I think it is impossibe for me to sum up in a post of what i thought was best as per entries...but i can definately tell the best thing about having this blog is getting to know so many like minded and talented individuals and also making a few friends on the way.
I started the blog as an outlet for my love of food. I think all of us have a need to communicate with people who share our ideas and sometimes even our obsession....and when you do not get anyone around you who thinks about food like u do and is willing to be a sacrificial goat for your nonstop blah- blah about it ...there comes a quest to find people on the same wave-length.I am obviously glad to have found that common bond here.
For the coming year..i really have no plans..but again i am an impulsive person..so for me to make plans would be a sort of a passport to break it..so all i can say is i will continue on this blogging journey and strenghten my friendships and build new ones....oh yeah! i will not bother about spellcheck in the coming year b'coz it does nothing for me..after the post is done i see so many of em!!...so be prepared guys ;)
Now Nupur will give me a kick on my ass if i go thru writing all this bull and not give my faves..so my top 5 picks for best entries would be:
1. Peanutty Noodles
2. Tomato Cheese Salad
3. Oolan
4. Oatmeal Pongal
5. Lauki ki sabzi
I chose these 5 coz i thought photos looked good with minimal effort...i really have no patience and all my photos are click..upload and post....and i assure you this will not change in future too :D..i shall continue to be lazy ;D
This is off to charming girl Nupur who blogs at the popular One Hot Stove and is hosting the Best Of 2007
Take care all you guys..and have a fantastic 2008.
Saturday
Monday
Cinnamon doodh gola
actually i wanted to make doodh peda..but that sweet has a mind of its own!! I am really nervous when i make any desert with milk..coz i am a lazy cook. i really do not like stirring something for a long time and when the sweet starts to come together i panic and invariably take it out before it is of the right consistency...lending it to be chewy..Then comes my part of trying every shortcut in the book and in the end i decide to shape these into mini balls.
After a few days of healthy eating i decided to postpone ;) the healthy eating saga for the new year and decided on making an indian sweet. Now as all of us know..cooking sort of revolves around events..i decided to make doodh pedas with cinnamon as the flavoring agent instead of saffron or cardamom which is usually my spice of choice for this.
I was happy with the cinnamon touch..but honestly i felt i could have added a little more..but you know how overpowering cinnamon can be and i was taking it easy. Here is the recipe....
Ingredients:
Sweetened Fat-free condensed milk - 1 can (14 oz)
Fat free milk - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 1 tbls
Freshly grated cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp. (if you are using pre-ground..you can use more)
Greased plate
Method:
1. In a pan combine all the above and cook it on medium flame stirring at intervals. Do not stir too much..as u need the darn stamina towards the end!!
2. When the mixture starts to come together and thickens..keep stirring vigourously and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and is basically seperating from the pan. When it comes to this phase keep ur concentration of the pan and cook for a few minutes.
3. After stirring for a few minutes...pour the mixture to a greased pan and let it cool for 10 -15 mts and make slices.....if you have the mahaan kaam like me and taken out a little before the mixture is totally done..you can shape them in balls or you can put the mixture back in the pan...stir for a few more minutes till it is done.
Notes :
1. I personally think these tasted great ...but the completely finished goody is not chewy and has a fantastic texture..i will try to reach that mark next time....
2. I think 1/2 a tsp. of cinnamon would have rendered a more cinnamony taste....
Now this is off to Sunita who blogs at
Sunita's world and whose spice of the month is Cinnamon.
After a few days of healthy eating i decided to postpone ;) the healthy eating saga for the new year and decided on making an indian sweet. Now as all of us know..cooking sort of revolves around events..i decided to make doodh pedas with cinnamon as the flavoring agent instead of saffron or cardamom which is usually my spice of choice for this.
I was happy with the cinnamon touch..but honestly i felt i could have added a little more..but you know how overpowering cinnamon can be and i was taking it easy. Here is the recipe....
Ingredients:
Sweetened Fat-free condensed milk - 1 can (14 oz)
Fat free milk - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 1 tbls
Freshly grated cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp. (if you are using pre-ground..you can use more)
Greased plate
Method:
1. In a pan combine all the above and cook it on medium flame stirring at intervals. Do not stir too much..as u need the darn stamina towards the end!!
2. When the mixture starts to come together and thickens..keep stirring vigourously and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and is basically seperating from the pan. When it comes to this phase keep ur concentration of the pan and cook for a few minutes.
3. After stirring for a few minutes...pour the mixture to a greased pan and let it cool for 10 -15 mts and make slices.....if you have the mahaan kaam like me and taken out a little before the mixture is totally done..you can shape them in balls or you can put the mixture back in the pan...stir for a few more minutes till it is done.
Notes :
1. I personally think these tasted great ...but the completely finished goody is not chewy and has a fantastic texture..i will try to reach that mark next time....
2. I think 1/2 a tsp. of cinnamon would have rendered a more cinnamony taste....
Now this is off to Sunita who blogs at
Sunita's world and whose spice of the month is Cinnamon.
Friday
Fruit Nut oatmeal bar
As i had mentioned earlier..i am trying to eat healthier and all of us know when the mid-afternoon hunger strikes..many of us venture to places ( vending machines....coffee shops..kitchen) to fill up on food you feel like kicking ur behind for later ;)..i made this bar as i can carry a couple in my purse and eat it when i want. i have been eating this for breakfast too as i am always running late and need something to eat as i drive...if i may say so...in crazy speeds ;)
I got this recipe from 'the vegetarian times' but as usual they have used eggs and i do not eat eggs...so I pretty much did my own thing and added and subbed what i wanted and it turned out pretty good. My only bone of contention is the pic of the bar the magazine is lovely...tight neat bar with all the nuts and chocolates peeking out...mine looks hideous :D..tastes good tho :D
Ingredients:
Rolled Oats: 2 1/2 cups
Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Baking Soda: 1 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Baking powder: 1/2 tsp.
Dried cherries: 1/2 cup
Dates: 1/2 cup
Dried Apricots: 1/2 cup
Walnuts: 1/2 cup
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Molasses: 1/2 cup
Oil: 1/4 cup
Soy milk: 1/2 cup
Flax meal: 2 tbls
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk the flax meal and soy milk till frothy.
3. Mix all the other ingredients in a big bowl and add the above soy-flax mix well.
4. Take a 9*13 baking pan..line it with parchment paper and add the above batter.
5. bake for 30-35 mts till a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.
6. The bars are a little soft and chewy....i cut these into 24 pcs (6 columns and 4 rows) and wrapped each piece in cling-wrap so that they are portable.
Calories per bar is 165.
Notes:
1. You can use any combo of nuts..in hindsight i felt i should have added some almonds too...
2. Use of parchment paper ensure that the bars do not stick to the pan and you do not have to use any cooking oil...but if you do not have parchment paper..try alluminium foil...i think greasing the pan will still not ensure all hte bars coming our ;)
3. The original recipe called for maple syrup..i think that would have given the bars a lovely color..so use honey or maple syrup for a lighter colored bar and perhaps light brown sugar too.
This is off to the mom and daughter team who blog at the the 'yum' blog who are hosting the AFAM - dry fruits...
I got this recipe from 'the vegetarian times' but as usual they have used eggs and i do not eat eggs...so I pretty much did my own thing and added and subbed what i wanted and it turned out pretty good. My only bone of contention is the pic of the bar the magazine is lovely...tight neat bar with all the nuts and chocolates peeking out...mine looks hideous :D..tastes good tho :D
Ingredients:
Rolled Oats: 2 1/2 cups
Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Baking Soda: 1 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Baking powder: 1/2 tsp.
Dried cherries: 1/2 cup
Dates: 1/2 cup
Dried Apricots: 1/2 cup
Walnuts: 1/2 cup
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Molasses: 1/2 cup
Oil: 1/4 cup
Soy milk: 1/2 cup
Flax meal: 2 tbls
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk the flax meal and soy milk till frothy.
3. Mix all the other ingredients in a big bowl and add the above soy-flax mix well.
4. Take a 9*13 baking pan..line it with parchment paper and add the above batter.
5. bake for 30-35 mts till a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.
6. The bars are a little soft and chewy....i cut these into 24 pcs (6 columns and 4 rows) and wrapped each piece in cling-wrap so that they are portable.
Calories per bar is 165.
Notes:
1. You can use any combo of nuts..in hindsight i felt i should have added some almonds too...
2. Use of parchment paper ensure that the bars do not stick to the pan and you do not have to use any cooking oil...but if you do not have parchment paper..try alluminium foil...i think greasing the pan will still not ensure all hte bars coming our ;)
3. The original recipe called for maple syrup..i think that would have given the bars a lovely color..so use honey or maple syrup for a lighter colored bar and perhaps light brown sugar too.
This is off to the mom and daughter team who blog at the the 'yum' blog who are hosting the AFAM - dry fruits...
Wednesday
Mjadra
I love Middle-eastern food and its delicate but definite use of spices and the way the flavors all come together..flavorful but not too overpowering. We have a really good middle-eastern restaurant near our place and i used to eat there often...but no longer go there as the restaurant owner has been called for some really serious charges and i have no desire to support that cause with my money.
So...here i was craving the food but i did not like the mjadra at any other restaurant..so my quest for a good recipe started from the internet. I mainly looked for this recipe from a middle-eastern person..as my thought process is usually the natives know the best..thought there are exceptions we know :)
I mentioned about mjadra to my friend and she got me this recipe from her lebanese co-worker..i was told to use burgal or basmati rice...but i used brown rice coz it is chewier and reminds me more of the recipe that is served at that restaurant..and can i say i liked what i made ;)
Ingredients:
Brown lentils - 1/2 cup
Brown Rice - 1/2 cup
Onions - 1 large
Garlic- 3 pods - crushed or grated
Olive oil - 1 tbls + 1 tsp.
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp. - freshly grated
Pepper - 1/2 tsp.
Cumin - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Method:
1. Soak the brown rice and the lentils seperately for 3-4 hours. This ensures they cook faster. You can omit this step if you want.
2. Slice the onions and crush the garlic and keep aside.
3. In a large pan, heat 1 tbls of olive oil and add the onions and garlic with the brown sugar and cook it on a low flame to caramelise. When the onions are caramelized add some salt,pepper and the grated nutmeg powder to it and keep aside.
4.Meanwhile cook the rice and lentils separately in lots of water with salt and cook till they are done but not mushy. Drain the excess water and spread the lentils and rice on separate plates so that the grains do not stick together.
5. Finally before you eat......add 1 tsp. of oil in the pan..add in jeera and 1/4 of the onion mixture (Step. 3). Now add the rice, the lentils and salt (if reqd.) and mix it well on high flame for a couple of minutes.
6. Serve the rice on individual plates and top it with the remaining of the caramelized onions and eat it with cold cucumber raita....yum :)
Notes:
1. In restaurants the onions are deep-fried..but i think the caramelized onions are not lacking in flavor either...
2. It would be great to top the mjadra with finely chopped parsley.
3. I think brown basmati would be really yummy..i did not have any so subbed with long-grain...
Date Walnut Tangerine Flavored Granola
I get mad when i buy granola from outside coz i feel i get cheated..there seems to be more of the oats and less of the fruit and nut..tho it is very generously named as cranberry-pecan granola or blueberry-walnut granola.. i really do not get more than a piece in a 2 tbls helping....When the announcement for the AFAM-dates was postponed..i resolved to join in the fun and make granola which i have never made but always wanted to. I did a search via google and came upon this
site which has an easy recipe and would be easy to modify.
I usually eat granola topped over yogurt or in a fruit parfait. I even have it on top of low fat frozen yogurt..it tastes absolutely great. It is healthy but a lil steep on calories esp. when you eat without measuring it ;) I did measure and weigh everything i put in...and have the calories stated at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls honey
1 tbls mollases
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbls sunflower oil (use any flavorless oil)
1 tbls water
Other:
50 gms walnuts
50 gms dates (chop them up in bite sized pcs.)
1 tbls tangerine zest
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 275 F.
2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients except the ones listed under 'other'.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and spread the mixture on it and bake for 30 mts.
4. When 30 mts are done, stir in the remaining ingredients listed under 'other' and bake for 10 more minutes.
5. Let this cool and store it in a dry glass jar...coz it looks pretty ;)
I am trying to eat healthy so the calories per tbls (12gms) is 50 cal.
Notes:
1. Sub any fruit nut combo..but do not go crazy over it, as the calories are pretty high on the dried variety ones :)
2. Make sure the granola is cooled before you transfer it to a jar.
3. Parchment paper ensures the granola does not stick and you do not have to oil the pan. you can also use silpat, which is a great alternative.
This is off to Chandrika who blogs at Akshayapatra and is hosting AFAM - Dates.
site which has an easy recipe and would be easy to modify.
I usually eat granola topped over yogurt or in a fruit parfait. I even have it on top of low fat frozen yogurt..it tastes absolutely great. It is healthy but a lil steep on calories esp. when you eat without measuring it ;) I did measure and weigh everything i put in...and have the calories stated at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls honey
1 tbls mollases
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbls sunflower oil (use any flavorless oil)
1 tbls water
Other:
50 gms walnuts
50 gms dates (chop them up in bite sized pcs.)
1 tbls tangerine zest
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 275 F.
2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients except the ones listed under 'other'.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and spread the mixture on it and bake for 30 mts.
4. When 30 mts are done, stir in the remaining ingredients listed under 'other' and bake for 10 more minutes.
5. Let this cool and store it in a dry glass jar...coz it looks pretty ;)
I am trying to eat healthy so the calories per tbls (12gms) is 50 cal.
Notes:
1. Sub any fruit nut combo..but do not go crazy over it, as the calories are pretty high on the dried variety ones :)
2. Make sure the granola is cooled before you transfer it to a jar.
3. Parchment paper ensures the granola does not stick and you do not have to oil the pan. you can also use silpat, which is a great alternative.
This is off to Chandrika who blogs at Akshayapatra and is hosting AFAM - Dates.
Friday
Get Vegasconed!!
When Suganya announced that November was Vegan month and she wanted us to submit vegan fare to her event..i decided to make something that would usually contain eggs or milk and veganise it. I love scones and have stopped eating them from 3 years..after i gave up eggs....and i never bothered to make them at home..coz frankly i was a wee bit intimidated!!..but i guess i decided to take the scone
head-on!!
I really like the Farmgirl fare blog Farmgirl Fare and do visit her quite often and i remembered bookmarking this recipe of Savoury Cheese and Scallion Scones. I of-course made tons of changes and here is my recipe :)
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 3 cups.
Baking powder - 1 tbls.
Baking soda- 1 tsp.
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp.
Tofutti Cream Cheese - 8 oz. (this is a vegan cream cheese)
Leeks - 2 small or 1 large (finely chopped)
Mint leaves- 1/2 cup- (finely chopped)
Red Pepper flakes - 1 tbls.
Lite soy milk - 1 cup
Flax meal - 2 tbls
Glaze on scones
2 tbls soy milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Mix the flour,b.soda,b.powder and salt.
3. Nuke the cream-cheese in the microwave for a minute till it softens. Add it to the above and mix it in with a fork...do not get rough on it :)
4. Whisk the flax-meal and the soy milk till it gets frothy and add to the above. Also add the leeks,mink and the red-chilly flakes to the semi- dough.
5. Knead this lightly.. and form a large circle on a well floured surface.
6. Divide into 8-10 wedges...and place it on a parchment lines cookie-sheet.
7. Brush the top with soy-milk for a glazed look and bake for 25 mts.
8. Cool this on a wire rack and eat it up. I made mine into a sandwich...green chutney,sweet chutney and cukes..yum!
Notes:
1. Please do not knead like how u would knead for rotis..be gentle for a flaky scone.
2. I think i should have added cumin or ajwain..it would have been even better.
3. I used a serrated knife to cut into wedges..i think a sharp-knife will do the same trick...just cut it firmly...
4. To know more about Tofutti ...go here
This is off to the talented Suganya who blogs at
Tasty Palettes and is hosting the Vegan Ventures event.
Wednesday
Salad...
I think in this season of eating...there is an overwhelming sense of guilt..esp. when you go hogging at the cookies and pies and what not... placed very
lovingly ?? (i don't think) at strategic points in the office.... I mean you cannot escape the food no matter how you try...unless you have self-restraint...which i sadly lack.
I usually try to balance a day of over-indulgence with a yummy soup or salad..so that i do not feel deprived... So here is my recipe for a quick and yummy salad..please feel free to adding and take out what you like...
Ingredients:
Steamed Corn - 1 cup
Raw Mango - 1/2 cup (diced)(It was not too sour...but i was happy when i saw it ;)
Carrots -1/2 cup (diced)
Cucumber - 1/2 cup (diced)
Onions - 1/2 cup (diced)
Black Beans - 1/2 cup (drained)
Dried Cherries - 1/2 cup (you can use any dried fruit)
Chat Powder - 1 tsp.
Lemon Juice - from one lemon
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Cilantro - 2 tbls (chopped)
Method:
1.Boil the corn in minimum water for a couple of minutes without salt. If you are using frozen corn...do not add any water..let it just cook in the little
ice-crystals they carry...
2.Mix all the above together except the lemon and let it marinate for 10 mts in the fridge.
3.Before eating, squeeze the lemon juice.
Notes:
Do not let this marinate for too long..or it will get soggy.
Try to use veggies that do not give out too much water.
Try cutting all the veggies the same size if possible..
I tried to minimize the salt by just using the chat-powder and not adding more salt..as chat powder is pretty salty.
This is off to the powerless cooking event hosted by easy crafts who blogs at
an easy cooking blog.
Sunday
Lemon Pickle with Ginger and Green Chillies
Okay here it goes..i wanted to make something fun and exotic for the ginger theme..some glaze or a fancy drink and as the days went..i kept thinking of what to make..how to present and the usual stuff..esp. when people posted for the ginger event. Then i thought..long weekend..yep! i will dish out something on those 4 days...but we had friends over...but i want to participate :(..so what does a fanatic do???...dig up old recipes not blogged from folders and submit :)..
Here is the Lemon pickle that my amma makes..she also makes one with red chilly powder..but as this version has good amounts of ginger..i am submitting for the Think Spice event hosted by the energetic Sunita who blogs at Sunita's world.
Here is the recipe...all the measurements are given in 'cups'..so you can use smaller cups or regular sized ones..depending on how much you want.
Ingredients:
Lemons: 10 (appx)
Ginger: 1/2 cup cut in pcs.
Green Chilly: 1/2 cup cut in pcs
Salt: 1/2 cup
LG - 1/2 tsp.
Methi powder (roasted and powdered):1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. Reserve 4 lemons to be used later. Dice the remaining lemons in cubes.
2. Dice the ginger and green chilly in medium pcs.
3. Place the lemons,green chilly,ginger in a large bottle.
4. Add salt,methi powder and LG to the above. Add the juice of the reserved 4 lemons and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Now place the lemon pickle in the sun for 10-15 days...then the pickle is ready to eat!!
Notes:
1. After the lemon pickle has been placed in the sun for the 10-15 day period..store the pickle in the fridge for a long shelf life.
2. Please make sure that u do not put the stalks of the green chillies..it is a pain to eat..can u guess how i know this...i know..i am such a moron!!
3. I made my pickle using a regular sized cup..so the lemons are specified for that qty..please adjust to yours.
Oh! yeah...and i have removed the word-verification for a nutty buddy of mine..so that she does not get mad when she is commenting on my food ;)
Here is the Lemon pickle that my amma makes..she also makes one with red chilly powder..but as this version has good amounts of ginger..i am submitting for the Think Spice event hosted by the energetic Sunita who blogs at Sunita's world.
Here is the recipe...all the measurements are given in 'cups'..so you can use smaller cups or regular sized ones..depending on how much you want.
Ingredients:
Lemons: 10 (appx)
Ginger: 1/2 cup cut in pcs.
Green Chilly: 1/2 cup cut in pcs
Salt: 1/2 cup
LG - 1/2 tsp.
Methi powder (roasted and powdered):1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. Reserve 4 lemons to be used later. Dice the remaining lemons in cubes.
2. Dice the ginger and green chilly in medium pcs.
3. Place the lemons,green chilly,ginger in a large bottle.
4. Add salt,methi powder and LG to the above. Add the juice of the reserved 4 lemons and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Now place the lemon pickle in the sun for 10-15 days...then the pickle is ready to eat!!
Notes:
1. After the lemon pickle has been placed in the sun for the 10-15 day period..store the pickle in the fridge for a long shelf life.
2. Please make sure that u do not put the stalks of the green chillies..it is a pain to eat..can u guess how i know this...i know..i am such a moron!!
3. I made my pickle using a regular sized cup..so the lemons are specified for that qty..please adjust to yours.
Oh! yeah...and i have removed the word-verification for a nutty buddy of mine..so that she does not get mad when she is commenting on my food ;)
Wednesday
Semiya Payasam
I love semiya payasam...and hate every other milky payasams out there...sorry if i hurt sentiments of any of my readers...but i wanted to be honest about it ;)..as a kid i actually liked sago payasam too..which turned into dislike after i had my p'amma's payasam :(. The reason being..i hate aadai (cream, malai....) in my payasam and when i sipped what pariamma made and i got some aadai in my mouth...less said the better..but the payasam was on the floor and my mom pretty mad at me..coz she thought i was over-reacting ( honestly..i was..just a wee bit ;)
Hima has announced WYF- sweet..in reality it is bahdusha...i love it..but since i have no energy to make it i thought i will settle for the semiya payasam which i also happen to love.
Ingredients:
Semia - 1/2 cup, roasted with 1 tsp. ghee.
Fat Free evaporated milk - 1 tin
1% milk -2 cups
Sugar - 2 cups
Dry fruits - 1/2 cup (coz a like a bite of dry fruit with every sip)
Ghee - 1 tbls
Saffron - a pinch
Method:
1. In a kadai, melt 2 tsp. of ghee and fry the dry fruits till the raisins plump up. Strain the fruits from the ghee adn keep aside.
2. Melt the remaining ghee and roast the semia till it turns light golden..if you have pre-roasted semia..i would suggest you roast it lightly in ghee to get extra flavor.
3. Add the evaporated milk to the above and cook on medium heat till the semia gets soft.
4. Then add the remainder of the milk, sugar and crumble the saffron and cook till the milk gets reduced a little and becomes rich and creamy.
5. Add the reserved dry fruits, mix well and switch off the gas.
6. You can serve this piping hot or cool it..place it in the fridge and have it cold..like the way i do :)
Notes:
1. I used cashews and raisins for the nuts..please feel free to add in what u like.
2. Jeeves likes super sweet payasam...please reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups..unless you want a sugar-shock ;)
3. I feel adding the fat free evaporated milk gave the payasam some body and a really good color...you can of-course make with full fat or 1%,2% milk. I do not think fat-free cuts it tho
This is off to Hima who blogs at SnackoRama and is hosting the fun event WYF-Sweet
Monday
Omapodi
I love this snack and i guess so do many...I usually abstain from making deep fried food...but sometimes i prefer to make than to buy..b'coz of the huge packets we get in indian stores. Really!! why don't they keep smaller packets..it is not that smaller sizes are not available..the haldiram packet is huuuge and i think for a family of 2 it is waay too much. I am not one who can take a handfull and stop..i keep going for seconds and thirds..and in no time the packet is finished and i feel sick..and i mean really sick..coz too much of oil is just nasty...
I really wanted to eat alu chat and wanted a sprinkle of sev on top..so i decided to fry-up a small batch. I thought the noodles came out look wierd!! but they tasted good..so i was a happy camper...
This gives only 2 to 3 circles...so it is good for portion control :)
Recipe:
1.Besan - 3/4 cup
2.Rice flour - 1 tsp.
3.Ajwain - 1/2 tsp.
4.Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp.
5.Salt - to taste...about 1/2 tsp.
6.Hot oil - 1 tbls
7.Oil- for deep frying
Method:
1. Make a tight dough with ingredients 1-6 using some warm water.
2. Take a sev press and press out in a circular fashion in hot oil.
3. Deep fry till golden brown and drain on a colander that has been lined with lots of oil absorbant paper.
4. When they are cooled, transfer the omapodi to closed dabbas and try doing portion-control ;)...
Notes:
1. When you make the dough..let it not be too hard..or ur hands will really hurt when you press.
2. When you press, let the oil be on high..but when you start to fry make the flame medium high..b'coz you do not want the omapodi to brown out too quick.
I am also submitting the above pic to the Click event started by the Jugalbandi team.
Friday
Creamy Lasagna
I love stouffer's vegetable lasagna....it is creamy,rich and oh! so unhealthy for you ;)..i have tried recipes from many books but nothing came to the richness and the ooey-gooey stuff...all the recipes asked for thawing spinach..or grated zucchini and seriously never made the cut.
It was last week when i saw madame garten of food tv who never cooks for less than a stick of butter...made a bechamel sauce for macaroni and cheese and i thought..yes! bechamel for lasagna...that will make it rich. I really do not have a dead conscience that i will use a stick of butter..i used 1 tbls of butter and the results i must say came out pretty good. Now as nags has opted the WBB ingredient as cornflakes...i ditched the bread crumb topping and moved to cornflakes lightly crushed..and i think i am going to use the same in future too.
The recipe:
Marinara Sauce:
I love things spicy and so i used a home made indian flavored marinara i had on hand..you can go ahead and use store bought....
Bechamel Sauce:
1 tbls butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fat free milk
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper powder
Melt butter in a pan. Then add the flour and cook till the flour turns light brown..it usually forms to a ball in this phase. Slowly add the milk and whisk it well to ensure there are no lumps and cook on medium flame for a few mts..till it coats a spoon lightly. Switch of the gas...grate the nutmeg and add salt and pepper.
Filling:
2 cups spinach - packed
1/2 onion - thinly sliced
1/4 cup peas
1 cup grated carrots
2 pods garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp.red chilly powder
salt - to taste
Add oil in a pan..then add cumin and garlic. When the cumin jumps..add the veggies and saute them lightly adding salt,red-chilly powder and turmeric. When all the liquid from the spinach evaporates...keep the filling aside to cool.
Balance
7 sheets of lasagna - par-boiled in plenty of salted water
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 tbls cornflakes - crushed lightly and toasted lightly with 1 tsp. olive oil
Assembly:
1.Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. Take a shallow baking pan and ladle marinara sauce on the bottom. This ensures that you do not have to butter the pan.
3. Take a tbls of filling and place it on the lasagna roll about 2 inches away from the end and roll the sheet loosely and place the roll in the pan with the open end facing down. Do the same with all the six sheets.
4. Pour the bechamel sauce on top of the rolls making sure all the sheets are wet with it.
5. Then sprinkle the cheese on the rolls..making sure all the rolls have cheese on them and then top with the toasted cornflakes mixture.
6. Bake this for 30 mts or till the cheese bubbles and get a lil brown.
Notes:
1. This freezes well.
2. The bechamel sauce does not get thick in the pan..it should lightly coat the ladle/spoon..but when you bake it gets really yummy.
3. I made the lasagna is 2 individual baking pans...this way i made sure i was not basically hogging all the topping ;)
This is off to Nags who blogs at .For the Cook in me and who is hosting the WBB
Monday
Navrattan Kurma
I am usually dissapointed at Indian restaurants here...i guess because i know what the real deal is. It is rare that we eat at indian places because i get mad when i see a badly prepared dish served and charged to boot...i am usually forgiving when it comes to bad food cooked by a person at home but not an establishment who claim to know how to cook and serve great food....
But, last week i was really bored to cook..which seriously is rare for me and ordered indian food to go. When we order carry-out jeeves and me order dishes we never make at home so it was navrattan kurma for me (as he is not a fan sweet-hot combo) and bhendi-fry for him (yuck!) and malai kofta for us ( coz i will grossly overeat it if i make it at home :)..well..the navrattan kurma was delicious..just like i always imagined gum-paste would be...my childhood desire was seen through by the good desi folks at the restaurant who made me realise that i was wise to stay away from tasting it at a tender age...grr..I really can never understand how can people serve bad food!!
But, now my heart was set on the kurma and when sra announced the event of making grindless gravy...i decided to give this a go.....and i was pleased with the results....
Now navrattan means nine gems...well i do not know if these were gems...but combination of veggies, fruits and nuts nuts came to nine...err...plus some lil extras for taste enhancement :)
Ingredients:
1. Potatoes - 1/2 cup- diced
2. Carrots - 1/2 cup - diced
3. Beans - 1/2 cup - cut in thirds
4. Peas - 1/2 cup
5. Butternut squash - 1/2 cup
6. Cauliflower - 1 cup - floweretts
7. Pineapple - 1/2 cup (i used tinned - medium diced)
8. Raisins - 1/4 cup
9. Cashews - 1/4 cup
Onions - 1 meduim - finely chopped
Tomato - 1 large - finely chopped
Ginger - 1 medium pc.
Garlic - 3
Green Chilly - 3
Fat free milk - 1/2 cup
Curry Leaves - 4 - torn
Jeera - 1 tsp.
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp.
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Grated paneer - 2 tbls
Oil - 1 tbls
Method:
1. Boil all the veggies 1-6 with the reqd. salt and keep aside. Make sure they do not get mushy...
2. Make a rough paste of the ginger-garlic-green chilly (GGG) in the mortar-pestle..add about 1/4 tsp salt to help it along.
3. In a large pan, heat oil, add the jeera, then add the GGG paste. When it starts to smell really nice :) add the onions which are diced really fine and cook on meduim flame till soft.You can add some of the pineapple juice to help along..if the onions start to brown.
4. Add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder, raisins and cashews and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes and onions turn to a pulpy mess...you can mash it lightly with the back of your ladle to help the process.
5. Add the cooked veggies and pineapple. Add the red chilly powder, garam masala, curry leaves and salt if needed and cook this mix till it is thick but not dry.
6. Add the milk and let it cook for a few more minutes and switch off the gas.
7. Garnish it with grated paneer and eat with rotis.
Notes:
1. Dice the onions and tomatoes really small...else u have to put a little muscle in the kadhai while cooking..it is up to you where u want to put the effort.
2. If you do not have a mortar-pestle..chop the GGG very finely..it will do.
3. The paneer grating is purely optional...but it does absorb some of the extra liquid...and is yummy too ;)
Here is my entry to the
Grindless Gravy event hosted by sra of When my soup came alive
Thursday
Keerai (Spinach) Molagutal
This is second on the list of fav. food for me. My amma is obsessed with making leafy greens atleast twice a week and so we used to get to eat this once a week and the other time it was thota-kura or some other leafy greens that the sabjiwali would get.
This dish a total palghat iyer dish and i am not aware if proper tamilians (u know what i mean) or keralites make this...if i am wrong about this..feel free to correct me...make me eat crow in public :(
My fav. way of eating this is lots of molagutal with some curd and avvakai- cut in mini bits stirred in it..but i have some peculiar eating habits...normally at my home it is eaten with rice and a curry...like potato fry or even curd-pachhadi (not the andhra style..somewhat like raita with coconut ground in it)
Here is the recipe:
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Spinach - 1 packet or 4-6 bunches.... i use baby spinach....much tastier
Red Chilly whole - 3
Jeera - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - a small pc....optional
Oil - 1 tsp.
For tadka:
Oil - 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Method:
1. Pressure cook the dal and keep aside.
2. Chop the spinach finely and cook it in a kadai with some salt and turmeric powder.
3. Mash the spinach well in the kadai...(u can also puree this in a blender if you like a smooth texture)
4. Fry the red chilly and urad dal in a tsp. of oil and then blend it with jeera and coconut to a smooth paste.(do not fry the jeera)
5. Add the above ground mixture to the dal and mix them well and add to the mashed/pureed spinach.
6. Keep the molagutal in medium-high heat and allow it to boil for 5 minute..u can now add the haggery if you want.
7. Do tadka with rai using a tsp. of oil.
Notes:
1. If you are planning to puree it..do not bother chopping it finely...just cut in huge chunks and let it cook down in the kadai...if you are planning to just mash it..chopping it finely makes the mashing easier....
This is off to Linda who blogs at
Out of the garden and who is hosting JFI - Toor dal
Vegan Cinnamon Cake...meme....thank-you...
Well...i am posting in the exact reverse order of the heading because.......i feel like doing so :)
A few day back one of my fav. bloggers Ms.Stylish of
Live to Eat passed me the nice matters award...thnks girl..appreciate it.
I really want to pass this on to every one who reads my blog regularly and are always sweet to comment (sometimes gang up on me) and appreciate and tell me that my photos look pretty fabulous..tho i think they are not that great.....and have no questions on my credibility... :)
Then a few days back another fav.blogger girl Ms.Effervescent of Ambrosia...Indian Indulgences tagged me for the Fantastic Four meme....now for it being fantastic..we will see...
My Fantastic Four Meme
4 Places I have lived
Delhi - when i was a kid
Hyderabad
Troy,Michigan
Well...i am hoping NY...but i do not see it happening...
4 Jobs I (wish)had
Psychologist - love to help people out
Painter - wish i could capture beauty and give it my own signature
Interior Decorator - know where to get amazing stuff at discount prices
Personal Trainer - forced to keep in fantastic shape....and if a client pisses me off..i can say..give me 20 pushups ;)
All the above jobs are just wishes..i real life i am a boring accountant!!
4 Favorite places I have holidayed
Kodaikanal - with my parents,sis and my darling nephews
Las Vegas - with jeeves..drinking and going to tons of shows
Araku Valley (A.P)- with my friends...had a blast
Niagra Falls- with my parents and jeeves
4 Favorite foods
as told by everybody before me..a toughie!!...but i associate fav. food with the people who make it..so here it is
Mambazam Morukootan and Olan - by amma
Hakka Noodles and Manchurian - by my sis
Tomato Rasam and Alu curry - by my appa (the only dish he knows and it rocks!)
Bhelpuri - by my nephews
Jeeves... unfortunately can cook well ( had great food just once) but lacks the patience to stay more than 10 mts in the kitchen..his speciality is to do tadka and pressure cook...now you know why he is not on the list!!
4 Favorite places I would rather be
In my kitchen cooking and watching 'I Love Lucy' dvd...and jeeves playing base in the basement
At my parents home, eating great food prepared by my amma...discussing politics with appa, fighting with my sis and spoiling my nephews.
At my best bud's home in boston where we can talk non-stop...about everything and everybody
In my bed, reading a book, eating snacks and watching tv..simultaneously!!
4 Bloggers I like to tag
Namratha
Sandeepa
Madhu
Sivani
A few days back i had a hankering for cake something lite and easy. I remember reading about a cinnamon cake a few days back and had scribbled it down...but as usual misplaced it. All i could remember were a couple of ingredients and looking at other cake recipes and i was so desperate to eat a light cake i decided to take the risk...and give it a go...and i was pretty happy with the result.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1/2 tbls.
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp.
Canola Oil - 2 tbls
Soy Milk - 1 cups
Ground Flax Meal - 1 tbls
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix in all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a bowl mix in 1/2 cup of the soy-milk and the flax meal and whisk till frothy.
4. In the above bowl add in the rest of the liquid and mix well.
5. Combine both the wet and the dry ingredients and pour into a well greased 8*8 square pan.
6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool it and cut into squares.
Notes:
1. You can freeze the cake pcs individually and nuke them in the microwave for 30 sec...and eat up.
2. You can increase the sugar by 1-2 tbls if you like it sweeter...you can actually taste the batter as there are no raw eggs.
A few day back one of my fav. bloggers Ms.Stylish of
Live to Eat passed me the nice matters award...thnks girl..appreciate it.
I really want to pass this on to every one who reads my blog regularly and are always sweet to comment (sometimes gang up on me) and appreciate and tell me that my photos look pretty fabulous..tho i think they are not that great.....and have no questions on my credibility... :)
Then a few days back another fav.blogger girl Ms.Effervescent of Ambrosia...Indian Indulgences tagged me for the Fantastic Four meme....now for it being fantastic..we will see...
My Fantastic Four Meme
4 Places I have lived
Delhi - when i was a kid
Hyderabad
Troy,Michigan
Well...i am hoping NY...but i do not see it happening...
4 Jobs I (wish)had
Psychologist - love to help people out
Painter - wish i could capture beauty and give it my own signature
Interior Decorator - know where to get amazing stuff at discount prices
Personal Trainer - forced to keep in fantastic shape....and if a client pisses me off..i can say..give me 20 pushups ;)
All the above jobs are just wishes..i real life i am a boring accountant!!
4 Favorite places I have holidayed
Kodaikanal - with my parents,sis and my darling nephews
Las Vegas - with jeeves..drinking and going to tons of shows
Araku Valley (A.P)- with my friends...had a blast
Niagra Falls- with my parents and jeeves
4 Favorite foods
as told by everybody before me..a toughie!!...but i associate fav. food with the people who make it..so here it is
Mambazam Morukootan and Olan - by amma
Hakka Noodles and Manchurian - by my sis
Tomato Rasam and Alu curry - by my appa (the only dish he knows and it rocks!)
Bhelpuri - by my nephews
Jeeves... unfortunately can cook well ( had great food just once) but lacks the patience to stay more than 10 mts in the kitchen..his speciality is to do tadka and pressure cook...now you know why he is not on the list!!
4 Favorite places I would rather be
In my kitchen cooking and watching 'I Love Lucy' dvd...and jeeves playing base in the basement
At my parents home, eating great food prepared by my amma...discussing politics with appa, fighting with my sis and spoiling my nephews.
At my best bud's home in boston where we can talk non-stop...about everything and everybody
In my bed, reading a book, eating snacks and watching tv..simultaneously!!
4 Bloggers I like to tag
Namratha
Sandeepa
Madhu
Sivani
A few days back i had a hankering for cake something lite and easy. I remember reading about a cinnamon cake a few days back and had scribbled it down...but as usual misplaced it. All i could remember were a couple of ingredients and looking at other cake recipes and i was so desperate to eat a light cake i decided to take the risk...and give it a go...and i was pretty happy with the result.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1/2 tbls.
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp.
Canola Oil - 2 tbls
Soy Milk - 1 cups
Ground Flax Meal - 1 tbls
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix in all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a bowl mix in 1/2 cup of the soy-milk and the flax meal and whisk till frothy.
4. In the above bowl add in the rest of the liquid and mix well.
5. Combine both the wet and the dry ingredients and pour into a well greased 8*8 square pan.
6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool it and cut into squares.
Notes:
1. You can freeze the cake pcs individually and nuke them in the microwave for 30 sec...and eat up.
2. You can increase the sugar by 1-2 tbls if you like it sweeter...you can actually taste the batter as there are no raw eggs.
Monday
Lauki ki Sabzi
There have been quite a lot of lauki sabji's in the blogosphere a few days back making me want to make some too. The problem is Jeeves hates lauki..what a bummer :( ..keeps telling me it reminds him of the horrible hostel food...now horrible and food really do not belong in the same sentence! so i do not make this sabji as often as i would like to.
Last week i had made kathrikai curry (brinjal curry) and i hate brinjal and had quite a lot left over...so i decided to make my lauki sabji. I had no tomatoes on had and no canned ones and i wanted one with a gravy, i decided to improvise with what i had in hand. It is so simple,tasty and i had some left-over next day,which i had with uthappam..yummy!...Here is the recipe....
Ingredients:
Lauki (Bottle-Gourd) - 1 meduim, cut in cubes
Red Chilly - 4
Garlic - 3 pods
Onions - 1/2 medium (diced)
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Sesame Seeds - 2 tbls
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Oil - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - 3/4 torn
Method:
1. Boil all the lauki pcs with reqd. salt in 1 cup of water till they are cooked. Take care that they do not get mushy.
2. In a pan put 1 tsp of oil and fry lightly the onions,garlic,red-chilly, sesame seeds and peanuts.
3. Blend the roasted mixture in a blender adding some hot water and making a paste.
4. In a pan, add the remaining 1 tsp. oil, then the cumin seeds. Then add the blended mixture and cook on low flame for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the turmeric powder,red-chilly powder,curry leaves and some salt (keeping in mind the lauki is salted) and fry this mixture for about a minute more. Then add the lauki pcs, cook the sabji in medium flame for about 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.
This tastes better the next day!! really do not know why...
I wish i could claim that Jeeves loved it....but alas! he did not even taste it!! i kept telling him how he is missing out and how he must eat different veggies and lot of bull....and he offered me the brinjal...yep..that shut me up ;)....but i loved the sabji...his loss
Last week i had made kathrikai curry (brinjal curry) and i hate brinjal and had quite a lot left over...so i decided to make my lauki sabji. I had no tomatoes on had and no canned ones and i wanted one with a gravy, i decided to improvise with what i had in hand. It is so simple,tasty and i had some left-over next day,which i had with uthappam..yummy!...Here is the recipe....
Ingredients:
Lauki (Bottle-Gourd) - 1 meduim, cut in cubes
Red Chilly - 4
Garlic - 3 pods
Onions - 1/2 medium (diced)
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Sesame Seeds - 2 tbls
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Oil - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - 3/4 torn
Method:
1. Boil all the lauki pcs with reqd. salt in 1 cup of water till they are cooked. Take care that they do not get mushy.
2. In a pan put 1 tsp of oil and fry lightly the onions,garlic,red-chilly, sesame seeds and peanuts.
3. Blend the roasted mixture in a blender adding some hot water and making a paste.
4. In a pan, add the remaining 1 tsp. oil, then the cumin seeds. Then add the blended mixture and cook on low flame for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the turmeric powder,red-chilly powder,curry leaves and some salt (keeping in mind the lauki is salted) and fry this mixture for about a minute more. Then add the lauki pcs, cook the sabji in medium flame for about 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.
This tastes better the next day!! really do not know why...
I wish i could claim that Jeeves loved it....but alas! he did not even taste it!! i kept telling him how he is missing out and how he must eat different veggies and lot of bull....and he offered me the brinjal...yep..that shut me up ;)....but i loved the sabji...his loss
Thursday
Peanut Chundal
Growing up I remember accompanying my mom to many homes during Navrathri for vetalai-paak. it would be fun..as we would get some gift and i would get to hear the gossip..which by the way i would repeat verbatim to my sis who refused to come to any such places and chundal (not a hot favorite). The painful part was the singing..and i used to sing a song which was just 4 lines...any time there was a request to sing a song...bam! i would sing that song in express speed ;)
I have not been a big fan of chundal and when amma made it i actually would combine it with the vella-payasam or something sweet and eat..The only chundal i would eat and protect it as if it were my property is peanut chundal. I love peanuts..so it is obvious why i love this.
The recipe is soo easy and honestly..you cannot overeat it..even if you try..it is just not possible!!
Ingredients:
Peanuts : 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tsp.
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Urad Dal and Chana Dal - 1/4 tsp. each
Red Chilly - 2
Hing - a pinch
Coconut Grated - 1 tbls
Curry leaves - 4 torn
Salt - as needed
Method:
1. Pressure cook the peanuts with reqd. salt and keep aside.
2. In a pan, add the oil, then the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the dals and the red chilly and fry till the dals change color.
3. Add the Curry leaves and hing and cook for a couple of seconds..then add the peanuts and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Finish it off by adding the grated coconut.
This is off to Viji of Vcuisine who is hosting RCI - Tamil Festivals.
I have not been a big fan of chundal and when amma made it i actually would combine it with the vella-payasam or something sweet and eat..The only chundal i would eat and protect it as if it were my property is peanut chundal. I love peanuts..so it is obvious why i love this.
The recipe is soo easy and honestly..you cannot overeat it..even if you try..it is just not possible!!
Ingredients:
Peanuts : 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tsp.
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Urad Dal and Chana Dal - 1/4 tsp. each
Red Chilly - 2
Hing - a pinch
Coconut Grated - 1 tbls
Curry leaves - 4 torn
Salt - as needed
Method:
1. Pressure cook the peanuts with reqd. salt and keep aside.
2. In a pan, add the oil, then the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the dals and the red chilly and fry till the dals change color.
3. Add the Curry leaves and hing and cook for a couple of seconds..then add the peanuts and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Finish it off by adding the grated coconut.
This is off to Viji of Vcuisine who is hosting RCI - Tamil Festivals.
Wednesday
Peach Strawberry Cobbler
I actually wanted to make a savoury dish with peaches but the veggies i had on hand gave me no inspiration....it was then i decided to make a cobbler. I usually look to make cobblers when i have an overload of fruits and i have a craving to eat cake!! ...the cobbler seem to multi-task on that level. This cobbler recipe is really easy and quick and made up on the fly..as i make these quite often.
Honestly..this is a bad photo..but it was 9:00 pm..and i was waiting to dig in...and after we ate some..the dish looked pretty bad..as i had eaten a lot of the cakey top ;)
Ingredients:
Peaches - 2 cups sliced (fresh - with skin peeled)
Strawberry - 2 cups sliced
Sugar - 3/4 cup ( 1/2 cup +1/4 cup)
Milk - 3/4 cup (used 2%)
Vanilla Extract - 1 tbls.
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp.
Baking powder - 1 tsp.
Butter - 1 tbls
Salt - 1/4 tsp.
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Melt the butter in a pan and keep aside. Slice the fruits sprinkle them with 1/4 cup of sugar and keep aside in a bowl
3. Sift the flour,baking soda,baking powder and 1/2 cup sugar in a big bowl.
3. Mix the milk,vanilla extract,melted butter and add it to the flour to make a smooth batter.
4. Butter a baking dish (8*4) and pour the smooth batter in it and arrange the fruits on top...dunk the fruits a little in batter.
5. Bake for 40 mts till bubbly.
Notes:
You can increase the sugar to 1 cup...depending on the sweetness of the fruits..my cobbler was a little low on sweet..tho the batter was sweet when tasted raw.
You can also use fat-free milk to make it lower in fat, i had 2 % on hand. i could have diluted it with some water..but i forgot.
The leftovers can be frozen for a month...just thaw it out in room temp and warm it in a 300F oven for 15 mts.
This is off to Mansi of Fun and Food who is hosting the AFAM - Peach.
Honestly..this is a bad photo..but it was 9:00 pm..and i was waiting to dig in...and after we ate some..the dish looked pretty bad..as i had eaten a lot of the cakey top ;)
Ingredients:
Peaches - 2 cups sliced (fresh - with skin peeled)
Strawberry - 2 cups sliced
Sugar - 3/4 cup ( 1/2 cup +1/4 cup)
Milk - 3/4 cup (used 2%)
Vanilla Extract - 1 tbls.
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp.
Baking powder - 1 tsp.
Butter - 1 tbls
Salt - 1/4 tsp.
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Melt the butter in a pan and keep aside. Slice the fruits sprinkle them with 1/4 cup of sugar and keep aside in a bowl
3. Sift the flour,baking soda,baking powder and 1/2 cup sugar in a big bowl.
3. Mix the milk,vanilla extract,melted butter and add it to the flour to make a smooth batter.
4. Butter a baking dish (8*4) and pour the smooth batter in it and arrange the fruits on top...dunk the fruits a little in batter.
5. Bake for 40 mts till bubbly.
Notes:
You can increase the sugar to 1 cup...depending on the sweetness of the fruits..my cobbler was a little low on sweet..tho the batter was sweet when tasted raw.
You can also use fat-free milk to make it lower in fat, i had 2 % on hand. i could have diluted it with some water..but i forgot.
The leftovers can be frozen for a month...just thaw it out in room temp and warm it in a 300F oven for 15 mts.
This is off to Mansi of Fun and Food who is hosting the AFAM - Peach.
Monday
Healthy Sprouts
When i used to think of sprouts as a teen it would be the horrible uncooked kind with some lemon squeezed on top with cucumbers and carrots and the same damn saying of 'it's good for you'. I think i fell in love with them when amma made usal and put her foot down that i must try it. Up till then i had somehow been able to escape eating it..but that day i was in a fix!! Lucky for me i loved it and still do and i eat it at-least twice a week without ever getting bored. But, the only way i like them is sauteed lightly ....and to a point where they sill retain their crunch. They are also great for you and keep you full for a long time.
I had never sprouted horse-gram (also known as kollu-tamil) till my previous visit to india where amma had started including them in her daily sprout mix. I loved its taste...it tasted something like mujjadra (middle-eastern dish) when sauteed with onions. In this recipe i combine sprouted horse-gram and the ever popular green moong with some veggies for a crunchy and satisfying tiffin or dinner when combined with soup.
Ingredients:
Green moong sprouts : 1 cup
Horse gram sprouts: 1/2 cup
Carrots:1 cup (diced)
Onions: 1/2 cup (diced very small)
Garlic: 2 pods (thinly sliced)
Ginger: 1" (grated)
Jeera - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - 3 to 4,torn
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp.
Method:
1. In a wok, add the oil and add jeera.
2. Add the onions,ginger and garlic and fry till the onions have softened. Add the carrots and cook till they are cooked half-way...( have an uncooked taste..but not too crunchy)
3. Toss in the curry leaves,sprouts and salt and cook for a couple more minutes, till the carrots are cooked..but have a bite to them. You can sprinkle some water to help it along.
4. Serve them immediately, as they are not that great to taste when cold.
Notes:
You sprout the horse-gram the same way you would the green moong. To know more about horse gram you can see Wikipedia
You can add equal measures of both sprouts or add in more sprouts to the mix. I personally think these taste great when crunchy and not when mushy and fully cooked.
This is off to Hima of SnackoRama who is hosting WYF- Diet Food
Friday
Saffron Ricotta with sweet carrots
also known as gajar halwa by many of us ;)...hey! it was the think spice-saffron event..so i had to play up the saffron part..can't a girl try!!
Love gajar halwa and growing up always ate the grated kind. Jeeves has grown up eating the one made to a smooth paste..so now i make it as a mix of both. I grind the carrots coarsely in the mixie..so it has a bite and is kinda smooth . There are so many ways of making this halwa..amma always makes it with milk, my sis makes with khoya...i thought why not make it a mix of both..so this is a light version tho pretty rich on taste.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Carrots - 6 large
Low fat Ricotta - 12 oz
Fat Free milk powder - 4 tbls
Fat free milk - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Saffron - 2 generous pinches
Mixed Nuts - 1/4 cup ( cashews,raisins,almonds)
Butter - 2 tbls
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Method:
1.In a large pan, mix the ricotta and the milk powder and cook over medium-low heat till all the moisture evaporates. Add in the saffron and keep aside in a bowl.
2. Cut the carrots in small cubes and grind them coarsely in the blender adding some milk to help it along.
3. Add 1 tbls of butter in a kadai..make it into ghee and add the nuts. When the raisins plump up remove the nuts in a bowl and keep aside.
4. Melt the remaining 1 tbls butter to make into ghee and add the ground carrots with the sugar and cook till the mixture reduces and starts to thicken.
5. Add the saffron ricotta in, cook over low heat for 15-20 mts. Add the nuts and remove from heat. Now serve urself a generous portion and think about the calories after you finish eating it ;)
Notes:
1. Can reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
2. Can use ghee instead of butter..i just like freshly made..i know..what a nut!
3. The halwa is really creamy and tastes rich..tho it has a lot of low fat elements to it.
This is off to Sunita of Sunita's World and who is hosting the Think Spice Event- Saffron...
Love gajar halwa and growing up always ate the grated kind. Jeeves has grown up eating the one made to a smooth paste..so now i make it as a mix of both. I grind the carrots coarsely in the mixie..so it has a bite and is kinda smooth . There are so many ways of making this halwa..amma always makes it with milk, my sis makes with khoya...i thought why not make it a mix of both..so this is a light version tho pretty rich on taste.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Carrots - 6 large
Low fat Ricotta - 12 oz
Fat Free milk powder - 4 tbls
Fat free milk - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Saffron - 2 generous pinches
Mixed Nuts - 1/4 cup ( cashews,raisins,almonds)
Butter - 2 tbls
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Method:
1.In a large pan, mix the ricotta and the milk powder and cook over medium-low heat till all the moisture evaporates. Add in the saffron and keep aside in a bowl.
2. Cut the carrots in small cubes and grind them coarsely in the blender adding some milk to help it along.
3. Add 1 tbls of butter in a kadai..make it into ghee and add the nuts. When the raisins plump up remove the nuts in a bowl and keep aside.
4. Melt the remaining 1 tbls butter to make into ghee and add the ground carrots with the sugar and cook till the mixture reduces and starts to thicken.
5. Add the saffron ricotta in, cook over low heat for 15-20 mts. Add the nuts and remove from heat. Now serve urself a generous portion and think about the calories after you finish eating it ;)
Notes:
1. Can reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
2. Can use ghee instead of butter..i just like freshly made..i know..what a nut!
3. The halwa is really creamy and tastes rich..tho it has a lot of low fat elements to it.
This is off to Sunita of Sunita's World and who is hosting the Think Spice Event- Saffron...
Tuesday
Brown Bread
As a teen i hated brown bread....i always felt it was a little to dense for my palette. Now as an adult i have come to enjoy the earthiness of it and i love whole grain and other rustic bread...but honestly, i still love white bread :)
I was looking thru the blogs..my fav. pass time..and realized that world bread day was on Oct. 16th... and i have been dreaming paninis for a while, so i decided to bake some bread...so that i could make paninis. Actually after my experiments with baking, i have become a sort of snob if i must say so...i only love the bread baked super fresh and home-made.....which translates to....i like only what i bake (shameful!) I got this super easy recipe from the book called 'Bread' by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno and i decided to go ahead and give it a go. I did make a few changes and that is documented in brackets ().
Ballymaloe Brown Bread - adapted from 'Bread'
Ingredients:
Dry Yeast - 3 1/2 tsp. (i used 2 sachets - which is 4 tsp.)
Water - 1 2/3 cups. ( i needed 1/4 cup more than what was asked)
Mollases - 1 tsp.
Whole Wheat flour - 3 3/4 cup ( i used 2 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup bread flour)
Salt - 2 tsp.
Method:
1. Grease a loaf pan and warm it in a 250 F oven for 10 mts. Remove and keep aside in a warm place.
2. In a bowl take 2/3 cup of warm water and add the yeast and let it sit for 5 mts. After 5 minutes give it a stir to dissolve the yeast completely and add the mollases. Let this mixture stay for 10 mts, till it is frothy on top.
3. In a big bowl,combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the yeast and start kneading the dough. Slowly add the remaning 1 cup of water as needed and add more water if the dough is still dry 1 tbls at a time.
4. When the dough comes together knead it well till it leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough.
5. Place the dough in the preheated loaf pan, cover with a dish towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 450 F and bake the bread for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 400 F and bake for a further 15 minutes.
7. Take the bread out and place it in the oven bottom side up in a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes (i skipped this) . You will know the bread is done when a hollow sound comes when you tap underneath.
8. Cool the bread on a wire or metal rack.
Note:
I would not substitute the bread flour for the whole wheat flour next time, as the bread turned out great...not too grainy.
I love this bread as there is no double rising time...just one rise and done! but it tastes really good.
This is off to Zorra who is hosting the World Bread Day.
Launji and Dal
I love gujarati and rajasthani food. I remember going to a hotel more of a boarding and lodging place where outsiders can come to eat lunch and dinner in hyderabad that serves this excellent gujarati,rajasthani and marwadi food. The thalis are to die for..and the best part is unlimited food. The ambiance is so homey and the server is a man who is there for 20+ years easy...serves you so lovingly that you land up overeating but loving every minute of it. The food there has both garlic and non-garlic version..which was perfect for us as amma and appa do not take garlic and my sis and me basically inhale it! I remember the first time we went there..we actually went in and came out...coz we could not believe the place. It was waay down to earth...pretty shabby and full of the boarders..who i must say say were attired in lungis and banyans...my sis was in her teens and my parents were a little wary on that..i was still a kid, actually pretty happy to see people sitting in their vests and lungis and amused by it ;). Then a family friend told us not to be put-off by the appearance but perhaps try out lunch?? and i will tell you we have never looked back! Now of-course it is very popular and tho crummy in appearance outside, it does not matter...but 20 yrs back, it was not the same story. Even now when i go to hyd, i make it a point to eat at-least 3-4 times there....coz it is really like ghar-ka-khana.
Now if anyone has read that loong story....and i must say thank-you...this lamba chauda post was that i was craving the food from there and so i went and pulled out the Tarla Dalal's Rajasthani Cookbook and made the dal banjari,bajra roti and shimla-mirch ki launji. It was really good...but of-course there was nobody who said..nahi nahi..aap aur lijeye na, bahut kam kha rahen hai..aur sabji lijiye.....those were the days :(
The recipes are from the book with my modifications in qty, so adjust to urs.
Recipes:
Shimla-Mirch ki launji
Bell Pepper - 1 cup (i used trio colors..wanted to use up the stock on hand)
Nigella Seeds (kalonji)- 1/2 tsp.
Fennel Seeds (saunf) - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp.
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Dhania Powder - 1 tsp.
Amchur - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Salt to taste.
Method:
1. In a pan heat the oil and add the fennel and nigella seeds.
2. Add the bell peppers,salt,chilli powder,dhania powder,turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water and simmer till the peppers are cooked.
3. Stir in the amchur,sugar and cook till the sugar dissolves.
4.Cool this and bottle it. Stays in the fridge easily for 2-3 weeks.
Dal Banjari
This is a thick dal, but my version is watery as Jeeves pretends to choke and clutches his throat and does some drama when there is just a dry curry or the dal is too thick....i know...he thinks he is sooo funny!!!
Ingredients:
Black Urad Dal - 1 cup
Chana Dal - 1/2 cup
Haldi -1/4 tsp.
Onions - 1 diced
Cloves,Red Chilli - 2
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Ginger-Green Chilly-Garlic Paste - 2 tsp.
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Method:
1. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric for 4-5 whistles, till they are soft and well combined.
2. In a kadai, add the oil and ghee and fry the cloves,cinnamon and whole red chilli and onions, till browned.
3. Add the ginger-green chilli-garlic paste,red chilli powder and salt and mix well.
4. Add the pressure cooked dal and let it simmer for 5 -7 minutes.
5. Serve the dal hot, or it tends to get thick as it stands.
Notes:
For launji - you can just use the green ones too..the recipe actually calls for the green one.
For dal - you can garnish the dal with cilantro leaves and ginger julinned...i was out of both :(
Both the above tasted absolutely great with bajra roti.
Now if anyone has read that loong story....and i must say thank-you...this lamba chauda post was that i was craving the food from there and so i went and pulled out the Tarla Dalal's Rajasthani Cookbook and made the dal banjari,bajra roti and shimla-mirch ki launji. It was really good...but of-course there was nobody who said..nahi nahi..aap aur lijeye na, bahut kam kha rahen hai..aur sabji lijiye.....those were the days :(
The recipes are from the book with my modifications in qty, so adjust to urs.
Recipes:
Shimla-Mirch ki launji
Bell Pepper - 1 cup (i used trio colors..wanted to use up the stock on hand)
Nigella Seeds (kalonji)- 1/2 tsp.
Fennel Seeds (saunf) - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp.
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Dhania Powder - 1 tsp.
Amchur - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Salt to taste.
Method:
1. In a pan heat the oil and add the fennel and nigella seeds.
2. Add the bell peppers,salt,chilli powder,dhania powder,turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water and simmer till the peppers are cooked.
3. Stir in the amchur,sugar and cook till the sugar dissolves.
4.Cool this and bottle it. Stays in the fridge easily for 2-3 weeks.
Dal Banjari
This is a thick dal, but my version is watery as Jeeves pretends to choke and clutches his throat and does some drama when there is just a dry curry or the dal is too thick....i know...he thinks he is sooo funny!!!
Ingredients:
Black Urad Dal - 1 cup
Chana Dal - 1/2 cup
Haldi -1/4 tsp.
Onions - 1 diced
Cloves,Red Chilli - 2
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Ginger-Green Chilly-Garlic Paste - 2 tsp.
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Method:
1. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric for 4-5 whistles, till they are soft and well combined.
2. In a kadai, add the oil and ghee and fry the cloves,cinnamon and whole red chilli and onions, till browned.
3. Add the ginger-green chilli-garlic paste,red chilli powder and salt and mix well.
4. Add the pressure cooked dal and let it simmer for 5 -7 minutes.
5. Serve the dal hot, or it tends to get thick as it stands.
Notes:
For launji - you can just use the green ones too..the recipe actually calls for the green one.
For dal - you can garnish the dal with cilantro leaves and ginger julinned...i was out of both :(
Both the above tasted absolutely great with bajra roti.
Monday
Indian Spiced Pizza
Pizza used to be our weekend food for a long time till it suddenly struck me that majority of cheese has animal rennet. it is one of those things you know..but sometimes does not hit you. Now the only time i can eat pizza is when i make it..and i always stock up on vegetarian mozzarella and freeze it and when i make pizza dough i make extra and freeze it too. So when Nandita announced left-overs for WBB i decided to make pizza as brunch instead of dinner.
What are the left-overs??..they were the leftover pizza dough from last time and my leftover marinara sauce that i make Indian style.
Here is the recipe.
The pizza dough is a straight lift-of from my recipe book 'Bread'. Unless one of you comes with a gun to my head..i am going to pass on posting the looong recipe of the dough
Here is the Indian marinara recipe - makes 16 oz jar.
Diced organic Tomato Can - 1 (12 oz)
Onion - 1/2 medium,diced
Garlic- 4 pods
Green Chilly - 4
Ginger - 2"
Jeera - 1 tsp.
Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Kasoori methi - 1 tsp.
Salt -to taste
Oil- 1 tsp.
1. In a large pan, fry the onions,green chillies,garlic and ginger with one tsp of oil.
2. When the onions start to brown a little, add the tomatoes and cook till the the tomatoes get a little mushy.
3.Now, add the turmeric,red-chilly powder,salt and kasoori methi and let this cook for 5 mts.
4. Cool this mixture and puree this (chunky style)in a bender. Transfer into a large jar or two medium jars and use when needed.
Veggies for the pizza.
I wanted 5 veggies of different colors for the pizza..do not ask me why..but i can be crazy sometimes.
Broccoli - 1 cup - floret ts
Red bell pepper - 1/2 cup - diced
Olives - 1/4 cup - sliced
Carrots - 1/2 cup - diced
Corn - 1 cup
Panch phoran - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Stir-fry all the above and cook till there is a bite to the broccoli.
Other:
Mozzarella - 6 oz (i got the one with vegetarian rennet)(i froze the balance cheese after cutting them in cubes)
Olive oil- 1 tsp.
Pizza Assembling.
1.Preheat oven to 450 F.
2.Brush the olive oil on the pan u r planning to make the pizza
3.Strech the darn pizza dough over ur pizza crisper..in my case cookie sheet..( i had a pizza crisper..but i threw it out..that is another story ;)
4.Ladle some tomato sauce, the scatter the veggies..smother with the cheese blocks and cook for 15-17 mts.
5. When the pizza is done, cut them in wedges or squares and take the largest piece and pretend that u eat less than ur spouse ;) coz u had only 2 pcs...while he had 3!!
This is off to Nandita of the famous
Saffron Trail who is hosting the WBB this time around.....and sorry Nandita i am a day late....
Sunday
Here are my fav. books
I love cookbooks and so do many of us :) i think i am looks driven on this love of mine (i know..pretty shallow of me) but what can i do... I think books that are bound and have beautiful photos speak to the reader and also in a way show how the final product looks..tho i know the photos are doctored up...but still, there is an idea. i think books with pages and pages of recipes bore me and remind me of good ol' school books and boy! do i dread that :)
I think the only book i have that is a complete recipe book with no photos is ironically one of my favorites..i know i am contradicting myself (not a surprise for people who know me :D ). The book is 'Time Tested Recipes South India - Palghat Kerala'written by Mrs.Parvathi Ramanathan. This is the only book i know, which had recipes tuned to the way Palghat Iyer's cook. So, when i get silly doubts and it is really late at night for amma..i refer this book.
The other book i love is a book called 'Bread' by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. This is a beautiful book with lovely photos and i have tried many recipes from this book and it has been a success..I love this book, as i enjoy baking and it assures me success and not a major clean-up in the kitchen..which drives me nuts ;)
This is off to Nags who blogs at
For the Cook in me and is hosting a fun event Show Me Your Cook Books!!
I think the only book i have that is a complete recipe book with no photos is ironically one of my favorites..i know i am contradicting myself (not a surprise for people who know me :D ). The book is 'Time Tested Recipes South India - Palghat Kerala'written by Mrs.Parvathi Ramanathan. This is the only book i know, which had recipes tuned to the way Palghat Iyer's cook. So, when i get silly doubts and it is really late at night for amma..i refer this book.
The other book i love is a book called 'Bread' by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. This is a beautiful book with lovely photos and i have tried many recipes from this book and it has been a success..I love this book, as i enjoy baking and it assures me success and not a major clean-up in the kitchen..which drives me nuts ;)
This is off to Nags who blogs at
For the Cook in me and is hosting a fun event Show Me Your Cook Books!!
Friday
Semi-Homemade Banana Pudding
In all honesty i am not a fan of bananas. I used to love them in India..but after coming here, i feel the bananas do not have the flavor we used to get there. I have really lost interest in that fruit....but sadly jeeves has not!! actually it is the only fruit he will eat on his own without any heckling from my side ;)..actually i have stopped asking him if he wants a piece when i eat my fruit...coz i am his wife not his mom!!..and he is a big guy now.....
When JFI-Bananas was announced, i was sure that it is going to be vazhakkai..i also had a recipe in mind,little did i know ripe bananas were the ones that wanted in on the fashion shoot...now who am i to break hearts ;) so here you go you yellow wierd shaped fruits...the field is urs.
I had this pudding at an office get-together and i was like.... shit! there are nanas..damn! but i guess people loved it, as that lady had tons and i mean tons of people requesting her recipe. She was sweet and basically sent out a floor email of the recipe..when i read it..i was like...what! that is soo easy.
So last week...i know, last week and i post today! we had some friends who were moving out of state calling up and wanting to drop in and say bye once more...i did ask them to stay for dinner..but they were busy, so i thought i could make this desert. i had bananas,pudding and nilla wafers and a faint recollection of the recipe...so i put it together, and it was pretty easy and super super super fast ;)
Ingredients:
2-3 bananas - not too ripe,ripe..but not too ripe
1 packet of instant vanilla pudding (i got the sugar one..not the one with splenda)
1 packet nilla wafers
3 cups vanilla soy milk
1 tbls vanilla extract
Method:
1. Prepare the pudding as per directions using the soy milk and adding the vanilla extract for extra vanilla flavor.
2. Slice bananas into thin disks.
3. Take a couple of tall glasses, place 4 nilla wafers, then top with some pudding, then top with bananas. Make one more layer the same way and then top the bananas with pudding and let this hang out in the fridge for a few hours..the longer the better.
4. Just before serving, break a few nilla wafers on top for extra cruch...yummy ( i even had one myself!)
Notes:
1. You can use plain milk instead of soy milk.
2. It is better to get the sugar free pudding for health reasons..i had this full sugar pudding on hand, so i just used it. You can also make pudding grom scratch if you want to make this desert in an hour instead of 15 mts (he he).
3. Vanilla extract can be omitted too...i added for extra vanilla flavor.
4. You can make the pudding in a big container, but may lose out on the looks ;)..i think if you are having guests..this is a better option.
5. I am ashamed to give this as an entry for JFI..as it is soo easy, but i will deal with the shame in my own way....no i am not telling how....
This is my entry for the JFI- Bananas hosted by Mandira of
Ahaar .
Monday
Pineapple Kesari Bhath
My earliest memory of eating pineapple kesari was around when i was 10. Our neighbour and my amma's good friend is kannadiga madhwa. Aunty is very religious and would often send over the prasad for us..actually for me to eat, as she was aware that i loved this kesari and her cucumber kosambri. Well, i was not happy to wait for aunty to make and send and would as usual whine about how i never get to eat what i like and all that bakwaas rona-dhona...Well, one day when i came back from school amma had made this for tiffin and boy was i thrilled.
I actually had a deep fried snack planned to RCI - Karnataka..but after frying the last bread batch up..my courage failed me...and Jeeves (my husband) has been asking everyday...kuch meetha hai kya?? and just the other day when he wanted to eat my stash of pineapple i told him to move away (i know..i am a meanie ;)..so i thought this is the best option for RCI and for fixing Jeeves sweet and pineapple fix ;) boy! i am smart
This is off to Asha of Foodie's Hope who is a total sweetheart and is hosting RCI - Karnataka
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
Rava: 1 cup
Sugar: 2 cups
Water: 2 1/2 cups
Pineapple: 1 cup (finely diced - do not use the core)
Ghee: 1 1/2 tbls
Almonds: 10 (broken in bits)
Raisins: 2 tbls
Saffron : a generous pinch
Method:
1. Boil water in a kettle and keep it hot to make the kesari.
2. In a pan, put 1 tbls of ghee, fry the almonds and raisins till the raisins are plumped and keep aside.
3. To the same pan, add the rava and fry till fragrant,remove and keep aside.
4. Again in the above pan, add the pineapple, 1/2 cup of sugar (from the 2 cups), 1/4 cup of water (not from the 2 1/2 cups) and cook the pineapple in medium flame till soft and all the water has evaporated.
5. Add the rava to the pineapple and mix well, and gently add the water while stirring the rava-pineapple mix.
6. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the nuts and raisins, 1/2 tbls of ghee,
1 1/2 cups of sugar,saffron and mix well. Switch off the gas and eat it hot or cold.
Notes:
1. You can definately reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups..it was quite sweet actually.
2. I personally prefer adding rawa to boiling water and not vice-versa...but for this kesari it is not possible...i did land up with a few lumps :( which i very lovingly transferred to jeeves bowl ;) ha ha
3. You can make the same kesari with bananas too.....
Friday
Veggie Bread Rolls
I have a confession to make..i love all food deep-fried..and am certain there are many who are the same. So, i love the samosas,bajjis,bondas...but i love these veggie bread rolls the best. I think it is because, you have to make these at home to eat them..i have never seen them sold anywhere. I remember as a child asking ..actually begging my amma to make these..as she really did not like to make too many deep fried snacks. I think her her reluctance to make any deep fried food was my basic lack of portion control..which sadly has continued to my adulthood too ;)..anyway i digress..i would basically eat 4 to 5 of these and feel miserable the rest of the evening..but would be ready to eat thair-chadam (curd rice) at dinner time ;) he he. She would make 2 types of filling, one was with potatoes and peas the other was tomato and onion. They both are equally delicious and the last time i went home..amma made these and guess what....i overate again ;)
I made the potato peas bread-roll..here is the recipe. I of-course added garlic, which was a complete no-no in my house..so feel free to add in any veggie you want..
Ingredients:
Bread - 10 slices
Potatoes - 3 medium (boiled and mashed smooth)
Peas - 1 cup (boiled and mashed roughly)
Onion - 1/4 cup ( finely diced)
Green Chilly - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic - 1 (finely chopped)
Cilantro - 2 tbls (finely chopped)
Ajwain -1/2 tsp.
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Water- to dip the bread in
Oil - to deep fry(yep..this is not healthy or as RR would say figure friendly...bah!)
Method:
1. Mix in all the ingredients except the bread and oil and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan to deep fry.
3. In a wide bowl, take some water..dip a slice of bread in it for a second, take it out and squeeze all the water..taking care the bread does not lose the shape.
4. Add some of the vegetable filling in the middle of the squeezed out bread and close the edges. Form the bread into an oblong shape making sure the bread is well sealed.
5. Now drop this in the hot oil very gently and deep fry for a few minutes.
6. Eat these when they are hot....and yeah yeah..go ahead and overeat ;)
Notes:
1. Do not get greedy and put too much of filling inside.
2. Preshape the filling in oblongs, so that they fit in the bread easily.
3. Make two at a time and deep fry immidiately, you cannot preform all the bread ahead with filling and fry later,as they will get soggy......water, bread...get it ;)
This is my entry to the WYF- Snacks hosted by Hima of SnackoRama
Tuesday
Wine drunk tofu with sweet sour vegetables
Tofu is a regular feature in our meals...but i usually buy the readymade baked tofu...and use the extra firm tofu that is water packed just for baking or scramble. But, i have been lazy to go and do grocery shopping..to be honest a little scared, as i seem to spend lots and hoard stuff like crazy..the minute i step in whole foods...buying everything in sight! that store does it to me..i wanted to practice restraint ( yeah...just practice..it is very very hard!!). I decided to do the tofu baking myself and this way i control the ingredients.
The baking process is very simple...but the important part is flavor. You must like the way the marinade tastes to enjoy the final product. So, here goes my recipe..as usual everything can be substited.
Ingredients:
Marinade
red wine -1/4 cup (i used cabernet sauvignon)
olive oil -2 tbls
hoisin sauce - 1 tbls
crushed red chilly flakes - 1 tbls
salt -1 tsp
Other
vegetables - 2 cups (i used brocolli,carrots,snow peas,sugarsnap peas,corn)
brown sugar - 1 tbls
rice wine vinegar - 1 tsp.(optional)
peanuts - 2 tbls (toasted)
almonds- 2 tbls
raisins - 1/4 cup
sesame seeds - 1 tbls (toasted)
green Chilly sauce - 1 tbls
red chilly sauce -1 tbls
sunflower oil - 1 tbls
salt - 1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. Drain the tofu over a few paper towels and place a heavy book on it. Let the tofu remain this way for 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the marinade by mixing all the marinade ingredients together and keep aside.
3. After the tofu has been drained for 30 minutes, slice the tofu into pcs and place it in a baking dish in one layer and pour the marinade over the tofu. Let the tofu stay in the marinade for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F and bake the tofu for 30 minutes ( close the dish with an alluminium foil). After the 30 minutes are done, flip the tofu and bake for 20 minutes more without the foil. Baked tofu is ready people!!
5. In a large wok, heat 1 tbls of oil, when it starts to smoke add the veggies and 1/2 tsp. of salt and the brown sugar. If you feel the veggies are getting too dry, you can add the marinade on it to go along.
6. When the veggies are cooked, but have a crunch to them, add the peanuts,raisins,almonds,sesame seeds, green chilly and red chilly sauce and coat the veggies well.
7. Serve this on a bowl and top it with tofu pcs. Do eat the veggies hot..as they become limp when cold..and they do not taste good.
This dish has grapes fermented in form of red wine and also 1/4 cup of raisins so it is going to Swapna of Swad who is hosting AFAM and the theme is grapes.
Notes:
1. All the tofu draining and marination can be done a day earlier. If you do not have the time for allowing to marinate..it is ok..you can bake it the minute you add the marinade to the tofu.
2. Please use the wine you would drink for the marinating the tofu.You can use white wine or altogeher skip this and add more soy sauce instead.
2. Extra tofu pcs. can be stored in ziplocks, but be consumed in a few days. You can also freeze the tofu and thaw it when you want.
Monday
Amish -Parker House Soft Dinner Rolls
There has been a sisterhood of the bread going around in the blogosphere and there is mailing of the dough in mysterious packages..the usps,fedex and ups guys are fainting when they try to get a wiff of the package...what is there in it???? IT IS THE BATTAH(batter)...(s'pozed to say with a flourish!)
I was pretty excited when i received a package from Suganya and no i did not faint when i smelt or tasted the batter...it was of-course fermented and tasted sweet and sticky ( obvious right...sugar,milk....)
I did think on what i would make..initially i thought something dramatic...but when i saw the way the amish bakers of the blogosphere prior to me had tackled the dough and raised the bar too high..i chickened out and made something simple and basic...and i am glad to say they came out delicious in taste..in the looks department..they are average..huh!
Now i pass on the torch to the three sweetest,nicest and kindest chicks of the blogdom ........they are (drumroll please...)
Laavanya of Cookery Corner
Sig of Live to Eat
Sirisha of Ambrosia...Indian Indulgences
I am not going over the recipe on how to ferment the dough..it is given in detail
here
I followed the recipe of the Parker House Rolls from a book called "Bread" by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. Keeping to my nature and not following any directions 100%....i did make some substitutions...so here is what i did.
Ingredients:
2 tbls dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tbls flax seed powder
4 tbls butter (unsalted)
31/2 cup bread flour
2 tsp. salt
(i also used the batter which has 1/3 sugar,milk and all-purpose flour in it)
Method:
1. Warm the milk to room temp. and add the yeast to it. Let it remain in the milk for 5 minutes...then stir it well to dissolve.
2. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl and keep aside.
3.Mix the soy milk and the flax seed powder and whisk well till it foams ( this is a sub for 2 eggs)
4. In a large plastic bowl, mix the bread flour and salt. Make a hole in the center and pour the batter,butter,yeast with the milk and the soy milk with flax seed powder. Stir it with a wooden spoon well....and then turn it to a clean counter.
5. Knead the dough well...you can add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. The dough should feel soft but not too sticky. Knead it for 5-7 minutes and put the dough in a lightly buttered non-mettalic bowl and cover with a dish towel. Keep this aside for 1 1/2 hours.
6. After 1 1/2 hours, take the dough and punch it down and let it rest for 10 mts.
7. When 10 mts are done...divide the dough to 16 portions,form them into balls and place them on buttered baking pans. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes more.
8. Preheat the oven to 425 F and bake these rolls for 15-20 mts..till they sound hollow when tapped underneath and are browned. Cool them on wire-racks...
I forgot one step..that was to give them a brush with the milk before they went in for baking...but they turned out just fine!
We had them with spicy chole and they paired well. I was a little apprehensive that the rolls would be too sweet with that sugar..but it tasted just fine (somewhat like the pillsbury french rolls -freezer section)
Wednesday
Vegetable-Paneer Kurma
There are times when you want something masaledar..and brimming with all the veggies you love with of course paneer yummm..i always land up making this. It is also a great way to throw in leftover veggies or when you have just 1 carrot..handful of beans..1 potato....(u get it..) on hand.
Again... with the weather getting cooler..i start to crave all things bad (i will blame everything and everyone except my lack of self control)..i make this spicy sabji..which i love.
The recipe is super easy and as usual..add..subtract or delete what u want..
Ingredients:
Mixed veggies - 3 cups (diced medium) i used carrots,cauliflower,peas and beans
Paneer - 1 cup (diced)
Onions - 1 medium (diced)( yep....this deserves an entry for itself)
Green chilly -4
Garlic - 4 pods
Ginger - 2"
Cinnamom - 1/2 stick
Cloves -4
Cardamom -4
Coconut - 1/4 cup (grated)
Pine Nuts - 2 tbls ( can use almonds or cashews)
Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp.
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp.
Oil - 1 tbls (3 tsp)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Pan fry the paneer without oil and when browned..take them out on a plate and keep it aside.
2. Add 2 tsp of oil to the pan and fry the garlic,ginger,green chilly cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,onions,coconut,pine nuts,red chilly powder and 1/2 tsp of salt. When the onions start to brown..put this in a mixer and make a smooth paste..adding the yogurt in this (do not add any water)
3. Meanwhile..boil all the vegetables with reqd. salt and drain the water out.
4. In a pan, add 1 tsp of oil, add the jeera, then add the ground masala and cook on low flame for 5 mts, then add the veggies, reqd.salt and cook it for a couple more minutes. Check for consistency now.
5. When you like the consistency,add the paneer..give a good stir and take it out of the flame.
6. Now go ahead...eat it up..tastes great with rotis and bread.
Notes:
1. You can totally omit the nuts..instead add poppy seeds
2. Adding tomato paste would be yummy..but i wanted the kurma to be white.
3. Instead of yogurt..u can add milk,soy-milk or cream!??
Monday
Oatmeal Pongal...Khichdi....
When it is the weekend..i like to make something substantial but easy for lunch..as we get up really really late..so making a full blown lunch is painful and i am no longer in the mood to eat out.. the food really sucks..and i am bored to make sure that there is no meat..no cheese...no this and that...i figure, i might as well make it.
This dish is basically pongal..but has some khichdi element..so the confusion on the title..i thought how would 'Ponchi' sound..nah...'Khigal' worse i tell u...anyway, here is the lo-down on the recipe. It needs a little pre-planning..not that u guys are going to make this...but if you are..keep this in mind.
Ingredients:
Green Moong - 1/2 cup
Red Lobia - 1/2 cup
Carrots,Peas,Green Beans and Corn - 1/2 cup each
Onion - 1/2 medium
Green Chilly -2
Oats - 1 cup (i used quick cooking oats)
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Pepper-Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp (freshly powdered...if possible)
Mustard Seeds,Channa Dal and Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp. each
Oil - 1 tsp.
Ghee- 1 tsp.
Method:
1. Presoak the green moong and red lobia for 2-3 hours (overnite..even better)
2. Pressure cook this for 4 whistles, till they are well cooked..mush them a little.
3. Toast the oats on a dry skillet and keep aside.
4. Dice the carrots and beans to bite sized pcs.
5. Chop the onions finely and split the green chilly in the middle.
6. In a wide pan, add the oil, then add the mustard seeds..when it pops add the channa dal,urad dal and fry in medium high till light brown.
7. Add the onions,green chilly and the rest of the veggies and saute till the veggies are tender. You can add a little water to help along.
6. Add the oats, the milk and the water with required salt and let this cook on medium heat.
7. Add the cooked green moong and lobia when the oatmeal starts to thicken.
8. It will take only a couple of minutes for this to come together. Add the
pepper-jeera powder and 1 tsp. of ghee and remove from heat.
9. The oatmeal thickens a little more in time.
Notes:
1. Adding curry leaves and ginger to this would be really great.. i was out of both of these.
2. Adding cashews to this will be even better..did not strike me when i was making this..
3. This makes a lot..easily enough for 4..just to let u know :)
Sunday
Citrus Overload...
I do not know why i came up with this name..maybe because i cannot call it a screwdriver makeover ;) My earliest memory of drinking would be when i was 17...my best friend's parents had gone out of town..so i went to spend the night at her place. She, her younger sis who was 16 and me opened her dad's whisky and had it.. i really do not remember how it tasted..us doing something improper..was good enough for us. After a drink, my friend was.. 'let's stop re'..but her sis and me had a couple more..ganged up on her and made her drink a few more ;) The rest of the night passed by 3 of us talking and fantasizing about what would happen if we were to get caught and what if we become hooked to drinking ;) sweet times!
This concoction is off to the Monthly Mingle - Liquid Dreams hosted by Meeta .
What you need ..of course add,subtract or delete what you wish...
Ingredients:
1 part vanilla vodka
2 part orange juice
1 part lemonade (not plain lemon juice)
ice- lots
Method:
Pour all the above in a martini sharker or a huge jar (make sure to wrap a towel around it to prevent spills - u gotta improvise people) and shake away to a couple of beats of good music....strain and put in a fancy glass,tumbler or what u have on hand and cheers ;)
Notes:
1. You can omit the lemonade..it is a screwdriver..
2. You can omit the lemonade and the vodka..you get......plain OJ..
3. If you omit the vodka and orange juice.....you get the drift..
Friday
Pal Payasam and an Award
It is a custom to make pal payasam at my home to celebrate anything...what a freakin lie!! well the real deal is my sis and me hate pal-payasam (it is true) and appa is a diabetic and my mom never makes anything for herself.. so this was a novelty at my place.. only when my grandma would visit us and make this as prasadam for guruvayuappan..her favorite god..she even lives in guruvayoor so that she can go to the temple twice a day!
Fast forward many years.. i am married to a nut and he dreams of sweets and payasams and is constantly begging, demanding and asking for sweets and payasams. I decided to make pal-payasam today as he has been working waay to hard at work and as i do not like this...(yeah! from hate to do not like...) so, i may have a cup instead of fighting with him over who ate more and who gets more....
Here is the recipe..super simple
Ingredients:
Full Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1 cup
Rice - 1 fistful (i used ponni rice)
Method:
1. Wash rice at-least 5 to 6 times to remove the starch.
2. Put this rice in a huge vessel (that can fit in ur biggest cooker), add the milk and pressure cook this for 4 whistles and let it simmer for 10 minutes more. The milk should come only to half the vessel, so that there is space for the milk to expand when pressure-cooked.
3. When the steam is released,take the vessel out of the cooker and keep it on the gas top and cook it on low heat for 10 mts.. you should get some color on it by now.
4. Add the sugar and cook it for 10 minutes more on low heat so that it reduces and gets deeper in color.
5. Pour into bowls (like me) or coffee mugs (like my husband!) and drink up ;)
Notes:
1. This is not the thick and creamy versions.. as there is too little rice.
2. Have tried making it low fat.. not that great.. but can be done
Now on the award...ta.dah!!
keerthi has been kind to give me this award.. thanks keerthi it does make me happy to realise that i am a schmoozer.. in real life that is a horror but in blog life.. a compliment..that is for sure..
i am supposed to pass this on to five.. but i think i am giving this to every person who makes the effort to hit my blog ( yep.. i am selfish;) but on a serious note.. it is cool when i see people who get a minimum of 30 hits on every entry go all out and compliment and encourage others.. that is cool and you all know who they are.. so keep on rocking people or should i say keep on schmoozing ;)
Thursday
Quinoa....what is that ??
What is Quinoa!! went thru my mind when i saw it in whole foods a couple of years back. I did not pick it up but was definately intrigued..i then heard about it.... in vegan and vegetarian forums and thought that perhaps i would try it out. The first time i bought it .. i peered in, it looked really like fat mustard seeds but creamy in color, i put the packet in a canistor and forgot about it. I think more than forget, i was too lazy to experiment.. what if i don't like this! i have to make something else!! or nope.. no veggies at home..yeah right ;). But, you get the point, it was one excuse after another and then it happened.. i got bored of eating indian,mexican,chinese,sushi and yes.. indo-chinese..so it was then i said what the hell.. just make it and i love it and it is quite regular at my home.
The texture as nutty and delicious, but i also feel it is very light to eat, so it great for dinner.. as i will not feel guilty when i walk to baskin and robbins for desert.. yep! they are that close to my home he he he
This quinoa dish is a mix of both indian and italian flavors.. no parm cheese tho :(
Ingredients:
Quinoa - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Carrots - 1/2 cup (diced small)
Peas - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup (diced small)
Garlic- 1 clove (crushed)
Green Chilly - 1 (finely diced)
Rosemary - a few stalks (chopped finely)
Pine Nuts - 2 tbls (toasted)
Raisins - 2 tbls
Olive Oil - 1 tbls
Salt - as needed
Method:
1. Wash the quinoa a couple of times using a fine mesh strainer and cook it in a pot adding 2 cups of water. Boil the quinoa and water, then let it simmer to cook well.
When cooked, take out from heat and let this cool, the grains will be quite sepetate by now.
2. In a pan, add the oil, then add the chopped rosemary,garlic,green chilly,onions and carrots and cook in medium heat till soft.
3. Add the peas,raisins and salt and cook in medium heat till all the veggies are cooked.
4. Now add the pine-nuts and the cooled quinoa and stir this gently.
5. Take out from heat and serve warm.
Notes:
1. Do not add more than 2 cups of water to cook the quinoa. Maintain the 1:2 ratio.
2. Toast the pine-nuts in a seperate saucepan before you add to the quinoa.
3. Make sure you do not burn the veggies.. i know u guys will not.. but the quinoa is delicate and all the flavors show.
4. The 1 cup makes tons...i mean it, so plenty of left-overs :)
Now guys, i want you people to try it out.. no you do not have to follow my recipe.. but i think it is fun when we try something new.. you know, they all taste great :)
To know more about quinoa read here
Tuesday
Ribbon Pakkodam
i admit.. this is a crappy photo... i was tired people!!
This is my favorite childhood snack and i remember amma would make dabbas of these at a time and hide them in different places so that my dad and me would not get to them. So, my father and me would go through 10-15 dabbas to find the extra stash... yeah! we both love to eat snacks. I remember being greedy and eating handfuls when i would open the dabba in the store-room where this dabba would be eventually found and then take some on my plate 'formally' for my mom to see ;) this way i would have had waay too much and would skip dinner... which eventually would culminate to ... you know what! me getting yelled at.. well, all that was just like water off a duck's back, because i love pakkodam :)
I am submitting this to Latha who is hosting goodies for Krishna Janmashtami at the
yum blog
This recipe was something i have never written down, but asked my mom a hundred times to repeat and keep telling her 'i am writing amma!!' so this is off my memory. Actually, it is fairly simple and it came out really good... but nothing close to my mom's who is the family pakodam champion ;) i think all of us go thru this, whatever we make, our mom's do better...
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Rice flour - 3 cups
Besan - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 to 1/1/2 tsp.
Hing - a pinch
Butter - 1/4 cup (room temprature)
Salt - to taste
Warm water - to make the dough
Oil - to deep fry
Method:
1. Sift the rice flour and besan to ensure they combine well and are free of lumps.
2. Add the red chilly powder, softened butter and salt and mix it in the dough well.
3. Add the warm water and form a dough. It should be thick but not too hard ( your hands will really hurt when you press the dough out, if the dough is too hard)
4. Make big oblongs of this dough and feed it in the pakkodam press.
5. Heat oil and press the pakodam in a circular motion and deep fry till golden.
6. Line tissues in the container you are going to store these goodies and place the pakodams after they have cooled in a strainer/colander.
Notes:
a) if you do not have butter on hand, warm oil can be used instead.
b) the dough should be soft when pressed by hand so that you do not get an arm workout when you are pressing over the oil.(i know people say the dough should be hard...ignore them ;) )
c) trust me, it tasted fine, not crappy the way that photo has come out... but
of-couse nowhere close to amma's :)
Saturday
Oolan
This is my no.1 favorite along with morukootan. This was very much a regular in my house as i used to love this, and another regular was molagutal which is my sister's favorite. This dish is simple,delicious and naturally low in fat. Anytime i visit India and my amma wants to know what i want for lunch, my standard answer is make morukootan with oolan and papadam.. it really trasports me to a happy place and nourishes me when i become the bear and move on to sleep for hours and hours to end. When i get up and i am grouchy, i go to the kitchen and looking at leftovers of oolan makes me smile and i am to another round of pigging out with curd and mango pickle..he he
The recipe is so simple.. here it is
Red Pumpkin - 2 cups
White Pumpkin- 2 cups
Red Lobia -3/4 cup
Green Chillies -2
Coconut oil - 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Method;
1. Soak the red lobia overnight and pressure cook it till soft. This never gets mushy.
2. Dice the pumpkins in 1" cubes and slit the green chillies in half.
3. In a kadhai, put the pumpkins, green chilly and 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 tsp. of salt and cook till the pumpkins are soft, not too mushy (it does mush a little)
4. Now mash the cooked lobia a little and add to the pumpkins. You can add more water if you feel the dish is too thick.Add remaining salt as needed.
5. When the oolan starts to boil, add in the coconut oil and switch off the gas.
6 Now serve this with morukootan or sambhar.. it tastes soo good.
Notes:
Coconut oil really adds another dimension to this dish, so do use it if you have.
Add minimum water to cook the pumpkins, as they have enough water in them.
You can use one color pumpkin too
The consistency of the dish should be on the thicker side not soupy...but should not be too thick (u guys get it right!!)
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