Mom's Corner

Zebra Cake

2012-02-07T23:27:00.004+05:30

I have always wanted to bake my own cake, in a convention oven for a long time. Never did it dawn on me that it would be this simple!! Thanks to internet. I searched many a websites to see different versions of a cake and finally selected Roshan's Cucina. Her's contained egg, so I substituted it with alternatives. Roshan also happened to be my Blog Hop Partner for Feb and Chocolate Cake was this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge. So here's my Zebra Cake!!!

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 2 cup
Castor Sugar - 2 cup
Butter - 1 cup
Milk - 200 ml
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Cocoa Powder - 1 tbsp

Method
Mix and sift all purpose flour, castor sugar, baking powder, baking soda three to four times.
Soften Butter in a deep dish bowl. Mix milk and start adding the flour little by little. Whisk well, make sure no lump is formed.
The mixture will be in a silky consistency. If its too thick add some milk, and if too watery add some flour.
Seperate the mixture into two. Add vanilla essence to one portion and cocoa powder to another.

Grease a cake tin with butter or line it with parchment paper.
Pour a spoonful of choco mixture in the center, then a spoonful of vanilla mixture.Again pour choco mixture, keep alternating until both mixes are empty.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, until the pick comes out clean.

The cake by itself looks great, but you can top it with chocolate frosting and chocolate shavings.

If you like my zebra cake, please vote for me below on # 78.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Rajbhog

2012-02-06T20:08:00.002+05:30

One day I tried Rasgulla, and with the excitement of success, I tried preparing a variation. Rajbhog is dry fruits stuffed rasgullas, more rich and bigger than the normal ones.

Ingredients
Chenna - 1 cup
Saffron Food Color - a pinch (optional)
Cashew - 1 tsp
Almond - 1 tsp
Pistachio - 1 tsp
Saffron Strands - 3 or 4
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 3 cups

Method
Soak and peel almonds. Chop almonds, cashews, pistachio, saffron strands and cardamom powder into tiny bits. Keep it aside.
Knead together Chenna, food color and make small balls of it. Make a dip in the center and stuff the dry fruit mix.
Dissolve sugar in water and remove all impurities. When sugar syrup is boiling and frothy, add the chenna balls.
Allow to cook for 15 minutes with a closed lid, by then it will be bigger by twice the size.
To check if the rajbhog is cooked well, try to press it from the sides and it will bounce back.
Transfer the rajbhog with 2 parts of sugar syrup and one part water as required. Serve it chilled.

Im sending this to Radhika's Sweet Somethings, Vardhini's Sweet Luv, Kalyani's Valentine Fest - Served With Love

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ash Gourd MorKootu

2012-01-29T13:00:00.002+05:30

I used to stay in a hostel during my college days, and whenever I used to visit my family the menu used to be the same everytime. PooshniKai Morkootu, Jeera Rasam. I love it sooooo much. Tried it out the first time myself!!

Ingredients
Cubed Ash Gourd - 1 cup (Cooked)
Chana Dal - 1/2 tbsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green Chili - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Fried Dal - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry Leaves - a little
Butter Milk - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil for cooking

Method
Grind coconut, green chilli, cumin seeds, fried dal into a fine paste.
Heat oil, temper mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, asafoetida.
Add cooked ash gourd, coconut paste, salt and allow to boil till the gravy thickens.
Add butter milk and mix well on high heat for one minute. Serve hot with rasam, thuvayal.

Sending this to Vidhya's Cooking Challenge - Flavors of Tamil Nadu and Sara's Cooking With Love - Grandmom

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vegetable Oats Idly

2012-01-28T15:50:00.001+05:30

When I was wondering wat to do for dinner, I decided on semolina idly. And to my disdain I was running short of semolina. So inturn decided to use oats in place of semolina and try idlys. To my surprise it came out well.

Ingredients
Oats - 2 cups
Semolina - 1 cup
Sour Yoghurt - 1 cup
Eno - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 1
Asafoetida - a pinch
Grated Carrot - 2 tbsp
Sweet Corn - a handful
Green Peas - a handful
Salt to taste

Method
Dry roast oats for 2 minutes and grind them into a coarse powder. Dry roast semolina till golden.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters add chopped green chillies, carrot, corn, peas and saute till raw smell is gone.
Mix oats, semolina, vegetable mix, eno, salt, asafoetida, yoghurt and prepare a batter of the consistency of an idly batter. Let it rest for half an hour.
Grease Idly plates and pour batter onto it. Cook for 10-15 minutes like a regular idly.
Serve hot with any chutneys or sambar.

Sending this to Pari's 'Only' - Oats event.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Masala Paniyaram

2012-01-13T19:35:00.001+05:30

Back home and getting settled takes a toll, and given the nature of Bangalore climate its very easy to fall ill. So starting with my hubby, me, MIL and FIL, all have went through the rough patch of getting infected with flu. Now returning back to blogging also has trouble. Lots of recipes, events and mails to catch up with. Starting off this new year with a sweet dish/original is a dream now. So for the year's first Blog Hop Wednesday and the first one on V2.0 Im paired with Priya's Now Serving.When I logged into Priya's space I decided on the very first recipe I saw, Paneer-yarams as she named them!! Off to the recipe without much of my rambles :(

Ingredients
Dosa Batter - 1 cup
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup
Cheese cubes - 1/2 cup
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 2
Coriander Leaves - a handful
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method
Mix finely chopped vegetables with dosa batter.
Heat 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds and chillies, once they crackle mix with dosa batter. Add sat, coriander leaves.
Grease the Aapa Karai with generous amount of oil and pour batter. Insert a piece of cheese inside each paniyaram.
Deep fry on medium flame till crisp and serve hot with ketchup/mint chutney.

Am also sending this to Vidhya's Cooking Challenge - Flavors of TamilNadu

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

New Year All Around the Year

2012-01-03T11:24:00.000+05:30

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!” ~ Willian Arthur Ward

A new year is unfolding – like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within. It brings along gifts, wishes, ideas and ofcourse new aspirations. Planning for new year has its own challenges and rewards. And new year doesnt stop with one.....We have a year full of new years for some one some where across the globe...

So with new year 2012 just blossoming, I kick start this new event of mine...New Year All Around the Year!!!This will be a seasonal event with us preparing dishes respective to the new year/years featured. The first one kicks off with chinese new year...

Event Rules:
** Cook and post a recipe of any chinese dish, preferably related to the new year.
** Your recipe can belong to any category
** Vegeterian recipes only. Eggs allowed only in baking.
** Archived entries allowed, but restricted to one along with a new entry. The new post has to be between Jan 1st and Jan 31st 2012
** Multiple entries are welcome. Linking back to the announcement and usage of logo is mandatory as it helps spread the word.
** After posting the recipe mail me @ momscorner2011@gmail.com

Subject: NYAAY

Your Name:
Blog Name:
Recipe Name:
Recipe URL:
Category:
Picture:
** Non bloggers can send the recipe with a picture thru email.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Cranberry Popsicles

2011-12-14T15:29:00.000+05:30

As we are relocating back to Bangalore after a short stint in KL, I had literally nothing left in the pantry to cook from. I pack very early to ensure all's well sealed and no mishaps happen during travel. And no last minute hurrys. But then I remember its Blog Hop Wednesday today. I had to prepare something from Divya's Blog. Its a great space and I found umpteen number of rice recipes that I have bookmarked for future use. For today I chose her Grape and Lemon Popsicles, and the recipe was so to my liking. I have no popsicle moulds, so did these with a make shift cup. I shud get back to my mom and ask her if she has any of her moulds left!! It took me back to my school days. My mom used to make us kesar kulfi's when we were young. All those days are long gone and now we prefer kulfi's from Sreeraj Lassi Bar in Jayanagar 4th Block, Bangalore. Their mango kulfi is really drool worthy. Ok now onto the recipe

Ingredients
Cranberry Juice - 3 cups
Condensed Milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup

Method
Mix the juice, milk and sugar with a blender.
Fill the mix in the popsicle moulds and let it set in the freezer for 4 hours.
Remove from the mould, serve chilled and look at the wonders it does on your loved one's face!! It sure did surprise my hubby a lot!!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge

2011-12-08T08:29:00.002+05:30

I was thinking of sitting out on this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge. But when I started out googling for fudge recipes, I found this one @ Feeling Food. Simple and sweet!!! It was love at first sight. I decided to make this one for my hubby....He's a bit down with cold and some office tensions, may be this should cheer him up!!

Ingredients
White Chocolate - 100 gms
Condensed Milk - 100 gms
Vanilla Extract - 2 drops
Dried Cranberries - 20 gms

Method
Line a mould or tin with baking paper.
Melt the chocolate and mix in condensed milk till silky smooth.
Add vanilla essence and pour the mix into the moulds.
Sprinkle cranberries, cover and cool for 3-4 hours.
Serve with lots of love!!!

Im sending this one to Crazy Cooking Challenge

If you like this recipe please click on the Like button on #80 White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge.
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Tomato Jaipuri

2011-12-05T16:40:00.000+05:30

Last week when the family was here, we had been to our favorite restaurant in KL. The Bombay Palace!! Never have we noticed the Tomato Jaipuri on the menu. So when we fell in love with the dish, I had made up my mind to try it out at home. Its a dish that can be tagged "Fragile - Handle With Care". You heard me right...Fragile, because of the tendency of tomatoes. It takes not even half a minute to overcook it. Yep...I did overcook a batch of tomatoes and had to try it out with fresh ones again to get it right. Now off to the recipe!!

Ingredients
Tomato - 5
Boiled Potato - 1
Paneer - 100 gms
Boiled Green Peas - 1 tbsp
Bell Pepper - 1
Onion - 2
Cashew Nuts - 10
Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Remove the head of four tomatoes and scrape out the seeds and pulp from inside. Keep the pulp aside.
Add tomatoes one by one into boiling water, and allow to cook for less than a minute. How to identify if tomato is cooked - You should be able to peel off the skin easily, yet the outside of the tomato when peeled shoudlnt be mushy. Keep these tomatoes aside.
Heat oil, saute capsicum and add mashed potato, green peas, grated paneer, 1/2 tsp each of red chilli powder, dhania powder, cumin powder, salt and mix well. Fill this mixture into the scooped tomato shells.
Heat oil, saute onion till golden brown, add tomato pulp, cashew nuts and grind into a fine paste.
Heat the paste in a kadai and add remaining red chilli powder, dhania powder, cumin powder and salt. Cook well till raw smell is gone. Add water if necessary.
Add the stuffed tomatoes to the gravy and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Add cream and mix well. Garnish with nuts, coriander leaves and serve hot with Kulcha or Naan.

Im sending this to Vatsala's LGSS - Tomato hosted by Anu.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Plantain Chips

2011-11-29T09:07:00.000+05:30

Fried stuff make your day anytime. I had some plantain left out and decided to make this yummy crispies for a hi-tea.

Ingredients
Plantain - 1
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method
Grate plantain into thin slices and deep fry. Drain out excess oil.
Add salt, red chilli powder and mix well.
Note: Its better to grate plantain directly into oil, if you are comfortable because it tends to turn brownish pretty soon.

Im sending this to Archana's Veggie/Fruit a Month - Raw Banana and Kiran's CWF - Plantain.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Bharwan Aloo

2011-11-19T16:56:00.001+05:30

I tried stuffed capsicum, and now its stuffed potato!! This wasnt that tricky....but taste wise, nothing can compare....Potatoes are after all yummy!!

Ingredients
Potato - 2
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Capsicum - 1
Sweet Corn - a little (optional)
Green Peas - a little (optional)
Raisins - 5
Cashew Nuts - 5
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chat Masala - a pinch
Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Cut potatoes into half and boil them till cooked. Dont let it become mushy. Scoop out a cavity, make sure the sides and bottom are intact.
Dab some corn flour on the outer surface and the potato shells. Keep it aside.
Saute one finely chopped onion till golden brown, add capsicum, sweet corn, peas and cook.
Mash the scooped out potato trimmings along with the cooked vegetable mix, cashew, raisins, chat powder, half a tsp each of chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and may be some cheese/paneer. Fill this into the fried potato shells.
Heat oil, add remaining onion, ginger garlic paste and saute till golden. Add tomatoes and cook till mushy. Allow to cool and grind into a fine paste.
Heat oil, add cumin seeds - when it splutters add the onion tomato paste, garam masala, 1 tsp each of red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook on medium heat till oil oozes out. Add water if necessary.
Add the stuffed potato shells and simmer for 5 minutes. Add kasuri methi, coriander leaves and serve hot with any bread of your choice.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Shahi Pulav with Nawabi Curry

2011-11-18T11:37:00.001+05:30

I was thinking of preparing pulav and usually its pudina pulav or vegetable pulav. So was at crossroads, whether to prepare the usual stuff or think of something new. And lightning struck. I had bookmarked a recipe from Tarla Dalal - Shahi Pulav with Nawabi Curry. Best time to innovate was at lunch. Usually hubby walks home for lunch and leaves in a jiffy. So with all office issues on mind, even if the dish went for a toss - it wouldnt stand out in memory (atleast for him. Though he never complains :D). So lunch it was, real quickie one pot meal.

Ingredients
For the pulav
Milk - 1/4 cup
Saffron - few strands
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 2
Almonds - 1 tbsp
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Cashew - 1 tbsp
Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Mixed Fruits - (Cherries, apple, pineapple) - 1/4 cup
Boiled Vegetables - (Beans, peas, corn, potato) - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
For the curry
Tomato - 1
Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 1
Cloves - 1
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Onion - 1
Cashew - 1 tbsp
Almonds - 1 tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Green Chilli - 1
Red Chilli - 1
Salt to taste
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method
Grind all ingredients from Onion to Red Chilli on the curry list into a fine paste adding little water.
Heat ghee, saute cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, finely chopped tomatoes/tomato puree till a nice aroma is there.
Add the paste and some water and mix well. Turn off heat, add cream and mix well. Keep it aside.
Warm milk and dissolve saffron in it.
Heat butter, add cardamom and saute till the flavors are infused. Add choppeed cashew, almonds, raisins, and saute till light brown.
Add cooked rice, fruits, salt and mix well. Cook on slow flame. Switch off heat, mix milk/saffron and divide into two parts.
Arrange on portion of pulav on a pressure cooker vessel, Spread the nawabi curry evenly on top of it. Top it with the other portion of the pulav.Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes in a pressure cooker without the safety weight.
Turn upside down on a serving plate, garnish and serve hot.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vegetable Jalfrezi

2011-11-17T07:51:00.002+05:30

I have tried many a side dishes for roti's, but never a mixed vegetable gravy. It had been haunting me for a long time, until today. I tried this recipe from a cookbook and luckily it turned out well. Being separated from the family, my hubby decided that the menu's in Bangalore where the family is and in KL will be the same to the extent we can manage. And so we did on day 1, since the new deal. A simple vegetable Jalfrezi!!

Ingredients
Potato - 1
Carrot - 1
Beans - 5
Bell Pepper - 1
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 2 pods
Cashew Nuts - 5
Cardamom - 1 pod
Cloves - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chilli - 2
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Boil cubed potato, beans and carrot and keep it aside.
Heat half the butter, saute half the onion, garlic, ginger, half the tomato and grind to a fine paste along with cashew nuts.
Heat remaining butter, add cumin seeds, red chilli, cardamom, cloves and saute cubed onions, bell pepper, tomato.
Add boiled vegetables, ground paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhaniya powder and cook well till raw smell is gone. Add some water and simmer for 5 minutes till its a thick gravy.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander and lemon juice. You can add some cream to make it richer.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Shallot Masala Paratha

2011-11-16T08:37:00.003+05:30

This week's Blog Hop Wednesday, Im paired with Sangeetha of Spicy Treats. There were a lot of dishes on the probable list and on random I chose Onion Masala Paratha(May be I wanted to try a different bread variety). Last week we had prepared some Onion Stuffed Kulchas, but this was totally different and the spices literally took the paratha to a new high. Its less messy as well, no stuffing necessary!!

Ingredients
Shallots - 10
Red Chilli - 4
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper Corns - 5
Cumin - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Oil - 1 tbsp
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Gingelly Oil for kneading dough
Salt to taste
Butter for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, onions, garam masala and saute. Allow to cool and gringd into a fine paste.
Knead wheat flour, paste, salt, gingelly oil with little amounts of water into a smooth dough. Let it rest for sometime.
Roll into a flat chapathi, spread some butter/ghee and fold into a semi circle and once more into a quadrant. Roll again into a thicker chapathi.
Heat a tawa, toast like a usual paratha, applying butter on the sides after its cooked.
Serve hot with pickle and curd or any side dish of your choice.

Im sending this to Kavi's Healthy Cooking Challenge - Lunch

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Majoon ~ Indian Cooking Challenge

2011-11-15T10:31:00.002+05:30

This is the first time I am participating in the Indian Cooking Challenge and on reveal date I came to know it was a sweet - Sindhi Majoon. I immediately went into the kitchen and prepared this delicacy, which more or less is dry fruit therati pal. My family is a fan of Therati Pal and thanks to Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's, got to know of this yummy sweet. Since me and hubby are on a so called diet (Ps..we had a 7 cheese pizza yesterday), we decided to skip the Khoya. Pity me!!! The Majoon was still enticing....Lots of things going on with it, different flavors from each ingredient. I made a small batch initially and then couldnt resist it, so prepared another batch in a week's time. The best part is, you dont have to go hunting for special ingredients. Its all there in the fridge. So you know what to do, when you have a sweet crush next time!!

Ingredients
Almond - 1/2 cup
Cashew - 1/2 cup
Pista - 1/4 cup
Deseeded Dates - 1/4 cup
Khus Khus - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method
Pound the nuts and dates coarsely.
Boil milk and add sugar, cardamom powder to it. Cook on high flame.
Add dates, khus khus and allow to reduce to half the initial amount.
Add the nuts, simmer and cover the pan. Add ghee little by little and keep stirring once it a while.
When all the milk is thickened, very little moisture is left - place the pan on a tawa, close the lid and place some weight on it.
When the majoon is completely thick and ghee oozes out, its done. Switch off heat and allow to cool.
Store in a air tight container and serve!!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Green Pea Soup

2011-11-14T14:35:00.004+05:30

I tried this soup long time back, to empty the fridge before the diwali vacation, and havent stopped preparing this ever since. Anybody who tasted this has become a fan of the taste and simplicity.

Ingredients
Green Pea - 250g
Onion - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Pepper as per taste
Salt as per taste
Butter - 1 tsp

Method
Heat butter, saute onions till golden. Add pea and cook till its soft.
Puree in a blender along with pepper. Add milk, salt and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with tomato bruschetta.

Im sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salads Me la and to Radhika's Winter Carnival, No Croutons Required by Jac and Dom

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Kaju Pista Laddu

2011-11-13T08:47:00.001+05:30

Ok, I wanted to prepare Kaju Pista Rolls and it was a total disaster. With me returning home just a few days in advance for diwali, many different sweets to prepare and my parents visiting us the very next day, it had havoc written all over it. Then I had to think of something to do with the cashews and pistachio and I made these simple no stove top cooking ladoos. And when I sent them to our relatives and my brother, it stood on top of the favorites list for them and they started enquiring for the recipe!!!

Ingredients
Cashew - 200 gms
Pistachio - 100 gms
Castor Sugar - 100 gms
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method
There's nothing like a method to follow to make these. Grind all ingredients together to a fine powder/paste.
With ghee and cashew's oily texture, the paste will be thick and more solid.
Make small balls of the paste and store in a air tight box. It had a longer shelve life than other sweets, but consumed immediately because of the rich taste.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Rasgulla

2011-11-12T18:31:00.001+05:30

Im an ardent fan of Bengali sweets. Rather, sweets in general lure me. I usually prefer Mishti's Rasgullas in Bangalore. One fine day when I was going thru Tarla Dalal's website, I saw this recipe and tried it. It came out quite good, for a first timer.

Ingredients
Chenna - 1 cup
Sugar - 3 cups
All Purpose Flour - 2 tbsp

Method
Divide the chenna into small balls, with no cracks on the surface.
Dust a plate with some all purpose flour and place the chenna balls on it.
Boil sugar with water, remove impurities, and allow the sugar to dissolve completely.
Add the chenna balls and cook with a closed lid for 15 minutes on a frothy sugar syrup. Check every 5 minutes. The would have enlarged to twice the original size by then.
To check if the rasgullas are cooked well, try to press it from the sides and it will bounce back.
Transfer the rasgullas with 2 parts of sugar syrup and one part of water as required. Serve it chilled.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

How to Prepare Chenna

2011-11-12T15:35:00.000+05:30

Chenna is a kind of Indian Cottage Cheese prepare using cow's milk. It forms a base of many a Bengali sweets. I tried to prepare this, as its the basic ingredient for rasgulla.
Ingredients
Whole Cream Milk - 1 ltr
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

Method
Boil milk, add lemon juice after the first boil and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
The milk would have curdled and the whey seperated.
Let it rest for 2-3 minutes and pour the milk onto a muslin cloth.
Gather the cloth on 4 sides and hang it somewhere for 2 hours, so that all the whey is seperated.
Chenna can be used immediately.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

1234

2011-11-11T19:45:00.001+05:30

When everyone's celebrating 11/11/11 why not me?? So tried this simple yet quick to make sweet. Very easy to remember as well....1 ghee 2 coconut 3 milk and 4 sugar. Isnt it simple!!!

Ingredients
Ghee - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 4 cups

Method
Mix all ingredients together and keep stirring until, ghee oozes and the mixture is not sticky.
Grease a plate and pour the mixture. Let it cool and cut pieces when cooling.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts - Festive Food

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Shankarpalli

2011-11-11T10:20:00.001+05:30

Simple fried sweet biscuits. Every diwali my mom used to prepare these to add it to the mixture. I prefer them as such, coz its not too sweet and very crispy!! Moreover its rare to find sweets that are crispy.....;)

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 2 cup
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup
Salt - a pinch
Oil for deep frying

Method
Knead all purpose flour, sugar and salt together into a smooth fine dough.
Pinch small balls of the dough, and roll into flat chapathis.
Cut into shapes as desired and deep fry. Drain excess oil and serve with coffee/tea.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts - Festive Food

Bon Appetit!!

Rudra

Badam Burfi

2011-11-10T05:22:00.001+05:30

Wondering why Im posting all sweets and savories recipes after diwali. I was literally out of time on a jam packed schedule. Now being back after the vacation, I have plenty of time.

Ingredients
Almonds - 250g
Sugar - 3 cups
Ghee - 2 1/2 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Method
Soak and peel badam. Grind into a fine smooth paste.
In a thick bottomed pan, mix badam paste, equal amount of sugar, cardamom powder and stir well. CAUTION: It splutters so be wary and you will have to keep stirring continuously, so make sure you are fresh and energetic, if trying on you own. I had 2 pairs of hands helping me, and we all felt it tough!!
Add ghee little by little and keep stirring till all the ghee is soaked up by the mixture and its reduced by more than half.
Grease a plate and pour the mixture and cut into pieces when warm.
Serve in an air tight container.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts - Festive Food.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Mysore Pak

2011-11-09T14:16:00.000+05:30

My MIL says anybody who prepares a good mysore pak, knows to cook. Yeah in a way, its very simple yet tricky to be used as a measure. You need to anticipate the right moments and if it happens, there's nothing better. The sweet will melt in your mouth, and the joy of preparing a perfect mysore pak will know no bounds.

Ingredients
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 1/4 cup

Method
Dissolve sugar in water and boil till you get a one string consistency.
Add gram flour and mix well, see to it that no lumps are formed. Add ghee little by little, and keep stirring.
When the mixture is not sticking to the sides pour into a greased plate and make pieces when warm.
Allow to cool and store in a air tight container.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts - Festive Food

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Puri Potato Masal

2011-11-08T08:29:00.004+05:30

I was gearing up for my mashed potato recipe at Crazy Cooking Challenge with a dish I loved along the streets of Nottingham. It was mashed jacket potato with chilli and beans. But then suddenly a thought struck me why not send the indian version of mashed potato. Yeah puri masal or sagu is the all famous and all time favorite breakfast across South India and is mashed potatoes with the indian touch. I knew the recipe still looked if there were any with variations. I got this recipe from Sashi's Tasty Bites. Just the minor tweak from the recipe we prepare, inclusion of gram flour. What else but fluffy hot puris and masal for a lovely winter morning....

Ingredients
Boiled Potato - 3
Onion - 2
Grated Ginger - 1tsp
Green Chilli - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters add asafoetida, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, slit green chilli, ginger, chopped onion and saute till golden.
Add salt, turmeric powder, mashed potatoes and mix well. Add very little water till its mushy.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with fluffy puris.

Im sending this recipe to Crazy Cooking Challenge, and to Radhika's Winter Carnival

If you like this recipe click Like on #80 Puri Potato Masal!!!!
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Cold Cucumber Soup

2011-11-07T11:38:00.002+05:30

Im a fan of cucumber. The ones we get in south india - Velri Pinju especially. They are just out of the world. But when I had cucumber sitting in the fridge for a long time, I started to look out for recipes. I found two soups, that were interesting. One the Gazpacho which I posted earlier and another Cold Cucumber Soup. Very simple and tasty recipe.

Ingredients
Cucumber - 1
Butter - 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 clove (optional)
Yogurt - 1 cup
White Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Mix together butter, salt, pepper, minced garlic and marinate cucumber for 2 hours.
Puree mixture in a blender, serve with cream and ice cubes.

Im sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salads Mela

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Gazpacho

2011-11-03T20:12:00.003+05:30

Gazpacho, is a cold Spanish tomato based vegetable soup. I tried it with tomato, bell peppers and cucumber with. It was awesome. I guess it tastes great, even when its hot.

Ingredients
Tomato - 2
Onion - 1/2
Red Bell Pepper - 1/2
Cucumber - 1/2
Garlic - 2 cloves
Bread - 1
Butter or Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Pepper Powder or red chilli paste - as per taste
Salt to taste

Method
Blanch tomatoes and mash them. Soak bread in water/milk and keep it aside.
Heat butter, saute onions, minced garlic and finely chopped bell pepper till raw smell is gone.
Grind all these together with chopped cucumber till its a smooth paste. Add salt and pepper powder/red chili paste and refrigerate for 5 hours.
Serve chilled with some chopped bell pepper, cucumber pieces. Instead you can heat the ground paste with little milk and serve hot with cheese.

Im sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salads Mela and to Lynds Sweet Heat #2

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

7 Cup Cake

2011-11-02T22:29:00.000+05:30

I have been really messy today. I had to cook from Priya Sreeram's Bon Appetit today and I dunno why I cooked from TastyCurryLeaf. After returning from the diwali vacation may be I got confused. But no excuses really. Thankfully CurryLeaf promptly told me about this, and me the lazy logged in at half past one in the midnight after watching a horrible tamil movie. The moment I saw her comment, I started looking for all the bookmarked recipes. Again thanks to Radhika, she gave me plenty of time to prepare something and post for the Blog Hop Wednesday, I prepared this cake in a jiffy (very little quantity though) and posted it!!! But Alls well that ends well!!!! Thanks to CurryLeaf!!!!

Ingredients
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup
Shredded Coconut - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 3 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1 pinch

Method
In a thick bottomed kadai, mix all the ingredients together and stir well. Make sure there are no lumps formed.
Keep stirring till all the ghee is absorbed and the mixture is not sticking to the sides.
Grease a plate and pour the mix onto it and once its slightly warm, cut into pieces of desired shapes. I made laddoos of the left over ones.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chakalaka

2011-11-02T10:32:00.002+05:30

A new series of Blog Hop Wednesday starts today. A new set of people to cook with. It really feels good. ~~Im paired with Priya of Tasty Curry Leaf and when I went through her blog, I really could'nt control the number of bookmarked recipes~~. I was paired with Priya Sreeram and while I started cooking, I chose the wrong Blog. I hopped onto TastyCurryLeaf. I was literally hooked onto her site for hours. But later CurryLeaf commented on my post saying I had cooked from the wrong blog. I saw this late in the night and tried a 7 Cup Cake from Priya's Blog and posted it ontime for the Blog Hop.
Now, the recipe I chose from CurryLeaf is Chakala. Its a South African relish served with Pap. Its very simple to make and both kidney beans and baked beans being my favorites I chose this recipe. This is very similar to rajma masala.

Ingredients
Kidney Beans/Baked Beans - 1 cup
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Bell Pepper - 1
Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Curry Powder - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak kidney beans overnight and pressure cook till soft and mushy.
Heat oil, saute onions till golden. Add bell peppers, tomato and cook till pulpy.
Add salt, curry powder, cooked kidney beans and some water if needed. Cook on low heat till a gravy consistency is reached.
Serve hot with rice or chapathi

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chandrakala

2011-11-01T16:21:00.005+05:30

A sweet that I go gaga about. I love the texture, the taste, the gooeyness everything. Tried it at home the very first time and after some effort, it was great.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 cups
Khoya - 1 cup
Mixed Nuts - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Method
Mix sugar with6 half cup water and boil to get a one thread consistency. Set it aside.
Mix maida, ghee, baking powder and knead into a smooth dough. Set it aside for and hour.
Mix khoya, finely chopped nuts, grated coconut together and make into small lemon sized balls.
Pinch small balls of the dough and roll into flat chapathis.
Keep a ball of the stuffing inside, and fold like a semi circle. Dab some water on the edges and twist the edges inside.
Deep fry the chandrakalas till golden brown and dip them in sugar syrup for 2 minutes. Store in a air tight container. This doesnt have a long shelve life.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts - Festive Food, and to Vatsala's Potluck Party

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Rumali Roti

2011-10-31T18:07:00.002+05:30

I was always awed when I used to see chefs flipping those huge rumali rotis in air and landing it perfectly on the upside down kadai. When ever we visit VV Puram I make sure I have the rumali roti and chana from one of the vendors. I wanted to try it once, to check if its worthwhile to prepare it at home!! Yes it definately is. You get the same soft thin rotis!!!

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Curd - 2 tbsp
Soda Bi-Carb - a pinch
Salt to taste

Method
Knead all the ingredients together with very little water if needed into a smooth dough and let it rest for an hour.
Knead again and divide into 10 portions and roll out into thin sheets.
Cook on a inverted kadai until light brown spots begin to appear.
Cook on high heat and flip quikly. If cooked on uniform heat, the roti will be ready in less than half a minute. Serve hot!!

Im sending this to Jaya's Back to Basics hosted by PJ

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vermicelli Payasam

2011-10-26T14:11:00.002+05:30

Every south indian meal kicks off with a payasam. Any kind of celebration a payasam is always present apart from other sweets and savories. There are so many payasams we prepare and still can keep on inventing new ones!!!! This is a very simple payasam, made using minimal ingredients.

Ingredients
Roasted Vermicelli - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 glasses
Sugar - 1/2 cup

Method
Boil milk, till its reduced to half and add sugar, roasted vermicelli.
Keep stirring continuously till vermicelli is cokked well.
Garnish with cardamom powder, ghee roasted rasins and cashew.

Im sending this to Srav's Cooking Concepts Festive Food.

Happy Diwali!!
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vazhaipoo Paruppu Usili

2011-10-24T12:29:00.001+05:30

My MIL is an ardent fan of anything to do with gram dal. Paruppu Usili is definately on top of the list. Add it to the goodness of Banana Blossoms, just an awesome dish for lunch. You can also try this with cluster beans, french beans. Infact it tastes great without any vegetable as well.

Ingredients
Banana Blossom - 1
Gram Dal - 1 cup
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Red Chili - 8
Asafoetida - a pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Clean and finely chop Banana Blossom. Click here to know how to clean and use Banana Blossom.
Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Set it aside.
Soak the dals for an hour. Grind into a fine paste along with red chilies, asafoetida and salt, with a very little amount of water or none.
If apprehensive about cooking gram dal, first steam the paste in a idly pan and then follow the steps below, else skip the steaming part.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add curry leaves and the paste. Cook on low flame throughout.
Keep stirring, the paruppu usili is cooked when the paste is not sticky and it crumbles easily.
Add cooked banana blossom to this and stir for 5 more minutes.
I usually mix it with rice, gingelly oil and have it with Morkozhambu or MorKootu as the side.

Im sending this to Ramya's ABC Series : B for Banana

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Rajasthani Jaadi Roti

2011-10-19T09:03:00.002+05:30

Whenever I think of Rajasthani cusine, the first thing that comes to my mind is Dal Baati-Churma. Nothing else can ever top the list. When I visit Rajdhani in Forum mall, I make sure I have this yummy delicacy. But this is not about Dal Baati or Churma, its another interesting pinched roti I tried from Pinks Recipe Dairy for Blog Hop Wednesday. I have never ever heard of this word any where. Even in any rajasthani restaurant I have been to. Interesting to pinch roti's and get a totally different kind of texture. Many thanks to Radhika for creating this forum, and help realize different stuff from varying origins.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Gingelly Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Knead all the ingredients together to make a hard dough.
Make small balls of it and roll into a thick roti.
Prick with a fork on one side and place it on a tawa. Press with a piece of cloth and cook on both sides.
When one side is having brown spots, pinch the other side of the roti. You will see the pinches like small hills of dough peeping out through out the surface.
Flip the roti, with the hill side facing down and cook for 5 minutes. The roti will be brown in color when cooked properly.
Remove from heat and pour 2 tbsp of ghee on the roti. Serve hot!!

Im also sending this to Jaya's Back to Basics hosted by PJ

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Corn Chops

2011-10-18T19:11:00.000+05:30

Too bored staying alone, all I have is cooking to pass my time!! Its really frustrating, when you have all the time in the world for yourself. You need sometime free and sometime busy to keep the balance I guess. So todays home alone was spent by trying out corn chops.

Ingredients
Onion - 1
Sweet Corn - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Crushed Black Peppercorn - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves - a handful
Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
Cheese Cubes - 3
Corn Flour - 3 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method
Pulse sweet corn once/twice and keep it aside.
Heat oil, add onions, ginger garlic paste and saute till golden brown. Add sweet corn, turmeric powder, crushed pepper and mix well. Turn off heat, add finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Mix corn flour, red chilli powder, pinch of salt with very little water and make a thick paste.
Take a portion of the corn mixture and keep a small cube of cheese in the center and cover it completely forming an oval shape.
Dip it in the corn flour paste and roll over bread crumbs and deep fry. Serve hot with tomato ketchup and mint chutney.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Cheezy Onion Hot & Roll

2011-10-17T18:28:00.003+05:30

All around KL, you have these Hot & Roll tuck shops. For shopaholics, I guess its the best place to grab a roll in 2-3 minutes and continue the shopping spree ;) Being vegetarians, it really gets tough to identify a tuck shop which sells atleast one veggie dish, apart from fries!! We got attracted by this hot&roll shop and tried their Double Cheese Onion Parantha. Its drool worthy!!So next time when I had some paranthas left over, I tried this roll recipe and whoof, all the old paranthas were gobbled!!!!

Ingredients
Parantha - 4
Sweet Chilli Sauce - 4 tbsp
White Onion - 1
Coriander Leaves - a handful
Grated Mozzarella - 1 cup

Method
Heat parathas on a tawa, spead the sweet chilli sauce, sprinkle finely chopped onion, coriander leaves and cheese on the parantha and roll.
Simple and delicious hot & roll is ready!!!

Im sending this to Amy's Love Your Food - Dont Waste It, Harini's Kids Delight - Dressing up Left Overs and to Jaya's Back to Basics hosted by PJ

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Proteinaceous Kachori

2011-10-16T18:08:00.000+05:30

I have never been a healthy food person. Anything sinful is a definite yes for me. Now I had this event, I was attracted to - protein rich, fatty food and all I could think of was peas, lentils.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Mung Bean - 1 tbsp
Kidney Bean - 1 tbsp
Moong Dal - 1 tbsp
Green Peas - 1 tbsp
Sweet Corn - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1/2
Cheese Slice - 4
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak moong beans and kidney beans for 8 hours. Pressure cook till soft and mushy.
Heat oil, add cumin seeds, onions, ginger-garlic and saute. Add cooked moong bean, kidney bean, sweet peas, corn, red chilli powder, salt and mix well.
Cook for 5 minutes and turn off heat.
Knead all purpose flour and salt into a soft and smooth dough. Keep it aside for 20 minutes.
Make small balls of the dough and roll them flat like small chapathis. Place a spoonful of filling and a cheese slice and cover it like a ball.
Slightly press on the centre to flatten it and deep fry. Serve it with tamarind date chutney.

Im sending this to Radhika's Let's Cook Series #8 ~ Hibernative Foods

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Kerala Parota

2011-10-15T18:48:00.002+05:30

Its a flaky flat bread made using maida. Its crispy and soft at the same time. Its sinful as well, I dont even remember the last time when I used up so much of oil for anything. My brother always is a huge fan of these parotas. My BILs say when at Saravana Bhavan the parota is irresistible. Try it with a nice kurma or a salna, it feels heavenly!!!

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Warm Milk - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for kneading

Method
Knead all the ingredients together, till the stickiness is gone and the dough is soft. Cover the dough with cloth and let it rest for half an hour.
Knead the dough again for 5 minutes. Divide into small balls and roll as as thin as possible.
Do flip flaps, like a sari pleats and roll like a swiss roll. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into 2-3 strips and twist them into a ball. Repeat the same for all the dough.
Press and roll into a circle with the rolling pin. This will be thicker than a chapathi.
Heat a tawa, and cook the parathas on both sides, till brown spots appear on both sides.
Serve hot with kurma/salna.

Im sending this to Jaya's Back to Basics hosted by PJ
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Coconut Barfi

2011-10-14T16:34:00.001+05:30

Me and hubby both have a sweet tooth!! My MIL had prepared these sweet coconut barfi and sent it thru a friend to us.

Ingredients
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Method
Dissolve sugar in water to one thread consistency.
Add grated coconut and keep stirring. Add ghee, cardamom powder and stir well.
When its a frothy mass switch off heat. Grease a plate with ghee and pour the mixture on it.
Lay it out evenly and when its a little warm make pieces and let it cool.

Im sending this to many events as well!!!
Priya's Veggie/Fruit a month - Coconut, Sukanya's Healing Food Coconut, Sameena's Diwali Sweet recipes, Anu's Diwali - "Festival of Lights", Khushi's My Diwali My Way, Gayathri's 'Only' - Sweets and Desserts, Denny and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Cheesy Carrot Kati Roll

2011-10-13T19:29:00.002+05:30

Kati rolls are yummy on-the-go snacks. We had planned a movie nite at home, and needed something easy to munch on, rather than a fussy plate. So I prepared the stuffing and the rolls ahead of time and microwaved them!!!

Ingredients
For the chapathi
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
For the filling
Carrot - 1
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Cheese Slices - 4
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Chop carrot into thing slices and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Heat oil, saute onions till brown. Add tomatoes and cooked carrots and mix well.
Add chilli powder, dhaniya powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt and mix well. Once cooked switch off heat and keep it aside.
Mix all the ingredients for the chapathi and knead into a smooth and soft dough. Make small balls of it and roll into flat chapathis.
Cook the chapathis, add a slice of cheese and the carrot stuffing in the center, and roll. Serve hot.

Im sending this to Jaya's Back to Basics hosted by PJ
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Fafda

2011-10-12T16:39:00.003+05:30

I recently read in TOI, Amdavadis prefer fafdas and jalebis during Dassera. As the occasion mandates,and as I had my Blog Hop today, I hopped to Nayna's Simply.Food and tried fafda. Delicious for a tea time snack.

Ingredients
Gram Flour - 1 tbsp
Maida - 4 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 3/4 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 2 pinches
Sesame Seeds - 1 tsp
Chopped Coriander - a handful
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method
Mix all the ingredients together with 1 tbsp oil and water to knead a smooth dough and keep it aside for half an hour.
Take a small ball of the dough and roll it flat into a thin chapathi.
Cut into thin strips or rectangles and deep fry and store air tight.
Enjoy crispy fafda with hot jalebis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Channa Bhatura

2011-10-11T16:55:00.004+05:30

Channa Bhatura, the famous dish - I always tried it at a hotel or road side eatery. That biiiiig bhatura with a cup of channa, sliced onions and lemon!!! Never had the guts to try at home, until very recently. Maida and oily bhature - what would be the outcome blah blah. But, I always am excited to cook when people are invited. Something special should definitely be on the platter. So I tried out this mouth watering dish.

Ingredients
For the Bhatura
Maida - 1 cup
Wheat Flour - 1/4 cup
Boiled Potato - 1
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Yoghurt - 2 tbsp
Salt - 2 tsp
Oil for deep frying
For the channa
Chick Pea - 1 cup
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Boiled potato - 1
Channa Masala - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
For the Bhatura
Knead all the ingredients together with little water, cover it in a damp cloth and let it rest for 3-4 hours.
Make into balls of any desired size, roll it flat and deep fry till puffed up and cooked on both sides.
For the Channa
Soak chick peas overnight, and steam cook till mushy.
Heat oil, add finely chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, and saute till golden brown.
Add tomatoes and cook til mushy. Grind half of the cooked mix into a fine paste.
Add the paste, channa masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, to the sauted onion/tomato mix and cook well. Add some water, cubed potatoes, boiled channa and cook on low heat till the spices are infused well and the gravy is of consistency.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice.
Serve channa and bhaturas hot!!!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Stuffed Capsicum

2011-10-10T14:52:00.000+05:30

Ever since I saw Khana Khazana on Zee I always wanted to try stuffed tomatoes. But Capsicum being a favorite, I tried this instead.

Ingredients
Capsicum - 2
Boiled Vegetables - 1 cup
Onion -1
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add onions and saute. Add boiled/smashed vegetables and mix well.
Add coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder and salt and mix well. Keep it aside
Cut the capsicum into two, remove the seeds and put them in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Stuff the filling into the capsicum shell and heat it on a tawa or kadai, till the outer parts of the capsicum are cooked well and have blisters.
Serve hot with chapathis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chow Chow Puli Kootu

2011-10-09T15:45:00.000+05:30

Generally we prepare kootu with dal and coconut. I has run out of coconut to prepare the usual kootu, and tried this out like a semi pitlai kind of kootu. Chayote being so versatile, blended well!!!

Ingredients
Chayote - 1
Tamarind - size of a lemon
Red Chili - 2
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Gram Dal - 1 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a little
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Pressure cook cubed chayote with tamarind extract and water if needed.
Dry roast and grind red chilli, coriander seeds, gram dal, urad dal, asafoetida into a fine powder. I ground the curry leaves as well together, because people throw it away generally.
Heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters, add cooked chayote, tamarind water used for cooking, ground masala powder, salt and allow to boil till the gravy is thick enough; and serve with dal and rice.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Jeera Rasam

2011-10-09T15:44:00.000+05:30

A hot jeera rasam is all you need when having cold. Out of all rasams, I love the jeera rasam my mom prepares. This recipe is from her cookbook!

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 1 tbsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Pepper - 8-10 corns
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Garlic - 4 cloves (optional)
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - lemon sized
Salt to taste

Method
Boil tamarind extract with garlic pods for 5 minutes.
Grind toor dal, gram dal, pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves into a fine powder and add it to tamarind water with salt and allow to boil. Add finely chopped tomatoes.
Once the raw smell is gone, add some water and simmer.
Once you get a froth, switch off heat, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vermicelli Arrabiata

2011-10-07T12:22:00.001+05:30

I dunno why, but my husband suggested he wanted vermicelli with arrabiata sauce and I said why not!! An upma with an Italian twist!!

Ingredients
Vermicelli - 1 cup
Tomato - 3
Garlic - 3 cloves
Red Chilli - 2
Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Parsley - 1 tbsp
Basil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp

Method
Heat oil, add onion and minced garlic and saute till golden brown.
Add finely chopped tomatoes (alternatively, grind to a puree) crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper.
Simmer and cook for 20 minutes, add some water if necessary. Add parsley, basil and your arrabiata sauce is ready.
Boil water and cook vermicelli, add the arrabiata sauce, mix well and serve hot!!

Im sending this to Srav's Whats for Friday Dinner?

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Aval Aapam

2011-10-07T11:28:00.001+05:30

My mother makes these soft and spongy aapams from flattened rice. When my cousins visited us, they used to always request her to prepare this. These were favorites in the family and my mom's trade mark recipe as well.

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Boiled Rice - 1 cup
Flattened Rice - 1 cup
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak raw rice, boiled rice, fenugreek seeds, urad dal for 2-3 hours. Soak flattened rice for an hour.
Grind all these together, with salt and let it ferment. Once fermented, mix well and add some water to make it to a flowing batter consistency. Fermentation times depend upon the climate!!
Heat tawa, pour a laddle full of batter and spread into a thick and small circle. Grease with oil, close with a lid and cook on low flame. You will see pores appearing once the batter is spread.
It will take 3-4 minutes to cook well. Serve hot with onion-tomato chutney.

Im sending this to Srav's Whats for Friday Dinner?

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chocolate Pongal

2011-10-06T14:02:00.003+05:30

I am a chocoholic. I can literally live on just choco crepes and choco drinks for 3 full days(I havent tried more than this). This time when I was preparing sakkarai pongal one day for neivedhyam. I thought why dont people prepare choco pongal. How would it taste with rice? Never knew if such a combination ever existed. Google as always, ever helpful and I found Champorado which is Filipino Chocolate Rice Porridge. Very similar to what I tried!!!

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Chocolate syrup/Cocoa - 8 tbsp
Cooking Milk Chocolate - 1 bar
Sugar - 1/2 cup

Method
Pressure cook rice and moong dal till mushy.
Heat a pan, add butter, cooked rice/dal, chocolate syrup, milk chocolate, sugar and mix well till a semi solid consistency is reached.
Garnish with badam, walnuts and serve hot.

Im sending this to Reva's CWS Rice a brain child of Priya, Srivalli's Kid's Delight Party and though remotely relevant to Zesty Palette's Halloween Fiesta.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Carrot Chips

2011-10-05T17:12:00.000+05:30

Was bored of preparing usual sambar, rasam and curry. So decided to make some chips instead, though a bit tricky initially the end result was worth while.

Ingredients
Carrot - 1
Rice Flour - 3 tbsp
Pepper Powder - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Grate Carrot into thin slices. Coat them with rice flour and deep fry.
Add salt and pepper and mix well. Consume immediately because it tends to get soggy.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Suyan

2011-10-05T10:44:00.003+05:30

Suyan is a special dish we prepare for Saraswati Pooja. Its similar to a fried kozhukattai. I tried it out for the first time, very tricky for amateurs but the taste is worth the effort.

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 3 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Salt - less than a pinch
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Grated Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Method
Soak raw rice, urad dal for an hour and grind into a fine paste with salt, without adding much water. Keep it aside. Batter should neither be too thick nor too thin.
Melt grated jaggery, remove all impurities and make a thik syrup.
Add coconut, cardamom powder and mix well till thick. Make small balls of this pooranam.
Dip pooranam balls in the batter (make sure the pooranam is coated well on all sides) and deep fry. Serve hot!!

Im sending this to Denny's and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck, Gayathri's Only Sweets and Desserts event, a brain child of Pari and to Khushi's My Diwali My Way

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Sakkarai Pongal

2011-10-04T19:45:00.001+05:30

The very renowned pongal. Simple and delicious.

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Grated Jaggery - 1 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Borneo Camphor - less than a pinch

Method
Pressure cook raw rice, moong dal till mushy.
Heat milk and reduce it to half the amount, add the jaggery syrup, rice/dal mixture, half of the ghee and mix well till semi solid. Turn off heat.
Add borneo camphor(edible camphor) and mix well. Garnish with cashew and rasins fried in ghee.

Im sending this to Denny's and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck and to Gayathri's Only Sweets and Desserts event, a brain child of Pari

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Jackfruit Kofte

2011-10-04T14:10:00.001+05:30

We got these yummy jackfruit, which was very sweet this time. And I decided to prepare these koftas, which were sweet and sour.

Ingredients
Jackfruit Slices - 5
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Gram Flour - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Sour Yoghurt - 1 tbsp
Kasoori Methi - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
For the Kofte
Grind jackfruit slices into a fine paste. Mix it with tamarind paste, a pinch salt, red chilli powder, gram flour and let is rest for half an hour.
Heat oil in a kadai, pour a spoonful of the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Keep this aside.
Heat oil, add cubed onions, ginger garlic paste and saute till golden brown. Add tomatoes and cook till mushy. Grind this into a fine paste and cook again in a kadai.
Add dhaniya powder, cumin powder, garam masala, salt and cook well.
Once the spices are infused well,. add crushed kasoori methi and curd. Stir well on high flame for a minute and remove from the stove top.
Garnish the gravy with finey chopped coriander and lemon juice.
Serve the kofte on the plate and top it with the gravy. Dont add the kofte to the gravy earlier, as it tends to get mushy and loses the flavor.

Im sending this to Ambrosia's ARS Series - F for Fresh Fruit Curries.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chakka Pradhaman

2011-10-03T16:17:00.004+05:30

We got this pack full of cleaned jackfruit, and wondering what to do. They werent much sweet as we would have expected them to be, and this idea dawned on me to prepare this yummy payasam for neivedhyam. Its traditionally a kerala speciality!!!

Ingredients
Jack fruit pieces - 10
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup

Method
Grind jack fruit pieces into a fine paste. Heat jaggery with very little water and remove the impurities.
Boil milk, add jaggery and jack fruit paste and mix well.
Garnish with cardamom powder, ghee fried cashews and raisins.

Im sending this to Khushi's The Kerala Kitchen Event, for more details visit here. Also sending this to Denny's and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck and to Gayathri's Only Sweets and Desserts event, a brain child of Pari

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Moong Dal Sundal

2011-10-02T19:30:00.003+05:30

Day 5 - Im thinking what to prepare and again my MIL was the eleventh hour samaritan. She suggested Payatham Paruppu Sundal.You can try the same recipe using different dal's and your simple and tasty sundal is ready!!

Ingredients
Moong Dal - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green Chili - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Steam cook moong dal and let it cool. It tends to get mushy, so take care while cooking.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters add urad dal, green chili, curry leaves and cooked moong dal. Mix them well.
Add salt, coconut and mix well. Hot sundal is ready!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Batata Vada / Aloo Bonda

2011-10-02T17:29:00.002+05:30

My Chithappa in-law was in skype and thinking aloud about having bonda for evening snacks.I instantly decided to prepare bonda. The word "Bonda" is a temptress all by itself.

Ingredients
Boiled Potato -2
Onion - 1
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Green Chillie -2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - a handful
Gram Flour - 1/2 cup
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
Red Chillie Powder -2 tbsp
Sodium bicarbonate - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method
Heat oil, add cumin seeds, finely chopped green chilies, onions, ginger garlic paste and saute.
Add mashed potato, salt and mix well. Turn off heat add lemon juice, coriander leaves and make into small balls.
Prepare a batter as for bhajji. Click here to know how.
Dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry.
Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ellu Podi

2011-10-01T16:47:00.002+05:30

What a tedious day I have had. Visited the Golu at Batu Caves Murugan Temple and returned pretty late. And today being a saturday, I prepared quick and easy Ellu Podi for Neivedhyam on Day 4 of Navratri 2011.

Ingredients
Sesame Seeds - 1 cup
Grated Jaggery - 1 cup

Method
Soak sesame seeds (black) for 15 minutes. Dry roast them till all the seeds crackle.
Grind grated jaggery and roasted sesame seeds together to a fine powder.
Garnish with nuts and neivedhyam is ready!!

Im sending this to Denny's and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck and to Gayathri's Only Sweets and Desserts event, a brain child of Pari

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Samosa

2011-09-30T17:48:00.003+05:30

Whenever we pass through Sri Ram Sweets near Jayadeva in Bangalore, we stop by to get some samosas and jalebi!! Hot Samosas are always on the menu when its a rainy day.

Ingredients

For the Chutney

Coriander Leaves - a handful

Tamarind - an inch

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Dates - 4

Green Chili - 1

Salt to taste

For the filling

Boiled Potato - 1

Boiled Carrot - 1

Onion - 1

Peas - a handful

Corn - a handful

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

For the outer cover

All Purpose Flour - 1 cup

Salt - a pinch

Water for the dough

Oil for deep frying

Method

Knead flour, salt with very little water into a smooth dough. Coat it with a tbsp of oil and let it rest for half an hour.

Grind all the Ingredients for the chutney with very little water into a fine paste.

Heat oil, add cumin seeds and saute onions, peas, corn. Add mashed potato, carrot, paste and mix well.

Make small balls of the dough and flatten to form a oval shape.

Cut into two parts. Take one part and dab some water on the cut end. Join the ends together to form a cone.

Place the filling inside the cone. Dab some water on the edges of the cone and bring them together or fold it over one another in the form of a samosa. I have made a step by step collage for the pictorial explanation of making the cone!!

Deep fry and serve hot. These dont require chutney's as I added the chutney to the filling itself.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Sweet Puttu

2011-09-30T15:47:00.001+05:30

Day 3 and a friday. It calls for a Puttu neivedhyam.

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Salt - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Coconut - 2 tbsp

Method
Dry roast rice flour till reddish in color. Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well.
Add very little warm water, and wet the flour. If you take the flour and clasp in your palm, it should hold and when you break, it should be powdery.
Steam cook the rice flour using an idly pan.
Heat very little water and add jaggery. Allow to thicken. It should be thicker than a one string consistency.
Mix the steamed rice flour with cardamom powder, grated coconut and jaggery syrup.
Garnish with ghee fried cashews and serve.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Manathakkali Keerai Poricha Kootu

2011-09-29T18:40:00.003+05:30

Leaves of the Black Nightshade plant, its a great source of vitamins and is very effective in curing stomach and mouth ulcers. Poricha Kootu is already a favorite in the family and this is the only leafy veggie my FIL prefers a lot. We had been shopping yesterday, and the moment we saw these we pounced on it.

Ingredients
Manathakkali Keerai - a bunch
Ural Dal - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1/2 tbsp
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Coconut - 2 tbsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for garnishing

Method
Boil water, add salt, sambar powder, finely chopped manathakkali keerai and cook with a lid.
Grind urad dal, pepper and coconut into a paste and add it to the cooked keerai.
Add cooked toor dal and stir well.
Garnish with mustard seeds, gram dal and serve hot.
It might be a bit bitter, so add some jaggery or sugar if needed.

Im sending this to Yummy Food In Tummy's Life Is Green

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chickpea Sundal

2011-09-29T18:34:00.003+05:30

Day 2 of Navaratri and its a thursday. Sundals are a must for navaratri. So prepared this yummy Kondakadalai Sundal for today's neivedhyam.

Ingredients
Chickpea - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Green Chili - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak Chickpeas overnight and pressure cook till soft and mushy when pinched.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add all the other ingredients and saute on high flame for 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Badam Poli

2011-09-28T18:55:00.001+05:30

Today is the first day of Navaratri, so obviously something sweet for the occasion is mandatory!! I prepared these tasty poli's with Badam. Poli or Obbattu filling is usually made of chana dal or coconut along with jaggery. This time I tried with Badam and sugar filling and it turned out really well.

Ingredients
All purpose Flour - 1 cup
Salt - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Gingelly Oil - 2 tbsp
Water for the dough
For the filling
Badam - 20
Coconut - a handful
Dates - 10
Sugar - 5 tbsp

Method
Mix maida, salt, turmeric with very little water and knead to a soft dough. Add 1 tbsp oil, knead again and set it aside for 2 hours.
Soak badam in water for half an hour and peel the skin.
Grind all the ingredients for the filling into a fine paste. Dont add water. Add milk if necessary. It should be thick. Roll into small balls.
Take a small portion of the dough, roll into small circles. Place a ball of badam paste in the center, cover with the dough and flatten into a circle with a rolling pin. If the dough is sticky, dab some wheat flour and flatten the poli.
Place a poli in a tawa and when its light brown, dab ghee and cook on both sides.

Im sending this entry to Anu's Cook.Eat.Delicious - Desserts a brain child of Raven

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Navarathri and Golu

2011-09-28T15:23:00.002+05:30

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dashera.
It commences on the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Puratasi. Navaratri is celebrated all over India in different ways. In Gujrat people celebrate the festival with garba and dandiya. In West Bengal they make pandals, and worship idols of Goddess Durga . Exquisitely crafted and decorated clay idols and set up and they are immersed in the river on the fifth day.
In Tamil Nadu, people set up steps and place idols on them. Its called the Golu. The first three days goddess Durga is celebrated, inorder to destroy all our impurities. The second three days Goddess Lakshmi is worshippes, who bestowes her devotees with wealth and abundance. And the final three days Goddess of Wisdom, Saraswati is worshipped. On the 9th day, Saraswati pooja is performed, all books are stacked along with an idol of the goddess. Ayudha Pooja is also performed today. All kinds of tools and equipments are cleaned and worshipped . Even vehicles, shops are decorated and pooja is perfomed. They distribute sweets and flattened rice mixed with peanuts, fried gram, jaggery.The 10th day, Vijaya Dasami - Its the day when evil is destroyed by good and a new prosperous beginning is made. All new ventures started on this day is believed to flourish. All kids read a book from the stack of books kept along with the idol on Saraswati pooja. Many parents admit their children to Play school on that day.

At our place, we have the Golu arrangement done every year. The golu stand is assembled on the Mahalaya Ammavasai day, day before the Navaratri festival commences. The padi or steps are usually odd in number. We have a 7 step golu stand. The stair is usually covered with a cloth and dolls are placed neatly and as per theme. Park, cricket ground are created with the help of sprouted mustard seeds etc on sand. Decorations and lightings are done to beautify the golu. Its a time for youngsters to show their creativity and use the crafty skills.
We have a collection of dolls, and its increasing year after year. These are the dolls sets we had stacked up for this year's golu.

The top steps usually have the regular golu dolls, Ram-Sita-Lakshman- Hanuman, Perumal-Thaayar, Vittal-Rukmani, Durga-Lakshmi-Saraswati, Gayatri Devi, Madurai Meenakshi, Krishna, Dasavataram, Ashtalakshmi, Marapachi Set, and Shirdi Baba Bhajan set.

The other steps have some new dolls which we got this year. Karagatam set, Annamalai-Unnamalai, Deivayanai Murugan Kalyanam, Cricket Set, Thalai Aati Bommai, Krishnar Uri Adi, Raja Darbar, Kuberan Set, Garuda Vahanam set and some miscellaneous dolls handed over by my grandma. In earlier times, the dolls used to be handed down from one generation to other. Our village house has a room full of clay dolls, and I myself have stolen some of the porcelain dolls from my granny ;)
Apart from the Golu arrangement, the sundal's are quite famous. Every evening, devotional hyms and slokas are chanted and a different type of sundal(prepared from dals) is offered as prasad to the deities and distributed to visitors. Ladies and girls used to visit friends and relatives and invite them for viewing the Golu. A small bag with kumkum, turmeric, bangles, mirror, comb, bindis, and other gifts are given to ladies who visit during these 9 days. On the Vijayadasami day dolls from the Golu are symbolically put to sleep, thus marking an end to the 10 day festivities. Festive spirit has already begun, and I will be posting some special neivedhyams for navaratri!!

Happy festive season!!!
Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Maraba Tamer

2011-09-28T12:09:00.001+05:30

I have never tried to prepare jams at home. I found this jam recipe online and it was worth the try!!

Ingredients
Water - 1 glass
Sugar - 2 cups
Cloves - 8
Dates - 2 cups
Lemon Juice - 3 tbsp
Chopped Almonds, Pistachio - 2 tbsp

Method
Boil water; add sugar, cloves and stir well.
Grind dates into tiny bits in a mixer. Add it to the sugar syrup along with lemon juice. Keep stirring continuously on low heat.
When the dates are all mixed well with sugar syrup and a gluey consistency is reached add chopped nuts and mix well. Cook for 5 more minutes, until a gel like consistency is reached.
Allow to cool and store in a glass jar. Serve with bread or rotis.

Im sending this to Sonia's Breakfast Club #15 a brain child of Helen's FussFreeFlavors and to Aarthi's HLI-Dates started by Kalyani.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Veg Cheese Quesadillas

2011-09-28T11:32:00.003+05:30

Another Blog Hop Wednesday, and I made sure it goes off without a glitch. Huh!! So Im again paired with Sumedha of Sumee's Culinary Bites and this time I tried the Veggie Quesadilla. I always loved quesadillas and tried to make it a bit indianized. So here you go!!

Ingredients
Corn Flour - 1 cup
All Purpose Floue - 1/4 cup
Cheese Slices - 2
Onions - 1
Bell Pepper(Red and Green) - 1 each
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking
Water for dough
For the green chutney
Coriander leaves - a handful
Green Chili - 2
Salt to taste
For the date chutney
Jaggery - 2 tbsp
Dates - 6-7 deseeded
Tamarind - lemon sized
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
For the chutneys
Grind all the ingredients for the green chutney into a thick paste.
Soak tamarind in a cup of warm water and boil it in a heavy bottomed pan for 5 minutes.
Grind along with dates into a paste and strain through a sieve.
Heat jaggery with very little or no water and remove the impurities. Mix with tamarind date mix and allow to boil till its thick enough.
Add red chili powder, cumin powder, salt and your date chutney is ready.
For the quesadilla
Mix cornflour, all purpose flour together with a pinch of salt and knead into a soft and smooth dough.
Make small balls of the dough. Flatten like small chapathis using a rolling pin and cook on both sides in a tawa. Prepare all tortillas and keep it aside.
Heat oil, add onions, ginger garlic paste, capsicum and saute till cooked. Add salt and pepper and set aside.
Take a tortilla, spread green chutney on one half and the date chutney on the other.
Place the filling on one half and place the cheese slice on top of it.
Close the other half on top of this, dab some ghee/oil on both sides and cook till crispy.
Serve with any dip of your choice. Tastes yum without a dip ofcourse.

Sending this to Radhika's Blog Hop Wednesday and Kalyani's 100 day Global food festival

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Apple Malpua and Rabdi

2011-09-27T19:06:00.002+05:30

Today is Mahalaya ammavasai and my MIL had prepared Sakkarai Pongal. I dint know and missed it!! So thought why not prepare something new to grace the occasion.

Ingredients
For the Malpua
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Semolina - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Apple - 1/2
Milk - 1/2 cup
Curd - 2 tbsp
Ghee for frying
For the Rabdi
Milk - 1/2 ltr
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Apple - 1/2
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method
Rabdi
Boil milk, add sugar and keep stirring continuously till its reduced to half.
Peel and grind apples into a paste. Add it to milk, stir for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set it aside.
Malpua
Grind apple into a fine paste and mix all the ingredients in a bowl, to prepare a smooth batter. Set it aside for an hour.
Heat ghee, pour a spoonful of batter and fry till golden brown on both sides.
Serve hot with rabdi.

Im sending this recipe to Ramya's Recipe's ABC Series - A for Apple, Radhika's Diwali Special - Sweets and Savories and Anu's Diwali - "Festival of Lights"

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vazhaipoo Vadai

2011-09-27T13:57:00.003+05:30

Once when we visited my husband's aunt she had prepared these crispy vadais. Since then we have been thinking of preparing vazhaipoo vadai. But we never could find it in reliance or hypercity or spar in Bangalore. And being lazy to go to the market, we almost forgot about it. This weekend when we went shopping in KL, we had been to a local tamil market and we found all indian vegetables there. And when we saw vazhai poo, though the whole thing is too much for us, we will buy it. So today I prepared vazhaipoo vadai and later will post some other recipes with it.

Ingredient
Vazhaipoo - 1
Gram Dal - 1 cup
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Full Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Red Chili - 10
Green Chili - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method
Soak gram dal, toor dal, urad dal for 1 hour in warm water.
Grind the chilies, salt, asafoetida, curry leaves into a fine paste.
Add the soaked dals, and grind coarsely. 1 or 2 pulses in the mixer should be enough. Take care that it doesnt get mashed. The vadai will not be crispy.
Add the chopped vazhaipoo and mix well. Click here to know how to clean and use vazhaipoo.
Take a small portion of the mix, flatten it in your palm and deep fry.
Serve hot with chutney.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

How to - Prepare Vazhaipoo

2011-09-27T13:45:00.005+05:30

Vazhaipoo or Banana Blossom is a very tasty and healthy ingredient. Its a fibre rich source, and can reduce blood cholestrol levels. It purifies blood, and also increases the hemoglobin content in blood. But its comsumption is less, owing to laborious procedure before cooking. We prepare vadai, paruppu usili, varuval etc with this.

Now how to prepare banana blossoms for cooking.

Remove the purple cover of the flower(bract), and pull out the flower bunches.

Remove the stamen (string with a head) and rubbery petal like skin covering the base from each floret and chop into small pieces.

But while peeling the innermost little florets, this becomes tough. So take a bunch of florets by the base and rub the head/top of the florets on your palm. This will open the florets and you can easily remove the inedible parts.

Put the chopped vazhaipoo in water mixed with buttermilk to avoid discoloration. You can store it with the buttermilk in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Enjoy the taste of this healthy banana blossom!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Carrot and Spinach Soup

2011-09-26T18:45:00.003+05:30

Carrots and Spinach are very healthy and nutritious dish. Its a very simple and non fussy dish as well.

Ingredients
Carrot - 1
Spinach - a handful
Milk - 1/2 glass
Ground Pepper - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Peel and slice carrot into thin pieces. Add just a little water and boil.
Blanch Spinach; mix with boiled carrot and grind into a fine paste.
Heat milk and add the paste and stir well. Add any water left out from the boiling/blanching as well.
Add salt and pepper and allow to boil.
Serve hot with butter topping.

Im sending this to Lady (Go) Diva's Health is Wealth event.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Chow Chow Chutney

2011-09-25T20:44:00.004+05:30

After our engagement, I came to know that my fiance is a great cook. Especially using different items to prepare different stuff. I have never dreamt of a chutney with chow chow(chayote) and trust me, its one yummy dish to go along with dosas.

Ingredients
Chayote - 1/2
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - 1 inch piece
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 1 clove
Green Chili - 2
Red Chili - 1
Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry Leaves - a little
Corainder Leaves - a little
Grated Coconut - 2 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add curry leaves, cumin seeds, urad dal, gram dal, coriander seeds, chillies, garlic, ginger, onion and saute.
Add tamarind, tomatoes and chopped chayote and saute till cooked well.
Add coconut and coriander leaves and switch off heat.
Once cool, grind into a fine paste in a mixer and serve with hot dosas.

Im sending this to Siri's Back to Basics: Basic Chutneys which was initiated by Jaya@Original B2B post.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Spinach Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce

2011-09-23T13:48:00.001+05:30

I never thought I will try home made pastas. But all of a sudden I was feeling why not!! Googled recipes for pastas, made some tweaks and got this yummy spinach fettuccine with alfredo sauce.

Ingredients
For the pasta
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Spinach - a bunch
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cold Water for the dough
For the alfredo
Buttter - 3 tbsp
Cream - 1 cup
Nutmeg - a pinch
Ground Pepper
Salt to taste

Method
Blanch spinach and grind it to a paste in a mixie.
Seive flour; mix with salt, butter, spinach paste and knead into a smooth dough. Add water if needed.
Roll the dough like a thin chapathi. Use flour if the dough is sticky. Let it rest for half an hour.
Slice into small strips like a fettuccine using a pastry wheel or knife. Spread out and dry for 2-4 hours.
Cook the pasta in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, till it rises to the top. Keep it aside.
Heat butter and cream in a pan for 5 minutes. Add grated cheese, salt, pepper and stir well.
Toss the pasta and mix well. Serve hot!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ravioli With a Twist

2011-09-23T12:49:00.006+05:30

Ravioli is a filled pasta, similar to indian gujiyas or chinese wontons, but the preparation is diffferent. Usually the stuffing is meat and italian herbs. I tried ravioli with spinach filling and indian spices and topped it with arrabiatta.

Ingredients
For the ravioli
All Purpose Flour 2 cups
Butter - 5 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Cold water for kneading
For the filling
Spinach - 1 bowl
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Cheese - 1 slice
Salt to taste
For the topping
Garlic - 1 clove
Tomato - 1
Red Chilli - 1
Basil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Sieve the flour; add salt, butter, little water and knead into soft dough. Keep it aside for one hour.
Blanch spinach; add cheese, red chili powder, cumin powder, dhaniya powder, salt and grind to a fine paste.
Heat oil; add garlic and crushed red chilli and saute. Add chopped tomato and salt. Simmer and cook till oil seperates. Add basil and mix well.
Take the dough and roll into small balls. Roll them out like chapathis.
Take half a spoon of the spinach filling and keep it on the chapathi at regular intervals with space in between to cover each ravioli.
Take another rolled chapathi and place it on top of the first one and cover completely. Press firmly between the lumps so that the filling in covered well between the chapathis. Use a pastry wheel cut into small squares.
Boil water in a large vessel; add 2 tsp oil to the boiling water.
Now drop one ravioli at a time to the boiling water and when it floats up, remove and place it in a bowl.
Top the raviolis with arrabiatta sauce and cheese and serve it hot.

Im sending this to Kalyani Momchef's Global Food Festival

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vegetable Upma Kozhukattai

2011-09-22T17:50:00.004+05:30

Upma Kozhukattai or Pidi Kozhukattai, its a regular dinner at many TamBram home; rather palaharam. So why make the same old stuff?? I tried it with some vegetables and wow, it totally tastes different.

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Toor Dal - 2 tbsp
Pepper - 4 corns
Red Chili - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 1
Curry Leaves - a little
Asafoetida - a pinch
Vegetables - a handful
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil for cooking

Method
Boil the vegetables of your choice and set it aside.
Grind the first four ingredients like a fine semolina.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add urad dal, gram dal, green chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Add a cup of water, water should be in 2:1 ratio with rice. Allow to boil and add salt, ground rice.
Mix well and keep stirring till all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked well. Let it rest for sometime.
After the heat is reduced, take the upma and shape like oval kebabs and steam them on idli plates.
Serve with any chutney of your choice.

Im sending this recipe to Denny's and Krithi's Kitchen Serve It Steamed.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Potato & Spinach Quiche

2011-09-21T18:50:00.003+05:30

This is another microwavable recipe. I searched recipes for microwable quiche and eggless quiche and incorporated stuff from a few recipes to suit us. Tried it the first time and because we dont eat egg and I dont have an oven. It was giving me jitters, But a the end it turned out well.

Ingredients
For the crust
Bread Crumbs - 2 tbsp
Marie Bisuits - 2
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - 1/4 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
For the quiche
Boiled Potato - 1
Onion - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Blanched Spinach - a handful
Cheese - 2 slices
Milk - 1/2 glass
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
Pepper Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil, saute finely chopped onions till golden brown. Add chopped garlic cloves, mashed potato and blanched spinach, salt and mix well. You can add any vegetables of your choice as well.
Boil milk, add cheese, pepper powder and rice flour and stir continuously till the sauce is thick. Mix all the vegetables with it and set aside.
Mix all the ingredients for the crust with some water till it resembles a coarse meal.
Spray a microwavable bowl with a cooking spray.
Roll it out into a flat circle and pat it onto the the bowl and microwave the crust till it becomes hard.
Add this filling to the pastry shell and microwave for 5 minutes. If its liquidy, microwave for another 5 minutes till its set jelly like and serve hot.

Im sending this recipe to Yummy food in tummy's Life is Green event and Priya's Dish It Out with Potatoes and Leafy Greens

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Adai

2011-09-21T10:32:00.000+05:30

Adai is my MILs favorite. But we hardly prepare adai's and this was my first time trying this. Inititally I dint get a proper shape, but after trying 2 of them I got perfect shape and crispy adais.

Ingredients
Onion - 1
Boiled Rice - 1 cup
Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Gram Dal - 3/4 cup
Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
Full Urad Dal - 1 spoon
Red Chilies - 6-8
Hing - a pinch
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil for cooking

Method
Soak rice and dal for an hour in warm water.
Grind the dal to the consistency of a dosa batter along with curry leaves, salt, hing and red chillies.
Add finely chopped onion to the batter and mix well. Add some water if the batter is too thick. Let it rest for 2 hours.
Heat a tawa and pour a laddle full of batter and spread it thin like a pancake/dosa quickly.
Add 1/2 tsp coconut oil around the adai and to the center.
Once crisp, flip it on to the other side and cook on low heat. Make sure you cook on low heat, because the lentils take time to cook.
Serve hot with jaggery and avial.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Garlic Pickle

2011-09-15T05:59:00.000+05:30

Poondu Oorkai that my mom prepares is my bro's favorite. He hates any other pickle other than this. Nowadays whenever I visit my Mom's place, I make sure to get a bottle of this pickle. It goes well with just anything. Idlis, dosas, chapathis, upmas or even bread. During my college days I use this pickle as a spread for my sandwiches. Though pickles are generally supposed to be hot, this is less spicy. I tried to prepare this at home today in a lesser quantity, and it turned out just like my mom's, just a bit spicier!!!!

Ingredients
Tomato - 500 gms
Garlic - 150 gms
Green Chili - 2
Red Chili Powder - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Gingelly Oil for cooking

Method
Peal the skin of garlic and keep it aside.
Heat generous amount of oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutter; add garlic, asafoetida and saute.
Grind tomato, green chili to a fine paste and add it to the pan.
Add red chili powder, salt and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the raw smell is gone and garlic is completely cooked. By this time the oil would have oozed out as well.
Keep stirring for 5 minutes. Make sure the pickle doesnt stick to the sides and pickle flavor and consistency is reached.
Switch off heat and store in a dry container. Since there's no preservatives added, store in a refrigerator and use it as soon as possible

Im sending this to Vardhini's Herbs and Flowers - Garlic and PJ's Herbs and Flowers

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Paneer Katli - 100th Post

2011-09-14T11:40:00.002+05:30

This is my 100th post, and I never knew I had blogged on so many recipes in such a short duration; Owing to the fact, I never used to spend these many hours in the kitchen. Its a 'thideer' hobby I guess. Well thanks to my mom, grand mom, BILs, bro who keep on viewing my site, stuff I make and be my genuine critics. My dad and FIL dont interfere much but keep complaining that I never make these dishes for them!!! My MIL whos the chef in our kitchen and almost 80% recipes are hers. She never claims copyrights though!! My hubby whos tolerating all my cooking idiocy and last but not the least friends who peep into my blog and comment on my posts.
Ok so shouldnt this be special? Century is a good thing after all. So I made paneer katli's today, celebrating my new found hobby.

Ingredients
Paneer - 3 cups
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Milk Powder - 3-4 tbsp
Ghee - 5 tbsp

Method
Crumble paneer and knead like a soft dough with sugar and milk powder and make sure there are no lumps.
Heat ghee in a pan, add the paneer mixture and keep stirring continuously.
Switch off heat when ghee oozes out. Allow to cool for a while and when warm knead again.
Lay it out on a flat surface, and allow to cool and thicken for 2-3 hours.
Cut into small squares or diamonds, garnish with cashew or badam and relish.

Im seding this to Radhika's Diwali Special - Sweets and Savories and Anu's Diwali - "Festival of Lights"

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Veggie Cheese Rolls

2011-09-14T10:23:00.001+05:30

I love cheese, I love rolls. I had loads of bread left out, even after me preparing bread upma. So I decided to make stuffed rolls.

Ingredients
Bread - 6 slices
Potato - 1
Carrot - 1
Peas - 2 tbsp
Sweet Corn - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1
Red Chili Powder - 2 tbsp
Cheese slices - 3
Salt to taste
Ghee for toasting

Method
Boil and mash potato and carrot together. Keep it aside.
Heat oil, add onions and saute till golden brown. Add peas and sweetcorn and allow to cook.
Once cooked, add red chili powder and salt and mix well. Switch off heat and mix this with the potato carrot mixture and let it rest.
Cut the edges of the bread slices. Using a rolling pin, flatten the bread.
Cut the cheese slices vertically, and place one half in a slice of bread. Place a tbsp of the mixture on top of it.
Roll the bread and press to flatten a bit, so that the edge sticks together. Make similar rolls and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Im sending this recipe to Sreevalli's My Favorite Dish.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Kothu Chapathi

2011-09-14T07:38:00.005+05:30

This is my second post on Blog Hop Wednesday and Im sure having fun reading about lots of people and different recipes they post. This week I was hopping to SimplySensationalFood. I went through lots of recipes and had decided on one. Keeping it secret, coz I will be hopping onto her profile later this month once again and am going to prepare the one I initially chose(fingers crossed). I had to make this last minute switch, coz I was left out with lots of chapathis yesterday and I hate wasting food. I always was in awe of kothu parota which is so famous in road side stalls, now you get them in hotels as well. So when I saw this Kothu Roti recipe on simply.food, I thought I will make this one day. Im posting the recipe coz I made some tweaks!!!

Ingredients
Chapathi - 4
Mixed Veggies - 2 cups (capsicum, carrot, potato, sweetcorn, peas)
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala - 2 tsp
Chopped Coriander - a handful
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add shredded chapathis and cook till they are slightly crispy. Keep it aside
Heat oil in a pan, add onions and saute till golden brown.
Add chopped potato, carrot, capsicum, tomato, corn, peas and stir fry till cooked.
Add red chili powder, pav bhaji masala, salt and cook till the spices have mixed well with the vegetables.
Add the chapathis and mix well. Add lemon juice and switch off heat.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any raitha.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Parangikai Halwa

2011-09-13T17:23:00.003+05:30

I have tasted Ash gourd halwa aka Kasi halwa at many a weddings, so why not red pumpkin halwa. Reason why I tried this - I had a half red pumpkin sitting idle in our fridge.

Ingredients
Red Pumpkin - 3 cups (grated)
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 5 tbsp
Milk - 1 1/2 cup (optional)
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Cashew Nuts and Raisins to garnish

Method
Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan, add grated pumpkin and saute till raw smell is gone.
Add milk and cook pumpkin till its mushy and thick. Keep mashing it using a potato masher. If your arent using milk, add sugar in this step and cook till mushy in ghee and sugar.
Add sugar, and the remaining ghee and keep stirring continuously, till ghee oozes out and the halwa is non sticky.
Switch of heat add cardamom powder, raisins, cashews and serve hot.

Im sending this to Celebrate Sweets and the event is hosted by Rak's Kitchen Sweets/Desserts with fruits & Vegetables, to Radhika's Diwali Special - Sweets and Savories and Anu's Diwali - "Festival of Lights"

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Bread Upma

2011-09-13T11:48:00.001+05:30

Was feeling really bored to cook anything today. But hunger doesnt know laziness, and going out on your own is frustrating. So I prepared this simple yet tasty upma.

Ingredients
Wheat Bread - 4 slices
Onion - 1
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add urad dal, gram dal, red chili, onions and saute. I used shallots instead. They give a nice sweet taste.
Cut bread into small cubes and add them to the pan. Saute on high flame till the bread is neither crispy nor soft.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Paneer Makhni

2011-09-12T19:34:00.002+05:30

Ok with a bar of paneer sitting in our freezer, all I have to do is paneer dishes. Else it would get spoilt. This is one other favorite in the family.

Ingredients
Paneer - 10-15 cubes
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Cashew Nuts - 4-5
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1/2 tsp
Cream - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil in a pan, and shallow fry paneer until light brown. Remove any extra oil and put it in a bowl of cold water.
In a pan, heat some more butter/oil, saute chopped onions and tomatoes and grind into a thick paste along with cashew nuts after cooling.
Heat a tsp of oil, add the paste and saute for 5 minutes.
Add ginger garlic paste, salt and all the dry powders and let it boil for 5-10 minutes. Add some water if the gravy is too thick.
Add paneer cubes, cream and kasoori methi and cook for 5 minutes.
Garnish with a tsp of butter and serve hot with chapathis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Tricolor Pinwheel

2011-09-12T19:17:00.002+05:30

I have seen a lot of people preparing pin wheels with different fillings. And thot I will as well give it a try in a different way!!

Ingredients
Wheat Bread - 10 slices
Carrot - 1/2
Tomato - 1
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Green Capsicum - 1
Green Chili - 2
Coriander Leaves - a handful
Paneer - a handful (grated)
Onion - 1
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
White Pepper Powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Cook chopped carrot, tomato in water; add red chilli powder, salt and mix well in medium heat. Grind coarsely once it cools.
Cook capsicum, green chilies in water; add coriander leaves, salt and mix well in medium heat. Grind coarsely once it cools.
Heat oil; add finely chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and saute till translucent. Add grated paneer, white pepper powder and salt and mix well. Grind coarsely once it cools.
Cut the ends of the bread, and flatten it using a rolling pin. Overlap like a chain and dampen the edges using water, so that it sticks together like one lengthy piece.
Add the carrot/tomato mixture to one bread, paneer/onion mixture to the next and capsicum/coriander mixture next.
Roll like a swiss roll and stick the last edge of the bread using water . Wrap in a cling sheet and freeze it for an hour. Alternatively, use any plastic covering substance to hold the roll tight. Do the same to the next set of bread slices as well.
Cut the roll, into pieces of 1 inch thickness. You can shallow fry on a tawa or serve it raw with tomato ketchup and mint chutney.

Sending this entry to Torviewtoronto's Food Palette Series Finale Rainbow Colors

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Angoori Pulav

2011-09-12T14:13:00.003+05:30

This is one recipe I wanted to try since a long time from Sanjeev Kapoor's site. I thought this has something to do with grapes when I saw the title, but nope. Just normal pulav with the addition of paneer in a different way. Im not a strict book to cook person, so made a few tweaks.

Ingredients
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Grated Paneer - 1 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Black pepper corns - 5-6
Cinamon Stick - 1
Cloves - 2
Green Chilli - 1
Cashew Nuts - 10-15
Onion - 1
Fried Onion - 1/2 cup
Yoghurt - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Corn Flour - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee/Oil for cooking

Method
Grate paneer, mix it with some salt, red chili powder, dhaniya powder and make into small balls; coat it with corn flour or rice flour and deep fry till golden brown. Set it aside.
Make a paste of 1/2 onion, cashews and green chili.
Heat ghee, add cumin seeds, coarsely crushed black pepper corns, cinnamon stick, cloves and remaining 1/2 onion chopped and saute,
Add cleaned rice, paste and mix well.
Whish yoghurt and measure in the glass used for water. Add yoghurt and water as required and cook.
Garnish with fried onion, paneer balls and serve hot with tomato raitha.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Papad Sabji

2011-09-09T19:07:00.002+05:30

No vegetables in the fridge, dont worry!! I found this yummy sabji with papad in NDTV cooks.

Ingredients
Papad - 1
Curd - 2 cups
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Green Chili - 1
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil and Ghee for cooking

Method
Heat ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste and green chilies and saute.
Mix turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhaniya powder with whipped curd and add it to the pan.
Crush fried papad and add this along with some salt. Add very little water if necessary and dont cook for more than 2-3 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapathis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Black Channa Curry

2011-09-08T18:26:00.001+05:30

No white channa, no channa masala - and we decided to make chole!! It ended up something else obviously but simple yet tasty.

Ingredients
Black Channa - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Soak black channa overnight and pressure cook till soft. At times it takes lots of time to cook, if its hard it might leave you with an upset tummy :(
Heat oil in a pan, add onions and saute till golden brown.
Add tomatoes and cook till mushy. You can either grind this and cook or continue as such.
Add cooked chana, red chili powder, garam masala, salt and cook well. Add some water it the gravy is too thick.
Pour some lemon juice and serve hot with chapathis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Pumpkin Subji

2011-09-07T19:11:00.001+05:30

Red Pumpkin isnt used much in our cuisine, save kootu and coconut kari. I had this subji once at my aunt's place and since then its been something I prepare many a times.

Ingredients
Red Pumkin - 1 cup
Tomato - 1
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, tomato and chopped red pumpkin.
Add red chili powder, dhaniya powder and salt and mix. Mix it well when the pumpkin is raw and hard.
Add some water, close with a lid and cook.
Serve it hot with chapthis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Corn Pulav

2011-09-07T13:42:00.001+05:30

Im a sleepy head today. Woke up pretty early, coz I had an appointment at 0800. Returned and still sleepy, so I decided I will prepare a one pot meal. And with frozen corn in my freezer, I decided on Corn Pulav.

Ingredients
American Sweet Corn - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Raw Rice - 3 cups
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee for cooking

Method
Clean the rice and remove excess water and set it aside.
Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker, add onions and saute till golden brown.
Add rice, corn and mix weel. Add all the masala powders and mix well.
Add enough water and pressure cook.
Serve hot with tomato raita.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Lacha Paratha

2011-09-06T18:39:00.006+05:30

We usually have phulkas for dinner. They are light. I was wondering, what am I doing wiling away time. Nothing at all. So today instead of phulkas I tried Lacha Paratha. So googled a few recipes but found maida everywhere. So I decided to make these wheat flour parathas. Though they dont puff up like the maida ones, it was great. It took me sometime to get the layer proper!!!

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 3-4 cups
Gingelly Oil - 5 tbsp
Ghee for topping
Salt to taste
Water for the kneading

Method
Mix wheat flour, salt, gingelly oil, and adding water knead into a soft and smooth dough. Keep it aside covered by a muslin cloth for 15-20 minutes.
Divide the dough into small balls(use more dough than a normal chapathi).
Flatten into a thin chapathi, a bigger one.
Apply ghee or oil on top of this and start folding like a thin paper fan or a sari pleat.
Roll the gathered dough like swiss rolls. Set it aside in a air tight container for 15-20 minutes.
Press the swiss rolls vertically and using the rolling pin, make it flat. Dont apply too much pressure, the curls will go off and become like a normal roti.
Heat a tawa, place the paratha, and flip in 30 seconds. Add ghee and flip again to add ghee on the other side.
Cook till golden brown and serve hot. It tends to get kadak when it gets cold, and it would be a great exercise for the teeth!!

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Keerai Sambar

2011-09-06T07:27:00.005+05:30

With Palak we can try a few things. Its flexible and adds a lot of taste. So today my hubby was the chef and we prepared Keerai Sambar. Just like other sambars with the addition of Palak.

Ingredients
Palak - 1 cup
Toor Dal - a handful
Tamarind - lemon sized
Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Pressure cook toor dal with some turmeric powder till mushy. Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once it splutters add urad dal, and tamarind extract.
Add sambar powder and salt and allow to boil till the raw smell is gone.
Add blanched spinach and dal and allow to boil for 5 minutes and switch off heat.
Serve hot with rice and papad or any fried vegetable.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Sauteed Mushroom

2011-09-06T07:19:00.003+05:30

Sauteed mushrooms are heavenly. I love them with rice and keerai masiyal. Everybody likes simple recipes. And when they taste good, nothing can compare. This is one such recipe, outright simple and will be ready in not more than 15 minutes.

Ingredients
Button Mushroom - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil or butter in a pan, add finely chopped onions and saute.
Add mushrooms (chopped if too large) and red chilli powder, salt and saute. Dont cluster the pan.
Sauteed Mushrooms are ready.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Vegetable Poha

2011-09-04T19:50:00.002+05:30

Poha is flattened rice. Its very easy to cook, or rather doesnt need much cooking. There's lots of variations we try at home. You will find poha as the most preferred breakfast in many a maharashtrian homes. Usually the Kandha Poha(Onion Poha). This is just a variation of it.

Ingredients
Flattened Rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1
Chopped Carrot - a handful
Chopped Potato - a handful
Peas - a handful
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Red Chili - 1 or 2
Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Coriander leaves - a little
Lemon - 2 wedges
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, red chili, curry leaves, onions and saute.
Add all the other vegetables and water, close the lid and allow to cook.
Once all the vegetables are cooked and and all the water is absorbed, add turmeric powder, salt, and mix well.
Add flattened rice and mix it well by tossing and shaking the pan rather than using a spoon. It might get mushy if a spoon is used much.
Garnish and serve with coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Potli Taka Tak

2011-09-04T19:49:00.002+05:30

Potli means parcel. Ok, so last month we went to a restaurant near by and we ordered for a veggie potli. It was very simple yet interesting. So we ate it, told the guys at the restaurant that its a very novel idea, blah blah blah and whoosh it goes off your mind. Today I was left over with some chapathi dough, it being so less to prepare only two or three chapathis and me being lazy to prepare some more dough, thought lets try the potli. I was quite sure that the potli's should be made from maida and not wheat flour. But wow...I was really surprised to see that it turned out well.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour/Maida - 1 cup
Peas - 2 tbsp
Corn - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 (small sized)
Tomato - 1
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Gingelly Oil for the dough
Oil for frying

Method
Mix a pinch of salt, wheat flour, gingelly oil and some water into a smooth dough. Set it aside for 15-20 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, add finely chopped onions and saute.
Add tomatoes, peas, corn and keep stirring till half cooked.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, dhaniya powder, salt and mix well. Once cooked well, allow to cool. We can substitue these with potato or paneer or cheesy filling as well.
Flatten the dough to make small flat chapathis. Now keep the filling at the center of the chapathi, gather up the edges and twist on the top to make a potli(bag).
Heat oil and fry the potlis on all sides.
Serve hot with mint chutney.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Mushroom Tikka Masala

2011-09-03T21:55:00.005+05:30

Mushrooms are lovely. We always used to prepare button mushrooms with onion. Last week during our veggie shopping, we got mushrooms and were thinking of preparing risotto ai fungi. Suddenly today a change in plan, inspired by A curry of a life we prepared Mushroom Tikka Masala. Turned out really well.

Ingredients
Button Mushrooms - a handful
Bell Pepper(Capsicum) - 1/2 (I prefer green)
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1 tsp
Yoghurt - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Whisk yoghurt, half a tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder together and mix mushrooms and chopped capsicum. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, finely chopped onions and saute till golden brown.
Add tomatoes and saute, till mushy.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhaniya powder, salt and mix well. Add some water and allow to boil.
When the oil seperates from the tomato gravy, add the marinated mushrooms and let it boil. Add some fresh cream and cheese.
Switch off heat and serve with hot chapathis and lemon wedges.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ganesh Chaturthi

2011-09-02T14:23:00.001+05:30

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi!!
When we were in Mumbai, there was no other pooja being celebrated like this. Every street or colony there used to be a huge Ganesh idol, with various themes and layouts. Im still in awe when I think of those days and the splendor of the pooja.

Lord Ganesha, the elephant god - is the god of wisdom and prosperity and is always invoked at the start of any new event. Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated more as a festival, than a pooja. It lasts for ten days, starting on a chathurthi and ending on the chathurdashi during the period of the waxing moon.
People bring a clay model of Lord Ganesha home. They place it on a wooden plank (Palagai) adorned with rangoli and decorate with flower garlands and by proving an umbrella. And the rituals of the pooja are performed. For the neivedhyam, people offer, idlys, kozhukattai's, sundal, appam, vadai, payasam, varieties of fruits and take the aarthi. Lord Ganesha prefers the Erukambu malai, Arugampul and kozhukattai's. So they are the most important things we buy or prepare for the pooja. The idol is worshipped for 10 days and on the 11th day, the Visarjan is performed. The idol is taken to a nearby water body and immersed there. Lots of families go together to immerse their Ganesha and shouting his names and asking him to return early next year.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Amini Kozhukattai

2011-09-01T12:04:00.001+05:30

In our family more than the usual kozhukattai's, people throng for the amini kozhukattai. In olden days people used to prepare the kozhukattai's and if there's dough remaining, they used it to make the amini kozhukattai's, but now my MIL had to make sure she has enough dough for the amini. Once its prepared its the first thing to get emptied. Such is the craze.

Ingredients
Dough for the kozhukattai - 1 cup
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Make small balls of the rice dough, and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add urad dal and the rice balls. Cook on low heat.
Add sambar powder, chili powder and salt and shake the pan so that all of it gets mixed. Donot use a spoon to stir. Else all the rice balls with break.
Keep shaking the pan once in a while to see that all the sides are cooked properly.
Once its crispy, switch off heat. Serve hot.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Pal Kozhukattai Payasam

2011-09-01T11:47:00.004+05:30

I couldnt make the usual kozhukkatai's we make for ganesh chathurthi this year. So my MIL told you just make the pal kozhukattai payasam for neivedhyam. These are rice dumplings in milk and very simple to make.

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 tsp
Coconut - 3 tsp
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 glasses
Gingelly Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water for the dough

Method
Mix the rice flour and salt and gingelly oil. Heat water, and add the flour to it. Keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. Switch off heat when the flour is knead to a dough and comes off without sticking to the sides of the pan.
Close with a lid and let it rest for 5 minutes. The color of the dough would have changed from white to off white.
Add some gingelly oil and knead the dough with hand till its soft and smooth. Make small balls of the dough and keep it aside.
Grate jaggery and make a syrup with boiling water and remove the impurities. Keep it aside.
Grind the raw rice and grated coconut together into a paste.
Heat water and add the small rice balls to it and allow to boil. When you can see it shining on all sides, add the jaggery syrup, milk, cardamom powder and the paste and allow to boil.
Once a thick consistency is reached switch off heat and serve cold.

Im sending this recipe to Show and Tell's FSF Janmashtami and Ganesh Chathurthi and Sonia's Festival Series FoodDelicious Event

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Green Peas Masala

2011-08-31T18:44:00.002+05:30

I was late for dinner after a tedious shopping spree and really dint know what to prepare quick. We were damn hungry. So mustered some help from my husband and we prepared green peas masala and chapathis. Real quick took us hardly 20 minutes to finish it from scratch.

Ingredients
Green Peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Cheese slice - 1
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, finely chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute till the onions are golden brown.
Add finely chopped tomatoes and keep stirring till it cooks well and turns mushy. You can either grind this and proceed or prepare the dish just like this.
Add green peas, all the other ingredients and saute for a minute or two. Add enough water and allow it to boil.
When the gravy is thick, garnish with coriander leaves and cheese and serve with hot chapathis.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Beets Rice

2011-08-31T12:31:00.002+05:30

Beetroot is an amazing thing for its sweetness and color. Very good for anemic people. I have had beets rasam and beets fry and today for a change we tried beetroot rice, though the color might put off a certain people, just like my mom. She says why are you making a reddish rice. But it tastes awesome!!!!

Ingredients
Boiled Rice - 1 bowl
Beetroot - 1/2
Onion - 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chili Powder or Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee for cooking

Method
Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, fiinely chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and saute till onions are golden brown. You can also add some corn kernels or peas along with this.
Add shredded beetroot and cook on low heat with a closed lid for 10-15 minutes. The beetroot will become soft and mushy.
Add all the other ingredients and saute. Mix this with boiled rice.
Garnish with fried cashews, fresh mint leaves and serve with tomato raitha.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Pavakai Bhaaji

2011-08-31T08:12:00.002+05:30

Today is my first participation in The Blog Hop Wednesday. Im paired with Sumedha of Sumee's Culinary Bites for this week. As soon as I visited her site and was looking for recipes , I found this Karela Bhaaji. I knew that very instant that this would be the recipe for the blog hop. There are awesome stuff on her blog, was even in a dilemma later on thinking if I should change my decision. But I stuck with it - Karela Bhaaji. We call it pavakai (Pakarkai). I personally dont like bitter gourd. Its never cooked at my parents place as my father gave it away in Varanasi (Transliterated from Tamil). When my dad went to perform the final rites for my grandfather in Varanasi, its a custom to not eat a vegetable and fruit you like a lot thereon. So my dad's fav veggie was bitter gourd. He actually likes food bitter. Even the french beans its at times bitter and he likes it. At our home my MIL, FIL, hubby BILs everybody love bitter gourd. Im the odd person out. Though its just the two of us here now, when we went weekly shopping I bought Bitter gourd. And I thought Il try this type and taste it. I made a few tweaks though, not major just added some garnishing!! It came out really well.

Ingredients
Bitter Gourd - 4
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a little
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method
Cut the bitter gourd into two vertically, and remove all the seeds. I used the small one which fits into your palm, they are very tasty. I chopped them finely so that I dont see bitter gourd on my plate!!
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once it splutters; add urad dal, curry leaves, bitter gourd and saute for a few minutes
Add onions and tomatoes and cook till onions are golden brown.
Add all the other ingredients and saute. Once its cooked well, serve with rice or chapathis. We are rice gobblers. So we had this with rice, dal and papad.

Thanks again to Sumedha for this wonderful recipe and to Radhika for the wonderful opportunity to work with different people.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Tomato Vatha Kozhambu

2011-08-30T09:59:00.006+05:30

Vatha Kozhambu ideally is to be made using vathal's (dried items). Be it sundakkai, manathakkali or any other vathal. But this one is different. Its made of ripe tomatoes. Its tangy and my MILs authentic. Every time she prepares this its the same yummy taste.

Ingredients
Tamarind - lemon sized ball (optional)
Ripe Tomato - 1 or 2 (depending on the tanginess and juice)
Green Chili - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp
Gram Dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Rice Flour - 1 tsbp (optional)
Jaggery - 2 tsp (grated, optional)
Salt to taste
Gingelly Oil for cooking

Method
Soak tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes and prepare a thick extract.
Heat oil in a pan, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and once it splutter; add gram dal, asafoetida, green chilies, chopped tomatoes and saute.
Add tamarind extract, sambar powder and salt and allow to boil.
Once the raw smell is gone , dissolve rice flour in a glass of water and add it to the vatha kozhambu along with some grated jaggery. Rice flour helps thicken the gravy, so add it only if your vatha kozhambu is too watery.
Serve hot with rice and thengai pota kari (boiled vegetable with coconut garnish)

Im sending this recipe to Dish it out by Reva and Vardhini

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Ellu Urundai

2011-08-29T17:39:00.001+05:30

Ellu Urundai is an awesome snack sweet. It literally translates to Sesame seed balls. Everybody in my family loves it. But we rarely prepare it. I was literally not having any work today evening and decided to make this.

Ingredients
Sesame Seeds - 50 gms
Jaggery - 3 tbsp (grated)

Method
Soak the sesame seeds for 10 minutes and remove all water.
Dry roast it till all water content is gone and the sesame seeds begin to crackle.
In a kadai, heat a little amount of water and add the jaggery to it. The amount of water should be lesser than that of the jaggery. Keep stirring till you get a thread like consistency. If you pour the jaggery from a spoon it should fall like a thick thread. Switch off the heat.
Add the jaggery syrup in small amounts onto the roasted sesame seeds and form as small balls. You should do this immediately before the jaggery thickens. If its too hot, try adding some rice flour and making the urundai.

Im sending this as an entry to Torview's Food Palette Series Black

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra