A slice of bread can be turned into any recipe, even into an upma. When you don’t feel like having bread butter or toast, just cut the bread in cubes and toss it in a kadhai with a spice mix and make a delicious bread chiwda or upma.

Here is the recipe to make a simple yet yummy bread upma.

Ingredients:

• Bread: 10 slices cut in cubes

• Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

• Curry leaves

• Green chilies: 2

• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

• Turmeric: 1 tsp

• Oil: 1 tbsp

• Green peas: 1 tbsp (optional)

• Tomato: 1 medium finely chopped (optional)

• Coriander: finely chopped 1 tbsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadhai.

• Prepare tempering with jeera, rye, curry leaves, and chilies.

• Add onion to this and fry until translucent.

• Then add green peas after this if you want to.

• Add turmeric powder and fry all this.

• Cut the bread and toss it in the kadhai.

• Cover it and leave it for at least 5 mins.

• Add chopped coriander and serve it.

Nutrition: It is advisable to have white bread only occasionally and in minimal quantities as it hardly contains any nutrients. Use of onion and spices adds nutrients like carbohydrates, Vit (B6, C, K, A) iron, etc. to the otherwise unhealthy bread.

Tip: Instead of chili powder you can also make this using green chilies and turmeric.

Urad dal or split black gram is a staple of almost every South Indian dish. Known as dahi bhalle or dahi vada, this dish is entirely made of this gram. It is a very famous snack served with thick dahi/curd in India.

Let’s see how to make dahi vada step by step.

Ingredients:

Urad dal: 2 cups soaked

Dahi: 1 cup

Sugar: 1 tbsp

Chili powder: 1 tsp

Dry coriander powder: 1 tsp

Jeera powder: 1 tsp

Semolina: 1 tbsp

Chaat masala: as per taste

Shev: optional

Coriander: chopped for garnishing

Preparation: Soak the daal overnight and turn it into a thick paste the next morning. Keep aside the paste for 45 mins to 1 hr. Try not to add water to it.

Add sugar in dahi to make it a bit sweet.

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadhai or a wok.

• Add small dollops of batter in the oil.

• Fry them till golden brown.

• Remove them and keep aside.

• If you want to have them crisp, add dahi directly, and top this with coriander powder, jeera powder, chaat masala, shev, and coriander.

• If you wish to have it soft, soak the fried balls in either water or curd for at least 20 mins to half an hour. Then add masala as mentioned above.

Nutrition: Proteins, vitamins (B and A), iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, etc. are present in this close-to-my-heart dish.

Tip: To make the vada’s a lil crisp add semolina to the batter.

We all must have tasted potato fries, potato sabji, aloo parathta, etc., at least once in our life. How can one ignore this multipurpose vegetable! It is accepted in almost everything; in fasting food, in fast food, and even in non-veg foods. I can even have boiled potato with just salt. Not kidding!!

Ok, now let’s straight come to the recipe. I am here with my grandma’s simple recipe of batatyache kaap. She used to serve this as a side dish or some times when no other vegetable was available.

Have a look at a quick recipe to batatyache kaap in the below write-up.

Ingredients:

Potato: 2 medium

Chili powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4^th tsp

Semolina: as per required for coating

Oil: as per the requirement

Preparation:

• Boil the potatoes and slice them.

• Mix chili powder, turmeric, and salt with water and make a thick slurry. It should not be too watery.

Method:

• Apply masala on each potato slice evenly.

• Then coat each slice with semolina.

• Immediately transfer these slices to a heated pan.

• Keep adding oil depending on how crispy you want to have your kaap.

• Serve with hot daal rice.

Nutrition: This recipe is loaded with carbohydrates, vitamins (B6 and C), and potassium. consider having this dish as a sider and not as a meal.

Tip: Add semolina every time you want to fry anything too crisp. In some places, rice flour is also added instead of semolina.

Chole, a very special North Indian cuisine, especially of the Punjabis, is extremely easy to make. No fancy ingredients required!! It is one of the most famous street foods in India.

Tadaaa!! Here comes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Chole (chickpeas): 1 cup soaked overnight

Onion: 1 medium

Tomato: 1 medium

Garlic: 5 cloves

Ginger: 1 small piece

Coriander: finely chopped 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds: 1 tsp

Bay leaves: 2 small

Black peppercorns: 5

Cinnamon: 1-inch stick

Chole masala: I usually prefer Suhana, but Everest will also do

Chili powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4^th tsp

Oil: 1 tbsp

Preparation: Boil the soaked chole up to 4 to 5 whistles.

 Make a paste of onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, sesame, and coriander. Also, add some boiled chole to this.

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadhai.
• Add the prepared paste and saute till the oil starts leaving.
• Then add chili powder, turmeric, and chole masala to the mixture
• Then add boiled chole.
• Fry it nicely.
• Add some water, depending on the consistency you want.
• Bring this to boil, and serve it with puri, fulka, kulcha, or bhatura.

Nutrition: Don’t count calories, count nutrition!!

It is high in proteins, phosphorous, potassium, carbohydrates, and vitamins.

Tip: You know why boiled chole is added while making an onion-tomato paste? Right!! To give a little thickness to the gravy. Even potatoes can be added for the same purpose.

Pohe is the most favorite breakfast of Maharashtrians. It is flattened rice served in several versions in Maharashtra, Orissa, Karnataka, MP, Telangana, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.

Let’s see what goes into the basic poha recipe.

Ingredients:

Poha or parched rice: 2 cups

Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Curry leaves

Green chilies: 2

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1 tsp

Oil: 1 tbsp

Green peas: 1 tbsp (optional)

Potato: 1 medium (optional)

Tomato: 1 medium finely chopped (optional)

Coriander: finely chopped 1 tbsp

Preparation: Wash poha and soak it not more than a minute and drain it.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadhai.

Prepare tempering with jeera, rye, curry leaves, chilies.

Add onion to this and fry until translucent.

Add potato and green peas after this if you want to.

Add turmeric powder and fry all this. You won’t miss the nice smell turmeric leaves when added to the oil.

Add the soaked poha to this and toss it nicely.

Cover it and leave it for at least 5 mins.

Add chopped coriander and serve it with a slice of lemon.

Nutrition: The dish is rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, fat, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Tip: Always apply turmeric, salt, and a pinch of sugar to the soaked poha so that it gets mixed well.

Taro (Alu) is a plant known for its edible roots and heart-shaped leaves. You should be cautious while having the leaves as having them raw can sometimes be dangerous. The famous snack of these leaves is aluchi wadi or patra, well-known in Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, these leaves are turned into a mushy gravy subji called gargata/fatfata (a vegetable with peanuts and sometimes corn).

Here’s the recipe to make a tasty and crispy aluchi vadi.

Ingredients:

Taro leaves – 8-10

Gram flour – 1 bowl

Sesame seeds: 1 tsp

Chili powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4^th tsp

Dry coriander powder: 1 tsp

Jeera powder: 1 tsp

Kokum syrup: 2 tbsp

Ajwain: 1 tsp

Salt: as per taste

Oil: 1 tbsp

Preparation: Mix all the masala and make a slurry. Add kokum syrup to this mixture as per the required sourness.

Method:

• Place one big leaf.

• Apply the slurry.

• Stack the next leaf on it.

• Similarly, stack 4 to 5 leaves.

• Roll them as shown in the image.

• Steam them for at least 15 minutes.

• You can either have them directly, or shallow fry them in a pan (like in the pan), or fry them like puris in hot oil.

Nutrition: Count Nutrition, don’t count calories!!

This dish is rich in proteins, fiber, potassium, vit (B6, C, and A), and magnesium.

Tips: Add kokum to get rid of the itchiness of the leaves and to enjoy a sour tangy taste.

Capsicum, like potato, is a versatile vegetable. It can be used in any dish be it sandwich, pav bhaji, subji, or salad. It cooks quickly and hence slips in any preparation effortlessly.

Stuffed capsicum is a hassle-free recipe and requires minimal ingredients. Here are the ingredients and a step by step recipe.

Ingredients:

Capsicum: 5 pieces, washed and chopped into half

Potato: 1 big boiled

Chili powder: 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon

Jeera powder: 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon

Garam masala: 1 teaspoon

Amchur powder: 1 teaspoon (optional)

Coriander: finely chopped

Oil: 1 tbsp

Jeera: 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

• Mash the boiled potato. Add all the masala, along with salt, in potato, and mix well.

• Clean capsicum and cut them into half.

• Stuff the it with the potato mixture.

• Heat oil in a pan and add jeera to it.

• Shallow fry the stuffed capsicum on both sides.

• Serve this with butter roti or dal rice.

Nutrients: Carbohydrates, vitamins (B6, C, E, A), dietary fiber, and folate.

Tip: For the potato to cook well cut it into half and boil.

Palak (spinach) is very rich in iron. Yes!! The famous Popeye was also shown to be addicted to spinach. Palak is being used in several cuisines like smoothies, paranthe, subjis, curries, and salads. In this post, I am introducing a nutritious palak recipe, palak pachdi.

Palak pachdi requires minimal ingredients. So, without wasting any time, let’s head to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Palak: washed and chopped fine, 2 cups

Curd: 1 cup

Sugar: 1 teaspoon

Roasted peanut powder: 2-3 tablespoons

Oil: 1 tbsp

Jeera: 1 teaspoon

Masala stuffed chilies: 3

Preparation:

• Clean palak leaves and chop them finely.

• Add curd and keep aside the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

• If you want to have the pachdi with the extra crunch, directly add tadka to the above mixture.

• Then add the fried stuffed chili on top and mix.

Have this with roti or dal rice.

Nutrition: The dish is rich in vitamins (B, B6, and E), riboflavin, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, fat, and dietary fiber.

Tip: While making salad or koshimbir, add salt or sugar just before serving else the dish becomes too watery.

Misal means a mixture in Marathi. Going by the name, misal is a mixture of cut (liquid gravy), matki usal, potato subji, onion, and farsan, served with bread. Mostly had as meal than snack, this is the first love of Kolhapur. The kanda-lasun chatni adds a distinct flavor to the delicacy, which is irreplaceable.

Below mentioned are steps to homemade Kolhapuri misal.

Ingredients

Matki sprouts – 2 bowls

Coconut: ½ bowl

Garlic: 8-10 petals

Ginger: 1 tablespoon

Onion: 3 medium (finely chopped)

Tomato: 2 medium (finely chopped)

Kolhapuri kanda-lasun chatni: 2 tablespoon

Potato: 2 medium

Farsan: as per requirement

Coriander: finely chopped

Cauliflower: 1 bowl (optional)

Curd (dahi): optional

Lemon: as per liking

Preparation: Make a paste of coconut, ginger, garlic, and coriander.

Boil potato and cut it into small pieces.

Method:

Preparation of Tarri or Cut

• Heat oil in a vessel and add onion.
• Fry till translucent.
• Add tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.
• Add the coconut paste.
• Fry till it leaves oil.
• Add chili powder, turmeric powder, and kanda-lasun chatni.
• Now add salt as per taste.
• Lastly, add hot water as per the liquidity you want.
• Bring this whole thing to boil.
• Your cut is ready.

Preparation of Matki Usal

• Heal oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds.
• Then add tomato if need be.
• Add chili and salt powder and fry matki in the same.
• Let it cook until soft.
• Your usal is ready.

Preparation of dry potato subji

• Heat some oil in a kadhai.
• Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them both crackle.
• Add curry leaves and turmeric powder.
• Then add boiled potato.
• Add salt and fry the potato nicely.
• Here is your potato subji

Serving missal:

Serve missal as shown in the image below

While eating, mix everything and enjoy.

Tip: Too much of coconut affects the taste, can make the cut sweet. For two bowls of matki, half a bowl coconut is more than enough.

Karle (Marathi) or karela (Hindi), a sabji hated by maximum, provides impressive medicinal benefits. Its rich nutrient profile reduces blood sugar, is believed to decrease cholesterol levels, and assists in weight loss. Despite these benefits, many cannot stand its bitter taste.

But worry not!! I have a simple recipe that will help you have this vegetable with ease if not relish it.

Let’s see how to make karlyachi bhaji.

Ingredients:

Oil: 1 tbsp

Karela: 2

Hing (asafoetida): 1/4^th tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4^th tsp

Onion: 1 medium

Jaggery: 2 tablespoon

Kokum or sol: 3–4 pieces

Salt: as per liking

Preparation

Cut karela (as shown in the image), apply salt, and keep aside for at least half an hour. The water left out by the karela takes away maximum bitterness.

Method

• Heat oil in a pan
• Add hing and onion. Fry onion till it turns translucent. Add salt to quicken the process.
• Add turmeric and chili powder
• Add karela to this and continue frying.
• After the karela softens a bit, add jaggery.
• Cover the pan with a lid until the karela is cooked.
• Add kokum to enhance the taste and reduce the bitterness.

Total time: Total time 45 mins.

Nutrition: The sabji is rich in B vitamins, ascorbic acid, manganese, potassium, magnesium, dietary fibre, vitamin C, and garcinol.

Tip:

If you want to make any sabji crispier, always cook it on low flame and more oil. Avoid using water.