Mock vegetarian chicken salad

Relish Ingredients:
-3-4 cups of finely chopped tomatoes
-1 cup of finely chopped onions
-1 cup of finely chopped green pepper
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup vinegar
-2 tsp of celery seeds/2 tsp of dried basil leaves
-1/2 tsp black pepper

Salad Ingredients:
-Salad greens (Indian Mustard leaves/Kale/Baby Spinach/Parsley/Cilantro/etcetra)
-Celery/stalk
-Relish
-Mock Vegetarian Chicken
-1/2 tsp ground thyme
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tbsp minced parsley
-Finely diced 1-2 carrot
-1/4 tsp dill
-Lemon juice

Relish Preparation:
1) Mix vinegar and sugar in order to dissolve sugar.
2) Add all the relish chopped items
3) Add celery seeds/basil leaves and black pepper
4) Transfer the relish in air tight glass container and put in fridge.

Salad Preparation:
1) Cut the greens in salad eatable size
2) Add relish
3) Keep the mock chicken in boiled water for 10-15 min.
4) Take out the mock chicken from boiled water and cut in thin pieces.
5) Mix the mock chicken pieces in the salad.
6) Add carrots, celery, parsley
7) Add lemon juice
8) Add thyme, salt, black pepper and dill
9) Mix well.

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:
-225 gms Maida (all-purpose flour)
-400 gms Sweetened Condensed Milk
-2-3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
-1 tsp Baking Powder
-1 tsp Cooking Soda
-125 gms Butter
-200 ml Aerated Cola Drink
-A pinch of Salt
-125 gms Dairy Milk Choclate (For Frosting)
-250 gms Fresh Whipped Cream (For Frosting)

Preparation:
1) Place a thick bottomed pan on very low flame and melt butter in it. Let it cool little after butter is melted.
2) Add condended milk and mix well.
3) Sift maida, cocoa powder, baking powder, cooking soda and salt together in separate container; make sure no lumps are there.
4) Grease a baking tray with butter, dust it with maida, and keep it aside.
5) Take a pan with little butter and put the maida mixture with the condensed milk-butter mixture.
6) Now add aerated cola in it and mix it well.
7) Pour the batter into the greased baking tray and bake for 30-40 min at 350 F.
8) When it is done, let it cool and then slit it horizontally into two.
9) Whip the cream till light and fluffy.
10) Sandwich the two layers of cake with whipped cream.
11) Top with whipped cream.
12) Grate dairy milk choclate bar and sprinkle over the cake.
13) Serve it chilled.

Note: Instead of whipped cream and grated choclate, readymade frosting can be used as well.

Moong ki Dal ka Halwa

Ingredients:
-3 bowl dhuli moong ki dal
-3/4 bowl desi ghee
-1 bowl olive oil
-3/4 bowl butter or 1 stick of butter(US)
-water
-2.75 bowl sugar (may vary how sweet you want)
-dry fruits like pistachios, almonds etc.

Preparation:
1) Keep the dhuli moon dal soaked in water overnight or for 4-5 hrs.
2) Drain the water and grind the dal(not very finely).
3) In a pan, add water to sugar, and dissolve sugar in water(sweet syrup) by heating it; keep this aside when done.
4) In another pan(preferably non-stick) heat desi ghee, olive oil and butter(coat the pan with this mix as dal tends to stick to the pan; the ghee-butter-oil coat will prevent it).
5) Add grinded dal and start sirring the dal in low to medium flame.
6) Constantly mix it(guessing for 30 min).
7) Dal color will change and the distinct aroma will come.
8) Add sugar syrup into the pan now and stirr for another 5 min.
9) Halwa is ready; add pistachios, almonds and serve.

Sabutdana Khichdi

Ingredients(good for 1-2 people):
Spices:
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp haldi(i.e. turmeric powder)
- 1 tsp each mustard seeds for tempering
Other:
- 1 cup sago seeds or sabudana
- 1 medium sized potato
- one handful groundnuts
- 2 green chillis
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- 1 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
- 2 tbsp oil
- few curry leaves
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped)

Preparation:
1) Wash sabudana under running water so that no powder is left. Soak it in water for 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs and drain the water. Put it in sieve for 30 min so that the water is completely drained and sabutdana is dry.
2) Dry roast groundnuts on gas or in microwave and powder them coarsely in grinder. No need to peel them.
3) Boil the potato in cooker or cook in microwave.
4) Heat oil, add mustard seeds, chopped green chillis, curry leaves and potatoes cut into fine cubes.
5) Add salt, sugar(optional), turmeric powder, chilli powder, lemon juice and ground nut coarsed powder and mix well.
6) Add sabudana and mix well. Keep on simmer for 5 to 10 minutes till sabudana is cooked. Sabudana will change colour once it is cooked.
7) Remove from fire and serve hot garnished with corinder leaves and grated coconut.

Note: Sabutdana khichdi is particularly eaten on fasting days. I have used small sabutdana. Try this khicdi if you like sabutdana taste. Sabutdana smells like medicine.

Macaroni

Ingredients:
Spices:
-salt
-mustard seeds
-basil
-oregano (optional)
-chilli powder
-garam masala
Other:
-Macaroni
-oil
-water
-tomatoes
-onions (optional)
-mixed vegetables

Preparation:
1) In a mixer-grinder, make tomato puree with fresh tomatoes and keep it aside.
2) Simlarly make onion puree in mixer-grinder and keep it aside.
3) In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds.
4) once mustard seeds crackle, heat onion puree or paste prepared earlier for 5-7 minutes.
5) Put tomatoe puree prepared earlier and mix it well and let it cook for 5-7 minutes.
6) Add your chopped mixed vegetables in the pan with very little water, and let it cook with closed lid for about 10-15 min depending on vegetables you added.
7) While vegetables cook, take macaroni in separate container and heat/boil it with water as mentioned in macaroni box.
8) Once vegetables are cooked, add chilli powder, salt, basil, oregano and garam masala in it; mix it well.
9) Add cooked macaroni from another container to first pan(pan with vegetables, purees and spices) and mix contents well. Let it heat for 3-5 min.

Note:
Similarly pasta can be made. Just substitute macaroni with pasta.

Arbi paranthas and puris

Ingredients:
Spices:
-Salt
-Coriander powder
-Chilli powder
Other:
-Arbi
-oil
-Wheat flour
-water

Preparation:
1) make a medium to hard mixture of water and wheat flour, and give it 15 min before using.
2) Cook whole arbis(do not cut or peel) in plenty of water in cooker. Give about 4-5 whistles.
3) discard the water once cooker is cooled down.
4) let the arbis cool down; peel them
5) grate the cooked arbis in plate
6) add salt, coriander powder and chilli powder in the grated arbi and mash the mixture
7) make balls of previously prepared wheat flour mixture.
8) make flat paranthas or puris with the stuffing of arbi mix in wheat flour balls.
9) make puris or paranthas using oil.

Note: See attached video.

Channa Masala/ Punjabi Chole

Ingredients:
Spices:
-Salt
-Cumin(zeera in hindi)
-Channa masala
-Garam masala
-Asafoetida(heeng in hindi)
-Chilli powder
Other:
-Channa/Chole (soaked for about 10-12 hrs in water with baking soda)
-Tomatoes
-Ginger
-Onions(optional)
-Garlic(optional)
-Coriander leaves(optional for garnish)
-oil
-water

Preparation:
1) In a cooker, cook chole with plenty of water(for about 8-10 whistles). Give more whistles if not cooked.
2) In separate pan, heat oil, and add very little asafoetida, cumin seeds, chopped onion, chopped ginger and garlic paste.
3) Once onion turns ligt brown, add chopped tomatoes
4) Keep mixing/frying the contents in pan for 5-10 min on medium heat. When done add chilli powder and mix it.
5) Once Channa is cooked, mix the contents from pan into cooker.
6) Add salt,channa masala and garam masala in the cooker.
7) Add coriander leaves for garnishing the dish.

Note: Raw onion can also be added in channa masala if onion is not used in frying. It give different taste and that also tastes excellent, especially with bhature.