Pav Bhaji - Anytime, Anywhere

Seldom is one's better half good at cooking. Seldom would you find him beat you in a particular dish. And rarely would you enjoy watching him sharing the recipe with rest of the world. My husband's exceptionally good dish - Paav bhaji. It is tough to resist the temptation of having paav bhaji. Enjoy it with crispy paav and you are sure to have you stomach filled with great dish and heart filled with content (forget calories for one day). This dish needs a bit of patience, but is worth trying since the results would be great. Since my better half has excelled in the recipe, he is going to share with you the preparation in his own words :)

Ingredients:

·         3 Roma tomatoes

·         3 – 4 potatoes

·         1 medium size egg plant

·         1 medium size cauliflower

·         2 medium size onions or 3 small onions.

·         7 cloves of garlic

·         Pav-Bhaji Masala

·         Green chillies

·         Lemon juice

·         Vegetable oil

·         Ginger as per taste

·         Pav or soft white burger buns

·         Salted butter

·         Peas

·         cilantro

Method.

1) Wash and peel skins of potatoes, and egg plant. Dice them.

2) Wash and dice the cauliflower

    

3) Pressure cook the potatoes, eggplant and cauliflower – usually 5 – 6 whistles

     

4) While the vegetables are being cooked in the pressure cooker the gravy can be made – for the gravy finely chop onions, mince garlic and grate ginger. Finely chop tomatoes – tomato skin can be removed if you do not like it.

5) In a wok (kadhai) heat 2 tbsp of oil

6) When the oil heats up add the chopped onions, fry till they turn brown – salt can be added to expedite the process

7) Once the onions turn light brown add the minced garlic and fry for 3 minutes, the garlic will also turn golden brown

8) It is now time to add the tomatoes, keep stirring at regular occasions.

9) Wash peas and set them in a microwave safe bowl with water for 3 minutes. They will be partially boiled.

10) Remove the microwave safe dish and strain the water.

11) Keep an eye on the gravy, make sure it doesn’t burn, keep stirring.

12) If the pressure cooker has clocked 5 -6 whistles then it is time to turn it off and remove from the heat.

13) While the pressure cooker cools down you can simmer the gravy, if the tomato in the gravy starts to leave oil, then it is time to lower the heat.

14) Open the pressure cooker and strain all the water.

15) Now mash all vegetables – potatoes, egg plant and cauliflower and mix to make it a smooth paste

16) Toss these mashed vegetables in the wok on top of the gravy, 

17) Add the peas

18) Increase the stove heat 

19) Add 3 tea spoons of pav bhaji masala (you may increase or decrease this based on how much flavour you need), one table spoon of red chilly powder, chopped green chillies and half a cake of salted butter.

20) The red chillies powder should bring a nice colour to the bhaji. 

21) Add salt as per taste and keep checking the taste while this cooks, add salt or red chili powder to make up for taste as per your requirement.

22) Simmer and cook for a few minutes

24) On another stove, place a flat pan and start heating it, add a spoon of butter and lightly fry the the pav or burger buns on it, so that they have a golden brown texture, no need to fry the entire pav.

Your Pav-bhaji is ready, before serving and once the bhaji is removed from flame, squeeze some lemon juice on it. Serve with cilantro and raw onions.

Dal Makhni - King of all Dals

If you were to name a dish that is as popular as Chole, easy to prepare and yet equally tasty, it is Dal Makhni. Those who have never tried, this dish looks tough but is extremely easy to prepare. Interestingly there is another dish similar to this named Dal Bukhara which perhaps is less known than Dal Makhni. People say that adding rich cream  makes this dish Dal makhni although the confusion still exists. To shed some more light go to
 http://www.virsanghvi.com/vir-world-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=451

For this you need:-
1 tsp cooking oil
1 cup Whole Urad Dal/ Kaali Dal
1/4 cup Rajma or kidney beans
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
salt to taste
red chilly powder
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp ginger
3 tomatoes pureed  ( 2  is enough if tomatoes are sour)
1 tsp dal makhni masala or Garam masala
1 cup milk
Sour cream (to decorate)
1 tsp Kasoori Methi (optional)



Seasoning
Thin slices of ginger
2 Red chillies
pinch of Asafoetida
chopped coriander leaves
Butter (optional)
1 tsp oil

Method

1)  Cook the pulses in pressure cooker with salt and using 6 cups of water . (yes this needs a lot of water)

2) In another pan, add some oil. Add cumin seeds. Once they crackle add garlic, ginger. After a minute, add pureed tomatoes. Add garam masala.

3) Once tomatoes get cooked, add the cooked dal. Add 1 cup milk. Stir once. Add Kasoori Methi. Now simmer the flame, close it with lid and let the dal get cooked.

4) The aroma of dal would spread which means it is almost done. Keep checking that the dal does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

5) For seasoning, take a pan. Add oil. Add red chillies and once they crackle, add asafoetida and pour the seasoning on the dal. Season dal with chopped coriander leaves and thinly sliced ginger. You could decorate it with thick curd or sour cream.

Panner buttermasala

Panner in it self suggests grandness combine it with butter and masala for this grand dish. This dish is easy and tasty! Try it today.

Ingredients:

3 cups Tomato puree

1 cup Panner cubed

1/4 cup Cream

1/2 cup Cashew nuts

1 tbsp Butter

2 tbps Honey

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp red Chilli powder

2 tsp Kasuri methi ( dry Methi leaves)

8 garlic Cloves

2 Green chillies

2 medium Onions

4 pods Elachi powder / cardomom pods

6 Lavanga /cloves

2 inch Cinnamon

1 inch Ginger

salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan and fry cardamom , cloves , cinnamon and green chillies.

2. Add cashew nuts and chopped onions , fry till well done.

3. Blend the mixture into a paste.

4. In a pan fry the cubed panner till golden .

5. Add salt and chilli powder , fry for 2 minutes.

6. Heat a deep pan with a lid.

7. Heat butter in the deep pan , add tomato puree , the ground paste and red chilli powder..

8. Close the lid and heat over medium flame stirring occationally.

9. Once the puree starts to sputter , add salt , garam masala, kasuri methi and honey.

10. Cook for 5 minutes over medium flame with the lid covered.

11. Add fried panner to the gravy.

12. Add cream and switch off the flame.

13. Serve hot with Naan , kulcha or roti.

Note:

Use Kashmiri chilli powder if possible this gives the gravy bright red color.

Dry roast kasuri methi before adding it to dish to enhance its taste.

Bread toast with veggie stuffing

Good old bread. You can do a lot with it. Make it sweetish, make it like a toast, prepare pakoda or bread crumbs. This time I decided to have a quick fix with bread. My mamma makes it often and it is a sure winner in my home. This needs
 

Ingredients
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
2 Green chillies chopped
1 tbsp cooking oil
salt to taste
Turmeric powder
chopped coriander leaves
Bread
Salted butter
Tomato Ketchup

Method

1) Take a frying pan. Add some oil in it.

2) Add some mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add some onions. Let the onions get translucent.

3) Add turmeric powder, green chillies, tomatoes and salt to taste.

4) Fry until tomatoes get cooked. Add chopped coriander leaves.

5) Take a tawa. Apply  a bit of butter on the tawa.

6) Take a bread. Place the onion tomato stuffing in it. Place another bread on the top of it.

7) Put it on the Tawa and cover it with a lid. Check after 45 seconds to ensure that the bottom of bread does not get burnt but is roasted.

8) Once done, turn the remove the bread with tongs and turn bread upside down and close the lid to let it roast the other side too.

9) Once done, remove the bread from the tawa and slice it diagonally. Serve with ketchup.

Hummus

Searching for alternatives always help us to discover new things. And if new things are tasty, you get the satisfaction of widening your horizon with respect to culinary dishes. I got this satisfaction when I discovered and prepared Hummus. The origin of this dip is from middle east. You could use it as a dip for pita bread, chips and can act as a chutney too for idli.

For this you need

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chick peas/ garbanzo beans / safed chana

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon squeezed into juice

salt to taste

1/3 tsp cayenne pepper or red chilly powder ( add less if it is very hot)

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 small pods of garlic.

Parsley (I did not have parsley, so used cilantro instead)

Method

1) Roast sesame in a low flame until it just starts browning (not completely).

2) Grind it with garlic, garbanzo beans, salt, red chilly powder, olive oil and lemon juice.

3) Season with parsley and serve immediately or store it in the fridge (max for 3 days). 

Magic of celery

There are some vegetables which will never be appreciated or preferred unless we force ourselves to think that it is good for health. Celery is one of them. Actually, I must say celery juice is one of them. But give it a zestful twist and it would dance to your taste buds. This one is my own discovery which I am sharing with you.

Serves one person.

Ingredients

1 bunch of celery ( containing 8-10 stalks or branches of celery attached together)

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp chat masala

pinch of salt to taste

freshly squeezed juice of one lemon

Method

1) Take a Glass. Add sugar, chat masala, salt and lemon juice. Stir well.

2) Add celery to the juicer and extract the juice. Pour it to the glass. Stir well and enjoy.

Note:

If celery's flavour or taste is overwhelming, you may dilute it by adding water.

Khichdi -Pulao

Am sure your first thought would be - 'this is not khichdi'. There is nothing in this except for rice and split moong daal which will allow it to remain khichdi. Actually my better half started off making khichdi. But the rice used was basmati rice and every grain was perfectly cooked making it perfect for Pilaf/Pulao. So he ended up making a new dish which could be between pilaf and khichdi. But all is well that tastes well. So here I present the recipe of Khichdi pulao the name-keeping ceremony of which happened just the moment I wrote this post.

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup

Split Moong Daal -1/3rd of a cup

Water - 2 and a half cups

1 tsp cooking oil

1/3 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Kitchen king Masala

1/4 tsp Aamchur powder

Salt to taste

Method

1) Cook rice and split moong daal together in 2 and a half cups of water with salt (water used may vary for each pressure cooker). Add water in such a way that the rice is perfectly cooked and every grain of rice separates.

2) Cook peas separately in microwave or water. Ensure that peas is perfectly cooked, neither mashed up nor undercooked.

3) Take  a pan. Add 1 tsp cooking oil. Add cumin seeds, cooked peas, kitchen king masala, turmeric powder, aamchur powder.

4) Add cooked rice and stir it for a minute. Serve hot with curd or raita.

Rava Kesari/ Sooji ka halwa

Sweets are always welcome any time round the year. Rava Kesari is one of the most universally appealing sweet dish. The best part with this is that initially, the dish progresses slowly, but suddenly, you have a lot of things to do and within a few mts, it gets ready. Rava Kesari must be preferably consumed in smaller quantities since it has a lot of ghee in it.

Ingredients

1 cup rava/ Semolina/ Sooji

3 cup of boiling water

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp Ghee (or more if you want to make it soft and slightly watery)

7-8 pieces cashews broken into halves(or more)

12-14 pieces of kishmish (or more)

A pinch of Cardamom powder

Orange colour powder, diluted with a few tsp water

Method

1) Take a Pan. Add 1 tbsp ghee in it. Fry some Cashews and Kishmish and keep it aside. Also, in another pan, keep 3 cups of water for boiling.

2) Add another tbsp ghee in the first pan (in which you already have fried the nuts). Roast 1 cup rava in it till it gets slightly brown in colour. Be careful not to burn it.

3) Now add the boiling water to the rava and simmer the flame to low. Add sugar and mix it well. Add two more tbsp ghee and colour (diluted with water).  Mix well.

4) Once it is done, add cardamom powder and season with fried Kaju Kishmish. Serve hot

Note: ~ You could add more sugar or ghee if you have sweet tooth.

~There are various ways of decorating it. If you want to create any shape using fork or spoon or a flat long knife, do so when the Kesari is still warm.

Potato Beans Curry/ Fry (South Indian Style)

South Indian curries/ fries have unique flavour. Generally when you attend South Indian weddings or other major functions, you are bound to find a curry which has flavour similar to this. After a while, I came across the recipe and wasted no time in noting down the ingredients used and the method.

Vegetables

3 potatoes chopped into cubes

1 cup of beans chopped lengthwise

To be dry roasted and powdered

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp u.dal

1 tsp chana daal

2 red chillies broken into halves

Also

1 tbsp cooking oil

Salt to taste

One sprig of curry leaves

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Hing

Turmeric powder

Method

1) Dry roast coriander seeds, Urad dal, Chana dal  and red chillies low flame (without adding oil).

2) Once aroma starts filling the kitchen and the mixture turns slightly brown in colour, remove it and place in a container allowing it to cool down.

3) Grind the mixture coarsely and keep it aside.

4) Take a pan and add cooking oil to it. Add mustard seeds and once it crackles, add curry leaves, the beans. After 5 mts, add potatoes.

5) Now add the powdered mixture to it and stir in such a way that the veggies are coated with the mixture. Add salt to it and turmeric powder. Fry it till it gets cooked. Ensure that it gets cooked completely.

6) Serve as a side dish with rice and sambar/ rasam / koottu or other gravy.

Note: Success of  this recipe depends upon how well you roast and cook the veggies. They must get cooked, be dry and easily separated from each other. to get this, fry the vegetables at a slow flame and close the pan with a lid. Stir every 5 mts to ensure that vegetables do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Masoor Ki daal

Name a daal that is humble and yet manages to please us with its flavour, it is masoor ki daal. You need no garam masala, no pre-soaking of daal and free from endless cooking time. The credit goes to my ma-in-law who taught me this recipe which would otherwise have been ignored in the shelf itself.  

Ingredients

Jeera

3 Chopped Green chillies

1 inch Chopped ginger

3 pods of garlic chopped into very small pieces

1 onion chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp cooking oil.

Cooked Masoor daal (generally 1/2 cup masoor daal in 3 cups of water cooks well without getting too mashed up)

Chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method

1) Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add jeera, onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Cook till onion gets translucent. 

2) Add tomatoes and fry them well.

3) Add cooked Masoor daal and salt to taste. Let them blend well while they cooked in slow flame. Add water if it gets too thick.

4) Season with chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis or rice. 

Palak Subzi

Talk of taste in green leafy vegetables, all one thinks of is Palak ki Subzi. Imagine this accompanying hot rotis, some cucumber or carrot salad, you will undoubtedly have a hearty meal.

Ingredients

2 small or 1 big onion.

500 gms Palak/Spinach

ginger chopped into very small pieces

2 green chillies chopped

1 potato chopped

3 tomatoes chopped

1/4 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp jeera/ cumin seeds

a pinch of Aamchur (optional)

Turmeric powder

Salt

1 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 cup of boiling water

1 tsp ghee

Method

1) Fry in oil some mustard. When they crackle add jeera, onion, ginger, green chillies

2) Fry some tomatoes. Add chopped potatoes, chopped Palak, turmeric powder, salt. garam masala, aamchur. Stir well and add boiling water.

3)  Simmer and close the pan with a lid. Let Palak and other vegetables get cooked well.

4) Once the dish is cooked, switch off the flame and add 1 tsp ghee to it. Season with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis.

Lemon Rasam

If eating too much of tamarind does not appeal to you, think of lemon rasam. There is something appealing about this clear, light, tangy lemon rasam that I prepare it often. If you have Toor Dal water with you, this Rasam will not take more than 15 mts of cooking.

Ingredients

1 inch ginger - 2 pieces

Slit green chillies - 2

Tomatoes - 2

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp hing / asofetida

Salt to taste

1 tsp Sambar/ Rasam powder

2 cups Toor dal water

1 cup plain water

1 tbsp lemon juice or 2 lemons ( quantity varies according to your taste)

Method

1) Remove the outer skin of ginger. Now smash the ginger (place ginger on a flat surface and gently slam it)

2) Place 1 cup of water in a pan and keep it on low flame. Add smashed ginger, chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, Rasam powder, hing and a bit of salt to the water.

3) Bring it to a boil and let it keep boiling until the quantity reduces by 50% (take care that you do not burn it)

4) Once the quantity reduces by 50%, add dal water and keep it in low flame. Once you see lather forming, it is time to switch off the flame.

5) Add lemon juice and season with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with hot, plain rice.

~Note

Add lemon only after switching off the stove , otherwise it would turn  bitter.

Beet root in new avtar

No thought is better than beginning your day with something that keeps your eyes healthy and doctor away. Beet root is known for lowering BP, a blood purifier, and in the recent study it was found to improve stamina. Carrots are known for their properties of keeping our eyes healthy. Apple juice also has anti-oxidants apart from providing essential nutrients required by our body.

Ingredients

2 apples peeled and chopped

8 carrots peeled and sliced

1 beetroot

 ice(optional)

Method

Place carrots, beetroot, apple in juicer and process them. Serve with crushed ice or a tsp sugar.

Note:

Studies show that beetroot juice must be diluted with other vegetable juices since they are very strong. Also people who have a problem of kidney stones must not consume this.

A Simple Homely Daal

Elaborate, heavy dishes are tasty, but nothing can beat a simple dish that gives a complete satisfaction. I am talking about Daal. Our eyes lit up when after a tiresome travel outside home, we come across this dish that has its own way to delight us. You could make Daal out of any pulses. I made it using Toor Daal.

Ingredients:-

1 cup Toor daal

chopped Ginger

chopped green chillies

juice of 1 Lemon

Turmeric powder

1 tomato chopped

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp Sambar powder

Salt to taste

For Seasoning

1 red chilly broken into two halves

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/3 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 green chilly chopped

1/2 tsp Chopped ginger

1 garlic chopped into very small pieces

Chopped coriander leaves

Method

1) Pressure cook Toor daal using cooker with sufficient water. If the daal is slightly hard, mash up well using a ladle or big spoon when it is still hot.

2) Take another pan. Add some oil. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder and fry tomatoes well till it gets cooked.

3) Now add the cooked toor daal to it. Add salt to taste, turmeric powder, garam masala, sambar powder and cook it till the dal starts boiling. Once done, keep it aside in a vessel.

4) Take a small pan. Add 1 tbsp oil in it. Add mustard seeds, green chillies, cumin seeds, ginger and broken red chilly. Fry it and season it to the dal.

5) Add the lemon juice to it. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or Roti.

Mixed Veg curry (South Indian Style)

Sometimes, we have a bit of every vegetable. The best way to finish them all is to make a mixed vegetable curry. For this you need

Ingredients needed

1 carrot sliced into thin pieces

1/3rd cup beans cut lengthwise

1 potato chopped into cubes

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup chopped cauliflower

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Hind

turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp chilly powder

1 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1) Fry mustard seeds in oil and add beans to it. Cook it for 10 mts or until beans gets almost half cooked.

2) Now add potato, carrot, cauliflower and peas.

3) Add turmeric powder, hing, chilly powder and salt. Stir well.

4) Cook it well and serve it with dal or any gravy along with plain rice.

Goddu Rasam

Rasam - the South Indian soup often made with tamarind water is one of the comfort food which can be eaten along with plain rice or enjoyed as soup.You will find many varieties of Rasam. Goddu Rasam is one of the easiest recipes to make. This also does not require dal water. For this you need

Ingredients

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

Small Lemon Size Tamarind

Hing/ asafoetida

Salt to taste

3 green chillies cut lengthwise

2 red chillies broken

1 tbsp oil for frying

6-8 Curry leaves

Chopped coriander leaves

Method

1) Soak tamarind it hot water. Let it cool a bit. Squeeze the pulp and drain all the juice in a container. Add some more water to the pulp and extract some more tamarind juice. Keep it aside.

2) Take a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil.

3) Add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Then add green chillies sliced lengthwise, red chillies broken into halves, curry leaves and hing.

4) Add the tamarind juice to it. Add some salt.

5) Keep it for boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Once it is boiling, add 1/3 cup water and simmer it. Heat it up well.

6) Once it heats up but not boiling, remove from the stove and season it with chopped coriander leaves.

Capsicum Masala Rice

Sometimes, minimal vegetables but colourful ones work wonders for us. The other day I bought some red bell pepper, their colour tempted me to make them mine. Also, I had a few jalapenos at home, a bit of hunger and some temptation to eat rice. The thought of capsicum masala rice made me feel good. After all it is nothing - just add a fresh twist to the leftover rice or a quick option to be carried for lunch. You could also serve it as one of the options of rice while preparing elaborate lunch for guests.


Serves - 2 people


Ingredients needed:-
For Masala
2 tsp coriander seeds (Dhaniya)
½ tsp cumin seeds (Jeera)
3 red chillies broken into halves
1½ tsp spoon Chana daal
1 inch Cinnamon stick
2 tbsp Roasted peanuts


The Vegetables
1 red bell pepper (capsicum)
1 small onion or half of large onion
2 Jalepenos (if you don’t have them substitute with green chillies, but jalapenos taste better)
1 sprig of Curry leaves
Jeera (cumin seeds)
salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
Coriander leaves to season
2 cups of cooked rice

Method

1) Take a pan. Dry roast (without using oil) the coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, red chillies, cumin seeds, chana dal on a low flame until dal gets slightly brown and a fresh flavour of spices fills the room.


2) Remove from fire and let it cool.


3) Grind it into a coarse masala along with roasted peanuts.


4)Now add some oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and chopped onions.


5) Once the onion gets translucent, add chopped bell pepper, chopped jalapeno, a bit of salt and half of masala. Fry until bell pepper is cooked but still crunchy.


6) Now add the cooked rice and remaining masala. Mix it well gently. Season it with coriander leaves and serve with chilled plain curd or raita or paapad.

Spring Rolls

Chinese cuisines always draw us to the world of Noodles and Soup. However, this time, my thought went to spring rolls. This appetiser though eaten many a times was never tried. So thought of preparing it at home.

You can make about 13-15 spring rolls. For this you would require

Vegetables used for stuffing

1/4 of a cabbage chopped

1 red bell pepper or green bell pepper chopped

3 carrots grated

1 green chilly

3/4 cup chopped green beans (chop into very small pieces for easy cooking)

To spice vegetable stuffing

1 tbsp Soy sauce

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp green chilly sauce or red chilly sauce (generally found under Chinese section)

1/4 tsp Pepper

*Spring roll wrappers to wrap

Oil for frying

1 tsp Maida (all purpose flour) in 2 tbsp water

Method

1) Keep spring roll wrappers outside to bring it to room temperature before separating them.

2) Boil some water and add chopped vegetables to it to cook it well but ensure that it does not overcook or get mashed up.

3) Once the vegetables get cooked, put them in a muslin cloth or a clean, soft, thin cotton cloth and wrap it. Squeeze the bundle until all water comes out and put it in a bowl.

4) Add the spices given above to the vegetables and mix it well.

5) Take a tbsp of stuffed vegetables and place it lengthwise near the corner of spring roll wrapper.

6) Wrap it tightly beginning from the corner and fold in the sides. When you are done halfway, then keep rolling it till then end. Add maida water to glue the corner.

7) Fry them in oil until they turn golden brown in medium high flame. Serve alongwith imli/tamarind chutney or ketchup.

*Note: 
~Spring Roll Wrappers are available in the grocery store under the frozen section with the name spring roll pastry.

~ You could add vegetables of your choice like peas, corn, mushroom etc.

Chai garam

A great Japanese author once said  "Tea…is a religion of the art of life." The 'Ek cuppa chai' has a great significance in our lives too. This 'taken for granted' beverage is a digestive accompaniment to tasty (read oily) snack. The first hot drink to begin the day. A perfect companion on a rainy day. The make-you-feel-better beverage when you are unwell. An excuse to make your guest stay longer. Usually the first recipe which one learns apart from cooking rice in pressure cooker. One of the most important beverage during winter. Serving so many purposes, tea has acquired a great significance in our life. So I thought of posting the art of preparing tea since this is one of the easiest ways to take your infant steps into the world of cooking. For this you need

Ingredients
¾ cup of water
¼ cup of milk (I use 2% fat milk)
 1 tsp sugar
Ginger to grate
½ tsp tea leaves


Method
1) Boil water in a saucepan. Add sugar to it and let the water start boiling.

2) Grate a bit of ginger to it.

3) Add milk and sugar to it

4) After a minute, add tea leaves and let it start boiling.

5)Once it gathers pale brown color, strain it in a tea filter and your piping hot tea is ready to be served.


Tips to remember
~ If you are in a hurry and do not want to grate ginger, you can make masala tea beforehand, and store it for months together in an airtight container. To make masala powder, take some dry ginger and about 10 cardamom pods. Grind them in a grinder and store in an airtight container.
~ Adding pepper powder while making tea is soothing for throat especially when you have cold.
~ You could let the tea boil for some more time if you want a darker color.