ALU-CAPSICUM CURRY !!!!!!!

Alu-capsicum masala...one more side dish for rotis...yes yes...prepared it for my son's lunch box as capsicum is his favourite veggie. Tastes yumm ! We get both alu & capsicum easily anywhere, so we can prepare it any time, any where. It's a north indian gravy for rotis. I adopted this recipe from FOODVIVA.COM...In original recipe, curry is little dry...but i made it gravy.

INGREDIENTS:-

potatoes, medium - 2 (boiled, cubed & cubed)
capsicum, medium - 3 (cubed)
onion, medium - 2 (finely chopped)
tomato, medium - 1
cashew nuts - 2 tblsp
ginger - 1/2 tsp (grated)
garlic - 3-4 cloves
coriander seeds - 1 tsp
jeera seeds - 1/4 tsp
garam masala pow - 1/2 tsp
turmeric pow - 1/2 tsp
red chilly pow - 1 tsp
cooking oil - 2tblsp
sugar - 1tsp (i skipped this)
water - 1/4 cup (i used more)
salt to taste
coriander leaves, chopped - 1tblsp for garnishing

METHOD:-

1. Take tomato+coriander seeds+cumin seeds+ginger+garlic cloves in a mixer jar to prepare puree.
2. Take a kadai, heat 1tblsp oil & add cubed capsicum, sprinkle salt over it & saute it for 3-4 mins. Transfer to a plate & keep aside.
3. Add remaing 1 & 1/2 tblsp of oil in same kadai & saute chopped onion until it turns light brown. Add red chilly pow+turmeric pow+garam masala pow & mix well.
4. Add puree (prepared in 1st step)+salt+sugar(i skipped this) & 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low to medium heat until oil gets seperate from it. (it will take 5-6 mins)
5. Add boiled & cubed potatoes + cooked capsicum, stir & mix well.
6. Add 1/4 cup water & let mixture cook over medium flame.
7. Cook for 3-4 mins & turn off the stove & transfer gravy to a serving dish.
8. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

HAPPY COOKING :)))))))

and here's an tip:-

1. Add 2 chopped green chillies while making puree to make garvy spicy.
2. Add 1 tsp of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) to give curry Punjabi touch.

EGG SUKKA !!!!!!!

I used ABHIRUCHI chicken sukka powder to make this egg sukka. Got recipe from same pack.

INGREDIENTS;-

eggs - 4
chicken sukka powder - 5tsp
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
onion, finely chopped - 1 big
oil as needed
garlic cloves - 5
curry leaves - 2 strands
Tamarind - big chana size(soak it in little water for some time & make pulp)
salt to taste

METHOD;-

1. Boil eggs, remove shell & halve them.
2. In a pan add grated coconut & fry till it turns little brown & keep aside.
3. In a pan, heat oil, add chopped onion & smashed garlic & fry till light brown.
4. Now add curry leaves + grated coconut+chicken sukka masala powder+tamarind pulp+salt to taste & mix well.
5. Now add halved eggs & mix again.

HAPPY COOKING :)))))))

MUSHROOM CHILLY !!!!!!

I am very happy that today i am posting my hubby's favourite recipe. I adopted this recipe from my fav blog VEG RECIPES OF INDIA. Here i added capsicum too to enhance the flavour & taste. & one more reason is my son loves capsicum very much. A best starter for rainy season for veg lovers.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 200 to 250 gms white button mushrooms or baby portabella mushrooms, about 7 to 8.5 ounces
• 1 medium onion or 1 to 2 spring onions whites, halved or quartered and the layers removed, reserve the greens for garnish
• 2 to 3 green chilies, slit
• 1 small capsicum or red/green/yellow bell pepper (optional), chopped into squares
• 7-8 garlic cloves/lahsun, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger/adrak, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp naturally fermented soy sauce or as required
• ½ tbsp sesame oil or any veg oil for the sauce
• ½ to ¾ tsp corn flour
• 1 to 2 tsp water
• ½ to 1 tsp sugar or as required
• salt and pepper as required
• oil for deep frying the mushrooms

for the batter

• 5 to 6 tbsp whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp corn flour
• ¼ tsp black pepper or add as required
• salt as required
• water as required to make a medium consistency batter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. rinse and wipe dry the mushrooms. trim the stalks.
2. halve them if big in size and quarter them if smaller in size.
3. make a flowing medium consistency batter with the ingredients listed above "for the batter".
4. heat oil for shallow frying in a kadai or wok.
5. dip each mushroom slice in the batter and coat uniformly with the batter.
6. add them to the medium hot oil and fry till they are slight golden and crisp.
7. fry the mushrooms in batches and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
8. in another wok or pan, heat sesame oil.
9. add the onions (and capsicum if adding them) and stir fry on medium or high heat for a minute.
10. add the ginger, garlic and green chilies. stir fry on a high flame till you see the onions getting browned at the edges.
11. add the soy sauce, salt, sugar, pepper and stir fry for half a minute.
12. add the fried batter coated mushrooms and stir on a low to medium flame
13. sprinkle about 1 to 2 tsp water and ½ to ¾ tsp corn flour on the mushrooms.
14. saute for a minute or two. continue to stir. this gives a nice glaze to the mushrooms.
15. switch off the flame and serve the chili mushroom hot with veg fried rice, bread or even chapatis or naan. you can also garnish with spring onion greens while serving.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))))

ALU RASSEWALE !!!!!!!!

Alu rassewale...another side dish for rotis/puris & an ideal side dish for lunch box. Wanted to try this since from long time. You can make it when you have fast. Coz this is no onion, no garlic recipe. I adopted this recipe from the blog ANUBHAVATI.

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 medium to big Potatoes.(Boiled and mashed to 1 inch sized chunks)

4 medium sized Tomatoes chopped in to small pieces.

1 cup Water.

Turmeric a  pinch.

1 Tsp Red Chilli Powder

1 Tsp Dhania Powder.

1/4 Tsp Garam Masala

1 Tsp Salt

Curry Leaves, Oil,Jeera to season.

PREPARATION:

• Mix all the powders (turmeric,red chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala powder and salt) in a little container and add 1/8 cup of water and dole it in to a paste.
• Pour oil in a kadai, allow it to get hot, add jeera and curry leaves and immediately add the paste.
• Allow 2-3 seconds for the paste to cook in the oil and add the chopped tomatoes and allow to cook till mushy.

• Add the mashed potatoes and mix in the required salt as well. You may want to moderate the salt as we have already added a spoon with the powders.
• Let this curry cook for a few minutes and now add a cup of water and allow to simmer for a good ten minutes.

• Switch off the stove and garnish with chopped corrainder.
• Serve HOT with puris or parathas.

HAPPY COOKING :)))))))

FRENCH CHEESE TOAST !!!!!!!

French cheese toast...a yummy, easy to make snack for kids. 

INGREDIENTS:-

bread slices - 2
egg - 1
cheese cube - 1 (i used amul)
butter as required
red chilly powder as per taste
salt to taste

METHOD:-

1. Cut the sides of the bread slices & make triangles.
2. Beat the egg. Add red chilly powder & salt to that & beat again.
3. Heat the pan, add butter, dip the bread slices(2) in egg batter & place it on pan.
4. When cooked properly, turn it to another side. Sprinkle grated cheese on it.
5. When cooked properly, take out from pan & place it on a plate.(cheese part should be upside).
6. Dip another 2 slices of bread in egg batter & shallow fry on both sides.
7. Now place these bread slices on the other 2 bread slices. 
8. Serve it with tomato ketch up.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))

EGGLESS MILK POWDER CAKE !!!!!

Baking time again....i had a milk powder packet, so searched cake recipes using milk powder. Got this recipe. But in a hurry i thought this is eggless butterless cake recipe. But came to know whille mixing ingredients. Anyways, wanted to try it, so tried. Came out really good.

I adopted this recipe from the blog SIMPLY DELICIOUS.

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour (Maida)-1cup
• Milk powder-1/2 cup
• Sugar powdered -1/2 cup
• Oil-1/2 cup (i used butter)
• Milk-1/2 cup
• Baking powder-1/2tsp
• Baking soda-1/4 tsp
• Vanilla essence-1/2tsp
• Cashewnuts-1tbs broken pieces (i skipped this)

Preparation:

 Mix Maida, baking powder, Baking soda together in a mixing bowl.

 Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.

 Add milk powder, sugar powder, and oil into Maida mixture.

 Add milk and vanilla essence, cashew nuts and mix it nicely.  

 Pour the mixture into greased baking tray.

 bake  for 20 to 25 minutes. if the cake is done by
 inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake.
 it should come out clean.let it cool completely then cut into pieces.

   Enjoy your egg less milk powder cake with your family.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))

VEGETABLE SAAGU !!!!!!!!!

My today's recipe is from the blog CHEF AND HER KITCHEN. Veg. saagu goes well with chapathi/poori/dosa/idly. It is a polpular side dish of Karnataka. You will get set dosa & saagu in almost all resturas/darshinis of Karnataka.

Ingredients:

2 cups of finely diced Mixed Vegetables(Carrot,Potato,Beans,Green Peas,Cauliflower)

1 Onion,roughly chopped

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

2 tbsp Oil/Ghee

Salt to taste

To grind:

1" Cinnamon stick

4-5 Cloves

1-2 Marathi Moggu

1/2 cup fresh grated Coconut

1 tbsp Khus khus

1 tbsp Fried gram

5-6 Green chillies

a handful of chopped Coriander leaves,optional

1 tsp Oil

Method: 

• Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai/pan and add green chillies and fry them, but be careful as the whole green chillies might burst.You can make a small slit if you want to avoid bursting.Add cinnamon,marathi moggu and cloves to it and fry for sometime.
• Grind the fried ingredients with grated fresh coconut,khus khus, fried gram, coriander leaves and make it into a smooth puree.
• In a cooker,heat oil crackle mustard seeds and fry chopped onions until pink.Now add vegetables and fry until they are slightly crisp.
• Add the ground masala and fry until the mixture leaves the oil and then add enough salt and 1 - 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles(do not over cook).Once the pressure is released add lemon juice to it and give a good stir.

Serve hot with Poori or chapathy or Set dosa or Atukula dosa.

Notes:

1. You can even add vegetables like cabbage, knol-khol to saagu. My aunt suggests to add even add beetroot but I usually don't add it as it changes the color of saagu, but you can add while preparing the red color sagu.
2. The addition of  Khus-khus is optional but it adds a nice richness to the gravy.You can even add cashewnuts if you want.
3. This sagu would be slightly greenish because of the usage of green chillies and coriander in the recipe.If you want it to be red in color, skip green chillies and coriander in the recipe and add red chillies and tomato while grinding the paste.Also, replace lemon juice with tamarind pulp at the end.

HAPPY COOOKING :))))))))

CAPSICUM EGG MASALA !!!!!!!!

I adopted this EGGsellent egg recipe from a FB group called KAF & it is posted by a member AKSHATHA PRABHU KAMATH. My son loves capsicum very much. So, tried this recipe for his lunch box. Goes well with rotis.

INGREDIENTS:-                                                                                   

Eggs - 4

Capsicum, cubed - 1 big

onion, finely chopped - 1 big

Turmeric pow - 1/4 tsp

Chilly pow - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala pow - 1/2 tsp

Coriander pow - 1 tsp

Amchur pow - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil as required

Kasoori methi - 1/2 tsp

METHOD:-

1. Hard boil eggs, cut them into halves and slightly roast them in a pan with very little oil. Keep cut face down while roasting. 

2. Heat oil in a wide pan. Saute onions till golden brown. 

3. Add capsicum cubes and saute for 2 minutes. 

4. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, amchur and garam masala. 

5. Fry masalas for a minute in low flame till its raw smell goes off. 

6. Sprinkle some water just to bind everything and add roasted boiled egg halves. 

7. Mix well and finally add powdered kasoori methi.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))))

CARAMEL BREAD PUDDING !!!!!!!!!!

Aaj kuch meetha ho jaaye...my todays recipe is from RAK'S KITCHEN. This is a simple , easy but delicious dessert using bread. Here, i used tuity-fruity bread but you can use plain bread as well. Clicked pics before chilling but it tasted great after chilling. Best part is it is an eggless dessert & steamed it in pressure cooker.  So, anyone can make this. 

INGREDIENTS:-                                                                            

Bread slices - 8                                                  

Milk - 1 & 1/2 cups

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Sugar - 2/3 cup (11 tblsp approx)

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Sugar for caramel - 2 tblsp

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Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

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Nuts(optional) - for garnishing

METHOD:-

1. Tear the bread into pieces and add milk to it. Mash it well with potato masher. Mix vanilla and sugar and keep aside.
2. Keep ready the vessel(flat 6 inch bowl or any other similar) and heat a pan with sugar and 2 tsp water. Tilt the pan frequently for even heating and take care not to burn the sugar. At one stage the sugar starts turning deep golden yellow.
3. Pour the caramel in the vessel and tilt to coat the bottom and a bit in the sides as well. Let it set for two minutes and pour the bread mixture to it.
4. Steam cook it by covering the vessel with aluminium foil with holes pricked for the steam to escape. Steam for 20-25 minutes. (I used my pressure cooker. Fill it with 3/4 cup water, place the vessel with bread mixture inside covering the vessel with aluminium foil . Close the pressure cooker with lid, no need to put the pressure regulator / weight valve/ whistle.)
5. After that,cool down and keep it in refrigerator for 2 hours minimum and then invert it  to a plate. You can cut it to desired shape before serving.

NOTES:-

1. Be sure you dont over heat the sugar syrup after it turns golden in colour, otherwise it may taste bitter. Also take care not to burn it in the sides of the pan,tilt it frequently to avoid this.
2. You can top with nuts if you like.
3. Don’t add more milk or sugar than mentioned. The pudding by itself is gooey and sticky, so adding more of any one of the above may not set properly.
4. Give at least a day for setting, before serving/eating to enjoy the fullest flavour!
5. I used my pressure cooker for steaming,without the pressure regulator(valve/weight)

1. HAPPY COOKING :))))))

SPINACH KHICHDI / PALAK KHICHDI !!!!!

My today's recipe is from the blog VEG RECIPES OF INDIA. According to her...palak khichdi – here is a one pot meal of moong lentils and rice khichdi with spinach (palak) and peanuts . easy to prepare as well as healthy and light on the stomach. In this palak khichdi, the addition of spinach and peanuts gives a lot of nutrition boost to the otherwise healthy khichdi. An ideal meal for dinner.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 2 cups chopped palak/spinach                                         
  
• ¼ or ⅓ cup raw peanuts
• ½ cup moong dal/yellow mung lentils
• ½ cup long grained rice or basmati rice
• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium size tomato, chopped
• 1 medium size potato, chopped
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf/tej patta(i skipped this)
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamoms
• ½ tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera or cumin seeds/jeera
• ½ inch ginger + 3-4 garlic, crushed in a mortar-pestle to a paste or 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 green chilli/hari mirch, chopped
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing * check notes ( iskipped this)
• salt as required
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. pick and rinse both the rice and moong dal together. soak them together in enough water for about 30 mins.
2. rinse the palak or spinach leaves well. chop them and then in a mixer or blender, make a smooth puree of the spinach adding very little water. keep the spinach puree aside.
3. heat ghee or oil in the pressure cooker. add the caraway seeds or cumin seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms.
4. fry the whole spices for some seconds till they become fragrant. add the finely chopped onion and saute till they become golden.
5. add the ginger-garlic paste and the chopped green chilies. saute for about 15-20 seconds or till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
6. then add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they begin to soften.
7. add the turmeric powder and asafoetida and stir well.
8. now add the peanuts, potatoes and saute for about 2 minutes.
9. add the spinach puree and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes.
10. strain the rice and moong dal and add them to the spinach mixture. stir well.
11. pour 3.5 to 4 cups water. add salt and stir well.
12. check the taste and if required add some more salt. pressure cook on medium flame for 5 to 6 minutes.
13. once the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid. check the consistency of the khichdi.
14. if the khichdi looks thick, then you can add some hot water and simmer for a few minutes.
15. remember to stir often as otherwise the khichdi gets stuck at the bottom. if the khichdi appears thin, then simmer till you get the desired consistency.
16. while serving, pour the palak khichdi in bowls or plates and top with ½ to 1 tsp of ghee.
17. serve the palak khichdi hot with plain curd/yogurt or raita or a simple vegetable salad.

NOTES

skip the asafoetida for a gluten free version of this khichdi.

HAPPY COOKING :))))))