Hearty Spices

Preparation - Peel and slice ½ an English seedless Cucumber into thin slices. Cut the sides off 8 slices of white or soft wheat bread and keep aside. Leave 8 tbsp of Cream Cheese outside till it reaches room temperature.  Prepare the ½ cup of cilantro mint chutney in advance.  Cilantro Mint Chutney -  Take a cup of Cilantro Leaves, ½ cup of Mint leaves, ½ fresh minced Green Chili,  1/8 tsp of Cumin seeds, a Garlic clove, ½ tbsp of Lemon Juice, Salt and 2 tbsp of Water , if needed into a food processor and process into smooth sauce. Store the chutney in an air tight container in the fridge. Sandwich -  Spread a tbsp of Cream Cheese on one slice and spread tsp chutney over the cream cheese. Arrange 6-7 slices of cucumber on top. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the cucumbers. Spread a tbsp of Cream Cheese and then one tsp of chutney on the other slice of bread. Place this on top of the cucumbers, to make a sandwich. Repeat...

Veg filling: Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pan, sauté an inch of minced Ginger, 2 sliced Garlic pods until light brown.  Add a thinly sliced small Onion or 3 thinly sliced Spring Onion Whites , sauteing till translucent. Add 1½ cup of julienne Carrots, Cabbage, Beans and Capsicum (optional) , sauteing on high for 3-4 minutes. Add a tsp of Tomato Sauce, ¾ tsp of Chili Sauce, ¾ tsp of Soya Sauce, a tsp of Vinegar, ½ tsp of Pepper Powder, Salt to taste and mix well. Remove from heat. Dosa: Prep the tawa for dosa on medium heat. Pour a ladle full of batter in the middle of the pan and spread in a circular motion to form a 9 " thin dosa and pour some oil (a tbsp) all over the edges and in the center cover it with a lid. Spread a tbsp of Butter on the dosa and increase the heat to high. Once golden brown and crispy, place the veg filling in one corner and roll to the other side. Remove it from the tawa and cut it diagonally using a...

Prep - Preheat oven to 325°F. Toast 1/2 cup of shredded Coconut and keep aside. Melt a cup of Butter and keep aside.  Add toasted Coconut, 1/2 cup Sugar, 2 tbsp of Lime Zest, a tsp of Vanilla Extract to a bowl and mix well. Add 2 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour , butter and combine till dough is incorporated. Knead the dough until smooth and add few tsps of Water till it comes together.    On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough portions to about 1/4-inch thickness and using desired cookie cutters, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 15-17 minutes, Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature.  Drizzle each cookie with the lime glaze, adding extra lime zest on top if desired. Lime Glaze -  In a small bowl, whisk together 2 cups of Powdered Sugar, a tsp of Lime Peel, and a tbsp of Lime Juice until combined. Add in 2-3 tbsp of Water , and whis...

Aloo Ki Taari - Grind 2 medium diced Onion, 2 big diced Tomatoes, 4 cloves of Garlic, ½ inch minced Ginger  into smooth paste and keep aside. Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan and crackle a tsp of Cumin Seeds . On low heat, add  ½ tsp of Turmeric powder, 1 tsp of Red Chilli powder and stir once. Add the onion-tomato paste and cook for 7 minutes, adding Salt to taste . Mix well and add 4 medium Potatoes (previously peeled, boiled and diced) and 2 cups of Water . Mix and cover cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and serve hot with Kachori (Puri) Kachori - Mix a cup of Maida / Wheat Flour, a pinch of Salt and a tbsp of Ghee in a bowl (looks like bread crumbs). Add enough  water to make soft dough and leave it covered for 10-30 minutes. Make small puris out of the dough and deep fry till golden brown in a hot oil. Serve with Aloo ki Taari. 

Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan. Add and saute a medium Onion, finely chopped, 2-3 Green Chillies finely chopped till the onions turn pink. Add a tsp of Ginger Garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes. Now add a small finely chopped Capsicum and fry for a minute. Add and saute a finely chopped Tomato until it is slightly mushy. Now add  ¼ tsp of G aram Masala Powder, a tsp of Pav Bhaji Masala,  ½ tsp of R ed Chilli  Powder and a pinch of Turmeric Powder and fry for a minute. Add a cup of Crumbled Paneer, Salt  to taste and give a good mix and saute for a couple of minutes.The mixture should be moist and not dry,add a tbsp of water if required and cook for a minute. Add 2 tbsp of Butter and mix well, removing from the heat. Garnish with a tbsp of Lemon Juice, 2 tbsp of Chopped Coriander Leaves,  ½” of  chopped Ginger . Serve hot along with butter toasted Pav and sliced onion and lemon wedges.

Grind a medium sized ripened Banana along with 2-3 tbsp of Sugar (as needed) and take it into a bowl. Slowly start mixing  1½ cups of All purpose flour along with a big pinch of Baking Soda, Salt to taste,  ½ tsp of Cumin seeds (optional) to the puree. Mix in 3-4 tbsp of Yogurt to the mixture and make into thick sticky dough. Add 2 tsp of Oil and knead it for 3-4 minutes. Cover and refrigerate it overnight / 24 hours allowing it to ferment. Remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before cooking.  Heat Oil in a kadai / deep pan for frying. Slightly knead the dough and divide the dough into 8-9 big lemon sized portions. Roll each portion by dusting it with flour into a 3-4" diameter thick disc (thicker than the poori). Remove the extra dusting of flour by gently patting on the discs. Gently slide the rolled discs into the hot oil and after few seconds try to press the middle portion of the disc gently with a slotted spoon. Turn to the other side and fry unti...

Preheat oven to 350 and line a 8 by 8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray. Crust -  Soften  ⅔ cup of Butter   in a bowl and whisk it with  ½ cup of Sugar,  ⅔ cup Brown Sugar,  ½ tsp of Baking Soda , ½ tsp of Salt, 2 tsp of Vanilla  and  an Egg.   When incorporated, add in  2 cups of All Purpose Flour  and milk well. Fold in  2 cups of C hocolate Chips  and keep aside.  Filling -  Soften  8 oz of Cream Cheese  in a bowl and whisk in  ½ cup of Sugar, an Egg and  1 tsp of Vanilla   till smooth .  Press ⅔ of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan to form an even layer. Spread the filling over the cookie dough layer and level again. Crumble remaining crust dough over the filling layer. Bake for 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set and cookie dough has browned. Allow to cool completely and chill before slicing.

Paneer - Cut 200 gms of Paneer into bite sized pieces and dip them in warm water. Onion Paste – Bring 2-3 cups of Water to a boil and add 2 roughly chopped Onions, 3-4 Green Chillies and boil until they turn slightly soft. Drain the onions and green chillies and once they come to room temperature, grind them along with 2 tsp of Ginger-Garlic paste to a very smooth puree. Keep aside. Cashew Paste - Soak 8-10 Cashew nuts in ¼ cup of Warm Milk for 10-15 mins. Grind them along with ¼ cup / 50 gms of Paneer to a smooth and creamy paste. Keep aside. Curry - Heat a tbsp of Oil/Ghee in a pan and sauté a Bay Leaf . To it, add onion paste and fry for 2 mins. Add a small chopped Tomato and sauté for 5-7 minutes till the paste stops sticking to the pan. Add ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder, ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder, a pinch of Turmeric Powder, a tsp of Coriander Powder and ½ tsp Cumin Powder . Saute till everything comes together adding few tbsp. of Water if necessary. Remove the...

Paneer: Bring one gallon of Milk in a big, wide pot. Add limejuice from 2 Limes to the boiling milk and wait for it to curdle, while stirring continuously. When paneer separates from the whey, pour the entire contents into a muslin cloth lined pot. Twist and squeeze the cloth to strain the paneer completely whey-free. Divide the paneer into two parts - ¾ (for koftas) and ¼ (for malai sauce). Veggies: Wash and cut each of 5 Russet or Red Potato into two and pressure cook them till tender. Peel the skin and mash them. Peel and grate 2 big Carrots and keep aside. Cover cook 5 Roma Tomatoes as whole in a saucepan filled with water till the skin breaks. Remove from heat and puree it once cooled. Take it into a bowl. Peel the skin and cut 2 Red Onions to chunks. Heat a tbsp of Oil in an iron skillet. Add onion, and sauté to brown on high heat, stirring in-between. Puree onions once cooled and remove into a bowl. Koftas: In food processor, add ¾ th of the Pane...

Remove the kernels from 2 fresh Corns using the knife by running it in the line. Add Salt to taste and required Water to it and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles until the corn becomes slightly soft, alternatively you can cook it in microwave for 6-7 minutes. Once the pressure subsides, drain the excess water and when it is still hot, add a tbsp of Butter to it and mix well. Add freshly ground ¼ tsp of Pepper Powder,½ tsp of Chaat Masala, Salt as required and a juice of a Lemon ; mix well. Serve hot.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray an 8-inch square pan with oil / butter.  Melt 1/4 cup of Butter in a bowl and add a cup of lightly packed Brown Sugar and s tir until smooth.  Stir in an Egg .  Stir in 3/4 cup of All Purpose Flour, a tsp of Baking Powder to the brown sugar mixture.  Stir in a tsp of Vanilla Extract and 1/4 cup of Chopped Pecans .  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Dry roast a cup of Sooji until light brown and keep aside. Dry roast ¼ cup of Moong Dal in the same pan until golden brown and add 1 cup of Water along with a pinch of Turmeric Powder, a drop of Ghee and bring to boil. Lower the heat and cook until cooked.  Strain the dal and reserve the liquid. Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan, sauté ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, a tsp of Cumin Seeds, ½ tsp of crushed Peppercorns, ½ “ of minced Ginger, 3 slit Green Chillies, a pinch of Asafoetida and few chopped Curry Leaves.   Measure the reserved water and add more water if necessary to make it 2½ cups of Water . Add to the pan and let it come to a boil. Add the cooked moong dal, Salt to taste and boil further for a minute. Now add the roasted rava to it slowly mixing avoid the formation of lumps. Optional - In a small pan, heat a tsp of Ghee and saute few broken Cashew nuts, a tbsp of Grated Coconut and fry until golden in color. Add it to the Pongal and garnish with few Coriander Leaves ...

Boil 4 cups of Water, ½ cup of Rice and a pinch of Salt in a saucepan and covercook until rice is soft.  Simmer, add a cup of Ragi Flour over the rice mixture and cover for few minutes.  Remove the cover and using a wooden masher, stir the ragi-rice mixure thoroughly until you see no lumps adding a tbsp of Butter/Ghee . Simmer on low and cover cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let it cool and make muddhe balls.  Serve hot with spicy curry or sambhar.

Soak ½ cup of Chana dal, ½ cup of Toor dal, ½ cup of Moong dal, ½ cup of Urad dal in water in a bowl for 3-4 hrs. Drain the excess water and grind the dals to a coarse paste in whipper mode. Do not grind to a smooth paste and don’t add water. Add finely chopped 5-6 Green Chillies, a tsp of minced Ginger, finely chopped Onion, ¼ cup of finely chopped Coriander Leaves, a tsp of Curry Leaves, 2 tbsp of finely chopped Mint Leaves and mix well with the ground dal mixture. Heat a cup of Oil in a pan for deep frying the vadas. Add a pinch of Baking Soda to the mixture and mix well. Wet your hands and take a small lemon size mixture and flatten it with hands and deep fry until golden brown in color over medium heat. Serve them hot with chutney/tomato sauce. Notes: If your batter is very wet add a tbsp of rice flour to it and mix well and make vadas.

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Beat 3/4 cups of Butter, 3/4 cups of Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add 2 Eggs ; beat well. Stir together 2 cups of Flour, a tsp of Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp of Salt to the butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of Butterscotch chips and a cup of Walnuts, if desired. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 24 bars.

Soak a cup of Alasandulu/ Black eyed-peas/Lobia overnight in water. Pressure cook them with a pinch of Salt until 3-4 whistles (it should hold its shape and should not become mushy). Drain and set aside. Heat a tsp of Oil in a pan, crackle ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, a tsp of Cumin seeds, a tbsp of Chana Dal, a tsp of Urad Dal until they turn golden brown. Add 2-3 broken Red Chillies, few Curry Leaves, a pinch of Asafoetida and saute for another minute. Add the cooked and drained lobia and stir fry slowly for few minutes. Add Salt as needed, 2-3 tbsp of Grated Coconut (optional)  and mix well.  Remove from heat and add a tsp of Lemon Juice and mix well.  Serve hot/warm/cold.

Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pressure cooker, add a Cardamom, an inch of Cinnamon Stick, 3 Cloves and a Bay Leaf and saute. Add 3 slit Green Chilies, 2 finely chopped Onions and saute till the onions turn transparent, approx 5 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Ginger Garlic Paste and saute for 3 minutes. Add ½ Kg of washed, drained Minced Meat, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and cook on high for 4-5 minutes, stirring in between. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add a tsp of Red Chili Powder, ½ tbsp of C oriander Powder, ¼ tsp of Cu min Powder, Salt and mix well. Add 2 chopped Tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add a 1½ cups of water and ¼ cup of Yogurt and pressure cook up to 3 whistles or until the meat is almost cooked. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down. Open lid and add ½ cup of G reen Peas , cooking with lid on low heat for 10 minutes. Add a tsp of Garam Masala Powder and mix. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh Coriander Leaves and s...

Soak a cup of Basmati Rice for 10 minutes and ½ cup of Chana Dal for 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, heat a tbsp of Oil and crackle ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds . Add a tbsp of Chana Dal, 2 tsp of Urad Dal and saute till golden brown. Add a sprig of Curry Leaves, 4-5 slit Green Chillies, a sliced medium Onion, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and 4-5 big Garlic Pods and saute till onion are translucent.  Add the soaked and drained chana dal and fry for 2 minutes. Add 1¾ cups of Water and let it come to a boil. Add the soaked and drained rice, Salt  to taste, juice of ½ Lemon , stir well and pressure cook for a whistle and simmer 6-8 minutes or if using a regular pan, cover cook till the water is evaporated. Serve hot with raitha, papad and a gravy curry.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together  3/4 cup of Melted Butter,  1 1/4 cups of dark Brown Sugar  until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in an Egg and 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract . Add 2 cups of All-purpose Flour, a tsp of Baking Soda,  1 1/2 tsp of Cornstarch, a tsp of Ground Cinnamon,  1/4 tsp of Salt  and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, yet thick. Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours.  Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 325 F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Pour  1/3 cup of  granulated Sugar into a bowl. Take 2 Tbsp of dough and roll into a ball, then roll into the sugar. Bake for precisely 8-9 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently press the top of the cookie down with the back of a utensil or even use your fi...

  Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pressure cooker, add and saute 6-8 broken Cashewnuts until light golden in color. Remove them using a slotted spoon and keep aside. In the remaining oil, splutter ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, a pinch of Turmeric Powder, a tsp of Cumin Seeds, 3-4 slit Green Chillies, ½ " of Ginger, few Curry Leaves and saute. Add ¾ cup of Yellow Moong Dal and saute until golden brown. Add 4 cups of Water and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Once pressure dissipates, add Salt, 8 crushed Peppercorns and 1¼ cup of quick cooking Oats and stir well. Cover cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes mixing well. Remove from heat when you feel the consistency is thickening. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve  hot with Gojju. Huli Gojju: Heat a tsp of Oil in a saucepan, sauté ½ tsp of Mustard seeds, few Curry Leaves and a chopped Garlic for a minute. Add a finely sliced medium Onion and sauté till they turn slightly brownish. Add 2 tbsp of Tamarind paste, 2 cups of Wa...