My Favourite Street Food

Mumbai Pav Bhaji

This is my most favourite food of all times. Yummy Pav Bhaji. I can eat it anytime, anywhere!
And whenever I am in the mood of eating some healthy street food, so this is the first choice.

For making the Bhaji for the Pav you will need -

The following vegetables in whatever proportion you prefer,

• Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Green Peas
• Carrots
• Capsicum
• Onions
• Tomatoes

Apart fom the vegetables u will also need-

• Pav (Bread)
• Butter
• Pav Bhaji masala (I use Everest or Badshah, you can use any brand)
• Red Chilly Powder
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Oil
• Salt
• Lime

First of all boil the potatoes, cauliflower, peas and carrots till they are tender.
Then mash them coarsely and keep aside .
Heat oil or butter in a pan .
Add minced garlic then add finely chopped onions and also finely chopped capsicum and saute till they turn brown.
Then add the grated tomatoes and blend well.
Add the red chilly powder , salt and pav bhaji masala and saute well.
Then put in the boiled and mashed vegetables.
Add little water if required.
Cook well.
Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Preparing the Pav-

• Slit the pav across the center, apply butter (generously) and warm it on a griddle .
• Serve the Bhaji with buttered pav, chopped onions and lime slices.

Enjoy !!

Veggie Salad

I was not very fond of salads until we were invited to a friend's place for dinner. She had prepared an exotic salad and we just loved it . And that is the day I realised that there is much more to salads than meets the eye. So I immediately phoned her the next day for the recipe. I made the same salad a couple of times and then started experimenting various combinations and dressings and the result each time was really very good. So today I will share with u the recipe of a very simple yet delicious and a healthy salad.

This simple salad needs veggies like- Lettuce (any kind that u like), cucumbers,onions,tomatoes,red cabbage,Oranges,apple,pineapple,carrots. Basically whatever u can eat raw and have in ur fridge ! And the quantity of each ingredient can also be as per ur liking. I usually take 1 each of all the veggies and fruits. u can use any fruits or veggies that u like. For the dressing u need olive oil,honey,salt,vinegar and ground black pepper. I also use a store bought dressing for a change at times like the thousand island dressing.

Wash all the vegetables and fruits well. Cut the lettuce in bite sized pieces and put them in a big salad bowl. Cut the cucumbers,onions,tomatoes,apples,carrots,cabbage in thin strips (juliennes) and add them into the bowl.Peel the skin of the orange and cut the slices into cubes,Half a cup of pineapple cubes (either fresh or tinned ) add them all in the bowl.

Then prepare the dressing. Take a tbsp of olive oil,a tsp of vinegar,a tsp of honey,a dash of salt and pepper and whisk them all together and pour it over the salad and mix them all together and serve.

Instead of the above dressing sometime I use the thousand island dressing and it tastes really great. I also add asparagus to the salad sometimes. Cut off the hard ends of the asparagus and cut them into 2" long sticks.wash them and put them in boiling water for 2 mins , remove and cool and put them in the salad bowl along with the other veggies.

Health Tip - When eating an orange make sure not to remove the 'white thread like' fibres (pericarp) surrounding the fruit with its rind removed. According to Wikipedia the pericarp is an excellent source of dietary fibre and has equal amounts of vitamin C as the fruit.

Ajwain Paratha

I served the Rajma with Ajwain Parathas.
Take Wheat Flour and knead it into a dough using water. The dough should neither be too soft nor too hard.Keep it aside for sometime. Then make small balls of the dough. Roll the ball into a small flat round shape. Now apply a little ghee or butter, sprinkle a few grains of Ajwain (carom seeds) and a pinch of salt. Then fold it into half and then to a quarter (it looks like a small triangle ) Now roll it into a triangular shape. Roast it on a hot griddle brushing it with ghee or butter and serve it hot.It really tastes delicious !! Simple and Tasty and the kids love it too.

My First Recipe

One of my favourite recipes is Rajma Curry (red kidney beans cooked in spicy sauce).

You need:-

1 cup Rajma (red kidney beans)
2 big onions finely chopped
4 tomatoes pureed
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Red chilly powder according to your taste
2tsp coriander powder
1/2tsp cumin powder
1/2tsp Garam masala
2tbsp oil
salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish.

Method:-
Soak rajma overnight in warm water. wash rajma and pressure cook it for 5 to 6 whistles in 3cups water.
Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste. saute till light brown and then add the tomato puree.Add salt and turmeric and mix well and cook till the oil seperates from the gravy. Then put in the spices-red chili pwdr,cumin pwdr,coriander pwdr. mix well. Then put in the rajma without the water.And saute well. Then add the garam masala and mix. Finally add the water in which the rajma was boiled and boil it well until it thickens a little. Add chopped cilantro and serve immediately with phulkas or rice.

Tip:- If u have not soaked rajma the previous night dont panic !! Just soak it in hot water for abt 2 hrs before boiling it. Bye the way , this tip came from my ever helpful hubby when I was feeling like having rajma for lunch and I had not soaked it the earlier night !!

My First Post

Welcome to Recipe Factory !

My passion for cooking, flavoured with my hubby's love for eating led me to the world of spices and cuisines. I really had no interest in cooking until I got married. My husband being a big foodie made me obsessed with food and the art of cooking it.There was a time when I was watching every food show in every language to satisfy my penchant for cooking and my hubby's tummy ! And my bookshelf started bulging with cookery books ( it still is ! ) and I started trying out recipes... a new recipe each day! Then I got introduced to the wonderful world of Food Blogging. I started learning more and more and trying out and still am! I just love to cook now and invent my own new ways of cooking . The idea of having my own food blog was inspired by my husband who loves to showoff my culinary skills !
So Enjoy and Happy Cooking !!