Makai Ki Subzi (Corn in Tomato Gravy) with Masala Paratha

Corn in Tomato Gravy - Makai ki Subzi

Corn in Tomato Gravy - Makai ki Subzi

Its Snowing again. Just had another Snow Storm yesterday, but it was'nt as bad as the last two ones we had this month. It makes me happy to know that Spring is just round the corner. Since kids are home- enjoying their No School days and we parents have been busy keeping them busy. This was my son's request for lunch today. I have'nt made these Parathas for a while and both my kids love corn which explains this combination. This was what we are having for lunch, Would you care to join us ....

Makai Ki Subzi - Corn in Tomato Gravy

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups frozen corn(Makai)
• 1/2 cup red onion puree
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 green chilli slit
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Preparation :Heat oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf. Add the pureed onion and saute till you no longer get the raw onion smell. Add the gingen-garlic paste. Saute for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree. Fry for about 2-3 minutes. Add the slit green chilli, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix it well. Add the frozen corn. Stir it well. Add about 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Cook on medium flame for about 6-8 minutes. Makai ki Subzi is ready to serve with Masala Paratha/Besan Paratha. This recipe serves 4.
Masala Paratha/Besan Paratha- Indian Bread
Ingredients:

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Besan/Chickpea flour
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• pinch of hing/Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 1 cup of water for kneading the dough
• oil for shallow frying the Parathas

You could need a little more water when kneading the dough but do not add too much water or the dough would be too sticky to roll out the parathas.
Preparation :
Here is the way I made my Ajwain Parathas. You can make this Masala Paratha the same way. This Recipe makes 12 parathas. Enjoy the hot shallow fried Parathas with Makai ki Subzi. In fact these Masala Parathas could be enjoyed just by themselves as well.

Paneer Cilantro Pilaf

I personally love one pot meals. Pilaf or Pulav is one such versatile one pot meal which you could make it with almost any ingredient you have in your refrigerator or pantry. Today I wanted our humble fresh Cilantro leaves to play an important role in this dish. Mostly it serves its purpose so well as a garnish or a dip. But not today, here its an integral part of this Pilaf. Try it our for yourself and you will fall in love with it too. Also it makes me feel so good when working with fresh herbs.




Ingredients:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 cups paneer diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 green chillies slit
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• cinnamon stick
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste

Preparation :

• Wash and Soak 2 cups of rice in 4 cups of water. Keep this aside for around 15-20 minutes.
• Heat some oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, black cardamom and cinnamon stick. Add the grated ginger. Fry for a minute. Next add green chillies and chopped cilantro. Mix it well and add the diced Paneer and fry for about 2 minutes.

• Then add turmeric powder, salt, red chilli powder and cumin-coriander powder.
• Add rice with the water which we had kept aside earlier. Let this cook uncovered on medium flame. Now when you see that most of the water has dried up (like 85-90%) set the stove to the lowest flame and c0ver the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Its ready to serve. Serve with Raita of your choice. The entire process should not take more than 35-40 minutes.
• This recipe serves 4.

Baked Potato Wedges

I'm in a mood for these delicious mouth watering Potato wedges maybe say on a rainy day and on snow days which we have been blessed with so many this winter and I'm ready for Spring already or even Summer. These Potato wedges are super easy to make. They are so easy that even a caveman can make these (wait will he not need an oven..oh well, its just a thought. )

Ingredients:

• 4 Russet Potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• McCormick Barbecue Seasoning

Preparation :

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Wash the potatoes well and pat them dry. Cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1/4 inch wedges. (About 10 wedges per potato).
3. In a bowl mix olive oil and the barbecue seasoning(about 1 tbsp). Add the potato wedges and toss to coat.
4. Take a greased baking sheet and arrange the wedges in a single layer.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes until the wedges are golden brown and crispy. Toss once after the first 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning( salt) and serve immediately.
6. This recipe serves 4. I have used one potato per person. So you could accordingly tweak this recipe if you are making for more. Enjoy these crispy oven baked Potato wedges with a cup or two of hot ginger tea or coffee.

I have used McCormick Barbecue Seasoning. Now the McCormick Barbecue Seasoning has the following in case you would want to make your own mix- Brown Sugar, Salt, spices(including red pepper), tomato, garlic, onion , Red bell peppers and parsley. You could even use salt and red chilli powder and they are good as well .

Hara Bhara Kebab - Valentine's Day Special.

Wishing all of you my wonderful readers, A Happy Valentine's Day. !!!. Though many consider Valentine's Day a Hallmark holiday for me its my favorite holiday. I love this day so much , which explains my wedding anniversary to be on Valentine's Day. This was the only prerequisite I had when wedding arrangements were going on and when asked what would I like, there was only one thing on my wishlist - to get married on Valentine's Day... This day does have a magical effect on people.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups frozen cut spinach
• 3 medium sized potatoes- boiled and mashed
• 1/2 cup broccoli finely chopped
• 1/2 Avocado mashed
• 1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh Cilantro finely chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp Amchur powder(dry mango powder)
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• oil for shallow frying

You could add a little more bread crumbs to the kebab mixture if you are unable to shape them into kebabs , due to the moisture content in the spinach.
Preparation :

• In a Colander, run the frozen spinach under running hot water and squeeze all the liquid and make it as dry as possible. You could even thaw the spinach by keeping it out and once its at room temperature just squeeze the liquid.
• Now in a bowl, add the spinach, chopped broccoli , Avocado, mashed potatoes, Jalapeno pepper, ginger, Cilantro, salt, amchur powder and mix it well. Next add the lime juice and mix. Add the bread crumbs.

• Divide the mixture into 12 -14 equal portions. Shape it into the desired shape. You could even make it heart shaped for Valentine's day. I just made them into round disk shapes(like tikkis) and elongated kebabish shape.
• Shallow fry on a griddle or a Tawa. Just fry for couple minutes on each side till you get a nice golden brown color.
• Ready to serve with tomato ketchup or green cilantro chutney. This Recipe serves 4.

Seviyan Kheer - Semiya Payasam - Sweet Vermicelli Pudding -

Seviyan Kheer is a great Indian dessert and I absolutely love it. The best part is, it is so easy to prepare and yet tastes divine. Traditionally in India, Seviyan Kheer is associated with the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. In Southern part of India its also known as Semiya Payasam and its made during the festivals of Onam (harvest festival of Kerala) and Vishu (New year). For a person like me who loves to celebrate Life itself and since food is a great way to celebrate.So grab a bowl and spoon and lets Celebrate LIFE.!!!!. For those of you who have made new year's resolution of staying away from desserts and anything sweet......Please do not be mad at ME.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vermicelli broken into small pieces
• 5 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 green cardamons -crushed
• 1/4 cup raisins and chopped nuts(almonds, cashews, pistacchios)
• 2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter

Preparation:

1. Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan and fry the rasins and the chopped nuts. Keep it aside.
2. Next in the same pan, roast the vermicelli till golden brown. Do this on a medium low flame. Keep it aside.
3. Now add milk to the pan and bring it to a boil. Add sugar and the crushed cardamons. Let the milk simmer on a low flame for about 15 minutes.
4. Add the fried rasins and nuts and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. All the various flavors of the nuts will be infused in this milk.
5. Now add the roasted Vermicelli kept aside. Let this simmer for about 5-8 minutes.
6. Your delicious Seviyan Kheer is ready to serve. This kheer can be enjoyed hot or cold. Leftovers if you have any tastes just as good. This kheer does have the tendency to thicken up. If that happens, do not panic just add some warm milk to it, adjust the sugar and ENJOY.
   Alright gals and guys , if you could all excuse me please, Let me help myself to another bowl of Seviyan.

CAUTION: Its going to be very hard to restrict youself to just one bowl/helping of Kheer. If you intend to share it with your loved ones..Now would be a good time to serve Seviyan into their respective bowls ...before you indulge in tasting your share..Don't tell me I did not WARN YOU !!!! How would I know,well I'm telling you from experience.
Now its Award Time .....

Vinolia my dear blogpal from Akal's Saappadu has been so kind and generous and has showered her love in the form of this award. Do check out her blog if you have'nt and like me You will have a pleasurable and enriching experience. Her pictorial step by step instructions are her main asset , which makes her recipes so easy to follow combined with her beautiful Clicks.


Siddhi my dear blogpal from Cooked Dil se has been a sweetheart and generous to consider me worthy of this award. Do check our her blog and you will say this with me..
She has Cooked Dil se and We'll appreciate it Dil se... Her passion shows in her cooking and I can vouch for her ..that its Cooked Dil se(from the heart)...

I have been tagged before and you could check it out here. Also kindly check the rules of the Kreative Blogger Award here.

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