Aditi's kitchen

Veg Puffs

Ingredients -

Frozen pastry sheets(You can find them in any grocery store like Fry's)
Frozen Peas
Potato
Red Onion
Jeera
Chat Masala/Amchur Powder
Pam cooking spray/Light Oil brush is good too

Steps -

First lets make the stuffing

Boil the potatoes
Put the frozen peas in a bowl filled with water and microwave for 1 minute
In a chopper, add some jeera and add the peas, make a coarse mix (don't make a paste)
Now heat a pan, add some chopped red onions and saute till light brown
Add the boiled potatoes and the peas mixture(Optional - Add little garlic powder)
Add salt to taste, pinch of chat masala or amchur powder(dry mango powder)
Cook for 2-3 minutes and set to cool

Now lets stuff the pastry sheets
Usually you get them as 3 fold sheet, open them up
Add the veggie mix in the middle fold, cover one fold, spread a thin layer of the mix again and cover it with the 3rd fold
Spray some Pam and bake the puffs in pre-heated over of 375 deg for 15-20 mins, until the top turns golden brown
Enjoy hot!!

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Deetzas

Ingredients -

Bread slices - 5
Cherry tomatoes (if you don't find it, that' ok. Chopped tomatoes is equally good) - about 10-15
Chopped Green Bell pepper - 1
Sweet Corn kernels - 1/2 cup
Chopped Red onions - 1 small
Tomato ketchup - 1/2 cup
Garlic powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oregano - for taste
Shredded Mozzarella cheese (feel free to use any other cheese of your choice)

Directions -

Mix all the ingredients (except bread and cheese)
Spread some butter on the bread slice
Then spread the mixture on each of them
Top it off with the cheese
Optional - You can sprinkle some sesame seeds on top too
Bake it in the oven for 12-15 mins - 375 degrees till the cheese is nice and melted
Serve hot!

Veg Fried Rice

Ingredients -

Cabbage - 1/2 cup
Bell peppers - Green, Red(You can add Orange and Yellow too if available) - 1/2 cup
Carrots - 1/2 cup
Red onion - 1/2 cup
Green Chilies - 2/3
Spring Onion - 2
Garlic - 4/5
Ajinomoto - A small pinch
Soy sauce - 3/4 tablespoon
Red Chili Sauce - 1 small teaspoon
Salt to taste
Rice - 1 cup

Directions -

This recipe is extremely simple. Cooking time is 10 mins. Preparation time - 20 mins.
Cut the vegetables lengthwise finely chopped.
While you are doing that, cook the rice in parallel. I usually use long grained rice(Basmati).
Now you need a large wok. Heat some oil in it.
Add green chilies and garlic. Saute it for a minute.
Now add cabbage, onion, carrot, peppers. Saute it for 3-4 mins
Now add the chopped spring onions, Saute it for a minute.
Add red chili sauce and ajinomoto(This is for the flavor, so just add a pinch - its optional, avoid it if you don't want)
Add the cooked rice and soy sauce, some salt to taste. Saute it for 2mins and its ready! Serve hot!
Non Veg version - Add some scrambled eggs and sauteed grilled chicken and/or shrimps.
You can enjoy this with a Manchurian dish. Recipe to come soon ;-)

Dates Ladoo

Ingredients -

Chopped almonds
Seedless Dates(Khajoor)
Ghee
Big Elaichi - coarse powder

Method -

Add 2-3 spoons of ghee in a pan.
Heat it on medium heat.
Add the chopped almonds. Fry it till golden brown and remove it in a plate.
Now add the seedless dates in the remaining ghee and stir it till it becomes soft(takes about 5-7 mins).
Add the 1/2 tbsp of big elaichi powder.
Finally add the almonds.
Remove it from heat and let the mixture cool down for 10-15 mins.
Make little ladoos (Optional - You can lay the mixture in a plate when hot and cut it out in rectangular shape).
Enjoy !!! Simple and easy recipe :)

Veg Jaipuri

Veg Jaipuri - This is one of my mother-in-laws famous recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients -

1 cups each - carrot, beans, peas(Boil them)
1/2 cup - paneer
1 capsicum
1 onion
1 sp adrak paste
1 sp lasun paste
3 mirchi paste
1/2 cup tomato pulp
2 apricot paste
1/2 cup kaju paste
1/2 cup cream / malai

Dry masala -

3 kashmiri mirchi
2 pepper
2 lavang
2 cardamom
2 elaichi
1 big elaichi
jaifhal(optional)
1/2 sp jeera
1 tejpata(bay leaf)

Method -

Heat oil and ghee - 50:50
Add jeera, cardamom
Add onion, adrak, mirchi. Saute till golden brown.
Add kaju paste. Make sure the gas flame is low else it will burn
Add capsicum and saute for 2-3 mins
Now add the dry masala
Then add the tomato pulp and salt to taste
Cook on low flame till oil starts separating
Add cream
Add the boiled veggies, paneer, apricot paste
Finally add water to adjust consistency, the curry should not be too watery.
Cook on slow flame for 8-10 minutes
Serve it hot with paratha

Vegetable Spring rolls

I love fried food and spring rolls are some awesome appetizers ideas or evening snacks. This is my shot at making them at home.

Ingredients -

Beans - 1 cup
Carrot - 1 cup
Spring onions - 1 cup
Red onion - 1 cup
Green bell pepper - 1 cup(you can add red and yellow bell peppers too if you like)
Cabbage - 1 cup
Green Chilies - 2 or 3
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Boiled hakka noodles - 1/2 cup
Soy sauce - to taste
Ajinomoto(optional)

Steps -

Chop all the vegetables finely (cut it lengthwise)
Take a wok, heat 2-3 tbsp oil in it
Add green chilies, garlic
After 1-2 minutes, add all the vegetables
Saute it for 4-5 minutes
Add the boiled hakka noodles, soy sauce, ajinomoto and salt to taste
Stir fry for 2 mins and the mixture is now ready. Let it cool for 1/2 hr.
Buy some ready spring roll sheets, you can find them in Indo/Chinese grocery stores
Take a sheet, place it diagonally on flat surface and then apply water along the sides(optional - you can use egg yolk to seal it too but water works just fine)
Take a spoonful of the mixture and place it a little above the bottom corner
Fold left and right corners to the center and then start rolling from the bottom towards the top and seal the end
Finish up all the rolls. You can make these rolls and freeze them to make it at a later time
Now add oil in a pan, heat it at medium temperature, when ready drop the rolls and deep fry them at medium temperature. Make sure the oil is not too hot else the rolls will burn quickly
Remove them on a dish lined with tissue paper to remove the extra oil
Serve hot with Hot and Sweet Sauce/Chili sauce/Ketchup

Ghughni

This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever known. It's a very popular Bengali dish and can be enjoyed as a evening snack or even a full meal.

Ingredients -

1cup - Dry Yellow peas
1 small onion
Coriander
1-2 tbsp Jeera
1-2 Dry red chilli
1 small Tomato
Garam masala
Imli chutney
Turmeric
Chilli powder
Salt to taste
Dry powder

For the dry powder -

Roast Jeera and red chilli on a pan on a low flame. Low flame is necessary else it burns out really quickly.
Once it starts giving a nice aroma, remove it from flame.
Using a grinder, make a fine powder.

Recipe -

Soak the yellow peas for 7-8 hours in water.
Boil it in cooker, most of the times 1-2 whistles is just enough else the peas get really mashed.
Remove a little amount in a bowl and mash it with a spoon. This will be used to thicken the gravy later.
Heat oil in a pan, add jeera , chopped onions. When the onions turn light brown , add a small tomato. Then add the boiled yellow peas, turmeric, pinch of garam masala, chilli powder and salt to taste.
Add water per consistency you would like. At this point you can add the mashed yellow peas mixture into the curry.
Add the dry powder now and let it simmer for 5-10 mins.
When you serve, add chopped red onions, coriander, pinch of the dry powder and imli chutney.
Serve it hot. With parathas it can be a really quick dinner meal.

Enjoy!!!!