Roma's Space

Fruit Punch

Please don’t use aerated water if this Punch is being made for children. Substitute it with milk or plain orange juice and you will be happen to discover a creamy, yummy drink for those kids who don’t like milk!

Ingredients :

• 3 tablespoons of orange squash
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cream
• 1 tablespoon of lime squash
• 1/4 cup aerated water (optional)
• 3/4 cup milk

Procedure :

1. Blend milk, cream, orange and lime squash in a mixie jar. Taste the mixture and see if you get the flavor of orange. If no, please add some more orange squash and blend again.
2. Pour into a tall glass, add plain soda (milk/orange juice) and serve chilled.

Please NOTE :

1. You can add vanilla ice cream to the drink if you don’t have fresh cream.
2. You might need to check the taste towards the end and add some sugar. It depends on whether you used cream or ice cream and how sweet your squash concentrates are.

© Roma Sharma 2007-2008

Chole Masala

This is one tasty and filling curry that can be had with anything right from samosas, tikkis and chaats to meals with rotis and rice. I usually make this when I have guests over.

Although you get chole in most restaurants today there is nothing to beat the taste that you get at home. Once you finish making it enter your kitchen after an hour and you can catch the aroma still lingering around.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of Chole
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 10 garlic cloves
• A small piece of ginger
• 1 green chilly
• A small piece of Dal chini
• Few pieces of Laung
• Few pieces of Choti elaichi
• 2 teaspoons of dhania powder
• 1 teaspoon of haldi powder

Procedure :

1. Soak chole overnight. Boil and cook well with about 4-5 whistles.
2. Grind onions , Ginger-garlic-green chillies, Tomatoes, each separately.
3. Roast Dal chini, Laung, Choti elaichi and grind in mortar pestle.
4. Heat oil. Fry onion paste. When little more than half cooked add Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and cook till brown. Add haldi powder, dhania powder, salt and cook for few more minutes.
5. Now add tomato paste and continue to cook till paste leaves fat from the sides.
6. Finally add the roasted ground masala and cook well. Add chole and cook till the curry comes together.

Stuffed Capsicum

Every timeI find baby capsicums in the market I pick them up specially for this dish. If you don’t find baby capsicums you can try slitting medium-sized capsicums into two halves and filling them up. You can also try making this same dish with Big green chillies instead of capsicums.

Ingredients :

• 6 baby capsicums
• 1 large potato, boiled
• 3 onions
• 1/2 teaspoon Haldi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Mirchi powder
• 1 teaspoon Dhania powder
• 2 tablespoons Besan
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Procedure :

1. Grate onions. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil, fry onions well.
2. When onions turn glossy add haldi powder, mirchi powder, dhania powder, besan and salt. Fry further till onion turns completely brown.
3. Mash in the boiled potato, add a pinch of salt and mix well. Set this mixture aside to cool.
4. Remove stems of the baby capsicums and shell out the seeds from within.
5. Stuff the baby capsicums with previously prepared onion masala.
6. Fry the stuffed capsicums in about 2 tablespoons of oil. Once capsicum appears done, turn off the heat and serve hot with rotis.

Capsicum Paneer Masala

Try this recipe next time you have a dinner party at home. Its high on calories but whats wrong with a little indulgence on festivals or when you meet friends after ages? Pamper yourself to this sabzi which gives paneer an exotic dressing.

Ingredients :

• 2 Tomatoes
• one onion
• few cloves of garlic
• Small piece of ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Few laung
• Few Eliachi
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper cloves
• 1 teaspoon Dhania powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Haldi powder
• 1 teaspoon Jeera powder
• 3 large capsicums
• 1 cup paneer cubes
• 1/4 cup of peas
• Few teaspoons of Soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cream
• Pinch of Sugar

Procedure :

Grind the following into a paste :

• Tomatoes
• onion
• garlic cloves
• ginger
• dalchini
• laung
• eliachi
• black pepper cloves

1. Fry the paste in oil till it releases fat from the sides. Fry for long on low flame for a better taste.
2. Heat oil in a separate kadai. Add some dhania powder, haldi powder, jeera powder and let the masalas go brown. Add the fried paste to this.
3. Add cut paneer cubes, capsicum and peas. Add salt and mix well.
4. After few minutes of stirring, add milk to thicken the gravy. Cover and let it cook on sim. Once the veggies are cooked add some soya sauce, vinegar, pinch of sugar and stir well.
5. Your Paneer capsicum masala is ready to be served. Add a spoon of fresh cream to the dish at the end.

Please NOTE :

After the paste is fried (refer step 1) you can store it in the fridge for upto few days. Whenever you want to make Capsicum Paneer Masala just leave the fried paste out of the refrigerator for like 1/2 hr.

Groundnut Munch (Recipe source : Swati Gore)

This salad at first looks, appears like a sabzi owing to its tempering and groundnut powder. This is also one of the reasons behind its unique taste.

You can make roasted groundnut powder and store it in an air tight container for upto one month. You can also try mixing the same tempering and powder in your vegetables that you cook for lunch/dinner.

Ingredients :

• 1/4 Groundnuts
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• Finely chopped green chilly
• Rai

Procedure :

1. Roast Groundnuts. Removed peel and grind into a coarse powder.
2. Mix grated carrot with tiny cucumber pieces. You can add grated radish also if you like.
3. Add salt, groundnut powder and coriander leaves.
4. Heat oil. Add rai, green chillies and mix tempering into the salad.

Please NOTE :

1. While grinding the roasted groundnuts, run the mixie for just 2-3 seconds, switch off turn contents and then continue in the same manner till the powder is evenly formed. If you run mixie at a stretch the groundnut will turn into a paste. Also, ensure your mixie jar is completely dry before starting.
2. The same salad can be made with finely chopped tomatoes and grated red carrot.