Tag Archives: vegetarian

Bengan Pakora (Eggplant/ Brinjal Fritters)

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Bengan pakora is my favorite pakora. I like my mixed veggie pakoras too but bengan pakora has a special place in my heart. The bland yet unique taste of eggplant and crispy spicy gram flour batter makes it unique and out of this world recipe. This is my version and I love my version 😀

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

FOR BATTER

  • 2 cups gram flour
  • ½ tspn baking powder
  • Some cold water for medium thick batter
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn crushed red chilli dry
  • ½ tspn turmeric powder
  • 2 tbspns cracked coriander seeds
  • 1 tbspn green chilli paste (fresh)
  • 1 tspn cumin seeds
  • 1 tbspn pomegranate seeds (crushed)
  • 3 tbspns chopped fresh coriander

FOR PAKORA

  • Some chaat masala
  • Oil for deep frying
  • 2 brinjals/ eggplants/ bengan/ bataoon cut into medium thick slices

Method

  • Combine all the ingredients given for batter except water and mix. Now gradually add water, whisking at the same time to get the right consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or too runny. The consistency of the batter should be good enough to coat the veggie.
  • Keep aside for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile heat oil to 190 degrees Celsius or hot enough that you put the batter in and it floats to the surface of the oil, bubbling within 10 seconds.
  • Now dip and coat the brinjal slices into batter and fry until its crisp and brown on the outside. Take them out onto your serving platter and sprinkle some chaat masala (optional).
  • Serve hot with mint chutney or just as it is. They taste great.

Daal Makhni

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Very famous Punjabi vegetarian dish….. loved by everyone!

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup moong daal
  • 1 cup masoor daal
  • 1 cup chana daal
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 1 large tomato sliced
  • 1 tbspn garlic minced
  • 9 – 10 curry leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn red chilli powder
  • 1 tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 tbspn cumin seeds
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • 1 tbspn fenugreek leaves
  • ½ cup butter
  • 6 green chillies (2 normal, 4 chopped)
  • 1 cup coriander
  • 1 tbspn garam masala
  • 6 cups water

Procedure:

  • Wash and soak all the daals for 30 mins.
  • Put daal in the cooker and add 6 cups of water, salt, red chilli, 2 green chillies, turmeric and cook until the channa daal is cooked and the other daals are smashed.
  • Melt butter in a frying pan and fry onion until it is brown, add garlic, cumin seeds, tomatoes and curry leaves and make a masala. Stir in this masala in daal. Add coriander, green chillies, garam masala and fenugreek leaves and mix. Serve hot with rotis.

Assorted Vegetable Pakoras

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This is the very basic variation of Pakora. You can use any vegetable you like, I used mushrooms, eggplant, potato and cauliflower, you can use capsicum, paneer or anything you like. This batter is super hot and spicy and it gives a very nice crunch to the vegetable. Try it whenever it is raining next and love me for giving you this recipe<3

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • oil for deep frying

FOR BATTER

  • 3 cups besan
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn red chilli powder
  • 5 tbspns green chilli paste
  • 2 tbspns coriander paste
  • 2 tbspns mint paste
  • 1 tspn turmeric
  • 3 tbspns cracked coriander seeds
  • 1 tbspn cumin seeds
  • 1 tspn fenugreek leaves
  • ½ tspn baking powder
  • Some water to make medium consistency batter

VEGETABLES

  • 2 cups cauliflower heads
  • 1 cup small button mushrooms
  • 2 large potatoes cut into slices
  • 1 large eggplant cut into slices

Method:

  • Wash, dry and cut all the vegetables as instructed.
  • Take a deep mixing bowl and make the batter by mixing all the spices, baking powder and flour with water. Use a whisk to avoid lumps.
  • Preheat the oil in karai and test if it is hot enough by dropping some batter in oil. If it comes up to the surface splattering that means the oil is ready.
  • Now dip each piece of vegetable in the better and fry until the pakora is crisp and brown. Please make sure the oil is on medium flame, if it is too high the vegetable will be raw from inside and if it is too low the batter will soak a lot of oil and it may not be as crispy as we want it to be.
  • Take out all the pakoras on to the serving platter and serve hot with Imli chutney or mint sauce.

Aalu Samosa

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This aalu samosa used to be really popular in Pakistani home cooking. People used to make it for Ramadan, Eid, guest visits, rainy weather, etc. My very special recipe, crispy spring roll sheets filled with super hot and flavorful loaded with green masala filling, ideal for hi tea parties, birthday parties, small gatherings or just a casual friend visit. Everyone love these samosas. Give it a try and fall in love with these babies ❤

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

FOR SAMOSA

  • 20 to 24 samosa sheets
  • Oil for deep frying
  • Slurry of flour and water to seal the samosa

FOR FILLING

  • 4 medium sized potatoes, boiled
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn chaat masala
  • ½ tspn garam masala
  • 1 tbspn fenugreek leaves, dried
  • 2 tbspns cracked coriander seeds
  • 3 to 4 green chillies chopped fine
  • 1 cup coriander and mint leaves chopped fine
  • 1 small onion chopped (if you are not freezing the samosas)

Method

  • Boil potatoes and peel the skin while they are hot. Put them in a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients for filling. Now mash the potatoes by mixing all the ingredients.
  • The filling is ready for samosas. If you are freezing the samosas for some other time use, please don’t add onion as it will leave moisture when defrosted plus the strong odour of the onion will spoil the flavour. But if you ae frying within 2 hours of preparing the samosa that’s fine, you can add onion.
  • Now make the cone shape of the samosa sheet and fill it with 1 to 1.5 tbspn of the filling and seal all the edges with the slurry.
  • Make all the samosas until the filling is finished.
  • Refrigerate for 1 hr.
  • Heat oil to 190 degrees Celsius and fry them in batches, depending on the size of your fryer.
  • Serve hot with ketchup, imli chutney or mint chutney.

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Mixed Sabzi

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When you are sick of eating meat everyday, have a green day…. Its super easy, super fast and high of flavour ❤

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cauliflower (heads)
  • 1 cup peas
  • 2 carrots (peeled, sliced or diced)
  • 2 capsicums (cut into cubes)
  • 3 potatoes (cut into cubes)
  • 1 tbspn heapful of crushed ginger
  • 2 green chillies chopped + 2 green chillies whole
  • ½ cup chopped coriander
  • 2 medium onions (sliced)
  • 3 tomatoes (sliced)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 tbspn ghee or butter
  • 1 tspn kasuri methi/ dried feugreek leaves
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1 tbspn coriander powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tspn red chilli powder
  • 1 tspn turmeric
  • 1 tspn cumin seeds

Procedure:

  • Wash, peel and cut all the vegetables according to the instructions given.
  • Put peas in 1 cup of boiling water and keep aside until needed.
  • Mix all the spices except garam masala, black pepper and feugreek leaves in a bowl
  • Heat oil in a pan and fry onion. Add ginger when the onion is translucent. Fry until everything is golden brown. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes lose the stiffness. Add a splash of boiling water and stir.
  • Add potatoes and mix. Simmer on medium flame for 5 minutes, adding splash of boiling water whenever needed. Add rest of the water and cover the pot. Cook for 5 minutes on medium low heat.
  • Now add carrots, cauliflower and peas along with the spice mix and stir. Cook for 5 minutes and then cover and cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
  • Add capsicum and let it cook on low heat. Meanwhile melt some butter or ghee in a frying pan and fry fenugreek leaves, garam masala and black pepper for 30 seconds. Add this mixture to the vegetables, add some coriander leaves and green chillies, give it a final stir and take it out in the serving dish.
  • Garnish with the left over coriander and green chillies and serve hot with home made rotis.

Mattar Paneer

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My favorite dish………

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Ingredients:

  • 400 gms paneer (cut into cubes of your desired size)
  • 2 cups boiled green peas
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 2 tomatoes chopped
  • 2 cup water
  • 1 cup cream
  • 2 green chillies sliced
  • 4 tbspns chopped green coriander
  • ½ cup oil
  • 2 tbspn broken cashew nuts
  • 1 tbspn ginger garlic paste

SPICES

  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn crushed red chilli
  • ½ tspn cumin seeds
  • 1 tspn coriander powder
  • ½ tspn cumin powder
  • 1 tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 tbspn dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tspn garam masala powder

Procedure:

-Heat oil in a pan and fry cashew nuts until they look a bit roasted. Add onion and fry until they are translucent and part golden. Now add ginger garlic paste and cook until the rawness of ginger garlic paste goes away.

-Now add salt, red chillies, turmeric, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir. Add tomatoes and mix well. Add a little water in needed. Cook covered on medium heat so the tomatoes can get tender. After 6 – 8 minutes, mix and mash tomatoes. Remove from flame and let it cool for 5 mins.

-Blend it into a fine puree.

-Heat oil in the same pan and add the puree along with rest of the water. Bring it to a boil and add peas and cumin seeds. Let it cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Now add paneer, cream, garam masala, green chillies and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).

-Stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

-Garnish with some fresh coriander and serve hot with garlic rotis or boiled rice.

-Enjoy!