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I had mentioned about our love for Mongolean grill here in US. The best part of it is, we can make the dish according to our own taste. While I like to put almost everything that is available – all vegetables, some chicken, some seafood, most of the sauces, some spices in mine – I usually don’t even remember what went into my bowl, V is very particular about what goes in his bowl. My food tastes different every single time and I like it slightly spicy and sweetish, he usually likes it hot.

It was on my to-do list for a long time to make his version at home. The only noodles I had on hand were Pad Thai noodles. Since he is not a big fan of Pad Thai, I thought of making something else with these noodles. I asked him what are the sauces he uses at Mongolean grill. His sauces were pretty simple. Since I did not have the exact sauces or vegetables, so used the sauce that I had and the final result was really great. I also added some peanut powder to give a crunch – which was actually a replacement for roasted sesame seeds, I was out of my sesame seeds stock. We both enjoyed a hearty dinner (which took hardly any time to put together). I am going to stick to this recipe hereafter. Any kind of noodles can be used for this.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb noodles
2 cups vegetables (snow peas, carrot, onion, red and yellow bellpeppers)
1 tbl spn lemon juice
2 tbl spn coarsely powdered roasted peanuts
Olive oil

Sauce (mix together):
2 tbl spns red chilli sauce
1 tea spn brown sugar
1/2 tea spn ginger powder
2 tea spn chopped garlic
Salt

Method:
Cook noodles according to packet instructions. Keep aside.
Heat olive oil in a thick bottomed pan (ideally use a stir fry pan, I don’t have it, so used a thick bottomed pan).
Add all vegetables and fry for about 2 mins. Add noodles and the sauce mixture. Mix well, if it becomes too dry, you can add little starchy water used for cooking the noodles. Spread peanut powder and mix well. Add the lemon juice, mix and take off the heat.
Serve hot.

Serves : 2
Preparation time : 30mins

Pictorial:

This recipe is inspired by other Spinach-Coriander Pulav recipe. I made this yesterday morning to take in our lunch box. It came out really well. We both are not big fans of spinach taste, but I like to use it frequently because it is very healthy. This pulav masks the taste of it, which we loved.

I used red and yellow bellpeppers(capsicums) in this instead of green ones because of their mild taste. You can use any of your usual pulav vegetables.

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice
2 cups vegetables (red & yellow bellpeppers, potatoes, carrot, cauliflower, green beans, green peas)
1 tea spn cumin seeds
2 cardamoms
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
2″ cinnamon
Ghee
1/2 cup onion
Salt

Paste (grind to a smooth paste)-
2 cups spinach(palak)
1/4 cup coriander leaves
2 tea spns ginger
1 tea spn garlic
1 tea spn coriander-cumin powder
6 green chillies

Method:
Heat ghee and add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves. When cumin starts popping, add onion and all other vegetables and fry for about 2 minutes.
Now add paste, rice, salt and fry again for 2-3minutes. Add 3 and 1/2 cups of water and let it cook on medium heat(Transfer the pan on a tava to give extra thickness). When all water is absorbed, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for another 10mins, in this time, the rice finishes cooking in the steam.
Serve hot with raita.

Serves : 4
Preparation time : 60mins

V’s grandmother mentioned about this dish during our last India trip, somehow it had slipped out of my mind. Cooked okra is mixed with raw onion, coconut and some other ingredients to make this delicious bharth. It makes a great combination with some spicy papad(happal). This is a classic Konkani recipe. It can be made with roasted eggplant(brinjal), cooked okra or some other vegetables.

I personally didn’t care much for it because of the raw onion. So aayi makes any bharth without onion for me and with onion for everyone else. So if you are a raw onion hater like me, go ahead and leave it out.

Ingredients:
2 cups okra(bhinde/bhende) cut into pieces
1/4 cups fresh/frozen coconut
1/4 cup chopped onion
A pinch asafoetida(optional)
4 green chillies
1/4 tea spn tamarind extract
Oil
Salt

Method:
Heat a little oil and fry okra for 5-6mins. Then add very little water and let it cook. (Traditionally it is not fried, just cooked with little water, but since it becomes too slimy that way, I fried it before adding water. Alternatively, okra could be steamed without adding any water).
In a bowl, mix coconut, onion with green chillies, tamarind, asafoetida(optional). Mix very well using your fingers. Now add the cooked okra and mix well, mashing the okra a bit. Serve with papad as a side dish.

Serves : 1-2
Preparation time : 15mins

Pictorial -