Tag Archives: vegetarian

Daal

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A very simple and easy word to say but if cooked with this recipe, has a lot of flavor and chatkhara in it…. This is my very own recipe which is a crowd pleaser because I work hard on my daal roti ❤ 😀 Daal roti/ daal chaawal (daal with rice) is everything; its easy, its quick, its cheap, it is a great comfort food, it is nutritious, it is high in protien, it satisfies all the desi cravings….. what else you need from daal? 😀 (It is great for weight loss as well…. if not cooked this way 😀 because I make it rich by adding butter, sometimes ghee and cream to it)

But 1 thing for sure….. This is the best recipe for daaaaaal….. you will not find another one! I sometimes pair it with chicken haandi or any vegetable curry like aloo bengan, bhindi fry, aloo katli, etc. and sometimes with keema tikkian or shaaaaami kebab, hence it is a friendly dish which can create a spicy duo with anything 😀

 Ingredients

  • 1 cup moong daal
  • 1 cup masoor daal
  • 1 cup channa daal
  • 2 chicken cubes/ 2 tbspns heapful chicken powder (OPTIONAL)
  • 1 tbspn chilli flakes & powder
  • 1 tspn turmeric

FOR TADKA

  • 2 scoops desi ghee & a splash of olive oil
  • 1 large onion (cut into thin rings)
  • 1 tomato (chopped)
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tspn cumin seeds
  • 8 – 10 curry leaves
  • 2 desi green chillies

FOR GARNISH

  • Fresh cream
  • Green chillies
  • Chopped coriander leaves
  • Some garam masala (optional)

METHOD

  1. Combine all the lentils in a mixing bowl and wash. Soak in warm water for about 2 hours. Discard the water.
  2. In a deep cooking pan, add lentils & 6 cups of water along with salt (if you are not using chicken cubes/ chicken salt), red chilli flakes and powder & turmeric. Bring everything to a boil and cook until it reaches the consistency of daal.
  3. Remove from flame and add some chopped green chillies & coriander.
  4. In a frying pan, melt some ghee and add a splash of oil. Fry onions until they are golden and crispy and add the other ingredients given for tadka. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and add it to daal. Stir.
  5. Scoop out in the serving bowl and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle some fresh cream/ cooking cream and garnish with leftover green chillies and coriander. Serve with boiled rice or paratha.

Missi Roti aka Besan ki Roti

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Missi Roti is also known as Besan ki roti and it is very famous in Pakistani & Indian home cooking. Not something you will find on every restaurant’s menu like paratha or tandoori roti but at home everyone knows this. So next time someone from Pakistan tries to be a burger and say they dont know missi roti don’t believe them 😀 they all have eaten it once in their life.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup wholemeal flour (aata)
  • 1 cup gram flour (besan)
  • 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
  • 4 – 5 small green chillies (finely chopped)
  • 2 tbspns chopped green coriander
  • Salt to taste
  • Red chilli flakes to taste
  • A generous pinch of carom seeds (ajwain)
  • 1 tbspn cracked coriander seeds
  • ½ tspn crushed cumin seeds
  • 1 tbspns crushed pomegranate seeds
  • Some luke warm water to knead the dough
  • Ghee/ butter/ oil for frying the roti (I prefer ghee as it smells, tastes and feels more traditional)

Method:

  1. Mix everything (except oil & water) in a mixing bowl and knead a dough by mixing in water gradually. The dough should be firm to touch and not sticky.
  2. Pour some oil over the dough and keep it aside covered with a kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
  3. Divide the dough into 4 parts and make balls. Flat those balls like a roti/ chappati by dusting some aata on it and with the help of rolling pin.
  4. Preheat the griddle/ tawa on medium heat and place one roti on it.
  5. When it starts changing its color flip the side and apply some ghee on it. Flip the side and apple some ghee on the other side and cook until the roti is light brown.
  6. Do the same with other 3 rotis and serve hot with Lassi, achar, raita, chutney or Pakistani mangoes.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Shahi Khoya Firni/ Shahi Mawa Firni

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Shahi Khoya Firni/ Shahi Mawa Firni is my favourite dessert. If you know me, I dont drink milk but I can definitely eat milk in this form 😀

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 2 litre full cream milk
  • 1 cup rice flour (mixed with 2 cups lukewarm milk)
  • 1 tbspn cardamom powder
  • 1.5 cups raw sugar
  • Few drops of kewra
  • 1 cup crumbled khoya (2 cups full fat powder milk, 1 cup full cream, 1 tbspn sugar and a pinch of cardamom powder mixed and microwaved for 4 minutes. Cool down for 10 minutes and crumble with hands)
  • Almonds and pistachios for garnishing
  • 1 chandi ka warq (silver edible foil)

Method:

  1. Make khoya according to the instructions given above.
  2. Mix rice flour, cardamom powder and kewra with milk. Avoid lumps and keep aside until needed.
  3. Boil milk in a thick bottomed, non-stick pot and add sugar. Stir well.
  4. Give milk and rice flour mixture a stir before adding in the milk and then add to the milk with constant stirring.
  5. Cook on low medium heat with frequent stirring until the milk gets to a thick paste consistency. Add half of the khoya, give a gentle last stir and remove from flame.
  6. Let it cool for 30 minutes in the pot.
  7. Transfer into the serving dish, cover it with a cling wrap with wrap touching the firni to avoid the film that comes of the milk dishes. Refrigerate for atleast 4 hours.
  8. Take off the wrap, tidy up the dish and garnish with the left over khoya, nuts and chandi ka warq.
  9. Serve.

 

Besani Aloo Katli

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Besani aloo katli is my very own created favourite snack and Ramadan product.  Spicy batter dipped potato slices gives the real satisfaction of chat pata snack. Try this chat pati recipe and enjoy!

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 2 large potatoes (peeled and cut into ½ cm thick slices) (soaked in ice cold water)
  • 2.5 cups besan
  • 1 cup luke warm water
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn crushed red chillies
  • 1 tspn Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 2 tbspns roasted crushed cumin seeds
  • 1 tbspn cracked coriander seeds
  • 3 tbspns very finely chopped green coriander
  • 3 tbspns very finely chopped green chillies
  • 3 tbspns very finely chopped fresh spinach
  • A generous pinch of garam masala
  • A generous pinch of kasuri methi
  • 1 tbspn roasted and crushed anar dana
  • 2 tbspns rice flour
  • Oil for deep frying
  • A pinch of chaat masala to sprinkle

Method:

  1. Take out the potato slices from chilled water, pat dry with a paper towel and sprinkle some salt and Kashmiri red chilli powder on it. Keep aside for 5 mins.
  2. Meanwhile prepare the batter and put the oil on low flame so it is preheated when we need to fry.
  3. Add all the spices, herbs and veggies in the potatoes, mix and add rice flour and besan. Mix and add some lukewarm water to make a medium consistency paste. Adjust salt and chilli according to your taste.
  4. Bring oil to medium – high hot and fry each potato slice coated nicely in batter, individually in batches until golden brown.
  5. Take out on a wire rack to keep the batter crisp. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve with mint sauce or ketchup.

Aloo Bhujya/ Alu Bhujiya

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Aloo Bhujya….. a comfort food for a lot of people and an easy and quick meal for many. I make it when I am sick of eating meat plus I am low on time and energy and I prefer it mild. This recipe is mild as well but you can adjust the spices as you like it.

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 4 large or 6 small potatoes (Royale)
  • 1 large and 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 tbspn garlic paste
  • 1 tspn ginger paste
  • 2 large tomatoes blanched, peeled and cut into chunks
  • Salt to taste
  • Some chicken salt (OPTIONAL)
  • 1 tspn red chilli powder
  • ½ tspn turmeric
  • 1 tspn roasted crushed cumin
  • 1 tspn freshly crushed dried coriander
  • A pinch of fenugreek leaves/ kasuri methi
  • 1 tbspn nigella seeds (kalwanji)
  • A pinch of garam masala
  • A generous pinch of amchur
  • 1 tspn lemon juice
  • ½ cup oil
  • Coriander and green chillies to add at the end and garnish

Method:

  1. Peel, wash and cut the potatoes in slices or cubes. I prefer slices in everyday routine and cubes when making with pooris. Keep them in cold water until needed. Strain the water before adding the potatoes in the pan.
  2. Heat oil in a thick bottomed, deep pan and sweat the onions. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and saute’ further for a minute. Add potato slices and stir fry on medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add all the spices except fenugreek leaves, amchur powder and garam masala. Mix well.
  3. Add tomatoes, amchur powder, garam masala and fenugreek leaves(do not stir after adding tomatoes) and cover the pot with the lid and cook on low heat for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked and tomatoes are mushy.
  4. Remove the lid, add lemon juice, coriander and green chillies and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes dry up.
  5. Take them out in the serving dish and garnish with some green chillies and coriander.
  6. Serve hot with roti/ paratha or pooris.

 

 

Malai Kofta

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Malai kofta/ kofta makhni is an Indian Punjabi vegetarian dish. Soft paneer and potato balls, lightly spiced and fried, simmered in a silky smooth mild curry, served with hot garlic roti, naan or rice is a delicacy from North India which is served in almost every Indian restaurant around the world. My personal favorite is from “Aangan” restaurant on Derrimut road in Melbourne, Australia. I loved it so much that I have to figure out the recipe after 20 different recipes trial.

So this recipe is my configured recipe after trying 20 different recipes from known youtube chefs….. ❤

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

FOR KOFTAS

  • 1 cup boiled, peeled and grated potatoes
  • 2 cups grated paneer/ cottage cheese/ ricotta cheese
  • 4 tbspns broken cashews
  • 4 tbspns finely chopped green chillies (I use Bengali/ Thai green chilli because it is rich in flavour and heat, you can use any of your choice and adjust it according to your heat tolerance level)
  • 2 tbspns finely chopped green coriander
  • 1 tspn roasted crushed cumin seeds
  • 1 tspn crushed coriander seeds
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 tbspn corn flour
  • 1 cup flour (to coat the koftas before frying)
  • Oil for deep frying

FOR CURRY

  • 2 generously big knobs of butter
  • 3 tbspns cooking oil
  • 1 large onion or 2 small onions (chopped)
  • 2 large tomatoes (cut into chunks)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri red chilli because it is rich in bright red color)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 green cardamom
  • A piece of cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 tbspn ginger and garlic paste
  • 2 green chillies
  • 2 tbspns raw cashews
  • 1 tspn cumin powder
  • 2 tbspns cooking cream
  • 1 tspn kasuri methi

Method:

  1. For koftas, combine everything (except oil for frying and flour for coating) in a mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt and mix until it combines into a tough dough. We add corn flour in these koftas because it absorbs all the extra moisture and this helps in frying the koftas without breaking. It will be difficult to shape out koftas from this tough dough but it is doable.
  2. Roll the koftas in plain flour and shake off the excess flour. Refrigerate for 15 mins.
  3. Meanwhile, lets prepare our curry.
  4. For curry, heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, cardamoms, cinnamon, green chillies and onions. Saute until the onions are translucent BUT NOT BROWN. Add ginger garlic paste and cashews and saute for further 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are mushy. Add 2 cups warm water and let it simmer for 5 minutes with the lid on.
  5. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep pan, take out the koftas from the fridge and deep fry until golden brown.
  6. Take the curry pot off the flame and let it cool. Take out the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Pour the mixture in the blender and blend it into a fine puree. Pass it through a sieve to collect the silky, smooth curry. Discard the residue.
  7. In the same pot, melt some butter and pour the silky curry in it. Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add cream and crush the fenugreek leaves/ kasuri methi with your palms and add to the curry. Mix gently.

Now you have 2 options:
1. Either put koftas in the curry now and simmer for 1 minute and turn off the flame and serve with a garnish of cream and coriander.

2. Or plate the koftas in the serving dish and pour over the curry and serve with a garnish of cream and coriander.