Dhaba Style Aloo Gobi

 

Dhaba style aloo gobi is what we had during our North India vacay five years ago. Dhaba or small stalls serving food and beverages can be found on both sides of the road with variations of snacks. Young and old gather around this stalls to enjoy lip smacking delicacies.

We stopped at one of those Dhaba for our midnight meal after our flight and ordered paratha with their signature aloo gobi. A mixture of potato and cauliflower florets simmered in masala gravy goes well for the chilled night drive. They do serve both dry and gravy version of aloo gobi and we opted for the later which has no regret.

Back home, after years i tried my hands on one of North India famous Dhaba style aloo gobi and at a first bite, i was transport to the highway of Delhi. Good food does brought back sweet memories.

Ingredients

2 potatoes,cubed

1 cup cauliflower florets

2 medium sized tomatoes

2 onions, finely chopped

1"inch ginger,chopped

8 cloves garlic,chopped

1 bay leave

1 black cardamom pod

2 green cardamom pods

6-8 black peppercorns

3 cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp red chilly powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves

1 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp oil

2 1/4 cups water

Handful coriander leaves,chopped

Methods

In a pot, boil water with salt and add potato and cauliflower floret. Boil till half cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a grinder, add black cardamom,green cardamom,tomatoes,ginger,clove and black peppercorns. Grind into fine paste.

Heat oil in the pan and fry potato for 2 minutes. Keep aside.

In the same pan, add cumin seeds,onion and salt. Fry till golden.

Add chilly powder,garam masala powder and coriander powder. Cook till raw smell leaves.

Add the ground tomato paste mixture and cook till oil separates.

Add fried potatoes and cauliflower florets and stir.

Add water and cook for 10-12 minutes. Add fenugreek leaves and coriander leaves. Stir and switch off the heat.

Serve with Indian flat bread or white rice.

Mango Halwa

I made this delicious mango halwa long ago and only posting the recepi now. It has geen more than six months and sorry for the delay. Hope i could consistently blog from now on despite of my full time job, being a mother two wonderful teenagers, my passion for reading and travelling and not to miss cooking and baking of course. With all this, finding time to blog is indeed hectic. I'll make sure to do it at my best.

Coming back to today's recepi, i bought few Indian mangoes. After enjoying some as it is, i decided to make use of it for my cooking and baking. That's how this sinfully yummy mango halwa comes to the picture.

Don't worry if you can't get your hands on Indian mango, any fully riped sweet mangoes works well for the recepi. As always, adjust the sugar according to your preference. Half cup of ghee is more than enough for the ghee oozing halwa as i used my very own homemade ghee. Stays good for 2-3 days (i wonder it might last that long, as mine gone within an hour) 😆.

Ingredients

1 cup cornstarch

3 cups granulated white sugar

3 cups mango pulp

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Water as required

12-14 cashews,chopped

12-14 almonds,chopped

12-14 pistachio,chopped

Pinch of saffron

Methods

Add water to the cornstarch and stir well without lumps. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and almonds till golden. Keep aside.

Add the 1/2 cup of ghee to the same pan. Add mango pulp.

Add the diluted cornstarch to the pan and stir well till thickened.

Add sugar and keep stirring till mixture thickened. Add more ghee if necessary.

Stir continiously till a single mass formed and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Add fried nuts,chopped pistachio and cardamom powder. Stir for anothet 6-8 minutes.

Pour mixture into a greased pan and smooth the top. 

Keep aside to set for an hour. Slice and serve.

Rose Latte

 

I had this rose latte in a posh cafe with a friend of mine. She highly recommended this flower tea latte for me to try and i shall thank her for the recommemdation. Indeed, it was one cup of heaven. I couldn't stop sipping the flower tea and almost ordered another cup of it..greedy me 😆. It was really gooddddddd.

Back home i give it a try and walla it came out really well. The key to the recepi is the steeping process. A well induced flavor of rose flower steeping in hot milk brings out the essence of the beverage to the core. Use a heavy bottomed pan to avoid the milk from burning.

You may use fresh red rose petals or dried version for the recepi but do make sure it's organic. The least we want is the chemical and pesticide loaded flowers for the tea. I used beetroot powder to give that wonderful red/pink colur to this delicious hot latte. Feel free to use few drops of fresh beetroot juice if you have any. No more cafe visit for my rose latte as i could easily make them on my own 😁.

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk

1/3 tsp beetroot powder

2 tbsp fresh/ dried red rose petals

2 tbsp maple syrup

Methods

In a heavy bottomed pan, boil milk and rose petals. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Discard rose petals and keep the boiled milk aside.

In a serving cup add maple syrup and bertroot powder. Stir well.

Using a frother, froth milk and pour into the maple syrup nixture.

Garnish with dried rose petals.

Nepalese Vegetable Pulao

It has been months, i didn't visit my blog or updating any new recepis. I lost my beloved grandma last year October and it took sometime to cope with the loss. Thereafter, my elder Dandelion enter her University in November and started her campus life. As every year, year end been quite hectic in for working mom like me. All thia is the reason why i'm away from blogging and right now, i'm back. Sorry for the missing and delay of updating the blog, will try my best to keep it going with new recepis in coming days. Thank you for putting up with me.

Nepalese vegetable pulao is a light and flavorful one pot dish. Easy to cook and packed with flavours this delicious rice recepi is best serve on its own or with a gravy of your choice. Adding a dash of lemon juice gives a good finishing touch to the meal. 

You may add green peas as well or any other hard vegetables for variations. I added potato and cauliflower which goes really well. A perfect Sunday lunch to enjoy with family and friends.

Ingredients

2 cups Basmathi rice

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

3 cups water

1 bay leaf

1"inch cinnamon stick

3 black cardamom pods

2 green cardamom pods

3 cloves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 large onion,chopped

2 potatoes, cut into cubes

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

3 green chillies,minced

1 tomato,medium sized

1 cup cauliflower

1 tbsp lemon juice

10-12 cashews

10-12 almonds

2 + 1 tbsp ghee

Oil as needed

Salt to season

Methods

Wash and soak Basmathi rice for 30 minutes.

Fry almonds and cashews with 1 tbsp ghee till golden. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and remaining 2 tbsp ghee. Add the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds splutters add cinnamon stick,black cardamom,green cardamom,bay leaf and cloves. Fry till fragrant.

Add turmeric powder,onion,ginger garlic paste and minced green chillies. Cook for a minute. 

Add the tomato and cook for 1 minute. Add the potato and cauliflower, reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Drain the rice and add to the potato mixture. Stir,add water and season with salt. Stir well and cover with lid. Cook till the rice are done.

Add the lime juice and gently stir without breaking the grains. Cover and rest it for 10 minutes.

Garnish with fried nuts and erve with gravy of your choice or on its own.