Pineppale Rava Kesari

Date: 12/5/2009
By Anupama Ganeshan

Ingredients:

• Fine Rava - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
• Water - 2 1/2 cups
• Canned pineapple (finely cut) - 1/2 cup
• Pineapple essence - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tblsp
• Lemon yellow color - a little
• Cashews and raisins - to taste

Method:

• Heat 1 tblsp of ghee in a deep frying pan. Fry cashews, raisins, and remove from ghee. Keep it aside.
• Fry rava in that ghee for a minute. Remove from the pan and keep separately.
• Heat water and sugar in the same pan.
• Add the yellow color, pineapple essence and the rest of the ghee to the water.
• When the water starts boiling and the sugar is completely dissolved, add the fried rava. Keep stirring constantly till it forms a thick mass.
• Add the finely chopped pineapple pieces.
• When it doesn't stick to wet hands and gets a shine, remove from fire.
• Decorate with fried nuts and raisins. Allow it to cool before serving.

Vegetable Rice with Raita

Date: 11/21/2009
By Lakshmi Wariar

For the Rice:
Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked Basmati Rice
• 2 cups mixed vegetables diced or chopped (carrots, beans, peas, corn, potatoes, etc.)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion diced or chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2-4 cloves
• 2-4 cardamom pods
• 1 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts and raisins (optional)

Method:

• Heat oil. Add the onions. Fry for a minute.
• Add the mixed vegetables and fry for about 4-5 minutes.
• Add the turmeric powder, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cashew nuts, raisins, and salt. Mix well.
• Add the uncooked rice and stir.
• Add 1.5 cups of water.
• Bring to a boil and simmer till the rice is done.
• Remove the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf before serving.
• Serve hot with Raita (see below)

For the Raita:
Ingredients:

• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1/2 green cucumber chopped
• fresh cilantro leaves chopped (optional)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• salt to taste

Method:

• Add the chopped vegetables to the yogurt with salt.
• Mix well. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Potato Parantha

Date: 11/14/2009
By Gita Gupta

Ingredients:
Base:

• Whole Wheat dough

Stuffing:

• 3-4 boiled potatoes peeled and mashed
• 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
• Coriander leaves chopped (optional)
• Green chilis chopped (optional)

Seasoning for Stuffing * By taste

• Salt
• Red Chili powder
• Dry Mango Powder (Amchur)
• Garam Masala

Method:

• Put all the stuffing ingredients together. Roll out the dough.
• Put 3-4 tablespoons of stuffing in the middle. Fold from all sides to make a ball.
• Then sprinkle dry flour on it. Flatten the ball and roll out.
• Put it on a flat pan, shallow fry. Fry the parantha till golden brown.
• Serve hot with yogurt, butter, and or Indian pickle.

Paneer Makhani

Date: 11/7/2009
By Sunita Singh

Ingredients:

• 4 tblsp unsalted butter
• 1.5 cups tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup dried fenugreek leaves, soaked in a bowl of water and skimmed off before use
• 1.5 tsp ground red pepper
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 12 oz paneer cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3/4 cup cashew puree (make a smooth puree in 1 cup water), or 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1.5 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

Method:

• Melt 3 tblsp of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. As soon as the butter melts, pour in the tomato sauce. Then stir in the fenugreek leaves, red pepper, sugar, and salt. Reduce the heat to medium low, partially cover the pan, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the butter starts to separate from the sauce, 12 to 15 mins.
• Add the cashew puree or cream, cumin, and paneer. Cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally but gently to make sure you do not break up the cheese cubes, until the cheese absorbs flavor from the sauce, 6 to 8 mins.
• Add the remaining 1 tblsp butter.

Bajji

Date: 10/31/2009
By Sailaja Nambury

Ingredients:

1. Besan (Gram Flour) - 1/2 cup
2. Maida Flour (All Purpose Flour) - 1/2 cup
3. Baking Soda - a pinch
4. Salt - to taste
5. Red Chili powder - 1 tblsp (or enough that you can handle)
6. Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Vegetable (your choice - eggplant, potato, onion etc.)
8. Oil (for deep frying)

Method:

• Cut vegetable into thin slices.
• Take ingredients 1 and 2 and add enough water to make a consistent batter.
• Mix ingredients 3 to 6 with the batter. Put the sliced vegetables in the batter.
• Pour enough oil in a frying pan and turn on the stove.
• Once the oil is hot, start putting vegetable dipped in the batter one by one to the oil and deep fry until its golden brown color.
• Serve hot with coffee or tea.