July 30, 2023
Sweet potato veg burger
https://www.eatingbyelaine.com/sweet-potato-veggie-burgers/#tasty-recipes-8314-jump-target
July 29, 2023
December 25, 2014
Christmas Cookies
Christmas is the best time of the year as we can sit and enjoy the cold weather with your family. And its fun to make and bake cookies for Santa. This year my son also joined me and he created his own version of cookies. Its lots of fun and family time.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 4 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Softened Butter - 1/2 stick
2 eggs
vanilla extract - 1 tbsp.
Food color
Sprinkles - I skipped this
Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. To this add the eggs and mix very well.
3. Sieve the flour in another big bowl and add the sugar, egg mixture to this. Mix this well and knead it to a nice dough
4. Cut the dough into two halves.
5. Add the food color to one part keeping the other aside. Mix the food color thoroughly and make sure that all the dough is evenly colored
6. Now cut the white dough and red dough into three parts. Now you'll be having 3 parts of white dough and 3 parts red dough.
Spiral cookies:
1. Take one part of the white dough and roll it flat on a parchment paper to 1/2 inch size. Cut the corners to make it as a rectangle.
2. Same way roll the red dough to a rectangle of the same size as the white one.
3. Gently take the flattened red dough and place it on top of white one.
4. Roll both the rectangles together from one end to the other end. Try to roll it tightly so we won't get any holes in the middle.
5. You could see the spirals on the ends. Place this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins
6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.
Flower cookies:
1. Take one part of the white dough and red dough and roll them as logs of same size. Keep this covered in a butter/parchment paper and freeze them for 30 mins
2. After 30 mins, take the white dough and cut the log into half lengthwise. Cut each half into four quarters of equal size, lengthwise. I didn't got this right and so my cookies doesn't actually look like flowers.
3. Do the same way for the red dough. Now you have 8 sticks of white dough and 8 of red dough
4. Now alternate the red and white dough to make a log of mixed colors. You'll be using 4 white and 4 red. Try to align the centers while arranging . If your sticks are cut properly, then they'll touch the center. Gently press the log well to make sure that there are no gaps in between. Roll this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins
5. Do the same way for the other 8 sticks and freeze them
6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.
Candy cane cookies:
1. Take one small ball of the white dough and roll it to a thin straw and about half the size of a straw.
2. Make a similar one with the red dough of the same size
3. Keep the red and white together and gently roll them. Then twist them and shape like candy canes
4. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
5. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
6. Cool them and enjoy.
If you have any dough left out, make your own creation like how my family did. Merry Christmas!!!
I got this version of cookie from HowtoCookThat.com. I used orange food color instead of red and skipped the sprinkles part. I used reduced butter and less sugar. While baking I got the idea of candy canes and the kids liked it so much. Here comes the recipe.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 4 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Softened Butter - 1/2 stick
2 eggs
vanilla extract - 1 tbsp.
Food color
Sprinkles - I skipped this
Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. To this add the eggs and mix very well.
3. Sieve the flour in another big bowl and add the sugar, egg mixture to this. Mix this well and knead it to a nice dough
4. Cut the dough into two halves.
5. Add the food color to one part keeping the other aside. Mix the food color thoroughly and make sure that all the dough is evenly colored
Spiral cookies:
1. Take one part of the white dough and roll it flat on a parchment paper to 1/2 inch size. Cut the corners to make it as a rectangle.
2. Same way roll the red dough to a rectangle of the same size as the white one.
3. Gently take the flattened red dough and place it on top of white one.
4. Roll both the rectangles together from one end to the other end. Try to roll it tightly so we won't get any holes in the middle.
5. You could see the spirals on the ends. Place this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins
6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.
Flower cookies:
1. Take one part of the white dough and red dough and roll them as logs of same size. Keep this covered in a butter/parchment paper and freeze them for 30 mins
2. After 30 mins, take the white dough and cut the log into half lengthwise. Cut each half into four quarters of equal size, lengthwise. I didn't got this right and so my cookies doesn't actually look like flowers.
3. Do the same way for the red dough. Now you have 8 sticks of white dough and 8 of red dough
4. Now alternate the red and white dough to make a log of mixed colors. You'll be using 4 white and 4 red. Try to align the centers while arranging . If your sticks are cut properly, then they'll touch the center. Gently press the log well to make sure that there are no gaps in between. Roll this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins
5. Do the same way for the other 8 sticks and freeze them
6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.
Candy cane cookies:
1. Take one small ball of the white dough and roll it to a thin straw and about half the size of a straw.
2. Make a similar one with the red dough of the same size
3. Keep the red and white together and gently roll them. Then twist them and shape like candy canes
4. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
5. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
6. Cool them and enjoy.
If you have any dough left out, make your own creation like how my family did. Merry Christmas!!!
February 14, 2014
Valentine's Day cookies
These simple sugar cookies are sure to steal the heart of your loved ones............
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Butter - 2 tbsp.
Food color - optional
Method:
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour (or overnight) or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking
Bake them for 12 - 15 minutes. Timings will vary for the oven. So always keep an eye as it will burn out easily. I decorated one batch of my cookies with food coloring. (I simply mixed sugar and food color and kept on top of the cookies). There are so many frostings available on market. You may try some of those to make your cookies more colorful..
My First Doughnut
It was my wedding anniversary a few days back. When I came across the recipe of Doughnuts, I've saved it for this occasion as we don't make desserts that often. And I did tried the basic sugar glazed doughnuts for the special day and we all liked it. Though it was not as good as the store bought fresh ones, it was close to it. And also I got the satisfaction of making it on my own. Next time I would love to try the different versions.
And I had some excess dough, which I don't want to fry and keep (as doughnuts loose their taste the next day), I made some naans with that, and they were really fabulous - super soft than my regular ones.. So its a two in one dough. Cool isn't it? So here comes the recipe.
Recipe Source: Vahrehvah
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Egg - 1
Milk - 70 ml
Water - 70 ml
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Butter - 1/8 of a stick
For coating:
Powdered sugar and cinnamon powder
Method:
Take a bowl add sugar, dry east, water, milk, salt, egg, mix it till the sugar melts,
Then add all purpose flour, mix it well make in to a dough and kneading for 5 to 7 minutes and add butter again kneading for 3 minutes and rest it for 30 minutes in a warm place, after 30 minutes give knock back and again rest for 30minutes.
Take the dough and with help of rolling pin roll it into ½ inch sheet and cut the doughnuts with doughnut cutter, transfer in to the tray, then rest for 10 to 15 minutes to rise.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the doughnuts in a slow flame till brown in color, take in a serving plate and sprinkle some casting sugar along with cinnamon on it.
Tips:
More kneading helps in a better soft dough and nice fluffy doughnuts
To cut the doughnuts, first cut the outer circle and remove them. Then cut the inner circle.
For frying, keep the flame very low. Don't overcrowd the doughnuts, as they will rise in the oil. Give some space.
And I had some excess dough, which I don't want to fry and keep (as doughnuts loose their taste the next day), I made some naans with that, and they were really fabulous - super soft than my regular ones.. So its a two in one dough. Cool isn't it? So here comes the recipe.
Recipe Source: Vahrehvah
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Egg - 1
Milk - 70 ml
Water - 70 ml
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Butter - 1/8 of a stick
For coating:
Powdered sugar and cinnamon powder
Method:
Take a bowl add sugar, dry east, water, milk, salt, egg, mix it till the sugar melts,
Then add all purpose flour, mix it well make in to a dough and kneading for 5 to 7 minutes and add butter again kneading for 3 minutes and rest it for 30 minutes in a warm place, after 30 minutes give knock back and again rest for 30minutes.
Take the dough and with help of rolling pin roll it into ½ inch sheet and cut the doughnuts with doughnut cutter, transfer in to the tray, then rest for 10 to 15 minutes to rise.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the doughnuts in a slow flame till brown in color, take in a serving plate and sprinkle some casting sugar along with cinnamon on it.
Tips:
More kneading helps in a better soft dough and nice fluffy doughnuts
To cut the doughnuts, first cut the outer circle and remove them. Then cut the inner circle.
For frying, keep the flame very low. Don't overcrowd the doughnuts, as they will rise in the oil. Give some space.
January 1, 2014
Vegetable Adai Dosai
I usually make adais once or twice a month, This time when I was browsing I got this little variation from Vahrehvah. We could add cheese as an additional optional ingredient which I did only for my kid. This one has the goodness of veggies to this protein rich dish. This could be served even as a evening food after school.
Ingredients:
Idly rice - 1 cup
Sona masoori rice - 1/4 cup ( I add this to get crispy dosas)
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Urad Dal - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 6
Hing
Curry leaves - a bunch
Finely chopped mix vegetables (onions, carrot, beans, cabbage, spinach)
Chopped ginger and green chillies ( I skipped this for my kid)
Cheese - optional
Salt
Oil
Method:
Wash the rice and dals. Soak the first set of ingredients from Idly rice to Curry leaves in water just enough to immerse the dals. Don't add too much water as we may loose the nutrients of the dals when we grind. Let them soaked for 3 - 6 hours
Grind them to a fine consistency for dosas. (For adais we can grind it to coarse consistency). Add salt to the batter
Heat the dosa tawa and spread the batter like a dosa. Sprinkle the mixed vegetables on top all over the dosa. Sprinkle some cheese. Add oil on the corners and keep it covered.
After the corners starts turning to golden brown, remove it and fold it and serve. For kids, you can even make it into rolls and serve them. Serve hot with your favorite chutney.
Ingredients:
Idly rice - 1 cup
Sona masoori rice - 1/4 cup ( I add this to get crispy dosas)
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Urad Dal - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 6
Hing
Curry leaves - a bunch
Finely chopped mix vegetables (onions, carrot, beans, cabbage, spinach)
Chopped ginger and green chillies ( I skipped this for my kid)
Cheese - optional
Salt
Oil
Method:
Wash the rice and dals. Soak the first set of ingredients from Idly rice to Curry leaves in water just enough to immerse the dals. Don't add too much water as we may loose the nutrients of the dals when we grind. Let them soaked for 3 - 6 hoursGrind them to a fine consistency for dosas. (For adais we can grind it to coarse consistency). Add salt to the batter
Heat the dosa tawa and spread the batter like a dosa. Sprinkle the mixed vegetables on top all over the dosa. Sprinkle some cheese. Add oil on the corners and keep it covered.
After the corners starts turning to golden brown, remove it and fold it and serve. For kids, you can even make it into rolls and serve them. Serve hot with your favorite chutney.
Tutti Frutti Cookies
Christmas time is the perfect time for cookies as kids are waiting for Santa and his gifts. This year we made these eggless tutti frutti cookies for Santa. A simple and perfect recipe got from Sharmispassions.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Unsalted Butter (room temperature) - 4 tbsp.
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (or even less)
Tutti Frutti - 1/3 cup (can be substituted with any dried fruit)
Milk - 1 to 2 tbsp.
Method:
In a mixing bowl add powdered sugar and butter. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy - I used my whisk for this. Add maida, tutti frutti and mix well.
Add milk to form a soft sticky dough. Lay a butter paper and roll the dough and form a log(dust flour if needed).
Freeze the logs for 40mins(Put it up in the freezer to make the dough firm). Take the log out, and slice the dough with a sharp knife. Slice into slightly thicker slices. Preheat the oven at 350ºdeg /160 deg C for 10mins.
Place the cookies on the lined butter paper leaving space between each cookie. Bake it at 160 deg C for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown on the corners. It took 13 minutes for me. Check yours accordingly. Bake a little more if you want crispier cookies.
Transfer carefully in a rack and cool it. Store in airtight container.
Happy New Year!!!
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Unsalted Butter (room temperature) - 4 tbsp.
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (or even less)
Tutti Frutti - 1/3 cup (can be substituted with any dried fruit)
Milk - 1 to 2 tbsp.
Method:
In a mixing bowl add powdered sugar and butter. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy - I used my whisk for this. Add maida, tutti frutti and mix well.
Add milk to form a soft sticky dough. Lay a butter paper and roll the dough and form a log(dust flour if needed).
Freeze the logs for 40mins(Put it up in the freezer to make the dough firm). Take the log out, and slice the dough with a sharp knife. Slice into slightly thicker slices. Preheat the oven at 350ºdeg /160 deg C for 10mins.
Place the cookies on the lined butter paper leaving space between each cookie. Bake it at 160 deg C for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown on the corners. It took 13 minutes for me. Check yours accordingly. Bake a little more if you want crispier cookies.
Transfer carefully in a rack and cool it. Store in airtight container.
Happy New Year!!!
August 5, 2013
Mini Samosa
Samosas are deep fried triangle shaped starters filled with vegetables. There could be no one without knowing this famous appetizer. Mini Samosas are the one in miniature versions. And these will be more crispier than the regular ones. These are mostly filled with onions. And the taste of onions inside these fried samosas - OMG!! - its utterly delicious. I recently saw a cookery show in youtube and got this recipe. Its very simple to make and you will get amazing response. I tried this with store bought samosa sheets. But if you prefer you could make your own sheets too.
Ingredients:
Samosa sheets
Thinly sliced Onions - 1 cup
Thinly sliced Cabbage - 1 cup
grated ginger - 1 tsp
sliced green chilly - 2 ( I replaced this with red chilly powder)
salt
Glue paste
Mix a tsp of all purpose flour in water to a semi running paste.
Method
Mix the sliced onions and cabbage with 1/2 ttsp salt and mix well. Keep this aside for half hour. After half hour the onions will leave water. Now squeeze all those water from the onion mix. You should really squeeze well as it helps to make crispy samosas. If you don't squeeze well, then the samosas will be soggy. So squeeze it really well
After squeezing, add other ingredients and little more salt (remember we added some salt earlier. though we squeezed some will still be there)
Take the samosa sheets. Mine was a square one. so I sliced it lengthwise into 4 rectangles.
Take a spoon of the onion mix and keep it one corner. Then tightly roll it as triangles throughout the length of the sheet. Make sure that you don't have any open corners as the mix might drop out. At the end apply the glue paste and stick it well. In the same way roll all the samosas.
Heat oil in a pan to deep fry these samosas. The oil should not be too hot. I kept it in a low flame. Slowly drop one batch of these mini samosas. And let them cook slowly till they get the nice even golden coloring. Then turn and cook on the other side. This takes around 7 - 10 minutes for each set.
Drain the oil well and place them on tissue papers. These stay crisp even for hours later. Enjoy these crispy snacks on a holiday evening.
Note:
Make sure to squeeze well the onion and cabbage mix
Fry the samosas in really low flame to have the crispy texture.
Samosa sheets
Thinly sliced Onions - 1 cup
Thinly sliced Cabbage - 1 cup
grated ginger - 1 tsp
sliced green chilly - 2 ( I replaced this with red chilly powder)
salt
Glue paste
Mix a tsp of all purpose flour in water to a semi running paste.
Method
Mix the sliced onions and cabbage with 1/2 ttsp salt and mix well. Keep this aside for half hour. After half hour the onions will leave water. Now squeeze all those water from the onion mix. You should really squeeze well as it helps to make crispy samosas. If you don't squeeze well, then the samosas will be soggy. So squeeze it really well
After squeezing, add other ingredients and little more salt (remember we added some salt earlier. though we squeezed some will still be there)
Take the samosa sheets. Mine was a square one. so I sliced it lengthwise into 4 rectangles.
Take a spoon of the onion mix and keep it one corner. Then tightly roll it as triangles throughout the length of the sheet. Make sure that you don't have any open corners as the mix might drop out. At the end apply the glue paste and stick it well. In the same way roll all the samosas.
Heat oil in a pan to deep fry these samosas. The oil should not be too hot. I kept it in a low flame. Slowly drop one batch of these mini samosas. And let them cook slowly till they get the nice even golden coloring. Then turn and cook on the other side. This takes around 7 - 10 minutes for each set.
Drain the oil well and place them on tissue papers. These stay crisp even for hours later. Enjoy these crispy snacks on a holiday evening.
Note:
Make sure to squeeze well the onion and cabbage mix
Fry the samosas in really low flame to have the crispy texture.
August 1, 2013
Red Chutney - perfect for Idly / dosa
We love Idly / Dosa the traditional South Indian breakfast. We have it regularly on weekends morning breakfast. I used to make red chutney with only onions and tomatoes earlier which is always the least favorite in my family. So this time I tried a little variation to my ingredients and BINGO it was a great hit!!! So here goes the recipe for your hit list..
Ingredients:
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - a bit
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Coconut powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Oil - 1 tsp
For Seasoning:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Ingredients:
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - a bit
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Coconut powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Oil - 1 tsp
For Seasoning:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onions and tomatoes and sauté well. After they are half cooked add the tamarind, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and coriander powder. Add little water and cook till it gets almost dried. At the end add coconut powder and stir for a minute. Grind it to a paste after cooling this. Heat oil and add the seasoning ingredients. Pour the seasoning over the chutney and serve with Idli / dosa.
June 4, 2013
Popcorn chicken
I made this as a special treat for my kid who is fond of chicken. And this turned out to be a hit as even my hubby liked it. I saved some boneless breast pieces and made this crunchy snack. Next time I will try to bake it and make it a healthier version. Here goes the recipe.
Recipe source: vahrehvah
Ingredients :
Boneless chicken - 250 gms
Eggs - 1
Corn flour - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil- for deep frying
Parmesan cheese - to sprinkle
Method:
Wash chicken and cut into small pieces. Put them in a bowl and season with salt, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, lemon juice and mix well. Marinate in the fridge for few hours.
May 29, 2013
Watermelon milk shake
I am having busy time these days and so couldn't post any. Just thought of setting me back onto my posts with this simple Watermelon milk shake perfect for a hot summer day!!
Ingredients:
Watermelon flesh - 1 cup (seedless)
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp.
Vanilla icecream - a scoop (optional)
Method:
Put watermelon and sugar in a blender and grind it to a smooth paste (relatively...)
Add milk and icecream to this and run the blender again.
Pour in a glass with some cold ice chips on top.
I served it with breakfast along with a bread toast topped with red kidney bean/rajma gravy and some fresh vegetables.
March 22, 2013
Tofu vegetable Kofta
Koftas, as we all know are cooked veggie balls fried in oil. These are then dropped in gravy which makes a great accopaniment for rotis. This time I made healthy koftas by adding tofu and these are cooked without deep frying. It turned out well and everyone in my family enjoyed.
Ingredients
Kofta
Medium Tofu (mashed and squeezed) - 1/2 cup
Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1 small one
Boiled and mashed plantain - 1/2
Chopped Carrot, cabbage - 1/2 cup
Salt
Chilli powder
oil
Gravy
Onion - 1
Tomatoes - 1
Ginger & garlic
Chilli powder
salt
oil
Procedure
Kofta:
Boil and mash potatoes and plantain together
Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped vegeables. Saute them till they get cooked. Sprinkle little water if needed. Add required salt and chilli powder. After it get cooked, add the mashed potatoes and pantain and tofu and mix everything together.
Turn off the flame when the mix is dried without water
Make kofta balls out of this and cook them in 'kuzhi paniyaram' pans with little oil.
Gravy
Heat oil in a pan and add garam masala, ginger garlic and onions to it. Saute them well and grind this to a paste
Grind the tomatoes to a paste.
Heat oil in the pan and add the ground onion paste. Then add the tomato paste and saute well. To this add salt and chilli powder and mix till it gets blended well
Add 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup to this and add 1 cup of water. Let it boil until you get a gravy consistency. Add water according the consistency you prefer
Turn of the flame
Arrange the koftas in serving dish. On top of this pour the prepared gravy. Decorate with chopped coriander leaves.
Kofta
Medium Tofu (mashed and squeezed) - 1/2 cup
Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1 small one
Boiled and mashed plantain - 1/2
Chopped Carrot, cabbage - 1/2 cup
Salt
Chilli powder
oil
Gravy
Onion - 1
Tomatoes - 1
Ginger & garlic
Chilli powder
salt
oil
Procedure
Kofta:
Boil and mash potatoes and plantain togetherHeat oil in a pan and add the chopped vegeables. Saute them till they get cooked. Sprinkle little water if needed. Add required salt and chilli powder. After it get cooked, add the mashed potatoes and pantain and tofu and mix everything together.
Turn off the flame when the mix is dried without water
Make kofta balls out of this and cook them in 'kuzhi paniyaram' pans with little oil.
Gravy
Heat oil in a pan and add garam masala, ginger garlic and onions to it. Saute them well and grind this to a paste
Grind the tomatoes to a paste.
Heat oil in the pan and add the ground onion paste. Then add the tomato paste and saute well. To this add salt and chilli powder and mix till it gets blended well
Add 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup to this and add 1 cup of water. Let it boil until you get a gravy consistency. Add water according the consistency you prefer
Turn of the flame
Arrange the koftas in serving dish. On top of this pour the prepared gravy. Decorate with chopped coriander leaves.
March 15, 2013
Vegetable Sevai
Sevai is a traditional south indian rice noodles. This is usually made with steamed rice flour using idiyappam press. But I got some instant rice noodles from a chinese store and it tastes the same as sevai and its easy to prepare too (just have to soak it in warm water for 10 mts). This time I added some vegetables to this and made a nice breakfast. This is great for evening snack too.
Ingredients:
Instant Rice noodles - 2 cups
Finely chopped onions - 1 tbsp
Chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, peas) - 1/4 cup
Red/Green chilli - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Curry and Coriander leaves
Salt
Method
1. Cook and keep the instant noodles ready as per the instructions in the packet. Or you can use homemade sevai
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, chilli and curry leaves.
3. To this add onions and saute till light pink. To this add chopped vegeables and saute on a low flame till half cooked. Add salt and mix well.
4. To this add the cooked sevai/noodles and mix gently and thoroughly. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.
Instant Rice noodles - 2 cups
Finely chopped onions - 1 tbsp
Chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, peas) - 1/4 cup
Red/Green chilli - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Curry and Coriander leaves
Salt
Method
1. Cook and keep the instant noodles ready as per the instructions in the packet. Or you can use homemade sevai
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, chilli and curry leaves.
3. To this add onions and saute till light pink. To this add chopped vegeables and saute on a low flame till half cooked. Add salt and mix well.
4. To this add the cooked sevai/noodles and mix gently and thoroughly. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.
January 24, 2013
Pumpkin cake
Pumpkin desserts are especially popular during the fall and winter months. Of course, pumpkin pie is America's favorite pumpkin dessert, but this lovely orange colored Pumpkin Cake, is sure to please. I made it with home made pumpkin puree. You can always go for store brought cans to make this delightful desert for a sweet surprise.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (270 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) fresh or canned pure pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes for an electric mixer).
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin batter.
Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cakes from their pans
Alternatively you can fill this batter in cupcake pans to make pumpkin cupcakes.
Enjoy the lovely desert with your family and friends.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (270 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) fresh or canned pure pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes for an electric mixer).
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin batter.
Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cakes from their pans
Alternatively you can fill this batter in cupcake pans to make pumpkin cupcakes.
Enjoy the lovely desert with your family and friends.
January 23, 2013
Masala Bread Toast
Bread is always a super easy fix for breakfast. It also an quick fix for the lunch box. The masala version adds some spice to our Indian taste. Give this a try and you will love it. Egg does makes it filling and remains soft even for lunch box.
Ingredients:
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- Egg – 4
- Bread – 6
- Garam masala powder- 1/4 tsp
- Ginger garlic paste – 1/4 tsp
- Chili powder – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric – a pinch
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Onion – 2 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – to toast
Recipe:
- Grind Onion and Garlic as paste.
- Apart from Bread and Oil, mix all the ingredients with Egg and beat it well.
- Heat Oil in a pan, dip the bread slices in egg mix and place it on pan, apply oil on all sides of bread.
- Toast the Bread on both sides and remove from heat.
January 11, 2013
Oven roasted Chana Dal
Chana dal that is deep fried was a great snack for me when I was little. That too the added spice and garlic flavor really enticed me. I wanted to try that recipe for a ling time but was hesitant to deep fry. Luckily I got this recipe of oven roasting the dal which is a healthy alternative to that. And believe me you still get the crunchy and crispy texture of deep fried ones. As this greatly impressed me, I'm planing to oven roast some soy nuts too for a healthy protein rich snack. Now on to the recipe.
Ingredients:
Chana Dal - 1 cup
Olive oil - 1tbsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2-3
Preparation:
Ingredients:
Chana Dal - 1 cup
Olive oil - 1tbsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2-3
Preparation:
- Wash the dal and soak it for at least 4 hours.
- Drain the water and transfer the dal to a sauce pan. Fill the pan with water, about ½ – 1” above the dal. Cook it on high for 3 minutes. You will see foam forming on the top. We don’t want to cook the dal for too long. Turn of the heat, drain it and run the dal under cold water to bring it back to room temperature.
- Transfer dal to a paper towels or a kitchen towel and pat dry it. Leave it on the towel to dry, for about 5 minutes until the oven is preheated.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a baking tray or cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
- Transfer chana dal to bowl and mix it well with oil, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. chili powder & turmeric. You can also do this directly on the lined baking sheet.
- Spread seasoned chana dal on the baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes in a preheated oven.
- Remove from the over, shake the tray properly or with a spoon mix the dal and spread it evenly on the tray. Put it back in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Pull it out and repeat the above step. Bake for another 5 minutes or until chana dal turns brown. The total bake time is 20 minutes. However, I felt I should have pulled it out of the oven a minute earlier. Do keep an eye on the dal after 18 minutes into baking.
- Crush together garlic, ¼ tsp. salt & 1 tsp. of chili powder. Sprinkle it on the baked dal and mix it well. Add the garlic immediately after removing the dal from the over.
- Once the dal is cooled, store in an air tight container
December 28, 2012
Parotta
Mom: What shall I order for you?
Me: (spontaneously..without looking thru menu card) Parotta
Mom: Want to try something else today
Me: No. I am fine with Parotta
Mom: smiling.. ok.
This was a usual converstation between me and my mom wenever we eat out. That much I loved it when I was little. One reason for that is its a food which was not made frequently at home like idly, dosa, poori, rice etc., And another one being the tast and flaky nature of parotta thats so inviting for the taste buds.
I have treid to make it so many times, but I would be missing something. Especially the flaky and still soft nature of the parotta. When I wanted to try this time, I was searching for some different recipes and I got this one from ifood.tv with some nice video, though quite a lengthy one. But its worth checking it if you want to try out. And the results were really good too.
Ingredients
Maida / All purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - approx 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup for kneading
Oil - 1/4 cup for toasting
Method:
Dough making and kneading:
Heap 3 cups of maida on a wide bowl. Make a dent or well inside.
Slowly add the water inside. To this water add salt and sugar and mix it slowly with the flour on the sides. Check out for water and be careful not to add too much water.
After all mixing up add oil and knead well well. This is the most important part and it has to be beaten up so the dough gets mixed/kneaded very well. This has to be done for almost 15-20 minutes to get the nice soft texture. Apply some oil on top and keep it closed aside for 30 mts.
After 30 minutes the dough will have rised a little. Make small balls out of it and apply oil on top of it again and let it rest for 10 minutes keeping it covered with moist kitchen towels. If you could notice, it will rise a little.
Spreading and coiling:
Take the balls one by one and roll it as much as you can with a rolling pin, the funny part is, you can watch as you stretch, it rolls back, so apply oil say about a tsp for each parotta and stretch it to paper thin size. It might tear in some areas… thats ok. Stretch using your hands or use the rolling pin, oil makes the work easier.
Hold any one corner of the rolled dough and lift it up. Slowly spiral the dough and make it a ball again. Note that this may need more oil. Repeat this for all the balls and make them spiral coils and keep them covered under a moist cloth again.
Rolling and toasting:
Take the spirals one by one and start stetching with a rolling pin slightly without applying too much pressure.
Roll them on one side only and don't flip them to roll on the other side. This makes the layers to merge and we won't get the flaky layered texture of parottas. Note parottas will not be too thin like chapatis. So roll them like the size of a pancake.
Heat a griddle/ tawa and keep it on medium flame. Take the rolled parottas one by one and let them cook slightly on both sides. After seeing some spots add about 1 tsp oil/ghee and toast.
You will see it becoming fluffy, flip one more time and then put it back on the counter. Using both hands, try to beat it once, just like clapping, to seperate the layers. Serve hot with your favorite side dish.
Me: (spontaneously..without looking thru menu card) Parotta
Mom: Want to try something else today
Me: No. I am fine with Parotta
Mom: smiling.. ok.
This was a usual converstation between me and my mom wenever we eat out. That much I loved it when I was little. One reason for that is its a food which was not made frequently at home like idly, dosa, poori, rice etc., And another one being the tast and flaky nature of parotta thats so inviting for the taste buds.
I have treid to make it so many times, but I would be missing something. Especially the flaky and still soft nature of the parotta. When I wanted to try this time, I was searching for some different recipes and I got this one from ifood.tv with some nice video, though quite a lengthy one. But its worth checking it if you want to try out. And the results were really good too.
Maida / All purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - approx 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup for kneading
Oil - 1/4 cup for toasting
Method:
Dough making and kneading:
Heap 3 cups of maida on a wide bowl. Make a dent or well inside.
Slowly add the water inside. To this water add salt and sugar and mix it slowly with the flour on the sides. Check out for water and be careful not to add too much water.
After all mixing up add oil and knead well well. This is the most important part and it has to be beaten up so the dough gets mixed/kneaded very well. This has to be done for almost 15-20 minutes to get the nice soft texture. Apply some oil on top and keep it closed aside for 30 mts.
After 30 minutes the dough will have rised a little. Make small balls out of it and apply oil on top of it again and let it rest for 10 minutes keeping it covered with moist kitchen towels. If you could notice, it will rise a little.
Spreading and coiling:
Take the balls one by one and roll it as much as you can with a rolling pin, the funny part is, you can watch as you stretch, it rolls back, so apply oil say about a tsp for each parotta and stretch it to paper thin size. It might tear in some areas… thats ok. Stretch using your hands or use the rolling pin, oil makes the work easier.
Hold any one corner of the rolled dough and lift it up. Slowly spiral the dough and make it a ball again. Note that this may need more oil. Repeat this for all the balls and make them spiral coils and keep them covered under a moist cloth again.
Rolling and toasting:
Take the spirals one by one and start stetching with a rolling pin slightly without applying too much pressure.
Roll them on one side only and don't flip them to roll on the other side. This makes the layers to merge and we won't get the flaky layered texture of parottas. Note parottas will not be too thin like chapatis. So roll them like the size of a pancake.
Heat a griddle/ tawa and keep it on medium flame. Take the rolled parottas one by one and let them cook slightly on both sides. After seeing some spots add about 1 tsp oil/ghee and toast.
You will see it becoming fluffy, flip one more time and then put it back on the counter. Using both hands, try to beat it once, just like clapping, to seperate the layers. Serve hot with your favorite side dish.
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