A Spoonful of Thought

Ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cup white peas 1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1 medium finely chopped onion 2 red finely chopped tomatoes 2 nos finely chopped green chillies 2-3 dry red chillies cut into halves 1/2 tsp haldi 2 nos cinnamon sticks 2 nos bay leaves 5 nos cloves 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp jeera powder 1 tsp Kashmiri red  chilli   powder 1 tsp Tikhalal red  chilli   powder 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves 1/2 cup water 3 tbsp oil Salt as per taste Recipe: 1. Soak the white peas for overnight or for 8 hrs. 2. Boil the white peas in cooker with little haldi and salt for 2-3 whistles. Keep it aside. 3. Take oil in a kadai. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. 4. Add jeera seeds, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and cloves to the oil. Saute the same. 5. Add dry red chillies, chopped onions and green chillies. Saute till onions are soft and little brown. 6. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till they are soft. Add haldi and salt. Saute till tomatoes are mu

Ingredients: 4 bread (white/brown) slices 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup grated processed cheese  1/2 cup soft salted butter 2 tbsp crushed/finely chopped garlic cloves 1/2 tsp  chilli   flakes 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp dried parsley 1/2 tsp dried basil  1/4 cup Italian seasoning Recipe: 1. In a small bowl, add butter to the bowl. 2. Add crushed garlic,  chilli   flakes, oregano, parsley and basil to the butter. 3. Mix well and spread for garlic spread is ready. 4. Take a bread slice and spread the above garlic butter over the bread. 5. Spread the grated cheese over the buttered bread. Finally spread the Italian seasoning over the bread. 6. Heat non stick tawa on medium flame. Keep the bread on the tawa. Lower the flame. 7. Cover and wait till the cheese is melted and cheesy garlic bread is ready. 8. Cut the bread into fingers and serve the hot Cheesy Garlic Bread with tea.

Ingredients: 2 cups maida/all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp sugar 2 tbsp oil 3/4 cup milk Salt as per taste 1/2 cup water Garnish with: 1 tbsp nigella/onion seeds 1 tbsp sesame seeds 1/2 finely chopped coriander leaves 1 tbsp chopped/finely crushed garlic butter Recipe: 1. In a bowl add maida. To this add baking powder, sugar (to caramelize), oil and salt. 2. Knead soft dough using milk. Knead for 10 mins using both the palms. 3. Keep it aside for 15 mins, covered with wet cloth. 4. Create small balls from the dough and again keep it away for 10-15 mins. 5. After 15 mins, heat the iron griddle/tawa on medium flame. Should not use non-stick. 6. Roll out the dough to oval shape using very minimal to no dry flour at all. 7. Brush the upper side of the rolled out dough with butter and sprinkle the garlic, nigella seeds, sesame seeds and coriander leaves. Roll over with very light pressure so that seeds and leaves get stuck to the dough. 8. Now take the rolled out naan over th

Ingredients: 2 cup daliya/broken wheat 2 tbsp ghee 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds handful of curry leaves 1/2 cup of peas 2 medium carrots chopped lengthwise 1 big chopped onion 2 medium chopped tomatoes 2 green chillies cut lengthwise 1/2 tsp haldi 2 tbsp Oil Salt as per taste 3 cups Water Recipe: 1. Take a kadai, heat ghee on low flame. 2. Add daliya and roast the same till light and turns white in color. Remove and keep aside. 3. Take a cooker, add oil and heat it. Add mustard to the heated oil and let it splutter. 4. Add jeera seeds, curry leaves, green chillies. Saute the same. 5. Add onions and saute till soft and translucent. Do not over cook onions to turn brown. 6. To this add peas and carrots. Saute the same. 7. Now add tomatoes and haldi and saute till they turn soft and little mushy. Add salt to the mixture. 8. Saute all for more one mins. Add the roasted daliya to the same. Mix well. 9. Add water to the cooker now and mix well. Adjust salt as per the taste. 10

Ingredients: 2 cup suji/rava 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp chopped cashews 2 tbsp ghee 1 tsp mustard seeds handful of curry leaves 1/2 cup of boiled peas 2 medium carrots chopped lengthwise 1 big chopped onion 2 medium chopped tomatoes 2 green chillies cut lengthwise 1 tsp grated ginger 2 tbsp oil Salt as per taste Water Recipe: 1. Take a kadai, heat ghee on low flame and fry the cashews till brown. Remove and keep it aside. 2. Now add suji to the same ghee kadai and roast the suji. 3. Add sugar to the above while roasting. Roast till nice aroma comes out and suji turns little light and brown.  DO NOT BURN.  Remove and keep aside. 4. In the same kadai, add oil and heat it. 5. Add mustard to the heated oil and let it splutter. Add curry leaves, green chillies. Saute the same. 6. Add onions and saute till soft and translucent. Do not over cook onions to turn brown. 7. To this add grated ginger, peas and carrots. Saute the same. 8. Now add tomatoes and saute till they turn soft and little mushy. Ad

Ingredients: 1 cup rava/suji 1 cup rice flour 1/2 cup maida 1 cup curd 1 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds 2 nos finely chopped green chillies 1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves 1 tsp grated ginger  1 medium finely chopped onions Salt as per taste 6 cups of water Recipe: 1. In a big bowl, add suji, rice flour and maida to it. Mix well. 2. Add curd to the bowl. 3. To this add jeera seeds, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves, grated ginger, chopped onions.Finally add salt. 4. Mix all the ingredients well. Add water to the mixture to form the thin running consistency batter.  5. Adjust the salt as per the taste. Keep it aside for 10-15 mins. 6. Heat a non stick tawa, on medium flame. Once heated pour the batter in a very thin layer and spread the batter on tawa.  7. The dosa will be roasted only on one side. Roast the dosa on low flame till the below layer turns brown. Once done fold the dosa to half and remove from the fl

Ingredients: 7-8 medium to small brinjal(purple ones) 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 1/2 tsp saunf/fennel seeds 1/2 tsp nigella/onion seeds 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 fenugreek/methi seeds 3-4 red tomatoes roughly chopped  2 green chillies 1 tbsp ginger paste  2-3 dry red chillies 1/2 tsp haldi 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 tsp Kashmiri red  chilli   powder 1 tsp Tikhalal red  chilli   powder 1/2 cup water 3 tbsp oil Salt as per taste Recipe: 1. Slit the brinjal(X) from the bottom, keeping the stem intact. 2. Apply the little salt inside the brinjal and keep it aside. 3. In a medium hot non stick pan, add jeera seeds, saunf, onion seeds, mustard seeds, methi seeds. Roast all of them for 3-4 mins, till you get nice aroma. Let it cool down.  4. Then crush the roasted seeds to powder to form achaari powder. 5. Blend the chopped tomatoes with green chillies to smooth puree and set it aside. 6. Take a kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil and add brinjal and shallow fry the same. Cover and cook till brinjals are b

Ingredients: 7-8 medium red ripe tomatoes 2 tbsp crushed black pepper 4-5 crushed cloves  2 small cinnamon sticks/dalchini 1 medium finely chopped onions 4-5 crushed garlic cloves 1 inch crushed ginger 2 dry red chillies 1 tsp mustard/rai seeds 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds handful curry leaves 1 tbsp home made rasam powder 2 tbsp oil 1 tbsp tamarind paste Salt as per taste Recipe: 1. Take all the tomatoes and slit X on bottom and add into boiling water. Add cloves, cinnamon sticks, crushed black pepper and salt to the water. Cover and cook for 3-4 mins.or till skin starts to seperate. 2. Peel the tomatoes skin and keep it aside for cooling. DO NOT discard the water along with cloves ,cinamon and pepper. Drain the water out and keep it aside for later use. 3. In the blender take boiled tomatoes along with cloves, cinamons and pepper. Blend all together to smooth puree. Keep it aside. 4. Take a kadai and add oil to it and heat. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add jeera seeds. 5. A

Ingredients: 1 lit full cream milk(divide into two) 2 ripe mangoes 160 gm of agar agar/china grass 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp vanilla essence Recipe: Mango Pudding:   1.Chop the ripe mangoes, blend the same into smooth puree with 500 ml milk. 2. Add 80 gm of china grass to the mango puree. 3. Keep it on low flame and bring it to boil. Keep stirring till china grass powder mixes well into the puree. 4. Switch off the flame and keep it aside for cooling. 5. Take the glasses and keep it tilted to one side. Pour the warm mango puree to the glasses and keep it aside for an hr and then for 2 hrs in fridge to set. Vanilla Pudding: 1. Take the remaining 500 ml milk, add the rest 80 gm of china grass. 2. At this point keep the mango pudding glasses outside the fridge. 3. Keep it on low flame, to the milk mixture add vanilla essence and bring it to boil.  4. Add sugar and keep stirring till china grass powder and sugar mixes well into the milk. 5. Switch off the flame and keep it aside for cooling. 6.

Ingredients: 5-6 ripe red tomatoes 4-5 garlic cloves crushed/chopped finely 1/2 onion finely chopped 2 tbsp dried herbs (basil, parsley) 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp paprika/kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder 1 tsp of black pepper 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp chilli flakes 2 tsp oil 1 tbsp tomato sauce Salt as per taste 1/2 tbsp butter Recipe: 1. Take all the tomatoes and slit X on bottom and add into boiling water. Cover and cook for 3-4 mins.or till skin starts to seperate. 2. Peel the tomatoes skin and keep it aside for cooling. 3. Take half of the tomatoes and chop them finely, discard the seeds away. Keep it aside. 3. Take the remaining half of the tomatoes and blend to smooth puree. 4. Take a non stick kadai and add oil for heating. Add chopped/crushed garlic and saute till golden brown. 5. Add chopped onions and saute till they are little brown and soft. To this add the chopped tomatoes. Saute till the tomatoes are soft.  Mash the tomatoes once soft to make it mushy. 6. No

Ingredients: 1 lit full cream milk 1 tbsp milk powder without sugar 1 cup sugar 1 tbsp kesar/saffron milk (optional) 2 tsp crushed green cardamon powder 1/2 chopped dry fruits (almonds, pistha, cashews) 2 tsp corn flour Recipe: 1. Take a non stick kadai add milk and bring it to boil. Later keep on low flame. 2. Keep stirring and let it thicken.  2. Add milk powder and mix well. Keep stirring, do not let milk stick at the bottom of kadai. 3. Add kesar milk and dry fruits to the milk mixture. Keep stirring for more 20 mins. 4. Later add sugar. Mix well and finally add cardamon powder. 5. Boil the milk for next 20-25 mins while stirring continuously. 6. When the milk is thickened, but in pouring consistency, dilute the corn flour in water and add the same to the milk mixture. Mix well and bol for another min and switch off the flame. 7. Let it cool a bit, then pour the mixture in kulfi moulds. 8. Set the kulfi in fridge for 10-12 hrs. 9. Once set, unmould the kulfi and enjoy!!! **In case

Ingredients: 300 gms Raw Dosa Rice Salt as per taste Recipe: 1. Soak dosa rice overnight or for 8 hrs. 2. Grind the soaked rice next day in the morning, with minimum water. Grind to very smooth paste. 3. Remove the batter in a bowl. Add water to make the batter with running consistency as shown below. Add salt as per the taste. 4. Heat a non stick tawa, on medium flame. Once heated pour the batter and spread the batter on tawa.  5. Cover for a min. The dosa will be roasted only on  one side, as shown below: 6. Now fold the dosa to half and again half to give a triangle shape. 7. Neer Dosa is ready to serve with chutney < Refer chutney recipes for more details >.

Ingredients: 4-5 eggs 2 med onions finely chopped 2 med tomato finely chopped 2 green chillies 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste handful curry leaves 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 1 tsp paprika/kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric Salt as per taste 2 tbsp of Vegetable oil chopped coriander leaves Recipe: 1. Take a kadai and heat vegetable oil.  2. Add mustard ad jeera seeds. Let it splutter. Then add curry leaves and green chillies. Fry the same. 3. Add onions and saute till it is soft and brown. Add ginger garlic paste to the same and mix well. Later add little salt to the mixture. 4. Add haldi and chilli powder. Mix well. Saute till the raw smell of masala goes off. 5. Now add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Fry till oil starts to seperate. 6. Break egg one by one and add to the masala in the kadai. 7. Mix the egg well in the masala. Scramble the big pieces to the masala. 8. Add chopped coriander leaves to the egg bhurji and mix.

Ingredients: 200 gms Aloo/Potatoes, boiled 2-3 dry red chillies 2 green chillies finely chopped  1/2 cup of curd 1/2 tsp of Haldi 1/2 tsp of cumin/jeera powder 1/2 tsp of Shahi Jeera seeds 1 tbsp of Kashmiri Red chilli powder 1 tbsp of Tikkha Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp garam masala 1 tsp of coriander powder 2 tsp of amchur powder a pinch of hing a pinch of sugar 1 tbsp kasuri methi chopped coriander leaves [optional] Salt to taste Oil & Water Recipe: 1. Wash the potatoes very well. Boil the potatoes and later immerse the same in cold water for easy peel of the skin. 2. Break the boil potatoes to med - small pieces and fry the potatoes till crispy brown. Remove them and keep aside. 3. In a same kadai, fry the shahi jeera. Lower the flame & add asafoetida and dry red chili and green chillies.Let it fry for a min. 4. Then add both the red chilli powder and haldi. Fry the same for a min till you get the aroma, but take care should not burn. 5. Later add 2-3 tbsp of water and let th

Ingredients: 200 gms Cauliflower florets (med size) 200 gms boiled Potatoes chopped in cubes 1 cup carrots (chopped in small cubes) 3 big tomato finely chopped 2 tbsp Rai/Mustard Oil 1 cup smooth beaten curd few Ginger juliennes  2 big green chillies chopped in julienne 1 tsp paprika/kashmiri red  chilli  powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin/jeera powder 1 tsp garam masala Salt as per taste chopped coriander leaves Recipe: 1. Take a kadai add oil to heat. Let the mustard oil heat for a min,till the aroma comes else oil will give bitter taste.  2. Add potatoes, carrots(optional) and cauliflower and fry the same till it is little brown and potatoes are little soft. Add salt to the same.  3. Remove potatoes, carrots and gobi from the oil and keep it aside. 4. Add ginger and green chilli julienne to the same. Saute for a min. Then add tomatoes to it. Saute till tomatoes are soft and mushy. 5. Later add all the dry spices to the