Spring Onion and Cabbage Sabzi

Ingredients:

Hara saag / Spring onion              -1 cup
Bandhgobhi/Cabbage                    -1 cup
Potato                                            -1 medium sliced thinly
Onion                                            -1 small sliced thinly
Green Chillies                               -3 sliced
Fresh Coriander                             -2 tblspoon chopped
Cumin Seeds                                  -1/4 tspoon
Asafetida                                        -1 pinch
Turmeric powder                           -1/2 tspoon
Amchoor Powder                          -1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder                         -1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala                              -1/2 tspoon
Salt                                               -to taste  
Mustard oil                                  -1 tblspoon

Method:

First step is to cut and wash the potato, spring onion and cabbage.
Now we start with cooking by Heating mustard oil in a heavy bottom Kadhai or pan.
Once oil is warm, put cumin seeds and asafetida.
Once seeds starts to crackle add the sliced onion and saute for 2 minutes.
Now add chilies into it, mix well.
Add the potato slices into it, fry them in the oil for 2-3 minutes.
Now add the ground spices, turmeric, coriander, amchoor, garam masala and salt to it, mix it very well.
After 1 minutes of mixing everything, add spring onion and cabbage into it.
Mix well with masalas. careful about the flame. It should not be very high. Keep the flame to medium at all times.
The potatoes will cook into the water saag and cabbage will release, so do not need to add any water to this saag.
After mixing it well, cover with the lid and let the saag cook for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, check on it. The potatoes will be soft and cabbage and spring onions would be mixed will with everything.
Now give it a good mix in the pan. Take it out in a serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander.
Saag is ready to eat with besan or methi paratha.

Mix Veggie & Chickpea Pulao

Ingredients

Basmati rice                -1 cup, heaped
Chickpea/ Chole       -1/2 cup
Mix Vegetables              -1/2 Cup Boiled (Cut in fine chunks, carrots, beans, peas, sweetcorn, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli)
Green chilli paste           -1 tspoon
Ginger paste                   -1 tspoon
Garlic Paste                    -1 tspoon
Onions                            -1 medium cut in julienne
Ghee                               -1 tblspoon
Water                              -1 1/2 cup
Fresh Coriander              -1 tblspoon chopped

Whole Spices:
Cumin Seeds                  -1/4 tspoon
Asafetida                        -1 pinch
Bay Leaf                         -1
Black cardamom             -1
Cinnamon stick               -1 inch thin stick
coriander seeds                -1/4 tspoon
Black pepper                    -whole 4-5
Cloves                              -2

Ground Spices:
Turmeric powder             -1/2 tspoon
Amchoor Powder            -1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder           -1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala                -1/2 tspoon
Salt                                 -to taste  



Method:

Soak chole overnight.
Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes before cooking.
Heat the ghee into a pressure cooker and temper with the items given under ‘whole spices’ table.
Add onion, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic paste and fry till transparent.
Fry until raw smell goes away, but make sure not to over burn it.
Add ground spices and give a quick stir.
Now add the mix vegetables and chole into the pressure cooker and give it a good mix and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Drain the water from rice and add rice to the pressure cooker and Mix well.
Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and cook it for 2 whistles.
Once all the steam escapes from the cooker open it.
Now garnish with fresh coriander and serve with some boondi raita and salad.
To make it more tasty add some chopped mint into it.

Peanut Jaggery Laddoos

Ingredients:

Peanuts               - 2 cups deskined, split and Roasted
grated Jaggery    - 1 1/2 cups
Ghee                   - 1/2 tspoon for greasing the tray and hand


Method:

Roast the peanuts in a heavy bottomed pan.
When they start to crackle and get a bit golden put the heat off.
I used the deskinned and split peanuts, if your are using whole peanuts with skin. After roasting them you need to let them cool down a bit and then rub them in between your pal to deskin them and split them.
Now take jaggery in a heavy bottomed pan/kadai and stir it gently on a low flame without adding any water.
Slowly it will start to melt and become like a syrup.
Keep stirring it on low flame until its bubbly and start to form a layer over itself.
Now we have both peanuts and jaggery syrup. Its time to assemble it as Chikki or Laddoos.
Now in the jaggery syrup add the peanuts and start to mix it gently.
In a minute or two all the peanuts will be mixed into jaggery.

Making Laddoo:
If you are making Laddoos grease your palm, pick a small portion and roll it like laddoos.
With making Laddoos you need to be quick with the mixture and make the laddos while it's hot.
As the mixture ill start to cool it will be difficult to shape laddos as it ill start to become hard.
Once all laddoos are made, let them cool down and after it store in a air-tight jar.

Making Chikki:
If you are making Chikki, pour the mixture onto a greased tray and use the spatula to spread it evenly.
If it is very difficult to spread out with spatula use the rolling pin to roll it.
While the mixture is warm, run through the sharp knife to cut the shapes and size you want.
Let it come to room temperature and remove the pieces from tray and store in an air-tight jar.

Methi Matar Malai

Ingredients:

Fresh Fenugreek/Methi                - 2 cups
Fresh Green Peas                        - 1 cup
Full Cream /Malai                         - 2 tblspoon
Onion                                            - 1 medium chopped
Garlic                                            - 5-6 cloves finely chopped
Ginger                                           - 1/2 inch grated
Green Chillies                               - 1 tblspoon finely chopped
Cumin Seeds                                - 1/2 tspoon
Asafetida                                      - a pinch
Turmeric powder                          - 1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder                        - 1 tspoon
Garam Masala                             - 1/2 tspoon
Amchoor Powder                         - 1/2 tspoon
Mustard Oil                                  - 1 tblspoon

Method:

Wash and finely chop the Methi, keep it aside in a bowl.
Heat mustard oil in a heavy bottom iron Kadhai or Pan.
When oil is warm put cumin and asafetida into it.
once cumin start to splutter add chilli, garlic and ginger. roast them untill golden brown, now add the onion.
Once added the onion cook it until onion is translucent.
Now add the dry spices, turmeric, coriander, amchoor, garam masala and mix well with onion mix.
After 1 minute of mixing, add the green peas. Mix it well again for 5 minutes.
Now add methi into the pan and mix well.
Now cover it with the lid and cook it untill the water methi leaves is gone and peas are cooked.
Once peas are cooked turn off the flame.
Now add the Malai into the pan and mix well.
Your Methi Matar Malai is ready to eat for your Lunch or Dinner. Serve it with Daal and Paratha of your choice.

Panjiri Laddoo

Ingredients:

Aata / Wheat Flour                    - 2 cup
Granulated sugar                       - 1 1/2 cup
Poppy seeds / khuskhus            - 2 tablespoon roasted
Edible gum / Gound                  - 1/4 cup
Til / Sesame seeds                    - 1/4 cup
Mixed dry fruits                        - 1/2 cup roasted (Almond, Cashew, Pistachio, Walnuts)
Sounth / Dry Ginger powder    -  2 tblspoon
Safed Mirch / White Pepper     -  2 tblspoon
Cardamom Powder                   - 2 pinch
Clarified butter / Ghee              - 1/2 cup

Method:

Take heavy bottom Kadhai or deep pan, Roast the heat flour until you can smell the aroma of flour and it starts to leave it's white colour. Do not over roast to golden brown. Keep aside.
Now take another non-stick pan and roast the edible gum with 2 drops of ghee, keep stirring and it will start to puff (like tapioca seeds, when they are deep fried). Put these puffed gum to grinder if they are very big chunks. Coarse grind them not to the powder consistency. After coarse grinding, pour it over into wheat flour Kadhai.
In the same pan roast the poppy seeds until golden colour. Pour the roasted seeds into Wheat flour Kadhai.
No comes the turn of Sesame seeds for roasting. roast them until they start crackling, pour them into Kadhai as well.
Now switch on the flame to low. Put the Flour mix Kadhai onto it. Mix everything well.
Now add the mixed dry fruits into it. Mix well.
Now add dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and white pepper powder to the mix. Mix it well gain.
After a  minute of roasting everything together, add the ghee. If you feel the ghee is less you can add 1 to 2 tablespoon again.
Once the mixture starts to look crumbly switch off the flame. Mix it again well. Keep the Kadhai onto the gas so that heat can still be passed to the Kadhai.
No add the Sugar and keep mixing it. sugar will start to melt with the existing heat in the laddoo mixture.
Now take off the Kadhai from the gas and pour the laddoo mixture to a Thali or a big shallow tray.
Keep it aside for few minutes to let it cool down. Keep checking the mixture temperature.
Once the mixture is warm enough to handle with the hands, start binding the laddoos of your desired size.
I made them medium size so the number was 20 laddoos.
Once cool down completely transfer them to an dried airtight container.
Enjoy your winter time laddoos with warm milk before bed or with your breakfast.

Note : Keep the flame to low all time while roasting and mixing else it will start to smell burned. It needs a lot of patient to cook / mix it well on low heat
Make sure laddoos when kept should not catch the moisture.