Around The World On Your Plate

Ingredients: 1 cup basmati rice soaked for 30 minutes 1 cup mushrooms halved 1 onion finely chopped 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste 2 tomatoes grated 2 tablespoons of oil Salt to taste Water as needed Cilantro to garnish Spices: 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 2 teaspoon biryani powder 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon cumin seeds Method: Wash and soak basmati rice for 30 minutes and drain the water. Heat oil in a high-sided skillet and add cumin and bay leaf.  Next add in the onions and ginger garlic paste and saute until translucent. Add the mushrooms next and saute for a minute.  Add all the spices and mix.  Next add in the tomatoes along with salt and sugar and mix. Cook until oil separates from the mixture.  Add the rice next along with water as needed and cover and cook on medium heat until done. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup kidney Beans soaked overnight 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil 1 medium onions finely chopped 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste 1/2 cup tomato puree or grated tomatoes Salt as needed Sugar as needed Cilantro to garnish Spices: 1-1/2 teaspoon coriander powder 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste 1 teaspoon garam masala Method Wash and soak kidney beans overnight.  Drain and add fresh water and cook until tender.  Drain or reserve the cooking water. Heat oil and sauté onions till translucent.  Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomato puree and mix.  Next add in all the spices and mix well and cook until oil separates from the mixture. Add kidney beans and reserved cooking water along with salt and sugar and mix and cook until the desired thickness is reached. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Ingredients: 20-25 baby potatoes  1/8th teaspoon asafoetida 2-3 tablespoons of oil 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 sprig curry leaves 1-2 teaspoon red chilli powder 1 teaspoon coriander powder 1/ 2 teaspoon cumin powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder Salt as need Water as need Cilantro to garnish Method: Peel and cook baby potatoes until tender. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, asafoetida, and curry leaves. Next add all the spices and stir for a few seconds.  Add potatoes and salt and mix to coat them well. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup Sabut masoor dal soaked for 5 hours and cooked 1 tablespoon oil 1 teaspoons mustard seeds 1 sprig curry leaves 2 red chillies slit 1 medium onion chopped 1 teaspoon garlic minced 1-2 tomatoes chopped 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon red chilli powder(optional) Cilantro to garnish Salt to taste Method : Wash and soak the dal for 5 hours or overnight.  Drain the water and pressure cook with fresh water. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves and saute for a minute. Next add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.  Add tomatoes and spices and cook until tender. Add the cooked dal with water as needed and salt to taste. Stir everything and cook on low heat until desired consistency is reached. Turn off and garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup Pigeon Pea (toor) dal cooked 1 tablepoon oil or ghee 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 sprig of curry leaves 2 red chillies slit 1 teaspoon turmeric powder Salt to taste Lemon juice as needed Cilantro to garnish Method: Heat oil/ghee on medium heat, add mustard seeds and let them splutter, next add red chillies, curry leaves and garlic and saute for a minute. Add the cooked dal and turmeric powder and salt and bring it to a boil. Turn off and garnish with cilantro. Add lemon juice to taste and serve hot.

Ingredients: 3 eggplants quartered lengthwise with the stem attached 1 teaspoon garlic minced 1/3 cup cilantro and parsley chopped 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1 teaspoon cumin powder 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt as needed Canola or vegetable oil as needed frying Method: Slit eggplant lengthwise either half or to quarter depending on the thickness. Heat canola oil and shallow/deep fry the eggplant until completely cooked. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. For the sauce: You can either add raw garlic and spices or saute it. If you wish to saute, just add garlic along with spices to a tablespoon of oil heating on a medium flame and saute until it's cooked. Combine cilantro, parsley, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and sauted garlic and spices and mix. Coat the eggplants with the mix and serve with some bread or couscous. Notes: I used Japanese eggplants for this recipe, but any eggplant with less amo...

Ingredients: For the dough: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water For the filling: 3 medium-sized potatoes mashed/riced 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder Salt and pepper to taste Oil as needed Method: Mix salt and all purpose flour and form a well and add water in the center and knead into a soft dough.  Set aside covered and well greased. Boil and peel potatoes and either mash it or use a ricer.  Add green onions and all the spices along with salt and mix well. Divide the dough in 8 equal portions and roll it out into a round approximately 6 inch disc.  Place the filling on one side and fold it into half and seal the edges.  You can use water to seal the edges.  Leave it plain or make design using a fork or crimp it like a pie crust. Dust of excess flour if used and deep fry. Serve hot with yogurt or any dip of y...

Ingredients: 1/2 cup whole black grams soaked overnight 2 tablespoons red kidney beans soaked overnight 2 onions chopped 2 tomatoes chopped 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic minced 1 tablespoon ghee or oil 1/4 cup cream or almond milk Salt to taste Cilantro to garnish Water as needed Spices: 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 dry red chillies slit 1-2 bay leaf 1-1/2 teaspoon garam masala Method: Add soaked and drained black grams and kidney beans to cooker with salt and water as needed and pressure cook until done. Heat oil and add cumin seeds, bay leaf and dry red chillies.  Next add onion and minced ginger garlic and saute until translucent. Add in the tomatoes next with the cooked grams and beans and mix.  Add all the spices with reserved water from cooking the daal as needed. Adjust salt to taste.  Add fresh cream or almond milk and mix and cook for a minute and turn off. Garnish and serve hot. Note: The use of oil or ghee and al...

Ingredients: 1 cup Basmati rice 1 cup yogurt 1 cup water 1 onion chopped 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste 2 cups mixed vegetables like potatoes, peas, green beans carrots, bell pepper 2 tomatoes sliced Cilantro to garnish Salt to taste 1 tablespoon oil Spices: 1-2 bay leaf 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon caraway seeds 1 tablespoon Biryani Masala Method: Soak Basmati rice in water for 30 minutes and drain. Heat oil in a pan and add the whole spices and saute.  Next add onion along with ginger and garlic paste and saute until translucent. Next add in all the vegetables one by one and saute, adding tomatoes at the end.  Add yogurt and water along with rice.  Add salt and biryani masala to taste. Mix everything well and cover and cook on medium heat until everything is cooked. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.