Kale greens salad (केल ग्रीन्स सलाड)

Ingredients:
7-8 kale green leaves
mozzarella cheese, grated for garnish
a handful of mixed nuts and raisins, (optional)
a few dried cranberries
little bit of lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Servings: 3 people

Cut kale green leaves finely. Do not use the thick stem of the leaf. Lightly mix chopped kale leaves with olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Leave it for 5-10 minutes. Just before serving the salad, add dry fruits, nuts, cranberries and grated mozzarella cheese. Gently mix all ingredients together and serve.

Cheese stuffed sweet mini Peppers (चीज स्टफ्ड भोपळी मिरची)

I had bought sweet mini peppers from the grocery store. While surfing the net for recipe ideas using sweet mini peppers, cheese stuffed mini peppers seemed very popular search result. I was trying this vegetable for the first time, so I decided to try this recipe first.

Ingredients:
8-10 sweet mini peppers
1 1/2 tbsp mozzarella cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning of mixed herbs
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
little bit of lemon juice (1/4 tsp)
1 tsp pepper powder or paprika
salt optional (Keep in mind cheese contains salt already)

Servings: 3 people

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degree Celsius).  Cut the top portion off the mini peppers, take out all the seeds inside. In a bowl, crumble mozzarella cheese and add olive oil, mixed herbs, garlic cloves. Mix lightly. Sprinkle little bit of lemon juice and stir. Cheese stuffing is ready.

Fill mini peppers with cheese stuffing. Do not overstuff, since cheese will melt on heating and ooze out. Coat mini peppers lightly with very little oil. Transfer cheese stuffed mini peppers on a baking sheet or a baking tray. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts. The mini peppers should feel tender and slightly blackened. 

Kale greens with besan flour (पीठ पेरून हिरव्या केलची भाजी)

I tried cooking kale greens using Maharashtrian or Marathi ways. I used besan or chickpea flour with kale greens.

Ingredients:

1 bunch Kale greens (about 10-12 leaves),

1 small onion, vertically sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1 1/2 tsp olive oil or any cooking oil

salt as per taste

1 1/2 tbsp besan or chickpea flour

Wash kale leaves thoroughly and drain the water. Cut the thick stems from the kale greens and chop the leaves into smaller chunks. 

Heat a kadhai on the gas stove. Add olive oil once the kadhai is hot. Add garlic cloves and sliced onion and saute them until onion is golden or brown. Next add kale greens and give it a good stir. Cook kale greens in 1 cup of water. Add chilly powder and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Now sprinkle besan or chickpea flour and mix well. With closed lid, let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. 

Kale greens vegetable can be served with Chapati or with rice as a side dish. 

Cucumber Dhirde (काकडीचे धिरडे)

Ingredients:
1 cup grated cucumber,
1 cup jowar flour,
1 tbsp besan flour,
1-2 chopped green chillies,
1 tsp carom or ajjwain seeds (optional),
chopped coriander leaves (optional),
salt as per taste

Servings: 4 medium size dhirde

I used sambar cucumber for this recipe. You can use regular cucumber instead. Grate the cucumber and mix all the ingredients. Add very little water to get thick consistency (idli batter consistency).

Heat pan and apply little oil on the pan for greasing. Pour one ladle full of batter and lightly spread it in circular motion. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Once the bottom side is brown and well roasted, flip the other side. Cover again with the lid. In about 2-3 minutes, the other side will be fried properly.

Dhirde is ready to serve. You can either serve it with a green chutney or curd based salad. My daughter loves it with ghee and sugar. 

Peas curry (वाटाण्याची आमटी)

This is a Goan style peas curry prepared with coconut. We call it Chanya ros (चण्या रोस) in konkani.

Ingredients:
1 cup white or green peas, soaked overnight,
1/4th cup freshly grated coconut,
1 medium sized onion,
1 tsp garam masala,
1-2 red chillies,
1 tsp coriander seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 dried kokam
salt as per taste
1 tsp jaggery (optional)

Servings: 3-4 people

Soak the green peas or white peas overnight. Add little bit salt and pressure cook them the next day for 3 whistles.  Heat a kadhai or cooking pan, dry roast freshly grated coconut along with onion, garam masala, chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried kokam and turmeric powder. Roast it well stirring for some time until a nice aroma of the masala fills the kitchen. Keep it aside for cooling.

Once the roasted masala is cooled down a bit, grind it in a mixer with little water. The paste consistency should be of a chutney. Add this paste to the boiled peas and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Adjust salt and jaggery. Mix well. Adjust the water in the curry to make it of a required consistency (not too thick, not too watery).

In a small tadka pan (tadkawati), heat 1/4 tsp ghee or oil. Season with 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, 7-8 curry leaves and little bit of turmeric powder with 1-2 red chillies. Pour this seasoning over the simmering peas curry. Let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Goan special peas curry is ready to serve. This curry tastes good with Goan pav or bread.

Cucumber Thalipeeth (काकडीचे थालीपीठ)

I made this thalipeeth using mixed millets. I had bought sambar cucumber to use in Sambar. Thought of making this thalipeeth with leftover cucumber.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of jowar flour
1/2 cup pearl millet or bajra flour,
1/4 cup nachni or ragi flour,
1 cup grated sambar cucumber,
few coriander leaves chopped,
1/2 tsp chilly powder or chopped green chillies,
1/4 tsp roasted jeera,
1 tsp sesame seeds,
salt as per taste

Servings: 3 medium sized thalipeeth

Mix all the ingredients and knead into a dough. If the mixture is too dry, add little lukewarm water to knead into a smooth dough.

Divide the dough into three round balls. Using palm, press the dough into flat bread, keep turning the dough slowly while flattening to uniformly apply pressure on all sides. It should be slightly thicker than chapati.

Heat a pan on the gas stove. Once the pan is hot, place thalipeeth on it. Sprinkle some oil from the sides to roast it. Make 2-3 small holes in thalipeeth at different places to help it cook well. Keep the flame on low. After 3-4 minutes, turn the thalipeeth to roast the other side. After another 3-4 minutes, thalipeeth will be ready. Serve it hot with chutney, a dollop of butter or freshly grated coconut and curd.

Tomato Onion Salad (कांदा टोमेटोची कोशिंबीर)

Ingredients:
1 medium sized tomato
1 small onion
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1 chilly
1 tbsp roasted peanut powder (optional)
freshly grated coconut
coriander for garnish
salt as per taste
a pinch of sugar

Serving: 3 people

Finely chop tomato and onion. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients and salad is ready to serve.

You can optionally add 1 tbsp of yogurt.