jaggery, can be adjusted according to taste
5pcs – Dried Red Chilies
½ Tbsp. – Mustard seeds
10 – 15 – Curry leaves
½ Tbsp. of Methi Dana (Fenugreek Seeds)
½ Tbsp. of Methi powder
3 Tbsp. – Vegetable oil
½ Tbsp. – Turmeric powder
1 Tbsp. – Red Chilly powder
Salt to taste

Method:
Dice the mangoes into ½ inch pieces. Bring the oil to heat and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds have splattered add dry red chilies, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, turmeric powder, red chili powder and methi powder in that order. Now add the mango and mix well. Once the mango starts to change color and softens, add salt and Jaggery. Mix well while on heat till the mixture comes together.

The Chutney is ready to serve. This can last outside up to 3 days and more if refrigerated.