Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Vada Pav



'Vada Pav' is Mumbai's answer to America's Hamburgers, the iconic fast food of India, especially Mumbai. Once known as poor men's food is now relished by everyone as a famous street food. You will get Vada pav in each and every street corners, small eateries, and even served in long distant trains and on railway platforms. Several chains of fast food outlets in India specialise in Vada pav, like Jumbo King, MM Mithaiwala at Malad, Goli in central suburbs of Mumbai and Raja Rani in Valsad, Gujarat. However nothing can beat the Vada Pav available at Dheeraj - Stall near Mithibai-NM College, Juhu Mumbai. I have spend my entire college life eating these vada pav. Even now, If I happen to visit India, I will go to my college and have vada pav as they have their special chutneys and they spread yummy butter over the buns and then stuff the vada unlike other vendors who only stuff vada with chutneys inside the bun.
A simple snack consisting of a 'Vada' - Potato patty stuffed in a Pav - Bun bread and served with fried green chillies, garlic chutney, tamarind chutney and green chutney. There are no limits to how one would like their Vada Pav to be served.
International Chains like Mcdonalds faced problems to convert Vada pav eating Mumbaites. Still Vada pav retains its unique charm as Mumbaites prefer eating hot vada pav straight out from the kadhai, instead of frozen burgers served by these International Burger Joints.
I had made a close version of Vada pav available at food stall Dheeraj in our college.

Here is my entry for event Batata Vada organised by Mad Tea Party

Ingredients:

For Vadas
3 Boiled Potatoes
1 Tablespoon of Ginger-garlic paste
3-4 Curry leaves
1 Teaspoon of Mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon of Urad dal
3-4 Green chillies finely chopped
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1/2 Cup of chopped Corianders
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

For Besan Batter
1/2 Cup of Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
1 Teaspoon of Red Chilly powder
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin seed powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Soda-bi-carbonate
Salt to taste
Water

5-6 Pav (Bun Bread)
2 Tablespoon of Butter
2 Tablespoon of Green Chutney
2 Tablespoon of Tamarind Chutney
2 Tablespoon of Chilli Garlic Chutney
2-3 Fried green Chillies

Method:
1. For Vadas, mash the potatoes, now take a deep vessel, heat the vessel with oil. Add mustard seeds and urad dal, once the seeds starts spluttering; add curry leaves, chopped green chillies and ginger garlic paste and look for 1 minute on a low flame.
2. Add mash potatoes, salt, Coriander, Lime juice and turmeric powder and mix properly. Cook for few minutes on a low flame.
3. Let the potatoe mixture cool down, once cool make small patty balls.



4. Make a batter, add all the ingredients to make a thick batter.
5. Take a deep kadhai and heat oil. Deep the potato vada (patty) in the besan batter and coat properly with the batter. Deep fry the vadas and keep it on a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.



6. Take the pav (bun breads), make a slit in between. Spread butter, Tamarind chutney, chilli garlic chutney and green chutney on one side of the bread. Stuff the vadas in between and serve the hot lip smacking Vada Pav with
fried green chillies and Tomato ketchup



Read more...

Tuesday, 29 July 2008

Virgin Pina Colada - One Month Baby




My baby (Blog) is one month old today:) Hurrayy!!!!!! In this span of one month, I have learned soo many things - Lovely yummy recipes, technicalities which I implemented on my blog and made soo many lovely friends who shares the same interest as mine that's cooking. Thank you foodies for regularly visiting my blog and encouraging me with their comments. Special Thanks to my dear hubby, for encouraging me and also for having patience of clicking photographs first and then having the food :)......Thank you all.....
I simply love Virgin Pina Colada. This is my favourite drink whenever I visit any restaurant. The taste of coconut blends really well with the pineapple. I am sure the way I enjoy this drink, even you will relish this combination.
Here is my entry for Aartee's Summer Splash,

[bsket.jpg]

Sia's Monsoon's WBB - Summer Feast


Photobucket

and Easy Craft's
WVF'S - Juices and Ice Cream Event





Ingredients:

2 Cups of Pineapple Chunks
11/2 Cup of Coconut milk
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Cup of Ice

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients, except ice in a juicer or a blender
2. Sieve the Juice, and remove it in a serving glass and add ice on top.

Read more...

Sunday, 27 July 2008

Stuffed Bhindi Curry - Stuffed Okra Curry (Gujarati Stuffed Bhindi in South Indian Curd Curry)



'India' is a land of diverse cultures, religions and communities. There is great diversity in our traditions, manners, habits, tastes and customs. Unity in Diversity has been the distinctive feature of our culture. Keeping our Unity in diversity ethos in mind, I came up with this dish - Gujarati style stuffed Bhindi in South Indian style Curd Curry.
Bhindi is one of my favourite vegetable, and disliked by my hubby. After my marriage, I had stopped eating completely. Every time I go to supermarket and I see Bhindi, my hands reaches out to grab them and the twinkling wedding ring on my hand reminds me my hubby's dislike towards this vegetable. Seeing my craving towards this vegetable, my loving hubby agreed to eat bhindi if they are prepared really well. My mission was to make him like this vegetable, here I come up with this dish amalgamating cooking style of two different regions of India. Here west meets south. 'Mile sur mera tumhara, toh sur bane hamara' - lets enjoy this Jugalbandi and stay united :)
This is my entry for Sri's Curry Mela



Ingredients:
For stuffing
1/4 Cup of Besan (Bengal gram flour)
1 Teaspoon of Red chilly powder
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon of Coriander-cumin powder
1 Teaspoon of Oil
Salt to taste

For Curry
50g. Bhindi / Okra
1 Medium sized chopped Onions
1 Tablespoon of Urad dal
1 Tablespoon of Chana dal
2 Teaspoon of Mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon of Coriander - Cumin seed powder
1 Teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
3-4 Curry leaves
1/2 Cup of Fresh Coconut
1/2 Cup of Cashewnuts
4 Garlic cloves
1 Small piece of Ginger
2 Red whole Red chillies
1 Cup of Curd (Yoghurt)
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Wash and clean the Bhindis, cut the top and end of the bhindis. Slit the bhindis in between to fill the stuffing.
2. Now mix all the ingredients for stuffing, stuff the bhindis and keep it aside.
3. Heat a pan with oil, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds starts spluttering add the stuffed bhindis and add a pinch of salt so that bhindi gets cooked with water realised from the bhindi. Coven the pan so that bhindi gets cooked fast. Once the stuffed bhindis are cooked keep aside.
3. For curry, blend coconut, ginger, garlic and cashewnuts together in a blender and make a smooth paste.
4. Heat the pan, add oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal. Once seeds starts spluttering add curry leaves, whole red chillies and onions. Saute the Onions till they are light brown in colour
5. Add the coconut and cashewnut paste and cook for few minutes.
6. Add beaten curd and cook on a low flame, add water if required
6. Add stuffed bhindis and salt and let it simmer on a low flame for few minutes.
Serve Stuffed Bhindi Curry jugalbandi with rotis or parathas



Read more...

Friday, 25 July 2008

Tilwale Aloo Curry



I am a big fan of Sanjeev Kapoor, Khana Khazana fame. I really like his style of presenting, he makes all dishes look simple. This is one of the dishes from my collection of recipes, courtesy Sanjeev Kapoor with some variations. This is my entry for Sri's Curry Mela.



Ingredients:
50g. Baby potatoes
2 Tablespoon of Til (Sesame seeds)
1 Tablespoon of Ground nut
1 Tablespoon of Coriander seeds
1/2 Stick of Cinnamon
3 Cloves
2 Whole red chillies
3 - 4 Curry leaves
1 Tablespoon of Tamarind pulp
1 Tablespoon of Ginger-garlic paste
1 Tablespoon of grated fresh Coconut
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Boil the baby potatoes, once they are boiled prick the potatoes. Dont remove the skin of the potatoes. One can fry these potatoes after boiling, but I have not fried the potatoes.
2. Dry roast, Til, ground nuts, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves and whole red chillies.



Blend it in roatsed whole masalas and add little water if required and make a smooth paste.
3. Take a deep vessel, and heat it with oil. Add curry leaves, ginger-garlic paste and the smooth whole masala paste. Saute the masala for 5 - 10 minutes.
4. Add boiled baby potatoes or if you have fried them, then the fried potatoes along with water and salt.
5. Mix it properly, add tamarind pulp and grated coconut in the end and cook for 2 minutes.
Serve Tilwale aloo curry with Jeera rice or with simple rice....


Read more...

Award



My Dear Friend Illatharasi has given me "Blogging Forever Friend" award.

She is from Singapore and very creative :). DO visit her blog!

Thank you so much Illatharasi, this is my first award :), I feel honoured!!!

The same award is also passed by Sripriya, Thanks a ton dear :)

The following rules apply to this award:

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.


I choose four of my "frequent" (I highlighted this, since I have many ;)) followers to this blog :

Rekha

Suma


Sripriya

Sireesha

and

Priyanka, who is from Singapore and new to my blog.

Congrats Friends!!!

Read more...

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Stuffed Egg Pakoras



There are so many events lined up in blogshere, that it becomes difficult at times to keep a track of it. One such event, I came across was of Pakora. There were so many unique and different types of pakoras, I came across on my fellow foodie blogs. I was thinking from past soo many days to make a unique pakora for this event. I thought of making Egg pakoras, but my hubby came up with better creative idea of stuffing the Egg Pakoras. So, here's my entry for Rushina's Hot and Spicy and Pakora Contest.









Ingredients:
8 Large Boiled Eggs
1 Medium sized Potatoes
1/2 Cup of Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
2 Teaspoon of Red chilli powder
2 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin seed powder
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon of Garam masala powder
1 Teaspoon of Soda bi carbonate
1 Tablespoon of Green Chutney
Salt to taste
Oil
Water.

Method:
1. Make a besan batter for coating the pakoras. Take a bowl and place besan in it. Break one egg and whisk it with the besan. Add very little water. if required and make a thick consistency. Add 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seed powder, soda bi carbonate and salt to the batter. Mix it properly and keep aside.
2. Take boiled eggs and cut them in to two halves vertically. Take few pieces of eggs and remove the yolk from them and keep aside and keep remaining egg pieces with egg yolk.



3. Take boiled potatoes and remove the skin. Mash the boiled potatoes, and add egg yolks which were kept aside, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, corinader - cumin seed powder and salt. Mix it properly.
4. Now take the egg pieces, from which we have removed the egg yolks. Stuff the potato mixture inside the egg. Take egg pieces with egg yolk and spread Green chutney on it.



5. Attach the potato mixture egg piece and egg piece with green chutney like a sandwich.
6. Roll it in the besan mixture and deep fry pakoras in the oil, till golden brown.
One can have sizzling hot pakoras with any chutney or ketchup along with hot masala chai




The Geneis Return

Sripriya of Srikar's Kitchen has passed The Magic Lamp of Luck to me.Thanks to

share luck with me which nobody normally does ...




The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!

* Start Copy Here*

1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.

2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!

3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.

4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!

1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-FunFierceFabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-PinayWAHM 184-Rusin Roundup 185-Sweet Temptation 186-Lynn's Chic Spot 187-Kai Kriye 188-LiLo n StiTcH 189-Lights and Shade 190-Easycrafts 191-Ideasmoney 192-My creations 193-Sukanya-hobbiesandcrafts 194-My Kraft 195-http://adamarjuna.blogspot.com/ 196-The Working Mom 197-My Touch Of Heaven 198-Her Name is N.O.Y. 199-Fida Abbott 200-Hesitant Wife's Blog 201-Blogging For Fun 202-Paint Your Life 203-Spicybugz World 204-Colin From Life 205-Ramblings of The Phat 206-AngelBaby from Your Caring Angels 207-Creative Saga 208-Indian Khana 209-Me and My Kitchen 210-Mom's Recipies 211-Mom's Cooking 212-Cooking Station 213-Simple Indian Food 214-Rekha's Kitchen 215-srikars kitchen 216 Purva's Daawat

* End Copy Here*

i would like to pass The MAGIC LAMP OF LUCK to
Notyet100
Priti
Madhavi
My Views
Suma Rajesh

Read more...

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Slushy Strawberry Banana Smoothie



Slushy Strawberry Smoothie is one of my favourite smoothie. Strawberries are good source of vitamins and have a good nutritional value. This delicious smoothie is quick and easy to make. And as Strawberries have the ability to fuse with other fruits, they taste good blended with any other fruits of your choice.
This recipe is my entry for Aartee's Summer Splash Event








and for Sia's WBB - Summer Feast

Photobucket



Ingredients:

100g. Strawberries
2 Bananas
1 Cup of whole milk
1/2 Cup of yoghurt (Plain or strawberry flavour)
4 Teaspoons of sugar
1/2 Cup of Ice

Method:
1. Wash Strawberries and clean them. Peel off the bananas.
2. Take all the ingredients in a blender or a juicer and blend it in a thick consistency.
3. Garnish it with chopped Strawberries.

Read more...

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

Surati Sev Khamani



Surati Sev Khamani is another popular savoury snack or farsan originated from food loving Gujaratis of Surat, State of Gujarat, India. I have seen at many places, Amiri Sev Khaman are served as Sev Khamani, where khaman dhokals are crushed and are served with sev on top. Being, Surati I have a chance of sharing the difference between these two dishes. Amiri Sev Khaman, are fluffy gram flour dhoklas, known as Khaman and sev is garnished on top of it. And Sev Khamani, is crushed chana dal, cooked by adding lots of garlic, as it is gastric in nature and is served with topping sev on it. I am sharing an authentic recipe of Surati Sev Khamani, which my maternal granny used to make for me, when I used to visit surat to spend my vacation. I have learned all authentic Surati dishes from her.

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Chana dal
10 Garlic Cloves
1 Small piece of ginger
2 Teaspoon of Mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
1 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin seeds powder
Pinch of Asafoedita
5 - 7 Finely green chillies
2 -3 Curry leaves
2 Teaspoon of sugar
2 Tablespoon of Lime juice
1 Cup of Milk
Salt to taste
1/2 Cup of chopped coriander
1 Cup of Sev
Oil

Method:
1. Soak Chana dal for 3 -4 hours. Drain the chana dal and grind it coarsely and add water if required



2. Blend ginger, garlic and chillies together.
3. Heat oil in a deep pan, add mustard seeds and asafoedita. Once the seeds starts sputtering add curry leaves and garlic, ginger and green chilli paste. Saute for a minute.
4. Add coarsed chana dal, turmeric powder and coriander-cumin seeds powder, cook on a low flame. Add milk if the chana dal is too dry.
5. Add salt, lime juice and sugar. Mix it properly, cook the chana dal till oil seperates the vessel.
6. Before serving, garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and liberally sprinkle sev. Garnish sev before serving to avoid sev getting sogging.
Serve it with hot sizzling masala tea :)

This week, Shreya of ammascooking have tagged me. It seems I am back in college and its fun :) Thanks, Shreya for tagging me.

Before I get to the Qs and answer them, the rules for this tag are as follows:

"At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers."

1.What was I doing ten years ago?
A. Studying in School :)

2. Five things on Today's "To do" list
A. Cleaning my house, cook food, posting this blog, reading book, which I have to return to the library shortly and Search creative materials to make hand made rakhi.

3.I am addicted to :
A. My hubby, blogging and reading

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
A. Buy loads and loads of clothes, footwears (which I even do now ;)), Travel exciting places, Help needy people and Orphans

5. Places I have lived:
A. Aamchi Mumbai and Currently London

I would like to pass on this tag to Rekha, Suma Rajesh, Sireesha, Not yet 100 and Sripriya

Read more...

Monday, 21 July 2008

Lauki Kofta Curry - Bottle Gourd Kofta Curry



A creative twist to a simple humble vegetable, Lauki (Bottle Gourd). This kofta curry dish combines the classic curry notes and invigorates the simple tones of the Lauki. This dish is an ideal start for those of you who have generally stayed away from this vegetable. This dish is also going for Sri's Curry Mela. Ingredients: For Koftas 1 Thin lauki
2 Tablespoon of rice flour

1 Tablespoon of Maida

1 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin seed powder

1 Teaspoon of red chilly powder

salt to taste

oil for frying

For Curry
2 Onions
2 Tomatoes

1/2 Cup cashew nuts

3 Garlic cloves

1 small piece of ginger

2 -3 Curry leaves
2 Cloves

1/2 small stick of cinnamon
1 Badyan (Star aniseed)

1 Teaspoon of Cumin seeds

1 Teaspoon of Garam masala

1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder

1 Teaspoon of Coriander-Cumin seed powder

1 Teaspoon of red chilly powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Water.


Method:
1. For Koftas, remove the skin from the lauki. Grate the lauki, add pinch of salt to remove excess water from the vegetable. Keep aisde for a minute. Press the garted lauki and remove the excess water from it.
2. Mix all the other ingredients of koftas, except oil and mix it properly. Make a dough like consistency, if you feel the batter is still sticky, then add more rice flour to it.



3. Make small koftas out of the batter. Deep fry the koftas, if you want you can shallow fry the kotas on a frying pan, by adding only 2 teaspoons of oil. Keep the koftas aside.



4. For curry, make a smooth paste of the cashewnuts. Now take onions, ginger and garlic and blend it in to a smooth paste. Make a puree of tomatoes.
5. Take a kadhai, add oil and heat it, add badyan, cloves and cinnamon. Once you start smelling the whole masalas, add cumin seeds.

6. Once they start spluttering, add onion mixture and saute the onions till they are light pink in colour. Add cashewnut paste and mix it with the onions.

7. Add tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander-cumin seeds powder. Cook till oil starts leaving the sides of the vessel.

8. Add kofats and water if required. Let it simmer on law flame for few minutes, so that the curry gets mixed with the koftas.

9. Serve with rotis or any kind of parathas

Read more...

Sunday, 20 July 2008

Herby Grilled Chicken





Ingredients:
4 Chicken Thigh Fillets
2 Tablespoon of lime juice
1 Tablespoon of Mixed dried herbs
1 Tablespoon of dried Tomato and Basil (Peri Peri Marinate)
1 Tablespoon of Ginger paste
Salt to taste
Oil
Method:
1. Wash and clean the chicken thigh fillets. Cut it in to long strips and prick it with fork
2. Take a bowl and mix all the other ingredients, with one teaspoon of oil and add the chicken strips.



3. Let it marinade for 35 - 45 minutes.
4. Take a frying pan, heat it with oil. Once its hot, place the chicken strips and grill it on a low flame.



5. You can grill the chicken strips in a griller, if you have one.
6. Serve it with any sauce or Creamy Mushrooms.

Read more...

Saturday, 19 July 2008

Creamy Mushrooms




Creamy Mushrooms can be served as a main dish or as an accompaniment with any kind of starters or simply with garlic bread. The flavours of creamy and herbs oozes out and gives rich taste to your accompaniments. You can make it in a jiffy.We had creamy mushrooms with Peri Peri Chicken Fry.

Ingredients:

250g. Finely chopped Mushrooms
1 small finely chopped Onions
4 Tablespoon of fresh single cream
1 Tablespoon of Grated Cheddar cheese
1 Teaspoon of Mixed Herbs
1 Teaspoon of Pepper powder
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped parsely
1 Tablespoon of Butter
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat the pan and add butter. Add onions and saute them for 1 minute.
2. Add mushrooms and saute them for few minutes.
3. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Let the sauce simmer for few minutes.
4. Your creamy mushrooms are ready to be served.




Read more...

Thursday, 17 July 2008

Verry Berry Surprise



Well, as per my understanding of history, Christopher Colombus was actually trying to find another way to reach India - Land of Spice. But in that exploration he landed up discovering the world strongest country America. His biggest mistake, turned out to be a marvellous discovery. Now, the Colombus within me wanted to cook Strawberry Cream, an exotic dessert served at Wimbledon. I was amongst the fortunate ones to watch the current wimbledon match, with few of my friends who had paid visit to Land of Queen, Great Britain. My dear hubby being busy in the office, couldn't make it for the match. So, I thought of cheering him up by making strawberry cream at home for our Sunday Night Project. But when I went to the nearby supermarket to pick up fresh strawberries, they were all off from the shelves. Poor me :(, quick came the idea to pick up summer berries (rasberries and blue berries) instead. So here it is....presenting my ''Verry Berry Surprise''


Ingredients:
100g Rasberries
100g Blue Berries
50g of Creamy Custard
50g of Mascarpone (Cheese used specially for desserts)
3 Tablespoon of Strawberry Jam
4 Trifle Sponges / Any soft sponge cake
1 Tablespoon of Ginger biscuit Crumbs
1 Tablespoon of Sugar


Method:
1. Take rasberries and blueberries, keeping few of them aside. Add sugar and blend both the berries together and make a smooth puree.
2. Mix Custard and Mascarpone together. Mascarpone is a cheese specially used for desserts to soften the cream or custard.
3. Now take a serving glass, add berry puree. Now make layer of custard and mascarpone mixture. On top of custard add few pieces of berries kept aside and Jam. Make one more such layer.
4. Decorate with remaining pieces of Berries and ginger biscuit crumbs and a dollop of Jam.
Your tongue is waiting to lick Verry Berry Surprise :)

Read more...

Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Potato and mushroom Cheessy Tortilla (Spanish Omlette)



The tortilla de patatas or Spanish omlette is an egg omlette with fried potatoes. Depending on the region and tastes it also includes onion and garlic. It is one of the most common tapas (Small Portion nibbles) throughout Spain. A tapas portion of tortilla is called 'pincho de tortilla'. It is favourite at picnics, as it can be served cold. It can be served as a main course. Use flat non stick frying pan to make tortillas. We had made potato and mushroom chessy tortilla.

Ingredients:
1 Finely sliced onion
4 Finely sliced baby potatoes
1 Cup of Chopped mushrooms
1 Finely chopped red pepper
6 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup of grated cheddar cheese
1 Teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon of oil / Butter

Method:
1. Beat the eggs, by adding cheddar cheese, salt, dried mixed herbs and keep aside.
1. Add oil/butter in a frying pan and onions and red pepper, saute them for 3 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and fry them for 5 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Pour the egg mixture over potato and mushroom mixture.
4. As the eggs starts to set, put the pan in a preheated oven / grill on 180 degree celcius.



5. Once the eggs are completely set and are cooked from beneath as well, cut in to small portions and serve with salads, or any kind of sauce.



Read more...

Sunday Night Project



It was a lazy sunday morning and as usual, a question poped in my mind - What to cook???
Luckily, my hubby came to my rescue. We decided to cook something light for lunch and pamper ourselves with an exotic dinner. It was a joint venture project, where we cooked our dinner together adding our potions of love.
So here's the list of the foodie treat - Potato and mushroom chessy Tortilla, Creamy Mushrooms, Chicken Fry and Verry Berry Surprise. Let me share with you these exotic dishes, so that even you can have such delicious, pampering, Loving Sunday Candle Light Dinner.



Read more...

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

Microwave Khandvi (Bengal Gram Flour Swirls)



Khandvi is a Gujarati delicacy. The greatest asset of the Gujarati cuisine is the unparalled variety of snacks called 'Farsan'. Khandvi is one of the rare farsan which has subtle use of oil. Khandvi are soft swirls made from besan (bengal gram flour), the swirls are very thin and difficult to make. Here's a simple recipe to make non-messy, yet authentic Khandvi.

Ingredients:
1 Cup of Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
3 Cups of Butter Milk
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
1 Tablespoon of Oil
1 Teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon of sesame seeds
2-3 Finely chopped green chillies
chopped coriander
grated fresh coconut
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix besan, salt, turmeric powder and buttermilk. Mix it properly and see to it no lumps are formed.



2. Place the batter in Microwave for 5 Minutes. Then remove the batter from the microwave and mix it properly.
3. Again place it in the Microwave for 3 Minutes.
4. Grease the reverse side of steel plate (thali) with oil or spread an Aluminium foil.
5. Remove the batter and spread small amount of it on the foil or greased steel plate, if the batter does not stick and can be easily rolled, that means its ready and if it sticks then place it again in the microwave for 2 minutes.
6. Once ready, spread the batter on foil or greased steel plate. Let it cool for 1 minute. Then cut the batter in to thin strips and roll the strips.
7. When all the khandvies are ready, heat the oil and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, chooped green chillies and when the mustard seeds starts spluttering, spread the tempering on the rolled khandvies.
8. Garnish the khandvi with coriander and grated coconut and serve them with Green Chutney



Read more...

Gatta Curry



Re-publishing the post for Sri's Curry Mela

My interest in cooking started with this dish. I was watching 'Khaana Khazana' a popular cookery show presented by always smiling Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. I was in my early teens and had never even made tea. But I really liked this recipe and the way he showed it. This was the first dish, I ever cooked in my life. 'Gatta Curry' is a traditional Rajasthani dish, cuisines of Rajasthan are greatly influenced by the climatic condition of this state. Because of inadequate water, lack of green vegetables, Rajasthani cuisine developed a style of its own. Gatta's are besan (Bengal gram flour) dumplings cooked in simple tomato and yogurt gravy. This dish like other Rajasthani food has very limited and basic vegetables. Whenever there are unexpected guests at my place this recipe is my last resort as you need minimum ingredients like onions, tomatoes, curd and besan which are always available in the house. So here's your chance to impress your unexpected guest.

Ingredients:
For Gatta
1 Cup of Besan (Bengal gram flour)
2 Tablespoon of Curd
1 Teaspoon of Red Chilly Powder
1 Teaspoon of Coriander Powder
1 Teaspoon of Saunf (Fennel Seed/ Ani seed)
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
Pinch of Asafoedita
1 Teaspoon of Garam Masala
1 Teaspoon of Oil
Salt to taste

For Curry
1 Large Chopped Onion
1 Large Chopped Tomato
1 Tablespoon of Ginger-Garlic paste
1 Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds
1 Teaspoon of Coriander powder
1 Teaspoon of Red Chilly Powder
1 Teaspoon of Turmeric powder
3 - 4 Curry Leaves
2 Tablespoon of Curd
2 Teaspoon of Garam Masala powder
Salt to Taste
1 Tablespoon of Oil

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients for Gatta and make a dough. Take small portion of this dough and make thin strips by rolling the small portion of dough in between your two hands as shown below:


2. Now boil the Gatta strips in water by adding few drops of oil in water so that besan strips should not stick to each other.
3. Once the Gatta strips are cooked remove them from the boiling water and cut in to small Gattas as shown below and keep aside.


4. Now take a vessel, add oil and cumin seeds, once they start spluttering add curry leaves, Onions and Ginger-Garlic paste. Saute the Onions till they are transparent.
5. Add Tomatoes, Coriander powder, Asafoedita, Red Chilly Powder, Turmeric Powder and cook them till oil starts leaving the vessel.
6. Add Curd, salt and garam masala powder and water if required and let it cook for 1 Minute.
7. Once the curry starts boiling add cooked Gattas and let it simmer for few minutes.
Once the Gatta curry is ready you can serve it with plain rotis or parathas


Read more...

LinkWithin

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs

IndiRank


FeedBurner FeedCount

  © Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP