Kakdi Tamatar Koshimbir/Maharashtrian Salad

What is Koshimbir?

It is a typical Maharashtrian salad. Usually made with cucumber, tomato and crushed peanuts, with tempering of asafetida. It is a must for Maharashtrian thali meal. There are varieties of koshimbir relished by Maharashtrians. The asafetida in the tempering makes it a good digestive aid and gives a fantastic aroma to it. A Maharashtrian thali consists of a lemon wedge, koshimbir (Salad), chutney, papad, Bhajiya (Pakora), Varan(dal), Bhat (rice), Bhaji (Sabji), Poli (chapati) and taak(chaas).  There is a way of serving the thali. At my home, we still follow the rule of serving thali. Everything should be in the correct place. My mother (aai) made sure that I serve correctly and eat clean. Probably that’s a part of our culture and I absolutely love it.

For a basic koshimbir, all you need is

SERVINGS: 2

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup Cucumber, chopped

½ cup Tomato, diced

1 green chilli, chopped

2 tbsp Peanut powder (crushed peanuts)

2 Tbsp onion, chopped (optional)

½ tsp Sugar

¼ tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

For Tempering-

1 Tbsp Oil

½ tsp Mustard

¼ tsp Asafetida (Hing)

1/8 tsp turmeric

3-4       Curry Leaves

Coriander for garnishing

METHOD:

1.    In a bowl add cucumber, tomato, green chilli, onions, salt, sugar and peanut powder. Toss the ingredients well.

2.    Now add lemon juice and give it a mix.

3.    For tempering

·       Heat oil.

·       Add asafetida, curry leaves, turmeric.

·       Allow it to splutter

4.    Pour the tempering over the salad.

5.    Give it a final mix, add coriander and serve it. 

Note- Serve it immediately as if you keep it for a long time, salad releases its juices.

Enjoy this simple preparation with Varan-Bhat.

 

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Corn Salsa

This is a super fresh corn salad tossed with some peppers, herbs and lime juice. This salad is quite simple yet full of flavors. I think it is the best salad for summer time parties. It is delectable, colorful and looks cute as an appetizer. Serve it with Nachos or with Graham Crackers. All you need is

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Corns [fresh or frozen]

1 Tbsp Olive oil

¼ cup Spring onions, chopped

½ cup Bell Peppers [green, red and yellow], chopped

½ cup Cherry Tomato

¼ cup Cilantro or coriander

2 Tbsp Lime juice

1 Tsp Mixed Herbs

½ Tsp Red Chili Flakes

¼ Tsp Black Pepper Crushed

¼ Salt or to taste

¼ Cup Cheese [I am using Cheddar cheese]

METHOD:

1.    Heat oil in a pan. Add spring onions and bell peppers. Sauté it on a low flame.

2.    Once the bell peppers gets soft add in corns. Mix it well. Sauté for another one minute.

3.    Add in salt, red chili flakes, herbs, cilantro and crushed black pepper. Mix everything well.

4.    Squeeze in the lemon juice.

5.    Add cheese. Mix it quickly and remove it from the flame. You will see that the cheese gets melt.

6.    Lastly, add the tomatoes toss it and serve it.

7.    Sprinkle some more cheese and cilantro while serving.

8.    It goes well with Nachos or even with Crackers.

Best, light and quick appetizer for cocktail party!

Do try the recipe!

 

Hey Friends! If you like my blogs kindly post your comment below the post and do share your response. Looking forward to some new innovative recipes. Thanks for reading. HAPPY COOKING ! :)

Pudina(Mint) and Spring Onion Chutney

Ingredients:-

1 cup Pudina (Mint)

1 green onion

½ cup greens of spring onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp Black salt

¼ tsp Coriander powder

¼ tsp red chili powder

Pinch of asafetida

2 green chilli

¼ cup peanuts

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Method:-

1.     Wash Pudina and spring onions.

2.     In a blender add all the ingredients.

3.     Blend it into a smooth paste. Add little water as required.

4.     Now take it out in a jar. And store it in refrigerator for a week.

5.     Serve it with Snacks, in thali or with paratha’s or puri.

Hey Friends! If you like my blogs kindly post your comment below the post and do share your response. Looking forward for some new innovative recipes. Thanks for reading. HAPPY COOKING ! :)

Matar Paneer

If you are a die-hard Indian foodie and if you’re indecisive or super hungry opt for a Thali then.  Thali is a platter with a selection of various dishes. You get to taste varieties of Condiments, salads, Savory, Sabji’s also they serve different classic Indian Breads and Desserts. It is colorful, flavorful and at the same time packed with a balanced diet. The intention behind serving a thali meal is to offer 6 different flavors of sweet, salt, bitter, sour, spicy and acidic (astringent) on a single platter. In India you get two categories of Thali meal- Veg or Meat based. And the dishes varies from region to region. You get a wide variety from every region.  Mainly it has Dal, rice, Salad, papad, vegetable (sabji), Roti (Indian bread), pickles, Yoghurt (Kadhi/buttermilk etc.) and sweets. And there is a typical way of serving the meal.  Thali is quintessentially Indian.

I am sharing a Thali Meal recipe which has Dal Fry, Rice, Mint-Onion Chutney, Matar –Paneer (Cottage cheese-Peas Curry) and Paratha.

You can make thali meal using any combinations. Just make sure flavors are well balanced.

Try these everyday recipes. And make a habit of healthy cooking and healthy eating. 

Matar Paneer

Peas is something which we always have in our refrigerator. If guests pop in suddenly you should have few ingredients handy from which we can make any dish within no time. Pea’s is one of those magical ingredients. [Note- For matar paneer we fry the paneer cubes but here to keep it simple and healthy I’ll dkip this step.]

Ingredients:-

1 cup Pea’s (Matar)

1 cup Paneer (Cottage cheese), diced

2 onions, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

7-8 cashew or almonds

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 inch piece of cinnamon

1 green cardamom

2-3 black pepper corns

1 tbsp Kasuri Meethi

2-3 tbsp oil/ghee

½ tsp turmeric

2 tsp Kashmiri Red chilli powder

¼ cup Curds

1 cup milk

2 tsp salt

Coriander, chopped for garnishing. 

Method:-

1.     In a saucepan add milk, onions, cashew/almonds, cardamom, black pepper corns and cinnamon. Boil it till everything is cooked properly it hardly takes 10 minutes. Allow it to cool, and then blend it into a smooth paste.

2.     Heat Oil/Ghee in a Kadhayi(pan), add cumin, ginger garlic paste and blended paste prepared in Step1 above.

3.     Sautee it till the paste changes its color. Then add chopped tomatoes, salt and cook till tomatoes gets mushy.

4.     Then add chili powder, coriander powder and curds. Mix it well and make sure that curd doesn’t get curdled. Cook it till oil separates from the masala.

5.     Add Pea’s and 1 cup water to form gravy. Boil it on high flame for 7-8 minutes. Then add diced Paneer. Stir in the gravy.

6.     Lastly to enhance the flavor and aroma add Kasuri meethi and Coriander.

7.     Matar Panner is ready to serve.

8.     It is relished with Paratha or Puri. 

For Dal fry and Mint Chutney click the following links-

Dal Fry-https://grannysreflection.blogspot.com/2019/02/dal-fry.html
Pudina(Mint) Chutney-https://grannysreflection.blogspot.com/2019/02/pudinamint-and-spring-onion-chutney.html

Hey Friends! If you like my blogs kindly post your comment below the post and do share your response. Looking forward for some new innovative recipes. Thanks for reading. HAPPY COOKING ! :)