Jeera Aloo

      Jeera - Cumin seed - is one of the most widely used spices in India and also around the world. Personally, it is one of my favorite spice because of its distinctive flavor and aroma. You will find the use of Cumin seeds in almost all of my recipes.

Today, we have my personal favorite Potato - Cumin vegetable dish. It is usually served with a flatbread like Roti, paratha etc. I absolutely love having it with Methi Thepla.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium boiled Potatoes
• 3 tbsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Green Chili Paste
• 2 tsp Oil
• pinch of Asafoetida
• 2 tsp ground Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

• Dice the boiled potatoes and keep it aside.
• Heat the oil in the pan. Add Asafoetida and Cumin seeds to it
• Once the seeds begin to crackle, add the chili paste and saute it for a minute
• Now add the potatoes and mix it well
• Then add the salt, black pepper and lemon juice and mix it
• Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the cilantro and mix it properly
• Serve hot and enjoy

Aloo Corn Tikki

              Aloo Tikki is a popular Indian snack made by shallow-frying spiced potato patties. Here is my take on this Indian classic. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 5 Medium Potatoes
• 1 cup finely chopped Onions
• 1 cup Corn
• 1 cup Green Peas
• 3-4 Green Chilies
• 3 Garlic Cloves
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Dry Mango Powder (Amchur Powder)

Instructions:

• Boil the potatoes till they are soft
• Mash them and keep them aside.
• Mix corn, peas, green chilies and garlic and crush them in a blender or a food processor. I like them half crushed. It adds a nice crunch to the patties.

• Now, mix this corn-peas mixture with chopped onions and mashed potatoes. 
• Add salt and lemon juice and mix it well

• Now, make small size balls and press them in shape of a disc. Make sure they are not too thick in size

• Next, shallow fry them with little to no oil on a pan or a griddle

• Flip them over once and continue cooking, till both sides are turn brownish.
• Sprinkle some dry mango powder on the Tikki before serving

• Serve hot with Cilantro Chutney and/or Tomato ketchup

Vegetable Manchurian

               Last month we tried Hakka Noodles, a Chinese dish cooked Indian style. Today we have vegetable Manchurian, another Indo-Chinese fusion recipe, which goes great as a side dish along with Hakka Noodles, or an entree with rice. The core of the dish are the vegetable Manchurian balls and can be served with gravy, semi-gravy or dry.

Here is the semi-dry Vegetable Manchurian recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely grated Cabbage
• 1/2 cup finely grated Cauliflower
• 1 cup finely grated Carrot
• 2 finely chopped Green Onions
• 3-4 tbsp Garlic Paste
• 2 tbsp Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
• 1/4 cup Refined flour (Maida)
• 4 tsp dark Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Corn Flour/ Corn Starch
• 2 cup Vegetable Stock
• 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
• 1/2 tsp Sugar 
• 1 tbsp Vinegar
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Mix cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, refined flour, 2 tbsp soy sauce and salt in a mixing bowl
• Add half of the garlic paste and chilli-ginger paste to the mixture and mix well to form a dough
• Now, shape the mixture in small lime size balls.
• Heat sufficient oil in a kadai or a pan
• Roll the Manchurian balls in corn flour and deep fry them till they turn golden and crisp
• Drain on the absorbent paper and keep them aside.
• Dissolve 2 tbsp corn flour in little water and keep aside
• Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add the remaining garlic paste and chilli-ginger paste to it.
• Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and saute it.
• Now add the vegetable stock and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes
• Then add the corn flour mixture, black pepper, vinegar, sugar and mix well.
• Now add the Manchurian balls and half of the green onions and mix them
• Transfer to a serving dish and garnished with remaining green onions
• Serve hot with Hakka Noodles or Fried Rice as per your choice.

Tips:

• We can use water instead of vegetable stock 
• Make sure the vegetable mixture dough is not too soft

Tomato Based Pasta Sauce

              There are a number ways to make sauces for pasta. Today, I will give you a tomato based pasta sauce that can go with majority types of pastas like Penne, Fusilli, Bow Tie, Macaroni etc. It is also a healthier alternative with all the fresh ingredients

Ingredients:

• 5-6 diced Tomatoes
• 1 cup diced Onions
• 1 cup diced Green Peppers
• 2-3 cloves crushed Garlic
• 2 tbsp crushed Red Pepper
• 1 tbsp Oregano
• 2 tsp dried Basil leaves
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Heat some Olive oil in the pan
• Add garlic and onions and saute them till the onions turn translucent
• Now add the diced green peppers and tomatoes and mix it well
• Add salt, cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushy.
• Then add the dried spices like red pepper, oregano, basil leaves, black pepper and simmer it for 7-10 mins

• Serve it hot with pasta of your choice. I love with multi-color bow tie pasta.

If you like the recipe, please leave a comment/feedback below.

Pad Thai

         I am back with a new recipe today after almost 2 weeks of vacation to the paradise of Hawaii. While  we were there, we missed Thai food a lot. Being vegetarians, it is somewhat difficult to find a good Thai place that serves pure vegetarian dishes since most of the dishes have fish sauce or anchovies - especially in Hawaii. But we both love Thai food, so that motivated me to try it at home.

         Pad Thai is one of the most popular dishes from Thailand, at least in USA. Whenever you visit any Thai restaurant, you will always find this in the menu. If you are new to Thai cuisine, Pad Thai will definitely be a a safe option to try. It is basically Thai version of Noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Thai Rice Noodles
• 2 cloves crushed Garlic
• 2 Green Onions chopped
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2-3 tbsp Hot Sauce/Chili Sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Crushed Peanuts
• 1.5 cup cubes of Firm Tofu
• 2 tbsp Oil 
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro for Garnish

Instructions:

• Cook the rice noodles as per the direction on the package.
• Drain in cold water and keep them aside
• Take a pan, add little oil to it and fry the tofu till golden brown and keep it aside.

• Heat some oil in a wok or a pan, add garlic to it
• Saute it for a min and then add the onions and half of green onions 
• Saute it for 2-3 mins or till onions turns translucent.

• Now add the sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, crushed peanuts, hot sauce and mix it well.
• Then add the fried tofu to it
• Now reduce the heat to low and add the cooked noodles to this sauce and toss it properly so that it is mixed completely. 
• Make sure you stir it continuously so that noodles don't stick to the pan or get burnt.
• Since Soy Sauce has a good amount of salt in it, add additional salt only if needed
• Garnish it with cilantro and remaining green onions and serve it hot with a wedge of lime/lemon