INGREDIENTS 2 tsp. aata (flour) 1 tsp. dhaniya powder (coriander) 1tsp red chilies 1 tsp. bhuna zeera (cumin seeds roasted) 1 tsp. salt 1tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp. garam masala 1/2 tsp. amchoor (mango powder) 1/2 tsp. kala chaat masala 1/2 tsp. normal chaat masala 1/8 tsp. heeng (asafetida) 4 potatoes boiled diced (medium size) 2 onions chopped 1 lemon

· Mix all the dry spices.

· In a wok add 1 tsp. oil and add all the dry spices and cook over the low heat till flour turns light brown.

· Add 4 chopped potatoes to this mixture.

· Mix well

· Add chopped onions, chopped coriander and juice of one lemon, switch of the burner.

· The pink onions look quite gorgeous with the brown potatoes

· Enjoy with regular food, or use leftover to make old school style equity sandwiches or snack on the same with a cup of tea!

When your profession is all about cooking, you are expected to cook for everyone – family, friends, peers.  So when someone cooks for you it’s a blessing in disguise. Puja and Sarath were gracious to invite. Nothing can beat a healthy conversation, gift parcel with some yum food, right?!

Puja is a health freak, (she will kill me for this) health enthusiast highly well-informed about diets, workouts and organic produce. A friend I learn a lot from esp. coz she spends half her time in Delhi and the other half in the hills exploring them. She works with Chirag and Kilmora and the whole conversation from organic fruits to berries to the herbs makes me want to travel with her. Oh did I also tell you the couple loves travelling and Sarath always gets me a little “food” parcel from places he visits! It’s a blessing to have friends who care for you and love.

So coming back to the topic where we started, she made some tomato chutney, green coconut chutney, sambhar and soft melt in mouth idli’s. We were joined by another dear friend Reshma (another food enthusiast and runs a company called earthy goods)They make some of the most amazing jams and if you are into organic natural stuff, you will even love me more for letting you know about them. Do check out there Earth Store for some lovely gifts you can gift your friends this season.

Here are the quick recipes as told by Puja

Pudina-Coconut:

SUPER Easy . Fry some green chilies and pudina (mint) in a small bit of oil. Add some roasted channa dal. Grind this with some coconut and tamarind paste and salt. Garnish with tadka of hing, mustard seeds, urad dal, kadipatta and chilli.

Tomato-Onion
Fry some sambar onions (you can use normal onions if you don’t have), tomato, chilli with some hing till well cooked.. Let cool. Add tamarind paste and 2 cloves of garlic when grinding the tomato chutney. Tadka of Mustard seeds and hing and kadipatta

Sambar:
Boil a bunch of veggies (ghiya, mooli, carrots,)with tur dal – don’t forget to add a few methi seeds and turmeric. After it is boiled, add a couple of tablespoons of sambar powder (MTR, 777, etc), some tamarind paste and give it a boil. Sauté some sambar onions in ghee and add. Tadka of mustard seeds, hing, kadipatta, chillies, etc.

Idli:
1 cup Urad Dal;
2.25 cup Idli Rice
a teaspoon of methi
a cup of cooked rice optional.

Soak the urad and rice separately overnight. Grind the urad first superfine. Add the cup of cooked rice at this point if you want. Add salt, add the soaked rice, and grind fine. Let it ferment for about 6 hrs (you may need to put a shawl or something over it to keep it warm and happy in cold weather). Add the mixture on greased idli molds and Steam for about 10 mins.

Eat.

burp! Eat more!!

For desserts I took some red currant lemon poppy muffins which were enjoyed with ginger tea made by Sarath as he claims he makes it better than Puja:)

For the weekend I was in Chandigarh for one my good friend’s engagement.
Took the Shatabadi early morning with a friend … I was excited, I don’t generally get days off so for me it felt like a short vacation!

Chandigarh is one of my favourite cities, it’s neat and clean, urban planning is astounding, close to the hills and one can just get some fresh breath of air. Mr. Pollutant still hasn’t taken shelter there completely. Chandigarh literally mean “fort of Chandi” and Chandi is a goddess in Hindu mythology. Stats say that Ludhiana and Chandigarh have the highest per capita income. I should take Foodaholics there…hehe!

So getting back to my trip…where was I?? Yeah shatabadi-I highly recommend taking the train. It’s comfy and fast.

I had a lot of fun and the one and a half day trip was a blast-party, danced, drank and ate good food!
I mean how can one go to a Punjabi Sikh family function and not have Dal makhani!!
I am sharing with you a recipe my friend has given me.
Here’s how the legendary Raj Kapoor’s Dal Makhani was cooked:

250 gm urad dal (full grain)
2 tbsp each of channa dal (gram dal) and of rajma (red kidney beans)
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp crushed ginger
1 tbsp ghee or oil or mustard oil
2 tsp salt
3 dry red chillies
7 to 8 cups of water
Wash the dals. Put all the above ingredients in a cooker and cook under pressure for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for tempering
500 gm butter
1 tbsp sliced ginger
1 tsp chilli powder
Chopped green chillies
4 medium tomatoes blanched and chopped
1 tsp garam masala

In a non-stick pan melt butter. Lightly fry ginger. Add in chillies, chilli powder. Mix in tomatoes. Fry for six to seven minutes. Add in garam masala. Add the tomato mixture to the dal and cook over low heat for eight to 10 minutes. Garnish dal with two to three tbsp of thick cream or fresh malai and chopped coriander leaves or just with a plain cube of buttteerrrr!

Sluuurrrrrrrrrrrpppp!