cholay-

2 cups of choley soaked overnight
tamarind
2 bags of black tea
1 tomatoe
garlic
ginger
haldi
channa masala
dhania
zeera
heeng
red chilly powder
garam masala
anardana
salt

Pressure cook - garbanzo beans, tea leaves, haldi, salt, coriander
Grind the following together - half a cup of cooked garbanzo beans, ginger, garlic, tomatoe
Oil- zeera, mixture, spices, anardana, add garbanzo beans
When nearly done add imli and garam masala. Bring to a boil. Done.

Egg Subzi

6 Eggs - Hard Boiled- cut into fours
1 tomato- finely choppped
1 onion- finely chopped
1 tbspn roasted besan
3 tspn thick yoghurt
salt
turmeric
coriander powder
garam masala
kasoori methi
cumin seeds

In a wok take some oil. Add the cumin seeds. Add the onions. Fry till golden. Add the tomato and cook till it reduces to a pulp. Add the spices. Now add the yoghurt. Cook till the smell of yoghurt subsides. Add the besan. Add water to adjust the sauce. It should be thick and enough to coat the eggs. Add the eggs. Sprinkle some kasoori methi on top.

The touch is back - Roasted Bell Pepper

I was inspired by Monisha Bhardwaj for this recipe.

2 bell peppers- cubed into squares- the way to do this is cut off the ends, remove the ribs, cut in half and get approximately 9 cubes per half
1/2 onion - finely chopped
2 heap spoonfuls of besan mixed with some ajwain
1/2 tspn haldi
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn dhania
salt to taste
1/2 tspn zeera
2-3 tbspn crushed peanuts

1. Roast the besan and ajwain till the besan is light brown and fragrant. Keep aside.
2. Take some oil in a pan, heat it, add the cumin seeds and wait for them to splutter.
3. Add the onions. Fry till golden brown.
4. Add the bell pepper, peanuts, and spices. Keep mixing , or the peanuts will burn.
5. After a few minutes the bell peppers will be crisp and ready.
6. Add the besan.

Plaintain Saubzi

Meanwhile in a food processor , roughly chop the following- coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, peanuts, sesame seeds, turmeric, green chillies, coriander powder, cumin powder, and som garam masala. And take some oil in a pan - add heeng, zeera and the plaintains which have been chopped. Fry for a few minutes. Add the mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and the finally add tamarind pulp. Cook till done.

Paneer in Almond Sauce

Cut 1 Pack of paneer into cubes and sauté till golden. Keep aside.

Blanch ¾ cup almonds in hot water and remove the skin. Grind coarsely with 1 pod of garlic, some ginger and 2 tomatoes. In a frying pan take some oil. Add 2 bay leaves and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter add the almond tomato mixture. Add some red chilly powder, fennel seeds, 1 star anise, coriander, and turmeric to the mixture. Reduce the mixture. When the mixture is reduced to a thick paste add t tbspn yoghurt. Roast the mixture. Add water and salt. When done add some garam masala, lots of kasoori methi, paneer, and chopped coriander

Dahi Bada

Dahi bada is traditional north Indian snack food. It consists of lentil dumplings in a yoghurt sauce. This should be served chilled with tamarind chutney.
In order to make dahi bada you need

1/3 cup split mung dal
2/3 cup split urad dal
Oil to deep fry
Cumin seeds
Salt
Red chilly powder
Chopped coriander leaves

The two lentils should be soaked overnight in water. The next day blend to a fine paste with minimal water. Now take a fork and whip the mixture till it is light. Heat the oil and on medium flame deep fry the dumplings.

Now take a container of yoghurt. Add salt. Roast the cumin seeds to a light brown and grind the seeds coarsely.

Soak the dumplings in water for 10 minutes. Take out the dumplings and squeeze out the water. Now add the yoghurt to the serving dish. Add the dumplings. Sprinkle the cumin and red chilly powder on top. Make swirls of tamarind chutney in the dish and garnish lightly with chopped coriander.

Fried Rice

Using up spices –
I always have this box of channa masala in my pantry and I am bewildered how to use it besides choley. So I decided to jazz up my regular fried rice.
I boiled two cups of rice with 2 tbspn channa masala and some ginger and salt. In another pan, I added some oil, and zeera. When the oil spluttered I added frozen vegetable and edamame. A pinch of turmeric and a tspn red chilly powder and one clove of garlic finely chopped – all in the pan. Added the rice and garnished with coriander