Oats Upma

Ingredients:

Serves Two

1 cup Instant oats

1 cup mixed vegetables - beans cut into diamonds, green peas, carrots diced

1 Onion chopped lengthwise

1 tsp mustard seeds

5-6 curry leaves

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 tsp finely grated ginger

Salt to taste

water

oil

Method:

In a saucepan, blanch all the vegetables and keep aside. In a pan, heat a tsp of oil and mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves followed by the onions and saute till transparent. Add the chillies and ginger, tossing briefly. Pour in about 1 and 1/2 cups of water and bring to boil. Add oats, blanched vegetables, salt to taste and mix well. Close the pan for 2-3 minutes. Stir well and remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro, if required and serve hot. This tastes best with chutney or a dip of your choice.

Chole Masala Powder

There is always that little pleasure when you use home-made masala powder. And why not, when freshly ground masala is only going to make your dish tastier. You can always make in large amounts for furture use. In that case, please multiply the following proportions accordingly.

Ingredients:

Coriander seeds - 3 tbsps

cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

1 tsp - black peppercorns

3-4 cloves

1 inch Cinnamon Stick

seeds of 2 green cardomom pods

3-4 dried red chillies

Method:

Dry roast the ingredients one by one as each spice reddens differently. To avoid charring, either roast each seperately or add to the pan in the following order:

cinnamon stick

Peppercorn

Cumin seeds

Coriander seeds

dried chillies

cloves

cardomom seeds

Roast well till all the spices redden equally.

Spread them on a wide plate and let cool. Once at room temperature, grind them to a very fine powder.

Note:

If you are intending to store this powder, keep the following points in mind to retain its freshness and an increased shelf-life:

Store in an air-tight container.

Always use a dry spoon.

Before grinding, ensure all the spices have reached room temperature, else lumps might be formed  which decrease its shelf-life

Chole Masala/ Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

Serves Two

1 cup Chickpeas - soaked overnight in plenty of water

1 cup tomato puree

1 medium sized Onion - finely chopped

1 tbsp + 1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1 inch Cinnamon Stick

1 tbsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Dried Mango Powder

1 tsp dry Ginger Powder

1 tsp Poppy seeds

1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

4-5 Green Chillies - finely chopped

1 tbsp Chole Masala Powder

1 cup cilantro - finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil

Water

Method:

Pressure cook the chick peas with a tsp of Cumin seeds, a Bay leaf and an inch length of Cinnamon stick. This adds a little flavour to the chickpeas.

In a pan, heat about 2 tbsps of oil and temper 1 tbsp of Cumin seeds and poppy seeds. Once the cumin seeds begin to change colour, add the onions. As the onions become transparent, add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and saute briefly. Now add the tomato puree and stir. Add chilli powder, mango powder, ginger powder, chole masala powder and mix well. Add 1 cup of water and simmer till oil seperates on top. This is a sign that all the spices have blended well.

Add the cooked chickpeas to this gravy and mix well. Add salt to taste and cook for another couple of minutes until oil collects on the top. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with hot Puris, a deep-fried Indian Whole Wheat Bread, Rotis or Pilaf.