Dear onion life without you

As onions get dearer, we bring to you some yummy recipes that have no bearing on this upswing of price. After all, there is a solution to every problem. While the noise around supply constraints or the blame on hoarding by middlemen settles, let’s savour some onion-less dishes.

Chickpea makhana tikki

Ingredients

White kabuli chana (boiled) 1 cup

Full makhana 1/2 cup

Boiled chana daal 1/4 cup

Paneer grated 1/4 cup

Salt, red chilli powder, amchoor, garam masala according to taste

Lemon juice 1 teaspoon

Breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon

Olive oil for shallow fry 1 tablespoon

Method

• Roast makhana on tawa. Powder it
• Churn the chickpeas in the mixer and add salt, amchoor, lemon juice, red chilli powder.
• Mix this mixture well
• Now, make the stuffing with boiled chana daal & boiled green peas.
• Add crushed paneer in this mixture.
• Season the mixture with dry masala.
• Take little portion of chickpeas and stuff with above stuffing.
• Make heartshape or rectangle tikki.
• Coat it with bread crumbs.
• Heat the tava, put olive oil and shallow fry these tikkis till golden brown.
• Serve hot with imli or green chutney.

Note: This is high protein tikkies.

Jimmikand with sarson saag

Ingredients

Jimmikand (sooran) 200 gm

Palak 1 bunch

Mustard leaves 1 bunch

Bathua leaves 1 cup

Green chillies 3 in no

Turnip 1 no

Salt to taste

Desi ghee 1 tablespoon

White butter 2 teaspoons

Jaldi 1/2 teaspoon

Dry dhaniya powder 2 teaspoon

Ginger crushed 1 teaspoon

Method

• Cut jimmikand in square dices spread salt and keep it in sunlight for 20 minutes.
• Wash all leaves in fresh and running water. Cook them in an open utensil for 20-25 minutes; add salt, turnip and green chillies. Cool it.
• Churn in mixer

For tadka

• Put desi ghee in a pan.
• Add ginger or tomato puree. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Add haldi, dry dhania powder, salt, red chilli powder.
• Now wash the dices of Jimmikand and fry them in ghee.
• Add in tadka and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add leafy saag to it.
• Garnish with white butter. Serve hot with makki ki roti.

Dawru chicken

Ingredients

Chicken 500 gm

Anaar daana (crushed 3) teaspoon

All dry masalas according to requirement

Green chilli 4

Anaar juice fresh 1 cup

Olive oil

Jeera 1 teaspoon

Amchoor 1/2 teaspoon

Tomato puree 2 cups

Ginger paste 2 teaspoon

For garnishing

Green dhaniya

Method

• Wash chicken and marinate it with anaar dana , little oil, salt, haldi and lemon juice for 15 minutes
• Put oil in a heavy bottom pan, add green chilli paste and ginger paste; cook for 10 minutes.
• Add tomato puree.
• Cook again for 5 minutes.
• Add dry masala and two cups of water.
• Boil this gravy for 10 minutes.
• Now, add marinated chicken pieces.
• Cook for 10 minutes on low flame. Switch off the gas and add fresh anaar juice.
• Garnish with green dhaniya.
• Serve with lachaa prantha.

Note: This dish is made with onion and garlic but we have replaced the ingredients with green chilli to add the required flavour.

Basil chicken with couscous

Ingredients

50 gm basil leaves, plus extra to garnish

Coriander leaves 30 gm

Baby spinach leaves 30 gm

Small green chillies, chopped 2

Hung yogurt 4 tablespoons

Lemon juice 2 tablespoons

Olive oil 2 tablespoons

Single cream 2 tablespoons

Fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 15 gm

Garam masala 1½ teaspoons

Chaat masala 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder ½ teaspoon

Cheddar cheese (grated) 1 tablespoon

Gram flour 1 tablespoon

Chicken (boneless) 250 gm

Method

• Put all the marinade ingredients in a clean blender or food processor and blend to a fine paste.
• Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces, then set aside to marinate in the fridge for two hours.
• After the chicken has marinated, thread the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor (clay oven) or in a pre-heated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for 10 to 12 minutes, or until almost done.
• Leave to rest for 5 minutes, covered with kitchen foil.

To serve

• Pour basil sauce, then basil chicken on sauce and serve with couscous or steam rice.

South Indian kebab

Ingredients

Boil potatoes 5-6

Cashew 10-12

Whole wheat bread 10 slices

Milk 1 cup

Green fresh peas 1 cup

Olive oil 2 cups

Mustard seeds 1 tea spoon

Curry leaves 10 -15

Salt to taste

Green chillies 3

Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon

Urad daal 1 teaspoon

Green dhaniya leaves 1/2 cup

Method

For stuffing

• Mash the boiled potatoes
• Put two teaspoons of olive oil in heavy bottom
• Add mustard seeds, dhuli urad daal and curry leaves
• Let them crackle
• Now put green peas
• Cook it for 5 minutes
• Add dry masala & crushed cashew
• Keep it aside to cool.
• Spread milk on bread or soak it in little milk and stuff it with potato.
• Give them roundel shape.
• Heat the olive oil and fry the kebabs till they turn golden.
• Transfer them on napkin towel to soak the extra oil.
• Serve them with green chutney or tomato sauce.

—Sarita Khurana and Krishan Hari

—Compiled by Gurnaaz Kaur