Spices and Recipes

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes, Large - 1
• Potatoes, Large - 2
• Frozen peas - 1 cup
• Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp.
• Cumin - 1/2 tsp.
• Oil
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp.
• Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp.
• Garam masala - 1/4 tsp.
• Water - 3 cups
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 tsp.
• Salt & chili powder according to taste

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker heat oil & fry cumin.
2. Add turmeric powder, crushed tomatoes, salt, ginger powder and chili powder.
3. Now put potatoes and fry for 1 minute. Add peas, water, garam masala and cilantro to this mixture.
4. Pressure cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes or give 2 whistles. Take the steam out.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves

Serve hot with puri, roti or naan!

Ingredients :
For the stuffing :

• 2 teacups boiled green peas
• 5 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 tbsp ghee
• salt to taste

For the dough :

• 3 teacups whole meal flour
• 2 tbsp ghee
• ½ tsp salt

For the parathas :

• Ghee for frying

Method :
For the stuffing :

1. Mash the boiled green peas. Heat the ghee in a vessel and sauté the jeera.
2. Put the green chillies, sauté for 1 minute and then put the mashed peas and salt. Cook for 1 minute and allow the mixture to cool.

For the dough:

1. Sieve the flour with the salt. Apply ghee to the flour.
2. Use water and make into small parts.
3. Knead properly and divide into 10 to 12 parts.

How to make Paratha:

1. Take a small part of the dough, flatten a little and put 1 tbsp of the green peas mixture in the center.
2. Cover the mixture by drawing up the edges towards the center.
3. Press on a floured board and roll out into a round as large as saucer.
4. Put the paratha on a hot tava (griddle). Cook for a minute or two and turn once. After 1 minute, put a little ghee around the edges, turn again and fry the other side. When brown patches appear on both sides, the paratha is ready.
5. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough.
6. Ready to serve hot.

Ingredients:

• Medium sized potatoes, boiled and cubed - 3
• Medium tomatoes, cut into medium sized cubes - 2
• Medium Onions sliced - 2
• Jeera - 1 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger, finely minced - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies, split - 3
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves, chopped - 2 tsp
• Oil or ghee (clarified butter) - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and onions
2. Fry till the onions turn translucent
3. Now add the green chilies and keep frying till the chilies turn color
4. Now add the remaining spices and fry for a minute
5. Add the tomatoes, potatoes and salt and fry for 5-6 minutes
6. Add one cup of water and cook on a low flame, covered for 10 minutes
7. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve Hot with Puri or Roti

Ingredients :

• 500 grams maida
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 20 grams fresh yeast or 2 tsp dry yeast
• 2 tbsp fresh curds
• 25 grams ghee or margarine or butter
• 1 tsp salt
• Oil for deep frying

Method :

1. Sieve the flour properly.
2. Put the sugar and yeast in 1 teacup of warm water and mix till the yeast gets dissolves. Cover and leave for 5 to 7 minutes till the mixture is full of froth.
3. Put this liquid along with the curds, ghee and salt to the flour. Put some warm water to make a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough for 6 to 7 minutes.
5. Keep the dough in a wet cloth for 30 minutes. Knead for 1 minute.
6. Divide the dough into 20 parts. Apply a little ghee and roll out puris.
7. Deep fry the puris in oil.
8. Ready to serve.

Cumin (sometimes written cummin) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to East India.

It is a herbaceous annual plant, with a slender branched stem 20-30 cm tall. The leaves are 5-10 cm long, pinnate or bipinnate, thread-like leaflets. The flowers are small, white or pink, and borne in umbels. The fruit is a laterall fusiform or ovoid achene 4-5 mm long, containing a single seed. Cumin seeds are similar to fennel seeds, but are smaller and darker in color.

Cumin seeds are used as a spice for their distinctive aroma, popular in North African, Middle Eastern, western Chinese, Indian and Mexican cuisine.

Today, cumin is identified with Indian cuisine and Mexican cuisine. It is used as an ingredient of curry powder. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses like Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. In herbal medicine, cumin is classified as stimulant, carminative, and antimicrobial.

Cumin can be used to season many dishes, as it draws out their natural sweetnesses. It is traditionally added to curries, enchiladas, tacos, and other Middle-eastern, Indian, Cuban and Mexican-style foods. It can also be added to salsa to give it extra flavour. Cumin has also been used on meat in addition to other common seasonings. The spice is a familiar taste in Tex-Mex dishes and is the lingua franca of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine.

The flavor of cumin plays a major role in Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian cuisines. Cumin is a critical ingredient of chili powder, and is found in achiote blends, adobos, garam masala, curry powder, and baharat.

In India and Pakistan, cumin is known as jeera or geera; in Iran, cumin is known as zeera; in northwestern mainland China, cumin is known as ziran. In Arabic, it is known as kamun.

Courtesy: Wikipedia