Sauted long beans (तेलावर परतवलेली वालीची भाजी)

In my family, all of us like munching raw long beans. I remember doing it since my childhood. Long beans are very easy to cook. Somehow I prefer their raw, tender flavor rather than cooked (boiled) flavor. I made this as a side dish along with palak paneer, which is my daughter's favorite vegetable for her school tiffin. I added walnuts to this dish for an extra crunchiness. You can add cashews too.

Ingredients:
A bunch of long beans, washed and cut into long strips
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds,
a handful of walnuts, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil or any other cooking oil
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and honey combination
salt as per taste
black pepper powder as per taste

In a heated kadhai, pour olive oil. Add garlic pieces, sesame seeds, black pepper powder, walnut pieces. Sautee for 1 minute till garlic pieces are well fried and turned brown. Next to it, add cut pieces of long beans and sautee on high flame for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt. Add balsamic vinegar and mix well. Sautee for an additional 1 minute. You can also use lemon juice and honey combination instead of balsamic vinegar.

This is a simple and tasty side dish cum salad with rice or chapati.

Dry Garlic Chutney (सुकी लसूण चटणी)

Ingredients:
1 dried coconut, grated
8-10 garlic cloves,
1 tbsp chilli powder,
3-4 kokum fruit or 1/2 tbsp deseeded dry tamarind
salt to taste
a pinch of sugar

Grind garlic cloves, kokum fruit, chilli powder together. Next add grated dried coconut, salt, sugar. Grind to a coarse powder.

This chutney stays good for a month. 

Carrot and mung lentil salad (गाजर आणि मुगडाळ कोशिंबीर)

Ingredients:
3 grated medium-sized carrots,
1/3 cup mung bean lentils, soaked in water for 20 minutes
1/3 cup grated coconut,
chopped coriander for garnish
8-10 raisins (optional)
2-3 green chillies, finely cut
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt as per taste

Combine together all the ingredients listed. Mix lightly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until the next meal. 

Dill Rice (शेपू भात)

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked rice,
1/2 cup dill leaves, cut finely
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, diced
salt as per taste

For seasoning:
3 tsp oil,
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida,
1 tsp turmeric,
3-4 dry red chillies

Servings: 2 people

In a kadhai, heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add asafoetida, red chillies and turmeric. Mix well and add garlic cloves. Stir for 2 minutes. Next add onion. Stir for 3-4 minutes and add chopped dill leaves. Mix it well with onion and the seasoning. Add salt, stir well and cover for 2 minutes. In the meantime, spread the cooked rice on a plate and loosen the rice with a spoon. Mix rice with cooked dill and stir well. Cover with lid and cook for additional 4-5 minutes.

Dill rice is ready to serve. Dill rice tastes good along with a green salad or yogurt based raita.

Tip: You can add 2 tsp lemon juice to enhance the taste of the rice. You can also add chopped cashew nuts or peanuts during seasoning, if you like. 

Raw Mango Chutney (कैरीची चटणी)

Ingredients:
1 medium sized raw mango,
1 cup grated dry coconut,
2 tbsp jaggery, adjust as per sourness of the raw mango,
1 tsp salt

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil,
1 tsp mustard,
a pinch of asafoetida,
10-12 fenugreek seeds,
2-3 dry red chillies, cut in half
1 tsp turmeric
6-7 curry leaves

Servings: 5-6 people

Wash raw mango thoroughly and peel its skin and grate it. Mix the grated raw mango with grated dry coconut and jaggery and salt. Mix it lightly and check the sourness of the mixture. Depending on the sourness of the raw mango, you might need to add more jaggery. The mixture should be sour and sweet but neither too sour nor too sweet.

Place a small pan or tadka pan on low flame. Once the pan is hot, add oil and mustard. Let the mustard seeds splatter well. Add asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and turmeric. Turn the stove off and pour this seasoning on the raw mango, dry coconut, jaggery mixture. Mix well, coating the mixture well with the seasoning. Serve either with Parathas or as a side dish with rice or chapati.

Store this chutney in an air tight container. It stays fresh in the fridge for a week. 

Tomato Saar (टोमेटोचे सार)

Ingredients:
3 medium sized tomatoes, cut into large pieces
1/2 inch ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2-3 green chillies
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp jaggery (optional)
salt as per taste
5-6 coriander leaves

Servings: 4 people

In a flat vessel, boil tomato pieces, ginger and garlic cloves. Add about 2 cups of water. Boil for about 7-8 minutes till tomatoes turn soft. Let it cool for some time.

Grind together all the ingredients along with boiled tomato, garlic and ginger. On a gas stove, simmer this mixture for 10 minutes. Add jaggery while boiling the gravy. Adjust jaggery based on the sourness of the tomatoes. Add about 1 cup of water while boiling to adjust the consistency of the gravy.

This gravy tastes very good with rice or chapati or bhakri. It also can be served as hot soup.

Roasted assorted vegetables (रोस्टेड भाज्या)

I love to roast vegetables. My new favourite way to cook veggies! Super easy, simple, healthy and very tasty dish. You can use any vegetables that you may have at home.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1-2 carrots
5-6 asparagus stalks
1 large potato
1-2 tsp olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt as per taste
2 tsp pepper powder
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Servings:
3 people

Wash all the vegetables thoroughly. Cut potato, zucchini, sweet potato into round slices about 1-1 1/2 inches thick. Cut carrots and asparagus stalks into bite sized pieces.

Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. In a flat oven dish, line aluminium foil to roast the vegetables. You can also roast them directly on the oven plate. Mix olive oil, garlic cloves, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Now add all the vegetables into the oil mix and coat them well. Leave it aside for marination for 5-10 minutes. Pour all the vegetables in the oven dish.

Place the vegetables in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes. After every 10-15 minutes, turn the vegetables to uniformly heat them in the oven. Once the vegetables turn slightly brown black, turn the oven off and leave it inside for additional 10 minutes to roast.

This is a great side dish with either rice or chapati.