Indeed the place is known for their variety of vegetarian food styles. Whether you talk of Lapsi which is wheat porridge or the ‘bhujia-roti’ combination, you have something to stuff in your mouth without any sort of hesitation. If you wish to learn about the taste of Rajasthan and its vivid culture which is reflected in the dishes, read the book on Rajasthan Cuisin by Maharani Gayatri Devi.

Rajasthani food is mostly known for the cooking in Royal Kitchens. Food here is a serious business because of the tourists flooding the state almost all the year round. The cooking here has its unique flavor and they use the simplest ingredients in them. Gram flour is widely used in some delicacies like Pakoda, Ghatta ki Sabji, Khata and others. They use bajra and corn to make bread (rotis). The place is also known for Khichri a particular dish prepared by ingredients like – rice, vegetables, ginger, spices, and some amount of butter. Rajasthan is also known for richly snacks like – ‘Daal-Moth’, Papad, Chips and Bhujia.

Here are few things which you always find in Rajasthan:

Lassi

This is natural yoghurt which is churned to remove the butter and make Lassi (buttermilk) a cool beverage served in summer.

Rajasthani Dal-Bati-Churma

This is a common food of Rajasthani people. Daal-Bati is cooked lentils and roasted balls of dough which is accompanies by pickle berries cooked in different methods. The Churma is a sweet dish made of jaggery or sugar in ghee. For taste and variety some ingredients like coconut, khoya and resins are also used.

Frying Puris and Chola

This is also a Punjabi favorite snack. Grams are soaked in water and later on cooked to a delicious stuffy recipe called chola masala which is served with fried white thin breads that puff like balloons when they are put on hot boiling oil in big pans.

The other common things which you would be able to taste in Rajasthan are – sweets having some spicy flavors, jalebis, mithais, faldas and glass of milk served with thick cream.

Try out these exotic and tantalizing soups recipes for yourself and your family and I am sure you all would never forget its scrumptious taste ever. So what are you all lovers of soups waiting for? Get into your kitchen and start preparing these exciting and tempting recipes.

Winter soup with rice and cheese balls

Ingredients:
For cheese balls:
2 tbsp cooked rice;2 tbsp grated cheese;2 tbsp chopped parsley;2 level tbsp plain flour;2 pinches chili powder;2 pinch salt; ghee to fry

For soup:
2 onions; 2 potatoes; 4 carrots; 200gm pumpkin; 1/2 teacup fresh cream; 1 teacup milk; cheese balls; salt and pepper to salt; chopped parsley to serve

Method:

For cheese balls:
Mix all the ingredients. Shape into small round balls. Fry them deep in ghee. Serve hot with soup.

For soup:
Cut all the vegetables into big pieces. Wash; add 8 teacups of water and put to cook in a pressure cooker. Blend the mixture in a liquidizer and strain the soup. Add the butter and boil for 10 minutes. Warm the milk. When you want to serve, add the warmed milk, cream, salt and pepper. Add the cheese balls and decorate with chopped parsley.

Fruit and nut soup

Ingredients:
2 sliced potatoes;1 chopped onion;4 chopped spring onions with leaves;4 sticks celery,chopped;200 gm fresh cream;1 tbsp butter; salt and pepper to taste; grated cheese; toasted almonds and grapes to serve

Method:

Heat the butter and fry the onions, spring onions and celery for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and fry again for a little while. Add 4 teacups of water and cook. When cooked, blend in a liquidizer and strain. Boil the soup for a few minutes. Beat the cream and add three-quarters to the soup. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Serve hot topped with the balance cream, grated cheese, almonds and grapes.

Spaghetti and vegetable soup

Ingredients:
100gm spaghetti;4 tomatoes;1 carrot;1 potao;1 tbsp grated cheese;1 bay leaf;1 tbsp cornflour;1 tbsp butter; salt to taste

Method:

Break the spaghetti into pieces and place into a container with water. In another container, place tomatoes with 1 cup of water. Place both containers in pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes. Extract puree of tomatoes. Drain spaghetti, chop vegetables. Heat the butter in a saucepan; add the vegetables and bay leaf. Fry until vegetables are tender. Add tomato pieces, boiled spaghetti, salt to taste and water. Allow to simmer on a low fire. Add grated cheese just serving.

Here are some refreshing and mouth watering soggy cheesy salad recipes for all food lovers.

Marinated mushroom salad

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced fresh button mushrooms;2 tbsp olive oil;1 tsp(chopped)garlic;1 tsp(chopped)ginger;1 (chopped)onion;1 tsp paprika flakes;1 tsp Soya sauce; 1 tsp red chili sauce;1 tsp green chili sauce;1 tbsp tomato ketchup;1 tbsp white wine(optional);red and yellow capsicums shredded;1 cup lettuce leaves; salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Clean the mushrooms well using Maida and then wash under a running tap slice each into 3-4 slices and keep in cold water. Heat olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and ginger in a pan, add the onion and the mushrooms and toss well. Cook for just about 2 minutes and remove. Cool and mix all the sauces and paprika etc, season well and chill the same. Arrange the assorted lettuce leaves on the serving plate and arrange the chilled marinated mushroom salad on it. Top with red and yellow capsicum juliennes.

Baby corn and Soya chunk salad

Ingredients:
1 cup baby corn sliced;1 cup soyabean chunks soaked in hot water for 20 minutes;1 tsp garlic (chopped);2 tbsp olive oil;1 tbsp red chili sauce;1 tbsp imli chutney;1 tsp chaat masala;1 tsp lime juice;1 tbsp peanut butter dissolved in 3tbsp water; salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic for a few seconds, add the baby corn and toss well. Add seasonings to taste and the peanut butter, soyabean chunks which have been soaked and then drain. Toss well for 10 seconds and remove. Serve the salad chilled over a bed of lettuce leaves. Drizzle with the sauce and chaat masala.

Mix vegetable salad with coconut dressing

Ingredients:
1 carrot peeled and diced;2 capsicums diced; 2 cucumbers peeled and diced;1/2 cup cherry tomatoes;1 white radish peeled and cubed;4-6 baby corns sliced;1/2 cup small onions peeled; 1 cup iceberg lettuce eaves

For dressing:
½ cup mayonnaise sauce;1/2 tsp mustard paste;1 tbsp peanuts(chopped);1 tbsp tomato ketchup; ½ cup sliced tender coconut

Method:

Prepare the veggies for the salad. Chill until tossed in the salad. For the dressing mix all the ingredients and toss with veggies and arrange the salad on a bed f crisp lettuce leaves and garnish with roasted peanuts. Serve chilled.

Summers are back here again. If on one end you find sweltering weather with blazing sun rays heating you up, leaving you with sweaty body and dry lips, then on other end, you find surrounded by enormous variety of juicy and sap full fruits and vegetables that help you to beat this sultry weather.

The salads prepared from such luscious fruits and vegetables provide us relief in this stifling climate. Salads form the best form of appetizers, falling under the lightest form of food groups.

The intake of fibrous fruits, vegetables eases out the digestive system and accelerates the metabolic rate, thus improving our energy levels, regulating bowel movements, digestion, increasing our concentration and clarity of thoughts and providing us clearer skin. Here are some sumptuous, refreshing salads recipes for all food lovers.

Chilled bean salad with pickles

Ingredients:
1 cup chauli boiled; 1 cup French beans boiled; 2 tbsp mango pickle (chopped) with masala; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp chaat masala

For garnishing:
1 tbsp red capsicum diced;1 cup green lettuce leaves;2 tbsp lime juice; salt to taste

Method:

In a mixing bowl combine the boiled chauli beans and the French beans along with the mango pickles and the salt, lime, chaat masala and olive oil and toss well. Serve chilled on a bed of the chilled crisp lettuce leaves lined on the serving platter. Garnish the salad with the chopped red capsicum and serve immediately.

Cucumber and pepper salad with honey

Ingredients:
2 cucumber peeled and diced;2 red capsicum diced;2 yellow capsicums diced;2 green capsicum diced;2 onions diced;8-10 cherry tomatoes

For the dressing:
1/3rd cup honey;2 tbsp lime juice;2 tbsp olive oil;1 tsp chaat masal;1 tsp green chilies chopped;1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tsp ginger juice; salt and crushed pepper to taste

Method:

Cut up all the veggies for the salad and keep them in ice-cold water until tossed. To prepare the dressing, mix the ingredients in a bowl and whip them up well. Toss the salad in the dressing and serve immediately on a bed of crispy iceberg lettuce leaves and garnish with cherry tomatoes.

Long before the chowmein conundrum congested our collective consciousness, the only smoodle of a noodle we could boast of in India was the simple sev and seviyan. The noodle have been slurped, gulped and twirled for centuries by cultures around the world but as for now, it won’t be wrong if I say that indeed, India has been totally noodle-ified today.

Noodles vary in width-they can be as thick as coffee stir sticks or as thin as thread. When it comes to length, however, they are usually served long and uncut in the belief that long noodle symbolize a long life. This is one reason why, in keeping with Chinese tradition, noodles are commonly served at birthday celebrations. noodles ,collectively known as mein, can be made from just about anything-wheat, mungbean, cornflour, rice, soyabean…..interestingly what we refer to as chowmein in India is actually lo mein-a dish in which boiled noodles are tossed in the work and mixed with other ingredients. Chowmein, on the other hand, have stir-fried ingredients served over noodles!

Below are some lip smacking noodle recipe that you can try out.

Manchurian salad with noodles

Ingredients:
2 cups boiled hakka noodles

For vegetable Manchurian balls:
1 cup grated carrots;1 capsicum(chopped);1 tsp garlic(chopped);1 tsp ginger(chopped);1/2 cup cabbage(chopped);3 tbsp maida;2 tsp Soya sauce;1 tsp chili sauce; oil to fry; salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the Manchurian dressing:
2 tbsp Soya sauce;1 tbsp chili sauce;1 tsp oil;1 tsp garlic(chopped);1 tsp ginger(chopped);1 tsp chilies(chopped);1 tsp coriander leaves(chopped);1/2 cup water;1 tbsp cornflour solution to thicken;2 tsp green spring onion(chopped);salt and pepper to taste

Method:

For vegetable Manchurian balls:
In a bowl mix the veggies with sauces and salt and Maida, and mix well, drop spoonful of the mix in oil and fry them until golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

To prepare Manchurian dressing:
Heat oil in a pan, sauté garlic, ginger, chilies, add the water, Soya sauce, chili sauce, seasonings, and bring to a boil. Add the cornflour solution and spring onion greens and coriander leaves. Mix well and remove. Cool and toss with Manchurian balls and noodles and serve chilled. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.

We all grew up loving eating those mouths watering street chaats since childhood more than anything in this world. They are extremely tempting, alluring to eater in satisfying his hunger. but due to hectic schedules, one prefer quick made food which can be made in minutes as they hardly have time to go out and relish this scrumptious dish. So for all those chaat lovers here are some refreshing chaat recipes that can be prepared within few minutes for your loved ones and even for party occasions.

Cauliflower chaat

Ingredients:
2 cups fried cauliflower; 1/2 tsp chaat masala; 1 tsp tamarind chutney; 1 tsp red chili sauce; 1/2 tsp jeera powder

Method:

Fry the cauliflower and toss well with sauces, chutney, chaat masala and jeera powder and salt to taste. Now arrange it on platter.

Chauli chaat

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled chauli; 1/2 tsp chaat masala; 1/2 tsp red chili powder; 1 tsp green chili (chopped), 1 tsp mint chutney; rock salt to taste

Method:

Boil the chauli and mix chaat masala, red chili powder now add mint chutney for its flavor and then season it with rock salt and chopped green chilies. Toss the whole mixture well and then arrange n a platter.

Bhajiya chaat

Ingredients:
1 cup fried assorted bhajiyas; 1 tbsp schezuan sauce; 1 tbsp whipped curd; 1 tbsp chaat masala

Method:

Fry the bhajiyas and break them into smaller pieces and top with the schezuan sauces and curd. It’s now ready to serve on the platter.

Channa dal chaat

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled channa dal;1 tsp coriander leaves(chopped);1 tsp onion(chopped);1 tbsp tomatoes(chopped);1 tsp chaat masala;1/2 tsp red chili powder;1 tbsp tomato ketchup

Method:

Mix channa dal with finely chopped onion, tomatoes and add chaat masala, chili powder to it. Season it with tomato ketchup and serve on the platter.

Aloo chaat

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled diced potatoes; 1 small onion (chopped); 1 small tomato (chopped); 1 tsp coriander leaves (chopped); 1 tsp chaat masala; 1 tbsp tomato ketchup; 1 tbsp imli chutney

Method:

Mix finely chopped onions, coriander leaves and tomatoes to boiled potatoes. Add tomato ketchup and imli chutney and sprinkle chaat masala to taste. Mix all well and serve on the platter.

In a world where long hours at work are the norm and home-cooked meals seem like an indulgence, here comes rescue to all the office goers. Though you can’t be promised a 15 minute food break, but here are some gourmet lunches that would take not more than 15 minutes to prepare. So what are you waiting for? Go for such scrumptious dishes.

Old house snack (Fried sandwiches)

Ingredients:
4 bread slices; 100gm grated mozzarella cheese; 100gm grated cheddar cheese; 1 Tbs chopped coriander; 2 chopped green chilies; 1 tbs fresh cream;2 beaten eggs;50ml milk; oil for deep frying; salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Put cheese, fresh cream, coriander and green chillies in a bowl and mix. Cut bread crusts and evenly spread the cheese mixture on two bread slices. Cover with remaining two bread slices and press down to seal. Mix the eggs and milk and pour into baking dish. Soak the sandwiches in this for about two minutes. Heat oil in large saucepan. Squeeze the edges of the sandwiches shut. Place them in the oil and deep fry for two minutes. Remove, drain oil and it’s ready to be packed.

Brenz and nick corn salad

Ingredients:
100gm refrigerated boiled sweet corn or canned sweet corn;1/2 tsp vinegar;1/2 tsp olive oil;1 small boiled potato;1 tomato;1 pineapple slice; ½ a banana;1/2 tsp lemon juice;1/2 small iceberg lettuce; salt and pepper to taste;1/2 tbs French mustard;100ml sour cream;1/2 tbs milk; paprika to taste.

Method:

Drain sweet corn and place in a bowl. Mix together with vinegar, olive oil and seasoning. Cover and keep aside. Peel and dice potato, pineapple, tomato, and banana. Place all these mix in a bowl, with lemon juice. Mix dressing ingredients and add to potato mixture. Line carry-box with lettuce leaves and spoon mixture around edges. Pile sweet corn in centre. It’s ready to eat.

Tomato and cottage cheese salad

Ingredients:
1 cup cherry tomatoes;1 cup cottage cheese diced;1/4 cup olive oil;1/2tsp paprika flakes;1 tbs lime juice;1 tsp mustard paste;1 tsp chaat masala;1 cup lettuce leaves.

Method:

Cut the cottage cheese into neat dices similar in size to the cherry tomatoes. Chill the cottage cheese and tomatoes separately until used. Now, in a bowl mix the olive oil; paprika; mustard paste; salt to taste; chaat masala; lime juice and toss well. Mix the dressing, tomatoes and cottage cheese and toss well. Arrange the same on a platter lined with crispy iceberg and lollorosso lettuce leaves. Serve chilled.