Chawal Kheer

Fistful of rice. Wash and soak in water for 20-30 min. Drain water, crumble the rice with fingers.

Heat a tsp of ghee, fry rice on med-high for 3-4 minutes. Add rice to 1/2 gallon of milk. Bring to a boil and simmer until reaches desired consistency.

Dalia

1.5 - 2 tbsps ghee

1/2 cup dalia (cracked wheat)

water

3-4 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

elaichi, crushed

raisins

almonds (slivered)

• In pressure cooker, melt ghee.
• Add dalia and fry for about 10 min on medium high.
• Add enough water to cover dalia. Can add a bit more to be safe.
• Close pressure cooker, bring to pressure, reduce to low, and simmer for 3-5 minutes
• Cool, open, and add 3-4 cups milk.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for about 30 min, or until desired thickness is reached
• Add sugar to taste -- will probably take about 1/2 cup
• Add crushed elaichi, raisins, and almonds

Poha

Wash poha a few times. Add salt. Put aside.

Chop medium onion. Green chili.

Heat oil in frying pan. Add mustard seeds, a little zeera, and curry leaves. Add chopped onions. Sauté a little past transparent. Add green chilis. Add finely chopped potatoes. Add haldi and salt. Cover to cook down. once potatoes are cooked, add frozen peas. Add dry roasted peanuts. Mix. Add poha. On med-high, stir. Sauté nicely. Taste add more salt if necessary. Stir for five minutes. Add lime juice. at end, chopped cilantro.

Lemon Rice

heat oil, add chana daal and urad daal, mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped onions. Fry, add green chilis, fry till slightly brown, add roasted peanuts, haldi, red chili powder, add rice. Mix, add salt. Add lemon or lime juice.

* for tamarind rice, add a tsp of tamarind paste after the peanuts.

Aloo ka Parantha

• Aloo
• Zeera, dhania seeds (slightly crush), ajwain, anar dana, fresh dhania (be generous), finely chopped onions (1/4 onion per potato), green chili, finely chopped ginger, can add salt directly to potato mix
• cook on both sides, then turn to original side and brush with ghee.

Mooli ka Parantha

• grate mooli, squeeze out water using cheesecloth or towel
• add ajwain, anar dana, zeera, fresh dhania, chopped green chili, black pepper
• Roll out parantha, fill, sprinkle salt, fold up, pat down, roll out again
• cook on both sides, then turn to original side and brush with ghee.

Garam Masala

3 parts each: Zeera, Black pepper

1 part each: Cinnamon, cloves, large cardamoms

Roast in pan on medium heat, grind fine

Aloo for Poori (with tomato)

Let 5-6 potatoes sit in cold water. Peel and chop. Continue to let sit.

Julienne 1.5 inch piece ginger and equal parts garlic.

Chop 3 chilies.

take out small bowl dahi to bring to room temp.

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Add ginger, garlic, chilies. Let cook for 3-5 min, don't let brown -- just edges slightly. Add 1 can diced tomatoes. Cook on med-high. Add a little salt. Cover.

beat dahi.

Once oil begins to separate from tomatoes, add 1 heaped tsp haldi, 2 heaped tsps dhaniya powder, fry and add dahi. Cook off water. Add drained potatoes. Mix and cook for 2-3 min on high. Add some water.

Tindora

Heat oil in kadhai

add zeera, mustard seeds, it should crackle, remove from heat, add haldi, red chili powder. Add tindora. Cook for 2-3 min.

Add salt. Cook for 2 min. Cover and cook on med-low. After about 20 min, stir, release some of the steam/moisture, then cover and continue cooking on med-low. Occasionally remove lid to prevent too much water from condensing.

Karela Sabzi

equal parts Kerala and onion, sliced. Sauté onions in mustard oil and kalonji, until edges begin browning, add Kerala. Add salt, red chili powder, haldi, cook. Once it cooks down, add a lot of amchur and a little gur. Fry on med-high.

Karela Salad

Wash, cut into thin rings. Sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 min.

Squeeze water out.

Heat mustard oil in flat pan. Sauté karela. Don't deep fry, but get crispy. Fry both sides.

Red onions slice in thin half moons.

Mix karela, raw onion, dhaniya. Dress with black pepper and lemon juice. Taste for salt.

Palak Paneer

2 packs frozen spinach, 1 med onion (chopped), 1 tbsp ghee, 3 inch ginger (chopped), paneer

Chopped frozen spinach -- if using fresh, boil with a little water. -- put in microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with some water. Microwave on high ~10 minutes, might help to pause half way and stir/turn.

Heat some ghee in a kadhai. Fry onions on med-high until translucent and slightly golden on edges. Add 2/3 of ginger.

Once spinach is done, blend with 1/2 cup of water. Add red chili powder to onions. Add spinach. Cover and cook on low. Add remaining third of chopped ginger. Cook and cover ~20 min, add salt to taste. Cook 10 min. Add 1/4 tsp garam masala (taste and adjust). Cube paneer, add to palak, don't stir too much. Can also put paneer in serving dish and pour palak over.

Stuffed Baigan

Dry roasted peanuts, ground with haldi, red chili powder, salt, dhaniya powder, zeera powder, amchur (most zeera and dhaniya, second amchur, then mirchi, haldi, salt to taste) -- grind peanuts in food processor, then by hand add and mix spices.

For North Indian no peanuts-style: mix spices, add a little water to make a thick paste (hummus like) -- more amchur for this version.

Use small eggplants. Cut cross sections from bottom about halfway up.

Stuff.

microwave, covered, on high for 6 minutes.

Heat some mustard oil in a pan, fry one side at a time.

Tinda

peel, cut in halves or quarters

heat oil gently in pressure cooker

fry 2 tbsps besan on low

add 1/2 tsp haldi, red chili powder, dhaniya powder

fry on low flame

add tinda, fry briefly

Add just enough water to cover

add salt

bring to one pressure

cool

while cooling, whip 1.5 tbsps dahi

open and stir in dahi

garnish with dhaniya

version 2:

peel tinda cut in quarters

chop 1 onion roughly

in a kadhai or frying pan, heat oil

sauté onions till edges brown

add Tinda

add haldi, red chili powder, lots of dhaniya powder, and salt

cover and let sauté on medium heat, occasionally stirring

garnish with lots of dhaniya

Pao Bhaji

Masala (in order of proportion):

• amchur
• coriander powder
• zeera powder 
• black pepper powder
• garam masala
• kala namak
• saunf (slightly pounded)

trick with pao bhaji: be generous with onions and tomatoes

Add and cook up whatever!

Tamatar Kadhi

Heat oil (enough to fry besan), add methi seeds, zeera, mustard seeds. Remove from heat, add 4 tbsps of besan, red chili powder, dhaniya powder, haldi. Fry until you can smell it. Add blended tomatoes, add water to get everything out of blender. Bring to boil. Add salt and curry leaves. Let it simmer to thicken, about half an hour.

Kadhi

1 heaped tbsp besan: 1 cup of dahi : 1.5-2 times water

Heat mustard oil, add 1 dried red chili, 3-4 methi seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp zeera, 1/2 tsp dhaniya seeds, add curry pattha. Turn heat down, add dahi mixture, bring to a boil (watch out will spill over!) Turn to low, add 1 tsp haldi, stir, add more, stir, until desired color. Add salt and red chili powder. Simmer on med low. Taste and adjust.

Can add spinach pakora.

Masoor

1:6 water

Boil with salt, haldi, red chili. Bring to pressure, turn to low, cook for 10 min.

Tadka: in ghee, add zeera, then chopped onion, add generous amount of crushed tomatoes, cook down until oil begins to separate, add ~2 tsps dhaniya powder, add tadka to dal, bring to boil, simmer for 10 min, taste for salt, sprinkle some garam masala, dhaniya

Moong Dal

1:4 :: dal:water

Haldi, salt in pot (not pressure cooker). Let cook for about 20-30 minutes, skim occasionally.

Tadka:

Chop onions.

Heat ghee in a frying pan about 3 min, add zeera, let darken ( till you can smell it), add chopped white onion, leave on med-high, stir occasionally. Cook for about 7-8 min, until zeera is beginning to blacken and onions are brown around the edges, Add red chili powder. Add to dal. If needed add water at this point -- can use to collect some of the tadka. Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes.

(UP alternative -- in butter warmer, heat ghee, add pinch of hing, move off flame, add red chili powder and dhaniya powder -- be generous with both. Return to flame, stir for a few min, add to dal. Garnish with dhaniya. Serve with rice.)

Rajma, Etc.

Rajma

1 cup

Soak overnight or in hot water for 2 hrs

Discard soaking water, rinse rajma.

Pressure cook 15 mins w 2 tsp salt, 4 times water. Let it cool. Keep. Don't drain!

Heat cooking oil.

Fry diced ginger, if desired.

Fry 1 medium onion, chopped fine, on med low until light brown and soft

Add ginger-garlic paste, med low (abt 5 garlic cloves/5 gm), add some tbsps water, cover and cook on med low 7-10 min.

add Haldi, Mirch 1/2 tsp each

3 chopped tomatoes, add a couple of tbsps water, cover and cook 10 min on med low -- uncover increase heat to med high, fry until oil separates. Reduce heat to low.

add 2 tbsp beaten, room-temperature dahi. Mix to incorporate. Make sure oil separates. Add rajma with the water it was boiled in.

Adjust water if necessary.

Simmer for ~30 min, until gravy has thickened. Taste. Adjust salt.

Add garam masala, roasted zeera powder and hara dhania at the end.

Rongi

Same as Rajma except soaking not required

Kala Chana

Same as Rajma except pressure cook 30 mins. Must soak!!

Kabuli Chana

Same as Rajma

Add a pinch of baking soda to kabuli chana when pressure cooking.

No dahi and more tomatoes.

Add Tamarind to taste in the last few minutes of simmering.

Kali Daal

1 cup daal, add 1 tbsp rajma

Pressure cook w 10 times water, pinch of hing, salt, lal mirch, 1 tsp mustard oil, 1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste for 50 mins. Let it cool. Keep

Tadka - Ghee, zeera, onion, lal mirch, 1/2 can tomato paste

Add to daal and simmer 20-30 mins. Half way during that add 2 tbsp heavy cream or milk

Garam masala, hara dhania at end

Mini's Version: don't add ginger-garlic before pressure cooking -- add with tadka. Cover immediately.

Khichri

1:1 rice:daal (moong dhuli or chilka, or masoor)

Pressure cook with 6 times water, haldi & salt. Take off heat as soon as it reaches pressure. Cool until you can open the pressure cooker.

Tadka - ghee, zeera, pinch of hing (asafoetida).