Recipes: Prepare Kasturi Kabab and more

First up is Rahul Rajput's Kasturi Kabab preparation, one he came up with using the help of his mother:

Cuisine: Mughlai

Type: Non-vegetarian

Preparation time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg chicken boneless or chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 1 pod garlic
• 3 green chillies
• 1 1/2 tbsps kasuri methi
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Saffron or edible red food colouring
• Butter or olive oil
• Salt to taste
  

Preparation:

• Clean and wash chicken and take care to get rid of all the water from the cut pieces. Keep aside.
• Cut the garlic and green chillies into very fine, small pieces.
• In a bowl, mix together the yoghurt, garam masala powder, ginger paste, garlic and chillies, coriander, cumin powder and kasuri methi.
• Add chicken pieces to the mixture. Also mix your food colouring (red) or saffron with 2 tbsps of milk and add to the mixture.
• Add olive oil to the mixture. In case you're using butter, apply it later, when you grill the chicken pieces in the oven.
• Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.
• Grill the chicken in a preheated oven for approximately half an hour, or as per your oven setting suggested for grilled chicken.
• Serverhot with spring onions and pudina chutney. The cut garlic pieces and kasuri methi give an amazing aroma and taste to the kababs.

Health quotient: Olive oil and garlic are both heart-healthy. Grilling burns off all the harmful fat from the chicken and it can be consumed with no health hazards.

Next we have Srilakshmi's recipe for Beerakaya Pachadi (Ridge Gourd Pickle):

Cuisine: Andhra

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ridge gourd (cut into small pieces)
• 4 tbsps urad dal
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 6 dry red chillies
• A pinch of asafoetida
• A marble-sized tamarind
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt to taste
  

Preparation:

• Roast the urad dal, coriander seeds and red chillies in 1 tbsp of oil till the dal turns light pink in colour and the red chillies turn crisp.
• Next, in a deep pan, cook the ridge gourd till all the water content evaporates.
• Grind the urad dal, coriander seeds, red chillies with tamarind and salt to a coarse powder without adding water.
• Once the ridge gourd cools, add it to the above mixture and grind once more to a coarse consistency. Transfer to a bowl.
• Heat 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds and asafoetida to it. Once the mustard seeds crackle, remove from flame and add to the ground mixture.

Health quotient: The fibre content of the ridge gourd skin enhances the nutritive value of the dish.

And here is how to whip up a Moong Sandwich by Ashu Agarwal:

Cuisine: Indian

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole moong dal
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 2 green chillies
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1/4 tsp Eno fruit salt
• 2 tbsps oil/ghee
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Soak dal for 4- 5 hours, then grind it a little (not into a fine paste, only slightly) using a little water, chillies and ginger.
• Add salt, hing and Eno into the mixture.
• Heat a sandwich toaster and grease it with oil.
• Pour in the mixture and then add some oil atop it.
• Once it is golden-brown, serve hot with green chutney.
• You can also add chopped onions to the recipe while grinding.

Health quotient: All the benefits of dal.