I had never tried Chinese cooking yet. This was my first attempt using Vinegar and Soysauce. I realised its so easy and quick. Just stir fry the veggies a bit, do not ovecook them, mix in the sauces and its ready. We bid 2009 a farewell with some Chinese food. I made some Hot and Sour Cabbage and Fried Rice.
Hot and Sour Cabbage -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup thinly shredded cabbage lengthwise
2) 1/2 cup carrots shredded lengthwise
3) 1 capsicum chopped vertically
4) 3-4 green chillies chopped
5) 3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
6) 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
7) 2 tsp Vinegar
8) 3 tbsp cornflour dissolved in water
9) Salt and Black Pepper to taste
10)2 sprigs of Spring Onion chopped finely
11)Oil
Method -
1) Heat oil in a non stick skillet and add the carrots. Stir fry them on high flame.
2) Add the cabbage, capsicum and green chillies. Mix well and keep stirring them. Cook the veggies on high flame and for a very short time so that they the veggies does not loose the nutrients in them.
3) Add salt and black pepper and stir. Turn off the flame.
4) Now, heat another non-stick pan and add the tomato sauce, say sauce and the cornflour mixture and give it a quick stir. Turn off the flame. It will thicken and form a paste. Add this to the veggies and mix well.
My veggies are a little overcooked. It was a bit mushy but tasted great.
Chinese Fried Rice -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups cooked rice
2) 1 small onion chopped finely
3) 1 cup Carrots + Green Beans finely chopped
4) 2 tbsp soy sauce
5) Salt to taste
6) Oil
Method -
1) Heat oil in a wide skillet and saute the onions till translucent.
2) Add the veggies and stir fry them for 2 minutes on a high flame. Do not overcook them.
3) Add rice, salt and soy sauce to it. Mix well. Turn off the flame.
4) Garnish it with the spring Onions.
Serve hot with Hot & Sour Cabbage.
Enjoy!!!
I am glad, I have posted 15 new recipes and stood up to my resolution of posting 1 new recipe everyday. Although i could not post everyday but i did complete the 15 recipes countdown. Now, its another New Year and ofcourse there would be new resolutions.
WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!
Dal Makhani is a North Indian dish served mostly in Indian restaurants. It is made up of whole urad dal and kidney beans so it is rich in proteins. Now, this is a simpler and a healthier version of Dal Makhani using less oil. I am sure you all would love it. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup whole urad dal
2) 2 tbsp kidney beans
3) 4-5 Green chillies
4) 1 medium onion finely chopped
5) 1 tomato finely chopped
6) 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
7) 1 tbsp Cumin-Coriander powder
8) 1 tsp Garam Masala
9) 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
10)Red Chilli powder to taste
11)2 tbsp Yogurt well beaten
12)1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
13)Oil
14)Salt to taste
15)Cilantro chopped for garnishing
Method -
1) Soak the dals overnight in about 3 cups of water.
2) To the dals add, onions, garam masala, green chillies, turmeric powder, cumin-coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt. Pressure cook the dals until 3-4 whistles. Turn off the flame and let the pressure release on its own.
3) Open the cooker and stir the dals. Check whether they are porperly cooked. Now, put it one low flame and bring it to a boil.
4) Add the yogurt and mix well. Allow it to cook of low flame.
5) In a small skillet heat 1 tbsp oil and add the cumin seeds.
6) Once they crackle add the tomatoes and saute them a little. Do not overcook them.
7) Mix them in the dal.
8) Garnish it with cilantro and serve hot.
Serve with hot chapatis or rice. Enjoy!!
Methiche Mutke can be a nice tea time snack. Its very easy and quick to make with very few ingredients. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups methi(Fenugreek) washed and chopped finely
2) 3 cups Coarse Wheat Flour
3) 1 tbspn garlic-green chillies paste
4) 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
5) 1 tbsp sesame seeds
6) Salt to taste
7) 2-3 tbspn Oil
8) 2 tsp water
Method -
1) Mix all the ingredients together and knead them to form a dough with very less water.
2) Apply little oil on your palms and make small mutkes with the dough. Roll a small amount of dough in your palm and then make it flat like a pattice oval shaped. Repeat with the remaining dough.
3) Heat little oil in a pan and shallow them from both the sides.
4) Serve hot.
You can also bake them. The first time I made these, I had baked them in the oven and they were perfect. By shallow frying it, it needs to be cooked a little more from the inside. These were a little half cooked. Also, you need a little more oil than it is needed for baking.
Bake them at around 200 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes from both the sides.
I made this as a dessert on Christmas Eve. It tasted great and its so easy to make. It can also be made as a make ahead desert. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups milk (I used 2% but would work best if use whole milk)
2) 5 tbsp Rose Syrup (Easily available in any Indian stores)
3) 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
4) 1/2 tsp Basil seeds or Tukmaria (Bought from Indian stores)
5) A handful of store bought Falooda Sev
6) a pinch of cardamom powder
7) Sliced pistachios for garnishing
8) Any flavoured icecream - Vanilla, Strawberry, Kesar Pista. I used a Falooda flavoured icecream
Method -
1) Soak the basil seeds in water for about half an hour. The longer the better.
2) Boil around 2 cups of water in a skillet. Add the Falooda sev and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Strain it.
3) Boil 2 cups of milk in a skillet. Once the milk is boiled add the rose syrup, cardamom powder, Falooda sev and sugar. Mix it well and refrigerate for around 3 hours.
4) While serving, add around 1 cup of Icecream in the milk and mix it well. Let it melt. At this time also add the basil seeds.
5) In the serving glass, add 2 scoops of icecream and pour the milk over it filling the glass. Garnish with sliced pistachios.
Dig in it and Enjoy!!
I saw this recipe on an Indian cookery show. I knew spinach with mushrooms is a great combination and decided to give it a try. They were quick and tasted great.
Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup spinach chopped finely
2) 1 cup boiled mushrooms
3) 1 cup wheat flour
4) 1 cup besan.chick pea flour
5) 1 cup peanut powder
6) 1 tspn ginger-garlic-green chillies paste
7) Salt to taste
8) Lemon juice
9) 2 tspn water
10)Oil for frying
11)1 tspn rice flour
12)1 tspn rava/sooji/semolina
Method -
1) Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except oil, rava and rice flour and knead them into a dough.
2) Use very little water to mix these as the mushrooms and spinach itself loose some water.
3) Take a small portion of the dough (a size smaller than a golf ball) and make round tikkis. Repeat this with the remaining dough.
4) Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick pan.
5) In the meantime mix the rice flour and rava together. Coat the tikkis in this mixture and shallow fry them from both the sides.
6) Garnish it with shredded coconut and cilantro. Serve it eith ketchup or chutney.
Spring Onion Koshimbir sounded quite unusual to me when i first heard it from my mom-in-law. I had never tasted or heard of it before. She made it once when she was here and i fell in love with it. Well, the whole idea behind it is to include lots of salads in your meals everyday. This can be a great option. I loved it. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup spring onions
2) 1 tbspn peanut powder
3) 1/4 tspn mustard seeds
4) 2-3 green chillies slitted and chopped lengthwise
5) a pinch of asafoetida
6) Salt to taste
7) Oil
Method -
1) Wash the spring onions nicely and chop them finely. Include the onions also.
2) Heat 1 tspn oil in a skillet and add the mustard seeds.
3) Once they crackle add asafoetida and green chillies.
4) Once the seasoning is done pour it over the chopped onions.
5) Add peanut powder and salt.
6) Mix well.
Eat Healthy. Be Healthy.
Kacchi Dabeli reminds me of my college days. If you ever want to eat authentic Kacchi Dabeli, you should visit Pune. At the other end of Hongkong Lane or in front of Deccan Bus Depot, there used to be a thelevala (man with a cart) selling hot dabelis. If ever we used to pass by that side, it was a must to stop and eat those tempting Dabelis.
I had totally forgotten about these until few days back when i ate these hot dabelis at a function at my friend's place. Thanks to her. It made me so nostalgic. I immediately asked for the recipe and that was so simple. No doubt i bought the Dabeli Masala and tried it out immediately over the weekend. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 tbspn Bombay Magic Kacchi Dabeli Masala store bought (You can easily get them in Indian Stores)
2) 4 burger buns
3) 4 potatoes boiled
4) 1 onion finely chopped
5) Tamarind and Date chutney to taste
6) Pomogrante seeds
7) Masala Peanuts
8) Salt to taste
9) Lime Juice
10)Cilantro finely chopped
11)Oil
Method -
1) Mash the boiled potatoes and add the Dabeli Masala to it.
2) Heat 1 tspn oil in a pan and heat this mixture for 2-3 minutes.
3) Add salt, sugar and lemon as per taste and heat it again for around 10-12 minutes stirring in between.
4) Spread this mixture in a plate and add the Pomogrante seeds and cilantro Mix well.
3) Now spread the tamarind-date chutney to both sides of the bun.
4) Put 2 tbspn of the potato mixture on one side of the bun.
5) Over it put some chopped onions and masla peanuts.
6) Now cover the other side of the bun.
7) Heat little oil in a non stick pan and lightly fry the buns from both the sides.
Serve hot!!!
Upma, I love it. But my husband is not very fond of upma so i do not make it very often. Last evening we came home after a day long of activites. Bowling, Laser Tag, Video Games, a nice lunch in an Indian Restaurant and finally watched Avataar 3D movie. Had loads of fun and was in a mood of having something light for dinner. I decided to make Upma. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup rava/sooji/semolina
2) 2 cups water
3) 1 small onion chopped finely
4) 2-3 dry red chillies
5) 1 tbspn urad dal
6) 1/4 tspn mustard seeds and cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves for seasoning
7) Oil and salt to taste
8) Finely chopped cilatro for garnishing
Method -
1) Dry roast the rava till it turns lightly brown. Keep aside.
2) Heat oil in a kadhai and do the seasoning.
3) Add dry red chillies and saute for some time.
4) Add onions and saute till they are light brown.
5) Add urad dal and saute for some more time.
6) Add 2 cups water and bring it to boil. Add the rava and keep stirring it. Do not allow to form lumps.
7) Cover and let it cook for a couple minutes.
8) Garnish it with freshly chopped cilantro.
Serve hot.
I saw this recipe on showmethecurry.com and bookmarked it long back. I decided to try it out this weekend. This can also be a wholehearty lunch as it contains daliya or cracked wheat and it keeps your tummy full for a while. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1/2 cup daliya
2) 1 small onion chopped finely
3) 1 small tomato chopped into cubes
4) 2-3 green chillies chopped finely
5) 1 small bell pepper chopped into cubes
6) 5-6 almonds sliced finely
7) 1 tspn pine nuts
8) 1 tbspn dried apricots or dried cranberries or raisins
9) 1/4 tsp black pepper
10)Salt to taste
11)Cilantro chopped finely
12)Olive oil
Method -
1) Pressure cook the daliya with 1 cup of water.
2) Heat pan and dry roast the sliced almonds and pine nuts lightly. Keep aside.
3) Heat 1 tspn olive oil in the same pan. Add onions and green chillies and saute them till the onions are light brown.
4) Keep aside in a mixing bowl and let the onions cool down completely.
5) Add daliya and all the other ingredients - tomatoes, bell pepper, black pepper, salt, roasted almonds and pine nuts, dried apricots and cilantro.
Serve cold.
My grandmon makes pohe the south indian style. She has stayed in Karnataka for a pretty long time and hence she has hands on all the South Indian dishes and
I simply love them. She had made this dish when my husband first visited her place before our marriage. He loved it. We both have a liking towards south indian food. i make this style of pohe very often. Can you guess what is the main ingredient in this dish? Well, thats the rasam powder and tamarind paste. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups thick pohe
2) 1 tbspn rasam powder
3) 2 tbspn tamarind paste
4) Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, asafoetida turmeric powder and curry leaes for seasoning
5) 1 tspn urad dal and chana dal each.
6) Oil and salt to taste
7) Fresh shredded coconut and cilantro for garnishing
Method -
1) Wash the pohe nicely. Apply the tamarind paste and rasam powder to it. Add salt. Mix well and keep it covered for around 15 minutes.
2) Heat oil in a kadhai and do the seasoning.
3) Put the pohe mixture and give it a nice toss. Cover and cook for a few minutes.
4) Garnish it with fresh coconut and cilatro. Serve hot.
The rasam powder makes the magic. Try this out and I am sure you will love it.
This salad is my mother-in-law's recipe. I loved it the moment i tasted it. It's healthy and very tasty. The magic part in this is the tamarind paste with the mint leaves. This combination tastes awesome. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 1 cup mixed sprouts (I used matki, green moong and masoor)
2) 1 small onion chopped finely
3) 1 tomato chopped finely
4) 2-3 green chillies chopped finely
5) 2 tbspn tamarind paste
6) a handful of mint leaves washed and chopped finely
7) Salt to taste and cilantro for garnishing
Method -
1) Sprinkle very little water over the sprouts and pressure cook it just for 1 whistle.
2) Mix all the ingredients in the sprouts nicely and its ready to serve.
Enjoy this healthy salad. I am sure you will like it.
Daliya(Cracked Wheat) Upma is a very healthy dish. You can have it as a whole meal adding some veggies to it or as a weekend brunch. It tasted great. Here is what you need -
Ingredients-
1) 1 cup daliya or Cracked Wheat
2) 2 cups water
3) mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder for seasoning
4) 1 cup veggies of your choice (I used mixed vegetables like carrots, green beans, peas and sweet corn)
5) 3-4 green chillies finely chopped
6) 1 inch ginger grated
7) 1 small onion finely chopped
8) Oil and salt to taste
Method -
1) Pressure cook the daliya until 3-4 whistles.
2) Heat oil in a skillet and do the seasoning. Add green chillies, ginger. Saute and add onions. Fry them till light brown.
3) Add the veggies. Mox well. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4) Add salt and cook for few more minutes.
5) Now add the cooked daliya. Mix well. Cover and let it cook for some more time.
6) Garnish it with cilantro and serve hot.
It was our 3rd Marriage Anniversary yesterday. These have been wonderful years and I wish it lasts forever and ever. Thank You for all our well wishers. Its such a good feeling to get pampered by your loved ones, parents, relatives, friends and specially your husband on this special day.
We enjoyed our day. Since it was a weekday and the climate getting more colder and colder, we decided to be just at home this time. I decided to cook a nice hearty wholesome dinner and baked a cake. Well, but my husband's demand was Chicken Curry and Chicken Biryani. So, i was all set the whole day making it. My husband loved it and couldn't stop resisting the Biryani.
This was my first experience with frosting and icing the cake. It turned out to be just great but still i have to get a hand on it. Fortunately it was not a disaster. Thanks Madhura, for guiding me with it.
The New Year is approaching. Just 15 days to go and we would be stepping into 2010. We all make New Year resolutions. This time, I have decided to make a resolution before the New Year. I am going to post or atleast try posting one recipe everyday till the New Year. That means total 15 recipes. The recipes which i learned from my mom-in-law, some bookmarked recipes which i wanted to try since long and some experimental ones. Lets see how far I go. So, please do visit my blog everyday to find something new.
Thank You!!
Fresh Green Beans and Sprouts combination is interestingly an healthy and amazingly wonderful dish. My mother-in-law makes it this way and I loved it. We all know that green vegetables should always be included in our meals and when the sprouts are added to it, it becomes a wholesome healthy meal.
I have a sprout maker in which i can make 3 different types of sprouts at a time. I had matki(moth lentils), moong(green moth lentils) and masoor sprouted. I added little of all the 3. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups finely chopped green beans
2) 1 cup sprouts of your choice
3) 3-4 green chillies
4) 2-3 garlic cloves
5) mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder for seasoning
6) Salt to taste
7) 1 tsp jaggery grated
8) Shredded coconut and finely chopped cilantro for garnishing
Method -
The Method is very simple. Heat oil in a wide skillet. Do the seasoning. Add the green beans and sprouts together. Add salt and jaggery and cook them till tender. Garnish it with fresh coconut and cilatro.
Thats it!!
Hi All....I am back. First of all,Sorry for its been a long long time since I last posted and a big Thank-You to all those who visited my site. We were enjoying the past 3 months with our parents and hence no time for blogging. My in-laws were here with us and we had a great great time with them. Ofcourse, there was a lot of cooking and lots of eating, We had decided to keep our dietary plans aside and just Enjoy!!!
I am back with Rice Flour Thalipeeth. This is my grandmom's recipe. This can be a wholesome weekend brunch or any weeknight dinner. Here is what you need -
Ingredients -
1) 2 cups Rice Flour
2) 1 small onion finely chopped
3) 4-5 green chillies finely chopped
4) a bunch of cilantro finely chopped
5) salt to taste
6) Oil
Method -
1) Mix all the ingredients except oil together and knead it nicely.
2) Grease a non stick pan with little oil.
3) Take a portion of the mixture and spread it on the pan with your palm making it into a circle.
4) Moist your hand with water if it starts sticking to your hand.
5) Make 3-4 small holes in it and drop few drops of oil.
6) Cover the pan and let the thalipeeth cook from both the sides.
7) Serve hot with chutney or pickle.
I served this with garlic chutney and mixed pickle.
