Gummadikaya Gojju

This dish with Butternut squash or Red pumpkin is very simple and does not involve onions or tomatoes yet tastes great. Its called Parakikay in Tamil and Gummadikaya in Telugu. This is our all time favorite which goes well with anything.

Here you go for the things needed

Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Cuisine : Andhra

Ingredients Needed

Gumadikaya (Red pumpkin ) - 500 gms
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dhanai powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds for seasoning
Curry leaves
Garlic - 5 pods crushed
Jaggary - 1 tsp
Ground pw- 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
ghee - 1 tsp

Method to prepare:

Chop red pumpkin. Heat oil, add mustard, curry leaves, garlic and pumpkin. Put in high flame for it mix well.

Add turmeric, salt, chilli and dhania powder. Mix well and simmer it for 10 mins.

Then add jaggary and cook for few mins. In the end add groundnut powder.Cook for 5 mins

Before bringing it down, add ghee.

This goes well with rotis and rice.

X - Chicken Fry

Today I am going to write on two of my Dad's favorite dishes. One dish with chicken and the other one is an Andhra Specialty made from Butternut squash or red pumpkin as we call it. This dish is mainly done during festival season and mostly liked and eaten in Andhra. I have not seen anybody in Tamil Nadu preparing this dish. Infact my inlaw don't make it.

Coming back to the Chicken dish, its a dry roast that Amma started preparing some 10+ years before. She saw the recipe from some place and just changed to her taste. Its Dad's most favorite one and when he asked her what its called, she said she didn't remember the recipe name. So Dad refers this as X Chicken fry. Whenever we want to get the homemade comfort food, this is the one Amma prepares - the X Chicken fry.

Here you go for this wonderful dish.

Preparation time : 15 mins (marinate for 10 min)
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Cuisine : Andhra

Ingredients needed:

For marinating

Chicken - 1/2 kg
Chilli pw - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut paste - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch

For frying
Oil - 2 tbsp
Onion - 2
Green chilli - 3

For dry masala

Dhania - 1 tsp
Clove 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Fennel - 1/2 tsp
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Clean and cut chicken pieces to required size. Mix Chilli pw, Ginger Garlic paste, Salt, Coconut paste and
Turmeric powder to the Chicken pieces and marinate for 10 mins

Dry roast the items for dry masala. and grind to fine powder once its cool.

Chop Onions. Heat oil in a Kadai. Fry onions till golden brown in colour. Add Green chillies and fry for a while.

Then add marinated chicken and cook on high flame for 5 mins. Once the water comes out of chicken, simmer it for 20 mins under cover. Check in between to ensure its not burnt.

Chicken gets cooked by 20 mins, then removed the cover and add the dry masala powder. and again cook for 10 mins.

In the end garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.
This is what I made for dinner
Rotis
Kodi kura (Chicken Gravy)
X-Chicken Fry

This Chicken gravy is different from the one I posted already. Hope you enjoy as I did making these.

Lunch Box Series : LBS#2

Today's lunch is a very simple one with basic dal made with Brinjal or Eggplant and gojju as we call in Telugu. I was reading Bee's Gotsu pizza which was truly amazing. I guess there are lot of people out there who dislike eating eggplant in its natural form. Bee, if you want to camouflage eggplant completely and still eat it...then this Vankaya pappu, as we call it telugu, is the thing to try.

I too normally don't prefer eating eggplant in its fullest form except my Amma's Nune or Guthi Vankaya. But my Athamma introduced me to Vankaya pappu, well she makes it frequently and at times prepare side eats like Mirakaya Bajji to go with it. The combi of tender chilli bajji with this pappu is just excellent. She selects very tender chillies to make the bajji, and lightly roasts it on hot tawa and stuffs little cumin pw and salt. You got to eat to believe the heavenly taste of this combination.

Vankaya pappu is very simple and easy to make. In fact, until someone tells you that it actually has brinjal in it, we will never know. The technique of tadka is also very important. The inviting aroma in the end, is sure way to complete a big bowl of pappu.

My lunch box today had the following
Vankai Pappu
Munnakaya Gojju
Plain rice for pappu
Curd rice.

Vankaya Pappu,

Ingredients needed:

Toor Dal - 1 cup (100 gms)
Brinjal - 3 - 4 medium (depends on how many you have)
Green chillies - 4 - 5 (depends on how spicy you eat)
Onion - 50 gms
Tomato - 2 medium
Tamarind - 1 inch (2 tsp if its a paste, but for pappu the fruit is more tastier)
Coriander leaves - few
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

For tadka,

Crushed garlic - 4 pods
Curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds + Urud dal + Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp (all together)

Method to prepare:

Wash tur dal, chop onions, tomatoes, Brinjals, green chillie. Take everything in a pressure cooker along with tamarind and coriander leaves. Put it for 2 whistles or until dal cooks.

Take it down and with pappu guthi (masher used for mashing down cooked dal), nicely mix like how its done while grinding. The result, everything in it gets mixed nicely, you will not be able to get the chilli seeds away from brinjal seeds if there any.

Take a tadka pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, and garlic pods. Once they are little fried, add the chopped onions. Fry the garlic is nice brown in colour. Speciality of this dish is how strong your garlic smell is.

This goes well with rice or chapattis.

Munnakaya Gojju:

This is another dish my Athamma is known for. I have never eaten Drumstick in anything else other than Sambar, but got to know this method when Athamma first made it. She makes it different every time. This time round we added Ginger garlic paste and coconut paste.

Ingredients needed:

Drumstick - 2
Onions - 1 medium
Tomatoes - 1 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric pw a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Coconut paste - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds + Urud dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves


Method to prepare:

Clean and cut drumstick. Chop onions and tomatoes.

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, once they sputter, add onions. Fry till they are brown in colour, then add ginger garlic paste. Once its cooked, add tomatoes. Add salt to make it soft.

Then add chilli pw, coriander pw and turmeric pw. Cook till oil comes out. Then add drumstick pieces.

Add required water and bring to boil. Add coconut paste and cook on high flame for 5 mins. The drumstick gets cooked within 10 mins. Simmer and cook till the gravy covers the drumstick nicely.

Final result is a thick gravy coating the drumstick. If you want it as gravy you can adjust the flame accordingly. Since I made this as side dish for dal, the gravy is very thick one.

Pappu of any variety is a comfort food at home. Anytime we feel vexed on what to prepare, we end up preparing this.

Pulagam aka Ven Pongal with a difference

Since my visit to Tirumala, I was thinking more of the different prasadams offered in temples and I was remembering the time we had pongal there. It tasted so ultimate. But then of course, in all temples the taste of the prasadam is incomparable.

This dish that I make at home is called simply Pongal, but in tamil its called Ven pongal and the same variety in Andhra, is called pulagam. Whatever it is called, this is one dish which is very simple yet tastes so good. For all its simplicity, getting that correct texture in the end is also very important. The ones we get in restaurant is so soft, yet doesn't stick to the fingers, there is no need to even chew, it just slides down the moment we take a mouthful. Ven pongal is termed great based on this factor on how smooth it goes in. Dad simply likes this so much but always used to complain that it sticks to the fingers.

But mine normally is non sticky, so am I the one who gets to prepare this. The extra spices that I add makes it definitely not Ven Pongal, but it tastes simply great. In my law's place they have it with Majiga pulusu (Buttermilk), while we eat it with Peanut Chutney.

There are two important factors for getting the final soft texture. First is the amount of water, which for normal cooking is always 2 portions to 1 portion of rice, but extra glass of water is added to get gooey texture but the beauty in this is, its not sticky. Secondly the amount of ghee and oil that's added, if you are not so fat conscious, you can add 1 tbsp extra to get the final texture.

Preparation Time: 15 mins (includes soaking time for rice)
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Andhra

This recipe now part of my eBook, please refer the details below.





eBook Details:

eBook Name : Flavours from South Indian Kitchen from Cooking 4 all Seasons
Recipes : 15 recipes
Skill level: Easy From Novice to Expert
Labels: Traditional - India, Vegetarian And Wholesome Food
Price: $5.00
Format: PDF



How this Works: After payment via Paypal, eBook will be emailed to your email id. For any questions about the recipe or the download process, please email me at cooking4allseasons@gmail.com

Simple Fish Fry

Normally we use King fish for fries, but this time we tried Sheela or Seela. This is how is called in Tamil, I thought this is referred as Barracuda, when I looked up google, what came was a very ferocious one than the meek one I saw in my Kitchen the other day. So I guess I got to settle with just sheela for now. This is a long and slender fish and I heard Amma saying that this is river fish not really sure. English name for this fish is most welcome. Next time I make this, I will take a photo for reference - there my conscience is clear, I guess I can go ahead with what we did to the poor fish.

Once upon a time when I used to eat non veg, fish fry was my favorite. Karalites get their beautiful hair and eye lashes because of fish consumption. Fish in general is very good for health...well that's what makes me force my daughter eat it at very chance. But its a big task making her eat what with the bones. When we cook King fish there is not much hassle, got to know that Sheela was tastier that that.

For this I chose just simple ingredients,

Ingredients needed

Sheela fish - 1/2 kg
Chilli powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric pw - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon (optional)
Oil for frying

Method to prepare:

Clean the fish and make slits on the fish.

Apply chili powder, turmeric pw, salt. Sprinkle lemon juice if required. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Heat oil and deep fry the fish one by one. If you want the fish to be long and not cut in middle, shallow fry in a pan with oil. This way you can have your fish in tact.Enjoy this anytime.

Dragon 65!

Enter the Dragon!...Well I am not referring the movie or my favorite cartoon series Tintin in china, I grew up on Tintin and still enjoy reading it. I am talking about the dragon entering our kitchen. Chinese of any kind was not so preferred at home, well thats before we introduced the dragon. Not sure why this is suffixed with 65, I have not really look up on that name, but this is one hevulla dish to entice people to do martial arts!

Here you go for the dragon

Preparation Time : 40 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins
Cuisine : Chinese

Ingredients needed:

Prawn - 1 kg
Corn flour - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chilli Sauce - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Red colour a pinch
Soya sauce - 2 tsp
Lemon - 1/2 of it
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method to prepare:

Clean pawns and mix all the ingredients. Adjust the lemon as per your taste. Marinate the pawns for 30 mins

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the pawns.

Remove to a kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Garnish with onion and lime

Marinating makes pawns soft and cooks faster.

Palak Paneer (Sag Paneer, Spinach Paneer)

"I yam what I yam, and that's all I yam," is one of the catchphrases of Popeye the Sailor. Who wouldn't know Popeye the sailor, especially with kids this is very popular show on TV. This character is better known for his superhuman strength he gets on eating spinach or palak.

It is said that spinach farmers in Crystal City, Texas were so grateful for this they erected a statue of Popeye in the town and credited him for saving the then-dying spinach industry.
- source wikipedia

The influence of such cartoon characters are amazing as I have seen my friend's son, who initial refused to eat spinach, started eating after seeing this show. He is such a great fan and forever saying his biceps have grown big because of eating spinach.

Coming to facts, spinach is a great leaf. Tastes great and easy to make. And such a wonderful dish from a simple leafy vegetable is unbelievable.

Palak Paneer is our all time favorite dish at home. We all like Spinach paneer with pulka and naan whereas my Dad likes to have this with rice too.

Serves - 4
Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Punjabi

Ingredients needed:

Paneer - 150 gms
Palak / spinach - 2 bundles (1 cup paste)
Onions - 150 gms
Tomatoes - 150 gms
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Sugar a pinch
Butter to roast paneer if required.

Method to prepare:

Wash and cook the palak leaves. Once its cool , grind to a fine paste. Keep it aside.

Chop Onions, Tomatoes into fine pieces.

Heat Oil in a kadai, add onions, fry till they are gold in colour and add ginger garlic paste. Fry for few mins.

Add the tomatoes, sauté well. If the tomatoes are very firm, add the salt right now to get them soft, else can be added in the end.

Add chilli pw, turmeric pw. cook well for 5 mins. Then add the palak paste. Bring to boil. Simmer for 5 mins or till the gravy is thick enough.

Just before switching it off, add the paneer peices and cook it for 5 mints. Finally add sugar to retain the green colour.

Serve cream or butter on top as garnish.


This is my entry for the event RCI: Punjab hosted by Richa, started by Lakshmi

Can't wait for the roundup to see all my favorite dishes on the display. Thanks Richa for hosting the event and Lakshmi for coming up with this idea.

Enjoy!

Ragi Sangati

This is what we made for lunch today. Ragi Sangati with Mutton Pulusu (Gravy) and Andhra Mutton Pepper Fry. Ragi Sangati is a staple food in most rural Andhra household. Its very tasty and healthy.

Ragi Sangati or Ragi mudda is very common and savored in our household. Its typically a part of rayalaseema cuisine, very prodomient in villages where its cultivated. Its very healthy and nutritious. And the fact that it actually tastes yummy with certain dishes goes to say its really delicious. This tastes great with Non-Veg dishes and with Veg we make Groundnut chutney or Endimirapakaya pappu.

One serving is enough to keep you going till late lunch if had for breakfast. At Amma's place this is normally made for lunch or dinner but my inlaws have it for breakfast. Athamma makes Bendakaya Bajji (Bajji made from Lady's finger or Okra. Bajji is not the snack we normally refer too, its a kind of watery dish). That's my hubby's favorite breakfast.

Whenever I think of Ragi Sangati, I am reminded of the stories my Nanamma (father's mother) used to tell on her young days trying to cook for the farmers who used to work in our farms. She used to cook large quantities for nearly 20 people. For farmers this was the best food as it will not get them hungry soon.

Different varieties that are made from this are Ragi Dosa, Ragi Malt, And most soothing effect you get when you eat mudda with Curds.

Serves - 2
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Andhra

Ingredients needed

Ragi flour - 1 cup
Rice - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Water - 4 cups

Method to prepare:

Clean and soak rice for 15 mins

Take water in a saucepan, bring it boil. Once the water starts boiling, add the drained rice and salt. Cover and cook the rice until the grains are soft. When the rice is cooked and soft, just add or dump the ragi flour into the pot. Athamma does not stirs at this point, but allows it to cook. Cover the pan and let it cook on sim heat for few mins, until the steam lifts the plate covering the pan. Remove the cover and using a roll pin or any pappu guthi stir the mixture thoroughly until you see no lumps.

Sim it to cook for 10 mins, Now comes the trick to make the balls or mudda. Amma used to suffer making muddas from the hot stuff by dipping in water every time she takes a lump from the pan, But my Attamma had the ace stroke when she showed me her method. She takes a vessel, wets it with water, she then scoops a portion to this wet vessel and rotates the vessel. It automatically becomes a ball. wow, such a simple technique without getting our hands burnt

This is typically served on steel plate with a watery gravy, steeping into the mudda.

Today I served it with this, but with any Veg dishes also it tastes equally good. Ragi mudda has to be pressed a little in middle, added ghee into the well and then eat with the gravy. Tastes great!

Enjoy!

Kanchipuram Idli Podi

This Podi is made specially for Kanchipuram Idli. Its quite coarse in nature and can be had with ghee or Oil.

Preparation Time : 10 mins

Ingredients Needed:

Bengal Gram - 50 gms
Urud dal - 50 gms
Dry Red chillie - 8 - 10
Hing - a pinch
salt to taste

Method to prepare:

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of Oil and roast all the ingredients.

Once its cool, grind it coarsely.

Serve this with Kanchipuram Idlies.

Kanchipuram Idli

Kanchipuram Idli as the name goes is from Kanchipuram, a holy city in Tamilnadu, India. History goes that Kanchipuram Idly is served as prasadam in Varadharaja Perumal Temple, a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, located in the Kanchipuram. It is a huge Idli (Steamed Rice Cake) which is added with spices.

This is best for a relaxed Sunday breakfast. Amma makes this and serves with Podi, which is specially made for this. Mixed with Ghee, tastes very good.

Soaking Time : 5-6 hours.
Cooking Time : 20 min.
Fermenting Time : 10 hours or overnight.
Preparation Time : 10 min.
Cuisine : Tamil Nadu

Ingredients needed

Boiled rice - 200 gms
Raw rice - 100
Urud dal - 150
Fenugreek - 5 gms
Cooking soda - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

For seasoning

Pepper corns - 1 tsp
ginger - 1 inch
Bengal gram - 2 tsp
Black dal (urud) - 2 tsp
curry leaves
cashew nuts - 10
coriander leaves

Method to prepare:

Clean and soak both the rices and Urud dal for 5-6 hrs. Grind the rice first and then Urud to a fine paste. Mix both together.

Let it ferment for 10 hrs or overnight.

Add cooking soda and salt atleast an hour before cooking,

In a kadai, add 1 tsp, and roast all the items for seasoning. Add to the batter.

Take small tumbles to be used as molds and pour the batter into it and cook for 15- 20 mins.

Once done, remove and serve with Podi.

Lunch Box Series : LBS#1

Lunch time is always so exciting. During school days, it was a time to look forward. Mostly because the difficult subjects would be over by the noon and we can look forward to a nice and relaxed afternoon session. A time to doze and play games, but the most important, being we get to be free for an hour. We used to roam around the campus looking into other classes. Generally hanging around and having fun. It used to painful when we hear the first bell go, reminding us that we got to get back to class room.

And what was sent for lunch, used to be more exciting. Amma used to pack proper lunch for Daddy, while my brother used to go home for his. But I always wanted my lunch to be packed. And best was, I used to love tiffin items and wanted only these for lunch. My best lunches used to be Idlies with Amma's famous Podi smeared over it, with lots of ghee. It tastes simply out of the world. Even now, given a chance I will have this Podi for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner.

Well that was in school days, when I moved to college, my lunch items changed. Mostly because I went to a Punjabi college, where most of my friends were North Indians. So their lunch used to be so interesting for me. This is where I developed my fondness to North Indian food and cuisines. Since they used to bring all North Indian food, I was asked to bring all South Indian food. So we used to end up exchanging our lunch boxes. My friends included Punjabi, Parsi, Marwari, Sindi, Gujarathi.. All our lunch boxes used to be such a versatile and a feast to our eyes.

All our Moms used to excel over each other, trying to pack great lunches for us. Not sure if studies were the focus or what's food for lunch. And now that I think of, my college days remind me more of our lunch breaks than what I studied. Well that goes to say why I am not in the field I majored from.

Tracing now to my days as a career woman, married and a mother myself now, I know now how hard it must have been for Amma, planning for those lunches. Given a chance I would still prefer tiffins for lunch. But knowing how important it is to have a balanced diet for lunch, I find I have to plan for a balanced combinations of cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and everything else through the week. Dad always tells us to have a list of our favorite list struck on the Kitchen board.

My husband prefers rice for lunch and chapattis with Sabji for dinner, as it will be light on tummy. Since the time I started packing lunch for hubby dear, I have always have this urge to quickly come up with something that can brighten the day.

In my series I will be posting what I made for lunch. Its most typically an Indian food. But mostly ones that can get done in most 1 hour's time.

First in my Lunch Box Series (LBS#1) is :

Coconut Milk Rice
Tomato curry with Egg
Curd Rice with Mangoes.


Coconut Milk Rice

This is such a simple dish, yet so tasty and nice to have for lunch. Thick milk is extracted from Coconut and added to Basmati rice which gives out an inviting aroma. This is very frequently made at home. Its our typically Wednesday lunch pack. Previous to Athamma's invasion to my Kitchen, I used to make Veg Pulao or some rice variety but now since this dish was introduced, it has become a regular.

Preparation Time : 15 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins

Ingredients needed:

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Fresh coconut Milk - 1 cup
Onions - 1 big
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Bay Leaves -1
Green chilles - 3
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water - 2 & 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves for garnishing.

Method to prepare:

Step 1: Wash Basmati rice and Soak in water for 15 mins.

Step 2: Chop Onions into fine pieces, slit green chillies in middle.

Step 3: Heat butter in the cooker that's going to be used for cooking Rice, add all whole spices. then add onions, ginger garlic paste, green chillies. Sim the flame.

Step 4: Wash and chop coconut and run in a mixie to get its milk. Extracted coconut milk can be stored for 2 - 3 days. But thick paste can stay for a week in fridge. It should not be handled by hand, rather use spoon, this way it stays longer.

Step 5 Once the Onions turn golden brown, add drained rice. Sauté for a while until it is coated well. Add coconut milk, water, salt. and put it for 2 whistles. The rice should not be over cooked but the grains should be separate.

Finally garnish with coriander leaves

Tomato curry with Egg

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins

Ingredients needed:

Eggs - 4
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Onions - 2 medium
Chilli powder
Coriander powder
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard and Urud dal for seasoning
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Method to prepare:

Step 1: Put Eggs to boil for 10 mins. This also depends how hard you want your eggs to be.

Step 2: Chop all the Onions and tomatoes.

Step 3: Heat Oil in the kadai you want to make the curry. Add mustard and urud, once it starts sputtering, add chopped Onions. Fry till they are nicely brown in colour. Then add chopped tomatoes, salt. Cook on high flame till tomatoes are soft. Then add chilli pw, coriander pw, turmeric pw. Sim and cook on low flame till oil comes out.

Finally, shelled out eggs and make slits so that curry can go in. Put these to the curry and cook it covered for few mins until the gravy goes in. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Curd Rice with Mangoes.

This is a very fav dish in Andhra, where mangoes grow in plenty and when the mango seasons comes in, we are thrown at so much mangoes that we hardly know what to do.

For this season also, Amma prepared Andhra's famous Avakai Pickle. We also made dishes from raw Mangoes like Mango Rice, Mango Pappu, Mango Chutney and desserts like Mango Milkshake, Mango ice-cream. And most fav one and the best way to end a lunch or a dinner, is to have Curd rice with mangoes.

Curd, of course is made to set the night before. We cook plain rice and mix with Curds and garnish mango to make this rice.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking Time 15 mins

Ingredients needed:

Rice - 1 cup
Curds - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Mango pieces

Method to prepare:

Step 1: Wash and soak rice in water for 15 mins

Step 2: Cook in pressure cooker for 3 whistles to get soft cooked rice.

Step 3: Spread the rice in a bowl to cool it . Mash it well so that hard grains are not present.

Step 4: Add Curds, Milk, little water to the rice and salt to taste. Mix well. This way it does not get sour.


Step 5: Cut mangoes into small pieces. Garnish them over the curd rice. The juice from the mangoes steeps into the curd rice and gives an excellent taste by the time we have it for lunch.

All Step 1s needs to be done one after the other, followed by Step 2 and then Step 3. Follow the steps to complete everything in maximum of 1 hour's of cooking. That is of course if you don't have a school going kid who needs to be packed off in 15 mins time in middle of all these chaos.

This is my humble lunchbox, hope you enjoyed!

Vegetable Biryani

Biriyanis in any form is great to have. Especially for a working woman like me, this is one easy dish to make and not think of side dishes and other extra items that we might normally have to prepare. Planning for a complete meal for the lunch is a big herculean task. Especially at home where everybody packs their lunch, its even more difficult as they need to get a balanced diet with all the Vegetables and a filling food.

I was planning to come with a series called Lunch Box series where I will be writing on the easy and balanced combis which will get done in flat 1 hrs time of cooking. Also I had an idea of starting a Event based on this theme. Do let me know if there is one already on this theme.

Well coming back to Biryanis, its so healthy as it has all the vegetables required, and takes very little effort to prepare. This is an ultimate choice for Vegetarians and especially for working people who need to pack in a jiffy.

We prepare different types of one dish based rice atleast once a week.

Here you go for the recipe

Serves : 4
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients needed:

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onions - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 1 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green Chilles - 4 nos
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Beans - 1/2 cup
Peas - 1/2 cup
Potatoes - 1/2 cup
Bay Leaves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 5
Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup
Coriander Leaves - for garnishing
Curd - 1/2 cup
Water - 4 cups
Salt to taste


Method to prepare:

Clean and soak Basmati rice for 15 mins in water. Refer here for my method of cooking Basmati Rice

Chop all the vegetables. Keep it aside.

Heat Oil and butter in a pan in which you are going to cook.

Add all the whole spices, then add onions, Green Chillies, Mint leaves. Saute till they are golden in colour.

Then add ginger garlic paste. Once its cooked well, add the Vegetables. Fry for 5 mins

Then add drained rice and fry gently so that the rice is coated well in butter and at the same it does not get broken

Then add tomatoes, Curd, Salt to taste, turmeric pw, water. Normally for cooking basmati rice we use 1-1&1/2 ratio but since we have all the vegetables to cook I added 1-2 ratio of water.

Pressure cook the rice and garnish with Coriander leaves.


Hope you enjoy preparing this.

Pepper Macaroni

Spicy Peppery Macaroni is on its way to Spice it up, the Weekend Breakfast Blogging event hosted by the lovely Trupti of The Spice who loved Me.

Macaroni is best eaten at...all times! Especially if its spiced up with tomatoes and pepper...wow a great breakfast item to keep us running till our hungry pangs starts attacking us by lunch.

Macaroni is something like an alien at first ...best friend once acquainted. South Indians at best don't prefer continental stuff what with their mild flavors, but when it goes through a change and takes a Indian avatar...there is nothing like that to beat it.

I am referring to my own experience with this, when everybody home were reluctant to accept it and I had to pour in enough interesting items to attract hubby dear to eat this for breakfast. Its fast to prepare, tasty to eat and of course makes your day. Now its part of our regular breakfast items.

My daughter at one point wanted macaroni for all her meals.

The spicy item in this recipe is of course lots of Pepper...

Here you go for the recipe.

Ingredients needed

Macaroni - 2 cups
Onions - 1 big
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Pepper powder 2 tsp
Chilli powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves

Method to prepare:

Boil macaroni in enough water to get soft cooked ones. Drain the water and pour little oil so that it doesn't stick together.

Chop Onions and Tomatoes finally . Heat Oil in kadai, add chopped onions, sauté well to get golden colour. Then add tomatoes.

Add salt so that tomatoes so that they become soft soon. Then add chilli powder. Once oil starts coming out, add cooked macaroni.

Sim and cook for 5 mins. Finally add pepper and Coriander leaves.
Yummy Macaroni is ready. Enjoy!

If you add grated Cheese finally, it tastes better and becomes cheesy pepper Macaroni!

Going Lite with Sweet Corn Soup

Well finally I was able to make it for the deadline....last moment I had no access to my computer and was wondering how I was going to post this.

Luck favoured and here I am posting my entry to this month's MBP hosted by Coffee. This month's theme is ‘Going Lite’

And what would be more justifying than patrolling in the host's blog!

Here I go posting my entry referred from Coffee's Sweet Corn Soup.

I followed her recipe except didn't add soya sauce and cabbage!..

Ingredients needed

1 Can of cream style sweet corn
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Beans - 1/2 cup
Pepper - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves
Corn flour - 2 tsp

Method to prepare

Chop carrot and Beans finely.

Keep the water to boil. Once it begins to boil throw in the carrots and Beans.

Let it cook for about 2 mins and then add 1 can of cream style sweet corn.

Let it boil. In the meanwhile make a paste of 2 tsp of cornflour with 1/4 cup of water.

Once the soup starts boiling, add in the cornflour paste, salt to taste.

Let it boil for two mins and then switch off the gas. Garnish with crushed pepper and Coriander leaves.


Its raining in Madras right now and this proved to be the most ideal dish to cheer up spirits.

Thanks Coffee for the wonderful event.

Pav Bhaji

What pizza is to Italy or the hot-dog is to America, pav bhaji has the same connotation to western India.

Pav bhaji or pao bhaji is a specialty Indian dish with origins in Mumbai and Gujarat. In Marathi pav means bread (the term derives from the Portuguese "pao") and bhaji means a curry and vegetable mix. The serving of pav bhaji consists of the bhaji (a potato based curry) and the pav (bread) garnished with coriander and chopped onions. Pav is a meat-less dish, which is high in carbohydrates and fats (if served with butter) and bhaji is high in carbohydrates and proteins.

The origin of this dish is traced to the heyday of the textile mills in Mumbai. The mill workers used to have a short break for lunch. A full lunch which was not rushed probably needed more time than what was available. A light lunch was also preferred given that physical work followed immediately. A vendor understood this and came up with this dish using items or parts of them available on the menu. The role of Indian bread or rice was taken up by pav and the curries that usually go with Indian bread or rice were amalgamated into just one spicy concoction-the 'bhaji'. Thus was born-- the celebrated pav-bhaji!
- Source wikipedia

Well thats the facts on Pav Bhaji. Apart from that, the beauty of this is, it is so easy to prepare at home with most of the ingredients easily available. And its quite favorite at home as its so filling and so tasty. I prefer to make it often as my daughter likes it a lot. She is so fussy about Vegetables, that I am glad I have this handy as she doesn't get to see the Vegetables.

I make bhaji with mashed potatoes, peas, beans, carrot, cauliflower. Another Vegetable that can add extra zing is Beetroot.

We normally make it for dinner as we can relax and enjoy this simple yet yummy dish

Serves : 4
Preparation Time : 15 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Maharashtrian

Ingredients Needed:

For Pav:
Pav bread
Butter for roasting

For Bhaji:
Potatoes - 1 cup
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Beans - 1/2 cup
Cauliflower - 1/2 cup
Peas - 1/2 cup
Onions - 2 big
Tomatoes - 3 big
Garlic - 4 pods
Pav Bhaji Masala - 2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric pw a pinch
Salt to taste
Butter - 50 gms
Oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Method to prepare:

Clean and cut all the vegetables. Pressure cook them. Once they are cool, mash them to paste.
Its ok to have one or two pieces in their original shape...but if you have a kid who refuses to eat anything in shape of a Veg, then take my advice and mash to real paste with nothing recognizable. Kids are smart you see, they will see through these tricks.
Chop Onions, Tomatoes finely. Crush the garlic, this gives a nice taste to the gravy.

Heat a pan, add butter and oil. Add onions, sauté till they are nicely gold in colour. Then add garlic.

Once onions are done, add tomatoes and salt. Once its well cooked and soft, add Pav bhaji masala, chilli pw, turmeric pw. Cook on high flame for few mins, till the masala gets mixed well. Pav bhaji masala can be made at home or can be store bought.

Then add the mashed Vegetables, allow it to simmer for a few minutes.

Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and add butter on top.

Roast the pav in a pan with butter and serve the bhaji with slice of onion and lemon.

Great dish for kids. Enjoy!

Veggie Hot Dog

It was the time when American food became popular and wherever you go, you are tempted with Pizzas, Burgers etc. We saw joints like Pizza hut competing with other restaurants and coming up with most exciting offers to attract people. Of course with the response they got, they were unable to have the offers running for long.

This becoming so popular, we ended up making these at home, what better way to enjoy, than preparing it ourselves. Of course Indianizing in the way. At one point we used to prepare pizzas, burgers so much, that folks at home started longing for Indian food. But my fascination towards pizzas, burgers is no end.

With pizzas, burgers, there were Veg types available, but items like Hot Dogs were basically prepared with beef or pork, there was no way I can try to make it. So I ended up with what's my fav, Veggie Hot Dog.

Its been long time since I made this last. When I made it recently, it was welcomed well. Esp my daughter liked it a lot, so I guess I can trust to have somebody to have this the next time I make it.

Here you go..

Serves : 4
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients needed:

For patties:

Potatoes - 2 medium
Peas - 1 cup
Carrot - 2 medium
Maida - 1/2 cup
Chilli pw - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Cheese - as required
Coriander Leaves a little
Oil for frying

For coating

Corn flour - 1/2 cup
Bread Crumbs - for coating

For Hot Dog:

Long buns - 8
Cheese - for garnishing
Tomato Sauce as required
Pepper pw as required

Method to prepare:

If you are using dried peas, then soak in water for 6 hrs min and cook to get soft ones. Carrot, potatoes can be boiled along with peas.

Mix corn flour in water to get a dropping consistency. Get bread crumbs ready.

Mix all the ingredients for patties Roll then as long patties and dip in corn flour, then in bread crumbs.

This can be either deep fried or shallow fried. I did a shallow fry as its better tasting.

Heat oil in a pan and place the long patties and add 1 tbsp to fry each patties.

Once all the patties are ready, make a long slit on one side of the bun making sure its still intact.

Apply sauce, grated cheese, then place the patties inside. Sprinkle generous amount of cheese if you like cheese on top of the patties.

Bake it in oven or microwave until the cheese melts. Finally you can sprinkle pepper and sauce over the top before serving.

Your hot and cheesy Veg Hot Dog is ready. Enjoy!

Andhra Pulihora, Tamarind Rice ~ Andhra Special!

This weekend we visited Tirumala in Tirupati. The town owes its existence to the sacred temple situated on the Tirumala Hills. Tirumala is the abode of Lord Venkateshwara, (one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu), located atop Seshachala hills often called as "Yaedu Kondalu" (seven hills). The temple of Lord Venkateshwara is the richest Hindu temple and is second most visited religious centers in the world following Vatican. Other details can be checked out here.

It is said that, we are blessed in getting even the prasadam, let alone visiting the place. Swamivaru Laddu is the most sacred one for Hindus. Other prasadam offered are Anna Prasadams (Pulihora), Chitrannam, Sweet Pongal and Curd rice. Each has its unique taste thats unsurpassed by none.

This being our native place we visit often, still getting other prasadam except laddu is quite difficult. Pulihora is made very often at home. Infact its a fixed one for Saturday lunch. I make as how Amma makes, still both tastes very different. I guess it depends on what and how many goes in. Infact my inlaws are so fond of this, that I always prepare it when they visit us.

Here you go for the details

Serves : 6
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients needed:

Cooked rice - 3 cups (300 gms)
Tamarind - size of a lemon.
Red chillies - 10
Green chillies - 3
Bengal Gram - 1 tbsp
Urud Dal - 1 tsp
Ground Nut - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1
Asafetida - a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil - 150 ml

For powder

Bengal Gram - 1 tsp
Urud Dal - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies - 2 nos

Method to prepare:

Soak tamarind in water for 30 mins. Extract thick pulp from it.

Cook rice and spread it over a big bowl. Add oil to make sure the grains are separate.

Dry roast all the ingredients for the powder and grind it once it is cool.


Take a kadai, heat oil and add Bengal gram, Urud dal, Ground nuts, mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add curry leaves, asafetida.

Add the tamarind pulp to the above, salt, add required amount of water to boil. Once its boiled well add the powder and cook well for 10 mins on sim.

Once its done, mix it to the rice.
This tastes great when prepared in the morning and had for lunch. Also a wonderful dish for travelling packing.

Enjoy!

Parotta

Parotta made in the Tamil Nadu style has a unique taste and style that it can stand for competition on its own. This is so common and yet to difficult to prepare at home. We can see it commonly sold in the road site carts. Layered parotta is very famous in Tamil Nadu. Each layer will be crispy, but still soft with each layer coming out and it tastes great with anything.

The first time I remember of this dish, I must've been 8 years or so, when I saw people swinging the dough on the air and twisting it around. Anyway this was my fav one and even Amma never used to make this as it was quite complicated and basically we didnt know how one makes it.

When I go to any South Indian restaurant, this is what I order. Unlike Naan, this gets the kurma served with it, so its a complete dish on its own.

Then once when we visited our friends in interior Tamil Nadu, we were served this. Thats when we learned how to prepare it. I was there through the entire process and was quite amazed at the art this dish involves. They had prepared the dough some 5 to 6 hrs earlier for the evening feast. Lot of oil was added and they soaked in it oil for the entire time.

Amma has adapted from that recipe, which is quite easy and yet we get the same kind of parottas. Our friends rolled out the parotta dough only in oil and everything in that, which is why it was so crispy and coming out in layers.

Here you go for the recipe.

Serves : 15 parottas
Preparation Time : 40 mins (includes rising time)
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Cuisine : Tamil Nadu

Ingredients needed:

Maida - 4 cups
Atta - 2 cups
Ghee - 100 gms
Milk - 100 ml
Salt to taste

Method to prepare:

Parotta has to be prepared in 2 - 1 ratio of Maida - Atta (Wheat flour).

Take a big bowl and mix maida and atta with salt. Rub in Ghee and mix well.

Then add milk. Mix it well to form a dough. Add required water to get a soft yet little stiff dough.

Take a wet muslin cloth and cover the dough and keep aside for 30 mins.

Then make balls of the required size. Roll out by applying maida.

Once you get a big circle, add ghee, and sprinkle Maida on the top. Fold it like in the photo

Roll it with oil. Rolling should be done only on one side so that the layers are intact.

Put it on a hot tawa and fry it with oil

Remove from tawa and press it as I show. This is to get the layers free.
Your layered parotta is ready.

This tastes great with Non - Veg gravies, But with Veg also it tastes yummy. I normally make it with paneer butter masala.

Paneer Butter Masala

My passions and pleasures when related to North Indian dishes are no end. I was introduced to this cuisine during my college days, when one afternoon my friend wanted to go out for lunch.

We ended up in a restaurant near the famous Gemini Flyover in Nungambakkam. The restaurant was located in a basement and I still remember walking down the corridor which lead to this dimly lit place. It was a bright and hot afternoon, but the atmosphere inside was one of a cool and dimly lit one. I hardly remember the ambience except the fact it was crowded and busy. The aromas sneaking away from kitchen were more tantalizing then the decor.

Well anyway, what I had for lunch on that afternoon was a prelude to a lifetime passion and obsession. Yes I am obsessed with Paneer and anything to do with it. We ordered Mutter Paneer and Shai Paneer, and maybe some Gobi dish, but the taste is still lingering in my senses. I haven't been to that place again, but hope I will one day find time to visit it again.

Coming back to my obsession on paneer, if there was ever a need to find a reviewer on the Paneer dish available across Madras, well you can know where to find one.

As the only Veg eater, I always had to choose my own and have nobody to share with me. Well I will let you decide if this was my advantage or not...But this allowed me to order only Paneer Butter Masala all the time. Believe me, to my amazement, till date I have not been able to find this being prepared the same way.

Amma had adapted this from Sanjeev Kapoor and included her own touch and flavours. She always makes paneer at home, as we prefer the homemade. It is so soft and tastier than the store ones.

Now I have a big fan in my daughter who just simply loves this dish. This is one of the few dishes, she gets all excited about. I serve it with Tamil Nadu layered Parotta. The combi is ultimate.

I end up preparing Paneer Butter Masala atleast once in 10 days much to my own pleasures..

Here you go for recipe

Serves - 4
Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins
Cuisine - Punjabi

Ingredients needed:

For Gravy

Homemade Paneer - 250 gms
Onions - 2 big
Tomatoes - 3 big
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 4 pods
Cashew Nuts - 10 nos
Milk - 100 ml
Butter - 100 gms
Red colour - a pinch
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

For Garnishing:

Onions - 1 medium
Green Chillies - 2 - 3 slit

Optional Garnishing:
Capsicum - 1 medium
Fenugreek seeds - few
Kasthuri M ethi leaves

Method to prepare:

Follow the steps as explained for max time saving on cooking and cleaning...:)

First take the ingredients needed for gravy, cut onions, ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste. Remove and then make puree of Tomatoes. Grind the cashew nut coarsely.

Then take the ingredients kept for Garnishing. Cut Paneer into cubes, finely chop the onions, slit the green chillies.

Heat required amount of butter in the cooking pan. Fry each of the above ingredients. Onions should be crispy. Paneer should be fried to light golden colour. Keep these aside.



Take the pan that's already used for frying, add 80 gms of butter, fry the onion paste. Sauté well to ensure it does not get burned.

Once its cooked well, add chilli powder. Cook till oil comes out, simmer the flame. Add milk slowly and cook for 5 mins. Then add coarsely ground cashew nuts.

Cook Once cooked for a while, add tomato puree, cumin pw, Salt, sugar, garam masala, Orange colour. Bring to boil. Add required amount of water. Let it cook on high flame for few mins.


Then add fried onions, paneer cubes, green chillies, and cook for 10 mins. Add the remaining butter.

Kasthuri methi can be added at this stage. and cook it covered.

I normally don't add fenugreek or capsicum but add more number of green chillies as hubby dear likes to munch on green chillies. This can be changed according to ones preference.

This tastes yummy with parotta...well writing this has given me the boost required to prepare this tonight for dinner........
Reading back on my write up, I feel I have written quite a lengthy post. I guess thinking on each dish, brings in lot of memories. So if the pre-recipe ramblings are lengthy, kindly excuse me and skip right to the recipe..

Hope you enjoy this as much we do!

Chole Masala with Aloo

Or Chana masala, Chickpeas Curry. How can I talk about Bhatura and not mention Chole!.

Well we normally make Channa curry for pooris or chappattis, but with Bhaturas it tastes simply out of this world.

The version that was prepared this time, was a very simple one. To get thick consistency we added potatoes. Else this can be made without Aloo also.

Serves : 5
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins

Ingredients needed:

Channa - 2 cups
Onions - 2 medium
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Potatoes - 2 medium
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 4 pods
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves

Method to prepare:

Soak Channa overnight, (atleast for 6 hours) in water. Pressure cook it along with Potatoes, to get tender channa dal. Ensure its not soggy.

Cut Onions, Tomatoes into pieces. Add fresh Ginger, Garlic and make everything into fine paste.

Heat Oil in a kadai, put the masala paste. Sauté on high flame. Add all the powders. Cook for 5 mins

Then add the cooked Channa to the kadai. Mash all the potatoes and add to the gravy to get thick consistency. Sim it for a while until you get a thick gravy.

You can add the potatoes as cubes, also but mashed potatoes make gravy thick. If you want to add it as cubes, then pressure cook Channa and keep it for 2 whistles, then add potatoes and again put on whistle for 2 more. I thick everybody mostly pressure cooks channa otherwise it takes lot of cooking time.

Finally garnish it with Coriander leaves, Onion and Lime pieces.
Tempting tantalizing Chole Masala is ready to go with Bhatura...

This is a joyful dish enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge

I was first introduced to this heavenly sauce when I visited my friend's ice-cream factory. We saw a big Cauldron with a churner rolling around with a rich creamy liquid boiling.

We were nonplussed at the beauty. We asked what was cooking and they said they were making Chocolate Fudge. The aroma that was coming out was intoxicating. We were offered to taste. There was no turning back after that day. It had become an integral part of cooking for me.

Fudge is an extremely rich and cocoa flavored sauce. This is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it on high temperature. It acquires a smooth, creamy consistency by beating the mixture.

Fudge is usually understood to be chocolate. This can be used as topping on ice-creams, milkshakes, as icing on cakes.

Quick 5 mins fudge can be made by melting chocolate bars and heating it with butter on high flame.

If you are looking at a recipe that can be done in 15 mins, then use Sweetened Condensed Milk.

But my version was always boiling down milk to thick consistency. This takes around 40 - 45 mins of cooking.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time : 45 mins

Ingredients needed:

Cocoa powder - 2 - 3 tbsp
Butter - 100 gms
Milk - 1 liter
Sugar - 200 gms

Method to prepare:

Boil Milk on high flame. Take cocoa in a cup and add hot milk and make it to a smooth paste.

Once milk is boiled, add cocoa paste slowly making sure it does not become lump. Cook for 10 mins.

Then add sugar, butter. Keep it on high flame stirring it constantly to ensure whay does not form.

When the milk boils for nearly 30 mins, it becomes a thick liquid and it starts coming out from the edge.

This is when you will have to remove if you are planning for fudge.

The liquid can be removed in 20 mins if you are planning to make a sauce for icecream

The thick chocolate fudge can be stored for preparing milk shakes, icing etc.

This is what I added to my Black Forest cake as topping.

Enjoy!

EggLess Black Forest Cake

If there are few things I miss eating since becoming a pure Veg, its Cakes that tops the list. I still remember the divine taste of delicious chocolate truffle or Black Forest cakes and long for such taste again.

This need drove me to bake my own versions of Egg less cakes. Friends used to wonder at my strange need to bake when one can pick many such wonderful ones without so much labour. But then I was the veggie one. Of course all of them used to land up home for devouring off my hard work in flat 10 mins. That was a reward I was most happy with.

Now I am back to baking after a long gap and thats because my daughter has finally acquired a taste for cakes and that too Chocolate cakes! So would I wait any longer to make my fav dish! nay straight I went and got things required and got on the job.

One mistake I did though, was to announce to her that I am going to bake one. She was underfoot the entire time asking me every 5 mins if her cake was ready. She loves cutting cakes with candles claiming its her birthday.

When everything was ready finally she wouldn't even allow me to take pictures of the cake. I did manage with great difficult to capture few ones.

Whenever I bake Eggless cake and offer Dad, he asks "Is it shameless cake or what?"...well time too I was greeted with the same statement and it was so nostalgic.

Here you go for this lovely dish..

Serves: Depends on what size you want to cut..:)
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Baking Time: 7 mins in Microwave / 20 min in oven (until its baked)

Ingredients needed:

Sweetened Condensed Milk - 400 gms
Aerated cola - 200 ml
Butter - 125 gms
Maida (All purpose flour) - 225 gms
Cocoa powder - 2 - 3 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cooking Soda - 1 tsp
Salt a pinch
Chocolate bar for garnishing

With Icing Sugar:
Icing sugar - 200 gms
Butter - 100 gms

With Whipped cream:
Fresh Cream - 250 gms
Cherries - 10 nos

Method to prepare:

Melt butter in a thick bottom pan. Cool it and add Condensed Milk. Mix it well

Shift Maida, Cocoa powder, Baking powder, Cooking Soda and Salt together. Ensure there are no lumps.

Grease the baking tray with little butter and dust it with Maida. Keep it aside.

Take the pan with the butter. Gently fold in the dry flour and Aerated cola alternately until the flour and cola are done.

Pour the batter into the greased baking tray and microwave it for 5 mins. Its done, still you can keep it for 2 mins on dual. Once done, you can check by inserting a knife in the middle of the dish. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done!

Topple it over the baking rack and let it cool for few mins, before icing it.

Take a bowl, add icing sugar and butter. Whip it well until its nicely mixed. Spread this on the cake once its cooled a bit, else the icing sugar will melt.
Fresh Cream also can be whipped with beater until it comes out frothy.
I normally decorate it with whipped cream and Chocolate fudge. Finally grate eating chocolate on the top.


Your Egg less Black Forest Cake is ready. Enjoy!

One Month Old!

Thats how old my blog is! I have successfully completed one month and feel so elated. I have come to know so many wonderful people this last one month than last many months put together.

Special thanks to Mathy and Indira's Flood Blog Desam, I have come to know of many interesting bloggers.

I would also like to thank all my blogger friends and ghost readers..:) who have encouraged me so much. I am celebrating this with my most fav dish, Eggless Black Forest Cake.

Enjoy and thanks!

It is Vermicelli Curd Rice!

Or Semiya Bagala Bath as called in Telugu. Of course there is no rice in this dish. But still Amma calls it by this name.

This one tugs at memories when Amma used to make it often for her dinner parties that they used to host. This dish was always a hit and Dad likes it so much. I still remember the time Amma makes it early in the morning and puts it in fridge to chill. This tastes yummy when served chilled.

As every newly married woman, wanting to impress hubby dear with cooking talents, I prepared it for mine, only to be disappointed. During our early marriage days, he was adverse to tasting new dishes. Now of course, he is my greatest encouragement in trying out new ones.

In my quest to remember long forgotten dishes, I remembered this one and asked Amma to prepare, as I was busy baking a cake for my daughter and preparing other dishes for Saturday lunch.

Long shiny vermicilli, bathing in curd, munching on sweet raisins and hot chilies with cool smoothing taste is the way to end a great feast. Or for that matter a hot summer afternoon.

Here you go for this delightful recipe

Serves : 4

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Cuisines : Andhra

Ingredients needed:

Vermicelli - 1 cup

Water - 3 Cups

Curd (yogurt) - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

Mustard Seeds & Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves as required

Green Chillis - 1 -2 nos

Ghee for tempering

For Garnishing:

Raisins - 10 nos

Cashew nuts- 10 nos

Coriander Leaves as required

Method to prepare:

Heat a pan and dry roast the vermicelli. Keep it aside. Boil 3 cups of water in the same pan and when the water starts boiling, add vermicelli to it.

Cook for 3 - 4 mins, until its cooked. Check in between to ensure it doesn't over cook. Remove it and run it through cold water.

Drain it on a sieve to remove excess water. Let it dry for few mins.

Transfer the semiya to a bowl. Add curds, milk, chopped green chilies and salt. Mix well.

Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a pan, once its hot roast raisins, Cashew nuts. Pour it over the semiya. Then add heat little ghee add mustard seeds, Urud dal. Once mustard starts sputtering, put curry leaves on top of the semiya and pour hot seasoning on the curry leaves.

Amma always tells me that curry leaves should not be fried for any tempering as it looses its stuff when fried and this way it stays green and not brown.

Mix everything together. Finally garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Put it in fridge for chilling. This is best served chill

Alternately, pomegranate seeds and fresh chopped green grapes can also be used for Garnish.

I enjoyed going down my memory lane. Thinking back on those days when being a kid and savouring on cherished dishes made by Amma was such fun. Childhood days are so precious. Wish those days are back here.

But then we can only wish! This is my attempt at wanting to ensure my kids think back on theirs with joy and pleasure just as my Mom did.

Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

Guess the dish!

Hello Everybody!

Any takers for guessing this dish. Apologies if the photo is not very clear. But then thats the whole idea.

Will be back on Monday with the Dish and its recipe.


Looks can be deceptive...so think before guessing the dish!

Kodikoora - Andhra Chicken Gravy

The delicious Andhra cuisine, is reputedly the spiciest and hottest of all Indian cuisine. When we think of Andhra cuisines, hot spicy gravies comes to mind. Especially if its a Non-Veg, no doubt it has to be spicy.

Here comes a recipe undoubtedly spicy and deliciously. Well you might ask how I can know without tasting it, but then I have my whole family vouching for this great dish.

Serves : 4- 5

Preparation Time : 15 mins

Cooking Time : 20 mins

Cuisine : Andhra

Ingredients needed:

Chicken - 1 kg
Onions - 2 big (200 gms)
Tomatoes - 1 big
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Oil -100 gm

Salt to taste

Water - 150 ml

Masalas to grind:

Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Poppy Seeds (Gasagasalu) - 1 tsp
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 3
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Fennel seeds (Sobu)- 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peppercorns - 5 no
Green chilli- 3 nos
Garlic 4 pods
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Onion - 50 gms

Method to prepare:

Heat a Kadai and dry roast the poppy seeds This way the poppy seeds don't stick to the Kadai.

Then add 1 tsp of oil to the Kadai, fry all the spices, remove. Then fry 50 gms chopped Onions, Coconut, Garlic, Coriander Leaves. Once its fried well remove and cool.

Cut cleaned chicken into required size. Chop rest of the Onions, Tomatoes, Coriander leaves.

Heat rest of the oil, fry onions to golden brown. Then add ginger garlic paste. Fry for few secs.

Then add chopped Tomatoes, Chicken pieces, Turmeric pw, chili pw, coriander pw and salt.

Keep it on high for few mins. Stir it constantly making sure it doesn't get burned. Cover it and simmer it for 10 mins.

Once the fried masalas are cool, grind it to a paste. Add this to the chicken mix. Keep it on high flame, while stirring it continuously. Then add required water and pressure cook it for 1 whistle.

Remove lid, if excess water is present then put it on high flame and cook it till it becomes thick gravy.

If this is cooked in a kadai, then cook for 10 - 15 mins or until the chicken is well cooked.

Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Serve it hot with your choice.

Hope you enjoy!

Here it is finally.....Kolhapuri Mutton!

Here's the post on my much 'wanted to try' recipe. Ever since I came across this featured by Sanjeev Kapoor, I had wanted to try and participating in RCI : Maharashtrian Cuisine was just an excuse for me to try my hand at this.

After much anticipation I got down getting all the ingredients ready. It hardly took much of cooking time, as I pressure cooked the mutton. Getting the other items ready was done in jiffy. Final verdict was great my Dad like it a lot. Hubby dear said he would've preferred it to be little more hot.

Another humour line on this was, Dad wanted to know the name of the recipe, when I said its called 'Kolhapuri Sukka Mutton', he asked 'where is it Sukka? its a gravy dish!' So I said 'Ok Dad, I will call it plain Kolhapuri Mutton. In the end I had to strip the sukka out of the name and here am I presenting to you just Kolhapuri Mutton.

Hope you like it!

Serves 4
Preparation time : 15 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Maharashtrian

Ingredients needed:

Mutton - 1/2 kg
Dry coconut (khopra) - 50 gms
Onions - 3 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Tomatoes - 2 ripe medium size
Sankeshwari red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Green Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Method to prepare:

Cut the mutton into medium size pieces. Rub salt and turmeric powder on it. Cook the mutton in pressure cooker with sufficient water till mutton is almost cooked. Keep aside once its done.

Grate khopra and dry roast on a hot tawa till light golden brown. Make sure it does not burn.

Half of the onions should be taken for paste. So rest should be finely chopped.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai, deep fry sliced onions till golden brown. Drain them to a kitchen towel.

Once the onions are cool, grind it with roasted khopra into fine paste by adding little water.

Chop tomatoes into fine pieces. Keep them aside.


Heat rest of the oil in a pan. Add chopped onions, cook till golden brown.

Stir in ginger-garlic paste. Fry for few mins until the raw smell is gone.

Then add tomatoes and cook for five minutes.

Once the tomatoes are nicely cooked, add the Sankeshwari red chilli pw and khopra-onion paste. Cook on high heat till oil leaves the sides of the pan. You will know its well cooked when the oil starts coming out on the edges.

Add boiled mutton to the pan. Put it on high flame so that it starts boiling. Check for salt if its sufficient, else adjust to your taste.

Stir continuously till the gravy becomes thick. Once the mutton pieces are nicely coated with masala, sim it for a while till you get the correct thickness.

Sprinkle green cardamom powder and garam masala powder before taking it down. I used whole cardamom and that gave a sweet taste. If you prefer it really hot I think we can just add 1 whole cardamom.
Kolhapuri Mutton is ready!
Serve hot it with Masala bath.

This is another entry for RCI : Maharashtrian Cuisine

I should thank Nupur for hosting such a lovely event which has given me an opportunity to try out Maharashtrian recipes. This is a great theme. I am sure hosting such events are extremely exciting not to mention the hard work involved.


Kudos to all you guys for hosting such events. I hope sometime in future I will able to host one such one.. :)

Spicy Rice Maharashtrian Style - Masala Bhath

Weekends are always hectic. Planning to prepare something special for Sunday lunch is always interesting and exciting. Especially if I am trying new recipes, I am filled with apprehensive thoughts like 'will this dish will be accepted by all and etc etc'.

This time I wanted to try something Marathi and I adapted this recipe from here and served it with Kolhapuri Mutton.

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Cuisine: Maharashtrian

Preparation time - 20 mins

Cooking Time - 10 mins

For Rice

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Ghee - 3 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Onions - 3 large ones

Water - 3 cups

For Masala

Cardamom - 3 pods

Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 5

Black Peppercorns - 20 whole

Turmeric pw a pinch
Salt to taste

For Garnishing

Peanuts & cashew nuts - 1/2 cup

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Green chilies - 4

Mustard seeds for seasoning

Chopped coriander leaves 2 tbsp

Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp

Method to prepare:

Wash the rice well and soak it for 15 mins

Chop onions into fine pieces.

In a pan, add half the ghee and oil. Once its hot, fry the onions and the masalas until the onions are golden brown, ensure it does not burn

Remove half the onions and set aside for garnish.

Take the pan in which rice is going to be cooked. Heat ghee, turmeric, drained rice. Fry for 2 mins

Add water and salt to taste. Bring to the boil. Cover with lid and Cook for 20-25 mins.

For seasoning, heat the remaining ghee in a small pan and fry the nuts until golden. Fry the curry leaves, green chilies and mustard seeds until the seeds pop.

Once the rice is cooked, remove it to a serving bowl, pour the seasoned stuff over the rice. Garnish the rice with the fried cashews, chopped coriander leaves and grated fresh coconut.

This is another entry for RCI : Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Its Onion Rings!

Yes, Tee was right, the dish I made from this was Onion Rings.

When I made this dish, it took me back to the time I first had it.

It must have been more than 10 years back. Dad always used to take us for dinners often as he wanted to give a day off for Amma. Those days eating out was not so popular unlike now.

And we went to this Restaurant which had Revolving Towers and it was real fun. The central part of the Restaurant revolves and the other part of the restaurant does not. So it was fun looking at the people who were not seated in the revolving tables.

Finally when we decided on our food, we ordered this starter which was really very tasty. If we still remember that restaurant, it is because of this dish.

Long after that, Dad always used to ask Mom to prepare that, but she never tried her hands on this recipe. After marriage, once I wanted to impress hubby dear with me culinary expertise (he he) and experimented on some inspiration. (don't we all do it :))

The result was so good.

Not sure if that original dish was made this way, but my version of Onion Rings is something to eat.

I had once prepared it for Dad but Amma didn't get a chance to eat then. So I made it again on her Birthday and she loved it. And I was so happy that she liked it.

Here's the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

Maida (Refined Flour ) - 1 cup

Onions - 3 medium

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Curds for Butter Milk - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Chilli powder for taste

Method to prepare:

Take the curds, beat it into smooth paste, add salt. Mix it with 100 ml of water.

It should be of medium thickness in consistency. Let it stay for 10 to 15 mins.

Cut Onions into rings, making sure you remove the stock in middle. Shred into separate rings as shown in the picture.

Take Maida in a bowl. Add baking soda and chilli powder.

Pour the butter milk little by little, to get a uniform paste making sure there are no lumps. Then add all the buttermilk to get a medium consistency. The batter should not be so thick.

Heat oil in a pan. Once its really hot, dip the onion rings in the batter and drop them into the oil.

Once they are fried well, remove them to a kitchen paper. You will have to remove them once they turn light golden in colour.

Serve it with little chilli powder sprinkled on the top.

The uniqueness of this is unlike other pakkodas made with just Maida, this stays crunchy and crispy for a long time.

Batatyacha Rassa - Potato Gravy

This is going to be my first entry for RCI: Maharashtrian Cuisine

Here is the recipe for Batatyacha Rassa

Serves 4
Preparation time - 10 mins
Cooking time - 10 mins

Ingredients

For Rassa
Potatoes - 4 medium
Tomatoes - 2
Green chilies - 4
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Water - as required

For Seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafetida - a pinch
salt to taste.
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves

Method to prepare

Wash and boil the potatoes in a cooker. Peal off the skin.

Chop the tomatoes to fine pieces. Slit the green chilies in the middle. Keep aside. Finely chop the coriander leaves.

Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida and turmeric powder. Once it starts spluttering, add chopped tomatoes. Sim for 5 mins.

Add mashed potatoes and required quantity of water. Mix it well and bring it to a boil.

Since I didn't have Black maharashtrian masala, I added the regular garam masala that I had, then salt and half of the coriander leaves.

The dish is ready within 5 mins.

Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves.

I served this with hot puris and it was really good. My daughter and athamma wanted this to be included in our regulars. This is a variation for us, as we never make potato gravy without onions.

Thanks to Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine for starting such a great event and Nupur for hosting this month's event.

Hooray my first ever participation in a Food Event!!!

I am going to participate in a food event for the first time and I am sooo excited.

Here I am a new blogger in the block, eagerly visiting other bloggers and getting so inspired by their writing and photography skills, that I wanted all my posts to have captivating photos.

The art of photography displayed by Bee of Jugalbandhi or the captivating posts by Manisha or the mouth watering photos by Meena or VKN in his MyDhaba. When I saw my blog in his blogroll, I was so elated. Thanks for the honour.

And of course for Mathy and Indira for their Food Blog Desam, through which I got to see so many other beautiful blogs. I am not be able to name them all.

But each and everyone have such beautiful ones. I visit them on daily basis and get so inspired. Thanks to all you bloggers.

Of course Nupur's has always inspired me alot. I am happy that my first contribution is for her event.

I was a day late for participating in RCI for Andhra cuisine hosted by Latha. But wanted to be really early for the next event. Now back to the story behind the preparation for the d-day.

Everyday I plan to cook some Maharashtrian food, something or the other came up and I was unable to prepare.

Finally I decided, I am going to prepare this come what may. So I searched for a recipe and got one from here and what makes a maharashtrian food from here . Of course Nupur herself gave so much details.

Not sure if this is how it is traditionally prepared. But following the recipe as guidelines, I prepared what everybody at home like so much.

Guess whats going to be made from this!!!

It might be very simple to guess the recipe thats going to be made from this. Still its game.

Its Birthday Time!!!

Well its Amma's birthday and time to celebrate!

This is the cake we got for the birthday. Birthdays always brings me back the memories and time I used to bake so very often. And all birthdays at home used to an occasion for me to bake.

Since I am a pure Veggie, when I crave for Cakes, I end up baking Eggless Black Forest with Chocolate Fudge. I use Chocolate Fudge and grated Chocolate as topping for this. Its a heaven to taste.

The other things that were made for the occasion were Batatyacha Rassa, Puris, Sambiyam Payasam and another entertaining dish from Onions.

I will be writing up the recipes as I go.