Carrot parota

Paratas are very famous staple food of North Indians. Punjabi Parathas are world famous. Paratas are prepared with veggies, plain or dal etc. Hot parata and ghee or butter on the top of parata with pickle or any curry is enjoyable at any time of the day. Paratas or Indian  flatbread is made of wheat. Wheat is grown widely and it is the main crop of Punjab and North India. So it is one of the reason paratas are the staple food of people of North India . They eat parathas any time of the day like, breakfast or snack or dinner.
I have prepared Carrot Paratas, using carrots, onions and little spices. It can be prepared easily and you don't have to look for a curry for this parata. A cup of curd and a little pickle will help you to enjoy your Carrot Parata.

Let us see some benefits of eating carrots in our diet.
Carrots are rich in anti - oxidants, vitamins and dietary fiber. They have very less amount of fat and no cholesterol. They are rich in Vitamin . Beta-carotene is one of the powerful natural anti oxidant that helps and protect human body from harmful oxygen free radical injury. They are good in Vitamin C and it helps the body to maintain healthy connective tissue, teeth and gum. They are rich in many B-complex group of vitamins such as folic acid. They contian minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese and phosphorus
Carrot Parota can be eaten at anytime of the day. It can be prepared for breakfast, or evening snack and for dinner.

Things Needed :

Wheat flour;   2 cup
Carrot: 2 to 3 ( medium size )
Onion : 2 (small size)
Green chillies: 2
Coriander leaves: 6 to 8 sticks.
Ginger: a small piece
Cummin/Jeera seeds: 1/2 Tea spoon
Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera/cumin powder : 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt: to taste.
Oil: 3 to 4 Table spoon

Method:

1. Wash and grate (just remove the outer layer) carrots. Cut onions into small pieces.
2. Wash and cut coriander leaves and green chilly into thin pieces.

3. Take a big pan and put wheat flour a spoon of ghee or oil and mix. Add water little by little and prepare dough. Keep it aside.
4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add oil and jeera. Fry for 10seconds. Add cut onions and fry for a minute.

5. Add carrots, green chilly and fry till all the moisture disappear. Add salt and jeera powder, garam masala powder.

6. Stir nicely and mix it well. Add coriander leaves and stir till all the moisture disappear. ( or you may not be able to roll pJarata).

7. Now take prepared dough and divide them into small portion.
8. Take a small portion of dough and kneed it. Flatten the dough slightly and place a tablespoon of ready carrot onion mixture.
9. Cover the dough from all side and make it as a ball.

10. Keep some wheat flour in a plate.
11. Take filled wheat dough, dip it in the flour and roll slowly with a ruler. Let it be bit thick.
12. Heat tava on the fire and sprinkle oil on it. Place the rolled  carrot onion parata on the tava.
13. Cook on both side and sprinkle some oil on both side. Let the parata turn slightly golden brown on each side.

14. Remov from the pan and serve with the main dish and a cup of curd along with Carrot parata.
15. Repeat the same with remaining dough.

Note : 

Let the fried mixture be completely dry while cooking. You can use more or less chilly. (optional). Using ghee or butter to cook parata is optional. You can use more or less spices.
Time : 30 to 40 minutes. 
 Serves : 3 to 4 people .        

Potato Parota My style

Potato Parata or Parante ...as said in North India is very famous all over the world now a days. These Potatoes have many good qualities. Potatoes are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals that protect against cancer and promote heart - health. Like wise, eating potatoes can reduce inflamation. Eating potatoes can increase brain function. Potatoes contain Vitamins C and B complex, potassium, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus.
Wheat flour is rich in fiber, contain Vitamins and it regulates the blood sugar.

Potato Parota can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even you can have them for snack in the evening time. Remember Potato Parotas are stomach filling. All age group people will enjoy having these Parotas.

Things needed:
Wheat flour : 2 Cups
Potato : 2 ( large )
Chilly Powder : 1/2 Tea spoon
Cummin Seeds powder: 1 Tea spoon
Salt : to taste
Coriander leaves : 4 to 6 sticks
Oil : 3 to 4 Table spoons
Method:
1. Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker for  6 to 8 minutes. leave it for cooling.
2. Wash and cut coriander leaves. Remove the skin of the cooled potatoes.

3. Now take a big bowl, add cut coriander leaves, red chilly powder and jeera. Add potatoes and mix it thoroughly and keep this mixture aside.

4.. Now take a big bowl. Add wheat flour. Add salt and 1 tea spoon of oil and prepare dough with required water and keep it aside.
5. Divide the dough into small balls. Take one portion of the dough and roll a little.
6. Place the potato mixture in the middle and close it from all sides.

7.Roll this with dry wheat flour
(so that it does not stick to the roller) and make parotas.

8. Keep a frying pan on the fire, heat for 1 minute, put 1 tea spoon of oil and cook rolled parota. Turn the other side and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Repeat the same with other parotas too.

 Serve Hot Potato parotas with yoghurt or tomato ketchup.
 Note : Take little (1 to 2 drops) oil and spread it on the chapati before placing the potato mixture)  You can easily stuff the mixture and parota comes out soft and tasty too. Do not overboil the potatoes. You can use ghee instead of cooking oil. Ushing ghee for Parotas will be tasty but not good for health.
Serves :  2 to 3 
Time : 30 minutes for the parotas. (Boiling extra 20 minutes..since you need to wait for the pressure cooker to cool down naturally).

Wheat Flour Papdi( crispy ) Chat

Papadi is a fried fritter normally prepared using Maida. Chats are every one's favourite.
Papadi is used for preparing chats of many kind. Like Dahi papadi chat, Papdi chat and Sev papdi Papadi is used for preparing chats of many kind. Like Dahi papadi chat, Papdi chat and Sev papdi chat..etc.

Papadi chat with Sweet and Spicy Chutney (Without Curd )

                         
You can have them with  Thick Curd on the top  with Sweet and Spicy Chutney.

I love chats with simple with mild spices. Most of the time I do prepare papdis at home and enjoy eating.  Preparing chats at home has many advantages like, You can be just sure what you are eating and that is more important to me. Another one is you can eat as many papdis. You can choose your own spreadings.
I have used wheat flour, moong dal and some spices. It has turned out crispy and exactly what I wanted.

Ingredients:

Papdis :
Wheat Flour : 1 cup
Moong Daal: 2 Table spoon
Chilly Powder: 1 Tea spoon
Asafotodia: a pinch
OIl: 1 cup ( to fry Papdis )
Chat Mixture :
Onion: 1
Coriander leaves: 4 to 6 sticks
Carrots : 1
Boiled Groundnuts : 2 Tablespoons
Fried GroundNuts : 2 Tablespoons
Dahi/Curd/Yogurt : 1/2 Cup
Chat Masala : a pinch

Method:

1. Papadi : 
1. Soak Moong Daal for ten mintues.
2.Put wheat flour in a big bowl and add salt.chilly powder, Jeera/cumin seeds, ingh and mix it well.
3. Wash soaked moong dal and remove all the water from moong dal. Add moong dal to the flour.
4. Mix it well and add a teaspoon of ghee. Mix again nicely. Add required water and prepare dough.

5. Kneed the dough nicely and divide the dough into small portion.
6. Take a small portion and give a ball shape. Dip in wheat flour and roll that into small poori shape.

7. Prepare some small papads and arrange them in a plate.
8. Keep a  pan on the fire and heat. Put oil and let it get heat. Fry papadis on low flame till they turn crispy on both sides. (Do not burn them as black).

9. Remove fried papdis from oil and put it on a kitchen tissue.
10. Repeat the same with remaining dough.
11. Keep fried papdis in a big bowl.

Note : Fry them on low flame so that it turns crispy. Adding more chilly powder is optional. Normally papdis have only salty taste. (Plain). You can not keep them for long. It turns saggy and soft.
Toppings : 
1. Wash and cut onions into thin. Cook groundnuts and remove the shell and keep it aside.
2. Keep a pan on the fire and dry roast or fry groundnuts with very little oil. Keep it aside.
3. Grate carrots and put it in a big bowl. Add cooked ground nuts, cut oinions.
4. Wash and cut coriander leaves into thin. Mix carrots and other ingredients nicely.
5. Add salt and chat masala to the carrots, onions, coriander leaves and boiled ground nuts.
6. Mix it well and keep the toppings ready.

Sweet and spicy chutney.
Wash and grind mint/pudina, coriander leaves, jeera/sonf 1 tablespoon of jaggery and little tamarind together with salt. Use very little water to grind it. Remove from the mixi jar and put it in a bowl.
Servigng :
1. Arrange the papdis in a plate and put some carrot - onion mixture on the top.
2. Add littel sweet and spicy chutney. Top up with roasted or fried groundnuts.
3. Papdi Chat is ready to serve.

4. You can add little dahi on the top serve Dahi/Curd papdi chat.

Note :
Adding more /less chat mixture is optional. Adding more spice to the chat mixture is optional.
Adding boiled potatoes on the top of papdis is optional. ( I did not use potatoes).
All together : 1 Hour
Serves : 3 to 4 . 

Rava Idli

Rava Idli  is a well known breakfast dish. We can prepare Rava idli in different ways using different vegetables and spices. I have prepared Rava Idli , using medium sized Samolina (Rave) and some spices.

Rava idli can be eaten with coconut chutney, or any other chutneys, curries, sambar or gojju.(Thick variety of curry).
It is an instant idli and can be prepared with in 20 minutes. Hot idlis should be enjoyed.

Ingredients:

Rav:2 cups
Curd: 1 cup
Mustard seeds 1/2 tea spoon
Urad daal: 1/2 tea spoon
Asofotodia(ingh): a Pinch
Curry leaves: 6 to 8
Green chillies: 2
Salt: to taste
Eno salt: 1/2 tea spoon
Oil: 1 tea spoon.

Method

1. Take a pan.Put 1 tea spoon of oil and heat for 2 seconds. Add mustard seeds and urad daal. Fry until mustard seeds splutter.
2. Add asfotodia and curry leaves.( Cut curry leaves into small).
3. Add rava and fry for 5 minutes. Add cut green chillies. Leave it for cooling.

4 Take a bowl. Put curd and add 1/ 2 cup of water. Add salt, cut coriander leaves and grated coconut. Add fried rava, leave it for 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Take idli plates.Apply oil and keep it.
6. Add Eno salt to the ready dough and Put the dough to idli plates.

7. Cook idlis for 8 to 10 minutes in the pressure cooker or idli cooker.(Do not keep weight on the pressure cooker).

8.Now put off the gas. Open the lid of the pressure cooker and take out the ready idli plates.
9. Serve Hot Rava idli with the side dish you have prepared.

Note 

You can also add grated carrot and Green peas to the dough while mixing. You can add cut cashew nuts while frying. I have prepared simple idlis. You can enrich the idea and prepare nice rava idli. If you do not have idli plates, use any container which fits inside the cooker and cook idlis.(Cut ready idly according to your wish). Mix Eno when you are about put the dough into idli plates. You can use cooking soda instead Eno Salt. Add a pinch of cooking soda just before you fill idli plates with idli dough.
Time : 25 to 30 minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4

MIxed Vegetable Sambar.

Sambar (Curry) is a gravy dish and it can be one of the side dish too. Sambar is prepared in many ways. Sambar can have many or a few vegetables too. It can be with coconut or with out using coconut. Sambar goes well with white or boiled rice plain rice, idli, dosa, chapati or even rotis and poori.

Here is a Sambar recipe, used vegetables like carrots, Knolkol and beans. I have used freshly roasted and ground spices. Using fresh roasted spices turns the curry with fresh aroma of the spice and sambar taste better.
Lets see the recipe now.

Ingredients:

To cook :
Toor Daal:1/4 cup
Carrot: 2 (Medium size)
Knolkol :1 Medium size)

Beans :  10 to 15.
To roast : 
Coriander seeds: 1 Tea spoon
Fenugrick seeds: 1/4 Tea spoon
Cummin Seeds: 1/4 Tea spoon
Red Chiillies: 4 ( or Red chiilly powder: 1/2 tea spoon)
Urad daal: 1/2 Tea spoon
 To Add :
Tamarind: a little ( small lemon size)
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Asafotodia: a pinch
Salt: to taste
To Dry grind :
 Dry roasted Spices.
To season :
Oil: 1 Table spoon
Mustard seeds: 1/2 Tea spoon
Curry leaves: 8 to 10
Coriander leaves: 3 to 4 sticks.

Method:

1. Cook Toor/Moong dall in a pressure cooker for 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Wash and cut vegetables according to your wish and boil separately until it cooks.( for 10 minutes)

3. Keep a pan on the fire and heat.  Add fenugric seeds and urad daal ,roast until it turns into brown, add coriander seeds and chillies, roast for 1 minutes, add curry leaves ( 4 to 6 ) and cummin seeds, put off the gas.
4.  Dry roast spices and prepare fresh sambar powder or you can use any brand of sambar powder.
5.Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water, squeeze out the pulp and keep it aside.
6. Keep a big pan on the fire. Add cooked dal, vegetables
7. Add tamarind pulp, turmeric powder and salt.

8. Mix it well and cook for 2 minutes.
9.Add ground spice mixture and mix it well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

10. Shift the Sambar to a serving dish and add mustard seeds, ingh and curry leaves seasoning. Add cut coriander leaves and serve with the main dish you prepared.

Please Note: You can use any type of vegetables to make Sambaar.Ex: White pumbkin, Brinjal, onion and potato, Red pumpkin. Radish, All types of spinach, lady's finger. The consistency of curry can be as you wished. (thick or more liquid). I did not add any coconut here. Adding coconut to the curry is optional.

Time : 30 minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4
Fresh Sambar Powder :
Dry roast/ or Add a teaspoon of oil  and roast , 1/4 Teaspoon of methi/fenugrik seeds, add 1/2 teaspoon of urid dal. Add some chilly (byadagi chilly), Add 2 Tablespoon of coriander seeds and fry them till they turn slightly brown. Add Jeera /Cumin seeds, a pinch of ingh and curry leaves. Put off the fire and let it cool. Dry grind the sambar powder and use it for the sambar. 

Quick Onion Rava Dosa

Rava dosa is very famous now a days. People love to eat this crispy and yummy dosas with chutney or like masala dosa (Rava Masala dosa), Rava onion dosa and even Plain Rava dosa is also will be very tasty and it is in a way healthy .
In Rava dosas we do not use much of rice and the content of rava is more. Normally in hotels they use maida to get the crispness and to hold all the ingredients tight. ( or dosa may turn into pieces) Here I have not used maida in this recipe, instead of that I used wheat flour. Adding little ( very little) is ok or dosa may turn soft and it may not taste good.
Rava is good for health and the people who want to reduce their weight. It takes longer duration to digest so that one who eats rava may not feel hungry for a long time. Though it contain carbohydrates. it has many good minerals and vitamins. Good for diabetic people. It contain fiber and good for people who are suffering from constipation.
Onion Rava dosa is good for breakfast or as snack and for dinner too.

Things Needed 

Rava : 2 Cups
Rice flour : 1 Cup
Maida or Wheat flour : 2 Table spoons. (I used Wheat flour)
Onions : 2
Curry leaves : 1 Handful
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Table spoons
Curd : 1 Table spoon
Ginger : 1 Table spoon ( an inch)
Green chilly : 1
Fresh coconut : 1 Table spoon
Oil : 3 to 4 Table spoons.

Method :

1. Remove the outer skin, wash and cut onions into thin.
2. Wash green chilly, curry leaves, coriander leaves, ginger and cut it into small pieces.
3. Remove the outer layer of ginger and grate it. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
4.In a big bowl add Rava (Medium size), rice flour and wheat flour. Add salt. Mix it well.
5. Add cut onions, coriander leaves, curry leaves, grated coconut, ginger and green chilly.
6. Add required water and a spoon of curd. Mix it nicely. ( The consistency should be watery).

7. Keep dosa pan on the fire and heat. Sprinkle oil and spread it.
8. Take a big spoon of dosa mixture and spread it on the tava. ( Mix it well just before taking the dough).

9. Add half spoon of oil on the top of the dosa and cover it. Cook for 1 minute and turn and cook the other side for 20 to 30 seconds.

10. Now remove it from the pan and serve Hot onion, rava dosa with the side dish you prepared.

11. Prepare rest of the rava dosa, the same way.
12. Each time you take the dough mix it well just before you  take the dough in spoon.
Note :
Rava dosa consistency should be watery ( 1 = 2 to 2 1/2 ). Just adjust the water quantity. If you feel the water is more you can use some more rava. Adding grated carrots are optional. Adding coconut is also optional. Put a spoon  of fresh butter while surving. Coconut chutney is the best combination. You can also serve this dosa with sambar.
Time : 30 minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4