A food blog on my kitchen cuisine

Homemade Silky Chocolate Pudding

2010-07-08T11:22:00.000-04:00

All these days I never thought of making chocolate pudding at home until I saw my kids fighting for one. I don’t know when my boy started liking them because he used to hate it, kids likes and dislikes keep on changing, its hard to know. I promised them to make one at home and luckily I had a chocolate bar in my pantry which I got it to make homemade almond chocolate.
When I told my boy I am making chocolate pudding, he said, “ Make it different than usual like topping it with ice cream” since I didn’t have a vanilla flavored ice cream in my freezer I gave him topped with whip cream and some sprinkler and my kids really loved it. There is nothing like home made chocolate pudding with its silky smooth texture and a wonderful chocolate flavor.

Ingredients
Semi-Sweet chocolate bar – 4oz
Sugar – 1 cup
Whole milk – 2 and ½ cup
Cornstarch – ¼ cup
Salt – 1/8 tsp
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Whip cream and some sprinkler for topping (optional)

Method
Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt in a pan and add milk to it slowly and whisk it until its lump free. Place it over a boiling water(double boiler method) and stirring occasionally.
After 15 mins, when the mixture starts thickening add the chocolate and continue stirring for 3 to 4 mins and remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract.
Pour the pudding in the serving cup and cover the pudding by placing the plastic wrap directly inside the cup over the pudding; this prevents from developing a pudding skin on the top.
Refrigerate for an hour and serve it topped with whip cream and sprinklers. Enjoy!!

Sprouted Moong dal and Oats Dosa – A healthier version of Pesarattu

2010-05-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Summer vacation is almost here and my boy who is in kindergarten already started counting days and he is so much excited and happy but I am wondering how am I going to entertain him all summer. He got accustomed to being in school all day and now I am thinking hard to come up with fun activities to keep him busy.
Last year president Obama proposed a longer school days for this generation of students to remain competitive to the remaining world. I think that’s a good idea, the children here have only 180 days of school compared to more than 200 days (don’t know the exact no.) of school back in India. I am worried what kind of problems my kids will face adjusting to the Indian schooling system when we go back to India.
Coming back to the recipe this one is super healthy and nutritious dosa. I usually make salads and curry using this sprouts but this is the first time I am trying out dosa just b’coz of my kids. My boy hates eating vegetables in any form and salad no doubt he never even try to taste it. I thought making dosa sprouted moong dal is the only way I can make my kids eat these healthy sprouts. Luckily there was no difference in the taste compared to the original pesarattu even by adding oats to it and my kids ate without any fuzz and that gives me a great satisfaction.

Ingredients
Green moong dal – 1 cup
Oats – ½ cup
Green chilies – 2
Onion chopped – 1 medium
Ginger – 1”
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 5
Cilantro – 1 cup
Salt to taste

Method
Soak moong dal overnight and drain all the water and keep coved in a wet cloth for minimum 12 hrs and make sure the cloth is wet all the time. When its sprouted, grind along with all other ingredients using a very little amount of water to a coarse paste. Make dosa out of it and enjoy with ginger chutney.

Strawberry Jam

2010-05-16T20:35:00.000-04:00

Strawberry season is here, if you love strawberries, it’s the best time to pick your own strawberries. Last week on a fine sunny day my family went for a strawberry picking …it was super fun. Picking your own strawberries is the best way to know that you are getting the freshest strawberries. Luckily there were more than few farms near my place but we chose a one which is little far off, heard they have the very tasty strawberries and sure they did. My kids loved exploring the strawberry field, my boy was busy looking out for big ripe ones and my girl was busy playing on the farm rather I would say destroying the plants. Most of the berries went into the basket but not before tasting few. Actually when we went there most of the strawberries have been picked but still we managed to pick two basket full of good ripe ones.

After eating the fruit and making juices and smoothies out of it, still lots of berries were left, so I ended up making the strawberry jam. For just three cups of mashed strawberries gave me seven 8oz jars of jam. To extend the jam’s shelf life, processing the jars is more important.

Ingredients
Strawberries cut and mashed – 3 Cups
Sugar – 5 cups
Pectin – 1 packet (1.7oz)
8oz Jar – 7

Method
1.Processing the bottles- clean the jars and lids and boil them separately for 10 mins.
2.Rinse, hull and cut the strawberry and put in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher until no lumps. Mix 1 packet of pectin to the strawberry.
3.Bring the mixture to boil, stir in the sugar and continue boiling, stirring in between. Use a spoon to remove the foam from the surface.
3.Boil until the mixture thickens for about 20 to 30 mins in a medium heat.
4.To perform the gel test, take a half chilled steel spoon full of mix and bring it to room temperature on the spoon, if it thickens up to the consistency of your choice, the jam is done. If not add little more pectin and bring it to boil for a min.
5.Remove from heat and cool for 10 mins and remove the jars from the hot water without using your hand and pour the jam and seal it and enjoy it.
A scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with this jam at its best.

“My 100th post” – Nothing special just Croutons Manchurian

2010-05-10T11:26:00.002-04:00

At last this marks my "100th post", actually I targeted to complete 100 postings within a year of my blogging but it took more than a year for me to reach here. I wanted to post something sweet for my special 100th post and waited a week for me to prepare but till now I haven’t made anything special (lazy me) but I couldn’t wait any longer to mark this mini milestone in my blog so posting this croutons manchurian.
So, we reached the 100th post with this food blog, yes I say “we” because while I do all the cooking and writing my hubby helps me with the pictures so a little credit to him.
I have been blogging for a little over a year now and I have covered most of my family favorites recipes in my blog but my hubby complains that’s there is no healthy food recipes in my blog so I have decide to concentrate more on preparing healthy dishes with lots of vegetables and fruits and doing lots of variations to the regular dish I prepare to make it look healthier. I have to honestly accept that my hubby is not the only reason for me to go the healthier way of cooking; the other strong reason is my friend Viji. Yes I met her a few days back after her India vacation that is after 5 long months , oh my goodness that girl has lost a good amount of weight and what she said the reason is like eating healthy and lots of exercise. Me doing exercise is not possible so at least I want to try eating possibly healthier like more of fruits and vegetables..…hmmm from now on you can expect more of healthy food recipes in my blog. All the credit goes to Viji if I am still with this even after a month.
Today’s post is Croutons Manchurian, a quick and tasty recipe and to make sure this is not the "so called" healthier one. I used the store brought croutons and if can make one by yourself, that’s good and try out this recipe with it. When you buy from the store, make sure you buy the plain ones, I used the flavored one and I think plain one would have tasted better.

Ingredients
Croutons – 1 packet
Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp
Garlic chopped – 1tbsp
Onion chopped finely – 2 tsp
Green Chiles – 3 finely chopped
Chili garlic sauce – 1 tsp
Soy sauce – 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup – 2 tsp
Cilantro chopped
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add onion, garlic, ginger and chilies and sauté for 5 mins. Then add chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and ketchup and add ½ a cup of water and let to boil. Now add the croutons and mix well. The croutons will absorb the sauce and will turn soft. Finish off with lots of cilantro and enjoy this quick and tasty Manchurian.

Chettinad Lamb Curry

2010-05-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

This is yet another chettinad delicacy from my kitchen. All my friends and family knew that I am very obsessed with chettinad recipes so this time my sister who took the privilege of passing on this recipe to me, I was not interested to know how she got it so I am not sure on its authenticity but I can assure you, "it’s very delicious". Anyway why bother about other stuff when it tastes excellent. Generally I adapt recipes to my taste, this is one kind of recipes I did follow faithfully and I have the taste and texture nailed down in this recipe and I doubt me trying another mutton curry recipe after tasting this one. This recipe is not too complicated and once if you try this, you’ll never go back to your own mutton curry recipe (like me). This curry is an excellent combination with idli. A plate of steaming hot idlis with mutton curry ….hmmm…. nothing can taste better than this..sorry vegetarian guys.

Ingredients
Lamb – 1 lb
Pearl onions – 15
Garlic Cloves – 10
Tomato – 1 medium
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Sambar Powder – 1 tsp
Paprika powder – 1 tsp (optional)
Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Oil – 3 tsp
Cilantro
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

To Grind
Coconut – ¼ cup
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Cardamom – 2

For Seasoning
Cloves – 5
Cinnamon – 1”
Cardamom – 3

Method
Chop the onions if you its too big. Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and when its aromatic add onions and garlic and sauté well and add the ginger garlic paste and now add the tomato and sauté until the tomato is mushy. Next add mutton/lamb and fry in slow flame for 10 mins. Add all dry powders one by one and mix well and add sufficient water and pressure-cook for 10 mins. When its done look for the consistency and add more water if needed and now add the grinded coconut paste and curry leaves and when its starts to boil turn off the flame and add cilantro generously. Enjoy!!

Puliyodhari/Puliyogere/ Tamarind Rice

2010-03-24T10:32:00.000-04:00

Its been ages since I made the tamarind rice- in an authentic way and to be honest I haven’t done it this way and the main reason is I hate this dish. At last I decided to make it as my hubby loves this and I don’t want to find an excuse for not making just because I don’t like it. Every one says this dish is so tasty and I don’t know why my taste buds always rejects this rice.
Everyone knows this is a very popular temple prasadam allover south India and many people visits temple regularly just for this but visit for sweet pongal they give at temple and sometimes they would give both and I always trade my puliyogere for pongal with whoever I go. This rice is also very popular for picnic in India but not in the trip I am organizing or at least I make sure curd rice is also there or else no picnic:-)

Ingredients for pulikachal/gravy
Tamarind – A golf ball size
Gingelly oil - ¼ Cup
Channa dhal – 2 tbsp
Roasted Peanut – 3 tbsp
Red Chilies – 3
Mustard – 1tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Asafetida
Salt to taste

For the Powder
Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
Coriander seed – 2 tsp
Fenugreek seed – ¼ tsp
Red Chilies – 2

Method
Add enough water to soak the tamarind and microwave for 2 mins and extract the juice and discard any lumps and do no add more water.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the asafetida and mustard seed and when they splutter add channa dhal and peanuts and add turmeric powder and when the channa dhal turns red add red chili and add the tamarind juice and add half of salt and remaining salt can be added while mixing with rice. Reduce the heat and cook until it becomes thick and oil floats on top. Cool and store in the refrigerator in a bottle and this will stay fresh for a month.
For the powder, just roast all the ingredients and grind to a coarse powder and store in a separate container.

For making tamarind rice
Cool the rice after cooking and rice should be separate.
Add little pulikachal with rice and mix it and sprinkle little of the powder and mix. Add salt to your taste and Enjoy with papad.

Mushroom and Pepper's Sandwich

2010-03-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

This is a very simple and delicious sandwich. This sandwich was prepared for my hubby to take to work for lunch and I had to hurry as it was getting late and you can see that in my picture, did not wait for it to even focus. This is very filling, healthy and easy to carry in a lunch box as well. Mushroom and peppers are the terrific combination I could think of for a vegan sandwich and the whole sandwich comes together very well and the taste you will really relish.

Ingredients
Bread – 4 slices
Button Mushroom – 5 chopped
Red and yellow peppers Chopped – 1 Cup
Cheese Singles – 2 (use any kind of your choice, I used provolone)
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to spread

Method

Heat oil in a pan and fry peppers till half cooked and add mushrooms and fry for couple of mins by adding salt and pepper.
Meanwhile spread the mayo and Dijon mustard on one bread slice and place the fried mushroom and peppers and top it with the cheese and close it with another bread slice.
Put the sandwich in a skillet and evenly brown over medium heat on both sides...ENJOY!!

Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup

2010-03-05T10:15:00.000-05:00

This is a flavorful creamy, cheesy and tasty broccoli soup. When I was looking online for a good broccoli soup most of the recipe was like blending all the ingredients together and making a soup of it but I wanted real broccoli chucks in my soup to enjoy the broccoli in every spoon of soup I take and this recipe I prepared the way I wanted and it tasted really good and also it is a very simple broccoli soup recipe. This is not too creamy but really very yummy. It is a very delightful appetizer one would have. This was a huge hit in my house and my hubby gobbled it down and my kids, who are not a big soup fan, enjoyed it.
I used chicken broth and if you want vegan version use vegetable broth.

Ingredients
Butter – 1tbsp
Large Broccoli head – 1 Cut to small florets
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Chicken Broth – 2 Cups
Water – 1 Cup
All Purpose flour – ¼ Cup
Cheddar Cheese – ½ Cup
Milk – 1 cup (Use any milk I used half and half)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Over a medium heat, melt butter in a large pot. Add onions and sauté till they are tender.
Add broccoli florets, chicken broth and water to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil for about 10 mins or until broccoli is tender.
Add salt and pepper.
In a small bowl mix flour with water and add to the boiling broccoli mixture.
Add the cheese and cook for another 4 to 5 mins in a reduced heat.
Add the milk and when it starts to boil turn off the heat.
While serving add little cheese on top and serve with crackers of your choice and Enjoy!!!!

Spicy Egg Masala

2010-03-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

Sometimes its becomes difficult for me to think what to cook with egg as egg being such an versatile and tastes very good however way its being cooked and goes fabulous with almost anything. At last I settled with this spicy egg masala which is easy to cook and the best. Each time I prepare I try to use different seasoning and all the time the taste is always wonderful. This recipe is very good side dish for any bland rice but I like it for biryani and its tastes even great for roti or chapati.

Ingredients
Egg – 5
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Tomato – 2 medium size finely chopped
Green Chiles – 2 finely chopped
Clove – 2
Cinnamon – ¼”
Cardamom – 1
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Chili Powder – ½ tsp
Pepper Powder – ½ tsp
Cilantro to garnish
Oil – 3 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the egg and remove the shell and cut the eggs into two haves and keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil and add the fennel seed, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. When its aromatic add the onion and sauté until it turns brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and mix and add the tomato and cook until the tomato turns mushy and if needed sprinkle water in between.
Now add all the dry masala powders other than the pepper powder and cook in a reduced flame until the raw smell is gone and add little water in between to avoid burning the masala. Last add the pepper powder.
Now add the egg and mix carefully to coat the gravy with the egg and take care not to separate the yolk and white
Add cilantro and enjoy with anything you like.

Hot Chili Chicken

2010-02-23T10:30:00.000-05:00

Here is yet another favorite hot dish of mine - chili chicken. This is not the usual Chinese style chili chicken, this kind of chili chicken is available at all the Andra style restaurant in Bangalore and they use the whole green chilies to make this dish “really spicy” and they used to be pleasantly spicy for me and I still have not found something else very tasty and that also made my eyes water like this. Suddenly I just started craving for this dish and I prepared myself remembering the taste and I would say I could nearly match more than 75% of the original taste and just enough to satisfy my lingering craving. I used the chicken for the chicken curry and really tasted good but still you can marinate the chicken and use for this recipe. Here is the recipe,

Ingredients
To marinate
Chicken – ½ lb
Yogurt – 2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste – ½ tsp
Chili powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
Salt – little

Other Ingredients
Green Chilies slit – 10 to 13 (depending on your need)
Onion – ½ of 1 Chopped very finely
Tomato – 1 finely chopped
Coriander Powder – 1 and ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1tsp
Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp
Oil – 3 tsp
Salt to taste

To Grind
Garlic – 6 Cloves
Ginger – ¾ inch
Cilantro – ½ Cup

Method
Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients and refrigerate for 1 hr.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the onion and sauté for 5 mins or until its tender.
Add the tomato and fry for few mins and add the grinded paste and mix. Add the coriander powder and mix.
Add the green chilies and mix. Now add the chicken and sprinkle little water and close and cook for 5 mins, checking in between to avoid burning.
Now open and reduced the flame and cook by mixing occasionally until the chicken is fully cooked and the dish is dry without any water.
Garnish with cilantro and enjoy as a side dish for any kind of rice.

Sweetheart Chocolate Cake

2010-02-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

This valentine Day I decided to make two separate treat for kids and for my hubby. I chose chocolate cookie for my boy as he adores chocolate a lot and my hubby doesn’t have any special interest when comes to flavor so went on with the same chocolate even for the cake. I wanted to show to my family how much they mean to me and also how much I love them with these special straight from the heart treats. To make it more romantic, I cut the cake in the heart shape with the cookie cutter and it turned out lovely to look at and my hubby was really surprised and he finished off without a speck.

Ingredients
All purpose flour - 3/4 Cup
Granulated sugar - 1/4 Cup
Packed light brown sugar - 1/4 Cup
Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 Cup
Margarine - 3 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
For Chocolate Frosting
Margarine - 1 tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 2/3 Cup
Cocoa powder - 1tbsp
Milk - 2 tsp

Method
Heat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour 8-inch square baking pan.
Stir together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
Add milk, vanilla extract and beat with whisk until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 mins or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely. Transfer to cutting board and using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut cake into 4 hearts.
Chocolate frosting:
Mix all the ingredients and whisk until smooth, adjust the milk or the sugar powder according to the consistency needed to spread on the cake.
Spread chocolate frosting on top of two hearts and place remaining two hearts on top to make two small cakes. Enjoy!!

Valentine Chocolate cookie Popsicle – A Treat of Love

2010-02-15T10:29:00.000-05:00

When talking about the Valentine’s Day my boy has not changed a bit compared to previous year. As soon as the month Feb. started, he got excited and started the count down from day one till 14th and he started wishing from as early as 12th and he even wished me “Happy Valentine’s eve” on 13th, valentine’s day is so special for him. So for such a special occasion I should give him special, not something buy from the shop, it should be made with love so I decide to surprise him with ‘chocolate cookie pop’ treat as he is a chocolate boy, I mean chocolate is his favorite. I made this treat with love especially for him and I could see how thrilled he was, not knowing what I am making and trying to peek in-between and he was totally surprised to a see cookie on a Popsicle and he loved it. My girl not knowing what’s all the excitement about acted the same way as her brother and enjoyed the cookie.

Ingredients
Butter or margarine, softened – 2/3 Cup
Granulated sugar - 1-1/4 cups
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Egg – 1
All-purpose flour - 1-1/2 cups
Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup ( I used Hershey’s)
Salt – ½ tsp
Baking soda – ¼ tsp
Popsicle sticks - 10
Pink frostings for decoration

Method
Heat oven to 350°F.
Beat butter, sugar, water and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Add egg and beat well.
Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating on low speed just until blended.
Refrigerate dough until firm enough to handle, say for 10 mins.
Roll dough into small ball and place on cookie sheet and leave enough space between the cookies as they spread while baking.
Insert wooden Popsicle stick about three quarters of the way into side of each ball. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes or until outside edges are firm and center is set.
Cool several minutes on cookie sheet. Cool completely and decorate the cookie with pink frosting as you like. Enjoy!!!

First year of Blogging

2010-02-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

I completed one year after I hit the “publish post” as a first entry on my blog and its very hard for me to believe that I made this far. I started this blog not to publish my culinary journey but just because my hubby wanted a record of my recipes so when I go on a India trip for couple of months he can follow my recipes and that’s the main reason I started and now it’s become a record for me to refer what I learned along the way. This blog has given me an opportunity to meet so many fellow bloggers. This blog has been the witness to my culinary up and downs.
Actually I planned to hit 100 posts within my first year but I could not do it and I blame myself for that. First I should thank my hubby for making me do this and my son, because of who I always explore many recipes and my girl for sparing some time of hers and allowing me to blog and my fellow foodies, for your lovely comments and awards which inspired me a lot and I thank every one of you who stepped into my blog.

Minced Chicken Wrap

2010-02-05T11:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry I took a long break in updating my blog and I have a reason for that, I was on vacation to Disney world with family and after that kids were sick one after another and I was totally immobilized and stuck with my kids and at last I made myself some time to sit and update my blog.
This delicious minced chicken is wrap is great for a snack or even as a meal itself and more over its very ideal during traveling time. I made this dish for a brunch and it is very stomach filling and kept me hunger free for a long time after having just two warps and it is also quite simple to prepare. Here is the recipe of the delicious minced chicken wrap.

Ingredients
For the Filling
Minced Chicken – 1lb
Onion – 1 very finely chopped
Tomato – 2 very finely chopped
Garlic – 5 very finely chopped
Ginger – ½” finely chopped
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1tsp
Chili Powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Egg - 1
Cilantro chopped
Salt to taste
Oil – 3 tsp

For the Tortillas
Wheat flour – 1Cup
All Purpose flour – 1 Cup
Shortening – 1 tsp (optional, even you can use oil)
Salt to taste
Water - 1 Cup

Method
For the Filling
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the fennel seeds and when they crackle, add the onion and garlic and ginger and sauté until the onion turns light brown and add the ginger garlic paste and mix well for couple of mins.
Add the tomato and cook until the tomato turns mushy and add all the dry powders one after another and mix.
Add the minced chicken and mix and close and cook until chicken is cooked and it should be very dry. Beat egg in a bowl and add to the chicken mixture and cook till its done.
Garnish with cilantro.
For the Tortillas
Mix all the ingredients under “for the tortillas” and set aside for a minimum 15 mins and make into medium ball size and roll it quite big(little bigger than chapatti) and cook in a heated griddle on both side with little oil. This will yield six tortillas. By adding the shortening makes the tortillas very soft.
Spread mayo on the tortilla, add the filling in the middle and top it with onions and cilantro and roll it and enjoy the warp.

Pesarattu/Moong dhal Dosa with Ginger Chutney

2010-01-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

Has every one watched the 'Avatar' movie??? if not please watch it soon as this is the must see movie. I watched it the second time with my boy last weekend, I can't believe my boy has grown big to accompany me for a movie and the first time we went as a family ..yes with my 18m old girl and I could not watch the movie peacefully the first time, its a wonderful movie and a woman sitting next to me kept on saying "wow" for each and every scene and its worth it.
Coming to the recipe, I would say pesarattu with ginger chuttney is the combination and if I don't set a limit say 3 or may be 4 dosas, I would ending eating countless number of dosas, I love it sooo much. The greatness of this dosa is there is NO need for fermentation so as soon as you grind it you make can dosa out of it. Lets get to the recipe of my heartthrob dish.

Pesarattu/Moong dhal Dosa

Ingredients
Green gram dhal - 1 cup
Raw Rice - 1/4 Cup
Onion - 1/2 of 1 chopped
Ginger - 1"
Green Chiles - 2
Cilantro - 1 Cup
Salt to taste

Method
Soak dhal and rice together for 6 hrs and grind to a paste in a mixie with all other ingredients and make like regular dosa and if you want you can aslo add onions in it and it would be more tastier. Enjoy with the ginger chutney.

Ginger Chutney

Ingredients
Ginger - 2"
Urad dhal - 2tsp
Channa dhal - 1tp
Mustard - 1/2tsp
Red chilies - 4
Curry Leaves - 10
Tamarind - small ball size
Jaggery - 1and 1/2tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

Method
Soak the tamarind in water for 10 mins.
Heat oil in a pan and add the fry the urad dhal and channa dhal till its turns golden brown and add the red chilies and mustard and add the curry leaves and fry for few mins. Grind these fried dhal with oil and with jaggery and ginger to a fine paste and enjoy it with pesarattu.

Mushroom and chick peas Curry and An Award

2010-01-21T10:40:00.000-05:00

I love to add mushroom in all my side dishes I make for chapatti as it is very good source of nutritional value and more over I love the taste of mushroom. This is also same kind of dish I tried by adding the mushrooms to the chickpeas and as usual it also tasted excellent and I think for me any dish with mushroom would taste great. I want my family some how they should eat mushroom at least once in a week and I make sure to do that and I try to avoid making anything in fried form using mushroom as there would be no point in taking the mushroom for what it is. This is the good side dish for chapatti and in every bite you get the taste of channa and the mushroom that's the best of all.

Ingredients
Mushroom - 1 Cup Chopped
Channa/Chick peas - 1 Cup Boiled
Bell pepper - 1/2 cup chopped
Onion - 1 chopped
Tomato - 2 Chopped
Green Chilies - 2
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Kasoori methi / dry fenugreek leaves - 2 tsp
Cilantro to garnish
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tsp

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and cumin seed and they splutter add the onion and green chiles and saute till its tender and add the ginger garlic paste and mix for a min.
Add the tomato and cook till its turns pulp and add all the dry masala powders and give a good mix and add 1 cup of water and cook cooked for 10 mins and stirring in between.
Add the mushroom,bell pepper and boiled chickpeas and mix and if needed add little water and cook until mushroom is done. Add the kasoori methi leaves and mix and garnish with lots of cilantro and remove and serve hot with chapatti and enjoy!!!

My fellow blogger Renuka Bendre Rao from http://cookingyummy.blogspot.com/ has shared this wonderful award to me and I thank her for remembering me for this.

Its no good if I keep this award all by my self so I love to share this with ,

Ashkuku from http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/
Latha from http://flourishyourflavour.blogspot.com/
Rohini from http://curriesandspices.blogspot.com/
Muraligeetham from http://ruchibhedangal.blogspot.com/
Babli from http://khanamasala.blogspot.com/

Please kindly accept this.

Spicy Shrimp/Prawn Curry

2010-01-19T10:09:00.000-05:00

This is one of the easiest and tastiest shrimp curry ever. Shrimp is one favorite food of my boy and he likes different variety of dishes prepared with shrimp so I have to keep trying out new dishes with it by making changes with the ingredients and even a little variation to the same dishes he likes a lot but this dish turned out to be little spicy than I expected so he did not like this dish L but he did like it to eat with dosa, this is a excellent dish when eaten with rice and I really enjoyed every mouth of it with rice. This is very simple to make and I bet every one of you will sure love this dish.

Ingredients
Shrimp – ½ lb
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Tomato – 2 finely chopped
Tomato paste – 1 tsp (optional)
Green chilies – 2 slit
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Chili powder – 1 tsp
Cloves – 3
Cardamom – 3
Cinnamon – ½”
Salt to taste
Cilanto to garnish
Oil – 3tsp

Method
Clean and de-vein the shrimp and set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the clove, cardamom and cinnamon and when its aromatic add the onion and fry till it turns brown and add the green chilies and ginger garlic paste and fry.
Add all the dry powders one by one and mix and add the tomato and cook until tomato turns to pulp by adding little water to it.
Now add the tomato paste and mix and add shrimp and give a good mix and add 1 and ½ cups of water and close and cook in a reduced flame for 10 mins or until the curry like consistency is reached and garnish with cilantro.
Serve hot with rice and enjoy!!!

Bhindi/Okra Masala

2010-01-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

This is another one recipe I got from cleaning my old crap. I don’t remember taking drown this recipe and also never tried this recipe before, might have forgotten completely about it but actually this dish tasted really good when I prepared and it’s a very good combo for chapati. This is a totally dry dish and I was not sure whether everyone in my family would like it so I have to make another dish to be on safer side but surprisingly everyone liked it.

Ingredients
Bhindi/okra – 1lb cut lengthwise
Onion – 1 chopped
Tomato – 2 mediums chopped
Green Chilies – 2 slit
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Bay leaf – 1
Clove - 2
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Chili powder – ½ tsp
Amchur powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1tsp
Ginger garlic – 1 tsp
Oil
Salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Method
In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and fry the okra until its cooked and turns light brown in color and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, clove and bay leaf and when its aromatic add onion and green chilies and sauté well.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for few seconds and add tomato and cook till tomato are mushy and now add all the dry ingredients leaving garam masala and cook.
Now add the fried okra and mix well to coat with the masala and finish it of by adding the garam masala and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy with roti, naan or chapatti.

Chettinad Chicken Curry

2010-01-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

I am very obsessed with the word “chettinad”, to me they are very tasty and really spicy to eat and they are the best. Any restaurant or any food with a chettinad tag to it drives my attention and every one can guess I gonna order only that. I lived in Chennai for a very short period of only six months and within that short time I had visited almost all of the chettinad restaurant there. Not just visiting restaurant, if anyone says I have the authentic chettinad recipes I waste no time to take the recipe from them. This recipe I got it from internet long time ago that’s before I started blogging and during my transit from Illinois to North Carolina I misplaced it, though I have prepared this recipe many times, its always difficult for me to remember all the ingredients and more over the method of cooking is what adds the taste to it and I also have no idea from which site I got this recipe, so didn’t get a chance to prepare it until now during these holidays while cleaning my old crap I got this recipe back and I was so much delighted and prepared it the following Sunday and relished it so much. I actually made for breakfast, as a side dish for idli and every one loved it, especially my boy who always prefers dosa for idli, loved idli with this chicken curry.

Ingredients
Whole cut chicken – 1lb
Pearl onion/sambar onion – 15
Tomato – 2 chopped
Garlic – 10 cloves
Green Chilies – 2 slit
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Cilantro to garnish
Oil – 4 tsp
Salt to taste
To marinate
Yogurt – 2tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2-½ tsp
Chili powder – 1tsp (use to your taste)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt
To Grind
Coconut – 3 tsp
Poppy seeds – 2 tsp
Fennel seeds – 1tsp
Seasoning
Cloves – 5
Cinnamon – 1inch
Cardamom – 2
Fennel seeds – 1tsp
Pepper Corns – 1tsp
Curry leaves - 5

Method
Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients under 'to marinate' and set aside for minimum half an hour.
Dry roast poppy seeds and soak in hot water for 5 mins and grind with coconut and fennel seeds.
In a big pan, heat oil and add all the ingredients under 'seasoning', one by one and when its aromatic add onion, garlic and green chilies and sauté for 5 mins and add the tomato and fry till tomato is soft and mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and mix well and add the marinated chicken and mix and add little water or as much water depending on the consistency to need and cook closed until the chicken is cooked well.
Add the coconut paste and cook for just 5 mins and garnish with lots of cilantro.
Enjoy it with rice.

Crackers with toppings – A chaat dish

2010-01-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

In Bangalore, one of the most crowded place I would say is the chaat shop, there is one such shop I am aware of is the Calcutta chaat shop at koramangala area and if happen to visit that chaat shop in one fine evening, you would be surpurised to see the place flooded with people and you have to wait for a long time to place your order and I would say its worth all the wait, they serve the best chaat there and even now my tongue tickles when I just think of their dishes….wow awesome. The recipe today is the toppings I made is good as such or can be served as a topping for crackers or even with chaat poori. I served mine with the multi grain cracker made especially for serving with toppings and it tasted really wonderful and I am sure this is a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients
For topping
Frozen peas – 1cup
Boiled potato – 1 Chopped to small cubes
Green Chiles – 2 slit
Onion – 1 medium finely chopped
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Chaat Masala – ½ tsp
Cilantro
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste

For Serving
Crackers of your choice
Chaat tamarind sauce
Yogurt
Chopped tomato - 1
Sev

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the onion till cooked and then add the green chilies and sauté for few mins.
Add the green peas and cook until its soft.
Add the masala powders and keep mixing to avoid burning of the masala powders.
Add the potato and mix well and now finish it of by adding chopped cilantro and make sure add liberally and this gives a wonderful aroma and taste in each bite.
While serving, place the crackers in a serving plate and in each cracker put a spoon full of peas topping on it and top it with yogurt, little tamarind sauce, tomato and sev. This is a wonderful chaat to enjoy.

Chicken Malai Kabab

2010-01-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

I am back from my holidays, had a wonderful vacation at Myrtle Beach so still not able to come over from that mood. This recipe was lying in my draft for quite a long time and since I didn’t prepare anything new to post, I am taking this opportunity to post my old recipe. I prepared this dish on my hubby’s office grill out get together, where most of them were American and I made it less spicy and more cheesier to suit them and surprisingly this dish turned out to a huge hit among them, so if have any American family coming over your house sure this dish is gonna make them drool. This recipe is taken from the vahrehvah website and I am sure many would be familiar with this recipe but still I am posting for those who haven’t tried. Here is the recipe ..

Ingredients
Boneless Chicken Breast – 1lb Cut to a desired size cubes
Mozzarella Cheese – 1 Cup
Cream – 3 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste – 2tsp
Meat Tenderizer – 2 tsp (optional)
Cardamom powder – 1tsp
Pepper and salt to taste
Green Chilies – 3
Cilantro – ½ cup
Wooden Skewer – 3 (soak in water for min 30mins)

Method
Pat dry the chicken with a kitchen towel and cut to cubes and marinate with ginger garlic paste, meat tenderizer, salt, pepper and cardamom powder and keep refrigerated for 1 hour.
Grind green chilies and cilantro to a coarse paste and mix with the chicken.
Mix cheese and cream and add the chicken and marinate for 2 hrs.
Pre heat oven to 400*F
Put the chicken in the skewer and place in a oven safe bowl and place it the oven for 10 mins on both the side and now turn the oven to broil mode and cook till the chicken turns brown on both the sides. Serve with some mint chutney and Enjoy!!!

I got a award from Ashkuku and thanks dear for passing on to me ....

Gooey Chocolate Cookie and Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

This is the recipe of food network chef Paula Deen and I followed the exact way it says and this one is really wonderful dessert. My boy is not a frosting lover but he loves chocolate cake and this one is for him the way he likes the chocolate cake and to add more, its gooey which also he likes. When I first said just the name of the recipe to him, he was full of excitement and he could not wait and he wanted me to make it immediately. The recipe goes like we got mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hrs for make it little harder and in that 3 hrs my boy would have opened the fridge and checked on the dough for nearly 20 times, telling me its harden enough to bake …hmmm he loves chocolate soo much. For me nothing can make me happier than watching my kids enjoying the food what I prepare and I got that happiness in this recipe. Just two days it’s all finished not a single speck is left and now he wants more and started asking me to bake again.

Ingredients
Chocolate cake mix – 1 packet (use any kind of chocolate cake)
Cream Cheese – 1 packet / 8 oz
Butter – 1 stick (room temperature)
Vanilla essence – 1tsp
Egg – 1
Powdered sugar – 1 cup

Method
Mix cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer or power mixer.
Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix.
Add the whole packet of chocolate cake mix and mix and this will hard dough and don’t add any of water or milk to it.
Refrigerate this mixture for 2 to 3 hrs.
Pre-heat oven to 350*F
Once the dough is harden enough, roll them to small balls and coat them with the powdered sugar and place in the cookie sheet and bake them for 10 mins in the oven.
That’s it the tasty and yummy gooey chocolate cookie is ready. It will be harder outside and gooey inside. Enjoy!!

Happy Holiday to all !!!

Priya from http://recipes-priya.blogspot.com/ has passed on this award to me and I would like to share this with all my fellow bloggers, please everyone collect it.

Spicy Orange Chicken

2009-12-21T12:31:00.000-05:00

Everyone who lives in America should be familiar with this Chinese-American orange chicken commonly found at Chinese fast food restaurants. What makes this dish so special is the combination of orange flavor and the sweetness. I choose to make this orange chicken in my kitchen for its flavor but I made it more spicy with little sweetness and this is the Indo-Chinese-American version of orange chicken. For the orange flavor I replaced orange peel (zest) for orange juice just for no reason and I felt juice is better than zest and if you wish, you could very well use the orange peel and remember that you have to soak the zest in water for half an hour before using it. The both spiciness and sweetness made this dish really awesome so please don’t consider adding sugar or brown sugar as optional, I would say it is the secret ingredient which adds more flavor and taste to the dish.

Ingredient
For marinating
Boneless Chicken – 1lb
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Soy sauce – 1tsp
Vinegar – 1tsp
Cornstarch – 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients
Carrot and Bell pepper – 1 cup
Onion – ½ of one chopped
Ginger Chopped – 1 tsp
Garlic Chopped – 2tsp
Orange juice – 1/3 Cup
Ketchup – 1tsp
Chili Garlic sauce – 2 tsp (add according to your taste)
Brown Sugar to taste
Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Vinegar – 1tsp
Cornstarch – 1tsp mix with water
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Oil to deep fry the chicken

Method
Marinate the chicken with the ingredients under 'for marinating' and keep refrigerated for minimum 1 hr and deep fry in oil and transfer to the kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan or wok and garlic and ginger and fry till aromatic and add onion and all the veggies and fry for few mins and add the orange juice with little water and add the chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and salt and pepper and cook for 5 mins. Add the brown sugar and ketchup and mix and add the chicken pieces and cook if you want the gravy to be thick add the cornstarch water or just to your desired consistency. Enjoy with white rice or fried rice.

Note: Increase or decrease the amount brown sugar depending on the sweetness you need.

Keema Paratha

2009-12-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness!!! All these days I never knew that the keema paratha would taste so delicious. I have heard of people making keema paratha but I didn’t show any interest in it because as I said earlier lamb or goat meat is not my family’s favorite so never took a chance to try before and I don’t know how I ended up doing it and really tasted excellent and I regret now for not trying all these days. I usually make curry with keema for chapatti and as usual I planned to prepare that but all of a sudden I just thought why not stuff this time and still had a fear whether the stuffing is ooze out as keema is not a very smooth compared to potato stuffing but some how I gave a try and really came out good like without oozing out. I am posting the way I prepared the keema stuffing but you can also prepare the keema the way you like but only thing you should remember is it should be completely dry or else the stuffing’s would make the dough too soggy and it would tear while rolling and all the stuffing’s will ooze out and that would be a total messy. Here is the recipe for keema paratha.

Ingredients
Keema/minced meat – 1 lb
Onion – 1 finely chopped
Tomato – 1 finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1tsp
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Chapatti dough

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and onion and sauté till tender and add the tomato and fry for few mins and add the ginger garlic paste and fry and add the minced meat and mix well and add the all the dry powders and add little water and close and cooked until its done and still cook with open lid until its completely dry and note minced meat can cook fast.
Take a small size dough and roll to a small round and place a table spoon full of keema in the middle and bring all the ends together and close and roll with care to a paratha and cook in a heated griddle on both side with little oil or ghee. This would taste great by itself or eat with curd and enjoy!!

Crispy Oven fried Chicken

2009-12-15T09:59:00.000-05:00

Every one like crispy and fried chicken but this crispy oven fried chicken is delicious and much healthier version than the traditional deep-fried one. This heart healthy fried chicken is quite easy to prepare and tastes better and kids would love to eat and we can too eat as many with guilt free. This dish takes absolutely no oil other than the non-stick cooking spray I sprayed over the chicken. Since this is the healthier version I even removed the skin, which contains more fat, and still it will be crispy and fabulous. You can use any part of the chicken you like and I used chicken drumstick, that’s my boy’s favorite. This chicken would be crispy outside and juicy inside.

Ingredients
Chicken drumstick – 4
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Chili powder – 1 and 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Honey – 1 tsp
Panko Japanese style breadcrumbs – 1 cup
Egg – 1
All purpose flour – 2 tsp
Parmesan cheese – 2 tsp (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Non-stick cooking spray

Method
Remove the skin from the chicken and soak in a bowl of water adding ½ tsp of chili powder, salt and lemon juice and refrigerate for at least minimum 3 hrs.
Preheat oven to 350*F
In a bowl beat egg and mix with it ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp chili powder, flour, honey and salt.
In a plate mix the panko breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese and ½ tsp of chili powder.
Drop the chicken in the egg mix and coat well and dip in the breadcrumbs and evenly coat the chicken with it and place in a cookie sheet after spraying the non-stick spray.
Repeat this for all the chicken pieces and spray the cooking spray on the chicken and cook in the oven for 40 mins. Enjoy the healthier crispy oven fired chicken.

Fun with Poori

2009-12-13T20:29:00.002-05:00

I know what you are thinking, what kind of fun I would have had with poori, you are right I didn’t have any fun it was my kids you had fun with poori the reason was the shapes of the poori. My boy likes different kinds of shapes even for dosa, usually he prefers Sponge bob and Patrick shape (two characters from Sponge bob cartoon) and that one I never found any difficult in doing but he asks for different shape in poori too, its quite not easy to make but some how I do it but not to perfection and my boy starts complaining and its always tough for me whenever I make poori. And now he eats poori with lots of fun and happy for me too and this happened after I bought the cookie cutter and using it for making different shapes with poori and my kids having lots of fun while eating poori. So if you have kids who likes or prefer eating like that and even if you don’t have any intension of making cookie its worth buying them and you can see to yourself how happy they would be to eat a dinosaur or any shape in that matter. In the picture you can see the few shapes I made or I was asked to make with the cookie cutter.

Stuffed Brinjal Curry

2009-12-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

This is an Andra's popular dish and its called "Gutti Vankaya Currry" and every one seems have their own version for this recipe. Each of my friends use different ingredients for the same recipe, I dunno which of it is the traditional, any way what every one do in common is grind all the ingredients and stuff to the brinjal..ha ha. I follow the way we used to cook this dish for many years at home and I am sticking to it and every one loves that way, may be some day I might also try my other friend’s version too. Whenever I see the small brinjal in the Indian store, I make sure to get as I love this stuffed brinjal a lot, for past one month I couldn’t go to Indian store, my hubby who goes never brings this small brinjal, he gets only the big one and this time I was very specific to get the small one and as he did, here I am with the recipe of my favorite dish.

Ingredients

Small Brinjal - 8

Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp

Onion - half of one full onion , chopped

Tomato - 1 medium chopped

Cinnamon - 1/2" stick

Garlic - 4 cloves

Coconut - 2tsp

Whole red chili - 3

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tamarind Paste - 3/4 tsp ( I used the tamarind concentrate)

Jaggery - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 5

Oil - 3 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Dry roast the sesame seeds until it turn golden color and set aside. Fry onion, garlic, red chili, cinnamon, tomato and coconut in a pan with 1tsp of oil until onion and tomato become soft. Grind this along with sesame seeds, and other ingredients other than oil to a smooth paste.

Cut the stem of the all the brinjal and retain the crown, make a '+' cut on the other end of brinjal and dont make it into two halves just a slit is fine. Stuff the grinded masala into the each brinjals.

Heat oil in a skillet and place the brinjal in the skillet and cook until you see wrinkles on them. Now pour the remaining masalas and cook covered until the gravy thickens. Serve hot with rice and Enjoy!!!!

Elephant Yam/Senai kizhangu Vada

2009-12-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

Elephant yam or senai kizhangu or suran in hindi is one great veggie which tastes awesome but yam just reminds me of the strong itching they causes after cutting them and all these days I never had courage to cook them in my kitchen, but applying the coconut oil in hands would avoid the itchiness still I couldn’t and at last somehow I gathered some courage and cooked it but I didn’t apply oil, I used latex glove and it was far better than oil and it worked wonderfully , no itch at all, thank god.
Making vada using yam is the best recipe I could think of with yam, it is so tasty and whoever tastes this would easily mistake them to a lamb keema vada and is its true is tastes exactly like that. Usually I have seen people making curry or porial with yam/suran and I think this recipe would be different and interesting to you all.
Always remember to take all kind of precaution before chopping to avoid the itchiness, it would be great if you get frozen yam at your Indian store, better use that and you can avoid the itchiness I guess, never used one. Here is the recipe for elephant yam vada,

Ingredients
Elephant Yam Grated – 2 Cups (wear glove or rub coconut oil in hands)
Roasted gram – ¼ Cup
Green chilies – 3
Ginger – ½”
Garlic – 5 cloves
Onion – half of one chopped
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – ½”
Coconut – 2 tsp
Fennel seed – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Cilantro
Breadcrumbs – 3 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Grind all the ingredients other than elephant yam and breadcrumbs to a coarse paste and mix with the grated yam and note that if your yam is little watery after grating, just squeeze out the water and mix with the grinded paste and if is still not thick enough or when you fry and if it is too oily add the breadcrumbs and fry it, that also adds more crispiness to vada. Make small flat round with it and deep fry in oil until it is brown on both side and transfer to the kitchen paper to drain the excess oil. Enjoy it!!!

Streusel Topped Pumpkin pie

2009-12-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

I made this pumpkin pie for our thanksgiving feast, first of all I had no intension of celebrating thanksgiving but my son said we should have a special meal on thanksgiving day but I tried to convince him that its not our tradition but he replied once we are here in US, we got to follow their tradition too and I had nothing to say rather than agreeing with him and that’s how I ended up making a special feast on thanksgiving day but I refused to make turkey and substituted with smaller bird chicken and made it the Indian tandoor way and I also made mashed potato, gravy, baked an Italian bun and steam cooked plain sweet peas and one food that really stood out is the pumpkin pie.
This the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted (I haven’t tasted any before), I made this for the first time and I got the recipe from the ehow.com website and once again I say baking is always easy and comes out good if follow the exact measurement and it that case this recipe was a great success. My hubby loved it and he almost licked his spoon. Streusel is a kind of crumb topping made with some nuts that goes on top of the pumpkin pie, which gives a wonderful twist to the taste.

Ingredients
Pumpkin Puree – 1 can
Sweetened condensed milk – 1 can
Pie Crust – 1
Egg – 2
Ground Cinnamon – 1 tsp
Ground Nutmeg – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp

For streusel topping
Brown Sugar – ¼ Cup
All purpose flour – 2 tsp
Walnut or pecan – ½ Cup chopped
Butter – 2 tbsp
Ground Cinnamon – 1tsp

Method
Pre-heat Oven to 425*F
Separate yolk and white.
In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs yolk, spices, and salt and blend well.
In a separate bowl, beat well the egg white until you get a stiff peak and fold the egg white into the pumpkin mixture. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and place the crust on the cookie pan and bake in the oven for 15 mins.
For streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour, walnut or pecan, cinnamon and butter, note that butter should be used directly from fridge not melted, use your hands to mash the butter and mix with all ingredients.
After pie is baked for 15 mins, reduce the oven temp to 350*F .
Top the pie with the streusel and bake in the oven again for 40 mins.
Cool for 1 hour and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving, serve with whipped cream.

Kanchipuram Idli

2009-12-02T09:52:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why it is called by this name, might be popular in kanchipuram? I know kanchipuram is only famous for temples and silk saree but idli?? I really don't know. The only time I had this idli is at my sisters place and I never ever got a chance to have after that and this idli is totally different from the regular one, first by its shape they use a different mould for that and to my surprise my sister has got that and the second is little spice like pepper and cumin is added to the batter.
One day just a thought of this idli flashed my mind and remembered my sister and immediately I got the recipe from her and here I am posting the recipe of this idli, which I relished. I was told this idli stays good for couple of days and best food during traveling. Coconut chutney is the best combo for this but my boy doesn’t like that so I made tomato chutney and it was really awesome, I will soon post the recipe for tomato chutney. Now here is the recipe for kanchipuram idli…

Ingredients
Raw rice – 1 Cup
Idli Rice – 1 Cup
Urad dhal – 1 cup
Curd /Yogurt – ½ Cup
Black Pepper – 1 tsp
Cumin Seed/Jeera – 1tsp
Ginger – 1”
Curry leaves – 4
Salt to taste

Method
Soak rice and urad dhal separately for 3 hours and grind them separately and note that rice need not be too smooth, little coarse is good for this recipe and add salt and mix them and set to ferment for 8 hrs.
When you are ready to make idli, grind together the pepper, cumin, ginger, curry leaves and add to the idli batter along with the curd and mix well and make like the regular idli and enjoy with the chutney of your choice.

Easy ways to cure acidity

2009-11-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

I came across this article at timesofindia website and it was quite intersting and useful one for me so I thought why not share this with you all as everyone at some point or other might have suffered from this problem and it might be useful to you all and if you havn't read it already here it is ....

Acidity occurs when there is excess secretion of acids in the gastric glands of the stomach. When the secretion is more than usual, we feel, what is commonly known as heartburn, which is normally triggered off by consumption of spicy foods. Here are some home remedies to cure acidity...

- Skip the aerated drinks as well as the caffeine
- Have a glass of lukewarm water everyday.
- Include banana, watermelon and cucumber in your daily diet. Watermelon juice is great for curing acidity.
- Tender Coconut water is known to soothe the system if you suffer from acidity.
- Drink a glass of milk - everyday.
- Have your last meal at least two to three hours before you hit the sack.
- Keeping long intervals between meals is another cause for acidity. Have small but regular meals.
- Try to avoid pickles, spicy chutneys, vinegar, etc.
- Boil some mint leaves in water and have a glass of this after meals.
- Sucking on a piece of clove is another effective remedy.
- Jaggery, lemon, banana, almonds and yogurt are all known to give you instant relief from acidity.
- Excessive smoking and drinking will increase acidity, so cut down.
- Try chewing gum. The saliva generated helps move food through the esophagus, easing symptoms of heartburn.
- Ginger aids in digestion. Either buy powdered ginger in capsule forms or add the herb to your recipes.
- A simple preparation of lemon water with sugar can be sipped on an hour before lunch to reduce uneasiness.
- Have vegetables like drumsticks, beans, pumpkin, cabbage, carrot and spring onions.

Sugar Cookie with icing

2009-11-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

Of course, who would say “No” to cookies, such a delicious snack for any age and especially when they are baked at home. Baking the cookies at home is always fun and easy if you know the exact measurement and by using the proper tools and ingredients. While making this sugar cookie I little messed up the measurement and the dough which is suppose to be very smooth turned out very sticky and I had to add more flour to make it up and surprisingly the cookies came out really good. My boy had real fun in adding the sprinklers to the icing on the cookie and I suggest every one should try this recipe.

Ingredients
For Cookie
All Purpose Flour - 2 ½ Cups
Margarine – 1 Cup
Sugar – 1 Cup
Egg – 2
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Cream of tartar – 2 tsp
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp

For Icing
Butter – 4 tbsp
Confectionery Sugar – 1 Cup
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Milk – 2 tsp
Sprinkler

Method
Oven temperature – 350*F, Baking Time – 8 to 10 mins
In a mixing bowl, beat egg and add sugar and margarine and mix well.
Add flour, baking powder, tartar, salt and vanilla extract and mix well to a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a clean flat surface and roll the dough with a rolling pin to a ¼ inch thick and keep dusting the rolling pin and work surface slightly with flour, if necessary, to prevent sticking and cut to your favorite shape of your choice using cookie cutter and transfer to the baking sheet and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350* F for 8 to 10 mins in batches.

For Icing
The butter should be at the room temperature before mixing. Combine butter, sugar, milk and vanilla extract, this recipe is very flexible, if you feel its too watery add the flour and if you feel too thick add milk and bring to the consistency that would allow you to spread on the cookies and decorate the cookie and put the sprinkler on the top.
Enjoy the delicious cookies.

Chettinad Pepper Chicken

2009-11-24T10:33:00.003-05:00

No introduction is needed for chettinad cuisine as it is a widely popular for its well-known spicy taste and you can get thousands of hits when you google for this dish and its always difficult to find the correct authentic way of preparing this chettinad dishes unless someone from that region tells us what the exact recipe is and this dish is one such recipe passed on to me by my friend and very special thanks to her.
Chettinad dishes are incomplete without garlic and pepper and in this dish pepper being the main ingredient, there is no need to mention the fiery taste is what that makes dish more special and simply very delicious. Always use the freshly grounded pepper for this dish to get the original wonderful flavor.

Ingredient
Chicken – 1 lb
Onion - 1 chopped finely
Tomato – 2 medium chopped
Curry Leaves – 10
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Pepper Powder – 3 tsp (freshly crushed)
Cumin Powder – 1tsp
Garlic – 3 cloves chopped
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Whole garam masala – cloves – 3, cinnamon – 1”, cardamom – 2
Salt to taste
Oil – 4tsp

Method
Heat oil in a pan and add the whole garam masala and when you get the good fragrance from it add the garlic and onion and sauté for few mins and add the ginger garlic paste and mix well and add chopped tomato and fry till the oil separates from it and add the curry leaves and all the dry masalas and add the chicken and add some water and close and cook for 10 mins, stirring in between and if needed splash little water to avoid burning. When removing from stove, add a addition half tsp of pepper powder and mix and add the chopped cilantro. This dish goes very well with sambar rice, or plain curd rice and enjoy!!!

Chicken Sandwich - A Hubby Way

2009-11-22T12:48:00.002-05:00

Though I have passion for cooking and I strongly believe that we can share the love of life through cooking as it feeds the soul, both who cooks and also who eats. But sometime I feel bored and frustrated of the same cooking which I love to do for all day and I want someone to cook for me and I eat. If I was in India I can go around to relatives house or just say at mothers house for 10 days and I get to sit and do only eating, I feel it would be a kind of refreshment but unfortunately or fortunately I am living here in US that makes me eligible to cook for all 365 days. Sometimes my hubby understands my feelings and he insists on cooking for me, though he doesn't know how to cook but his intension is what I appreciate and this chicken sandwich is one such dish he prepared for me and this was a excellent chicken sandwich I would have tasted. He got this recipe from some cook book and it was very tasty and I wish he cooks more often like this me...ha ha....I know next time he would purposely gonna spoil it....

Ingredinets
Boneless Chicken Breast halves - 2
All Purpose Flour - 3 tbsp
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mushroom Chopped - 1/2 Cup
French Onion Soup - 1 tin
Sandwich Bun - 2
Cheese Singles - 2
Garlic Chopped - 1tsp
Olive Oil - 3 tsp

Method
Mix salt and pepper to the flour and coat the chicken with the flour on both the side and fry in a pan with 2 tsp of oil until its cooked and nice brown on both sides and set aside.
In the same pan, add garlic and fry for few secs and add chopped mushroom and cook until its soft and add the french onion soup and allow to boil.
Now add the cooked chicken and make sure chicken is well coated with the soup.
Roast the bun in a skillet or in oven until its crisp.
Place the cheese slice on the bun and place the chicken on it and top it with mushroom and chose the bun and enjoy the wonderful sandwich.

Mooli / Radish paratha

2009-11-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

Stuffed paratha always reminds me of Bangalore, there are plenty of small paratha stalls in Bangalore where they serve different varieties of stuffed parathas. Me and my sister- n-law make sure to go on all friday evenings to one such paratha stall and eat all our favorite parathas, actually the paratha size is not too big and we can easily eat 3 to 4 parathas. Of all the stuffed paratha, mooli is my second favorite to aloo paratha. I get tempted when ever I the see the mooli paratha in a restaurant menu. Here in US I don't get to eat much of mooli paratha in the restaurant so I end up making this dish myself at home. Making perfect round paratha without the stuffing oozing out is an art. You can't make it perfect for the first time but after many practice you can master this art. I am still learning this art. Here is the recipe of this mooli paratha.

Ingredients

For Stuffing

Mooli/Radish - 1 big
Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 2 tsp chopped
Salt to taste
For Dough
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Water - 1 cup
Oil for making the mooli paratha

Method
Sieve the wheat flour and salt. Add water and knead to soft dough. Cover and keep aside. Peel and grate the radish and squeeze out all the water.
Heat the pan and fry the radish for some time and add the ingredients and fry for sometime until the raw flavour is gone.
Take a lemon sized dough and roll to a small round say 4 inch in diameter and place 2 to 3 teaspoon of fillings in the center and cover and seal the ends and roll again gently to a thick round paratha.
In a hot griddle cook the paratha on both side until golden brown using little oil on both sides. Serve hot with tomato fry or just yogurt and pickle. Refer my earlier posting for tomato fry recipe.

Lemon Soufflé

2009-11-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

Soufflé is a light and fluffy French cake made basically with combining egg yolk and beaten egg whites with other ingredients.
I can't believe I making a dish from a food network channel, usually I think they make only fancy foods, which is very far from my reach, but this one I felt very interesting and quite easy for a amateur baker like me and not to my surprise this dish also came out really good. I used lemon juice and lemon zest (grated lemon skin) hoping it would give a nice fresh taste and it did actually but only disappointment is that my boy didn’t like the lemon flavor and said its very lemony, promised him will do chocolate version next time.

Ingredients
Freshly squeezed Lemon juice – ¼ Cup
Lemon Zest – 1 tsp (Grated outer lemon skin)
Eggs – 2 (Separated)
Milk – 2/3 Cup
Flour – ¼ Cup
Sugar – 2/3 Cup
Salt – ¼ tsp
For Baking You’ll Need
Ramekin or Soufflé bowl or I used small cake pan - 3 or 4
Big rectangular Cake pan just in a size to fit the small cake pans

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350*F. Boil 3 Cups of water.
Separate egg yolk from egg white and make sure not even a single drop of yolk falls in the white, if so repeat the process again.
Combine egg yolk, milk, juice, zest, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the flour and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until you get a stiff peak, better to use a power mixer.
Add the egg white to the yolk mixer and fold slowly, don’t mix it as it would loose all the aeration in the white.
Butter the soufflé bowl and add the sugar and coat evenly by rotating the bowl slowly and repeat this for all the bowls.
Pour the mixture evenly on all the bowls and this is not gonna raise.
Fill half way of the big cake pan with hot water and place the soufflé bowl in the water.
Bake for 30 mins or until the top turns light golden brown.
When done, allow to cool down and gently invert into a plate and enjoy..

Mint Flavored Delicious Fish Fry

2009-11-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Fish fry is a very popular dish all over India, especially in Kerala, a beautiful state famous for its backwater and lots of coconut trees and not to forget Kerala is one of the a great place for honeymoon.
I still remember a trip to a dam(forgot the name) from my school in Tamilnadu where you get to see people fry and sell the freshly caught fish everywhere neat the dam and you get nice fish fry smell(feel sorry for who hates fish), the one which you can’t avoid but I didn’t get a chance to eat one that time, later when we went to Okanakal dam with my family, I got a chance to eat it and it tasted good.
This fish fry is different to the usual one, I used mint and cilantro and it added more fragrance to the fish and it tastes really good. Looking at the picture don’t conclude I burned my fish, its just the bright green color looks like burned, sorry about that.

Ingredients
Tilapia Fish Fillets – 4
Ginger – ½ “
Garlic – 3
Mint and Cilantro – 1Cup
Curry Leaves - 4
Coconut – 1 tsp
Green Chilies – 3
Lemon Juice – 2 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to fry (I used Coconut oil)

Method
Grind all the masalas and marinate the fish in that and set aside for minimum 2 hrs. Shallow fry the fish I until its roasted on both the sides. Enjoy!!

Tomato Dhal

2009-11-15T13:41:00.000-05:00

This is very very simple and yet very satisfying dish. Tastes heavenly when eaten with rice and a papad but I always prefer eating with a spicy fish fry ..hmmm ..yummy.This is my girl's favorite food, she likes it with lots of ghee in it and it always happens that she won’t eat the entire plate of hers and I don’t like wasting this yummy dish.. so I end up eating the remaining food …that’s how I put on weight….can't help. Okay lets get to this simple recipe of tomato dhal.

Ingredients
Toor dhal – ½ cup
Tomato – 3 medium chopped
Garlic – 3 chopped
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Seasoning
Mustard – ½ tsp
Cumin / Jeera – ½ tsp
Garlic – 2 chopped
Curry leaves – 6
Whole red chili – 3
Ghee – 2 tsp

Method
Pressure cook dhal with tomato, garlic, turmeric and salt and mash them well.
Season it with mustard, jeera, garlic, red chili and curry leaves in ghee. Serve hot with rice..

Shrimp/Prawn Gravy

2009-11-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

When I want to cook only for me and it should be simple and tasty I always prefer cooking shrimp, shrimp is always a magical dish, which cooks fast. This dish takes no more than 30 mins and I have made this dish numerous times. Shrimp is one dish which tastes always great however cooked provided if you like shrimp. This dish is cooked in a wonderful onion and tomato sauce with all the spices. This is a great combination for rice.

Ingredients

Shrimp - 2 cups

Tomato - 2 chopped
Onion - 1 chopped
Ginger - 1/2"

Garlic - 4 cloves

Green Chilies - 3

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 2tsp
Oil - 3 tsp

Red food color - Optional

Salt to taste

Method

Fry onion , tomato, ginger, garlic and green chiles in 1 tsp of oil in a pan for 5 mins and grind to a fine paste. In a pan heat 2 tsp of oil and fry the grounded paste for few mins and add all the dry masala powders and add the shrimp and cook till the gravy thicken to your desired consistency. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with rice.

Potato N Mushroom Curry

2009-11-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

When you are in need of a easy and tasty recipes for a side dish to please your family member, this is it Potato N mushroom curry. Vegetable dishes are a nutritious way to our family feast. A combination of heart mushroom, everyone favorite potato and some green peas made this dish look and taste is so luscious. Nothing satisfies like mushroom and potato and this great dish with all the spices raises to a new height of taste.

Ingredients
Potato – 1 big cubed to small bite size pieces
Mushroom Chopped – 2 cups
Peas – 1 Cup
Onion – 1 chopped
Ginger Garlic Paste – 2tsp
Tomato Puree – ½ cup or use 2 tomato
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
Dry Mint leaves – 2 tsp
Cream – 2 tsp (Optional)
Oil – 2tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a non – stick pan and add the onion and sauté for few mins.
Add the potato and mix well and add ginger garlic paste and mix well, add some water and cook for 10 mins.
Now add all the dry ingredients except the mint leaves and give a nice mix.
Add the chopped mushroom and peas and the tomato puree and cook in a low flame, add water if needed.
Add the mint leaves and cook until all the veggies are cooked. Add cream and remove and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with chapati.

Warm Up With Hot N Sweet Vegtable Soup

2009-11-11T11:35:00.000-05:00

It was very lazy day yesterday as it was raining all day and nothing can comfort than a nice hot soup on rainy day and even more better when u have cold. Yesterday dinner was totally chinese, vegetable noodles and this hot and sweet soup. I'm fairly certain that everyone enjoyed their dinner including my little girl. Its been a while since I made this soup and when I made yesterday it tasted heavenly.
My girl refused to have the food I made for her and she wanted only the spicy noodles and she didn't have much of this soup as it was too spicy for her.

Ingredients
Vegetable Broth - 1 tin (chicken broth can also be used)
Cream style corn - 1 tin
Mixed vegetable - 1 cup very finley chopped ( I used carrot, beans, cabbage)
Soy Sauce - 1 tsp
Chili Garlic Sauce - 1 tsp
Ginger chopped - 1tsp
Garlic chopped - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 2 tsp
Oil - 1tsp
Corn Flour - 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper to taste
Spring Onion to Garnish

Method
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the chopped garlic and ginger and saute for few mins.
Add the vegetables and fry in a medium flame and add the chili garlic sauce and splash little water to it to avoid burning and cook till the veggies are half cooked.
Now add the vegetable broth and vinegar and cook in a low flame for 10 mins.
Now add the corn and cook again for 10 more mins and add soy sauce and salt and pepper to your taste.
Finish it with by adding the corn powder mixed in little water, this helps to thicken the soup. Garnish with spring onion.

Pumpkin Muffins and My First Award

2009-11-10T10:59:00.002-05:00

After visiting the pumpkin patch last week, we came home with three big pumpkins, a pumpkin for a ticket, thank God no ticket for my girl. Pumpkin is not much liked dish at home so kept without using it for a week, not even jack-o-lantern this time as we went after the halloween no one was interested in it, but this week end my boy suggested to do pumpkin muffins and he was soooo excited to help me out. It took lot of time to prepare the puree first, better way is to use the store bought one if you don't have the pumpkin. I didn't have any pumpkin muffin recipe handy so I had to google and it gave lots of recipes as usual and I had difficulty in choosing one and at last I adapted to the recipe from thepioneerwoman.com site. My pumpkin puree which I made at home was not too thick so my muffins didn't puffed up as it is should be, never mind the taste was excellent, thanks to the pioneerwoman.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - 1 Cup

Sugar - 1/2 Cup

Baking Powder - 2 tsp

Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp

Ginger Powder - 1/4 tsp

Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Butter - 4 tbsp

Pumpkin Puree - 1 Cup

Egg - 1

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Milk - 1/2 Cup

Method
Combine all the dry ingredients flour, Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, sugar and salt together along with melted butter in a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl mix together pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla essence and milk.
Pour the pumkin mixture into the flour mixture and combine both well.
Pre-heat oven to 400*F and grease the muffin pan.
Fill the muffin pan to 1/2 to 3/4 with the batter.
Sprinkle sugar or cinnamon or mix sugar and cinnamon on each muffin.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 mins.

Serve with some whip cream or just plain taste very good.

Babli from http://khanamasala.blogspot.com/ has hourned me by passing on my these awards , thanks Babli for that.

Kale in Lentils

2009-11-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

Normally greens are not in the top favorite list among kids and my boy is no different in that. Almost every Saturdays I make sure to prepare some dish using greens for lunch and I'll feed my boy without his knowledge, this way I am satisfied that he eats something healthy. I love greens and I would eat anything made with it.
This tasty recipe features a mixture of good kale green with a wonderful dhal. Kale is a leafy green vegetable and rich in vitamin C and A and is incredibly healthy food. This dish is amazingly easy to prepare and delicious to eat with rice.

Ingredients
Kale Greens Chopped - 2 cups
Toor dhal - 1/4 cup
Small onion - 3 chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped
Green Chilies - 3 chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
Salt to taste
For Tempering
Mustard - 1 tsp
Cumin Seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3
Garlic - 1 clove minced
Whole Red Chili - 2
Ghee - 1tsp

Method
Pressure cook toor dhal with little turmeric powder and set aside.
In a separate pan cook kale with onion, green chilies, tomato and garlic with little water and salt until its done.
Mash the kale mixture and mix with cooked dhal. Season it with mustard, cumin seed, curry leaves, red chili and garlic. Serve hot with rice and papad..hmm yummy..Enjoy!!

Spicy Chicken Roll

2009-11-07T16:51:00.000-05:00

This is a wonderful chicken snack very ideal during traveling as it is easy to eat without any mess. This dish is very famous in Bangalore and they use to make it with kebabs and that tastes really excellent and I am a great fan of this chicken roll and this is a short cut way to prepare it quickly without making the kebabs and the taste is also similar except for the smokey flavour. This one is made with chicken and this can also be done the same way with potato but the taste is excellent only with chicken and a must try dish.

Ingredients

For Marinade

Boneless Chicken pieces - 1/2 lb cut to small bite size pieces

Chicken 65 masala powder - 3 tsp

Ginger garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Yogurt - 3 tsp

Other Ingredient
Chapati - 5
Bell pepper / Capsicum - 1 medium( long slices)
Cabbage Chopped - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste
oil - 3 tsp
Ketchup or ranch

Method
Marinate the chicken with the ingredients under mariande and keep refrigrated for 2 hrs.
In a non-stick pan, heat oil and shallow fry the chicken until cooked and roasted and keep aside. In the same pan fry peppers and capsicum with salt and pepper until half cooked, this gives a nice crunchiness to the roll.
Heat chapati before stuffing and put the chicken pieces in the center and top it with capsicum and cabbage with some raw onion and put some ketchup or ranch or mayonnaise of your choice o top and roll it up and eat it. Great snack.

Ada Pradhaman

2009-11-06T10:04:00.000-05:00

This is my hubby's favorite and this is one of the few dishes he asked me to prepare and unfortunately I couldn't make it immediately when he asked, actually I planned to prepare this on the special occasion "diwali" but some how got delayed and I made him at last yesterday. We usually prepare this dish with sugar but my friend who is a keralite suggested me to do with jaggery and as this is a typical kerala dish I took her advice and prepared with jaggery, the it tasted excellent with jaggery, my hubby loved it. I don't prepare this dish often and even on special occasions I have being avoiding this dish just because this dish takes lot of coconut milk but can't avoid when hubby dear ask for it.

Ingredients
Rice Ada - 1cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Coconut - 1 and 1/2 cup shredded
Extract the milk from coconut
First extract /thick milk - 2 cups
Second extract/thin milk - 3 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Raisins - 1 tsp
Cashew - 1 tsp
Coconut pieces - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Method
Boil 2 cups of water and add the ada pieces and cook until soft and drain and keep aside.
Boil 1/2 cup of water in a separate bowl and add the jaggery and stir well until its melt.
Add the cooked ada pieces to the jaggery and mix well and then add the second extract milk and cook in low flame until it becomes thick.
Now add the first extract milk and mix well, don't boil it just heat it and add cardamom powder and remove from the stove.
Fry cashew, raisins and coconut pieces in ghee and add to it.
Enjoy this delicious ada pradhaman!!!

Mixed Peas Curry

2009-11-05T10:37:00.001-05:00

I made this dish accidentally, actually I wanted to make channa masala but I didn’t have sufficient chick peas for that so I had to make up with what I had, sweet peas and I ended up preparing something and at last the result was excellent, that’s what matters and named it as mixed peas curry. I made it tangier by adding the tomato juice, which was lying in my refrigerator for quite some time and made it little sweet by adding jaggery for the kids. My boy loved it and said its “scrumptious”, new word he learnt from school and I dunno whether he really meant it. Kids learn so many new words and they try to use it at the appropriate place and this helps them to remember those words and they use it again and again. Well, back to the recipe, this is a quite easy and fast to cook and more over very tasty side dish for chapati. I heartily recommend every one to try this recipe.

Ingredients
Chickpeas – 1 tin
Sweet peas – 1 tin or use frozen
Onion – 1 chopped
Tomato – 2 chopped
Ginger garlic Paste – 1 tsp
Tomato Juice or puree – 1cup
Cumin Seeds –1tsp
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Chili Powder – 1tsp
Garam masala – 1/2tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1tsp
Jaggery – 1 tsp (optional)
Kasoori methi – 1tsp
Oil – 3tsp
Cilantro for garnish
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a non stick skillet and add cumin seeds and when splutter add onion and fry for few mins and add ginger garlic paste and fry well.
Add tomato and give a good mix and all the dry powders one after another and add the tomato juice or puree and cook till the tomato is well cooked and mushy, if required add water.
Add the chick peas and cook for few mins and finally add the peas and cook covered for 5 more mins and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with Chapati or roti.

South Indian Snack Platter

2009-11-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

After a nice warm Saturday, Sunday was and cold and raining the whole day which made us stay indoor the whole day doing nothing but a good nap, it was almost night time and we all were sitting quite on couch as there was nothing interesting to watch in TV and I suddenly felt like having some nice hot bajji, so when I said that to everyone, without any hesitation or any second thought every one agreed and it looked like all were waiting for it and I made aloo bonda for me and my hubby and for kids I made plain aloo bajji and still there was more bajji batter remaining and I quickly made bread pakoda by adding spinach and cumin seeds to it. There is nothing like eating bajji's and bonda's with a hot cup of tea or coffee on a cold, lazy and more to it on rainy sunday's. This is one kind of a snack you can't resist just eating only one so our snack time got extended and ended as dinner. Here is the snack platter I am sharing with you all.

Ingredients
For Batter
Besan or gram flour - 1 cups
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Salt and asafetida as required

For Aloo Bonda
Potato - 1 large
Onion - 1/2 chopped
Green Chiles - 2 chopped
Ginger - 1/2" minced
CIlantro
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
chana dhal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt as required

Other Ingredients
Potato - 1 small peeled and sliced
Bread - 3, each cut to 4 pices
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Spinach Chopped - 3 tsp
Oil to deep fry

Method
Mix all the ingredients for the batter with water and make nice thick paste neither not too watery nor too thick.
For aloo bonda, peel the potato and microwave them for 5 mins and mash good. In a non stick pan ,heat 1 tsp of oil and season with mustard and chana dhal and turmeric powder and then add onion and green chilies and saute for few mins, add cilantro and add mashed potato and mix well and turn off the flame and when cools down make into small balls and keep aside.
Heat oil to fry in a separate pan and dip the aloo balls in the batter and fry in the oil in a batch of 4 to 5 and when done transfer to a kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
Follow the Same procedure with the sliced potato or any vegetables of your choice.
For the bread pakoda, to the remaining batter add cumin seed and chopped spinach and dip the bread in the batter to coat well with the spinach and fry in oil. Serve with cilantro chutney. Enjoy!!

Chicken N Spinach Stuffed Jumbo Shell Pasta

2009-11-01T18:55:00.001-05:00

When I saw the jumbo shell in the grocery store, this recipe just popped instantly in my mind at that moment and here is this dish. Pasta is my family favorite and there is no problem for everyone in just falling in love with yet another pasta dish and this recipe is a success. This is such a stomach-filling dish, you will feel already full with just eating only five shells. This is such an awesome and tasty dish where kids would never say no to this kind of cheesy dish. Just try this recipe and you would know for yourself.

Ingredients
Jumbo Shell Pasta - 15
Boneless Chicken Breast - 2 halves
Mushroom Chopped - 1cup
Spinach - 1 cup Chopped
Garlic - 4 Cloves minced
Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup
Mozzarella Cheese - 1 cup
Cream of Mushroom Soup - 1 can
Heavy Whip Cream - 1/2 cup
Oil - 3 tsp
Butter - 2tsp
Breadcrumps - 1/2 cup
Pepper and Salt as required

Method
Boil the pasta shell according to the instruction in the box and drain the water and place individually in a plate to avoid sticking to each other.
Coat the chicken piece with the breadcrumbs and fry in the oil in a non-stick skillet with little salt and pepper on both sides until it turns brown color. Remove and cut the chicken to small cubes.
In the same skillet, add 1 tsp of minced garlic and saute it and add mushroom with salt and pepper and add the spinach and cook until it's done. Add half the can of mushroom soup with a splash of water. Add the chicken pieces and mix well.
Now we have to make a sauce in a separate pan by heating the butter and adding garlic and saute them, add the remaining soup with little water, add salt and pepper. Last add the cream and parmesan cheese, if needed add dried parsley and basil and now sauce is ready.
Pre-heat oven to 375* F
Stuff the chicken and spinach in the shell and place in the oven safe bowl and pour the sauce on top of the shell and cover it with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 mins.
Serve hot!! Enjoy!!

Appam and Mutton Stew

2009-10-29T11:54:00.000-04:00

Usually for appam I like chicken curry, this time for a change I made mutton stew and surprisingly this combination was excellent. Mutton is not much liked dish in our family compared to chicken and if I happen to cook mutton some day I end up eating most of the meat pieces, so fearing that I dont cook often. Same way in this dish the gravy got over pretty fast and only the meat pieces were remaining. This recipe is from my old recipe collection which I totally forgot that I had one such collection. I tried hard to recollect from whom I got this recipe but in vain my memory is totally lost on that as this is more than 10 yrs old collection and I feel really bad that I am not able to thank the person who gave me this awesome recipe. Here is the recipe...

For Appam
Ingredients
Raw rice and idli rice (par boiled rice) should be of equal ratio. I used raw rice 1and 1/2 cup and idli rice 1 and 1/2 cup
Urad dhal - 3 tsp
Salt as required
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Baking Powder - 1tsp

Method
Soak the rice and urad dhal over night or for 6 hrs and grind to a fine thick batter and add salt and set to ferment for 8 hrs.
When you are ready to make appam , pour the coconut milk, baking powder and 1/2 tsp of sugar and set for 5 mins and consistency should be little watery than the dosa batter.
Using appam pan , make appams and serve with anything of your choice or with this mutton stew.

Mutton Stew

Ingredients
Mutton - 1/2 lb
Potatoes - 1 big cubed
Onion - 1 chopped
Green Chilies - 3 slit
Ginger - 1"
Cinnamon - 1", Cloves - 4, Cardamom- 2
Curry Leaves - 6
Coconut Shredded - 1/2 cup - extract the milk
Coconut oil - 1tsp
Salt as required

Method
Pressure-cook the mutton with salt till tender. Reserve the stock.
Heat oil in a pan and add the cinnamon, clove and cardamom and add onion, ginger and chilies and stir and add potatoes and add the mutton stock and cook until the potatoes are half cooked.
Add the cooked mutton and cook for 10 mins in low flame.
Add the coconut milk and bring to boil and remove from stove. Garnish with Cilantro and serve hot with appams.

Vegetable Kurma for Idiyappam

2009-10-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

Kurma is the one great magic side dish goes very well is many dishes like chapathi, idiyappam, pulao. Whenever I think of idiappam only kurma comes in mind for the side dish, I dunno I love this combo very much. Though making kurma and idiyappam is very time consuming, the final taste and praises from the family members are worth the efforts. I made this special dish on the day of diwali and I am very glad as every one liked it. What gives us more joy than when every one in our family likes and eats well the dish we prepare, so this made me more happier on the special day. Almost every one knows to prepare this vegetable kurma but still I wanna share my way of doing this recipe.

Ingredients
Vegetable of your choice Chopped - 3 cups ( I used cauliflower, carrot, peas, beans)
Coconut shredded - 1/2 cup
Cashew - 2 tsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Cloves - 2 , Cinnamon - 1" , Cardamom - 2
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 3tsp
Salt as required

Method
Microwave poppy seeds and cashew with little water in small bowl for 30 secs and grind together with coconut to a fine paste and set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and you get a nice fragrance add onion and saute for few mins.
Add ginger garlic paste and stir well. Add all the dry powders and splash little water if required.
Add all the vegetable and some water and cook coved in a low flame until vegetables are cooked.
Add the grinded coconut paste and cook for 5 mins, garnish with cilantro and serve with idiyappam.

Idiyappam /Rice Noodles

2009-10-27T19:49:00.000-04:00

I love this idiyappam and kurma served at Saravana Bhavan restaurant,the tastes is really wonderful. This is a supposed to be a kerala dish, served usually with kadala curry, and trust me that is one of the best combination. If you live in coimbatore you get this ready made idiyappams made freshly every day morning and evening so whenever you feel like having you can have it avoiding all the hard part of soaking and grinding and more and sometimes you can also use the rice flour and reduce the job by skipping the grinding and mixing part, but the hard way gives you really very soft idiyappams compared to using the rice flour, harder way always yields a good result. My boy loves this dish and I did this after a long time and he almost started dancing after he took a first bite. This really gave me more joy but if I do again I doubt he would like it. This is the base for making the different variety of tasty sevai.

Method
Soak the 2 cups Idli Rice for 6 hours and grind to a thick paste of batter.
In a non-stick kadai add 2 tsp of oil and add the grinded batter and keep stirring until its turns soft dough and when touched the dough shouldn't stick to your hands.
You can also use the rice flour and skip the above step and directly mix with hot water. Take a small dough and put in a idiyappam maker and press in a greased idli plate and stream cook like idli for 5 to 10 mins or until done.
Serve with kurma or using this you can make lemon sevai, tomato sevai or plain onion sevai.

Hot Buffalo Wings

2009-10-27T10:58:00.000-04:00

When I first heard the name it sounded very weird to me, then I learnt the it was named after the their city of origin Buffalo, New york. This is usually made with the chicken wings coated with a spicy hot pepper sauce but in some places they make it as boneless too. They usually have a heat index for this dish from very low to extreme heat, I havn't tasted the neither extreme nor the low heat ones, the medium ones really tastes good. Now Pizza hut is also serving this wings ..yet to taste. They are delicious, easy recipe and very tasty appetizer and are great when you get a hankering for something hot and unable to decide, try this Hot Buffalo Wings. This is usually served with celery so did I.

Ingredients
Chicken Wings - 10 to 12
Butter - 3 tsp
Paprika - 2 tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1tsp
Franks Red Hot Sauce - 4 tsp
Salt as required

Method
Cut off the wing tips and Cut wings at the joint.
Create a marinade by mixing together the melted butter and all other ingredients.
Take 2 tsp of this marinade and mix with the wings in a zip loc cover and keep refrigerated for 2 hrs.
Place the chicken in a oven safe plate and broil in medium temp in the oven for 15 mins on each side.
Remove from oven and baste with the remaining sauce. Serve with blue cheese or ranch and celery.

Chicken and Mushroom Curry

2009-10-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

After the success of egg and mushroom curry, I made this another great dish using mushroom and chicken and undoubtedly even this was also great. In this dish mushroom didn't do any magic, there was not much of any difference in the taste by adding it other than getting the mushroom pieces in between the chicken in your each mouth, which I liked. Mushroom works very well with any combination, no complaints so far from my family. This dish can be prepared using only chicken. This goes well with rice and may be with chapathi too.

Ingredients
Chicken boneless thigh - 1/2 lb
Mushroom Chopped - 2 Cups
Onion - 1 chunks
Garlic - 6 cloves
Ginger - 1"
Clove - 4
Cinnamon - 1"
Tomato - 3 Chopped
Coriander Powder - 2tsp
Cumin Powder - 1tsp
Chili Powder - 1tsp
Tuemeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt as required
Oil - 3tsp

Method
Blend together onion, garlic, ginger, cloves and cinnamon to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan, add the onion paste and stir for few mins.
Add all the powders and mix well.
Add tomato and cook closed in a reduced flame for 10 mins.
Add the chicken and cook for 10 more mins and add the mushroom and cook for 30 mins in low flame and stir inbetween. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice. Enjoy!!

Egg N Mushroom Curry

2009-10-22T10:48:00.000-04:00

This is a fabulous side dish. Though the combination sounds weird but it does work, the taste was excellent. Actually I tried this combination for fun as me and my hubby loves mushroom a lot and I had some few mushrooms left after making the mushroom stuffed omelette and used it for this dish and surprisingly this dish was delicious. This dish is so easy and quick to cook and can be served as a side dish for chapathi, or any flavored rice.

Ingredients
Boiled Egg - 4
Mushroom Chopped - 1 cup
Bell Pepper - 1 sliced
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1tsp
Onion - 1 chopped
Tomato - 2
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Chili Powder - 1tsp
Cumin Powder - 1tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry onions until brown.
Add ginger and garlic paste and stir well. Add tomato and cook for few mins.
Add all the spices and a splash of water to avoid burning of the spices. Cook for few mins.
Add pepper and mushroom and cook in low flame, stir in between.
Slice the eggs to 4 pieces each.
When mushroom and pepper starts cooking add the eggs and cook in low flame, keep turning the eggs to coat well with the gravy. Garnish with cilantro.
Enjoy this dish chapathi or even plain rice.

Sunny's Shrimp Biryani

2009-10-21T11:19:00.000-04:00

My hubby hates seafood, he is okay with fish but he can't tolerate the smell of shrimp and crab, unfortunately those two are my favorite, even my boy loves shrimp. Usually on friday my hubby has team lunch in office, no need to pack lunch for him, so all fridays has become shrimp day for me and my boy till he started going to kindergarten. When going to pre-school he comes home by 1' o clock and if its friday while going to school he would remind me to prepare shrimp for lunch. Now in kindergarten he comes only by 4'o clock so me not getting any chance to prepare shrimp for couple of months. He likes only gravies with shrimp or just fried shrimp and biryani is out of question. My hubby is ready to eat shrimp w'out the smell of shrimp. I don't know, what a shrimp dish would be w'out the smell of shrimp and best way is he not eat shrimp.
I was planning to prepare this shrimp biryani for a quite long time but due to my laziness of preparing just for me kept on delaying this, my choice was always simple either curd rice or maggi noodles for lunch on fridays. This time I dissipated my laziness and prepared this shrimp biryani and had great lunch all by myself. Each mouth made me wonder how can people not like shrimp!!! I saved some for my boy to eat after coming from school and to my surprise he really enjoyed it. Its always hard to say which food they like or dislike, its keeps changing. Already I made this dish 3 times within a week time, so I give the name sunny's shrimp biryani.

Ingredients
Basmati Rice- 1/2 cup
Shrimp - 1 cup
Cloves - 2
Bay leaf - 2
Cinnamon - 1/2" stick
Cardamom- 1
Fennel seeds / saunf - 1/2 tsp
Tomato - 1 medium chopped
Onion - 1/2 of 1, chopped
Green Chilies - 2 slit
Mint and cilantro chopped - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 1tsp
Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Soak rice for 1/2 an hour and boil the rice till its fully cooked. Clean and devein the shrimp. In a non-stck pan heat oil and add clove, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf and fennel seed. Add onion and green chilies and saute for few mins and add ginger garlic paste and tomato and add all the dry powders and add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is fully cooked and the gravy is dry. Add the chopped mint and cilantro. Now add the cooked rice and mix and eat with onion raita.

Rasmalai and Happy Diwali

2009-10-16T21:09:00.000-04:00

Diwali greetings to Everyone !!!
In India, its festival time, everyone would be busy shopping for the diwali. A total celebration time and its the only time of the year you forget about the weighing scale, don't bother about calorie, after all its only once a year you can enjoy these religious food without guilt. Visiting relatives house, you would be greeted with a plate full of sweets and savories which you can't avoid, so this is the time you should almost delete the word "calorie" from your mind. The total atmosphere in India is full of joy and happiness as you see people wearing new clothes, distributing sweets, bursting firecrackers are always fun and you have to be in India to feel that. Unfortunately we could not visit India for diwali and this is fifth concecutive year we are missing diwali in India.
Here in US, even on diwali day some one has to remind us its diwali, no fireworks, no relatives, no different variety of sweets, no diwali special shopping, no new movies ....endless list. There could be fireworks at temple where you can only watch them. During these times I feel really guilty about my kids missing all these diwali funs.
I am not good at making sweets but to bring some diwali atmosphere at home I made the kaju katli- a one easy sweet recipe but that didn't come out the way it should, so I made my all time only favorite sweet Rasmalai. I made the easy way, bought the rasagulla tin from indian store and made the rasmalai from it.

Ingredients
Rasagulla - 1 tin
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar to taste
Saffron - 1tsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pistachio chopped - 3 tsp

Method
Bring the milk to boil in a non-stick pan and add sugar and half of saffron and reduce the flame and cook till the milk reduces to half. Squeeze all the syrub from the rasagullas and add to the milk and cook for few more mins. Remove from flame and add the remaining saffron and pistachio. Serve chilled.

October - Breast cancer awareness month

2009-10-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

October a pink month, if we visit grocery store, we are surrounder by all pink boxes from cereals to even baby diapers are pink. The pink ribbon means awareness and awareness is the key to survival. So I thought I write about the article I came across about this breast cancer and want to be a part in spreading the awareness.

Ten facts about breast cancer

1. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian women.

2. Approximately one lakh new cases of breast cancer are detected every year in the sub-continent.

3. The risk of a breast cancer is one in 30 in urban India and one in 65 in rural India. These figures are due to failure in detection in early stages.

4. Early detection can increase chances of cure in 80% cases.

5. In the last decade, breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer as the most common cancer among women in major metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.

6. Approximately 90,000 breast cancer cases were detected in 2008 with over 48,000 deaths in the sub-continent. If this condition is not detected sooner, then it’s estimated that these figures could go up to 1,00,000 with over 55,000 deaths by 2010.

7. The number of new breast cancer patients annually at The Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai has risen from 1,800 to 3,200 in the past 10 years.

8. Goa has the highest number of breast cancer cases in the country.

9. According to the World Health Organisation, cancer is all set to outpace heart ailments as the biggest killer in the next two years. It also says that cancer diagnosis has been steadily rising and will soon touch the 12 million mark this year. By 2030, new cancer cases could rise to 27 million with up to 17 million deaths.

10. Breast cancer is on the rise largely due to changing lifestyle and dietary patterns among women in urban India. With fewer women opting for babies and lactating for lesser time than their mothers, they are at a higher risk of facing this condition.
(info Courtesy : iDiva.com and Women’s Cancer Initiative, Tata Memorial Hospital )

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, all women starting at age 40 should get a mammogram every one to two years, and if there is a history of breast cancer in your family, you may need to start getting mammograms earlier.
Most of the breast cancer cases are curable when detected earlier, thats why it is so important to get tested regularly – mammograms can find cancer early when it’s most treatable.
Although there is no guaranteed way to prevent breast cancer, keeping up with a healthy lifestyle that includes good diet and exercise habits can help your mind and body stay strong.

Stuffed Omelette

2009-10-12T10:22:00.000-04:00

A simple healthy omelette stuffed with vegetables. Adding mushroom to this tastes really wonderful and you can even add meat to this and make it more yummy. We first tasted this at Denny's restaurant and then we became a regular eater.
During weekends we prefer eating this for breakfast than other south Indian food. My hubby loves to prepares this omlette and I get a chance to just stay away from kitchen for a while. This is the recipe of what he did.

Ingredients
Egg - 2
Milk - 2 tsp
For Stuffing
Mushroom Chopped - 1/4 cup
Bell Pepper Chopped - 1/4 cup
Onion Chopped - 1/4 cup
Pepper and salt to taste
Any shredded Cheese
Oil - 1 tsp

Method
Heat oil in a skillet and saute onion for few mins and add mushroom and bell pepper and add some fresh grinded pepper and salt and cook till its done and make it as dry as possible and set aside. Heat a little oil or use a non-stick spray in the egg pan, beat the egg with milk and little pepper and salt, pour the eggs to the centre of the heated pan, tilting the pan so that the eggs spread out evenly on the pan. When its done on one side, carefully flip to the other side and cook. Flip again and place the vegetables to one half side and top it with cheese and fold over with the other side and hold it till the cheese melts. Enjoy!!

Tomato Capsicum Uthappam

2009-10-11T15:00:00.000-04:00

The first place I stayed in US is a small town called Peoria in Illinois and its at 3 hrs drive from Chicago. It is a very small place where there is only one Indian restaurant and couple of Indian stores. I have hardly visited that restaurant even though I stayed there for 3 yrs, the food there is not so tempting to visit again. Apart from that there is a beautiful Balaji temple in Aurora which is at 2 hours drive (1 hr from Chicago), the 2 hrs drive to the temple would be is so pleasant as we pass through lots of corn fields, much more smaller towns and whenever we get bored, we always love to visit this temple.
The temple is really very big and beautiful and to add more to its greatness it has an awesome cafetaria which serves all mouth watering south Indian dishes. To enter into the main temple premises you have to cross through the cafeteria dinning place and you can watch people splurging in the sambar, vadai, dosa and many more, I have to honestly accept that we can't pray peacefully as the sambar smell still lingers in our mind. One of the main reason we visit that place quite often is for the food and we are not the only ones. Though we eat the same dosa almost three to four times in a week at home, eating again dosa outside in any restaurant is so fascinating. Dosa is one such wonderful dish for me which I won't get bored even eating it 3 times a day.
After moving to North Carolina I really miss the Balaji temple as is, such a lovely place.
Well, coming to dosa, I prefer the plain dosa than this spiced up tomato dosa and in contrast my hubby likes with something on the dosa even he loves just sugar on it than just eating the plain one.

Ingredients
Dosa Batter
Tomato - 1 sliced to a round shape
Capsicum Chopped - 1/2 cup
Cilantro Chopped - 1 cup
Pepper powder to taste
oil

Method
Heat the dosa pan or griddle and pour 1/4th cup of dosa batter and spread to a small and thick circle, place the tomato and capsicum on the top of the dosa batter and spread the cilantro on top of tomato and sprinkle some pepper powder and pour 1 tsp of oil on top and cook till brown and flip over the dosa to cook the other side until the tomato and capsicum is cooked. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Crunchy Fish Fingers

2009-10-08T10:10:00.000-04:00

Simple and very easy to prepare this chruncy, tasty fish fingers. My one year old girl grabbed one from the plate as soon it was ready and started munching and she soon took another one before the plate was empty and even my picky boy loved it. This crunchy fish finger is a big hit with my kids. I use tilapia fillets fearing cooking other fish like salmon would leaves a strong fishy odor lingering in the house even after couple of days which makes my boy really grossed, so I choose tilapia which is comparatively less odor but you can use any fish fillets of your choice.

Ingredients
Tilapia fillets - 2 Cut into 1 and 1/2 to 2 inch long strips
Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3/4 tsp
Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method
In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger garlic paste, chili powder, coriander powder, pepper powder, baking powder, salt with some water to a nice thick batter. Take the fish and dip in flour batter and dredge in the breadcrumbs and set aside for 5 mins and deep fry in the oil and serve with ketchup. Enjoy!!

Birthday Lunch Special - Chole Bhatura and Jalapeno Chicken

2009-10-05T10:13:00.002-04:00

One great thing about my hubby is he never insists on what cook, and whatever and however I cook he appreciates it. Sometimes this makes me annoyed when I run out of ideas and I dont get any help on it from him. Its always easy for me to cook rather than deciding what to cook.
Unlike me he does not have too many favorites in food, and anything I cook he used to enjoy as if he is eating for the first time but whenever we go to vegetarian restaurant most of the time he orders chole bhatura and in non-veg buffet, I have seen him hogging a plate full of chicken 65 couple of times so I concluded those two should be his favorite and I decided to prepare chole bhatura and chicken 65 for lunch on his birthday. I thought to do some variation in these dishes and I added jalapeno to chicken guessing it would give a nice spicy kick to the chicken and for chole bhatura I retained the same, nothing to modify in it. I hope as usual he enjoyed this special dish I made for him with love. In my previous post he left few comments in the name VJ and I felt little encouraging and I hope he does same for this too and waiting for it.

Bhatura

This tasted really good and loved it, only disappointment is it never came fully puffed up, mistake may be I kneaded the dough too soft and after resting for 3 hrs it became more soft, so make sure you dont do the same mistake.

Ingredients
All Purpose flour/maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 1tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Baking Powder - 1tsp

Salt to taste

Water as needed
Oil to fry

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and knead the dough with enogh water and make it to a soft dough(not too soft) and rest this dough coved for 2 to 3 hrs and this gonna make even more soft.

After 2 to 3 hrs, take a small ball of dough and roll them. Heat oil in a pan and fry them in hot oil. Serve with chole.

Simple Chole

I call it as simple chole b'coz I never grinded any masalas and also did not use any store bought chole masala, I made it my own way and it tasted good.

Ingredients

Chole/chick peas - 2 cups
Onion - 1/2 of a onion chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped

Ginger chopped - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Coriander Powder - 2tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Amchur Powder - 1 tsp

Kasoori methi - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 2tsp

Method

Soak chick peas overnight and pressure cook them and set aside or simple use canned like I did.

In a skillet heat and when it heats up add the cumin seed and when it splutter add onion and ginger and saute for few mins and add tomato and cook till is fully cooked and juicy and start adding all the powders one by one and mix and if needed add water to avoid burning of the powders. Add the boiled or canned chickpeas and add some water and cook until it reaches a thick consistency. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with bhatura.

Jalapeno Chicken

This one stole the show, I saved some without adding the jalapenos for my kids and they really enjoyed it.

Ingredients

Boneless chicken - 1 lb cut into a bite size piece

Lemon juice - 1tsp

yogurt - 3 tsp

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Corn Flour - 2tsp

Red food color

Soy sauce - 1 tsp

Jalapeno - 3 chopped to small pieces
Curry leaves - 10

Salt to taste

Oil to fry

Method

In a bowl marinate chicken with all ingredients expect jalapeno, curry leaves and soy sauce and let rest for 1 hr. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the curry leaves and keep aside and fry the marinated chicken in the same oil and transfer to a kitchen towel to drain the excess oil. In a other pan, heat 1tsp of oil and fry the jalapeno with salt and little lemon juice till pepper is soft and before removing from the stove add the soy sauce and mix chicken to it and transfer to a serving plate and put the fried curry leaves on the top and serve with some onions.

Cilantro Chicken

2009-10-04T14:47:00.002-04:00

Although coimbatore is my home town, I adore Bangalore more, reason may be I started my Bangalore life in college and got a lot of chance to explore Bangalore more with friends which I consider a pleasant memories to cherish.

Intailly when we moved to Bangalore, my brother's office colleague Laksmi aunty's family helped us a lot. I would say I got introduced to everything in Bangalore through them. She was such a lovely person and I used to admire her a lot for what she was-a working woman, best cook and in free time she used to do lots of craft work and not to forget she had 2 small girls and a husband to care for and that makes me wonder how she could perfectly balance everything. She is my inspiration for lot of things . Her lovely girls, vanitha and anusha were my kannada tutors, they used to listern patiently to the worst kannada I speak and they have also corrected me which helped me to speak better. We had a wonderful time together with lots of family get togethers, trips and many more. All of a sudden there is been no contact between our two families for almost 10 yrs now, I have no idea what had happened in between and I feel that is an immature act. I never got a chance to tell her that how much I admired her and she is my first inspiration for cooking and I actually owe her family a lot.
Today post the cilantro chicken , is the only simple chicken recipe I learnt from her and still is one of the best chicken recipe for me. Unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to learn more of her mouth watering recipes.

I am writing this in my blog hopping one day accidentally she may read it.

Ingredients:

whole cut Chicken - 1 lb

Onion - 1 chopped

Garlic - 5 cloves

Ginger - 1"

Cinnamon - 3/4" stick

Cloves - 4

Cilantro - 1/2 bunch

Black Pepper - 1tsp

Green Chilies - 3

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 3 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
In a pan heat oil and when it heats up add onion and saute for few mins and add chicken and add turmeric powder, coriander powder and cook for 10 mins. In the mean time grind together garlic, ginger, chilies, pepper, cloves, cinnamon and cilantro to a fine paste. Now add this grinded paste to the chicken and cook untill the raw fragrance is gone and you get a nice gravy consistency. Serve with jeera rice or any pulao or even plain rice it would taste good.

Creamy Dreamy Chicken Sauce on Angle Hair

2009-10-01T14:09:00.034-04:00

This was a huge hit in my house, even my choosy boy liked it. He actually asked me to save some for next day so you can guess how hit was this dish. This is a calorie rich food so if you dont mind about calories then this is the great dish. Wonder why tasty foods are always not good for health?. I dont mind making this dish once in a while, more over I am gonna eat only little (dont ask me how much is that little). This creamy sauce is best served over any pasta shapes like spaghetti, fettuccine, cappellini or linguine pastas. I used angle hair b'coz no big secret that's what I had in my pantry. To make this dish more creamier I used heavy whip cream and if you feel its too much creamier you can go ahead and use only milk. This sauce can be made with any variation of your choice which contribute to your consistent and taste.

Ingredients

Chicken Breast - 2 halves
Italian flavoured breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup
Angle hair - 1/2 lb
Olive oil - 2tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 5 cloves minced
Onion - 1 chopped
Chicken Bouillon cubes - 2 crumbled
Heavy whipped cream - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Dried parsley - 1/2 tsp
Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Cook the pasta according to the direction on package, drain. Mix breadcrumbs, 2tsp parmesan cheese, pepper powder in a wide bowl or plate. Coat the chicken breast with the breadcrumbs on both the side and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add 2 tsp of garlic and add the chicken and cook on a simmer flame until chicken is well cooked. Remove chicken from the pan and cool and slice diagonally into long strips.
Reheat the oil in the pan with butter and add remaining garlic and onion and saute until onion is soft. Add the chicken bouillon and add water and bring to a boil and cook in simmer for 10 mins. Add milk and cheese and cook for 5 more mins.
Place the cooked pasta on the plate, layer the chicken over the pasta and pour the sauce on top of the chicken. Garnish with fresh or dired parsley. Serve hot. I served with asian green beans salad - look for this recipe in my previous post.

Asian Green Beans Salad

2009-09-30T17:58:00.001-04:00

I was bored of having the same cold salad everyday so tried this different warm green beans salad and surprisingly it was tasty. Adding the ginger and garlic gave more flavour and finally adding the soy sauce gave the asian touch and tasted to the best. It is a must try salad.

Ingredients

Green Beans - 1/2 lb trimmed
Garlic - 4 cloves minced
Ginger mined - 1 tsp
Chili Garlic sauce - 1/2 tsp (can substitute with chili flakes)
Soy Sauce - 1 tsp (I used low sodium)
Oil - 1tsp

Method

Microwave the beans in high temperature for 3 to 4 mins.Heat oil in a non-stick skillet and add the garlic, ginger and saute for few mins and add the chili garlic sauce and add the cooked beans and mix. Now add the soy sauce and toss until the soy sauce is well coated and serve warm.

Palak Paneer

2009-09-30T11:21:00.000-04:00

Another popular dish in India which is tasted and tried almost by every Indians so there nothing new I can say about this dish. I am a big fan of panner so any dish with paneer is my favorite and this dish is truly delicious. My 2% milk past the "sell by" date so I decide to make the paneer out of it. Till I made paneer I had no idea of making this dish but the moment I saw the beautiful paneer cubes, just a thought of this palak paneer made me drooling and as a result we ended up eating a rich dinner. This dish was even more tastier with the home made paneer.

Ingredients
Paneer cubes - 1 cup
Palak/Spinach - 3 cups
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Onion - 1 chopped finely

Tomato - 2 chopped

Green Chilies - 3

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin/jeera powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Cumin seed - 1 tsp

Heavy whipped Cream - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 3 tsp

Method
Boil water in a pan and add spinach and boil for 4 mins uncovered. When it cools down grind to a smooth paste along with green chilies. Heat oil in a skillet and add cumin seeds and when it crackle add the garlic and onion and saute till onion is soft. Add ginger garlic paste and tomato and cook for few mins and add the masala powders and cook and if needed sprinkle water to avoid burning the masalas. Add the grinded palak and cook in simmer for 10 mins. Last add the paneer and cream and give a quick mix. Palak paneer is ready. I served with chapati and asparagus salad which I'll be posting soon. Enjoy!!

Tomato Gravy for Idli or Dosa

2009-09-29T10:16:00.000-04:00

This is a satisfying dish pairs very good with idli or dosa. This is a recipe of our family may be most of the families in tamil nadu. As far as I remember this is the best combination for idli other than sambar in our house right from my childhood. My mom used to prepare a big bowl full of this curry for idli and we end up eating 2 more idlies just b'coz of this tomato curry and in no time the bowl would be empty. I used to mix idli with that tomato curry and make a big mess in my hand and eat it ..eww.. that way it was even more tastier only in my child hood times not now ;-). Here is the recipe..

Ingredients

Tomato - 3 to 4 chopped

Garlic - 5 cloves chopped

Onion - 1 medium chopped

Green Chili - 3 slit

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon stick - 1/2"

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2tsp

To Grind

Coconut - 1/2 cup Grated

Ginger - 1" piece

Seasoning

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1tsp

Asafetida - little

Method

Heat oil in a pan , add the cloves and cinnamon and add mustard, urad dal and asafetida. When the mustard crackle add onion , garlic and green chilies and saute till the onion turns soft. Now add the tomato and saute till the oil oozes out. Add the dry powder and mix , if needed sprinkle little water and take care not to burn the dry masala powders. Add the grinded coconut and cover and cook for 10 mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve with idli or dosa. Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Milk Tasty Toast

2009-09-27T10:37:00.003-04:00

Wheat bread is better and healthier than the white bread as it has more fiber and vitamins and its more nutritious for kids. I made this tasty toast using chocolate milk instead of regular milk to cover up the wheat bread and made little more flavouring by using little vanilla essence as most kids don't like the taste of wheat bread. The best thing about using the chocolate milk is the kids wont know that they are eating the wheat bread. This toast keeps the kids tummy filled till their lunch time. Try this recipe.

Ingedients
Whole wheat bread - 3 slices
Egg - 1
Chocolate milk - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp

Method
Whisk all the ingredients except the bread in a bowl . Dip the bread in the mixture and allow the bread to soak some liquid well and toast in a hot griddle with little butter on both side until brown. Serve hot.

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Simple Vegatable Pasta

2009-09-26T10:51:00.001-04:00

Not able to decide "whats for dinner" and also not in a mood to prepare a elaborated cooking? Here is something simple and awesome dish you can make it really fast. If you have the pre-cut vegetable handy then its done in no time. This is the recipe of what I made that suits my family tastes, you can explore with any seasoning and vegetables you wish, there is no hard rules for this.

Ingredients
Pasta - 2 cups (Any shape I used Farfalle)
Onion Sliced - 1 medium
Garlic minced - 3 cloves
Bell Pepper chopped - 1
Carrot chopped - 1/2 cup
Italian Pasta sauce - 1 cup
Dried parsley, oregano - a dash
Parmesan cheese as required
Olive Oil - 3 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Cook pasta according to the package instruction and drain the excess water. Heat oil in a skillet and saute garlic and onion for few mins. Add the vegetables and season it with the parsley and oregano. Add the pasta sauce and water if needed and bring to boil. Add the pasta when the sauce is heated and combine well. Add the parmesan cheese and mix. Serve hot.

Garden Vegetable Noodles

2009-09-25T09:46:00.002-04:00

Deciding on what to cook for dinner is one big nightmare for me as my sunny boy doesn't agree with any menus I come up with. He always says he wants something nice, spicy and tasty. I wish I could find what that nice, spicy and tasty food would look like.This vegetable noodles is one darling dish for me as everyone in my family even my sunny will agree with. This dish is not too spicy just b'coz he does not like spicy and also I fear that if I do so I have to move this darling dish to enemy list so I prepare it according to his taste. But I and my hubby likes only spicy foods,that time "sriracha hot chili sauce" helps us for all our spicy needs :-)

Ingredients
Egg Noodles
Vegetables of your choice I used
Carrot, beans, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper - 3 cups
Eggs - 2
Soy Sauce - 4 tsp
Chili Garlic Sauce - 1tsp (increase to ur taste)
Ginger Chopped - 2tsp
Garlic Chopped - 4 tsp
Oil - 2tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the noodles according to the package instruction and drain the excess water. Heat oil in a non- stick skillet. Add ginger and garlic and saute till a nice fragrance comes out, make sure you don't burn the garlic. Add the vegetables one by one and close cook until they are 1/2 done. Move the vegetable to the side of the skillet and break the eggs in the skillet and stir the eggs until its done. Now mix all the vegetables and eggs together. You can also do scramble eggs separately and mix with the vegetables. Add the salt and chili garlic sauce and mix. Add the noodles and now add the soy sauce and stir continuously until all soy sauce is well coated with the noodles.Garnish with spring onions. Serve hot with ketchup.Enjoy!!

Good Morning with Banana Wheat Pancakes

2009-09-24T11:27:00.007-04:00

Like my boy most kids love to eat pancakes for breakfast. This is the healthiest pancake recipe that kids and even adults would love to eat.. Making pancake from scratch is not too complicated, for me from the scratch to the plate it just took 10 to 15 mins. Cleaning up the mess after took more time...today I used banana to mix with the batter and I am gonna try with other different fruits too. The pancakes didn't come out perfect round and even more looked like small paratha to me(b'coz I added wheat). Apart from the appearance the pancake was delicious and it was soft and fluffy. Though my sunny loved it he didn't have much time to eat more..late for school. I got to make this on holidays for him. Even though I add sugar my boy liked with the maple syrup.

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Ripe banana - 1
Egg - 1
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 2tsp
Salt to taste

Method

In a large bowl combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder and egg. In a separate bowl mash the banana. Mix the banana with the flour and add some water and make it to nice thick consistency. Heat a lightly oiled griddle and pour a scoop of batter onto the griddle and spread little to make a small round shape. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides, serve hot with syrub and fruits.

Cherry Tomato and Corn Salad

2009-09-22T12:35:00.013-04:00

After having trouble in sticking on to my weight loss diet, I choose salad way to a good health, this is more easier than other. Here is an another simple salad recipe with tomato and corn. It is a impressive salad(just b'coz I made) with great colors and it looks absolutely fantastic. Trust me this is really good, we ate the entire bowl in one sitting. One good thing about salad is you can add anything you wish and make it accordingly to your taste. Here is the recipe of what I made...

Ingredients

Cherry Tomato - 1 cup

Corn - 11 oz can

Celery - 2 ribs chopped

Red Onion - 1/2 cup chopped

Dressing

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Salt and pepper as per taste

Cilantro Chopped - 2 tsp

Method

In a large bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, onion and bell peppers. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper and cilantro. Pour this on corn mixture and toss to coat. Serve chilled.

Green Peas Pulao

2009-09-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

I always love to have this "peas pulao"- a simple mild spicey meal to enjoy.Looks fantastic and tastes delicious. This dish reminds me of my college life.This is the only dish I know to prepare during my college days and my friends used to love it. They always insists on preparing this dish whenever we have a get together in my house. Those days are golden. Now whenever I prepare this dish I miss my friends :-(

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice - 1 cup
Frozen or canned Peas - 1 cup
chopped onion - 1 cup
Green Chilies - 3 slit
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Oil - 3 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

To Grind
Ginger - 2 small slices
Garlic - 5 cloves
Cilantro - 1/2 cup
Mint - 1/4 cup

Method:

Pour oil in the cooker. When it heats up add clove,cinnamon and cardamom. When you get a nice fragrance from that add onion and green chilies and saute till the onion is cooked. Add the grinded paste and cook for few mins. Add the peas and mix well . Add the water , for 1 cup rice add 1 and 1/2 cup and bring to boil and add salt. Now add the rice and close and cook. Add ghee when its done. Serve hot with onion raita.

Bean and Veggie Salad

2009-09-21T10:53:00.013-04:00

Today, there are plenty of weight-loss strategies in market and they guarantee a quick weight loss. I too got carried away in one such weight loss diet and started to follow. After one day it became nearly impossible for me to stay on the diet and I gave up. The problem is they are too specific to what to eat and how much to eat and don't take into account of individual preferences and lifestyles and our likes and dislikes. More restriction on food made me craving for it. You won't believe only one day I tried the same night I got dreams only on food. Changing the eating habits overnight did not work for me so I gave up the next day, but now I planned to make small changes by taking lots of vegetables and fruits instead of one full meal and I am taking time to give up my bad food habits :-) hope I'll stick to this. Today's recipe is "Bean and Veggie Salad" with lots of vegetables and bean.

Ingredients:

Red Kidney Bean - 1/2 cup soaked for 6 hrs and boiled or use canned.

Roma Tomato - 1 chopped

Celery ribs - 2 sliced

Zucchini - 1 cup sliced

Green Onion - 1/2 cup sliced

Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup Chopped

Dressing:

Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Lime Juice - 1tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Feta Cheese - 1 tsp

Method:

In a bowl combine all the ingredients. In a separate small bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, sugar and salt and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over bean mixture and gently stir to coat. Add the feta cheese and toss and serve chilled.

Back After a Long Break with a recipe - "Chicken Bharta"

2009-09-17T10:07:00.007-04:00

At last I am back on my blog after a long break:-). I had to spend time with my son during his summer vacation and now he is back to school but.. still my one year old daughter takes all my time:-(. I blame myself for not managing the time. So I'll try to update my blog whenever I find time.

My recipe today is "chicken Bharta" , this is the new recipe I actually tried this for the first time and no doubt it came out really good. Surprisingly this dish is quite easy to prepare. This is a recipe where finely chopped chicken is cooked with onion , tomato and other spices and here is the recipe of chicken Bharta.

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken thigh - 1lb ( finely chopped)

Finely Chopped Onion - 1

Finely Chopped tomato - 3 medium

Green Chilies - 2 slit

Ginger Garlic paste - 2tsp

Cloves - 3

Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1"

Coriander Powder - 2tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tandoori masala - 2 tsp (optional)

Cilantro chopped for garnishing

Oil - 4 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a non- stick pan and add clove, Cinnamon and cardamom then add chopped onion and saute for few mins and add the ginger garlic paste and mix . Now add chopped tomato and all the dry masala powders and give a good mix and close and cook for 5 mins. Now add the chicken and little water and close and cook for 10 to 15 mins or until chicken is well cooked and don't forget to stir in between. Garnish with cilantro. Server with chapati or even plain rice.

Gobi Manchurian Dry

2009-06-09T14:09:00.006-04:00

"Gobi Manchurian" can be found in almost all Indian restaurant's menu as this is such a popular dish. Every one mistakes this to be a Chinese dish but this is a pure Indian dish. To my knowledge there is no dish as "Manchurian" in Chinese restaurant menu except in India. Manchuria - The historical name of a region of north-east China. May be this is the reason we call it as a Chinese dish or may be this dish incorporates lots of Chinese ingredients like soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Why bother about the name when the taste is very excellent. Here is the recipe for this dish.

Ingredients:
Gobi / Cauliflower - 1 small cut into bite size florets
Garlic finely chopped - 5 cloves
Ginger finely chopped - 2"
Onion finely chopped - 1/2 cup
Green Chilies chopped - 4
Ketchup - 3 tsp
Chili Garlic sauce - 1tsp
Con starch - 5 tsp
Red flood colour - 1 pinch
Soy Sauce - 3 tsp
Cilantro Chopped - 1/2 cup
Oil to fry
Salt as required

Method :
In a bowl make a paste out of con starch , red food color, chili garlic sauce , 1 tsp of soy sauce, salt and little water. Add cauliflower florets to it and mix it. Deep fry the florets until golden brown and set aside. In a non- stick pan heat 2 tsp of oil and saute onion for 3 mins . Add garlic, ginger and green chilies and fry for 2 mins. Add ketchup and remaining 2tsp of soy sauce and mix for 2 mins. Now add the fried cauliflower and mix until all the sauce is coated well on the gobi. Now add cilantro and give a quick mix and now transfer to a serving plate and enjoy it hot!!!!