PANEER PULAO

Ingredients 

Basmati rice -1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Green chillies - 2

Whole Garam Masala -(Cloves -2, Cardamom-1,Cinnamon-1 inch piece)

Peas - 1/2 cup

Mix bell pepper – ½ cup (optional)

Paneer cubes - 15-20 small cubes

Mint leaves -handful

Coriander leaves - handful

Ginger- paste -1 tsp

Lemon juice -1 tbsp

Oil- 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt as required

Preparation

Wash and soak basmati rice for 20 minutes. Drain and keep it aside

Shallow fry panner cubes in oil till golden brown. Put them in warm water with a little salt for 5 minutes. Drain and keep it aside. Cut the paneer into small cubes.

Chop bell pepper, slit green chillies.

Method

Heat oil , add whole garam masala, then add chopped bell peppers, green chilli and saute .

Add ginger paste and saute for some more time.

Add peas, coriander leaves, mint leaves, rice and saute for a few more seconds.

Add 2 cups of boiling water, lemon juice, salt required and pressure cook rice for 3 whistles.

Then add fried paneer cubes to the cooked rice, mix well and serve with yougurt or any gravy or just potato chips.

Methi salan

Ingredients

• 2 bunch Methi leaves
• 5 tbsp besan
• 1tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin seed
• ½ tsp musterd seed
• 2-3 green chillies chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp garam masala
• salt as per taste
• 2 tblsp oil

Method

1.       Take a pan dry rost the besan till golden brown and keep aside.
2.      Finely chop methi leaves  and wash it properly.
3.     Now in a pan  heat oil and musterd,  jeera  and green chillies
4.       Add the Methi and all the spices.
5.       Let the methi cook for 4-5 min on mediam flame with lid closed.
6.      Once the methi is cooked add the besan ans stir it for 1-2 min
7.     Add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve Methi salan with warm roti.

STUFFED KARELA

Ingredients

For the Marinate:

▪   5  karela

▪   1 tablespoon salt

▪   1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the Filling

▪   2 tablespoons oil

▪   1 teaspoon cumin seeds

▪   2 tablespoons peanuts crushed

▪   2 tablespoons gram flour

▪   2 tablespoons coriander powder

▪   1 tablespoon fennel seeds powder

▪   1 1/2 teaspoon salt

▪   1/2 teaspoon turmeric

▪   1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

▪   1 teaspoon garam masala

▪   1 1/2 tablespoon mango powder

▪   1 teaspoon sugar

For Cooking Step

▪   2 tablespoons of oil

▪   1/2 teaspoon salt

Also need some thread to wrap the filled karelas before cooking.

Method:

1.  Wash karelas thoroughly and using a knife, scrape the skin. Set the scrapes aside.
2.   Make a slit in the karelas length wise and remove the seeds.
3.  Add karelas and the skin scrapings to a bowl. Mix and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice. Let it marinate for at least 30 min.
4. Squeeze the karelas to remove all the marinade. Wash karelas twice with hot water and then squeeze out all the water.
5.  Separate the scrapings from the whole karelas.

Preparing the Filling:

1.  Heat the oil in a saucepan.
2.   Add the cumin seeds in oil. After the cumin seeds crack, add the karela scrapings and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
3. Add gram flour  and stir-fry for another minute.
4.  Add all the remaining dry spices coriander powder, fennel powder, turmeric, chili powder, crushed peanuts, garam masala and mango powder. Sauté for a minute and then turn off the heat.
5.   Stuff the split karelas with this spice mixture (there should be some spice mix remaining, which will be used later). Tie the karelas with a thread so that the stuffing does not come out while cooking.

Cooking the Stuffed karelas:

1.   Add 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Spread the stuffed karelas in the pan and sprinkle with salt. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Turn the karelas over to the uncooked side and cook for about 1 minute. Repeat until all four sides of the karelas are cooked.
3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water and the remaining spice mixture over the karelas. Cover the pan and let it cook for 2 more minutes.  Remove the lid to see if the karelas are tender. Gently turn them over a few more times, making sure they are covered with the spice mixture.
4. Remove the threads.
5.  Stuffed karela can be served hot or cold and can be refrigerated up to a week.

RAW ENERGY BITES

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried apricots

1/4 cup dates

1 cup mix nuts

1/2 tsp almond extract or vanilla

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)


Directions

- Soak dried apricot and dates in water until they are soft

- In a food processor, grind nuts until they have a mealy texture and place them in a bowl.

- Squeeze water from dried fruits and place them in a food processer and grind them until they are slightly mushed. 

- Combine them with nuts using a spatula. Add almond extract and unsweetened cacao to the mix if desired.

- Leave it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, covered if the mixture feels liquidy, otherwise form them into balls.

 Used individual mini muffin liners to prevent them from sticking. 

-Store them in an airtight container.