Chicken burgers

Adapted from http://ifoodreal.com/ground-chicken-burgers-patties/

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/17981/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-iii/
This is a main dish.
Accompaniments: salad, soup, zucchini fries, tater tots, sweet potato fries, fruit
Makes about 10 burgers

Ingredients:
2 lbs groundchicken
1 large egg
1/2 small onion, cut in chunks
1-2 gloves garlic
1 piece of bread
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
other spice mixes to taste
oil for frying

Method:
Put egg, onion pieces, and garlic into immersion blender. Soak slice of bread in water for a couple seconds, squeeze out, also put in the blender. Blend until combined.
Preheat skillet to medium heat.
Put ground chicken into a large bowl. Add the contents of the immersion blender, salt, and pepper. Add any other spices you like (I used mediterranean spice mix). Mix with hands.
Add some oil to coat skillet. Make chicken mixture into balls (between golf and tennis size) and make into flat patties.
Cook 3-4 minutes per side. 

Chocolate Cake

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/17981/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-iii/
This is a dessert.
Accompaniments: Whipped cream if you like.
Serves 4 very hungry people

Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1.75 cups flour
0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
0.5 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 2 round pans (with cocoa powder)

In large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.
Mix on medium with mixer.
Add in boiling water.

Pour evenly into pans.
Bake 30-35 minutes until the cake is done (toothpick comes out clean).
Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ranch dressing

This is my mom's recipe
Eat this with salad, pizza, bread, etc.
Accompaniments: This is the accompaniment
Serves 12?

Ingredients:
3 heaping tablespoons of powdered buttermilk
1 to 1.3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp onion powder
l/4 cup dried parsley (or fresh)
Pinch of dill
2 Tbsp celery leaves (optional)
1/8 tsp Dijon mustard
Water for consistency
Salt to taste

Method:
Combine all ingredients except water and salt together in a bowl and whisk together.
Add water to get the consistency you prefer.
Add salt to taste.

Khichuri recipe #1

This recipe is adapted from Sanoli's Kitchen at http://sanolisrecipies.blogspot.com/2013/09/durga-puja-ashtami-special-khichdi-bhog.html
It is a one dish meal.
Accompaniments: begun bhaja, alu bhaja, any kind of bhaja really, chutney, chicken fries
Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
1.25 cups moong daal
6 medium cauliflower florets
3 potatoes
1/3 cup green peas
2-3 Tbsp ghee
2 bay leaves
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1" cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
1-2 green chillies
3/4 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1/2 cup plus 5 cups water

Method:
Preparation-- 
Wash and drain rice well.
Peel and chop potatoes into quarters.
Cut cauliflower florets so you have about equal amount of potato and cauliflower.
Roast moong daal in kadai like for bhaja moong daal until it starts to brown, then take off heat and rinse in a strainer and keep aside.
Lightly crush cardamom, cinnamon, cloves.
Cut stems off chillies and chop in half.
Grate ginger.

Cooking--
Heat ghee in a large soup pot. Add grated ginger and saute for a minute. Then add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Next, add red chilli and bay leaf and saute a few seconds. Then add the garam masala (cinammon, cardamom, cloves) and green chillies; saute again a half minute more or until it gives off its fragrance.

Add potato and cauliflower and saute for 5 minutes on medium heat. Try to get it just at least a little brown.

Then add moong dal and about a half cup water. When the mixture starts to boil, add rice, peas, chilli powder, haldi, salt, and sugar. Stir for 2-3 minutes so that everything mixes up well together.

Add about 5 cups water. Let it come to a boil, then cover and cook for about 20 minutes.  Check for doneness and add more water and salt if necessary and heat for 5 more minutes if more water is added.

Notes:
We like a watery khichuri; add more or less water to taste.
Add hing if you like it.
If you're really motivated to not clean dishes, you can make the dish in the same vessel you roast the daal in but make sure it is big enough to fit everything and remember that rice expands. 

Cabbage kofta

This recipe is from Manjula's Kitchen at 
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2009/04/23/cabbage-kofta/
Eat this with rice.
Accompaniments: Begun bhaja, chutney
Serves 4(?)

Ingredients:
Koftas:
2 cups shredded cabbage
3/4 cup besan
1/2 tsp jeera seeds
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp grated ginger
1-2 green chillies
salt to taste
oil for frying

Gravy:
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 inch ginger
1 green chilly
2-3 Tbsp yogurt
2 Tbsp oil
Pinch of hing
1 tsp jeera seed
1 Tbsp besan
1/2 tsp haldi
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1.5 cups water
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp choppped cilantro
salt to taste

Method:

Preparation-- 
Shred cabbage, grate ginger, chop cilantro, slice chillies in half (for koftas).
Blend tomatoes, ginger, and green chilly in immersion blender to a puree (for gravy).
Chop cilantro (for gravy).

Cooking--
Koftas:
Heat oil in a kadai on medium heat - make sure it has at least 1.5 inches of oil.
Mix all the ingredients listed under the kofta section. Add besan as needed to make the texture dough. Manjula says to make this mix just before you fry the kofta.
Check the oil to make sure it's ready by taking a tiny bit and making sure it starts bubbling right away.
To make koftas, drop 1 Tbsp  of the kofta mix into the frying pan one at a time, frying in small batches. Don't overcrowd the pan; I usually put 5-6 in my kadai at a time.
Turn koftas to cook them evenly until they're golden brown on all sides.
Remove koftas from oil and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Gravy:
Heat oil in a saucepan on medium high. Check oil with a cumin seed; if it sizzles, oil is ready.
Add hing, jeera seeds, and besan. Fry for a minute, constantly stirring.
Once the color has changed a bit, add the tomato-ginger-chilly puree, coriander powder, haldi, and paprika and cook on medium heat until the oil starts separating and the mixture reduces by about half.
Take the pan off the heat. Add yogurt and stir constantly so it does not separate. Place back on heat and cook for another minute.
Add the 1.5 cups water and salt. Let it come to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook gravy for a few minutes.
Add koftas to the gravy, simmer for 7-8  minutes.
Take pan off heat, add chopped cilantro, cover the pot until ready to serve.

Notes:
Check the salt before taking off the heat to make sure it is enough. Remember to start low and go slow when it comes to salt. You can always add more but you can't remove it. 

Alu posto

A simple vegetarian dish that can be cooked in under thirty minutes.
Eat this with rice.
Accompaniments: moong daal, masoor daal, begun bhaja, chicken fries.
Serves 4(?)

Ingredients:3 medium potatoes
2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup(?) poppy seeds
adequate water to make paste for poppy seeds
adequate water to cover potatoes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch turmeric
salt to taste
1-2 green chillies (serrano peppers are the best for this)

Method:
Preparation-- 
Peel potatoes and chop into small pieces but not too small. I usually get 12-16 pieces per potato.
Grind poppy seeds in spice grinder and pour into small bowl. Add enough water to make a paste but not too wet or too dry.
Chop up green chillies into thin rounds.

Cooking--
Heat oil in kadai. When it is hot, add cumin seeds.
Add potato pieces, salt, and turmeric and let them brown on the edges a little bit.
Then add the poppy seed paste. Mix in well and let cook for a couple of minutes.
Add just enough water to cover the potatoes, and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat or until potatoes are soft enough to break with a wooden spoon and you have a mostly dry but slightly creamy texture to the posto paste.
Turn off heat, add green chillies, and mix through.

Notes:
My mother in law does not use turmeric and her posto is creamier than mine.