Mix veg pulao

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice.
1 onion
2 inches of carrot
1/2 capcisum
4 french beans
6-7 small florets of cauliflower
1/4 cup peas
8-10 cashews and raisins
1 cup paneer cubes
Small piece of lemon
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon oil / desi ghee
3-4 strands of kesar (saffron)

Khade masale
1 inch piece of bay leaf
2 badi ilaichi
7 kali mirch (pepper)
2 cm dalchini (cinnamon)
4 laung (cloves)

Process

Finely chop all the vegetables.
Wash rice and keep aside for 30 mins.
Boil rice in enough water, add 4-5 drops of oil and 4-5 drops of lemon juice to get white colour.
When the rice is nearly cooked, strain the water and let it cool.

Marinate paneer cubes with saffron and salt. (Optional)

Heat oil / ghee in a pan / kadhai.
Add all the khade masale.
Fry onions till its soft and translucent.
Add cashews and raisins.
Add all the vegetables and salt.
Cover and cook for 1 min.
Add cooled rice and mix gently so that the rice grains do not break.
Add paneer cubes.
Cover and keep for 2 mins on low flame.
Serve hot with raita.or salad

Vatli dal

Ingredients

1 cup chana dal
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon jeera
1/2 teaspoon haldi and red chilli powder
3 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tablespoon coriander finely chopped
1 green chilli
1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon grated raw mango
Salt to taste

Process

Soak chana dal for 3 hours or more.
Coarsely grind it with 1/2 teaspoon jeera, pinch of hing and green chilli. (Do not add water)
Heat oil in pan.
Add mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon jeera and hing.
Add chana dal paste and add salt, haldi and mirch.
Mix well and cover it. Keep on low flame till it is cooked (approx 3 mins).
Turn off the flame and lemon juice or grated raw mango.
Garnish with coriander and coconut.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Tip – Coconut is optional.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients

1/2kg palak (spinach)
1 medium sized onion
2 medium sized tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1cm piece of ginger
2 dry red chilli
1 teaspoon dhania powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoon oil / desi ghee
250 gms paneer cubes
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Process

Blanch palak leaves without chopping and make paste.
Make a paste of onion, tomato, ginger and garlic.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add red chillis and onion tomato paste.
Keep stirring on low flame till it leaves oil.
Add palak paste, salt, dhania powder and garam masala.
Also add lemon juice to retain the  green colour.
Add some hot water to get the required consistency if needed.
Add paneer cubes, mix and remove from flame.
Serve hot with phulkas.

Tip – While blanching add a pinch of sugar to boiling water to retain green colour.

Sem and Muthiya

Ingredients for Val vegetable

1/2 kg broad beans (chapti sem) cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 pinch hing
1 teaspoon ajwain
1/2 teaspoon haldi and red chilli powder
1 teaspoon dhania powder
1/2 teaspoon marathi garam masala (Optional)
2 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons jaggery (Gud)
Salt to taste

Ingredients for muthiya

2 cups of aata
3 teaspoons of oil
1 teaspoon ajwain
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon haldi and red chilli powder
Salt as per taste
2 tablespoon curd

Process

Heat oil in a big kadhai.
Add hing and mustard seeds till it crackles.
Add beans.
Add spices and salt.
Pour 4 cups of hot water.
Cover and let it cook on medium flame.

Meanwhile,
Add all the spices and oil in aata and mix well.
Add curd to make dough.
Also add water if required till the dough is medium hard.
Make very small balls of the dough and gently press them between palms to make muthiya.

Add jaggery to the vegetable which is nearly cooked.
Put muthiya in the boiling veg and cover it again on low heat till its cooked

Serve hot and enjoy.
The vegetable rassa tastes yummy with hot rice too!
It is a full meal and can be relished as a brunch or dinner meal.
This dish is known as vala cha bhajitle mutkule in Maharashtra.
Same preparation can be made with ribbed gourd (taroi or dodke).

Boiled Arvi ki Sabji

Ingredients

1/2 kg arvi (Colocasia) boiled, peeled and chopped into round pieces of 1/2 cm
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, haldi, red chilli powder
Pinch of hing (asafoetida)
2 teaspoons ajwain (Carom seeds)
Salt as per taste
3 tablespoon oil
1/2 lemon

Process

Heat oil in a wide base pan.
Add hing and mustard seeds till it crackles.
Add arvi and all the spices and salt.
Mix well and leave it on low heat till arvi pieces are crisp.
Add lemon juice.
Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Aloo Pyaz Paratha

Ingredients

2 cups aata
4 boiled potatoes (medium size) mashed
1 onion finely chopped
1 green chilli finely chopped
3-4 tablespoons of coriander finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon haldi, red chilli powder, dhania powder, amchur
Salt as per taste
Oil/ghee for shallow frying

Process

Mix all the ingredients and make a dough.
Add water if required.
Make small balls and roll out parathas.
Cook on both side on tawa
Apply oil/ghee
Shallow fry on both sides to make crisp parathas
Serve hot with green chutney and tomato ketchup.

Gajar ka halwa

1/2  kg carrots
1.5 l milk
7 tsp sugar (CAN BE MORE OR LESS AS PER TASTE)
8-10 chopped cashews and almonds
8-10 raisins
2-3 teaspoons of ghee

Boil the milk till is becomes thick.
Add grated carrots.
When it comes to solid consistency, add sugar.
Stir until it reaches the required consistency.
Add dry fruits.
Add ghee and fry for a minute.
Garnish with dry fruits and serve.

Tip-Keep stirring continuously to avoid sticking/burning of halwa to the pan.