Mango Chutney


1/4 cup refined oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 kg. raw mango
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water,
5 cups sugar
Skin the mangoes. Remove the seeds and cut the mangoes into small pieces. Keep them aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Sprinkle the mustard seeds into the oil.
Just as the seeds start to crack, add the turmeric powder, salt and mango pieces into the pan.
Stir them thoroughly and add the water. Allow the whole thing to come to a boil. Add sugar to it and continue boiling. The chutney will be thickening. In the process continuous stirring is a must. When the chutney becomes thick remove the pan from burner. Let it cool to normal temperature. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Masala Parathas


1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup rice or all.purpose flour
1 onion
1 carrot
3 to 4 cabbage leaves
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper
1 potato
4 green chiles
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Finely chop all the vegetables either in a chopper or by hand in a large plate. You may even grate them if a chopper is not available. Add the flours, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, cayenne, turmeric and knead to a very stiff dough. Do not keep the dough for long after kneading, or it will become gooey and soft. This would make it difficult to roll the parathas.
Divide into 3 parts. Roll into 5.inch rounds. Shallow fry on a hot griddle (tawa) on both sides until golden brown
using the remaining oil. Eat hot or carry away for later, with sauce, tamarind or onion chutney.

Masoor Dhal & Onions


(Mushoor dhal pyaj phoron diye)
2/3 cup masoor dhal
1 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. salt or to taste
Pre.cook the lentils using three cups of water. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the onions for five minutes,
stirring constantly. Add the lentils and another three cups of water and turmeric powder, heat till the
mixture starts boiling, season with salt and turn off the heat.