Black Eyed Beans Masala

This is a very easy and simple dish ready in no time. Delicious and healthy too.

Ingredients :

Black Eyed Beans - 1 cup ( to be soaked )
Garlic - 4 to 5 pods , finely chopped
Onion - 1 , finely chopped
Tamarind - 1 dime size, pulp extracted.
Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 2 tbsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 to 3
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - a bunch
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
oil

Method :

Soak beans overnight or for 6 to 7 hrs. Boil or pressure cook it till soft and keep aside.

In a pan, dry roast coconut and jeera till cooked. Let it cool. Make a paste of coconut, jeera and chillies. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing(asafotida), curry leaves, turmeric powder and stir. Then add garlic, stir for few minutes and add the onions. Stir till translucent.

Add boiled beans followed by some water for desired consistency. Once it reaches the boiling stage, add ground paste, tamarind, salt and jaggery.

Mix well and cook further for 5 minutes. If required, add some more water .

Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice or chapatti.

Enjoy !!

TIPS:
You can try this recipe with kidney beans (rajma), chickpeas (garbanzo), green peas , etc  ..

Broccoli and Paneer in Garlic Sauce

Broccoli and paneer in garlic sauce is a Chinese inspired entree with slight modifications to satisfy Indian taste buds.Very simple and easy..You can never go wrong. A delicious dish in less than 15 mins..

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 2 cups
Paneer/ Tofu - 2 cups
onion - 1 diced
garlic - finely chopped
ginger powder - 1 tbsp
chili powder / chili sauce - 1 tbsp
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 3 tbsp
water - 1 cup
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste

Method :

• Heat pan, add oil. When oil  is hot , add the garlic and onions and stir fry till translucent.
• Add the broccoli and paneer and stir for 2 mins.
• Add the ginger powder and chili sauce. Mix well
• Add little water and let it cook..
• Mean while, in a separate bowl, add, soya sauce, corn flour and 1 cup water and mix well.
• Add this mix to the curry and turn off flame in 3 to 5 mins or when gravy thickens..
• Enjoy with fried rice, steamed rice or rotis

Tips:
You can use Tofu insead of Paneer.

  

Golden , Extra Fluffy Pancakes !!

 

 

Thinking of having a wonderful breakfast or some evening/midnight snack ? Pancakes !!! pancakes ...pancakes mmm yumm yummm

 

Ingredients:
All - purpose - flour - 1 cup
baking powder - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 3 tbsp
salt - 1 pinch
Egg - 1
milk - 1 cup
vanilla essence - a few drops. (optional)

 

Method :

 

Add the egg to a bowl and give it a good beating. Good enough to make some bubbles appear. Then add in some sugar and salt and mix well. Add the milk and essence. Now , slowly add the flour and baking powder and mix well.

If you want to adjust the consistency , you can reduce or increase the milk amount. But this measurement will be perfect.
Let it rest for 30 mins.
Heat a pan, grease with butter, add one full spoon onto pan. Let it spread on its own. Wait till bubbles appear on the top.
Now, its time to flip over.. Flip and let it cook for a minute. The pancake will fluff up..
Serve hot and maple syrup, honey or jam :))!! Top it with blueberries, strawberries, banana , etc and Enjoy with lots and lots of Maple Syrup

Tips:

• Making the consistency watery will make the pancake very thin and hard. Thicker the consistency,softer and fluffier the pancakes !!
• Once the batter is ready, let it rest for atleast 30 minutes. It helps !!

Do share comments !!!



Methi Mattar Malai

A tasty combination of fenugreek leaves and green peas, enriched with cream, cashewnuts and poppy seeds. Best eaten with hot rotis/chapatis !!

Ingredients:
Fenugreek leaves (Methi) - 1 cup - chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Green peas - 1 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
cream - 3 tbsp
Sugar - 1 pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

To be ground to a paste:
Onion - 1
green chilli - 1
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic clove - 1
Cashewnuts - 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds (khus-khus) - 2 tbsp

Method:
Wash the fenugreek leaves, add 1/2 tbsp salt and leave it aside for 10 mins. Then squeeze out the water. Or use dry methi leaves.
In a pan, Add oil, cumin seeds, and fenugreek leaves and stir
Add the ground paste and cook for 5 mins. Add green peas and continue cooking for 5 mins.
Add the milk, cream, sugar, salt and turn off flame after 5 mins.
Ready in 15 mins. Serve hot..

Bhutta Simla Mirch Rice

A treat when the corn is fresh and the capsicum firm and appetising. It has a unique blend of flavours ..

Ingredients:

Corn - 2 cups

Capsicum - 1 cup - sliced

Sweet Peas - 1 cup

Basmathi Rice - 2 cups - washed and soaked

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Cardamom - 2 pounded

Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 sliced

Green chillies - 3 or 4 or to taste

Vegetarian or Non- vegetarian stock cube - 1 (optional)

oil - 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a large, flat bottomed dish, drop in the cumin and cardamom and after a minute add the onions and ginger garlic paste.. Stir till raw smell subsides.

Add the capsicum, corn, green chillies, salt, and top it with stock or water measuring 4 cups.

Close lid and cook for another 5 mins. hen reduce flame and cook for another 5 mins.

Now, turn off flame and let it stand for 10 mins. Garnish with capsicum slices..

Enjoy hot with any curry and just like that !!!

Banana Crepes with Coconut Sauce !!

One of my most favourite and easy to make snack or desert !! Its so yummy and delicious..

Here's what you ll need to prepare..

Ingredients:

For the Crepe batter:

All-purpose flour (maida) - 1/4 cup

milk - 1/4 cup

sugar - 1/4 cup

egg - 1

salt - 1 pinch

butter - 2 tbsp

For the sauce:

Banana - 1 diced

coconut milk - 1/2 cup

jaggery - 2 to 3 tbsp

nutmeg - 1 pinch

Method:

For the crepe: Mix all the ingredients for the crepe batter except butter and give a good beating. And keep aside for a few mins.

In a pan, spread 1 tbsp butter, add 1 full spoon batter and spread it throughout the pan. Let it cook for a min. Then flip it over and transfer to plate immediately.

For the sauce: Add butter in the same pan, add the diced banana's and saute. Add the jaggery, coconut milk and nutmeg and stir for a few secs. And turn off flame.

NOTE: It need not cook for more than a few secs..

Add the filling to the crepe and fold it.. Garnish with extra sauce, chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.. Enjoy the yummyness!!!

Chicken - Paneer Bistique Snack Wraps

Ingredients:
Bistique Flour - 1 cup (for 4 snack wraps)
For filling - any veggies of your choice. I used - Bell Pepper, onions, paneer
Baked chicken - bite size pieces
Egg -1 ( scramble it)
Salt
Pepper
oil

Method:
Mix the flour with warm water and salt and kneed a soft dough.
Keep aside while we prepare the filling.
Meanwhile, bake or shallow fry the chicken till done.
In a pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, add the onions, bell peppers, paneer, chicken, salt and pepper and blend them well. Toss till the paneer is cooked.
Turn off heat. Let it cool while we prepare the wraps.
Also, make egg scrambles in the meanwhile and allow to cool.( This is optional)
Divide the dough into 4 parts. roll them cook like tortillas.
Serve wrap with filling and ketchup. Ensoy..:)

Tips:
I used, Bistique pan cake mix just for a change in making the wraps. You can use any flour of your choice.

Vaalaka/ Plantain Bajji

Ingredients:

Besan Flour - 1 cup

Valaka/ Plantain - 1 Sliced into thin pieces

Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

pepper or chilli powder - 1 tbsp

salt - as required

• Make a paste of all the above except the plantain. Make sure its a little thick in order to stick well to the plaintain.
• Coat the plaintain nicely in besan paste and deep fry in oil.
• Fry all the pieces in the same way.
• Interesting and easy snacks ready in less than 15 mins. Enjoy hot !!!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 1/4 cups
Baking soda - 1/2 tbsp

Baking Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp
Butter, softened - 1 cup (150 grams)

Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Packed brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Vanilla essence- 1 tbsp
Eggs - 2
Semi Sweetened Chocolate chips / Broken Chocolate pieces - 2 cups

Chopped nuts- 1 cup(optional)

For Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F .
• Lets mix the wet ingredients first.
• To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, granulated and brown sugar, vanilla essence and eggs and beat till creamy.
• Now add the dry ingredients to the bowl - add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt - and blend till all ingredients are mixed well. Don't over mix. That will give a hard texture to your cookies. So just mix till all the ingredients are just combined together.
• Now, add the nuts and chocolate chips/ chocolate pieces and just fold the mixture. Don't blend or mix any further. Just fold the mixture using a spatula.
• To the baking tray, place a baking sheet so that the cookies don't stick to the tray, and place one scoop of cookie dough (Size off a golf ball) to baking sheet. Do not spread it flat. It will flatten in the baking process. Also while placing the rest of the cookie dough, make sure to have 2 inch space around the cookies. coz, it will expand in the baking process.
• Place all the cookies in tray, bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
• Once baked, let it cool for 5 mins.

Tips:

1. If you don't have brown sugar , just add granulated sugar instead. Plus add 2 tbsp honey for extra flavour. It tastes great !!!

Will be gone in no time ...
Enjoy your cookies ... :)

Samba Puttu

Ingredients:

Samba/ Chemba Puttu Flour - 2 cups

Salt - 1 tbsp
Water - as required

Shredded coconut - as required

Sugar - as required

For Puttu:

• Wet the flour with water,add salt and keep aside for 5 mins.
• In Puttu Kolal, add 2 hand full flour, then 1 hand full coconut, repeat the same till you reach the end of the puttu (kolal )vessel.
• Place it on top of the pressure cooker, and steam it.
• Puttu will be ready in 5 to 10 mins.
• Transfer to plate, add sugar and enjoy with Green gram dhal ( cooked and sugar added) and papad.

Tips:

1. If you dont have a puttu kolal/ vessel, spread the puttu flour with the shredded coconut on a tray and steam it by placing inside the cooker.
2. Pressure cook the green gram dhal in cooker, and use the pressure outside to steam to Puttu... All in one !!! ..
3. Follow the same steps for 'White Puttu' as well..

Good for an ideal breakfast !!! Tastes Yummy yummy .... Enjoy

Rice Kheer

Ingredients:

Steamed Rice - 1 cup

Milk - 4 cups

Sugar - 3/4 to 1 cup

Cinnamon or Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tbsp

Raisins and Nuts - 1/2 cup

Saffron - 1 pinch (optional)

Ghee

For Rice Kheer:

• Boil Milk. When the milk is about to boil, add the rice and let it cook for 5 to 10 mins.
• Once it gets little thick, add the sugar and Cardamom/Cinnamon powder.
• Heat Ghee in another pan, add nuts (any nut of your choice) and raisins, fry till golden brown, and add to kheer.
• Garnish with Saffron and nuts..
• Serve hot or cold !!!

Tips:

I was actually running short of Cardomom Powder and so decided to add Cinnamon powder instead. Wow ...it tasted great !!! I like it better with cinnamon powder ...try it !!! You ll like it too ..

Enjoy Rice Kheer for desert ...

Dahi/Curd Vada

For Vada:

Urud Dhal - 1 cup

Moongh Dhal - 1/4 cup (optional)

Salt - to taste

Curd - as required

Chat masala - 1 pinch

chilli powder - 1 pinch

Coriander leaves - to garnish

Boondhi - to garnish ( optional)

For Curd Vada:

• Vada: Soak the urud dhal + moongh dhal overnight or for 6 hours. Then grind it into a fine paste. Add salt and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, take small amount of batter in hand or plastic cover, make a small hole in the centre ( like a doughnut) and deep fry it in oil. Remove once golden brown, squeeze excess oil and soak it in water with salt added to it for 10 mins. Squeeze extra water and keep aside.
• Take required curd in a bowl, add salt, chat masala, chilli powder and mix well to make it creamy.
• Place the vada's in a serving dish, pour the curd layering the vada's fully and garnish with chat masala, chilli powder, coriander leaves, boondhi (optional)

Enjoy Curd Vada ...

Tips:

1. Use slightly sour curd for Curd Vada..
2. Well, if you dont get to make the doughnut hole at the centre, forget it. I dont get it either. The taste is all that matters. You ll get it over time..

Quick & Easy Fried Rice

Ingredients:
Steamed/Cooked White Rice- 2 cups
Any or All Vegetables - Beans/ Carrot/ Peas/Cabbage ( half cooked)
Egg - 1
Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp
Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
Spring Onions - 1/2 cup
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
Oil

For Fried Rice:

• Heat Oil in a Pan, beat the egg and scramble it. Once done, remove from pan and keep aside.
• Again, heat oil in pan, add the onions, once slight brown, add the vegetables and stir fry for 2 mins. Add soya sauce.
• Add the salt and pepper as per taste
• Add the White Rice
• Add the scrambled eggs. Mix/ toss the fried Rice. Garnish with Spring Onions.
• Serve hot...

• Enjoy hot.. I guess you can see the vapour in the picture ive added.. :))
• Straight from the oven !!!
  

French Fries

We were passing by McDonalds today, and was tempted to have french fries...But an inkling just came over my mind that, i can make fresh fries at home in a more healthy way... So here you go ... Ingredients:
Potato - 2
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
water
oil

For French Fries:
Cut potato into vertically, evenly shaped. Soak in salt water for 10 mins
Remove the potato pieces from water and place in tissue paper to drain excess water..
Heat Oil in pan, fry the potatoes in oil, till golden brown.
Transfer to serving tray and garnish with salt and pepper..

Enjoy hot with ketchup...

Tips:
For Crispy french fries, dip the potatoes in rice flour before frying in oil...

Potato Peas Curry

Most of us consider Potato to be a High calorie food and tend to avoid it. I used to think of it in the same way. But the truth is " If cooked in the right way (without adding extra oil/butter/etc), potatoes are considered exceptionally healthful, low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer".

Amongst the food ranking system, qualified potatoes as a very good source of vitamin C, a good source of vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber.

So eat potatoes, stay healthy.... You can cook potatoes in different ways. One amongst them is what I'm going to show you below:

Ingredients:

Potatoes: 2

Peas - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 2

Garlic cloves - 3 to 4

chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Curry Leaves

Mustard seeds

Salt

Oil

For Potato Peas Curry:

Pressure cook the potatoes, remove skin and cut into small bite size cubes.

Heat Oil in pan, Add mustard, curry leaves, turmeric powder, chilli powder and fry to 10 secs.

Add the potatoes and peas, mix well with the sauce and close lid to cook for 5 mins.

Add garlic paste to the potatoes now. ( the more the better). Let it cook for another 5 mins.

If you want gravy, you can add water to get the semi gravy consistency.

Add the salt and garnish with coriander leaves.

Enjoy dry with Rice or Gravy with chapati/dosa/ any tiffin..

Dhal Curry/ Lentils Gravy/ Parupu ..

Very Simple and very delicious...

Ingredients:
Thoor Dhal - 1/4 cup
Moongh Dhal -3/4 cup
Small Onions/ Shallots - 4 to 5 ( chopped)
Tomato - 1/2 to 1 ( chopped)
Green chillies - 3
Garlic - 4 cloves ( chopped)
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 3 tbsp
Curry Leaves - few
Coriander Leaves - few
Methi Leaves - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds ( Jeers) - 1 tbsp
Whole Pepper - 1 tbsp
Shredded coconut - hand full
Mustard - 1 tbsp
Oil
Salt

For Dhal Curry:

• In a Pressure cooker, add the washed dhal, hing, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves, jeera, pepper, tomatoes, methi leaves with 2 to 3 cups water and cook till done. Smash the dhal once done.
• In a kadai, add oil, mustard, curry leaves, onions, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, water and let it cook. add the dhal and water as required. add salt.
• Garnish with coriander leaves, curry leaves and shredded coconut.

Would be ready in no time ...
Serve hot with Steamed Rice and Ghee.

Enjoy your dhal treat with Ghee !!!

Tips:

1. Adding salt to the dhal in the pressure cooker, will not allow the dhal to get cooked. So add salt only after the dhal is fully cooked.
2. You can add sambar powder instead of chilli powder and coriander powder to alter the taste.

Easy Kashmiri Pulav

Ingredients:

Basmathi Rice - 3 cups

Vegetables - 1/2 cup ( Beans, carrot, Peas, Capsicum)

Cardamon - 5

Cloves - 5

Saffron - few strands

Butter - 1 tbsp.

Salt - to taste

For Easy Pulav:

• Wash and soak Basmathi Rice in warm water for 10 mins.
• Heat oil in pan, Add Butter, Shallow fry Cashew nuts and dry grapes. Once golden brown, remove from pan and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add Cardamon and Cloves.
• Then add the vegetables and stir till half done.
• Turn off Flame..

In an Electric Rice cooker/ Pressure Cooker, Add the rice, 6 cups water, the vegetables, cashew nuts, dry grapes , saffron and salt to taste, and let it cook.

Enjoy Delicious Pulav with any spicy curry.

Tips:

1. How to know whats the exact amount of salt to be added: In the rice cooker, while adding salt, taste the water. The water should be slightly salty. Only then when the rice is cooked, the salt would be perfect. If the water tastes perfect, then the rice would have less salt once cooked.At that point, we wont be able to add salt. So add the right amount of salt!!! This is applicable for any mixed rice recipe.
2. Adding butter, keeps the rice White in color. If you add oil or ghee, the rice would be slightly yellow. So try to use butter to have it white.
3. If you dont have a electric rice cooker, you can also try this out directly in pressure cooker.