Essence of Andhra

Salubrious Smoothie

2008-07-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

My blog has become 6 months old with this post. So let me celebrate it with this refreshing wholesome smoothie that is rich in nutrients.

I Used:

½ cup fresh Strawberries
½ cup fresh Cherries
1 cup plain non-fat Yogurt
1 cup Mango Juice
2 tbsp Honey

Preparation:

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend into a smoothie. Enjoy it chilled. It’s as simple as that. This is a refreshing smoothie (and healthy too) for the summer. This smoothie can be served during breakfast for fresh energy.

This yummy smoothie is making its way into 3 wonderful events.

WBB – Summer Feast: being hosted by Sia. “WBB-Weekend Breakfast Blogging” was started by Nandita from Saffron Trail.

Summer Splash: being hosted by Aartee.

WHF – Juices and Ice Cream: being hosted by EasyCrafts. WHF - Whats Your Favourite event series was started by Hima of Snackorama blog.

Easy Breezy Pulao

2008-07-18T20:39:00.001-07:00

One day, my sister R prepared this pulao for dinner. She did this in a jiffy without much work like cutting and frying the veggies and soaking the rice etc. She even didn’t use so many ingredients, but the pulao tasted so great and I thought I would share this delicious, easy recipe with all of you!

Here is the recipe in her words:

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice
½ cup Mixed Vegetables (Frozen variety)
¼ tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Ghee or Butter
½ tsp Oil
1 ½ cups of Water to cook
Salt as required

Preparation:

Wash the rice well and place it in any rice cooker (electric or pressure) along with the mixed vegetables + turmeric + ½ tsp garam masala + salt + water. If desired, some red chili powder can be added for more spiciness.

When the rice is done (cooked), add the remaining ½ tsp garam masala along with the ghee or butter and mix well. That’s it! The Easy Breezy Pulao is ready.

Garnish the pulao with roasted cashews and mint or cilantro, if desired. Enjoy the steaming hot rice with raita or just plain yogurt.

Isn’t this pulao sounds so easy and scrumptious?

Wheat Laddu

2008-07-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

During festive seasons, say Sankranthi, Dasshera, Deepawali, we make so many sweet varieties to celebrate the occasion. These laddus are one such sweet enjoyment we make during festivals and of course on various happy occasions or just to enjoy too. There are so many other types of laddus such as, besan laddu, rava laddu, and coconut laddu. These wheat laddus involve less work and are prepared in a very short time. It took only 20 minutes for me to prepare these laddus.

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Sugar
2 tsp Ghee
¼ cup Milk
1 cup desiccated Coconut
¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds
1 tsp Raisins
Some Cashews to garnish

Yields: 12 medium sized Laddus

Preparation:

In a non-stick pan add the ghee. When it melts add the cardamom seeds and fry for a little time. Later add the wheat flour and roast so well until the flour starts to give nice aroma. Be careful not to burn the flour.

Then add the coconut + sugar and stir well. Finally add the milk and raisins and mix well. Turn the flame off when the mixture becomes thick.

Make balls out of this mixture when it is still warm. Pour a little amount of milk in a bowl and dip the hand in this before making the laddus so that the hand won’t burn.

Garnish the laddus with the cashews and leave them on a plate to dry.

Transfer the laddus to an airtight container when they become dry and hard.

These laddus are flying off to dear Vani’s “RCI:Andhra Festival Foods” event.

My dear friend Trupti has passed me the “Friendship Award”. Thanks for considering as your friend Trupti. You’re my dear friend too.

Vegetable Pakoras with Idli Batter

2008-07-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

When there is leftover idli batter and bored of making another batch of idlis or uthappam, try making these pakoras. These are so quick to prepare and taste delicious too! Did I mention healthy (with the addition of vegetables) too? Any combination of vegetables can be added to these pakoras to make them healthier.

Ingredients:

3 cups Idli Batter
1 ½ cups Chickpea Flour (Besan, Senagapindi)
2 cups mixed Vegetables (I used frozen)
1 small Onion
1 Tomato
4 green Chilies
A hand full of Cilantro
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Oil to deep fry
Salt as required

Preparation:

Add besan to the idli batter and mix well. Keep aside.

Cut onion + tomato + green chilies into fine pieces and add these to the batter along with the mixed vegetables + Cilantro + cumin seeds. Add salt as required and mix well. With the addition of besan the batter becomes little thick.

Heat the oil in a deep-bottomed pan. Then carefully drop the batter into the hot oil with a spoon or hand.

When the pakoras turn golden brown in color take them out of the oil and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Enjoy these hot pakoras with desired chutney and a cup of tea/coffee. These are perfect for the evening snack.

This is my contribution for the “Pakora Contest” being hosted by dear Rushina.

On a different note:
Dear Seema has passed the “Blogging with a Purpose” award. Thank you so much for thinking about me Seema!

Mint Pulao

2008-07-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

We made this pulao for dinner one day. My sister has lots of mint plants in her backyard. When I saw this aromatic fresh mint, the first thing that came into my mind was the “Herb Mania” event being hosted by dear Dee. This is a simple yet delicious pulao (of course most of my recipes involve less work, don’t you think? He he!), that satisfies our palate.

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh Mint
1 cup Mixed Vegetables (Frozen)
1 medium Onion
3 or 4 Green Chilies
4 cups Basmati Rice
¼ tsp Cardamom
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
3 or 4 Cloves
2 medium Tomatoes
2 flakes of Garlic
1 Potato
4 cups Water
2 tbsp Oil
Salt as required

Preparation:

Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes. Keep aside.

Chop onion + green chilies + tomatoes + garlic into tiny pieces. Peel and cut potato into cubes.

Pour the oil in a pan and add cumin +garlic + cardamom + cloves and fry well. Add the chopped veggies along with mint leaves and stir well. Cover and leave the pan on a medium flame for some time.

Later remove the cover, stir well and finally add the soaked rice and stir well. Leave this on the low flame for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Then transfer the contents into a rice cooker, add 4 cups of water and salt to taste and let it cook.

Enjoy the mint pulao with raita and chips (optional).

This is my contribution for the event, “Herb Mania” being hosted by dear Dee of Ammalu’s Kitchen.

On a different note:

Dear friends Suma, Sireesha, Sowmya and Ranji have made me so happy by passing the beautiful friendship award. Thank you so much dear friends!

I am passing this award to Kamala, Priyanka, Laavanya, Karuna, Bhags, Andhra Flavors, RamyaBala, Easy Crafts, Jayashree, Madhavi, Sujatha and to all of you dear friends!

Congrats to you all!

Dear Hetal has passed the “Yum Yum Blog” award. Thanks for the nice gesture Hetal!

Dear Trupti has passed the “Giant Bear Hug”. Thank you for the award Trupti!

Eggplant Chutney

2008-07-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here comes another chutney from me. This chutney is so simple to make and tastes delicious and spicy.

Ingredients:

10 small Eggplants
6 green chilies
3 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
A handful of cilantro
4 tsp oil
Salt

Preparation:

Cut the eggplant and chilies into small pieces. Keep aside.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds. Fry for some time until they turn golden brown. Transfer to a plate.

Add the rest of the oil and add the eggplant pieces, cover and let them cook for some time. Finally add the cilantro and fry well.

Grind into a smooth paste by adding turmeric, salt and little water. Enjoy with rice or chapathis.

On a Happy Note:

Dear RamyaBala has passed me a beautiful award called “Yum-Yum Blog Award”. Thank you for the cute award Ramya!

This pretty yummy award goes to:

Swati - Sugar Craft India

Vaishali

Dear Sireesha has passed me a big giant bear hug. Thank you Sireesha and a big hug to you tooo…!

Dear Sripriya has passed the “Nice Matters Award”. Thank you so much Sripriya, for thinking I am nice.

Dear Divya has passed me the “Blogging with a Purpose” award. Thank you for thinking about me Divya!

Dear EasyCrafts has passed me the “Yummy Blog Award”. Thank you so much for the award EC!

Awards and Wins

2008-07-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wins

Thanks to Shriya and Nithu

Open Sesame I - Thanks to Dhivya and Siri

Awards

Thanks to Vanamala, Home Cooked, Ranji, Hetal, Sripriya

Thanks to Meera

Thanks to Dhivya, Vaishali, Srivalli, Vandana Rajesh, Suma Rajesh, Andhra Flavours, Sailaja, RamyaBala, Easy Crafts

Thanks to Meera, Suma Rajesh, Divya, Seema

Thanks to Siri, Shubha Ravikoti, Sashree, Aditi

Thanks to Swati Raman Garg, Meera, Diyva Vikram, Shubha Ravikoti, Madhavi, Kalai, JZatTasty Treats, Neha, Rekha

Thanks to Sashree, Shubha Ravikoti, Diyva Vikram, Cham

Thanks to RamyaBala, Madhavi, Trupti, Sireesha

Thanks to Swati-Sugar Craft India, Sukanya Ramkumar, Sangeeth, Jamie, Shubha Ravikoti, Sowmya

Thanks to RamyaBala, Hetal

Thanks to Suma Rajesh, Sireesha, Sowmya, Ranji, Trupti

All in One – Prizes, Awards and a Meme

2008-06-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

How are you all? I am enjoying the time with my sister. When I arrived at her place, I was overjoyed to see the prizes that were already waiting for me here (I gave my sister’s address just in case). Yes, you guessed it right! I received the prizes from the two contests that I have recently won. You can imagine my happy face after seeing them, he he!

The above beautiful necklace (sponsored by Lakshaya) is the prize I got for the "Fortune Cooking Contest" hosted by the very talented duo Nithu and Shriya. Thank you so much for such a beautiful necklace dear Nithu and dear Shriya! Wow, I have no words to describe! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here is another beautiful prize (and it’s a surprise gift) I got for the fun-filled contest, “Open Sesame I” initiated by another dynamic duo Siri and Dhivya. They have sent this fabulous book as if they’ve read my mind! I am a great fan of Tarla Dalal, the famous Indian cooking author. I am overwhelmed with joy to receive this wonderful book of hers as a surprise gift. Thank you so much dear Siri and dear Dhivya for selecting such a great book and of course for hosting such an enjoyable contest.

Next coming to a couple awards showered on me by dear friends:

Dear Rekha has passed me the “Rocking Girl Blogger” award. Thank you Rekha for thinking about me. I am so flattered.

Dear Ramyabala and dear Madhavi passed me the beautiful “Giant Bear Hug” award. A big, big, big hug to you too! Thank you for the award dear friends!

I am passing this award to:

Congrats friends!

Dear Cham says I am inspiring her! Wow! You inspire me too dear! You’re such an amiable person. Thanks for the award…so happy to get it from you!

Last but not the least, dear Sashree has tagged me for the following meme:

What was I doing ten years ago?

Just moved to Japan

What are five things on my to-do list for today (non-work related)?

Hmmm. I guess nothing in particular as I am on vacation, he he!

What are five snacks I enjoy?

Popcorn, French Fries, Fruits, Cookies and any kind of chats.

What things would I do if I were a billionaire?

I’ll answer this question when I become a billionaire, he he!

Places I’ve lived:

India, Hong Kong, Japan, USA (present)

Jobs I’ve had:

Worked in research field and now an evergreen full-time mom!

Thanks for tagging me Sashree! I had fun doing it.

Sweet Savory

2008-06-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here we are again at the wonderful Open Sesame II designed by dear Siri and dear Dhivya. I had so much fun playing it again. Wow, what a great event! I picked the same box I had selected last time this time too and that box contained the following riddle:

I am a grass , or am I a cereal or a grain
I am everywhere and in almost all the foods you eat
My whole being used in many ways without restrain
I offer you something which is so hard to beat
I am as old as you can think of me to be
Thought to be originated from the land of camels
I am breakfast, lunch and dinner for all to see
Or be it desserts from cakes , pies to caramels
I am famous all over the world from east to west
As breads, flatbreads , cookies to muffins
I am v healthy and like a treasure chest
For ppl - weight conscious and its healthy kins
Buckle up and take a pen and a paper
I am yellow when alive, brown when put to 'dust'
Eating me makes you look so dapper
Now think hard and tell me what is that grain that we all genuinely trust

I guessed it right for the first time itself, hooray! The answer was “WHEAT – The king of all the grains”.

So, I whipped up a sweet recipe with the main ingredient. I just named it that way (Sweet Savory), ‘cause this is something that emerged from my imagination and couldn’t think any other name for this better than this. I made these on my daughter’s b’day last week and everyone appreciated the taste. This is my first time making this and I am so happy that these turned out so good. I used up the Apple Jam that I posted earlier, which was taking rest in the refrigerator. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup Apple Jam (or any other fruit jam)
2 cups sweetened Coconut
½ tsp Cardamom Seeds
3 cups Wheat Flour
1 tsp ghee
Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

In a bowl mix together jam + sweetened coconut + cardamom seeds + ghee. Add the wheat flour to this mixture and mix well again. Add more flour if needed. A little water also can be added until the dough becomes just like the chapathi dough. Knead the dough well. Leave it covered for 30 minutes or less.

Make small balls out of the dough and flatten them into small circles. Or cookie cutters can be used to make desired shapes.

Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, drop the above prepared circles or the other shaped dough carefully into the oil. Fry well until they turn golden brown in color. Then remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Repeat the same process with rest of the dough.

Enjoy these sweet savories any time. These tasted so delicious.

These yummy savories are making their way into the Open Sesame II of International Food League at the Dining Hall.

I am also sending these sweet savories to dear Mythreyee’s “Sweet Series” event.

I will be going on a vacation tomorrow to my sister’s place at East Coast. I will try to post some yummy recipes from my sister’s kitchen. I shall be back to my regular schedule again from the first week of August.

Millet Dosa

2008-06-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here is another instant dosa variety! This is done very quickly with no grinding or no fermentation. And it is so filling too!

Ingredients:

2 cups Millet Flour (Jonna Pindi)
½ cup Rice Flour
¾ cup Onion, diced
3 green Chilies
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
A handful of Cilantro
Salt as required

Preparation:

Mix together millet flour + rice flour with water to make a thin batter. Add the chopped onions + green chilies + cumin seeds + cilantro to the batter and mix well. Add salt to taste.

Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter on it and spread out quickly into a circle. Pour little oil around the dosa and leave it for some time. Then flip it over, add a little oil and let the other side to cook. Transfer the dosa into a serving plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Serve hot with desired chutney. These dosas taste better when they are still warm. These tasted just like wheat flour dosas.

This is a quick breakfast. So I am sending this to “WBB#23 Express Breakfasts” event being hosted by Raaga of The Singing Chef.

A Happy Note:

Dear Meera and dear Suma Rajesh have passed me the wonderful “Blogging with a Purpose” award. Thank you so much Meera and Suma!

I am passing this award to the following friends:

Maya
Nithu and Shriya
Sukanya Ramkumar
Shankari

Dear Ramyabala has passed me the “Yummy Blog Award”. Thank you so much Ramya! I have already done the rules before. You can find them here.

I am passing this award to:

Rama
Shibani
Karuna
Divya
Neha
Sujatha

Super Healthy Shake

2008-06-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the milk shakes I usually prepare during weekends. I call it super healthy because it contains many ingredients that are so healthy, protein rich and gives instant energy.

Ingredients:

½ cup Broccoli florets
½ cup Cauliflower florets
½ cup Carrots
½ cup Green Peas
1 cup Apple Juice
1 cup Orange Juice
2 cups Cold Milk
3 tbsp Honey

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients and blend in a mixer. Filter to remove excess pulp and pour into individual glasses. Serve immediately. This drink is so energetic and refreshing and super healthy.

This is my contribution to dear Sangeeth’s “Eat Healthy – Protein Rich” event.

Tamarind Pickle

2008-06-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

This pickle is our Nellore (the place where I was born) special. We call it as “Minumula Chintapandu” in Telugu. This is a very delicious pickle eaten with rice. I learned it from my mom who is a great cook. My husband is also an expert in making this pickle. Actually I forgot some of the ingredients, but my hubby helped me in getting it right.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Lemon sized ball of Tamarind
½ cup Urad Dal (Minappappu, Black Gram dal)
¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniya)
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
3 tbsp Oil
5 to 6 dry Red Chilies
½ tsp Asafetida (Inguva)
Salt as required

Preparation:

Place tamarind in water just enough to soak it. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat half of the oil and add urad dal. Fry it for some time till the dal turns into golden brown in color. Then transfer it into a plate to cool.

Add the rest of oil to the pan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter add the coriander seeds and fry well until the seeds turn light brown.

Then add the chilies and asafetida and fry well. Transfer the contents to a different plate and let them cool for some time.

In a mixer, add the coriander seeds + red chilies + asafetida mixture along with the soaked tamarind and add little water and run the mixer for 1 minute.

Then add half of the fried urad dal to the mixer along with salt and run the mixer again until all the contents mix well and it turns into a coarse paste.

Finally add the rest of the urad dal and run the mixer once. The dal shouldn’t be ground into a smooth paste. It tastes better when the pickle is little coarse.

Serve this tamarind pickle with hot rice and ghee.

This is my contribution for “JFI – Jihva For Tamarind” event being hosted by dear Sig of Live to eat. JFI (Jihva For Ingredients) is the brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi.

On a different note:

Dear Aditi of My Kitchen Stories has made me so happy by passing the “Good Chat Blog Award”. Thank you so much for your sweet gesture dear Aditi!

Easy Vegetable Rice

2008-06-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Preparation Time: 20 min. (approx.). Serves: 2 persons

This vegetable rice is not only so delicious, but also healthy and quick. If you use all the readily available frozen vegetables, it is even faster to prepare.

Ingredients:

3 cups Cooked Rice
½ cup Broccoli Florets
½ cup Cauliflower Florets
½ cup Carrots, cut into medium pieces
½ cup Green Peas
1 Celery Stalk, cut into medium pieces
1 small Potato, cut into small cubes
1 Tomato, cut into medium pieces
1 small Onion, finely chopped
A hand full of Cilantro
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds
½ tsp ground Cinnamon
4 Whole Cloves
½ tsp Garlic Paste
½ tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Rasam Powder (I used MTR Rasam Powder)
3 tbsp Oil
Salt as required

Preparation:

In a pan heat the oil, add the cumin seeds and stir for a little while. Then add the cardamom seeds + ground cinnamon+ whole cloves + ginger and garlic paste and stir well.

Later add all the chopped vegetables along with turmeric and fry very well. Cover and leave it for some time until the vegetables are cooked. Keep the flame on a medium level. A little water can be added to the vegetables to make sure those are well cooked.

When the veggies become tender, add the green peas + cilantro + garam masala + chili powder + rasam powder + salt and stir well. Leave it for some time and finally add the cooked rice. Stir the rice so that it mixes well with the vegetables. Adjust salt, if needed. Leave the pan covered on a low flame for some time.

Serve hot with raita and potato chips (if desired). This rice is perfect for lunch boxes or if you have unexpected guests.

This is my contribution to Easy Craft’s “Mixed (flavored) Rice Varieties” event.

I am also sending this to “ONE D – MONTHLY ONE DISH MEAL EVENT” being hosted by Archana of Archana’s Kitchen.

On a different note:

Dear Divya Vikram of Dil Se… has passed me the “Inspiration Blog Award”. Thank you so much Divya for your nice gesture. You made me jump with joy!

Semolina Puris

2008-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever used semolina (upma rawa) for making puris? If not, try this recipe! These puris tasted so good and they are soft and fluffy just like regular puris. I found this recipe in my cook book that I bought in India long back.

Ingredients:

2 cups Semolina Flour (Upma Rawa)
1 cup Milk
Oil to deep-fry
Salt as required

Preparation:

Mix the semolina flour and milk together and leave it for 2 hours.

When the semolina absorbs all the milk, add the salt. Mix it well and knead till the dough becomes soft.

Tip: If the dough is too thin, add some wheat flour to make it thick and knead well.

Make small balls out of the dough and roll out into small circles. Keep aside.

Meanwhile, add the oil in a deep-bottomed pan and heat.

When the oil is hot, drop the rolled puris one at each time carefully and deep fry it until it becomes puffed up.

Take out the puri and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat the same process with rest of the puris.

The good thing with these puris is, it won’t absorb too much oil like the regular puris and taste very good too.

Enjoy these fluffy, soft puris with your favorite curry or just sugar. We enjoyed them with Potato Fusion Curry.

These delicious puris are my contribution to Srivalli’s Roti Mela.

Thank you dear Shubha, for passing me the “inspirational blog award”! I felt so happy that I have inspired you. Really it’s a great honor for me Shubha! Thanks again.

Nupur’s Kati Roll

2008-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Tried and Tasted (T&T) is a monthly event of appreciation of other blogs - an opportunity to thank our fellow bloggers for sharing their recipes by re-creating them. This month, we’re given a great opportunity to cook the recipes of dear Nupur of One Hot Stove.

This wonderful event is started by dear Zlamushka of Burnt Mouth, who has so many mouth-watering recipes in her place. You really are doing a great job Zlamushka, by coming up with such a nice event of appreciating fellow bloggers. Best wishes to you!

Coming to the recipe I have chosen it from Nupur’s recipe collection, which was a hard decision indeed. She had so many delicious recipes that I want to try, but I made up my mind on one recipe for now. I prepared the delicious Kati Rolls for our dinner yesterday. The rolls tasted so good and I am glad I decided on them.

I just followed the original recipe step by step. The only change I made was adding some red bell pepper pieces along with green bell pepper pieces as suggested in the recipe. And I used frozen veggies instead of fresh ones. We all love these Kati Rolls. Your recipe rocks, dear Nupur!

These yummy rolls are my contribution to dear Zlamushka’s Tried and Tasted (T&T) event.

I am also sending these to dear Madhuram’s “Your Recipe Rocks” event, as this is a non rice wholesome food, from another blog.

This is also my entry to dear Sia’s “MBP – Street Food”, as the theme of this event is to cook some street food from a fellow blogger. MBP event is the brainchild of Coffee of The Spice Cafe.

With that I am signing off! Have a great weekend friends! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads!

Basboosa

2008-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today I hit a century, la la la! Yeah, this is my 100th post. So I wish to celebrate this with a delicious dessert! Of course, it is not an Indian dessert. It is a traditional Middle Eastern (Arabic) dessert made of semolina flour, yogurt, and coconut. Now-a-days, whatever I make, I am making sure that it should be useful for some event, he he he!

I took the original recipe from this wonderful site. I didn’t make many changes to the original recipe. I just used cashews instead of almonds as suggested in the recipe. I also reduced the amount of time to 30 minutes instead of 40-45 minutes as suggested in the recipe. Everything else remained the same.

Ingredients:

2 cups Semolina Flour (Upma Rawa)
1/3 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup white Sugar
1 cup sweetened flaked Coconut
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1 cup plain Yogurt
1/4 cup Milk, or as needed
1/4 cup Cashews

For the Syrup:

1 cup Water
1 cup white Sugar
1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together the semolina flour, baking powder, 1 cup sugar, coconut and butter. Add the yogurt and milk; mix until moistened but not runny or liquid. If you see that it is too dry, add more milk.

Spread the prepared batter into a greased 8 inch square baking dish, smoothing the top as much as possible. Decorate the top with cashews.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

While the basboosa is baking, combine the water, 1 cup of sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for at least 5 minutes.

When the basboosa has finished baking, pour the syrup over it as evenly as possible.

Place it back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup has been fully absorbed. Let rest for about 20 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

I must say, this is a very delicious dessert. It is little tangy in taste due to the added yogurt and lemon juice, but the sugar suppresses most of the tanginess and tastes great. I am glad that I found this recipe and shall make it so frequently. Thanks to the wonderful events, we get to taste different delicious cuisines.

As this recipe belongs to Middle Eastern cuisine, it flies off to Siri’s AWED: Middle Eastern Cuisine. A Worldly Epicurean's Delight (A.W.E.D), an event initiated by Dhivya of Culinary bazaar.

And as this dessert contains yogurt in the ingredients, it also makes its way into the 'Frozen Yogurt' - A Cool Summer Event, over at Siri’s.

And also this dessert contains coconut in its ingredients, so entering the “AFAM – Coconut” event being hosted by Suganya of Tasty Palettes.

So three events with one entry! He he he! Have a good day friends!

Pasta Roti

2008-06-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Do you remember my Tomato Pasta that I posted previously? I made these rotis using the leftover tomato pasta. Yes and the rotis tasted so delicious, soft and fluffy. The veggies I have added in the pasta made these rotis healthy too. Try this recipe and you won’t regret it! Here is how I made them:

Ingredients:

I didn’t follow any exact measurements. I just used up all the leftover pasta I had. Anyhow, I will give the ingredients I used.

Leftover Pasta
Some Wheat Flour
Salt
Water
Oil

Preparation:

Grind all the leftover pasta into a smooth paste by adding a small amount of water if needed.

Transfer into a mixing bowl and add some wheat flour + salt + some oil (optional) to the pasta paste and mix well. Add more wheat flour if needed to make the dough just like chapathi dough. Adjust salt.

Knead the dough well and divide into small round balls. Roll each ball into a roti/chapathi.

Heat a non-stick pan and place a roti, pour little oil around it and leave it until bubbles show up on top. Flip it over and let the other side cook. Transfer the cooked roti to a plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the rotis.

Enjoy these fluffy rotis either hot or cold with your favorite curry or pickle. We ate them with Chhole.

These delicious rotis are my first entry to Srivalli’s Roti Mela.

Thank you so much Sowmya, for passing me “You Make My Day” award. You make my day too with your sweet comments regularly.