CARROT BEETROOT KANJI

Ingredients:

4 carrots/gajar
1 medium sized beetroots
8 cups water 

1/2 tsp red chili powder or as per taste
3 tbsp mustard powder
2 tsp black salt or as per taste

Method:

1. Wash and peel the carrots and beetroots ,roughly chop into long pieces.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a glass or ceramic jar  and cover with a lid or muslin cloth and keep the jar in sun for 3-4 days.
3. Stir with a wooden spoon everyday before keeping the jars back in the sun.
4. When the kanji starts tasting sour, it means the drink is fermented.
5. Serve carrot kanji straightway or refrigerate.Take it out from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving and have it during the day time while enjoying the Sun.

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MEETHA PARANTHA

Meetha parantha or chiini ka parantha is a crispy sweet bread. It should be consumed immediately after it is ready otherwise it will become hard.Children like it very much. It can be eaten during fast when you can't consume salt like Monday or Tuesday fast.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves : 2

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat flour
3 tsp sugar or as per taste
oil for shallow frying

Method:

1. Take wheat flour in a bowl and gradually add water to knead normal dough as you knead for chapati.
2. Keep it on rest for 10-15 minutes.
3. Now divide the  dough in two or three equal sized balls depending upon the size of parantha you want.
4. Roll one ball at a time with the help of a rolling pin into a circular diskette of 3-4" diameter.
5. Place one tsp of sugar in the center and gather the sides to seal the sugar in side the dough.
6. Flatten the dough , dust it with some flour and roll it again with the help of a rolling pin into a circular diskette of 5-6" diameter.
7. Now place this parantha on a hot tava and shallow fry from both the sides using little oil.
8. Serve hot with butter and pickle. If you are having fast then eat it with butter or cream.

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PEANUT BUTTER

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Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
serves: 15-20

Ingredients:
2 cup peanuts (with skin)
1.5 tsp honey
1.5 tbsp peanut oil
salt as per taste

Method:

1. Heat a pan and roast peanuts stirring continuously until you get the popping sound of some peanuts and the skin of the peanuts gets light brown colour spots. Or you can roast them in an oven or micro wave as well.
2. Let the peanuts get cool then de-skin them by rubbing them with your hands and then blowing away the skin.
3. Add the peanuts, salt,oil and honey inside the blender and blend till it becomes a smooth paste and you get desired consistency. 

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HOME MADE BUTTER

Preparation time: 5 minutes
cooking time: nil
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
2 cup heavy cream or milk cream
1-2 cups warm water in winters and the same quantity of chilled water in summers

Method:

1. Pour cream into a food processor or blender. Process for 5 minutes or till it start to thicken.
2. In summers  add chilled water and in winters add warm water or chilled water as per season and blend further for 5-6 minutes or until the butter separates.
3. Strain off the liquid.Collect the liquid in a different bowl this is butter milk and can be used in a number of ways.
4. Press butter into a small bowl with the back of a spoon to further remove liquid.
5. Wash the butter with cold water, it is important to wash the butter and drain out any excess water to keep the butter fresh for a long time.

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KALE CHANE KE KABAB

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves:4

Ingredients:
250 gms Bengal gram (kala chana)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
5-6 garlic, finely chopped
1" ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp salt or as per taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 green chillies
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder 

1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seeds)

oil for deep-frying

Method:

1. Soak the Bengal gram for 6-8 hours or overnight.
2. Pressure cook the soaked gram in a pressure cooker with water reaching an inch above the gram. Add the  salt 1tsp and pressure cook for 15 minutes or till done.
3. When the pressure releases check the gram and drain out any excess water(You can make chana soup out of it).
4. Mash the gram with the help of a potato masher or you can do the same in a chopper. 
5. Add rest of the ingredients except oil. Mix well and adjust seasoning.
6. Shape the gram mixture into  small patties on your palm. 
7. Heat the oil in a girdle. Put the patties on the girdle. Cook over medium heat till nicely crisp on side. ( frying pan. Add a few patties at a time and shallow-fry on medium heat till golden brown and crisp at the bottom. Flip the patties over and cook the other side as well.
8. Serve hot with green chuttney,tamarind chuttney or ketchup.

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MUSHROOM TIKKA

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time : 10
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
200 grms button mushrooms
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 green chili chopped or ground to paste
2 tbsp chick pea flour (besan)
2 tbsp hung yogurt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp degi mirch powder
1/2 tsp amchoor powder or lemon juice
1/2 tsp dhania powder or 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander or both
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp jeera powder (or bhuna jeera)
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 onion diced
1 capsicum diced
1 tomato diced
chaat masala to sprinkle
butter for basting or pouring
Cream (optional)
Method:

1. Mix curd, besan,green chili,ginger garlic paste,lemon juice all the spices and 1 tbsp of oil in a bowl and make a marinade.
2. Add mushrooms,onions,capsicum and tomatoes to the marinade and mix well. Keep this in fridge at least for half an hour.
3. Pass all the washed diced vegetables and mushroom through a skewer and grease a griddle pan with butter and cook,twisting the sides till it is cooked from all the sides. Or you can cook it in an OTG for 8-10 minutes at 180 C. Or use a  wired griddle and cook directly on flame of gas. 
4.  Heat cream and pour it on the skewers and serve hot.

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MOOLI KI SABZI

Preparation time: 5 minutes
cooking time 10 minutes
serves:4

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp oil
2 radish (moolli)
1/4 tsp carom seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp degi mirch
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/4 tsp amchoor powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Method:

1. Peel and wash the radish and cut into 1/2" long cubes.Discard the long leaves and keep the small and tender leaves, chop them an keep them aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add carom seeds and when they start to crackle add the chopped radish,salt and turmeric powder and stir for a while.
3. Cover the pan with lid and cook  on low to medium heat stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes or till the radish become tender.
4. Add the chopped radish leaves and rest of the spices and give a nice stir.
5. Serve it hot with chapati or parantha. 

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SANDESH

Ingredients:
8 cups Milk
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1/2 cup castor sugar

1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
Cherries or Pistachios blanched and chopped for garnishing

Method:

1. Boil milk in a  thick-bottomed  pan. Add the lemon juice and stir till the milk curdles. Strain and immediately refresh the chhenna  with chilled water. Put the chhenna in a piece of muslin and squeeze till all the water is drained out.
2. Knead the chhenna well with the heel of your hand or with the help of a bowl (katori). Add caster sugar and cardamom powder, and knead again.
3. Cook in a non-stick pan on medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and divide into equal sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball and make a dent on the top.
4. When cooled, place a cherry or pistachio in the dent and serve.

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TOMATO PICKLE / SWEET AND SOUR TOMATO CHUTTNEY

Preparation time:10 minutes

cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Servings:10-15

Ingredients:
1/2 kg ripe tomatoes
1" ginger

7-8 cloves garlic
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 cups sugar

1/2 tsp onion seeds
2 tsp salt or as per taste

Method:

1. Grind ginger and garlic into fine paste with splash of vinegar.
2. Chop tomatoes roughly and discard the seeds, put in large pan, and cook till soft and mushy. Add the ginger garlic paste, sugar, vinegar,degi mirch and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, on low heat till sugar melts.
3. Increase heat to high and continue to cook, until chutney reaches desired consistency. Leave to cool.
4. Add onion seeds and mix well.
5. Fill in air-tight jar and keep in the refrigerator.

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CHANA DAL

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 cup chana dal
1-2 tbsp desi ghee(pure ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 big or 2 small tomatoes pureed
1" ginger grated or finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 green chili chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp degi mirch
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugerik seeds)

Method:

1. Wash and soak chana dal for an hour.
2. Take 4 cups of water ,turmeric powder,salt and 1/2 tsp of oil (optional) in a pressure cooker and add the dal to it.
3. Pressure cook the dal.(Simmer the gas after first whistle and then cook for 15-20 minutes on low flame.)
4. When the pressure releases check the dal and keep aside.
5. Heat desi ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds to it, when they start to crackle and chopped onions,grated ginger and chopped garlic to it and cook till they become brown in color.
6. Now add chopped geen chili and pureed tomato and cook till the mixture leaves ghee. 
7. Now add rest of the spices and mix well.If required you can add 2 tbsp of water in this mixture.
8. Put this mixture in the cooked dal and if required you can add some more water to dal.
9. Again pressure cook the dal for two whistles or as required.
10. Now dal is ready to be served along with rice or chapati.

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