Manas Manohar
Rajma and Chole
Usually it takes more time to cook Rajma and Chole. Because first they have to be boiled, then their spices have to be prepared. Tomato-onion, garlic etc. have to be grinded, roasted. But follow a very easy way to cook Rajma or White Chole. This will also save a lot of time, in which other things can be done and the food will be tasty and nutritious too.
If you want to make Rajma or Chole, soak them overnight. Then cut tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies to prepare their seasoning. Usually people prepare curry by grinding onions and tomatoes. But he is not needed. Onions and tomatoes are fibrous vegetables, which tend to rot when cooked. Whether you are making Rajma or Chole, cut tomatoes and onions into long pieces. Don’t worry about making them fine when cutting them. Finely chop ginger, garlic and green chilies.
Now heat oil in a cooker. Put a piece of cinnamon as big as an inch, two bay leaves, one big cardamom, one small spoon whole coriander, half a small spoon cumin, two cloves in the tempering. As soon as the tempering is ready, add ginger, garlic, green chillies and stir it and then add onions. Fry for two minutes. Then add chopped tomatoes and fry for two to three minutes while stirring.
When the onions and tomatoes become soft, then add required salt, turmeric powder and rajma or chole masala and fry for two more minutes. Now add soaked kidney beans or chickpeas and stir once, so that the spices mix well.
Now pour two glasses of water and put the lid on the cooker. Keep the flame between low and medium and leave it. Now forget for an hour that you are cooking Rajma or Chole. There is absolutely no need to take care of the whistle. If you have time, there is no rush to leave the office or anywhere else, then lower the flame and leave it for at least one and a half hours.
In the meantime you can do other things. For example, to do household chores, to bring something from the nearby shop, to press clothes, to write and read, etc. After an hour and a half, turn off the flame and do not open the lid of the cooker until the steam is completely released.
Then open the lid and beat it well with a ladle. You will see that the onion-tomato-garlic etc. have completely melted. Whisk well, so that the rajma or chickpeas mix with the spices and become lumpy. Add finely chopped coriander leaves, ginger sticks and green chillies on top and serve hot.
In this way, your time is saved and the risk of destroying the nutritional value of vegetables by boiling them separately has also been avoided. The best thing is that the wonderful taste that comes in the food by cooking it on low flame, you will get it in it.
Pav Bhaji
In Pav Bhaji, Pav is available from the market, but making Bhaji seems to be a tedious task for many people. There is also the hassle of Rajma and Chole, because in this many people boil the vegetables separately and then prepare the bhaji. But it is also very easy work like rajma. Rather, Pav-Bhaji is a dish to be prepared and eaten in a hurry. If you have already cut vegetables for this, then the food is ready in fifteen-twenty minutes. Why even bother to cut vegetables for bhaji, nowadays mix vegetables come in packets, use them only. Yes, onions and tomatoes have to be cut.
To make bhaji, peel two medium sized potatoes and cut them into large pieces. Take off the peel of one hundred to 150 grams of white pumpkin i.e. petha or red cilantro and cut it into big pieces. Take two hundred grams of mixed vegetables i.e. peas, carrots, cabbage, beans etc. If there is time, you can have individual vegetables instead of packets. Apart from these, cut two medium sized tomatoes and one onion into long and thin shapes. Finely chop two green chilies and a little ginger to put in the tempering.
Heat oil in cooker. Add the tempering of cumin, mustard, fennel and sprinkle the chillies, ginger first. Then first add onion, fry for two minutes and add tomatoes and fry. Then add all the vegetables and stir once. Add required salt, turmeric powder and pav bhaji masala on top and mix well. Pour half a glass of water and cover the cooker with a lid and turn the flame to medium. Let it cook for twenty to twenty five minutes. Till then you can do some other work.
Then turn off the flame. When the steam is completely released, open the lid and mash all the vegetables by pressing them with a masher or whisk. Vegetable is ready. Add about fifty grams of butter to it and mix. Garnish with coriander leaves, ginger chives and green chilies. Squeeze lemon juice while eating. Bake the pav in butter and serve hot with bhaji.