Refreshing Melon Salad Recipe | How to make Watermelon salad | Watermelon and Feta Salad [Video]

Refreshing Melon Salad with sweet and juicy watermelon and muskmelon, tossed along with onions, olives, mint leaves and feta cheese. Dressing with an instant balsamic vinegar dressing. Perfect for the hot summer days when the fruits are in season. 

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This year the temperatures started rising in March and it became so hot that I'd begun hating stepping into the kitchen. The thought of the hot stove or even hot food made me balk a few times. And at times like this, I crave a juicy sweet Watermelon that is fresh out of the fridge. And hence came this salad.

Yes, we didn't invent this salad. It's been a family favorite for quite a few years now. We've even tried a deconstructed or reconstructed fine dining version with feta smeared all over large watermelon cubes with little droplets of balsamic. No, thank you, we'd like to stick to the classics.

So this year, we eventually made this salad at home. And coz we did, we also added a bunch of other things we love like muskmelons or cantaloupe and pepitas. When you watch the recipe, you may find it a little busy in the bowl, but trust me, these flavors work together.

And the best part of this salad is, it's so quick to whip up. If you do as I do, prep all your fruits in advance, it cuts down on time massively. And this is a good tip, not just for the salad, but to generally eat your melons. Having a box of already cut melon just increases your chances of eating something healthy. I mean, haven't we all opened the fridge door and stared at all those boxes in there, just thinking of what we could grab and eat. Melons may just be the box you grab next time.

Can this Salad be Veganized?

Absolutely, yes!! Read on...

All the fruits and vegetables are already vegan/plant-based, so you are good on that front. There are just 3 ingredients you want to be careful/change - Honey, Balsamic Vinegar and Feta Cheese.

• Swap honey with maple syrup.
• Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is always vegan. A cheaper supermarket version may have colors and flavors added, that could end up being non-vegan. Search for a certified Balsamic that is made traditionally, or carefully research the ingredient list of the bottle you plan to buy.
• Feta cheese, replace the feta cheese with vegan feta cheese or get creative with some smoked or flavored Tofu.

Enjoy!!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Refreshing Melon Salad Recipe | How to make Watermelon salad | Watermelon and Feta Salad

A quick and refreshing Summer salad made of watermelon, musk melon or cantaloupe, feta cheese and dressed with balsamic vinaigrette.

Recipe Type:   Salad
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Total time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 cups diced Watermelon,

1 cup diced Muskmelon,

1 Cucumber, diced,

1 small Onion, sliced,

5 to 8 Olives, sliced,

50 gms Feta Cheese,

1 cup Mint leaves,

Handful of pumpkin seeds (pepitas),

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar,

1 Tbsp Honey,

1 tsp Pink peppercorns ( or Black pepper ),

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Take a large bowl and add the watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, onions, olives, mint leaves and pumpkin seeds.
2. Crumble the feta cheese on top
3. In a bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar and honey.
4. Pour over the salad
5. Sprinkle salt as per taste on the salad
6. If using pink peppercorns, gently crush them and add to the salad. If using black pepper powder, add to the salad as per taste.
7. Mix the salad well and serve immediately.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl

Chickpea Salad

Read more ...

Methi Matar Malai Recipe | How to make Methi Matar Malai [Video]

Methi Matar Malai Recipe with step by step video instructions. Methi Matar Malai is a creamy mildly flavored curry made from methi or fenugreek leaves, fresh green peas and cream (malai). 

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There are days when I crave a spicy tantalizing curry that can set my mouth on fire. And then there are days when all I want is milder flavors that calm my soul. This Methi Matar Malai curry is the latter. It is a very mildly spiced creamy curry that pairs excellently with soft roti or naan.

What is Methi Matar Malai?

Methi Matar Malai as the name states, is a curry heroing the 3 main ingredients - Methi leaves or Fenugreek leaves, Matar or Green Peas and Malai or fresh cream. The methi leaves, which are usually slightly bitter are tamed by the creaminess of the malai and the sweetness of fresh peas. You can use fresh or frozen peas here, I will call them both "fresh" as opposed to the dried green peas.

This is more of a winter curry, as both methi leaves and green peas are pretty much at their seasonal best in winters and the warmth and richness of cream just adds that additional coziness to the curry.

To make Methi Matar Malai, we cook together onion, ginger, garlic and cashew nuts, yes, cashews, coz one can never have enough creaminess. Am I right? So this cooked onion-cashew goodness with just a hint of green chillies is blended and forms the gravy base for the curry. The methi leaves are cooked until they wilt and then the blended puree is added and the methi leaves are cooked in this masala until completely cooked. Then boiled green peas are added and the curry is finished off with fresh cream.

Can this curry be Veganized?

Absolutely, yes!! Read on...

While cream is a major part of the curry, it can be replaced by 2 things - plant milk or cashew cream.

Use any plant based milk that is unflavored. Using milk instead of cream will however, make the curry a bit thinner in consistency, so you may need to reduce the amount of water you add at the start.

The other way to have the same creaminess and the same consistency, is to use cashew cream. To make cashew cream, soak a quarter cup of cashews in hot water for 30-40 minutes. Then drain and blend with very little plant milk or water until completely smooth. Use this as regular cream in the recipe. 

Enjoy!!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Methi Matar Malai Recipe | How to make Methi Matar Malai

Methi Matar Malai is a creamy Indian curry made with fenugreek or methi leaves, fresh green peas and cream. It is a mildly spiced curry.

Recipe Type:   Side
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Total time:     75 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 cups Methi leaves, washed thoroughly and chopped

0.75 cup Green peas (fresh or frozen), boiled

1 large Onion, chopped

10-12 Cashew nuts

1 Tbsp Ginger, chopped

3-4 Garlic cloves

1 tsp Green chilli paste or 2-3 Green chillies, finely chopped

4-5 Tbsp fresh Cream (malai)",

1 tsp Cumin seeds

3-4 Tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Water as required

Method:

1. Heat 2-3 Tbsp oil in a kadhai and add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and cashew nuts and saute until the onions are translucent.
2. Add in the green chilli paste or chopped green chillies. Saute for 1 min. 
3. Remove from heat into a bowl and allow to cool. Once cooled, grind to a fine paste with little water.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the kadhai and add the cumin seeds.
5. Once the cumin sizzles for 30 seconds, add in the methi leaves and continue to cook until the leaves have wilted and halved in quantity.
6. Now add the ground paste and 0.5 cup of water. Mix and boil until the methi leaves are cooked.
7. Add in the boiled green peas and salt to taste. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. 
8. Slightly whip the cream, so it doesn't have lumps, and add to the kadhai. Mix well and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
9. Serve hot with roti or naan.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Aloo Methi

Matar Kachori

Methi Rice

Read more ...

Sev Paratha Recipe | How to make Sev Paratha | Easy Paratha Recipe [Video]

Sev Paratha recipe with step by step video instructions. Sev Paratha is a wholewheat based flatbread that is stuffed with sev, onions and spices. Sev Paratha makes for a delicious breakfast or a light evening snack. 

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Sev Paratha!! It's so yummy, you have got to try it!

Last year when the pandemic waned a little, I found myself alone for lunch one day with just a packet of thick sev in the snacks box. And I just got a lunch idea. I had seen sev paratha on TV but never really made any or eaten too. Why not? was the thought behind cooking that lonesome lunch.

The paratha was everything I had hoped for - loaded with the stuffing and spices tingling in my mouth.

What is Sev?

If you have never had sev, you should head over to the nearest supermarket or Indian store and pick up a packet. It tastes amazing sprinkled on top of literally anything. 

Sev is a deep fried Indian snack made from gram flour (besan) or chickpea flour. It looks like fine yellow vermicelli. Sev has many sizes, from the finest nylon sev to the thick sev. 

For the sev paratha, I recommend the slightly thicker sev so they hold their shape and don't dissolve away. You can use aloo bhujia too or any flavored sev like garlic or palak.

More details...

The stuffing for sev paratha is very very easy to make. It is made of just 5 ingredients - sev , obviously, finely chopped onions (skip for a Jain version), coriander leaves, chaat masala and red chilli powder. I did not add any salt as the sev already is salty and the chaat masala has salt too. Just mix and you are ready to stuff. Make the stuffing just before you are ready to roll out the parathas to prevent it from getting soggy.

The dough is your regular roti/chapati dough made from atta (wholewheat flour), water and salt. 

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter, and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Sev Paratha Recipe | How to make Sev Paratha

Sev Paratha is a stuffed wholewheat faltbread. The paratha is stuffed with a a mixture of fried gram flour vermicelli called sev, onions and spices. The vegan flatbread is pan fried. It makes for a delicious breakfast.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     45 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                3 Parathas

Ingredients:

1 cup Thick Sev
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp Chaat Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1.5 cup Wholewheat Flour
0.5 tsp Salt
1 cup Water
Oil for roasting the parathas
Dry flour for dusting

Method:

1. Knead a soft dough with the whole wheat flour, salt and water. Add water as required. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the sev, onion, coriander leaves, chaat masala and red chilli powder. Add salt if required, I did not as the sev and chaat masala, both contain salt.
3. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and roll them out into small disks. Use dry flour for dusting as required to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.
4. Spoon the stuffing equally onto each of the dough disks and seal the edges of the dough.
5. Dust the counter with dry flour and roll out the parathas to around 6 inches in diameter or as thin as you can.
6. Heat a frying pan or a tava and grease it. Place the paratha on the tava and spoon oil over it and around it. Once the first side is slightly brown, flip the paratha and continue to cook. Cook until both sides are browned and the paratha is cooked. Serve hot.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Pyaz Besan Paratha

Beetroot paratha

Schezwan Paratha

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Dal Chat Recipe | How to make Dal Chaat | Moradabadi Dal Chat Recipe [Video]

Dal Chaat or Moong Dal Chat is a tasty and nutritious breakfast or snack that is made by topping cooked moong dal (lentils) with fresh vegetables and chutneys. Dal Chaat can be made to suit a vegan and Jain diet.

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Dal chaat is a homely, hearty, healthy, and delicious dish that is super easy to make. It can be as simple as you like or as fancy as you like. It is made from cooked moong dal and is topped with a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, and chutneys. It is a mix of textures and flavors. Best of all, it is probably one of the healthiest chats out there. It is also very easy to veganize this recipe.  

What is Dal Chaat?

Chaat is simply a finger licking snack and Dal is cooked lentils, in this case, moong dal or mung bean lentils.

Dal chaat has its origin in Moradabad, a town in Western Uttar Pradesh. It is popularly available sold there on the streets all day long. People have it as a breakfast or a filling meal throughout the day.

How is Dal Chaat made?

To make dal chaat, you first need to cook the dal. Wash and soak the yellow moong dal for 20-30 minutes. Don't use the "chilka wala moong dal" or the moong dal with skin for this recipe as it will not be as creamy as it is supposed to be. Cook the moong dal until it is completely cooked and mushy. You can either pressure cook it or cook it on a pot on the stovetop. 

While the dal cooks, prep all the other ingredients - chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and ginger. Deseed the pomegranate. And lastly, cube the butter. 

You can buy the green chutney, tamarind chutney and papdi or you can make your own. I will leave the links for the chutneys in the recipe below.

Vegan and Jain option

To veganize the dal chaat, skip the butter or use vegan butter or just a few spoonfuls of your favorite extra virgin oil.

To make a Jain friendly dal chaat, skip the onions and ginger. You can instead top it with finely chopped cucumber for additional texture. Also, make sure that the green and tamarind chutney are free of ginger and garlic.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Dal Chaat Recipe | Moradabadi Dal Chat | How to make Moong Dal Chat

Dal Chaat or Moong Dal Chat is a tasty and nutritious breakfast or snack that is made by topping cooked moong dal (lentils) with fresh vegetables and chutneys. Dal Chaat can be made to suit a vegan and Jain diet.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast, Snacks
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Author:                Anupama

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked Moong Dal
50gms of Butter, cubed or 4-6 tsp Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Tomato, finely chopped
3-4 Tbsp Pomegranate seeds
2-3 Tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
1" Ginger, chopped into matchsticks
8-10 Papdi or any Crackers
0.5 cup Coriander Mint Chutney (green chutney)
0.5 cup sweet and sour Tamarind chutney
Black salt as per taste
Salt to taste
Cumin powder to taste
Chat masala to taste
Lime juice or lemon juice

Method:

1. Wash the moong dal twice and soak the dal and keep aside for 20-30 mins.
2. After 30 minutes, pressure cook the dal with 2 cups of water or in a pot on the stovetop until the dal is completely cooked and soft.
3. Prep all the other ingredients while the dal cooks.
4. Once the dal is cooked, lightly mash the dal with the back of a spoon.
5. To assemble the dal chat, add a few cubes of butter to the plate and spoon over warm dal. If making a vegan version, you can replace the butter with vegan butter or replace with your favorite extra virgin oil.
6. Sprinkle black salt, cumin powder, chat masala and regular salt (optional).
7. Add some more butter or oil.
8. Spoon over the green chutney and the tamarind chutney.
9. Top with chopped onion, tomato, coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds.
10. Lightly crush a few papdi or crispy crackers and add to the chat.
11. Squeeze some lime juice and serve warm-hot.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Moonglet

Masala Puri

Crispy Moong Dal

Read more ...

Veg Manchow Soup Recipe | How to make Vegetable Manchow Soup [Video]

Veg Manchow Soup Recipe with step by step video instructions. Veg Manchow Soup is a popular Indian-Chinese soup that is hot and sour and topped with crispy noodles. Vegetable Manchow soup is spicy and sour and full of vegetables like carrots, capsicum, beans, and cabbage. 

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Happy New Year Guys!! 

This is my first recipe of 2021 and I am really excited to share it with you guys, coz, it is kinda my favorite soup. If Manchow soup is on the menu, you can be assured I am going to order it. I remember a lot of my college days, just chugging on this soup for dinner followed by different main courses, but the soup was always the Veg Manchow. 

What is Manchow Soup?

Manchow Soup is a hot and spicy soup that falls into the category of Indian-Chinese cuisine. Manchow Soup is usually made by boiling finely chopped vegetables such as cabbage, capsicum, carrots in water or broth and then flavoring the soup with soy sauce and garlic. The soup is thickened using cornflour or flour. Manchow Soup is always topped with crispy deep-fried noodles, and it is this that sets it apart from the Hot and Sour soup, which has almost the same base. Manchow Soup is made with chicken too.

Making the Veg Manchow Soup...

Unlike soups that need hours of simmering, this one is almost an instant soup. Vegetables used here are very quick cooking and are generally chopped really fine so they cook even quicker. We have used carrots, beans, cabbage, spring onions and capsicum. You can add Tofu or Mushrooms too for added flavor.

To build the base of the soup, ginger garlic and green chillies are sauteed in oil before adding the other vegetables and frying. Soy sauce and water is added and the soup is simmered until the vegetables reach the desired texture. The vegetables should have a crunch or bite in them, they should not be completely cooked. Then a slurry of cornflour or maida (all purpose flour) is added to thicken the soup. The soup is topped with crispy noodles just before serving.

We made the crispy noodles at home too, but you can use store bought crispy noodles too. To make the crispy noodles, we boiled hakka noodles and then deep fried them. You can use any noodles you have available at home, like instant noodles or spaghetti to make the crispy noodles.

Always make extra crispy noodles, they taste so great!!!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

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Veg Manchow Soup Recipe | How to make Vegetable Manchow Soup

Veg Manchow Soup is a popular Indian-Chinese soup that is hot and sour and topped with crispy noodles.

Recipe Type:  Soup
Cuisine:            Indian-Chinese
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     1 Hour 15 Mins
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Author:                Anupama

Ingredients:

For the crispy noodles:

0.5 Packet Hakka Noodles
Oil to fry
Water as required

For the soup:

1 Tbsp Ginger, grated
1-2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
1 cup Spring Onions, chopped
1 cup Cabbage, finely shredded
8-10 Beans, finely chopped
1 Carrot, finely chopped
0.5 Capsicum, chopped
2-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp White Vinegar (Optional)
2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour or Cornflour
1 Litre Water or vegetable broth
2-3 Tbsp Oil
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Method:

To make the crispy noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add in the noodles. Boil until the noodles are just cooked, do not overcook the noodles.
2. Drain the noodles and rinse them. Keep it aside for 5-10 minutes to drain completely.
3. Heat oil in a kadhai for deep frying.
4. Add the noodles in batches to the oil and fry until golden and crispy. Keep aside until serving.

To make the Soup:

5. Heat Oil in large kadhai or wok and add in the ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute until fragrant.
6. Add the spring onions and saute until slightly softened.
7. Add the shredded cabbage, finely chopped beans and carrots and fry until the vegetables are slightly soft.
8. Add the chopped capsicum and saute for 1 minute.
9. Add the soy sauce, pepper and vinegar (if using) and mix well. Then add the water or vegetable broth and boil for 5-6 minutes.
10. Adjust the salt, pepper and/or the soy sauce and vinegar to taste. You can also add chilli sauce if you want it spicier.
11. Take the flour (maida or cornflour) in a small bowl and add a few tablespoons of water and mix well to remove any lumps.
12. Add the slurry to the soup and boil until the soup thickens.
13. Serve the soup hot and top with the crispy noodles while serving.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Vegan Laksa

Miso Noodle Soup

Mushroom Leek Soup

Read more ...