SnackORama

Sunday Snacks - Fry it Round up

2008-10-31T11:21:00.001-07:00

First off sorry to each and every contributor to this event, that I could not comment on your submissions as I am so busy with my moving. Here is the list of entries that I received this time.

Goli Baje from Uma of Essence of Andhra
Banana Sweet Appam from Sujatha of Spicy Khazana
Coriander Medhu Vadai from Priya Suresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
Sprouted Moongdal Pakodas from Priya Suresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
Oats Vadai from EC of Simple Indian Food
Surna Phodi - Yam Fritters from Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking
Zucchini Fries from Cham of Spice Club
Ribbon Pakoda from Vijaya of Daily Meals
Vegetable Kababs from Sireesha of Mom's recipes
Chana Dal Masala Vada from Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy
Goli Baje from Sushma of Savi-ruchi
Pakoda and Shavige Payasa from Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore
Veggie Wonton from Shifali Katyal of Recipes and More
Jantikalu from Aparna of Sumi's Weblog
Shallow Fried Idli's from Shruti of Yummy4tummy
Paneer Bread Pakoras from Apu of Annarasa
Pazham Pori from Jayasree of Kailas Kitchen
Murukku from Divya of Dil Se
Athirasam from Divya of Dil Se
Srathul from MT of Menu Today
Masal Vadai from Vidhya of Appetizing Recipe
Maida Biscuits from Srivalli of Spice your Life
Potato Bonda from Vidhya of Appetizing Recipes
Ribbon pakoda from Prema Sundar of Prema's CookBook
Methi na bhujia from Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

My entries for the event are

Masala Vada
Pesara Garelu

This event will be continued by Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy. So to participate in further coming themes please head to her blog.

Pesara Garelu

2008-10-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Sick of eating the same Medhu Vadas all the time, then try this variation. These are made with whole moong dal. Here is the recipe:

1 cup Moong Dal
1/4 cup Urad Dal
1" piece of Ginger
3 to 4 Green chillies
Salt as per taste
a pinch of Baking Soda

Wash and soak moong dal overnight. Just before 3 to 4 hours before wash and soak urad dal also. Grind both dals along with ginger, green chillies and salt. Add baking soda to the batter.

Wet your both hands. Take a lemon size batter and spread it on your left hand palm. Dip your right hand finger into water again and make a small hole and drop it with your right hand into the hot oil. Fry until they turn golden brown colour.

They taste excellent with any pickle of your choice. Enjoy.

This is contribution to my own event called Sunday Snacks with the theme being Fry it.

Lacha Paratha

2008-10-14T12:53:00.001-07:00

This is a better variation to the normal phulkas. Its flaky texture temps you to have more than two easily and when you pair it with a wonderful gravy, they taste awesome. For the first time when I made them, I fell in love instantaneously. Here is how you make them:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp oil
warm water as needed

Rub oil into the flour and then add warm water as needed and make a stiff dough. Let it rest for an hour.

Make lemon sized balls out of the dough. Take a ball and roll into oval shape. Coat the top side oil and sprinkle flour generously. Now fold it from one side to other side like a saree pleats. Now roll it like a coil and continue to do the same with other balls too.

Now heat a tawa/pan on medium-high heat. Roll each coil shaped ball into a flat chapathi. Fry it on both sides applying little oil. Remove from the pan and put it on a paper towel or kitchen towel and press it from sides such that the flakes will seperate.

Serve it with any gravy of your choice. I served it with my favorite Alu Gobi.

This is off to Zorra for her World Bread Day event.

Masala Vada

2008-10-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

These vadas are nothing new to food blog world. Almost every blog has a recipe posted for masala vada. This is such a famous snack, especially for south indians. My husband loves them so much, so I make them most often. Here is the recipe for the masala vadas that I usually make:

1 cup Chana dal soaked for 45 minutes
2-3 green chillies
1/2" piece of ginger chopped roughly
1 tsp cumin seeds
few curry leaves
salt as per taste
1 small onion chopped finely
oil to fry

Drain chana dal and take all the ingredients except onion into a blender and blend them all together without adding any water into a coarse paste. Add chopped onion to the paste. Make small patties in your palm and fry them in hot oil. Serve them with any chutney or sauce of your liking. I served them with Tomchi suace.

Such a simple recipe and tastes great. This is my first contribution to my own event called Sunday Snacks with the theme Fry it.

Sunday Snacks - Bake it Round Up

2008-10-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

As usual before going to the list of items I received for the theme Bake it, let me present you with the theme for the next month.

For the month of October lets go little unhealthy by frying a snack. Yes, the theme for this month is Fry it. Send in any snack that is shallow fried or deep fried in oil. Please see that you come up with a new item and do not send an item that is already posted before.

The last date for this month will be the last sunday ie., 26th of October. Send in your name, your blog name, name of the entry and the URL to ybinds@gmail.com. I am so sorry I forgot to mention the email id before. Please feel free to use the following logo and spread the word.

One more thing I would like to bring to your notice is that I am going back to India for good in month of november. So I will not be able to continue with this event any more. Any blogger interested in taking up this event may contact me.

And here is the list of wonderful entries that I received for the theme Bake it.

Cumin Cookies from Divya of Dil Se

Eggless Chocolate Cake from Madhuram of Eggless Cooking

Eggless Sponge Cake from Jayasree of Experiments in Kaila’s Kitchen

Sweet and Spicy Bread Basket from Suma of Suma’s Cuisine

Chimp Cakes from Pavani of Cook’s Hideout

Lemony Little hearts from Divya Vikram of Dil Se

Egg puffs from Divya of and a little bit more

Fruit Chocolate and Almonds Granola Bars from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Fruity Chunky chocolate cookies(Vegan) from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Cherry Blueberry Scones from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Almond Cherry Banana Cookies(Vegan) from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Biscotti from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Granola Cookies from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Spiced up Pop-corn from Yasmeen of Health Nut

Bread Custard Pudding from Sowmya of Creative Saga

Mungbean sprouts roll from Sowmya of Creative Saga

Homemade Oven Ba ked Potato Chips from Divya of Dil Se

Blueberry Yogurt Cake from Mandira of Ahaar

Fat Free Quick Ras malai from Divya of and a little bit more

Vegetable Burger with Chick Peas and beans from Shifali of Recipes and More

Sugar Hearts from Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes

Upside Down PineApple Cake from Priya of Priya’s Easy and Tasty Recipes

Quick Pecan Bites from Sweatha of Tastycurryleaf

Tutti Fruity Cake from Sukanya of Sukanya’s Musings

Vegan Pizza Pockets from Madhuram of Eggless Cooking

Jalapeno Poppers from Cham of Spice club

Eggless Apple Almond Cookies from Sangeeth of Let us all cook

Stawberry Apple Almond Cookies from Sangeeth of Let us all cook

Cilantro Pinwheels from Usha of My Spicy Kitchen

Oven Roasted Garlic Potato Wedges from Divya of and a little bit more

Fusion Farinata from Soma of eCurry

Yummy Zucchini Nut Bread from Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy

Bread Pizza from Divya of Easy Cooking

Baked Gobi Manchurian from Bhawana of from my palate

Baked Onion Pakoda from Uma of Essence of Andhra

Almond Biscotti from Aparna of Sumi’s Weblog

Oven Roasted Kale from Geeta of Payt Pooja

Corn Patties from Manali of Manali’s Cravings

Spicy Paneer filled Rolls from Apu of Annarasa

Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Walnut Cookies from Becke of Columbus Foodie

Crispy lentil fritters - Healthy Masala Vadai from Divya of and a little bit more

Wheat Barley Sesame Crackers from Usha of Veg Inspirations

I hope I added all the missed ones as well. Please let me know if I missed any one of them.

And here are my entries to this event.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Eggless Vanilla cake

Baked Bread Rolls

Celebrating 100th post with Birthday Cake (Eggless)

2008-09-23T15:43:00.001-07:00

This is my 100th post and I am celebrating it with the cake that I baked for my daughter's birthday. My journey in the food blog world was pretty slow, but I hope the visitors enjoyed the recipes that I posted here.

20th September is my daughter's birthday and I had a desire to bake a cake for the occasion. Again problem is to bake an eggless cake. After some research and trials I followed this recipe for cake. It turned out great. The cake was moist and fluffy. Let me write down how I did and I would also like to write down the recipe here once again.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (I did not have apple cider vinegar, I guess you can use white vinegar too)
1 ½ scant cups plain soymilk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
½ cup oil
1 ¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease two 9" cake pans with butter. Line the bottom with wax paper. This helps in removing the cake from the pan easily.

Take vinegar in bottom of the measuring cup and fill with soymilk which should make one and half cups. Mix well and set aside for few minutes. You should see that the mixture will curdle.

In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add oil and vanilla extract to the soymilk mixture and pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix such that everything is well combined and you don't see any lumps. Divide the batter into both the pans.

Bake in the middle rack for about 20 to 25 minutes. Place the cakes pans on the wire rack and let them cool. Place them in the refrigerator to cool them completely.

For Frosting:

6 tbsp butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup milk
4 cups confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter until it is smooth and creamy. Add 2 cups of sugar, 2 tbsp milk and vanilla extract. Beat until it is smooth. Repeat the same with the remaining sugar and milk, adding 1 cup sugar and 1 tbsp milk at a time. The frosting should be smooth, creamy and fluffy. I took little portion aside and added green colour to that (this is to write the letters on the cake). To the rest of it I added pink colour.

Take the cakes out. I cut one of the cakes to level it, but I was not successful at cutting it properly. Reason could be that the cake was still warm. I did not have enough time to cool them completely. Next time when I make I may want to invert the cake bringing the bottom on top. Place a portion of frosing on the top and spread with spatula. Place the other cake on top of this and place the remaining frosting on the top of this cake. Spread on the top and sides with this frosting using spatula. Level it properly. I took the green colour frosting in an icing bag and wrote the letters and slightly decorated the cake.

I am sending this to my own event Sunday Snacks with the theme being Bake it.

Baked Bread Rolls

2008-09-15T06:51:00.001-07:00

I had Natures own 7 Whole Grains bread in my refrigerator and was close to expiration date. I was making Grill cheese sandwich or toast it and eat with cream cheese. But still had more than half the packet so I planned to make these bread rolls. These are usually deep fried in oil, but I wanted a healthier version with healthy bread. So, I baked them. They were not too crispy but were good enough to have them as snack. Here is the recipe:

For Stuffing:

2 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1/4 cup green peas
2 green chillies
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
salt as per taste
a pinch turmeric powder
1/2 tsp channa dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves

1. Peel and boil potatoes in salted water. Drain and keep them aside.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add channa dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. When the dals turn golden brown colour add curry leaves, green chillies, onion and saute until onion is transluscent.

3. Add the ginger-garlic paste, coriander cumin powder, amchur powder, turmeric and saute for couple more minutes.

4. Add boiled potatoes and stir well until everything is well blended. Mash the potatoes with the back of the spoon slightly. Add little salt and mix well.

For Bread rolls:

8 slices of Bread (you can use any bread of your choice)
water to dip the bread

Dip each slice of bread in water and immediately squeeze out the water. Place a big spoon full of curry in the middle of the bread and roll it to cover the curry. Place it on a non-stick cookie pan. Make sure the rolled ends are placed down so that they don't open up. Continue the same procedure with the rest of the bread slices.

Pre-heat oven at 375 degrees F. In the mean time place the bread rolls in the refrigerator. Once the oven is ready, coat each bread roll with little oil and place them in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes. Set the oven to broil and place the bread rolls on the top of the rack and wait for just few seconds. This is to bring little colour to the top of the bread rolls. Hot hot bread rolls are ready to be snacked on.

This goes to my own event Sunday Snacks with the theme Bake it.

I would like to send this to Dhivya vikram of Dil se for her event called Diet Foods. To make it more healthier and to add protien to them, make the stuffing with some legumes or with paneer or tofu.

Dum Aloo

2008-09-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Once my brother bought Dum Aloo from frozen section in an Indian store. I liked the taste so much that I wanted to reproduce it at home. I noted down the ingredients from the box and came up with this recipe. I must say I was pretty impressed with the way it turned out. Everybody at home liked it, especially my brother. Here is the recipe:

10 baby potatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kasuri methi
Cilantro to garnish

For Masala paste:
1/4 cup peanuts
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp coconut fresh grated
1 small onion
1 tbsp coriander cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 serrano pepper or green chillies
salt as per taste

Peel and prick with fork on baby potatoes. Boil them in salted water until they are tender. Drain and fry them in little oil until they turn slightly golden brown.

Slightly roast peanuts, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Take them into blender and add the rest of the ingredients for masala. Blend them into a fine puree.

Heat 2 to 3 tbsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, let them splutter and then add the puree, salt and let it cook until oil seperates. Now add the boiled baby potatoes, kasuri methi and let it cook for five more minutes and turn off the heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve with either roti or rice.

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan

2008-08-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is a popular and most favorite dish for any hyderabadi. For any function, be it wedding or birthday parties or engagement parties, this dish will surely appear in the buffet. Small whole brinjals/eggplants are used for this dish and goes well with either biryani or chapathis.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and I tweaked it slightly.

12 small round brinjals
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tsp ginger garlic paste (adjust as per your taste)
2-3 green chillies
1 small onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 small lime size tamarind
salt as per taste

1. Roast peanuts, sesame seeds and poppy seeds seperately. Take them into a blender and blend into a smooth paste.

2. Cut the brinjals into 4 parts with the stem intact. It should be like a cross mark. Fry them in some oil until they are slightly tender. While frying add some salt to brinjals so that they don't change their colour. Once they are tender take them aside.

3. In the same pan add some more oil and add cumin seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the sliced onion and green chillies. Saute until onion turns transluscent and then add some turmeric powder and peanut paste. Add red chilli powder, salt and little water and cook covered until the gravy leaves oil.

4. Extract tamarind pulp and add to the gravy. Now add the fried brinjals and garam masala to the gravy and cook for another 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens and brinjals are well done.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with either biryani or chapathis.

Sending this to Mona who is hosting RCI-Authentic Hyderabadi Cuisine.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-08-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

I am so happy and thrilled today. Reason??, well I successfully baked a set of cookies. I am so fond of baking, but the challenge I always have is to bake eggless stuff. Be it cookies, cakes, muffins anything. I do eat eggs but indirectly. I cannot stand the smell of it in the freshly baked goods. So, when I make anything at home, I do it eggless way. I baked my ever favorite chocolate chip cookies today and succeeded. They were so moist and soft inside and slightly crispy outside. The best part is my daughter too liked them. She is not a big fan of sweet stuff but she kept asking me "mummy cookie". That gives lot of satisfaction after hard work.

Here is the recipe that I followed:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs ( I used 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp warm water )
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup All purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with wire rack in center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I had only a piece of it which I used the rest I just placed them directly on the baking sheet. Those had a crispy bottom, because of the butter they will not stick to the baking sheet. So if you do not have parchment paper do not worry and place them directly on the baking sheet.

I do not have an electric mixer so I used food processor for this process. Bring butter to room temperature and place it in the food processor bowl. Cream it. Add both sugars and run the processor until fluffy. In a blender, take the ground flaxseed and water and beat it until frothy. Add that to the butter mixture and run the processor until well blended. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

In another bowl take flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry to the wet ingredients and run the processor until the mixture forms into a ball. Take it into a bowl, add chocolate chips and pecans. If you find the dough to be too soft, cover and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes or until it forms a firm dough. I did not find it too soft so I just proceeded and dropped about 2 tbsp dough balls on the baking sheet. Bake it for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown.

Hot hot chocolate chip cookies are ready to be served. You will not believe that these are eggless unless if you are used to the smell of eggs in baked products. My daughter eats raw dough, calling it as "pind"(In telugu dough is called pindi). I don't have to hesitate giving her the raw dough, as it does not have raw eggs in it.

I am sending these goodies to my own event called Sunday Snacks - the theme being Bake it.

Palak Paneer

2008-08-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

As I said earlier in one of posts, Palak Paneer is one of my favorite paneer dish. But I like the that it is served in restaurants at Hyderabad, not the Saag paneer that we get here in USA. It is too bland or rather sweet to my taste buds. So, I had to make it at home according to my requirements to satisfy my taste buds. Here is the recipe that I came up with:

200 grms paneer ( I used fried paneer)
1 big bunch Spinach (blanch in plenty of water, drain and make a puree of it)
1 small onion finely minced
1 medium tomato (blanch a bit, remove skin and make a puree of it)
1 big serrano pepper or 2-3 green chillies
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp kasuri methi
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup evaporated milk
salt as per taste

Slightly fry paneer and put them in hot water so that they will remain soft.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they splutter add onion and green chillies. Saute until the onion turns golden brown colour. Now add ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, turmeric powder and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add tomato puree, red chilli powder and cook until the oil leaves the gravy. Add spinach puree, crushed kasuri methi, salt and cook covered until the whole gravy leaves oil and everything is well blended. Add paneer, garam masala and evaporated milk and turn off the heat. Let it be on the stove until the stove cools off.

Enjoy palak paneer with any indian bread. It tastes great when you squeeze a lime and serve with a slice of onion. I served them with plain phulkas.

This is off to EC of Simple Indian Food for her WYF-Colour in Food event.

Announcing new event - Sunday Snacks

2008-08-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

At my place, saturdays are busiest days and sundays are slightly relaxed days. Saturday we go out for chores, movies, meet friends etc., where as on sunday we stay back at home, making preparations for the coming week. And in the evenings we sit in front of TV with any snack. So, I am here by calling all the foodies to contribute for that lazy sunday snacks. Every month I will pick an ingredient or theme based on which we will come up with only snacks and nothing else. Keep in mind, desserts like, cakes, cup cakes, muffins, cookies, and sweets like, jilebi, jaangri, burfi etc., are also considered as snacks in my books. Rice items, like pulihora, pulav etc., are slightly heavy but acceptable. So hope you will all be ready to contribute for this event.

The last date for your entries will be every last sunday of that month and by following sunday I will post the round up. Like with my previous event Whats Your Favorite (currently being hosted by EC) you do not have to send me the pictures. If necessary I will collect them from your blog. I just need the following information:

Your Name
Recipe Name
Recipe URL

It is that simple, so hope to see you all with lovely entries by next September last Sunday. Send in your entries to sundaysnack@gmail.com.

The theme for the month is Bake it. Please feel free to use the below logo and spread the word.

Images courtesy: Google Search

You can send any number of entries, there is no limit.

Note: The posts from this blog are not getting updated on TOI. To stay updated please subscribe here by clicking the subscribe links provided on the top left corner.

Sun-dried Tomato,Almond and Cilantro pesto

2008-08-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

After a long time of gap I made italian food at home. My husband is a great fan of Italian food, where as I was initially reluctant towards it as it is too bland for my taste buds. But gradually I got used to the taste and now I love to have it every once in a while. I just made a simple pesto, to go along with angel hair pasta. My daughter who is two year old also loves to eat pasta and pizzas. I was so satisfied when she loved to have it over and over again.

Here is the recipe:

3 big fist full of Angel hair pasta cooked in lots of salt water

For pesto:
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
1/3 cup Grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Almonds toasted slightly
1/2 cup Cilantro
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 tsp Red chilli flakes
2 tbsp EVOO
Salt as per taste

Take all the pesto ingredients into a blender and blend into a coarse paste. Drain pasta reserving some water to add to pesto as needed. Add pesto to the pasta and mix nicely until everything is well blended. If it is too dry, add the pasta cooked water to get to the right consistency. Thats it pasta with delicious pesto is ready.

This is off to DK of Culinary Bazaar for her AWED with the theme being Italian Food.

Channa Masala

2008-08-13T06:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all my food blog buddies who took time to visit my blog and wished me and my little one. That is so touching. We named him Venkata Harsha. So now I have a girl and a boy. The picture is complete.

Coming to recipe, while I was in hyderabad, whenever I go out to eat, I use to order Palak paneer and paneer butter masala. Thats it, never tried any other dishes at all. After coming to US I could never order saag paneer as it is too sweet and bland for my taste level. So I had an empty slot to fill with various other recipes to try. Of those Channa masala has become one of our favorites to me and my husband. I decided to make it at home to host a party on last sunday and guess what it was a grand success. So, I am here by sharing the recipe that I made with success:

Channa Masala:

1 can chickpeas
1 tea bag
1 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
1 big serrano pepper or 2-3 green chillies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
couple of bay leaves
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
salt as per taste
chopped cilantro to garnish
1 lime
2 tbsp oil

1. Drain the chickpeas from the can, wash under running water thoroughly and take into a bowl. Fill with water to cover the chickpeas, drop a tea bag and cook until the chickpeas absorb a nice colour from the tea. Make sure they do not get too mushy. They should be soft and still hold their shape.

2. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add chopped onion, green chillies. Cook until onion turns into golden brown colour.

3. Add ginger garlic paste and cook until raw smell is gone. To this add coriander powder, turmeric powder and cook for a minute and then add chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook until tomatoes are completely cooked. Take this entire mixture into a blender and blend into a fine paste. I used food processor for this procedure.

4. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan add cumin seeds and bay leaves. When the cumin seeds start spluttering add the above mixture. Add salt and red chilli powder and cook until the gravy leaves oil.

5. Now add the cooked channa to the gravy and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to blend all the flavors together.

6. Before turning off the heat sprinkle garam masala and mix it well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and squeeze a lime if you want sour taste to the dish.

Voila channa masala is ready to be served with hot hot bhaturas. I will post my bhatura recipe very soon. Hope you will enjoy this as much as we all enjoyed it.

Off this goes to Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons for her Curry Mela event.

Oh btw! I have also been showered with Brilliant Web Blog award by EC of Simple Indian Food and Trupti of Recipe Center.

I pass this on to all my food blog buddies who take time to visit my site and encourage me to cook more delicious varieties of dishes.

Good news and a recipe (Onion rings)

2008-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have been on break once again. Well, you must be thinking that this has become a routine for me to go on break every now and then. Actually, the good news is that we are blessed with a baby boy on July 3rd and I am still in the process of recovering from the C-Section. Thats on the personal front and coming to recipe, it is always a challenge for me to provide a snack for my husband daily when he returns from office. I am always in hunt for something new. Until I came to USA, I only knew about ullipai pakodi (onion pakodi). Only after coming here I got introduced to this new variety with onion called Onion Rings. I was pretty impressed with taste and texture. When I researched for recipe I came to know that it has egg in the recipe and I once again had a challenge to replace it with something else. I successfully made eggless onion rings and here is the recipe:

For the batter:

1/3 cup Self rising flour (you may use all purpose flour)
2 tbsp corn meal (you may also use rice flour, I did not have any in hand, so I used corn meal)
a pinch of pepper powder
salt as per taste
red chilli powder as per taste

For the Coating:
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Big Onion ( I used yellow onion)
Oil to fry

1. To make the batter mix all the ingredients with just enough water to make a smooth paste. It should not be too thin or pouring consistency. When you dip onion rings in the batter it should be able to make slightly thick coating.

2. Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and garlic powder together and keep it ready.

3. Slice onion into 1/4" rings.

4. Heat oil in a wide pan.

5. Dip each ring in the batter first, then into the bread crumbs mixture and fry them in the hot oil.

Thats it hot hot crispy onion rings are ready to be served. I served them with some tomato ketch up.

WYF-Sweets Round up

2008-07-01T09:33:00.001-07:00

I sincerely apologize to all the participants for delaying this round up. Its been long long time, I know and due to some personal reasons I could not concentrate on posting this round up.

I sincerely thank Easy Crafts of Simple Indian Food for helping me in putting this together. She would be continuing with the rest of the themes. For details head over here.

Asha from Foodieshope : Pumpkin Cake

Deeba from Passionate baker...& beyond : Almond Orange Sponge with chocolate ganache

Sagari from Indian home food : Lemon cake with rasberries

Radha sounder from In Kitchen : Cashew Halwa and Sweet n nuts bites

Keerthi from Esculent Cuisine : Semya Payasam

Kalva from Curry in Kadai : Delicious Nutty Pineapple Dessert

Kajal from Kajal dreams : Milk chocolate and Adadiya

Namratha from Finger Licking Food : Trifle Pudding

Siri from Siri's Sapad: Puris in Milk

Mansi Desai from Fun and Food : Layered Coffee Cheesecake

Dhivya Karthik from Culinary bazaar : Malpua Stuffed With Rabadi

Meera from Enjoy Indian Food: Fatfree Gajar ka Halwa

Srivalli from Cooking 4 all Seasons : Jhangiri

Siri from Siri's Corner : Hyderabadi Double ka meetha

Rajitha from Hungerpangs: semiya payasam

Rina from Rina's recipes : Thin Vermicelli Kheer

Renuka from Fusion : Jellied- rasagollas/Jamoons

Meena from Suthirecipe: Festival sweets

Suma from VeggiePlatter : Sunnundalu

Madhavi from My Veggie World : Carrot Halwa

EC from Simple Indian Food : Quick rava ladoo

I hope I did not miss out any. If yes, once again sorry!! I did not intend to do that.

I did make some sweets at that time, but never got time to post them. Unfortunately I do not even have the pictures of them. May be some other time.

Tangy Butternut Squash Curry and Coconut-Yogurt Chutney

2008-06-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

It is all about events. The deadlines for most of the events are closer and I wanted to contribute to as many as I can.

Sig of Live To Eat chose Tamarind as theme for JFI. Tamarind is such a common ingredient in indian cooking, especially south indian. In andhra recipes we most commonly use it in chutneys, sambars, pulusu etc., No matter what to you add tamarind it will always enhance the taste of the dish. At my home we not only use in the above said recipes but also add to some of the curries that we cook. For ex., Plantain, Taro root, Suran and Pumpkin. Of all these when you cook butternut squash/pumpkin with tamarind, it tastes great. The sweetness of the butternut squash is well balanced with the tangy tamarind. Here is the recipe:

1/2 of Medium Butternut Squash
1 small lime sized ball of tamarind
Salt as per taste
a pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

For tadka:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
2 small red chillies
few curry leaves (I did not use this time as I did not have on hand)

1. Wash and soak tamarind in little water.

2. Peel, wash and cut butternut squash 1" cubes. Boil them in sufficient water with little bit of salt and turmeric. Make sure they do not become too mushy. It just still hold the shape. Drain the water and keep the squash aside.

3. Heat oil in another pan and add the tadka ingredients. Once they start spluttering add the cooked squash and add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Be careful while adding salt as you already used while boiling the squash.

4. Squeeze tamarind water and add that to the curry. Cook for 5 minutes without lid on low flame.

Curry is ready to be served. It goes well with both chapathis or rice.

Sending this to Sig of Live to Eat for her JFI-Tamarind event.

Recipe for Coconut-Yogurt Chutney:

For AFAM this month Suganya of Tasty Palettes chose Coconut. This is one other common ingredient that goes into most of our recipes. But this yogurt chutney specially made with coconut is great with rice.

1/2 cup Grated coconut
1 cup Yogurt
Salt as per taste

For tadka:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
2 green chillies chopped very finely
few curry leaves
chopped coriander leaves

1. Mix coconut, yogurt and salt in a bowl.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add tadka ingredients. Once the dal turns golden brown colour and green chillies are well fried then add the tadka to the above yogurt.

Thats it such a simple recipe and tastes great.

Sending this to Suganya of Tasty Palettes for AFAM-Coconut and Siri of Siri's Corner for her Frozen Yogurt event.
Enjoy.

Arusuvai Friendship Chain - Garam Masala and Goda Masala

2008-06-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

I received two secret ingredients from dear Trupti Pawar of Recipe Center quite a long back. I could guess one correct but went wrong with the other one. I never got a chance to cook with them till today as I haven't been going into kitchen for a while. My mom is here to cook for me :-)

Finally I took time to cook two wonderful dals with these two wonderful masala powders. I must say I was so impressed with their fresh flavor and aroma. Thanks trupti for making me part of the friendship chain and thanks for those awesome masala powders. I will note down the recipes and will have them with me forever.

Here is one dal that I made with the Garam masala powder: Dal Makhani

1/2 cup whole urad dal
2 tbsp red kidney beans
1 small onion chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 large tomatoes pureed
2 tsp coriander cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter (I used smart balance)
salt as per taste
chopped coriander leaves for garnish

1. Wash and soak the dals together overnight. Pressure cook dals with sufficient water.

2. In a wide non-stick pan heat oil and add onion and green chillies. Saute onion until it turns golden brown in colour, add ginger garlic paste, coriander cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and saute for a minute.

3. Now add tomato puree and cook until the gravy leaves the oil. Add the cooked dals and salt and cook until everything blends well together.

4. Before turning off the heat add garam masala powder and butter. Mix well and after a minute, turn off heat.

5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves(cilantro) and serve with soft phulkas/chapathis.

Here the second dal that I made with Goda Masala with Garlic and Onion: Varan (Maharashtrian Dal)

1/2 cup Toor dal
1 small onion
1 tomato
2 green chillies finely chopped
2 tsp Goda masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 small piece of jaggery
coriander leaves to garnish
salt to taste

1. Wash and pressure cook toor dal with sufficient water.

2. Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard seeds splutter add chopped onion and green chillies. Let them turn golden brown in colour and then add turmeric powder and Goda masala. Saute for a minute and then add the cooked toor dal.

3. Add 1/4 cup water, jaggery, salt and cook until everything blends well together.

4. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with soft phulkas/chapathis or rice.

I was so happy with the results of both the dals. I once again thank trupti for considering me and promise to continue the chain by sending one of my fellow food blogger couple of secret ingredients. It might take some time for me but will sure keep my promise.

Spicy Vegetable Fried Rice

2008-06-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

Its been long time I have not been updating my site. Every now and then I am taking a break. There are various personal reasons for that. Anyways, somehow I am once again trying to be back and post some more awesome recipes here. For atleast this month not sure about the next month though.

Coming to the fried rice, I was never a big fan of indo-chinese fried rice. I always felt it was way too bland for my taste buds. I only like dry manchurian so never tried the fried rice with manchurian gravy. One good thing about trying these at home is that you can adjust seasonings as per you taste level. So, this time I gave it a try to make the vegetable fried rice at home and win over myself. To my surprise, I did nail it and I liked. You can have this with some tomato ketchup and yet it tastes great.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups Basmati Rice (Uncooked)
3 carrots
3/4 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 medium green bell pepper
1/3 cup frozen french cut green beans
3 green chillies chopped very fine (adjust as per your taste)
1/2" ginger piece grated
2 garlic cloves chopped very fine
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp red chilli sauce
Salt and pepper as per your taste
4 tbsp Oil

1. Wash thoroughly and cook basmati rice in electric rice cooker with few drops of oil. Once done, spread it on a tray and cool. Make sure rice is not mushy.

2. In a wok, pour the oil and add ginger, green chillies and garlic. Once they turn golden brown colour add all the vegetables and add some salt and pepper.

3. Let them cook until half done on slightly high heat. Now add soy sauce, red chilli sauce and add the cooked rice. Make sure the vegetables are not completely cooked, it should have a bite to it.

4. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as per your taste.

Thats it, fried rice is ready to be served. That is such an easy process and filling too.

Sending this to Dhivya of Culinary bazar for A.W.E.D with the theme being Chinese food and also to Easycrafts of Simple Indian Food for her Mixed Rice Varieties Event.

Ugadi Vindu

2008-04-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today is the new year for all andhrites across the world. We make a chutney for this festival with just four ingredients like tamarind water, mango, jaggery and neem flower petals (vepapuvvu) which represents sour, sweet and bitter shades of life. Since we don't find need flower petals here I do not add bitterness to my life ;-) its all sweet and sour thats it. Anyways, we also make some special items like Garelu (Vadas) and Boorelu for this festival. Since my husband loves Aavadalu (perugu garelu) I made them too.
So here is the list of items I made:

Mamidikaya Menthi aaku pappu
Beerakaya Avapetti kura
Mamidikaya kobbari pachadi
Garelu
Poornam Boorelu
Pergu garelu

Recipe for Mamidikaya Menthi aaku pappu(Mango Fenugreek leaves Dal):

1/3 cup Toor dal
1/2 bunch of Fenugreek leaves
2/3 cup chopped raw mango
Salt as per taste
a pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

For tadka:
1 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
2 red chillies cut into 1" pieces

Wash and pressure cook toor dal with mango and fenugreek leaves. After removing the whistle, add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and cook until the dal thickens. In another pan heat oil and add tadka ingredients. When the seeds splutter and dal turns golden brown colour add tadka to the dal. This tastes excellent with hot steamed rice/soft phulkas.
Recipe for Beerakaya aavapetti kura(Ridge gourd with mustard seed powder):

2 big large ridge gourd
Salt as per taste
a pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp mustard seed powder (optional)

For tadka:
1 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 to 3 red chillies chopped into 1" pieces

Wash, peel and cut ridge gourd into 1/2" pieces. Add salt to the ridge gourd pieces and rub it to coat each piece well. Heat a pan with oil and add tadka ingredients. When the cumin seeds splutter, squeeze excess water from ridge gourd and add them to the pan. Add turmeric powder, cover the pan with lid and cook on medium flame until the ridge gourd is thoroughly cooked. Turn off heat, take the curry into a separate bowl add the mustard seed powder and mix thoroughly to blend the flavour into the curry. This tastes best with hot steamed rice, especially with curd rice.

Note: To make mustard seed powder, heat a pan, put some mustard seeds into the hot pan. Remove from heat and let it cool in the same pan. Grind them into fine powder.

Recipe for Mamidikaya Kobbari pachadi (Mango Coconut chutney):

1/2 cup raw mango chopped
1/2 cup raw coconut ( I used frozen shredded coconut)
a pinch of turmeric powder
Salt as per taste
2 to 3 green chillies
4 to 5 red chillies
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
1 tsp oil

Heat oil in a pan and add chana dal, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, hing, red chillies and let them fry a bit. When the seeds splutter add green chillies and wait until the dals turn golden brown colour. Turn off stove and take the tadka into a blender. Grind them with salt and turmeric powder to make a coarse powder. Now add the chopped mango and coconut and grind them until mango is well blended. This chutney tastes great with hot steamed rice or idli or dosa etc.,

Recipe for Garelu(Vada):

1 cup urad dal
salt as per taste
a pinch of baking soda
oil to deep fry

Wash and soak urad dal for 3 to 4 hours. During festivals I soak urad dal early in the morning and by the time, I come to make garelu it will be well soaked. Take the soaked dal into blender in batches and grind with some salt until smooth paste. Add a pinch of baking soda for each batch. Heat oil in kadai. Wet your both hands, take a lemon sized ball of urad dal batter and flatten it on your left hand with your right hand. Dip your right hand once again into water, make a small hole in the center of the flattened dough ball and gradually drop it into the hot oil with your right hand. This looks something similar to doughnut. This needs little practice to make the shape, if you are not confident you can even drop the dough like small balls. Fry them on both sides until they turn golden brown colour. Remove from oil and place them on paper towel to drain away excess oil. Do not overload the kadai with too many garelu. It may not be convenient for you to move them around and also that may reduce the heat of the oil and ends up in garelu sucking too much of oil.

For Perugu garelu:

2 to 3 cups of thick curds beaten well
salt as per taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

For tadka:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
1 tsp grated ginger
2 small green chillies chopped very finely
2 dry red chillies chopped into 1" pieces

Heat oil in a pan and add the tadka ingredients. Fry them well and when they splutter add that to the beaten curds. Add salt and turmeric powder to the curd and mix it thoroughly to blend them all together. As you fry some garelu, dip them into water for a second and drop them into this curd. Let them soak for an hour. They will be so spongy and tasty. You may add some curry leaves to the tadka, since I did not find that this week at my groceries store I did not add. Curry leaves add a better taste to the perugu garelu.
Recipe for Poornam Boorelu:

For the filling:
1/4 cup Chana dal
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut toasted slightly in a hot pan to remove moisture
1/3 cup grated jaggery
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

For the coating/shell:
1/2 cup of dosa batter
Oil to deep fry

Wash and cook chana dal in some water until it is cooked but still holds its shape. That is you when you press between your fingers it should be break easily. Make sure it is not over cooked to mushy consistency, as you will not be able to form them into balls. Drain the water and spread them on a paper towel and let them dry out completely. In the mean time, grate jaggery. Toast grated coconut in a hot pan to remove the moisture from it. Now take the dal into a blender and grind just to break the dal, then add jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder. Grind them together to just blend them well. Remove and make them into small lime sized balls.

Dip each ball into dosa batter and drop them into the hot oil. If the dosa batter is too thick then add little water to bring it to right consistency. You should be able to coat each ball well from all sides. Fry them until it turns golden brown colour on all sides. Be careful sometimes the filling breaks into the oil making a mess in the oil. So you should coat them well before dropping into oil.

So I served the items with some hot steamed rice. I hope you will also enjoy as much as we enjoyed our festival meal. Enjoy. Nutana samvatsara subhakankshalu (Happy new year). Happy ugadi to you all.

Sunday Meals #15

2008-03-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Introducing three more andhra dishes. These days I am sticking to andhra food for weekends also reason being I have to watch out my diet. I am once again close to getting gestational diabetis. So I need to be in control and maintain diet and exercise for four more months. This way I will get a chance to introduce you all to simple yet tasty andhra dishes. So here is what I cooked for this weekend:

Thotakura Pappu (Amaranth leaves dal)
Vankaya chikkudukaya kura (Brinjal indian broad beans curry)
Dosakaya mukkala pachadi (Melon cucumber chutney)

Here is the recipe for Thotakura pappu:

1 bunch Thotakura chopped finely (Amaranth leaves) (If you do not find fresh one, look out for Tindal Jo Ni Bhaji in frozen section in indian stores, it is thotakura)
1/3 cup Split Moong Dal
2 small Green Chillies finely chopped
a pinch Turmeric Powder
Salt as per taste

For Tadka:
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillies chopped into 3 to 4 pieces
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp oil

Wash and cook dal in a pan with double measure of water. After first boil add the amaranth leaves, green chillies and turmeric powder. Cook until the dal is completely cooked and slightly mushy. Add salt and cook for couple of more minutes. Do the tadka in a separate pan and add to the dal. This taste great with hot steamed rice only and accompanied by fried uramirapakayalu/challa mirapakayalu (Buttermilk green chillies).

Recipe for Vankaya chikkudukaya kura:

1/4 kg chikkudukayalu chopped into 2" wide pieces(Indian broad beans)
2 big long chinese eggplants
1 medium tomato
1 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
salt as per taste
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

For tadka:
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp oil

Heat oil in a wide pan and add tadka ingredients. Once they splutter add the chopped chikkudukayalu and chopped eggplant. Add salt and turmeric powder and cook until the eggplant is half cooked. Now add chopped tomato and chopped cilantro and cook until the tomato is completely cooked, by this time, eggplant and chikkudukayalu also will be cooked. Add the chilli powder and mix everything together until all is well blended. This taste great with both rice and hot phulkas. I usually make atleast one item that goes well with phulkas so that I can have it with my whole wheat phulkas.

Recipe for Dosakaya pachadi:

1 Dosakaya (Melon cucumber) chopped finely
Salt as per taste
a pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 small lime sized ball of tamarind

For tadka:
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 to 4 dry red chillies
3 to 4 green chillies
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp oil

Heat oil in a pan and add dals, mustard and fenugreek seeds and red chillies. Once the dals turn golden brown colour add green chillies and asafoetida. And turn off the heat. Take it into a blender and add tamarind, salt and turmeric powder. Grind until it becomes a coarse paste now add the chopped dosakaya and pulse it just for couple of times. Make sure dosakaya will not become completely mushy. You should be able to see the chunks of dosakaya. This is great with hot steamed rice with a dollop of ghee.

Enjoy.

Well Balanced Breakfast

2008-03-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

This breakfast I made is one that can extremely satisfy kids. This has all elements like protein, whole gains, antioxidants, dairy, fruit and vegetables. I call them Pizzandwich and Sweet Pizza. Which kid do not like pizza, but how if you make them healthy??

Here is how I made Pizzandwich:

2 Light Bread (40 cal or 9 grms carb Whole wheat bread)
Marinara sauce ( I used home made)
Mozzarella cheese
1 pickled jalapeno chopped finely (optional)

Toast two breads on one side by applying slightly oil those sides. Now apply marinara sauce on the toasted side of one bread and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and jalapeno. Slightly oil the pan and put this bread in the pan and cover with the other bread on top of it. This is something like you make Grill cheese sandwich. Apply slightly oil on the other bread also and toast both of them until they turn golden brown or until the cheese melts. Cut into half and enjoy.

Recipe for Sweet pizza:

1 Light bread (40 cal or 9 grms carb Whole wheat bread)
1 tbsp Peanut butter
few chocolate chips
few slices of banana
a slight drizzle of honey

Apply little butter on both sides of the bread and toast it until it turns golden brown is colour and little crispy. Spread peanut butter and arrange chocolate chips on the bread and microwave for about 20 seconds just to make sure the chocolate chips become slightly smoother. Spread banana slices on the bread and drizzle with honey. This is just out of this world. Simple to make and good enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. Enjoy.

This is off to Manasi Desai of Fun and Food for WBB #20 the theme being Balanced Breakfast.

Vegetable Set Dosa with Pear-Pecan chutney

2008-03-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Blog events are so tempting for a food blogger. The moment you know the theme for an event, you brain automatically starts thinking what can I make for that event. And if you can come up with a dish that meets not one, not two but three events!!! Isn't it cool??

With all varieties of dosas pouring in the food blog world for srivalli's dosa mela, even I could come up with one for the event. I usually make plain mini set dosa for breakfast, but this time, I added some veggies to the batter. They tasted so good. And to go along with them, I made a chutney with pear and pecan. Why pear, well you know, this month Raaga of The Singing Chef chose Pear for this month's AFAM. I was little skeptical using pear for chutney but to my surprise it tasted great.

Here is the recipe for Vegetable Set Dosa:

1/4 cup urad dal
1 cup rice ( I used sona masoori)
1/2 cup poha(flattened rice)
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt as per taste
1 carrot grated finely
1 small onion finley chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp cumin seeds

Wash and soak urad dal, fenugreek seeds and rice together for 4 to 5 hours. Just before grinding soak poha in 3/4 cup water. Grind them all to smooth paste in batches. Add salt to the batter and set aside to let it ferment for overnight.

Next day morning add grated carrot, onion, cilantro and cumin seeds into the batter. Heat a pan or electric griddle to 350 degrees F. Spray with some non-stick spray and pour a ladle full of batter. Spread slightly to make it look like a pancake. Cook until one side turns golden brown, carefully turn onto the other side. Do not cook too long on the second side, just leave it for a second and remove from the pan into a plate, serve it with any chutney of your choice.

These dosas are going to Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons for her Dosa Mela event.

Recipe for Pear-Pecan Chutney:

1 small young(raw) pear
1/3 cup toasted pecans
1/3 cup freshly grated coconut
1/4 cup sour curds (yogurt, I used homemade yogurt from skim milk)
6-8 small green chillies
1/2 small lime side tamarind soaked in some water (you do not need too much of tamarind as we are adding sour curds)
salt as per taste

For tadka:

1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 red chillies chopped into small pieces
few curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida

Take all the first batch of ingredients into a blender and blend into a smooth paste by adding enough water. Heat oil in a pan and add the tadka ingredients, let them splutter and then add to the blended mixture. This goes well with any breakfast items like, dosas, idlies etc.,

This cup of chutney is going to Raaga of The Singing Chef for the AFAM-Pear event.

The entire platter is also going to Manasi Desai of Fun and Food for WBB#20 - Balanced Breakfast event, as this breakfast has all the ingredients she has listed out.

Protein by way of urad dal, starch by way of rice and poha, vegetables, fruits, dairy by way of yogurt, nuts etc., I hope she will accept my humble contribution.

Sunday Meals #14

2008-03-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Methi dal, baked stuffed bittergourd, yogurt chutney with roasted bell pepper with hot steamed rice

This week I take you on a trip to andhra once again. Three comforting dishes, which are easy to make and tastes delicious. I made menthikura pappu (methi dal), gutti kakarakaya (Stuffed Bittergourd) and perugupachadi (Yogurt chutney) with roasted yellow bell pepper. All these served with hot steamed rice was so comforting. So here I present you with the recipes:

Menthikura pappu (Methi dal):

1/2 cup toor dal
1 bunch methi leaves (only leaves picked from the stems)
2 medium tomatoes
2 to 3 small green chillies finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
salt as per taste

For tadka

1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 red chillies cut into 2 to 3 pieces
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Wash and pressure cook toor dal with methi leaves, chopped green chillies and chopped tomatoes. Let it pressure cook for about 3 to 4 whistles. Switch off the stove and let the cooker cool. Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to the cooked dal and let it cook for a while until everything blends together and until the dal gets slightly thick.

Heat another pan with a tsp of oil and to that add the tadka ingredients. When they start spluttering, remove from heat and add to the cooked dal. This dal goes well with either hot steamed rice or with soft phulkas/chapathis.

Baked Gutti Kakakarakaya (Stuffed Bittergourd):

3 bittergourd, cut into 2 to 3 big pieces horizontally
a pinch of turmeric powder
salt as per taste

For stuffing:

2 tbsp roasted gram dal (dalia)
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 to 6 red chillies
salt as per taste
1 tsp oil

Slit open each piece of bittergourd length wise. Do not make them into two pieces though. Look at the picture you will understand what I am talking about. Boil bittergourd in water with turmeric powder and some salt until they are just cooked. Be careful that you do not let them overcooked.

In a pan heat oil and add the stuffing ingredients except for dalia. Let them turn brown and then remove from heat. Take them into a blender and then add dalia and salt to it. Blend them to make them a coarse powder.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Stuff each bittergourd with the stuffing powder that we made above. Place them on the baking sheet. Spray them with nonstick once again on top of them and bake for 10 min. on one side. Turn onto other side and bake for another 5 min. They don't turn crispy but they will be well baked by this time, if not turn once again let them bake for another 5 min. Enjoy with hot steamed rice.

This is off to Pooja of My Creative Ideas for her Vegetable of the Week event, where Bittergourd is this month's vegetable.

Perugupachadi (Yogurt chutney) with Roasted Yellow bell pepper:

1 big yellow bell pepper roasted under broiler
1 1/2 to 2 cups curds (yogurt) (I used home made yogurt from skim milk)

For tadka:

1/2 tsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 to 3 green chillies chopped very finely
a pinch asafoetida
few curry leaves chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp oil
salt as per taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Peel the roasted bell pepper and chop in the chopper coarsely.

Heat oil in a pan and add the tadka ingredients upto asafoetida. When the dals turn golden brown colour add chopped curry leaves and roasted bell pepper. Turn off stove and add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and add the chopped cilantro. Let it cool a bit and then stir in the yogurt into the mixture. This tastes best with hot steamed rice.

Enjoy.

Minestrone Soup

2008-03-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

My husband is a great fan of Italian food and his favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. After getting married, he introduced me to this restaurant. Initially I wasn't much impressed with the dishes served there. I thought they were kinda bland for me. Gradually I started loving the food there. I love eggplant parmesan, fettuccine alfredo and five cheese baked ziti. I also like the fact that they serve these dishes with endless salad and soup. Being vegetarians we find only minestrone soup is the only choice we have to order. And believe me it tastes heavenly. Recently I started trying some of the italian recipes at home. One such experiment is this Minestrone soup.

Here is the recipe I followed:

1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 small onion (I used 1/2 Medium onion)
1 Roma tomato
Few Green beans
3 small garlic cloves
4 cups Vegetable Broth (I used Organics brand)
3 cups water
1/2 cup shell pasta
1 14 oz can Great Northern beans (you can use white beans)
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp dry Italian herbs
1 tbsp Olive oil (I used EVOO)
Salt and pepper as per taste

Heat oil in a big wide pan and add garlic cloves and onion. Saute until onion is translucent. Now add carrots, tomato, broth, water, pasta, beans, oregano and italian herbs. Let it come to a boil then add green beans and zucchini. Lower the flame and on medium flame, let it cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Adjust salt and pepper as per your taste. Remove from heat. While serving sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy.