Vegetarian Chili

Being a spice lover I have always been unhappy about not being able to eat "Chili" and this inspired a vegetarian version of the same. I would say that this is a hipper cousin of Indian Rajma with jazzier stuff thrown in and gets better tasting the longer you keep it although when I made the chili, it only lasted one evening. Needless to say it was a hit! I have drawn this recipe from several different versions online but was especially inspired by the Emeril Lagassa version here . I used 4 kinds of beans instead of just one and did not use as much tomato in the recipe otherwise it over powers other flavors.




Ingredients:

1. Can of black beans - 1
2. Can of kidney beans - 1
   
3. Can of pinto beans - 1
4. Can of white beans - 1
5. Zucchini - 1, chopped finely
6. Yellow onion - 1, chopped finely
7. Red/green/yellow bell peppers 1/2 each
   
8. Crushed Tomatoes - 1 can
   
9. Jalapenos - 1, finely chopped
10. Serrano peppers - 2 finely chopped
    
11. Mushrooms - 10-15 or 3 portabello mushrooms
    
12. Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
13. Vegetable stock - 1 cup
14. Cayenne pepper - 1 tsp
15. Cumin powder - 2 tsps
16. Paprika - 1 tsp
    
17. Cilantro - 3 tbsps finely chopped
18. Sour cream - 3-4 spoons for garnish
19. Lemon - 1

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions until golden brown.
2. Add the finger garlic paste and stir for 1 min. Add in the tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers and let them cook for 15 mins or so.
3. When the veggies are cooked well add the chopped chillies, cayenne pepper, paprika and cumin powder and mix well.
4. Add in the cans of beans and vegetable stock and let it all cook evenly and come to a boil.
5. Garnish with cilantro, lemon juice, paprika and sour cream (not shown in pic) and serve hot with some garlic bread or brown rice.
   

Pudina Sandwich

My love for this sandwich goes back to the days when we had "Sandwich Dinner Days" at home when mom and dad would make this Pudina Chutney and we would gorge on them like we hadn't eaten for days! The fun part of me was that I would get to make my own sandwich as a kid.:) Then there came a time when they started making these sandwiches at the chat thelas all over in Hyderabad which was pretty similar to what we had at home but also had a "chat" element to it with onions, sev and chat masala. I love both versions immensely and they make very good tea time snacks as well as full fledged meals when you don't have much time. It gets even easier if you make the pudina chutney recipe in advance and store it in the refrigerator. A friend of mine asked me to post some more quick and different dinner recipes like the Paneer pizza and this definitely falls in the category:)


Pudina Chutney

Ingredients:

1. Mint leaves - 2 bunches
2. Green chillies - 4/5 (depending on your spice tolerance)
3. Cilantro - 1 bunch
   
4. Ginger - 1 inch long piece
5. Lemon - 1
   
6. Salt
   
7. Yogurt (optional)

Directions:

1. Grind all the ingredients together except lemon/yogurt.
2. If using yogurt, beat some and mix with the ground chutney.
3. If not using yogurt, squeeze fresh lemon juice into the ground chutney.

Toasted Pudina Sandwich




Ingredients:

1. Bread slices ( Any white bread is fine. I use buttermilk bread) - toasted
2. Butter (I use "I can't believe its not butter")
3. Ketchup (I use Maggie hot and sweet tomato sauce)
4. Tomatoes - 2 sliced
5. Cucumber - 1, peeled and sliced
6. Carrot - 1, thinly sliced
   
7. Pudina Chutney
8. Salt
9. Crushed black pepper
   

Directions:

1. On one slice, apply some butter and ketchup and on the other slice apply the pudina chutney.
2. Layer one slice with the tomato, cucumber and carrot slices.
3. Garnish with salt and black pepper. Top it with the other slice
4. Cut into triangles and serve with kethcup.

Pudina Sandwich Chat Style:



Ingredients:

1. White bread - With edges trimmed off
   
2. Tomatoes - 2, sliced
3. Cucumber - 1, sliced
4. Pudina chutney
5. Amul Butter
6. Maggie hot and sweet tomato chilli sauce
7. Onion - 1, finely chopped
8. Sev - 1 cup
9. Corriander leaves - 1/2 bunch finely chopped
10. Salt
11. Crushed black pepper
12. Chaat Masala

Directions:

1. One one slice apply the butter and sauce and on the other spread the pudina chutney.
2. Layer one slice with cucumber and tomato slices. Sprinkle some salt, black pepper and chaat masala.
3. Top it up with the other slice and cut into 4 square pieces.
4. Place on a palce and garnish with onions, sev and cilantro and enjoy!

Note: If you plan on serving this sandwich after some time, do not garnish with sev before hand. It gets soggy. So add the garnish right before serving.

Gatte Ki Kadhi and Guvar Sabji - RCI Rajasthan

Gatte Ki Kadhi Recipe:

This is my first entry ever to any RCI event:)...This entry is for the RCI Rajasthan event. Unfortunately, I don't have any Rajasthani/Marwadi friends and the only influence of Rajasthani food I have had is from eating at those thali places in Hyd (kothi area and Dhola Ri Dhani) but I have enjoyed it immensely everytime I have had it.......This recipe was a mish mash of several recipes that I looked up online and personalized according to my taste. The kadhi was yummy and I would have loved to serve it with Bajra roti but did not have the time for it.



Ingredients:

For Gatte -

1. 2 cups besan
2. 1 tsp chilli powder
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1/2 tsp turmeric
5. Jeera-Dhania powder - 1 tsp
   
6. Ajwain 1 tsp - crushed slightly
7. Curry leaves - 4/5 chopped finely
8. Handful of corriander leaves - finely chopped
9. Fresh ginger paste- 1tsp
10. Fresh garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
11. Baking powder - 2 pinches
12. Oil - 2 tbsps

For Kadhi

1. 4 cups of non fat yogurt
2. Turmeric 1/2 tsp
3. Red chilli powder 1 tsp
4. Jeera Dhania Powder 1 tsp
5. Salt
6. Walter
7. Curry Leaves - 4/5
8. Ajwain - 1/2 tsp finely crushed
9. Oil - 1 tbsp
10. Ginger paste - 1tsp
11. Besan - 2tbsps
    

Directions:

1. For the gatte, mix together together all the ingredients and then add enough water to get it into the consistency of dough. Do not knead it too much.
   



2. Make 1/2 inch wide and 5 inch long cylinders out of the dough.
   



3. Boil enough water in a pot and once it is bubbling drop in the cylinders and cook until the cylinders float up and look fully cooked.



4. Cut the cylinders in to 1/2 inch pieces.



5. Heat oil in a pan and saute the pieces until they brown a bit. Usually these are deep fried but I only saute-ed them and it works well. Must healthier too.



6. For the Kadhi, make a paste of besan and water and beat it into the yogurt with some water.



7. Mix in the turmeric, jeera-dhania powder, red chilli powder, ajwain and salt to taste
   



8. Heat oil and add cumin/jeera, curry leaves, ginger paste and saute for 1 minute.
   



9. Now add in the yogurt and the gatte and simmer on low heat until it is evenly heated.



10. Serve hot with rotis!

My variations: The changes I made was to add the ginger paste, garlic paste, ajwain, jeera powder, corriander, curry leaves and to saute the gatte instead of deep fry and it made a world of difference

Guvar Sabji :

This is a recipe that is very simple and I have often seen it served this way in Rajasthani thalis. I arrived at the recipe only from tasting it and hopefully it is how ti is made by Rajasthan:)

Ingredients:

1. Guvar - 3 cups, cut into inch long pieces



2. Oil - 2 tsps



3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp



4. Jeera - 1tsp



5. Salt



6. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
   



7. Jeera-dhania powder - 1 tsp



8. Jeera powder - 1 tsp



9. Yogurt - 1 cup



10. Water 1/4 cup
    

Directions:

1. Heat oil and add jeera and mustard seeds and let them pop.



2. Add the guvar and let is cook until a little soft.



3. Add the spices and water and steam until raw smell of spices goes away.



4. Once cooked, beat the yogurt and add it in. Take the dish off the stove and serve with rotis!
   

Roasted Butternut Squash with Penne

This is a yummy dish inspired by Nupur's (of One Hot Stove) lovely recipe of Roasted Squash-Onion Lasagna




I made the following modifications -

1. Instead of lasagna sheets I used a whole wheat penne. This is purely because I did not have lasagna sheets on hand when I made it but the whole wheat penne went really well with the butternut squash and the bechamel and gave it an earthy flavour and good bite.
   
2. I rubbed some dry italian herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano on the butternut squash and onion before roasting.
3. Before baking I topped the whole thing with a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs instead of just the Parmesan cheese.
4. While making the bechamel sauce, I added some chopped garlic to the butter before the flour to give a garlicky flavor to the sauce.
5. I also shallow fried some sage leaves in olive oil and added it to the mixture before baking.

Thanks Nupur for this lovely recipe! i really enjoyed making it and eating it:)