DHABA STYLE PINDI CHHOLE

Hello everyone

Chhole is a very well known dish to everyone and is stapled with Punjabi cuisine. Though it is made in whole north India and also in other parts of India and world, but Punjabi flavours are known best in all. I always dream to make perfect pindi chhole dome day but never got that level of satisfaction from my recipes. One day while going though one of group posts , I saw one members post claiming it's authentic recipe given by a Dhaba man. As I am a big admirer of Dhaba food, thought to give it a try with some of my twists in it, as per my taste. And viola it turned out so yummy and satisfied my best recipe craving.

Thanks to Saurabh singh for sharing that recipe. Hope you all will love to try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience with me.

Step wise recipe is given below.

DHABA STYLE PINDI CHHOLE

Serves: 5-6

Time : 1 hr ( leaving soaking time)

Ingredients 

2 cup dry chick peas , soak it overnight or at least for 5-6 hrs

1-2 tea bags

3 big onions, thinly sliced 

2-3 green chilies, broken in half

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped 

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 1/2 tbsp gram flour ( besan)

1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds 

1 tsp carom seeds( ajwain)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/2 tbsp cumin powder

1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder 

3 tbsp chana/ Chhole masala

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 - 1  tsp chaat masala powder ( as per taste)

2 tsp kasoori methi , crushed between palms

1/4 cup green coriander leaves, finely chopped 

Lemon juice as per taste

Salt to taste

Oil

For tempering:

4 green cardamom

1 black cardamom

1 bay leaf

For final tempering:

1 tbsp ghee ( you can use more if not much calorie conscious ☺️)

1 small onion, finely chopped 

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic , finely 

2-3 dry red chilies 

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp carom seeds( ajwain)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida ( heeng)

Method: 

First of all cook chick peas with little salt and tea bags in a pressure cooker till they become fully cooked and tender. Now remove tea bag from it and keep aside for later use.

Meanwhile dry roast 1 1/2 tbsp of coriander seeds till nice aromatic and golden brown. Let it cool and pound it to coarse powder. Keep aside for later use.

Heat oil in a wok, add first tempering spices and Saute till it become aromatic. 

Now add onions and green chilies, saute for 2-3 minutes and add carom seeds. Now fry it till onions become nice golden. 

Add pounded coriander powder and saute for a minute. 

Now add gram flour and saute for a minute.

Then add ginger garlic paste and saute for 3-4 minutes or till its raw smell goes off. 

Add chopped tomatoes followed by coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, Chana masala and some salt. 

Now saute it till tomatoes are nicely cooked ,mushy and started leaving oil. It will take good 6-7 minutes or more. So fry it with patience for best outcome.

Now add chickpeas along with its water and mix well. Adjust salt and bring to a boil. Now simmer it for 10-15 minutes. Now add garam masala powder and chaat masala. 

Simmer for another 1-2 minutes and add kasoori methi. Mix well and switch off the flame.

Now heat ghee in tadka pan . Add asafetida ( heeng) followed by cumin, coriander and carom seeds. Let it fry for 1 min then add all other ingredients.

 Fry till onions become golden. Now add this tempering to prepared chhole and mix well. 

Finally add a dash of lemon juice to it as per taste and garnish with coriander leaves.

Your super tempting Dhaba style pindi chhole is ready to be served with kulcha/naan/ bhature or pulao.

** For more darker color of chhole add two tea bags, I used only one as ran out of stock.

This is really authentic flavours of Dhaba and you will never regret , trying this. If you are a chhole fan then it is a must try recipe for you.

Hope you all will love this recipe and do share your experience with me here. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

CHATKA PANEER

Hello everyone

Are you wondering over its name? No use of doing that as this wonder name is given by my 10 yrs old daughter , who is die hard fan of paneer dishes. According to her it is yummy chatakhedaar dish , so deserve this kind of name. As I didn't tasted it yet due to my fast today but my lil fussy eater too confirmed the authenticity of his elder sis's statement and finished his lunch in no time 😁😁. This made me confident enough to share this recipe with you all.

Stepwise recipe is given below, hope you will also love it as my kids do.

CHATKA PANEER

Serves: 4-5

Time : 30 mins

Ingredients 

2 cup cottage cheese ( paneer) , cubed

2 big onions, cubed

1 medium capscicum, cubed

1 big onion, thinly sliced 

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 

2-3 green chilies, slitted 

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup tomato puree ( I used store bought)

1 tbsp kitchen King masala

2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup milk

2 tsp kasoori methi, crushed between palms.

Salt to taste

Oil

Method:

Heat some oil in a wok, add cumin seeds. Let it crackle then add slitted chilies and sliced onions. Saute till onions become nice golden. Now add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

 Add chopped tomatoes , little salt and all dry spice powders except garam masala. Saute till tomatoes are mushy.Now add pureed tomato and again Saute till it starts leaving oil.

 Now add cubed capsicum and onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes then cover and cook till onions get transparent. 

Add milk and cook it stirring constantly till it boils. Add water as per your choice of gravy consistency, add salt and let it boil again. 

Now add paneer cubes and let it simmer for 3-4 mins. Finally add kasoori methi and garam masala. Again simmer for 1 min and switch off the flame. 

Your delicious chatakhedaar paneer gravy is ready to be served with roti/poori/paratha/naan or rice/pulao. In each combo it tastes delicious.

** you can increase quantity of chilli as per your taste to make it more or less hot. I kept it medium hot.

If you have unannounced guests and want to serve something delicious yet fussfree and quick the go for it, you will never regret.

Hope you all will love to try this super yum paneer gravy recipe and don't forget to share your experience with me. 

Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

AWADHI VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Hello everyone 

Biryani is a tempting treat for all who love rice dishes. Even I am too fond of biryani , especially veg version. This time thought to try something different , so tried Awadhi biryani. It is not as spicy as hyderabadi biryani yet so tempting to lure any biryani lover.Though my way of cooking don't call for too much oil or butter hence this one is also one of the low calorie biryani compared to regular ones. This is also simple to cook and don't need any special utensil or technique, even then you can get quiet authentic taste. Step wise recipe is given below hope you all will definitely give it a try.

Recipe adopted from Pankaj Bhadouria.

AWADHI VEGETABLE BIRYANI 

Serves: 4-5

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup cauliflower florets

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup green peas

1 large carrot, chopped 

1/2 cup beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 big onion, sliced

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp black pepper powder 

3/4 cup thick yogurt ( curd), beaten

Salt to taste

Oil

1 tsp ghee

For veggie tempering:

1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
4 green cardamom
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 inch piece mace

For rice:

3 cup basmati or biryani rice, soaked for at least 30 mins

water

1 tsp salt

1 star anise

1 black cardamom

4 green cardamom 

4 cloves

2 inches piece cinnamon 

2 bay leaves

1 inch piece mace

For layering:

1/4 cup milk

 Handful mint leaves

1 tsp Kewda essence or rose water

2 tsp ghee 

Few strands of saffron soaked in little milk or red and yellow edible colors 

1 big onion, thinly sliced and deep fried till golden brown 

Fried dry fruits ( almonds, cashew, raisins) for garnishing

Method:

Heat oil in a wok and fry onion till brown for layering .Fry dry fruits in the same oil and drain on a tissue paper. Keep aside for later use. 

Now add ghee and oil in same wok and add all veggie tempering spices and saute till aromatic, then add thinly sliced onions .

 Saute till nice golden, add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. 

Add all chopped veggies and saute for 3-4 mins. Now add salt and black pepper powder. Mix well and add beaten curd.

 Again mix well and cook stirring constantly till it start boiling. Now cover and let the veggies cook till done but still crunchy. 

Switch off the flame and veggies are ready for layering.

In the mean while start preparing rice too. Boil enough water in a heavy bottom vessel, add all whole spices and salt in it. Add drained rice. 

Let it cook till 80% done but not completely soft. Drain rice in a sieve or colander , may be some liquid will drain. You can use this in your veggies or for kneading dough.

* Don't overcook otherwise you will end up with veggie khichadi. Use water as per requirement, as different rice needs different quantity of water. I don't add too much water to drain but it should be enough to boil your rice till right consistency.

Now for layering, divide veggies and rice in two to three equal parts. Spread one layer of veggies then spread some of mint leaves all over it then sprinkle, red color or saffron strands soaked in milk. 

Now spread next part of rice on it evenly so that it cover whole veggies.Sprinkle 2 tbsp of milk on it, then sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Kewda or rose water ,spread half of fried or grilled brown onions and some of mint leaves on it. Similarly make another layer of veggies on it and rice layer. 

Finally pour 2 tsp ghee all over it. You can make 2-3 layers of each veggies and rice, as per your convenience and quantity. 

* Reserve some fried onions for garnishing while serving.

Finally cover it well with an aluminum foil so that it can be put on dum. You can also seal it with dough.

Now keep a tawa on low flame and put this biryani pot on it and dum it for 20-25 mins. 

Switch of the flame and let it rest for at least 10-15 mins so that all the flavours and aroma of spices and essences get infused in whole dish. 

Then open the lid and flip biryani with fork or skewer to get nice fluffy rice. Garnish with fried onions and dry fruits.

Your aromatic,easy, yummy and flavour full biryani is ready to be served with tomato onion raita.

* Always try to cook rice and veggies simultaneously so that you will get nice fluffy biryani. Never cook rice too early otherwise it may stick. If it's not possible to cook both at a time then first cook veggies then go to rice.

*** I accidentally added 2 tsp of white vinegar on rice while layering and believe me it doesn't smell or taste like vinegar after dum and gave much fluffier rice at the end. You can also try my this mistake and get much delicious outcome😁😁. 

* Never mix biryani with spatula, always use a fork or best to flip it by tossing.

* If you ran out of fresh mint leaves then can use crushed dry mint also.

It's a one pot meal that none of the biryani lover can refuse. Its aroma is sufficient to bring you to the dinning room. 

This can be a hit dish for any get together or family party. You need not to serve too many dishes with it only simple raita is enough to accompany it.

Hope you will definitely give it a try, it might be looking a long recipe but believe me it will not take your much effort and time . 

At last you will never regret for trying it, it's a must try recipe for all biryani lovers.

Please stop by and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

PANEER PALAK FRANKIE ROLLS

Hello everyone

Serving nutritious, healthy cum delicious food to their family is every homemakers dream. And this dream becomes more challenging when you have fussy eaters at your home, just like mine. My younger one demand more attention , when I have to prepare lunch box for him. He is too picky to like regular meals, so I have to invent new forms of daily meals to lure him. Today I added some spinach and paneer to kids lunch box in some innovative way without telling them. Who doesn't know the nutritional values of green leafy veggies , which our kids totally deny. Generally kids are fond of paneer dishes, so I took advantage of this weakness of them and added some more nutrition in my way. Hope you will find it more interesting way to feed your child some more nutrients without more fuss. 

Recipe is given below, do try and see your kids having healthy snacks in delicious way.

PANEER PALAK FRANKIE ROLLS

Serves: 5-6

Time: 30 mins 

Ingredients 

For filling:

1 1/2 cup cottage cheese ( paneer), cubed

2 big onion, thinly sliced

1 cup spinach , roughly chopped 

2-3 green chilies

1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

Pinch of turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp garam masala powder

1/4 tsp chaat masala powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice ( optional)

Salt to taste

Oil

For rolls:

5-6 tortilla wraps/ round parathas/ khubus ( I used parathas made of dough kneaded with left over dal)

Some salad

Sauce of your choice

Method:

First of all make smooth paste of spinach, green chilies and some water. Keep aside for later use. 

Heat some oil in a wok and add sliced onions. Let it cook till transparent, add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute. Now add cumin powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and salt. Saute for 2 minutes then add prepared puree of spinach. Cook for 4-5 minutes and add chaat masala powder. Add paneer cubes and saute for 2 mins. Adjust salt and our filling is ready. 

Now either prepare round paratha or take ready made wraps and put required amount of above filling , topped with some salad and sauce. Roll it to give cylindrical shape and wrap in an aluminum foil if giving in lunch box , to retain its shape and softness.

 Or cut it in desired size and serve hot with any sauce or as it it. I used khubus this time.

*You can add other vegetables too as per your choice and availability.

* Paneer can also be replaced with any other veggie option or meat products as per your choice.

It is very delicious cum healthy breakfast/ tiffin snacks provides maximum nutrition in one go, and is very easy to prepare too.

 You can also prepare it for dinner/lunch/breakfast or whenever you want  as it is a complete meal and filling too.

Hope you all will definitely give it a try and don't forget to share your experience with me. 

Happy cooking....

NIMONA ( GREEN PEAS PASTE CURRY)

Hello everyone

Today I am here with a very delicious and easy side dish , speciality of purvanchal area, nimona. Though it is prepared in winter season, when fresh green peas pods are easily available in market. But here we don't get those very easily, even in winter season too. So once I tried to make nimona with frozen green peas and viola it was hit. It turned out so delicious and tempting that from that day , I used to make it whenever have craving, irrespective of season. It is prepared in many ways in many areas of northern India, but my favorite is my mom's way, less spices and more greens. Though I used to make that spicy version too but will share its recipe later. For now try this super yum one, it's my favorite and after trying this you will never have craving for those spice laden curries.

Step wise recipe is given below, hope you will definitely give it a try . I bet you will never regret.

NIMONA ( GREEN PEAS PASTE CURRY)

Serves: 4-5

Time : 30 mins

Ingredients 

For making paste:

1 1/2 cup green peas ( frozen or fresh, sweet ones)

1/2 cup green coriander leaves, roughly chopped 

3-4 green chilies ( according to your taste preference)

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

For tempering:

1 medium onion, finely chopped 

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida ( heeng)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2+ tsp chaat masala powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Method:

First of all make little coarse paste of all ingredients given under making paste section, using little water.

* Paste should neither be too coarse not very smooth. But you can also make as per your preference.

Heat oil in a wok, add asafetida and cumin seeds. Let them crackle, add chopped onions. Fry till light golden. 

Now add prepared paste followed by turmeric powder and garam masala powder. 

As I use less oil so leaving oil after being nicely fried, is not visible here.  Fry it till it starts making a big lump and not sticking to pan any more. It will take good 10-12 mins to get fried well. It's must for best flavours.

 Now add water , little at a time stirring constantly to avoid any lump formation. Add water according to your preference of consistency of curry. 

Add salt and chat masala powder. Let it boil and then simmer for 5-7 mins.

 Your delicious curry is ready to be served with roti or rice. It tastes best with non aged rice with mild sweetness.

***  And don't forget to add a dollop of pure ghee in each serving, it increases its flavours manifold.

* I don't add potatoes in my nimona but if you prefer, fry cubed potatoes till done and add to the curry while simmering. 

* You can also add paneer cubes.

* Always use soft and sweet peas for best out come.

* You can use fresh garlic pods and ginger for much better taste.

* You can also use more spices if you prefer but even this will give you perfect taste, I can bet.

I prefer this curry over spicy one, as it is perfect blend of sweetness of peas , aroma of green coriander and hotness of chilies. Do try and you will never regret. 

Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....