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Dry Fruits and Nuts Rice / Pulao Recipe

2012-01-17T16:07:00.003+05:30

I am kinda in a happy mood today and this (sometimes i call it Navaratan / Navratna Pulao) is what i make on such days! Me not being such a 'sweet' person, except for those days when i do crave sweets all of a sudden or in a mood to celebrate (if not anything then my shocking good mood for the day) then this easy to make and unique pulao comes to my rescue. Its a good idea to pack lunch too. And also to surprise your guests with something new, but dont risk it unless you are pretty sure they would like a semi-sweet dish for main course!

Dry Fruits and Nuts Pulao Recipe

Ingredients

Basmati / Long Grain Rice- 1 cup
Tutty Fruity - 3/4 to 1 cup
Artificial Cherries (cut in halves) - 1/2 cup (optional)
Raisins - handful
Cashews / Badam / Pista / nuts of your choice - 3/4 to 1 cup mixed
Ghee - 2 tsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Coconut Milk / Plain Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Elatchi / Cardamom Powder - 1 pinch
Food Color - 1 pinch (optional)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Bay leaf / Cinnamon / Cloves / etc. - for the masala
Salt and sugar to taste

Method
Saute the masala items in the butter, add the basmati rice, fry.
Add GGP, coconut milk / milk whichever you are using and stir.
Let it cook in low flame, add the sugar, elatchi, food color and salt.
Mix well, transfer to a rice cooker and let it cook.
In a frying pan, fry all the nuts in ghee and keep aside.
Now repeat with the raisins.
Once the rice is cooked, mix in all the dry fruits and nuts.
Mix well and serve!

This is a really healthy but yummy rice that attracts kids easily!

Cashew Pakoda Recipe

2011-12-30T12:46:00.001+05:30

Here's to a rainy rainy New Year in Chennai! The first thought when it starts raining is Pakoda - the peerless Indian Onion Fritters!! And this time there was a cashew-nuts surplus at home, so it had to be onion and cashewnut pakoda. The usual pakora with a lil more crisp and a lot more masala, plus of course the yumm factor cashews!

Cashewnuts Pakoda Recipe

Ingredients
Cashew nuts - one handful
Onion - 2 medium sized
Gram flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 pinch (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Make a semi-thick batter out of the flours, red chill powder, baking soda and salt.
Slice onion into thin strips and mix in the batter.
Now bring in broken cashews into the batter and mix well.
Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and keep ready for frying.
Drop a few handful of the batter mixture into the oil when at the right temperature.
Turn around with a spatula now and then until the pakoda are deep-fried well.
Mix a little garam masala and chaat masala and sprinkle over the fried pakoras.

Serve hot with chutney or tomato ketchup!

Oven-roasted Baby-potatoes Recipe

2011-12-22T20:50:00.001+05:30

Its been two days i revamped the blog and how can i not post one of Brat's recipe yet! This is a simple and yummy potato recipe from the family's very own king of potato-making. A partially Italian recipe learnt while in the UK though the Italian herbs have been compromised for due to lack of availability at the moment and to suit our palate. Baby potatoes are a pain in the you-know-what while cooking, too small to peel, but the yummiest of all potatoes and tough to miss, this oven roasted baby potatoes recipe makes that part easier too. So here we go... Oven-roasted Baby-potatoes recipe from Brat's kitchen.....

Oven-roasted Baby-potatoes Recipe

Ingredients
Baby potatoes - 10 to 15 - washed - not peeled!
Olive oil - to sprinkle over for roasting
Freshly ground pepper - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Rosemary / sage (optional)

Garlic powder (optional)
Salt for taste

Method
Preheat oven at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic powder if using, over the baby potatoes.
Toss and mix well in a bowl until all the potatoes are equally coated.

Place on a greased baking tray and let it roast for around 30 minutes.
Once a knife inserted comes out clean, take the baby potatoes out.
Serve hot as a starter or along with Pasta!

You may add rosemary or sage to to the olive oil and let it coat to make it more authentic!

Puli Aval Upma / Tamarind Poha Recipe

2011-12-22T00:27:00.000+05:30

Aval / Poha / Chivda / beaten rice? whatever you call it, is one of my favourite dishes from my mom's kitchen that I miss much now. One of those dishes that i look forward to on Krishna Jayanthi plus any random Sunday evening when mom is home!! As simple as it seems, it is actually pretty difficult to get the rite consistency in the Aval when making the upma. Almost always i make it too soggy or too raw. The texture of the Poha is the basis for the yumminess of this recipe i guess. So this one's a special from my mom's kitchen but made by your's truly, as per given instructions!

Puli Aval Upma / Tamarind Poha Recipe

Ingredients
Aval / Flattened rice - 1 cup
Tamarind - lemon-sized ball / tsp of paste
Green chilli - 1 slit in the middle (can be replaced with red chilli powder / sambar powder)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp (Can also add peanuts or cashew nuts)
Urud dal - 1/2 tsp

Coconut (grated) - a handful (optional)

Method

Make a paste in water out of the tamarind / mix the paste in water.
Add the red chilli / sambar powder if adding right now along with turmeric powder and salt.
Soak the poha in the this water and leave aside for exactly 10 minutes.
Make sure you do not leave it any longer than that, it might turn out soggy.
In a kadai, splutter mustard seeds in oil, add the dals / nuts for seasoning and fry.
If you are using green chilli, you can add it in the oil now.

Now bring in the tamarind aval and mix well, garnish with freshly grated coconut if like.
Serve hot as a quick evening snack!!

If you want a bit of crunch to the Poha, you can fry a bit of un-soaked Poha or finely-chopped onion while frying the dals!

Aloo Gobi Recipe

2011-12-13T13:37:00.000+05:30

I woke up this morning and decided to blog again. That explains everything i guess. So i skim thro all the drafts i have.. the yummy pics g0t me all hungry now... and more than nething wanna cook more!

But after being back from a condition that is nightmare to a foodie like me (well i havent been able to eat nething much in last few months) they were a delight to watch and an inspiration to get back in form soon and a must share to people who come looking for recipes! Thanks to the constant pestering from brat... and my bro.. to not lose my google-loves-u food blog..and amazing recipes posted by fella food bloggers on FB... i am out here with an all-new yummy recipe... and hope to continue this everyday!

Aloo-Gobi is a Punjabi traditional recipe i guess made on a regular basis in every home up there... but as simple as it sounds, its one of those recipes that can go wrong very easily. Finally I came to understand the problem, the cauliflower is always softer than tender than the potato and hence requires bigger chunks while cutting and to be added later in the gravy (or you can pre-microwave the poratoes). Here's my very own.. Alu Gobi recipe.. one of my personal favourites!

Aloo-Gobi Recipe

Ingredients
Potatoes - 3 to 4 medium sized - peeled and cubed
Cauliflower - One small - cut into florets

Tomato - 1 medium sized (optional)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
GGP - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chaat Masala and coriander leaves to garnish
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method

In a frying fan. add oil and saute the jeera (cumin seeds) along with GGP and turmeric powder.
If you are adding tomato, smash it well and add it at this stage.
Add the cubed potatoes and mix well, add little water and boil a bit.
Now add the huge cauliflower florets =, add more water and close the pan with a lid, let cook.
Bring in all the other spices, mix well and cook until raw smell is gone.
Garnish with chaat masala and fresh coriander leaves.

Remember! The Gobi needs some extra TLC while stirring or it could break easily when tender!

Homemade Instant Naan Recipe

2011-02-09T12:07:00.000+05:30

A lot of us are not comfy with trying out certain dishes at home, esp hearing terms like 'yeast' makes it sound like it needs a lot more than we know about cooking, well atleast for me.. so making 'naan' at home is usually not my thing, its one of those dishes left for eating out alone, until i found this 'no yeast' naan made as simple as making roti at home.. the best part is not much of time spent either.. and for a person who can never get a simple chapati come out perfectly ever in her kitchen.. i was totally proud to make soft n fluffy naans rite in my kitchen instantly! Check it out...

Homemade Instant Naan Recipe

Ingredients
Maida (All-purpose Flour) - 2 cups
Milk -1/2 cup
Egg - 1 no.
Curd (Yogurt) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 4 tbsp
Baking Powder - a pinch
Salt and Sugar to taste
Water as required

Method
Whisk the butter, sugar and egg well, add milk.
Mix in the maida slowly without letting lumps formation.
Add salt in the water and mix well, mix in the water uniformly all over the dough.
Bring in the curd and baking powder, add some more butter and knead well.
Once the dough is soft and moisturous, keep it aside for an hour or more.
Make small balls out of the dough and roll into rotis.
Heat a tawa, place the naan, keep flipping.
Serve hot with a spicy north indian gravy.

For best results, keep pressing the naan with a wet cloth while on the tawa.

Whole Moong Dal (Green Gram) Curry Recipe

2011-01-26T17:18:00.000+05:30

Finally am digging up my drafts to find my own recipes! Well i cook too you know, ok i used to and plannin to soon.. have overa 100 on drafts to save me until then. This Whole Green Moong Dal (Green Gram) recipe is one of its kind, inspired by an Indian restaurant in Coventry, tried it out at home immediately. It is really rich and melting in the mouth, unlike simple Dal Curries we make, it seldom tastes like the usual Dal. A must-try for restaurant-style food lovers.

Whole Moong Dal (Green Gram) Recipe

Ingredients
Whole Green Moong Dal - 2 cups
Butter - 1 slab
Tomato Puree (Optional) - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 1 or 2
Garlic - 2 or 3 cloves
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder (Dhania) - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ground Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For Seasoning
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies - 1 or 2

Method

Soak the Whole Moong Dal in water overnight.

Pressure cook the same along with the garlic, green chillies and turmeric powder.
Mash the dal well, add the milk and keep aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan, add jeera and all the powders.

Bring in the Tomato Puree now if you are adding, let it cook for few mins.

Mix in the mashed dal, cook covered with a lid for 5 to 10 mins.

Season with splutted mustard, red chillies and then dals.

Serve hot with chapathi or rice!

Although this is typically a Makhani, you may add Palak or Paneer with this too!

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani Recipe

2011-01-20T22:34:00.000+05:30

I know i havent done any justice as i had promised to! I havent had time to cook leave alone blog since i joined my new job! If thats not an excuse enough.. i been really sick and had no time to even work...i rest my case! While am sitting here celebrating sickness for the last one month or more.. here's a super-duper recipe from my bro..thoroughly enjoying his stint in Belgium, cooking his own dinner everyday.. more specifically cooking ritualistic food for each celebration / function at home with unfailing enthusiasm every time! My lost zest for cooking as well as blogging is kindled again by this yummy recipe he sent to me.. this Hyderabadi (sort of a version of Mughlai) Dhum Biryani is definitely something to try out at home for every foodie...check it out.. from my brother's kitchen.. in his own words..(the quans are a bit different from my usual measurements.. i don quite get men and their units system!)....

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani Recipe

Ingredients
Basmati Rice - 250 gm
Vegetables of your choice - carrot, capsicum, mushroom and beans (cut cross section)
Curd - 100 gms
Milk - 1 ladle
Biryani Masala (store-bought or home-made)
Water - 1 1/2 litre
Masala ingredients (Elatchi, Cloves, Cinnamon, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg, etc.)
Garnishing ingredients (Raisins, Almonds and Cashews)
Safron or Turmeric for color
Apple Juice (Optional)
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 to 3 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp :)

For the Biryani Masala
A mix of all condiments like cloves, elachi, pepper, laung, cinnamon jeera, japhatri(jadikkai) and bay leaves sauted in oil with salt as base and powdered.

For the Raita
In 2 cups of curd, add shreded carrot and finely chopped onions, mix well with salt as desired, garnish with corriander leaves.

Method
Cook the basmati rice with a tbsp of lemon juice and a tbsp of oil and salt in a litre of water, cook 3/4 and then drain the water. Wash rice with cold water, drain again.

Take long-cut garden veggies, mix with biryani masala, 100 gms of curd and 2 cups of water in a cooking pan and cover and cook for around 20 minutes to make the gravy.

When the gravy attains consistency collect some pure gravy from it in a cup then put the rice on top of the veggies and gravy and spread evenly.

Add one ladle of milk mixed with safron or turmeric for the color and pour in the centre in a circular manner making the rice in centre yellow to orange.

Roast some raisins, almonds and cashew in butter/ghee and pour in the surroundings. You can add Elachi, Nutmeg(jadikkai), Cloves, Cinnamon, Bay Leaves, etc. in the butter.

Pour the collected gravy across the rice. Cover and steam (dum) for 10 mins.

You may add the rice on top of the gravy veggies and mix them just before serving.
You may also cook the rice with apple juice to make it more rich.

Choco-chip Cake with Caramel Sauce and Almonds Recipe

2010-11-28T01:29:00.000+05:30

Back to back from Brat's kitchen as promised! This is another cake n bake dish from him.. hes the baker in the house..this one proves it yet again.. The story behind this Choco-Caramel Almond Cake is a bit embarrasing for me to say in my own food blog, but well wat else to do, i suck at baking and you all know it by now, not that i ve tried it as many times as i should to get perfect. So with Nisha's unfailed enthusiasm to bake and her yummy looking blog inspiring me and her constant motivation sayin 'anybody can bake' led me to try out baking a cake once again. well almost.. so i went about mixing the flours etc as for any basic cake adding lotsa Belgian Chocolate my bro had bought and we had no idea how to finish.. and yes as u can figure it out already.. screwed it up big time.. then came my knight in shining apron.. to fix the mess atleast to stop me from cursing out load n breaking the pretty few vessels we had in there.. tada! we had an awesome cake with dripping caramel and almonds and rainbows and of course the "choco-chips" :P I had added.. lets see how he readily made a completely screwed up piece of bake into a delicious and mouth-watering cake!!

Ingredients
All-purpose / Self-raising Flour (Maida) - 2 cups
Milk - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla Essence - 1 or 2 drops
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Caramel Sauce - 1 cup
Almonds (peeled and sliced) - 10 to 12 pieces
Rainbow Sprinkles - 2 tbsp

Method
Sift the flour along with baking powder, keep aside.
Cream the butter until fluffy, gradually add the sugar and the eggs one by one.
Beat well and mix the flour and milk one after the other in sequene.
Keep stirring fast until the cake mixture is well whipped and no lumps are formed.
Heat the chocolates just a little and cut into small cubes.
Add the chocolate chips and the vanilla essence into the cake mixture.
Bake in a pre-heated oven of 220 degrees in a butter-greased baking tray. .
Remove after 20 minutes or when a knife inserted into the cake comes out dry.
Cut the cake into layers, spread the caramel sauce inbetween layers.
Pour generous amount of sauce over the cake and sprinkle the rainbows over it.
Place the almonds on top and bake the cake for another ten minutes in the oven.
A simple old-fashioned and very inviting cake is ready!!

We have used store-bought caramel sauce for this purpose, you can always make caramel frosting at home if you are keen on it :)

Bread Pakora / Bread Bajji Recipe

2010-11-14T11:08:00.000+05:30

Wow its been more than 2 months i posted a recipe here.. didnt get a chance to even write a line since i came bak to india.. have over a hundred on draft.. n i definitely don wanna let this blog die too like i let the other ones in sansmerci.in! This is the only place m still stickin to writing.. personal writing.. well almost.. wats the news after comin back to India? Well nothin much except that we ve been really realy busy especially in the weekend i ve packed them so horribly that we ve no time to breathe.. finally this week due to cancelation of some plans.. i ve sometime to actually sit down to write something.. yes i kno this blog has been my company in times when i was totally jobless! so here i am stickin to it..in times wen i don even ve time to eat anymore leave alone cook! thanks to Brat for cookin a million things wen we were in UK.. my drafts are flooded.. so here again its his recipe (yes m seriously considerin changin the name to Brat's kitchen!!) well as i always say.. the happiest times in our life has been while cooking together.. and this blog will serve a good memory of the same (incase in future we stop cooking :P)

Cuttin the crap. heres a yummy bread pakora / bread bajji recipe from Brat..bringin bak happy weekend memories from UK.. cookin n havin our own lil lawn party with friends and their kids after that! Also reminds me of the mouth-watering Bread Pakoras we used to have in Delhi.. the Bread Bajjis in Chennai are a style of their own... but i ve to agree the Northie version is a taste to cherish! The Pudina Chutney layered in between makes all the difference! This is Brat's own version of the Indian street-food delicacy, served hot... rite from the frying pan...

Bread Pakora / Bread Bajji Recipe

Ingredients
Bread - Around 10 slices
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
Red CHilli Powder - 2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
Pudina (Mint) Chutney - 1 cup (Optional)

Method

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except the oil, add water enough to make a batter.

Cut the crust off the bread slices, cut in halves, dip in the batter.

If you are using the pudina chutney, layer and spread between two slices.

Dip the slices in the batter and deep fry in pre-heated oil.

Keep the flame in medium, lest the bajjis burn.

Serve hot with tomato chutney or ketchup!

Back to back from Brat's kitchen coming up!

Baked Apple-Mango Pudding Recipe

2010-09-04T16:59:00.000+05:30

Well yes Brat's the baker in the house but i do try out something or the other once in a while, i have tried to bake a simple cake 3 or 4 years back in the US and given up :) But i did make a white chocolate cookie successfully yummy once but after that never had a chance (or interest) to try it out once i was back in India. Now that we have a proper conventional oven, i was tempted again, thanks to 'baking-queen' Nish's encouragement and Brat's enthusiastic baking spree (and out of pure spite to prove that i am the head chef in the house), i ve tried this apple pudding (still dont dare to try a full fledged cake)!! It came out pretty ok i shud say and am motivated enough to try my hands on baking some more once m back in India! PS: This time i was in such a hyperactive mode that i couldnt get a proper pic, had to make do with this, sorry!
.

Baked Apple-Mango Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

Apple - 3 to 4 (peeled and cut into bite size pieces)

Mango Pulp - 1 cup

Self-raising flour (all-purpose / maida) - 1 1/2 cups

Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Unsalted Butter - 2 slabs

Eggs - 2

Baking Powder - less than a tsp

Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Food Coloring - a drop or two

Method
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and sugar.
Blend in the butter along with the milk and keep stirring.
Break in the eggs and beat well together.
Gently pour the mango pulp, let it thicken, add water if required, bring in the rest of the flavoring/coloring ingredients you are using (vanilla /cinnamon).
Toss in the cut apples and stir until it sticks together well.
Grease a baking dish with butter and bake for 30 to 40 minutes in a pre-heated oven of 220 degrees.

PS: I've used mango pulp, you can use ripe mangoes if its in season!

This is my contribution to the event CAKES AND BAKES by Srilekha!

British Curry Recipe

2010-09-02T20:48:00.000+05:30

Finally just before i leave this country, i decide to try out the famous 'curry' supposedly Indian but no Indian would ever agree it tastes anything close to our curry. I have found a variety of such things like Vindaloo and Madras (yes there is a curry named just Madras) and such stuff in here which the British do consider spicy and hot. I ve had a lot of Baked Potatoes and Chips (Fries) with Curry Sauce on top which i should accept is tasty after the first few times. I especially loved the Curry Ketchup they serve over hot frites (fries again) in Belgium. It is sort of an acquired taste, but if you think you are having "Indian" u ll never like it. With an open mind to try out something new, yes the British Curry is yummy in its own way! This is my simple version of it.

British Curry Recipe

Ingredients

Vegetables of your choice - washed and diced

Tomato Puree - 1 cup

Onion - 1 medium sized (chopped and minced)

Vinegar - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 2 tbsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp

Cardamom - 2 to 3 crushed

Bay Leaves - 1 to 2

Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil to saute

Method

Saute the onions in oil and vinegar until golden brown.

Stir in tomato puree and let it sizzle.

Add the spice powders along with the vegetables (or meat) using, add water and let it cook.

Mix in the cardamom and bay leaves while cooking.
Add ggp, salt and pepper.
Serve on baked potatoes or rice!

You may also make a paste out of freshly ground cumin seeds, black pepper and cardamom and grind it along with the tomato puree.

Zesty Thai Curry Recipe with Zucchini, Red Peppers and Lemongrass

2010-09-01T21:02:00.000+05:30

Finally i get a chance to post one of my recipes from my draft :) One thing i am confident of making is Thai curries. Frankly, its fool proof, how ever i change the ingredients or even when i make up something with what i have at home it comes out yummy! I used to think coconut milk is the secret. But this time i tried to get all the ingredients and made this truly authentic Thai curry just the way they serve in true-blue Thai restaurants in both US and UK and also a few places in India. So now i know lemongrass is the secret not the coconut milk alone! And m so loving cooking with lemongrass, out of the various spices i got to try out in here, as in Italian spices like sage and parsley that totally disappointed my taste. So here's a Thai curry i made with Zucchini and Red Peppers and ofcourse lemongrass.

Zesty Thai Curry Recipe with Zucchini, Red Peppers and Lemongrass

Ingredients
Zucchini (courgettes) - 1 (peeled and cut into thin long sticks)
Red Pepper - 1 (cut into thin long sticks)
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large sized (peeled and chopped into thin long sticks)
Ginger - one small bit (peeled and grated)
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Freshly Ground Black Pepper - 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 1 to 2 (depending on taste)
Lemongrass - 1 stalk (finely chopped)
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter to saute
(You can also add Bamboo Shoot, Water Chestnut, Basil and Lemon Zest if you like the flavor)

Method
Saute red chillies, ginger and garlic in butter, then fry onions, until golden brown.
Add the red peppers and zucchini now, mix and fry well.
Bring in cumin powder, salt and pepper along with some water if required.
Pour coconut milk into the mixture, simmer and let it cook.
Sprinkle the lemongrass and sugar over the curry and mix well.
Keep stirring and turn off the fire, serve hot with Sticky Rice!

Its even better if you can make a paste out of freshly fried cumin seeds, black peppercorns, red chillies, ginger and garlic, using a mortar and pestle before you add it!

Mutter Paneer Recipe

2010-09-01T02:10:00.000+05:30

Looks like Brat will soon beat me in the recipe count in here! Matter Paneer is one of his most favourite North Indian curry of all time made by himself (what more can a wife ask for :P) and i think it is one of his best preparations ever! I have to confess that i cant cook a single meal without his help in the kitchen (tho i wud never admit this to his face) and that m truly amazed by his zest for cooking which apparently shows well in the final product. I think the happiest days of our married life have been the ones we cook together and we make a great team (m sure he wont agree on that cos we fite the most on those days, needless to say!). Anyways, here's presenting to you the recipe to mutter panneer from Brat's Kitchen!

Mutter Paneer Recipe

Ingredients

Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) - 300 gms (cut into one-inch cubes)

Green Peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large sized
Tomato Puree - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 1 or 2 (according to taste)
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Dhania (Coriander Powder) - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil to saute

Method

Saute jeera and slit green chillies in oil, add turmeric powder and GGP.

Add the chopped onions, fry in a tbsp of butter until golden brown.

Mix in the tomato puree, add green peas and water if required, let it cook.

Meanwhile, fry the paneer in a tbsp of butter and keep aside.

Bring in all the masala powders and salt into the gravy, keep covered and cook.
Meanwhile, add the flour and salt in some water until it dissolves well, stir it in.

Once the green peas in almost cooked, add the fried paneer to the gravy.

Simmer and let it set in, do not stir too much lest the paneer should break.
Serve with hot rotis or white rice!

Sending this recipe to the event “Letz Relishh – Paneer“ by Jay!

Avarakkai Kootu / Molagootal Recipe

2010-08-29T15:56:00.000+05:30

Back to back from Amma's Belgium kitchen. Kootu as in Mulagotal (Palghat style) is one more thing i miss after wedding..i can never make those recipes to amma's perfection and so took good advantage of the week i was in Belgium to have as much Keralan delights as i could. Avaraikai is Indian broad beans that usually dont find newhere from Indian stores, but fortunately i find it everywhere in Europe. Here's an easy broad beans kutu from my mom's kitchen...

Avarakkai Kootu / Molagootal Recipe

Ingredients

Avarakkai (Broad Beans) - 12 to 15 (washed and diced)

Moong Dal (Split green gram) - 1/2 cup

Ground Black Pepper Powder - 1 tbsp

Asafoetida (HIng) - a pinch

Coconut oil or ghee to saute
Salt to taste

For the paste

Coconut - 1/2 cup grated

Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tbsp

Green Chillies - 1 or 2 (depending on taste)

For seasoning

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp

Urud Dal (Split Black Gram) - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves - around 5

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Pressure cook the beans with moong dal along with turmeric powder and a spoon of ghee.

Grind the paste ingredients with little water.

In a pan add the beans-dal mixture along with the coconut paste and mix well.

Add salt, pepper and hing, some water if needed, let it cook.

In a separate pan, splutter mustard seeds, fry the curry leaves in oil or ghee.

Add the channa and urud dals and fry until brown.

Garnish the kootu with the seasoning and serve hot with white rice!

You may also add sambar powder if you like it a bit more spicy.

Mixed Vegetable Rice-Vermicelli Recipe

2010-08-22T14:49:00.001+05:30

Am in Belgium with my bro and mum now and its been an awesome week with a combo of mom-cooked food and authentic European cuisine.. everything from my amma's best morkozhambu to waffles and crepes! All my diet plans (as always) have been put off for the time being :D This recipe is from my mom's kitchen here at Brussels with the limited Indian ingredients she gets and how she turns em into a fusion Indian cuisine of her own. I loved this rice vermicelli she made, like a vegetable sevai but only it wasnt exactly indian rice noodles (idiappam) types neither was it semiya types, it was more like an angel hair pasta made into an Indian-Italian fusion recipe..really simple, yummy and different...

Mixed Vegetable Rice-Vermicelli Recipe

Ingredients
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (Potato, Carrot, Cauliflower and Beans - cubed)
Green and Red Chillies - one of each (slit in the middle)
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Splutter mustard seeds, fry the chillies and channa dal in the oil.
Saute the vegetables, add water, salt, close with a lid and let it boil until well-cooked.
Add the rice-vermicelli and salt, a drop of oil and required amount of water.
Keep stirring, once cooked, let it dry and toss to mix well.
Garnish with lemon juice!

PS: Don't fry the channa dal well as in upma, boil it along with the veggies, it tastes yumm!

Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe by Nisha Thomas

2010-08-13T02:37:00.000+05:30

Yay! Here's my long-awaited guest post by Nisha from Look Who's Cooking Too, who is no stranger to the foodie blogosphere, most of you know her pretty well. Last weekend was a blast at the Jurassic Coast, a mini college friends reunion again and had a hellava time after years i guess!! Through all the sun and beach and junk food and drinks, Nisha's dinner the day before stood out for me i shud say..altho she calls herself a recipe cook and gives an image of a person who hates cooking otherwise .. trust me i did believe her until the first time i had lunch at her place..she can cook a mean meal and its not just the baking like she claims...altho she's a pro at baking no doubt about it...i simply love anything Nish makes.. from simple keralan specialties to highly complicated (to me atleast) bakes...her modesty and totally no-nonsense attitude is what i love about her blog and not to mention her yummy pictures, which has been one of my biggest inspirations to blog!

I am truly honored to have Nisha here on my blog, not just with a recipe but a quick interview.. am sure someday she ll be an international celeb chef and i can sell this piece for a huge amount :D! Here's presenting you Nisha Thomas..and her amazing stuffed tomato recipe..

First of all a big thanks to Swar for giving me this opportunity to do a guest post. Never thought I'd be asked to do one..ever!!! I have tried to answer all your questions as clearly as possible, hope it helps :)

So Nish...lets start with basics..Why 'cooking'?
Well honestly i completely loathe cooking and anything to do with it. Then why a food blog...well, I was never into cooking from recipe books and our move to the UK left me in deep waters which meant cooking on my own. After being sick of ready mixes, eating out and ready to eat meals from the stores, I had no choice but to depend on the internet for recipes and cooking tips. I even needed youtube to show me how to cook rice. After about a year of struggling with recipes online, spending time searching over and over again for the recipes id tried before but forgot to bookmark, i decided to start a blog where i could pen down all those recipes i painstakingly found after thorough research online. In the mean time, I also thought i would atleast start enjoying cooking, but i still havent reached there as yet..But it has thoroughly increased my interest in photography.I still depend solely on my blog for all those tried and tested recipes :)

How did u master the art of baking? Tips for aspirants like me :D

Well, baking came as a surprise to me...as in i realised i enjoyed it. My first experiments with baking has been with Betty Crocker mixes and i still used 2 somehow screw it up. I think baking is one of the easiest things to do, according to me, because it gives perfect measurements and procedures and if you follow it to the dot, it just cant go wrong. Ofcourse, the mixers and the oven do add to that, but I would say, follow the recipe without doubt and ud be pleased. I am no creative person and i cant add a tsp of this and a tsp of that and come up with splendid outcomes, so if i have a proper recipe to follow, Im the happiest. A husband who would eat anything and everything, would also help :)

Your take on food photography and wat u think works best

Well like i mentioned, the blog did increase my appetite for food photography, if not anything else:)Even though i spent 2 years learning bits and pieces about photography in college, I still am clueless when it comes to taking good pics. I think i have evolved from the first few pics on my blog, but still i have a long long way to go. One thing i think works best is to not overcrowd the subject. I think cluttering causes distraction. As much as food styling looks fab, sometimes i think the dish on its own or probably some cutlery and a paper napkin thrown in would just do wonders....afterall its the food you are trying to capture and not anything else right???

The huge network of food bloggers - motivating or intimidating?

Hmm..good question...Well, motivating to a certain extent because I am inspired to try out some interesting stuff posted on blogs etc., but otherwise, I would say helpful because i depend solely on the internet to search for recipes and when i type in a dish id like to try, it just throws out a zillion options and food bloggers top that list because i always love to see the pictures and then decide if i should try it out or not. Probably not the right way to approach a recipe, but it works for me :) On the other hand, Ive made some really good friends and would love to meet all of them some day.

How do u intend to take ur site further in future?

Oh im so bad at doing PR and all that jazz. I have seen so many bloggers out there who do so much for their blogs and ofcourse it pays too. But im just not one of those. Like i said before, I didnt start my blog to become popular, or make money out of it or anything...its just for very selfish reasons..it helps me:) Somedays Im even lazy to comment on blog posts or even take a picture leave alone write out an entire post. I dont want to be obsessive about the blog and get stressed out. I'll see how it goes and what du know.. maybe someday il compile all the bull shit i write on my blog and make it into a book.

Here's a super duper recipe from Nisha's kitchen, easy and tasty if you have all the ingredients at hand. An excellent starter or a side to a main dish.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients
Medium size tomatoes- 3

Ricotta cheese- 4 tbsp

Basil pesto- 2 tbsp

Garlic cloves- 2 pods, finely chopped

Green peas- 3 to 4 tbsp

Grated cheddar cheese- 2 tbsp (optional)

Bread crumbs- about 5 tbsp or more

Salt and pepper- to taste

Olive oil- to drizzle

Method

Slice the tomatoes horizontally, scoop out the insides and dab with a kitchen towel to free it from all moisture.

Mix all other ingredients except the bread crumbs and oil and make a nice thick paste.

Check salt and add only if required. Season with pepper.

Scoop a few tablespoons of the mixture into each tomato shell and top with bread crumbs.

Place the stuffed tomatoes on a tray lined with baking paper, drizzle the olive oil on top and bake in an oven preheated at 200C for 20 minutes.

Change setting to grill mode on the oven and grill for about 6 to 8 minutes, or till the top becomes a light brown. Serve hot!!

Thanks a lot Nish! Hoping to see a book from you soon :)

Simple Brinjal and Ivy Gourd Fry Recipe

2010-08-05T02:41:00.000+05:30

Here's what i do for lunch everyday, i pick a veggie from the huge list of 'em that brat hates and i miss, buy the smallest portion possible from the market, and make it in parts in different ways i like each day of the week! i decided this is going to be healthy and diet-friendly too as i am goin to bake most of it without any oil. So i had some half of a huge eggplant (kathrikkai / brinjal) and some 10 Tindora (kovaikai / ivy gourd) left for the day, i cut 'em into pieces and baked for 10 mins which is when this evil craving for a spicy fried dish set in and without second thoughts i fried it up in the pan with lotsa masala.. altho i regret it now.. i jus loved it totally, good enough i decided to capture it and put it up here altho its a pretty simple recipe anybody knows...

Simple Brinjal and Ivy Gourd Fry Recipe

Ingredients

Brinjal (Egg Plant) - 1/2 cup - cut in pieces

Tindora (Kovaikkai) - 1/2 cup - cut into pieces

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Jeera (Cumin) Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder (Dhania) - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 4 to 5

Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil to fry - 3 to 4 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Drizzle oil over the vegetables, add the powders and hing, toss well.

Microwave or oven-bake for around 10 minutes, until they are cooked.

Add oil in a pan, fry the curry leaves and add the vegetables.

Add salt and fry on high heat until its well fried.

You can try this combining any two or three veggies and varied spice combos!

Cannellini Beans Quesadilla Recipe

2010-08-03T18:06:00.000+05:30

I know i ve mentioned it a million times before and would like to repeat it, i am a sucker for mexican food and jus love it in any form! Its more veggie more diet-friendly and so yummy that its impossible to resist. Now i can never think of makin anything crispy and yummy without using potatoes or a ton of oil for deep frying floured elements! Well there is always baking, but butter and pastry sheets.. nah! Yea u kno where am gettin at! Quesadillas are the best mexican appetizers (or in my case the main course) i ve ever had. I just cannot get over a black bean quesadilla with a sour cream dip i had in some country side restaurant in southern georgia.. i ve been attempting to make it at home for a long time now.. but nothin can come close to it.. then i found this cannellini beans, white beans (i dono y i cannot spot even a single can of black bean in the UK) and decided to try my hands on makin a quick fix quesadilla for dinner.. and yippie! i got it perfectly this time.. check it out (i know the pic is not too good, frankly had no patience to click while the smell was so inviting to eat)!

Cannellini Beans Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients
Wheat Tortillas - 2 large ones
Cannellini Beans - 1 can (soak and boil if you are using fresh beans)
Cheese - handful - grated (i used Gouda)
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
Mixed Peppers - 1/2 cup - cut and thinly sliced
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 tsp (or as per taste)
Garlic Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Salsa and Sour Cream
Salt to taste
Oil/butter to saute

Method
For the filling, saute the onions until golden brown and then bring in the mixed peppers.
Once they are fried, add the powders and crushed juicy tomato, mix well.
Let it cook for few minutes, add the cannellini beans, salt and pepper.
Simmer and let it cook for few more minutes, add water if needed
I added a bit of salsa to the filling too, but its optional.
Heat one tortilla in a pan and spread the filling on it, place the other tortilla carefully over it.
Leave a little space before the edge for sealing, you can place some cheese in here if u like.
This is the tough part, flip after few seconds to the other side, without disturbing the filling.
You can fill half of a tortilla and fold it (instead of using two at a time), to make flipping easier.
Remove when its perfectly crisp to eat and the cheese is melted enough.
Serve hot with salsa and sour cream!

Alternatively, you can also bake the quesadillas if you are not comfy with the whole flipping thing, 10 minutes in a 220 degrees preheated oven should do.

Chickpeas-Corn-Rajma Wrap Recipe

2010-07-29T19:59:00.000+05:30

There is this cafe in Chennai called the soup and salad cafe, you can read my review in here for it. I loved the Karmatein zondich they have as part of thier really innovative fresh n healthy menu. I had to reproduce it one day at home in my own version and it came out perfectly yummy. This will serve as a quick evening snack (if you have your channa and rajma ready) for kids after shcool especially, it has all the energy they need while its colorful and gives a hot n sweet taste that noone can miss plus with peanuts and potatochips in a wrap who wouldnt love it?

This recipe is posted for the event My Legume Love Affair July Edition hosted by Siri's Corner and here's the host-line up for this event at The Well Seasoned Cook

Chickpeas-Corn-Rajma Wrap Recipe

Ingredients
Chickpeas (channa) - 1 can - boiled
Rajma - 1 can boiled
Corn - 1 can boiled
Peanuts - handful (skin peeled and toasted)
Potato Chips - as much as you would love to add
Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ground Black Pepper Powder - 3/4 tsp
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, add some oil, mix powders in and let it sizzle.
Add the boiled channa and rajma, mix and toss well.
Add few drops of water and salt to taste.
Now add the corn and peanuts, mix well, let it cook for few mins.
Remove from flame and crush some potato chips on it.
Wrap in a flour tortilla or home made rotis, serve with ketchup and sour cream!

You can use your imagiantion with the masala powders and flavorings, this are the spices i added, you can also include garam masala and red chilli powder if you like.

Soy Flour Thenkuzhal and Ribbon Pakoda Recipe

2010-07-27T17:21:00.000+05:30

The bug is catching up! My mom's been sending me such innovative healthy recipes i dont know which one to post first. She has become so interested in food photography too, thanks to my obssession with it. Anything i cook i need to capture it before anyone can take a bite! Brat calls me a photo foodie i see and relish food pictures more than i enjoy tasting them, well what to do when all u do through the day is browse through a million food blogs? This one is a really cool recipe my amma sent recently, it is murkku made from soya flour instead of rice flour, a much healthier option obviously! The best part is it tastes just as good, saving our guilt trips after hogging on these irrestible indian savories. She has made thenkuzhal and ribbon pakoda, my all-time favourite snacks during festivals using this batter, so here's the simple and healthy recipe from my mom's kitchen...

Soy Flour Thenkuzhal and Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients

Soy flour - 1 cup

Gram flour (besan) - 1 cup

Rice flour - 4 to 5 tbsp (optional)

Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Butter (melted) - 4 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp (optional for thenkuzhal)

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add water, just enough to make a batter. The batter should be in semi-solid consistency.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and press the batter into murukkus, deep fry until browned.

Use a thenkuzhal press or a ribbon pakoda press.

Drain on a paper towel, break into pieces if you like and serve hot!

You can also bake the murukku if you dont want it oily, preheat at 220 degrees and bake for around 15 to 20 minutes.

Baked Fruits Compote Recipe

2010-07-16T16:32:00.001+05:30

Here i am finally with the 100th recipe post! After almost a week of contemplation on what special dish to post for this occasion, and various inputs from followers, i was even thoroughly confused! Although i have like a 100 recipes in draft, couldn't jus pick one. And then my dearest hubs who is also the better half of this blog surprised me by taking me on a baking ingredients tour in the supermarket right after work on a Thursday evening (for almost two hours!) and like that wasn't shocking enough, made an amazing melt-in-the-mouth fruit compote right from scratch, only and only for celebrating this 100th post (now i donno where this guy was on our first anniversary)! So here's the recipe from Brat's Kitchen for fruit compote in the words of the man himself..

Baked Fruit Compote Recipe

Ingredients

Apples and Bananas -2 of each
Strawberries, Raspberries, Peaches and Pear - a small cup of each

Orange Juice - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Baking Flour (Self-raising/all-purpose) - 1/2 cup

Baking Soda - a pinch

Unsalted Butter - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon Powder - 2 tsp

Double Cream - 1/2 cup

Lemon/Orange Zest - 1/2 tsp each

Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp

Food coloring - few drops of red

Almonds - 1/4 cup (peeled and sliced)

Ice cream - 2 scoops

Rainbow Sprinkles, Caramel Sauce and Jellies

Method
Peel and cut apples into 1 inch cubes

Cut all other fruits into a similar size

Boil the fruits with the orange juice and a cup water for about 8 to 10 minutes

While boiling add the orange zest and lemon zest

Add sugar, a tsp of vanilla essence and cinammon powder

Do not overcook, drain the fruits and keep it in a bowl

Mix 1/2 cup water with the baking powder, soda and food coloring

Mix the fruits with this and add thick cream and another tsp of vanilla essence

Grease a baking dish with butter amd evenly spread the fruits mix on it.
Sprinkle some sugar on top and garnish it with the almonds.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

Let it cool and set for 10 minutes

Dust a tsp of cinnamon powder again
Add a scoop of icecream (i have used Srawberry Cheesecake flavor)

Be generous with the rainbow sprinkles and caramel sauce on top!!

And I always thought its virtually impossible to get this high without the wine!

Egg Pepper Fry Recipe

2010-07-08T03:44:00.000+05:30

One fine monday morning, when i was cursing my pathetic life as always, wondering what the hell to make for myself to eat, cheer me up for another absolutely wasted week ahead...i usually m craving one thing or another..but there r these voids that i hate sometimes..u really dono what u wanna eat, but just don want anything...there my omnipresent savior Nits suggested i make a chettinad-style egg pepper fry and gave me the recipe..as much as an egg lover that i am..i have in fact tried egg-pepper-fry in a chettinadu restaurant and din love it..but anyway since the cooking time is less than 5 mins..lazy me went on with it ..but but i was totally happy about the decision later! Yummm is the word..simply irrestible food made in seconds..can only be eggs i says!! I think this recipe is a must-try mood-elevator for any woman!

Egg Pepper Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Boiled Eggs - 2 (cubed/diced)
Onion - 1 small or 1/2 of a medium-sized one
Black Pepper Powder to taste
Salt to taste
Oil to saute
Method
Add a tsp or two of oil in a pan, add pepper to it and let it sizzle.
Chop the onion into tiny pieces and fry well.
Add salt and pepper, mix in the eggs pieces.
Fry well on all sides, toss.
Serve as side dish with rice or chapati!

Fried Tofu in Soy Sauce Recipe

2010-06-30T20:32:00.001+05:30

It's been long since i posted Brat's recipe in here per se, although he has a good part contribution in almost anything i post from our kitchen, needless of mention. He's always been a potato-expert at home, but i think his specialty is chinese, he loves to cook with those sauces especially. Last year i had posted Chinese Fried Rice and an indo-chinese Gobi Manchurian from him, and now we ll take a look at fried tofu with soy sauce from brat's kitchen...

Fried Tofu in Soy Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
Soft Tofu - a cup of cubed ones
Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Sauce - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Butter/Olive Oil to fry
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Mix flour, salt and garlic powder in a bowl, toss the tofu in it.
Once its well coated, fry well in a pan, keep aside.
Meanwhile, add the vinegar, sauces, sugar, salt and pepper in a pan, simmer and let it mix.
Pour the sauce over the fried tofu, toss!
Serve sizzling hot with fried rice!

If you like it hot, you can add paprika too. Also, you can saute onions and bell peppers along with the sauce if u like!

Kondakadalai (Channa / Chickpeas) Sundal Recipe

2010-06-28T18:48:00.000+05:30

Channa sundal with potato chips and tomato ketchup, thats a full fledged dinner for us on many days! Trust me, the combo is out of the world esp with perfectly fried channa dal and grated coconut in the sundal, made typical south indian festive food style, well of course its best had with rava kesari in those days! I am so missing chennai and family and the awesome festival days we are all together... although making channa in india (due to lack of the ready-made canned versions) is a ceremony in itself.. this is a recipe from my drafts i did make in india few months ago...

Kondakadalai (Channa / Chickpeas) Sundal Recipe

Ingredients
Channa/Chickpeas - 2 cups
(Soaked overnight and pressure-cooked)
Green Chillies - 2 to 3 - slit in between
Grated Coconut - a handful
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - just a few
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method

Splutter mustard and fry the curry leaves and green chillies in a little oil.
Add turmeric powder and fry the channa dal.
Now mix in the boiled channa, salt and hing, toss well.
Turn off the flame and garnish with grated coconuts!

You can try the same recipe with other sundals, but i personally think channa works the best!

Cauliflower Stalk and Peas Baked Cutlet Recipe

2010-06-25T22:43:00.000+05:30

This is a recipe tried for 2 reasons 1. cos i din wanna cook potato cutlets fried in oil, wanted a healthier option and what striked me first is the mashed potatoes healthy substitute made out of cauliflower and 2. for this event hosted by Nithu at Nithu's Kitchen on Best out of Waste and so the plan moved on trying out with cauliflower stalks instead of the florets and was sure it would be more mashier than potato!! So that's exactly how this experiment started and i had no idea that it would turn out this awesome that i would actually publish it, all thanks to brat i should say, else i would ve definitely screwed it up somewhere!

Cauliflower Stalk and Peas Cutlet Recipe

Ingredients
Stalk from one cauliflower
Green Peas - handful
Bread - 6 slices
Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the cauliflower stalks and peas in 2 cups of water until they are really mashable.
Add the powders and salt, cook and mash well.
Meanwhile, remove crusts off the breads and place them in a pre-heated oven until they are crispy and browned.
Grind them in a mixer to make bread crumbs.
Make balls out of the mashed mixture and flatten to make cutlet shapes (or use a mold).
Coat each cutlet with little oil and dip it in the bread crumbs.
Make sure its well coated on all sides.
Pre-heat oven at 220 degrees and bake for around 20 minutes.
There you got healthy hot cutlets, serve with tomato ketchup!

You can also a bit of corn flour while making the mash in case they are not consistent enough to hold together.

Lemon Mint Cooler Recipe

2010-06-24T15:47:00.001+05:30

Our superstar 'quick-recipe queen' chef Nits :D has come up with one more quick fix for the summer (wen is it not summer in chennai?) and a very big change from the regular recipes on this blog.. its a drink! Who wouldnt love the lemon and mint juice, perfectly iced (except the pudina haters maybe) in super hot n humid places like urs! Am sure its the next highest selling drink in city cafes to cold coffees and fresh juices.. well this is undeniably an interesting n refreshing juice easily made at home, cafe-style! Let's c how Nits' makes her Lemon Mint Cooler in her ktichen...

Lemon Mint Cooler Recipe

Ingredients
Lemon - 4 tp 5 - cut in halves
Pudina (Mint) Leaves - 1 cup - washed and chopped well
Sugar - 4 tsp
Water and ice

Method
Remove the seeds off the lemon, sqeeze it and retain the juice.
Add the lemon juice, pudina leaves and sugar in a blender.
Add two glasses of water and lotsa ice to it.
Operate the blender in quick pulses until the pudina/mint leaves are well ground.
Filter the juice, adjust sugar or water as required for your taste.

Well on a diff note, maybe i ll host an event in the future too :) but for now send me any of ur recipes n a pic by email, wud love to publish it!

Microwave Bread Halwa Recipe

2010-06-23T19:25:00.000+05:30

Alright, here is my first post for participating in an event, i donno how it works exactly so am just following the rules given at Nivedita's kitchen for this event Celebrate Sweets - Halwa. The rules are simple post an halwa recipe and email nivedita.mt@gmail.com with the event as subject line. So now m so enthused to participate in all these events i c on foodie bloggers facebook pages and since i have this bread halwa recipe ready to be posted already i took this up first! i do have a few more events invitations pending which m sure am gonna be working on soon! So lets check this simple microwave bread halwa that my MIl taught me to do, its pretty quick and fool proof especially when you have a sudden craving for something sweet or want to treat some unexpected guests with something really nice but quick.. here we go.. microwave-made bread halwa recipe...

Microwave Bread Halwa Reci[e

Ingredients
Bread - 7 to 8 slices
Ghee - 5 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup (or more if u have a sweet tooth)
Milk - 3/4 of a cup
Elatchi (Cardamom) Powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron - a pinch (waemed in milk) (optional)
Cashews and raisins - handful (roasted in ghee)

Method
Cut the crust off the bread slices and grind them in a mixer with the milk.
Mix in the sugar, grind it once again.
In a microwave safe bowl, heat the ghee for about two minutes.
Now add the bread mixture, microwave around 5 minutes, occasionally stirring.
Add the saffron and cardamom powder, mix well and microwave for another 5 minutes.
Add more ghee or sugar as per need and give it another 5 minutes in the microwave.
Once the ghee separates, garnish with the roasted cashews and raisins, serve hot!

You can also use small pieces of bread in ghee instead of grinding it into a paste, might just take a fewm inutes more to do it (use powdered sugar in that case)!

Mint Cilantro Rice / Pudina and Coriander Leaf Rice Recipe

2010-06-21T01:51:00.000+05:30

Yo! Here is a long awaited recipe from anu, my cousin sil, but more than that one of the most amazing mothers i know and a great writer/blogger! I am kinda biased towards mommy bloggers, follow quite a lot of em cos they are the only kind that can bring out that mixed emotion reaction in me, u know the kind where u go rofl while tears tickle ur eyes, yea u got it, anu is awesome in doing that to u with her words, if u don believe me check it out for urself in here, http://avymom.wordpress.com/ But what i forgot to mention is that she is the dil of my most fav aunt (mami) whose house i almost grew up in and is simply the best cook i ve met until date, hands down! Anu, who loves cooking for more reasons than one (her blog has a lot on cooking for kids) has graciously agreed and sent us the recipe to her yummy mint cilantro rice aka pudina and coriander leaves rice.. and its presented to u rite away from anu's kitchen...

Mint Cilantro Rice Recipe

Ingredients
Basmati rice - 2 cups (cooked)
Mint - 1 bunch

Cilantro -1/2 bunch

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch
Ginger - 3/4 inch
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 3 tbsp
Toor Dal - 3 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Red Chilli - 1 no.
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method

Add oil, splutter mustard seeds, fry the dals and chillies until they turn red.
Add washed cliantro and mint leaves and saute for a quick minute.

Then grind them in a blender, do not use too much water as the leaves give out water too.

In a skillet, add oil, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
Add the ground paste, salt, turmeric and cumin powders.
Let it boil for about 8 minutes and notice the oil separating, let it cook for few more minutes.

Mix in the rice well and serve hot!

Cook the rice with 1:1.5 ratio of water and you may also add a tsp of oil to it, it makes sure the rice particles separate well when you mix in.

Rajma Masala / Red Kidney Beans Curry Recipe

2010-06-19T17:18:00.000+05:30

This is a classic Indian style rajma masala curry recipe, very easy to make, goes with rice as well as rotis. This a very famous delhi delight, rajma and rice is one of the best things i ve had when i was there, since we get canned rajma here in uk, its even easier and so we make it more often than ever.. if not, you need to soak the rajma overnight and also pressure cook/microwave it fro atleast 20 minutes before you can start off the recipe..

Rajma Masala / Red Kidney Beans Curry Recipe

Ingredients
Red Kidney Beans (Rajma) - 2 cups (soaked overnight/boiled well or ready-to-use canned ones)
Onion - 1 large sized
Tomates - 2 medium sized
Tomato Puree - 4 to 5 tbsp (optional)
Masala (Cinnamon/Cloves/etc) - 1 of each
Green Chilli - 1 or 2 (slit in the middle)
Garlic - 2 cloves (chopped well)
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder (or Channa Masala) - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder (Dhania) - 1 tsp
Oil and butter to saute
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Saute the masala, garlic, green chillies and jeera in oil.
Add butter, fry the onions until golden brown.
Bring in finely chopped tomatoes and add water as required.
Add all the powders and let it cook well.
Now mixi n the rajma and add salt and pepper.
Close with a lid and let it cook in simmer.
Mix well and serve hot with chapati or rice!

You can add a little corn flour (dissolved well in water) to make the gravy thicker.

Spring Onion Rice Recipe

2010-06-18T03:03:00.000+05:30

I am just back from the BBC Food Show in Birmingham and m totally high! on food i mean :) so was so so eager to post something right away so took up this one from my drafts. I know this is quite a regular dish and pretty simple to make too, but i think this is one dish i make really yumm, thanks to my mom, and i really love it too.. but beware if ur on a diet (altho onions are very good for it) this one needs lotsa oil n butter to make it taste good and most of all give it that glitter!

Spring Onion Rice Recipe

Ingredients
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Spring (green) Onions - 5 to 6 - chopped well
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 2 tsp
Garlic - 1 clove - chopped into bits
Green Chillies - 2 to 3 - slit in between
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1 to 2 tbsp
Oil to saute
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Saute the jeera, green chillies and garlic in oil. Make sure the green chilli flavor sinks in well.
Add butter, fry spring onions until golden brown, add garam masala and salt.
Now mix the rice and fry well in the heat, toss and serve hot!!

You can use channa masala instead of garam masala, i like the flavor of it! You can also add chanan dal while frying the jeera.

Instant Baked Rava Idli Cakes Recipe

2010-06-15T14:43:00.000+05:30

Yea am all for instant recipes nowadays, what do u do when u ve to stay home all day, don want to ea too much but want to keep making something! I make 4 idli cakes in the oven so i can make something else after few hours :P but when its this simple and easy (and ur missin normal idlis for months now!) its so worth it! So lets check out my instant rava idlies that taste just right only baked not steamed!

Instant Baked Rava Idli Cakes Recipe

Ingredients
Rava (Sooji) - 1 cup
Curd (Plain Yoghurt) - 4 to 5 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 1 - slit or chopped
Turmeric Powder (optional) - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Soak the rava in curd for 10 minutes, add salt.
Meanwhile, splutter mustard seeds in a tsp of oil, fry channa dal and green chilly, add to batter.
You can also add chopped curry/coriander leaves, grated carrots and fried cashews.
Grease a baking dish with butter and pour the batter evenly through.
Bake in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for around 10 minutes.
Do not overcook, unless u want rava biscuits!!
Tilt the dish into a plate, piece into any shape.
Serve with onion chutney!!

You can make the idlis a bit thicker, i like them as slices so have made them pretty thin. You can also use a muffin tray for regular round idlis.

Instant Kunuku / Spicy Indian Hush Puppies Recipe

2010-06-14T16:02:00.000+05:30

I really dint know what to call this (initially thought of the name 'bajji babies' :P)! This is something like kunuku, usually made with leftover adai batter (soaked and ground lentils) but i have made it instantly with flours (when it starts to rain on a sunday afternoon and you crave something hot and crisp, it has to be instant rite?). I ve made it with rice, gram and corn flour, u can also add rava (as in a classic kunuku recipe) to make it more crisp and yummy. How ever this is made, its an awesome comfort food and trust me, noone can have just one!

Instant Kunuku / Indian Hush Puppies Recipe
Ingredients
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Corn Flour - 1/2 cup
Rava (Sooji) - 1/2 cup (optional)
Red Chilli Powder - 1 to 2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 2 pinches
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Make a batter out of the ingredients, as thick as that for pakoras (thicker than bhajji).
If you like to spice it up a bit, you can add shopped ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and minced onions, technically making it a pakoda of sorts!
Deep fry small balls (or weird shapes like i did) in refined oil (make sure the heat is perfect).
Remove when its deep fried well. crisp and rises above.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup!

Cut out on the gram flour and red chilli powder, add maida (all purpose flour) and sugar instead, there you got truly American Hush Puppies!

The Summer Big Salad Recipe

2010-06-11T17:28:00.000+05:30

A Big Salad Elaine (Seinfeld) wud b proud of :D i ve added everything from basic lettuce and cucumber to exotic fruits kiwi and mango (best thing about summer) other than which i remember adding cherry tomatoes, a lot of berries (strawberry, raspberry and blueberry combo), it has a hint of olive oil and crushed black pepper (vinegar if u like it) and grated cheese on top, oh and i forgot the french dressing, honey mustard and low-fat yoghurt mix-dip i had it with! Also, can add slightly boiled/baked brocolli-cauliflower-carrot combo if you like ( i do that when m terrbily bored with dry salad). i have even tried adding jelly on top (ruling out the cheese and pepper then). Never forget to top it with croutons or nacho chips (if u don care for the calories part). Otherwise, add peanuts if more veggies are added n walnuts if fruit based. Yes sometimes i even add salsa and boiled eggs n mayo, its a yummy combo. So basically, it has anything and everything you can ever add in a salad, but mine is so strangely hot n sweet always and more delicious than a dessert and i dont need to mention healthy! I think its a craft in itself, how you can design your big salad and bring out flavors you can never imagine while keeping it as low fat as possible, but trust me one wrong choice and u ve just wasted half the things in ur fridge! This one time i got it really (and i mean really) awesome and i had to click it. Yea, if u havent guessed already, am not giving you any recipe here, simply flaunting my yummy colorful Summer BIG SALAD :D

Akki Rotti Recipe

2010-06-10T14:53:00.001+05:30

Speaking of Bangalore, it can never be without the mention of Roopa, my x colleague and a very good friend, she is THE database of Bengalooru's finest restaurants, a very dedicated and passionate foodie that i have ever known! So its not surprising that i had to bug her for a traditional kannada recipe and guess what she has graciously accepted and sent us the recipe for Akki Roti, a karnataka specialty and one of my favourites too! So here we go from Roopa's kitchen, Akki Roti recipe....

Akki Rotti Recipe

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Onions - 2 medium sized
Green Chillies - 3 to 4
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 to 3 tsp
Drumstick leaves -handful (optional)
Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste

Method
In a bowl, miz all the ingredients with water and make a dough, knead well.
Place a tawa on stove, add little oil and place a handful of dough.
Wet your palm and press the dough well from the centre and spread out.
Continue pressing until the dough spreads out into a circular roti, keep wetting if it sticks.
Make a hole in the centre and add little oil in there and also around the circle.
Turn to roast the other side, repeat with rest of the dough.

You can also add 1/2 a cup poha (aval) to the dough if u like the akkirotti crispier!

Image courtesy: Simplyaroma

Taco-Bell-Style Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes Burrito Recipe

2010-06-09T17:35:00.000+05:30

I miss Taco Bell for so many yrs now and just wen they opened in India (Bangalore) i had to move here and surprisingly there is no sight of it anywhere in the UK! altho m sure the indian version wud b indo-mexican for sure, still waitin to get bak n try it! Mexican food is not something u fall in love with at first sight/taste, in fact the first time i stepped into a taco bell i hated it! it takes a lot of gettin used to esp for the indian palate, but hell i wud die to find a mex restaurant nearby anytime now.. n brat loves it too, so almost every other day we have either tacos or bean burritos for dinner.. (yes its exceptionaly easy to make too :P)! Anyways without further blah, here is our all time favourite potato burrito made with typical taco-bell style cheesy fiesta potatoes, right at home!

Taco-Bell-Style Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes Burrito Recipe

Ingredients
Flour Tortillas - 3 or 4 (Can use wheat too)
Nacho Cheese Sauce - 1/2 cup (velveeta/cheddar or any other cheese you prefer)
Potatoes - 2 medium sized
Tomatoes - 2 medium sized
Lettuce - handful (optional)
Onion- 1 small sized - better with spring/green onions (optional)
Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Salsa - 4 to 5 tbsp
Sour Cream - 4 to 5 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 2 to 3 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Peel and cube the potatoes, toss along with oil, garlic and cumin powders.
Bake in a preheated oven or microwave for about 10 minutes.
In a pan, add oil and butter and fry the half-cooked potatoes along with paprika, salt and pepper.
Melt the cheese in microwave/ conventional oven.
Dice the tomatoes, chop the lettuce and onions.
Heat the tortilla on a flat-bottom pan, fill in with the potatoes, melted cheese, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce and onions and finally the sour cream, and roll into a burrito.

If you feeling greedy, you may add some refried beans too!

Mullu Murukku Recipe

2010-06-02T20:34:00.000+05:30

This recipe deserves a lotta credit to rums (if u remember her contribution long long time ago :P else its here Chole Recipe), well this time its a south-indian home-made specialty and delicacy, mullu murukku! Its probably the yummiest homemade murukku i ever had and been bugging her to send me the recipe ever since (trust me on this one) diwali '09 :) But its totally worth the wait as this Mullu Murukku stood out of the lotta sweets n savories had on that day! So here we go.. Mullu Murukku recipe from Rums's Kitchen...

Mullu Murukku Recipe

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Gram Flour - 1/2 cup
Butter - 5 to 6 tbsp
Jeera (cumin seeds)- 1 tsp
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp (depending on how spicy u want it to be)
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Baking soda - 1/2 pinch(optional)
Oil to deep fry
Salt to taste

Method
Sieve the rice and gram flour.
Melt butter and pour it on the flours mixing it along with the rest of the ingredients.
Less butter makes the murukku harder and more butter will make it break while making.
Make a batter much thicker than for dosa, but not as thick for a roti (as in semi-solid).
Add very little water if necessary (more water will make the murukku soggy).
Heat oil in a pan, use a mullu murukku press by filling it with the batter and pressing into the oil.
Once crisp, remove the murukkus, let it cool and break into sticks if you like.

The recipe is pretty simple to read but only if you stick to the proportions and the tips and get used to it by practice, it does take a few tries to perfect the art!

Baked Fusillini Pasta Recipe

2010-05-26T15:27:00.000+05:30

Frankly i am not a big fan of Pasta in any form or shape or recipe, but i surprised myself with this one with a random recipe of my own and somehow i jus loved it, i think its the cheese or the baking that made it almost like a lasagna.. but am happy now i know how to make pasta in a way that noone can dislike..n fortunately my best friend loves pasta and so am plannin to make this for her sometime! The recipe is pretty simple in fact.. lets see how i made my first baked pasta...

Baked Fusillini Pasta Recipe

Ingredients
Fusillini pasta - 2 cups
Cheese (Cheddar or Mozzaralla) - 4 to 5 tbsp
Cherry tomatoes - around 10 - cut into halves
Red Bell Pepper (Capsicum) - 1/2 - cut into thin rectangles
Milk or fresh cream - 1/2 cup
Sage - 1 or 2 leaves (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves - cut into bits
Red Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Butter - 3 to 4 tbsp
Parsley for garnishing
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a huge vessel, boil the pasta with a little salt in lots of water, until soft.
Saute garlic, sage and red chilli flakes in olive oil and butter.
Take a huge container, add the cooked pasta after draining and passing through cold water.
Mix in the milk/cream, cheese and the sauted garlic mixture, mix and toss.
Add the cut cherry tomatoes and red peppers, mix well.
Make sure the pasta is well creamy, add salt and pepper if required.
Grease a bakig tray with butter and fill it with the pasta mixture.
Pre heat oven at 220 degrees and bake for around 30 to 40 minutes.
Garnish with fresh parsley!

You can suate little onion with the garlic if you like. I even added a bit of thousand island dressing with the cheese and milk! :)

Spinach and Cheese Wrap Recipe

2010-05-24T13:58:00.000+05:30

Ok its spinach week bak to bak! what else to do when u have a whole bag to eat by urself! But this one is very different and i actually loved the melting taste in the month. Found this recipe on the tortilla bag and tried it instantly as i had cheese at home too (gauda cheese my bro bought from belgium) so here we go very simple healthy and quick recipe...spinach and cheese wrap....

Spinach and Cheese Wrap Recipe

Ingredients
Spinach - a handful, washed and cut
Cheese -grated (as much as u wud love to add)
Tortilla - cut into halves
Onion - one small sized
Olive oil to saute
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a pan, saute the onions in oil and add the spinach and fry.
Boil it in little water, add salt and pepper, drain.
Take one half of a tortilla and fill it with spinach mixture and generously sprinkle the cheese.
Fold as a triangle and seal the ends with some cheese.
Pre heat oven for 10 minutes at about 220 degrees.
Place the wrap on the grill directly, and bake until the cheese is melted.

You can use Mozzarella cheese too for a diet-consious version, if you cant find tortilla wraps, you can always make a nice wheat roti and use it!

Andhra-style Moong Dal Palak / Spinach and Lentil Curry Recipe

2010-05-20T15:57:00.000+05:30

I dont really make much of spinach esp when in india, cos the whole process is so tiresome and the end product is not my favourite hence neglected. But in here, the leaves are washed cut packed and sold so am happy to get my greens (still brat hates it!). I did make an attempt at my bro's favourite type of keerai made with paruppu, but turns out this is more of an andhra style daal than a typical tamil recipe. check it out, healthy and yummy moong dal palak aka spinach dal recipe...`

Andhra-style Moong Dal Palak / Spinach and Lentil Curry Recipe

Ingredients
Spinach - 1/2 a bunch - cut and washed
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized (optional)
Red Chillies - 2 to 3 dried
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves - around 2
Oil/butter to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Splutter mustard seeds in little oil, saute garlic, jeera, chilliesand turmeric powder.
Add the onions, saute until golden brown, then the tomatoes if adding.
Boil moong dal separately and add to this mixture or you can soak the dal for an hour and add it to the pan with water, let it cook. (but then keep stirring so dal doesnt burn at the bottom).
Now add the spinach and salt, close with a lid and let it cook.
You may let it become thick if using as a side dish or leave the dal a bit liquidy if eating with rice.

You can make this with red lentils or even Toor Dal and add a garam masala /red chilli powder for a typical extra spicy Andhra Curry!

Rasgulla Recipe

2010-05-10T16:31:00.000+05:30

I know am a bit late for mother's day, and this recipe from my mom's kitchen is comin in a day later, but this Rasagulla recipe is pretty authentic and done from scratch that it took me sometime to even understand the process, but i ve simplified it in my words as much as i can and here it is the Bengali delicacy, a sweet loved by everyone around the country, Rasgolla from my mom's kitchen...

Rasgulla Recipe

Ingredients
Milk - 2 litres
Sugar - 1 cup
Lemon juice - from half a lemon
Maida - few tbsp
Rose essence - a drop or two (optional)

Method
Boil a litre of milk and sqeeze in half a lemon.
Watch as the milk separates into white curd and whey water.
Keep the whey water aside for around 4 to 5 days and let it ferment well.
Now boil another litre of milk and pour the fermented whey water into it.
Watch as the milk separates, into white curd (chenna) and water.
Drain well and tie the chenna to a wet cloth and set aside for 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, add one cup sugar to one cup water (you may use the whey water) and make a syrup.
Make a dough out of the chenna and roll into small balls, with the help of very little maida.
When the sugar is dissolved well in water and is hot, drop these balls and let it cook.
Notice that the Rasgullas become double their actual size once cooked, remove from the syrup.
Drop the rasgullas into lukewarm water and drain after few minutes.
Once you are done frying all the rasgulla balls, you can now heat the sugar syrup a little more , add rose essence if needed, and pour over the made Rasgullas!

Okay if this sounds too complicated, you can of course do it by just using the first chenna and whey water u get on the same day for an instant treat!

Kaeng Karee / Gang Garee (Thai Yellow Curry) Recipe

2010-05-07T19:25:00.000+05:30

I know the name sounds all impossible to cook at home! But this Thai dish (which only means Thai Yellow Curry) is the easiest to make at any Indian household, since it has a flavors borrowed from the Indian spices, in fact Kaeng Karee Kai (the famous chicken version of the same dish) is considered a fusion of Thai and Indian spices and loved all around the world. The recipe i have given here is my own version of this dish, but trust me it came out authentic and super yummy (one can never go rong when making Thai dishes) i think its mainly cos of the spices blending with coconut milk.. check it out...

Kaeng Karee / Gang Garee (Thai Yellow Curry) Recipe

Ingredients
Potatoes - 2 to 3 - washed peeled and cut into thin slices
Babycorn - 7 to 8 - cut into half and then thin slices
Onion - 1 medium sized (cut into thin slices)
Red Pepper (Capsicum) - 1/2 (cut into thin slices)
Coconut Milk - One whole cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 to 2 tbsp
Green Chilli - 1 - slit in the middle (optional)
GGP - 1/2 tsp (you may also add ginger and garlic separetely in pieces)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Lemon Grass (optional)
Sugar - 1tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter to saute

Method
Saute ginger garlic and onions in butter, until golden brown.
Add the red peppers and chilli flakes, saute more.
Now add the potatoes and babycorn, more butter, fry well.
Add the powders, mix well.
Add the coconut milk, sugar and milk, let it cook.
Keep the pan closed until vegetables are cooked.
Add more milk if needed, mix in salt and pepper.
Serve with sticky rice or plain white rice.

For Thai Kaeng Karee Kai / Gai substitute the vegetables with Chicken!

Kosambari Recipe / Kosmari Recipe

2010-05-06T18:27:00.000+05:30

Back to back from Nits kitchen, as i promised! Here is a super quick recipe for a South Indian delicacy more often served at weddings as an accompaniment or as Nits' puts it 'a healthy starter salad to a huge meal', also cooked by certain delicacy experts at home! I should agree i have no clue on making such specialties, thanks to Nits, not only am i publishing this on my blog, but am planning to try my hands at it soon too as she has made it as simple as possible! So here's Kosambari aka Kosmari made into a easy recipe coming your way from none other than Nits' kitchen...

Kosambari Recipe / Kosmari Recipe

Ingredients
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Channa Dal - 1/4 cup
Green Chillies - 2 to 3
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 pinch
Lemon - a quarter to squeeze
Coriander leaves (Cilantro) to garnish
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Soak the dals for about half an hour in water.
Then drain and squeeze, keep aside dry.
Heat oil, add mustard to splitter, add hing and the green chillies (cut into thin rings).
Now add the dals and fry for about 3 mins on a low flame, add salt, mix well and remove.
Squeeze a quarter of lemon and garnish with cilantro leaves.

You can add grated carrots, chopped mangoes and also cucumber to it!

Instant Carrot Pickle Recipe

2010-05-05T15:06:00.000+05:30

Yay! After a long time here's a guest post by my bestest friend ever Nits (Nithya Sriram)! Here's a healthy yet mouth-waterin recipe to even look at! Carrot is one thing that we all need to include in our diet in one way or the other, and the best part is it can be cooked a million ways in every possible cuisine! This Carrot Pickle is a very innovative n instant/easy to cook pickle and what i would like to term 'smart food', thanks to Nits, lets check it out..Carrot Pickle from Nits' Kitchen...

Instant Carrot Pickle Recipe

Ingredients
Carrots - 3 or 4 - peeled and washed
Methi (Fenugreek Seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon - 1/2 or 1/4 to sqeeze
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Cut carrot into long thin sticks.
Roast the Methi and grind coarsely
Heat oil in kadai, add mustard , fenugeek powder, asafoetida, turmeric and red chilly powder.
Pour it over the carrots, mix well
Add lil salt and lemon juice.

More instant recipes from Nits' Kitchen coming your way!

Chennai Street-style Masala Puri Recipe

2010-04-23T16:48:00.000+05:30

Well every city has its own chaat variety, Mumbai, Dilli, Kolkata and even Bengalooru has its own style of street chaat although its not established but one can easily differenciate it from the rest, so does Chennai. Although we get chaat varieties from every possible city thats known for it, we do have a localized version of our own which are pretty good in fact! Have you seen this Jelabi, samosa and Masala Puri carts/small shops here and there? I just love the Jalebi and Samosa combos here (esp the shop opposite to sathyam cinemas!), something special! But the Masala Puri is so not the ones u get in a regular Chaat stall anywhere else, the channa (or as they call it sundal in the local slang) is made from white peas and the gravy is kinda half mashed and tastes completely different... if u wondering how to do that, here is the recipe from the gal who has explored every corner chaat shop in the city.. who else but yours truly! :D

Chennai Street-style Masala Puri Recipe

Ingredients
Mini Puris or Papdis - 10 to 15
Sweet and Green Chutney (as given in the B hel Puri Recipe) - few tbsps of each
White Peas - 2 cups
Onion - 1 large sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
GGP - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves - optional
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Soak the White Peas overnight in water.
Saute the chopped onion and ggp in oil.
Pressure cook or microwave the white peas until they are soft enough.
Add tomato and fry well, then mix in the boiled white peas.
Take a portion of the gravy (a good mix of the peas, onion and tomato) and grind in a mixer.
Add this paste back in and mix.
Mix in the powders and salt, let it cook until the raw smell fades.
In a plate, break some puris up and pour the peas gravy on top (while piping hot).
Pour a layer of both the sauces and break some more puris and put it on top.
Garnish with finely chopped onions and coriander leaves.

I sometimes use more of the sweet sauce or just the sweet sauce since its especially yummy that way!

Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe

2010-04-16T13:20:00.000+05:30

Lets start the second year of the blog with Brat's recipe! If there is one thing i love about our relationship its our common interest for cooking and i just love him for that, except for the times when he takes over and doesn't let me do a thing! That's some disadvantage for a common interest eh (or is it an advantage :D)! After coming to the "Great Britain", we hear of more Kebabs, Tikkas and Curries than Fish & Chips, but i should say the Indo-Britain cuisine is nice to hear but very bland for an Indian palate. Although i did try the Tikka Masala in Britain style (recipe coming up) i think this Vegetable Curry that Brat made wins hands down since its made in our very own yummy simple Indian style although with the ingedients and vegetables available in here...

Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe

Ingredients
Mixed Vegetables - Potatoes, Carrots, Beans, Peas and anything you like!
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomatoes - 2 small to medium sized
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil/Butter to saute
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, add oil (and a little butter for taste) and saute the onions with ggp and jeera.
Once they are golden brown, add finely chopped tomatoes and let it water itself.
Bring in the mix vegetables and water as per need, cover for few minutes to cook.
Add the powders and salt and mix well.
Add more water if needed.
Close the lid and let it cook until all the vegetables become tender.
Serve as gravy or dry with rice or naan/roti!

Adding Sweet Corn/Peas gives an extra sweet taste, which is yumm!

Basundi Recipe

2010-04-14T17:49:00.001+05:30

Yay! Its one whole year since i started this blog and i really can't believe it yet! So here's to 365 days and the 75th post! Here i put up the toughest of the desserts i ve ever made, Basundi, well it is pretty simple to read but working on it to get a really awesome rich Basandi takes a lotta time and patience, esp if ur doin it for a larger group!

Basundi Recipe
Milk - 2 litres
Condensed Milk (milkmaid) - 1 tin (optional)
Sugar - 1 cup
Elatchi (cardamom powder) - 1/2 tsp
Saffron - few strands (soaked in milk for sometime)
Pista and Badam (almonds) to garnish

Method
Boil the milk and simmer the flame to the lowest.
Keep stirring constantly, until the milk reaches half its quantity (this could take hours if you want it really thick esp without using condensed milk).
Add the sugar and condensed milk and let it cook for some more time.
Keep in medium flame but always stay near to simmer (avoiding milk overflow or burnt bottom)
Add the Cardamom and Saffron, cook some more.
Garnish with loads of broken almonds and pistas.
Serve hot or cold!

You can also grind some nuts and mix into the Basundi adding to the richness and flavor. But make sure to cook until the raw smell fades off.

Schezwan Mixed Peppers Sizzler Recipe

2010-04-12T17:00:00.000+05:30

Dont be alarmed by the name :D this is a fairly easy to make yummy recipe with simple ingredients. Schezwan cos of the use of red chillies and garlic for the spices and it sizzles by itself if u do it the rite way, perfect to have it with jasmine rice or buttered rice!

Schezwan Mixed Peppers Sizzler Recipe

Ingredients
Mixed Bell Peppers (Capsicum) - 1/2 of each (Red, Green, Yellow and Orange)
Olive Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Flakes - 2 tsp
Onion - 1 medium sized
Garlic - 3 cloves crushed (I used ginger garlic paste)
Soy Sauce and Sweet Chilli Sauce (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Saute the garlic in a pan with the oiive oil.
Add the vinegar and red chilli flakes, let it sizzle.
Add the onions and saute until golden brown.
Add the chopped mixed peppers, add a little more oil and keep stirring and let it smoke well.
Add the sauces if you need a gravy.
Mix in salt and pepper as per taste, keep tossing as the peppers sizzle in the oil.

Serve with jasmine or buttered rice sizzling hot!

Scrambled Eggs Recipe

2010-04-08T15:25:00.000+05:30

I ve always wanted to make the kinda egg scrambles, juicy and rich, like we used to get in the US. But somehow the ones u get in india or even make at home, lacks that texture, maybe its the cream or milk added? or maybe its just the way it shud b scrambled! Such a simple recipe but there is so much to know.. until i read this http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=17

I took up all the instructions seriously and made this yummy scrambled egg at home, came out perfectly!!! A must try!

PS: I did try adding sugar and even ice cream, came pretty interesting, like a pudding of sorts!

Very Berry Sandwich

2010-04-07T15:01:00.000+05:30

This ones a very yummy, filling quick snack as well as a dessert! I have used milkybar white chocolate cream for the base, you can substitute it with chocolate sauce/cream cheese or any flavor spreading you like, for a creamy juicy sandwich dessert that's healthy too!

Very Berry Sandwich
Ingredients
Strawberries - 4 to 5 cut into halves
Blueberries - 5 to 6 whole fruits
Cream for base - 3 tbsp
Nuts - to sprinkle (optional)
Butter to saute (optional)

Method
Toast the sandwich bread in 160 degrees preheated oven, for 3 to 4 minutes.
Spread the base ur using on one or both the inner walls of the sandwich.
Saute the nuts and berries in 1/2 tsp of butter.
Place the berries alternately, sprinkle the nuts.
If you are using flavored yoghurt, mix it with the cut berries and spread it all together.

Use brown wholemeal bread and low-fat yoghurt to make it more diet-friendly

Mango Rice / Green Peas Rice / Potato Rice Recipe

2010-03-14T04:31:00.000+05:30

Dont be confused, this is a basic recipe to make instant vegetable rice at home. I have used tried it with Raw Mango, Peas and Potato, you can use any vegetable separately or together. This is a very quick and yummy rice recipe i use often at home, made in rice cooker to make things easier...

Mango Rice / Peas Rice / Potato Rice Recipe

Ingredients
Rice - 1 cup
The vegetable you are going to use - Raw Mango (shredded) or Green Peas (cooked previously) or Potato (diced into small bits and fried well or microwaved)
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1 large sized
Turmeric Powder - 1.2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Cinnamon/Cloves - one or two
Ginger-garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 2 - slit in the middle
Channa Masala/ Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil to Saute

Method
In a pan, add oil, splutter mustard, add the masala stuff, green chillies, jeera, turmeric and saute.
Add the onion and ggp, fry until golden brown. Add ghee for frying and some salt for the onion.
Add the shredded raw mango and mix unil raw smell is gone.
In case of using potato, fry well with a little more oil.
In case of peas, fry a little and add oil to cook a little.
Now add the garam or channa masala and cook until raw smell fades off.
Mix in cooked rice and add more salt, mix well and serve hot.

This is even quicker to cook if you can add raw rice to the mixture, put everything together in a rice cooker with water!
You may add milk (or even coconut milk) if ur using peas or other veggies.
You can even just use more jeera and make it simpel jeera rice, in that case use more ghee!
You can use curry/coriander leaves according to taste.

Tomato Rice Recipe

2010-03-08T20:44:00.001+05:30

So i decided to keep it simple after that huge recipe last time.. simple home-made tomato rice!

Tomato Rice Recipe

Ingredients
Rice - 1 large cup (cooked)
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized
Onion - 1 large sized
Cinnamon/cloves/garlic/bay leaves - few of each
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urud dal - 1/4 tsp
Channa dal - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 2 small sized - slit in the middle
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Freshly ground pepper - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Splutter the mustards in few spoons of oil, add turmeric powder and the dals, let it fry.
Now add the masalas, jeera, garlic, green chillies and onion and fry until golden brown.
Dice the tomatoes and add to the onions.
Add very little water, since tomatoes will water anyway, add salt and the other powders.
Let it cook until raw smell fades off.
Mix in the rice and serve with pappadams!

I just realized this is a good mix of north and south indian ingredients, proper Indian dish!

Mughlai Biryani Recipe

2010-03-05T20:44:00.000+05:30

How does it differ from the usual Biryani recipe? Well the flavors completely differs between a Hyderabadi and a Chettinad Biriyani, ans so does the Mughalai one, fussy foodies like me can make out pretty well. It has a distinct aroma cos of the slow cooking style and the variety of masalas added in it, making it kinda a sweetish spicy delicacy..i think the badam and the raisins do the trick.. lets c how i made it...

Mughlai Biryani Recipe

Ingredients
Biryani rice - 2 cups
Vegetables - you can use potatoes, carrot, beans and peas, diced into small pieces.
Onion - 1 large or 2 medium sized
Tomatoes - 1 large sized
Badam (Almonds) - a hanful, skin-peeled
Raisins - optional
Cinnamon, Bay leaves and cloves - 1 or 2 of each
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2 to 3 mashed well
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp
Fresh ground pepper - 1/4 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Kesari powder ( food coloring - 1/2 pinch (optional)
Curd - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Elatchi (cardamom) - 2 oe 3 well crushed
Coriander leaves - finely chopped for garnishing
Green chillies - 1 or 2 depending on size
Ghee and oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Make a paste out of almonds, garlic, peppers and jeera, in this case you dont need to use them in powder form once again.
Keep a part of the almonds aside to fry in ghee for garnishing later.
In a heavy bottom kadai, use oil to splutter jeera, cinnamon/cloves/elatchi/etc.
Add chopped onions to the masala and let it fry until golden brown.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook.
Add the powders, salt and little more oil and cook well till raw smell fades off.
Bring in the milk and curd and cook for few more minutes in lower flame.
Boil the vegetables and rice separately and add this mixture.
Garnish with fried badam, raisins and sprinkle coriander leaves on top!

Instead you can mix the rice and veggies raw together with the mixture made and let it cook slowly in a rice cooker or just in the kadai, might take longer but you can enjoy the aroma!

Thai Red Curry Recipe

2010-02-07T15:32:00.000+05:30

Here's a simple and easy-to-make Thai recipe that can be made at home, with easily available ingredients in the Indian market. Although i was a bit apprehensive about how it would turn out, havent tried my hands on Thai food much, it turned out absolutely yummy, so delicious that it left us wanting for more when it got over! Trust me and try this out, its a treat to the tastebuds!

Thai Red Curry Recipe

Ingredients
Baby Corn - Cut into halves
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Red Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Olive Oil - few drops
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
In a few drops of olive oil, add the vinegar and let it heat up, saute the baby corns.
Add the sauces, and mix well.
Add half a cup of water, let it cook.
Now add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Do not let it cook too long after adding the coconut milk.
Add salt and pepper for taste.

You can microwave the babycorn a little if you need it really tender.
You may use other veggies you may like, cauliflower or broccoli will do great.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup Recipe

2010-01-27T22:33:00.000+05:30

I love Cauliflower and anything and everything made with it..wanted to try something new with cauliflower and suddenly it striked me to make a soup outa it, and guess what, it came out awesome and brat who hates cauliflower actually loved this one! Its a pretty simple recipe inspired by many cream of cauliflower soups i found online with a twist of my own too.. check it out!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Ingredients
Cauliflower - broken into florets
Potatoes - 1 medium sized or 2 small potatoes
Onion - 1 small sized
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves
Milk - 1/2 cup
Fresh Cream - 2 to 3 tbsp
Cheese - 1 to 2 tbsp
Pepper kernels - 4 to 5
Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the cauliflower and potatoes with a little salt.
Saute the onions, garlic and peper kernels in butter, grind along with the boiled vegetables.
Add the cheese while grinding half way.
Bring to a smooth paste and pour into a pan.
Stir in the milk and fresh cream, bring to a boil.
Add salt and pepper, mix and stir well.
Serve hot with Garlic Bread!

Carrot-Capsicum (Stuffing/Rice) Recipe

2010-01-19T10:05:00.001+05:30

Keeping it simple this time...will post a quick recipe.. that can serve as an evening snack..very easy to make when ur back from office and really really hungry! Its of course my own creation..created out of sheer hunger and frustration with the few available ingredients at home.. (u can call it Indo-Chinese) but trust me .. its so came out so yumm! You can use this carrot capsicum (masala/stuffing) to sandwich in bread or stuff and roll into a roti or just mix with rice and make it a carrot capsicum rice! Feel free to use it any other way u like to.

Carrot Capsicum Stuffing/Rice Recipe!

Ingredients
Carrots - 3 to 4
Capsicum (Green Pepper) - one medium sized
Vinegar/Red Chilli Sauce / Soy Sauce - few tsps
Olive oil to saute
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Wash and dice carrots and capsicum, saute in olive oil, vinegar and red chilli sauce.
Add a little soy sauce if you like the taste.
Sprinkle salt and pepper.
Add some water and close lid to cook.
Stuff inside bread, roll into chapati/roti and simply mix with rice and serve hot!

Adding Tomato Ketchup goes very well with it!

Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Pasta with White Sauce Recipe

2010-01-17T11:03:00.000+05:30

Alrighty had too much of south indian traditional food already.. time for a break and have something not so indian.. and the simplest thing i can make at home is Pasta! Personally not a big fan of Pasta tho its a welcome break from the maggi noodles :D but i do know ppl who die for Pastas and so here's presenting easy recipes to make simple home-made Pastas... I have used Macaroni for the Tomato Pasta and Fusilli for the White Sauce.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
Pasta - Variety of your choice (boiled along with salt)
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized
Tomato Ketchup - 2 tsbp
Onion - one small sized
Green Pepper (Capsicum) - optional
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp
Oregano - to sprinkle
Basil Leaves - to sprinkle
Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, saute the onions and garlic in oil (add capsicum if using)
Puree the tomato along with half of this mixture, chilli flakes and salt.
Add to the pan along with the ketchup, mix well.
Now add the required amount of the cooked Pasta to the mixture, mix well.
Garnish with finely cut basil leaves and oregano.

Pasta with White Sauce Recipe

Ingedients
Pasta - Variety of your choice (boiled along with salt)
Butter - 5 to 6 tbsp
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Milk - 1 cup
Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
Maida (All purpose flour) - 4 tbsp cup
Cheese - 4 tbsp
Freshly Ground Pepper - 1 tsp (if possible use white pepper powder)
Parsley to garnish
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, add butter to melt and saute the garlic.
Now add the milk and slowly bring in the maida.
Keep stirring continously to avoi dforming lumps.
Add fresh cream and cheese and bring to a boil, lower the flame.
Mix in the salt and pepper, stir until it forms a creamy consistency.
Add the cooked Pasta, mix well and serve with shredded cheese and parsley!

While boiling Pasta, you may add a drop of Olive oil to the water, to avoid stickiness. Also, once you dran the boiling water, run it through cold water once. Add your favourite vegggies to any of this dishes to add more fun!

Puliogare / Puliyodarai Recipe

2010-01-14T20:36:00.000+05:30

What's the one best thing about marrying an iyengar (a sect of Tamil Brahmins)? It is of course undeniable the Puliogare for a foodie like me! :D Well i ve learnt to make the best puliyogare i ve ever eaten, barring all the temples i've been to, just to rush to the prasadam counter as a kid (and even now!) and have the yummy Puliodharai! I just cant believe that i can make it as good myself now and this is one recipe that m really proud of to present! Tomorrow being Kannu (a bro-sis festival thingie during Pongal) most people make it at home.. so lets take a look at the best iyengar style puliogare recipe rite away....

Puliogare Recipe

Ingredients

For Pulikachal:
Cooked Rice - 2 large cups
Tamarind - 2 lemon sized balls
Sesame (Gingely) Oil - 5 to 6 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - Handful
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urud Dal - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ground Nuts - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Red Chillies - 5 to 6
Water - 4 cups
Salt to taste

To make the powder:
Coriander Seeds (Dhania) - 3 tbsp
Channa Dal - 2 tsp
Red Chillies - 1 or 2
Fenugreek Seeds (Methi) - 3 to 4 (optional)
Sesame Seeds (Til/Ellu) - 1 tbsp

Method
In a kadai, heat the sesame oil and splutter the mustard seeds, red chillies (broken into halves), asafoetida, curry leaves, channa dal and urud dal, ground nuts and fry until golden brown.
Make sure the ground nuts are in perfect color when you stop, makes all the difference.
Keep pressing the chillies in the oil, so they mix well. (This is important for the right taste)
Make a paste out of the tamarind and pour it into the kadai with some water, salt and turmeric powder. Add more oil if needed.
Let the mixture cook well until the water becomes more than half of what you added and becomes a paste-like product (and the oil separates). This is called Puli Kachal.
Roast the powder ingredients except the sesame seeds and grind to make a powder.
Add the rice and powder into the pulikachal and mix thoroughly.
Make a separate powder out of the sesame seeds and sprinkle over the puliogare and mix well, just before serving!

Paruppu (Dal) Vadai/ Masal Vada Recipe

2010-01-13T09:58:00.000+05:30

What's a south-indian festival without vada? There is no pongal that goes complete without something crisp and spicy to go with! Here's is a yummy paruppu vada recipe for my MIL's kitchen, easily convertible into a Masal Vadai..since this is based out ot dal completely it is also very healthy as against the Medhu Vada we get in restaurants along with breakfast. This is typical home-style dal vada for your delight.. lets see...

Paruppu (Dal) Vadai/ Masal Vada Recipe

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized
Red Chillies - around 5
Ginger - a small bit
Asafoetida - one pinch
Curry leaves - very few
Coriander leaves - few
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Method
Soak the dals for around 4 to 5 hours.
Grind along with the chillies, ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and salt.
Make sure you don grind it into a fine paste, leave some half-broken dals as it is.
Add finely chopped onions and coriander leaves, mix well.
Make small balls out of the thick batter and flatten them on the palm of your hand.
Deep fry in oil until crisp.

You can make it without ginger and onion, if you need a pure paruppu vadai and not a masal vada per se.

Venn Pongal Recipe

2010-01-13T00:20:00.000+05:30

For once.. i wanna put up a recipe before the function gets over.. so at least it ll be useful for ppl who search for the recipe to make it on the special day.. so yea... this Venn Pongal recipe is a bit different from the usual Pongal we make for breakfast at home. This ones typical temple-style Venn Pongal, usually given as prasadam. Many of us love it but wonder how it is so different from the restaurant-style Pongals. Well mom learnt the secret from a temple and let me know about it.. and i tried it.. bingo! it came out exactly the same way and it was as easy as making instant noodles! i decided it ll be perfect to make on this pongal day.. so here we go... Venn Pongal Recipe...

Venn Pongal Recipe

Ingredient
Jeera Samba Rice - 2 cups
Moong dal - 2 tsp (optional)
Water - 7 to 8 cups
Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp
Freshly ground pepper - 3/4 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts -few
Salt to taste

Method
Add the rice, dal, water, salt, pepper, ghee and jeera powder in a cooker and let it cook.
Remove from heat and smash the rice well into a pongal, it should be very easy to do since u have added lots of water.
You may add the salt and pepper while the rice is half cooking, in case ur using a rice cooker.
The aroma that arises when the rice is cooking is truly heavenly!
Roast the cashews in ghee and add to the pongal.

Now can there be an easier recipe for than that?

GM Diet Wonder Soup Recipe

2010-01-04T23:46:00.000+05:30

haha! i kno! stop laufin at me.. i tried to do the diet many times but in vain...i usually give up on the easiest of days - 6th or 7th after goin thro the worst 5 days! But one good thing bout doin this diet is the soup...this magic soup (cabbage soup technically) i thought i wud hate initially turned out to be fun to make and eat as well.. and strangely enough its healthy and its 'diet'! So i thought it only fair to share it with u all.. here we go.. my own version of the famous GM Diet Soup...

GM Diet Wonder Soup Recipe

Ingredients
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomatoes - 1 large sized
Green Pepper (Capsicum) - one half
Cabbage - one quarter
Olive oil - one drop!
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Water - 4 cups

Method
Saute the onion in a drop of olive oil and vinegar until golden.
Add the capsicum and fry some more.
Add finely cut tomato, water and bring to a boil.
Add the cabbage and close lid to cook.
Sprinkle salt and pepper as minimum as possible.
Cook some more until an awesome aroma arises.
Keep stirring, add as much water you need.
Have it piping hot!

You can add a little red chilli sauce if you desire, m not sure if its allowed tho! You may add carrots too!

Channa (Chickpeas) Rice Recipe

2010-01-03T14:28:00.000+05:30

Another innovative recipe but this time its my Brat's kitchen! One fine Sunday morning, well afternoon actually when i woke up a 'lil' late, he had already made this yummy rice from the channa i had soaked overnight and surprised me :D! All of us have had Chenna in various forms but mostly in a gravy or as a cold starter, this one was very different and appetizing to even look at! Lets a take a look at how he went bout it... Channa Rice Recipe from my dear hubby's kitchen!

Channa Rice Recipe

Ingredients
Channa (Chickpeas) - 1 cup - soaked in water overnight
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large sized
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Channa Masala - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon/cloves/bayleaves - few
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Pressure cook the channa or microwave it for around 10 minutes (checkin it every 2 minutes).
In a kadai, take a little oil, add the masalas, jeera and ggp.
Add finely chopped onion and fry until golden brown.
Add the cooked channa, red chilli powder, channa masala and salt, mix well.
Add cooked rice, toss to mix.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves if you like it.
Serve with Tomato Ketchup and Potato Chips!

You may add tomatoes too if you want it typically, Brat excluded the tomatoes and coriander since he hates 'em and this came out amazingly different!

Maggi Noodles Pakoda Recipe

2010-01-03T02:31:00.000+05:30

This is a recipe leftovers for all those people who live on maggi, like my husband does!! Now don judge my cooking already it jus shows how lazy i am on an everyday basis altho i love to cook! :D But the truth is both of us love instant noodles and have it very often. Although its not something thats left over mostly, this time around i made too much of it and didnt know what to do with the rest, so i put on my innovative chef cap and this is what i got! Yummy Noodles Pakora, easy and instant too.. check it out...

Maggi Noodles Pakoda Recipe

Ingredients
Maggi noodles - masala or curry flavor
Gram Flour (Besan) - 1/2 cup
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
Corn Flour - 3 to 4 tbsp
Baking Soda - one pinch
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chillies/Coriander leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Make the noodles as per pack instructions, let it cool but dont let it get too dry.
In a bowl, mix the flours, soda and chilli powder.
You may add finely cut green chillies for flavor.
Add water and make a batter as in for pakoda.
Take small quantities of the noodles and make a ball with your fingers.
Dip in the batter and deep fry in oil.
Serve with tomato ketchup for best taste!

You can use Maida and Corn Flour instead of Gram/Rice Flour if u dont want a Desi flavor to it.
If you are using leftover maggi, add a little oil and microwave/re-heat it a little and cool it down.

Gulab Jamun Recipe

2009-12-31T02:13:00.000+05:30

Lets welcome the new year with one of my fav sweets .... in the easiest way possible to make.. no m not talkin bout the instant one available in shops.. this ones from scratch.. check it out!

Gulab Jamun Recipe

Ingredients
Maida - 1 cup
Milk - close to 1 litre
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Sugar/baking soda - 1 pinch each

For the syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Rose/Vanilla essence - 1 drop
Elatchi (Cardamom) - around 5 pieces - crushed

Method
Boil milk, keep it in low flame till it becomes half its quantity.
Cool it to add a pinch of sugar and baking soda.
Mix in the maida slowly and prepare a dough.
Keep it aside for a couple of hours.
Apply a little ghee in your hand and make balls out of the dough.
Heat the remaining ghee and fry the balls.
Boil the water and sugar separately, add the crushed cardamom.
Take care to stop in the right syrup consistency, filter and add rose essence.
Drop the balls into this syrup and let it stay for few hours.

Serve hot or chilled with vanilla ice-cream!

Vegetable Stew / Thenga Pal Kurma Recipe

2009-12-17T23:05:00.000+05:30

Long time! Life without internet was not as bad as i thought it wud b, its definitely much better than life with slow internet! So back again with a good connection. somebody asked me if i have Kurma recipe on my blog and i realised i need to post it rite away! So here comes Vegetable Stew as in Kerala style Kurma with Thenga Pal (Coconut Milk Korma), something i ve loved as a kid and wondered how different it is from the usual Kurma. Like any other Kerala based dish. my mom makes this one the best too..here we go.. Veg Kurma Recipe from my mom's kitchen...

Vegetable Stew / Thenga Pal Kurma Recipe

Ingredients
Vegetables - Potato, Cauliflower, Beans, Peas, Carrot - washed and diced
Coconut - grated - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized
Green Chillies - 3 to 4 - slit in the middle
Ginger - 1 small piece
Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves
Cinnamon/Cloves/Pepper/Cardamom/Bayleaf - few
Sat to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Grind the coconut along with ginger and take the milk out. You can retain some coconut too.
Saute the green chillies, spices, garlic and onions in a kadai, you can use coconut oil if you like it.
Boil veggies separately and add them to the kadai.
Add the ground coconut paste and some water, cook well.
Serve hot with Appam or Idiappam

You can add one green chilli and little garlic to the coconut while grinding too, brings in more flavor when added in two forms (directly and ground)

Uppappam (Uppu Appam) Recipe

2009-12-03T01:14:00.001+05:30

Yay! Its Karthigai and i finally made Uppappam from scratch and it came out awesome! i am really excited now and wanna share the recipe with u right away :)

Uppappam (Uppu Appam) Recipe

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 2 cups
Channa Dal - 2 tbsp
Urud Dal - 2 tbsp
Moong Dal - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 4 to 5
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

For Seasoning
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 1 or 2
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urud Dal - 1 tsp
Finely chopped coriander and curry leaves - very few (optional)
Coconut - cut into very small pieces (handful)

Method
Soak the rice and dals in water for few hours.
Grind the soaked mixture with green chillies and salt into a smooth batter (like that for idli)
Keep the batter overnight, let it ferment.
Fry the seasonings and add to the batter.
Fill the Appam pan with oil (upto half the level in each one) and add the batter slowly with a tablespoon in each one of them.
The Appams slowly rise up when done and you can turn the side and fry again.

You can add idli batter and cooked rice while grinding for extra crisp.
You may also instantly do this with rice flour and maida, add a little curd for the sourness.

Gobi 65 Recipe

2009-12-02T15:37:00.000+05:30

This one is my all-time favourite.. anything made with cauliflower.. esp this cauliflower 65...restaurant style...in fact its everyone favourite.. but my special recipe.. by which i mean something i think m good at and make wenever guests come in! I guess i got it from my mom who used to do the same too.. so this one is one of the best recipes i can post here and is a mandatory one that shud ve appeared long back.. here it comes from my very own kitchen ... Gobi 65 recipe

Gobi 65 Recipe

Ingredients
Gobi (Cauliflower) - cut into florets
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 pinch
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Soak the cauliflower florets in warm water with a pinch of salt, do not boil lest it becomes soggy.
In a bowl, mix the flours, red chilli powder, soda and salt, add water and make a batter.
Make sure lumps are not formed and the florets are covered well with the batter.
Heat oil in a kadai to deep fry.
Dip the florets in the batter and deep fry in oil.
Squeeze a lemon over the Gobi (optional)
Serve as side-dish for pulao or as a starter with tomato ketchup for best taste

You may add Corn Flour if you want it more crispier.
Also spinkle Chaat Masala/Pepper if you want along with the lemon squeeze.

Brocolli in White Sauce Recipe

2009-11-26T22:25:00.000+05:30

This is a unique one! One from a secret fan follower (can call him a stalker and a friendly one at that!) of the blog and a budding cook himself (well he's still in late teens)..hes been following for long in silence and has finally honored us by sending one of his recipes to be posted here.. and its a very different one to start with.. brocolli in white sauce recipe.. follows.. in his own words.. oh did i forget something? yea he' roopak.. rum's cousin who will be hereafter known as Roo on this blog.. hopin for more contributions from him.. so lets go.. Brocolli in White Sauce from Roo's kitchen!

Brocolli in White Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
Brocolli - broken into florets
Milk - ½ litre
Maida - 2-3 table spoons
Butter 2 spoons
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste

Method

Cut the broccoli into florets and boil it in water containing salt.

Take the maida and mix it in a small amount of milk to make liquidy paste (make sure there are no lumps)

Start heating the milk and butter in a wok and add the milk and maida liquid to it.

Keep Stirring to prevent lumps.

Add salt and pepper and allow the milk to thicken

Add the florets of broccoli and heat for a bit.

Serve hot with toast!

U can replace broccoli with mushroom (sauté it instead of boiling in water)

Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

2009-11-14T11:37:00.000+05:30

Okay.. we ve had too much of south indian already and i ve decided to post my long pending paneer butter masala recipe today.. this is a everyones-favourite and a restaurant must-try...i made this wen nits and sriram came home and tho i wasnt really sure how it ll come out..it did come out really restaurant style and thats a compliment from nits which can be taken with assurance.. so lets c how my paneer butter masala recipe goes...

Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

Ingredients
Paneer - 200 gms
Onion - 1 large sized
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized
Butter - 4 to 5 tbsp
Cinnamon/cloves/etc. - one or two each
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Cashewnuts/Badam - 10 pieces each - soaked in milk
Garam Masala/Channa Masala -1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Fresh Cream - 4 to 5 tbsps
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Cut paneer into cubes, fry them in ghee, soak in warm salted water.
Grind the tomatoes and onion in a mixer to a fine paste.
In a pan, add the butter, the masala stuff, jeera and ginger-garlic paste.
Saute well and add the paste and let it cook well until raw smell goes off.
Now add the powders and salt and mix well.
Make a paste out the the nuts and milk and add it to the pan.
Mix well, close with a lid and let it cook.
Add the paneer in between when its cooking, water if needed and close again.

Garnish with the fresh cream and servc hot with any Indian Bread.

Upma Kozhakattai Recipe

2009-11-11T09:09:00.000+05:30

Its been long since i posted anything from my mom and i thought its not fair on her since she makes so lovely and unique dishes that noone else can make as good as her..like this Kozhakattai she makes at home..a very simple and common south-indian dish, somehow never tastes the same when someone else makes it. I think the secret ingredient she uses is the mother's touch.. or the smell of her hands..that makes any home-made recipe perfectly yummy! Here is the Upma Kozhakatai Recipe from my mom's kitchen..now don look for the quantity of 'love' in the ingredients section.. that is for u to figure out!

Upma Kozhakkatai Recipe

Ingredients
Rice Rava (broken rice grains) - 2 cups
Onion - 1 large sized (optional)
Water - 4 cups
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal - 1/s tsp
Green chillies - 1 or 2 - slit in the middle
Red chillies - 1 or 2 - cut into halves
Asafoetida - one pinch
Curry leaves - few
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Splutter mustards in some oil in a pan.
Fry curry leaves, dals and the chillies.
Saute finely chopped onions till golden, if using.
Add the water, salt and asafoetida, bring to a boil.
Now add the Rice Rava and stir continously.
Dont let the rava form lumps, keep stirring.
Close with a lid and let it cook in low flame.
Keep checking for water and stir once in a while.
Once the Upma is done, make oval-shaped Kozhakkatais out of it.
Steam cook in a pressure cooker (without the weight) for a few minutes.
Serve hot with Coconut/Tomato chutney or Sambar.

You can make the Rice Rava at home by coarsely grinding raw rice in a mixer or just use store bought ready-made Rice Rava.

Coconut Sevai and Lemon Sevai Recipe

2009-11-09T23:55:00.000+05:30

This one is from my aunt.. who makes lovely sevai from scratch..unlike many of us who think making sevai is the easiest thing as much as noodles..nowadays since the instant ones are all we know.. but making sevai at home is a very big task and it takes hella lota patience and time..but the final product is totally worth it and u realise that what u make instantly is nothing close to this.. it is so soft and melts in ur mouth..i rem the childhood days eating sevai from annapoorna in coimbatore and cherishing it.. this one bring back those memories instantly.. here it is for.. authentic sevai recipe.. from my aunt's kitchen...

Coconut Sevai and Lemon Sevai Recipe

To make the base Sevai:

Par-boiled Rice - 2 cups
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water to soak the rice

Method
Soak the rice in water overnight.
Grind it into a batter (like for idli).
Add the salt and oil and stir well.
Pour the batter into Idli plates and pressure cook it for 10 minutes (without using weight).
Use a Sevai maker to press the idlis into noodles.
Make sure the idlis are hot when you do this.
The idiappam/noodles that come out needs to be broken into sevai.

For Coconut Sevai:

Ingredients
Coconut - 1/2 cup - grated
Green Chillies - 1 or 2 - slit in the middle
Red Chillies - 1 or 2 - broken into 2
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Urud dal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - one pinch
Cashewnuts - 7 to 8 - broken and fried in ghee
Coriander leaves - few
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, ad doil, splutter the mustards, fry the curry leaves and dals.
Add the chillies and saute some more.
Now mix in the sevai, add salt and asafoetida.
Mix well and turn off the flame.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and cashews.

For the Lemon Sevai:

Ingredients
Lemon - 1 medium sized - squeezed
Turmeric Powder - 1/s tsp
Green Chillies - 1 or 2 - slit in the middle
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Urud dal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - one pinch
Coriander leaves - few
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Add oil in a pan, splutter the mustards, fry the curry leaves, add green chillies.
Saute the dals and add the turmeric powder.
Now add the sevai, mix well adding salt, lemon juice and asafoetida.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Told ya! the making the coconut and lemon sevai is very easy once the base is done well. You can try the same recipe on store-bought sevai or vermicilli too.

Chole Recipe

2009-11-07T22:38:00.000+05:30

Lemme introduce u to the newest contributor....the best of my friends Ramya (aka Rums) and her very first recipe here..for the all-time-favourite 'Chole' with a twist in her own style..she made it for a potluck in my house and it was definitely the highlight of the day..no wonder i had to bug her for the recipe rite from then on.. so here we go.. from Rum's kitchen.. Chole recipe...

Chole Recipe

Ingredients
Chole (Channa/Chickpeas) - one pack (250 gms)
Onions - 2 or 3 large ones
Tomatoes - 4 juicy ones
Aloo (Potato) - a large one
Bayleaf/Cinnamon/Cloves - one or two each
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Pwder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chole Powder (Channa Masala) - 1/2 tsp;">
Red Chili Powde - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies 2 - chopped fine
Asafoatida - one pinch
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method

Soak channa overnight in water. Drain the water and pressure cook with salt.

Grind the cut tomatoes, coriander leaves, ginger garlic paste, cloves and green chillies and keep aside. Boil cubed potatoes either on the stove or microwave it for 5 minutes.

In a pan, add lots of oil, saute jeera, asafoetida, turmeric, bayleaf and cinnamons.

Fry the onions till golden brown.

Now add the ground paste and keep stirring.

Once it settles, add the channa masala and then the rest of the powders with a little salt.

Cover with a lid and let it cook on a low flame.

Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well and the flavor is uniform.

Bring to a boil, add the potato and then the chole slowly, the required salt, keep stirring.

Close the pan again and cook for atleast 10 minutes.

Garnish with cut tomato pieces and coriander leaves and serve hot! Ooh la la!

Jeera Milagu Rasam Recipe

2009-11-06T15:08:00.000+05:30

This one is new to me, but somehow the new stuff i learn is what comes out well! This is a very simple rasam that my MIL taught me. It is the best medicine for cold and fever and its so damn yummy when had at that time. Of course ur rite, i learnt it when Brat was not well and i wanted to make this for him and now i ve become an expert at it! Here is 'my' Jeera Molagu Rasam with recipe from my MIL's kitchen!

Jeera Milagu Rasam Recipe

Ingredients
Tomatoes (optional) - 2 to 3 medium sized
Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 2 to 3 tsp
Toor Dal - 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies - 2 to 3 max
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 4 tsp
Pepper kernels - 1 tsp
Water - 3 cups
Salt to taste

Seasoning:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Method
Dry roast the dhania, dal, red chillies, jeera and pepper and grind into a powder.
(You may add water and make it a paste too)
Boil crushed tomatoes in water, squeeze the juice out and strain (or use tamarind paste instead).
Add the ground mixture, salt, more water and bring to a boil.
Add asafoetida, bring to a boil.
Add coriander leaves, bring to a boil.
In a separate pan, add ghee, splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and jeera.
Garnish the rasam with this seasoning and serve hot!

This can be had with rice or can be drunk just like that! Soothing for cold and sour throat. You may do the rasam with neither the tomatoes nor the tamarind too!

Potato Fritters Recipe

2009-11-05T10:08:00.000+05:30

Another one from Brat's kitchen.. yea hes makin a lota new stuff nowadays and surprising me totally! Hes of course a potato expert no matter wat and i always let him deal with potatoes wen guest come in.. his cookin usually has a lil bit of my style tho he will never agree on that!..but this potato fritters surprised me totally since i ve no idea how to do it or even had it before and didnt participate in the cooking process at all...i guess its a product of his vigorous food network watching and multi-ethnic friends in the US.. watever it is, it tasted really yummy and thats all that matter to us rite? Lets take a look at the Potato Fritters recipe from Brat's kitchen!

Potato Fritters Recipe

Ingredients
Potatoes - 4 to 5 - thinly sliced (about 2 cm in length)
Corn flour - 1/4 cup
Gram flour - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 4 to 5 tbsp
Eggs - 2 to 3
Chilli powder - 3 to 4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Slightly boil/microwave the potatoes
Make a batter out of the flours adding eggs and a little water.
Add chilli powder and salt, mix well.
Heat oil for deep frying.
Take a half a handful of the sliced potato and dip it in the batter and deep fry it.
Turn them around when one side is done.

You may add pepper and bread crumbs too, but this style is the best to appease the indian palate.

Cabbage Kootu / Molagootal Recipe

2009-11-04T16:16:00.000+05:30

This is another one from my brother's kitchen, after Dal Makhani long before! As mentioned, hes a health freak and makes things that only seems healthy but will never give up on the taste part tho! So this cabbage kootu is a perfect example of a yummy and really simple recipe, rather this ones more of a Molagootal than a typical Tamilan Kootu, that tho most recipes from my home has the Palghat touch...Ok cutting it short.. here's an amazing Cabbage Kootu / Molagootal Recipe from my brother's kitchen!

Cabbage Kootu / Molagootal Recipe

Ingredients
Cabbage - 1/2 a head - finely cut
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup or a little more
Coconut - 1/2 cup - grated
Green Chillies - 2 or 3 - depends on size
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Fresh Ground Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Water to boil
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Red Chilli - 1 (optional)

Method
In a kadai, add the coconut oil, splutter the mustards and add rest of the seasoning and fry.
Now add the cup cabbage and saute, add water and salt, close the lid to cook.
Meanwhile, Grind the coconut with jeera and green chillies in to a paste.
When the cabbage is almost cooked and tender, add this paste.
Let the Molagootal come to a boil. Sprinkle ground pepper and mix well.
Serve hot with rice, rasam and pickle

You may add black pepper while grinding the paste, instead of using powder in the end.
If u don like the Keralan touch, you can add ghee instead of coconut oil and even do it without the coconut paste!

Egg Burji Recipe

2009-11-01T00:02:00.000+05:30

Here's another best one of mine...and my favorite to make as well as eat... this is my own recipe from scratch...as i wudve mentioned more than once before.. i wud die for anything made with eggs and whichever way it is done..and this is the best Indian way to make eggs.. egg burji..makes an excellent side dish as well as goes alone with plain steamed or fried rice too... here we go... egg burji recipe...

Egg Burji Recipe

Ingredients
Eggs - 3 or 4
Green chillies - 1 to 2
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Ground black pepper - 1 tsp
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Saute fine-chopped onions until golden brown.
Add green chillies and fine-chopped tomato.
Add all the powders except pepper and fry.
Now break the eggs and pour into the mixture.
Keep stirring fast, so the eggs break properly.
Add salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Mix really well until the burji is dry.
Sprinkle another 1/2 tsp pepper and serve hot.

Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!

Indian Carrot Salad Recipe

2009-10-28T02:38:00.000+05:30

Ok here's a quick one.. healthy and tasty.. and really easy to make.. carrot salad.. the indian way..u can make this anytime u want a snack but don wanna munch on those potato chips.. makin it with ingredients almost always readily available in any indian kitchen.. cant call this a recipe per se .. but yea there is a possible way of screwing this up too.. so here's the right recipe for making an indian carrot salad in a yummy way...

Carrot Salad Recipe (Indian)

Ingredients
Carrot - 2 or 3 - shredded well
Lemon juice - few drops
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Raisins/sugar/walnuts/honey- optional
curd/green chilly/asafoetida/coriander/curry leaves - optional
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan, add oil and splutter the mustard.
Saute jeera and turmeric powder (green chilly, curry leaves and asafoetida if using)
Now mix in the shredded carrots and saute well.
Sprinkle salt and sugar if using and turn off flame.
Squeeze lemon juice over and toss.
The salad can be mixed with curd, garnished with coriander and served or mixed in honey and garnished with raisins/nuts and served.

Use olive oil for a more healthy salad. You can also sprinkle pepper if you are adventurous!

Vazhakkai (Raw Banana / Plantain) Fry

2009-10-26T22:40:00.000+05:30

Plantain and me? weird comby! I ve never had one bite of this veggie until lately when i had to prepare it for my fam and wow! was it awesome? sometimes i do surprise myself! No i still dont like Vazhakkai the way its usually done in many south indian functions... but this one i tried in the microwave and fried like potatoes and came out yummmmy, surprisingly! So yea..here we go... vazhakkai (plantain / raw banana) fry recipe presented proudly to you from swar's magical microwave kitchen!!

Vazhakkai (Raw Banana / Plantain) Fry

Ingredients
Vazhakkai (Raw Banana / Plaintain) - 1 or 2 - cut into very small cubes
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1 small pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
In a microwave safe bowl, place the cut vazhakkai and mix in the powders, asafoetida and salt with some oil.
Microwave for a minute and mix well.
Add more oil when needed and keep microwaving for one-minute durations for 10 minutes.
Keep checking and stirring the plantain.
Remove when it looks cooked but not smashed.
In a kadai, add little oil, spluter the mustards and fry the curry leaves.
Add the vazhakkai and fry for few minutes.
Serve with rice and sambhar!

This is a healthier way to eat fried veggies since very less oil is used when done in microwave.
Try this out even if u hate raw banana like me...and trust me, u will love it!

Panneer Pakora Recipe

2009-10-18T09:27:00.000+05:30

What do me and brat have in common? that's a tough one, we both mite not agree on the answers m sure! that explains how much we have in common :P but cooking is something we both enjoy together and is probably the best times we have at home, when guests come and its time to cook!!! (forget the time to clean part :P). This is Brat's instant recipe last week when my friends came home for lunch...he did it in the quickest time possible and it came out awesome! lets go...Paneer Pakora recipe from Brat's kitchen...

Paneer Pakora Recipe

Ingredients
Paneer - cubed rather make huge rectangles
Gram flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Corn flour - 2 to 3 tbsp
Baking soda - one pinch
Red chilli powder - 2 to 3 tsp
Amchar/chaat masala - 1 or 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water for making batter
Oil to deep fry

Method
Sprinkle salt and very little chilli powder on the paneer cubes and microwave for few minutes/ saute in veyr lil ghee/oil for 2 minutes, keep aside.
In a separate bowl, mix the flours, soda, chilli powder and salt well.
Add water and bring to a medium consistency batter.
Dip the paneer cubes in it and deep fry in hot oil.
Mix red chilli powder, salt and amchar/chat masala in a separate bowl.
Sprinkle it over the pakoras.
Serve with green chutney or just tomato ketchup!

Enjoi my husband's culinary expertise :D...5 on 5 from sansmerci!

Kashmiri Pulao Recipe

2009-10-17T06:33:00.000+05:30

Kashmiri pulao is one of my best recipes and has almost got me appreciations every single time i ve made it! This North Indian delicacy is a fried and softened rice made with fruits and nuts...a main course n a dessert in itself and is loved by many for the same reason. Unlike what most people think (including me few yrs bak!) this is a pretty simple recipe and is easy to make. So lets go directly to the best thing that i can ever provide you with in this blog...Kashmiri Pulao recipe from Swar's very own kitchen :)!!

Kashmiri Pulao Recipe

Ingredients
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Milk - 2 to 3 cups
Fruits (red apple, green apply, pineapple, grapes) - a handful of each (cut into cubes)
Green chillies - 2 - slit in the middle
Channa masala/garam masala (optional) - 1 tsp
Cardamom/Cinnamon sticks/Cloves/Other masala items - 1 or 2 each
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Tutty fruity, cashews and raisins - to garnish
Ghee/oil to saute/fry
Salt to taste

Method
Wash and soak rice in water for atleast 15 to 20 mins (keep 'warm' in the rice cooker if desired).
Meanwhile, in a thick-bottom pan, add few tsp ghee, the masala ingredients, green chillies and jeera, saute.
Drain the rice and add it to the pan, with more oil or ghee, fry the rice a little.
Now add milk, chenna masala, salt and sugar.
Mix well and ket it cook for few mins.
Add a cup of water (or lesser if milk is more)
Keep in a rice cooker (or close lid and cook it in the pan itself.
Once done, mix in the cut fruits and garnish with ghee-fried cashews and raisins, tutty fruity, etc.

Make sure u use pineapple, it adds the main flavor to the pulao.
Some cook the pulao in orange juice but i think milk works best!
hmmm yummyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!

Sweet (Vella) Appam and Vella Dosa Recipe

2009-10-13T11:06:00.000+05:30

Here comes a two-in-one recipe from Nits' Kitchen! Sweets made of jaggery are perfect cos its healthy as well as tasty and not too sweet for people like me with no sweet tooth at all.. The Sweet Appam made with jaggery is a perfect sweet cum snack recipe made for many festivals in South India and yea can be easily converted into a dosa wen u don have the Appam making kadai/pan. Now that's a quick and easy, yummy and healthy recipe that kids love for an evening snack. So here we go first...

Ingredients for both
Wheat Flour (Atta) - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Coconut - cut into tiny bits - hand ful
Banana (optional) - 1 medium sized
Jaggery - 1 cup
Powdered cardamom (elatchi) - 1 tsp
Oil to deep fry

Sweet Appam (Vella Appam) Recipe
from Nits' kitchen

Method
Dissolve jaggery in boiling water and filter the solution.
Boil the jaggery water now and bring a medium consistency.
Add all the other ingredients together in a separate bowl, mash well, add the jaggery water and make a semi-thick batter.
Grease the cups in the appam pan with little ghee.
Pour the batter into each cup and add oil to fry.
Turn sides and remove when it turns brown.

Sweet Dosa (Vella Dosa) Recipe
from Nits' kitchen

Method
Follow the same method as in the Appam until you form the batter.
Make the batter jus a tiny bit more liquidy so it is in dosa consistency.
You may add a pinch of salt if you like, but its nto mandatory.
Take the Dosa tawa and pour the batter in a circle, just like a normal dosa.
Use a tsp of oil or ghee on it.
Turn sides and remove when brown.

You can make the Appams even without the appam maker, by deep frying small balls of the batter into a pan of hot oil. Dosa is a more healthier option tho, Appam is the best to indulge on special occasions!

Puri Bhaji (Aloo Mutter) Recipe

2009-09-30T23:31:00.000+05:30

As an after-effect of living in Delhi for about 5 to 6 months... i ve got used to eating poori and bhaji for brunch on Sundays! i used to wonder how they eat jelebi and aloo paratta for breakfast... i mean these are so yummy i can understd if they give an excuse that its irrestible to wait till lunch...the bhaji presented here is aloo matar...which can be had with any other indian bread like rotis, naans and kulchas too..cuttin it short...here are the recipes for Poori and Bhaji... aka... Aloo Mutter Recipe...

Puri Bhaji recipe

For the Puri

Ingredients
Atta (Wheat flour) - 2 cups
Curd - few tbsps
Water to knead
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Mix all the ingredients for the puri and knead well into a dough, keep aside for half an hour.
Make small balls out of the dough and roll into puris, deep fry in oil.

Aloo Mutter Recipe

Ingredients
Potatoes - 4 medium sized ones
Peas - more than a handful
Onion - 2 medium sized
Tomatoes - 2 to 3 medium sized ones
Green chillies - 1 or 2
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder- 3/4 tsp
Coriander (dhania) powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Butter/Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Wash, peel, boil and cube the potatoes. Wash and boil the peas, keep aside.
In a mixer, grind one onion and one tomato with one green chilli, keep aside. Add ginger/garlic fresh and grind along if u dont wanna use the paste.
Add oil/ghee to a tawa, saute the green chilly, jeera and turmeric powder.
Bring in the other onion, finely chopped. saute until its golden brown.
Add one or two tomatoes, well-diced and fry well.
Now mix the ground paste to this and add all the powders along with salt.
Let it cook for few minutes and then add a little butter/ghee, mix well.
Add the boiled potatoes and peas to the gravy, mash some of the potatoes to make it thicker.
Close the tawa and cook for few minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

If your gravy isnt thick still, u can add a pinch or two of rice powder to bring it to the right consistency. You may add some curd, it adds to the flavor...but reduce the tomatoes then, else mite get too tangy...

Arisi Parupu Sadam Recipe

2009-09-28T22:43:00.000+05:30

Here's another one of my favourites.. Arisi Parupu Sadam from Kongunadu cuisine, one that brings a lotta childhood memories .. sunday specials wen i was kid at home and after a long time something from my dad's kitchen.. this easy to make recipe is yummy and very healthy for growing kids.. its almost the same as dal rice but a bit more spicier and tastier...anyone can try it out and not go wrong in it.. it def has an extra zing to it that a normal parupu sadam doesnt have... here is it from my dad's kitchen.. Arisi Parupu Sadam recipe...

Arisi Parupu Sadam Recipe

Ingredients
Rice - 2 cups - pressure cooked
Dal - 1 1/2 cups - pressure cooked
Onion - 1 medium sized
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1 to 2 tbsp
Urud dal - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 to 3 - slit in the middle
Asafoedia - a small pinch
Curry leaves - very few
Oil/Ghee to saute
Salt to taste

Method
In a kadai, add a little oil, splutter the mustards, add the dals and curry leaves, fry well.
Now add the chillies and turmeric powder.
Chop the onions finely and add to the kadai, fry till golden brown adding some ghee.
Now mix in the cooked dal, add salt and asafoetida, mash and cook for few mins.
Swtich off the flame, add the rice slowly and mix continously, adding salt as required.

You may add red chillies, ginger-garlic paste and even a lil bit garam masala if u like, the spices totally depends upon ur liking, tho this is the typical way of doing authentic Arisiparupu Sadam, best served with Rice appalams!

Sakkarai Valli Kizhangu (Sweet Potato/Yam) Curry Recipe

2009-09-28T01:59:00.000+05:30

Sakkarai Valli kizhangu (Sweet Potato/Yam) is quite a delicacy in South-Indian cuisine, u either love it or hate it! I am not a big fan of it tho, this one time i had in Varanasi, at the Mutt where it is cooked by a traditional Brahmin mama and mami with such a homely taste and unique touch to it that i fell in love with it rite away and made it at home as soon as i got a chance to... here i present it to u.. the recipe of the best Sakkarai Valli Kizhangu (Sweet Potato/Yam) Curry i ve ever had...

Sakkarai Valli Kizhangu (Sweet Potato/Yam) Curry Recipe

Ingredients
Sakkarai Valli Kizhangu (Sweet Potato/Yam) - 5 to 6
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (slit in the centre)
Coconut - 1/4 cup (grated)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 2 tbsp
Urud dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - very few
Asafoetida - small pinch
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

Method
Wash, peel, boil & dice the Sakkarai Valli Kizhangu into small pieces. (Do not overcook)
Add few tsps oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds, add turmeric powder, curry leaves, green chillies and saute.
Add the dals and fry till golden brown.
Mix in the cooked vegetable into the pan and add salt and asafoetida.
Saute for very few minutes, add the coconut and mix well.
Turn off the flame and serve hot as a side dish with sambhar or rasam rice.

You may also grind the coconut and green chillies together in a mixer and then add it for a unique taste!

Coconut Burfi Recipe

2009-09-25T00:50:00.000+05:30

Here is a two-minute microwave coconut burfi recipe from my mom! She does this all the time now cos brat likes it, tho m not into sweets much, it is a wonder how she does this yummy sweet (she used to use the stove b4 and take quite a lota time to make it!) in the microwave to perfect consistency and that too in few minutes...u wud love it if u try it once m sure... so here it is presented to u from my mom's microwave kitchen... Coconut Burfi recipe...

Coconut Burfi Recipe

Ingredients
Coconut - 1 cup - grated
Sugar - 1 cup
Milk - few tsps
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp - powdered

Method
Spread out the grated coconut in a microwave safe bowl and keep on high for a minute or two.
Add the sugar and mix well, add very little milk along with cardamon to the mixture.
Microwave again for another 3 minutes, checking the burfi for consistency every one minute.
Let it cool a bit, turn the bowl around to let the burfi fall into another plate.
Cut into pieces, diamonds if possible.

Its almost similiar recipe when u work on the stove too, but u need to be very careful to stop at the right consistency to make pieces. You may add cashews, badam and raisins in this too.

Vegetable Biryani Recipe

2009-09-23T01:36:00.000+05:30

Yay! Here's another contribution from Nits' kitchen and its the ever-popular Biryani recipe!...twas one fine evening that she invited us for dinner at her place and she cooked this awesome Vegetable Biryani for us...and of course i did have to ask her for the recipe to make a perfect biryani since there cudn't be a better person to contribute the recipe to this blog... so here it is... a winner... Vegetable Biryani from Nits' kitchen served flaming hot to you rite away....

Vegetable Biryani Recipe

Ingredients
Basmati Rice -2 cups
Vegetables - 2 cups, chopped (carrot, beans, peas, potato)
Onion - 1 big, chopped
Curd - 1 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Saffron - few strands
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup, chopped
Coriander - 1/2 cup, chopped
Curry leaves - a handful, chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves - 3 or 4, crushed
Cardamom - 3 or 4, crushed
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch stick
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cashews, badam and raisins - few for garnishing
Oil/Ghee - 4 to 5 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Cook the biryani rice and spread it out on a huge plate, adding a few drops of oil/ghee, so they stand separated and not sticky.
Warm the milk and add the safforn to it, keep aside.
In a thick-bottomed kadai, add little ghee, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and mix well.
Pour this over the rice and mix again, see the color change.
Steam cook the vegetables, add little salt and keep aside.
Add the curd along with the different chopped leaves and mash well.
In a kadai, add some ghee, add all the spices (bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon), saute.
Add the cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and onions, fry until golden brown.
Add the remaining turmeric powder and red chilli powder, saute until the raw smell goes.
Add the steamed vegetables and the curd mixture, salt required and mix well.
Add a little more water as required and cook well until it thickens.
Now slowly mix in the rice, taking utmost care not to break the rice grains.
Pour the safforn milk over it and garnish with roasted cashews, almonds and raisins.
Keep on a low flame and cook for a few minutes before its ready to serve.

I think this is the most authentic way of doin biryani from scratch! and i jus loved the recipe for the sake alone...thanks Nits...will try it pretty soon!

More Kuzhambu Recipe

2009-09-21T23:31:00.000+05:30

One of my favourite recipes is here...More Kuzhambu is the simplest and best things that my mom can make and i just love it! Tho it is supposedly a Kerelan ancestory dish, the same recipe has different variations like the More Curry in North but there are variations even within regions in the south and within kerala and tamilnadu and the borders... i dono which one my mom follows.. but m sure its yummy! So here it is easy and best more kuzhambu recipe from my mom's kitchen...

More Kuzhambu Recipe

Ingredients
Curd/Yoghurt/Buttermilk - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup - grated
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Methi (Fenugreek seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method
Add a little water to the curd and stir into a uniform consistency, keep aside. (You may use buttermilk which will make the kuzhambu more watery tho, i like it thicker)
Take a little oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds, add the turmeric powder and methi, saute.
Fry the curry leaves a little.
Grind the coconut, jeera and chillies into a paste and add to the pan, saute.
Add the curd now and mix well.
Cook for very few minutes until the more kuzhambu gets foamy on the surface.
Do not overcook, since we are using curd.

You may add any vegetable like Vendakai (Okra) or Pusanikai (Ash Gourd) or even Tomatoes to the More Kuzhambu, you just need to saute it well and make sure u boil it before u add it to the Kuzhambu since we dont let this one on the stove for too long.

Tomato Rasam Recipe

2009-09-10T17:43:00.000+05:30

A simple hot tomato clear soup for the soul... this is probably the simplest recipe made almost everyday in any south-indian household and it is said that a little rasam a day keeps the doctor away... yea its the apple of our lives in india :)...but of course there are many variations to the same! The tomato rasam is the most common one and then there is the dal rasam which is just a small variation of the same, mostly made on occasions in lazy households like mine.. otherwise the most healthy rasam of all types.. then there is the jeera-pepper rasam for the sick people (which i been havin for the last 10 days!) which i will store for another post!

Tomato Rasam Recipe

Ingredients
Tamarind - one lemon sized ball
Tomatoes - 2 to 3
Rasam powder - 1 spoon
Toor dal - one handful
Asatifida - 1/2 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - one handful
Salt to taste
Ghee to garnish

For the rasam powder
Coriander seeds (dhania) - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1 tsp
Toor dal - 1 tbp
Channa dal - 1 tbp
Red chillies - 1 or 2
Peppercorns - 1 tsp

Method
Dry roast all the rasam powder ingredients and grind them to make a powder.
Make a paste out of the tamarind and boil along with cut tomatoes in a thick bottom vessel.
You may strain the tomatoes after they are cooked well, if u dont like it in the rasam.
Add some rasam powder, salt and bring to a boil.
Pressure cook the toor dal and mash well with lotsa water. (optional)
Add more of the dal water to the rasam than the dal per se.
Bring to boil, add asatofida and bring to boil again.
Heat a little ghee separately, splutter the mustard seeds and garnish on the Rasam!

You may as well use store-bought rasam powder or make rasam powder and keep it in store in an air-tight box for regular use!

Seppankizhangu (Colocosia) Sizzler Recipe

2009-09-04T21:20:00.000+05:30

It's been long since i posted anything from my mom's kitchen! Now that i been so sick and miss her like crazy, i decided to post one of her best dishes the Seppankizhangu (Colocosia) Sizzler! Weird name, aint it? My amma loves to try and experiment with her recipes and is never happy with following the age-old tried and tested ones always. This sizzler she does at home is a superhit, rite from the way she brings it to the table sizzling hot in the kadai and its a must wenever there are guests coming home...the smell of which can tempt anyone to hog!... so here is an innovative fusion veggie...Seppankizhangu Sizzler Recipe from my mom's kitchen....

Seppankizhangu Sizzler Recipe

Ingredients
Seppankizhangu - 7 to 8 small ones or medium ones - cut into halves
Capsicum (Green Pepper) - 1 large sized - cut into thin slices
Rice floour - 2 tsp
Gram flour - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
asafoetida
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

Method
Pressure cook or boil the seppankizhangu pieces well and peel the skin off.
In a bowl, mix the flours, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt well.
Toss-in the seppankizhangu in half of the mixture, mix well until they are completely covered.
Marinate for a few minutes and fry or deep fry in hot oil.
Now toss-in the capsicum in the rest of the mixture and marinate for few minutes.
Fry the marinated capsicum in oil separately.
Off the flame, top the seppankizhangu fry with the fried capsicum and toss well.
Serve sizzling hot!

You may add boiled potatoes to the sizzler by repeating the same method adding it to the seppankizhangu too!