Instant Oats Yogurt and Pomegranate Parfait

Instant Oats Yogurt and Pomegranate Parfait is a delicious dish for all age groups. After the days of indulgence during this festive season, now it is time to control your portion so that you can enjoy the coming festive season because festive season has just kicked off and will continue till the starting of the next year. Hence, I have come with a recipe of oats which is just perfect for you at this point of time.

Instant Oats Yogurt Pomegranate parfait is an interesting oats recipe which you will love to make everyday. Parfait is a traditional frozen French dessert. Normally, it is made from a base of sugar syrup, egg and cream. However, in America the dessert is prepared by creating the layers using, cream, yogurt and varieties of fruits and granola and usually served in a glass. (Source: Wikipedia)

Instant Oats Yogurt and Pomegranate Parfait can be served as breakfast or dessert. It can also be consumed in between meals. This is a healthy and nutritious dish for any age groups. In pregnancy, woman feel hungry in between meals and that time this is the perfect quick dish to cook for them. Elderly person can control their portion of food as it is served in a small glass.




If your ingredients are ready you can prepare this oats recipe within 15 minutes. Try this recipe I am sure you are going to love it. When I prepared this oats yogurt parfait for the first time I was totally fallen in love with the taste. The best part are the pomegranate pearls which give an awesome taste and crunch to this parfait. If you are a fan of Overnight oats recipes then you will definitely love this quick oats parfait recipe. If you are a first-timer, then also you will be addictive to this instant oats yogurt and pomegranate parfait.

One more advantage of this recipe is you can prepare it in a glass bottle and close the lid and carry to your workplace along with a spoon and dig in at your convenient timing. Even you can keep the bottle in your office fridge and save for your 4 pm hunger pangs.

Here I am sharing few more oats recipes which you can try and share your feedback with me:

Overnight oats with banana dates and nuts
Oats and Poha Chivda 
Oats Tikki

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2

Instant Oats Yogurt and Pomegranate Parfait 

Ingredients

Instant oats- 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Pomegranate pearls - 1/2 cup
Honey- 2 tablespoon
Yogurt -  1/2 cup, plain or flavoured
Banana - 2 small, sliced
Sugar - 1 teaspoon

Procedure
1. Take instant oats, sugar and milk and cook on stove pot for a few minutes or till it’s cooked well.
2. Allow it to cool for some time.
3. Next take small glass, it can be wine glass, dessert glass etc, add the oats as the first layer and spread it.
4. Add yogurt as the second layer.
5. Now add 1 tablespoon pomegranate pearls and 2 to 3 banana slices.
6. Now drizzle little honey over it.
7. Again repeat the layers of cooked oats, yogurt, pomegranate, sliced bananas and honey.
8. Breakfast in a glass is ready.

Kala Chana Chaat

Kala Chana Chaat is a healthy and filling chaat prepared using dried black chickpeas.

How many of you do not like chaats?

Am I asking some weird question? I think so.. Because chaats are popular street food of India. Across India you can find different varieties of chaat and each region has a special type of chaat. We have diversity in our culture but the truth is we all love chaats according to our taste buds. As I told you that chaats are street foods, hence you get some delicious chaats sold in road side stalls or food trucks. These days chaats have made their place in some of the big restaurants menu card.

Kala Chana Chaat is an easy recipe for your evening snack option. This is a no oil recipe, hence good for weight watchers. Instead of chaat you can treat it as salad too (don't add the bhujia sev in that case).
Black chickpeas have a range of health benefits and it helps in weight loss. It is also loaded with dietary fibre and lot of minerals including copper, iron and phosphorus. Chickpeas are good source of protein too. I think these many health benefits are enough to include kala chana into your diet. Here are some other recipes using dried black chickpeas: Kala Chana Curry,  Kala Chana Salad.

Other than that you can add handful of kala chana in Bengali style Pumpkin curry or Banana Blossom Mishmash (Mochar ghonto).

While traveling by train I have observed many vendors sell kala chana chaat in sub urban areas. Those chaats may not well dressed or prepared with lot of ingredients but they are tasty too. They just use boiled kala chana and add chopped onions (optional), chopped green chilli, salt, lime juice and chaat masala. What is your favourite recipe using kala chana / dried black chickpea?

If you decide to prepare the kala chana chaat, you need to plan a day ahead as it requires overnight soaking. If you are fond of this chaat and wants to have twice or thrice a week. You can soak a big batch of kala chana and after soaking overnight, clean and drain the water and store them in a box in refrigerator. Use the required quantity for next few days, however, you cannot store them longer as they turn into sprouts.

Here are some more healthy snacking options, please click the below recipe names to get the recipes:

Masala Corn
Assorted Papad Canapes

Preparation time: overnight/ 6 to 8 hours
Cooking Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Servings: 2

Kala Chana Chaat
Ingredients

Kala chana/ dried black chickpeas - 11/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Cucumber - 1 small, chopped
Tomato - 1 medium chopped
Green Chilli - 1 or 2, chopped
Chaat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Lemon Juice - 2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Black Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Bhujia Sev (fine quality) - 1/4 cup
Coriander Leaves - finely chopped, 2 tablespoon


Procedure

1. Soak the kala chana / dried black chickpeas over night or at least for 6 to 8 hours.
2.  Later drain the water and take them in a pressure cooker and add water to boil the chickpeas. Allow 4 to 5 whistles or until they are cooked well.
3. Once the pressure releases, drain the water and allow them to cool.
4. Now in a big size bowl take cooked chickpeas, chopped onion, cucumber, tomato and green chilli and mix them well. 
5. Next add roasted cumin powder, black pepper powder, chaat masala, black salt and salt as per taste and give a good mix. 
6. Now add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix again. After that divide the chaat mixture in two plates and top them nicely with bhujia sev and serve.  

Sprouts Pulao

Sprouts are in my mind now! Since I have shared the post how to make sprouts at home, I am also experimenting with sprouts that how to include sprouts in our daily diet in the cooked form. Salads are the great way to incorporate sprouts in a healthy manner.

However, there are people who do not enjoy salads like I do, we should also think about themselves. Though you get the maximum benefit of sprouts when you eat them as salad, however in the cooked form also we get certain amount of nutrition which is helpful.

As an Indian point of view I was thinking how to include sprouts in our regular menu so that a larger population can keep it in their menu often and do not have to think fancy dishes to cook sprout at home. While cooking fancy dishes at times we think 'Oh that's a special dish needs lot of labour, will cook on a special day'. Ironically,  that special day either never comes or luckily comes once or twice in a year.

Dal, curry/sabji, rice are our (read Indian) staple food and if you skip them for one or two days we really feel something is missing from our life! My thought was to include sprouts in to our staple food and then I prepared sprouts curry. I got a very good response from my friends and they are eager to try it at home.

My today's post is sprouts pulao. Now I have added sprouts to the rice and our daughter relished this pulao. Sprouts pulao is an easy and quick one pot meal which you will love any day. You know my love for typical one pot meals. They are just perfect for our busy or lazy life.

Sprouts pulao is a very good lunch box option. Even when you don't have any veggies in your pantry but have some sprouts in the refrigerator you can quickly prepare a tasty meal. Here I have shared how to cook sprouts pulao and used the spices according to our taste buds. You can experiment according to your taste buds.

Once again I would love to know how do you use sprouts other than salads? Pour in suggestions and keep reading my blog and follow me through my social media handles (Instagram, Facebook) to get regular updates.

Some more pulao recipes here, click them to get the recipe:

Soya Pulao
Chicken Pulao
Bengali style Mitha Pulao

Preparation time: 10 to 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2

Sprouts Pulao

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Mixed Sprouts - 3/4 cup
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Ginger Paste - 2 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Bay Leaf - 1
Cinnamon Stick - 1/2 inch
Green Cardamom - 1
Clove - 1
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Refined oil - 1 to 2 tablespoon

Procedure

1. Wash and soak basmati rice for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Heat ghee and oil together in a pan and add cinnamon stick, cardamom, bay leaf and clove.
3. After few minutes, add chopped onion into it and start sautéing until they are translucent.
4. Next add ginger paste, followed by all the dry spices including coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Give a good stir. Add salt to taste.
5. If spices are getting burnt, you can add little water add this point.
6. Next add mixed sprouts and mix well with spices slowly.
7. After that add soak rice and give a good mix.
8. Now it's time to add required water (almost double the amount of rice). I added 21/2 cup of water and check the seasoning.
9. Close the pan with a lid and cook under medium flame.
10 . When the water is almost dried and top of the rice you can see small holes, switch off the gas and give a standing time of 10 minutes. Later serve with curd or raita.

Baby Corn Fritters / Baby Corn Pakoda

Baby corn fritters or Baby Corn Pakoda are crispy and crunchy snack which can accompany your evening tea or coffee. I was not familiar with baby corn in my childhood as our daughter is! The reason behind this may be the globalization has not started back then and top of that we were not in the era of digitalization.

Information was not at all handy at that time! However, we knew about corn (jake amra boli 'Bhutta') and roasted corn of the cobs was one of our favourite snack. We didn't know about boiled sweet corn with the choice of multiple flavours.

I first came to know about baby corn in Chennai I think during my college days. I had them in couple of Chinese restaurants. And much later I started using in my cooking when I was in Goa for my job.

No I never made a fancy dish out of baby corn at that time because I had no clue how to prepare it and moreover I had no time for experimenting. Those days my one pot meal khichdi saved my days in the morning. Cut all the veggies add it to rice and lentil add on spices and whistle in the pressure cooker. Serve myself with a dollop of ghee and then just walk through the lanes behind the Panjim church and catch the 8:35 am bus. Nostalgic!

I used to add baby corn in to dal and it satisfied my taste buds. I rarely buy baby corn in my house as no one prefers it much. Since the little one is a foodie and loves to experiment and taste different foods (just like me, my traits 😉) one day she picked up the baby corn packet from the vegetable shop and said how cute those veggies are, Mumma can we take them home?. I was like why not and out those baby corns I made these fritters. Before heading to the recipe let's learn few things about baby corn which I was going through while drafting this post.

What is Baby Corn?
The scientific name of baby corn is Zea mays L. and it is a famous vegetable in Asia. Baby corn can be consumed raw or cooked and it is sweet in taste.

What is the difference between corn and baby corn?
Baby corn is also a cob of maize however, it is harvested at an early stage when the stalks are small and immature. Baby corn ears are small in size and ranges from 4.5 to 10 cm. They are hand picked immediately after the emergence of the corn silks from the ear tips or a few days later.

What are the health benefits of baby corn?
According to a research the baby corn is rich in nutrient which includes protein, dry matter, vitamin A and vitamin C. It has 0% fat and also has other vitamins and minerals. It does not have fat and low in carbs hence this is good for weight loss.

Use and production of Baby corn
 Baby corn is widely used in Asian dishes especially in Thai and Chinese cuisine. Baby corn is largely produced in Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia. However, fresh baby corn is not available in U.S. and you can get the canned variety.

Let's check out the recipe of baby corn fritters. Do you eat baby corns? If yes how do you use them. Though I get them rarely but I do add in fried rice or noodles and baby corn adds and extra crunch and sweetness to the dish.

Baby Corn Fritters / Baby Corn Pakoda

Ingredients
Baby Corn - 1 cup, vertically cut the into two pieces
Maida/All Purpose Flour - 1 cup + for dusting
Corn Flour - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking Soda - a pinch
Garlic Paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Black Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Chaat masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Refined oil - 2 to 3 cups for deep frying


Procedure
1. Take the baby corns, wash them and pat dry and vertically cut them in to halves and keep aside.
2. Now take maida, corn flour, salt, red chilli powder, garlic paste and add a pinch of soda to make a smooth batter with addition of required batter. Batter should not be runny or too thick.
3. Heat oil in a wok/pan and add a teaspoon of hot oil into the batter and mix it well.
4. Dust the baby corn in refined flour and dip in the batter and deep fry in hot oil under medium flame until it is golden in colour.
5. Take them out in a kitchen towel to soak the excess oil and sprinkle black salt and chaat masala on top and serve with tea/coffee or ketchup/chutney.

Sprouts Curry / Sprouts Sabzi

Sprouts curry or Sprouts sabzi is an easy and tasty side dish to go with roti or paratha. You can also pair sprouts curry with rice. In my last post I have shared How to make sprouts at home?, did you check it?
I have prepared mixed sprouts curry and my mixed sprouts contain green moong, moth bean and horsegram. You can replicate the same recipe using your choice of sprouts. It could be a single variety like moong sprout or it could be mix of 2 or 3 sprouts.

You can prepare the sprouts curry in two ways. Here I have mixed all the masalas and later added the sprouts and altogether I have cooked in pressure cooker. However, you can do other way.

Alternatively, you can boil the sprouts in pressure cooker and add them to your cooked spices. Either way will not make any change to the taste of the curry.

My better half does not prefer lot of healthy stuff😐. I meant to say he does not prefer to eat raw sprouts which me and daughter like in the form of simple chaat.

I do not make an elaborate sprout chaat normally. I wash the sprouts and add some chopped onions, sprinkle black salt and pepper powder and squeeze some lemon on top. Tadaa! Our quick sprout chaat is ready. I will make a separate blog post on sprout chaat which is famous these days.

I knew sprouts curry would be hit at my house as He relish dal, lentils and legumes with roti, paratha or naan. Do you have similar family members at your home too? Then here is some recipes with lentils and legumes, check them out.

Dal Musallam
Dal Palak
Dal Fry
Lauki Chana Dal

Sprouts Sabzi is a good side dish however, you can just have a bowl of sprouts curry topped with chopped onion, green chilli, coriander leaves in lunch or dinner just the way we Bengalis have a bowl of ghugni.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2

Sprouts Curry / Sprouts Sabzi 

Ingredients
Sprouts - 1 cup (I used Mixed Sprouts)
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Ginger Paste - 1 teaspoon
Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, crushed
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Green Chilli - 1 or 2
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Salt to taste
Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch
Refined oil - 2 to 3 tablespoon

 Procedure

1. Take a cup of sprout and wash well and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon stick.
3. Next add crushed garlic when they turn slight golden, add onions and keep them sautéing until they are translucent.
4. After that add ginger paste and mix well.
5. Next goes all the dry spices including turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mix well.
6. The spices should not get burnt hence you can add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water.
7. Next add chopped tomato and green chilli and cook until the tomatoes are well cooked.
8. At this moment add the sprouts and mix well with all the spices.
9. Now add 11/2 cup of water and pour it in a pressure cooker, check the seasoning,  close the lid and allow 3 to 4 whistles or until the sprouts are soft.
10. Once the pressure releases pour the curry in a vessel and serve with roti or paratha.

How to make Sprouts at home / How to make Mixed Sprouts at Home

Sprout refers to the shoot which comes out from seeds due to the germination process.  When you soak the seeds, it gets water and starts germinating and later develop a plant.  Sprouts have a wide range of health and nutritional benefits.

Whenever we visit to the supermarket we get to see the box of sprouts and normally we tend to buy it immediately as we are getting it readymade. Let me tell you making sprouts at home is not a rocket science. Most importantly you do not have to spend lot of time for that.

Instead of buying a box of sprouts, I would recommend to make it fresh at home as homemade things are always the best including homemade sprouts. Sometimes store bought sprouts are not stored under suitable temperature and they are tend to spoil soon and that would not go well with your health.

While drafting this post I remember how our maa used to make it a point that we eat sprouted Bengal gram every morning especially on winter days. Maa used to make Bengal gram sprout which we call in kal berono chola. We did not have green moong beans sprout as green moong was not popular at that time (Yes I am talking about almost 25 years back).

Sprouts are powerhouse of lot of vitamins and minerals. Hence it is important to include sprouts in your daily diet. Sprouts are also good for weight loss. You can enjoy sprouts chaat or add in your salads or prepare any other dish out of it.

In this blog post I am sharing how to make mixed sprouts at home. Mixed sprouts included Green moong, Horse gram and Moth bean sprouts. Making green moong sprout is the easiest thing. You can also add kidney bean and Bengal gram in mixed sprouts. In that case I would suggest to soak them separately and after germination mix them with other sprouts as these two take more time in germination.

Use homemade sprouts in any form and include them to your daily diet. You can make sprouts pulao, sprouts masala, sprouts biryani, sprouts salad, sprouts sandwich and plenty of other choices to make. Do share what do you prepare with sprouts?

How to make Sprouts at home / How to make Mixed Sprouts at Home
Ingredients

Green Moong - 1 cup
Horse Gram - 1/2 cup
Moth Bean - 1/2 cup

Procedure

1. Take all the beans together in a bowl.
2. Wash them thoroughly 3 to 4 times in water.
3. Now soak the beans with excess water (the water level should be 1 inch above the beans) overnight.
4. Next day drain the water and clean them once again and take them in another bowl.
5. Keep the bowl inside a casserole closing the lid and keep undisturbed for 18 to 20 hours.
6. Next day you will see green moong has germinated whereas the other beans are about to germinate.
7. There is a chance of getting bad smell from them which is natural. Hence, you can wash them and put them back in the casserole once again and keep undisturbed.
8. After 12 to 14 hours other beans will also germinate and moon sprouts are well grown by that time.
9. Now wash the mixed sprouts and store them in a container and refrigerate them and use as required.

NB: keep the casserole or hot box in a warm place and do not disturb it.

Dates Shake / Dates Milkshake / Khajoor Shake

Dates Milkshake or dates shake is a healthy, filling and nutritious drink which made using seedless or deseeded dates and milk. Dates alternatively known as 'khajoor' has umpteen health benefits.

Dates helps to lowers cholesterol, rich in protein, vitamins and fibre, improves bone health, rich in iron, improves skin and many more.

This is a two ingredient dates milkshake and most important it does not contain any sugar. Remember that dates are natural sweetener and hence you need not add any sugar into the dates milkshake.

Dates milkshake is a quick recipe and a very good drink for the kids. After school when the kids come back home they are totally tired and down with energy.

However, the kids again have to rush for their tuition, hobby classes or to the playground and followed by study in the evening. This dates milkshake can definitely increase their energy meter to do all the tasks. The dates contains high amount of carbohydrate which is the source of the energy.

Instead of the market bought packet juices you can serve dates shake to your kids. Most importantly the kids who does not love drinking milk this dates shake gives a lovely taste to the regular milk.

You can either use seedless dates or deseed the dates before adding them to the drink. When you prepare this two ingredient dates shake using chilled milk, this will be a perfect summer drink.

Instead of chilled milk you can also use ice cubes to make it chill for summer. However I would recommend this drink without ice to enjoy the creaminess of the shake.

You can explore more options by adding either a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream into it. What is the quick energy drink you prepare for the kids? Do share with me...

Here is few milkshake recipes, click and check

OREO Milkshake
Mango Milkshake
Apple Cinnamon Milkshake

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Servings - 1

Dates Shake / Dates Milkshake / Khajoor Shake / How to make Dates Milkshake

Ingredients

Dates - 7 to 8 nos
Milk - 11/2 cup


Procedure

1. Deseed the dates and chopped them into small pieces.
2. In a blender, take the chopped dates and milk (1/2 cup) together and blend until a smooth paste.
3. Now add the remaining milk and blend once again.
4. After that take a tall glass and pour the shake into it and serve immediately.

NB: You can also add ice cubes. I have not added ice cubes as I have used boiled and chilled milk.

Soya Pulao/Soyabean Pulao/ Meal maker Pulao

Soya Pulao or Soya bean pulao is a quick rice recipe which you can pack for lunchbox. It is also known as meal maker pulao. If you follow my blog, by now you know how much I admire one pot meals as I always prefer to cook easy tasty and nutritious dish for my family.

Soya pulao is a wholesome meal which gives you portion of carb (carbohydrate) as well as protein. I have added carrots and green peas which make it more nutritious. Meal maker pulao is a very good option of one pot meal for both vegetarians and non vegetarians.

Since my daughter started going to formal school (completed preschool) we had a huge change in our daily routine. And I believe this change was much needed. Normally, I am a night person so getting up early and then preparation of two boxes (read snack box and lunch box) was quite challenging initially. Slowly I have adapted the change but I will tell you one thing still lot more change is required to get used to this routine.

Have you ever faced this kind of challenge where you have to come out from your comfort zone and accommodate things according to the requirement? I would love to listen to your story too.

People might thing this is not a challenge or problem, but until you face the situation you cannot judge. We learn from the small changes and it would be really great to listen from the other side and be inspired.

While I was slowly adapting the changes our regular meal menu also had some changes. Instead of typical Bengali platter now we have started one pot quick meals or parathas/rotis for lunch and we enjoy our fish curry rice in dinner (not daily) or on weekends.

Coming to this soya pulao recipe, it is very flavourful rice which you can enjoy with curd or raita or any curry. I can eat this just like that. You can use frozen peas instead of fresh peas.

Now you might ask why I am sharing such an easy recipe like soya pulao. As I always say I share easy and tasty recipes which is handy in day-to-day life. This recipe will help a busy mom or a bachelor or a tired wife and there is no compromise of nutrition. You can prepare soya pulao in pressure cooker as well as in rice cooker.

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 30 minutes
Serving - 2

Soya Pulao/ Soyabean Pulao/ Meal maker Pulao

Ingredients
Soya Chunks - 1 cup
Basmati Rice - 11/2 cup
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1 medium, chopped into fine squares
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Tomato Puree - 2 tablespoon
Bay Leaf - 1
Salt to taste
Refined Oil -  3 tablespoon


Procedure

1. Clean and soak the rice for 15  minutes and later drain the water.
2. Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. The soya chunks will increase the size after soaking the water. Drain the excess water and rinse them with clean water 2 to 3 times to remove the raw smell.
4. Heat a pan and add one tablespoon of oil and sauté the soya chunks with little salt, turmeric powder and garma masala powder (1/4 teaspoon). Later keep them aside.
5. Heat remaining 2 tablespoon of oil and add a bay leaf into it.
6. Next add chopped onions and fry them till they are translucent.
7. Add chopped carrots, green peas, and ginger and cook for few minutes.
8. After that add all the dry spices including turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder. Mix them well.
9. After 3 to 4 minutes add tomato puree and cook until the raw smell is gone.
10. Finally add fried soya chunks and soaked rice and mix with the spices.
11. Now add adequate water ( 3 cups approx.) and adjust the salt. Allow it to boil.
12. When it starts boiling cover with a lid and cook under a medium flame.
13. After 10 to 15 minutes when water is almost dried, switch off the gas and give a standing time of 5 minutes.
14. Serve hot with curd / raita / any curry.

NB: When the water is almost dried you will see small holes on the surface of the rice. That means your pulao is done.

If you want to prepare this soya pulao in pressure cooker, after adding water close the lid of the cooker and allow 2 to 3 whistle (depends on the rice variety you are using). After the pressure releases your soya pulao is ready to serve.

If you want to use rice cooker after step 10 add the rice soya chunk mixture into rice cooker. Add adequate water and cover the lid and cook mode on. Once it is cooked the cook mode will automatically turned off and after 5 minutes switch off the power switch and serve it hot.

Matar ka Pakora/ Green Peas Fritters / Peas Pakora

Matar ka Pakora or Green Peas Fritters are tasty accompaniment with evening tea or snacks. I prepared these crispy matar ka pakora or matar ke pakode sometime back when the peas are just going to vanish from the markets. But I could not share the recipe due to my busy schedule. One way it was good because after sharing the recipe if you are not getting the peas in the market you would not try this recipe. Though you can prepare this recipe using frozen peas in that case you can just skip the step of boiling peas instead you just have to thaw them. Now I saw peas are again started coming in the market and few days later you will get them at cheaper rate. You can buy bulk green peas at reasonable rate and make yummy recipes with them. Now you can bookmark this recipe to make it soon.

Though I have mentioned that you can use frozen peas when there is no availability of fresh green peas but I would also say try it with the fresh peas. You will get the actual test of this pakoras. Now coming to the recipe if you check the ingredient list you will find ginger, asafoetida or hing, cumin seeds in it. I will tell you these three ingredient complements the taste of green peas or I can say enhance the taste. Peas Kachori or Matar ke Kachori is a famous dish from West Bengal where we use these three spices (ginger, asafoetida, cumin) along with matar and if you had them you know the taste of it. If you have not try them you should include it to your to do list. That's cooking, mix and match of ingredients helps to enhance the test of the primary ingredient. While preparing these pakoras I had the same concept in my mind and I included those three spices in the pakoras as well. Apart from adding to dals, curries and pulaos I also prepare Green Peas Masala when I have excess stock of Green Peas. What is you favourite recipe with green peas or hare matar? Do share with me and till I come with a new post try this recipe and share your feedback and keep visiting my blog...

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Matar ka Pakora/ Green Peas Fritters / Peas Pakora
Ingredients

Green Peas - 11/2 cup
Ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium size, finely chopped
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Green Chilli - chopped, 1 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Leaves - chopped, 2 tablespoon
Gram flour/Besan - 2/3 to 1 cup
Cooking Soda - a pinch
Refined Oil - 1 to 2 cups for deep frying

Procedure

1. Boil the peas in a pressure cooker for 1 or 2 whistle. Drain the water and allow them to cool.
2. Now coarsely mash the peas using a masher or back of a ladle.
3. Mix chopped onion, coriander leaves, ginger, green chilli with the coarsely  mashed green peas/ matar.
4. Next add salt, cumin seeds, asafoetida, cooking soda and mix well.
5. Now add the gram flour/besan to the mixture. The moisture present in the mixture will help to bind the gram flour. If required add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water. The mixture will be dry in nature not liquid kind of batter.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add lemon size ball mixture in to the oil. Deep fry them under medium flame until they are golden brown.
7. Serve hot with tea or coffee or ketchup or chutney.

Badami Paneer / Paneer in Almond Gravy

Badami paneer is a delicious paneer dish where juicy paneer cubes are cooked in a rich nutty flavour of almond paste. The gravy gets a rich yet creamy and sweet texture of almonds. Onion also contributes sweetness to the gravy. Along with the other spices (read Indian spices) this gravy gives a royal taste.

Almond is a popular nuts which has lot of health benefits. You can eat almonds just like that as a snack. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals and helps to lower the bad cholesterol level and increase good cholesterol level. Today almond is widely used in vegan dishes.

Normally I eat almond as a snack. Obviously I prefer to eat the unsalted ones. Even I add few to my daughter's snack plate. I remember my mother used to give us (two sisters) soaked almond in the morning. Apart from that I do add almonds sometimes to my overnight oats or sweet dishes or cakes. Beyond that I have never explored almond in cooking. This is the first time (I think so I haven't used it yet) I have used almond in a gravy and it turned out so good that I am planning to use more almonds in my dishes. Do you add almonds in cooking? If yes, do share the way you include almonds in your dishes?

The Badami paneer can be well paired with any type of Indian bread (whole wheat lachha paratha, Stove-top butter naan,   Maida Paratha, etc.). I think it will also go well with Jeera Rice.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2

Badami Paneer

Ingredients

Paneer 250 gms
Almonds 20-25 nos
Onion 2 nos
Garlic cloves, finely chopped 4-5 nos
Tomato 2 nos
Turmeric Powder 1 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder 1 teaspoon
Cumin Powder 1 teaspoon
Sugar 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder 1/4 teaspoon
Green Cardamom 2 nos
Cinnamon 1 inch
Bay Leaf 1 nos
Clove 2 nos
Green Chilli 2 nos
Refined Oil 4 tablespoon
Salt (to taste) 1 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee 1 teaspoon

Procedure
1. Soak the almonds in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. After soaking the almonds, remove the skin and keep them aside.
3. Cut the paneer into long cubes.
4. Heat 2 table spoon oil and sauté the paneer cubes with little turmeric and salt and keep them aside.
5.Take almonds and tomatoes in a blender and make a smooth paste.
6.Heat the remaining oil and add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté till they are translucent.
7. After that add ginger paste and cook well.
8. Next add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and red chilli powder. Mix them well.
9. Now after cooking the masalas switch off the gas and allow to cool the masala for sometime.
10.Next take the masala mixture in a blender and make a paste.
11. Now heat ghee in the same pan and add cinnamon stick, cardamom, clove and bay leaf.
12. Next add almond and tomato mixture and cook until the raw smell of tomato is gone.
13. Add salt and sugar and mix well.
14. After that add the masala paste and mix well.
15. Add 1 or 11/2 cup of water and allow to boil for some time.
16. Next add green chilli and sautéed paneer into the gravy and cook for 5 more minutes.
17. Finally switch off the gas and garnish with chopped coriander leaves