Mix Veg

Ingredients ( serves 4)

• Potato 2 medium
Carrot 1 big/ 110 gms

French beans 15-20/120 gms

Cauliflower florets about 1 cup/about 120 gms

Paneer 100 gms

Green peas ½ cup

Corn kernels ½ cup

Onion 1 (100 gms)

Green chili 1-2

Ginger 1 inch piece

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Asafoetida 2 pinches

Bay leaves 2

Coriander powder 2 tsp

Red chili powder ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder ¼ tsp

Kasoori methi 1 tbsp

Garam masala ½ tsp

Amchoor powder/ Khatai ½ tsp

Salt 1 tsp/ to taste

Oil 2-3 tbsp

Green coriander leaves, chopped 2 tbsp

Method of preparation:

1. Cut the paneer into half inch squares.
2. Peel off onion, remove the skin of ginger, remove the stem of the green chilies, and wash them. Finely cut chili and ginger. Chop the onions.
3. Peel off, wash, and cut the carrots into about half inch squares.
4. Remove the sides of the French beans. Wash and cut the beans into half inch pieces. Wash and cut the cauliflower into small florets.
5. Peel, wash and cut potatoes into a half inch squares.
6. Wash green peas and corn kernels ad keep aside.
7. Heat oil in a wok on medium heat . Add cumin seeds. When seeds change the color, add asafoetida. Add bay leaves and fry for a few seconds. Add chopped onions and fry until onions are translucent.
8. Reduce the heat and add grated ginger and chopped chilies and fry again for a few seconds.
9. Add turmeric powder, carrots, french beans, cauliflower florets,and potato pieces. Mix well and fry all the veggies for a couple of minutes. Add salt, red chili powder and coriander powder. Mix well and cover the lid. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
10. Add corn kernels, green peas, paneer pieces, and kasoori methi. Mix well and fry for a minute. Cover the lid and cook until veggies are done.
11. Add garam masala, and amchoor powder. Mix gently and fry for a couple of minutes.Turn off the heat.
12. Dry mix veg is ready. Garnish the delicious veggies with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves.
13. Serve with roti, poori or naan or the Indian bread of your choice.

Some Tips/ Suggestions:

1. I have used carrots, green peas, potatoes, beans, and cauliflower etc for this recipe. You can also use other mix veggies according to your taste and availability.
2. You can also add chopped tomato in this veg preparation.

Seitan

Ingredients:

For Seitan:

Wheat Flour-250gm

Red chilly Powder-1/2tsp

Coriander Powder-1/2tsp

Garam masala Powder-1/2tsp

Salt-to taste

Water-3/4cup

For the poaching liquid:

Water-8cups

Onion-1no

Garlic-3pods

Raddish-1

Tomato (grind to a fine paste)-3

Bay leaf-1

Cinnamon-1stick

Cabbage-1/4cup

Salt-to taste

For the tomato sauce:

Tomato-4

Garlic-2 pods

Red Chilly powder-1/2tsp

Coriander powder-1/2tsp

Oil-3tbs

Clove-2

Salt-to taste

 Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients given for sietan to a firm dough.
2. Let it rest for 1 hour.
3. In a wide bowl take water. Keep a strainer into the water.
4. Drop the dough into the strainer and start washing it.
5. The starch will be separated from the dough and the water will become milky.
6. Change water and repeat process till the water becomes white.
7. Again change water and repeat process until the gluten is completely separated from the starch.
8. In a white cloth place the gluten and roll the cloth and tie the ends. Keep it a little loose because the sietan expands when poaching.
9. In a rice cooker add all the ingredients given for poaching liquid.
10. Let it boil for 45minutes.
11. Place the cloth roll inside the liquid and let it boil for 1 hour.
12. The seitan will become hard to touch.
13. Remove from liquid and let it cool.
14. Remove seitan from cloth and make thin slices.
15. In a pan heat oil and add cloves and tomatoes.
16. Saute till the tomatoes are mashed.
17. Add salt, red chilly and coriander powder.
18. Cook till the raw smell vanishes.
19. Grind it to a fine paste.
20. Serve with the poached seitans.

Apple Pie

Recipe Source: vegrecipesofindia

 

For Crust

• 1 cup whole wheat flour/atta
• ½ cup all purpose flour/maida
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ⅓ cup water at room temperature
• ½ tsp salt or as required

for the apple filling:

• 2 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder/dal chini powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg/jaiphal
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour/atta
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar/brown sugar/regular sugar
• a few dots of oil or butter to top the filling

other ingredients:

• some cinnamon powder and organic unrefined cane sugar/brown sugar/regular sugar for sprinkling
• a few teaspoons of soy milk/almond milk or dairy milk for glazing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. sieve or mix all the dry ingredients together - whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and salt.
2. add the olive oil and with your fingers mix the oil in the flour evenly to get a breadcrumb consistency. this step should be done properly and this results in giving a flaky texture to the crust. the whole mixture should look like breadcrumbs.
3. add water and just bind the whole mixture together. don't knead. gather everything and form a dough. don't over do.
4. peel, core and slice the apples.
5. mix the cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, demerara sugar and whole wheat flour into the apples.
6. preheat your oven.
7. grease your pie pan or pans with olive oil.
8. divide the dough into two or four equal parts depending on the size of your pie pans.
9. roll the divided parts of the dough on a dusted work surface.
10. cover the rolled pie crusts with a napkin so that they don't dry out.
11. place one of the rolled pie crust gently on a greased pan and press it towards the bottom and the edges.
12. arrange the apple slices with the filling evenly on the bottom pie crust.
13. top the apple slices with dots of butter or a few drops of olive oil.
14. cover the pan with another rolled pie crust and fold the edges of the top crust over and under the bottom edges. flute the edges.
15. you can also cut strips from the rolled dough and create a lattice pie crust.
16. cut through the top pie crust with a fork or knife from top so as to allow steam to pass whilst baking.
17. brush with soy milk or any milk and sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon powder on top.
18. bake the apple pies in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C for 50-60 mins or till the crust has become golden and crisp.
19. serve the apple pie warm or when at room temperature.
20. you can refrigerate or freeze the pies. wrap the apple pies when they completely cool down in a cling film or store them in an air tight container and refrigerate or freeze.

 

 

Another method

 

Source Amrita Vishal

 

Pie shell:

• 1/2 cup+4 tbsp all purpose flour
• 30 gms unsalted butter cubes(cold)
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• A little cold water for kneading

Filling:

• 2 medium apples 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar (powdered)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

Procedure:

Pie shell:

Take flour in a bowl, add butter and rub lightly into flour with your fingertips till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add sugar, milk and cold water (1 tbsp at a time) and knead the mixture to get a smooth dough.

Wrap in a plastic sheet and refrigerate for half an hour.

Take out the dough (reserve some for the topping)and roll it with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Roll it roughly to a circle with 1/8" thickness. 

Gently press the dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the tart tin. Trim excess dough.

Make holes on the sides and bottom with a fork and refrigerate for another half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Bake the tarts for 15-20 mins or till they get a light brown colour. Take them out and let them cool.

For a step by step illustration of the above steps please refer

Filling:

Peel and core the apples. Chop them in pieces and toss immediately with lemon juice to prevent discolouration.

Place the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. When butter has melted, add the apples and cinnamon powder. 

Stir to coat. 

Assembly:

Place the filling in the prepared pie shell with a slotted spoon to drain the excess liquid. 

Reduce the liquid in a saucepan over medium heat to a thick consistency. Now add this thickened fragrant liquid over the chopped apples.

Roll the reserved dough and cut thin strips. Place them on the pie shell with the filling in a lattice arrangement(crisscross) Trim excess. Refrigerate for half an hour(helps the dough to set and prevents shrinkage)

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Bake the pie or 15-20 mins or till the pastry on top gets a light brown colour.

Egg Biryani

EGG BIRYANI RECIPEPreparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 2
Recipe: cookingandme.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp of ghee
• Half a fistful of whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise, and one bay leaf (use  whatever you have in hand)
• A small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
• A small bunch of mint leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2" piece of ginger
• 1.5 cups of large onions, sliced long
• 1/2 cup of cubed ripe tomato
• 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of jeera or cumin
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds or sombu (perumjeerakam)
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 2 cups of thick coconut milk (optional)
• 1-2 tsp of biryani masala or garam masala
• 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste (freshly made is best)
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup of cashew nuts and more coriander leaves and mint leaves, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

This is the order in which I made the egg biryani. Adapt to suit your convenience and time in hand. Check notes at the end of the recipe below for some tips on preparation ahead of time if you are making egg biryani for guests.

0. Wash and leave the basmati to soak in some water before proceeding with the next steps.

1. Start with a medium-sized pan and heat 2 tbsp ghee. Add the cashew nuts and fry until golden. Drain and set aside.

2. To the same pan, add half of the sliced onions. Fry until golden, drain and set aside. We'll use these and the cashew nuts for garnish before serving.

  

2. Grind together - coriander leaves + mint leaves + green chillies + ginger + garlic + salt.

  

3. In the same pan with the ghee (add some more ghee if needed), add whatever whole spices you are using. I only had cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

4. Once the spices turn fragrant (about 15 seconds), add the ground paste and fry for another 30 seconds or so. Turn off flame.

  

5. Add the soaked rice and this fried spice mixture along with 1.5 cups (adjust to your cooking method) to a rice cooker or pressure cooker. Leave it to cook while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

PS: once the rice cooks, fluff it gently with a fork so it doesn't get more mushy.

  

6. Next, let's boil the eggs. I got this fail-proof method from Martha Stewart to make perfect hard boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a pan large enough to hold them without overlapping. Add enough tap water to cover them fully by an inch. Bring to a rolling boil, let it boil for 1 minute, and then turn off the flame. Cover fully with a lid and let it sit for 15 mins. Take eggs out and peel under running water. There you go - perfect hard-boiled eggs.

Let the eggs cook while you start off with the masala part of the egg biryani.

7. Heat 2 tbsp ghee and add the remaining sliced onions. As they begin to brown, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 10 seconds.

  

8. Next, add the spices and powders - coriander, turmeric, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, chilli powder. Saute until they are roasted, about 10 seconds. Top off with the chopped tomatoes and more coriander leaves and mint leaves

9. Saute until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy and the mixture is cooked. This will take about 5 mins or so.

10. Next, add the coconut milk. You can also use water instead of coconut milk, I just happen to love biryani made with coconut milk. If using coconut milk, add the 2 cups + 1/2 cup of water just to thin it out a bit.

11. Let the mixture simmer on low flame for about 10 mins until the masala becomes thick-ish. Add salt and garam masala or biryani masala now, mix well, and turn off flame. The ghee will be visible on top of the masala. That's when you kinda know it's done.

12. Almost done! Mix the cooked rice to the masala until nicely combined. If you want the marbled look, don't overmix, just lightly mix for an uneven look.

  

13. Add the sliced, boiled egg on top and cover with rice. Pat down tightly and cover. Let the biryani sit for atleast one hour for the flavours to blend.

Garnished with the fried onions, cashew nuts, and more coriander leaves before serving.