November 30, 2018

Vatana Usal / Maharastrian Cuisine


Vatana Usal is a delicious Maharashtrian recipe prepared using Peas and Potato. Vatana is a Maharashtrian name of green peas and in this recipe, I have used dried hara vatana ( Hara - green, Vatana - peas ) which can be substituted with the fresh ones based on the availability. Malvani masala powder is the key factor for this recipe to get a delicious and flavourful taste. Malvani masala powder is prepared by roasting and grinding lots of whole spices and I have followed Chef. Tarlaldalal recipe to prepare this flavourful masala powder. I have pressure cooked the soaked dried peas before adding it to the curry but the fresh ones are used, it is added along with the potatoes as it takes less time to cook compared to the dried ones. This curry/gravy is a great side dish to serve with Roti and also, can be served with Rice.

Prepared this recipe for an event Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge which is hosted by a fellow bloggers. You must be familiar if you are following my page or click HERE to view more details on the challenge and so far recipes prepared for the event. For November month, I was paired with a wonderful blogger Priya Iyer who has an amazing webpage called thephotowali. Don't miss to check out her page to get loads of delicious recipes. She gave me Peas and Potato as my secret ingredients and using those lovely ingredients, tried this yummy recipe. And also, click HERE to check out the delicious street food recipe prepared by her using the secret ingredients given by me.

Recipe Source - Maharashtrian Recipes


Here comes a delicious and tasty side dish using Malvani masala powder, green peas and potato...

Ingredients :

1 Tbsp Oil 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Hing powder 
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Onion
1 Tomato, finely chopped 
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
1 Tbsp Malvani masala 
2 Medium sized potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 Cup Dried Green peas ( Fresh peas can also be used ) 
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnishing

To grind :

1 Tsp Oil 
1/2 Cup Onion, finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Coconut, grated 

Method :

Soak dried peas overnight and pressure cook it for 5 whistles by adding little salt or until it gets cooked. Keep aside.

Heat 1 Tsp oil in a pan and add 1/2 cup onion followed by coconut.

Saute and grind into a fine paste. Keep aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds followed by Hing powder and finely chopped onion.

Saute and add the chopped tomatoes followed by potatoes.

Add turmeric powder along with Malvani masala powder and the required quantity of salt.

Mix well and add little water to cook.

Cook until the potatoes get 3/4 the cooked and add the cooked peas.

Mix well and cook it for another couple of minutes.

Now add the ground coconut paste and cook it for 3 - 4 minutes.

Once done, garnish with coriander leaves and remove from the flame.

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve hot with Roti or Rice.


November 22, 2018

Tofu - Mushroom Burji Bun Pizza


Are you craving for pizza and no pizza base at home ? No worries, try this quick and tasty pizza using bun. Any variety of buns like sweet or burger buns can be used for this recipe. And also no oven is required for this recipe. Tofu - Mushroom Burji Bun Pizza is also a perfect party snack and also a great evening snack for kids when they are back home from school. Burji is prepared using Tofu and mushroom along with the spices. Paneer can also be included instead of Tofu, if you are allergic to soya products. The base is prepared by pressing the bun using flat masher. It helps to get a thick base which is similar to pizza. Then, the prepared burji is placed on top of bun pizza base along with the generous quantity of cheese and cooked again on a dosa tawa.

Ingredients :

4 Buns ( Sweet or Burger Buns ) 
2 Tbsp Oil 
2 Onions, finely chopped 
2 Tomatoes, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Bell pepper / Capsicum ( Coloured ), finely chopped 
Salt to taste 
1/2 Cup Mushroom, finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Tofu, grated 
1 1/2 Tbsp All purpose seasoning ( pizza seasoning ) 
6 - 8 Tbsp Butter 


Method :

Heat dosa pan, brush little butter and place the bun on it. ( Cook on a lower flame )

Press the top part of the bun using masher to make it like pizza base.

Once the bun turn flat like pizza base, remove from the dosa pan and repeat the process for the remaining buns. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions.

Saute till it turns translucent and add chillies followed by tomatoes.

Saute until it turns soft and add capsicum followed by mushroom, tofu and salt.

Cook until the mushroom gets cooked and add all purpose seasoning.

Toss well and remove from the flame.

Now fill the bun base with the prepared filling and generously spread grated cheese on top of it.

Now heat dosa pan and brush little butter.

Place the prepared bun pizza and cover it with the lid until the cheese starts melting.

Once done, remove from the pan and sprinkle pizza seasoning along with chilli flakes.

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato sauce.


November 20, 2018

Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry


Thai Basil Chicken Stir fry is an easy and delicious recipe prepared using ground chicken / minced chicken, chillies and basil leaves. This stir fry serves great with rice and also, it is super easy to prepare. I have used fresh red chillies in this recipe because of the unavailability of bird's eye chilli. Bird's eye chilli is also known as Thai chilli which looks small in size and tastes hot compared to the regular ones. So adjust the quantity of chilli, if Thai chilli is used in the recipe.

If you are a Thai food lover like me, then try this recipe and do share your feedback :) Here comes the recipe of a spicy and tasty Thai basil chicken stir fry...

Ingredients :

2 Tbsp Oil
4 - 5 garlic pods, finely chopped
4 - 5 Fresh red chillies, sliced
1/2 Cup Minced Chicken
1 Tbsp Fish sauce
2 Tsp Soya sauce
Handful of fresh Thai basil leaves
Salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic pods.

Fry it for 3 - 4seconds and add sliced red chillies.

Add minced chicken and stir fry it for couple of minutes.

Add soy sauce followed by fish sauce, salt and half of the basil leaves.

Cook until the chicken gets cooked and add the remaining basil leaves.

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve hot with Rice.








November 19, 2018

Tomato Chaman - Kashmiri Tomato Paneer Gravy - Kashmiri Tamatar Chaman - Kashmiri Recipes


Tomato Chaman or Kashmiri Tamatar Chaman is a delicious Kashmiri dish which is prepared using Tomatoes and Paneer. The tomatoes are cooked along with the spices and curd to give a yummy and tangy gravy. The paneer cubes are fried in a mustard oil and then added to the gravy. Most of the kashmiri cuisine has saunf powder and ginger powder which gives a lovely flavour to the dish. Tomato Chaman / Kashmiri Tamatar Chaman is a great side dish to serve with Indian breads like Roti, Naan etc. And also, can be served with Rice or Pulao.

Ingredients :

250 gms Paneer, Cut into big cubes
1/4 Cup Oil / Mustard oil
2 Bay leaves
2 Cloves
2 Green Elachi
1 Black Elachi
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
5 Big sized Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
2 Tbsp Yogurt
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1 1/2 Tsp Kashmiri Red chilli powder
1 Tsp Ginger powder
1 1/2 Tsp Saunf powder
1/2 Tsp Garam masala powder
Salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add the cubed paneer pieces.

Fry and remove from the pan.

To the same pan, add the spices ( bay leaves, green and black elachi and cinnamon stick ) followed by the chopped tomatoes and ginger garlic paste.

Saute and cook until the tomatoes turn soft and pulpy.

Add red chilli powder followed by turmeric powder, ginger powder, saunf powder and garam masala powder.

Mix well and add yogurt.

Add a cup of water and cook until the oil separates from the pan.

Now add the fried paneer cubes and cook it for another couple of minutes.

Serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with Roti or Rice.










November 18, 2018

Cauliflower Mash


Mashed Cauliflower /  Cauliflower Mash is a perfect low carb dish and a great substitute for mashed potato. As we all know that cauliflower has a lots of nutrition value and off late, widely popularly used in Keto and Paleo diet. Many interesting recipes can also be prepared using this versatile veggie apart from the regular dishes like gobi fry, gobi manchurian etc. This Cauliflower mash is quite easy to prepare and takes less time compared to the mashed potatoes. The cauliflower florets is cooked in water or stock and then made into smooth puree. In this recipe, I have used only water to cook the florets but the addition of stock ( veg or non veg )  will enhance the flavour of the dish. I have shared the quite easiest mash without the addition of milk but if milk is included, then the puree has to be cooked along with milk and then cheese is added followed by herbs. And also, I have used cheese powder in this recipe which can also be substituted with the fresh ones. Cauliflower mash is a perfect light meal if you are in low carb diet or paleo or keto.

Ingredients :

25 - 30 Cauliflower florets
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Basil, dried
3 - 4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese powder
Salt to taste

Method :

Cook cauliflower florets in a water or stock.

Cool the florets and grind into smooth puree.

Transfer the puree in a bowl and add butter followed by dried basil, parmesan cheese powder and the required amount of salt.

Mix well and serve.


Serving Options :

Serve with any variety of gravy.

Notes :

Adjust the addition of basil and cheese powder according to taste bud.

I did not include milk in this recipe, so no further heating is required after making puree.

If milk is added, cook it again by adding milk, butter and remaining ingredients.





November 15, 2018

Boondi Tomato Dal


Hope you all had a great Diwali and I am sure that most of the houses will be filled with loads of sweets and savories. Many may like to have it as such, but not at my place. My family expects me to recreate those Diwali snacks into an another dish so that they never get bored. Yes! You guessed it right ;) My next few posts going to be an interesting leftover Diwali snacks and sweets recipes :)

My today's recipe is using Kara Boondi which looks like a tiny crispy balls and prepared using Besan flour. The crunchy fried balls turned into a soft, yummy and juicy boondi by adding it to a Tomato Moong dal. This dish can be served with plain rice, Jeera rice and also along with Roti.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Moong dal ( Cooked and mashed ) 
3 - 4 Tomatoes, chopped 
1 - 2 Tbsp Oil / Ghee 
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
2 Dry red chillies 
A pinch of Hing powder 
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
1/2 Tsp Red chilli powder 
1/4 Tsp Garam masala powder 
1 Cup Boondi ( Savoury / Kara Boondi ) 
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method :

Grind the chopped tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds followed by red chilli and hing powder.

Add the tomato paste and mix well.

Now add turmeric powder followed by red chilli powder and garam masala.

Saute and cook until the oil starts floating on top.

Now add the mashed moong dal followed by the required quantity of salt.

Mix well and cook it for 3 - 4 minutes.

Now add boondi and cook it for another minute.

Once done, cover the lid and let it aside for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.


Serving Options :

Serve with Roti or Rice.