Vaisakhi Special: Dhaba Style Lunch

This week being Vaisakhi ( Indian new year almost across all religions) decided to make something rustic. Well you know rustic for punjabis means lots of butter and ghee :D :D... Ended up making ‘maa choliyaan di daal’ , paneer butter masala, begun bhaja ( fried eggplant becuase I had one in the fridge :P) and banana pudding ( I wanted to make it for a looong time). So let’s start cooking.

Maa Choliyan di daal: It’s a simple daal preparation made with urad daal and chana daal. Traditionally it is made wiht split urad but I had whole urad so went ahead with that... Tastes great though!!!! Ingredients: Urad daal - 2/3 cup; Chana daal - 1/3 cup; Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon; Hing - 1 pinch; Garlic (finely chopped) - 8 cloves; Ginger ( finely chopped) - 2 inch; Green chillies (slit) - 4; Onion ( finely chopped) - 2 medium size; Tomato ( chopped) - 2 medium size; Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tea spoon; Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon; Ghee ( the star of the show) - 3 table spoons; Salt to taste; Fresh cream to garnish ( optional) Steps: i. Soak the daal overnight. ii. Pressure cook the daal mixture with turmeric powder and salt for 5 whistles ( 2 on high flame and next 3 on medium). Let the cooker depressurize on its own. iii. Prepare the tempering. For this heat 3 table spoons of ghee and add hing into it. iv. After a minute add the garlic and ginger mixture and saute them well. Add green chillies after a minute. v. Once the garlic are brown in colour add the onions and saute them until they are translucent. Take care of salt as you have already put some in the daal. vi. Add tomatoes after 3-4 minutes and mix well . vii. One tomatoes are also cooked ( 5 minutes) add the dry spices and mix well. viii. After 3 -4 minutes add the daal into the mixture and stir well. ix. Cook the mixture on a medium flame for 10 minutes.

Garnish with some cream and serve with steamed rice or hot rotis!!!

Paneer Butter Masala: As the name suggests this dish is prepared in butter and is super delicious ( ofcourse and slightly sweet in taste). Have been asked for this multiple times so here it is!!! Ingredients: Paneer ( cubes) - 300 gms; Tomato ( roughly chopped; try to use red ones) - 7 medium; Cashew powder - 3 table spoons; Chillies ( chopped) -2; Ginger ( roughly chopped) - 2 inch; Garlic cloves - 20; Kasoori methi - 1 tea spoon; Cinnamon stick - 1.5 inch; Fresh cream - 2 table spoon; Coriander powder - 2 tea spoon; Kashmiri red chilli powder - 2 tea spoon; Garam masala - 1 tea spoon; Salt to tast; Honey for sweetness ( as to your liking) ; Butter - 5 table spoons ( Yes it requires that much!!!) Steps: i. Cut the paneer in small cubes. You can shallow fry them or use them as it is. ii. Heat 3 table spoons of butter in a thick bottom pan. Add the cinnamon stick, ginger , garlic and chillies into it. iii. Saute the mixture well until the garlic turn a bit brown. Now add the tomatoes into the mixture and some salt. Mix well until the tomatoes become soggy ( 5-7 minutes). iv. Cool down the mixture and blend them to a fine paste. v. Strain them using a metal strainer and keep it aside. vi. Now in the same pan add 1 table spoon of butter. Once it melts add kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well. vii. Once done ( 2-3 minutes) pour in the tomtato mixture and mix well. Hest the mixture to a boil. viii. Now create a paste out of the cashew powder. You can also blend soaked cashews but I find this easier). Add the paste to the tomato mixture and mix well. If the gravy is too thick add some water. Add the fresh cream as well. ix. After a minute or so add the coriander powder and mix well. Heat the mixture for 2-3 minutes. x. Add the paneer cubes into the gravy and stir well. Heat the mixture for 2-3 minutes. xi. Add garam masala to the mixture and mix well. Heat for 2 minutes. xii. Add the last table spoon of butter and honey ( add to your liking). Mix well and check if the taste is what you want. xiii. Roast kasoori methi and crush them with hand. Sprinkle them over the mixture and mix well.

Serve with steamed rice or rotis!!!

Begun Bhaja: It is typically a fried egg plant, super easy to make and heavenly in taste. Normally it is served as a side dish to rice daal etc. Ingredients: Eggplant - 1; Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon; Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon; Rice flour - 1 table spoon; Salt to taste; Mustard oil - 4 tea spoons Steps: i. Slice the brinjal in 1\2 inch thick slices. ii. Mix all the spices together and coat the slices evenly. iii. Heat mustard oil in a pan. iv. Once it’s smoking hot fry the slices until they are golden brown on both sides.

Serve with your daal and rice or eat it like this. So simple !!!

Banana Pudding: Well well I love banana pudding!!! There’s a very famous bakery here by the name Magnolia Bakery and they make delicious banana pudding. They might be the main reason if i put on more weight :D :D...Gave it a try with slight variations. Turned out to be nice :) Ingredients: Bananas ( ripe) - 3; Vanilla pudding - 1 pouch ( to make 500 ml of pudding) ; Full fat milk - 500 ml; Cream cheese - 150 gms; Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can; Whipping cream - 600 ml; Sugar - 100 gms; Thin Digestive biscuits ( you can also use the traditional wafers) - 1 pack Steps: i. Mix the vanilla pudding water with 50 ml of milk and stir well until there are no lumps. ii. Heat the milk to a boil and add the pudding mixture into it. Mix well and heat the mixture for 2-3 minutes. iii. While the mixture is cooling; thinly slice the bananas and whip the cream cheese and cream into a smooth paste. iv. Once the pudding mixture has cooled; mix the cream cheese mixture with the pudding mixture and whisk to a smooth paste. v. Take a wide pan and layer the bottom with your digestive or wafers. Next make a layer of banana slices and over that pour in the pudding mixture. vi. Repeat the process for as many layers you want. vii. On top you can put more wafers or digestives or anything that want to decorate it with :)

Chill in the refrigerator for couple of hours and enjoy!!