Poonam's Kitchen

Butter Naan and methi matar malai (Flat bread with green peas & fenugreek in white sauce)

2009-02-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favourite veggie combination when it comes to naan. This is a low fat version of the methi matar malai and it tastes really superb. Methi matar recipe was given by a friend of mine who is good in cooking north Indian dishes. Naan recipe was given by my pachi (ma's youngest sis)
This delectable combination goes for the Event Made for Each Other hosted by Asvadha.

Butter Naan:

Ingredients:
Maida - 3 cups
Milk - 2 tbsp
yogurt - 2 tbsp
oil - 2 tbsp
honey - 1 tbsp
yeast - 2 tsp
sugar - 1 tsp
salt to taste

Method:
In a small cup take ¼ cup lukewarm water and dissolve sugar and yeast. Set aside for 15 minutes till frothy.
In a wide bowl, take maida, oil and salt and mix well to get something like bread crumbs. Now add milk, yogurt, honey and knead to a soft dough. If necessary add only milk and not yogurt. Knead well for 5 minutes. Keep covered in a warm place for 2 hrs. The dough doubles in volume. Knock and punch and knead well again. Make big round balls and keep aside. Dust the ball with flour and roll out into oval shape. Heat a tawa. Meanwhile smear your hand with water, place the naan on the wet hand and place the wet part of the naan on the tawa to fry first. This gives a burnt spots on naan giving the tandoor effect. Smear butter on naan and cook on the other side till the naan puffs up. Serve hot with side dish of your choice!!!

Methi Matar Malai (green peas and fenugreek leaves in white sauce)

Ingredients:
Methi leaves - 1 cup, chopped
fresh/frozen green peas - 1 cup
onion - 1 chopped
oil - 2 tbsp
jeera - ½ tsp
tomatoes - 2 large
low fat milk - 1 cup
sugar - ½ tsp
salt to taste
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Masala Paste:
onion - 1
green chillies - 4
ginger - 1" piece
garlic - 3 cloves
cashew - 2 tbsp, chopped
poppy seeds - 2 tsp

Method:
Soak cashew and poppy seeds in ¼ cup warm water and leave aside for 15 minutes.
Blend these soaked ingredients with onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic to smooth paste.
Wash methi leaves, add ½ tsp of salt leave aside for 15 minutes and then sqeeze out of water.
Blanch tomatoes in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and blend to a smooth puree.
Heat a tbsp oil, add jeera and fry till it crackes, add the methi leaves and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
Heat another tbsp of oil in a kadai add chopped onions and fry till golden brown. Add the masala paste and fry well till the raw aroma disappears. Now add the pureed tomatoes, garam masala and fry. Add green peas, fried methi leaves, milk, sugar, salt and ¼ cup water. Cook covered till thick and saucy. Serve hot.

Apple Halwa

2009-02-18T02:07:00.000-08:00

Vidhas of Appetizing Recipes has passed me this Award. Its really sweet of her to do so and I am highly oblidged, Vidhas thanks a lot!!!!!

On that happy note I am posting a sweet today!!!
This was that particular sweet dish which I have been waiting to try since a year now. We all like to munch on apples, so I hardly get them in fridge begging to be used. I tried this halwa with green apples. They are not that sweet but slightly sour to taste which my hubby loves and me and my daughter a complete no-no. There were just 3 remaining and I had try this before my hubby would finish it off. By the way this recipe is from Shilpa who needs no introduction to this blogging world. For the step by step neat pictures refer here.

Ingredients:
grated green apples - 3, approx 2 cups
sugar/sugar free - ¾ cup
ghee - 1 tsp
Almonds - 8
cardamom powder - ½ tsp

Method:
Wash and peel apples. Grate them fine.
Crush almonds with rolling pin.
Heat ghee in a non stick pan, add grated apples and fry till rawness disappears and the mixture is dry.
Now add sugar to the cooked mixture and keep stirring till it leaves the sides of the pan.
Meanwhile add crushed almonds and stir.
Grease a dash of ghee onto the plate and keep ready. Once the mixture comes out dry leaving the sides of the pan put off the flame, add cardamom powder and mix gently. Transfer it to the greased plate and spread evenly with a spatula till the top is smooth and shiny.

Let cool for around 10 minutes and cut into desired shapes and let cool completely.

As I used green apples this halwa was sweet and tangy. I am planning to cook it next time until just done ( not too dry) and use as an accompaniment with chapathis like jam for my daughter.

This Halwa is for the following Events:
Recipes for the rest of us - Dessert hosted by Varsha and started by Ramki of One Page Cookbooks &
Diabetic Friendly Sweets hosted by Mythreyee

Choco Carrot Cake

2009-02-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to make something really different for Valentine's Day. I also wanted it to be eggless since my daughter should avoid eggs in her diet. I found this recipe on Active Cooking and had to give this a try. It really tasted wonderful and my daughter was happy to see these hearts in her hands.

Ingredients:
Flour/Maida - 1½ cups
brown sugar - ½ cup
white sugar - ½ cup
cocoa powder - ½ cup
baking powder - 1 tsp
baking soda - ¼ tsp
grated carrots - 1½ cups (approx 2 medium)
melted butter - ¾ cup
vanilla essence - ½ tsp
walnuts - ½ cup, crushed
milk - ¼ cup

Method:
Grease a cake tin dusted liberally with flour. I used the muffin moulds.
Sift the baking powder, cocoa, baking soda with flour. Mix in the walnuts.
In a bowl, take butter and sugar and beat well.
Fold in the flour mixture, carrots. Mix well add milk to get the pouring consistency.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Preheat the oven at 200 degree centigrade. Bake for 10 minutes at 200 degree centigrade. Reduce the temperature to 160 degree centrigrade for further 20 minutes till done.
Remove and allow it to cool completely. Invert and tap out gently and then serve.

This cake is off for the following Events:
My Favourite Things: Love - Heart Shaped Foods hosted by Bindiya at "In Love with Food"
Cook and create with luv for luv since I made this just for my 2 cute hearts in my life!!!! hosted at Asankhana.
Just for You by Alka at Sindhi Rasoi

Chana Poha ( sweet n spicy beaten rice with chicpea sauce)

2009-02-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

Chana poha is usually served as an evening snack or as main breakfast dish during the fasting days in Konkani Cuisine. Since this dish is filling and healthy it was prepared frequently among the joint families. At my grandma's place this dish was almost a daily affair as an evening snack. My mother made it a weekly affair during her fasting days( be it Monday or Friday). Thankfully we all liked it during our childhood days and even now. My daughter too adores it. I make it on weekends either as an evening snack or on any other lazy day when I have some cooked chickpeas in my fridge.
I learnt this dish from my mom hence Mamama(grandma)'s Chana-poha for Sakshi.
This dish is for the Event "Cooking for Kids with love" hosted by Pritya.

Poha Chutney(Sweet n Spicy Beaten Rice):
Ingredients:
Thin beaten rice - 2 cups
grated coconut - ½ cup
grated jaggery - 2 tbsp
salt to taste
seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
dry long red chillies - 2
curry leaves - 1 sprig
coconut oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Heat coconut oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add red chillies and curry leaves and rosat on low flame till nice and brown. Let aside to cool.
In a wide bowl, pour this seasoning and crush well. Add beaten rice, grated coconut, grated jaggery, salt and mix well. Sprinkle little water to moisten the poha. Cover and keep for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: In a jiffy, mix sambar powder to the remaining ingredients and season only with mustard and curry leaves.

Chana (Brown Chickpea sauce)
Ingredients:
Brown chickpeas - ½ cup
salt to taste
grated jaggery - 1 tsp
seasoning:
coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 4 leaves

Method:
Pressure cook chickpeas with 2½ cups water till soft and done.
Add salt and jaggery and get to a boil.

Season with mustard and curry leaves.

Note: Raw banana or potatoes can be added as bharshi( to get along with in konkani) with chickpeas to give a thicker consistency.

Serve the poha and then pour chana over it or serve side by side. The gravy from the chana soaks up the poha and makes it soft and delicious to relish!!!

Gulla Bhajji ( Smoked Eggplant dip)

2009-02-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

This is my favourite!! Infact I was called guula by my siblings during our childhood days. We would keep names to each other, my favourite was eggplant hence they named me guula just because they hated the look of it. Even now when I go home I ask my ma to make it. Thankfully my daughter also loves it, so I have a company now. This dish is really easy to make. All those eggplant lovers give it a try and you will never repent!!! This dip is specially for the "Chutney/dip Mania Event" by Ramya's Mane Adige.

Ingredients:
Green brinjal/ mattigulla or purple brinjal - 1 big
green chillies - 1-2
salt to taste
asafoetida/hing water - 1 tsp if powder use ½ tsp
tamarind - marble size or tamarind paste - 1 tsp
coconut oil - ½ + 1 tsp

Method:
There are two ways of cooking Brinjals.

1.Wash the brinjlal and wipe it dry. Keep the stem intact. Prick all over with a fork. Smear the brinjal with coconut oil and keep over direct flame till it turns brown first turn over and brown all the sides then wait till it turns black allover(almost burnt). This gives a smoky effect to the brinjals. (as we do for bhartha).
2. Wash and cut the brinjals into big cubes. Add water just enough to cook the brinjals. Cook till done.
Set aside to cool the smoked or cooked brinjals. Then peel off the skin and take the inner pulp in a bowl. Add chopped green chillies. salt and hing water/powder, tamarind and mash well with a potato masher. OR just blend all the ingredients except brinjals and coconut oil to coarse paste. Add this paste to brinjal pulp and mix well. Add coconut oil and mix well. gulla bhajji is ready to be served with rice or can be eaten just like that.

Variation:
1tbsp coconut can be added while blending or mashing to thicker consistency.
Asafoetida can be replaced by chopped onions and coriander leaves(do not blend).

Rava Laddoo

2009-02-09T02:25:00.000-08:00

We all have a sweet tooth hence come sweets or chocolates its finished within seconds( hence I don't buy as there is no control over it). But when somebody gifts you with sweets both my hubby and daughter are thrilled and happy to recieve it. Last weekend a friend of mine 'A' had come over with her parents (parents are on visit) for dinner at our place. Her mother had made this laddoo and brought it for us. We ate it all enjoying it till the last bite. Somehow when I saw only 5 laddoos remaining I had to quickly click a shot to send this for the Event " Who's Gona Cook for me". I got the recipe from A's Mom the very next day as the event was meeting its deadline.

Ingredients:
semolina/rava - 1 cup
fresh/frozen grated coconut - ¾ cup
sugar - ¾ cup
ghee - 1 tbsp
water - for syrup ( slightly more than the sugar level)
spice powder- recipe follows
raisins - as per the number of laddoos

Spice Powder
Cinnamon - 2"
clove - 6
cardamom seeds - 2 tsp

Dry roast these spices and blend to a fine powder. This spice powder can be stored in an air tight container.

Method:
In a wide bowl take rava and grated coconut. Mix well and leave aside for an hour or so.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry rava-coconut mixture on a low flame till nice aroma infuses your kitchen.
Now in another pan take sugar and water. Get it to a boil and cook to one-thread consistency. This will take approximately 10 minutes or so. Put off the flame.
Add rava-coconut mixture and spice powder. Let aside to cool completely.
Roll out into laddoos piercing with one raisin per laddoo.

Note: If the sugar-rava-coconut mixture hardens sprinkle milk and roll out laddoos.

Rava Laddoo is on its way to the Event " Who's Gona Cook for me" hosted by PJ at Seduce your Tastebuds

Daal Palak

2009-02-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

This is again a simple dish and falls into the category of comfort food and healthy too. There are various ways to make Dal Palak. I got this recipe from a magazine (Food and Location Courtesy: Le Royce, Pune, India). I followed this recipe blindly without any changes and I must say it turned out really good.

Ingredients:
yellow lentils/ toor daal - 1 cup
spinach/palak leaves - 1 cup (washed and chopped)
tomato -1
onion - 1
ginger garlic paste - ½ tsp
turmeric powder - ½ tsp
lime juice - 2 tsp
oil - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - ½ tsp
green chillies - 2
red chilli powder - 1 pinch
salt to taste

Method:
Wash and soak lentils in warm water for an hour. Meanwhile wash and chop spinach leaves. Peel onions and chop onions and tomato finely. Wash and chop or slit green chillies according to your taste.
Take a heavy bottomed pan and cook the yellow lentils/toor daal in it. OR Pressure cook for 2 whistles. When cooked ¾th, add spinach leaves, onion, tomato, salt, turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste. Cook everything together till done.
In a small frying pan heat oil, add the cumin seeds, green chilli and red chilli powder, temper the daal.
Add lime juice in it and mix it well. Serve hot with rice.
We had it with rice and Aloo methi bhaji. Superb and healthy combo!!!

Daal Palak also goes to the Event Weekend Herb Blogging at Daily Tiffin and also to Haalo's site at Cook (almost) anything at Least Once.

Aloo Methi Bhaji (Fenugreek-Potato stir fry)

2009-02-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

Fenugreek/methi leaves are enriched with Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin C and has good dietery fiber. Though these leaves are bitter in taste it has always been our favourite!!! Whenever I find it in the market...I buy it immediately. This time I got a huge bunch of it. Hence you guys can look forward for herbal posts...;))for few more days. This is a simple dish my ma makes and goes well with rice as well as chapathi.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2 medium, peeled and diced
fenugreek(methi) leaves - ¼ bunch, approx- 1½ cups washed and chopped
onion - 1 finely chopped
green chillies - 1 , slit
cumin seeds - ½ tsp
turmeric powder - ½ tsp
red chilli powder - ¾ tsp
salt to taste
oil - 1 tsp

Method:
Cook potatoes in a pressure cooker till done or microwave for 7 minutes HIGH.
Thoroughly wash methi leaves and chop them fine. Place them in salted water for 5 minutes. Rinse and use.
Peel and chop onions and slit green chillies.
Heat a kadai add oil, splutter cumin seeds and then add onions. Saute till brown.
Now add methi(fenugreek) leaves and saute on medium flame till methi leaves are wilted and rawness is gone.
Now add red chilli powder. turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Add cooked potatoes, mix and cover with a lid. Cook on low flame for 5 to 10 minutes stirring in between. Aloo methi bhaji is ready to eat.

Aloo Methi Bhaji is off to the Event Weekend Herb Blogging at Daily Tiffin and also to Haalo's site at Cook (almost) anything at Least Once.

Vermicilli and Sabodana kheer

2009-02-07T03:41:00.000-08:00

Lost in the process of posting recipes...I didn't even realise that I had crossed 50 posts..Only today when I saw my 55th post...I did!!! Hence on this Happy Occasion I thought nothing better than kheer to sweeten your tastebuds. This kheer is my hubby's and kiddos all time favourite. My daugher just adores these white pearls with vermicilli.

Ingredients:
vermicilli- 1 cup
sabudana - ¼ cup
sugar - 1 cup
milk - 2½ cup
water - 1 cup

cashew and raisins for garnish
cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:
Soak sabudana in 1 cup of water for half an hour. Cook till the sabudana turns into transparent
pearl- like.
Get the milk to a boil in a milk pot.
Heat ghee in a kadai, fry cashews and raisins and keep aside.
In the same ghee add vermicilli. Fry on low flame till light brown. Now pour hot milk into the kadai and cook vermicilli. When they turn soft add cooked sabudana and get to a boil.
Now add sugar and cook further till the sugar melts down. Sprinkle cardamom powder and turn off the flame. Let rest for a while and have it warm or cold as you like.

Note: The consistency of the kheer should be thinner since the kheer thickens as it cools.
Adjust the sweetness according to your taste.

This Kheer is for the Event Recipes for the rest of us -DESSERT and One Page Cookbooks

Mixed Salad

2009-02-03T01:46:00.000-08:00

This salad is a meal by itself for those keen on eating healthy and light dinner. I had prepared this salad for a get together we had last week. This was an instant hit, liked by everybody. As I said earlier I always have a stock of cooked chickpeas, green gram and black chana sprouts in my fridge.

Ingredients:
onion - 1 big
tomato - 1 big
cucumber - 1 medium
green apple - 1
cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas - ½ cup
mixed sprouts - 1 cup
frozen sweet corn - ¼ cup
frozen or fresh peas - ¼ cup
coriander leaves - 1 handfull, chopped

Dressing
Olive oil - 1 tsp
lemon juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
Freshly crushed pepper - 1 tsp

Method:
Peel and dice onions. Wash and dice tomatoes, green apple and cucumber.
Defrost frozen sweet corn and peas or MW HIGH for a minute.
In a Microwave safe bowl, take cooked chickpeas(I do not add salt while pressure cooking chickpeas), mixed sprouts, sweet corn and green peas. Add salt and Microwave HIGH for 1 minute.
This step is optional. If using canned chickpeas omit this step.
In a small bowl, take the dressing ingredients and whip well till oil is well mixed with lemon juice and salt-pepper dissolves completely. Dressing should be added just before serving. This imparts a fresh flavour.
Take a salad bowl, take diced onion, tomato, cucumber, green apple, chickpeas, sprouts, sweet corn and peas. Mix well. Now swirl in the dressing and mix well.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

This salad is on its way for the Event SWC- Salad under 15 minutes at Cooking Station by Lakshmi

Onion Kulcha and Mushroom Masala

2009-02-02T01:33:00.000-08:00

Dinner is always simple no rice affair at our home. Its either chapathi with subzi or stuffed parathas or dosas but no rice. Yesterday I saw this recipe for Onion Kulcha on Active cooking which seemed to simple enough to be tried. Mushroom Masala is my daughter's favourite. I have tried many recipes and this particular recipe is inspired from Spicy Tasty which I found while browsing through google. I havn't made many changes except for a few. And yes it tastes like the one made at restaurants.

Onion Kulcha

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat flour or Atta - 1 cup
onion - 1 medium
green chillies - 1
coriander leaves - 3 sprigs
mint leaves - 6 leaves
carom seeds/ajwain - 1 tsp
red chilli powder - ½tsp (optional)
pomegranate seeds - 1 tsp, coarsely ground
salt to taste

Method:
Prepare a stiff dough with flour and water. Allow to rest for an hour. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and make round balls.
Peel and chop onions finely. Wash and chop green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leaves finely
Prepare stuffing using chopped onions, green chillies, coriander and mint leaves. Add salt, red chilli powder, crushed carom and pomegranate seeds.
Take a dough ball and flatten each with a rolling pin into a round disc. Place a portion of the filling in the middle of the disc, fold in the filling and pinch off the excess dough to seal the edges. Then flatten again with a rolling pin into a large disc.

Place each kulcha on a plate and put it in a microwave to grill each side for 5 minutes or till brown spots appear on the kulcha. One can also tawa fry as for chapathis. Dab with a dash of butter for kids and serve hot with Mushroom Masala.

Mushroom Masala

Ingredients:
Mushrooms - 1 packet around 8 big sized
Onions - 4 medium
garlic - 6 cloves
ginger - 1" piece
cashewnuts - 10-12
cardamom - 2
cinnamon- 2
Bay leaves - 2
Red chilli powder - 2tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Hung yogurt - ½ cup
Tomatoes - 2 medium
coriander leaves - handfull
butter/oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp

Method:
Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for 15 minutes to drain off the excess water.
Blanch tomatoes in hot water for 5 minutes. Peel off the skin and puree to a smooth paste.
Peel and chop onions, garlic and ginger roughly into small pieces.
Boil a cup of water and add the chopped onions, ginger, garlic and cashews. When onions becomes soft enough. Put off the gas and let aside to cool.
Meanwhile heat a pan and dry roast cinnamon and cardomom seeds on a low flame. Powder them into a fine powder using mortar and pestle.
Wash mushrooms thoroughly in running water. Pat dry the mushrooms. Slice Mushrooms into thin slices. Heat a tsp of butter in the pan and saute mushrooms till nice and brown.
Blend the boiled mixture to a smooth paste.
Now in the same pan, heat butter/oil add cinnamon-cardamom powder and bay leaves. Saute for a while and add the smooth paste. Fry on medium flame till the oil comes to the sides of the pan.
Now add red chilli powder, garam masala, salt.
Add hung yogurt and mix thouroghly. Now add tomato puree and cook for another 8 minutes till the gravy is nice and red. Now add stir fried mushrooms and mix well. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Onion Kulchas and Mushroom Masala is off to the Event Healthy Family Dinners at What's for Lunch Honey? and Monthly Mingle Page

Kurle Gashi (Crab in coconut gravy)

2009-02-01T03:30:00.000-08:00

This is a konkani dish for non veg lovers. Simple yet delicious and lip smacking. My daughter is a great crab fan and me too. My hubby doesn't have the patience to work on the peeling of crab shells and eat it. So we just buy a little just to satisfy our taste buds.

Ingredients:
Crab - 10
grated coconut - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 6
tamarind - lemon size ball
Onions - 1 medium
salt to taste

Clean and wash the crabs. If the crabs are too big cut them into two. Crush the legs lightly(hammer or pestle) to ensure ease while eating.
Blend coconut, red chillies and tamarind to smooth paste.
Take this masala in a pan/kulle(mud pot). Add salt and get to a boil. Now add crab pieces and chopped onions and cook till the crabs are cooked.

Just before putting off the flame add a tsp of coconut oil and cover with the lid. Kurle gashi is ready to be served with boiled rice or white rice.

Chana Sukke (Brown Chickpea masala)

2009-01-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

This is a typical Konkani dish usually prepared during festivals and marriages. This humble dish goes well with any kind of saaru/daals. I made this specially for the event CHICKPEAS.

Ingredients:
Dry brown chickpeas - 1 cup
suran/yellow cucumber or magge - a small piece
Frozen/fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 8
urad daal - 2 tsps
coriander seeds -3 tsps
tamarind - marble sized
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
salt to taste

Method:
Soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook till done and keep aside.
Chop suran or yellow cucumber into cubes and cook separately till done. Mix the chickpeas and suran and keep aside.
Roast dry red chillies till crisp separately. Now roast urad daal and coriander seeds in ½ tsp oil till brown.
Blend dry red chillies, grated coconut and tamarind to a smooth paste. Finally add roasted seeds and blend further for 30 secs.
Add the blended masala, salt to the chickpea-suran mixture and get to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a small pan/panna kayli add mustard and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the chana.
Serve hot with rice and daali.

This dish is off to the Event JFI Chickpeas at Sometime foodie

Chilli Paneer Wrap

2009-01-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

Somehow Paneer has not been our favourite!!! But we do eat during the parties and get-togethers. I wanted to participate in the MEC: Paneer. So finally bought a small packet of frozen paneer and thought that will try it on my daughter as she would'nt be able to guess the basic ingredient Paneer.
I went through my cookbooks which I have maintained since 1995 when I started helping my ma.. I used to note it down. There are various recipes from TV cookery shows to the recipes given by friends and relatives. This particular recipe was from Tarla Dalal and I always knew it was worth a try. I made a few changes according to my availability of ingredients. My daughter loved it at the first bite and ordered to pack the same wrap for school the next morning.

Ingredients:

Chapathis - 4, left over or freshly made.
Yogurt dip or Mayonnaise or any spread of your choice

Filling:
Frozen or fresh Paneer - ½ cup, cut into 1" cubes
spring onion white or onion - ¼cup
schezuan sauce - 1 tbsp
capsicum - 1 medium
spring onion greens - ¼cup
olive oil - 2 tsp

Sauce:
soya sauce - 1 tsp
cornflour - 1 tsp
sugar - ½tsp
salt and pepper to taste
water - ¼cup

Method:
Defrost paneer and dice them into cubes. Chop finely spring onion white and greens. Wash and chop capsicum into small squares.
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.

Take a microwave safe medium sized bowl. Add olive oil, spring onion white or onions. MW HIGH for 2 minutes. Now add the schezuan sauce and MW HIGH for another minute. Now add paneer cubes, capsicum and sauce mixture. MW HIGH for 3 minutes, till the soya sauce mixture thickens and coats the paneer and capsicum. Add spring onion greens and mix well. Keep aside.

Divide chilli paneer filling into 4 portions. Spread the yogurt dip/mayonnaise on the chapathi. Spread one portion of the filling in the centre of each chapathi and roll up tightly.

Warm the rolls wrapping them in a paper towel and MW HIGH for 40 secs.
Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

Chilli Paneer wrap is off to the MEC: Paneer Event and MEC: Announcement

Chicken Sausage Rice

2009-01-26T01:40:00.000-08:00

This is a very easy dish when you really want to eat non vegerian and you cannot lay hands on anything other than frozen sausages. As i said earlier we were fasting last week and hence my daughter really wanted to eat sausages her favourite!!! I usually make this dish when I am really lazy but I made it today just to satisfy her taste buds and yes she was indeed happy to eat them all.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
onions - 1 medium
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
green chillies - 4
carrot - 1 medium
fresh or frozen peas - ½ cup
chicken sausages - 5
salt to taste
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
coriander leaves - ½ cup, finely chopped
olive oil or any cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Cook rice separately and set aside to cool.
Peel and slice onions finely. Wash and slice green chillies lenghtwise.
Wash, peel and chop carrots in to small pieces.
Defrost peas if using frozen peas.
Cook chicken sausages in boiling water till tender. Cool and slice them into roundels.

Now heat oil in a non stick kadai. Add sliced onions and when slightly brown add ginger-garlic paste and continue stirring till nice and brown. Now add slit green chillies, chopped carrots, peas and chicken sausage roundels. Add salt and garam masala and stir fry till the sausages are lightly fried.

Now mix in the cooked rice. Stir well till all the rice is spiced up. Cover and cook for another
5 minutes on low flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with raitha of your choice.

Sunday Snacks Hot n Spicy

2009-01-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

These dishes are my last minute entry to the Event "Sunday Snacks Hot n Spicy" at All Thingz Yummy by Pallavi.

Vegeterian Snacks

1. Masala Bhindi

Falafel
Vegetable Cutlets

Non Vegeterian Snacks

Prawn Chilli
Tangdi Kabab
King Fish fry

Rulaava Bhakri ( Spicy Semolina Dosa)

2009-01-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

This is the dosa i hated the most all my life until my marriage. When I was doing my Engineering at my Aunt's place she would make this dosa once in a fortnight and I couldn't tell her that I hated this dosa. I used to eat only half and when nobody's around slowly flip the dosa under the book and give it to my friend who used to yearn for homely food. Finally I was caught red handed when i forgot the book at my study table and my aunt saw ants all over my book to see dosas inside!! ;))

Infact I used to tell my amma that i will totally ban this dosa after marriage. Gosh!!!! This is my hubby's favourite and he wouldn't mind having it everyday for breakfast and now my daughter's too. I had to take back my words and nobody believes when i say that I have started liking this dosa now... Really strange!!! Ultimately we are ready to do anything for our family!!! Now i don't have any particular dislikes as such. Now thats the part of growing up!!!

There are many variations to this basic batter like adding cucumber makes it thoushe bhakri. Basic ingredients also varies with each household. So its your taste that decides the ingredients going into this dosa!!!

Ingredients: makes 5 dosas
Semolina - 1 cup
grated coconut - ¼cup, fresh or frozen
green chillies - 2
ginger - 1" piece (optional)
coriander powder - 1 tsp
jeera powder - ½tsp
salt to taste

Ingredients:
Pound grated coconut, green chillies, ginger and salt to coarse paste. One can blend this in a blender. Another option is to chop the green chillies and add. Now take semolina in a bowl add the coarse paste and coriander- jeera powder. Add enough water to make a thick batter. Leave aside for 10-15 minutes.
Heat a tawa till moderately hot. Now take a fist full of batter and spread it out with your hands to dosa shape. One can also use ladle to do the same. Cover and cook on medium flame till the rawness disappears. Flip over to the other side and cook till nice and brown. Add ghee/butter while frying. Serve hot with a dollop of butter or have it with sugar or just like that.

Masala Bhindi

2009-01-23T03:22:00.000-08:00

This is the dish i found from Jaya V. Shenoy's "Oota Upahaara" when i was eagerly looking for No onion-garlic recipes and I must say it is one of the healthiest and easiest dishes I have ever come across.

Ingredients:
lady's finger/okra/bhindis - ½ a kilo
lemon - 1
Besan/gram flour - 1 cup
coriander powder - 1 tsp
jeera powder - 1 tsp
hing powder/gum - 1 pinch
salt to taste
red chilli powder - 1½ tsp
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and pat dry the bhindis. Trim off the ends. Slit the bhindis vertically almost to the end (but keep the end intact).

Sprinkle salt all over the bhindis and leave aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile sieve besan and add red chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder and hing powder/gum(dissolved in water).
Mix well.

Sprinkle this mix over the bhindis till well coated. Sqeeze out the juice of lemon onto the bhindis.
Heat a non stick pan add oil, and arrange the spice coated bhindis in a single layer. Cover and cook on medium flame stirring in between. Cook till the bhindis turn out crisp and nice.
Serve hot as a starter or with steamed rice.

Birinda saaru (Kokum Soup)

2009-01-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

This is a dish that always remains close to my heart as it was our favourite back home. Now its only me who loves it the most so I rarely make it. As kids I remember we sisters used to fight for the last sip even though amma used to make it in a large pitcher. Anyways going deep into the childhood memories makes me nostalgic and a lump in a throat and tears in my eyes.. Say !! Whatever ...Childhood memories are to be cherished!!!
Coming back to this dish, it goes very well with rice and a spicy side dish or just sip on it like a drink!!! And yes it stays good for a couple of days well refrigerated. The taste enhances as time passes and reheated!!!

Ingredients:
Dry Kokum/birinda - 5 petals
green chillies - 2
grated jaggery - 1 tsp
salt to taste
ghee/oil - 1 tsp
dry red chilli - 1
garlic - 8 cloves

Method:
Crush garlic along with the skin (Do not peel).
Wash the dried kokum twice and soak in 2 cups of water for about 15 minutes. Add green chillies and salt and get the mixture to a boil. Cook till it is reduced to 1¼ cup. Now add grated jaggery and cook for a minute. Meanwhile heat a small pan (panna kayli) add ghee/oil when hot, add crushed garlic and saute till light brown now break red chillies into the pan and saute for another 5 seconds and pour the seasoning into the birinda mixture cover and get to a boil. Doing this will enable the garlic flavour infuse into the birinda mixture. Leave aside for 10 minutes. Then sip it warm (discard the kokum and chillies) or serve with plain rice and fish tawa fry or upkari. Simple yet healthy!!!! The shots might not be appealing but I bet you will like it once you taste the sweet n sour Kokum Soup.

My First Award!!!

2009-01-22T04:37:00.000-08:00

Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen gave me this "Lemonade Award"

I feel so honoured to get it from Sunanda. Thank u Sunanda U brought in a big smile on my face!!!
I would like to dedicate this award to all my fellow bloggers as I have just started to point out individually. Thank you one and all.

Batata Vaagu (Potatoes in spicy masala)

2009-01-21T01:24:00.000-08:00

This dish falls into the category of Konkani cuisine/Amgele Randapa which is usually prepared and served at "Tera javana/Pejje javana" in temples during Car Festivals for five days. This course of meal is served in the mornings. Paaj is Rice gruel/kanji/ganji served with delicious side dishes. One among them is batata vaagu. Batata is potatoes and vaagu literally means Tiger probably bcoz of the redness and hotness of the dish. This hot dish goes very well with the bland rice gruel or with steamed rice and daalithoy. Batata vaagu is similar to Batata saung in many ways but only that this is a No onion-garlic dish

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2
Tomatoes - 1
Dry red chillies - 5-7( I used 5)
coriander seeds - 1 tsp
fresh/frozen grated coconut - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
salt to taste
coconut oil - 1tsp + ½tsp

Method:
Wash, peel and boil potatoes in a Microwave oven for 8 minutes HIGH. OR
Pressure cook whole potatoes till done and peel them.
Chop the boiled potatoes into small cubes.
Heat ½ a tsp of oil and fry red chillies and coriander seeds till light brown. Take care not to burn the seeds.
Now blend the fried red chillies and coriander seeds along with grated coconut and tomatoes to a smooth paste. Heat another tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds let them splutter. Add curry leaves saute and add the spicy masala. Saute this masala over medium flame till rawness disappears and the gravy is bright red in colour. Now add salt, ½ a cup of water and chopped potatoes. Cover and cook on medium flame for around 8 minutes. The gravy thickens. Cook till the dish is semi-dry.

Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Note: I have made a slight variation in the making of this dish. Traditional recipe calls for blending only fried ingredients with coconut. Chopped tomatoes are normally added to the pan after seasoning with mustard and curry leaves and cooked along with the ground paste. I wanted it to finish up fast and hence a shortcut. Its tastes all well anyway!!!!

Coriander Kadi

2009-01-20T04:41:00.000-08:00

I made this kadhi for lunch today and believe me when i say I got it from one of the cookery shows (Kannada channel - Suvarna) today morning at 9am. It was an instant try. These days we are on saatvik diet (pure veg - no onion-garlic) and this dish came as a blessing in disguise. One of the easiest gravies best served with white/brown rice. I also made cabbage upkari and cauliflower/capsicum bhajo(bhajia) to meet up with the new dish I introduced to my family. Both my hubby and kiddo loved it. A real comfort food one can really yearn for!!!!

Ingredients: Serves 3
fresh/frozen grated coconut - 1/2 cup
coriander leaves - half a bunch
green chillies - 1
cumin/jeera seeds - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt/buttermilk - 1 cup
salt to taste

Seasoning
coconut oil or any oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
dry red chillies - 2 long
curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:
Pick and wash coriander leaves and chop them roughly. Wash and chop green chillies roughly.

Grind grated coconut, chopped coriander leaves and green chillies, jeera seeds to a fine paste in a blender. Transfer the ground paste into the pan/pot/vessel. Add ¼cup water and salt and get to a boil. Now put off the flame.

Beat the yogurt till creamy or just use buttermilk. Add this to the boiled mixture and put on the flame and cook on low heat till u get a first boil. DO not boil for a long time as the yogurt will curdle.

For seasoning, heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add dry red chillies and curry leaves fry for 3 seconds and pour the seasoning into the kadhi. Serve it warm with rice.

Urad daal and semolina Idli ( Rulavaan Idli)

2009-01-19T01:57:00.000-08:00

Idli, famous south Indian breakfast dish as everybody knows is made with urad-rice batter. It is one of the important Breakfast dish among the Amchis too. But on fasting days like Sankashti, Ekadashi or Panchami we konkanis eat only one meal a day that is rice in the noon. So breakfast and dinner has to be wheat and its products. Neither onion nor garlic. Hence on these days semolina is given uttermost importance. Various kinds of dosas are made using semolina which I will be posting in future. But this particular idli comes out really soft and tasty.

Ingredients:
Urad daal - 1 cup
Semolina - 2 cups

salt to taste

Method:
Soak urad daal for minimum 3 hours to maximum overnight. Grind to a smooth paste using a blender or a grinder. (Grinder gives the best results letting the urad daal to really double up in volume).

Meanwhile semolina has to be steamed/roasted and cooled before adding to the ground urad daal. There are 2 ways. Semolina can be simply roasted over a low flame till aromatic OR wrap up the semolina in a clean cloth (tie a knot neatly so that moisture doesn't get into the semolina) or newspaper (take 2 layers of paper and fold it neatly like an envelope). Now place this wrapped semolina in a vessel in an Idli maker and steam for around 15-20 minutes on medium flame (if using a pressure cooker remove the whistle). Allow the semolina to cool. I personally feel steaming semolina gives fluffier idlis. This part of steaming/roasting semolina can be done well in advance.

Once the semolina is cooled add enough water to make a thick paste ( OR the water used to clean up the blender after taking out the ground urad daal ;)) supposedly not to waste the urad daal sticking onto the bottom of the grinder/blender).

Now add the semolina mixture to the ground urad daal and beat well. let it ferment overnite. Next morning make idlis. Serve with sambar and chutney of your choice or its soulmate daali-thoy.

Also check Shilpa's recipe for rulavaan idli here.

Falafel

2009-01-18T04:13:00.000-08:00

My first try on Falafel was here in Doha where we used to carry this "fast food" wrapped in a pita bread while watching movies in Cinema Hall. I fell in love with this snack the very first time i tasted it. Falafel balls can be eaten alone as a snack or as a sandwich topped with salad, pickled vegetables, hot sauce and tahina. I was eagerly wanting to try this snack at home. But the problem was tahina. I was really not confident how would this tahina turn out if tried at home as I am not a great fan of sesame seeds. Then after a long hunt, i found this ready-made tahina paste at the grocery.

There are lots of recipes to this particular snack but i found this recipe at Namratha's blog -
Finger licking Food which tempted me to make this dish the moment I read it and I am really happy that I gave it a try. I have done minor changes here and there as I did not have few ingredients like oregano but still it was great to taste.

Ingredients:

Dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans - 1 cup
baking powder - 1 tsp
onion - 1 medium, chopped
garlic - 4 cloves, smashed
cumin powder -1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
pepper powder - ½ tsp
Coriander leaves - one handfull
salt to taste
Breadcrumbs for binding

Method:
Soak the dried chickpeas overnight or slightly more. Rinse and drain.
Blend all the ingredients except bread crumbs to a coarse paste. Refrigerate for a while to get firm balls. Shape the blended and refrigerated mixture into nice round balls and arrange these balls in a single layer in an air tight container and freeze them in advance if using for a party or just deep fry these balls on medium flame till golden brown. Serve hot with Hummus, Yogurt dip and Pita bread.

This savoury snack and Vegetable Cutlet goes for the EFM - Savouries hosted by Srilekha at Me and My Kitchen

Festive Food Makar Sankranthi

2009-01-18T01:44:00.000-08:00

Reposting the delicious Sweet Kichidi for the Festive Food Event Makar Sankranthi hosted by Priti at Indian Khana

Health mix Puttu

2009-01-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

Puttu and kadala curry is a typical Kerala breakfast dish and I never got to eat it until my marriage. I just loved it the first time I tasted it and this puttu became one of our favourites and being one of the easiest ones to make i had no problems at all. The only requirement is the puttu maker for perfect puttus. But one can use a thali as well. I usually made normal white rice flour puttu. Lately when i came across Sharmi's blog at Neivedyam i got to know there are many varieties too and luckily I got the Double Horse Brand Puttu flour and tried my hands on health mix puttu and it really tasted great. I have not made any major changes at all. Sharmi's recipe is here.

Ingredients:
Health mix puttu flour - 2 cups
Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup
salt - 1 tsp
sugar - 1tsp

Mix the puttu flour,salt and sugar well. Sprinkle little quantity of water on the flour mixture and mix. Keep sprinkling water until the flour mixture seems to be moist but not doughy. As sharmi said Check for doneness by taking some flour in your hand to make a fist and see if the flour holds together. This means the mix is ready to get steamed.

Heat the bottom pot of the puttu maker with half the water in it. Meanwhile Sprinkle little grated coconut on the bottom of the puttu cyclinder. Spread moist flour on it followed by the grated coconut. Continue layering till the cyclinder is filled finishing with a coconut layer. Cover the puttu vessel with a lid and steam for 10 minutes.

When done, remove the lid and push the puttu with a help of a round rod(which comes along with a puttu maker) onto a serving plate.
Serve hot with kadala curry or chutney or bananas

This dish goes for the event MBP: Easy Breezy Breakfast Event which was started by Coffee of the spice cafe

Schezuan Fried Rice

2009-01-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

Veg Fried Rice has always been our favourite. Even if I prepare this dish every week sakshi and RK have no issues. Hence I tried this variation of fried rice which i got from Tarla dalal's Rice Recipes and I am glad i tried it.

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
garlic - 4 cloves
vegetables - 1 cup (carrots, capsicum, cabbage and beans)
spring onions - 2 stalks
schezuan sauce - 2 tbsp ( recipe below)
oil - 1 tbsp
salt to taste

Schezuan Sauce: makes ¾cup
Dry red chillies - 12 to 15 (kashmiri or Begdi)
white vinegar - 3 tbsp
garlic - 3 cloves
sugar - 2 tsp
sesame oil - 1 tbsp
salt - 1 tsp

Soak the dry red chillies in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain out all the water from the chillies and discard it. Grind all the ingredients except the oil in a blender to a fine paste. Keep aside. Heat oil to smoking point and pour over the paste. Mix well. Allow to cool and store refrigerated in an air tight container. Use as and when required.

Method: Schezuan Fried Rice
Heat a pot of water and get to a boil. Wash the rice and add to the boiling water. Add salt and cook till the rice is just done. drain off the water and set the rice to cool on a paper towel. This step can be done well in advance if preparing for a party.
Peel and finely chop garlic. Wash and finely slice all the vegetables. Wash and chop separately spring onions green and white.

Heat oil, add chopped garlic and saute till it turns golden in colour. Add spring onion white and veggies and saute for 2 to 3 minutes on high flame. Add schezuan sauce and cook for another minute. Add cooked rice, spring onion greens, salt and mix well. Toss for a few seconds till all the ingredients are well mixed. Serve hot.

This dish is on its way for the Event HARVEST: THE FESTIVAL OF RICE hosted by Sudeshna at Here I cook

Thingalavare kolombo ( bean Sambar)

2009-01-12T02:23:00.000-08:00

Thingalavare in english is French bean is what I assumed. But i am not sure!! Anybody there to help me out ??

This bean is widely used to make many dishes in Konkani cuisine. My amma mainly prepares thingalavare gashi, saar upkari, saung and sambar. We as kids used to relish this with rice as well as dosas instead of chutneys. This bean powder is said to have many medicinal properties.

Ingredients:
Thingalavare/french beans - 1/2 cup
potatoes - 1 small
sambar powder - 2 tsp
onion - 1 small
tomatoes - 1 medium
coriander leaves- handfull
salt to taste

Method:

Soak thingalavare in water overnight. Next day morning drain the soaked water and add 3 cups of fresh water.
Wash and peel potatoes into small cubes.
Pressure cook the bean along with potatoes till done
Wash and chop tomatoes. Peel onions and chop them roughly.
Take the cooked beans and potatoes in a vessel and get them to a boil. Add salt, onions and tomatoes and cook further for 5 minutes or till the tomatoes are cooked.
Now add sambar powder and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves and boil further till consistent gravy is obtained. Bean sambar is ready to be served along with rice and any side dish of your choice.

Rajma Sambar is also made similarly but using kidney beans (Rajma).

This dish is on its way to the event "My Legume Love Affair, Seventh helping" hosted by
Cooking 4 all Seasons and to The well Seasoned Cook by Susan.

cabbage and green peas curry

2009-01-11T03:43:00.000-08:00

This is a semi-dry side dish which goes well with rice as well as chapathi. All the ingredients are stir fried in very little oil and hence an healthy dish made in a very less time.

Ingredients:
Green Cabbage - 1 cup
fresh or frozen green peas - 1 cup
tomato - 1 medium
turmeric powder(haldi) - ¼tsp
green chillies - 1-2
garam masala - ½ tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 7-8
coriander leaves - few strands

Method:
Wash and shred cabbage finely.
Defrost green peas (if using fresh wash and use MW directly) and Microwave HIGH for 1 minute.
wash and chop tomato into fine pieces.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let them splutter. Add cabbage, green chillies and turmeric , mix well. Cover, simmer and cook for 5 minutes till half done. Then add peas, tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes till crisp and tender. Finally add garam masala and salt. Garnish with coriander leaves.

This dish and Surnali goes to the event FIC- JANUARY- YELLOW by Sunshinemom at Tongue Ticklers

Winter treat Event

2009-01-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

This is my entry for the event Winter treat hosted by Trupti at Recipe Center.

1. Vegetable cutlets

2. Babycorn Chilli

Surnali (Sweet Dosa)

2009-01-10T04:43:00.000-08:00

Surnali is a traditional breakfast dish among konkanis which is also called takka surnali. This dosa is sweet in taste and best eaten with butter or ghee. These dosas can be made without jaggery too and named cheppe surnali (sweetless dosa) which goes well with any chutney or pickle. We like it anyway. Hence what I do is divide the batter before adding the jaggery and leave one batter just like that and add jaggery to the other.
My friend's mother adds chopped onions and green chillies to the batter(without jaggery) and make dosas. Even they turned out good!!!

Ingredients:
Dosa rice - 2 cups
methi seeds - 1 tsp
Beaten rice(poha)/puffed rice(charmuri)/layi - 1 cup ( I used beaten rice)
grated coconut - ¾ cup
yogurt/butter milk - ¾ cup
salt to taste
jaggery - ¾ cup grated

Wash dosa rice and methi seeds in water 3 times or till water comes clear. Soak in rice and methi seeds in water for 3 hours. My amma soaks rice and methi seeds in buttermilk instead of water and then uses it while grinding. But here I prefer to soak it in water.
Soak beaten rice in water for about 10 minutes
Grind soaked ingredients along with coconut and beaten rice to smooth paste. Add yogurt instead of water for smooth grinding. If the yogurt is used up add only little water as the batter should be slightly thick as it comes to normal dosa consistency once you add jaggery since jaggery melts making the batter thin. Take the batter in a vessel add salt, turmeric and grated jaggery. Mix well and set aside to ferment for minimum 8 hours or overnight. The batter almost doubles in volume.

Mix well. heat a dosa griddle (my MIL says non stick pan works best since they do not brown underneath and surnali's are fluffy soft!!! Choose whichever pan you have) when moderate hot pour ladlefull batter onto the pan and just give a soft swirl. Do not spread the batter. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame for 3 minutes max. Now open the lid - dosa would have had tiny dimples all over !!! check for any raw batter on top if so cover and cook further for another minute. Surnali is cooked only on one side. Underside of the surnali should be golden brown. Take care not to blacken them as the taste will be lost.
Serve hot with butter/ghee or enjoy just like that.

Batate saung ( Potatoes in red gravy)

2009-01-08T04:07:00.000-08:00

Potato saung and daali thoy is my hubby's all time favourite. RK doesn't mind eating this everyday and hence this is our favourite now though i don't prepare this everyday...i make it a point to make it atleast once in 15 days.

Ingredients:
potatoes - 2 medium sized
Onions - 2 medium
red chilli powder - 1½ tsp
tamarind pulp - 2tsp
salt to taste
coconut oil or any oil of your choice - 1 tbsp

Method:
Pressure cook potatoes, peel the skin and chop into cubes. OR peel and chop potatoes into cubes and place them in a Microwave-safe dish and add just enough water and microwave for 8 minutes more/less depending on the power of your microwave oven.

Peel and chop the onions to square pieces.

Heat oil in a kadai add chopped onions and saute till light brown. Now add red chilli powder fry for a minute. Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and sqeeze out the juice or use ready-made tamarind pulp.( i used home made tamarind pulp). Add this pulp to the kadai. mix well. Now add cooked potato cubes and saute for a minute. Add salt and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame or till semi dry. Serve hot with rice and daali thoy

Methi (Fenugreek) Pulao

2009-01-05T04:23:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my amma and she makes it quite often as methi has high medicinal properties inspite of its bitter taste. This Pulao is a complete and healthy meal by itself when served with raitha of your choice.

Ingredients: serves 2-3
Rice - 1 cup (Basmathi/sona masoori or any rice)
methi leaves - small bunch
Onions - 2
green chillies - 2
clove - 2 (optional
cinnamon - 1" (optional)
ginger - 1"
garlic - 4 cloves
tomatoes - 2 medium
garam masala powder - ½ tsp
red chilli powder - ½ tsp
turmeric powder - ½ tsp
water - 2 cups
salt to taste
refined oil/olive oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash methi leaves till the water comes out clear(not muddy) For the final rinse add salt and leave for 10 minutes and then drain the leaves on a colander. Chop the leaves finely.
Wash rice well in running water and keep aside to soak for 30 minutes. Drain it and keep aside the water in which the rice was soaked.
wash and peel ginger and garlic and blend to a smooth paste.
Peel onions and slice them finely.
wash and chop tomatoes into fine pieces.
wash and slit green chillies.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed non stick kadai, when hot splutter cloves and cinnamon then add chopped onions, slit green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and saute till brown. Add chopped methi leaves and saute for around 5-7 minutes until the leaves are wilted and turns dark green in colour. Now add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder. saute for about 30 secs and add chopped tomatoes. Mix well and cook till tomatoes are soft and nice.

Now add salt and rice and saute on low flame for around 3 minutes till the rice turns opaque. Meanwhile make 2 cups of water with the water that was used to soak the rice ( so that the nutrients of the rice are not gone a waste). Boil the water separately in a vessel and add to the methi-rice mixture. Increase the flame to high and get the mixture to a boil.
Cover the lid, reduce the flame to medium and cook for around 7 minutes without interfering in between. Put off the gas and forget it again for another 5 minutes. Don't peep to check if the rice is cooked. After 5 minutes or so, open the lid and tranfer the pulao into the serving bowl and serve hot with raitha of your choice!!

Oats Halwa

2009-01-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

During pregnancy, each one goes through several kinds of cravings like sweet, salty, spicy or fatty preferences. End up result will be the bulge which we gain in 9 months. Eating sensibly a healthy balances diet will not only help during delivery but also during post delivery to loose the sensibly gained weight.

Crunchy,nutty, highly nutritous with high fibre content makes oats a breakfast favourite. But during pregnancy that might not be your favourite. But eating them is also important because:
-Oats are high in carbohydrates for sustained energy which will make you feel full for a longer time.
-Oats contains high water soluble and dietary fibre, which aids in controlling weight gain.
-Oats provide zinc, which is needed for growth, reproduction and good vision.
-Oats also provide magnesium, iron, the antioxidant Vitamin E and the vitamins niacin and thiamine.

Now don't you feel that oats plays a major role in pregnancy. Those craving for sweet nothings can make this in minutes and fullfill your cravings. My mom used to make badam-kaju burfi using powdered badam and kaju with milk and sugar...so i tried the same with oats. It is a real treat to the sweet tooth.

Ingredients:
Quick cooking white Oats - 1 cup
ghee - 1 tbsp+ greasing
milk - 1 cup
sugar - ¼ cup

Coarsely powder oats in a blender. Heat a tbsp of ghee in a wide pan, add coarsely powdered oats and roast till llight brown and aromatic. Now add milk and then sugar and keep mixing till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Grease a thali lightly with ghee and then spread this mixture evenly. let cool.
Cut into desired shape once cooled and enjoy them!!!

This dish, Palak Pulao and Palak Chutney is my entry to the Event
Eat healthy - During Pregnancy hosted by Sangeeth at Art of cooking Indian food.

Yogurt Dip

2009-01-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

This is one of the easiest and instant dish if u are too busy or if you are too lazy to cook any side dish for rotis. If u have left over or frozen parathas or kubbus(pita bread) this is just the right dip for you.

Ingredients:
skimmed thick yogurt - 1 cup
garlic - 1 clove
coriander leaves - 2 sprigs
salt to taste
red chilli powder - ½tsp
lemon juice - 1tsp

Method:
Beat the yogurt well till creamy.
Crush the garlic to coarse paste
finely chop the coriander leaves
Add the crushed garlic and chopped coriander leaves to the beaten yogurt. Mix well. Season with salt and lemon juice and mix again, finally garnish with chilli powder and just swirl with the spoon and serve with parathas or pita bread.

This dish can also be used as a salad. Just add chopped cucumber, onions and tomatoes and u have your salad ready!!!

This dish is my entry to the event Recipes for the rest of us Event hosted by Ramki at One Page Cookbooks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-01T02:15:00.000-08:00

WISH YOU & YOUR FAMILY A
VERY HAPPY, BRIGHT, PROSPEROUS,
HEALTHY, WEALTHY, NEW - YEAR 2009 & AHEAD

Prawn Chilli

2008-12-31T03:37:00.000-08:00

This dish is all time favourite at my mom's place and always make it a point that my amma prepares this particular dish when we go vacation and enjoy every bit of it. My hubby and kiddo also like it to the core.

Ingredients:
prawns - 50 small prawns or 10 tiger prawns
onions - 3
ginger- 1"
garlic - 8 cloves
green chillies -2
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
jeera powder - ½ tsp
Tomato - 2
Soya sauce - ¾tsp
tomato sauce - 1 tsp
coriander leaves - for garnish

Method:
Peel ginger and garlic and grind to a smooth paste.
Peel and chop onions finely. Slit green chillies
Wash and chop tomatoes into fine pieces.
Heat oil a heavy non stick kadai, add ginger-garlic paste, saute for 2 secs and add onions. Fry on medium flame till dark brown. Now add all the powders (coriander pd, jeera pd, red chilli pd) and saute for 30 secs. Add tomatoes and cook on slow flame with the lid on till nice and soft. Now add prawns cover and cook for 5 minutes. Do not add any water as prawns leave out moisture. Finally add soya sauce and tomato sauce and stir well till the prawns are cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves.

This semi-dry dish goes well with Vegetable Fried rice or noodles or simple rice and daal.
Use tiger prawns and dry up the gravy to use as a starter.

Burnt corn and sprouts salad

2008-12-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

This would be my contribution for two events coming up.
This salad is very healthy and nutritious and a favourites among kids too!!

Ingredients:
frozen sweet corn - 1 cup
sprouted black chana - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 small
tomato - 1 medium
green capsicum - 1 small
Dressing
olive oil - 1+1/2 tsp
lemon juice - 1 tsp
chilli powder - 1 pinch
salt to taste

Method:
Defrost sweet corn, heat 1/2 a tsp of olive oil and roast corn on medium flame till slightly burnt.
Blanch sprouted black chana in salted hot water and drain.
chop onions, tomato into small squares
chop capsicum into small squares, red and yellow capsisum could also be added to make the salad colourfull.
Mix all the veggies in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so.
whisk out olive oil, lemon juice chilli powder and salt in a small bowl and keep ready.
Just before serving, mix in the dressing into the veggies thoroughly and serve straight away.

This Salad is my entry to the Cooking for Kids Event hosted by Sharmi at Neivedyam.

and also to the JFI-Sprouts Event hosted at Ammalu's Kitchen.

Walnut Crunchies

2008-12-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

This is my first try on cookies and gave a try just to send it for Christmas Events. It was a huge hit. I am totally new to this blogging world but yet trying to make it up fine. The main reason for not trying these cookies were the amount of butter which goes into it...you know...But on occasions its perfectly fine!!! And when the whole world is enjoying the Christmas Eve...why stay behind and whats the best gift to the kids than baking cookies at home, yea Sakshi helped me while preparing these crunchy cookies!!!! By the way i got these cookie recipe from NDTV contributed recipes. I made a few changes though.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
white Sugar - 1/2 cup (recipe asked for brown sugar)
unsalted butter - 1/2 cup
crushed walnuts - 3/4 cup
vanilla essence -1 tsp
salt - 2 pinches

Method:
Blend sugar to fine powder or use castor sugar.
Beat sugar and butter till light and fluffy.
Sieve Baking powder and All purpose flour together.
Add these sieved mix to the beaten butter-sugar mix. Add vanilla essence and mix well to form a dough. Add the crushed walnuts mix well.
Form small flat rounds. Preheat the oven, arrange the cookies on a baking sheet. Place the cookies giving some space between the cookies to fluff up. Bake at 180 degree C for 10-12 minutes or till light brown. Cool well and store in a airtight jar.

These cookies are my entry to the Holiday Cookie Baking Event hosted by Sharmi at Neivedyam and Christmas Feast Event hosted by Purva at Purva's Daawat.
and Santa's Holiday Challenge Event hosted by JZ at Tasty treats.
and Baking for Beginners Event hosted by Vandana Rajesh at Cooking up something nice.

Vegetable Cutlets

2008-12-23T03:02:00.000-08:00

Tasty and healthy altenative for the hunger pangs on a lazy weekend. I prepare these yummy cutlets in advance and freeze them. Just defrost them for 30 secs in microwave oven and shallow fry whenever you feel like eating these yummies!!! These cutlets are a boon in disguise when guests drop in.

Ingredients: makes 10-12 cutlets
onions - 1 big
ginger - 1" piece
garlic - 4 cloves
green chillies - 3
beetroot - 1 big
carrot - 1
frozen or fresh peas - 1/2 cup
potatoes - 2 medium
oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
salt to taste
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup

Method:
Peel and chop onions finely. Peel and mince ginger and garlic finely. Wash and chop green chillies finely. Easier step dump these onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies in a food processor and mince.
Wash, peel and grate beetroots and carrots.
Thaw frozen peas, add half a cup of water and cook on Microwave HIGH for 1 minute.
Wash and pressure cook potatoes or cook in microwave till done. Peel the skin and mash them.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan, add the minced onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Saute on medium flame till brown. Add salt to taste, grated beets and carrots mix well. Add cooked peas and mix well. Now add garam masala powder, mix well and put off the flame. Let aside to cool.
Now add boiled and mashed potatoes and knead well to smooth. Check for the seasoning, add salt if desired at this stage.

Shape out the mixture into round or oval flat patties. Place the bread crumbs in a wide plate. Roll the patties over the bread crumbs till fully coated. Now heat oil in a tawa and arrange the cutlets. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook on the other side till nice and brown. Serve hot with mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

Tom n Jerry Chicken (Tangdi Kabab)

2008-12-22T03:41:00.000-08:00

This kabab is usually made with chicken drumsticks(legs) and is a favourite among the kids. This recipe is from Sanjeev Kapoor's cookbook. Last time when I had been to Mangalore on vacation my sis and nephew Adi were also there to stay with us. Adi is 4-1/2 yrs just 5 months younger to Sakshi. He was down with viral fever and had totally lost his appetite. One night, for supper he asked his Mamama(grandma- my mom) to prepare Tom n Jerry Chicken for him. She was in confusion as to what is he talking about, later only we realised that he is a big fan of Tom and jerry cartoon and had seen Tom eating this chicken drumsticks. Hence the name Tom and Jerry Chicken!!!! Since then its Sakshi's favourite too.

Ingredients:
Chicken drumsticks - 8
lemon juice - 1 tbsp
ginger - 1"
garlic - 6 cloves
green chillies - 5
skimmed milk yogurt - 1 cup
gram flour - 2tbsp
haldi - 1 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
salt to taste
chaat masala powder - 1 tsp
lemon wedges for garnishing
Butter for basting

Method:
Clean and trim the excess fat and skin from drumsticks.
Dry them with a clean and absorbent kitchen towel. Make 3 to 4 long and deep incisions. Apply lemon juice and keep aside.
Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for 15-20 minutes to drain off the excess water.
Dry Roast gram flour on low heat, stirring continously. Set aside to cool.
Grind ginger and garlic to a smooth paste.
Wash and mince green chillies coarsely
In a wide bowl, mix roasted and cooled gram flour, hung yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, haldi, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and green chillies.

Marinate the chicken in the above marinade and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.( I usually marinate overnight).

Final cooking
OVEN

Place the marinated chicken on a greased oven safe dish and roast in a preheated oven at 220 degree C for 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 180 degree C, baste the chicken with a tbsp of butter and further cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn drumsticks couple of times to ensure even cooking and colour.

MICROWAVE
Place the chicken drumsticks on a microwave safe plate with thicker side facing outwards.
Cover with a cling film and cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. turn over once.
Again cover and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes.
Finally uncover and cook on HIGH for 2 minutes. Leave it in the oven for 5 minutes, before taking it out.

PAN FRYING
Heat around 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and arrange chicken drumsticks neatly so that they are not conjusted while turning over. Cover and shallow fry for 5 minutes. Turn over, uncover and cook for another 5 minutes or till the chicken is well roasted on all sides.

Serve hot sprinkled with chaat masala powder and lemon wedges. (sakshi wanted it with tomato ketchup!!!)

King fish fry ( Visonu tava fry)

2008-12-21T03:07:00.000-08:00

King fish called visonu in konkani is one of the favourites among amchis. King fish is shallow fried with very little oil and hence a healthy dish for the fish lovers.

Ingredients:
King fish - 5 thinly sliced steaks
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
salt to taste
red chilli powder - 2 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
haldi powder - 1/2 tsp
lemon or vinegar - 2 tsp

Method:
Clean the fish and slice into thin steaks.
Prepare the marinade by mixing chilli powder, pepper pd, coriander-jeera pd, haldi pd, salt and ginger-garlic paste. Apply this marinade generously over the fish steaks and marinate for minimum 1 hour. Normally as soon as i buy fishes i clean them all, sort them accordingly as to prepare fry and curries. Marinate them and then refrigerate. This way I have to just defrost when i need to prepare the dish.

Heat a non stick pan, add 1 tbsp oil add the marinated fish and 4 tbsp water along the sides (not over the marinated fish since the marinade will not cover the fish) cover and cook on one side for 3 minutes or till the moisture is absorbed. Turn over and cook on medium flame without the lid till nice and brown. Serve hot with sliced onions and lemon if using as a starter or serve with rice just like that!!!

Ivy gourd and raw cashew stir fry (tendli bibbe upkari)

2008-12-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

This is another traditional side dish which goes very well with daali. tendli is ivy gourd and bibbo is raw cashews. This is no onion, no garlic dish hence highly used during festivals and vraths. In temples during samaradhanes. These cashews hold a special place in konkani cuisine. These fresh cashews are bought during season and used or dried along with the skin for seven days in a muslin cloth and then stored for use in future. I get it from my amma ready to use. I store it in a freezer and remains fresh for more than 6 months. I soak these cashews overnite, peel and use it for my dishes.

Ingredients:
ivy gourd/tendli - 10-15 tendlis
raw cashews/bibbo - 1/2 cup
potato - 1 small piece (optional)
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 2 tsp
whole red chillies - 3
asafoetida/hing - 1 pinch
coconut - 2 tbsp grated.

Method:
If using fresh cashews, peel them and place in water till use. If using dried cashews then soak them for an hour and peel them and use.
Cut the tendli vertically into two and then slice them into 2 or 4 pieces according to the size of the tendli. keep aside. Peel and chop the potato into small cubes. Potatoes are optional but it gives a mushy taste to the dish. This dish is best when cashews, tendli and just done not overcooked. So i prefer making this dish in a small pressure cooker (2 or 3 litre) or cooker pan.
Heat the pressure cooker/pan add coconut oil, when hot enough add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter break red chillies into the pan and saute. Now add the tendli, cashews and potatoes give a quick stir and add hing powder/water, salt and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water, close the lid of the cooker and cook for just 1 whistle and let cool. Open the lid, add grated coconut and cook on medium flame till all the moisture is absorbed and upkari is dried up. The dish is ready to be served.

Sweet Kichidi

2008-12-20T05:02:00.000-08:00

This is a traditional dessert of konkani cuisine. Combination of chana daal and broken wheat gives a chewy texture to the dessert. This is a healthy dessert which is less oily, garnished with chopped bananas and dry fruits.

Ingredients:
broken wheat - 1 cup
chana daal - 1 cup
sugar - 1 - 11/2 cup
coconut - 1 cup grated
cardamom - 2 pods
ghee - 1 tbsp
cashews - 1 handfull
raisins - 1 handfull
dates - 1 handfull (optional)
Water - 7 cups

Method:
Dry roast broken wheat and chana daal separately in a pan for around 5 minutes stirring around in between( do not over roast chana daal since it doesn't get cooked ). Set aside to cool.
Wash chana daal and broken wheat 2 times. Add 5 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles and simmer for 3 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare for sugar syrup by mixing sugar and remaining 2 cups of water and get to a boil. Simmer for around 5 minutes. Now add grated coconut and mix well. Add cooked chana daal and broken wheat mix well and get to a boil. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Put off the flame.
Break cashews into small pieces. Wash raisins and wipe them dry. chop dates as well ( I did not add dates!!! )
In a small pan heat ghee add cashews and fry till light brown now add raisins and fry till they plump up. Pour this seasoning over the Kichidi. Serve it warm or cold garnished with chopped bananas.

Bitter gourd stir fry (karathe talasani)

2008-12-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

This humble vegetable has always been disliked by many inspite of its good medicinal properties like stimulating digestion to treating diabetes. But it is our favourite veggie and this particular dish is prepared every fortnight. Try this recipe and change your attitude towards this green veggie.

Ingredients:
bitter gourd - 2 medium sized
onions -2 medium
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
green chillies - 2 slit
jaggery - 1 tbsp, grated
tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp
salt to taste
oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Halve the bitter gourd vertically, remove the seeds. Now slice horizontally into thin slices. Add salt leave aside for 10 minutes.
soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and sqeeze out the juice or use ready-made tamarind pulp.( i used home made tamarind pulp)
Slice the onions, slit green chillies and keep ready.
Heat a non stick pan and add oil, pop up the mustard seeds, then add sliced onions and green chillies, saute for 3 minutes. Add sliced bitter gourd to the pan and stir fry for a minute. ( sqeeze out the bitter gourd while adding to the pan - this does not give a bitter taste to the dish but we like it bitter;))). Add tamarind pulp, cover the pan and cook on low flame till the bitter gourd is fried well and cooked say about 7 minutes. Do not add water at all. Now and jaggery, mix well. and cook further for 5 minutes. Put off the flame and serve hot with rice and daali.

Daal ( Daali thoy)

2008-12-16T01:33:00.001-08:00

Now comes the soul of konkani food without which we amchis just don't survive. Diva of all dishes!!!! Thoyi YES .... Daali Thoy...be it marriage, festivals, satsangs or whatever u just need this dish. Its the backbone of konkani cuisine.
Fond memories of the Car festival in Mangalore lays upon me - first comes the side dishes and then the rice and devasthana saaru, i would opt for very little rice and saar, then cames daali with a special note "thoy thoy" i would finish off the rice or else make place for daali by making a round well of rice to hold daali at the centre and relish it, the thick porridge like consistency of daali would make me feel heaven at temple!!!!
Now coming back to reality ..lets start with the recipe to this daali.

Ingredients: serves 4
Tuvar daal - 1 cup
green chillies - 3
salt to taste
Seasoning:
ghee or coconut oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
red chillies - 1
curry leaves - 1 strand
hing(asafoetida) powder - a big pinch

Method:
For starters, let me give the basic details.

Place daali in a vessel that fits into the pressure cooker or cooker itself if cooking directly.
Wash daali once or twice in water and drain. Add 2 cups of water and soak for 20 minutes if time permits, else simply keep in the pressure cooker and
-bring to pressure on medium heat. Reduce heat and cook for 6 minutes - for hawkins - Futura cooker
-bring to pressure for 3 whistles. Reduce heat and cook for 6 minutes - prestige cooker.
I hope this is clear for all the beginners.

you can also cook daali directly but that will need more water and more time to cook.
Once the daali is cooked, mash it with a back of the ladle or masher or egg beater to get a mushy consistency.
Place it over a medium flame add salt and slit green chillies and get to a boil. The daali is ready.
For seasoning:
Heat oil in a small pan (panna kayli) add mustard, once the mustard crackles lower the flame and add whole red chillies and saute add curry leaves and finally the asafoetida powder ( If using gum asafoetida dissolve a big pinch in 1 tbsp water and add it to the daali directly after the seasoning when the daali is still hot). mix well. Pour this seasoning over the daali. Serve hot with rice!!!

Masala Dosa

2008-12-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

This is one of the all time favourites in our family!!! This dish falls into our "weekend special" category so i prepare the bhaji and chutney the previous evening as weekends are for lazing and every woman would readily agree with that.

Now coming to Masala dosa, there are many ways of making it. Typically udupi masala dosa has potato filling with chutney and sambar served as a side dish. My recipe is for Mysore masala dosa with a twist. This recipe is from my amma which she got from my grandma, we have grown eating this masala dosa. I love those masala dosa made in restaurants but nothing to beat this particular masala dosa. So for all those masala dosa lovers try it out to experience the spice flavoured crispy dosas.

Ingredients:
For Dosa
Urad daal - 1 cup
Raw dosa rice - 3 cups
tuvar daal - 1 tbsp
chana daal - 1 tbsp
methi seeds - 1 tsp
salt to taste
sugar - 1/2 tsp

For Potato bhaji
onions - 2 medium
Potatoes - 2 big or 3 medium sized
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad daal - 1 tsp
green chillies - 3 slit
curry leaves - 5 leaves
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

For red chutney
coconut - 1 cup
red chillies roasted - 2
red chillies raw - 1 to 2 ( depending on how spicy u like)
coriander - 1 tsp raw
tamarind - marble size
gnger - 1/2" piece
garlic - 1 clove, peeled
salt to taste

Method:
For Dosa: Soak urad daal, tuvar daal, chana daal, rice and methi seeds for mininmum 3 hours. Grind in a blender or grinder to a smooth paste. The batter is slightly thinner than the idli batter. Add salt and let ferment overnight. when just about to make dosas add sugar and give a stir. This gives the rich golden colour to the dosa. 1/2 tsp sugar will not alter the taste of the batter at all.

For Potato bhaji:
Pressure cook potatoes till soft but firm. Chop them into cubes and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and urad dal and saute till mustard crackles. Now add green chillies and curry leaves and saute. add onions and fry till onions turn pink and transparent. Now add turmeric powder and cubed potatoes and mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and salt and mix well. Cover and cook till the semi dry.
For red chutney:
Grind together coconut, red chillies(if confused with raw and roasted chilli, just add 1 and 1/2 tsp of kashmiri red chilli powder gives a fantastic colour)coriander, ginger, garlic, tamarind with very less water to a semi dry paste. Add salt and mix well.
Final Finish:
Heat a tawa and set the batter, bhaji and chutney ready. keep a glass of water near the tawa. when the tawa is hot enough, sprinkle water and as water sizzles and evaporates pour a ladlefull of batter and spread the dosa. Start from the centre and move outwards in a circular concentric motion till the outer edge is reached. Spread 1 tsp oil along the edges of the dosa. when the dosa is partially cooked, spread red chutney all over the dosa.

Keep one spoonfull of potato bhaji in the centre.

Now fold the dosa with opposite ends overlapping. Now flip the dosa over to the plate and eat it hot.

Vegetable Fried Rice

2008-12-13T03:46:00.000-08:00

This is one of the easiest and most commonly made rice dish. It is light on your tummy satisfying your taste buds as well. A very healthy complete meal if relished at home, goes well with chilli vinegar. the recommended rice is Basmathi but since this rice was out of stock and was lazy to go the grocer downstairs ;)) opted for sona masoori rice and liked it better than basmathi rice!!!

Ingredients:
Sona masoori Rice - 1cup
Garlic - 4 big cloves
spring onions - 4 stalks
capsicum - 1 small
carrot - 1
cabbage - 1 cup shredded
pepper - 1 tsp
salt to taste
soya sauce - 1tsp
vinegar - 1 tsp
red chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
olive oil - 3 tsp

Method:
heat a pot of water and get to a boil. wash the rice and add to the boiling water. Add salt and cook till the rice is just done. drain off the water and set the rice to cool on a paper towel. This step can be done well in advance if preparing for a party.You can also make it the previous day if you tend to panic on the D day.
Peel garlic and chop them fine.
wash and chop the spring onion greens and whites separately.
wash and deseed the capsicum and chop into small squares.
wash and peel the carrots and chop them into small squares.
wash and shred cabbage thinly.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil, add garlic and saute till light brown and add spring onion white and saute. Now add chopped carrots, capsicum and cabbage and saute on medium to high flame. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Push aside these veggies to the side of the pan and heat another tsp of olive oil and add cooked rice and saute till rice is warm and nice, mix the veggies with the rice. Now add soya sauce, vinegar and red chilli sauce and mix well. Add spring onion greens at this point and saute for another 3 minutes and u are done. Serve hot for the best results!!!

Palak Chutney

2008-12-11T02:53:00.000-08:00

During Pregnancy or even otherwise one is advised to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables to keep ourselves healthy and fit. Spinach is one such easily available green leafy veggie containing amino acids, iron, vitamin C and folic acid. But always make it a point to add lemon juice to the spinach dish since vitamin C content in the lemon juice helps the body to absorb the entire iron content from spinach.

As the richest source of folic acid, spinach is a very valuable food during pregnancy and lactation. Megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy occurs because the mother is deficient in folic acid. This deficiency of folic acid occurs as this substance is required for the developing foetus. Regular use of spinach during pregnancy will help prevent the deficiency of folic acid. It will also prevent threatened abortion and accidental haemorrhage, deficient absorption of food by small intestine associated with lassitude i.e. tiredness, shorness of breath, loss of weight and diarrhoea. Spinach is also good source of nutrition for nursing or lactating mothers and improves the quality of their milk.

This recipe is simple and delicious!!! I am not praising it just like that. When you have things handy this dish will hardly take any time. Whenever i buy spinach i always buy 2 bunches if they are fresh and crisp. I clean the leaves rinse and chop them. Heat a knob of butter or any oil and add these chopped leaves and cook till leaves shrink. let them cool. blend them to a smooth puree in a blender and use. This puree stays well in a freezer for a month. Just defrost and use. Normally I prepare Palak pulao palak paneer, palak puris.
Since sakshi is at home on winter vacation my schedule has been disturbed. Hence just cook whatever comes handy!! This puree had been loitering around in my freezer since a week and i did't want to go for an elaborate lunch nor any fast food this was the only healthy alternative i could think off. Hence came up with this dish, hoping to be liked by everybody..

Ingredients:
Palak puree - 1/2 cup
Onions - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 big
oil - 2tsp
mustard - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 5 leaves
red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 1 cup
salt to taste

Method:
Peel onions and slice them thinly.
Wash tomatoes and cut them to thin slices.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them crackle now add curry leaves and saute. Add sliced onions, saute till pink in colour now add chilli powder and tomatoes saute for a while say 2 min on medium flame. now add palak puree and saute for another minute. Add salt and a cup of water cover with a lid and cook on low flame till the tomatoes are mashed and the gravy is semi dry. this will take around 8 to 10 minutes. Serve hot with chapathis

Banana Halwa

2008-12-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

This is a treat for sure for a sweet tooth. The moment I buy these big bananas called nendre bale kalen in konkani both my hubby and daughter expect halwa, at times I simply steam them and serve as an evening snack. They like it either way but halwa as anyone can imagine is a oily stuff!!!

I always avoided them but my Mother-in-law made it at home using home-made ghee, it filled the house with a good aroma. The inspiration to make this halwa came from my mil. I was hesitant while using the ghee and ended up adding 4 tsp of ghee for 4 bananas...yea believe me...thats more than enough. I am sure u will relish this sweet here after.

Ingredients:
Big bananas(nendrabale) - 4
sugar - 1 cup
ghee - 4 tsp
cardamom - 1 pod

Method:
Peel the bananas and chop to bite size pieces. Blend these chopped bananas in a blender to a smooth paste. transfer this paste into a wide bottomed non stick kadai ( the secret behind the 4 tsp ghee). Add sugar and keep the flame on medium and keep stirring the banana mixture till it leaves the sides of the pan. This will take around 20 - 30 minutes. Meanwhile peel the cardamom and crush the seeds to a fine powder and add to the banana mixture. Grease a plate with ghee and keep ready.
To test the doneness of this halwa take a bite size mix onto to the plate and check if the halwa sticks to your hand if it doesn't then the halwa is done. You can always experiment with this halwa either it will be soft if its undercooked or hard like candy if overcooked. You will enjoy it anyways!!!!

Now spread the halwa onto the plate and tap it down with the help of a spatula till its smooth and shiny. let them cool. Cut into the desired shape and store in an air tight container.

sheera ( sooji ka halwa)

2008-12-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

This dessert is simply delicious and can be done in no time. You just need a reason to make this dish call it festival or vrath or sweet yearnings or simply time pass. This dish goes well with pooris and good as an evening snack.

Ingredients:
semolina - 1 cup
sugar - 3/4 cup
water - 2 - 2 1/2 cups
yellow colour - 1/2 tsp
ghee - 2 tbsp
cardamom powder - 1tsp
cashews and raisins toasted in ghee for garnishing

Heat ghee in a wide bottom pan add semolina and roast on low flame till nice aroma fills the kitchen. keep stirring to avoid burning.
Meanwhile heat water to a boil. If you are opting for a burfi type sheera then 2 cups of water is enough. If u prefer halwa type then add 2 1/2 cups of water.
Mix yellow colour to the water and add the boiling water to the roasted semolina and mix well till the semolina is cooked well. now add sugar and mix further. sugar melts and makes the halwa watery. keep stirring well at this point. Add cardamom powder, cover and cook for another minute and put off the flame.
Spread over a greased thali and cut into burfis or just serve as it is like halwa garnish with toasted cashews and raisins.
If u see the picture i have not used the garnishing since both my hubby and sakshi hate cashews and raisins in desserts nor biriyanis;(

Palak Pulao ( Spinach Rice)

2008-12-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Sakshi my daughter used to have days like RED DAY, GREEN DAY, YELLOW DAY etc signifying the importance of that particular colour when she was in KG1 and she was supposed to wear that particular colour dress and talk a few words about that colour and to make everything nice I used to cook that colour lunch for her when she was back from school. This dish is one among them i made for green day.

Ingredients:
spinach - 1/2 bunch
basmati rice - 1 cup
water - 1-1/2 cups
onions - 1 medium
ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
green chillies - 4 slit
salt to taste
a knob of butter
oil or ghee - 2 tsp

Method:
wash and clean the spinach. chop them coarsely. Heat a knob of butter in a pan and add chopped spinach and fry till they shrink. let it cool. grind them to a smooth paste in a blender.

In the same pan heat oil/ghee and add chopped onions and fry till brown, then add ginger-garlic paste and slit green chillies. Fry for a minute. Now add ground spinach and mix well. cook for 2 minutes. Now add rice and saute for another 3 minutes. Now add 1-1/2 cups of hot water and salt and get to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for exactly 8 min on low flame without opening the lid to see if its cooked or not. Put off the flame after 8 minutes and forget it for another 5 minutes. Tranfer to the serving bowl and serve it hot with raitha of your choice.

potato and dill bhaji

2008-12-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

Staying in gulf, the only source of entertainment is either get-togethers or shopping malls which my daughter has started hating now. So we try to meet up every week over 1 dish party or simply get together and get food from out. It was then, my north Indian friend had made this dish, First of all it goes well with chapathi as well as rice and best part is that this dish is really easy to make. She was all in praises and i make it quite often when i am damn lazy!!!

Ingredients
Potato - 2 medium size
dill leaves - 1 bunch (sabsige soppu)
methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
chilli powder - 1 tsp
oil - 2 tsp
salt to taste

Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into thin square pieces. keep the pieces in water to avoid discolouring.
Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add methi seeds and fry till light brown now add potato pieces and give a stir. cover with a lid and cook on low flame stirring in between till the potatoes are cooked and then let it brown if u like the crisp taste of the potatoes. This will take around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile wash dill leaves in water 3 times or till the water comes clear, chop finely and keep aside.
To the cooked potatoes add chilli powder, salt. Mix well. now add dill leaves mix well and cover with a lid. and another 5 min the dish is ready to eat.

Raja Panna upkari ( Mackarel in red gravy)

2008-12-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

Thinking of this dish itself makes me nostalgic and all the memories of my stay in India comes alive. This recipe is just perfect that i always refer to my cookbook which i had written when my amma was making it. The correct amount of spice and tamarind gives the spicy, tangy red curry.

Ingredients:
mackarel - 10(small fish) or 5(big fish)
red masala paste given below
onions - 2 medium
ginger - 1/2"
green chillies - 1 sliced
oil - 2 tsp

Masala paste
whole long red chillies - 8 (gives bright red colour)
whole stout red chillies - 4 (gives sharp spicy flavour)
methi seeds -1/4 tsp
coriander seeds - 2tsp
garlic - 2 cloves
tamarind - lemon size ball
oil - 1 tsp

clean and cut fishes into 2 or more pieces.
Roast whole red chillies in oil till bright and nice. keep aside. In the same pan roast methi, coriander and garlic till light brown, take care not to burn the spices. let cool. Now grind these spices along with tamarind to a smooth paste.
chop onions and ginger finely, slice green chillies.
Now in a kadai heat oil add chopped onions and ginger. fry on a low to medium flame till onions turns beautifully brown, now add slit green chillies and red masala paste.
Add enough water for the gravy consistency and get to a boil.
Finally add salt and fish pieces and cook for another 7 minutes.
This curry tastes the best the next day when all the spices have induced into the fish.
This red curry is served hot with simple plain rice.

If yearning to eat this fish curry in a jiffy, just fry onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies till brown and add kashmiri red chilli powder and tamarind paste. Add enuff water get to a boil and the same recipe follows.

Pepper Chicken

2008-12-03T03:28:00.000-08:00

The recipe to this dish was given by my little sister now working, experimenting on easy recipes to survive. It is one of the easiest dishes ever made. Try it out to believe it. This dish can be used as a starter as well as a side dish

Ingredients:
chicken - 1 kg
onions - 2 big, chopped
green chillies - 2 sliced
oil - 1tbsp
Marination
pepper corns- 3 tbsp
coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
jeera seeds - 1 tbsp
ginger - 2" piece
garlic - 10 cloves

Grind together the ingredients for the marination to a smooth paste. Keep aside 2 tsp of the marinade for later use, Add salt and apply marinade over the chicken and let marinate for about an hour in a refrigerator.

This can be done in advance and put in the freezer.
Again for the marination if in jiffy ready-made powders(pepper, jeera, coriander)and paste(ginger-garlic)can be used.
Cook the marinated chicken separately in a pan

Now Heat oil in a pan and fry sliced onions along with a pinch of sugar for the caramelized affect.
when almost done add green chillies and saute. Now add the 2tsp marinade which was left behind and mix well. Add the cooked chicken and saute on high flame for a minute till the gravy dries up. Mix well and let simmer for another 2 minutes. The dish is ready to serve.

Soya Mushroom pepper masala

2008-12-02T01:15:00.000-08:00

This recipe is adapted from KF, Secret of Taste with a change. I have added soya granules which gives a different taste to this dish. It goes very well with chapathis.

Ingredients:

button mushrooms - 10 medium sized
Soya granules - 1/4 cup
onions - 1, sliced
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
green chilli -1
coriander powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
black pepper powder - 1- 2 tsp
Tomato - 1 chopped
salt to taste
oil - 2tsp

Method
Clean and wipe the mushrooms dry with a paper towel. slice the mushrooms.

Soak soya granules in hot water for 15 minutes. Sqeeze out the granules and keep aside.
Slice onions and chop tomatoes finely.

Heat oil in a pan, add sliced onions and fry till transparent and pinkish in colour. Now add ginger-garlic paste and fry till dark brown. This gives that peppery look to the dish.

Now add all the powders - turmeric. coriander and pepper and saute for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes, salt and cook on low flame preferably covered with a lid for quick cooking.

When the tomotoes are nice and soft add sliced mushrooms and soya granules. Mix well, adjust the seasoning as per your taste. cover and cook for another 5 minutes or till the mushrooms are done.

Babycorn Chilli

2008-12-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

I have made this dish many a times and always liked by everybody, be it family members or party guests. This dish has to be served hot right out of the stove, charm in eating these babycorns is heavenly!!!

Ingredients:
Baby corns-250gms (10 pieces)

capsicum - 1, deseeded and cut into square pieces

onion - 2, cut into square pieces

garlic - 3 cloves, finely chopped
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

red chilli powder - 2 tsp
cornflour - 2 tbsp

tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

soya sauce -1tsp
vinegar - 1tsp

salt to taste
oil -for deep frying + 1tbsp
coriander leaves - one handfull, chopped

Method:
Wash and slice babycorns into bite size pieces. Marinate babycorn with cornflour, ginger-garlic paste, 1tsp red chilli powder and salt. keep aside.
Chop the onions and capsicum to square pieces. Finely chop garlic and keep aside.
In a small bowl, mix soya sauce, tomato sauce and vinegar.

Keep the salt and remaining chilli powder ready on the counter.

These steps can be done well in advance.
When just about 10 minutes to serve, heat oil in a kadai for deep frying on one burner and heat a tbsp of oil in a wide pan on the other. when just about hot add chopped garlic and saute for a min or so. Add onions and capsicum and stir fry over a high flame for a minute.
Meanwhile deep fry the marinated babycorn till golden brown and drain on a paper towel.
Come back to the pan, after stir frying for a minute or so add the remaining chilli powder, salt, sauce-vinegar mix and give a quick stir. Now add the deep fried babycorns and cook for 2-3 min. Arrange the babycorn chilli in a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves.

Tomato Chutney

2008-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

This chutney goes well with all kinds of dosas, but the best with Mushti Dosa.

Ingredients:
For Frying :

Oil - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1" long
clove - 2

Aniseed/saunf - 1/2 tsp
whole red chilli - 4
Onion - 1, chopped

garlic - 2 cloves, peeled and chopped
ginger - 1/2" scraped and chopped

Tomato - 1 big, chopped
salt to taste

Seasoning:

oil - 1 tsp

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

curry leaves - 4 leaves

coconut - 2 tbsp

roasted chana dal- 1 tbsp (huri kadle/kadle pappu)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add clove, cinnamon, saunf, red chilli and fry for a minute, now add chopped onions, garlic and ginger and fry till brown. Add tomatoes and cook till nice and soft. let it cool.

Grind to a smooth paste along with coconut, roasted chana dal and salt. For seasoning, heat oil add mustard seeds, let it splutter add curry leaves. Pour this seasoning to the tomato mix. Tomato chutney is now ready.

Mushti Polo ( Rice-lentil Dosa)

2008-11-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Mushti in konkani means handfull and polo means dosa. There are many recipes to this mushti dosa. I have tried almost all the recipes for this particular dosa as it is my favourite. i always loved the way my amma made this dosa and again mom are great cooks. But somehow whenever i tried it here in Doha it never came as i expected. Then it was during my stay in India post delivery, midwife Lalithakka gave me this recipe and when i tried it here it was a success!!!!

Ingredients:
Raw rice (Dosa rice) - 2 cups
Urad daal - one handful or 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 2tsp
cooked rice/ poha/puffed rice - one handful or 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Soak rice, urad daal and methi seeds for 2 hours or more. Grind to a smooth paste along with cooked rice. If using poha or puffed rice just wash, drain off and add while grinding to the rice-lentil mix. Add salt and mix well. let ferment overnight. Heat a non stick tawa sprinkle drops of water to test if the tawa is hot enough, if u hear a sizzling sound then u are ready to pour the batter. take a ladlefull of batter. Spread the batter thick enough. cover the tawa and cook on medium flame. Flip out the dosas. Yes, need to be cooked only on one side. Oil is not necessary if using non stick tawa, add 2 drops or so if you desire. Serve hot with Tomato Chutney.

Channa Baingan (chickpeas n brinjal curry)

2008-11-25T00:53:00.000-08:00

This dish goes well with chapathi/rice. Simple and easy to make if u have cooked chickpeas ready. I usually pressure cook 11/2 cups of chickpeas at a time and divide them into batches: one half goes into hummus-arabic salad, other half into the chana salad and other half to the curry.

Chickpeas are low in fat and high in dietery fibre packed with carbohydrates and protiens.

Ingredients:

Chickpeas - 1/2 cup

Voilet brinjals - 2 medium

Onions - 2

Garlic - 6 flakes

Tomato puree - 1/2 cup

Sambar powder - 1-1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Olive oil - 2tsp

Coriander leaves - 2tbsp, chopped

Soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook the chickpeas till soft. If you do not have time for the overnight process then soak chickpeas in hot boiling water for an hour and then pressure cook for 15 min. If using canned chickpeas use it as it is.

Slice Brinjal lenghtwise and keep in salted water to prevent discolouration.

Slice onion lenghtwise.

Peel and chop garlic finely.

Tomato puree: cook 1 big whole tomato in water for 4 minutes. once cool enough to handle peel off the skin and mash the pulp.

Heat olive oil in a pan add finely chopped garlic followed by onions.

when it turns golden brown, add sliced brinjals and fry on medium flame till soft.

Now add tomato puree, chickpeas(strain water and add chana alone). Saute.

Add salt and sambar powder. Mix well add 1/4 cup water cook on low flame till semi dry if serving with roti or fully dry if serving with rice.

Garnish with dhaniya and serve hot

Vegetable Pulao

2008-11-24T02:14:00.000-08:00

This dish is very simple and delicious!! and every household has their own way of preparing it. But hold on, this is healthy with veggies as usual but it has soya granules which is packed with important nutrients like calcium, magnesium and B complex vitamins and fibrous too. The best part of making this pulao is ur kidos will not even realise that they are eating healthy food that is soya.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1cup

water - 2 cups (hot boiling water)

onion - 1 big, thinly sliced

ginger-garlic paste - 1tsp

green chillies - 4, slit

veggies - 1cup (beans, carrot, peas, baby corn)

soya granules - 2tbsp

garam masala - 1tsp, optional

coriander leaves - 1 handfull, chopped

olive oil - 2tsp (choose any oil)

lemon juice - 1tsp

Wash and soak rice in water for 30 min. Soak soya granules(not chunks) in hot water for 15 min, drain and sqeeze the granules and keep aside. Heat oil in a kadai, add sliced onions, fry till brown and nice aroma fills the kitchen. Now add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies, saute for a min. Add veggies, soya granules, salt cover and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the rice and add to the cooked veggies, saute for another 3 min. Take care not to break the rice. Meanwhile heat 2 cups water, when it a starts to boil add to the rice mixture. Get the whole mixture to a boil add salt to ur taste, garam masala, lemon juice.

Cover and cook on a low flame for exactly 8 minutes. Do not peep in to the kadai now and then to check the rice....it will cook by 8 minutes. Put off the gas and forget it again do not open to see. After 10 minutes tranfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it with raitha of your choice.

Charmuri mixture

2008-11-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

Snacking!!! who doesn't love to? Being health conscious these days i try to make healthy snacks and this charmuri mixture is healthy and heavenly!! charmuri is called Puffed rice/mandakki.

Ingredients:

charmuri - 2 cups
oil - 1tbsp (preferably coconut oil but any oil will do)
garlic - 10 cloves(garlic lovers can add more and garlic haters can omit this and use mustard instead
peanuts - 1/2 cup
Roasted gram/ huri kadle - 1/4 cup
Whole red chillies - 2
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Heat oil in a wide pan or kadai. Add crushed garlic cloves and fry till light brown, now add peanuts, roasted gram and whole red chillies and fry till the peanuts are roasted well. Now add turmeric, mix well. Finally add puffed rice and mix well till the puffed rice is all yellow!! sprinkle salt to taste and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

My Family

2008-11-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

My daughter Sakshi, loves all kind of food. She is my first inspiration to start this blog. I have been a silent reader of other blogs which have highly inspired me. I love to experiment on food and has always been a hit and full gaurantee that my hubby and sakshi would eat them without complaints.