July 03, 2009
11:18
Garlic Naan Recipe
» ‎ Fun and Food

"Naan" is a name well-known in Indian cooking, and this is one kind of flatbread that is appreciated all around the world, by Indians and non-Indians alike. Soft and tender, Naan can be made with several different variations, but I bet every one loves a bite of Garlic Naan! It pairs well with any kind of curry, and is filling as well as appealing to the eye. Determined to try a homemade Naan recipe, I set out on an adventure last weekend, and was happy to see that my Garlic Naans turned out...

Please Click the Title for the Full Post

8:50
Stuffed Bhendi with Peanuts
» ‎ Talimpu

Bendakaya Veru Sengakayala Podem. Lady’s finger or okra is a daily vegetable all over India. Other than frying the okra, it is often stuffed. Here, peanuts are roasted and ground into fine paste along with tamarind and spices. This stuffing is stuffed into lady’s fingers and cooked on low flame till soft. They are then fried [...]

7:26
Blueberry Cake
» ‎ Creative saga...

As promised in my previous posts , I am posting the recipe for blueberry cake. Bluberries have been so cheap nowadays, that I don't miss a single opportunity to buy them . I have seen a lot of...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

5:20
Whole Wheat Bread - Step By Step Procedure
» ‎ Served with love

I owe my bread making at home to blogging.

You see, for the longest of time, I was absolutely intimidated of making bread. However, as I blog hopped and saw so many of you making delicious bread at home and also reassuraning that bread making ony sounds difficult, it was only a matter of time before I started making bread at home.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, to be honest. My first few loaves were edible, but they lacked the texture. I almost gave up, but Terradaze kept encouraging me to keep at it...and now here I am, confident enough in bread making to blog about it!
As it turns out making bread at home is not difficult...all that it needs is strong arms (or a bread maker)...so time to workout those muscles!!

Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
Strong whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Self raising flour - 1 cup
Bread flour - 1 cup + some more for flouring the work surface and kneading
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Lukewarm water - 1 1/3 cup + 6 tbsps
Instant dry baker's yeast - 1 package/11 gms
Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast in 6 tbsps of water alongwith the sugar. Cover and set aside for about 10 -15 mins, at the end of which the yeast will look creamy, like this:

2. Mix all the flours and the salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Stir the yeast mixture once and pour that in. Add in 1 cup of water and stir till all the water has been almost absorbed. Add in the remaining water (or more) in small increments, as required. At this stage, the dough will be more of a shaggy mess (sorry, no picture of that stage as I was busy kneading!!).
Transfer the dough onto a well floured flat surface - I do this on my kitchen counter top. Add the butter, a tsp at a time and knead it into the dough.
Now, take a deep breath, roll your sleeves and start kneading. The way to do this is as follows:
first, press down the dough with your knuckles to stretch it a little. Take the far end of the dough and fold it towards you. Then, pressing the heel of your palm, push the dough away from you. Fold it toward you again. Sprinkle a little flour as you knead should you feel the need.
Rotate the dough a little and repeat the above motions, for about 12 -15 mins. By now the dough should be firm and should no longer stick to the work surface. Pick it up and bang it down on the counter top a couple of times. Seriously....this helps in the gluten formation.
Kneading the dough properly is essential to getting a beautiful loaf - one way of ensuring that the dough is ready is to press your finger down in the dough - if the dough springs back, heave a sigh of relief...the most difficult part of bread making is over!! If it doesn't, take a deep breath and continue kneading for a few more minutes.

3. Oil a large bowl and place the dough into it, turning once so that it is completely coated with the oil. Cover and let it rest for at least two hours or till the dough doubes in size.
To check, poke your finger into the dough, if the impression remains, the dough is ready.
(note the difference - when the dough is kneaded enough, an impression made in the dough should spring back, but when the dough has risen enough, the impression made in the dough should remain).

4. Now the fun part....beat the dough - punch it hard until it deflates and then knead it for a couple of minutes.

Place the dough in a warm loaf pan (I rinse my pan under hot water, quickly dry it and then oil it before placing the dough in it), cover and leave it till it doubles in size. This normaly takes me about 45 mins.

6. Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg C. Bake for about 30 - 35 mins.
To test, knock the loaf with your knuckles - a loaf that is done will give a hollow sound. Cool it on the wire rack before slicing.

There...enjoy the aroma of freshly baked bread...there's nothing quite like it!! Off to Susan's for Yeastspotting.

4:25
Low Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake
» ‎ EgglessCooking.com » Eggless Recipes » Eggless Baking » Eggless Cooking

I found this recipe for blueberry coffee cake in Taste of Home’s Baking Book. As I have mentioned a couple of times earlier, the recipes which appear in that magazine are perfect and it does not disappoint you at all. So this coffee cake recipe was no exception to it. I’m not a big blueberry fan. I buy these berries to make blueberry milk for my son and other than that we don’t do much with it. Sometimes he asks for blueberry pancakes but this time he didn’t want neither. I was looking for blueberry recipes and found this coffee cake recipe. The first thing which caught my attention was that it used only 2 tablespoons of butter and it was very easy to prepare. These days my son is so keen on helping me while baking so I have to consider the ease of preparation too while choosing a recipe. So this recipe was perfect. The only change I had to do was to use unsweetened applesauce to substitute one egg and add little apple cider vinegar and the cake turned out GREAT.

Ingredients All Purpose Flour 1 cup Sugar 1/2 cup Baking Powder 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda 1/4 teaspoon Unsweetened Applesauce 1/4 (dry measuring) cup Buttermilk (I used 1%) 1/2 cup Butter, melted 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon Almond Extract 1/4 teaspoon Blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 cup Almonds, sliced 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (I used dark) 1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon
Yield: 9 servings

Procedure1 Preheat oven to 350F for 15 minutes. Grease a 8 inch square baking dish. In a small bowl combine the almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside. The butter can be melted on stove top or microwave oven or even in the oven while it’s preheating.

2 Combine together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

3 Measure the buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup (or any other bowl). To that add the melted butter, vinegar, extracts and applesauce. Whisk until well blended. If you add the butter while its still hot, the mixture will look curdled, but its okay.

4 Stir the wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in 2/3 cup blueberries. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to batter, because the color will bleed.

5 Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with remaining blueberries. Sprinkle the almond mixture on top. Tap the pan lightly a couple times so that the topped blueberries and almonds sticks to the batter.

6 Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool the pan on a wire rack.

7 Remove the cake from the pan after 10 minutes and transfer the cake directly to the wire rack. The cake is quite light, so you will have to be very careful while tilting the pan. A couple of almonds will fall down.

Taste I have baked a lot in the past one year but this blueberry coffee cake will definitely make it to the Top 5 if I prepare such a list. I’m not exaggerating here but it was unbelievably good. So good that my husband asked for seconds and had it too! This has never happened before. I didn’t have almond extract, I think it would have tasted even better with it.

This cake doesn’t rise much, around 1/2-3/4th inch only. As for the texture, it was very lighty and fluffy, unusual for an egg less cake. I think the vinegar did the trick. The sweetness was perfect, the addition of almonds gave a nice crunch to the cake. The only thing to look for while baking this cake is that it’s very light and has to be handled very carefully while removing from the pan.

My Notes1 The original recipe had mentioned 2/3 cup buttermilk, which is what I did for the first batch and as I have mentioned earlier, the cake was so fluffy that I felt that it would fall apart while removing from the pan. I had to be very careful. So while preparing the next batch (yes we liked it so much that I baked it again the next day to share it with my new friends here) I reduced the quantity of buttermilk to 1/2 cup and this time it was quite manageable.

The cake is very light (just like a cake with eggs) when kept at room temperature. It hardens up a little when stored in the refrigerator. So I was thinking that the next time I bake it, I would cool it in the fridge itself, so that removing it from the pan will be easy.

2 If you leave the cake in the pan itself for much longer time, the bottom of the cake will become soggy from the heat and the condensation. It happened to my first batch and I had to blot it with paper towel.

3 I think this recipe without the blueberries would make a perfect eggless white cake.

Although not low in fat technically (because of the almonds), since the percentage of saturated fat is quite low this blueberry coffee cake goes to my Low Fat Baking Event.
Share and Enjoy:

2:33
Mudumalai
» ‎ Daily Musings

I dream in technicolor every time we plan for a visit back home but the reality is more black and white. Geniuses aren't they? After the mandatory 3 hours in the airport which is true for any...

July 02, 2009
23:43
Palak Paneer
» ‎ S A R A' S C O R N E R

Palak Paneer which I made last weekend at home. This is a very tasty gravy prepared with fresh spinach and Paneer(Cottage Cheese). This dish Palak Paneer is speciality of Northern India. We had this with chapathi as side dish. It was very tasty and yummy.Seeing fresh spinach in market made me to buy, usually I prepare Keerai Kootu a South Indian gravy and for a change I prepared this dish.In my

February 28, 2009
8:27
Cheesy
» ‎ Indian Food Rocks

I know you won't believe me but it's true! I have had a moong dal recipe lined up all month but the post never happened. Life has been hectic and weekends more so, with skiing and/or snowshoeing every weekend of January right through Valentine's Day.
Happy skier

Lots of fun is had out in the mountains but ski clothes a huge mound of laundry do make. Another huge pile, I should say, because I am never caught up with the week's laundry. Every day, I promise myself that today I shall run the washer and dryer until there is no piece of clothing or towel or rag left unwashed, but those darned Fabindia kurtis drive me nuts. They bleed and cannot be washed with other clothes. I hate wet bathroom floors so handwashing and line-drying is out of question, especially in winter. It's out of question in summer, too, because the powerful Colorado sun bleaches those vegetable dyes. That's my excuse anyway. If you have better excuses I could use, submit them as a comment and I'll try to design a suitable virtual badge as a prize for the best one.

In between never-ending laundry, I did manage to have some foodie and crafty fun with friends. Kitt did the honors with the food shots and I had fun with our tripods.

Are you my Mommy?

Now, why couldn't the Click theme have been wine? Or bottle? Or glass? Or something Australian? Or what Bee does best? Bitch would have been so perfect for any or all of these.

But, no! It had to be cheese. Le sigh.

So I made French Onion Soup instead. I had some aged Gruyere cheese that was begging to be used and the recipe from The Joy of Cooking didn't scare me too much with 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil. The soup was just fine but the pictures? Poo!

The only thing they lent themselves well to was a diptych. But poo there, too! (The smart ones will know what I am talking about.)

With the Gruyere gone, the aged handcrafted habanero cheddar cheese beginning to look slightly moldy and the deadline fast approaching, I decided I would 'phone it in' by sloshing some delectable HFCS-free store-bought Raspberry Chipotle sauce over a triangle of cream cheese and shoot it to death, while my child lay in bed shivering with high fever. Such is my addiction to this thing called Click.

To whomsoever it may concern, the picture directly above this paragraph and immediately below the preceding paragraph is my entry for this month's Click: Cheese.

Back to the sick child then. Yes, the poor child is sick but she had a really great week. Her school had its first play ever and it was the delightful You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Medha does not believe in being seen when she acts or dances or sings. She prefers to make a difference behind the scenes and so she, along with 3 other talented kids, did the music during scene changes. The cast was made up of about sixty 4th and 5th graders who practiced on Wednesday and Thursday mornings before school from September onwards. They had two main casts with three performances and boy, what a show they put on! It was hard to believe that these kids were between the ages of 9 and 11. Here's a short clip of Medha playing the Charlie Brown melody.

The moong dal recipe? It's coming. As soon as I finish making dinner for my famished and sick family, doing the dishes and the laundry, and my article for The Daily Tiffin that was due yesterday.

Jai Ho!
Contents & images copyright © 2003 - 2009:: Use recipes from Indian Food Rocks at your own risk.
If you reproduce my recipes anywhere, please ensure that you give credit to the source:
Indian Food Rocks URL: [indianfoodrocks.blogspot.com]
Recipe: means a set of directions with a list of ingredients for preparing something, especially food. It does not include my pictures or the content around the recipe.

Recent items

July 03, 2009
7:00
Mullangi Sambhar/ Daikon Sambhar
» ‎ Amma Cheppindi

Mullangi SambharIngredients:Toor Dal/ Kandi Pappu - 1/2 cup (small toor dal) + 1/2 cup (large toor dal) Turmeric - 1/2 tspChilli powder - 1 tspSalt - a pinchWater - 2 and 1/2 cupsCook these everything in pressure cooker until mushy.Tamarind - 1 lemon sizeAdd enough water to the tamarind, microwave for 1 min , cool a bit and squeeze the juice.Jaggery - small bit (around 1 tsp) Onion - 1 no. (

July 02, 2009
18:47
Passion Fruit Mintini and 4th of July Cocktail Ideas
» ‎ Live to Eat

Wishing all my US readers a Happy 4th of July weekend! If you are planning a party this weekend or just going to chill out, I am sure you could use some cooling cocktails! I thought it is the perfect time to share a new easy-breezy cocktail recipe and highlight some of my older recipes [...]

14:20
A Pasta Salad I Actually Like
» ‎ One Hot Stove

A Pasta Salad I Actually Like

14:16
Mango Meal
» ‎ Mahanandi

Mango and Majjiga ~ Meal Today Share your meal time fruits.

11:48
For the girlie in me
» ‎ What's For Lunch Honey?

All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

[Read the rest of this post on my website]

10:09
Dietary aspects in the management of diabetes
» ‎ Spice your Life

My sincere apologies to my readers who were waiting for the next edition on the Diabetes. My father was most interested to know how the articles are received. Let me continue with the rest without much ado!

Source: Written for Spice your Life, by Dr. Nagarathnam Jetti, MBBS,DPH,DIH,FIAOH.

************************************************************************************
Before we go deep into the details of diet and how a diabetic should go about knowing and adapting the food, lets take a look at some of our famous sayings

In pre-diabetic stage and for those who are potential diabetic, diet plays an important role in postponing the occurrence of diabetes to a great extant.

The 'Diet’ as we refer is extremely complicated, it is as complicated as man himself.

Its an elaborate study on its own, so to understand and to benefit out of the knowledge gained, one needs involvement and commitment.

All of us have to eat to live but we come across some people who live to eat. Diabetics have to eat healthy food to live healthy.

There is a saying in Sanskrit “Lankanam Praramoushadham” (Fasting is the best medicine) this may be true for normal people, but this cannot be practiced by diabetics.

Another saying goes as “Koti Vidyalu Kooti Korake, which in English can be translated as "All the millions skills a man has, is all only a means to sustenance. And even if a diabetic has millions of skills, should always be cautious about the diet.

“Eka Bhojan Maha Yogi, Dwi bhojan Maha Bhogi, Thri Bhojan Maha Drohi, Chatur Bhojan Maha paapi” which means "A Man who takes food only once a day is a blessed man, taking a meal twice a day, is one who enjoys his food, thrice a day a fraud, and four times a day, is a sinner.

But in case of a diabetic, he/she has to divide the total consumption allowed per day, into 5 to 6 small portions through out the day.

The diabetic has to consult a dietitian and arrive at the balance diet suitable for him/her. While arriving at the balance diet, one has to consider the total calories permitted per day, which is arrived at, based on the height, weight and the occupation of the diabetic (expenditure of the calorie involved)

A person with normal work of height 5.5” and medium frame may generally require 1800 KCal per day.

These calories have to be obtained from the total food taken per day, consisting of carbohydrates 60 – 65%, proteins 20 – 25% and fats not more than 15%.

The food chosen should also have sufficient quantities of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Once the types of food and the quantity are chosen, this may be divided into five to six portions, to be consumed through the day.

While calculating the calories, one should keep in mind that carbohydrates and proteins give 4 kcal per gram and fats give 9 kcal per gram. While selecting the carbohydrates (which are generally met from cereals, pulses and roots), one has to select complex carbohydrates, so that they undergo full process of digestion and release the simple sugar (glucose) in a slow manner. And the most important note is to avoid foods containing ready made sugars.

Proteins are generally obtained from pulses, nuts, meat, fish and eggs. It’s always better to take lean meat and more of fish and in the egg its better to avoid the yellow.

For fats we can consume nuts, vegetable oils and the proportion has to be a good mixture of only unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and Mono unsaturated fatty acids and some saturated fats.

Dieting always puts off people, so its very important to select and make the food interesting but also meets the requirement.

So this can be best achieved by adding seasonal foods, fruits and vegetables in their diet. And other factors like regional and racial cultures and habits, family culture, social habits, personal tastes and personal restrictions like nature of job, always take precedence.

While selecting the foods, one has to keep in mind, the glycemic Index, load of carbohydrates and load of calories.

In the forthcoming articles, I will be discussing more on the Glycemic Index and give more elaborate diet plan.

*************************************************************************************
Earlier on Diabetes:

General Notes on Diabetes
Introduction to Diabetes ~ What Is Diabetes?
Why Early Diagnosis Is Important?
Diagnosing Diabetes ~ Different Types Of Diabetes

Diabetes Diet:

Appey or Paniyaram with Jowar Four
Healthly Snack with Chickpea Salad
Gooseberry Rice
Guava ~ the Wonder Fruit

10:05
Chayote Kootu
» ‎ Talimpu

Seema Vankaya Kootu Moong dal is boiled along with chopped chayote in few cups of water till cooked. A paste is made of coconut, roasted red chillies and cumin seeds. This spice paste is added to the cooked dal and boil for a minute. Finally chow chow kootu is tempered with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry [...]

7:41
HEALTHY WHOLEWHEAT SWEET BREAD
» ‎ IN LOVE WITH FOOD
Baking with yeast is very satisfying and therapeutic.Nowadays I find myself making buns, rolls and breads all the time and I just love it.I was never satisfied with store-brought wholewheat bread and always used to think -is it REALLY Wholewheat? or simply regular flour and caramel colour, well now I bake it for my morning breakfast myself and enjoy it fresh with butter, jam and coffee.
- INGREDIENTS-
- Wholewheat Flour-3 cups
- Egg-1
- Salt-1 tsp
- Butter-1/4 cup
- Sugar-1/2 cup
- Milk-1/2 cup
- Water-1/2 cup
- Sugar-1 tsp extra
- Active dryYeast-2 tsp
METHOD-Warm up the water, add the 1 tsp.sugar, dissolve then sprinkle yeast, leave for a while till it turns into a foam.Now warm the milk slightly add sugar, salt, butter, stir till sugar is dissolved.In a large bowl combine the milk mixture with yeast mixture, add flour and the egg and knead well, transfer to a well oiled bowl, let rise well for an hour.Punch down and shape into loaves, leave to rise again for 1/2 an hour and bake after brushing tops with little milk at 200C. I baked two rounds like in the picture below,making a cross on the top with a sharp knife, the rounds sliced well and were delicious.

This healthy bread is off to Susan of Wild Yeast for herYeastspotting weekly event and to Divya for Show me your breakfast event

6:05
Ari + Dates Unda
» ‎ Simply Spicy

Ari + Dates Unda

4:15
Bati Charchari with Love
» ‎ Bong Mom's CookBook

My grandparents lived in an old rambling house in a nondescript para(community or development) in North Calcutta (now Kolkata). The house was old, it's days of glory being long over.As appendages were added on to it and banyan trees took roots in its crevices, the house tried desperately to hold on to its rich past.In this house my maternal grandparents came to live after retirement as a part of

2:34
Strawberry Feast Round up delayed
» ‎ My Kitchen Treasures

I am sorry to write that Round up of is delayed.
Have been having for the last few days really pain on my right arm and been taking tablets for the pain, hubby says it is because i have been busy in computer for the last month too much , three quaters of the round up is done, i just have to do the rest.
I will try to post the round up next week.

2:10
Green Garbanzo Beans
» ‎ Ammalu's Kitchen

When I saw them first , covered in plastic , I almost walked away , until my husband gently reminded me of the summers we spent eating them joyously. Ahh! Nostalgia … it came back and I couldnt resist buying them . Late summer evenings, sitting on the floor by the door or on the terrace [...]

0:00
Blanched
» ‎ jugalbandi

BLANCH (verb): To plunge foods into boiling water for a few seconds or minutes, then remove and place in ice water. This process sets the colour of vegetables, lets one easily peel fruits, and slip the skins off nuts. The food does not cook all the way through, so crisp texture is preserved.

July 01, 2009
16:41
Vegetarian Phyllo Pizza
» ‎ Tasty Palettes

A cook can never have too many cookbooks. My bookcase somehow seem to grow and have room for good cookbooks. Vegetarian Meals Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes is one such cookbook. It is filled with recipes that are quick, easy and fun. A good find, considering that I picked this book in a rush without flipping even a single page, from my local library.Back at home, when I had the time to

15:01
Hyderabadi Ramadan Food Festival
» ‎ Zaiqa

Inshallah Ramadan 2009 is not very far from now. It is only a matter of around 50 days from today, that the barakat ka maheena~Ramadhan will inshallah commence. Food is an important part of Ramadan. The daytime in Ramadan is spent fasting, and after dawn, the fast is broken and traditional treats and memorable feasts are [...]

13:55
Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake
» ‎ Dil Se...

I cannot believe half the year is already over!! And yeah, it is the beginning of a new month and time for Sweet and Simple Bakes! The choice for the month is Chocolate orange Drizzle Loaf Cake.
One evening, I was craving cake and was looking for simple and refreshing cake recipes. I stumbled upon this recipe but I did not have oranges at hand. In our new apartment we have an orange tree, but we have never tried those oranges. So I just ran outside a grabbed a few oranges and immediately set to try this delicious cake. I had some dark chocolate and I thought it would be too overpowering to do the entire frosting with it. So I just melted the chocolate and drizzled it over the cake. the cake was moist due to the addition of orange juice and it had a hint of citrus flavor in every bite!
Ingredients
For The cake
175g (6 oz) softened butter
175g (6 oz) caster (super fine) sugar - I used ordinary sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp milk
For The Orange Syrup
Juice of 1 orange
100g (4 oz) granulated sugar

For The Topping
Dark chocolate / milk chocolate
Sprinkles of choice (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
Line and grease a900g (2 lb) loaf tin.
In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy in appearance. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well until fully incorporated. Add the orange zest, flour and milk and fold in gently with a spatula or large metal spoon. Turn into the prepared tin, smooth the top of the mixture and bake in the oven on middle shelf 35 -45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool make little holes in the cake with a skewer, (this is important for pouring the syrup onto the cake to ensure the syrup soaks in fully.)

For The Orange Syrup

Put the orange juice and granulated sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Pour over the top of the cake. When all the juice has soaked in, carefully remove the cake from the tin.
Frosting
I melted 2 blocks the dark chocolate in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Drizzle it directly over the cooled cake. leave the cake for a while for the chocolate to set.
Slice and enjoy!
Check out my other cake recipes..
Spongecake with cream cheese frosting
Fruit Cake
Spiced Mango Bread
Vanilla Apple Cake
Orange cake with cream cheese frosting

12:55
Green Mutton Biryani
» ‎ Radhi's Kitchen

Ingredients:
Goat Meat or Lamp-1.5lbs
Basmati Rice-2cups
Green Chilli-8no(adjust according to spice level)
Fennel seeds-1tsp
Cinnamon-1"stick
Cardamon-3no
Cloves-4
Pepper-1tsp
Ginger&Garlic paste-1tsp
Mint-1/2cup
Onions sliced-1cup
Coconutmilk-1cup(optional)
Oil-3tbsp
salt to taste
water-2cups

Method:
wash the rice & soak it in water for 30mts or till your done with the remaining process.
Grind green chillis,fennel seeds,pepper,half of the mint,cinnamon,cardamon,cloves & ginger garlic paste to a smooth paste with water.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker add sliced onions & fry till they turn golden color then add remaining mint & saute for a minute.
Add the ground green chilli paste & saute for 3-4mts & then add mutton mix well and add 1cup water & salt to taste,cover & cook till the meat is soft & well cooked.
Now drain the water & add the rice to the cooked meat and add 1cup water & 1cup coconutmilk & pressure cook for 1-2 whistles.
Serve with rita.
Note:If not using coconut milk,substitute it with water.Check for taste once the meat is cooked,if the gravy is spicey add 1 chopped tomato.Reduce the amount of chillis and pepper if you want mild spicey.

9:44
Plantain with Green Chana
» ‎ Talimpu

Aratikaya Senagala Kura. Plantain or raw banana is paired with freshly shelled green chana in this curry. Plantain is boiled in water till soft. Green chana is also boiled in water or microwaved for few minutes. Both of them once cooked are added to the tempered oil having grated ginger and chopped green chiles. Makes: 3 Servings Ingredients: Plantain [...]

4:45
Dahi Sev
» ‎ S A R A' S C O R N E R

Dahi Sev is very tasty. You can say it a chaat or salad. Its from North India. Its a mix of Dahi called yogurt(curds) in Hindi and Sev a fried savoury. It is very simple and easy to prepare. Ingredients Sev (Oma Podi) - 1 cupDahi(Thair, Plain Yogurt/Curds) - 1 cupChopped Onion - 1 noChopped Tomato - 1noChaat masala - 2 pinchesChopped Kothmir(Coriander leaves/Cilantro)- 1 tspnSalt a

4:39
Weekend Eats- Spicy Poori Chaat
» ‎ The Spice Who Loved Me

I *love* chaat! It is such a perfect thing to eat when you're craving something tangy, sour, hot and sweet at the same time! This is especially for those days and weekends. One great thing about this, besides its fabulous flavor of course, is that you can add just about anything to give it a personal touch. It can range anywhere from boiled potatoes, chickpeas, crushed tortilla chips, hot sauces, onions, peppers....etc etc! So, go ahead and make it the way YOU want. Here's how I made this favorite:

For the Pooris:

You can make your own crispy pooris. This recipe here is a nice one which I used to make "dahi sev pooris". I had made a smaller version then, this time, the pooris are HUGE. Make it to whatever size you like, or if you're in a rush, get the ready-made ones from an Indian grocery store.

For the Fillings:
Get creative! Use what you have,

Boiled potatoes, cooked chickpeas, sprouted moong, poha, crushed tortilla chips, sev, mamra (puffed rice), other beans, spicy cereal mix etc etc!

Chutneys: Green Chutney, Tamarind or Apple Butter Chutneys, Whisked plain yogurt spiced with some roasted Jeera powder and some salt, I also like the hot Sriracha Sauce drizzled on top!

Toppings: Chopped Onions, Cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, fine sev, Chaat Masala, red chili powder...

Make a well in the pooris, add your choice of topping that has been mixed with some chaat masala and fill each poori. Drizzle each of the chutneys on top and add the chopped onions and cilantro...and enjoy each tangy, spicy bite!

Serve right away with other savories...I had some spicy Mirchi Bhajiyas to go along with it.

1:25
Baby Food - Wheat Cereal / Godhambu Kurukku
» ‎ Simple and Delicious !

Welcome to all young mothers and those who eat all yummy baby foods! ;) I can boast to any one that my kids have grown up without eating much ready made baby foods since a big amount of cerelac I bought for them have gone to my stomach! Yeah, they don't like, but I like. That too directly from the can, without adding water.. :) I have seen some taking this wheat cereal / godhambu kurkku , for

0:20
Wordless July #1: Tattooed House
» ‎ jugalbandi

July is when we celebrate our birthdays, friends, our visits to the mountains. And wordlessness. We'll enjoy the silence and let the camera take you to some of the places we visited recently.

June 30, 2009
21:00
Back to the Grind
» ‎ Ammalu's Kitchen

Survival has been our key for the past year. We are slowly falling into a routine and hope that we get back to our normal lives soon. I have totally neglected my virtual space for the past year or so and trust me , there has not been a single day when I would get [...]

20:57
Rava laddoo for Indian Cooking Challenge
» ‎ Dil Se...

It has been raining rava laddus in the blogosphere today!! Yeah, it is the first creation in the Indian Cooking Challenge initiated by Valli! I am very excited to take up this challenge and try out many authentic Indian dishes. The first challenge started out with this Rava Laddoo.. I havent made this earlier and this is my first time trying it out. It was quiet simple and tasted great. We loved every bite with a hint of raisins and cashews.
Coming on to the recipe given..
Ingredients
Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 25 gms
Milk - 25 ml
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
Raisins - 10 nos
Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms
Directions
Heat 2 teaspoons of ghee in a kadai and fry the raisins and cashews until they turn golden brown and the raisins plump up. Set them aside. In the same pan, roast the grated coconut for about two minutes and set it aside.
Then add the remaining ghee and add the semolina/rava. Roast on low heat until it gives out a nice aroma. Take care it doesnt burn.
In a bowl, take all the roasted ingredients along with sugar and mix well. Microwave milk for about 30 seconds or heat on stove top until it turns warm. Add milk little by little to the rava mixture. Make balls immediately while warm. When it cools down, it is difficult to make balls.
Store in an airtight container. Since it contains milk it is best to consume it within 4 to 5 days.
Isn't it simple!!

18:19
No-Oil Ginger Tamarind Chicken Wings
» ‎ Live to Eat

I’ve been on a doctor recommended blog hiatus for the past couple of weeks. Well, he doesn’t know about the blog, but I was asked to cut down my computer time way down. As much as I wanted to cut the time I spend in front of the PC for work, unfortunately that pays the [...]

17:14
Cool summer drink(Thandai)
» ‎ Aayi's Recipes

We are having a very hot summer here these days. We moved to a new apartment last week and it was extremely difficult under hot sun. All that we craved for was some cool drink which would cool down our bodies. I am not a great fan of any kind of sodas and I get [...]

16:30
Stacked, birthday parties and roses
» ‎ Indian Food Rocks
Nothing to waffle about

For CLICK: Stacked, I dug into my archives and pulled out this picture of waffles that Medha made me take in the first week of 2009. She had made breakfast and wanted a picture of her waffles, all stacked, with a dab of butter and as she poured syrup over them. "Just like in the magazines, Mumma!" she said. She was mighty thrilled with it. So off it goes to the Jugalbandits as my judge's entry for CLICK.

Medha celebrated her golden birthday earlier this month: 11 on the 11th. She was super-excited about it and, unlike last year, wanted to celebrate with a birthday party. I prefer to keep her parties small and simple. That means not more than 5 girls in all and no sleepover. I won the first battle but lost the second. She wanted a repeat of the Backyard Campout Party but gave in to roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for dessert instead.

We baked a carrot cake from The Joy of Cooking and then quibbled over what kind of frosting: cream cheese or sprinkled sugar. No prizes for guessing which one I was leaning towards! When it came to making the cream cheese frosting, she realized how much easier it is to simply sprinkle the sugar over the cake and promptly presented it as her idea. I pulled out all the colored sugars and sprinkles I had and we used them to decorate her birthday cake. I then displayed great creativity when I used a metal skewer and wrote Happy Birthday, Medha on the cake with great flourish.

She was somewhat happy. I think. We covered it carefully and left it on the table on an increasingly hot evening. Never do that because, you see, powdered sugar dissolves into the cake. Like so:

This carrot cake was the second best carrot cake I have ever had. After much giggling and talking in sentences where every third word is "like" and every other phrase is "you know", the girls went with me to Louisville's Street Faire for some fun. They jumped, they flipped and came away with their faces painted.

We had a minor family emergency which led to the cancellation of the marshmallow roasting session; but it's generally been agreed that we will do it another time before summer is done. They played Guitar Hero and ate ice-cream without any complaints. The next morning they made some crafty mementoes to take away with them.

(She is the teeniest of the lot but my driveway has a reasonably steep slope making her look even smaller.)

Thanks to The Cooker for this fantastic idea! The girls first painted and decorated 6in terracotta pots and then potted sun-loving annuals in them. To make these, you need:
- 6in terracotta pots and saucers
- Several bottles of bright paints (I bought acrylic paints)
- Foam stickers, buttons, dragonfly charms and similar embellishments
- Hot glue gun
- Pebbles to line the hole in the pot, or not
- Compost and top soil
- Annuals like marigolds, salvia, phlox (more shade than sun), verbena and any other flowers that thrive in the sun.
1. Turn on some music, anything but Taylor Swift.
2. Paint the pots first and allow them to dry.
3. Decorate the pots.
4. Plant the flowers.
5. Watch their faces light up at every stage.
In lieu of birthday gifts, Medha asked her friends if they could sponsor our friends John and Lisa for their Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, if they were so inclined. Or donate to a charity of their choice. John and Lisa walked 39 miles this past weekend and were only $2 short of their goal of $1,800 each.

Medha declared this to be the best birthday she has ever had! In many ways, it probably is! And rightly so. For golden birthdays come only once in a lifetime.

Oh. See that climbing rose bush in the picture of the girls holding their pots? Yup, I made gulkand. There's a real recipe, after all. Over on The Daily Tiffin.

Contents & images copyright © 2003 - 2009:: Use recipes from Indian Food Rocks at your own risk.
If you reproduce my recipes anywhere, please ensure that you give credit to the source:
Indian Food Rocks URL: [indianfoodrocks.blogspot.com]
Recipe: means a set of directions with a list of ingredients for preparing something, especially food. It does not include my pictures or the content around the recipe.

15:12
Easy Lowfat Pav Bhajji and Grape-Avocado Chaat
» ‎ Out Of The Garden

happy shortcut for easy pav bhajji Sometimes you stumble upon a happy shortcut that makes cooking so simple, it’s ridiculous. This “cheater’s version” of pav bhajji using a can of soup is a go-to recipe for me whenever I’m short on time. I always have the ingredients handy! You can use frozen and/or canned veggies. Canned potatoes [...]

13:29
Pasta in Spinach sauce
» ‎ Cook's Hideout
I love adding nuts to my gravies, especially almonds and cashews. I think they totally transform a dish from plain & boring to creamy & delicious. For example, would you prefer to have “Pasta in Spinach sauce” (oh.. blah) or “Pasta in Creamy Spinach-Almond sauce” (oh.. yay.. yummy). I chose the second one and I have to tell you, I was licking every utensil that came in touch with that sauce, it was sooo good.

Recipe is inspired from Indira’s Spinach-Basil pasta.
Ingredients:
For the Spinach Sauce:
Onion – ½ cup, chopped
Spinach – 2 cups, chopped
Basil – 1 cup, chopped
Almonds – 1 cup, dry roasted
Garlic – 2 cloves
Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped

For Pasta:
Whole wheat Penne – 1 lb.
Broccoli – 2 cups, chopped into florets
Chick peas – 2 cups
Onion – ½ cup, chopped
Salt, Pepper & Red Pepper flakes – to taste

Method:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve pasta cooking water for later use.
- Dry roast almonds in a skillet. Remove and keep aside.
- Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large skillet; add onions and garlic; sauté on medium flame until lightly browned around edges, about 8-10 minutes. Add tomatoes; cover and cook till they turn into mush, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and basil; cook till wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper & red pepper flakes. Blend spinach mixture with the almonds into a smooth paste.
- Heat 1tbsp olive oil in the same skillet, add onions and sauté till slightly browned. Add broccoli & chickpeas; cover and cook till tender. Add the spinach puree and ½-1 cup of pasta cooking water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer till it reaches desired consistency.
Serve over pasta (you can mix the sauce with pasta, but I prefer serving them separate, as you can add as much or as little sauce as you want. I like mine with a lot of sauce and pasta tends to soak up all the sauce when mixed early).

This dish goes to Cooking for Kids-Leafy Greens event. I'll be posting the round up at the end of this week, so send them in by Friday, the latest.

13:29
Bisi Uppinakayi/Grated Mango Instant Pickle
» ‎ Taste of Mysore

A tasty pickle which will be ready under 30 mins .....

All you need is.........

Raw Green Mango : 2 (peel and grate)

Pickle Powder : 2 tsp (click and follow the link for the recipe)

Salt and jaggery (bella, vellam, gur/gud, bellam...)

Oggarane/Seasoning
Sesame Oil : 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, turmeric powder, garlic -2 pods chopped into fine pieces, curry leaves

Method:
Heat Oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add seasoning ingredients in the order mentioned. Brown the garlic before you add curry leaves.
Add grated mango and sautee till mango softens and gets cooked. Add pickle powder, salt and jaggery and mix well. Cook for another 5 mins till the contents gets mixed and oil separates from the mixture.

Shelf Life:
This pickle stays good for 5 days when kept outside. Refrigerated pickle stays good for 3 weeks or more.

13:13
Cilantro
» ‎ Zaiqa

Cilantro, also called as Kothmir or Hara Dhaniya in Urdu language, sometimes referred as Coriander leaves, is my favorite, most quintessential culinary herb, which I love to add in most of my vegetable and meat preperations while I cook. Cilantro or Kothmir Growing this fragrant herb is easy. Every Indian kitchen is stocked up with coriander seeds. Just sow [...]

12:13
Pickle a Month ~ Key Lime Pickle
» ‎ Mahanandi

Maybe you always thought that pickling at home was complicated and time consuming. Maybe you assumed that you wouldn’t be good at it. But neither has to be true. You already know what you love (lemon, mango, tomato etc). Learning to preserve is simply a matter of finding new ways to put these ingredients in [...]

10:18
Chow Chow Chutney
» ‎ Talimpu

Benguluru Vankaya Pachadi. Choko or chayote is a gourd vegetable used in daily cooking. Urad dal, red chillies and mustard seeds are fried in little oil till aromatic and ground into fine powder. Chow chow or choko is grated and cooked till soft and ground with other spices into a chutney. This chow chow chutney is [...]

10:01
"DEJHAROO" a lovely Kashmiri Ornament...
» ‎ IN LOVE WITH FOOD

Kashmiri women generally love jewellery,"Dejharoo" is the typical Kashmiri ornament that comprises of a pair of gold pendants that hang on a long gold chain which passes through holes in the ears.Dejharoo symbolises a married woman much like the "mangal sutra".

The above pictures are of Kashmiri friends of mine, the mother above is wearing a "dejharoo" with a pendant which is much heavier and elaborate, I came to know she got her inner ears pierced when she was a child whereas the daughter is wearing one which is much more delicate and has just got her ears pierced recently when she got married.

8:16
Moroccan vegan chick pea stew/Soup
» ‎ Creative saga...

Moroccan cuisine is totally new to me. After lavi announced the IAVW- Moroccan event , I had been browsing the net for some vegan moroccan recipes and found a few recipes suitable for the event. I...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

7:52
Summer Snacking: Baba Ghanouj
» ‎ One Hot Stove

Summer Snacking: Baba Ghanouj

7:51
Spanish Omelette
» ‎ Served with love

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is definitely one of the most entertaining books I've read in recent times.

Suspense, intrigue, revenge, love (of books, unrequited love, lost love, first flush of love ), the difficult journey from childhood to adulthood - this page turner has it all.

10 year old Daniel Sempere is introduced by his father to the Cemetery Of Forgotten Books - an old and secret place that houses books that even time seems to have forgotten. This is a place that is not many are privy to and the tradition here is that the first time someone visits the place, he must choose any book he likes and then become its caretaker, so to speak.

Daniel chooses a novel Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax - though this is an author that he, the son of a book shop owner, has never heard of, it seems to him that this book has been waiting all along for him. It is a novel that makes its way to his heart and soon, Daniel is seeking out other works by Carax.

To his dismay and shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every single copy of every novel that Julian Carax has ever written. In fact, the one copy that he has of the Shadow of the Wind seems to be the only one that has survived and someone seems to be intent on getting that from him as well.

Why is this person so keen on destroying Carax's work and who is Julian Carax? Daniel's curiosity is piqued and he starts to find out all he can about the mysterious and elusive Carax. But what starts as simple curiosity of an admirer leads him over the course of the following 10 years to a labyrinth of secrets, lies and revenge. As he delves deeper and deeper into the mystery of Carax's life, Daniel soon realises that he and those closest to him might be in great danger...

There are several food references throughout the book - Fermin Romero de Torres, Daniel's friend and mentor, has a voracious appetite - ham croquettes, brioches with butter, sandwiches, omelettes, chocolates and sugus sweets - he seems to be able to wolf down large quantities of food with great alacrity.....

"Did you hear that?" Fremin suddenly said. "Sounded like a drumroll for a somersault."
"No."
"Yours truly's rumblings. Look, I'm suddenly terribly hungry...."

I wanted to make patata bravas but in the end, I was too lazy and ended up with the Spanish Omelette which is something we have pretty regularly at home.

"Would you object to a stop at the bar in Plaza de Sarria to polish off two well-endowed omelette sandwiches, plus trimmings?"

The tortilla de patatas or Spanish omelette - is a typical Spanish dish consisting of an egg omelette with fried potatoes and is one of the most popular tapas in Spain. In fact different regions in Spain have their own ways of making this omelette, here's how I make Spanish Omelette at home.

Spanish Omelette
Ingredients:
Eggs - 3Potato - 1 largeBell pepper, red - 1/2, choppedOnion - 1/2, choppedCoriander leaves - 1 tbsp, choppedGreen Chillies - 2, choppedOlive oil - 1.5 tbspSalt and pepper
Method:
Parboil the potato and slice it into circles. Heat oil and fry the potato slices till done.(Traditionally, raw potatoes are fried in a couple of tablespoons of oil, the idea being that the potatoes should be stewed in the oil - I balk at the idea of using too much oil and so parboil mine).
When the potatoes are nearly done, add the onions and fry them till pink.
As the onions fry, gently beat the eggs and add the remaining ingredients. When the potatoes and the onions are done, transfer them into the eggs in the bowl and mix gently.
Tip the eggs into the pan and cook, covered, on very low heat till done.
Cut into wedges and eat as is or with some salad or bread.
Here's what the other members of the Book Club made:Simran made Swiss Hot Chocolate and Curry Leaf made Patata Bravas with Citrusy Sangria Next month, we are reading "A Space between Us" by Thrity Umrigar. Want to join us? Write in to Simran!!

4:24
Baked Lentil Patties or Vaazhai Poo (Banana Flower) Vadai
» ‎ EgglessCooking.com » Eggless Recipes » Eggless Baking » Eggless Cooking

Back when I was in India before my marriage I rarely cooked because my grandmother and mother took care of it. I knew few basics like kootu, rasam and some poriyal (dry curry), so that was enough to help them out occasionally but certain things I did not know. One such thing is the procedure for cooking banana flower (vaazhai poo). Although my grandmother used to make usili and poriyal out of it I never bothered to learn how to prep the flower for cooking. After coming to US I did not see it in the local markets so I literally forgot that such a thing existed.

Last summer we went to New Jersey to see Dasavatharam. Yes, we drove 2 hours to watch that movie because my DH is a movie-enthusiast (that’s my “good” me trying to sound poise but actually biting my teeth!). That experience by itself should qualify for another post of ranting. Anyway the only good thing from that trip (at least for me) was the visit to the Indian grocery stores there. I felt like I was in India and was so excited to see all the vegetables and greens, the variety of of flours, grains and nuts and more all laid out neatly. You should have seen the look in my face! For those of you who have come to NJ directly from India, you cannot relate to me, because in the place where I used to live (suburbs of Philly) we didn’t have that many desi stuff and choices. I was so excited that I was asking my husband to look for a job in NJ and I started looking for apartments too. Really, I’m not kidding. So we (read it as I) literally filled up the car trunk with groceries and veggies including the exotic banana flower.

I didn’t know how I was going to cook it but bought it anyway. Most of my purchases are like that only since I started this food blog! With the help of technology I learned how to prep it. No, no, no I did not Google it. I video chat with my mother everyday, so I had the banana flower in front of me and she was giving me the instructions. So finally it was done. My goodness it’s a lot of work and takes so much time. (The how to’s in another post.) She also had asked me to soak the chopped flower in buttermilk with little turmeric powder mixed to it, so that it would remove some of the bitterness. Yes, it’s slightly bitter (thuvarpu in Tamil). Did everything as she said (a teaspoon of sugar can also be added while cooking) and prepared usili the next day as usual and it tasted so good, worth the trouble taken to prep it.

Fast forward one year, I’m in Canada now and happened to see banana flower in the store here. Brought it home with the same excitement, sat down patiently to prep the flower, chopped it and made the poriyal (dry curry) which my grandmother used to make, tasted a spoonful and yuck! It was so bitter and I was wondering what I did wrong. After talking with my mother I realized that I did not soak it in buttermilk this time. I tried every possible trick to make it right, but the bitterness was like a tough grease on a pan, it would not go. Even the thought of throwing it away was making me feel very guilty. It’s not that I have not thrown away anything but to throw something as healthy as this and also after spending so much time on preparing it, it did not feel right. So I was just moping around until I saw the lentils I had soaked to prepare usili for the following day’s lunch. Aaha! the light bulb went on!

I’m sure you would have guessed it by now. Vaazhaipoo vadai (banana flower patties) is the solution. Though I have heard about these vadais we have not prepared it in our home and I have not tasted it elsewhere too. Proceeded anyway because I know that anything deep fried in oil will definitely taste good!
Ingredients and Procedure:
So took about 1 cup of the soaked lentils (approximately 3/4 cup of chana daal, 1/4 cup toor daal and masoor dal or red lentils together ), drained the water and processed it in a food processor with 1 red chili and mixed the banana flower curry and finely chopped onions with the lentil batter. I even fried one batch of vadais and that’s when another idea came. Why not bake it instead? I have seen a couple of recipes for baked falafel, so decided to give that a try and it worked too! Yay!

Preheat the oven at 375F for 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with cooking spray. Take a ping pong ball size of dough, roll it between your palms and place it on the baking sheet. You can either flatten it or leave it as it is. Repeat the same for the entire dough and spray the tops with non stick cooking oil spray and bake it in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until its golden brown. Check once in between and you may flip the patties. The only thing to be noted is that while grinding the lentils, be sure that the water is drained completely and sprinkle water little by little if necessary. If you add too much water, you will not be able to handle the dough and you would have to add rice flour or corn starch to bind it.

Surprisingly the oven baked vadais were crisp too. Crisp on the outside and soft inside. I had my doubts whether the lentils would be cooked inside because unlike falafel where cooked (canned) chickpeas is used, the lentils in this recipe was not cooked prior to the baking. So if you have that doubt too, don’t anymore because it gets cooked. The vadai was not bitter also. It tasted very good the next day too. Of course not crispy as the the first day but definitely tasty.

This goes to my Low Fat Baking Event.
Share and Enjoy:

2:09
Announcing CFK: Healthy Lunch Boxes
» ‎ # Tasty Recipes
Finally this month i got the oppurtunity to host the event Cooking for Kids (CFK), a monthly event started by Sharmi @ Neivedyam. Sharmi wanted some time to get settled in her new home, and what i wanted was this oppurtunity to guest host this event . Seriously being a mom of 2 picky ,fuzzy eaters(5 yrs n 3 years ), and wanting them to have a proper balanced diet is really no joke.

Soon my kids too would start half day schools, and i would need a lots n lots of ideas to pack their lunch boxes. So, thought, why not have this as theme for July's edition of Cooking With Kids. When we were kids , we used to have whatever mom used to put in tiffin boxes, but now a days with so much junk food around, kids have gone so choosy, and we feel , how to somehow give them whatever healthy is possible.
So all you need is to cook something which goes as a healthy lunch box. It could be anything that can be packed and given to the kids for their lunch or snack time, and ofcourse is healthy.

Some simple guidelines for the event :
- Make a vegetarian dish which can be packed in a tiffin in the month of July and post it in your blog before 31st July 2009. Eggs & Cheese are allowed.
- Multiple entries are most welcome. You can also send from archieves, provided it should be properly updated and reposted. Posts should be linked back to the event's announcement post(this post) and Sharmi's blog.
- Send the following details to neha.agrawal.2610(at)gmail(dot)com with the CFK: Healthy Lunch boxes as its subject line
- The use of logo is optional, if you use good, if not then also good.:)
- If you are a non-blogger and you wish to participate, send in the above details with the recipe. I will post them in the round up.
- If you don't wanna post any recipe, but just some tips on how to pack lunch boxes for kids , that too is welcome.
Last date of this event is July 31st, 2009. So ,please all moms do share your yummy and healthy lunch boxes here with me, for all the other mom's to get benefit from.

June 29, 2009
23:08
Rava Laddoo for Indian Cooking Challenge
» ‎ Cook's Hideout
Talented Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons and Spice your Life blogs came up with this brilliant idea called Indian Cooking Challenge. Members would be making authentic Indian dishes from a tried and tasted recipe and posting them on the same day (how cool is that..). This month's recipe is Srivalli's Rava Laddoo.

Here' her recipe:
Ingredients:
Semolina/ Rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 25 gms
Milk - 25 ml
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
Raisins - 10 nos
Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms

Method:
- Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Once the raisins balloon up, remove. Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done. Keep all these aside.
- Add the remaining ghee and roast the rava till its well roasted and aroma starts coming out.
- In a bowl, take all the roasted rava, nuts, Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.
- Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddoos transfer it back to the kadai and cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 minutes. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.

23:03
Pavakkai Puli Kuzhambu Chettinad style (Bitter gaurd Hot and Sour Gravy)
» ‎ Solai's True Chettinad kitchen

In my blog on pavakkai masala itself,I have mentioned about the importance of this wonder vegetable of the diabetic people.As I mentioned in that blog,the taste of this vegetable if well cooked is mouth watering.Though many of us don't even go near this vegetable in the market,will one day be forced to cook this for some guest or relative.If you make this gravy exactly as given in this blog ,I am sure you will be for a great appreciation.For the curry to be less bitter or not bitter at all make sure that while cooking pavakkai the cut vegetable has to be sauted in oil nicely till it is almost cooked(5 to 6 minutes in medium fire).Another thing to be noted while making puli kuzhambu is that it should be cooked till at least 3 cups of the curry should get reduced to 1 cup .Coriander powder should be added to make the gravy thick.Too much of tamarind should not be used.The tamarind used for sambar itself will be enough IngredientsBitter guard-1(medium size) Buy little less green and less thorn shaped for less bitternessSmall onions-10garlic-10Tomato-1Sambar powder-11/2 teaspoonCoriander powder-1 table spoonTurmeric powder-1/2 teaspooncurry leaf -littleTamarind -little(as shown in the picture) or 2 teaspoons pastejaggery-1 small pieceFor seasoningMustard seed-1 teaspoonFennel seed-1 teaspoonFenugreek seed-1/2 teaspoonGingelly oil-2 table spoonsProcedureAs I told earlier the taste of the curry depends on how you cook the gravy.Keep the kadai in the stove.Season the gravy.Saute onions,garlic and tomatoes for a minute.Add the bitter gaurd pieces.Reduce the flame to medium and saute for 5 to 6 minutes.Meantime in 3 to 4 cups of water mix the tamarind,the salt needed,sambar powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder and add after the pieces are sauted well.Let the gravy cook for 5 minutes in medium fire.Then reduce the fire and cook till the gravy becomes thick and get reduced to 1/3 quantity.If the gravy is going to be served for non diabetic people, add a small piece of jaggery and cook for 2 more minutes.Adding jaggery will give an excellent taste to the curry

22:38
Sri Lankan Palak Dal Recipe
» ‎ For The Cook In Me

Ever since Siri hosted AWED Sri Lanka Recipes event, I got hooked to the cuisine. I had borrowed a book and this is the third recipe I tried from it. A simple palak dal recipe (lentils and spinach) but enhanced in true Sri Lankan way not to mention the addition of the ever-present coconut milk.

Fresh Green Spinach

The book I had only mentioned dal and I wasn't sure which dal they were referring to. So I used toor dal. You could also try this with moong dal and get a totally different flavour. Yummy either ways, I am sure.

Soaked Toor Dal

Sri Lankan Palak Dal /Lentils with Spinach
Preparation time: 40 mins
Serves: 2 to 4

What I Used:

1.5 cups toor dal
A big bunch of spinach, chopped (about 4 cups loosely packed)
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 small tomato, chopped fine
2 dried red chillies
2 garlic pods, crushed
A 1" piece of cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
1.5 cups light coconut milk
Salt to taste

For tempering:

2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A few pieces of rampe/pandan leaves or curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. The first step is to cook the lentils. Usually I use pressure cooker but for this recipe, its important not to cook them mushy. So, add about 4 cups water to the 1.5 cups toor dal and soak for an hour. Then, keep on a medium fire to cook for about 20-25 mins. The lentils should be cooked yet stay as individual pods.

2. Heat oil and add the ingredients for tempering. Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the cinnamon, chillies, garlic, jeera and onions. Fry until onions turn transparent.

3. Then add the tomatoes and mix well for another minute. Add the chopped spinach now and lower fire. Let it wilt and reduce in size. Keep stirring till the it mixes well with the rest of the added ingredients.

4. Now add the cooked lentils and combine gently. Bring to boil. Reduce fire and add the coconut milk and salt. You can add some chilli powder if you'd like more heat. Simmer for 5 mins and remove from fire.
Serve hot with steamed white rice or roti.

19:20
Ragda Patties
» ‎ Akshayapaatram

Dear foodies, Isn't chaat the best form of food ? They should make it one of the essential food groups. One bhel puri or ragda or one plate pani puri everyday :) That will be a diet plan I'll religiously stick too :D Specially in the summers, a spicy bhel or golgappa cooled down by a dahi poori or sugarcane juice is pure bliss. It's the best way to get your mind off the blistering sun of the...

[[This is the summary of the post. Visit the blog for rest of the story, images and more. Thank you :) Enjoy your day]]

17:21
Butter Bean Pualo
» ‎ Siri's Corner

17:00
Rava Laddoo for the Indian Cooking Challenge
» ‎ Essence Of Andhra
Hi, hello, how are you all? I know I have disappeared from the blogosphere for some time. As I told in the previous post, my sister and her family are with us for the summer break. So naturally I became little busy chitchatting and visiting different places. Actually I didn’t want to take a break, but time just flew by. Finally I am back with an interesting recipe Srivalli has chosen for “Indian Cooking Challenge” event. I prepared these for my little one’s 5^th b’day party last Saturday. Everyone liked it so much. Thanks for the yummy recipe Srivalli!!
Here is the recipe given by Srivalli:
Ingredients: (Makes - 10 Laddoos of normal size)
- Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
- Sugar - 1 cup
- Ghee - 25 gms.
- Milk - 25 ml
- Cardamom powder - a pinch
- Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
- Raisins - 10
- Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms
Preparation:
Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Once the raisins balloon up, remove. Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done and Keep all these aside.

Add the remaining ghee and roast the Rava till it’s well roasted and aroma starts coming out.

In a bowl, take all the roasted Rava, Nuts, and Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.
Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddos, transfer it back to the kadai and cook in sim for 2 mins. Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 mins. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.
My usual way of making Rava Laddus is slightly different than the method given by Srivalli. I first roast cashews, raisins and cardamom in hot ghee and keep aside. Then add rava and sugar and stir for some time and finally add little milk till the mixture comes together. I don't add coconut powder. Then mix cashews, raisins and cardamom with rava mixture and turn off the flame. I take small portions of rava mixture and roll into balls when rava is still warm as it tends to get hardened if delayed.
Tip: To handle warm rava mixture without burning your hand, take some cold milk in a plate, dip your hand/palm in it and then roll the ball. You won’t feel hotness of the rava mixture.

15:43
Brown Rice -- Methi Rice
» ‎ Bong Mom's CookBook

My Container GardenThe last few days have been super busy. Pardon me, I have neither blogged nor visited any blogs. There were so many unread posts in my blog reader and I felt so restless that I closed my eyes and clicked "Mark all read" for all of them.In other news the 5 year old graduated...ahem, only from Kindergarten. But they had a full ceremony with a cap and a robe followed by a luncheon

13:49
Announcing JFI - August ’09: Peanuts
» ‎ Cook's Hideout
Let me start my thanking Indira (@ Mahanandi) for giving me the opportunity to host Jihva For Ingredients (JFI). In Indira’s words “Jihva for Ingredients (JFI) is an online monthly food event, celebrating the Ingredients and what they can do for our Jeeva.”
So for this month’s JFI, I have chosen PEANUTS as the ingredient. Let me pass on some of the Gyan (knowledge) I gained browsing the internet:
- Peanut is actually not a nut; it is a species in the legume family and is related to chick peas and other beans.
- They start growing as a ground flower that due to its heavy weight bends towards the ground and eventually burrows underground where the peanut actually matures.
- India is the second largest producer of peanuts next only to China (US is 4th on the list).
- Peanuts are a very good source of monounsaturated fats, the type of fat that is emphasized in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.
- Peanuts are a rich source of protein with 30gms per cup after roasting. Peanuts are a good source of niacin and thus contribute to brain health, brain circulation and blood flow.
- Peanuts are native to South America, Mexico and Central America. Evidence demonstrates that peanuts were domesticated in prehistoric times in Peru. Archeologists have thus far dated the oldest specimens to about 7,600 years before the present. It was then introduced to Europe by Spanish conquistadors. The legume gained western popularity when it came to the United States from Africa. It had become popular in Africa after being brought there from Brazil by the Portuguese.
- The moral of this story is Peanuts have come a long way from their roots in South America and they are being used and enjoyed world wide in some form or the other.
Coming to the rules:
- Come up with a recipe that has PEANUTS (Raw/ Roasted/ Boiled) or PEANUT BUTTER as one of the main ingredients. Cooking in peanut oil or using chopped peanuts as garnish are not allowed, Sorry.
- Email me the link to your post on or before July 31st, 2009.
- Please make the dishes Vegetarian; cheese & eggs are allowed.
- Include a link in your post to this announcement and to Indira's site (themahanandi.org).
- If you have recipes that are already posted, repost and include a link to this announcement and Indira’s site.
- Use of Logo is optional, but much appreciated if used.
- Email me at cookshideout@gmail.com with the following information.
1. Name
2. Blog Name
3. Entry Name
4. Entry URL
5. Picture of your creation in any size.

13:10
Tandoori Chicken
» ‎ Recipe Center
Ingredients:
- Chicken Legs: 6
- Plain Yogurt: 1 Cup
- Lemon Juice: 1 & 1/2 tbsp
- Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp
- Onion: 1 Small
- Garlic Cloves: 3-4
- Ginger: 1/2 Inch
- Fresh Coriander Leaves: 1/2 Cup
- Garam Masala Powder: 1 tsp
- Kandyacha Masala (Goda / Black Masala With Onion, Garlic) : 2 tsp or As Per Taste
- Salt To Taste
Procedure:
1. If chicken skin is not already removed then remove the skin and extra fat. Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Make 6-7 horizontal slits on each leg piece . Make sure that you make slits on all sides of legs so that it will marinade nicely.
3. In a small bowl mix salt, half lemon juice and red chili powder. Apply this mixture on splits of chicken legs and keep aside for 10 minutes.
4. Make a fine paste of onion, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves.
5. In a large bowl mix yogurt, onion-ginger-garlic-coriander paste, garam masala, kandyacha masala or you can use store bought tandoori masala.
6. Apply this mixture on chicken legs very well. Cover these legs with cling film or lid and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hrs or overnight will be good.
7. Preheat oven on 400 degree F. Spray cooking oil on baking tray. Arrange chicken legs on this tray. Apply some oil on these legs. Brush the remaining marinade on legs every now and then. This will keep chicken juicy and succulent. Cook this chicken until browned and no trace of pink remains in the center, 30-40 minutes.
8. Serve this hot tandoori chicken with sliced onion and lemon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trupti
Fahsion Deals For Less
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12:14
Creamy Butter Beans and Leeks
» ‎ What's For Lunch Honey?

After a spectacular weekend filled with friends, barbecues, hikes, wild blueberries and a lot of Michael Jackson, we've started the week on a positive note. The past few weeks were overshadowed with a lot of chaos and stress - to move or not to move - was the question of the month. Things are...

[Read the rest of this post on my website]

9:52
Punjabi Tinda Tadka
» ‎ Talimpu

Punjabi Tinda Tadka. Indian baby pumpkin or tinda is a type of squash mostly used in North India. Here is a simple and tasty recipe of Punjabi tinda with onion and ginger. Tinda is chopped into small chunks and cooked along with finely chopped onion and ginger in a seasoned oil. Makes: around 4 Servings Ingredients: Punjabi Tinda 2 [...]

9:19
Announcing RCI July'09
» ‎ Passionate about Life 'n Spice...

8:22
Papad Palak (Spinach with Lentil Wafers)
» ‎ jugalbandi

"Hey baby, do you like fine cooking? Cause you know what? I got Swanson's Dinner in the freezer with your name on it." ~ Jimmy Fallon

7:15
Spice Giveaway: Kolhapuri Masala
» ‎ One Hot Stove

Spice Giveaway: Kolhapuri Masala

6:47
A traditional Malabar meal ~ Guest post by Shaheen
» ‎ Indian Food & Andhra Recipes from Sailu's Kitchen

Shaheen of Malabar Spices shares with us a traditional Malabar meal that includes a delicious fish curry. Want to explore the rich traditional Malabar Muslim cuisine? Head over to Shaheen’s...

Read rest of the story at my blog, http://sailusfood.com.

5:54
POTATO AND LEEK FRY
» ‎ Gita's Kitchen

POTATO AND LEEK FRY
I brought some leek stalks this week to prepare soups but they ended up in a completely different dish…I am glad they did! If you love lots of onions in potato fries or other non-vegetarian dishes, you are sure to love this one. This potato fry had lots of onion flavor but that did not overpower the dish. I have used my grandma’s recipe here. She uses fennel seeds in almost everything, so I have stuck to that and did not use any other spices. If needed, a teaspoon of garam masala can be added along with the chili and coriander powder.

INGREDIENTS:
Medium size potatoes, 3.
Red onions, medium-size, 4.
Leeks, 2 stalks.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
Salt as per taste.
Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing, 1 sprig of each.

PREPARATION:
Wash the potatoes and cook them in a pressure cooker or microwave with the skin on and let it cool. When the potatoes are cool enough to be handled, peel the skin and mash them into large pieces. Discard the green part of the leeks and then cut the white portion vertically once. Rinse them over running water to remove the sand in between. Dice them into small pieces and keep aside. Dice the onions finely. Remove the curry leaves from the sprig and chop the cilantro finely. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil turns hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the diced onions and curry leaves and sauté them for a few minutes. When the onions are well caramelized, add ginger-garlic paste and fennel seeds and sauté for a few more minutes. Then add the chili powder, coriander powder, salt, and mix everything well. Keep frying them for a minute or two until there is no raw smell emanating from the powders. Then add the mashed potatoes and leeks, mix everything, and keep frying under medium flame for 5 minutes. It can also be cooked closed under low-flame for 5 minutes until the potatoes absorb all the flavors and they get a roasted texture. A few more teaspoons of oil can also be added at this stage to aid in caramelizing, I have omitted that. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rotis or rice.

4:05
The Market ~ Canino Produce, Houston
» ‎ Mahanandi

If you are from Bharath, you know how the general markets are. You will find vendors selling vegetables, fruits, grains and utensils etc, all at one place. It would not be a giant, gleaming supermarket where you would be silently staring at row after row of sticker-clad shelves. A market would be full of live [...]

June 28, 2009
23:33
Fruit Salad
» ‎ S A R A' S C O R N E R

Fruit Salad is very healthy. It can be had before or after dinner or lunch. By topping it with ice cream kids will love it....IngredientsApple - 1 noPear - 1 noMango - 1 noPineapple - 1 noBanana - 2nosGrapes (Seedless) - 20 nosWater melon - few piecesIce cream as per your choice of flavour. I have used La Cremeria "Vanilla Cashew Delight".Preparation Method.Wash and cut all fruits into small and

21:51
Dalcha Goshth(Lamb and Lentil Stew)
» ‎ FOODGODDESS

Dalcha Goshth(Lamb and Lentil Stew)

19:20
What Happened To…
» ‎ Out Of The Garden

…. the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer? have a listen to Nat King Cole’s classic, set to pics courtesy of Snowqueen555. The last sunset pic reminds me of Michigan, so thanks, Snowqueen, whomever you may be! Well it’s certainly crazy, but not hot and hazy — more like a June monsoon in my neck of the woods. [...]

17:58
Summer Series Garden Escapades
» ‎ Sreelu's Tasty Travels

Anyone who has got a book collection and a garden wants for nothing.
Cicero
At the end of the day gardening for me is away to wind down. Gardening represents optimism for me and being a true optimist the amount of satisfaction I get nurturing saplings and see them fruit and flower is beyond words. Dairy of my garden from last year, this year with an up coming long trip did not plant much as I would hate for them die and wither away.
Summer for me arrives with Jasmine flowers, these tiny blooms so fragrant and sensual a true summer quintessential.
Indian Jasmine (Malle Puvvu)
A must have for any home vegetable garden are Tomatoes, thanks to the Californian summersthese grow plenty. Very hardy and easy to grow. Last year went to local gardening chapter and got plants/seeds of Heirloom variety, and true to the picture these were so sweet,It would be an insult to cook anything with them. All you have to do is wash and eat. Extremely delicious,meaty and sweet.

Heirloom Tomatoes are my entry for Click hosted by Bee& Jai of Jugalbandi, this months theme -Stacks.
We had a bounty last year and most of my friends got to taste them.
Summer vegetables we grew include corn, yellow squash and cucumber. Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked fruit /vegetables hands down.
Eggplant the hotter the weather the better the crop.
Lemon Cucumber or Indian cucumber (Dosakaya) excellent for Dals and pickles.
Uncontrollable mint, find it every where in my yard and the king of south Indian cooking Kadi Patta or Curry leaves, No dish is ever complete without curry leaves seasoning.
Indian Guava, these flower in summer and takes a while for the fruit to form usually in November, though they are very small in size they are big on flavor.
Pomegranate or Anar, this is the Kabuli Anar, so soft sweet and very fleshy. Get to enjoy them untill fall. No yard is complete without fragrant flowers. Pink Calla Lilly and my favorite red rose.
Few other variety of roses.
Lovely Hydrangea,depending on the soil conditions one year its blue flowers and one year its pink and one year a combination of both a visual treat to my eyes.
Hope you have enjoyed a tour of my modest sub urban yard. I will be gone for few days hopefully I get to take pictures of places,people and food I see and eat. Have a happy summer everyone. Hope to be back soon.Love,Sreelu

14:52
Zucchini Kootu
» ‎ Dil Se...

I found Zucchini on sale last week and got a couple of them. I have only had zucchini in soups and pastas. I thought why not make and Indianized version of Zucchini. Thus was born this Zucchini Kootu. I made it the usual way I make other kootus.I should say, it was out of the world! I am definitely going to make this soon again. We had it with simple dal and rice. it made a great combo. I suggest everyone to try this if you like kootus.
Zucchini is a summer vegetable which is low in calories, cholestrol free and rich in folates, potassium and vitamin A with lesser amounts of the B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and copper.
Ingredients
Zucchini - 2 medium sized ones
Toor dal or Split Moong dal - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Green chillies - 3
Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 spoon
Salt to taste
Directions
Wash and chop the zucchinis roughly. In a pressure cooker, add the chopped zucchini, turmeric powder, dal, salt and a little water and pressure cook for about one whistle. You can even cook the zucchini in a wide bottomed vessel instead of the pressure cooker. I pressure cooked it to save time and energy.
Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies into a coarse paste. Add this to the cooked zucchini.
In a pan, do the seasoning with the oil, mustard seeds and urad dhall. Add the zucchini pixture and saute for about two minutes, until everything is combined. Adjust salt.
Serve with rice.
Other kootu recipes
Keerai kootu
Chayote /Chow-chow kootu
Ridgegourd /Peerkangai kootu
You must have noticed a change in the layout of my blog. It was designed by my lovely sis! Thanks Sugirtha!!

14:05
Raw Coriander chutney
» ‎ Indian Cooking

This one was prepared by my cousin when she prepared cut mirchi. Both were awesomely made. In some places it is also called kothimeeru uppu (Coriander Salt). The preparation of this chutney is so easy that I decided to post the recipe here for everybody. This chutney can be used as green chutney while making chat and also can be accompanied with all tiffins or chat items. So here it goes:
IngredientsCoriander (kothimeeru)Green ChilliesSalt Garlic (optional)
Method of preparationGrind all the ingredients in a mixie and serve it as side dish for anything. Thats all. Easy right?

10:37
A request for AFAM
» ‎ Beyond The Usual

Hi Friends,

I have a request regarding AFAM, I lost the list of future hosts while playing around with the new template.Please be kind enough to let me know who will be the future hosts of AFAM So i can put it in the blog.I am also requesting others who are interested in hosting the event, to send the email.

Thanks
MaheswariThank you !

9:43
DUAL DELIGHTS
» ‎ FOODGODDESS

DUAL DELIGHTS

7:31
MALAI~KOFTA (COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS IN A THICK GRAVY)
» ‎ IN LOVE WITH FOOD
These melt-in-the mouth kofta's are great for vegetarians, as the name suggests they are not actually malai(cream) but are made up of soft paneer(cottage cheese) which literally turns into cream in the mouth, hence the name Malai~kofta.The technique of making these is simple and they are great with naans, paranthas or chapatis.
- INGREDIENTS-
- for koftas/cottage cheese balls
- Cottage Cheese-250 gms
- Flour-2 tbsp
- Chopped green chillies-2 (deseeded)
- Chopped coriander- a handful
- Cashews- a handful, broken (for stuffing in the koftas)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garam masala-1/2 tsp.
- Soda-bi-carb- a pinch
- for the gravy-
- Onion-1 large, pureed
- Tomatoes-2 large, pureed
- Ginger -garlic paste-1 tsp
- Garam masala-1 tsp
- Cayenne pepper(deggi mirch)-1 tsp
- Cumin-1 tsp
- Refined oil for frying
METHOD-Crumble the cottage cheese, add flour and with the palm of your hands knead down and continue doing so till really it turns into a soft and pliable dough, add the rest of the ingredients listed under koftas and shape into rounds, stuff each with a cashew, keep aside.Heat oil in a kadhai and fry these balls till golden(always shape a small ball first and fry that if it breaks up then add some more flour and fry again, then shape the rest of the dough).In the below pic you can see the dough, the balls and a fried one too.

Fry all the shaped balls and keep aside.Heat about 2 tbsp oil and fry the cumin and onions till light brown, add ginger + garlic paste and stir well, next add the tomato and fry well till oil separates, add the rest of the ingredients listed under gravy alongwith seasoning and just before serving, thin down gravy with little water and after some rapid boils add the koftas.(do not add koftas beforehand or they will break).Garnish with coriander and/or fresh cream and serve hot.Serves-4.

7:06
Summer Daze: Earl Grey Iced Tea
» ‎ One Hot Stove

Summer Daze: Earl Grey Iced Tea

4:22
Glossy, Buttery, Divine: A Recipe for Beetroot Halwa
» ‎ A Life (Time) of Cooking

After years of low rainfall and water restrictions, we are having regular rains this year. You have no idea how delicious it is to smell the rain each morning and snuggle up in a warm bed as it rains outside. I never thought that I would enjoy rain so much. It has been a quiet year [...]

2:58
cherries from kullu
» ‎ Lulu Loves Bombay

my mom got back from a relaxing holiday in kullu manali several weeks back. luckily for us, she travelled there in the peak season for cherries which is april to june. she brought us the most delicious and intensely fragant baby cherries with just a bit of tart to keep each bite interesting. apparently himachal is the hot location for cherry farming given the troubles in jammu and kashmir.

you've got to give it to fruits, especially the cherry. where else can you bit into such indulgence without any guilt?!

1:01
Chawlichi Amti
» ‎ Peppermill

My love for amti has been much discussed in these posts - Kaatachi amti, Chincha goola chi amti, Ruchira' recipe for Amti - so you would definitely know how much I love this simple Maharashtrian based dish which has so many variations. This post is about yet another version of amti - but different from the others in the sense that it uses legumes instead of lentils and also that it has a very nice coconut based masala used in it.

The original recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor used sprouted black chickpeas (kala watana) - I am a bit puzzled about where I got this recipe from since it is in my book of handwritten recipes whereas I own most of SK's books. Maybe the Konkani cuisine cookbook he wrote (which I didn't buy because I though - and still do - that his forte lies in North Indian cuisine) has this recipe which I picked up from some magazine?

I adapted this recipe by using blackeyed peas to make it and we loved it the first time I made it - so I have continued doing this and it's become a regular part of our menu now. I alternate this recipe between the Punjabi lobia rassa and the Tamil Karamani kozhambu so that we don't get bored of having this bean. The use of fresh and dried coconut really differentiates this curry while garlic and tamarind round off the wonderful combination of flavours.

Sending this lovely bowl of goodness to this month's edition of My Legume Love Affair - the Twelfth Helping of the food event which is being hosted by Annarasa and was originally conceived by Susan - The Well Seasoned Cook.

Chawlichi Amti
(adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe for Kale Watanyachi Amti)

Cooked Black eyed peas (Chawli/lobia/karamani)- 1.5 cups
Masala
1 Onion - peeled and sliced
Copra (grated dry coconut) - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 5 cloves

Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup, ground to a paste
2 onions, finely chopped
Asafoetida (hing) - pinch
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Tamarind - marble sized, soaked in 1/2 cup water and pulp extracted
Garam masala powder - 1 /2 tsp
salt to taste
jaggery - 2 tsp grated (optional)
coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped

1. Heat 1 tsp oil, saute sliced onions till translucent (about 3-4 minutes), add the copra and garlic cloves and saute another 3-4 minutes. Cool and grind to a fine paste.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the finely chopped onions and hing and saute on high heat till the onions are golden.
3. Add the masala powders (except the garam masala powder) and the cooked black eyed beans and mix well.
4. Pour in some hot water to cover, add salt and bring to boil. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 8 minutes.
5. Add the copra onion paste, tamarind pulp,jaggery and the fresh coconut paste; cook another 5 minutes.
6. Add the garam masala powder, coriander leaves and serve with rice or rotis.

0:32
Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
» ‎ A Mad Tea Party

I know, I know – I have been neglecting the blog. I think i might have writer’s block. The thing with writing is that you must just keep at it; that’s the only way to get past it. You cut yourself some slack, waiting for inspiration to strike, and before you know it you have [...]
0:32
Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
» ‎ A Mad Tea Party

I know, I know – I have been neglecting the blog. I think i might have writer’s block. The thing with writing is that you must just keep at it; that’s the only way to get past it. You cut yourself some slack, waiting for inspiration to strike, and before you know it you have [...]

0:00
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The Great Singapore Hawker Food Tour!
» ‎ For The Cook In Me

Singapore is the hub of Asian fusion food and Singaporeans love their food! Eating out is an activity on its own and done a lot, usually in big groups and with family and extended family. Local food is cheap and very tasty in what is called "hawker centers" where a huge number of food stalls are seen with a wide variety of food from all over Asia. This cultural extravaganza is often new and unique to visitors from other countries, as it was to me when I had just moved to Singapore.
So on a lovely Saturday morning, me and 17 of my colleagues set out to explore 4 different hawker centers in Singapore and to taste their mostly award-winning culinary offerings. We started the trip with an empty stomach and tons of enthusiasm!
We hired a coach for the bunch of us and the entire trip, food and coach cost us just above USD 250.
The first stop was the hawker center at Tiong Bahru. It was on the first level of the above building and was relatively less crowded since we reached before noon.
The first thing we tried was Chwee Kueh - steamed rice cakes topped with fried radish, garlic, chilli, some unknown stuff that makes it awesome and tons of oil! I had never tried Chwee Kueh before but those who had, said that the stall, Jian Bo Shui Kueh, was award-winning for a reason. And I believe them.
Next on the list from our first halt was Pig Organ Soup. I have seen these stalls in almost all hawker centers in Singapore but since I don't eat pork and am not really that daring, I gave this one a miss. Those who tried it did like it though. The soup usually contains a mix of pig intestines, stomach, blood cubes, pork slices, strips of salted vegetables and some Chinese lettuce.
Rice congee was next. It was delightfully peppery and I quite liked it. The garnishing you see there is not beancurd, like I thought, but fried pig intestine. I ate around it but there were tons of takers for it anyway.
We also sampled pork and chicken char siew or pau. Amazing rice dough dumplings filled with yummy pork or chicken filling. Something I would go back for, definitely!
We finished the first stop at Tiong Bahru with a local dessert - Cheng Teng. A lot of Asian desserts are made with crushed ice and this was one of them.
Below the flavoured, sweetened ice mountain, there is a bit of red bean cooked just right, which I loved. Its a refreshing finish to an otherwise daring meal.
The second stop was at Thesevi Food at Jalan Kayu, again an award-winning roti prata place towards the north of the island.
The variety of prata available here is quite amazing but since we had two more places left to go, we stuck with the original version, tissue prata and banana prata which was the favourite item on the whole trip for a bunch of us.
Pratas come with a complementary gravy of onions and masala but there are a few curries you can purchase which I would totally recommend, like chicken curry and mutton masala, to begin with.
We also got this fudge cake from Jane's cake store nearby.
It was delightfully Asianized, meaning, made light, not so sweet and spongy, yet retaining the chocolate richness. Reactions were mixed but some of us loved it!
Third stop - Serangoon Gardens Hawker Center.
Since we were all more than half full and still had half the number of planned places to go, the best thing to do seemed to get huge mugs of sugarcane juice.
This stall sells just that and the cleanliness amazed me.
The stall was spotless and the sugarcane juice machine looked squeky clean.
It was run by an elderly couple who juiced up 17 glasses in less than 10 mins.
We also got braised duck (no rice, because we had to give our stomach some love in addition to the wonderful torture!) which was super tender, super yummy and just rightly seasoned.
The stall seems to be a popular one.
Satay was next and this is something I could have given a miss. They were too sweet and too peanutty to my liking. However, the super huge kutupat (rice cake served with satays) deserves a thumbs up.
Carrot cake is another local specialty in Singapore and the stall in this hakwer center takes the cake for making it look relatively healthier and milder than its counterparts in other stalls I have eaten at.
I personally prefer the darker version of carrot cake but after all the food we'd had by then, the lighter version seemed like a better choice. Though we were too full to relish it completely, the plates were wiped out before we left!
The last and final stop - Old Airport Road Hakwer Center. We had to get the Char Kway Teow.
This is one of the most popular Singaporean dishes and though we were really really full beyond imagination at this time, we all tried this. This is one of the very few dishes still prepared in a super hot wok in pork lard. I did manage to get some made in oil and with no pork in Penang, but that's a whole different story that can come later in another post.
Rojak was next. This definitely is an acquired taste and something I wouldn't really want to eat if I had so much choice as I would in a hakwer center. Its usually a mix of different fruits and vegetables to give it sweet, sour and spicy flavours. The sauce had peanuts in it and somehow reminded me of the chaat sauce we have in India. But only a little bit. That's all I had of it anyway. Definitely the least popular among the crowd, either because of the taste or due to the "fullness factor".
Before our stomachs could cry out loud, we quickly got ice kachangs, another crushed ice dessert that comes flavoured, sweetened and topped with some corn.

I found the combination weird as did some others but it was definitely a welcome finish to all that chilli, oil, pork lard and what not in our stomachs by then.
We dragged ourselves back to the bus and vowed to skip dinner, which most of us did, apparently.
It was a lovely, gluttonous day and thanks to everyone who joined us. Read more at Joann's place. She has more pictures from the Prata place which I clearly don't because I was too "busy" then.
0:00
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: The Great Singapore Hawker Food Tour!
» ‎ For The Cook In Me

Singapore is the hub of Asian fusion food and Singaporeans love their food! Eating out is an activity on its own and done a lot, usually in big groups and with family and extended family. Local food is cheap and very tasty in what is called "hawker centers" where a huge number of food stalls are seen with a wide variety of food from all over Asia. This cultural extravaganza is often new and unique to visitors from other countries, as it was to me when I had just moved to Singapore.
So on a lovely Saturday morning, me and 17 of my colleagues set out to explore 4 different hawker centers in Singapore and to taste their mostly award-winning culinary offerings. We started the trip with an empty stomach and tons of enthusiasm!
We hired a coach for the bunch of us and the entire trip, food and coach cost us just above USD 250.
The first stop was the hawker center at Tiong Bahru. It was on the first level of the above building and was relatively less crowded since we reached before noon.
The first thing we tried was Chwee Kueh - steamed rice cakes topped with fried radish, garlic, chilli, some unknown stuff that makes it awesome and tons of oil! I had never tried Chwee Kueh before but those who had, said that the stall, Jian Bo Shui Kueh, was award-winning for a reason. And I believe them.
Next on the list from our first halt was Pig Organ Soup. I have seen these stalls in almost all hawker centers in Singapore but since I don't eat pork and am not really that daring, I gave this one a miss. Those who tried it did like it though. The soup usually contains a mix of pig intestines, stomach, blood cubes, pork slices, strips of salted vegetables and some Chinese lettuce.
Rice congee was next. It was delightfully peppery and I quite liked it. The garnishing you see there is not beancurd, like I thought, but fried pig intestine. I ate around it but there were tons of takers for it anyway.
We also sampled pork and chicken char siew or pau. Amazing rice dough dumplings filled with yummy pork or chicken filling. Something I would go back for, definitely!
We finished the first stop at Tiong Bahru with a local dessert - Cheng Teng. A lot of Asian desserts are made with crushed ice and this was one of them.
Below the flavoured, sweetened ice mountain, there is a bit of red bean cooked just right, which I loved. Its a refreshing finish to an otherwise daring meal.
The second stop was at Thesevi Food at Jalan Kayu, again an award-winning roti prata place towards the north of the island.
The variety of prata available here is quite amazing but since we had two more places left to go, we stuck with the original version, tissue prata and banana prata which was the favourite item on the whole trip for a bunch of us.
Pratas come with a complementary gravy of onions and masala but there are a few curries you can purchase which I would totally recommend, like chicken curry and mutton masala, to begin with.
We also got this fudge cake from Jane's cake store nearby.
It was delightfully Asianized, meaning, made light, not so sweet and spongy, yet retaining the chocolate richness. Reactions were mixed but some of us loved it!
Third stop - Serangoon Gardens Hawker Center.
Since we were all more than half full and still had half the number of planned places to go, the best thing to do seemed to get huge mugs of sugarcane juice.
This stall sells just that and the cleanliness amazed me.
The stall was spotless and the sugarcane juice machine looked squeky clean.
It was run by an elderly couple who juiced up 17 glasses in less than 10 mins.
We also got braised duck (no rice, because we had to give our stomach some love in addition to the wonderful torture!) which was super tender, super yummy and just rightly seasoned.
The stall seems to be a popular one.
Satay was next and this is something I could have given a miss. They were too sweet and too peanutty to my liking. However, the super huge kutupat (rice cake served with satays) deserves a thumbs up.
Carrot cake is another local specialty in Singapore and the stall in this hakwer center takes the cake for making it look relatively healthier and milder than its counterparts in other stalls I have eaten at.
I personally prefer the darker version of carrot cake but after all the food we'd had by then, the lighter version seemed like a better choice. Though we were too full to relish it completely, the plates were wiped out before we left!
The last and final stop - Old Airport Road Hakwer Center. We had to get the Char Kway Teow.
This is one of the most popular Singaporean dishes and though we were really really full beyond imagination at this time, we all tried this. This is one of the very few dishes still prepared in a super hot wok in pork lard. I did manage to get some made in oil and with no pork in Penang, but that's a whole different story that can come later in another post.
Rojak was next. This definitely is an acquired taste and something I wouldn't really want to eat if I had so much choice as I would in a hakwer center. Its usually a mix of different fruits and vegetables to give it sweet, sour and spicy flavours. The sauce had peanuts in it and somehow reminded me of the chaat sauce we have in India. But only a little bit. That's all I had of it anyway. Definitely the least popular among the crowd, either because of the taste or due to the "fullness factor".
Before our stomachs could cry out loud, we quickly got ice kachangs, another crushed ice dessert that comes flavoured, sweetened and topped with some corn.

I found the combination weird as did some others but it was definitely a welcome finish to all that chilli, oil, pork lard and what not in our stomachs by then.
We dragged ourselves back to the bus and vowed to skip dinner, which most of us did, apparently.
It was a lovely, gluttonous day and thanks to everyone who joined us. Read more at Joann's place. She has more pictures from the Prata place which I clearly don't because I was too "busy" then.

June 27, 2009
22:59
CLICK: July 2009. (Bi-Colour)
» ‎ jugalbandi

BI-COLOUR: two-colour, having two colours.

10:17
Butter Balls
» ‎ Talimpu

Venna Vundalu. Venna vundalu are one of the signature sweets of Andhra. These are made from freshly made home made white butter. Rice flour is made into soft dough using the butter and deep fried till golden and crisp. These are then added to jaggery or sugar syrup which forms a nice coating once cooled. These [...]

9:15
Butterscotch Blondies~The 100th Post!..
» ‎ Spicy Chilly

A Monday morning, some two years back, I was chatting with my sister, a googler.. a blogger..

Quite impressed by her cute space (she was not a food blogger then) I was all in(silly)doubts and(stupid)queries..

Me: Can anyone like me, 'blog'?..

Her: Why not??!, as long as you can write something interesting and can hold your 'readers'…

Me: Hmmff… I don’t think I can write a thing and expect someone to read my journal perpetually..I fear I'd run out of ‘interesting’ topics very soon to ‘hold’ anyone..bah..!
Her: I am confident that you never would run out of 'recipes!'..

Me: @#$#@%

Her: Click a decent picture(??!!)of what you cook and type in …the world is always in need of good food recipes..

Me: Aah!![Now sitting erect..head held a li’l high…cough cough..no use..no web cam..bleh!]
Cont..
“Holding a site requires lots of basic knowledge and I am a total zero in there…”

Her: Din’t I tell you that blogger is user-friendly, the more you invest time in there, the more you learn…and no more questions YOU CAN do it, START.. right away!!…

I created a crude one, sent her the link in another couple of hours..

"Good start up..but very disorganised..guess you’ve to work a lot in it with the header, title, side bars,and….. well check out this link..and see how tis done.."

From this lovely place and the smart blog roll, I found myself virtually flying in the wonderful sky of food blogging...bloggers hailing from different countries with varied cuisines..so creative!.. food photographs, recipes, write ups,…. totally fascinating me!..
…………

....Thus began my journey with the “crude disorganised space” as a food blogger enriching little by little with recipes, pictures, write ups……

....and I believe I’ve come a long long way!!….

Now, I feel proud and happy to have come up with the 100th post, a bench mark that deserves a simple celebration.. :)

Butterscotch Blondies from my sister's place was something I’d wanted to try for quite a long time and was postponing just because I failed to get the Butterscotch chips here.
Down came a cute bottle from her when we spent our lovely days in our home town, two months back, and here I am with the final product…
Her recipe reproduced
Get ready with: (yielded 16 squares)

1/2 cup butter (melted)1 cup brown sugar1 egg1 tsp vanilla extract1 cup all-purpose flour3/4 cup butterscotch chips1 pinch salt
How to make:
1. Cream the melted butter and sugar until well blended.2. Add the egg and mix well. Then add the vanilla extract.3. Dunk the flour and salt in. Mix well until combined, with no lumps.4. Add the chips and mix gently.5. Transfer to a greased cake tray to a pre-heated oven at 350 F/174 C and bake for about 30 mins or until a toothpick/skewer comes out clean.6. Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Find the step by step procedures and the “Yada Yada” here… ;)

I am extremely grateful to my readers and my blogger pals...

Bloggers pals are many to name :)!!.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you who had supported with undying enthusiasm thoroughout my journey…

Tight hugs to Swapna, my class mate, who always gave a tender “kick” when ever I hibernated.. :)..without her pushes(many a times, too hard ;)) I would’ve definitely taken yet another year at least to reach this milestone.. ;)

Thank you so much everyone for following along...
You guys are the very reason why I'm still blogging today!
Hope it continues for ever…

Love,
Bharathy :)

5:35
Aloo Paratha for "Click"
» ‎ Cook's Hideout
I've nothing to boast about my rotis or chapathis, they invariably turn into papads. Which is why I don't usually venture into making fancy rotis or parathas. Until I started making DK's sweet potato rotis. They always turn out soft and yummy and remain that way even for next day lunch. Since they taste good and also good for health, I've been making them quite frequently.

So finally I wanted to try my hands on making aloo-paratha and instead of using a filling to make them, I grated the aloo and used whipped cottage cheese instead of water to bind the dough making them soft and nutritious. Here's the recipe:

Recipe inspired from Saffron Hut's Aloo-Paratha recipe:
Ingredients:
Aloo (Potatoes) - 3 medium
Whole wheat flour (Atta) - 3 cups
Cottage cheese (I used whipped) - 1 - 11/2 cups (or as needed for Kneading :-D)
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or more to taste)
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp (or more to taste)

Method:
- Pressure cook potatoes until very tender (or boil them). Let them cool; mash them (or grate) along with 1 cup of cottage cheese** (if using small curd cottage cheese, then use the food processor for mixing the dough; or blend it to make it smooth before kneading into the dough).
- Add atta along with salt, red chili powder & garam masala. Add more cottage cheese as needed and knead the dough until smooth. Alternately use a food processor to knead the dough, makes lives much easier.
- Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 1/2 hr.
- Pinch off a lemon size ball of dough, roll into 6-8" circle (don't have to be super thin).
- Cook both sides on a hot tawa (griddle) brushing with little bit of oil.
Serve with a subzi or some yogurt.

This Aloo paratha stack is my entry to Click-Stacks.

5:09
Bakewell Tart with Thyme Infused Cherry Preserve and Cashew Frangipane
» ‎ What's For Lunch Honey?

Surprised to see me back doing the Daring Bakers' challenge so soon? Especially since in my last challenge post I announced it would be my last till October! If you do not know yet then let me tell you that although we packed, sold and sorted out a lot of our stuff for the anticipated...

[Read the rest of this post on my website]

4:38
Prawn Curry with lemon grass
» ‎ thecookscottage

This is another family cooking day special.Our numbers are growing to include dear friends. Made with large luscious fresh prawns

Food, cooking and recipes in India.From the heart of the Deccan.[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

4:35
Vegetable Fried Rice
» ‎ Indian Food & Andhra Recipes from Sailu's Kitchen

One of the loveliest pleasures of life is vegetable shopping especially at the farmer’s market. I enjoy it immensely. I needed to use up a few vegetables before I made my trip to the rythu...

Read rest of the story at my blog, http://sailusfood.com.

June 26, 2009
21:00
Tart..Er...Pudding for the Daring Bakers
» ‎ Finger Licking Food

Tart..Er...Pudding for the Daring Bakers

20:30
Bakewell Tart…er…pudding **Daring Bakers**
» ‎ Tangerine's Kitchen Hangout!

The challenge this month is hosted by Jasmine and co-hosted by Annemarie and their choice was to bake a bakewell tart!

A tart with a rich shortcrust,a layer of jam topped by frangipane.

Bakewell tarts are a classic English dessert, abounding in supermarket baking sections and in ready-made, mass-produced forms, some sporting a thick sugary icing and glazed cherry on top for decorative effect.

Enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee or just eat it sneaky slice by sneaky slice until, to your chagrin, you realise the whole tart has somehow disappeared despite you never having pulled out a plate, fork or napkin with which to eat it.

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

I halved the entire recipe.The pastry was simple to make and bake and the ingredients are ones available at home at least in my pantry always. I prebaked/blindbaked. the shells before the jam and the frangipane went in to prevent sogging of the base. I used homemade strawberry jam topped with the frangipane. During baking the top had browned well but was jiggly suggesting it wasn't done as yet. So covering the surface with foil helped.Ultimately,a delicious and a very easy 18th challenge!!!

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.Subscribe to my space!

14:21
Greens and Beans
» ‎ One Hot Stove

Greens and Beans

11:16
My IKEA Loot
» ‎ What's For Lunch Honey?

I’ve been hitting IKEA for the past two days buying new furniture mostly but also looting the place for new props and fabrics. It was my lucky day actually as IKEA is having it’s midsummer sales and there were so many things on sale! Still it’s amazing how much a girl can spend when left...

[Read the rest of this post on my website]

11:06
Palada Pradhaman (& A Surprise Gift For You !)
» ‎ Marias Menu
Now where should I start, hhmm.. am clueless. It was exactly like this 3 years back, when I started this small space of mine called MariasMenu. Yes, MariasMenu is celebrating its 3rd birthday this month!! I never thought this space would come this far, I’ve never worked in a place for 3 years, so this is something great for me. At least I can now say that I’ve one hobby that lasted/lasts for sometime :)

If you’re interested in history, please read on or else jump straight to the recipe, wait…there is something for you at the end. As I’ve said before I was clueless when I started this. I didn’t even know what a blog was. I was told by my computer guru (read my husband Jose), its an online diary and you can write your recipes there instead of a book. I thought ok, not bad. So I started writing recipes in this diary. That’s how it all started. I am very much embarrassed to say this ….when I started the blog I didn’t even know there were other food blogs!! (how was I supposed to know that others were also writing recipes like this!!)

Didn’t I tell you before, I was stuck at the Charles Babbage era of computers? It took me sometime to get used to this “blogging” thing :). If you check the earliest recipes, you can see that there are no pictures and the reason…how many of you put pictures in your recipe diary?? I don’t. So after the “blogging” thing got into my head, pictures started appearing here :). For that I’d like to thank my in laws, because they are the ones who gave me the idea of putting snaps here. Btw, have I told you, that before if somebody used to ask me to take photo I used to flee and now because of blogging I at least know how to switch on & off a camera ;)

Blogging has helped me in many ways and I don’t have any regrets. This introduced me to many people from different parts of the world, helped me to understand different types of cuisines, encouraged me to read more about cooking, try out new recipes regularly etc etc; All this happened primarily because of my husband, Jose. Thank you my dearest :). How can I repay you, hhmm may be I will let you do a guest post here ;). I would also like to thank my family (who don’t believe in my cooking skills yet and think that I’ve cut and paste all these snaps from somewhere else…just my luck!), thank all my friends, including my blogging friends who take time to leave sweet comments here and encourage me to continue with this.

If you’ve noticed I’ve started posting more regularly from last year onwards. For that am ever grateful to my dearest cousin sis Ammu. After she started cooking, she used to give constant feedback about the recipes, how I write them, about the snaps etc; Her feedback was a great motivation for me, thank you my dearest sis :). Another person I would like to thank is another cousin sis of mine, am sure most of you know her, yes you guessed it right, its Annita :). I think the existence of my blog was known to the world, only after she linked to me. Dear Annita, thank you for your support and encouragement.

Ok, please dont feel bad, I havent forgotten you, how can I??. After all, you are the ultimate motivator for me. If you weren’t interested in turning the pages of my online diary, MariasMenu, again n again, I wouldn’t have written for the past 3 years. I would have stopped it long back. Thanks a ton for all your comments and sharing your happiness with me. Please do continue to drop in here and share your thoughts, comments, suggestions and happiness.

Here’s something for you: As part of our b’day celebration, we decided to give away a surprise gift. You dont have to do any cooking or take snaps, just answer a simple question. The winner will get a small gift coupon from Amazon.com

The question is: How many dishes in MariasMenu has the word “Malabar” in its title?

You can give your answers through the comment form. The last day for giving the answer is July 6th. General comments will be published, but your comments with the answer for this question will be published only after July 6th & the winner will be announced in the next post. If more than one person gets the correct answer, the winner will be decided by a lucky draw.

Update: Please try to post your answers through the comment form itself instead of sending it as a mail.

Btw, one more thing before I go to the recipe. I wanted to bake a cake for this occasion and I also wanted to send that to Ria dear’s Celebration event. I did bake one, but it was a disaster :(. So I decided to go for a Kerala style b’day celebration. Ria dear, sorry for not making it this time :(.

Ok, thank you for your time and patience, here is the recipe, finally!!
1. Ada – 1/2 cup/75 gms
2. Jaggery – 250 gms
3. Ghee – 2-3 tsp
4. Medium thick coconut milk – 1 3/4 cups
  Thick coconut milk – 1 1/4cup
5. Tiny coconut slices – 1-2 tbsp
  Cashew nut – a handful
  Cardamom – 2-3, crushed
Cook the ada in 2-3 cups of water, till it becomes soft. Strain the ada and wash it in cold water to remove the stickiness. Add 3 tbsp of water to the jaggery & melt it. Strain the melted jaggery. In a deep bottom pan, combine melted jaggery, cooked ada & 2 tsp of ghee. Cook on low – medium heat till the mixture becomes thick and start separating from the pan. Add medium thick coconut milk. Cook on medium -low heat and stir in between. When the coconut milk reduce to half the quantity, add thick coconut milk and stir well. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Kindly note that the payasam will thicken itself later on, so after adding thick coconut milk, do not keep it for a long time. Add crushed cardamoms, just before removing from the gas.

Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a pan & fry the coconut slices & cashew nuts. Add it to the payasam. Serve hot.

Other payasam recipes:

Did you like this? Visit MariasMenu for more tasty, delicious and simple recipes! You can subscribe by email to stay updated. Still Hungry? Drop by…

11:06
Sugar High Fridays- Fruit & Nut Roundup
» ‎ Fun and Food

Its Friday, and that means the weekend is round the corner, and its time to give in to indulgences - so we celebrate it with the Sugar High Friday - Fruit & Nut Roundup! No one needs a reason to enjoy good food, and each one of these delicious desserts that you are about to see below is a culinary treat in itself. Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes with us, and hope these inviting entries will help you enjoy your weekend, making it a bit "more sweet"!! Cakes & Muffins Fruit &...

Please Click the Title for the Full Post

10:38
Whoo hoo@ WP 2.8.0
» ‎ Vindu

Quickpressing to let you know that I upgraded WordPress on Vindu to 2.8.0. Everything went smooth (after some initial DB hiccups) and I *LOVE* this new version! Be back with lot of goodies! Have a fantabulous weekend!

9:49
Salted Mango Pickle
» ‎ Talimpu

Uppu Avakaya Mango pickle is the most famous Indian pickle. There are tens of varieties of mango pickle and this is one of those especially made in Andhra Pradesh. Here, salted mango pickle is not supposed to contain red chilli powder or any other spicing. Uppu Avakaya as it is called is made of sesame seeds [...]

7:58
VELVET POUND CAKE
» ‎ IN LOVE WITH FOOD
I had earlier posted a recipe for my favorite Butter pound Cake, this is an improvisation of the same, only that this one is really velvety and has a finer crumb.The addition of Cornflour makes a world of difference, I loved the fact that how much even a single ingredient can vastly improve the end result of a dish and could not wait to share it with you all.
- INGREDIENTS-
- Flour -1 and 1/2 cups
- Cornflour-1/2 cup
- Powdered Sugar-3/4 cup
- Salt-1/2 tsp
- Baking powder-3 tsp
- Fresh curd-2 tbsp
- Milk-3/4 cup
- Butter-1/4 cup melted
- Egg-1
- Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
METHOD- Mix all the ingredients together and bake at 200C for 40 minutes or till done.

.

I really enjoyed a slice of this gorgeous cake with some fresh and juicy sliced mangoes and whipped cream, hmmm delicious!

7:44
Strawberry jam
» ‎ Creative saga...

Berries are in plenty now and each time I visit the supermarket, the strawberries and blueberries are too tempting to resist buying them even if I know that I may not find time to use them in my...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

5:51
Sticky Toffee Pudding And All Things Sweet
» ‎ The Bubbling Cauldron

Sticky Toffee Pudding And All Things Sweet

4:09
Low-Fat Savory Scones
» ‎ EgglessCooking.com » Eggless Recipes » Eggless Baking » Eggless Cooking
I found this savory scone recipe in a book named Gifts from the Kitchen. I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, like adding Garam Masala/chili powder and cilantro instead of Italian herbs and seasoning. To make it low in fat I have also substituted plain non fat yogurt for the sour cream and omitted the Parmesan cheese. I also replaced 1/4 cup of all purpose flour with chickpea flour. After all these changes the end product tasted like the baked version of the Indian Pakoda/bonda. More about the taste in the Taste section.

Ingredients Oil 2 teaspoons Red Bell Pepper, minced 1/3 cup Green Bell Pepper, minced 1/3 cup Garam Masala Powder 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/8 teaspoon All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup Chickepea Flour (besan) 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour 1/4 cup Baking Powder 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder as per taste Salt as per taste Gelatin free Yogurt, plain, non fat 1/3 cup (dry measure) Fat Free Milk 1/3 cup Green Onions, minced 2 tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped 1/4 cup
Yield: 22 scones

Procedure1 Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2 Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, salt and Garam Masala powder; cook until tender. Set aside.

3 In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chili powder. Add the cooked peppers.

4 Then add yogurt, milk green onions and cilantro; stir to from sticky dough.

5 Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Spray tops lightly with non stick cooking spray.

6 Place in oven and reduce heat to 375F immediately. Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Taste

As mentioned in the introduction I made a couple of changes to the original scone recipe to add more Indian flavors. So these scones tasted more like soft pakoras or methu pakodas to be precise because it was not crispy. My husband and I liked it but my son did not savor it. Also it tastes better when served warm.

My Notes1 The scones I prepared were quite bland. I think they would have tasted even better had I added more chili powder. So taste the batter before baking and adjust the seasonings accordingly.

This low fat savory scone recipe goes to:
- My Low Fat Eggless Baking Event
- Priya’s AFAM-Bell Peppers. AFAM originally started by Maheswari.
Share and Enjoy: