Punjabi Aloo Bhindi

Pin It Now! Okra was something I loved while in India. The one sold in India was always fresh and tender.But here in the US its not as fresh and is not easily available in grocery stores. So whenever I find some fresh and tender okra I always pick it up. I remember my mom making fry bhindi that use to be crispy and a stuffed bhindi that we kids called as "Crocodile".

A few months back though I learned another way of making it. Like the way they make it in restaurants and call it as Bhindi Masala. I took the recipe for "punjabi aloo" from this website and added okra with the aloo. 

The result was delicious !

Punjabi Aloo Bhindi

Recipe:-

10-12 okra/ladyfingers cut into 1 inch pieces

1-2 potatoes boiled and roughly chopped

1-2 tsp chilli powder

1 tomato roughly chopped

2-3 tbsp curd/yoghurt

oil to fry

2 tsp cumin seeds

Make a paste of the following w/o using  water:-

1-2 green chillies

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 onion sliced

1. Heat oil in kadai. Add cumin. Once seeds sizzle add the onion paste and chilli powder.Fry for a minute till mixture leaves oil

2. Now add the okra and toss to coat with the mixture. Fry for 2-3 min.Do not cover.

3. Mixture will become sticky so add yoghurt. And mix again.

4. Once stickiness reduces add the tomatoes and potatoes and salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You can also add 1-2 tsp of coriander powder to make it more spicy.

5. Fry for a few more minutes till okra becomes slightly soft but not mushy. It should still have a bite/crunch.

6. Serve hot with rotis.

This recipe goes to the event Blog Bites: Adaptation Edition hosted by Nupur of One Hot Stove.

Hotel Sambhar on a rainy day

Pin It Now! The rains are good not when you are on the road but when you are at home, its a weekend and you have planned for a nice hot brunch. Perfect. Somehow I love the combination of idlis with piping hot sambhar on a rainy morning. The slightly cold outside and the warm feeling inside is very relaxing to me. This was one such weekend where the weather gods smiled at us and showered some much needed moisture. It was a great welcome after the hot days we have had so far.

This time rather than using my own recipe to make sambhar  I thought to try the "Hotel Sambhar" recipe on this site.I made it in my rice cooker and set it on warm setting to have a continuous supply of hot sambhar throughout saturday morning. This slow cooking not only improves its taste but saves the in and out from the microwave.

Here is my version of the recipe- 


1C Toor Dal pressure coked with pinch of turmeric and hing
1/2 onion sliced
1 tomato chopped
lime sized tamarind ball soaked in hot water for 10min
1tsp mustard seeds
1-2 tsp sambhar powder
some jaggery/gur
2-3C water
Paste of 1tsp coconut + 1 garlic clove+ 1/2 inch ginger+1tsp jeera


1.In a rice cooker or a pot heat 3C of water and add the tamarind pulp. You can use store-bought tamarind paste also. Let it come to a rolling boil.


2. Then add the sliced onions,tomatoes and let it cook for 10 mins or so.


3. Once the raw smell of tamarind is lost add the tur dal,salt,sambhar powder and gur. You can 1-2 tsp of chilli powder to make it more spicy.


4. Then add the coconut-ginger-garlic paste to the mixture and let it cook for 10-15 mins. Taste and adjust the seasonings.


5. Heat oil in a small kadai and add mustard seeds. When seeds cracked add curry leaves and whole red chillies.Pour over the rice cooked. I did not use curry leaves since i did not have those at hand.


6. Serve with warm idlis.

We had ours with some rava idlis for a satisfying brunch. 

Rice Paper Rolls and my latest food obsession

Pin It Now!

Patience - that's what I am cultivating and loads of it, enough to handle all the pranks and discoveries of a one year old. Needless to say am also looking to spend less time in the kitchen without compromising on variety and quality. To satisfy my craving for quick and healthy recipes I made this quick appetizer over the weekend.

It so happened that I brought back a bag of rice paper sheets on my recent visit to an International grocery store. I was eying them for quite sometime now. You see, for the past few years we often ordered these rolls at Thai restaurants. They were sold for almost $2.50 a piece so i often thought that they were really time-consuming to make. 

However I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that they are actually very easy and healthy too.  They are everything you want an appetizer to be - easy, quick,healthy,make-ahead and simply superb for the summer since they can be served cold.

What you need is : -

2C shredded vegetables( I used a mix of red cabbage,carrots,spinach leaves)

1/4C finely chopped cilantro and mint

Rice paper sheets

Warm water and a napkin

 Hot and sweet dipping sauce

1. Pour warm water on a shallow plate and place the rice paper for 20s till it becomes soft.

2. Now spread the rice paper on a cutting board lined with a clean kitchen towel

3. Place the veggies and cilantro-mint mixture.

4. Carefully fold the edges and bring together in a roll.

5. Chill in fridge for 1 hour and then serve with dipping sauce

There are endless combinations of fillings for this roll. Like this one on One Hot Stove that uses Tofu or this one that uses chickpeas. 

This almost a no-cook recipe that can be assembled in less that 20mins for a regular home cook. So this goes to Twenty-20 Cooking Event hosted at Kitchen Samraj.

And now my latest food obsession - Sun dried tomatoes. I picked up a jar this weekend and ever since the ingredient is finding its way in most of my cooking.

 

I am loving its sweet,tangy and moist  flavor. So far I have used it in salads and sandwiches. I will post some blog-worthy recipe soon. Have you been using it for any other recipes ??

Read it, Make it, Blog it - Ven Pongal and Gosthu

Pin It Now! Yes, this is what happened today. I happened to read several posts with recipes for pongal and gosthu. Coincidentally I also happened to have all the ingredients at hand. So this became our dinner for today and my lunch for tomorrow.

The recipe of my choice is from this beautiful website Tasty Palettes by Suganya. If you have never been to this blog take my word you are missing one of the good looking blogs in the blogging world.
In fact the way she describes the pongal "Smooth like butter, it should reach the stomach directly, without any effort to chew. It should neither be too thick, nor runny " got me completely sold. It seemed like a comfort food perfect to beat my monday evening blues.You know those evenings where you know you have a week to go before you say TGIF.
Anyways where were we.. at the recipe i suppose. I followed her recipe closely for Ven pongal and Gosthu and did not make any modifications.The mild and simple flavours were taken very well on a hot summer evening.
 Gosthu ( Recipe adapted from Tasty Palettes)
Ingredients
Moong dal – ¼ cup
Mixed vegetables (eggplant, carrot, potato) – 2 cups, cubed
Onion or shallots – ½ cup, sliced
Tomato – 1, chopped
Tamarind – 1 tbsp
Jaggery – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Cilantro – 2 tbsp, chopped
Oil – 1 tbsp
1tbsp - sambhar powder
Method

Pressure cook moong dal until soft. This can be cooked along with rice and dal for the pongal.

In a sauce pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add onion and tomato along with curry leaves, and sauté for about 2 minutes. To this, add tamarind paste, turmeric powder, jaggery, salt and 2 cups of water and stir until the tamarind paste is completely dissolved in the water. Add the sambhar powder and cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked.

Finally, add the cooked dal. Bring it to a boil. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with pongal.

Another look at it...

Since the Gosthu uses tamarind I would like to send a helping to the Think Spice - Tamarind event started by Sunita at Sunita's World and hosted by PJ at Seduce Your Taste Buds.

Spicy Chicken Biryani

Pin It Now! Homemade Indian Food is the thing I miss the most when away from home. So after our LA trip we were craving for a nice homecooked meal. To satiate this craving I made some chicken biryani that went very well with all of us.

 There are umpteen versions of chicken biryani. This is the way I and am my husband like it. And now my sister likes it too.So this recipe goes out to you my dear Sis.

1. Chop 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts into small pieces.Marinate with 3-4tbsp yogurt, 1-2 tblsp chilli powder,salt,2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste,pinch of turmeric. I usually marinate it the night before.

2. Soak 2C of basmati rice in water for about an hour or so.

3. Thinly slice 2 medium sized onions. Finely chop 2 medium tomatoes.Keep aside.

4. Heat 7-8 tblsp oil. To this add foll. whole garam masala :
4 bay leaves
3 cloves
3 cardomom
2 star anise

5. Once the oil is fragrant add the onions and saute till translucent. Then add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 3-4 tsp chilli powder and fry for around 3-4 mins.

7.  Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry on high heat  for 7 to 8 min till mixture is dry. Then add 1/2 C water and the tomatoes.Cover and cook with lid.

8.Meanwhile, add rice and 5-6 cups of water in rice cooker or a pan and get the rice to a boil.The rice should be 50% cooked. Strain and keep warm once done.

9. Once the chicken is cooked add foll:
        2 tblsp coriander powder
        salt to taste
        2 tblsp garam masala
        handful of chopped cilantro
        handful of chopped mint
Saute till the mixture does not have a lot of running gravy.

11. To layer the biryani ,take heavy botton pot (I usde a rice cooker) add a layer of rice at the bottom and then add the chicken.Alternate as required. Inbetween add a layer of chopped mint and cilantro for extra flavor. Cover and keep on cook setting. If the chicken has some running gravy no more water is required. Else add 5-6 tblsp water.

I served mine with lemon wedge. Nothing else was required. It was a great meal on its own.
And what's more we had 3 very satisfied souls at the end.

Back from Laah Laah Land

Pin It Now! I know I kind of disappeared abruptly from this space for sometime especially after having started it with much gusto. Though there are several reasons for my absence, that will be revealed in future posts, one of them was our visit to Los Angeles,CA. Having heard about it from friends (all good things that is..) we thought it would be a great idea to take our Indian visitor to show her the real America or now as I call it the dreamland America.
Disneyland was our unanimous choice of the very first attraction to visit and it did not disappoint us at all.
After having parked our car in an enormous parking lot we boarded a cute little 'toy' train to enter the world of Disney.

As kids ,we were very fond of many of the disney characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck (remember Uncle Scrudge, 9am Sunday mornings ). This was our chance to be kids all over again.

Since it was almost weekend there were long lines for most of the rides. So we ended up enjoying only  a few them.

The celebrate street party was also fun for the kids. The catchy music, the dancing characters and girls in bright colored outfits sets you up in quite a party mood.

There was also a designated area for "Stroller Parking". How thoughtful is that..?

The visit was thoroughly enjoyable. However if any of you planning to be out there I would like to make some suggestions:

• A day is simply not enough to tour the entire world of disney.In fact we stretched ourselves by staying back late to see the fireworks. So if possible then you should  spend 2-3 days at the least.
• There are sturdy strollers available for rent. However if you are having babies then you would want to get a nice comfy stroller, the bigger one with cushions and all rather than a lightweight one.I know they are kind of heavy but your baby will thank you for it. 
• California winters and early summers are rather crisp and cool. So you would want to take a sweater or two.

Do you have any more suggestions ? Do add them in the comment field. I will be back in a few with the final part of our visit to LA.
Ciao !

Methi Matar Malai

Pin It Now! Yes, she's finally here. My sister I mean. Its been 2 days and am really having a good time with her. Chatting ,remembering old times , shopping and........ cooking ofcourse!
This weekend we went for a picnic at a nearby park with some other friends of mine. It was a gorgeous day. Not very hot or cold just perfect. A sizzling barbecue, a few friends and a cool drink. What more does one want on a weekend !
On the kitchen front too I had a good time making some Methi Matar Malai. A dish I wanted to try for sometime now. It was one my favorites at the restaurants in Pune including the famous paratha place Chaitanyas. I tried out this recipe from the blog - Cook in a blog world.

 I followed the recipe closely making some substtitutions with the ingredients on hand. Here is my version of the recipe :-

1. Thaw 1C of frozen peas. I did this in the microwave. Wash and chup around 1-1.5C of fresh methi leaves.

2. Roast and grind the foll. for the dry masala :-
     1/2'' cinnamon stick
     2 cloves
     2 small bayleave
     3 tbsp cashews
     1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
     1/2 serrano pepper ( or you can use any other green chillies of your choice )

3. Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add 1 heaped tbsp of ginger-garlic taste. Fry for 2-3 min.

4. Add 1 medium chopped onion and fry till it gets a light brown color. To this add 1/2 tsp chilli powder.

5. Add the methi and cover and cook for a minute till methi is cooked.

6. Then add the peas and mix on high till the oil separates and mixture is well roasted.Add salt to taste.

7. Add around 1C of whole milk or 1/2C cream.Add water or more milk to get desired consistency. Heat for 2 mins.

8. Serve hot with some rotis or rice.

The curry had me thrilled to bits.Believe me if you have methi at home then you have to make this dish. Its the perfect combination of spices. Its not too spicy rather creamy and sweet perfect for kids. We simply loved it and am sure it will be regular on our weeknight menu henceforth.

A generous helping of this curry goes to the event Blog Bytes - The Copy Cat edition by Nupur of One Hot Stove.
Enjoy your weekend or rather what's left of it.

Some anticipation and some spicy curry

Pin It Now! Another weekend goes by. I had a very lazy weekend this week. Did not do anything much except anticipating some good times. Anticipation I did and actually lots of it !
It so happens that my sister visits us next week all the way from India that too for a month.I am really looking forward to having some girly times with her. All those sisterly conversations, some company in kitchen and whole lot of shopping.How exciting is that !

In between all the anticipation however I did manage to make some spicy fish curry. I used this recipe from the blog Fork-Spoon-Knife by Asha Pagdiwalla.

Fish Curry

I followed the recipe very closely.Even the step of not opening the lid till serving time. The curry had distinct south-indian flavors from the urad dal and the fennel seeds. The tangy-ness of the tomato and tamarind compliments very well with the garlic and fennel seeds.Its one of those homely curries perfect for a sunday lunch.It tasted great with some rotis and rice.

Though I did use fish in the Meen Kozhambu I am sure it will taste great with some potatoes or eggplant as she suggests it.
Thanks Asha for sharing your mom's recipe !

No hassle Broccoli

Pin It Now! Broccoli got introduced to me only after coming to US. I avoided picking it up at the grcoery store not knowing how to cook with it. However after having tried out this recipe its becomea routine item in our grocery shopping.

I realized I liked it crunchy and half cooked rather than soft and mushy. The recipe is very simple and cooks in minutes in the oven.

 Here's how I made it :

 Ingredients

 2C Broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
 1tbsp cumin 
 1small potato cut into thin and small pieces
 salt to taste
 1crushed dry red chilly( or more to taste)
 1glug of olive oil


 1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pre-heat oven to 350F
 2. Mix the ingredients into a bowl and spread on the baking sheet.
 3. Bake in oven for 8-10min till the potato is cooked through and the broccoli is crunchy.

 Transfer to a serving bowl. I served mine with rotis and a curry.

Yet another Banana Bread recipe but ..

Pin It Now! this time its with chocolate and crystallized ginger..


As a new week begins I look back and realize how the weekend just flew by me. I had to cross out so many tasks on my list but I only finished so many. This weekend it was some much needed Spring Cleaning as they call it. Not that we waited for Spring to plan this cleaning. It was actually long overdue.

On Sunday I joined my some friends for a spring get-together. The event is organized every spring to give the community  kids a chance to showcase their performing arts talent.
Though my little one is yet to learn any human-understandable art he too joined in with some lound aaaahs and ooos.. Nonetheless the show was fantastic. What I loved more were the proud faces of the kids and their mums-dads after everyone clapped at their act. I so wished to bottle these expressions and see them again at a later time.

On the cooking front I really wanted to use up some crystallized ginger and chocolate chips that too in a quickbread. I did print the recipe and had all what I needed to start baking. However like I said before I could not get to it until today.
I have tried many fruit breads in the past and I wondered how I had never thought of putting together a banana bread.And somehow this weekend I was craving for somehommeade fruit bread.

Here's how i made it : -


Dry ingredients
1 cup banana puree
4 tblp melted butter

Wet Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose white flour
3/8C brown sugar
3/8tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
3/4cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 C chopped crystallized ginger
pinch of salt
handful of chopped pecans/walnuts

• Mix the dry ingredients to a bowl
• In another bowl whisk the dry ingredients. 
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the banana mixture. Mix till just combined and all flour is incorporated.
• Mixture will be lumpy.
• Bake at 350F for 55mins.

I got one 8X4 loaf with the above proportion.

The bread turned out very moist and flaky. It had a strong banana flavor. The ginger complimented the sweetness perfectly. 
We packed some slices in a cling film to take along to work. Serves as an excellent mid-morning or afternoon snack.
Update - This bread has been YeastSpotted !
See you in a few !

Dinner for my teeny tiny one....

Pin It Now! Today I have a recipe not for the little ones but for the very very little ones. Having a little one come into our life has posed several challenges for this home-cook. Making meals for him was just one of them. Its a full U-turn on many of the parameters like spice-level,texture and the quantity. Recently I tried this whole wheat upma which he relished very much.
This recipe uses whole wheat(dalia) rather than the regular white semolina. 

Here's how i made it : -

1. Heat oil/ghee in a kadai and add :-
    Pinch of Mustard seeds
    Pinch of  cumin seeds
    1 small piece of green chilly
     pinch of finely grated ginger
     1/2 tsp onion

    pinch of turmeric

2. Then add:-
     1/2 tsp tomato
     1/2 tsp green peas ( you can add corn also)
    Saute till slighly cooked

3. Then add :-
     2 tbsp dalia
     And saute for a minute

4. Add 1C of hot water. Mix well.And add :-
    pinch of salt
    few drops of lemon juice
    pinch of sugar
    some fresh/dry coconut powder

5. Cover and simmer for 20 mins or so till the water gets absorbed and the dalia is soft.
    Check in between and add more water if required.

6.Serve slightly warm.

This is a very wholesome recipe that can be easily modified to accomodate the veggies at hand. I also throw in finely shredded carrots or potatoes at times. BTW I did get to eat some of the leftovers as well:-)

Cheers!

Happy Gudi Padwa with some Rava Ladoos

Pin It Now! Its Gudi Padwa the official start of the Marathi New Year.So here's wishing you a very happy gudi padwa.May this year be full of joy and success.
 To mark the new year I made some traditional marathi rava ladoos.There are some recipes that remind you of your roots.This is one of them.

 Rava Ladoos

I followed this recipe on youtube that uses microwave to roast the rava and make the syrup. After 4-6hours the mixture hardened so I added a splash of milk and  microwaved it for a minute.

After cooling it this time I was able to make ladoos easily.We enjoyed the ladoos for dinner yesterday.And yes they did take us back in time...

Catch you in a bit !

Secret to Soft Parathas ...

Pin It Now! Yes, I think I found the way to making soft parathas..

In fact, parathas remind me of one of my favorite paratha places in Pune :- Chaitanya. A few years back I was a regular at  this place. Some 5 or 6 of were all huddled up around a small plastic round table meant for a group of 4. The chairs were all mismatched and squeaking. The place was cheap and the food, delicious. For a mere Rs10 you could get a 10inch paratha with curd.And while you waited for it  to arrive at your table you can catch up on some office/college gossip.That was the life of a carefree girl some years back.

I generally make some kind of parathas on saturday. It gives me the perfect opportunity to try various combinations and more importantly I get the time and patience to play with them. This time I made these mixed vegetable parathas that were really soft and tasty.

The recipe is adapted from Tarla Dalal's book of Parathas . Its what I call the dictionary of parathas. There are endless varieties of parathas from the simple ones like all-in-one parathas to the more delicate and delectable stuffed parathas. I adore all those who can made delicious stuffed parathas.

 Mixed Vegetable Parathas

 This is how I made them : -

 1. Thaw 1C of mixed veggies ( frizen mixed veggies are thebest) and the blend them in a mixie. Add 2 green chillies (more if you want spicier) and blend till mixture is pasty. Ensure that carrot is also finely chopped.

2. Transfer to a bowl and add :-
     1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
      salt to taste
     1 tsp roasted and coursely ground cumin
     2 tbsp curds
     2 tbsp chickpea flour
     2 tsp oil
     Rub the above mixture till it resembles course bread crumbs.

 3. Now add -
     2C whole wheat flour (atta)
 
4. Add water bit by bit to form a stiff dough. Refrigerate overnight. The dough should not be loose since moisture developing after cooling will loosen it up further.

 5. I made parathas using this method. Keep the parathas warm by wrapping them in a towel or so.

 The curds and the chickpea flour make the parathas really soft. Serve with curds or a vegetable of your choice. I generally make the dough the night before since mornings are busy even on weekends.

These parathas go to Jivha for Breakfasts hosted by Veggie Platter an event started by Indira of Mahanandi.
The round up of this event is gonna be delicious. Thanks for hosting this event/.
 Cheers !

Chana Masala

Pin It Now! You know there are times when you make something (by that I mean in the kitchen) and it does'nt turn out really the way you like it. But you still make it the same way because you know no other way to make it... sounds familiar...???

I always made a chickpeas curry like the way other curries are make. Fry the onion,tomatoes add store-bought chole masala and throw in a few other spices.Though the bhaji (curry) did taste good  I always had the onion,tomato on one side of the pot and the chickpeas to other. That is they never really mingled very well.There were other ways to thicken the curry like adding coconut-tomato-onion paste but I never took that route.Thanks to health issues and lack of time(to be read as my laziness). So this was the story of the chickpeas in my home until I read this recipe by the Jugalbandits on Jugalbandi. I love this blog !

Their chef friend revealed the secret to the thick and aromatic chana masala at restaurants. It was the slow-cooking in the crockpot. I did not own one though. Hey but I owned a rice cooker a pretty big one that too.

So the other day I soaked some chickpeas and got down to making chana masala the Jugalbandi way.
As happens many times I did not have some of the ingredients so had to make some inadvertent modifications. But the recipe is so forgiving that it will workout very well even with the minimum of spices.

Chana Masala

Here is my version of it :-

1. Soak 2 cup of chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook them with salt. They should not be fully cooked (Half-cooked you could say).

2. Heat some oil in a pan and add :
    1/2 chopped onion
     1/2 tsp salt
    1-2 cloves of garlic     
    Fry till turns slightly brown and mushy

3. Add the spices as per your tast. I just eyeballed the amount :-chilli powder,kasuri methi,chole masala,coriander powder.

 4. Add the tomatoes and fry till it becomes slightly mushy.

 5. In the riice cooker add : -
      Half-cooked chickpeas
      1-2 cups of water
       onion-tomato paste
       1/2-1 chopped potato
     Stir and keep on cook setting.

6. Watch the mixture in between . Add more water if required. Once the potatoes are cooked,taste and keep on warm for an hour or so.

 7. Then stir in :-
      1 heaped tbsp of tamarind-date chutney
       a handful of cilantro.

8. Let it warm until serving time around 30 min or so.

Though this dish is not one of the fastest cooking ones it tastes great. You can serve it as soon as the curry thickens. The tamarind date chutney imparts its own sweetness which I found very comforting.
This was one tasty curry. The thickness of the curry was something we all loved. The kasuri methi adds that restaurant like taste. I served it with rice and yogurt.

This recipe goes to the Blog Bites event started by Nupur of One Hot Stove. I never thought I would be sending a non-rice recipe for a rice cooker event. Anyways enjoy girl ! I love your blog!


Hugs !

Quinoa Salad

Pin It Now! While browsing through several food blogs I noticed several recipes made with Quinoa. Most of the recipes emphasized its health benefits and rich protein content.
So on my recent trip to the grocery store i bought some quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah ).I loved the salad made at this site. It looked so colorful , fresh and super-simple. I followed the recipe closely though I had to omit some ingredients like olives,ginger and use cilantro instead of parsley. The recipe turned out great and made a satisfying meal.

The pressure cooker method to cook quinoa works great. We enjoyed the nutty texture which is something in between indian suji and soft white rice.When paired with some cooked chicken or oven-baked fish this makes a great meal for weeknights.

Hugs !

The perfect Pav Bhaji - My style

Pin It Now! As a sandwich is to the Americans so is the pav-bhaji to us desis (as we are called here in US Of USA). There are endless versions of this classic dish. Every household,every hotel in India has their own recipe.And almost all of them are equally delicious. Over the years I have experimented over the ingredients, perfect procedure, and the right combination of spices to finally arrive at this version of pav-bhaji.
I like my food to look good I mean it should be a feast for the eyes too.:) So I like to have my pav-bhaji in slightly reddish orange color. A touch of paprika comes in handy here.  Also I omit the cauliflower in the list of veggies since it makes the bhaji slightly bitter. I use less potato to reduce the carbs and increase the quantity of peas,carrots,string beans.

Here is my version of it :-

1 boiled potato grated
1 cup mixed veggies ( I use mixed veggie bag from the grocery store here)
1 medium onion finely chopped
2-3 tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
( I use twice the onion+green pepper and tomato in 1:2 combination. Tomatoes should be twice that of onions and green pepper together.)
1 heaped tbsp ginger-garlic paste (amount of ginger > garlic )
salt to taste
1 heaped tbsp pav-bhaji masala ( I use Everest brand )
1 tsp chilli powder
lemon juice
pinch of sugar
cilantro and chopped onion for garnish
3-4 tbsp oil and butter for garnish

1. Heat some oil in a kadai and when its a level less than smoky add the ginger-garlic paste. Add the onion,chopped green pepper and fry till the raw smell of onion and ginger-garlic paste reduces. Cover and cook for 3-4 min. The onions should be soft.
2. Add the tomatoes and spices(chilli powder,pav-bhaji masala and paprika).Mix and cover and cook for 3-4mins.
3. Pressure cook the mixed veggies and mash to a paste.
4. Add this mixture to the pan and saute. Mash again if not completely mixed.Add the grated potato.
5. Add water to get required consistency. The mixture tends to splatter so be careful out there.
6. Cover and cook for 4-5 mins taking care that mixture doesnt dry up.
7. Add salt,lemon juice,sugar and taste. Adjust the spices to desired level.
8. Server with cilantro,dollop of butter and onion.

I think the key to making the perfect bhaji is that the spices should be given the time to mingle and release their flavor.So the cooking time at every stage is really important. Feel free to add cauliflower if you wish.
I also had plans to make laadi pav but its not materialized till now.

We enjoyed it with a nice crusty bread and papads for a weeknight dinner.

Punjabi Dal - A Comfort food

Pin It Now! Today is Holi the festival of colors. Happy Holi to everyone !! My mother tells me that she has made "Puran Poli" one of the most delicious,delicate and difficult of preparations in the Marathi cuisine. These polis cost around Rs 15 per poli in India but the ones made by her are ofcourse priceless.For these things alone how I wish I had been in India. If you are a person grown up in Maharashtra and specifically in city of Pune you will know what I mean...But alaas , we are here in US and here there are no puran-polis to be found....

Hey but we still have a lot of delicious food out here too... Like this punjabi dal. Another one added to my list of comfort foods. Its one of those recipes that are simple to make and make you feel at home.
Ok now on to the recipe. The recipe is adapted from this recipe on the blog As dear as Salt. I did not have chana dal at home so I substituted it with toor dal. It turned out delicious.

Folks you have to try this dal. It has this nice creamy texture, the kasuri methi giving it a different aroma and the cinnamon and bay leaf mingle very well to make a great combination! I have already made it twice this week and am sure making it again.

Spinach Bread

Pin It Now! I love all types of bread.I mean what can be easier and faster than a great sandwich. For a few days now I was searching for a recipe of spinach bread. It yielded this recipe on What Did You Eat by Sherry.With nutmeg, garlic and feta cheese and lots of spinach this recipe was exactly what i wanted.
I made some changes though. Instead of all-purpose flour I used bread flour. I reduced the amount of feta cheese and nutmeg since I though it would make it a bit too salty.
The bread turned out nice and crusty with a soft inside. Here is the loaf...

I made some nice chutney sandwiches with lettuce,green and red pepper and feta cheese. Made for a delicious saturday brunch. We enjoyed every bit of it !.

   Sherry of What did you eat also called it as Popeye Bread since the bread is soo 'spinachy..' . Its really sad that shes no longer amongst us. Sherry you will continue to love with your recipes.We miss you and your recipes.
    This bread goes to Susan's YeastSpotting a weekly event showcasing yeasted baked goodies.

Ciao !

Mango Chocolate Bread - A baking experiment

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Now this was just a baking experiment. I had this gorgeous mango from the grocery store. I peeled and cut the fruit to find it so nice and sweet. Yes, its still winter i mean not really summer to have really sweet mangoes. Guess i was just lucky !.

Ok, anyways I was in a mood to have some fruity bread. I modified a recipe i used earlier to use mango and chocolate. The bread was moist and tasted good. But I could have used more of the mango.

                                  
Mango Chocolate Bread
1. Preheat over to 350deg F
2. Spray a loaf pan
3.  In a mixing bowl add the following ingredients
1C All purpose flour (Add 2 tbsp cornflower and fill rest of the cup with all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4C Chopped Mango
a handful of chopped dark chocolate chips
1tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
Rub the ingredients into the flour.
4. In another bowl prepare the wet ingredients :
1/4C oil
1/4C yogurt
1/4C milk or a little more if required.
Stir above ingredients to mix well.
5. Fold the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients till ingredients are just moistened.
6. Pour into prepared loaf pan.
7. Bake for 45 min until a tester comes out clean.
This cake has a very nice crumb. Its moist and just sweet enough. The chocolate mixes very well with the mango. The cake tastes better the next day. But like I said earlier it could use some more of the fruit.
See you in a bit !

Jason's Deli Style - Tomato Soup

Pin It Now! The other day I had some cherry tomatoes to finish up. Their skins had really started to wrinkle up and they started losing their glossy finish. I did not plan to make the soup Jason's deli style but on tasting it reminded us of the soup we had at this place sometime ago. In fact it tasted even better and healthier than the Jason's deli version.
It's really very simple to make and requires very few ingredients.Now on to the recipe.

1 pint of cherry tomatoes ( or 4-5 roma tomatoes. I used 2 roma tomatoes with 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes)
2 handfuls of shredded carrots ( or 2 medium sized carrots)
8-10 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
a glug of olive oil
a few fresh basil leaves
4-5 tblsp whole milk/heavy cream ( I used whole milk)
shredded mozarrella or mexican blend cheese to garnish
croutons to garnish

1. Preheat over to 375 F
2. Spread the tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet.Coat these with salt,pepper and olive oil.
3. Roast until the garlic cloves turn light brown and give out a nice garlicky aroma. The tomatoes will also soften up to release their juices.
4. Stir-fry the carrots separately.
5. Let the tomatoes,garlic and the carrots cool down.
6. Blend the above to a soft paste.
7. Heat some oil in a soup pot. Add a little cumin (optional). Put the paste.
8. The paste will splatter so be careful. Then add some hot water to adjust the consistency.
9. Once soup has boiled for a few minutes simmer and add the milk/cream.
10. I added a little sugar at this point since mine felt a bit tangy. Add a few torn basil leaves and let stand for 2-3 mins. Garnish with croutons and cheese and serve.

This soup feels so good on a cold day. It goes well with a bread or even some rice. It tastes creamy,sweet and tangy. The carrots lend their sweetness and the roasted garlic gives it a nice background flavor. The basil add a nice freshness to the soup.

We had ours for a saturday brunch with some brown rice pilaf. We licked our bowls clean !

Sunday Special - Methi Chicken

Pin It Now! Like in most households chicken curries are very popular in my home. However we do not like the gooey curries served in most restaurants. They are thickened by lots of cream or coconut milk both of which are very calorie-loaded.

Recently I tried the Methi Chicken posted by Shilpa of Aayi's Recipes. I have tried many recipes from this log and all of them have been very delicious.This recipe was not exception.
In fact every time I get a bunch of Methi from the grocery store I set aside some for this delicious Methi Chicken.I have played around with the recipe using the ingredients I had on hand and every time its more flavorful as the previous attempt. In fact it tastes better the next day and the day after ( if there are any leftovers that is..).

I followed the recipe mostly except that I do not have khus-khus at home so i just make a paste of tomatoes and onions. I also use coriander powder instead of coriander seeds. Also instead of grinding the cinnamon,cloves I just put them while making the tadka.
I served the chicken with homemade rotis and jeera fried rice for satisfying sunday lunch.
Catch you in a few !

Going Green with Green Beans

Pin It Now! There are times when I know exactly know what to do with an ingredient. I take it and get going about the recipe. Then there are times when I plan the recipe but do something different when I actually get at it in the kitchen. Mostly its the latter, but this time when I looked at the green-beans I knew what I was going to make with them.

"Stir-fried" makes one think they will be totally unhealthy. Hey but wait no.... these ones are delicious and so very nutritional. I never ever liked green-beans as much as I like them now. In fact we almost had an argument as to who got a bigger portion of them for lunch. Ok, so before I rave about it any longer let me get into the recipe.

Green Bean Stir Fry
==============

1. Snip the ends of green beans and cut them into 2 pieces or max 3 if they are longer.
2. Heat a deep pot with water. Let the water get to a boil. Add some salt to the water.
3. Now add the green beans and let them hang in for like3-4 mins. Maximum 5min.
4. Then allow them to drain in a colander.
5. In another stir-fry pan heat some olive oil. Add some chopped garlic and saute till fragrant.
6. Then add the green beans and mix. Add some peanut powder and salt.
7. Fry for 2-3 mins without covering them.

Serve them as a side with a sandwich or wrap. We had ours with some parathas for saturday lunch.
They would be great for lunch at work or at school. Other interesting things like fried tofu,chicken could be added to make a complete meal.

Tangy Mango Cilantro Chutney

Pin It Now! During my recent trip from the grocery store a few chilly arbol peppers made their way into our home.The ones at the market had a gorgeous green color that makes one want to use them instantly. But beware as these are really hot. Like I just needed one of them for this tangy mango chutney.

I make several different chutneys to be slathered on toasts or to go into wraps or as dipping sauce. Leftover chutneys are usually freezed into ice-cubes. That way I have my own dipping sauce whenever the mood  strikes.

Here's how I made it :-

In chutney blender add :
 1 chilly arbol pepper (or any other pepper of your choice)
  handful of cilantro leaves
  a handful of chopped mango
  groundnut  powder /groundnuts
  2 cloves of garlic
  1tsp  grated ginger
  salt to taste
   lemon juice a few drops
   pinch of sugar
   1 tsp cumin seeds
   shredded carrot
And that's it. Blend in and taste and adjust the seasonings to the desired spice level.The colour of chutney will vary depending on the quantity of ingredients. Add more cilantro for greener color.
I try to make my dips healthy by replceing some of the peanut powder with shredded carrots.
This tastes great and increases the nutritional value.
    We had ours with some rotis and vegetable. Leftovers will be used for breakfast tomorrow.
Have a great weekend !!

Carrot and Apple Cake

Pin It Now! Some of the apples left over from the apple crumble the other day went into this apple and carrot cake. This cake was put together in a jiffy by using a basic recipe and then modifying it with the ingredients I had on hand. To my pleasant surprise the ingredients mingled beautifully. I am sure to bake this cake again.

Following is the recipe :-

1. In a bowl mix together foll.

2 tbsp corn starch
1C all purpose flour (Take 2 tbsp cornflour in cup and add APF to make 1C of flour)
1/2 cup sugar( I used brown sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder

2. To the above mixture add the foll.
1 medium shredded apple
2 medium shredded carrot
handful of walnuts

3.In another bigger bowl mix the foll.
1/4 C oil
1/4 C milk
1/2 cup applesauce

4. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Used the cut and fold method of mixing.

5. Bake in a prepared pan at 350 deg. F for 45 min. Do the toothpick test.

The cake smelled heavenly when baking. The crumb was delicious with bits of carrot showing up beautifully. This makes a perfect mid-morning or afternoon snack.

Its not Valentine 's day really but I did bake this cake for my eternal valentine :) . So this cake goes to the Bake a Cake event - Valentines Day Special event hosted by Nina of Confections of Bake-a-holic. And now that's a nice name.

My version of Carrot Herb rolls

Pin It Now! I admit I love baking specially baking breads. I love kneading the dough,looking to see how it has doubled in volume,and the aroma of bread baking in the oven. Making it is a joy and enjoying it with my favourite spreads pure bliss.
I attempted Carrot Herb rolls from this site and the rolls did not disappoint me at all. I halved the recipe since it was only for the two of us. But I really should have made more. They were so tasty!
It was the first time I used bread flour.Bread flour gives a nice porous and chewy bread.
Even though i expected a more softer roll I was still pretty satisfied about the results.
Here are the rolls fresh out of the oven....

Go ahead,grab one.. :)

A Baby shower and a Cake

Pin It Now! Its so pleasing to take something to a party and get an empty container back. To know that all the guests really enjoyed your dish and that included the little ones too.
So my friends, here's the recipe for the Date cake that you all requested. Actually its taken from the site Aayi's Recipes. I have tried several recipes from this blog and all have been a hit in my family.
Ok now back to the recipe...

Ingredinets:
18 dates(Khajoor,I used the pitted n chopped dates we get at walmart)
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour or maida
1/2 cup oil
1 tea spn baking soda
1 tbl spn walnut pieces

Method:
1. Mix the milk and the date in a micro-wave safe bowl and heat in microwave for 30s. Keep a watch so that mixture does not boil over.Heat till dates mixture becomes soft. Cool for 10-15 min.

2.Add sugar and grind them to a smooth paste along with the milk in which it is soaked in. Add oil and mix.

3.Mix the flour and baking soda and the nutes. Mixing nuts with the flour coats the nuts with flour so that they dont sink to the bottom of the pan.

4.Add the flour one table spoon at a time and mix slowly. Use the cut and fold method to mix. You need to take the mixture from the bottom and fold it on top.A rubber spatula helps a great deal.Do not mix in circular motion like dosa batter. Cut n fold method folds in air and helps the cake become fluffy.

5. Prepare a baking pan with butter and dust with flour.Pour mixture into it.

6. Preheat the oven at 350F. Bake the cake in a greased oven proof dish for 35-40min (or till a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean).

7. Do not open the over for the first 30 mins else cake will deflate.

The cake was a huge hit at my friends baby shower. I made it the day before specially because it gets better the next day.The baby shower was very well hosted at P's place and we all had a great time !

Catch you later with another something about food and life !

Ciao !!