A Spoonful of Thought

Ingredients: 200 gms black /kale chana 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 1/4 tsp haldi 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder few chopped coriander leaves 1 tbsp oil salt to taste water Recipe: 1. Clean and soak the black chana for 8 hrs or overnight. 2. Boil the soaked black chana in enough water and salt for 4-5 whistles. 3. Once the pressure is released from cooker, drain the water out from the black chana and keep them both aside. 4. In a kadai heat oil. Add jeera seeds and let it splutter. 5. Then add drained black chana to the oil. Saute them together. Cover and let it cook for 5 mins. This will help to infuse the jeera flavour into chana. 6. Then after 5 mins add haldi, red chilli powders. Mix well and saute for 2 more mins. 7. Add the 1/2 cup of the drained water to the chana mixture. Mix well and let the water get soaked to the mixture. 8. Finally add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

Ingredients: 8-10 small purple brinjal 1 and 1/2 cup + 4 tbsp thick whisked curd 1/4 tsp hing 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 1 tsp onion/kalonji seeds 1 tsp saunf/fennel seeds 1/2 cup coriander leaves freshly chopped 1/2 cup mint leaves freshly chopped 2-3 green chillies 2 tbsp mustard oil 1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 and 1/2 tsp amchur/dry mango powder 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder salt to taste Garnish with: chopped coriander leaves Recipe: 1. Cut the steam of the brinjal slightly but do not remove them completely. Silt the brinjal from the bottom in a plus sign and soak them in water mixed with a pinch of turmeric powder. 2. Dry roast  hing, cumin seeds, onion seeds, saunf seeds and saute till fragrant. Grind them to powder and keep it aside. 3. Heat oil in a kadai. Add d rained brinjals to the kadai. Cover and cook for 8-10 mins, keep stirring in between. 4. Add coriander and mint leaves along with green chillies and 4 tbsp curd in a blender. Blend them to make gree

Ingredients: 250 gms  bhindi 2 tbsp besan/gram flour 2-3 tsp rice flour 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric powder 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder salt as per taste oil for frying water to sprinkle Recipe: 1. Wash bhindi and keep it aside for drying. Then clean dry the bhindi using cloth completely. 2. Remove the top and tip of every bhindi and keep it aside. 3. Cut them lengthwise. If the bhindi is bigger in size, can be divided into half. 4. Add the cut bhindi in a mixing bowl. Add besan, rice flour, haldi, red chilli powder and salt. 5. Mix all the ingredients together, let the bhindi be coated from all sides. 6. Keep it aside for 20 mins.  7. After 20 mins, deep fry them in small batches till they turn crispy brown in color. 8. Remove them on a kitchen tissues.  9. Crispy Bhindi is ready to be enjoyed with hot dal chawal.

Ingredients: 2 tbsp mustard oil ¼ tsp nigella/onion seeds 2 dried red chillies 500 g potatoes 50 g posto (poppy seeds) 4 green chillies 1 tbsp sugar salt to taste ‍ Recipe: 1. Soak poppy seeds in water for two hours. Strain and add to a grinder jar, along with 2 green chillies and little water. Grind to a coarse paste. Set aside. 2. Peel and cut the potatoes in 1-cm cubes and keep ot aside. 3. Heat mustard oil in a pan. Temper the oil with dried red chillies and onion seeds. Add the potatoes. Fry for about 5 minutes with stir occasionally. 4. Add the poppy-seed paste, along with salt and sugar. Cook on low heat until the raw smell of poppy paste goes away. This should take about 4 minutes. 5. Continue to cover and cook on low heat until the potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally to ensure the potatoes don't stick to the pan. 6. Finish with 2 slit green chillies and 1 tsp of mustard oil. Mix well and switch of the flame. 7. Aloo Posto is ready to be served with hot rice

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: 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

Ingredients: 200 gms  Potatoes boiled 2 -3 big tomatoes roughly chopped 2 green chillies 2 -3 small cinnamon sticks 5 cloves 1 big black cardamom 2-3 small green cardamon 1 tej patta/bay leaf 2 tsp Jeera seeds 1 tsp hing 2 tbsp Rai/Mustard Oil 1 tsp paprika/kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric 1 tsp cumin/jeera powder 1-2 tsp kasuri methi Salt as per taste chopped coriander leaves Recipe: 1.  Clean and boil the potatoes for 3-4 whistles. Once the pressure is released remove from cooker, drain the hot water and immerse the same in cold water. This tip helps easy peel of boiled potato skin. 2. Break the boil potatoes to med - small pieces with hands and keep aside. 3. Blend tomatoes and green chillies together without water. Keep it aside. 4. Take a kadai add mustard oil to heat. Let the mustard oil heat for a min,till the aroma comes else oil will give bitter taste. 5. Add jeera seeds and then all the khada garam masal

Dum Aloo or Alu Dum belongs to, specifically, Kashmiri cuisine. The potatoes, usually smaller ones, are first deep fried, then cooked slowly at low flame in a gravy with spices.Dum Aloo is a popular recipe cooked throughout India. Kashmiri Dum Aloo Ingredients: Dum aloo [par boiled and if big in size cut to halves] 1/2 cup whisked curd 1/4 tsp freshly crushed cloves [4-5] 1/2 tsp freshly crushed cardamons [2 big & 3-4 small] 1 tsp freshly crushed saunf 1/2 tsp haldi 1/2 tsp jeera powder 1/2 tsp shahi jeera seeds 2 tbsp kashmiri red chilli powder 2 tsp tikhalal red chilli powder 1/2 tsp dalchini powder 1/4 tsp garam masala 1/2 tbsp ginger powder/sonth powder 1 tsp coriander powder 2 tsp amchur powder a pinch hing 1 tbsp sugar chopped coriander leaves [optional] Salt to taste Oil & Water Recipe: Wash the potatoes very well. Par boil the potatoes. Then prick them with a fork. If the potatoes are small, you don't need to halve them.   Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry the p