Super Salad

Serves two

200g broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets

120g peas, fresh or frozen

100g cucumber, cut into slim batons

100g good-quality feta cheese, crumbled

20g alfalfa

20g toasted seeds (we use sesame, sunflower, flax and pumpkin)

50g avocado, cut into pieces

30g quinoa, Fairtrade if possible

Small handful flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped

Small handful mint, rough chopped

2 dessert spoons lemon juice

4 dessert spoons extra virgin olive oil

Put the quinoa in a small pan. Cover with cold water plus about an inch then let it gently simmer until the water's gone - about 15 minutes. Spread it on a tray to cool to room temperature.

Put an inch of hot water into a saucepan with a pinch of salt and cover it. Once boiling, drop in the broccoli and peas and put the lid back on. Drain after three minutes and run the veg under cold water to take all the heat out and keep them good and green.

Now build your salad in layers, starting with the first ingredient on the list and ending up with the dressing (but only dress it just before you eat it).

· Allegra McEvedy is co-founder of fast-food health chain Leon. Her colour cookbook is published by Kyle Cathie Ltd at £19.99. To order a copy for £18.99 with free UK p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0870 836 0875.

CHAPATI (PHULKA)

(for 4, serving 1 or 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole wheat flour (or 1/3 white + 2/3 whole wheat)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Put flour in a large bowl with half the water.
2. Blend the two together until it holds.
3. Beat and knead well until it forms a compact ball. Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Set aside for 30 minutes.
4. Knead and divide dough into 4 to 6 parts.
5. Roll each ball into atortilla like flat, about $\frac{1{8$" thick.
6. Heat an ungreased skillet.
7. Put phulka on it, and let it cook for about 1 minute (The top shouldjust start to look dry and small bubbles should just start to form).
8. Turn and cook the second side for 2/3 minutes until small bubbles form.
9. Turn again and cook the first side pressed lightly with a towel.
10. It should puff. Serve warm (maybe slightly buttered).

Note: -----Since the rolled out chappati's will dry out if they are left to standwhile cooking the others, you may choose to roll them out individually before cooking.

Besani Roti (Gram flour roti)

Ingredients:
200 grams Wheat flour
3 tablespoon Gram flour (besan)
1 Onion
3-4 Green chillies
1 tablespoon Fenugreek leaves
2 tablespoons Curds
250 ml Water
1 tablespoon Ghee
1/2 teaspoon Red chilli powder (optional)
1 tablespoon Butter

Method :

1. Chop the onion, green chillies & fenugreek leaves finely.
2. Beat the curds well.
3. Sprinkle some salt on the fenugreek leaves and keep aside for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze out water completely.
4. Sieve the flours.
5. Add ghee, chopped onions, green chillies, curds, salt(as per taste), fenugreek leaves and red chilli powder.
6. Mix well.
7. Add water gradually and make a smooth dough. Stretch and knead till pliable.
8. Cover with a damp cloth for about an hour.
9. Shape into round balls.
10. Roll them into discs about 2.5 mm thick.
11. Place on a hot tawa/griddle and cook till blisters appear on either surface.
12. Remove the tawa off the flame , place the roti on direct flame.
13. It will blow up into a big ball. Take off the flame.
14. Serve hot with a dab of butter.

Serves : 4
Time : 25 mins.

Saatvik Khaana series- Grilled potatoes

Hi friends
I am just doing one Art of Living course. And we were told to bring Saatvik Food, vegetarian food without eggs, fish, onion, garlic and much of masalas or spices.
So I thought why not start a series of saatvik khaana. Something which is quick and under 30 mins.

Grilled potatoes

Ingredients

4 Medium Potatoes
1 Finely Chopped Tomato
1 TBSP Cilantro chopped
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil
Dry Mint leaves-powdered

Method

1. Boil Potatoes.
2. You may peel the skin of potatoes or let it be there.
3. Cut them in 6-8 pcs.
4. Mix oil and mint leaves in a bowl.
5. Add potatoes to it.
6. Mix Salt and pepper to it.
7. Transfer it to a baking dish.
8. Grill/bake potatoes in oven at 250 degree F for 8-10 mins.
9. Take them out. Add finely chopped tomatoes and Lime juice. Mix lightly.
10. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.
11. Serve hot with fulkas/chapatis or as a snack or starters.

vegetarian Dum Biryani

The recipe goes like this:

Ingredients for Savory warm water

Water: 5 Cups
Nutmeg powder: 1/4 teaspoon
Whole Cinnamon 3" Broken up: 1
Whole Cloves: 6
1 Black whole cardamom
6 green cardamons:
Fennel seeds: 1/4 teaspoon
Bay leaves: 3
Black peppercorn: 6
Salt: 1 teaspoon
1 2 Star Anise
1 Mace

Ingredients for Sweet aroma milk

Milk: 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Saffron strands: 6
Kewra Essence: 1/2 teaspoon
Rose essence: 1/4 teaspoon (not necessary)

Ingredients for Rice Layer

Ghee: 1/4 cup
Long grain Bamati: 2 Cups
Savory warm water

Ingredients for Vegetable layer

2 Tablespoons Ghee/Clarified Butter
Onions Chopped: 1/2 Cup
4 Cloves
Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Potatoes Peeled and cubed: 1 cup
Carrots Peeled and diced: 1/2 cup (you may want to use carrot cut like chowmein also but essentially in biryani vegetable are chopped )
Cauliflower cut into small flowerets: 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Whole-milk yogurt: 1/2- 3/4 cup mixed with 1/2 - 1 tsp garam masala depending on how much is needed to coat the vegetables.
Water: 1/2 cup
Green peas: 1/2 cup
2 Tomatoes, Diced. (Not necessary)
1/2 cup Paneer Diced into small pcs. Or Grated.
10-11 Cashew
10-11 Makhana
1 tbsp Kismis
1 stick Cinnamon
3 Star Anise
You may use pineapple if you want to 1-2
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

Ingredients for Garnish layer

Ghee: 1/4 cup
Onions thinly sliced vertically: 1 Cup
Almonds sliced: 1/4 cup (not necessary)
Cashews halves: 1/4 cup
Fresh Ginger sliced into thin sticks: 1 Inch
Fresh Cilantro chopped: 1/4 cup
11-15 makhanas
Few Kismis

Method

Step 1: Savory aroma water.

1. Bring water to a boil, add Nutmeg, Mace, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black & green cardamoms, Fennel seeds, Bay leaves (Tej Patta), Black peppercorns, star anise and salt to taste.
2. Turn down heat to simmer.
3. Keep covered for 20 minutes.
4. If you want, you may put all the spices in a cheese cloth folded three times. This way you can remove the whole spices after the savory water is ready.

Step 2: Sweet aroma milk

Warm milk to 100º F. Add dry ingredients. Stir and cover.

Step 3: Rice

1. In a heavy bottom pan, heat ghee. Don't wash rice. Stir-fry rice till it turns opaque, then brown giving off nutty aroma.
2. Add 3 cups of savory warm aroma water.
3. Bring it to a boil. Simmer covered for about 10 minutes or till almost all the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be more than half way cooked. Keep it covered.

Step 4: Vegetables Layer

1. Wash and cut vegetables to your liking.
2. Heat a heavy bottom pan. Add and Heat ghee.
3. Add onions, and sauté till clear.
4. Add ginger, turmeric, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and rest of the spices mentioned in Vegetable Layer.
4. Continue stir frying but don't burn spices.
5. Add tomatoes till mixed properly with onions (if using tomatoes).
6. Add potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, salt and pepper. Sauté till the potatoes start to turn brown. Add yogurt and water.
7. Cover and simmer till the vegetables are tender. Stir in Green peas.

(I fried potates, cauliflower and paneer. kept some paneer for decoration)

8. Add Curd mixed with garam masala to the vegetables and mix properly.

Step 5: Garnish Layer

1. Now we need to prepare items for the garnish layer. Keep all items separate.
2. Sautee onions in Ghee till they are brown and caramelized.
3. Stir-fry Almonds and Cashews and makhanas so they start to turn brown. Add Kismis/Raisins at end.

Step 6: Creating Layers and Assembling

1. Choose a deep pot to assemble Biryani.
2. Remember the top and bottom layers are always Rice.
3. Lay a layer of rice.
4. Add a bit of savory water and milk in circular motion, add a layer of vegetables, add a "garnish layer".
5. Now start over with the layer of rice.
6. If it is the top layer of the rice, add the savory warm and milk as before and the garnish layer. Seal the Biryani pot with Aluminum foil.

Step 7: Dum the Biryani

1. Preheat oven to 425º F.
2. Place the Biryani pot in the oven for ten minutes.
3. Turn down the oven temperature to 275º F.
4. You can remove the pot after 15 minutes. You can also use this as a holding temperature for about one hour. Remove the pot from the oven 15 minutes before service. At the time of service, break the seal (remove the aluminum foil).

What makes a good Biryani? Everyone has there own little list. My list is simple and in order of priority follows:

1. Aroma. It should have both sweet fragrance and herbal warm aroma.
2. It should be savory, but not spicy
3. Finally, it should meet the age old test. Drop a handful of Biryani on a hard floor. No two grains of rice should be stuck to each other.

I don't remember if I used tomatoes or not. I think you can make both ways, using tomatoes and not using tomatoes.

;) Enjoy.

Bombay Pao Bhaji

Cuisine : Maharashtrian

Ingredients
4 medium Potatoes
4 medium Tomatoes
2 medium Onions
1/4 cup Green Peas (shelled)
1/4 small Cauliflower
Green Chillies 3-4
1/4 cup Fresh Coriander Leaves
1 medium Capsicum
1 inch Ginger
Garlic 8-10 cloves(optional)
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tbspsPav Bhaji Masala.
3 tbsps Oil .
3 tbspsButter .
Pav 8
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

Method

1. Boil, cool, peel and grate potatoes.
2. Wash and finely chop tomatoes.
3. Wash and grate cauliflower. Peel and finely chop onion.
4. Peel ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste.
5. Wash, halve, remove seeds and finely chop capsicum.
6. Wash, remove stems and finely chop green chillies.
7. Clean, wash and finely chop fresh coriander leaves.
8. Boil green peas in salted water till soft, drain, mash lightly and keep aside.
9. Cut lemon into wedges.
10. Heat oil in a pan and add three fourth quantity of chopped onions. Sauté till light brown. Add chopped green chillies and ginger garlic paste. Stir-fry for half a minute.
11. Add chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat for three to four minutes, stirring continuously or till oil separates from the masala. Add grated cauliflower and cook for a while. Add peas and cook.
12. Add pav bhaji masala, tomato puree, mashed potatoes and one and half cups water.
13. Bring it to a boil and simmer for ten minutes, pressing with back of the spoon a few times, till all the vegetables are completely mashed.
14. Add salt to taste. Add chopped capsicum, stir and cook for a little while. Slit the pao, apply a little butter. 15. Sprinkle red chilli powder and toast slightly on a hot tawa. Garnish the bhaji with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with pav accompanied with remaining chopped onion and lemon wedges.

Virgin Mary

Ingredients
300 ml tomato juice
2 grinds of black pepper
2 dashes of Tobasco sauce
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes of fresh lemon juice
1 bar spoon horseradish sauce (opt)
1 celery stick

Method
Shake all the ingredients over ice and strain into a highball filled with ice.
You can salt the rim by wiping it with a piece of lemon and then dipping this into a plateful of salt.
Garnish with a celery stick.

Kashmiri Rajmah Curry (Red kidney Beans)

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled Red Kidney Beans. (1 can SW Kidney beans)
2 chopped tomatoes (2 tbsp tomato paste)
1 chopped onion
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2" cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2-3 cardamons
1/4 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp red chillies powder (if desired. can also use 1 or 2 whole red chillies)
1/4 tsp amchoor powder
1/2 tsp jeera/ cumin seeds
Salt to taste
pinch of asafoetedia/ hing/ heeng
2tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped corriander leaves

Method
1. Heat oild in a pan.
2. add asafoetida.
3. add bay leaf, cinna stick, cardamons.
4. Add Cumin/jeera
5. Add Saunf/fennel seeds.
6. Add ginger garlic paste.
7. Add chooped onions or onion paste. Fry it till it gets tender and brown.
Add chopped tomatoes. Fry them till they mix easily with the onion. The consistency should be smooth like a thick paste. (If you are adding tomato paste, just add 2 1/2 cup water to it and let it simmer for 4 mins).
8. Now add all the masalas (garam masala, amchur powder, chilli powder, corriander powder).
9. Fry it for some 3 mins. If the mixture is thick add 1/2 cup water and let it simmer for 2-3 mins.
10. Add kidney beans. And add 1 cup water to it. If you want it thicker add less water. If you want curry to be thinner add more water.
11. Boil it for 5 mins.
12. Add Salt to taste.
13. Add chopped corriander leaves to garnish.
14. Serve Hot with white basmati Rice/ jeera rice/ herbed Jamine Rice.


2.