Easy Indian Starter Recipe – Stuffed Besan Chilla

Besan Cheela or chilla is a savoury Indian Pancake made with Chickpea (garbanzo beans flour), here we are making cones out of this crepe and stuffing it with delicious mushroom filling. Enjoy it with sauce/chutney of your choice. These stuffed crepes are gluten free, vegan and quick to make. You can pack these in Kids lunch boxes or even quickly whip it for friends or family when they come over for a cup of tea. It is a great little snack to enjoy without any guilt as its quite healthy.

Ingredients/ Method

For Stuffing: Onions, mushrooms, Spinach, cilantro and spices (Salt, Red chilli powder, Turmeric)

For Pancake

1 cup Besan /Gram Flour
1/2 tsp ajwain (carom or caraway seeds)
1/2 tsp Black Pepper powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp pudina powder ( Dired ground mint leaves)
1 tsp Mango Powder
Oil for cooking

Prepare the stuffing and set aside.
Make Batter by adding water to gram flour and add in spices.
Cook on hot skillet with a little bit oil until brown on both sides.
Once pancakes are ready, make cones out of them and fill with the stuffing and serve with chutney of choice.

Traditional Style Besan Ka Puda recipe – Besan Chilla Recipe

Masala Pancake Recipes – Spicy Besan Ka Puda

Easy Masala Noodles Bowl Recipe | Quick Homemade Noodles Recipe

I love Noodles and here i share with you a very easy and tasty Noodles recipe- I call it Masala Noodle bowl which i think is better than even Maggi.

Ingredients:

300 gms of Noodles of your choice. I used Chowmein ( a local brand)
2-3 cup fresh veggies ( I used cilantro, onions, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers)
2-3 tbsp veg oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp curry powder

Curry powder recipe:
Here’s how you can make Curry Powder at Home

Begin by boiling noodles and set them aside.
In a wok add oil and saute noodles and mix in spices and veggies. Squeeze in lemon and Serve hot or cold.

Don’t forget to check out some of our favourite Noodles Recipes which are simple enough to be recreated at home quickly.

Simple Tofu Manchurian Recipe | How to make tasty Tofu dish?

Tofu Manchurian is a healthy, quick, vegan and flavourful dish that you can easily prepare at home and enjoy on its own or with rice, noodles or even quinoa.

Ingredients/ Method

350 gm firm Tofu

For marinading Tofu:
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp Soy sauce and 1/4 cup water

2- 4 tbsp oil
1 onion
1 small green chilli
2 tbsp each Ginger and garlic chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Red chilli flakes
1 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 green bell pepper
1 cup water + 1 tbsp corn starch to make gravy

Garnish: green onions chopped

Method:

– Cut Tofu into bite size pieces.
– Mix all marinade spices and soak Tofu in the marinade for atleast 10 mins. Longer the better. Tofu can soak in flavour from the spices.
– Next when you are ready to cook, heat oil in a pan and fry tofu until golden brown and set aside.
– In the same wok or another, heat oil and stir in Onions, ginger garlic, green chillies and salt and chilli flakes. Let the onions become translucent. Add in bell peppers, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir fry for few more mins and then add water ( in which we have dissolved corn starch). Allow the water to evaporate. Tofu will become glossy and gravy will thicken up. Garnish with green onions and serve with rice, noodles or quinoa.

If you like Tofu, you might also enjoy these five delicious Tofu recipes from our kitchen:

1. New Delhi Tofu Peas Curry Recipe
2. Tofu Scramble Recipe
3. Tandoori Tofu Recipe
4.Saag Tofu Curry Recipe
5. Tofu Tikka Masala Recipe

Mini homemade veg Crepes – Easy snack ideas

This is an easy recipe which shows how to prepare Instant Idli batter at home using Sooji/Rava ( Semolina/Cream of Wheat) and yogurt. You can then prepare these crepes instead of vegetable idlis to enjoy as a snack, for breakfast or for the road.

Ingredients/ Method
1 cup Sooji/ Cream of wheat
1 cup yogurt
1/2 to 1 cup water
Spices as per your taste. 1 tsp Salt/ 1 tsp red chilli pwd ( or for milder version- Paprika)/ 1 tsp dry mint powder (Pudina powder)
1 -2 cup of veggies of your choice. I add: Peppers, onions, carrots and spinach. Mushroom is a good one to add. My mom adds tomatoes which I am not too found of them in this batter.

Prepare the batter with Yogurt, sooji and water. Add veggies. Add spices and then cook for 5 mins on a skillet with a little bit of oil. Enjoy with tomato chutney.

Quick Lunch Ideas – 5 min Ricotta and Peas Sabji

Do you like Ricotta? How about trying this delicious, flavourful Ricotta- Peas dish which goes well with any kind of flatbread or simply enjoy it on its own 🙂 This recipe is for 1- 2 people.

Ingredients/ Method

1/2 cup Peas
1/2 cup Ricotta
small piece of onion chopped
1/2 cup of tomatoes chopped
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
1-2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt per taste
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd/Paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric (Haldi)
Optional- 1/4 tsp garam masala or seasoning pepper
Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves

– Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds. Saute some onions/garlic/ Peas. Add spices. Add tomatoes. give few more mins for all flavours to mingle. Add ricotta. Mix well. Add pepper. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves and serve with roti or your fav flatbread.

Easy Tofu and Broccoli Curry Recipe ( Quick Lunch Ideas)

I like eating Tofu and here is a flavourful curry dish with tofu, Broccoli and Bell Peppers. If you enjoy eating tofu then definitely check out our tasty Tofu recipes.

Ingredients/ Method:

650 gms Extra Firm Tofu
1-2 cups of bell peppers chopped
1-2 cups of broccolli
1/2 cup sliced onions
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup of water

Marinade for Tofu

3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic salt, regular salt, paprika and ginger powder
2-3 tbsp oil for frying.

Method:
1. Cut extra firm Tofu in bite size pieces and marinade overnight ( or atleast an hr)
2. Pan fry in hot il until all sides are lovely golden.
3. While tofu is frying, in a wok heat oil and fry onions and garlci for 2-3 mins. Add bell peppers and broccolli. Mix thoroughly and then add spices ( except curry powder).
4. Cover and cook for 4-5 mins. While veggies are cooking mix corn starch in water and set aside.
5. Add curry powder, Tofu , and water ( with corn starch). Bring it to a boil. Simmer for 2 mins and serve with rice, noodles or enjoy on its own.

Five most simple East Indian dishes

The most common food in the world is Potato and it is found in abundance in India too.

Five very simple and quick East Indian entree’s involving potatoes are:

1. Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower & potato dish)

2. Aloo- Shimla mirch (Potato & Capsicum/Green Pepper dish)

3. Aloo- Gajar (Potato & carrot dish)

4. Aloo- Matar (Potatoes & Peas)

5. Aloo- Baingan (Potato & Egg Plant)

Aloo- Gobi Ingredients :
1 large cauliflower
2 potatoes, peeled & diced
1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
1 green chillies
1 onion, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes or paprika or red chilli powder
1 tsp Garam masala
½ tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp oil or ghee
/clarified butter
2 tsp ginger-garlic finely chopped or paste

Directions :

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, allow to splutter.
Add onion and green chilli, saute till pink.
Add ginger -garlic and all spices.
Add potatoes and cauliflower chunks.
Cover the pan and let it cook until vegetables are soft. Usually takes about 10 minutes.
Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
Garnish with coriander/cilantro and enjoy with Roti or naan.

(Note: If you want to have some gravy in the dish then make a paste out of onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes cilantro/coriander, little bit of water and 2 spoons of yogurt and add in the ghee before adding potatoes and cauliflower)

Cauliflower can be substituted with Peas, Carrots, Green Pepper or Egg Plant to make an alternate dish.

– It is Turmeric and East Indian spices in Garam Masala (blend of various spices, easily available at big superstores or East Indian Grocery shops) that give color, taste and nice flavor to these East Indian Entrees.

Until next time, Happy Cooking!