Baingan ka bharta

Ingrediants

• Two big brinjals
• Two big tomatoes chopped
• One medium size onion finely chopped
• One green chilly cut into 3-4 pieces
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• One tea-spoon coriander powder
• One tea-spoon cumin seeds
• Half tea-spoon red chilli powder
• Quarter tea-spoon turmeric powder
• Salt as per taste
• Two tea-spoons oil
• Some chopped coriander leaves

Preparation

Make small holes in both the brinjals and insert the chilly and garlic. Roast both the brinjals on gas burners. Peel the skin off. Mash the inside after sprinkling salt over it. Keep aside.

In a pan. Heat the oil and then add the cumin seeds. Add onions when the cumin start to splutter. Add tomatoes when the onion turn brown (don't burn the onion). After a minute or so add the mashed brinjal. Now add all the remaining spices and mix. Cover and cook till the brinjal is soft.

Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander.

 Note. Serves four

Aaaloo Matar ki Sabzi

A popular Indian vegetable dish.

Ingrediants

• Two cups peas
• One big potato cut in small pieces
• One medium size onion finely chopped
• One tea-spoon coriander powder
• One tea-spoon cumin seeds
• Half tea-spoon red chilli powder
• Half tea-spoon garam masala powder
• Quarter tea-spoon turmeric powder
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• Salt as per taste
• Two tea-spoons oil
• Some chopped coriander leaves

Preparation

Heat oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds when it smokes. Add onion after a few seconds. Add all the spices when the onions turn brown (don't burn the onion). Fry for a few seconds and then add peas and potato. Cook till the peas and potato turn soft.

Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander.

 Note. Serves two

Leftover Rice with Vegetables

A good recipe for your leftover rice.

Ingrediants

• One cup boiled rice
• One small onion sliced
• Half cup grated carrot
• Half cup sliced cabbage
• Half cup sliced capsicum
• Half cup green peas
• One tea-spoon soy sauce
• One tea-spoon vinegar
• Two tea-spoons oil
• Some chopped parsley or coriander leaves

Preparation

Heat oil in a wok. Add all the vegetables. Add the vinegar after a minute or so. Let it fry for a few minutes on high heat or when the vegetables turn soft. Now add the rice. Mix well after adding soy sauce. Cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Turn off the heat and garnish with parsley or coriander.

 Note. Serves two

Chicken Pasta

This is good breakfast recipe or whenever you want to eat something light for meal

Ingrediants

• Two cups pasta
• One medium onion chopped
• Two big garlic cloves chopped fine
• One cup minced chicken
• Soy sauce, chilli flakes, salt & pepper as per taste
• Half cup tomato ketchup/puree or one medium tomato chopped
• One-fourth cup oil
• Some chopped parsley or coriander leaves

Preparation

Boiled the pasta separately.

Heat oil in a wok. Add onion and garlic when it's hot. Let it fry for a couple of minutes on high heat or when it's transparent. Now add the minced chicken. Lower the heat and cook till the chicken is well cooked.

Now add all the remaining ingredients including the pasta. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and garnish with parsley or coriander.

 Note. Serves two

Fruit Chaat

Fruit chaat is a popular iftaar dish during Ramadan in the Indian households. The preparation is pretty simple-

Ingrediants

• Two bananas sliced
• One apple cut into small pieces
• Handful of grapes, cut into two halves
• 6-7 small slices of pineapple

These are the bare minimum fruits required. You can have additional fruits for colour.

Preparation

Put all the fruits in a bowl and add chaat masala, two small spoons of sugar (or more as per taste), and the juice of half a lemon. Black pepper powder can also be used instead of chaat masala. You can also squeeze in the juice of an orange for extra taste.

Leave the bowl for at least half an hour. Mix the ingrediants only before serving.

Note. Serves three