Mashed Bottle Gourd Peel ( lau -er khosha vorta )

Ingredients:

1. peels of one medium Bottle gourd 
2. 1/4 teaspoon nigella seeds
3. 1 whole dry red chilli pepper
4. 1 green hot chili pepper 
5. 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
6. 1.5 teaspoon freshly ground mustard paste 
7. salt to taste
8. 1 tablespoon mustard oil 
9. A couple of tablespoon fresh cilantro/coriander

Method:

Add sliced bottle gourd skin to boiling water (just enough to cover them) and let boil for 10-12 minutes. They will just soften. Grind them with a splash of water .

  You may add some fresh cilantro leaves if you want while making the paste.

Heat oil in a pan/wok.

Add nigella seeds and dry chilli pepper, the slit green chili pepper and the garlic to the oil.
 Cook on low to medium heat. The seeds will sizzle.

 When the garlic starts getting brown, add the ground up paste of the peels. Cook while stirring frequently for about 7 – 10 minutes on low heat or until peels are well cooked.

The color of the peels will change to a darker shade of green and the raw taste should have disappeared. The consistency will be like that of a paste.

Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve with hot steaming rice.

Boiled Eggs Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Eggs-5 (Hard boil and remove shells)

Onion-2 large sliced

Green chili- 2 sliced lengthwise

Ginger chopped fine

Turmeric Powder- 2 pinches

Red chili powder-1/4 tsp

Chumin powder- 2 pinches

Oil 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Fresh coriander- 2 tbsp chopped

Method:

1.After boiling and removing shells of the eggs, cut them quarters and place carefully in a flat plate.

2.Heat a pan add oil and slice onoins, green chili and fry 2-3 mins and ginger fry 2 mins.

3.Now add red chilli and turmeric powder and mix well and quarted eggs toss slowly and add salt fresh coriander ans add chumin powder,

4.Now turn of the heat and serve hot.

Daal Saag

Ingredients:

• 225g/8oz  any kind of lentils
  750ml/1pt 7fl oz water
  2-3 tbsp sunflower
  1 tsp black mustard seeds
  ¼ tsp ground turmeric
  ¼ tsp ground cumin
  ¼ tsp fennel seeds
  2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  2 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
  100g/3½ oz spinach
  2 sprong onions , trimmed and chopped

Method:

Put the daal in a heavy-based saucepan, pour in 750ml/1pt 7fl oz water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat then simmer for about one hour, or until the lentils are really soft.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin, asafoetida or fennel seeds, ginger, chillies  and fry for 2-3 minutes.

when the daal is cooked add to the pan and stir in the spinach and spring onions.

Heat for a further two minutes, season, then serve.

Karanji (A Very Popular Indian Dessert) Diwali Special

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup flour/maida
• ¼ cup sooji
• Two table spoon oil
• Pinch of salt

Filling:

• 1 table spoon Poppy Seeds
• 1 table spoon Sooji
• 1 cup dry grated coconut
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¼ table spoon cardamom powder
• Assorted nuts

Extra:

• 2 table spoon rice flour
• 2 table spoon ghee
• Oil for frying

Method:

• Heat up 2 tsp oil. Mix flour, sooji, salt in to a bowl and pour hot oil over it. Mix well till the time mixture becomes crumbly
• Pour warm milk slowly to make medium consistency dough, not too hard and too soft
• Cover and keep the dough for 30 min.
• Dry roast sooji and poppy seeds separately till the time they get light brown color
• Add coconut to dry roasted sooji and poppy seeds, add sugar, cardamom powder, dry fruits and mix well
• To make Karanji, take the dough and again knead to make it smooth. Divide dough in to 3 equal parts. Roll them in to three thin roti
• Mix rice flour and ghee to make it smooth and creamy
• Now take one thin roti, spread rice flour mixture evenly on it, place another roti on the top of it, again spread rice flour mixture
• Now place third roti, roll it evenly from all the sides to make it little thin. Again spread some rice flour mixture
• Stretch it out little bit, now divide it in to equal parts
• Take ball and roll like poori, add stuffing, apply milk around its edges and seal the Karanji well
• Use fork and make some design around Karanji
• Now deep fry till the time it gets nice golden colour.

Pwarn With Tomato And Tamaraind

Ingredients:

800g green prawns, peeled leaving tails intact, deveined

185ml (3/4 cup) passata (tomato pasta sauce)

125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock

1 tablespoon tamarind puree

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 long fresh red chilli, finely chopped

Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

Method:

Combine the passata, stock, tamarind, sugar and fish sauce in a jug.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat until just smoking. Stir-fry the garlic and chilli for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the prawns. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until the prawns just change colour.

Add passata mixture. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Divide rice among serving plates. Top with the prawn mixture and coriander.