How to cook ? 5 simple recipes

Mansi Kohli, Health Me Up | Mar 30, 2012, 12.00AM IST


In today's fast-paced life, many of us think twice before cooking a traditional Indian meal, complete with the choice of grains, side dishes and salads. 

But this needn't be true. With microwaves and convenient storage facilities, we can cook complete and healthy Indian meals and enjoy them through the week with our loved ones. So give those sandwiches and udipi joints a break, and get ready to cook a complete Indian mealthat will fulfill its health quotient as well. 

1 .Garlic rotis 
Ingredients: ¼ cup of jowar flour, 1/4th cup of bajra flour, ¼ cup of whole wheat flour, fresh green garlic, a bit of coriander and salt to taste. 

Method: Mix all the ingredients together and make a smooth batter by adding warm water to it. Divide the batter into equal portions and roll rotis out of it. Cook them in a non-stick pan until lightly golden brown and serve them hot. 

2. Vegetable pulav 
Ingredients: 2 cups seasonal vegetables (beans, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, green peas, etc),1 tbs ginger and garlic paste, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbs lime juice, 1 cup long grained basmati rice, 1 tsp olive oil, 8 cups water, garam masala and salt to taste. 

Method: Add oil to a pan and stir fry all the vegetables by adding cloves, garlic, ginger paste, cinnamon for a few minutes. Add rice and water and saute them nicely. Now add your lemon juice, salt and pudina leaves and out the lid on. Let it cook for 15 minutes. Your vegetable pulav is ready! 

3. Cucumber raita 
Ingredients : Chop 1/4th onion, 1 cup chopped cucumber, 1 cup of thick creamy yogurt, 2 green chillies and a bit of grated coconut. 

Method: Combine all the above ingredients together and add ½ a cup of water to it in order to even out the curd consistency. You can give it a South Indian twist by adding ½ a cup of stir fried mustard seeds and curry leaves to it. 

4. Shrimp Indian style 
Ingredients: 1 tbs cumin seeds, 1 dried red chilli, 1 tbs finely chopped cilantro, ½ a kg of raw shrimp, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 tbs lemon juice, few mustard seeds, ½ a cup of water and salt to taste. 

Method: On a medium flame toast peppercorns, cumin, red chillies, coriander and peas. When the spices cool, grind them until the mixture is a fine powder. Now take a bowl and throw in shrimp, lime juice, cilantro, salt and the spice blend. Leave the mixture in the bowl for 30 minutes. Now lightly saute the shrimp until it's light pink. Add water to it and let it come to a boil. 

5. Kadhai murgh 
Ingredients : 2 tsp coriander and cumin seeds, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ a kilo boneless chicken, 1 cup bell pepper, 1 small chopped red onion, 4 cloves garlic, 3 dried red chilles, 1 cup diced carrots, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tbs lime juice, salt to taste. 

Method: Grind the fennel seeds, cumin, coriander powder, salt and turmeric into a fine powdered mixture. Add it to chicken and let it marinade for a few minutes. Now, add oil, chillies, garlic, onion, carrots and bell peppers to a pan and cook for 4 to 7 minutes, or till the vegetables are cooked. Reduce the heat and add the marinated chicken to it. Add lime juice. Cook for another 10 minutes.