Not So Gourmet...

Buttermilk Berry muffins

2011-03-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Phew!!! this week was a little crazy... i was a little swamped with something or the other... I have very less time now... so let me come to the recipe directly :)
These muffins were so delicious that Nazeer finished them in a jiffy... i agree they are not so pretty to look at but they were simply delicious :)
This recipe is adapted from Joy of baking. I used only blackberries and blueberries, you can totally go crazy and use all the berries available...please add strawberries coz the muffins will look so colorful but i couldn't find any. This recipe makes 12 muffins. Lets see what you need:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of an orange
juice of an orange
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup blackberries
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, oil, orange juice and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Whisk them together and add the berries. Fold them lightly.
Gently fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.
Line a muffin tray with paper liners and fill the cups 2/3 full.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean...

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Cauliflower Pickle / Pachadi

2011-03-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

We girls went grocery shopping last Friday and it was such a fun... We enjoyed it a lot obviously as we don't have a constant nagging from our hubbies saying "Are you done? Do you really need that?" :D It was a girly girl time and as expected we went a little crazy as the vegetables were really fresh and inviting. So we bought many vegetables and now my refrigerator is full and i ran out of days in this week :) As i am not a big fan of cauliflower, i left it lying there... then i had an idea...ting!!!! why not make a tangy pickle out of that... And i made this immediately. But i had to wait for a day before eating.. that was the most difficult part..but nevertheless the pickle was finished in 2 days... :D
Coming to the recipe, this is my mom's recipe and as I am here far away from home, I sometimes feel like eating tangy pickles but all those packaged bottles... they are not nice enough..they don't feel like homemade. This is a nice remedy for all those feelings :) This is an easy and simple recipe which can be put together in about half an hour and can be stored at room temperature for 2 weeks. Or stored in refrigerator for about a month.

Lets see what you need:

6-7 cups Cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cup oil
1 cup red chilli powder
1 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons mustard seed powder
1/2 teaspoon methi powder
1 tablespoon salt
4-5 garlic cloves

The day after:
Salt to taste

Wash Cauliflower florets and dry them on paper towels overnight or at least for 5-6 hrs.
Fry the Cauliflower in oil for just 2 mins to ensure that there is no moisture. It should NOT be brown.
Let the Cauliflower and oil to cool.
In a large bowl, add chilli powder, mustard seed powder, methi powder, salt, lemon juice and mix them. Add only a tablespoon of salt as more of it makes the Cauliflower pieces too salty.
Add the Cauliflower florets and oil as well as crushed garlic cloves and mix well.
Keep covered (air tight) for an entire day.
The next day add salt to your taste and mix well. Serve with steamed rice and a dollop of ghee.

Comments and Suggestions are welcome. :)

Achari Tofu

2011-03-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

First of all... Happy Women's Day!!! Let us all take a moment to thank all the wonderful women in our lives. A moment to thank your moms, daughters, wives, sisters, friends and granddaughters :) I want to thank my Mom for being the most important part of my life. What would we do without our moms?
Coming to the recipe... I saw this recipe on Aipi's blog and i was immediately hooked. Well it was a Achari Paneer recipe and it was spicy, tangy.. i could feel the taste from the pic itself. Thanks aipi for the wonderful recipe and tempting pics. And i wanted to try this recipe immediately but as i said before, Nazeer was in a diet mode and he said only tofu, no paneer for the next "don't know how many" months... so i made a Achari tofu which was beautiful, yummy and drool worthy... A healthy alternative to paneer and no guilt.. that's amazing right?
Without further ado... lets see the recipe.. i followed aipi's recipe with very few alterations.

Ingredients:
1 package of extra firm Tofu cubed
1 onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
2 spring onions chopped
5 green chillies finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon amchur powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3 dried red chillies
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon of Panchphoran ( mixture of mustard, cumin, fennel, fenugreek and nigella seeds)
1/2 teaspoon ajwain
1 teaspoon mango pickle
Lemon juice(optional)
Salt to taste

Shallow Fry the tofu pieces for a few minutes and keep them aside.
In the same pan, add panchphoran and ajwain and fry for a second. Then add dried red chillies and fry till they turn bright red.
Add the tomatoes, onions, spring onions, green chillies and fry till the onions are transparent and tomatoes are soft.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala, amchur powder and mango pickle. Mix well and keep cooking for 2 minutes.
Add the tofu and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice if needed. I dint need any.. it was too sour for us already. Serve hot with roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :). Sending this to Priya and Aipi's Bookmarked event- every tuesday and priya's Tried and Tasted Event.

Baigan ka Bhartha

2011-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

My mind is in whole different places today. Our friend's kid Anshu had an eye surgery today. My heart cried out seeing my baby in so much pain. I want all your wishes, blessing and prayers to be with her. Get well soon Anshu Pandu...
Coming to the recipe, I once had a terrible migraine and my friend Swetha made this amazing baigan ka bhartha. I am exceptionally hungry after a migraine attack and i devoured this superb dish at once. I once tried making this before but it was a total disaster.. so this time i took Swetha's help and lo! it was just perfect!!! Here's what u need:

1 eggplant
3 teaspoons oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 tomatoes chopped
5 green chillies chopped
1/2 cup peas fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Massage a teaspoon of Oil all over the eggplant and bake for 45-50 minutes.
Once out of the oven, it deflates. Let it cool and peel off the skin. Its too hot just be careful. Mash the eggplant and keep it aside.
In a pan, add the remaining oil and let the cumin splutter. Add the onion, green chillies and fry for 5 minutes.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears. Add tomatoes and peas to it and cook covered for 10 minutes stirring in between.
Add mashed eggplant, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot with roti garnished with cilantro.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. :)

Butternut Squash and Pineapple Bread

2011-03-06T00:45:00.000-08:00

Yay!!!! I got my new Sony VAIO laptop and i am so excited to write my first from that :) I was so busy from 2 days exploring all the new things on my laptop...
Coming to the recipe... remember i had roasted and pureed butternut squash made for my Butternut Squash and Oats muffin, so i had leftover squash puree and i wanted to make some soup.. instead i went for this beautiful and amazing bread.. i am so glad i did :) Yeah butternut squash soup would have been great but lets save it for next time!!!
Moreover i had a can of pineapple chunks in my pantry and i have to use it.. Boy!!! its time to clear my pantry.. it really is.. I am afraid how many expired or about to be expired stuff will come out once I start cleaning :D
This recipe is adapted from My Baking Addiction and i added my own addition of pineapple to it and of course with no oil or butter at all.. how cool and healthy is that? amazing.. isn't it?
Without further ado.. lets see the recipe...

Ingredients:
1 cup butternut squash puree (recipe follows)
1 cup pineapple sauce (recipe follows)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

For Butternut Squash puree:
1 butternut squash
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Quarter the butternut squash and place it in a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Add oil and bake for 35-40 min. Mine took 45 min. Let it cool and the skin will come off easily. The squash will be so soft and like pulp. You can just mash with hands. If not use ur blender to make a paste and keep it aside. You can store the remaining squash in the refrigerator when its cool.

For the Pineapple Sauce:
1 can pineapple chunks
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cinnamon stick

In a small pan, add the pineapple chunks along with the juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and cook until the pineapple is caramelized. Let it cool or if you add to the cake mix, you will cook the eggs.

For the bread:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together butternut squash puree, pineapple sauce, eggs and sugars until thoroughly combined.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour,dried cranberries, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Do not over mix it .
Pour into a prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool and then cut into slices using a serrated knife.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to B for Breakfast event by Charitha.

Mamidikaya Pachchadi / Raw Mango Chutney

2011-03-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

We have a library at a walkable distance from my home and its a really nice library. It so huge and brilliant. I spend hours at library... but these days my only concentration is the 'Cookbook' section. :D I am literally combing that section :D. On one of my search sessions i found this amazing book by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain titled " Cooking at home with Pedatha". This book has vegetarian traditional recipes from Andhra kitchen. Trust me it has beautiful recipes.. If you have a library nearby or a bookstore... try this book.. you will love it :D
Talking about library... Has anyone read Ken Follet's 'Fall of Giants'? Its a book about First world war... well its not entirely about the war.. there is lot of drama involved with it and the characters are so real... you will feel like you are in the midst of the war... Its a nice read and it sticks to reality... Try giving it a read if you are interested in politics or drama :D Well, i am not interested in both but i really enjoyed reading it :)

Okay lets get back to the recipe... If you love the taste of raw mango or sour things, then this is the stuff for you :) I couldn't find sour and raw mangoes at my part of the world so i used frozen mango. They are really sour and yum but the not so nice part about them is that they come with their skin. I couldn't peel them off so used all of it. It was very good, spicy and delicious... But beware this is really spicy.. reduce the chillies if you like. Here's what u need:

1 raw mango
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste

First Tempering:
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 tablespoon urad wash
1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
3-4 fenugreek seeds
7-8 dried red chillies
2 green chillies
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
a pinch of hing or asafoetida powder

Second Tempering:
1/2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon urad wash

Peel, grate the mangoes and set aside. If you are using frozen mangoes like me, thaw them and chop them real fine along with the skin.
In a small pan, heat the oil and add all the items under 'First Tempering' one by one starting with urad wash and waiting till they turn golden. Add mustard, fenugreek and when they brown, switch off the flame. Add red chillies and the remaining ingredients along with sugar.
Let it cool and grind it to a coarse paste without any water. Add the grated mango, salt and grind coarsely.
Heat the oil in the 'Second tempering' and pop the mustard seeds and urad wash. When they turn golden, add this to chutney. Mix well and serve it with dosa, rice or Idli.

My Pachchadi is all green because of the skin of the mango. Actually this will look nice and red :)
Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to Satya's JFI - Re-Run - Mango

Bowtie Pasta or Mini Farfalle with Tomatoes and Corn

2011-03-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

I am all over Italian food these days don't know why... I try to associate every thing i make to something Indian. Donno why I do that either.. :D
Well, I am listening to Chor Bazari from Love Aaj Kal now and i have nothing on my mind except that. If you guys haven't listened to that song.. please do..., No no i am not the official Promoter of Indian Music or Love Aaj Kal movie.. its just that i love that song :)
As i have nothing on my mind, Coming straight to the pasta... This is the cutest pasta ever.. Aah they look so cute with their bow tie structure.. they are adorable.. Just have a look...

Now that i have convinced you, lets have a looksy at the recipe... This recipe is adapted from the box of Farfalle... he he. You can substitute any other pasta in this.

Ingredients:
2 cups mini Farfalle
1 tomato
1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Boil some water in a deep pan. Add some salt and boil the pasta as the package instructions. It took 7 min for my pasta to be Al Dente.
Drain and save some Pasta water if needed.
Peel the tomatoes by making skincuts and boiling in water for a minute. Scrape the seeds out and chop real fine.
In a saute pan add oil and add garlic and onion. Fry for 2 minutes and add corn. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Fry for 5 minutes and add tomatoes. Add some water if needed and add basil, parley and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add the drained pasta and mix well. Switch off the flame and Add the cheese and mix well. Serve hot.

Okay i agree my pic is not so pretty :)
Comments and suggestions are welcome... Sending this to Ruth's Pasta Presto Nights.

Bruschetta

2011-03-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer which consists of bread, vegetables of your choice or meat and cheese. I saw this a lot of times on Food network made by Giada, Ann Burell and Ina Garten. I loved it instantly but was a bit skeptical to try it as i have never tasted one. We went to Olive garden once and then i had my first brushcetta... And boy I immediately wanted to make this ... Its so easy... I donno why i never tried at first :) So for those of you who have never tried bruschetta at home, you should try it immediately provided you find a French bread or a Baguette at your local grocery store. Else I think you can make a french bread at home... But you know me.. how lazy I am... I go for store bought options If they are easily available... :D
One thing you have to take care while buying a french bread is make sure that it smells fresh and is firm to touch. I once got a stale french bread and... You don't want to know about it :D And for the topping you can very creative and make a topping of your choice. You can have it for breakfast, brunch or as an appetizer... its so healthy and filling and it can be made and finished in minutes...Atleast it did at my home :D I made two types of toppings and here they are...

Ingredients:
1 french bread or baguette
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 clove garlic crushed

Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and Slice the baguette with a serrated knife.
Place the sliced bread pieces on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper and place the oil side down.
Bake for 5-6 minutes and rub the garlic on the bread when its hot enough to handle. This gives a nice garlicky flavour you will love for sure.
Or simply use a grill pan and grill the bread slices. That's much easier :D

Okay for the first topping.... i made the usual tomato topping. Usually they use plum tomatoes, but i dint have any.. So I used normal firm tomatoes. So here's what you need:

2 tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves minced or grated
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar (optional, i dint use any coz my tomatoes were really tart)

Make skin cuts on the tomato, not too deep, boil some water in a deep pan and boil the tomatoes for exactly one minute. Not much. Then shock the tomatoes by dropping them in cold water. This way you can stop cooking the tomatoes. Then the skin comes off easily. Phew that was long.. In simple language, Peel the tomatoes :D
Scrape the seeds out and chop the tomatoes real fine.
In a small bowl, Mix the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, basil and vinegar.
Top it on bread just before serving or the bread will become lumpy. Else serve it in a bowl, People will top it themselves :D

For the second topping... i used a spinach and rajma topping.. You can use any kinda beans and i did not use any cheese. If you want to use cheese top the bread with topping and add cheese to it and bake it again until the cheese melts. This will be great for kids....

Here's what u need:
2 cups baby spinach
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup Rajma or Red Kidney beans soaked overnight and drained
5 dried red chillies crushed finely
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon olive oil

Boil the Kidney beans till they are cooked but crunchy to bite.
In a small saute pan, add the oil and fry the chilly flakes and garlic for a minute.
Add the boiled kidney beans and fry for few more minutes. Add the spinach and fry till its wilted.
Add basil and mix well.
Top it on the bread just before serving...

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Kattu Pongal

2011-02-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Kattu pongal is savory pongal(not to be confused with Sweet pongal) made with rice, husked green gram dal. This is so creamy to look and healthy to eat... I bet there are so many versions of this recipe but this version is from my friend Indu.
Its snowing on and off here... It snows in November and February in Seattle, not in the peak winter months.. donno why but i feel its kinda strange... isn't it? It was snowing and i had a little cold, my throat was in lot of pain. So i called up Indu early Sunday morning (read 11 a.m.. who wakes up early on weekend? :P) and pestered her for the recipe... thanks darling!!!
This pongal has a dash of pepper in it so it feels amazing for sore throat pain and its a perfect brunch or breakfast..Its made in a jiffy and doesn't need any side... wt else do u need on a lazy, gloomy Sunday morning... its perfect :D

So here's what u need:
1 cup rice
1/4 cup moong dal
1 tablespoon ghee
5 green chillies minced
1 inch ginger minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 sprig of curry leaves
4 cups water
Salt to taste
2 cups milk

Wash rice and moong dal together and keep aside. Crush the cumin seeds and peppercorns coarsely with a mortar and pestle.
In a pressure cooker, add ghee and when its hot, add crushed cumin and peppercorns and fry for a minute. When they splutter add green chillies and ginger and fry for 1 minute.
Add curry leaves, salt and water and let it come to a boil. Add rice and moongdal, mix well. Pressure cook for about 2-3 whistles or until the rice becomes mashy.
Boil the milk in a separate pan and add it to the rice mixture. Mix well and serve hot.

Comments and Suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to B For Breakfast event by Charitha.

Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-02-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

I am a chocoholic and I don't like trying out any other flavour. Well my mind always think about chocolate... nothing more. But when i wanted to make cupcakes for a potluck party at my home when our friend Poorna was here, Nazeer said don't make chocolate cupcakes again... everyone doesn't like chocolate only because you are crazy about it :) So i tried a new flavour. As i am in love with orange zest these days, i thought why don't i make Orange cupcakes.. and this was the best decision i ever made :) These cakes were spongy, yummy, flavourful.. i have no more words :D
This recipe is adapted from My Baking Addiction. As for the cream cheese frosting i was a bit skeptical wondering if everyone would like it or not, but i was totally wrong... It was a major hit... the frosting was sweet and savory and i added some orange juice in it, so it was tangy... oh boy.. it was superb :)
Coming straight to the recipe....

Ingredients:
This make about 14-15 normal size cupcakes
1 1/2 all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of an orange
3 large eggs
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange juice
1/4 cup milk

Beat sugar and orange zest together till its moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat until its light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the vanilla and orange juice and beat well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
Alternately add the flour mixture and milk in three additions starting and ending with flour.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line with paper liners. Fill the liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool them completely before frosting.

For cream cheese frosting:
8 Oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
3 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract or orange juice
2 cups of powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter until they are soft and creamy.
Add the vanilla extract,orange juice and powdered sugar and beat till u get the desired consistency for frosting and pipe away...

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Paalu Beerakai Koora/ Ridge Gourd in Milk

2011-02-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

I literally have nothing on my mind today :) No gossip no stories.. nothing :) At some point we all have that block right? Well... then let me come to the recipe then.. this is an andhra dish made very mild. Ridge gourd is considered to have medicinal properties and is generally eaten to recover. Not only that, Also it tastes super yummy with any combination so you can eat it anytime :)
Here's what u need:
1 ridge gourd peeled and chopped
2 cups whole milk ( u can use any milk, whole tastes better)
5 green chillies minced
3 dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad wash
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 sprig of curry leaves
Salt to taste

In a medium pan, add some oil and when its hot add mustard seeds. When they start to pop add cumin seeds, dried chillies and chana dal.
Fry for a minute and add urad wash. When it turns brown add onion,green chillies, curry leaves and fry till they are transparent. Add turmeric and fry for minute.
Add the ridge gourd and milk and bring it to a boil.
When the milk thickens and the ridge gourd is done add some salt and serve hot with rice or roti.

My curry is not visible because of the cilantro... but please understand :) Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Bagel Pizza

2011-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

I had stale bagels and I was in no mood to eat them. And moreover i was craving for pizza but i never tried making it.. guess its time i should overcome the fear of working with yeast :) So i thought why don't i combine the two as i read once... i don't remember where and as i dint have my laptop i guessed the recipe and made it. Because of my laptop I apologise for the delay in posting and acknowledging your posts. Please bear with me :)
Bagel acts as perfect base as its soft and toasts perfectly... You can top with veggies of ur choice... as this was a trial and i dint have any veggies except for onion i did not add any :) Also my pic is horrible u might wanna rethink about making this but trust me this is quick, easy and perfect for that immediate craving for Pizza sometimes :D
Coming to the recipe.. well this is not much of a recipe i just put together a few things.. anyhoo... Here's what u need:

2 bagels ( i used thin bagels)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Split the bagels and spoon pizza sauce on the white side of bagel. Spread it evenly.
top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and sliced veggies of ur choice like onion, tomato, mushrooms, bell peppers, etc...
Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the prepared bagels for 10 min or until the cheese bubbles and browns a bit.
Serve it hot and enjoy the yummy bagel pizzas :)

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Pari's 'Only' Cooking with Bread event.

Carrots in Bell Pepper Sauce / Simla mirch aur Gaajar ki Sabji

2011-02-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

Phew.. the name's lengthy... but the gravy is yummy :) I am not a big fan of carrots in gravies but Nazeer loves them.. so i try to add some other veggies to it so that i could eat it somehow coz we know carrots are good for our eyes, health, yada yada yada!!!!

Before our marriage (read love marriage) my mom was a bit worried as all parents do about 'my' selection and my dad was kinda Ok coz he loved Nazeer instantly :) And my dad is a person who doesn't consider Carrot as a veggie :) It can be used in salads or sweets but never as a vegetable, my dad says :) So once he called Nazeer at dinner time and asked in general conversation about his cooking. Nazeer said he loves carrots and he made a carrot sabji that day... my dad called me up immediately after that call and said "U are going into a family which eats Carrot as Vegetable.. Oh you are doomed!!!" :D
Coming to the recipe this is a nice and creamy bell pepper gravy with carrot in it.. u will not feel like you are eating carrots at all :) this recipe is from Amma's cookbook, famous writer of Ammas.com

Here's what u need:
4 carrots peeled and cut into thick diagonal pieces
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
2 bell peppers ( recipe asks for red i used green)
3/4 cup cream

Cut the bell peppers in large chunks. Smear oil on the skin side of the bell pepper and cook in microwave for 3-4 minutes on high.
Allow them to cool and grind the bell peppers with cream into a soft paste.
In a small pan, add oil and fry garlic for a minute. Add the carrots, sugar and salt and cook for 5 minutes on high heat.
Add a cup of water and cook covered until the carrots are soft.
Add the red chilli powder and cream paste to the cooked carrots and cook for 5 min.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Chocolate Granola

2011-02-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

Ooooh... I love chocolate anytime of the day and if you are giving me chocolate for breakfast... life is so great!!! This is so hearty, healthy and chocolaty... You should definitely try it :) It has oats, honey,almonds, raisins, cranberries and semi sweet chocolate.. how healthy can it get? My hubby is a fitness freak and he loved this granola with milk or with a simple yogurt parfait. I saw this recipe on Deeba's Passionate about baking. She has amazing baking recipes and superb pics. Thanks a lot for those mouthwatering pics and wonderful recipe Deeba.
My laptop was dead all weekend and i borrowed Nazeer's laptop so am coming straight to the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup Old fashioned oats
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add salt, sugar, honey, vanilla extract and water and bring it to a simmer. Let the sugar dissolve completely.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, cranberries and raisins. Add the wet ingredients and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and bake for 45 min. Keep stirring in between with a wooden spatula and take care not to burn the raisins. Keep turning the baking sheet around so that the entire granola is cooked. Keep an eye at the end... they might burn :)
Let it cool completely and add the chocolate chips and store it in an airtight container.
Serve it with milk of ur choice or with a parfait or munch on just like that :)

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Priya's and Aipi's Bookmarked Recipes - every Tuesday event and to Charitha's B for Breakfast

Mixed Vegetable Rice

2011-02-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

Feeling Lazy? Don't want to get up and cook a full size meal? If you are anything like me u will love this rice idea. When i first saw this at Pushpa's Taste as you cook, i knew i wanted to save this recipe for a rainy day and it was very useful :) Thanks a lot Pushpa for sharing this easy and simple recipe.
Coming straight to the recipe... Here's what u need:

2 cups cooked rice (i used sona masoori rice)
1 cup mixed vegetables (i used green beans, Lima beans, peas and carrots)
1 small onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
3 green chilies slit
1 inch ginger finely minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 cardamom
1/2 teaspoon shahi jeera or caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 sprig of curry leaves

In a large pan, add some oil and when its hot add the caraway seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, and fry for a minute until they give a nice aroma.
Add curry leaves, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute. Add onions and green chillies and fry until they are transparent.
Add mixed vegetables and stir fry until the veggies are half done and add tomato, turmeric and chilli powder. When the tomatoes are soft and the vegetables are totally done add salt and rice and mix well.
Serve hot with raita and a gravy of your choice.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. :)

Pasta : Penne Rigate with Marinara Sauce

2011-02-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

Italian food sounds, looks and tastes romantic. So i made this yummy pasta for valentine's day. As we ate a lot of chicken on the weekend and I was not at all in a mood to cook Indian dinner, i made this easy breezy pasta. And moreover Nazeer loves Italian. This is the first time i made pasta and was trying to replicate a kind of pasta we eat at cheese cake factory and Nazeer loves pasta there and i am OK as long i get my share of Cheesecake :) I made this just out of memory and voila it turned out pretty good... I would love to explore my friends blogs and made different kinds of pastas from now on.. that will be my next assignment :)
Anyhoo coming to the recipe this is a perfect dish for a romantic evening as it is Al Dante, creamy, yummy and easy to make so that u don't get so tired(wink wink...) Without further ado... Here's what u need:

1 cup Penne pasta
2 cups water
Salt to taste
a handful of cheese ( i used Parmesan)
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/2 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 green chilli minced

In a deep pan Boil water and add some salt. When the water is hot, cook the pasta until its Al Dante(firm but not so hard) or use the instructions mentioned on the box. Drain and keep them aside. Save the pasta water.
In a stir fry pan add olive oil and fry the garlic and onions until they are transparent.
Add the marinara sauce and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the pasta water to make it a bit thin. Add some salt, very little though, and boil the sauce until u get the desired consistency.
Add the cooked pasta and cheese and mix it well. Serve immediately topped with extra cheese or potato sticks.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Pia's Presto pasta nights No. 201 event by Presto Pasta Nights

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry buttercream

2011-02-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I am terribly late for posting valentine's day treat... may be i am the last one :) Our friend Poorna was in Seattle for the weekend from Connecticut and all our gang had a fun, busy and awesome weekend. And yesterday i was busy making a delicious and cozy candle light dinner for my hubby dear... I made a corn appetizer which was not so good and will not appear in my blog and a delicious pasta which i will posting soon :) But as a dessert i made these yummilicious cupcakes which were ummm heavenly :) paired with chocolate dipped strawberries... Whats more romantic than chocolate and strawberries, eh?
I donno why but I don't have anything to write today, so coming straight to the recipe :)
I saw this chocolate cupcake recipe at ifood.tv (iPhone app) and trust me this is the best chocolate cupcake ever. To top that i made a strawberry cream.Here's what u need:
This makes 8-11 cupcakes.

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Add cocoa powder to hot water and keep it aside to cool.
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Add an egg while beating continuously and add vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add this mixture little by little to the wet ingredients and beat until incorporated.
Add the cocoa mixture and beat until it is smooth and creamy. Take care not to add hot cocoa as it will cook the egg. The cocoa should be at room temperature.
Preheat the Oven to 375 F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and fill the cups to 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup Butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries

In a medium bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add in the powdered sugar and strawberries and beat until the sugar is nicely incorporated and you get a smooth frosting. Add in more sugar until u get the required consistency.
Transfer to a pastry bag or Ziploc and pipe away.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Pari's Veggie/Fruit of the month- Strawberry started by priya , Best western dessert event by Priya and Torview's Food Palette series - Brown

Dosakai Shrimp Curry

2011-02-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

For people who are not into seafood this is a best recipe.. i guarantee... My mom used to make gongura mutton or shrimp, aloo mutton, etc. In this way we can conceal shrimp from seafood haters and conceal vegetables from kids.. nice eh?
Dosakai or Cucumber Melon is a round or oval vegetable which is yellow green in color and tastes a bit sour. We can make dal, or a normal sabzi with this but we have to take care to check the seeds at first. They could be bitter. Or u could scrape the seeds entirely and use the melon.
Coming to the recipe... this taste delectable with rice or roti. You just have to try it :D But there is one more thing, i added too much oil and my pic will show it... :) take care to add a little less...
Here's what u need:

2 dosakai peeled, diced into small cubes
1 tomato chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
5 green chillies chopped
1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tablespoon dry coconut powder
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Wash the shrimp with a little turmeric and salt to remove the raw smell.
In a bowl, marinate the shrimp along with turmeric, salt, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, coriander powder, chilli powder, dry coconut powder and yogurt and keep aside for atleast an hour.
In a medium pan, heat some oil and add onion, green chillies and fry until they are brown. Add the marinated mixture and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add a tomato and dosakai pieces and cook covered for 20 min or until the dosakai is cooked and transparent.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Poha and Oats Muffin

2011-02-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

Ever since i made and had that butternut squash muffin i was hooked... i couldn't eat any other kind of breakfast :)... well this is bragging right? But we really really liked them :)
And moreover I am so much into baking these days.. so when i saw Poha muffin recipe at Taste of pearl city by Umm Mymoonah, i wanted to try it... But i didn't have banana and i didn't want to add any oil in the muffin as my hubby dear is in one of his "No cholesterol" moods :) So i ~~tweaked~~ changed the recipe a lot and came out with a gorgeous and soft muffin that was hmmm delicious :) Ok i get it am bragging again.. am stopping now :)
But i want to thank Umm Mymoonah for the basic idea of this recipe. Thanks a lot dear:)

Coming to the recipe... this recipe makes 12-14 muffins or if you do not have a muffin pan, you can make it in a loaf or cake pan... For people who are not familiar with Poha, poha or atukulu are rice flakes. They are soft and when soaked in water become mushy.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup poha
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup applesauce or 1 mashed banana (i used applesauce from here)
1 cup buttermilk

Soak the poha in water for 10 minutes. Drain water and in a medium bowl add soaked poha, oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
Add zest and juice of orange, applesauce or banana and buttermilk and fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until it is just combined.
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and spoon the batter into the cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to CWF- Oats event hosted by priya and HRH - Rice Flakes event hosted by kurinji.

Tomato Rice

2011-02-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

I had no vegetables in my refrigerator... hmm what to do? All i had were tomatoes that too coz my friends Indu and Vijay, thanks to them, got a huge box from Cash and Carry last weekend... so was making Rasam for almost a week now as Nazeer wasn't feeling well and to be frank, i donno about Nazeer coz he is enjoying his small doses of hot Rasam with lots of pepper, am totally and utterly bored with Rasam. I wanted something spicy and i asked Nazeer if he wanted to eat something spicy and he said yeah ok but very less quantity :) I guess he was a bit bored with rasam too :D. Then my friend Radhika suggested i make tomato rice... and here it is :)

Coming to the recipe... this is a simple recipe i learned when i was newly married and was very new to cooking... Nazeer enjoyed this tangy and spicy rice a lot.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
1 small onion finely chopped
5 green chillies slit
3 tomatoes finely diced
1 teaspoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad wash
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
10 cashews
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 dried red chillies
1 inch ginger minced
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
a pinch of garam masala
1 teaspoon ghee
2 teaspoons canola oil

In a large pan, add oil and ghee and when its hot add mustard and cumin seeds. When they splutter add red chillies and chana dal and urad wash.
when they turn a bit brown, add cashews, ginger, green chillies and onions.
Fry for 2-3 minutes or until the onions are transperant. Add tomatoes and cook till they are soft.
Add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala and cook until oil starts to seperate from the mixture.
Add the cooked rice and mix well. Serve hot with raita.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Its Raining Awards!!!!

2011-02-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

I am so so happy.. really really happy.. its literally raining awards. Thanks to everyone for believing in me.
One Lovely Blog Award:
The first award is from Krithi from Krithi's Kitchen. Thanks a lot Krithi for sharing this award with me. Guys if you haven't already seen u should totally check out her blog.

There are some rules with this award. I am too lazy and copied from Krithi... Here they are:
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers. Please don't leave it general and just invite all your blogger friends to collect the Award. It's always nice to be nominated so please do the favor and nominate 15 bloggers to share the Award with.
3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.

I am sharing this award with these lovely people.
1. Devi at Devi's Blog
2. Asha at A tasty Challenge
3. Divya at Dil se
4. Shobha at Food Mazaa
5. Pari at Foodelicious
6. Ann at Foodie Ann
7. Deepa at Hamaree Rasoi
8. Ramya at Hot from my Oven
9. Hari Chandana at Indian Cuisine
10. Hasna at Kachuss Delights
11. Malar Gandhi at Kitchen Tantra
12. Shanavi at Kitchen Secrets
13. Kitchen Boffin
14. Lena at Lemon n Spice
15. Priya at Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes

Stylish Blogger Award:

The second award is also from Krithi. Thanks again Krithi.

There are some rules with this award too... here they are :

1. Thank and Link Back to the Blogger Who Awarded You With The Award

2. Share 7 Things About Yourself

3. Award 15 Recently Discovered Great Blogger

4. Contact The Bloggers and Inform Them of The Award

Here are the 7 things i want to share about:

1. I love love chocolate and would devour anything that is chocolaty.. ooh yum :)

2. I love long walks especially on the beach.

3. Books are the one thing that keeps me seated at one place. Or else am always on my feet :) aah not much... :P

4. I love to dance.. these days Zumba is my favorite.

5. I am too scared to become fat but i cant control my craving for yummy desserts and oily foods. Shh.. i have put on lot of weight after coming to US. please don't tell my mom. She will kill me :D

6. I love travelling especially to tropical places. I love the Sun and i get too excited when am exploring new places...

7. I love blue but Nazeer changed my favorite color to Red. He made me like a whole lot of new things and i am so glad.

Now, I want to share these two awards with these wonderful 15 bloggers.
1. Smitha at Essence-de-life
2. CoolBlogger at Gourmet's Kitchenette
3. Manasi at A Cook @ Heart
4. Sayantani at A Homemaker's Diary
5. Ananda at A Pinch of Love
6. Anukampa at A pinch of Salt make it all
7. Bella at Bella Before and After
8. Priya Sreeram at BON APPETIT
9. Mehnaz at Chef Naaz-The mistress of spices
10. Minu at Chettinad Fiesta
11. Ms. Chitchat at http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/
12. Pia at Cook Healthy
13. Nisa Homey at Cooking is Easy
14. Vandana Rajesh at Cooking up Something Nice
15. Veena at Delishun

One Lovely blog award:

Yes lovely blog award again... I don't believe my blog is so lovely :) Thank you :) am blushing :D

Well.. this award is from Rachu at Amma and Baby . She is a wonderful mom and makes yummy recipes to suit her kid's taste and she does a wonderful job :) Thanks a lot for sharing this with me :)

This award has some rules too...

1.Accept the award. Post it in your blog with the name of the blogger who has given u this award with a link to his/her blog.

2.Pass it on to 15 other blogger friends.... to keep the ball rolling.
3.Let the nominated blogger know about their award [leave a comment in their most recent post].

I want to share this award with these lovely lovely people....
1. Dr. Sameena at My culinary Creations
2. Vimitha at My culinary Trial room
3. The foodie at My diary of Good food
4. Krithi at Krithi's Kitchen
5. Priya at Now Serving
6. Denny at Oh Taste n see
7. Nupur at One Hot Stove
8. Paaka Shale
9. Padhu at PadhusKitchen
10. Priya at Priya's Easy n tasty recipes
11. Priya at Priya's Feast
12. Rajeswari at Rak's Kitchen
13. Hema at Salt to Taste
14. Santosh at Santosh's Kitchen
15. PJ at Seduce Your Tastebuds

One Lovely Blog Award:
Another lovely blog award from Satya from My Innovative Kitchen. Thanks a lot dear for sharing this award with me... it means a lot to me :)

This award has the same rules...

I want to share this award with 15 more of wonderful wonderful blogger friends...

1. Tanvi at Sinfully Spicy

2. Smitha at Smitha's Spicy Flavors

3. Sujana at Sujana's World

4. Srivalli at Spice Your Life

5. Satya at Super Yummy Recipes

6. Pushpa at Taste as you cook

7. Umm Mymoonah at Taste of Pearl City

8. Honeybee at The Bee and the fruit in the Kitchen

9. Jay at Tasty Appetite

10. Torview

11. Treat & Trick

12. Aipi at US Masala

13. Vanishri at Veggie Flavours

14. Saras Kitchen

15. Sharmilee at Sharmis Passions

Phew!!! that was tiring and its not over yet... have to leave a message at these blogs... :)

Thank you Award:

I almost forgot Thank you award from aipi at US Masala . She shared a participation award for participating in the Veggie/Fruit of the month - Banana event.

Thank a lot Aipi for sharing this :)

Enjoy guys!!!

Shrimp Masala

2011-02-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Last week was pretty hectic as i wasn't feeling well and then Nazeer was down with fever. So i couldn't post anything and i missed all wonderful recipes my blogger friends made... So am back to catch up with what i missed... :)
This recipe was in my drafts for long time and anyone who loves shrimp should give this a try.. this is my mom's recipe. My hometown is kakinada which is in the coastal regions of Andhra pradesh, so naturally we used to eat lot of seafood at home. As Nazeer doesn't like seafood i manage to eat my favorite fish once in 6 months but not more than that :). Shrimp is the only seafood Nazeer eats and i try to fit that into our food more often so that i don't miss my fish :)
Coming to the recipe i get nostalgic every time i make or eat this dish :)
Here's what u need:

1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
2 tablespoon dry coconut powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons chilli powder ( or according to taste )
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste
1 large onion finely chopped
5 green chillies

Wash the shrimp thoroughly with a pinch of turmeric and salt to remove the raw smell. Drain and keep it aside
In a bowl, marinate shrimp with ginger garlic paste, coconut powder, garam masala, chilli powder, coriander powder, yogurt, Salt and turmeric. Mix well and let it marinate for half an hour.
In a medium pan, add some oil and fry the onion and green chillies till they are light brown in color.
Add the marinated mixture and cook for 15 min or until the shrimp is done.
Serve hot with rice and Rasam or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Butternut Squash and Oats Muffin

2011-02-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

I am being too lazy to post recipe these days...and i thought i will not make any new recipes until i finish all my drafts.. but even that did not motivate me to write... i kept on delaying.. then the sorry look of a cute butternut squash made me make these wonderful muffins and voila guess what i am so happy with the result.. i am posting it immediately :D
I get bored so quickly with all kinds of breakfast cereals... i like one type one day and dont like that other time. though i am not a big fan of idlis and upma... i crave for them now. Nazeer loves idlis, no doubt about that but he loves loves his cereal. Even when i make idli, he first eats his bowl of cereal and then idli.. isnt that strange? So i am in constant search of healthy breakfast ideas and he is happy with his cereal :)
I recently liked bagels but to keep it a bit more healthy i got whole wheat bagels.. guess what they were horrible.. waa... what to do.. breakfast is the most important of the day.. we should, i say should, not miss it anyhow. So i found this healthy butternut squash muffin recipe from Simple Daily Recipes and oh boy is this healthy and beautiful or what?
The muffins are so soft, moist, healthy, tasty, filling, list goes on and on...

Lets get to the recipe then. If u dont have a muffin pan, you can totally use a loaf pan and make a bread. Eat a single slice or a muffin and i bet it will keep you going thru lunch :)
And you know what there is no fat in this entire muffin except for a egg yolk and a few drops of oil for roasting squash and they stay fresh for 4 days at room temperature. Isn't that great? enough rambling lets see the recipe :

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Quarter the butternut squash and place it in a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Add oil and bake for 35-40 min. Mine took 45 min. Let it cool and the skin will come off easily. The squash will be so soft and like pulp. You can just mash with hands. If not use ur blender to make a paste and keep it aside. You can store the remaining squash in the refrigerator when its cool.

For the muffin:
this makes 12 muffins. i made 7 muffins using half of the recipe.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats, coarsely ground
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup old fashioned oats, left whole
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup butternut squash puree
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 cup applesauce or canola oil ( i made chunky apple sauce, recipe follows)
1/4 cup orange juice

For the chunky applesauce:
1 apple peeled and chopped finely
juice of half lemon
2 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoon water
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons sugar

In a saucepan, add all the above mentioned items under the apple sauce section and let it cook until the apple is soft and mashable. U can puree it or keep it chunky as it is. Keep it aside.
Add warm water to cranberries and raisins and microwave high for a minute, drain the water and keep aside.
In a bowl add whole wheat flour, ground oats, whole oats, salt, baking soda, garam masala, brown sugar, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, orange peel and mix well.
In another bowl, add butternut squash puree, apple sauce, orange juice and eggs and mix well.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold it gently till the flour is just wet. Dont mix it too much :)
Line a muffin pan with paper cup liners or grease it and fill the muffin pan to the top.
Heat the oven to 350 F and bake for 20-25 min.

Here's a view of nutty and fruity goodness of the muffin:

I know the recipe looks so long but its so easy to put together... :) Sending this to Priya's CWF- Oats event started by kiran and to Hearth and Soul - Hop volume 33

Five Lentil Delight / Paanch Dalo ka Sangam

2011-02-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

I know the name sounds so tacky right? But I did not give the name... Monica Bhide did. :)
When i first saw this recipe in her book i immediately wanted to make it but before making this i made dal makhani (the recipes was almost same in the book) which was a disaster and dint make it to my blog. So naturally i was a little apprehensive.
But when my friend Praveena said she made this dal... i knew i had to take the recipe from her coz i have so much confidence in her cooking.. she is one of the best cooks i know... whenever we have a potluck, Praveena's dish will be a highlight :)
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe with me Praveena.
So i ditched Monica's recipe and followed Praveena's :)
Coming to the recipe.. this is the healthiest dal ever.. it has whole dals and its taste delightful both with rice or roti. We totally enjoyed it :)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Rajma / Red kidney beans
2 tablespoons Green moong dal
2 tablespoons black whole urad dal
2 tablespoons toor dal
2 tablespoons masoor dal
2 bay leaves
1 black cardamom
3 green cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
3 green chillies chopped
1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Wash and Soak the rajma, green moong dal and black urad dal overnight.
Pressure cook soaked rajma, green moong dal, black urad dal, toor dal and masoor dal with salt, 2 bay leaves and black cardamom for 4 whistles.
After the pressure is gone, remove the cooker lid and let the dal boil well till we get the desired consistency.
In a separate pan, add some oil and when its hot add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add cloves, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, green chillies and onions.
Fry them for 5 min or until they are golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes and let them cook till they are soft. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and let it cook till oil starts separating from the mixture.
Add this to the dal and mix well. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Frankly we loved the dal very much... i bet it will be a regular at our house from now on but i made it too hot.. watch out for the garam masala :)
Sending this to Priya and Aipi's Bookmark event - every tuesday

Chicken Tikka Masala

2011-01-31T16:13:00.000-08:00

When i saw a beautiful bowl of chicken tikka masala at Tanvi's Sinfull Spicy chicken tikka masala i was literally drooling... i showed her pics to Nazeer and he was like "When are u making this?" and i knew i had to try that... i tried chicken tikka masala once before and it was a failure so i wanted to make it right and Tanvi's recipe sounded perfect... Unfortunately it was raining heavily (it always rains in Seattle.. whats new?) when i made this and the light was so dull.. i did not get nice pics.. but the masala tasted so perfect.. just like restaurant one.. now this will be a regular at my home... thank you Tanvi for sharing this recipe... thanks a lot :)
Oh boy!!! just thinking about it is making me drool :)
I followed Tanvi's recipe as it is with a little adjustment (not much) i guess...

Anyways for recap... here's what u need:

For Chicken tikka marinade:
1 lb chicken skinless breast fillet cubed
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix all the above mentioned items in a glass or ceramic bowl and cover it with a cling or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
For making the tikka: Thread the chicken on wooden skewers and grill the chicken for 6-8 min. If u don't want to do it on wooden skewers simply grill it in oven. I did it on a grill pan on my stove top turning it until they are golden brown.
Don't throw away the marinade or the drippings.

For the masala:
2 tomatoes peeled and mashed, preferably pureed
1 inch ginger finely minced
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
1/2 teaspoon shah jeera or caraway seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamom
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon kasoori methi
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

Add 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a large pan and when its hot add shah jeera, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cardamom. When they splutter, add ginger and garlic and let it fry for a minute or two on low heat. Add the pureed tomatoes, chilli powder and coriander powder and let it fry until the oil separates from the sides.
Add the chicken tikka, garam masala, left over marinade, drippings of chicken tikka, crushed kasoori methi, some water and salt and let it Cook for 15 min.
Add heavy cream and sugar and let it cook for another 10 min.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

My pic is horrible... for visual treat u have to go to Tanvi's page. :)

Tofu Capsicum Masala

2011-01-29T00:07:00.000-08:00

To be fair its not a masala... its just a tomato curry but i dint know what to name and i said masala... sorry about that... i always have capsicum or bell peppers at home and i try to neglect them and they always end up at the corner of my refrigerator... i am not saying i hate or dislike them, i absolutely love bell peppers... its just that other vegetables take priority over these... does this happen to u? if yes, with what vegetable?

Coming to the recipe... i usually make this with paneer... i first ate this curry when my friend Mayuri made it for a camping trip... we absolutely devoured this sabzi.. yum :) from then on i make this regularly and this is delicious with roti or rice... u should totally try it if u haven't tried it already... :)

Ingredients:
2 Bell peppers finely chopped( i used yellow and red )
2 tomatoes chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
2 green onions chopped
1 Firm tofu block cut into pieces
5 green chillies slit
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon chilli powder
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

In a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add tofu pieces. Fry till are light golden. Remove them from oil and set them aside.
In the same add onion, green chillies and green onions and fry till they are light brown. add ginger garlic paste and fry 30 sec.
Add the tomatoes and let them cook till they are soft. Add bell peppers and cook covered for 5 min adding some water if needed.
Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder and cook for another 5 min.
add the Tofu and cook for another 2 minutes.
Serve hot with roti...

My picture is a bit shaky but with all the tofu goodness i know this is perfect dinner recipe for anyone.. u can totally substitute paneer and make it rich :)
Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Potato Ravioli

2011-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

On our anniversary last December, we had a stuffed chicken with sweet potato ravioli and Nazeer was immediately in love with the ravioli and wanted more.. i said "that's ok honey i know how to make a ravioli...i watched Giada and Anne Burrell (Food Network Chefs) make it a zillion times and i know it". He was like "no no its ok.. don't dear... please don't.. " i thought well that's insulting let me make some and show it to him.. And I did and he praised me a lot... he loved it a lot, said tasted just like the original one and asked me to make some more on the weekend... trust me i was on cloud 9.... :D

Ravioli is an Italian dish and is a type of filled pasta composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough( Source : WIKI ) . U can be very creative and make any kind of sauce with this ravioli like marinara, white sauce,... etc. I made a sauce only with browned butter and it was so superb and slurpy... ooh i can recollect the taste now... its wonderful :)

And one more thing is i made this ravioli with won ton wrappers.. u can totally start from scratch and make the dough.. anything is good as long it tastes good :)
Ok without yapping about this.. let me come to the recipe.. here's what u need:

6 or 7 won ton wrappers
1 medium potato peeled
2 teaspoons of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Boil the potato, mash it and add cheese, salt and pepper to it.
Place a tablespoon of potato mixture in the center of the won ton wrapper and use water to wet two of its sides and seal the wrapper folding it diagonally. Use the back of the fork and press around the edges. this ensures the wrapper is tightly secured.
Boil water in a deep pan and add some salt to it. After the water is boiled, add the prepared won ton wrappers into the water. Boil them for 3-4 minutes.
In a separate pan, add the butter and some salt and let it brown for a minute. Once the ravioli is boiled add it to the pan with butter. Add half a cup of pasta water (water used to boil won ton wrappers) and let it fry for 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot garnished with some more cheese. I served it on a bed of spinach and for the pure pleasure of making it Indianized i added chilli powder on top. i also served a warm cup of tomato soup with it ... hmm definitely yum...

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Chayote Tomato Curry

2011-01-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

I had a chayote in my refrigerator for a long time... i wanted to make a Dal with it like last time but nazeer said no dal for a week as we ate spinach dal yesterday and he has a strict rule that we should not eat dal everyday because of obvious reasons like we get fat and all.. i try to reason with him that dal will not make u fat.. but he turns a deaf ear... :)
i know this guy for 4 years now before and after marriage and i seriously cant figure out what he eats... one week he is a pure vegetarian and the other day he eats chicken ( only chicken everything else is seafood to him :P) like anything... i make a nice curry with roti one day and he devours it like anything and if i try to make the same curry any other time he doesn't like it that much... ufff...
After all this time i figured out some of his favorites and i try to stick to that... but i need a change and i experiment... :D well he doesn't complain coz he is really sweet but he certainly gives me and the dish strange looks. if its that tough for me i guess it will be more tough with kids... hats off to all mothers :) When i complain to my mother that i don't understand nazeer.. she says i am trying to understand ur father for 25 years... i don't get it either... may be every one's like that... right?

Coming to the recipe.. i had a plain chayote and i was in no mood to cook.. so i made a recipe which doesn't need much attention... :) and the best part is the dish needs only one teaspoon of oil.

Ingredients:
1 chayote seeded and diced into small pieces
1 tomato chopped
1 onion finely chopped
3 green chillies chopped
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon oil

In a medium pan, add chayote, tomato, onion, green chillies, oil and cook covered for 20 minutes stirring now and then.
check if the chayote is cooked, else add some more water and cook covered.
Add Salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix well. cook for another 5 minutes and ta da its done!!!
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Sort of Zebra cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream frosting

2011-01-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

First of all... i want to make an announcement that i have changed my blog's name to "Not so gourmet" Any suggestions or comments on that please feel free to contact me... :)
I never thought i will be writing a food blog... i had a blog just like that to write some short stories whenever i feel like but now i have almost 70 food posts here.. so i thought it high time now and i should change the name.. right? So its gonno be "Not so gourmet" from now on... :)

Coming to the cupcake part...Well... I Really wanted to make a Zebra cake... but as i got my new muffin pan and i love mini version of cakes...so i went for cupcakes... it was... time taking to drop teaspoonfuls of batter into the cupcake liners... but i did it and they turned out pretty good...i was satisfied with the taste and not so satisfied with the look... they were more like marbled cakes rather than zebra patterns :) So when i gave them to my friends... i said... they are sort of zebra marble cakes... and they were quite ok with that name... so i named them "Sort of Zebra cupcake" nice eh? i am not kidding.. really... I've taken a pic of the cross section and i am going to share here... and u decide... wt say?

Coming to the cake recipe...i followed this zebra cake recipe by kitchen boffin to dot. Thanks a lot for sharing this with us :)
This recipe makes 18 cupcakes. Anyways for a recap... here's what u need:

4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 pinch salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar till it is light and fluffy.
Add milk and oil and beat for 30 sec. Add vanilla extract and beat again.
In another bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and mix well.
Add the dry mixture little by little to the wet mixture and beat until they are combined.
divide the batter in two halves. In one half add cocoa powder. this makes the batter a little thick and not so light to spread... then add some milk, almost a tablespoon, make it a bit thin and almost the same consistency as the plain batter.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and drop a teaspoon of plain batter into one paper cup. then drop a teaspoon of cocoa batter. Let it spread on it own.. don't tilt the pan. Drop teaspoon fulls of two batters alternately until the cupcake liner is 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 to 25 min and let them cool before u frost...

Coming to the yummy frosting u need...

2 sticks of unsalted butter( about a cup ) at room temperature
2/3 cup semi - sweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate chips and let them cool for a bit. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until its soft and fluffy.
Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract and beat until the frosting is spreadable and light.
Transfer to a Ziploc and pipe away....

A picture of the cross - section

Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to Priya and Aipi's Bookmark event - every tuesday and Priya's Best Western Dessert
Recipe Source : http://kitchenboffin.blogspot.com/2010/10/zebra-cake.html

Murgh Tariwala / Chicken curry

2011-01-22T00:29:00.000-08:00

Remember i said i made a chicken curry with my Medhu vada... well this is it... This chicken is so easy and yummy to make... i simply loved the gravy :) This recipe is by Monica Bhide... well i feel so guilty that i am diverting from my cooking project and making all sorts of varieties these days.. but what to do... there are so many beautiful recipes around me on TV, online, on other blogs.. they are so tempting and delightful.. i simply cant resist making them. As long as i am enjoying my cooking.. i shouldn't feel bad right? right? :D

Coming to the recipe.... Here's what u need:

1 1/2 lbs skinless chicken pieces of ur choice
1 teaspoon caraway seeds / Shahjeera
1 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 tomato finely chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup plain yogurt whipped

In a large pan, heat some oil and add caraway seeds. When they sizzle, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cardamoms. Add onions and fry until they are light brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft and oil begins to separate from the mixture.
Add red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric, coriander powder and salt and cook for a minute.
Add yogurt and stir constantly for a minute. Add the chicken and cook for 5 min. Add some water and cook covered until the chicken is done and the gravy thickens.
Serve hot with rice, roti or with medhu vada like me :)

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Priya's CWS - Caraway Seeds Event.

Spicy Baked Chickpeas

2011-01-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite cuisine? Indian? Italian? Chinese? I would say whatever cuisine it is we tend to convert it to something we like.. don't we? Do you do that or is it just me ? :D
After coming to seattle... and after trying out every Indian restaurant we thought why don't we stick with some other cuisine when we are eating out and to eat proper and nice Indian at home... well bcoz we have lot less options here...
Coming to various cuisines.. i love love Mexican... it is so similar to our food and the ingredients they use can be matched to one of our own... like the flour tortillas... they are our maida chapatis... and the matching goes on and on...
The recipe i am making today is the time pass chana we use to eat when we kids and i guess i could eat up a whole packet even now... but when we were very little a snack wala used to come every evening to our street and used to shout bajji, samosa, jalebi, sanagaloi ( chana in telugu )... we used to run, torture mom and ask for Rs. 10 and buy what ever we want.... aah gone are those days when we used to eat food without thinking about hygiene and calories... hmmm...

That is a long story... coming to the recipe.. this is a Mexican snack or appetizer i saw on food network on "5 Ingredient Fix" by Claire Robinson... I like the idea of using minimum amount of ingredients thought some are packaged.. and this was healthy.. baked and not fried.. what else do we want to attract people like my hubby... he loved it and wanted to have it with a mug of beer...

Here's what u need:

1 cup of chickpeas soaked overnight and drained ( U can use canned chickpeas)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

In a small bowl, add chickpeas, oil, salt, turmeric, chilli powder and cumin powder and mix well.
Heat oven to 400 F. In a baking sheet lined with parchment paper bake the chickpeas for 20 to 25 min tossing every 10 min.
Serve in a nice serving bowl after it cools down or store it in an airtight container.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Tawa Pulao

2011-01-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

When i saw this recipe at my friend Smitha 's blog.. i knew i immediately want to try it :) Smitha in turn made it from aipi's blog US Masala. I followed their recipe blindly and it was just awesome... hubby dear loved it so much.. even my friend sweta had some and she thoroughly enjoyed eating the spicy and tangy pulav...
I made this rice when were in a hurry and it took merely 15 min to finish provided you already have rice :) According to Aipi, this is a perfect mumbai's chat corner recipe... boy these chat corner guys are real genius... they create such wonderful delicacies.... yum :)
First let me thank Aipi and Smitha for showing this wonderful recipe with me :)

Coming to the recipe... Here's what u need:

2 cups Cooked basmathi rice and cooled to room temperature
1 small onion
1 small Potato
2 green onions
1 small tomato
1 any color Bell Pepper( i used yellow)
1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala
1 Bay Leaf

In a large pan, add some oil and add the bay leaf and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and fry till they are golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and add the potato and bell pepper pieces.
Fry for about 5 min and add the tomato. Fry for 2-3 min.
Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and pav bhaji mix and cook for 2 min.
Mix in the rice and mix well and cook covered in low flame for another 5 min.
Serve hot with raita and a few drops of lemon juice.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Priya's Tried and tasted event.

Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes with Blue Buttercream Frosting

2011-01-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

I don't want to start writing anything until i show off my cupcakes... well... what do u people think? For absolute chocolate fans this will be heaven am sure and for not so chocolate fans the frosting will be amazing i bet...This is gloating right? he he .. but no i am sure bcoz my friends ate them and they said yums and aahs... while eating.. so i guessed they were enjoying them :)
This is the first time i made cupcakes and i loved both making and eating them.. they are wonderful dollops of delight in ur mouth i must say :)
Coming to the recipe i made a simple chocolate cake recipe and poured them in paper cups...

Ingredients :

For 12 cupcakes :
For the chocolate batter:
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cold water

For the blue buttercream frosting:
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
4-5 drops of blue food color

For the cup cakes :

Heat oven to 350 F . Line paper cups in a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar and vanilla.
Stir the oil mixture and water into the flour mixture vigorously with a spoon until well blended. Pour into muffin pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Cool completely for 1 hour before frosting.

For the buttercream :

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until it is soft at low speed.
Add the powdered sugar and mix well.
Add the vanilla, food color and milk and beat until the cream is soft and spreadable.
Take care not to add so much of food color... the cream will be runny and bitter. Scoop the cream into a Ziploc and pipe away.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending it to Lisa's Sweets for Saturday Event.

Medhu Vada / Garelu

2011-01-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Pongal.. i know i am late again :)
But as i am posting a festival erelated recipe.. i wanted to wish everyone :)... Deep fried stuff at my house is a certain no no.. i love deep fried and crispy stuff and nazeer avoids it... so i don't make it but sometimes i cant resist and make them... i say I am not making for u.. i am making for myself... that's selfish right? but common sometimes its allowed :D

Ok coming to the Coastal andhra garelu... these are really good, crispy and yummy dumplings served with a coconut chutney and sambhar. But i didn't make coconut chutney.. i made a chicken curry and sambhar with it... not festive at all.. but i wanted nazeer to eat some and i was trying to tempt him with chicken curry... well the good news is he totally fell for it and ate them. Its not an unusual combination at all... for people who don't know.. there is a famous song of megastar chiranjeevi "Kodi koora.. chilli gaare... " It means chicken curry and medhu vada... he he.. i am a bad translator...

Coming to the recipe.. here's how i made it:

1 cup Urad dal washed and soaked overnight
1/2 onion finely minced
1 green chilli finely minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
a pinch of baking soda
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Grind the urad dal into (a not so) fine paste without adding any water.
In a bowl add urad dal batter, onion, chilli, cumin seeds, baking soda and salt and mix well.
In a deep pan, add oil and when its hot add a small drop of batter. When it raises to the surface slowly, shape the batter into round balls. Flatten the ball in ur hand and insert a hole in between and drop into the hot oil.Careful not to burn ur hands. Dip ur hand in a bowl of cold water in between.
Fry the vada on both sides till they are golden brown and transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
Serve hot with coconut chutney, chicken curry and sambhar... :D

My Vadas are not perfectly round... :( but they tasted great :)
Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Lets Do Brunch hosted by Chaya.

Chocolate Cake sandwich

2011-01-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well... i was going for a chocolate swiss roll as done by Priya from Priya's Easy n Tasty recipes... but sadly my cake was not so spongy and it broke when i was trying to roll it ... but not to worry as I turned it into a sandwich filled with chocolate cream. Finally it turned to be pretty gooey ooey chocolaty ( In case these words do exist :D) Thanks a lot priya for this wonderful and yummy chocolate recipe though it did not turn out as expected it was too too good :)

And one more thing was... priya made a chocolate mousse for her roll. I was seriously in a mood for eating chocolate immediately and i was not ready to wait for another day as her recipe should be prepared the day before :) And moreover lately bcoz of the salmonella or whatever ella i was a bit skeptical about raw eggs.. is it only me? or is it safe? please clear this for me guys.... i am in need of info here :) So i made a simple chocolate cream and piped onto the sandwich. I'm Loving it!!!!

Coming to the recipe I followed priya's recipe as it is except for the mousse part. Anyways for a recap... here's what u need:

For Cake sheet :
4 Eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour ( else use 1/2 cup All purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter melted
1/4 cup cocoa powder

For Chocolate cream :
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup hot water

For the Cake :

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar is all dissolved.
Add flour, butter and cocoa powder. Mix everything with and electric mixer for 5 min and keep aside.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks are formed.
Fold in the egg whites to the chocolate batter gently. Line a parchment paper in a brownie pan or a cookie sheet.
Pour the batter and bake at 350F for 12 min.
Once the cake is cooled cut it into 8 pieces and lay flat.

For the chocolate cream :

Boil some water in a small deep pan. In a glass bowl add the chocolate chips and add the 1/4 cup hot water. Remember water separates chocolate so keep whisking the chocolate real fast.
Double boiler method : Place the glass bowl on the boiling water in the pan and whisk the chocolate. The glass bowl should sit on top and should not submerge. This method is called the double boiler method.
In another bowl take cold water and add ice cubes to it. As soon as the chocolate melts on the double boiler, place it in the cold water and whisk it real hard. By now ur hand should ache :)
By now the chocolate will be creamy and gooey. Fill a zip lock and pipe onto the cake pieces and top that with another cake piece. Now the piping is up to u... :)

Here's a treat for ur eyes :

A special request to priya...y dint my cake turn out spongy? please check the recipe and let me know if i have done something wrong!!! thank you :)
Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Chama dumpa fry / Taro root fry

2011-01-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Taro root is a starchy tuber similar to potato but tastes entirely different than potato. Well.. we know nothing can beat potato but still this vegetable is very yummy if u make it correctly. I usually make a tangy soup with taro root with tomato and tamarind sauce. But this time i wanted to make something different and tortured my mom for a different recipe... and she reminded me of a fry she used to make as a combination for pappu charu or dal. This is so simple to make and yummy to eat :)

Here's what u need :

4 or 5 taro root
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

Boil the taro root until fork tender. Let it cool, peel and cut into nice round strips.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a medium pan and fry the taro root on high heat for 10 min stirring occasionally. Don't stir too much as the taro root is already boiled and it becomes a paste.
Once the taro root turns golden, add salt, turmeric and chilli powder.
Serve hot with rice and dal.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Pj's Complete my thali - sabzi event originally started by Jagruti.

Moongdal Eggplant Rasam

2011-01-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

I made this recipe long back but was too lazy to post it... well to be frank hubby dear made this recipe i was directing him from the living room :)
This wonderful recipe is from Priya's Easy n tasty recipes. Priya is a genius... this recipe is foolproof and We absolutely loved it and it became our regular rasam now. Thanks a lot priya for sharing this with us.
I tweaked the recipe a bit as i don't like the burnt smell of eggplant. i just cut the eggplant and boiled and mashed it. If u like charred eggplant then u can totally char it on a grill or roast the eggplant in the oven...

Coming to the recipe....

Ingredients:

4-5 small brinjal or 1 medium eggplant boiled and mashed
2 tablespoons boiled moongdal
1 tomato
1 lemon sized tamarind
5 green chillies
2 garlic cloves finely minced
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 dried red chillies

In a deep pan, add some oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. when they splutter, add curry leaves and dried chillies.
Immediately add garlic and green chillies. Fry for a minute and add chopped tomato. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add mashed brinjal and moong dal and cook for another 3 min.
Add tamarind pulp and a cup of water.
Add turmeric, coriander, cumin , chilli powder and salt and let the water boil.
Serve hot with rice and a side dish of your choice.

My picture is so so bad. I took a picture right when it is in the pan. we were so hungry :D

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Bookmark event - every tuesday hosted by aipi and priya.
Recipe Source : Moongdal Eggplant rasam by priya

Rava Kesari / Semolina pudding

2011-01-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Oh boy!!! My new year's resolution is already broken :) My resolution was to not postpone things and post a blog everyday.. but it is broken.. i was so busy playing with kinect... ooh i love it but i blame it for my broken resolution :) that's easy right? blame it on something else.. i bet everyone does that :)
Without any more delay... let me post today's recipe...
This is a quick dessert i usually make when we invite friends over so that i have lots of time to prepare other things... its so easy and simple and can be made in a jiffy :)

Ingredients :

1 cup Semolina
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups water
10 cashews broken
10 raisins
few drops of orange food color
a pinch of cardamom powder
1/4 cup ghee

Dry roast the semolina for 2-3 min on low flame.
In a small pot, boil the water. Add food color to a tablespoon of water and keep it aside.
Heat the ghee and fry the cashews until golden and set aside. Add raisins and as soon as they puff up, add semolina and roast for 1-2 min.
Now add the sugar and boiling water and let it cook on low flame. Stir continuously to avoid lumps.
Add food color, cardamom and cashews and let it simmer for a min or two.
Switch off the flame as soon as the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
Transfer to a greased plate and spread evenly. Let it sit for 5 min and cut into nice squares.

Well.... i wanted to cut them into squares but was too impatient and hungry :D

Aalu or Potato Fry

2011-01-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like potato? its awesome isn't it? I know there are a zillion versions of potato fry but this is my take on it. I make a lot of varieties of potato curries and i feel that potato is very versatile... u can do anything with it... right? from paratha to pulav... what not....
Coming to my potato fry... when i was in school i used to call my aunt ( our close family friends) and used to say "Aunty am coming to ur house today.. make me potato fry " so after coming to US i really really missed that wonderful fry and after trying out a million recipe types.. i got it right... long story short... i now know how to make my aunt's aalu fry :) i apologise if i am boring u :) aah... i am nostalgic...

Here's what u need:

5-6 medium potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 teaspoon urad wash
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chilli powder

In a large pan, add 3- 4 tablespoons of oil and add urad wash and mustard seeds. When the urad dal turns golden, add turmeric and curry leaves.
Add the potatoes and cook uncovered on low flame stirring now and then.
When the potatoes turn a little brown, add salt and chilli powder and fry for 5 more minutes on low flame or until the potatoes are done.
If u want them to be a bit crunchier, add some more oil in between.
Serve hot with rice and dal.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Veggie/Fruit of the month - Potato event hosted by Divya and started by priya.

Tagged and Awards

2011-01-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

I have been Tagged by Shanavi with a set of questions... Thanks a lot for remembering and tagging me... It felt good talking about myself as i love bragging :)
I was tagged again by Mehnaaz of Chef Naaz- the mistress of spices but i am so so lazy..
They are the same set of questions so i am answering them at the same time :)
Thanks a lot for tagging me... :)

Below is the questionnaire....

1. What is your take on organic food , is it a big deal for you ?
NO... I love food in any form... there is no condition that it should be organic and non-organic...

2. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?
Yeah, usually when at home. When we eat at a certain time everyday... u stomach automatically asks for food at that time.. so u are hungry and u eat at time.. cool isn't it?

3. What inspired you to write a food blog ?
I saw a movie Julie and Julia. In that movie, the protagonist takes a cooking project from a book by Julia child. This is a true story. I got inspired by the movie and started a food blog with a book by Monica bhide. Mine is a true story too :D

4. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?
I try to make up but as i am a new cook i fail a zillion times... i call my hubby dear to rescue as he is an expert or he thinks he is :P Anyhoo he will eat it as he is real sweet... :)

5. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?
I avoid using olive oil although the recipe asks for it as i don't like the bitter taste it gives to recipes... but guess i donno how to use it :)
I avoid adding sugar to daily curries or dals even if the recipe insists...
And i avoid some kind of cheeses as i have migraine and cant eat it :)

6. Name three things you have to use in most recipes ?
garlic, cumin seeds, Red chilli powder
Couldn't make anything without these except for dessert of course!!!

7. How important is eating meals together as a family to you?
Before i was married and when i was at home we used to eat meals together.... we were 3 siblings and we used to come home for holidays and we used to have so much fun.. ahh good old days. We used to wait till everybody is home and eat at the same time. It was always a war at the dinner table.... :D
but now its only nazeer and me.. so i have to eat lunch alone and dinner together :) i am sorry if i bored anyone with all this story.

8. You do not like a particular dish at your favorite restaurant,what will you do ?
Of course i will send it back and ask them to get it to my liking :)

Now to the second set of questions

1) Are you a vegetarian, or have you thought about being one?
No not yet but may be eventually... we have reduced everything and eating only chicken once in a fortnight... so we are on our way... :)

2) Who inspired you to cook or bake?
Actually that would be my hubby... he is an expert and i wanted to prove that i am nothing less.. so i took over the kitchen :)

3) How do you celebrate Christmas?...or a favorite holiday of your choice?

When i was in India we used to celebrate ramzan really nicely.. it was a family event.. everyone is at home and i love that... but these days here i love Christmas... its so colorful and beautiful... i love it :)
we do shopping... we play kinect.. we love playing in snow... ooh i love holidays...

4) Do you prefer to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and/or family, or prefer to ring in the New Year quietly, and privately, at home?

I love spending New year's eve with friends and family.. we usually have a potluck.. i try to bake a cake.. and we have lots of fun together :)

5) If someone were to ask you to bring dessert to a party, what would you bring? Store bought, or homemade, and if you were to make homemade, what would you make?
I would love to make a homemade dessert.... i would go with an usual gulab jamun or try to make something from the scratch from food network. :) I will definitely have a back up :D

6) How will you celebrate your next birthday?

Donno.. depends entirely on hubby dear :) but i love my birthday... guess i am too old for that but still :)

7)Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?

Yes i do...i thought of learning something new everyday and not to postpone everything... so this tagging was done long back.. but here i am writing everything now :)

And also i got 2 awards :

1st one is from honeybee of The bee and the Fruit in the kitchen. Thanks a lot for sharing this award with me. It means a lot to me. :)

I want to share this award with few of my friends:

1. Smitha of Essence- de - life
2. aipi of US masala
3. Priya of Mharo Rajastan's Recipes
4. Priya sreeram of Bon Appetit
5. Sujana of Sujana's world
6. PJ of Seduce ur tastebuds
7. R of recipeGrabbag
8. Hari Chandana of Indian cuisine
9. Shanavi of Kitchen Secrets
10. Satya at My Innovative Kitchen.

I wish i could give award to everyone but i think i have to limit it :)
Another award is a participation award for the virtual party- Beverages from Aipi of USMasala. Thanks a lot for the award :)

I am so sorry for this long post... from now on no delaying :) lesson learnt :) Thanks a lot for the patience...

Tofu Matar / Peas with Tofu

2011-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

I love matar paneer and would gobble up huge quantities of it just like that. But i thought why don't i try it with tofu and boy!!!! did i love it.... absolutely yes.. tofu is flavorless right? but this recipe bought a real taste to tofu.. :)
anyway coming to the recipe...

Here's what u need:

1 firm tofu block cut into small pieces ( they say its firm but its too soft unlike our paneer)
1 cup peas frozen or fresh
1 small onion
1 tomato
5 green chillies
2 green onions
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon kasoori methi
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Phew... that's a long list... but don't u worry.. this is a cake walk... Grind onions, tomato and green chillies together and keep it aside.
Add some oil to a pan and shallow fry the tofu pieces lightly and keep it aside.
In the same pan, add cumin seeds, chopped green onions and ginger garlic and fry for 30 sec. Add the onion mixture and fry till water is evaporated and oil starts to ooze out.
Add peas and cook covered for 10 min.
Add salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli and garam masala powder and cook for 5 min.
Add tofu and crush the kasoori methi between ur palms and cook covered on low flame for 5 min.
Serve hot with roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. :)

Eggless Vanilla cake with buttercream frosting

2011-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone....

Phew.... it was a long holiday season... i was sooooo busy frankly i donno why.... we got a new kinect sensor for Xbox and nazeer was home all week. We played, we jumped, we were all sore and our whole bodies ached like anything but we still played :D it was so much fun :D. How did you all enjoy ur holidays?
I cant believe i missed all my friends blogs and posts... ahhh donno what wonderful recipes i missed :(
Ok... lemme start with a cake i made for new year. I made some major mistakes but it all turned out super good at last :)

For the cake i followed aipi's Eggless vanilla chocolate chip cake recipe to dot. Thanks a lot aipi for sharing this with us.

For the buttercream frosting :

6 tablespoons butter softened.
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
few strawberries for topping

In a medium bowl using an hand held electric mixer beat the butter until its smooth.
Add the sugar, salt and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Add milk and beat the mixture at low speed until its light and fluffy.
Top it on the cooled cake and let it cool.
U can freeze this frosting for 2 days and let it come to room temperature when u are using it.
Decorate with strawberries. I couldn't find any fresh strawberries so i used frozen ones and they bled color. So my suggestion is to use fresh strawberries.

Sending this to aipi and Priya's Bookmark event every tuesday. and to Priya's Tried and tasted event.
Recipe Source: http://usmasala.blogspot.com/2010/10/eggless-vanilla-chocolate-chip-cake.html

Fried Nutella Banana Ravioli

2010-12-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone...

Merry Christmas and happy holidays... i know i am late but better late than never :D
But i want to be ahead at new year... Happy new year!!!! So... what are your new year resolutions, eh? For today's recipe i was searching to make something with banana for aipi's banana event for a long time now.... but couldn't think of anything... and the other day I was watching Giada at home and i saw Giada making this absolutely beautiful fried ravioli and was in love... i tried to do it and guess what they tasted yummy but they were not so pretty as Giada's... i guess i need a lot of expertise to master like her... :D
And the recipe is a bit tweaked :)

Here's my take on them:

2 teaspoons of almonds chopped finely
1/2 banana cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 teaspoon brown sugar
6 teaspoons nutella (if u don't like nutella u can use peanut butter)
6 won ton wrappers
Oil for frying

In a bowl mix the banana, sugar and almonds. Set it aside.
Brush the edges of won ton wrapper using a finger or pasty brush with water. If you like u can use egg white.
Put a teaspoon of nutella in the wrapper and add a teaspoon of banana mixture on top of it.
Fold the wrapper diagonally into a triangle and seal the edges.
Refrigerate all the ravioli for 15 min.
In a deep pan, add oil and fry the ravioli till they are golden brown.
Top it with powdered sugar or chocolate drizzle.. anything u like...but serve them warm.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Aipi's Veggie/ Fruit of the month - Banana Event started by aipi.

Vankaya Mudda koora / Brinjal with black eyed peas

2010-12-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

I know it holiday season and every one's posting beautiful cakes, cupcakes... am drooling seeing the pics itself...but i am not much of a baker and my hubby is so diet conscious that i cannot make a cake. He will refuse to eat it and i cant eat it all alone when i feel so guilty before his eyes... i know i know its holiday season he should totally cut me some slack .... :D I will try to make a small one and see as i am inspired by all my friends beautiful cake recipes...
But today as i am running out of time for Priya's legume love affair event.. i am posting this recipe

Here's what u need:

5-6 small Brinjal or eggplant
1/2 cup Black eyed peas
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 green chillies
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
2 teaspoons urad wash
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3 dried red chillies
1 sprig of curry leaves

Soak the black eyed peas in warm water for an hour and pressure cook them up to one whistle.
Boil the brinjal with very little water and turmeric until well done. Mash the brinjal and keep it aside
In a medium pan, add some oil and add urad wash. When it turns golden add all the items in the tempering section.
Add ginger and green chillies. Add the black eyes peas, salt and mashed brinjal. Cook for 10 min.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

I know the color doesn't look so appealing but you have got to try this and see :D
Sending this to Priya's My Legume Love affair started by Susan.

Thotakoora majjiga pulusu / Amaranth Greens with yogurt

2010-12-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

This recipe is very famous in the coastal parts of andhra pradesh. It is known as "Thonthana" in some parts it seems. Well this is all from the book "Cooking at home with Pedatha "... not my own gyan. I just know its an andhra dish.... :D
Amaranth leaves are the red green leaves found in indian grocery stores. It has very rich iron content and by this recipe u can mask the greens so that kids eat without complaining :)... nice, eh? Hubby dear devoured it and even stopped me from finishing it as he wanted to take it to lunch the next day. He absolutely loved it :)

Here's what you need:

1 cup of Chana dal + toor dal + masoor dal ( Recipe did not ask for masoor dal but i added)
2 cups Amaranth leaves + stems very finely chopped (remember we want to deceive ppl)
3 cups yogurt whisked and made into thick buttermilk consistency
1 lemon sized tamarind
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 Green chillies
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
2 tablespoons Ghee
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3 dried red chillies

For Paste:
2 tablespoon Fresh coconut ( recipe asks for 1/2 cup coconut)
2 inch piece ginger
1/4 cup coriander leaves
3 green chillies

Cook all the dals together until they are soft. Mash them and set aside.
Grind all the ingredients under the paste section into a fine paste adding a little water. Mix this paste to the dals and set aside.
In a deep pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds and red chillies.
Add the chopped greens. Cover and simmer for 10 - 15 min stirring now and then.
Add green chillies and curry leaves.
Add turmeric, Salt and tamarind pulp and simmer for few minutes.
Add the dal mixture and continue to cook for few minutes.
Finally switch off the flame and add in ghee and yogurt.
Serve with hot rice.

Alternatively you can use spinach in this recipe. This picture doesn't do justice to the recipe. This dish is just awesome and i dint have enough light to capture the real color.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Bookmarked recipes - Every tuesday by aipi and priya and also to Only greens Event by Saraswathi and Pari.
Recipe Source: Cooking at home With pedatha by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain

Beerakaya Pachadi/ Ridge gourd chutney

2010-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

Pachadi or any vegetable chutney is very common in every household of andhra pradesh. It is served as an accompaniment to rice along with daily dal and and a curry. One such healthy and yummy chutney is made with Ridge gourd. And it is healthy because apart from the known goodness of ridge gourd i use the skin of the gourd which is fiber and we all know that fiber is good.... So this pachadi can be referred as beerakaya tokku pachadi.
Coming to the recipe... this is a really easy take on pachadi.

Ingredients:
1 ridge gourd
5 green chillies
1 tomato
1 lime sized tamarind
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Peel the threads of the gourd. Do not peel the entire skin. Keep bits and parts of it. Chop the gourd into large pieces.
In a small pan dry roast the sesame seeds and keep it aside.
In the same pan add some oil and add ridge gourd, chopped tomato, tamarind and chopped green chillies. Cover and cook for 10 min or until the gourd becomes soft. Let it cool.
In a blender, add sesame seeds and powder them. Add cumin, garlic and the cooked ridge gourd mixture and blend into a fine paste.
Add tempering if u like. This is entirely optional.
Serve hot with rice and a side dish.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Semiya Utappam / Vermicelli Pancake

2010-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

First of all i want to confess that i was not really fair with the picture part of this recipe. We were so hungry and my pancake turned out dark because we were concentrating on the one we were eating and dint notice the one on the stove. But i had to get a pic as it was my last batch of the dough. So a disclaimer: Don't be frightened with the pic :D
About the recipe... my mom saw this on TV, she tried it and obviously loved it... so i decided to make it on one Sunday morning and absolutely loved it. This utappam is so easy to make and yummy to eat :)

Here's what you need:

1 cup Semiya or vermicelli
I tablespoon rava or semolina ( I am so sorry i forgot this... my mom reminded me)
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup veggies of ur choice finely shredded ( i added onions and carrots)
3 green chillies finely minced
Salt to taste

In a bowl whip the yogurt and add semiya to it. Let it soak for half an hour. Add the veggies, rava and salt and mix well adding some water to get the required consistency.
Heat a pan on low flame and pour the pancake. Add oil and Let it cook on both sides.
Serve with a chutney or side of ur choice.

Chicken Fry

2010-12-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

I don't think i can find a single chicken lover out there who doesn't like chicken fry and i bet there are so many versions of that too... This is my take well my mom's take on it. When i was in college, our college food court was a vegetarian food court. So we used too be so hungry for chicken... I used to rush home and devour this yummy chicken fry... aah those days...
Well, coming to the recipe...

Ingredients:
1/2 kg chicken cut into nice big pieces
1 large onion
5 green chillies
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 tablespoon dry coconut powder
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chilli powder (according to ur taste... i like it so spicy)
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Chop the onion into large pieces and grind onion, chillies, ginger garlic, coconut powder, salt, chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder into a fine paste adding a little water.
Do not add too much water as this will take forever to dry out.
In a large pan add some oil and add the masala and the chicken pieces.
Cook covered until the chicken it cooked and the masala becomes dry.
Serve hot with rice and dal.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Satya's Thank you Mom event.

Brussels Sprout Tomato curry

2010-12-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Brussels Sprouts... ewww.... was the first reaction i heard when i was buying them at the grocery. That was none other than my hubby dear... :D... i donno why he said that.. they looked so cute.... cute little cabbages...
My friend Kanthi told she made Brussels sprout curry one day and i was wondering i never tried that vegetable... and when i was buying them that was the reaction.. so i was determined to make this work and make him say wow.... He is a big cabbage fan... so i was confident he will like this too...and voila he loved it both with rice and roti :)
Thanks a lot kanthi dear for introducing a new vegetable to me. There is nothing much to this recipe as i made a simple tomato curry. anyway...

here's what u need:

1 onion
2 tomatoes
1/2 lb Brussels sprouts ( approx 8-9)
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder

In a medium pan, add some oil and add chopped onion. fry them till they are golden brown.
In the meanwhile wash and take a layer off the Brussels sprouts and quarter them.
Add ginger garlic paste to the onions and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes to the pan and cook covered for 5 min.
Add the Brussels sprouts and cook covered for 10 min adding water in between or until the sprouts are cooked through.
Add salt, chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well. cook for 2 more minutes.
And ta da its done. Serve hot with rice or roti.

My pic doesn't look so nice.. but the curry was awesome... :). Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Muruku

2010-12-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

We love deep fried stuff... come on don't deny it... It's always a comfort... i love love deep fried anything... i love the crispness in that... I am a person who prefers rava dosa over normal dosa bcoz its crispier... ok this is entirely a different topic...
Coming to muruku... I want to enjoy them guilt free so i made them with moong dal... it gives me a little comfort that it has some protein in it and i can force my hubby to eat too... ahh he is a big drama king when it comes to deep fried stuff... But he made an exception if i make this muruku... isn't that nice? Well the nicest part is... he helped me a lot while making these....

Here's what u need:

1 cup moongdal, boiled and mashed
4 cups of rice flour
2 tablespoon ajwain or carom seeds
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon chilli powder

Mix all these ingredients with some Lukewarm water until it forms a soft dough.
In a muruku pipe fix the design hole of ur choice and fill the dough. Alternatively if you don't have muruku tools... you can use a piping bag i guess.
Heat oil for deep frying in a deep pan.
Fry the muruku till they are golden brown. Enjoy them with evening tea.

Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

Chayote Dal

2010-12-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

Whenever I was at an Indian store i wondered what this vegetable was. Was it a guava, was it a squash, was it a pear... what was it? It looked interesting though. Then I saw so many recipes in my friends blogs and i was a bit confident about chayote later on. i brought one home and was pondering over the recipes. But when it came to actual cooking part... i cut the vegetable and popped a bit into my mouth.. it tasted somewhat like a regular squash. I usually make a Dal with squash or yellow cucumber. So i thought lets try that... The final product was just awesome... tasted divine....

Without further ado..

Ingredients:
1 chayote peeled and diced
1 tomato diced
5 green chillies
1 cup toor dal
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 lemon sized tamarind soaked in water

For Tempering :
3 cloves garlic finely minced
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 dried red chillies
1 sprig of curry leaves

In a pressure cooker, add the washed toor dal, chayote, tomato, green chillies, turmeric, Chilli powder, coriander powder. add water and Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistles.
After the pressure is gone, add tamarind pulp and let the dal boil.
In another pan, add oil and add the items in the tempering list in quick succession.
Add the tempering to the dal and tada its done. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and Suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Priya's and Jagruti's Complete My Thali event.

Methi Lima beans Pulav

2010-12-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

The other day i wanted to make a one pot meal and was searching for recipes. I found this amazing and healthy recipe by Sujana at World of Sujana. Thanks Sujana for sharing this easy and healthy recipe with us. I made the exact recipe and voila it was awesome... I loved it.. it has a little bitterness bcoz of methi and if u like it... this is for you...

here's what u need:

1/2 cup methi leaves
1 cup lima beans ( i love lima beans so used a lot.. u can reduce the quantity)
2 cups basmati rice washed and drained
1 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon chilli paste
Cardamom - 2
cinnamon stick - 1
cloves - 3
1/2 teaspoon Shahi jeera
Water - 4 cups
Salt to taste

In a large pan, add some oil and add the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and shahi jeera. After a minute add chilli paste and ginger garlic paste. fry for a minute.
Add lima beans and methi leaves. Fry for 5 min.
Add washed rice and mix well. Add salt.
Add the water and let it boil.
Lower the heat and Cook covered for until the rice is cooked.
Serve hot with raita.

Sending this to Bookmarked event - every tuesday hosted by aipi and priya.
Recipe Source : Methi Lima beans pulav by sujana

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Bendakaya Pulusu / Okra Rasam

2010-12-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

Bendakaya or okra is a beautiful vegetable which looks so pretty outside but when you cut it its all slimy and gooey... he he. But i love its taste and can compromise with the sliminess. It has a tangy flavour which is too good. Coming to the pulusu part i don't know the technical term for pulusu in English... so i named it rasam as it has the consistency of rasam :)

Coming to the recipe....

Ingredients:
1 lb Okra
1 large onion
1 tomato
1 lemon sized tamarind
5 green chillies
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 sprig of curry leaves
3 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Cut Okra into large pieces. Say u cut one okra into 2. Chop the onion and tomato roughly. Soak the tamarind in water and microwave for a minute. Keep all these aside.
In a pressure cooker, add some oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and red chillies. When they splutter, add onions and fry them till they are transparent.
Add tomatoes and fry for 4-5 minutes till they are soft. U needn't cook them thoroughly as we'll pressure cook them.
Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander and cumin powder and mix well. Add okra and mix well. Add 1-2 cups of water and pressure cook for one whistle.
After the pressure is gone, add the tamarind pulp and salt and let it boil. I made it a one pot dish. U can add the tempering later if u like. I did it at the beginning. :)
Serve hot with rice.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Sending this to Priya's and Jagruti's Complete My thali event.

Egg curry and Lovely Blog award

2010-12-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

I was not feeling well yesterday and did not cook anything. My hubby dear called and seriously warned me not to cook and go into the kitchen area. So when he was back in the evening he banned me from the kitchen, cooked this delicious egg curry, took some pics and asked me to add to my blog... isn't that sweet?
This is a simple Delicious curry which has a total cooking time of 15 min.

Coming to the recipe....

Here's what u need:

5 eggs
2 large onions chopped
5 green chillies
salt to taste
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon sesame seed powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

Boil and shell the eggs. Keep them aside.
In a large pan add some oil and fry the eggs till they are slightly golden brown on all sides. This is an optional step. Nazeer doesn't like that so he avoids it.
In the same pan add onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Fry them till they are golden brown.
Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and sesame seed powder and mix well.
Add eggs and mix till they are coated nicely with the masala. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Coming to the award part.... yay again i received an award from Sujana of World of Sujana. She is an amazing blogger and makes delicious recipes. I love many of her recipes and will try them soon. You should try them too. Please visit her blog and check out her space. Thanks a lot dear for sharing this award with me... i am really excited and honoured....

Thanks to all my friends for their continuous support and encouragement...

Chicken Dum Biryani

2010-12-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

This is the most famous biryani ever.... People from Hyderabad who are now living abroad or some place else will be missing this Dum biryani... :) Yesterday was my hubby dear's birthday and i made this delicious yummy biryani for him. It came out so delicious that nazeer said this is the best biryani i ever made. Well the truth is this is nazeer's recipe... He is a wonderful cook and i learnt a lot from him. This is his recipe and i learnt it by heart. I was trying and was getting better every time. Finally i got it.. yay!!!! This biryani is very famous as Nazeer's biryani in our circle of friends... he he
I made this on a stove top as it was only for 2 people. U can make it in the oven. I will write both methods here...
Coming to the recipe....

Here's what you need:

For marinade:
5-6 Chicken Drumsticks skinless
1 cup yogurt
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

For Biryani:
2 1/2 cups Basmati rice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon ghee
5 cardamom or elaichi
2 cinnamon sticks
4 - 5 star anise
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon shahi jeera
1/2 onion sliced ( optional)
Salt to taste
Food color (optional)

Marinate the chicken with all the things mentioned in the marinade list and keep it aside for an hour. The marinade should be so creamy with lots of yogurt and should look like this. It should not be dry.

In the meanwhile soak the basmati rice for half an hour and drain the water. Add 1:1 ratio water say for 2 cups of basmati rice add 2 cups of water. Add butter, salt and 3 cardamom and cook it. Rice should be 90 % done by the time water disappears.

For the stove top method:

Use a pressure pan if u have one else use a heavy bottomed pan and add good amount of oil.

When the oil is hot add cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom, shahi jeera, cloves and bay leaves and fry them for a minute. You can add onions if u like. I dint use any.
Add marinated chicken to the bottom of the pan. Do not mix or fry.

Reduce the heat to medium low... if using an electric stove top set it between 3 and 4. Add rice on top and some ghee and some food color ( i dint use any). Tie a clean and thin kitchen towel over the pan and cover it with a lid. Lid should not be too tight. In a picture u can see i burnt my cloth while tying.. take care about that :)

Do not touch that for 40- 45 minutes. After that switch off the stove and mix well. take care not to mash the rice. Serve hot with raita.

For the Oven Method:

In a medium pan, Add some oil and add shahi jeera, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and fry for a minute. Add onions if you like and fry till they are brown.
Add marinated chicken and saute til the chicken is 60 % done. And the marinade forms a gravy and oozes out oil.
In a greased baking pan, Add this gravy at the bottom, add cooked rice, ghee and some food color.
Cover the pan with aluminium foil and cook for 45 - 50 min at 375 F.
remove from Oven and mix well.

This biryani is so spicy you wont need any side gravy with this. If you like you can have mirchi ka salan. raita is a must. :)

I know my pics are not at all appetizing and the post is too long but please bear with me and trust me. This will be the best hyderabadi biryani ever. :)

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Dum Aloo / Baby Potatoes in a Creamy Sauce

2010-12-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

I bet everyone makes a different version of this amazing dish. I made this dish today and boy does that look wonderful or what!!! Am in love with baby potatoes and the best part is u don't need to peel the potatoes.. yay!!! that's the only part i feel that is tough about baby aloo, isn't it?
Ok coming to the recipe....

Ingredients:

8 baby potatoes unpeeled
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
3 cloves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
1/2 cup pureed tomato
1/2 cup yogurt
Salt to taste

Wash the potatoes thoroughly and boil in water for 15 min until fork-tender. Let the potatoes cool and prick them all over with fork.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Add a potatoes and pan fry them. This recipe asks for deep frying the potatoes. If you don't mind deep frying, deep fry them until brown. If pan frying toss the potatoes without using a spoon. toss them until they are brown on all sides. Careful when u r tossing :)
Set them aside on paper towels. In the same pan, add cumin seeds, ginger and onions and saute until the onions are golden brown.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, cloves, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick. Fry for 30 sec. Add the tomatoes and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add whipped yogurt and cook for 5 minutes. When adding the yogurt gently fold in at low temperature or the yogurt will break. Add the potatoes and fry for 1 min.
Add 1/2 cup water and let it cook covered for 20 min. Add salt to taste. Serve hot with roti.

Sending this to bookmarked event - every tuesday hosted by aipi and priya.
Recipe Source : The everything Indian Cookbook by Monica Bhide.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Mocha Banana Cake

2010-12-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

I was feeling very very hungry the other day and wanted to make something quick and easy. I came across this wonderful cake at Treat and Trick. For the original recipe please follow this link :). Thanks a lot for sharing this healthy and wonderful recipe.
I tweaked it a bit... as i am very sensitive to coffee i added a mixture of coffee and chocolate in this cake. It turned out great. It was so spongy and yum... i seriously have no words. Wanted to name this cocoa mocha banana cake but dint want to spoil the name :)And the best part is it doesn't use lots of butter. Just a tablespoon will suffice.

Coming to the recipe...

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour ( if using all purpose flour use 2 1/4 cups)
1 tablespoon melted butter
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar ( I added a bit less because my banana was too sweet. u can use 1 cup sugar)
1 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 teaspoons water
2 teaspoon instant coffee
2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder. As i was using cake flour i dint sift. :)
Add sugar and mix all the dry ingredients.
In a bowl warm some water and add instant coffee. Mix well and add mashed banana, milk and butter.
Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well... U don't need a food processor or mixer to mix this and as my friend smitha was saying the other day about exercise... work it out.
Pour into a prepared cake pan ( greased with butter and duster with flour). An 8x8 pan will do.
bake for 30-40 min or until skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 min. Serve when its cool just like that or with a topping.

My pic doesn't look so good. the original one looks great :)

Sending this to Nupur's Blog Bites 9: The holiday Buffet inspired from Treat & Trick's Mocha Banana Cake.

Sorakaya Pachadi / Bottle Gourd in curd

2010-12-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

I always wonder what to do with Sorakaya or bottle gourd. I know only one dish with this vegetable.. sorakaya pulusu. Yeah i know u are wondering why would i buy it if i don't know how to cook this... It looks so cute sitting in the corner and nobody bothers to take it. Everyone goes for brinjals, potatoes, bhendi, etc. Some one has to take it right?... so i go for it and end up thinking what to do with it...this Pulusu i make is a tangy soup with sorakaya or any other vegetable and tomatoes. But i was really bored of pulusu that day and i saw this awesome recipe in Pushpa's blog "Taste as you cook" . I tried it immediately and hubby dear loved it both with roti and rice. Thank you Pushpa for sharing this wonderful and healthy recipe.

Here it goes...

Ingredients:

1 small bottle gourd
1/2 onion
5 green chillies
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon chana dal
1/2 teaspoon urad wash
1 sprig curry leaves
1 1/2 cup yogurt

Peel and chop the bottle gourd into small pieces.

In a pan add the bottle gourd pieces, salt and very little water and let them boil until the pieces are transparent and soft.

Once the pieces are soft, set them aside. In the same pan add some oil and when its hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana and urad dal. when they turn brown add curry leaves and finely chopped onions and green chillies.
When the onions become transparent add bottle gourd pieces and switch of the stove. Let it cool.
In a bowl whip up the yogurt and add some salt. Add the mixture and mix well.
Serve hot with roti or rice.

Sending this to Nupur's Blog Bites 9: The holiday Buffet inspired from Pushpa's Bottle Gourd Pachadi / Sorakaya Pachadi

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Award Time!!!

2010-12-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

OMG... is it raining awards or what... I received this beautiful award from Shanavi of http://jellybelly-shanavi.blogspot.com/. She has a wonderful collection of recipes and please check out her blog.

Thank you Shanavi for sharing this award with me.. this was really a surprise :) and congratulations to all the bloggers who got this award with me.

Thank you to all my friends for supporting and encouraging me :)

Ambada Bhaji/ Gongura / Red Sorrel leaves

2010-12-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Gongura or red sorrel is a leafy vegetable which has a tangy flavour by itself. This dish is very famous in Guntur, Andhra pradesh and Palanadu area. My dad is from this palanadu ( This area is very famous for a war palanati yudham) and people there are generally very proud and eat lot of spicy food :D
You can identify gongura leaves by their red stems and this vegetable is available in Indian stores. Ambada Bhaji is a dish made in Muslim feasts along with pulav or biryanis. I bet you will not find a single marriage or a party in that region without this side dish.
These Red Sorrel leaves are very rich in Iron and have many health benefits.
So for this spicy and tangy dish,

Ingredients:

1 bunch Gongura or Sorrel leaves (When u buy them u get them with stems.. use just the leaves)
1 tomato
1 small onion
5 green chillies

For Tempering:

2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
3 dried red chilli
1 sprig of curry leaves

In a pressure cooker add gongura, chopped tomato, chopped onion, green chillies. Add some water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

After it cools down, mash the mixture with the back of the spoon. Add some oil in a small pan and add all the items in the tempering list. Add tempering to the mixture.
And Ta da its done... Serve hot with rice/ pulav. If serving with rice, Chicken fry or potato fry is a nice accompaniment.

Sending this to Sujana's Celebrating Regional Cuisine event and Saraswathi's Only Greens and Pari's Only Greens event

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Yay!!! Another Award

2010-12-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

Yay!!!! Seriously Yay!!!! I received my second award. This one is from Priya Sriram of Bon Appetit . She is a versatile blogger and makes wonderful recipes. Do check her space. Thanks a lot Priya for sharing this award with me. I am new blogger and this means a lot to me.
Congratulations to all the bloggers who received this award. Thanks a lot to all my friends for supporting me and encouraging me with ur comments and compliments :)

Cabbage Fry with chana dal

2010-12-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey...

This is a comfort dish made stir fry style. My mom includes potato into the same dish so that we would eat without complaining...lets face it guys... when we were kids we hate everything that's healthy...isn't it? But i like the original version now. :)
This recipe is close to poriyal but i am not really sure if it is poriyal... :)
So with lot of confusions... here's what u need...

Ingredients:

1/2 cabbage
1/4 cup chanadal
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon urad wash
2 dried red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste

In a small pan boil chanadal until the dal is cooked. Dal should not be so soft.. when u bite into it, it should be crunchy. Keep aside.
Shred the cabbage and keep aside.
In a large skillet, add some oil. Add some mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when they splutter add urad wash and dried red chillies. When the urad turns light brown, add curry leaves and shredded cabbage.
Cook covered for 5 min. When cabbage becomes transparent add salt and add chana dal. Cook until the water evaporates.
Add turmeric and chilli powder and coconut. Mix well and Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. :)

Dill, Potatoes and Peas / Aloo matar aur Soa ki sabzi

2010-12-01T16:04:00.000-08:00

I didn't know what to name this curry... so i listed all the ingredients :) What else is the best way? :)
I was on a vacation.. so dint post anything for a long time... we went to San Francisco for thanksgiving.. it was sunny though it was cold... we enjoyed our trip and i loved getting some sun... San Francisco is very famous for golden gate bridge and the infamous prison Alcatraz.

This is a pic of us at golden gate bridge. We put on a lot of weight after i started blogging... he he. Ok anyway coming to the recipe... I made this dish before going on vacation but was very lazy to post it...

I have never cooked with Dill leaves before... This recipe is from the book and i was so surprised to find out that dill leaves have such a nice aroma... I was enjoying the nice spicy aroma of dill while cutting and cooking it...

So here's what u need:

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

5 green chillies

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

Salt to taste

For people like me who are not aware what dill leaves are... here's a pic. They look like a mixture of thyme and coriander :)
In a medium skillet, Heat oil on medium. Add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add chopped green chillies. Add potatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add the peas, dill, turmeric and salt and saute for 2 more minutes.
Add a few tablespoons of water, cover and cook on low heat until the potatoes and peas are cooked. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

My First Award

2010-12-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

I am so so psyched to announce my first award... I received "One Lovely Blog" Award from Shobha. She has a lovely blog and i am a frequent visitor to her blog space. Please check out her blog at Food Mazaa. Thank you Shobha for sharing this award with me... I am really honoured.
Thanks to all my friends who are supporting and encouraging me to blog.

Pepper Chicken

2010-11-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

Umm... the name itself is so tempting... I am drooling writing this post... This is a great appetizer or a side dish... It is so spicy and yum!!! I don't want to waste ur time at all..
Jumping straight to the recipe...

Here's what u need:
5 skinless chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon chilli paste
1 teaspoon ginger garlic
1/2 teaspoon mint paste ( I am not a fan of coriander so i dint add it.. else what u could do is take a bunch of coriander, mint leaves and green chillies and grind them into fine paste)
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Heat oil in a large pan and add curry leaves. When they sizzle, add ginger garlic, chillies and mint paste. fry for 1 min.
Gently place the drumsticks in the pan and fry for a min.
Add Salt and pepper.
Cook covered for 10 min stirring in between so that the chicken is fried on all sides. Serve hot.

Comments and suggestions are welcome :) Sending this to Dr Sameena' s Chicken event

Chimmiri / Sesame ladoo

2010-11-23T15:48:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make something special today but couldn't decide on what to make... made a whole lot of things like one pachadi... one special curry from my hometown... one chicken curry... still i was not satisfied... and moreover its snowing and Nazeer was working from home... and was watching soccer and working... so he will not talk at all... if i say something ( I agree i am a blabbermouth) he will say "hmm" for everything... Of course its good sometimes.. i get some things done like say shopping... he says "hmm".. i take that as yes and shop..isn't that fun? But sometime i get really bored and do some experiments in the kitchen like this right now :) And of course he is the scapegoat here... So the moral of the story is never say "hmm" for everything when ur wife talks to you... he he
But today's experiment turned out to be good... This is so easy and can be made in a microwave. Sesame seeds are exceptionally rich in iron... so this is a healthy snack too... Kids will simply love them..

Coming to the recipe....

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup grated jaggery or brown sugar ( You will find jaggery in any Indian store else brown sugar would do)

In a microwave safe plate, take sesame seeds and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir it in between with a spoon and microwave again for 30 sec.
Take 1/3 quantity of the sesame seeds and grind it into a fine powder. Keep it aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, preferably glass bowl, add grated jaggery and coconut and microwave for 1 minute. mix well with a spoon and microwave again for 45 sec- 1 min. Take care not to burn the jaggery. Just melt it so that it forms a syrup.
In that bowl add powdered sesame seeds and the remaining sesame seeds and mix well.
The mixture will be hot... do not touch immediately. When the mixture is cool to handle, but not so cold... Make small balls of laddoo and let them dry.

Sending this to aipi and Priya's Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday Event and Priya's Microwave Cooking for sweets and Srivalli's MEC Announcement and Bella's Amaze me August Event

Recipe Source: http://www.gayatrivantillu.com/