Karela Pasta(Bitter gourd Pasta)

Now this is totally my invention and karela (bitter gourd) lovers would simply love it. Its a unique blend with pasta :-)

You need 1 cup of pasta, some bitter gourd (3 small), 2 table spoon curd and 1 red-onion. If you wish you can add some cheese(grated or can even make use of cheese spread, may be garlic flavour)

Take 2 table spoon of olive oil and put the read onions(cut into long slices). After they have been cooked just say 30% add the sliced bitter gourd. Let it cook mostly on low flame.
Now take around 3 cups of water and put a few drops of olive oil and the pasta along with a little salt. Cook the pasta till it becomes tender. Drain out the excess water after it is cooked.
After the bitter gourd is cooked properly, add the curd and let it cook for 2-3 mins. Now add the cooked pasta and cheese(optional). Add salt and pepper to taste. You can even add some herbs or may be some garam masala powder if you wish(one of the two).

Tip : You dont need to add any sauce or tomatoes as the bitter gourd itself has a strong flavor. You can also add some garlic to enhance flavor.

To reduce the bitterness of bitter-gourd , you need to peel it and keep it soaked in salt-lemon water for 1/2 hr.

Butter Paneer without butter

This recipe I have learned from my MIL. Simply love it because its not high on calories :-)

You need 2 white bread, 2 big red tomatoes, 400 gm paneer, 1/2 cup milk and kasuri methi

Boil the tomatoes in microwave and peel the skin. Put the tomato and bread in a mixer and make a thin paste(if need add a spoon of water). Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a kadahi(deep-pan). Put some ajwain and then add the paste of tomatoes and bread. Let it simmer for 10 mins till it cooks, you can add a bit of water as and when required but dont make it very thin. Put paneer cut in big cubes in the kadahi now, add salt and pepper to taste and let it cook for 2 mins. Add 1/2 cup of milk and let the curry boil. Add Kasuri methi (1 teaspoon) and let it cook for another 2-3 mins.

Paneer Kheer

For this you need home made paneer -- Paneer should be soft without any tinge of sourness.

For making paneer -- Boil 1/2 l of milk and then add a bit of lemon till the milk start curdling. Remove the water from the paneer.

In another pan boil around 1 l of milk. Put some cardamom powder and let it simmer till it becomes say 3/4th. You will need to stir it in between and make sure the flame is low. Add sugar to taste and let it dissolve in the milk. Remove it from the flame and let it cool down. Once it come to room temperature, mix the paneer (by now it would have cooled down). Let it chill in the refrigerator. After it has cooled down substantially, take it out and decorate it with grated almonds and cashews.

Tip: You can change the consistency of the kheer by adding more paneer.

Black Channa kebabs

Very simple but delicious and fattening :-)

Cook black grams in a pressure cooker. Drain the water (you can make a soup out of it). Grind the black grams in the mixie. Mix green chillies, ginger and salt to taste. Add lots of cream something in the ratio of 1:3 (1 cream:3 black gram paste). Mix everything well. Now shallow fry on the tawa. Dont need much oil as the cream will make it soft creamy and non-sticky. Kebabs are ready. These are rich in proteins and calories -- excellent for the kids!

Broken Wheat Upma

This is ideal for kids...nutritious and tasty
Take 2 table spoons of Broken Wheat and add to it 1/2 table spoon of Moong daal. Put 1 bowl of water and pressure cook it on high flame for 2-3 mins and then at low flame for around 7 mins.
Cut vegetables in small pieces -- cauliflower, potatoes, carrot and peas.
Put oil in kadahi. Add the vegetables and cook them. Put salt to taste, cumin powder and if needed green chillies/red chilli powder. Add the above boiled broken wheat/daal. Let it fry for 2-3 mins, sprinkle a bit of lemon and the upma is ready. You can even add ghee if you are fond of :-)

Tip-- Broken wheat really expands a lot so be careful about the quantity

Curd kebab [Dahi ke kebab]

You need 500 gm curd (water squeezed out), 100 gm grated cheese, 3-4 green chillies, a few finely chopped coriander leaves, dry fruits like cashew/walnuts finely ground, black pepper powder

Simple steps to simply delicious kebabs -
1. Squeeze out water from the curd. You need to wrap it a thin muslin cloth and keep it overnight.
2. Mix the cheese, green chillies(very finely chopped), coriander leaves, pepper and salt well so that the batter becomes smooth and it should not be watery
3. Make kebabs out of these and shallow fry these on a tava.

Broccoli Tikki

Perfect for kids -- nutritious and very tasty!

Take a few big florets of broccoli , clean them properly. Half cook it in microwave by putting the florets in water and salt. Grate or grind these. Put 1 big spoon of cheese(say for 2 medium sized tikkis) and mix well in the grated broccoli. If you feel the consistency is not good to stick, add a bit of grated wheat bread. Add, salt and cumin powder. You can also add black pepper powder.

Make tikkis till they are golden brown.This combination of broccoli and cheese tastes just great!

Tip: You can even add coriander leaves(which generally kids don't eat but we want them to eat!!:-)) with the broccoli in the grinder.

Mango-Banana MilkShake

This one is a very smooth drink -- it mellows the strong taste of Mango and Banana and creates a melody :-)

For Making 1 Glass :
Take Banana and Mango(Sweet) in 3:2 proportion. Blend it together and then put a bit of milk(1 spoon) and blend again
Now put 2/3rd glass of milk and blend well. Its ready :-)

Creamy Cucumber Sandwich

Yes, its creamy without cream :-) and it takes only 10 mins of preparation. Good for your kid also if he/she wants something soft.

You need for the filling -- 1 spoon thick curd(no water), 1 small spoon cheese (garlic cheese will taste best), grated cucumber depending on how much you want to fill.

Mix the above for the filling along with salt and pepper. You can some herbs or oregano if you want. Take 2 slices of bread (preferably brown). Spread the above thick paste. Wrap it in a plastic foil and put in the refrigerator to set for 5-10 mins. It ready for eating :-)

Tip-- Separate the water of the cucumber. The paste should be thick for best results.

Bread Sandwich with Veggies

This is one which everybody will like - mothers because of vegetables, children because its bread and others will anyway eat because they dont have to make it :-)

Recipe for 1 sandwich --

You need to chop finely -- tomato, cabbage (green or purple!), capsicum(any color!), carrot
You need to keep aside -- 2 slices of bread(brown or any other multi-grain, herb panini), 2 spoons of roasted Sooji,  1 spoon of cheese(preferably cream-cheese :-)),
For Taste -- Black pepper powder, salt

Mix the finely chopped veggies with cheese and Sooji to make them smooth and cook them for 5 mins in microwave- till they are half cooked.
Make the bread slices crisp on one side on a tawa/pan or microwave(use the pizza option).
Put the above batter on the other (soft) side of the bread and then cook it a bit.

Most imp -- put it on the plate and serve and don't forget to keep aside your share...its going to be yummy!!! :-)

The Sama's Space

I have opened this space for my parents - Pawan Kumar Sama and Vinod Sama.....They have been writing for long now - though the forte is different. But then they write and I blog, so I am blogging whatever they write.

My mom is so very fond of cooking and is an excellent cook. She has been gathering and creating these recipes since 1972!!
My dad has been writing about everything under the sun since I don't know when - poetry, prose, articles in Hindi, Urdu and English.

So here I am sharing this with all of you - read it, enjoy it...comment on it...:-)