CINNAMON HUT

Instant Oats Idlis

2010-06-23T00:36:00.000-07:00

Oats idli is a simple and tasty means of incorporating healthy oats into one’s diet. I found this recipe long time back in some magazine …. Had jotted it down as a must try recipe and then forgotten all about it till recently.
When I thought of having oats daily for breakfast the idea of having oatmeal everyday was not very appealing and that is when I thought about trying out this recipe. The result was these wonderfully tasty and spongy idlis …they were an instant hit with the whole family :) . Now we have this version of idli more often that the rava idli or the traditional rice idlis .
The fact that I can make the idli mix and store it for later use makes it a convenient breakfast option for a busy morning. :)

Ingredients –

Idli mix –

Oat – 3 cups (I use the rolled oats)
Sooji / Rava/ Semolina – 1 ½ cups
Curry leaves – 7-8
Cashew nuts – 2 tb sp (optional)
Mustard seeds – 1 tb sp
Urad dal – 1 tb sp
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Green chilies – 3-4 (finely chopped)
Oil – 1 tb sp

Dry roast the oats and then grind them into a coarse powder. Keep aside .
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once hot add the mustard seeds, once they stop spluttering add the curry leaves, urad dal and chana dal followed by ginger and green chilies. Then add the sooji /rava and roast till a nice aroma comes from it and it changes color. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Then add the oats and mix well. The idli mix is ready. It can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.

For making the idlis –

Idli mix – 1 cup
Yogurt – 1 cup
Salt – as per taste
Baking soda – ¼ tsp
Water – as required

When ready to make idlis, mix the yogurt and salt into the idli mix. Add water to make a thickish paste. Keep aside for 15-20 mins . Add more water later as the oats and sooji will soak up the water added earlier.
Just before pouring into the idli moulds add the baking soda. Make sure that you have applied oil to the idli moulds beforehand; this would ensure that the idlis come out easily later. Steam the idlis at high flame for 8-10 mins . Check whether cooked by inserting a toothpick/ knife if it comes out clean then the idlis are well cooked.

Take out from the idli moulds and serve hot with coconut chutney / tomato ketchup / sambar.

P.S. have not managed to save any idlis for click ..they usually vanish before that . Hopefully the next time I make them I will be able to click them and post it :)

My Little Darling !!!

2010-06-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is the reason why I have been away for so !

My precious bundle of joy .... Shivank Chawla !

We welcomed him with loads of love on 27th Jan'10 .

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

2010-01-03T18:53:00.001-08:00

Here's wishing all my readers and fellow bloggers a very happy and prosperous new year !!

Throughout the coming year ...
May each day be blessed with ......
peace, health, prosperity and happiness too :)

Doi Ilish - Begali style Fish Curry in yogurt and mustard gravy

2009-10-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

I love fish ….. I would prefer a fish preparation to chicken or any other non-vegetarian preparation any day. Maybe this love for fish is a result of the years spent in the eastern part of the country, where fish is abundantly available and abundantly loved too :) . I have a number of Bengali friends whose mom’s treated me to various fish preparations and hence I am familiar with a number of Bengali and Oriya dishes. I introduced my husband to fish during our courtship period…. he had never tasted fish before that, and it was important for me that he also develops a taste for it . He took some time to get used to the “fishy” smell, but over the years he has also started to enjoy fish.

Now we usually eat the Thai versions of fish or the fish masala or fish curry. But I had not introduced one of my favourite Doi Ilish to him, mainly because of his aversion to anything with the smell of mustard. “Fishy smell + mustard” – might be just too much for him. …and hence I would stop at just mentioning the name of the dish …but never dared to make him try it . This was until one of our Bengali friends married and his sweet wife “A” came to Singapore. Now I had someone to discuss the wonderful Bengali dishes, the fact that she is a very good cook whose food my husband loved…..gave me courage to request her to make doi ilish for us. She sweetly agreed to prepare the same and the next time we went to their place , she served it to us . I waited with bated breath while hubby dear took his first morsel …and I was hugely relieved when he said he loved it ;). I promptly requested “A” to share the recipe so that I can try it. Then one day while we were chatting she told me she was making doi ilish …I got the brilliant idea of asking her to share her recipe on this blog .

Much to my delight she agreed and sent the photograph with the recipe ….. These days she is back in India …enjoying herself I hear J and I hope that she comes back with a lot of lovely recipes to share with me .
Here’s the recipe as described by her –

Ingredients :

Hilsa/Ilish ~ 1 Kg
Yogurt ~ ¾ cup
Mustard Paste (a wet paste of mustard & green chilies) ~ 4 tsp
Ginger Paste ~ 1 tsp of fresh ginger paste
Green Chillies ~ 4 or more
Kalo Jeera/Kalonji/Nigella Seeds (for tempering) ~ ¾ tsp loosely packed
Turmeric powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Mustard Oil ~ preferred for a fish like Hilsa. , you can use any cooking oil though
Salt – as per taste

Method :

Wash the fish well, pat dry and rub the pieces with about ½ tsp of turmeric powder a little salt and keep aside.Heat oil in a Deep Frying Pan/Wok. When the oil is piping hot reduce the heat and slowly slide the fish pieces into the oil. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan, as the fish needs to be fried from the sides also. Fry all the pieces on high heat. Do not fry too much and you can avoid frying as well (though she fried the fish for us, as she said we might not like the smell too much) .
Heat a little oil and put kalonji/ nigella seeds and green chilies and wait for the spices to pop. Add the fresh ginger paste. Lower the heat and put yogurt- mustard sauce. [This can be prepared without yogurt as well] .
Add salt and let it simmer for a couple or minutes and add water (about 1 cup). Add the fish pieces and let the gravy simmer and reduce to desired consistency.
Cook till you get gravy of the right thickness, not watery, add a little mustard oil on top and serve with hot white rice.

One variation is to add longitudinally cut potatoes pieces before adding to mustard paste, fry and let them get semi cooked. Then add the mustard paste and then the fish.

Aloo -Gajar-Matar ki Subzi

2009-05-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

It is getting very hot these days, wonder whether it’s a result of the global warming phenomenon … some people say that the Swine flu –pandemic is a result of this global warming. The flu virus is supposed to be able to mutate better and faster in the hot weather. Wonder what the world is coming to …. All the panic that is happening all around us…the news is full of headlines about people being quarantined just because they happen to be of a certain nationality …widespread culling of pigs in spite the fact that there is no scientific proof that the flu is being transmitted through these animals ….it all reminds me of some sad futuristic movie showing a paranoid world in 2050, where people are living the lives of animals and worse. I wonder whether all this “progress” is actually leading us to that stage. I sincerely do hope not, I hope that people come to their senses and start respecting nature and the world around them. I do try to do my bit, by trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. I hope it does make a difference somewhere :-)

Coming back to the heat all around …. This hot weather makes me lose my appetite and as a result we are consuming lots of cold fruits and salads, but then a person needs something more substantial than fruit salad to sustain himself/herself and therein comes these simple dishes which need simple ingredients and less time to cook. They are healthy, nutritious and easy to make.

One of our favorite side dish is Aloo-gajar-matar ki Subzi . Although most of the ingredients in this dish are traditionally associated with winter season in India and that is when it is usually made back home, I have the benefit of getting great frozen /fresh vegetables and hence we have it almost through out the year. Serve it with hot chapattis and cool cool cucumber raita and you are ready to beat the heat :-)

Ingredients: -

Aloo/ potato – 2 medium sized, chopped into squares
Gajar / Carrot – 1 big or 2 medium sized, chopped into half circles or cubes
Matar / peas – ½ cup
Ginger – 1.5 inch piece, chopped finely
Green chili – 1-2 as per taste, chopped finely
Oil – 2 tb sp
Turmeric powder – ½ t sp
Red chili powder – ½ t sp
Garam masala powder – ¼ t sp
Salt- as per taste
Chopped coriander – 2 tb sp for garnishing

Wash, peel and chop the potatoes and carrots, keep aside. In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the oil, once slightly hot add the chopped ginger and chilies. Sauté for a minute, till it becomes fragrant. Then add the potatoes and carrot, stir and add the peas. Add all the seasonings except garam masala powder and turmeric powder. Lower the flame to minimum and cover the pan. Let is cook for 8-10 mins till the vegetables are cooked and soft. Uncover and sauté till all water evaporates and the vegetables become glossy with the oil . Add the garam masala powder (I add this only for the fragrance and flavor hence the small quantity, if you want you can add more). Garnish with coriander leaves and serve as accompaniment with roti/parantha/rice.

A reason to celebrate with Blueberry Yogurt Cake and Besan ke Paranthe

2009-03-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

I RAN MY FIRST MARATHON !! :) :) and I am so proud of it ....

Many of you who would be regular runners might be thinking what is the big deal .... But it is a BIG Deal for someone who would wait for the next bus rather than run to catch the one leaving. I did it not because of any medical conditions or because I could not ...but just because I did not feel like running. But all that has changed over the last few months.

This year I made only one new year resolution..unlike the previous years wherein my resolution list would run for at least a mile :) .

My resolution was to do all that which I have never done before ,..but would have liked to do and experience. Running a marathon was one such thing . I had a mental block about running , I could never imagine myself running ..like all those regular runners and joggers who would pass by me during my walks . I wanted to experience the "runners high" i kept reading about in various magazines . It helped that one of my colleagues wanted to restart running after having a baby and when she asked me whether I would be interested in joining her for post-office runs , I grabbed the offer with both hands. Initially it was painful and humiliating ....a person who could walk for hours could not run for more than ten minutes ...but we persevered and set up a challenge of completing a 10km run in march . The Suburban Run run was on 15th March'09 and we completed the whole 10Km in spite of the energy sapping heat ...... now I intend to keep running :) and to do something new in the coming months.

Hubby dear was very very supportive of this decision to run and he was more excited and proud about my completing the 10km than me . We celebrated this small achievement with a blueberry yogurt cake and simple besan aur pyaaz ke paranthe . I followed the recipe given by Clotilde of chocolateandzucchini . The cake turned out perfect . I forgot to take picture of the slices :) as we were too busy gorging on those .

The recipe for Besan aur pyaaz ke paranhte ( Indian Gram flour and onion bread) is -

Ingredients :-
Gram flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large sized one , finely chopped
Finely chopped green chili - 2-3 as per taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil
Water - as much as required

Mix the gram flour and wheat flour. Add all the spices and mix well . Add about 3 tb sp oil and mix well so that the oil gets well incorporated into the dry ingredients. Now add the chopped onion and green chili . Add water and prepare a stiff dough.

Divide the dough into golf ball sized balls . Make into round balls and roll out each ball separately into circular shape.
Cook over a hot skillet , apply oil on both sides and cook till small brown specks appear .

Serve with butter, yogurt and pickles

This is another popular travel food as it lasts for up to 2-3 days. Hence this is my second entry for SWC-Meals on wheels hosted by LG of tasteofmysore.

Bharwan Karela - Stuffed bittergourd

2009-03-31T00:21:00.000-07:00

Bitter - is one of the five basic tastes , the other four being sour, salty, sweet and savory. We love karela or bitter gourd, but the time it takes to prepare it is the main reason for us not having it as often as we would like to. When LG of Tasteofmysore announced SWC-Meals on wheels I knew I had to take out the time and make these . I still have memories of train travels which would last for a couple of days and we would eat the stuffed karela packed by my grandmothers . These do not get spoilt for 3-4 days and thus are perfect as food for travels.

I made these after a long time yesterday and here goes the recipe for them -

Ingredients -

Karela / bitter gourd - 6-7 medium sized ones

Onion - 2 sliced

Nigella seeds / kalaunji - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds / saunf - 1 tsp
Fenugreek /methi - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp
Dry mango / Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder/ haldi - 0.5 tsp
Red chili powder/ laal mirch - 0.5 tsp
Salt to taste
2 tbsp mustard oil
2 tbsp tamarind/ imli pulp (soak imli in half a bowl of water and use the residue )

Thread - as much as required

Peel the bitter gourd with a light hand , slit them vertically and take out all the seeds to create a pocket. Rub lots of salt and keep aside for at least 4-5 hours . Apply salt to the outer peel also and keep aside.

After 4-5 hours squeeze out all the fluid from the bitter gourd and the peels and wash with water.

In a pan heat about 1 tbsp of mustard oil, add the nigella seeds and fennel seeds. Heat till they become aromatic, then add the sliced onions . Saute till the onions become translucent. Then add the squeezed out bitter gourd peel and saute for a minute. Then add all the other spices. Saute for 2-3 minutes then add the tamarind pulp with some water . Saute the mixture till oil starts separating from it.

Now with the help of a spoon, stuff this prepared filling into the bitter gourd. Once well stuffed wrap a thread around the bitter gourd to ensure that the filling does not come out. Once all the bitter gourds are filled and wrapped , shallow fry them till well cooked.

Serve with roti/parantha /rice :)

This is my entry for SWC-Meals on wheels and I hope LG accepts it.

Kathal ke kebab - Raw Jackfruit Patties

2009-03-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

When LG of tasteofmysore announced that she would be hosting AFAM-Jackfruit, this is the first thing, which came to my mind. But due to unavailability of raw jackfruit and time I could not make it in time to send in an entry. Recently my sister in law “V” told me that they are going to make kathal kebabs, I told her to send in the recipe and the photos so that I can blog these.

The first time I made these kebabs after marriage I had to spin a big story and convince my hubby dear that these are shaami kebabs made with minced mutton. All this because he had never eaten raw jackfruit and was not willing to try it. The day before I was going to make these kebabs I told him that I had bought the keema “minced mutton” and that I would be making kebabs. Raw jackfruit is known for tasting and resembling in texture to non-veg and it is often called as vegetarian mutton in our place. I had pinned my hopes on the fact that these kebabs taste almost like shaami kebabs and that my hubby would not be able to make out the difference. When I served these, he relished them and absolutely loved them, that is when I disclosed to him that these were indeed made from jackfruit and not meat. He did not believe at first , and now whenever we serve these to any guests he loves quiz them about the type of “meat” used in these . Till date none of the guests have been able to guess that these are vegetarian kebabs :)

Ingredients :-
Raw jackfruit / kathal – 500 grams
Dhuli Masoor dal / split red lentils – 100 grams
Onions – 2-3 large ones
Ginger – 1-1.5 inches long piece
Green chili – 4-5 – as per taste
Cloves – 5-6
Black pepper – 5-6
Red chili powder – as per taste
Raw mango powder / amchur powder – 1-2 t sp as per taste
Chat masala – as per taste
Coriander leaves – 4-5-table spoon – chopped finely

Cook the raw jackfruit with the lentils, onions, ginger, cloves and black pepper with a little water in the pressure cooker . Cook till 2 whistles. Take off the flame and let it cool. Once cool grind the whole mix to a thick paste in the grinder. Do not add any water while grinding otherwise the mixture will become too thin to be shaped into kebabs. Add salt, red chili, amchur powder /lime juice and coriander leaves and mix well.

Make small balls of this mixture and flatten them, stuff with chopped onion, green chili and coriander leaves. Shape into small discs or oblong shaped kebabs. You can either deep fry them or shallow fry them. We usually grill them with a little oil smeared on them.

Serve hot with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup or with just a little limejuice sprinkled on it.

HAPPY HOLI !!

2009-03-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Wishing all of you a very happy and colorful holi !!! May you all have a blast today !!

As for me I am in office ...working :( ...... earning my daily bread . One of the biggest disadvantages of living away from India is that you miss all the festivals and the associated fun . I miss all the excitement, color, food, fun and laughter associated with this festival of colors , I miss my family today . But I take comfort in the fact that we might have an opportunity to celebrate holi on the weekend :) .

Eat well and play safely ...take care :)

Kulcha chana with a twist

2009-01-30T22:35:00.000-08:00

Kulcha - chana is a favorite of my husband . For me it was a new concept becuase I had never lived in Punjab till the time I got married. Apparently it is a very popular way of eating Kabuli Chana or Chola there. Now that I know more about it , I am not surprised that it is a popular combination. The ease of preparing this complete meal alongwith the flexibility of making it as spicy or bland as per individual's preference definitely make it popular with me ;-) .

Kulcha - chana is nothing but a spicy and tangy mix of chole or chickpeas with onions, tomatoes, green chillies stuffed in flat bread known as Kulcha.

As I told you all already, my mother-in-law has been living with us for about 3 months now and so I have been treated to delicious Punjabi dishes all this time . One fine day we decided to have Kulcha chana, the chana part was easy to take care of , but where do we get the Kulchas in a foreign land . That is where the "twist" came in ....we decided to replace the Kulcha with plain buns traditionally used for burgers . Since the buns absorb the juices in the chole we added a little more liquid to it than we would have if we had been using the Kulchas. The result was a filling and satisfying meal which left us wanting for more :-)

Ingredients -
Chickpeas/ chole / kabuli chana - 1 cup ( soaked overnight and then boiled in salted water till soft)
Red onion - 1 large (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 large (finely chopped)
Green chilli - 2-3 as per taste ( finely chopped)
Lime juice - 2 tsp (as per taste)
Tamarind pulp - 2 tsp
Black salt - as per taste
Salt - as per taste
Coriander leaves - a handful , chopped finely
Red chili powder - as per taste
Buns - 4

Cut the buns halfway through horizontally .
Mix all the ingredients together and keep aside . The fill them into the buns with the help of a spoon. Spoon a little liquid ( which gathers at the bottom of the vessel) over the chola mix and then press the buns to close them.

Serve immediately !! :)

P.S. : The chickpeas with the onions, tomatoes, etc make a lovely salad also which can be served chilled also :-) . In fact in my house , we had been having it as a salad all these years only.

This is my entry fro JFI -Chickpea being hosted by Sometime Foodie . JFI was a brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi blog.

This is also my second entry to Srivalli's My Legume Love Affair-7th helping.My Legume Love Affair was started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

This also goes to SWC- Salads under 15 minutes being hosted by my dear friend LG of Cooking station

Paav Bhaji

2009-01-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

Paav Bhaji is a favorite in the house , I can make it any time and be rest assured that it would be well received by everyone at home . It is a welcome break from the usual routine of Roti-sabzi for all of us and a break for me from the chore of making rotis ;-) . I made paav bhaji on one of these sundays , and the next day while chatting with my sweet sis-in-law the topic of paav bhaji came up . Usually I use the ready to use paav bhaji masala due to the convenience factor , but when she mentioned that her aunt makes awesome paav bhaji from the scratch I couldnot resist the temptation of inviting her to share the recipe with all of us .

She was sweet enough to send in the recipe very quickly , and without any further delay let me share her tried and tested recipe in her own words :-) ( I didnot click any photo of the paav bhaji I made because I didnot think it was special enough to be blogged ..but I shall publish a photo of paav bhaji made with this authentic recipe soon :-))

Ingredients :-

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets (about 2-3 cups)
1 green bell pepper cut into small pieces
2 large onions chopped into small pieces
1 medium sized carrot cut into small pieces
1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
2-3 cups tomato puree or 3-4 large sized tomatoes
2 tbsp oil
2-3 green chilies
1.5 tsp ginger paste
1.5 tsp garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp amchur powder
1 tsp chili powder or red chili paste
Salt to taste
1.5-2 tbsp Everest paav-bhaji masala/ Home made paav bhaji masala (or more to taste)
1 tbsp butter

Preparation :-
1. Cut all vegetables into small pieces
2. Microwave all the vegetables except onions and potatoes for 10 mins. Other option is boiling them till they are tender.
3. Add boiled potatoes to these vegetables and use a potato masher to mash them slightly in a vessel. Don’t over-mash them
4. Heat oil in a deep saucepan and add green chilies and onions and sauté till light brown
5. Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté for some more time
6. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and salt to taste. Sauté for a few seconds
7. Add tomato puree and mashed vegetables
8. Then add paav-bhaji masala and butter
9. Keep sautéing with the potato masher till you gets a coarse blend. You can add a little water (around 1/2-1 cup) if required
10. Keep a lid and intermittently stir. Simmer for around 20 minutes for the mixture to completely blend
11. Add a pinch of salt and ½ tsp garam masala and ½ tsp amchur powder or paav bhaji masala to get a tangier taste
12. Add 2 tbsp of butter to it
13. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves, lemon slices and finely chopped 1 large onion
14. Slit the paavs and fry them on the saucepan with butter
15. Serve the hot bhaji with the paavs
16. Instead of using the Everest paav bhaji masala and other spices, one can prepare a home made mixture

Home made Paav Bhaji Masala -
. 1-2 inch ginger
· 2 tbsp coriander seeds
· 4-5 cloves
· 1 tbsp cumin seeds
· 4 dry red chilies
· 1 tbsp amchur powder
· 1 inch piece of cinnamon
· 1 tsp fennel seeds
· 1 tbsp garam masala powder
· A pinch of asafetida
Preparation
1. Heat a pan and heat the coriander seeds, cloves, cumin seeds, red chilies, cinnamon, asafetida and fennel seeds on a low flame till slight flames start coming and u get an aroma
2. Grind these with the remaining spices in a mixer
3. The home made paav bhaji masala is ready

LG of tasteofmysore suggested that I can send this as an entry for Think Spice.. Think twice: Mastic Gum or Fennel seeds event being hosted by Ivy of Kopiatse... to Greek Hospitality , the event is a brain child of Sunita of Sunita's world . I hope this entry gets accepted.

Shahi Paneer - Cottage Cheese cubes in rich tomato based Gravy

2009-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

Time moves so fast …it seems just like yesterday that we were looking forward year 2009, and here we are well into the year with one month almost gone. But as they say “good times fly…” so in a way I am happy that time is flying away :-) . Coming back to our New Year eve’s celebrations this time around we had decided to welcome 2009 in a quiet peaceful way. Unlike the noisy and boisterous New Year countdowns we have every year we stayed at home and waited for 2009 to come. We had a sumptuous home cooked meal, which included shahi paneer, sindhi dal and lacchedaar roti. We welcomed the new year with warm doughnuts and bubbling cold drinks .

The menu for the dinner was decided on the last minute after we came back from office. So I did a quick research for the recipe of shahi paneer and finally decided on a mix of Sanjeev Kapoor’s and Tarla Dalal’s recipes. The paneer turned out soft with the gravy rich and creamy, and it tasted even better the next day. Surprisingly it did not take much time to prepare also. After dinner, I got thumbs up from hubby dear and a quick photo of the remaining dish was taken and I was instructed to blog it as soon as possible : -D

So here is my recipe for Shahi Paneer: -

Ingredients –

Cottage cheese / paneer – Approx 250 gms

Tomatoes -3,Large sized, chopped
Onion – 1 medium sized, chopped

Handful of cashew nuts and almonds, ground to fine paste – the original recipe calls only for cashew nuts, but I added some almonds too.

Ginger, garlic, chili paste – 1 ½ t sp

Tomato paste – 1 tb sp

Garam masala powder – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ½ t sp
Turmeric powder – ½ t sp
Coriander powder – 1 t sp
Salt – as per taste
Oil – 2 tb sp
Kasoori methi / dried fenugreek leaves – 1 tsp
Coriander leaves – chopped finely for garnishing

Fry chopped onions, in oil till soft. Add ginger, garlic and chili paste, fry till its brown. Then add the tomatoes and fry for 6 to 8 minutes till they turn mushy. Cool the sautéed masala and grind to a puree add tomato paste to it along with 1/2-cup water. Now bring it to a boil and simmer on low flame.In the meanwhile cut the cottage cheese / paneer into medium size pieces. Shallow fry the paneer in oil without browning them. Keep it aside.
Now add all the dry masala to the puree .Add the cashew nut – almond paste in the puree. And cook it on low flame till the gravy is thick. Add the paneer pieces and cook till they become heated too.
I added dry roasted and crushed kasoori methi/ dried fenugreek leaves also for more flavor and aroma (this was not mentioned in the original recipes) Before serving garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapatti, paranthas or rice and enjoy !! :-)

Punjabi Rajma Masala - Punjabi Kidney beans in gravy

2009-01-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

Let me begin by wishing everyone a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !! . I have been very very irregular with my blogging offlate , the reason for this is that I am hardly doing any cooking these days :-) . My mother-in-law has been in town for the past couple of months and hence we have been treated to delicious home made food everyday . I make the same things using the same recipe , but somehow it never turns out as tasty as the ones she dishes out everyday . Probably this is a result of the long experience . Over the years she has discovered a lot of time saving tricks which she has been kind enough to pass on to me . Here I am sharing one of those time saving techniques for making the world famous - rajma masala . Usually we all associate Rajma with lots of soaking , boiling and then getting around to make the curry , according to my mother -in-law there's no need for that . Read on to find out her secret ..to a quick and the best tasting rajma that I have ever had :-)

Ingredients –
Kidney beans/Rajma – 250 gms
Medium sized onions – 2
Tomatoes – 2
Garlic – 6-7 cloves
Ginger – 1 inch piece – finely chopped
Turmeric powder – ½ t sp
Red chili powder – 1 t sp (adjust as per taste)
Garam masala powder – 1 t sp
Salt – as per taste
Asafoetida – a pinch
Coriander leaves – chopped for garnishing
Oil – 2 tb sp

Soak the kidney beans overnight with enough water. Make a paste of onions and garlic. Heat oil in a pressure cooker; add the asafoetida powder and then the onion and garlic paste. Sauté for a minute and then add finely chopped ginger. Keep sautéing till the onion becomes a little brown, and then add the red chili powder, turmeric and salt. Then add the tomato paste. Sauté till the oil starts separating from the masala. In the meanwhile drain the kidney beans and keep them separately. Add the pre-soaked kidney beans to the masala and sauté them till all the water evaporates. Then add about 1 –1.5 glass of water and pressure cook Keep the flame high till the first whistle and after that cook on low flame for about 20 minutes. After that let the pressure cooker cool. Once cool check for tenderness, if the beans are soft then add garam masala powder. If the beans are not soft then pressure cook for some more time. Once cooked properly garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steaming rice. You can adjust the thickness of the gravy as per your requirement by adding more water or boiling it some more to thicken it.

You can also boil the kidney beans with water and salt separately and then mix the beans and the water in the masala. Then let it boil for 10 minutes till the time the masala gets mixed well and the gravy thickens.

This is my first entry for the Legume love affair of Srivelli , I hope she accepts it . This event is the brain child of Susan of The well seasoned cook.

Masaledaar aloo aur Kuttu ki Poori

2008-10-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

While fasting I prefer to eat more of fruits or light food , but this particular combination is a must have during these Navratri fasts . The spicy curry along with the crunchy and exotic tasting poori not only fill your empty stomach but also bring life your deadened taste buds . This combination is prepared only during these nine days in our house and we do look forward to it . Once again the fast friendly tuber - potato is used in the curry . The gravy is made up only of spices , no onion, ginger or garlic is used in it and that is the reason we call it Masaledaar Aloo .

Kuttu ka atta or buckwheat flour is a popular substitute for the normal wheat flour. This flour is gluten-free and hence potato (once again !) is used to bind the flour together . This flour has a very different taste and the pooris are much more crunchy than the normal wheat flour pooris.

Masaledaar Aloo/Potato Curry :-

Potatoes - 2 large ones , peeled and cubed

Cumin seeds / Zeera - 1 t sp

Green chillies - 2 ( as per taste) , cut length wise

Coriander powder - 3/4 tb sp

Red chili powder - 1 t sp

Turmeric powder - 1 t sp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 t sp

Rock salt /sendha namak - as per taste ( you can use normal salt if you are not fasting )

Water - 2 cups

Oil - 2 t sp

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Heat oil in a pressure cooker , once hot add the cumin seeds and green chillies . Stir for a couple of seconds then add the potatoes. Stir nicely to coat the potato pieces with the oil . Then add all the spices( except garam masala) and mix for a minute till it becomes fragrant. Add water and close the pressure cooker . Keep on high heat till the first whistle and then lower the heat . Switch off the flame after second whistle. Open once its cool and then add garam masala . Mash some potato to make the gravy a little thick . Bring to a boil .

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving with parathas, pooris , rice dishes.

Kuttu ki Poori :- (makes about 8 pooris)

Kuttu atta / Buckwheat flour - 1.5 cup

Potato - 2 large ones - boiled and peeled

Rock salt/ sendha namak- as per taste ( you can use normal salt if not fasting)

Warm water - if required

Oil - for deep frying

Mash the potato , add it to the buckwheat flour, add a little salt also .Knead with hands till the dough becomes soft . If required you can add a little warm water or a little more potato (You can also add some chopped green chili , coriander leaves to the dough) Once the dough is ready keep it aside for 10- 20 minutes, then form small balls by rolling in your hands . Flatten and then roll them into small circles . Since the flour is gluten free the edges may spilt , do not worry just ensure that the pooris do not break from the centre. Add one poori at a time gently into hot oil . Deep fry till it becomes little golden brown on both sides.

Serve immediately with the potato curry and curd.

These combo goes as my entry for Navaratra-Festive food event being hosted by dear LG of Tasteofmysore.

Fried Potato with Cumin - Vrat Ke Aloo

2008-10-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

This is that time of the year again when we all fast and pray to Goddess Durga and all her avtars for nine days. Living for nine days with a number of our daily food items off the list means that there are a number of new dishes , different items on the menu.

These vrat ke aloo the recipe of which I am sharing with you is one of the easiest recipes , I usually make these and take them to office . One can make them as spicy as one likes. The recipe goes like this :-

Ingredients -
Potatoes - 2 large ones ( Boiled, peeled and cut into cubes )
Cumin /Zeera - 1 tb sp.
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Red chili powder - 1 t sp ( as per taste)
Garam masala - 1/2 t sp
Coriander powder - 2 t sp
Oil - 1 tb sp
Rock salt /sendha namak - as per taste
Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Heat oil in a pan , add the cumin seeds followed by green chillies . Let them sizzle for a minute of two, then add the cubed potatoes. Saute them well , add the salt , red chili powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder . Saute the potatoes till the time they become slightly crisp on all sides.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately .

You can top it with yogurt or sprinkle lime juice on it either ways it tastes awesome :-)

This is my entry for Navratri - Festive food event being hosted by dear LG of Tasteofmysore.

Soyabean Patties / Tikkis

2008-08-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Soya is something which I try to incorporate in my diet as much as possible. When I came to know that for August'08 the JFI is Soya , I started thinking about what to make . This was an opportunity to make something new ...after all I had a valid reason this time :-) .

I usually make Soya crispies ...which I would post someday soon ...but when we invited a few friends over for an evening tea ... I decided to make my version of soya tikki which I had read somewhere while searching for a good recipe . I made these healthy tikkis using very little oil though you can also fry these tikkis. Everyone loved these tikkis and needless to say that they disappeared as soon as I could make them . I would definitely make these more often , I am glad that now I have a new recipe to incorporate healthy soya in our diet.

Ingredients :-
Soya beans - 1 cup ( soaked and boiled)
Potatoes - 2 large ones
Onion - 1 large ( finely chopped)
Green chillies - 2-3 ( as per taste)
Coriander leaves - finely chopped ( 2-3 tb sp)
Red chili powder - 1 t sp ( as per taste)
Garam masala - 1 t sp
Amchoor / dry mango powder - 2 t sp
Turmeric powder - 1 t sp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 2 tb sp

Soak 1 cup of soya beans over night . Add a little turmeric powder and salt and boil these beans with little water ( I pressure cooked them in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles).
Roughly mash the boiled soya beans , add the peeled and mashed potatoes to it . Add the onion, green chillies,coriander and all the spices , mix them well.

Then form patties / tikkis , shallow fry them in a little oil . Fry till they are golden brown in color.
Serve hot with ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

This is my last minute entry for JFI- Soya hosted by Sia of monsoon spice, I hope she accepts it.

Offering for the Baal Gopal - Nariyal Burfi and Malai Ladoos

2008-08-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite festivals is Janmasthami ( birthday of Lord Krishna) mainly because of the memories associated with the same . It is the probably the first festival on which I would have "fasted" . The fast was only for name sakes though and I am sure I always ended eating a whole lot of delicacies .... this was one "fast" we always looked forward to . Another aspect was the "Jhanki" which we would set up every year ... we would use our toys , new figurines bought from the market to depict various events in Baal Gopal's life ... it involved so much planning and use of imagination and we kids would be busy the whole day . Evenings would go checking out other Jhankis.. comparing them , dressing up as gopis and krishna and going to temple. All in all it used to be a fun day for us .

This year I did not fast on this day due to many unavoidable reasons , however like my mom I prepared a few offerings for the Baal Gopal. I prepared a very simple NARIYAL BURFI ( Coconut burfi/fudge) and MALAI LADOOS . I also prepared the Makhana Kheer using the secret ingredient from LG of Tasteofmysore which I had got in the bloggers meet, but that will be a separate post.

They were both very simple and hardly took any time .

Nariyal Burfi -

Ingredients - ( about 10 pieces)
Dessicated coconut - 1 cup
Condensed milk - 1 cup
Powdered cardamom - 1 t sp
Oil - a little

Dry roast the coconut over low flame, till it becomes fragrant. Take care that it does not change color.
Then add the condensed milk and the cardamom powder. Keep mixing it continuously till the mixture thickens and starts separating from the pan. Switch off the flame and let it cool for 10-15 minutes . Take a flat plate and apply oil all over it , then spread the prepared mix over it . Flatten with a spatula . Keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour and then cut into diamond shape pieces .

Nariyal Burfi is ready :-)

Since condensed milk is already sweet , I did not add any sugar . You can sprinkle this with dried dessicated coconut if you want.

Malai Ladoos -

I read about this recipe in one Sanjeev Kapoor recipe book and had been wanting to make them ever since . Janmasthami seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so :-)

Ingredients : ( for about 10 ladoos)

Paneer/Cottage cheese - 1 cup (I used freshly made cottage cheese which had not been pressed into any shape, if you are using the hardened one then either crumble it or grate it)
Condensed milk - 200 ml
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Dessicated coconut - about 3 tb sp

Take the paneer /cottage cheese in a heavy bottomed pan . Heat it a little and then add the condensed milk . Keep stirring continuously so that it does not stick to the bottom.Take off the flame. Add the cardamom powder and stir well . Once its a little cool form into small ladoos.

I rolled the ladoos in dried dessicated coconut as malai ladoos are a little sticky and hence a little difficult to handle . I rolled the prepared ladoos in the coconut powder and coated them lightly . It also gave a slight taste of coconut to the final ladoo which we liked however you can totally avoid this if you want.

These two go as my entry for the Krishna and Ganesh Chaturthi event hosted by Purva of Purva's daawat

Two men and a chicken - MUGHLAI CHICKEN

2008-08-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

What happens when two men get one chicken in the freezer ...... a wonderful chicken curry is served for dinner . At least that is what happened when hubby dear and one of our good friend's R decided to make "special" chicken for dinner . Both of them are big foodies and they undertook this task to prove to me that men are better cooks than women ;-) .... in reality I don't mind them cooking even if it means that I have to keep praising them and nurturing their notion that they are better cooks ;-)

But jokes apart ...this curry came out really well and that is when I asked for their permission to put it on the blog :-) . I think anyone can be a good cook provided they do it with passion and love . As my mother-in-law always says anything prepared with love tastes yum !.

Since they decided on this recipe after an exhaustive internet search , I really don't know where they took the recipe from.

Here goes the recipe for this yummy "MUGHLAI CHICKEN" (Serves 4)

Ingredients :
800 grams chicken (whole)
1 cup(s) yogurt well beaten
1 teaspoon each of turmeric, garam masala and red chili powder
2 green chillies made into paste ( adjust according to taste)
1 tablespoon(s) each of ginger, garlic pastes
4 cloves
1" piece cinnamon
4 brown cardamoms peeled
8 black peppercorns 10 almonds
1 teaspoon(s) cumin seeds
2 teaspoon( coriander seeds
2 large onion(s) finely sliced
1 cup(s) tomato puree
1 cup(s) water
2 tablespoon(s) oil
salt to taste
fresh cream (optional) and finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Clean the chicken and then make small cuts in it .

In a bowl mix together half of the ginger-garlic paste and red chilli powder. Add the garam masala powder, turmeric powder, yogurt and salt to taste. Mix well. Rub this marinade into the chicken very well and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two.

In a pan roast together cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamoms and almonds till they are aromatic. Fry the sliced onions till brown. Allow to cool. Grind together browned onions, roasted spices, and the remaining ginger garlic pastes with a little water.

Heat some in a heavy-bottomed pan till hot add the chicken (without the marinade) and fry on medium level for about 2 minutes or till the chicken is browned lightly. Remove the fried chicken from the pan and keep aside.

Add about 1tb sp oil, heat it till hot and fry the paste on medium level for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, marinade, tomato puree. remaining red chili powder, water and sprinkle salt to taste. Mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes or till the chicken is fully cooked.

Garnish with fresh cream (optional) and finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati or paranthas.

The gravy is rich and creamy and tastes absolutely delicious. The chicken tasted even better the next day as all the flavors had really mixed together .

Paneer Bbq. sticks

2008-08-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

We had a barbeque party in June. This was our first attempt at hosting a barbeque party and hence I was a little nervous about hosting it . Will the food cook properly , will everyone like the seasonings …etc etc. To add to my jitters was the fact that one of the guests was a complete vegetarian who would not have even touched something which was even near any meat.

I had a number of recipes for meats…but what to make for a vegetarian…what would look great and taste even better. I mulled over this question for a number of days and then one day while browsing through my recipe collection I came across a recipe that I had noted down from a book sometime back. The original recipe was for chicken, I decided to use it with paneer and add some colorful vegetables to make this lovely looking bbq sticks.

I have the pictures of the sticks before we barbequed them, they were consumed before I could click a snap. …and that in itself proves that this was a successful experiment :-)

I hope to make these more often, now that we are confident that we can indeed host a barbeque party successfully. Our friends have been asking us about the next party already J so hopefully I will have more recipes to post in the near future and this time I will click a snap before I allow anyone to eat it ;-)

Ingredients (makes about 9 medium sized sticks)

Paneer / cottage cheese – 400 grams
Red/ Green bell pepper –1 large sized one/ each color
White onion – 2 medium sized ones
Lime – 3-4 depending on size
Bamboo skewers – 9- 10

For marinade –
For paneer/ cottage cheese
Crushed fenugreek seeds – 2 t sp
Amchoor powder / dry mango powder – 2 t sp
Garam masala – 2 t sp
Finely grated ginger – 4 t sp
Finely grated garlic – 4 t sp
Chili powder – 2 t sp

Turmeric – 1 t sp
Ground cumin powder – 2 t sp
Ground coriander powder – 2 t sp
Low fat yogurt – 300 ml
Oil - 1 t sp
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Salt – as per taste

For vegetables –

Olive oil – 1 tb sp
Lime juice – 1-2 tb sp (depending on sourness)
Ground pepper powder (black or white) -1 t sp
Salt – as per taste

Slice the cottage cheese into 1-inch cubes. Dice the bell peppers, onions into squares of 1 inch. Separate each layer of the white onion.

Dry roast the crushed fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala, till fragrant. Then blend all the marinade ingredients in a blender. Pour over the cottage cheese cubes. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Then marinate the vegetables with the olive oil, limejuice, pepper powder and salt. Keep aside for 15-30 mins. Also soak the bamboo skewers in water (this prevents them from burning while barbequing)

Then thread the vegetables and cottage cheese, alternating them, as you like. Once all the skewers are done, cook them on a medium hot grill or charcoal. Turn to the other side when one side is cooked or slightly charred.
Sprinkle lemon juice on the ready sticks and serve hot with mint chutney।

This is my entry for MM-Grill It hosted by Sig of Live to Eat

Spicy Rice - Phodnicha Bhaat

2008-07-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

Last month when I hosted SWC- UP , I was very impressed with the participation of my fellow bloggers. I am not a very regular blogger ..my blog gets updated once in a month maybe....I have a number of reasons for the same ....but last month I decided to be more prompt in publishing my posts and also to actively participate in the events happening in the blogosphere.

Here is my first attempt to be more active ....this is my entry for SWC - Maharashtra being hosted by Neha of easyntastyrecipes

Mahrashtrian cuisine is something that we have never tried consciously..while searching for recipes for this event I realised that this cuisine is more a part of our lives than we realise ....the days start with poha ...then we snack on Mumbai - chiwda.... vada pav is a family favorite... it came as a surprise to me that we actually relish so many Maharashtrian dishes without realising this.

I wanted to make something new for the event ... I had the opportunity to introduce a new dish in the menu so why let it go. I did some search and came across this easy breezy recipe . I tried it and it became an instant hit with hubby dear... now it will be a regular dish on the menu ..mainly because it is so easy ....... something which I am always on the lookout for ..

Ingredients -

Cooked rice - 2 cups ( I used left over rice of the previous day, you can also use freshly cooked rice)

Mustard seeds/ rai - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds / Zeera - 1/2 t sp

Turmeric powder - 1 t sp

Curry leaves - 10-15 leaves

Green chilli - 2-3 as per taste ( you can use red chilli powder instead )

Asafoetida / heeng - 1 pinch

Onion - 1 medium - chopped finely

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1/2 tb sp

Coriander leaves - For garnishing

Method - Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot add the asafoetida powder followed by mustard seeds , once they start popping add the cumin seeds. Then add the curry leaves, finely chopped green chillies and chopped onion. Once the onion is a little soft add the salt and turmeric powder.Fry for a couple of minutes then add the rice . Mix well and cover for 2 minutes till the rice is well heated.

Garish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

You can relish it with curd/ raita or just like that.

Gujhiya - Traditional Indian Sweet Puff

2008-07-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Last month when I was hosting SWC- UP I wanted to publish this post and send as an entry for the event.

Due to lack of time I was unable to publish it in time and so I am publishing it now. As anyone from UP, Bihar would know Gujhiyas are sweet delicacies which are made speacially on Holi . In some households they are also made on the occassion of Diwali . In my house , gujhiyas are made once in a year on holi and that is what made them special and more desirable.

Somehow , holi never seems complete without gujhiyas and hence I always try to make atleast a few that time of the year . My mother would make 100's of gujhiyas and they would all vanish within a couple of days ..... in our household gujhiya making was always a group acitivity with each member of the family having a specific part . Me and my brother moved up the value chain from making small rounds of the pastry to be rolled out to actually rolling it into small circles , then stuffing and folding them . My dad would be the one to fry these beauties ..and I remember all of us happily eating the first two - three lots while "tasting" them . There is nothing to beat a hot gujhiya...fresh from the fryer :-) . When we were teenagers ....my mom even involved all of our friends , we would all sit on the floor working in total synchrony , till date our friends remember the gujhiya making project ..especially those who were from different parts of the country and hence didnot make gujhiyas at home.

Someday I also hope to have a small gujhiya making assembly line at my home and carry forward this tradition :-) . I hope some of you would try this recipe and enjoy this experience as much as we did ...

The recipe is as follows -

For the pastry -

Maida / all purpose flour - 1.5 cups

Dalda/ Shortening - 4-5 tb sp.

Water - as required

Mix the dalda with the flour and rub it with your fingers , till the flour becomes a little oily and stays firm & retains its shape when you squeeze it between your palms . Then add water ( cold water ) and make a semi - soft dough . Keep it covered with a wet cloth.

For the stuffing -

Khoya/ Mava - 1 cup

Semolina / sooji - 1/2 cup

Dry coconut powder - 1/3 -1/2 cup

Powdered sugar - 1 cup ( as per taste )

Cardamom powder - 1 t sp

Dry fruits - pistachios, almonds, raisins, etc etc

Oil - to deep fry

You can check out the method for preparing khoya/ mava here.

Dry roast the semolina till it becomes fragrant. Keep it aside . Then dry roast the coconut powder till all moisture dries out . Then mix all the ingredients together in a dry pan and keep it aside . You can check the sugar levels as per your taste , as the pastry sheet is bland you will need to have a little more sugar in the mixture , hence adjust accordingly.

Once, the filling is ready , make small balls of the dough and roll them into small rounds "pooris" 10 - 12 cm diameter. Always keep the remaining dough covered to avoid it from becoming dry.

Filling the gujhiya can be the tricky part , as one needs to be careful to close it well . You can use curry puff makers , special gujhiya moulds are also available in India .... they make the task quite easy and also ensure that all gujhiyas are of the same size.

If you are using a mould then keep the poori in the centre of the mould such that the edges are evenly covered from all the side . Put one tablespoon of filling in the centre of the poori. Then apply a paste made by dissolving 1 tsp all purpose flour in 3-4 tb sp of water along the edges . This step ensures that both the sides stick to each other properly. Once the edges are properly covered with this paste , fold the mould and the result would be half moon shaped puffs .

If you are not using the mould then you need to keep the poori on your left hand palm, then put the filling in the centre , apply the paste on the edges and fold one half over the other to make a half moon . You can then leave it like that and press the edges tightly together or you can make a serrated design like I did .

Once you have 9 - 10 ready pieces , deep fry them over medium heat till golden in colour. If you intend to fry all of them at one go then cover these ready to fry gujhiyas covered with a wet cloth.

You can eat them immediately and also store them for upto a week in an airtight container.

Enjoy !!

SWC - UTTAR PRADESH ROUND UP

2008-07-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

It seems almost like yesterday when I posted the announcement for SWC- UP...... infact this is my very next post after the announcement . The last one month has been a whirlwind of activity .... with house hunting consuming all the weekends and packing taking up whatever time was left . Finally we shifted our home to a new one last weekend. Now the herculean task of making a home out of this new house remains to be done . We loved the old house and the convenience it offered...but we are hopeful that this new house would mean new beginnings and happenings for us.

Finding and making "my home" in this new "house" will take some time . Whereas everything had a fixed place in the previous house ..nothing has any fixed place in this house ....and everytime I open a carton I start wondering where to keep all the knick knacks that I have collected over the years ..finally after a lot of hard work the kitchen which is the "engine of the house" is settled and so is the "heart" the living room ..but as they say lots to do before I sleep :-) .

I have had a childhood in which I have moved from one place to another every few years and so shifting is not something new . However what was new was the resposibility of arranging, managing and settling everything . My mom used to ensure we get home cooked dinner on the same day we moved in ...during childhood shifting was more about discovering the new neighbourhood , exploring things ..not about arranging cartons, packing them, deciding what to take and what to leave behind :-( ...Oh I do miss the good old days !

Enough about my shifting ....let us come back to SWC- UP the event started by my good friend Lakshmi di of tasteofmysore. The response of my fellow Singaporean bloggers was amazing .... I tried to answer to all their mails ..however I apologize to those whom I couldnot reply to ... as you can imagine I was a little hard pressed for time ...

Uttar Pradesh is known for its chaats and pakoris ..and this experience is incomplete without the mouthwatering kachoris . Many of my fellow bloggers made kachoris in the past month and they all sent the tempting entries with the photographs to torture me ;-) . Looking at the number of entries I got for kachoris ..they win hands down for being the most popular dish . Have a look at some of these stumptous beauties.

Neha of easyntastyrecipes made delish khasta daal kachoris

Khasta Kachoris made by Lakshmi of cookingstation or LG as popularly known in the blogosphere made me drool .

Vani of Illatharasi also made kachoris which would make you want to grab a few too and forget all about calories for sometime ;-)

Sheetal of sweety-mykitchen also did her bit to torture me with her khasta kachoris

Once you have had your fill of these kachoris ..you might need to help your system settle down a little with this appetizing aam panna which is my contribtion to the event.

Now that we are done with the chaats and the appetiser we can move on to the main course .... I am extremely proud to say that we have a huge spread here ...... right from simple home-made dishes to stumptous one's which are part of a special meal we have all of these here ..

Priyanka of asankhana contributed all of the below mentioned dishes ... I can imagine the party she has been having all this month ;-) I bet the hubby would have been a very happy and satisfied soul ;-).

Banarasi Bharwan aloo

Preeti of IndianKhanna sent the following delicious entries . Once you see them I am sure you would also want to be invited over to her place ;-)

Aloo Gobhi ki subji

Dal peta

Shahi Bhindi

Stuffed bittergourd or Kalonji

Gobhi parantha

Sheetal of sweety-mykitchen sent in the following entries

Mathura ke khaste aloo

Kesari misthaan

Anupriya of myspace-mycreativity sent in delicious palak paneer.

Prajusha of icookipost sent in carrot halwa a must have winter dessert.

Rashmi the delhibelle sent in this wonderful Awadhi biryani ....this one can be enjoyed by the vegetarian friends also as it is made of jack fruit.

Shifa of Voizout sent in peas pulav .

Rupali a non-blogger fellow SWC member sent in the recipe for shahi paneer

Ingredients-

- 250gms Paneer

-1 onion finely chopped

-2tsp ginger garlic paste

-3/4 tsp turmeric powder

-1 tsp red chili powder

-1 tsp coriander powder

-1 tsp garam masala

-2 bay leaves

-2 cloves and 2 cardamom

-3-4 tsp cream

-1/4 cup dry fruits

-1/2 cup milk

-1 cup tomato puree

-6-8 tsp cooking oil

-salt to taste.

How to Prepare Shahi Paneer

-Cut paneer into small pieces.

-Pour oil in frying pan.

-Fry paneer pieces on medium flame until light brown,now take out on tissue paper.

-Fry bay leaves,cloves and whole cardamom in remaining oil

-Add chopped onion in oil and fry until it become transparent.

-Add ginger garlic paste and fry until it become golden brown.

-Add tomato pure and cook it for 7-8 minutes.

- Add red chili powder,turmeric powder,coriander powder,garam masala and salt,saute the mixture for 2 min.

-Add milk and dry fruits to the gravy and let it boil,cook it on medium flame untill the gravy turns thick.

-Now add paneer cubes and cook for about 5 min.-Shahi paneer is ready to eat,Garnish with coriander,dry fruits and cream

She also sent in the recipe for methi paranthas -

Ingredients For Methi Paratha

-2 Cups whole wheat flour

-1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

-1/2 tsp red chili powder

-1 tsp Ajwain

-1 tsp cumin seeds

-1 tsp coriander powder

-salt to taste

-1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves

-2 tsp Ghee or oil

-Mix the wheat flour and all above ingredients.

-Make a soft dough using warm or normal water,knead the dough well.

-Leave it for about 15 to 20 minutes.

-Divide dough into equal parts and make small balls.-Roll out small round parathas from each ball.

-Now apply oil on it and fold it from middle.[u will get half round shape]

-Again apply oil and fold it from middle now u will get triangular shape.

-Make it round with hands.

-Roll out proper parathas[must be slightly thicker compare to chappaties]

-Heat the griddle and cook the parathas from both sides.

-Apply ghee or butter on both sides.

-Hot methi parathas are ready to serve.Taste yummy with curd raita.

We have one entry from a friend in Michigan, USA ...Nidhi of charchechaukeke has sent in this lovely entry of choode matar ki tehari

A sepcial note of thanks to Vani of Illatharasi for making the logo for SWC . Really good work Vani !!

I would like to thank all of you for participating with so much enthusiasm. This is probably the SWC with maximum number of entries till date. I enjoyed hosting this event and interacting with you all immensely ,.As much as I wanted to I couldnot reply to all your mails I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me for that.

I would also like to thank Lakshmi of cookingstation for giving me the opportunity to host this event. I hope I have not let you down and have met your expectations.

I have tried to mention all the entries that I got ..but just in case I have missed out any please let me know and I will include that entry also .

Next round of SWC is being hosted by Neha of easyntastyrecipes , the theme is MAHARASTRA. You will find all the details on her blog. Happy cooking !! :-)

Announcing SWC-Uttar Pradesh (UP)

2008-06-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Situated in the northern part of India, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has the distinction of being the most populous state of India. In terms of area, it is the fourth largest, among all the states. The wealth of its monuments, mystical call of its mountains and lakes, and the religious fervour that it evokes, have rendered Uttar Pradesh, one of the most fascinating states of the Indian Union. Whether one is on a spiritual quest, or in search of adventure, or just on a curiosity trip,or a culinary adventure Uttar Pradesh has something to offer to everyone.

Uttar Pradesh has been a melting pot of various cultural and religious influneces which came in with the different dynasties - Mughlai being one of the major ones' among them . These influences are visible in the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh ....it ranges from totally vegetarian (without onion, ginger-garlic) food to rich mughlai cuisine. It has the simplicity of dishes like khatte aloo, tehari on one hand and the richness of mughlai murgh and navratan korma. Simple phulkas are cooked in the same place as rumali rotis and sheermal ...... sweets like imarti, balushahi, barfi, rabadi..... the list goes on and on.... make life a little more sweet and bearable. Food is such an integral part of life in UP that almost every major town and city has some food item associated with it . Who would have not heard of the Petha of Agra, the pedas of Mathura, the paan of Varanasi, the kebabs of Lucknow, the list can go on and on.....

When my good friend Lakshmi of thetasteofmysore asked me whether I would like to host SWC- Uttar Pradesh I was thrilled . This is the first time I am hosting an event and I am both thrilled and nervous . Thrilled as this would give me an opportunity to interact with all other bloggers in Singapore , nervous because I have never ever hosted an event and I am afraid that I might miss out on some entry or might not be able to do a good work in presenting the round-up.

Well whatever happens I am sure I will learn a lot and also make some new friends on the blogosphere.. for now I will have to think of something to cook as an entry.

And all that you have to do is :

1.Cook a dish which has its origin in UP/Awadh region

2.Take a pic.

3. Attach a brief recipe with the pic and photo and send it to me at nupur.raizada@gmail.com

The last date for sending in your entries is 30th June'08 , just send in your entries before that .

Beat the Heat with Aam Panna - Refreshing Mango Drink

2008-05-25T04:02:00.001-07:00

Summers are here with a vengeance ......the days are hot and sultry and the fans are churning hot air ..giving no relief. Singapore summers have started reminding me of the Indian summers and I am truly convinced that it was not this hot last year .Call me paranoid....... but every hot and sweat filled day makes me feel surer that Global warming is a present reality and not some distant phenomenon which you see the weathermen and scientists discuss on Discovery channel. I have always been very pro -recycling and having lived in areas where regular water supply was a dream .....I try to be very careful about the amount of water that I use ..... I am sure that each one of us is trying to do our bit for the environment ...but now its the time to join hands and do something more ....make more people realise what is going on and convince them to make changes in their habits ............ I know its easier said than done ...but Please do try ..and let me know what are your ways of trying to save our precious planet.
Well coming back to the heat and the means of beating it .....my mother always used to make jugfuls of this delicious drink ...needless to say it was happily consumed throughout the day and it kept all of us safe from the dreaded heat strokes even when the temperatures neared 50 degree Celsius.
As the name suggests the main ingredient is Raw mango..... traditionally these deliciously sour unripe mangoes are used as an antidote for heat and heat strokes ( the pulp of grilled or roasted raw mangoes is applied on the forehead , palms and soles of people suffering from heat stroke to bring down the body temperature ). The other ingredients mint ( another herb used to prevent body heat) , green chillies , salt, sugar all help in replenishing the lost body salts and restore the energy levels .

The recipe is as follows -

Raw mangoes - 2 medium sized
green chili - 3 -4
Mint - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 4 tb sp.
Salt - as per taste
Black salt - 1/4 t sp.
Water - 4-5 glasses
Ice cubes - lots

Roast or boil the mangoes with their peels on . Once cooked remove the peel and remove all the pulp .

Grind the mint and green chillies to a fine paste . Add this paste to the mango pulp , add the sugar and salt . Mash everything well , then add water ( about 2 glasses ). Mix the contents in a blender . If you want you can strain it through a strainer to remove any fibres . You can store this liquid for 2-3 days in the fridge .This concentrate should be sweet - sour , with salty taste and a little tinge of heat from the chillies . The sweet and salt should be more as this is later going to be diluted with plain water.

As an when required , mix this concentrate with cold water and add ice cubes . Serve !!

This is my first entry for the event SWC- Uttar Pradesh which has been started by my dear friend LG of tasteofmysore and is being hosted my yours truly.

Mooli Paranthas - Stuffed Indian Bread with Radish Stuffing

2008-04-30T09:01:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking of publishing this recipe since a long time . Hubby dear has been quite insistent that I post it .....and so one fine day when I was making these ....hubby dear came with the almighty camera and clicked some snaps . Needless to say they are one of our favorite foods....they make for a filling breakfast / brunch/ dinner . Simple , easy to make , filling and completely satiating these paranthas represent the best things about Punjabi cuisine ....

Now that my friend LG decided to host the RCI -Punjab on her new blog Cooking Station I knew I had to take out these photos from the cold storage and publish this post. After having promised her umpteen times to send the entry I am finally sitting just a minutes away from the deadline ....I hope that she would accept this entry with my sincere apologies for being such a lazy bone .

Ingredients -

For the filling :

Radish/ Mooli - 2 ( medium size, grated coarsely)
Green chili - 2-3 ( as per taste)
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Carom seeds / Ajwain - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tb sp
Salt - as per taste

For the dough :

Wheat flour - 2 cups
Water - as required

Oil for frying

Method :

Make the dough with water , knead it with hands or in a food processor to a medium firm dough ( it should not be soft otherwise it would be difficult to roll it into a parantha after stuffing)

Wash and peel the radishes to remove the outer skin. Then coarsely grate the radish , leave it as it is for 5-10 minutes . Then firmly squeeze the grated radish and drain all the water , keep repeating this till the time almost no water is squeezed out.

Then add the coriander leaves, chili powder, carom seeds and green chili. Mix well the whole mixture . Add salt at the end ( the salt and chili should be a little on the higher side , because it will be compensating for the salt less dough )

The final filling

Make a small ( slightly bigger than a golf ball ) ball from the dough and roll it into a circle after dusting with plain flour. Then take this rolled out dough in one hand and put about a tbsp. of filling at the centre . Then bring all the sides to the centre and pinch them tightly . Then roll it into a ball , dust with plain flour and roll out into a circle with very light hands .

Simultaneously heat a girdle /tava and once hot put the rolled out parantha on it . Once slight brown specks appear at the bottom of the parantha turn it over and apply oil all over the surface . Then turn over to the other side and apply oil . Cook evenly on both sides till you get brown specks on the surface of the parantha.

Serve immediately with a dollop of butter / fresh cream or Pickles and Curd.

I am also sending this as an entry for the Roti-mela being hosted by Srivalli of cooking4allseasons.

Yogurt Potato In Sago Boats

2008-04-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

First of all let me begin by wishing all of you a very happy Navratri !

For the information of all those who do not know or celebrate this festival - Navratri is a Hindu festival celebrated twice in a year all across India . The first Navratras are celebrated in September/ October , generally with a lot of revelry , night long dances and songs , whereas the second navratras celebrated in March/ April are traditionally more sombre .

Navratra - when literally translated means "nav" - nine and "ratra" - nights . Devotees fast for nine days giving reverence to Goddess , Goddess Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped for three days each . You can know more about this festival here .

This year I also decided to fast for all the nine days . I have done this before and did not think it would be too tough . I mean how tough would it be to live on fruits and tubers ...I love fruits ..I can have them anytime of the day . But six days down the line I have realised that this requires a lot of determination and will power to go without your favorite foods . Also the fact that this time around its me who is doing all the cooking and that I have been unable to find the traditional food that we have during this period has made it a tad more difficult than I anticipated .

After sustaining myself for six days on fruits , potatoes , sweet potatoes and sabudana (Sago) , I got a little sick of having boiled , grilled , fried potato or sabudana Khichdi ( I will be sharing the recipe for that also .... but some other time ) . So while I was thinking about how to make my dinner a little more interesting I took out all the things that I can eat ..which is not much basically the things I have already listed above . I took out some sabudana papad ( which I got from India ) and tried to microwave them by brushing them with oil ( forever trying to limit the fat intake ...that's me !! ) and what I got was these saucer shaped papads ......and then it struck me ...why not make something that looks like katori chaat ...and this recipe was born :-) . It definitely looked great and tasted different , I can also experiment a little more when my choices are not so restricted , they can be perfect starters ....the ideas are floating around in my mind ....uuummm ! well maybe I can write about them some other time.

Ingredients ( makes 6 boats )

Sago/ Sabudana papads (poppadum) - 6 ( I used the salt less version , you can use the salted ones )

Potato - 1 large ,boiled and sliced

Cumin seeds - 1/2 t sp.

Yogurt - 2 tb. sp.

Salt - as per taste ( I used sendha namak , you can use plain iodized salt)

Red chili powder - as per taste

Turmeric powder - 1/2 t sp.

Green chili - 2 finely chopped

Garam masala - 1/4 t sp.

Oil - 1 tb sp.

Coriander leaves - chopped for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil , add the cumin seeds ... let them brown a little , then add the green chili . Then add the chopped potato , add the salt , red chili powder, turmeric. Mix everything and let the potato get a little fried . Then add the garam masala powder and saute a little more . Then lower the flame and mix in the yogurt . Once mixed , switch off the flame .

Lightly brush the Sago papads with oil and microwave them for 1.40 - 2.00 mins till all the sago granules have popped . Keep them aside. You can also fry the papads , although the size would increase in that case...but nothing beats the taste of fried papads ...Right !! ( Too bad I have to watch my fat intake :-( )

Now take each papad , scoop out the potato and put a scoop in the centre . Garnish with the coriander and sprinkle a little red chili powder . The heat of the chili powder tingles your taste buds and the red color makes the dish look oh! so appetizing.

The final dish was great looking , it also had the crunchiness of the papads , the smooth texture of the potato with the sourness of the yogurt . All in all an interesting way to have the "Vrat ka khana ".

Split Pea Soup

2008-03-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

Off late I have been trying to eat healthy ...tell hubby dear that and he would respond by wondering when did I cook something that was unhealthy ..... Thanks to me his intake of favorites like fried food and sweets has become almost zero :-) .

Split peas or dried peas were used as a alternative for fresh peas long before technology gave us the convenience of using fresh peas whenever we felt like irrespective of the time of year. When we were kids I remember mom making aloo-matar and other dishes using these dried peas , we were not exactly crazy about dried peas back then. But now things have changed ever since I have read about the health benefits of having dried peas I have tried to incorporate them into our meal .

Dried peas can lower cholesterol and also manage blood sugar due to their high fibre content which prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal.Dried peas also provide good to excellent amounts of four important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein--all with virtually no fat. In addition they also have isoflavones the consumption of which has been linked to reduced risk of certain types of cancers.

You can read more about the health benefits here

Well recently hubby was travelling and I was looking for recipe which was new and healthy .... I had soaked some dried peas without having any definite idea about how to use them, I didn't want to make the usual dal we make and so I thought of making a soup . I did some net surfing and came across a number of soup recipes ..... but almost all of them used some meat . I didn't feel like having meat and so decided to make a completely vegetarian soup . The results were great to say the least , the soup was filling and satisfying and I am definitely going to make it again.

Ingredients (serves 2 )

Dried peas - 1/2 cup

Carrot - 1 large chopped into large pieces

Onion - 1 large one

Coriander leaves and stalks - a fistful

Freshly ground black pepper - as per taste

Salt - as per taste

Water - 4 cups

Soak the dried peas for 4-6 hours . Cook the peas with chopped carrots, onion and the coriander stalks . Traditional recipes call for cooking the peas over a slow flame for 4-5 hours just letting it simmer at a low flame , but I just pressure cooked them with about 3 cups of water . I cooked it over medium flame till I got two whistles and then let it cool . Once cool separate the water and puree the peas, carrot and onion etc with just enough water . Mix the contents with the rest of the stock ( you can strain the mixture to separate the hard skin of the peas and the fibrous part of coriander stalks) . Again simmer the soup at a low flame till the desired consistency is achieved . Add salt and crushed pepper . The soup is ready to be served. Garnish with heavy cream , bread croutons and coriander leaves.

P.S. :-The non-veg lovers can add chicken sausages while cooking the peas , or at a later stage while simmering the soup. I tried it another time and it just adds to the flavor .

Red Lobia Beans Curry

2008-03-02T04:02:00.000-08:00

I love red lobia beans ....... its very nutritious and very very tasty . There are many ways of enjoying these beans ....Curry being one of them .

Recently when I went grocery shopping I found these favorites of mine occupying a small shelf. Needless to say I was extremely happy to see them there and I couldn't wait to come home and soak them up for a great meal the next day .

These beans need a little planning as they need to be soaked at least for 3-4 hours and preferably overnight before being cooked, but I truly think that it is worth the effort .

We make a number of dishes with them , dal , curry , dry subzi , soup, salads etc etc.... today I want to share with you one of my favorites ways of cooking these beans .

Red lobia beans curry

Ingrediants - ( Serves 3 )

Red lobia beans - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 large

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Green chillies - 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Garlic - 3 large cloves ( 8-9 small ones )

Cumin seeds - 1/2 t. sp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Coriander powder - 1 t. sp.

Red chili powder - 1/2 t. sp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 t. sp.

Garam masala - 1/4 t. sp.

Oil - 1 tb. sp.

Salt -as per taste

Water - 2-3 cups

Soak the reb lobia beans overnight in a lot of water , they will increase in size . Next day remove the water and wash the beans well . Keep them aside.

Roughly chop the onions , ginger and garlic and then blend them with little water make a coarse paste . Also blend the tomatoes separately into a paste . Keep them separately.

In a pressure cooker heat the oil, once the oil is hot add the asafoetida followed by the cumin seeds . Once the cumin starts crackling add the green chillies ( slit horizontally into two) . Then add the onion , ginger and garlic paste . Saute it well so that the onion becomes translucent , then add the coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder . Saute for a couple of minuted then add the tomato paste .

Keep the flame medium and let it reduce , saute the masala till the oil starts to separate , now add the garam masala powder and saute the masala for a couple of minutes till you start getting a nice fragrance from it . Then add the lobia beans , mix well , add salt and then add about 2 -2.5 cups of water . Close the pressure cooker . Turn on the heat till the cooker gives out one whistle , them lower the heat to minimum and let it cook for 2-3 whistles after which switch off the heat and let cooker cool down.

Once the pressure is gone then open the cooker and mix the Subzi so that some beans get mashed up . Simmer it to the required consistency. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or paranthas.

Sookhi Moong Dal

2008-02-24T02:39:00.000-08:00

This is one of those dishes which always reminds me of my aunt C......whenever we would got to visit her during our summer holidays this would be one of the items on the breakfast table...this was one of those dishes which my mom would rarely make and hence I would always take spoonfuls of this whenever I got an opportunity.

I like this dish because its a simple , healthy and light breakfast item which is a great side dish , though I can have it all by itself for breakfast.

After I got married , I made this and it turned out slightly mashed ...as I had added too much water , so I ended up having to cook something more acceptable for breakfast . Then I never tried it again for a long time ...then one day when I was all alone ( hubby dear having gone for a business trip ) I gave it another try this time being very careful about the amount of water I added and it turned out perfect ..... that gave me the courage to try it once again when hubby was around. But it was rejected .. much to my sorrow .. as it was perceived as a dish from UP and anything that was not Punjabi was not acceptable .

So this dish again got pushed to the background , with paranthas and other dishes hogging the limelight of the breakfast table .

Then suddenly one day a miracle happened ....hubby dear mentioned one evening that I can make this dal for breakfast .....I was amazed at this change of heart and could not believe my ears ...

After much deliberation I decided that the unthinkable had actually happened ....and so after 3 long years of humiliation ..the moong dal finally got its position on our weekend breakfast table..

The dish would require some planning in the sense that the dal needs to be soaked for atleast 30 minutes , but the rest is real simple.

Split moong dal - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 big ( finely chopped )

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece ( finely chopped)

Green chilli - 2 finely chopped

Zeera / Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/4 t sp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 t sp

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tb sp

Water - 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup

Finely chopped coriander leaves - for garnish

Lemon - 1

Soak the split moong dal in water for 30-60 minutes, the dal would increase in size after soaking . Drain all the water and keep the dal aside.

In a wok/ karahi ( wide mouthed utensil ) heat the oil , once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds . Once they start spluttering add the ginger followed by the onion and green chilli.

Stir for 2 mins till the onion becomes translucent , then add the drained split moong dal . Add the salt, chilli powder, turmeric and mix it with a light hand . Then add 1/2 cup of water and cover the vessel . Reduce the flame to medium , after 5 minutes open the cover and check the dal , if it is not cooked ( it should retain its shape but at the same time would be soft) then add a little more water and again cover ( add only a little water , if you add more water then the dal would get overcooked and break ) . Once the dal is cooked , stir it lightly with the ladle and wait for all the water to evaporate and fry the dal a little ( go light on stirring , as the dal would break with vigorous stirring).

Check for salt then garnish with coriander leaves. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Grilled Garlic Chicken

2008-01-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Garlic ...wow ..... !! That was the first thought which came to me when I came to know that Garlic is the chosen one for Think Spice . Images of big garlic pods and smell of garlic...man was I happy and excited.

But this initial euphoria was followed by a thoughtful phase ...what do I make which is different and new ?? That was the million dollar question . Then while I was trying to make a low oil grilled chicken as a part of a week long detox that it hit me .....why not have chicken which is infused with garlic . Since I was the only one who was going to have it ..I could afford to take the risk ...even if it didn't turn out to be good ... it would be one of those experiments about which no one needs to know. ;-)

But this one did turn out to be good ...in fact it turned out so good that I made it the next day ..as a special request ;-)

As all other much loved recipes it is a simple and healthy one....and here it goes

For 2 adults -

Chicken breasts - 2
Garlic - 6-7 cloves ( big ones)
Lime juice - 2 tb sp
Olive oil - 1 tb sp
Pepper powder - 1/2 t sp
Chili flakes - 1 tb sp
Salt - as per taste
Polythene zip lock pouch - 1

Clean the chicken breasts , removing all the extra fat that might be there . You may pound the breasts a little to ensure that they are equally thick all over . This would ensure equal cooking throughout and also helps in getting the seasoning into the chicken.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and make small incisions ( 3-4 / breast) . Take the garlic cloves and pound them so that they break open . Mix the olive oil, garlic pods, lime juice , chili flakes , pepper powder, salt to make the marinade . Put the chicken breasts in it and mix them well .Then insert the garlic pods into the small incisions on the chicken. Pour the whole thing into the polythene zip lock pouch and seal it . Refrigerate for 30 mins. to 2 hours .

When you want to have your meal , take out the chicken and put it on the grill ( I use my good old frying pan ) Let the chicken sizzle on the pan ... turn it after 3-4 minutes and cook on the other side. Ensure that the garlic stays inside the incisions ..this will ensure that the garlicky taste and aroma gets well inside the chicken

Cook both sides till they are brownish ...serve this chicken with oven roasted vegetables, salad ..rice ..almost anything you fancy .

You can drizzle it with some lime juice if you want to .

I am sure anyone who likes garlic would love this chicken.

This is my entry for Sunita's Think Spice - Think Garlic event .

Idlis with a Twist

2007-12-16T05:12:00.002-08:00

We love South Indian food .......and Idlis are the most favorite of all .....simple to make, non -fatty .... we all have our reasons for loving these delicate beauties .

The only problem I used to have was that the preparation required before you get to the stage of steaming them ...... what if you wanted to have idlis one fine morning ...and you do not have the batter ready with you ......believe me this can be a BIG problem in a north Indian household like mine......then one fine day I saw my mother-in-law making these beauties without any preparation in advance ......and I had to learn this recipe ...I did learn and now I am sharing the recipe with you all ...

The beauty of this recipe is not only the fact that it is INSTANT ...but also that it allows me to add some nutrition to idlis making them more healthy ...now isn't that a great twist !!!

These idlis are made of rava ( sooji, cream of wheat) and I add a healthy dose of veggies ..all this makes them a perfect healthy breakfast or snack for me .

Rava idlis ( 12)

Sooji/Rava/ Cream of wheat - 1 cup

Curd/yoghurt - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1/2 t sp.

Salt - as per taste

Water - as required

Idli stand

For the tadka -

Oil- 1 tb sp

Rai / Mustard seeds - 1 t sp

1 small onion - sliced lengthwise

Green chilli- 1

Carrot - 1/2 roughly grated

Capsicum - 1/4 finely sliced

Salt- as per taste

Red chilli powder - 1/2 t sp

Take the sooji/rava , mix the curd and salt to it to make a paste . Add a little water if required to get the required consistency. Drop 1 tbsp of the mixture on each cup of the idli maker ( ensure that you have smeared some oil on the cups beforehand). Steam the idlis for 8-10 minutes.

Take the stand out and let it cool a little before removing the idlis .

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil for the tadka , add the mustard seeds . Heat till they add spluttering, add the onion . Saute for a minute then add the chopped green chilli , then add the carrot . Add the salt and red chilli powder . Let the carrot and onion cook for 2-3 minutes then add the capsicum . When the capsicum is semi cooked , add the idlis ......turn them carefully so that they do not break . Let the idlis fry a little so that the color and flavors are imbibed by the idlis. Cook for 3-4 minutes .

Serve these idlis with coconut chutney or tomato sauce ....or just have them by themselves ...they taste yummy every way.

Its movie time folks.......

2007-12-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

Yes !! it is movie time ....after a long time I could get the time to sit and actually watch a complete movie uninterrupted ........ All the activity before and after the India trip ....meant that I missed out on all the movies released in the last couple of months .

Usually we are the first show ( well maybe not the first show ) but definitely the first week audience for any movie that we have decided is worth watching . I am not ashamed to say that movies are our favorite to dos for the weekends ...the whole excitement of rushing to get the tickets ..the smell of popcorn and hot samsoas ...the well dressed crowd ....... movie theatre in Singapore is the 2nd place where I get to see so many Indian faces ...and all that somehow makes me feel a little more close to the country ...

Well since I missed out on the whole lot of pre-diwali and diwali releases ...I decided to catch up by having a show all for myself at ....where else but Home sweet home ......the DVD was set , the lights were dimmed ....the phones switched off ....but wait ..how can we watch a movie without the all important POPCORN.......this time around hubby dear was in his sweet and benevolent mood ....not ignoring the fact that he is the popcorn expert of the home and so he made a whole lot of hot and enticing popcorn for me ...and we happily watched the movie ......but obviously not before I clicked a few photos of the same :-)

Popcorn ( just enough for 2 popcorn loving people )

Dried corn kernels - 1 cup
Butter - 1-2 tb sp.
Salt

Take a heavy bottomed pan ( with a cover) ( I use my irreplaceable pressure cooker) , put it on medium flame . Now add the butter and a little salt ....When the butter starts melting ...add the corn kernels and mix the whole thing nicely.

Keep stirring the mix for a few minutes .....now cover the pan ( ensure that it is partially open ) . Keep the flame medium ...after about 2-3 minutes the corn would start popping . Keep it on the flame till the time the popping continues ....It would take 3-4 minutes . Now switch off the flame and serve the popcorn after tossing it with a little more salt.

Popcorn is ready to be enjoyed....................

Killing three birds with a stone - That's what its all about

2007-12-09T02:14:00.000-08:00

Isn't it great when we can prepare three absolutely different dishes , while making effort for just one .....

Today I am sharing with you one..no no actually three such ways of utilising / consuming one simple Moong daal pakodas . It has been raining cats and dogs here since the last couple of days .....perfect season for a plate of hot sizzling pakodas with a steaming cup of tea . Yesterday I made Moong dal pakodas ..and as always I made a whole lot of pakodas ( you will soon know why ).

Moong dal pakodas take a little planning in terms of having to soak the split moong dal ( yellow one) for atleast 30- 60 minutes before hand . But once you have done it ....you can sit back and relax as you can have these pakodas as starters , main dish or a very good accompaniment.

Let's start with the pakodas first , I made a whole lot of these , but here I am giving you the recipe for about 10 - 12 medium size pakodas -

Moong dal pakodas

Split moong dal ( yellow one) - 1/2 cup

Green Chillies - 2-3 ( depending on how hot you want the pakodas to be )

Ginger - 1/2 inch , chopped fine

Salt - as per taste

Baking soda - 1/2 t sp.

Red chili powder - as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Soak the moong dal in sufficient water for about an hour . Then rinse it well with water and grind in the blender with about 1 tbsp of water ( you can add a couple of green chillies and ginger while grinding also , however I like to add them later) . Grind the dal to a batter , which is grainy when you feel the texture of the batter , it should not be absolutely fine. Now pour the batter in a relatively bigger vessel and add the salt, chili powder , green chili , ginger and the baking soda . Whisk the batter briskly with hand or a flat spoon so that it becomes a little fluffy . This would make the pakodas soft and light . Heat the oil in a deep wok and once it is hot spoon the batter carefully into the oil. The pakodas would immediately rise up . Keep frying them till they become a lovely golden color . Take them out of oil and drain the excess oil by keeping them over tissue paper / kitchen towels.

Serve them hot with tomato ketchup / coriander chutney or any other sauce of you liking.

Chances are that you wouldn't be left with any left overs , but just in case you do have some pakodas left do no fret .....you can use them to make either of these two dishes .

Moong dal pakoda Curry

Dahi pakodi

I always make a lot of pakodas when I get the chance ( this happens rarely because of the concerns about getting over weight etc etc) . I make some pakodas with salt and some without salt as I use the salt less pakodas to make a wonderful curry and I find it easier to adjust the salt levels .

Moong dal pakoda Curry

Moong dal pakodas - 10-15

Onion , large - 1

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 8-9 small pods

Green chili - 2-3

Curd - 1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1/2 t sp

Red chili powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 t sp

Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp

Tomato - 1 large

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tb sp

Water - as required

Grind the onion, ginger,green chillies and garlic to a paste in a blender . Keep them aside.

Then grind the tomato to a paste also.

Then heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan . Once hot add the cumin seeds . As the cumin seeds splutter add the onion,ginger,green chillies and garlic paste and saute the same till it becomes translucent. Then add the turmeric and red chili powder , saute for 2 minutes till the water in the paste almost dries up . Add the tomato paste and keep sauteing till the oil starts to separate from the masala . Then slowly add the beaten curd into the masala , 1 tbsp at a time . Mix the curd well into the masala and keep sauteing the masala at low flame till oil starts to separate from it. Then add about 1 cup water to it and cover the pan. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes over low flame till the gravy is well cooked ( keep the gravy a little thin . because when we add the pakodas , they soak up some water ) . Then add the garam masala and salt to the gravy .

( if you are using pakodas with salt then add a little less salt to the gravy and in case you are using unsalted pakodas then add a little more salt as the pakodas would soak up some salt).

While the gravy is cooking , soak the pakodas in hot water for 5-10 minutes ( this makes the pakodas soft and also helps in taking out some oil from them) . After 10 minutes , drain the pakodas and squeeze them lightly between the palms before adding them to the ready gravy .

Let the pakodas soak in the hot curry for about 15 minutes before serving .

You can garnish the curry with coriander leaves . This tastes amazing with roti/ parantas .

And last but not the least a great accompaniment to a meal ......Dahi pakodi...

This is one of my favorite ways of having the pakodas .... even after 2-3 days of refrigeration ....just dunk the pakodas in warm water and let them soak for 5-10 minutes . In the meanwhile prepare the yogurt ....take about 2 cups of yogurt ( curd) , beat it well ,add salt , red chilli powder , roasted ground cumin powder , a little black salt ( all as per taste) ....mix it all well . I even add a pinch of sugar ( I think it makes the taste interesting) . Take out the pakodas ( about 6), squeeze them lightly between your palms and soak them in the ready curd mix. Garnish with red chili powder , cumin powder , coriander leaves . Serve them as an accompaniment or separately as chaat or snack ...they taste great !! ;-) and the best part is that no one would complain about being served left overs ;-)

I am back now ....

2007-12-02T04:10:00.000-08:00

There has been a long - long break from blogging for me .....No this was not an intentional one by any means ...... let's just say life happened to move too fast around me and I got caught up in its whirlwind . Guests at home , bouts of illness for both me and hubby dear , maximum work load at office , our annual India trip and my only brother-in-law's wedding ( loved every minute of it ) ...all this happened during this break and I am still catching my breath after all this ;-)

But now I am back and I promise to be more regular than I have been till now .....I just came back from my annual India trip and I am loaded with recipes of yummy food ;-) ....and I cannot just wait to post them all here .....But I am still getting the house and office in order and as soon as I get a grip on both of them I shall share all those recipes with all of you .

Till than take care and keep those cooking pots boiling and the stoves burning . :-)

Instant Rava Uttapam

2007-10-07T04:11:00.001-07:00

This is yet another instant recipe that comes to my rescue when I have run out of ideas for breakfast . The rava and the vegetables make it a wholesome and healthy way to start the day .I use minimal oil while making it and that makes it even more healthier. It is an ideal breakfast for both bachelors and families , when you want a breakfast filling enough without making too many efforts. This photograph is not of the best uttapam that I have made , but till the time I get around to making this and actually get the chance to take a decent photo I guess this one will have to do. :-)

INGREDIENTS -

( For 4 medium size uttapams)

Rava/ Semolina/ Sooji - 1 cup
Curd/ Yogurt - 1cup
Water - as required
Onion - 1/2 medium size , chopped finely
Tomato - 1 medium size ,finely chopped ( I used cherry tomatoes as I had a few languishing in my refrigerator)
Green chili - 1-2 as per taste
Capsicum - 1/4 finely chopped ( I did not have any so I did not add it , but it tastes wonderful)
Salt - as per taste
Red chili powder - as per taste
Coriander leaves - 1 fistful , finely chopped
Oil- for making the uttapam

METHOD-

Take rava in a vessel and add half of the curd ( the more sour the curd is the better it tastes) , add water so that the batter that is formed is of medium consistency. Let it stand for 10 -15 minutes , in the meanwhile you can chop up the vegetables .
After 15 minutes , the rava would have soaked up the water and the batter would have become thick , add the remaining curd and mix well . Now add the vegetables ,salt , chili powder and mix the batter once more.
Take a frying pan and heat it over the stove , add a few drops of oil and then spread a ladleful of the batter on the pan . Spread it a little with the ladle. Now pour a few more drops of oil over it and cover the pan with a cover . Let it cook for a couple of minutes , then flip over to the other side and cook similarly.
When both the sides are well cooked ( slight brown spots would appear) , serve hot with tomato ketchup or the traditional coconut chutney.

Crisp Plantain (raw banana) Fritters

2007-10-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

When I saw that bananas have been chosen as the ingredient for JFI last month , as usual my mind started racing , thinking about all the things I knew could be made using bananas .

As I belong to the Northern part of India where Bananas are consumed mainly as a fruit , there were hardly any north Indian dishes I could thing of . But then thanks to my dad's transferable job we have had the opportunity to live in different parts of our amazing country. My mother being a firm believer of the health benefits of having fresh and in season fruits and vegetables , did not hesitate to include the locally available goodies into the menu. She would take the recipes from her friends and then modify them to suit our palettes.

This is one of such recipes . I don't know from where she picked it up ...but it used to be a big hit with us especially on a rainy day . We used to have a number of banana trees in out back yard and I remember my mother picking a fresh plantain and then making these fritters for us.Both me and my brother loved the crisp fritters , with the subtle taste of the plantain enhanced with just salt and chilli.

Nowadays I hardly make any thing which is deep fried , but much to the glee of my husband these blog events give me an incentive to pour oil in my wok and pick up my karchi to fry something....

The recipe goes as follows -

INGREDIENTS -

Plantain/ raw banana - 1

Rice - 1/3 cup ( soaked in water for 2-3 hours)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 t sp

Salt - as per taste

Red chili powder - 1/2 t sp

Salt - as per taste

Oil - for deep frying

METHOD -

Coarsely grind the rice into a paste ( it should be coarse to touch and not a fine paste)

Add the salt, turmeric and red chili powder to this rice paste

Wash the plantain and peel off the peel. Cut diagonally into pieces of medium thickness.

Mix the plantain pieces into the rice paste and cover them with the rice paste well.

Deep fry 4-5 pieces at a time till the plantain is cooked.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup ,coriander chutney , or any other chutney of your choice

These can also be served as a part of lunch or dinner.

Healthy carrot salad

2007-10-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Okie ...let me start off with a confession ......I was supposed to post this one way back as an entry for RCI-Karnataka ....its actually my take on the traditional Kosumbari...my friend and blogging guide Lakshmi di of Taste of Mysore was kind enough to tell me this recipe so that I could also participate in this event hosted by Ashaji .... But even though I had done all the preparatory work , the salad was made , photos taken somehow I never got around to posting it ... and this has continued for more than a month . I guess it was some kind of a phase going on.

Well Lakshmi di is now back from her India trip and I got the gentle nudge from her for missing all the deadlines :-) ......this combined with reduced work load and hubby's absence due to an official trip has got me back to the computer jotting down this post.

I have changed a few things in the original recipe ....for starters I have used sprouted moong dal , mainly because I am a firm believer of the health benefits of sprouts and also because it adds a nice lush green color ....this when combined with the bright carrot red and white of the coconut makes this salad such a visual treat .... and isn't it true that food should appeal to all our senses of vision, smell, touch and taste. Also I added chopped green chillies instead of chili paste
mainly because I was too lazy to make a paste.

I made the salad as follows -

INGREDIENTS -

Whole green moong dal - 1/2 cup ( soaked overnight and then left to sprout in a wet cloth for the whole day - would give more than 1 cup of sprouts )
Carrot - 1 cup ( roughly grated )

Coconut - 1/2 cup ( roughly grated)

Lime - 1

Green chillies - 1-2 ( depending on how hot u want the salad to be ..the original recipe needed green chili paste ..but I was too lazy to make a paste and i just chopped them finely )

Salt - As per taste

Black pepper powder - as per taste

Chopped Coriander leaves - 2 -3 t sp. ( for garnishing)

METHOD -

Wash the sprouts under running water so that there is no smell in them ( that happens if you keep the sprouts in a closed box for sometime , because of the carbon di oxide which the sprouts produce) . Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl. Add lime juice , salt ,pepper powder and toss the salad well . Set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes , it serves better when it is cold.

Serves : 2 people

Bread Poha

2007-09-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone …posting this recipe after a long time. Increased work load , followed by a bout of viral kept me busy all these days and as a result I couldnot make and subsequently blog something interesting . These photographs were languishing in the pending folder for quite a longtime and so I thought I would post this recipe just to become active again. A simple recipe for a hearty breakfast …using all the left over bread slices which are not stale enough to be thrown but not fresh enough to be eaten also.

Once after 2 years of marriage I remembered this recipe when I had a whole lot of semi stale bread slices and decided to make it for a weekend breakfast, and since then I have been making it regularly on request from hubby dear. Infact, many a times he puts in his request on a Thursday or a Friday itself ;-) …..

The recipe is real simple and you can freely incorporate your own ingredients.

INGREDIENTS :-

Serves 2

Bread slices – 8
Eggs – hard boiled –2
Onion – 1 medium sized, chopped
Tomato – 1 medium size – chopped finely
Boiled potato – 1 medium sized
Peas – ½ cup
Green chilies – 2
Mustard seeds – ½ t sp
Oil – 1 tb spoon
Milk – ½ cup
Red chilli powder – ½ t sp
Turmeric – ½ t sp.
Salt – as per taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing

You can add chopped carrots, capsicum, and baby corn if you wish.

METHOD :-
In a pan heat the oil and add mustard seeds. Once they have stopped spluttering, add the chopped onion and green chilies. Sauté the onion till it becomes pinkish in color, and then add the finely chopped tomatoes. Add the salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir 2-3 times. Cook till the tomatoes are squishy. Then add the chopped boiled potato and peas . Cover the pan and cook on low flame till the peas are cooked.
In the meanwhile, slice the bread pieces into about 2 cms squares and keep them aside. Also slice the boiled eggs into squares.
Once the peas are cooked, add the bread slices to the pan and mix well. Sprinkle the milk over the slices, mix and immediately cover the pan. The milk will evaporate and make the bread soft. Keep the flame low otherwise the bread will get burnt. After 2-3 mins open the pan and mix the poha lightly and add the boiled egg pieces. Garnish with coriander and serve with tomato ketchup.

Poori Mania - Palak/ Spinach Poori with Kala chana and Sooji Halwa

2007-08-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

When I saw pooris being blogged on every blog that I visited ...I thought what is all with this poori mania ????........

A little more blog patrolling revealed that Anita of A Mad Tea Party has started this and declared poori - bhaaji as the national food of India. I must say I whole heartily agree with her, but instead of making pooris with bhaaji .....I decided to make poori with the traditional kala chana " black chickpeas" and Sooji halwa , which are my hubby's favorite also.

Traditionally this combination is made at the end of the nine days fasting period called "Nav ratra" in the northern parts of the country .

Pooris have become a rare treat these days with the increased awareness about the HDLs and LDLs ..but this combination is always welcomed in our home and you can serve this for any meal of the day and be rest assured that it will be devoured with much gusto and happiness ;-) . I added palak "spinach" to the poori dough to assuage our guilt about devouring them and also to add a little more taste and color to it.....well here comes my recipe for the same.

Palak Poori ( about 15 )

Wheat flour - 1.5 cups

Palak/ spinach - 1 bunch

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Clean and wash the spinach and then boil it in a pressure cooker with very little water. After 2 whistles , remove the cooker from the stove and cool it under running water . You can also use a microwave for this purpose .Puree the spinach in a blender .

Take the flour in bowl and add the salt. Then add the 1 tb sp oil and rub the flour well between your fingers. Then add the spinach puree to the flour and knead to make soft dough . If the puree is not enough then you can add a little water to prepare the dough. Set the dough aside for 15 mins after covering with a moist cloth.

Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them into small circles with the help of a rolling pin . Deep fry these circles in hot oil . Puffed up delicious pooris are ready !

Sooji Halwa ( for 2 people)

Sooji/ Semolina - 1/2 cup

Besan / Gram flour - 1 tb sp.

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/3 cup

Cardamom - 2-3

Water - 2 cups

Dry fruits - as per taste

Dry roast the sooji in a pan till it becomes fragrant . Then add the besan/ gram four and stir for a minute . Add the ghee to this mixture and keep stirring continuously . Fry till the time the ingredients become light brown ( some people like the halwa to be whitish or a little pale ...if you like it that ways than you can stop the roasting at that stage , I like mine a little dark in color so I roast it a little longer) . Lower the flame to minimum and add crushed cardamom . Then add the sugar and immediately add the water . Let the mixture simmer at medium flame . Keep stirring continuously till the consistency becomes thick . Take off the stove and garnish with dry fruits of your choice.

Food for little goddesses - Zeere Wala Chana

2007-08-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

This dish is made in almost all North Indian households atleast two times in a year at the end of the nine day fasting period called the "Nav Ratra" . Usually this is served to all the young girls who are invited to the house that day . These young girls are believed to be the incarnations of Goddess Durga and are hence treated like that on that day . In my household we make it more than two times simply because we both love this dish .

When I saw Sunita's spice event 'Think Spice Think Cumin' , I thought of a lot of dishes like Zeera rice , Zeera aloo ...but then everyday I saw someone making them , blogging them and sending their entries to Sunita. With each passing day I ran out of options ....and then it struck me that I can make this recipe . But as usual I managed to miss the deadline set by Sunita :-( I seem to be developing an expertise in missing all these deadlines .

Well , though I missed the deadline I still made this dish and here I am sharing it with you all .

Zeere wala Kala Chana / Black chickpeas with Cumin

Black chickpeas/ Kala Chana - 2 cups

Cumin - 1 tsp.

Green chillies - 2-3

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Dry mango powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Asafoetida - a pinch

Oil - 1 tbsp

Soak the black chickpeas overnight and then pressure cook them with 3-4 cups of water. Add a little salt while pressure cooking the chickpeas . Cook till 4-5 whistles.

Once cooked drain the chickpeas and keep them aside .

In a pan heat the oil . Add a pinch of asafoetida to the oil and once you can smell it add the cumin . Then add the chopped green chillies followed by the boiled chickpeas. Stir well so that all the chickpeas are covered with oil . Then add the red chilli powder and coriander powder followed by the salt. Stir well till the chickpea is well fried and all the water has dried . Take the pan off the flame and when a little cool add the dry mango powder and stir well .

Traditionally it is served with pooris and sooji / atta halwa. You can serve it as a side dish with any wet /gravy . It can also be a part of the breakfast or a snack by itself .

Express Recipe - Potatoes in a light and fragrant tomato gravy

2007-08-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

When I read about the Summer Express Cooking Event being hosted at malluspice..I was a happy person ..coz I knew exactly what I had to make .

But then as it happens when you are over confident ...I did not realise how fast time flew and before I knew the deadline was here...and then I had to actually run and time everything ;-)

As a result ...I am just sending the recipe of one part of a complete meal for this event :-(

This is a simple recipe .....a perfect one for those days when its too hot to stand in the kitchen or when you are hard pressed for time .

The gravy is totally tomato based and low in oil content - hence a healthy recipe too ...

Ingredients :-

Potato - 1 large , peeled and diced into medium size pieces

Tomato - 2 -3 large

Cumin seeds /zeera - 1 t. sp.

Red chilli powder - as per taste

Green chilli - 1-2 depending on taste

Turmeric powder - 1/4 t sp.

Garam masala - 1/4 t sp. ( as per taste)

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tb. sp.

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Cooking time - 20 mins

Serves - 2 people

Method :-

Wash all the vegetables together . Then peel and dice the potato .

Puree the tomatoes in the blender .

Now in a pressure cooker , add the oil . Once the oil is hot enough add the cumin seeds and finely chopped green chillies. Once they stop spluttering , add the potato pieces . Saute for a minute , then add the tomato puree , salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder.

Close the pressure cooker and let it be on high flame . After the first whistle , reduce the flame . Take the cooker off the stove after the 2nd whistle.

Once a little cool , open the pressure cooker and keep it on medium flame add the garam masala and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes . Mash the potato a little so that the consistency becomes a little thick . Take off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

I usually team this with matar pulav or some other rice dish , plain curd, papads and salad.

This can be served with paranthas/chapati also.

Note : - One can add peas to add color and flavor to the dish .

Phirni - traditional Indian Rice Pudding

2007-08-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Somethings hold a special place in the heart because of the memories associated with them . This particular dish is one of those things for me .....a very simple but delicious dessert ..this used to be the favorite ..made on all those small celebrations ..... highest marks in a class quiz, getting selected on some team . We used to celebrate all those small victories and accomplishments and phirni used to be a part of it :-) . Though I don't get to make this dessert that often now ....not because of the lack of occasions for celebrations ...but more so because of the wish/need to watch the calorie intake :-(

Someday when I have kids and I will need to celebrate their achievements and successes ..then maybe I will again get a chance to relish this favorite of mine :-)

Since it is served when chilled , summer time is the ideal time to make and relish this dessert. The gulab jal /rose water added also has a cooling effect on the body.

I saw that Rice is the selected ingredient for this month's JFI hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam a plethora of recipes involving rice ran through my mind. But finally I chose this simple , cooling and sweet dessert as my entry into the event , not to mention that I got to make and eat it with my dear friends not to forget all with the "legitimate reason" of needing an entry for the event ;-)

Phirni / Traditional Indian rice pudding - Serves 6

Ingredients :-

Rice ( any white rice would do ) - 1/4 cup

Milk - 1 litre

Sugar - 6-7 tb sp. ( as per taste)

Rose water/ Gulab jal - 1 tb sp.

Dry fruits of your choice - as per taste

For this dessert , we need to soak the rice in some water for 1 hour or so and then grind the rice . The rice should be ground a little coarsely and not into a paste .

In the meanwhile , take a thick bottomed pan and heat the milk in it .Once the milk starts to boil , lower the flame and let the milk simmer for 15 -20 mins . Once the quantity has reduced a little add the rice paste into the milk . Add the paste very very slowly and constantly stir the milk as you do so . This step is very important , because if not stirred properly and constantly lumps will form and we do not want that to happen .

Once all the rice has been added to the milk , keep stirring the milk constantly for the next 10 mins . Ensure that the rice does not settle down and stick to the bottom of the pan. While stirring the milk you will notice that the consistency changes and it will have a creamy consistency.

Now , take the pan off the flame and add the sugar . Stir a little so that the sugar dissolves .

Once the contents of the pan are a little cool , add the gulab jal /Rose water and the finely chopped dry fruits .

Keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours .

Serve chilled !

Chicken Do Pyaza

2007-07-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

This one is the quickest and the easiest way of preparing a Indian style chicken dish that I am aware of ...... again a vintage mom's recipe which I love for the ease and simplicity ... According to mom the story goes that this dish was invented by the chefs of the Nawab of Awadh during one of the hunting trips of the nawabs.During the hunt the chef was so caught up in the action that he forgot to make preparations for the elaborate dishes he had planned . So , the chef just chopped up all that ingredients and tossed them into the pot . The result was a simple dish and aromatic dish that the Nawab loved this one so much that it became on the favorites of his...

I don't know whether the story is true or whether it was mom's invention to satisfy the umpteen questions I used to have about everything ...but it definitely makes for an interesting anecdote which I love to share with whoever is willing to listen ;-) .

Now this chicken do pyaza is quite different from the one you would have had in restaurants ...you will not find chuncky pieces of onions etc in this one ...but the taste would definitely make it one of the favorites .... and the good thing is that you donot have to spend hours in the kitchen "bhunoing" the masala as is the case with most other north Indian non-veg dishes ....just roughly chopped up onions,ginger ,garlic....lots of whole spices and the chicken ...toss them all into the ubiqitous pressure cooker ..and let it cook ....and after 20-25 mins ...voila your dish is ready :-)

Ingredients :-

Chicken - cleaned - 3/4 kg

Onion - 3/4 kg - 3-4 large onions - roughly chopped

Ginger - 1 and 1/2 inch - roughly chopped

Garlic - 6-7 large pods - roughly chopped

Tomato - 2 large

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece

Cloves - 6-7

Black pepper - 7-8

Whole black cardamom - 1

Whole dried red chillies - 9-10

Green cardamom - 2

Oil - 3-4 tb sp.

Red chilli powder - 1tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Garam Masala powder - a little

Method :-

Clean up the chicken pieces and keep them aside. Roast all the dried whole spices on a warm pan till you can smell the aroma , then just crush them slightly . Heat up the oil in the pressure cooker , once the oil is hot add the whole spices , saute for a minute , then add the roughly chopped up garlic and ginger followed by the onions ..(we need a large quantity of the onion coz it will make the semi dry gravy in this dish).Once the onions are translucent , add the tomatoes saute till it is a little soft ...now add the chicken . Saute till the chicken becomes white in color .Add the red chilli powder , turmeric powder and salt and saute for 2-3 minutes . Then close the pressure cooker and keep the flame on high , after the 1st whistle lower the flame to low . After the 2nd whistle , turn off the flame and after depressurizing the cooker open it . There will be a lot of water left in the cooker so put the cooker on the burner and cook till almost all the water has evaporated .Then add the garam masala powder and mix the contents a few time so that everything is well mixed and the oil starts to separate a little . Taste for salt ....put in the serving dish and garnish with coriander .

Serve with Chapatis/parantha/rice .

Serves : 4

Note : since the dish is semi dry it will be better to serve it with a raita or even plain curd.

Cooling Watermelon,Pineapple & Feta cheese salad

2007-07-11T08:51:00.001-07:00

Watermelon is the fruit of summer.....and what do we all look for in the sultry heat ...something cooling !!
Well when I saw that the "Fruit of the month" was my favorite watermeon I was delighted . A little search over the net revealed a number of ways of utilizing this beautiful and gorgeous fruit for making lovely and tasty dishes.

Salads are a favorites in the summers ..so here's a colorful , cooling and gorgeous looking salad using this fruit . The firm texture of the pineapple wonderfully complements the watermelon and the feta cheese brings just the right amount of surprise element into the salad.

Ingredients :-

Watermelon - cubed - 1-2 cups
Pineapple - cubed - 1-2 cups (same quantity as watermelon)
Red onion - finely chopped - 2 tbsp.
Feta cheese - crumbled or diced - 3 tbsp.
Mint- finely chopped - 1-2 tbsp.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice - 2-3 tbsp.
Freshly crushed/ground black pepper - as per taste
Salt - as per taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and toss well .Refrigerate for 1/2 - 1 hour before serving. Add salt just before serving and toss well. Adding salt earlier will lead to a soggy and watery salad which we donot want. So go ahead and happy tossing :-)

This is my entry for A Fruit A Month (AFAM) - July I hope it is accepted :-)

Watermelon Icer

2007-07-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients :-

Watermelon - cubed and deseeded - about 2 cups
Orange juice - 1/4 cup
Yoghurt - 3 heaped tbsp.
Vanilla essence - 2-3 drops
Ice - 1/2 cup

Method :-

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend well .

Pour in a glass and decorate with a sprig of mint and a slice of orange/lime...

A wonderfully mellow and cooling drink is ready.

Serving - 2 medium sized glasses

This is my second entry to A Fruit A Month (AFAM) - July .....couldn't help myself I love the fruit too much :-)

I hope it is accepted too .... ;-)

Kidney beans Sandwich

2007-06-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a result of my experimentations .... Kidney beans is one of the favorite foods of my hubby and so I thought of using it in a new way . I have taken the basic recipe from Mexican recipes using refried beans. Breakfast is usually a hurried affair for most of us rushing to catch the bus to office , getting the kids ready for school ..and doing hundreds of other things .... the beauty of this recipe is that you can make the filling and store it in the fridge ...then in the morning all you need to do is to make the sandwich and grill it ...
Well enough rambling about my reasons for loving it ...here is the recipe for all those who might want to try it :-)

Boiled and mashed Kidney beans /Rajma - 1 cup
1 Medium sized onion - finely chopped
1 Medium sized tomato - finely chopped
3-4 pods of garlic - finely diced
1/4 inch Ginger - finely diced
Green chillies - 2-3 (depending on taste)
Salt - to taste
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Asafoetida/ Hing powder - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp.
Oil - 2 tb. sp.
Water - 1/2 cup
Mozarella cheese - Grated - 1/2 cup
Bread slices - 6-8

The procedure :-

In a pan heat up the oil . Once the oil is hot add the asafoetida , then add the chopped garlic and ginger followed by the onion and green chillies. Sautee till the onion is translucent , then add the tomato . Cook on a medium flame till the tomato is well cooked and mixed with the rest of the ingredients , then add the red chilli powder , salt . Then once the oil starts separating from the mix in the pan add the mashed kidney beans and mix well . Then add the water and cover the pan .Let it simmer at low flame . This allows the various flavours to blend together and make a wonderfully creamy mixture . Then after about 3-4 minutes add the garam masala and then recover the pan . Cook till the ingredients have mixed well and then remove from flame.

Then apply this mixture evenly over a slice of bread , spread a layer of mozzarella cheese and cover with another bread slice . Apply a little oil over the outer surface of the bread slices and grill the sandwich . This will melt the mozarella cheese. Once well grilled , cut the sandwich diagonally or serve as it is ...

A healthy and nutritious breakfast is ready . :-)