Cauliflower in tomato sauce
1 small head of fresh cauliflower
( sorry the Fleurette dont work the same)
2 large ripe roma tomatoes/ or country tomatoes if you like a sweetish flavor
1″ piece of fresh ginger root grated
1 purple onion medium cubed
1 tbsp coriander seed powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder ( preferably kashmiri mirch)
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp besan
2-3 cups of warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch of love
————
Cut the stem off and cut out 1″ Fleurette, cube the remaining stems too, you can use the core of the center stem
Boil a pot if water. Add the turmeric in the water.
Blanch the cauliflower lightly in boiling water, turn the heat off. Let it sit for two minutes and drain the water. Let it cool
Grate the tomatoes, and add the coriander seeds powder and chili powder and mix well until the powders soak the juice in
Heat the oil in the pan
Bloom the mustard seeds,
Add the grated ginger, saute for 1 minute and add the Besan, and bay leaves,
stirr around and add the diced onions. Flash fry for one minute, as soon as the onions are all coated with a sheen of oil, add the grated tomato mixed with the masala
Saute till the tomato paste starts glistening.
Add the cauliflower Fleurette and stir till all pieces are wrapped in the sauce
Add salt and a pinch of love
Add the warm water, stir well and bring it to a boil
Garnish with fresh cilantro
Serve with hot buttered rice.
Category: Recipes
DILKHUSH CUTLETS
1/2 cup minced chicken
1 boiled potato peeled and mashed
1/4 cup fresh corn kernels
1 medium onion fine diced
2 tbsp besan
1 tsp red chlli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fine chopped fresh cilantro
1 pinch of love
1/4 cup semolina ( for dredge)
Oil to shallow fry
————
Mix all the ingredients to a nice homogeneous mix.
Take a fist full lump of the mix and pat it on your hand. You can grease your palm with a drop of oil.
Shape the mix in a flat oval or round.
I usually point one end and broaden the other n indent the top to make a heart out of it
Take the semolina in a flat shallow bowl
Dredge the patty thru it very gently and lightly on all sides
Lift it out and pack it with gentle compression with your fingers
Heat a shallow frying pan with a light brushing of oil on medium heat
Slide in the patties and cover the pan. Cook 5 mins on each side on a tsp oil.
Garnish with cilantro
Serve with a chutney or ketchup
BHARWAAN TINDE’
This is my dad’s recipe. I can never best him in taste nor perfection.
Tinde (Apple Gourd)are called Dhemse in maharashtra ( which i feel is really an ugly name)
7-8 very tender Tinde
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp salt.
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
———–
Wash the tinde and scoop the top out
Core the inside and save it aside.
Remove the tough seeds if any.
Add the dry ingredients to the cored mass. Crush it well n blend it with fingers.
Stuff the Tindas with this mixture and put the tops back on, sealing it gently.
Heat oil in a fry pan
Bloom the cumin seeds, add a dash of turmeric
Gently place the Tinde in the pan
Roll them around gently till all are coated with oil
Cover the pan with lid and steam for 10 mins.
Turn them around till all sides are golden fried.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and a pinch of love.
PS: if you dont get much of cored mass, too many seeds, add a fine chopped onion to make up.
Alternatively you can also stuff it with moong dal soaked n dry cooked. With a tinge of garam masala. Or stir fried soya chunks.
Serve hot with paraanthas
LACCHHAA PARAATHAA
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp ghee
1/4 tsp salt
Water to knead. Approx. 1/2 cup is more than plenty.
Add the ghee and salt in the flour and mix well.
Sprinkle water on the flour and fluff-knead with gentle hands.
Make a dough slightly tighter than the normal roti dough, loose than the poori dough. ( softer than pie crust)
Take a fist size chunk of dough. 
Roll out a roti halfway.
Make a paste of 2 tsp oil and 2 tsp rice flour.
Smear that paste on th rolled chapati.
Sprinkle a little bit of rolling flour dusting on it.
Start pleating the roti in tiny pleats.
I just start gathering with fingers.
Coil that pleated strip.
Dust it with rolling flour.
Roll it out gently, tuck any loose sides in and slide it on a tavaa or flat griddle.
Roast it well on both sides on low heat.
Baste it with ghee or oil while roasting.
Makes about 3-4 Parathaas.
Serve hot n crisp with anything.
PS:
I also use chutney or jiraman or simple mith mirchi ( salt and Chili)or leftover chutneys in the layers, anything that adds color and flavor.
PAALAK PANEER
An all time favorite veg dish.
8-10 cubes of paneer fried lightly
4 cups of Paalak/ spinach
7-8 cloves Garlic
1″ piece of fresh ginger root
( make a paste of ginger n garlic or grate it)
1 medium onion ( yellow)
1-2 medium tomatoes ( Roma)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp coriander seeds powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 black pepper corns cracked
Salt to taste.
———
Blanch spinach till the midriff becomes soft
Dice it fine and let it cool
Fine dice onion and tomatoes.
Make a paste of ginger garlic or grate it on a braiser
Make 1″x 1″ cubes of Paneer and fry it light golden. Set aside one cube of plain paneer, un-fried.
Heat oil in a shallow pan
Add cumin seeds and cracked pepper. Let it bloom
Add ginger garlic paste flash fry
Follow by quickly adding all the dry ingredients- turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
Quickly add the fine diced onion and tomatoes and fry till the onions look glazed.
Add diced blanched spinach and stir well till all is uniformly blended.
Cook for 3-5 mins on low heat
Add salt to taste. Be easy on the salt as spinach has its own saltiness.
Add the fried paneer cubes and stir.
Turn the heat off.
Transfer to a serving dish and grate the un-fried cube of paneer on top for garnish
Serve with roti or rice.
Makes enough for 3-4 people
RAMPURAWALA DAHI BHALLA
for bhalla- (dumplings)
1 cup Urad daal
1/2 inch fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp salt
Oil to fry.
2 cups water for soaking the fried bhallas,
1 tsp ground black salt
For Dahi-
3 cups plain yogurt ( you can use Nancy’s plain yogurt or greek yogurt too)
1/2″ fresh ginger root fine grated
1/4 cup sugar ( no, the brown sugar doesn’t work)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
For tamarind chutney-
1/4 cup tamarind
1 cup jaggery
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander seed powder
——–
Soak the Urad daal in hot water for 45 mins- an hour,
Remove water , add ginger & salt and grind to a coarse paste
Set aside
Whisk the yogurt and add the fine grated ginger, salt and sugar and give it one more whisk lightly, add half a cup of water if you like it a bit thinner.
Let it chill in the fridge till you prep the rest
Soak the tamarind in warm water for 30 mins. Crunch it with your fingers and remove the undissolved parts to gain a smooth paste. You can also run it through a grinder.
Add jaggery to the paste and cook on low heat, stirring all the time till jaggery melts.
Add chili powder, coriander seeds powder and salt, stir well.
Remove in a separate bowl and let it cool to room temp
Take two cups of water in a bigger bowl and dissolve th black salt in it.
Heat oil
Wet your fingers n palm, keep a tiny bowl in front of you to do that each time
Take a small amount of the urad paste, size of a golf ball and pat it flat on your damp palm
Slide it gently into the hot oil and fry both sides.
Strain it out and dunk in the salt water.
Pull out each bhalla and squeeze the water out by gently pressing it between your palms
Set aside in a bowl until all the bhallas are done
Now assembly is the easiest
Put 2 bhallas in a plate
Pour the dahi mix on top till it drowns the dumplings
Drizzle the tamarind chutney on top
Sprinkle cumin seeds powder and red chili powder
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve cold
METHI (Fenugreek) PATALBHAJI
2 cups fenugreek leaves
3 tbsp besan ( black gram flour)
8-10 peeled garlic cloves
4-5 dry red chili peppers
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 cups water
1 pinch hing
1 pinch of Love
———-
Chop or shred the fenugreek leaves. Fresh is always best, but can also use dried
Rough pound the garlic( not paste)
Add water in the fenugreek and bring it to a boil. 
Add besan to this n stir simultaneously. Doesn’t have to be a paste. The lumps if any get cooked and lend a great texture n taste.
Add turmeric and salt, bring it to a boil.
In a small kadhai (wok) or pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, bloom them n add garlic and Hing. Last add whole dry red chili and take it off the heat
Put the chili powder on the surface of the bhaji, do not stir, dump this oil seasoning on top of the chili powder. It will hiss n sizzle and give a great yummy smoky flavor.
Add a pinch of love and stir ❤
Serve hot with rice/ bhakri/ parathas.
PS: you can buy fenugreek ( methi ) seeds in any grocery store and grow it on the window sill or patio with minimal sunlight.
You can also add raw peanuts.
Lemon- Green Chilli- ginger Pickle
30 lemons
250 gms green chilies
100 gms fresh ginger root
2 tbsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp hing ( asafoetida)
1 Pinch of Love
——–
Cut lemons into as small pieces as you like
De stem the chilies and break them into smaller pieces
Cut ginger into half lengthwise , cut thin half rinds
Take a large mixing bowl and mix everything with a dry spoon/ladle.
Add turmeric, salt and muddle the mix a bit with gentle pressure
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, allow them to bloom, turn the heat off. Add hing. Let the oil cool
Fill the mix in a glass jar.
Add the oil seasoning once it is absolutely cooled.
Put the cap on the jar and leave it alone.
Next day mix everything with a long handle ladle or spoon.
PS : those living outside India- you can get key limes and wrap them in a Turkish towel and leave it in a warm place for a couple if days. They will turn ripe for use.
Substitute green Thai chili peppers or green Jalapenos.
This pickle is also medicinal home remedy for a queasy upset tummy.
Masalas
The spice of life and the life of a dish is all in the Masala! (the spices used)
Masala simply means a mix of various spices used in a specific combination and form. The spices used are not used, “Just Because” or in any random order, or just thrown into the pot or the dish. Each spice has a very specific reason for its use and its hierarchy and form, to complement the dish, its taste and its energy. If it is added to the hot oil, it has to bloom and not burn. specific spices are pre roasted and then pulverized, some used raw.
I have always made my own masalas, and I will be very happy to share those with you here.