Coconut ladoo will surely delight anyone with a sweet tooth. Fairly easy to prepare, this is one of my fav among Indian sweets.

Ingredients:

Fresh Coconut 2 cups
Sugar 1 cup or to taste
Ghee 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

Heat a wide pan on medium heat, add ghee, fresh coconut and sugar.
Fry until the sugar solution thickens a little, remove from heat.
Don’t wait until the sugar caramelizes.
Let the mixture cool, roll it into lemon sized balls and serve.
This coconut ladoo stays fresh for few days.

Notes: Don’t over fry the coconut mixture. This ladoo is supposed to be soft and white.

Vegetable cutlets are amongst the popular indian starters/snacks. They are a delight to the taste buds. This recipe will help you cook tasty veg cultets.

Ingredients:

120 gm French beans-strung and blanched

120 gm bottle gourd-peeled and grated

120 gm cauliflower-grated

1/2 cup carrots-grated

1 cup potatoes-boiled and mashed

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp ginger-chopped fine

2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp amchoor

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp green chillies-chopped fine

2 eggs-slightly beaten

1/2 cup refined flour

dried bread crumbs to coat the cutlets

1 tbsp oil

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Method:

Chop the beans fine.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add cumin and ginger. Stir-fry till well mixed and add the beans, gourd, cauliflower and carrots and stir over high heat to dry off the excess moisture.

Add the coriander, amchoor, salt and chillies, turn around a few times and shut off the heat.

When cool mix in the potato. Form into round or oval cutlets.

Dust the cutlets with refined flour, then dip into the beaten egg. Now coat with the crumbs. Repeat by dipping the crumbed cutlets into egg and crumbs once more.

Deep-fry the cutlets to a golden color and serve.

This dish tastes better with keeping. It is particularly good if made a few hours in advance, and allowed to rest at room temperature before being reheated and served. This dish keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and also freezes well. Before serving, taste for salt, and if necessary, fold in a little garam masala.

Ingredients:

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For The Lamb
500 g lamb fillets
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 bunch spinach leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh cream
ghee [clarified butter] for tempering

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For The Marinade
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 green chillies
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
4 cloves of garlic
1″ piece of ginger
1″ piece of cinammon

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Method:

Assemble all the ingredients for the marinade. Roughly grind them using a mortar and pestle till a rustic,chunky paste is formed. Cut lamb fillets into small, even sized pieces. Combine lamb and marinade in a glass bowl and toss well, coating the lamb evenly with the marinade.

Heat ghee [2 tsp] in a wide, flat bottomed pan. Add the marinated lamb and cook on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring and tossing well. Add the onions and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cream. Adjust the seasoning and simmer covered with a lid for approximately 20 minutes on low heat.

Serving suggestions
Serve hot with ‘rotis’ or naan bread.

Nothing like a chilled lassi during a hot summer day or after a tiring day. Lassi has many health benefits too.

Ingredients:

Sweet Mango 1
Plain Yogurt 1 1/2 cups
Honey to taste (optional)

Method of preparation:

Wash, peel, deseed and chop mango roughly.
Blend mango pieces, yogurt and honey smoothly.
Finally add ice cubes and blend again.
Pour into glasses with icecubes and serve instantly.

Palak paneer is a very common North Indian dish made with spinach and Paneer(Indian cheese). Spinach, needlees to say is a very healthy and nutritious food. This is a recipe adapted from sanjeev Kapoor’s website. It is easy to make with lots of spinach and less spices so that the u get the flavour of the spinach very well.

Ingredients

Spinach- 1 large bunch
paneer- 3/4 pack chopped into cubes
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
garlic- 3 cloves chopped fine
milk- 1/2 cup
salt to taste
oil/butter- 2 tbsp
heavy cream(optional)- 1tbsp
green chillies-3- 4 green chillies
bayleaves- 2
kasoori methi- 1/4 tsp

Method

Heat 2 tsp of oil/ butter in a pan and add cumin seeds,chopped garlic and green chillies. when it turns golden brown add washed and chopped spinach. saute for 2 mins .Grind this into a fine paste when cool.
Heat the remaining oil/butter in the same pan and add bay leaves and the ground paste. Add the milk to it. Let it boil and add salt , kasoori methi and chopped paneer cubes. Simmer the flame and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Garnish with cream.

Note

U can replace paneer with Tofu
U can fry the the paneer in butter/oil and soak in hot water too. finally squeeze the water and add to the gravy.
U can add onions , tomatoes, chilli powder and coriander powder to get more gravy.

A recipe basically from Delhi, which is called murgh makhani or Butter chicken, murgh is chicken and makhan is butter in Hindi. It is quiet popular all over the world. The taste of this dish varies with the spices used for cooking. Unknowingly or knowingly u cook chicken in home made tomato sauce. Why dont you try this?

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:
chicken - 1 kg
butter - 25 gms
to marinate:
yogurt - 3 tbsp
lime - 1 small
salt to taste
cumin powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
chilly powder - 1 tsp
yellow/orange colour - 1/4 tsp
gravy:
butter - 25 gms
chilly powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
cumin powder - 2 tsp
blackpepper- 2 tsp
tomato - 5 big
ginger - 1″ piece(julienned)
sugar - 1 tsp
salt to taste
cream - 2 tsp
green chilly - 3 (finely chopped)
garnishing:
grated cheese/butter
cream
croianderleaves(fresh and chopped finely)

Method of Preparation:
Cut chicken into 8 - 10 pieces, wash and strain
prick pieces with a fork and mix with the ingredients given for, and marinate for 2 hrs
after 2 hrs, melt 25 gms of butter in a wide pan, add chicken pieces, cover and cook until the meat becomes tender.

When it’s done well, leave the pan opened and cook on low heat to dry up the extra fluid in the pan, stir alternatively inorder to avoid burning.

Melt butter in another pan and add all the powder spices and fry for a minute

Add chopped tomatoes and ginger with sugar and salt to taste and fry till the fat separates
stir in well beaten cream and reduce the heat.

Add chicken and finely chopped greenchillies, mix well, cover and cook on low heat for 5 mins
serve it garnished with grated cheese/butter, whipped cream and finely chopped coriander leaves
serve it with ghee rice or parantha or chappatti or with anything of your choice.

Note: you can use almonds/cashewnut paste inorder to thicken the gravy