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!??

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 :)

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..

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 ;)

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

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 :)

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!!)