Long, lean and green refreshing cucumber is considered as a vegetable in today’s culinary world. Though technically it’s a fruit. Two kinds of cucumbers are available: slicing cucumber and pickling cucumber. The slicing cucumber is mainly used for salads and pickling cucumber is used for making pickles. Slicing cucumbers are longer than the pickling cucumbers.

In this recipe, slicing cucumber is used with the chicken which will give a light watery texture to the gravy whereas, the green color of the peel of cucumber will add a refreshing look to the dish. As the cucumber is itself made of 95 percent of water so, only 3/4th cup of water is required for the whole recipe. Overall it’s a healthy recipe ideal for summer.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of chicken.
• 1 medium sized cucumber cut into cubes.
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped.
• 1 small sized tomato finely chopped.
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste.
• 4 slit green chillies.
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder.
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds powder.
• Salt as per taste.
• 1 and half tablespoon cooking oil.
• 3/4th cup of water.

Method:

• Heat a pan and add oil to it.
• Add the onion and ginger garlic paste. Sauté it until it softens.
• Then add tomato, stir it and cook for 2 minutes.
• Next add turmeric powder, salt, cumin powder and coriander seeds powder and cook it for few minutes or until oil oozes out from the masala mix.
• Then add the chicken, give a quick mix with the masala mix and cook for 5 minutes.
• Next add cucumber pieces and the slit green chillies and stir it and cook for 2 minutes.
• Then add water, cover the pan with a lid and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the water is reduced to half.
• At last adjust the salt and the dish is ready to be served.

Do you love eggplants? If yes, then this recipe is a must try. Usually, baingan bharta is prepared by roasting the eggplant first and then adding the spices later on. But this recipe is super quick and super easy and hardly takes 10 minutes and that too in a microwave oven. If you are hungry and running out of time then this recipe comes as a savior. It can be served with rice or chapati.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant 🍆.
• 1 medium size onion thinly sliced.
• 4 green chillis finely chopped.
• 1 teaspoon mustard oil.
• Salt as per taste.

Method:

• Cut the eggplant into 4 equal halves.
• Take a microwavable bowl or plate and add the cutted eggplant, green chillis, mustard oil and salt.
• Give a quick mix and microwave it at high watt for 7 minutes.
• Take out the bowl after 1 minute standing time.
• Now peel off the skin of the eggplant and mash the eggplant with a fork.
• At last add the sliced onion and mix with the mashed eggplant and serve it.

Shrimp is a seafood considered to be high in protein but low in food energy. It is high in levels of omega-3s.It’s consumption is considered to be healthy for the circulatory system. Common preparation includes baking, boiling, frying, grilling and barbequing. They take less time to cook, so when they are overcooked they get a tough and rubbery texture. This recipe of shrimp is prepared on a pan with less oil and it hardly took 4 minutes overall to cook.

Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized shrimps.
• 1 small sized onion thinly sliced.
• 3 slit green chillis.
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil.
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.
• Salt as per taste.

Method:

• Remove the heads of the shrimps and wash it thoroughly.
• Heat a pan and add oil.
• Add the onion and sauté it until it turns golden brown.
• Add turmeric powder and slit chillis and stir it for a minute.
• Then add the shrimps and stir it and fry for 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle salt at last and serve it.

Paneer or the Indian cottage cheese is the most popular common source of protein and calcium to the vegetarians. It is made by curdling hot milk with an acidic ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar. Paneer can be both homemade as well as store bought. Paneer is used in many dishes, like curries,in rice dishes, snacks etc. This particular recipe of paneer is prepared with potatoes and can be served with rice as well as chapatis.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams paneer cut into small cubes.
• 2 medium sized potatoes cut into small cubes.
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped.
• 2 small tomatoes finely chopped.
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste.
• 1 cinnamon stick, 4 small cardamoms.
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder.
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder.
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds powder.
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder.
• 2 tablespoons refined oil.
• Salt as per taste.
• 2 cups of water.
• 1/2 teaspoon ghee or clarified butter.

Method:

• Heat a pan and add oil to it and fry the paneer and potatoes in it till they attain golden brown colour.
• Take out the paneer and potatoes in a bowl and set aside.
• Add more oil to the pan and to it add the cinnamon stick, cardamoms and stir it.
• Then add the chopped onion and sauté it until it softens.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste and the other dry ingredients to it and stir and cook for 5 minutes by covering the pan.
• Then stir again and cook until oil oozes out from the masala mix.
• Add the fried paneer and potatoes to the masala mix and stir it and cook for 2 minutes.
• Then add 1 cup of water to it and cover the lid and cook until the water gets reduced and the potatoes are cooked nicely.
• Adjust the salt at the last and add half teaspoon of ghee to the dish for a nice aroma.
• Aloo Paneer is ready to be served.

It is one of the easiest and tasty pumpkin curry anyone can prepare with few ingredients.

Ingredients:

300 grams of pumpkin, 5 to 6 medium shrimps, one medium onion, 5 green chillis, turmeric powder half teaspoon, salt as per taste, 1 and half tablespoon cooking oil and water.

Method:

Heat a pan and add cooking oil to it. After the oil gets heated up add the chopped onion and sauté it until it softens. Then add the shrimps and stir it for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder and salt and stir it. Then add the pumpkin which is cut into small cubes and stir it and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the slitted green chillis to it and add 2 cups of water and cover the lid of the pan and cook until the pumpkin is cooked completely and the water is reduced to less then half of what was added. Pumpkin curry is ready to be served with steamed rice.

Among the numerous chicken recipes available worldwide some of them remain close to our heart forever. I came across this particular recipe in internet few months back and since then it has been one of my favourites, as I always like to keep my food simple and healthy. This recipe is from Arunachal Pradesh. Here roasted rice flour is used with the chicken which will add a great texture to the dish with a thicken gravy and that is how it adds magic to the dish. It goes well with steamed rice.

Ingredients: 300gms of chicken, 3 medium potatoes, 1tablespoon of roasted rice flour, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons of ginger garlic paste, 5 to 6 green chillis,2 medium onion, salt as per taste, 1 and half tablespoons cooking oil and water.

Method: Take a bowl and add the chicken, roasted rice flour, turmeric powder, salt and marinate it for half an hour. After half an hour the chicken is ready to cook.

Now take a pressure cooker or any pan and add oil to it and heat it. Here I have used a pressure cooker. As the oil gets heated up add the chopped onion and sauté it till it softens. Then add the ginger garlic paste and sauté it for 2 minutes.Next add the potatoes to it and cook for a minute. Now add the marinated chicken to it and give everything a good stir and cook it in medium flame for 4 minutes, then add 1 and half cup of water to the dish and wait for the first boil. Once it starts boiling add the slitted green chillis.

Now, mix 2 teaspoons of roasted rice flour with some water in a bowl and make a paste of it and add the paste to the dish, mix it and cover the lid of the pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles. Then let the pressure get released on its own and open the lid and chicken curry is ready to be served.

Evenings are incomplete without snacks, be it a normal day or a rainy day or so. Snacks as we can think of will be deep fried in oil (that is really unhealthy) which can be enjoyed over a cup of tea or coffee. But if these snacks when baked, a whole lot of oil consumption can be reduced and it can be healthy for us too.

Ingredients:

For the dough: 3tablespoons of All purpose flour, half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon refined oil, water.

For stuffing: 1egg, 1 medium onion, chilli flakes 1 teaspoon, half teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as per taste and 1 teaspoon refined oil.

Method:

To prepare the dough add all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix it and add little water at a time and knead it for 5 minutes to a soft dough. Then let it rest for 15 minutes. By the time the dough rests preheat the oven at 190 degree centigrade for 5 minutes.

To prepare the stuffing heat a pan and add oil. Then in a bowl add the egg,salt, turmeric powder, chilli flakes, chopped onion and beat it nicely and add the mixture into the pan and fry it (like scrambled eggs).

Now make small balls from the dough prepared and roll each ball into thin sheets like that of patties sheets. Then add little of the stuffing into each rolled sheet and give any desired shape to it and brush each of these with egg white. Now these are ready to go into the preheated oven for 20 minutes at 190 degree centigrade. After 20 minutes the stuffed baked snacks are ready to be served with any sauce or chutney.

Pumpkin fritters is a well known fritters among bengali people. It is also known as kumri bhaja which is served with steam rice n plain dal. It can also be served as a snack in the evening dipped in sauce.

Ingredients: 150 gms of pumpkin, Gram flour 1 tablespoon, All purpose flour 1/2 tablespoon, Ginger garlic paste 1 teaspoon, turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon, cumin powder 1/2 teaspoon, red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon, salt as per taste, water and refined oil for frying, nigella seeds(optional).

Method: Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and then add water little by little to prepare the batter. The batter should not be too thick nor too watery in consistency. After the batter is prepared keep aside and slice the pumpkin into thin slices. The slices should be very thin so that once they go into the oil it gets cooked quickly and will be crispy.

Take a pan and heat oil for frying the fritters. Once the oil gets heated up dip the pumpkin slices one by one into the batter and fry it in medium flame or flame can be adjusted accordingly but it should not be fried in high flame. Once the fritters turn golden brown in colour they are done and ready to be served.