Mixed fruit chaat

1/4 small pineapple
1/4 small watermelon
2 medium pears
2 medium apples1 medium green apple
1/4 small musk melon
2 small plums, seeded and quartered
4-5 strawberries, halved
1 large star fruit
1 tsp cumin seeds
black salt to taste
3 fresh red chillies, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp chaat masala

Cut pineapple, watermelon, pears, apples, green apples, melon into one-inch sized pieces.
Halve the star fruit and then slice thinly.
Place fruits in a large bowl.
Roast cumin seeds nicely. Grind the roasted cumin seeds coarsely with black salt in a mortar with a pestle. Place in a bowl.
Grind fresh red chillies, green chillies, coriander leaves and mint leaves in the mortar with a pestle.
Add lemon juice, lime juice and grind again. Add the black salt and roasted cumin seed powder and mix well.
Add this mixture to the fruit bowl. Add chaat masala.
Mix well and serve.
Note: You can use all seasonal fruits in this recipe, subject to availability.

Alu kachalu chaat

3 medium potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice

Boil, peel and cut the potatoes and sweet potatoes into medium sized pieces.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they begin to change colour add the potatoes and sweet potatoes. Stir-fry on high heat for two minutes. Set aside.
Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of water and heat in the microwave oven on Microwave HIGH for two minutes. Squeeze and remove pulp. Strain and set aside.
Transfer the potatoes and sweet potatoes into a big bowl. Add chopped green chillies, salt, chaat masala, red chilli powder and toss.
Add the tamarind pulp, sugar and chopped coriander leaves.
Mix well and add lemon juice. Mix again and serve.

Green Chilli Chicken

1 (800 gm) chicken, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup small green chillies
3 green chillies, roughly chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
10 cloves garlic
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder

Grind together roughly chopped green chillies, onions, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves and salt. Add this mixture to the cleaned chicken pieces and marinade for about half an hour. Heat oil in a wok or kadai. Add cumin seeds. When they begin to change colour add turmeric powder.
Add the marinated chicken, small green chillies and mix well. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and mix well.
Add salt to taste and garam masala powder and mix again. Add half a cup of water and mix. Cover and cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Lower the heat and cook for another eight to 10 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Serve hot.

Badam Sheera

Ghee and sugar are good for the body in winter; two spoons of Badam Sheera along with a glass of milk every morning, can keep you healthy.

Ingredients:
1 cup ground badam (almonds)
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee

Method:
Put ghee in a thick kadhai. Let it heat for a minute. Add ground badam and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add milk to the mixture. Let it boil on a slow flame. Add sugar once the mixture has thickened. Continue stirring till it has become thick like halwa. After the ghee has settled, take off from heat. Garnish with peeled, sliced badam and serve hot.

Rogan Gosh (Red Mutton)

This dish contains a lot of garam masala (spices) that helps the body in the cold weather. It contains no garlic and onions, which is what makes it a Kashmiri specialty.

Ingredients:
1 kg Red Mutton
2 tbsp Mustard oil
1/2 tsp Ginger powder
2 tsp Sauf powder
2 Tejpata
3 Kashmiri chillies
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Curd
1 glass water
Salt to taste

Method:
Take some mustard oil in a kadhai. Fry pieces of red mutton (with bones) in the oil, till they turn brown. Add three red chillies, ginger powder and sauf powder to the mutton. Add salt to taste. Deep fry the mixture. Add curd to make the mutton crisp. Mix all the ingredients well before adding a glass of water. Add tejpata, badi elaichi, chhoti elaichi and garam masala to it. Transfer the mixture to a pressure cooker and let it cook on one pressure whistle, to make it medium crisp.

Khus Khus ka Sheera

Ghee, milk, sugar and khus khus (poppy seeds) are good for the body in winter. The body craves and digests sweets easily in cold weather.

Ingredients:
250 gms poppy seeds
2 litres milk
Ghee
250 gms sugar
Elaichi powder (10-12 elaichis)
20 boiled and peeled almonds

Method:
Wash the poppy seeds and clean them with a dry cloth.
Grind them. Take a heavy bottom vessel, add ghee, ground poppy seeds and stir the mixture well. Pour milk once the mixture turns into a light pink colour and starts to emit a sweet fragrance. Boil mixture on high flame. Stir constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the vessel. Now, let the mixture heat on a slow flame so that the milk is absorbed. Add sugar and keep stirring. Add elaichi powder when it turns thick, add the almonds. Garnish with chopped almonds and serve hot.

Bamboo lemon grass rice

1½ cups jasmine or basmati rice, soaked and drained
2 cups lemon grass stock
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
2 fresh red chillies, sliced
Salt to taste
¾ cup coconut milk
Prepared bamboos as required

Preheat oven to 180°C. Keep the bamboos in the oven so that they get preheated too.
Heat oil and butter in a pan. Add onion, ginger and sauté till translucent. Add fresh red chillies and sauté for a minute. Add rice and sauté. Add salt and stir gently. Add lemon grass stock and when it comes to a boil, add coconut milk and cook till three fourth done.
Remove the bamboos from the oven. Fill rice into the hot bamboos. Seal the mouth with aluminium foil and cook in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Let it stand in the oven till it is required for serving. Serve from the bamboo itself.

Prawns in red curry sauce

20-24 prawns, deveined
2 lemons
1½ cups coconut, scraped
Salt to taste
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 fresh red chillies, stemmed, finely sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce (Nampla)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
3 Kaffir lime leaves
7-8 basil leaves, hand torn
For red curry paste
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
8 - 10 whole dry red chillies
4 inch piece lemon grass, roughly chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 black peppercorns
Salt to taste

Squeeze lemons and set juice aside. Add one and a half cups of warm water to scraped coconut, grind and remove coconut milk. For red curry paste grind together onion, garlic, red chillies, lemon grass, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns and salt to a fine paste.
Take prawns in a bowl. Add salt, one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of red curry paste and mix. Add half the crushed garlic, half a tablespoon of fish sauce and mix. Heat oil in a pan and add the remaining crushed garlic, fresh red chillies, marinated prawns and sauté for two minutes. Add a little water and bring to a boil.
Add the remaining red curry paste and bring to a boil again. Add coconut milk, salt, sugar and mix. Add lime leaves, the remaining fish sauce and mix.
Add basil leaves torn with hands and the remaining lemon juice. Mix and serve hot.

Chicken in Thai green curry

600 gm chicken, boneless, 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp oil
3 cups chicken stock
Salt to taste
3-4 Kaffir lime leaves
¾ cup fresh coconut milk, thick
6-8 basil leaves, hand torn
2 fresh red chillies, sliced diagonally
For green curry paste
4-5 green chillies
3 small onions
6-8 cloves garlic
1 inch piece galangal
2 stalks lemon grass
3 tbsp coriander roots, chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp lemon rind
1 tbsp lemon juice
6-8 basil leaves
1½ tbsp fish sauce (Nampla)

For the green curry paste grind together green chillies, small onions, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, coriander roots, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, lemon rind, lemon juice, basil leaves, fish sauce and little water to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the ground paste and sauté for three to four minutes. Add chicken pieces. Mix and sauté for three to four minutes.
Add stock and bring to a boil. Add salt, hand torn lime leaves and cook for nearly 10 minutes.
Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add hand torn basil leaves, sliced fresh red chillies and take off the heat.
Serve hot with steamed rice.

Tofu and vegetable spring rolls

½ cup tofu, bean curd
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium green capsicum, cut into thin strips
¼ small cabbage, shredded
2 tablespoons oil + to deep fry
1 medium onion, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced with few greens
½ cup bean sprouts
Salt to taste
¼ tsp white pepper powder
2 tsp red chilli paste
8 spring roll wrappers
2 tbsp cornflour

Slice the tofu. Shred roughly. Heat oil in a pan. Add onion, spring onions, carrot, green capsicum, cabbage, bean sprouts, salt, white pepper powder and red chilli paste. Sauté and toss. Add tofu, mix and transfer into a plate to cool.
Take the spring roll wrappers. If they are too big, cut each into two.
Dissolve cornflour in little water to make a paste.
Put the stuffing on one side of the wrapper and roll. When half rolled apply cornflour paste and fold in the sides and roll again. Apply cornflour paste again at the end and seal.
Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the spring rolls till golden and crisp.
Drain and place on an absorbent paper and serve hot.

Prawn curry

Ingredients
1/2 kg tiger prawns
3-4 onions (sliced finely)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1-2 tsps red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
One small piece of jaggery
2-3 tablespoons of tamarind water
2-3 tablespoons of oil
To grind in a paste
1 piece ginger
3-4 pieces of garlic
3 green chilies
1 bunch coriander leaves
Method
Grind ginger, garlic, green chilies and coriander leaves in a fine paste.
Clean the prawns but retain the shell.
Mix sliced onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and garam masala.
Mix the above to the paste.
In a kadai, heat the oil and add the onions plus masala mixture; sauté till golden brown. When the masala is cooked and lets out an aroma, add the tiger prawns (with shells). Add some water and jaggery to add flavour.
Cover and simmer till the prawns are cooked. Add some tamarind water and mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Khaas seekh

1 cup cottage cheese (paneer), grated
½ cup processed cheese, grated
600 gm chicken mince (kheema)
1½ tsp green cardamom powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
½ cup khoya/mawa, grated
1 egg
Salt to taste
1 tsp white pepper powder
Oil to shallow fry
1 tsp chaat masala

Soak the satay sticks in water for a while. Take grated paneer, processed cheese, half of the green cardamom powder, half of the garam masala powder, mint leaves and mix mashing with your hands. Take a portion of this mixture and place on a satay stick and press it around the stick till it is a thin layer. Press the ends firmly.

In another bowl mix grated khoya, chicken kheema and mix. Break an egg and add. Add salt, remaining green cardamom powder, white pepper powder and remaining garam masala powder and mix well.

Take a portion of this mixture and spread it over the paneer mixture. Similarly prepare the other seekhs. You can keep the seekhs in the refrigerator for some time before frying.

Heat sufficient oil in a pan and place the seekhs on it and shallow fry. Turn the sticks when one side is done so that the other side gets cooked similarly.

Serve hot sprinkled with chaat masala.

Sweet corn croquettes

1 cup sweet corn kernels, crushed
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil + to deep fry
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp refined flour (maida)
1 cup milk
Salt to taste
¼ tsp pepper powder
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1 cup boiled rice
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 fresh red chillies, crushed
1½ cups vermicelli, crushed

Heat butter and one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add onion and sauté till transluscent.
Add refined flour and roast for two minutes. Add milk gradually and cook stirring continuously for two minutes. Add crushed sweet corn kernels, salt, pepper powder, nutmeg powder and mix well. Cook till all the moisture dries up. Take it off the heat and transfer into a bowl.
Let the corn mixture cool. Then add boiled rice, chopped coriander leaves and fresh red chillies. Adjust salt and mix. Shape the mixture into 16 equal croquettes. Roll in vermicelli. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the croquettes till golden. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Soya burgers

1 cup soya granules
3 cups milk
4 tsp oil + to shallow fry
3 medium onions, 1 chopped and 2 cut into roundels
2 green chillies, chopped
6 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp mustard paste
Salt to taste
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
2 medium potatoes, boiled and grated
½ cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup fresh brown breadcrumbs
4 burger buns
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
4 lettuce leaves, halved

Soak soya granules in milk for an hour. Crush a little in mixer.
Heat two teaspoons of oil in a pan. Add chopped onion, green chillies and sauté. Add soya granules, two tablespoons of tomato ketchup, one tablespoon of mustard paste, salt, coriander leaves and continue to sauté till dry. Remove from heat and transfer into a bowl.

Set aside to cool slightly. Add boiled and grated potatoes and mix properly. Divide into four equal portions. Heat a tawa. Take whole wheat flour in a bowl. Add salt, red chilli powder and a little water and mix to make a smooth batter. Take one portion of the soya-potato mixture, shape into a pattie. Dip in the flour batter and roll in brown breadcrumbs. Prepare three more patties the same way.

Heat a little oil on a griddle plate. Place the patties on it and cook.
Cut the burger buns. Separate onion roundels into rings. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a pan and sauté the onion rings till golden brown. Drain and set aside. Roast burger buns.

Turn over the soya patties to cook on the other side. Apply the remaining tomato ketchup to the burger bases, place halved lettuce leaves and over it place caramelized onion rings. Place the soya pattie on top, cover it with a tomato slice and another halved lettuce leaf. Apply mustard paste to the top half of the burger bun and place over it. Secure with a toothpick and serve.