Hearty Spices

Combine 4 large Strawberries, ½ cup of Milk, a ripe Banana and 5 Ice Cubes and blend until perfectly smooth. Add 1½ tsp of Sugar (optional) and blend for 1 minute before serving.

With a peeler, peel strips of skin off the 1 pound of fresh Cucumbers in alternating strips to leave half the skin on. Cut them into one-inch cubes and take them in a mixing bowl. Finely chop a small Jalapeno and add to the cucumber pieces. Add  ½ tsp of Kosher Salt, ¼ tsp of ground Black Pepper, 2 tsp of fresh Lemon Juice and mix well. Fold in ¼ cup of crumbled Feta Cheese, ¼ cup of Greek-style Yogurt  and 5 roughly torn Mint Leaves . Combine well and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

In a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water, 1 cup of Moong Dal (Pesarapappu)  and pressure-cook upto 2 whistles. Heat 1 tbsp of Ghee / clarified Butter  in a pan, saute ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds and a pinch of Asafetida  for few seconds. Add and saute  a sliced Onion, 1 tsp of chopped Ginger and 4 slit Green Chilies  for 3-4 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder , a pinch of Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp of Coriander Powder, a pinch of Cumin Powder and combine. Add 2 cups of tightly packed chopped Spinach  and saute for 5 minutes. Add a chopped Tomato and saute for another 3 minutes. Add the pressure-cooked dal along with Salt to taste and some water (if needed);  combine. Add ½ cup of Coconut Milk ,  a pinch of Garam Masala and cook without cover for 15 minutes or till the desired consistency is got. Serve hot with rotis or white rice.

Pastes - Make a paste out of 4 Green Chilies, 1" Ginger and 1 small Tomato and keep aside. Soak 5-6 Cashewnuts in 2-3 tbsp of Milk , make paste and keep aside. Combine a tsp of Besan (Gram Flour)  with ¾ cup of Thick Yogurt in a bowl and keep aside. Potatoes - Wash and scrub 12-15 Baby Potatoes . Peel and prick each of them with a fork. Heat ½ tbsp of Oil in a pan, saute the boiled baby potatoes for 3-4 minutes till lightly browned. Remove and keep aside. Gravy - In the same pan, heat 1½ tbsp of Oil and add  1 tsp of Cumin Seeds, a chopped Onion and saute for 4 minutes or till the onions turn transparent. Add the ground ginger-green chilli-tomato paste and fry further for another 4 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Red Chili Powder, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder,1 tsp of Coriander Powder and mix well. Slowly add the beaten thick yogurt and keep stirring for at least 5-6 minutes. Add the sauteed baby potatoes and cook on low to medium heat for 4 minutes. ...

Wash and chop  250 gms of Strawberries into fine pieces. Add strawberry pieces, 4 tbsp of Sugar and a cup of Milk to a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the Milk (4 cups) and blend once again. Strain the mlk shake with a mesh into a large jar. Allow cooling for least 2 hours and serve in tall glasses with a scoop of strawberry ice cream (optional).

Wash, peel and cut the 1¼ kg of Lemon Cucumbers into fine pieces. Separate the pieces and seeds into different bowls. Check the taste of the Cucumber and its seeds separately. Heat a pan with 4 tsps of Oil and saute 3 tsps of black gram dal and ¼ tsp of fenugreek seeds till they turn golden in color. Add 1 tsp of Mustard seeds and saute till they splutter. Add 13-14 Green chilies and 3 Red Chili, broken . Add a pinch of Asafoetida (optional) and saute. Separate the popu from the oil into a mixie jar. Add 1 tbsp of Tamarind paste, Salt to tast and a pinch of Turmeric and grind them to paste. Add the seeds of cucmber and grind again. In the remaining oil add 2 tsps of black gram dal and fry till light brown in color. Add them to the chopped Cucumber pieces along with the oil. Add the ground paste to the chopped Cucumber and mix well. Garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves and serve with white rice.

Soak 1 cup of Chickpeas  over night and pressure cook with 1 tsp of Salt . In the meantime, take ½ cup of very finely diced Red Onion, ½ cup of finely diced Cucumber, ½ cup of finely diced Tomatoes, ½ cup of peeled and finely diced raw Mango, ½ cup of finely chopped Red Bell Pepper, 2-3 tbsp finely chopped Green Chilies, few sprigs of Cilantro, finely chopped 1-2 tbsp of Ginger (optional) in a bowl and mix well. Add the chickpeas to the bowl now and toss well. Add 2 tbsp of Chat Masala, 2 tbsp of Fresh Black Pepper, 1 tbsp of Amchur Powder (Dry Mango Powder), 1 tbsp of Rock Salt and Juice of a Lemon . Toss well and serve.