Cooking 4 all Seasons

Snack Mela Round up ~ Part 1

2012-01-27T14:04:00.001+05:30

I know Snack Mela round up is way too delayed. I lost the list and had to work on it completely again. Never realized it will get so late to do the round up. However I thoroughly enjoyed going through the entries. I am sure all the 180 entries will come so handy when you are in need of ideas for Snacks.

Making it as a two part round up to make sure all the entries gets properly checked out. Please excuse the picture collage as I had to do the list that was finally left out.

**********************************************************
First in the round up comes all baked dishes, be it bread, sweet or savory, I tried putting them together!

Kavi's Double Decker Pizza
La's Red and green peppers pizza
Malathi Savitha's Simple Homemade Garlic Bread
Nalini's Whole Wheat Almond Cookies
Nupur's Thekua: Whole Wheat Cookies
Preeti Deo's Baked Chirote
Priya Suresh's Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Priya Suresh's Cheese Stuffed Tomato Buns, Eggless Buttery Almond Cookies, Eggless Orange,White Chocolate & Oats Cookies, Mushroom & Spinach Calzone and Spicy Ajwain Biscuits

Ramya's Recipe's Babycorn and Bellpepper Pizza
Sangeetha Nambi's Vegetable Pizza
Shobha's Pizza Rolls
Sushma Pinjala 's Baked French Fries, Baked Hash Browns, and Peanut butter cookies
Teena Mary's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vardhini's Baked Potato Chips and a healthy Roasted Chickpeas

Vatsala Rana's Whole Wheat Nankhatai

*************************************************
Of course cakes are baked but makes it easy to browse right! Check out the wonderful collection of cakes with so many to choose from eggless collection of recipes

Ashwini's Lowfat Almond Banana Cake
Hema's Eggless Vanilla Cooker Cake
Kavi's Eggless Golden Yello Cake
PJ's Eggless Yellow Sponge Cake
Poornima's Custard Powder Snack Cake

Priya Suresh's Dates & Chocolate Cake, Eggless Almond,Chocolate & Flax seeds Cake, Eggless Apple & Ricotta Cheese Cake, Eggless Carrot and Tutti Frutti Cake, Eggless Cinnamon Orange Cake, Eggless Condensed Milk & Apple Cake, Eggless Dates and Pineapple Cake, Eggless Fruits & Nuts Cake

And finally from me, Eggless Carrot Cake and MW Eggless Chocolate Cake

Then we have some delicious Chats making our way!

Amarendra Mulye's Matar Pattice

Archana's Chilli Garlic Papdi, Chola Tikki, Curry Flavored Papdi, Masala Papad, Poha Patties

Ayeesha's Rava Peas Tikki
Deeksha's Bharwan tikki
Deepika's Chana sprout chaat

Maria John's Soya Chunks & Potato Cutlet
Priya Suresh's Mixed Veggies and Sprouted Greengram Cutlets
Ramsha Shahid's Masala Papri

Ramya's Pav bhaji

Richa's Raw banana patties
Sangeetha Nambi's Pav Bhaji
Shobha's Bean Sprout Cutlets
Sidra Amjed's Pani Puri

And then from me a Wafer Chat

Ok now for some tempting deep fried snacks or very close to them!

Anusha Praveen's Vegetable Nuggets
Ashwini's Kobichya Wadya/Cabbage Nuggets
Deeksha's Kalmi Vada
Hemavathi 's Pista Cerelac Vada

Kavi's Bread Rolls, Paneer pakoda, Veg Croquette / Kebab

Kokila Karthikeyan's Roasted Peanuts
Krithi's Veg Puffs
Princy's Spinach Chickpea Rolls
Madhavi's Bajji

Malathi Savitha's Hittina Aambode/Rice Flour Vada and Masala Peanuts/ Kara kadalai

Manju's Crispy Veggie Samosa
Mythreyi 's Plantain Wedges
Nalini's Stuffed Bread Roll

Priya Suresh's Broccoli Batata Vada, Soyakheema & Potato Stuffed Chilly Fritters and Spicy Potato Wedges

Rinku Naveen's Pazham Pori
Sangeetha Nambi's Masala Vadai or Kaara Vadai and Urad dhall Vadai

Shobha's Bori Samosas, Bread Pakoras, Plaited Samosas and Spring Onion Rings

Shwetha's Spring Onion Pakoras

Sidra Amjed's Potato and Cheese Balls
Sushma Pinjala 's Baked Samosa
Swetha's Vegetable Cutlets
Teena Mary's Onion Rings

And finally from Vardhini, a Low fat Thayir Vadai

Now comes some light tiffins if you want!

Akheela's Rice flour buttermilk savoury
Anjana's stuffed semolina triangles
Malathi Savitha's Pudina Crunchy Roll and Spicy Poha/Khara Avalakki

Nupur's Microwave Dhokla
Priya Srinivasan's Schezwan Idly
Sangeetha Nambi's Panaiyaram and Pesarattu
Smitha's Podi Idli
Vardhini's Kuzhi Paniyaram

And finally for some sweet offerings...

Anisha's Easy Eggless Tiramisu with Marie Biscuits
Kokila Karthikeyan's Orange Pears Smoothie
Priya Suresh's Baked Apple Chips
Rajani's Banana Peanut Butter Granola and Yogurt Parfait

Smitha's Mango Panna Cotta
Sushma Pinjala 's Creamy Walnut fudge
Vaishali sabnani 's Peanut Chikki
Vardhini's Oatmeal Granola Bars

**************************************************
I would like to thank everybody who sent in their entry..part 2 will be out soon..

Chicken Roast ~ Andhra Style | How to make Chicken Roast Step by Step Recipe

2012-01-23T22:58:00.000+05:30

After a day at home, Monday always seem to have the blues attached, no matter what. They kids were up very late, so they refused to wake up on time. It become a big task, yelling, cajoling, threatening all the way to the bath and then grooming. Two little hung faces, and we steeled ourselves not to melt. Hubby dear has given them the ultimatum the Chutti TV is no longer going be featured. Well I got to wait and watch for that to happen. Meanwhile we just got to make sure they don't' get hooked to the TV again like that late night.

Breakfast was Masala Dosa, and it was a pleasing thing to note that Konda is now eating the Aloo Baji. I made the coconut chutney for her, but she happily ate the potato masala and said she loves it so much. I recently came to know in a hotel that she loves masala dosa. Whenever I make I have never seen her eating it. I guess that's Amma's influence in getting her used to it.

Coming to the recipe for today, it's going to be the Chicken Roast. Though the ground masala was pretty much the same as the Mutton Gravy, few other things were added to make it different. And the entire cooking done in the pan as chicken gets cooked pretty fast on pan.

Step by Step Recipe

Chili powder and coriander powder goes first

Add Curds to the chicken.

Next add the Chicken Masala

Chicken Roast

Ingredients Needed:

Chicken - 1 kg
Onions, julienne - 2 cups,
Green Chillies - 4 -5
Tomatoes, chopped - 2 cups
Ground Masala - 1 cup
Red chili powder - 4 tsp
Coriander powder - 4 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Chicken Masala - 50 gms
Curds - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves 1/2 cup

How to make the Chicken Roast:

Wash the chicken and cut into same size pieces. Drain it on a colander.

Have the Masala paste ready at hand.

Heat a non stick pan with oil, add onion julienne, green chilies. Saute well till onion turns colour.

Next add the ground masala and combine everything well. Cook on high for 5 mins.

Then add chili powder, salt, coriander powder, turmeric powder. Mix well and cook on high, stirring at interval to make sure the bottom doesn't get burnt.

Once the oil starts coming out, add the curds, cook for couple of minutes. Then add chopped tomatoes.

Next goes the chicken masala powder, mint leaves. Continue cooking on high for the moisture to be all evaporated.

Add chopped coriander leaves and combine.

This takes about 30 mins for all the water to be evaporated and a thick gravy to coat the chicken pieces.

The dish has to be cooked on high for the moisture to be evaporated quickly.

Garnish again with coriander leaves.

Indian Non Veg Thali ~ Mutton Gravy, Chicken Roast, Keema Balls Gravy, Fried Keema Balls, Masala Annam.
Other Chicken Recipes

Mutton Curry / Mamsam Kura | Andhra Mutton Curry | Step By Step Recipe

2012-01-21T22:35:00.000+05:30

I am sure the Mutton Masala paste that I shared couple of days back, made it interesting enough to see how the gravy was made. In fact in my previous posts on the authentic mutton gravy that was prepared in my inlaws place, I realized now that it's a different recipe. so I got geared up with the camera and warned my sil and her husband, who was the chief chef of the day, that I might as well be an underfoot for the entire period.

I was always told that my bil makes the non veg dishes very well and I was eager to capture them for the blog. My sil was in charge of grinding the masala for him, while I was busy clicking away every small step. In fact I got so busy that I called in Konda to help me jot down the recipe. She so happily obliged, in fact refused to leave after a while. I had to literally force her out, else we were so cramped.

PS: This post features uncooked meat pictures, please skip if you are not used to seeing them.

When it comes to the traditional non vegetarian dishes that are made in Andhra, it is bound to be spicy and delicious. I am not sure how much of a chilli powder I would have added for the amount of meat used for this gravy, but I was shell shocked seeing the chilli powder that went.

The menu that was decided was to make Mutton Kura, Chicken Roast, Fried Keema Balls, Keema Gravy (Keema Kofta curry), Masala Annam etc. I know I was just tired writing down the different methods they followed on the way. Both of them were very humble and kept saying the masala used were all the same for all dishes. Well I know that though it's true, few things were added or removed, which surely made lot of difference to the end dish.

For the Keema Varieties, hubby dear's aunt was in charge. He used to say so much about her dish, that he finally requested her to show me by cooking it. So I was again fixed to a spot trying to capture every single move of her. Will write more on this in the Keema Kofta post that will follow.

Step by Step Picture Recipe

Ground Masala paste / Mutton Masala paste

Wash and drain the mutton pieces until to be used.

Heat about 4 -5 tsp of oil in a pressure cooker

Add onion julienne, green chilies

Saute till the onions are turning brown.

Add the mutton masala paste.

Saute till done.

Next add the drained mutton pieces.

Cook on high flame and at this time you will start seeing water coming out.

This is after 5 mins.

Add coriander powder, turmeric powder

Chilli powder and salt

Mix everything well and continue cooking on high flame.

Add about 2 cups of water and bring to boil.

Add chopped tomatoes and cover with lid. Pressure cook till done.

Mutton Kura | Mamsam Curry

Ingredients Needed:

Mutton Masala - 2 - 3 cups
Onions - 3 medium
Green Chillies - 4 -5 medium
Coriander powder - 7 8 tsp
Chili powder - 8 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 4 -5 tsp

How to make the Mutton Kura

Wash and cut into bite size pieces. Keep it on a colander for it to drain completely.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add onion julienne, slit green chilies and saute well.

When the onions starts browning, add the drained mutton pieces and mix everything well.

Bring to boil, you will find the mutton leaving lot of water, it shoudl almost evaporate.

After about 10 mins or so, add coriander powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric and mix well.

Add 1 -2 cups of water and cover with lid. Pressure cook till done.

Notes:

Since it's mutton it normally takes about 10 whistles depending on your cooker.
All the masala were added to the ground mutton masala and nothing else was added.

Check for other Mutton Dishes

Veg / Non-Veg Masala Paste | Ground Masala Paste | Indian Basics for Cooking

2012-01-20T14:07:00.002+05:30

During family gatherings or reunions, there is always so much merry and fun. Food always plays a central role during such occasions. When our relatives come down to visit us, hubby dear and I always sit down to plan what to cook during that period. We always plan and buy things ahead and do the prep work in advance so that I don't get vexed at the last moment.

This time when we visited our sils place, it was the same scene. Lot of planning went in as to what to be made. Especially if it's a meat eating crowd you can imagine, everything revolves around meat preparation. I end up being the only Vegetarian in the whole crowd, still my sils make something special for me. This time being Sankranthi, non veg is mostly prepared the day after the main festival. My BIL cooks very well and was entrusted with the task of making two main dishes, while another Aunt was asked to make Keema Balls and gravy.

I have heard so much about those Keema balls that his Aunt used to make, that I was happy that I could see her make in person. The special feast was to be for lunch and preparation started well in advance. I geared up with my camera and told that I would not miss any action in the whole process. They were really amused at the way I was going on clicking every action.

Though I have blogged about some of the authentic Mutton curry or Chicken Pulusu, these two were made differently and I was only glad that I could take notes and click pictures. My only sole role was taking pictures set in a dim kitchen. I tried my best to get maximum lighting but couldn't help much as it was a crowded kitchen, with about four to five different dishes were made.

Let me start with the ground masala that was part of almost all the dishes that was made. This is a common ground masala that they add to all non veg dishes, apart from adding few different ingredients.

For the Mutton Gravy, the ground masala was added as such. While for Chicken Roast, Mint leaves were added along with chicken masala powder.

For the Masala Annam, which my sil is very famous at making, mint leaves were added separately and onions were not ground.

For the Keema Ball, green chilies were not added.

so basically if you understand, this is a versatile masala that can lead great taste to the dish that's prepared.

Try grinding with very less water so that you can refrigerate for a longer period. To what I have seen, this paste is stored for a week.

Ground Masala for making Non Veg dishes

Ingredients Needed:

Onions - 2 medium
Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
Coconut, grated - 3 - 4 tbsp
Cloves - 4 -5
Cinnamon - 3"
Ginger - 2"
Garlic - 4 -5 cloves

How to make the paste:

Wash and prep the ingredients.

Grind to a smooth paste using water sparingly.

While making the non dish you can add mint leaves.

Ground Masala for Masala Annam or Rice

Ingredients Needed:

Mint Leaves - 1 bunch
Coriander Leaves - 1 bunch
Green Chillies - 3 - 4
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 4
Ginger - 2"
Garlic - 5 cloves
Coconut, grated - 4 tbsp

How to make the paste

Wash and pick the leaves, let it drain. Grate the coconut.

In a mixer, take all the ingredients and grind to a thick paste, using water sparingly.

This can be stored in fridge for a week if you don't use much water.

For making the rice you can use about 2 -3 tbsp

Will be back with the recipes for the dishes that were featured.

Sankranthi 2012 | Traditional Sankranthi Customs with Rangolis

2012-01-18T22:11:00.001+05:30

Hope everybody had a wonderful Sankranthi celebrations!

Since last year we shifted our family reunion from a Deepavali affair to Sankranthi as kids end up having more holidays during this period than Deepavali. As it was last year, this year too we planned a visit to my hubby dear hometown. It's the time to meet my sis'laws and their families and generally for a relaxing time.

Unfortunately this year, boys were down with fever the previous week and we almost thought we might have to cancel the trip. Since we drive down, we always thought we could decide at the last moment. We somehow decided we are going and left. The drive down was event less, with my FIL and nephew meeting us in the last leg of the drive. That got the spirit back into the boys.

Though it was night when we reached their home, I saw that everybody were wide awake to do the rangoli which is famous during this time. All the womenfolk were up, spinning their creative designs with colourful hues all over!

Only after clicking this year's picture I realized it was pretty much similar to last year's.

We planned a visit to Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Penna Ahobilam. It's the family deity and a visit to the temple is a must. After a pleasant darshan, we eagerly went to the Penna river that flows across. The boys almost forgot their cold or cough and happily got drenched completely. The fact that their cold got worsen was another story!

Konda and my nieces, nephews had a wale of time!

We had the traditional Bon fire or the Bogi Manta with the dried coconut leaves.

I managed to click the different Rangolis or Kolams in the neighborhood.

The day after the Sankranthi is the day when they make non veg feast and this time it was no exception. while I didn't cook myself, I managed to click all the pictures and planned to share on the blog. I have been getting so many requests on the amiss.

A special Aloo Peas Masala for the Veg was a delicious treat.

On the whole we managed to spend some good time with the relatives and created good memories for us to remember this festival. Boys were better after couple of days, and they managed to have their fun in the end.

Will be back with the recipes soon. Hope you enjoyed these pictures.

Do share your Sankranthi celebrations!

Sankranti Recipes | Pongal Festival Recipes

2012-01-11T21:14:00.000+05:30

Advance Sankranti greetings to all my readers!

Wishing you ahead of time with recipes that you can cook for the festival. We have a trip planned and I may not exactly find time to publish during the weekend. Work at home and office front has pretty much kept me occupied and I have also been busy preparing for Blogging Marathon. I normally cook and post the same day most times.

This edition since I completely forgot about the trip and BM clashing, there was utter chaos thinking how I was going to manage. Plus the fact that I will be going minus the laptop. Imagine being without computer for four days, it's crazy I know, but I should survive. Of course I have plans to visit the near Internet cafe.

Anyway I will be leaving you all the recipes and the memories of our last year's Santranti Celebrations at our sis-in-laws place.

2010 Santranti Celebrations

You must check out the compilation I did with the menu planned for the Santranthi.

Pongal celebrations at my friend's home

Other than the above you can check out the different Pongal varieties on both the blogs, be it sweet or savory!

Savory Pongal Varieties:

Pulagam ~ Ven Pongal
Ven Pongal Recipe 2
Rava Pongal

Pasipayar Ven Pongal | Pesalu Pulagam

Sweet Pongal Varieties.

Bellamannam or Sakarai Pongal, Bellam paramannam
Sakara Pongal with Sprouted Whole Moong Dal

Broken Wheat Sweet Porridge | Samba Godhuma Sakkara Pongal
Bansi Rava Sakkarai Pongal

Poli Varieties:
Nuts Poli for Sankranthi
Sweet Poli
Coconut Poli
Chocolate Poli
Sweet Poli with Badam Katli

Check out Festival Page for other recipes

Recap ~ Best of 2011

2012-01-06T23:12:00.000+05:30

New Year's time is always about thinking back and wondering if you did what all you set out to do. And it's also the time you plan for the coming days. How quickly time does pass!

Though I was actively updating something of my personal thoughts on my other blog, I haven't really done much lately. Then there was of course the BM that's been such a huge thing. It almost looks like I have been blogging through. Still I never would want to miss out doing things that I consider as traditional things. And do a Best of the Year is always that for me.

The best part I love about this event, is the fact that there are blogger friends who actually look forward to this event and so happily send me their memories. Life is like that right, least thing brings you a smile, when you least expect it.

I am touched by many who support me in all my activities and many who wish me the best in all the things I do. What do I do without you all!

Before I become more sloppy, here's an account of all the stories that's come my way!

For Anusha, the year has been very good as she has so many memories to think back fondly. She recollects her journey through her blog and the different roles she has come to handle. She has a lovely collection of recipes to start with. Browse through and enjoy her recap.

For a person who took a break longer than expected, Cham comes back with a bang, recollecting what's kept her busy through the year! I especially love the fact that she got to taste some exotic fruits and has even come up with a goal sheet. All the best Cham for fulfilling your goals.

Next you get to read about Pan Gravy Kadai Curry, authored by a cool gal, calling herself Cool Lassi(e). My pal in BM, and trust me she really got me over the moon when she said she remembers only BM these days. From a collection of over 100 recipes, it is really tough to pick just 15 but she really did. And those 15 are really wow!

There are certain things that you do as a tradition and I feel as a tradition. And that will surely be getting an entry from Graziana. I enjoy the fact that I never fail to get an entry from Graziana. Best part of the post is, she has made sure she has selected the very best for us to drool over!

Then we have Hema sharing her best of the year, when she become active blogging. I like her best picture and I am sure you will too.

Next comes Jaya, with her spice and curry mixed up just right for us. If you felt you missed reading some of her delicious dishes, you need not have worried. She has done a beautiful round up of her creations!

Now we have a bubbling blogger all set to get the record straight. Kavi seems surprised that she stayed committed to this entertainment she has started. Well when it is Edible Entertainment, how can one not be addicted. Her list of best what she had to offer are really tempting.

Then we have Lakshmi Grandhim sharing her best of the year. Her Iyengar Bakery Style "Khara Bread" surely caught me drooling over it.

Reading PJ, I can only say I was touched. Not only did she write this post the year along, she sent an email that she was waiting for me to announce this event..:)..Read on her lovely recollection of what best she has in her collection.

Priyanka takes a trip down her memory lane, revisiting some of her posts and enjoying them again. The best I liked was the Eggless Chocolate Cake with Cookies and Cream Icing.

Roshni who started blogging just couple of months ago, is all excited with the encouragement she gets from her new blogging friends. She lists her best that she has to offer in the months that she started.

For Smitha, it's been a wonderful year of change. They moved homes which meant she couldn't blog. The long break that she couldn't avoid made her miss many events. She is hoping to get back to being regular and I hope so too.

and finally thinking back on how and what it was, I was able to write down my thoughts. I have been able to reach my goals that I had thought for Spice your Life. Though still long way to go..

I hope you enjoyed reading every body's account..Now stay back to enjoy the regular show.

***********************************************************************

Thank you everybody for sending and sharing your thoughts.

Announcing Chocolate Mela!

2012-01-04T23:19:00.001+05:30

Hope it's been a great start of the new year for everybody! It's been a different one this time for us, as we were not in town and then as usual it was school reopening for the kids. With almost three days passed off quickly I realized that I haven't done a post yet in either blogs.

If last year I started with a sweet note by posting Mysore Pak, this time round I thought I should begin with a Mela! There is nothing better than a Mela to get into mood of celebrations. Let's begin the year with a celebration and no celebration is complete without sweets, rather Chocolates if you ask me.

I am sure there are not many who will say no to chocolates. If I am not eating these days, it's only because nothing reaches me. I have too many chocolate lovers at home. Infact if I have to bake, at least one batch has to be with chocolate, else kids will not even touch the cake.

For the Mela, make any dish with chocolate/cocoa as the main ingredient. It can be anything from sweets, truffles, cakes, cookies, ice creams, shakes, just about anything with chocolate in it.

So from now till February 20th 2012, post any dish that has Chocolate on your blog.

Link back to this announcement is mandatory
Entry can be any dish with chocolate as the main ingredient.
Usage of the logo is appreciated as it helps spread the word.
Eggs are allowed.
Multiple entries are accepted, only with a link back to this announcement

Any questions, please send them to cooking4allseasons@gmail.com.

Memories the Essence of Life ~ Best of 2011!

2011-12-31T06:43:00.002+05:30

There are times when you think days are flying and times when you think time just doesn't move. Luckily I haven't felt the latter for a while now. I am not sure if I should be glad or sad over it. The last twelve months have been one hectic period and I have not found time for doing many things. I know it sounds such a routine thing. I have always said if one wants to find time, one can surely. True, maybe I just didn't want to find that out myself. I have made sure I have been busy with more than what I can handle most times.

There have been times when I felt that I wasn't spending enough time with my kids. I try my best to spend as much time as I could manage. Well I know they will surely complain when they felt we are not spending time with them. We take them to park, spend evenings watching movies, I have had them help in cooking at times, helping me with small things that they can do. At the same time, this is the period for us to work hard, meet our goals, make much more of this life then just living everyday life! So sacrifices in certain areas are expected to happen.

Sometime during the last days of 2010 I thought to myself that I should really make an effort to be more active in Spice your Life! and decided to do a Marathon for 30 days. The group that joined us were so interested that they wanted me to continue, though with a theme. Since doing 30 days was just out of question I decided on a weekly marathon. Finally we settled around a pattern of doing 14 day marathons, making sure my other group's activity Indian Cooking Challenge, doesn't get affected by this. Through Blogging Marathon, I have come to know many bloggers and enjoy a close knit community that helps out and reaches out so much.I have been really proud for having got together a group that is so free in sharing knowledge, experience and much more. A big thanks to all my friends who had joined me in Blogging Marathon.

I did Breakfast Mela, Sandwich Mela, Condiment Mela, Soups and Salads Mela and Snacks Mela. And the entries that came my way surely fits us for many years to come!

As I was really busy with Blogging Marathon in Spice your Life!, I tried hard to be regular in posting here. The highlights would that I managed to observe Navarathri this time and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It really gives one a disciple that's required. After that came Deepavali and for that again I enjoyed making new dishes. Learning traditional Indian snacks and sweets and making sure I record it, gives me great happiness.

It is said life is always a mix of happiness and sorrow. While on a global front, we did see many calamities and casualties, on the blogging front we lost a dear friend. Though I never met Jayasree, it always felt as if we always knew each other. On a personal front, I lost my maternal grandma recently. She was the person behind many of the traditional recipes that are featured on this blog. Amma learnt from her and she passed on to me. Amma always said she can never make those dishes as good as her Mom.

Life goes on and we surely make sure to get involved in many things to forget things that depress us.

As always I have lots of plans to execute in the coming year. I am optimistic that at least having goals gets one to be focused.

Ultimately it all boils down to the fact about, not how much and what all we did. What really matters is if you gave your best efforts and hanged on till the end!

Give your best, rest will take care of itself!

Each year passing, I sit back for a while and think back how it was and I always know I can vividly remember each day passing. There have been few years that passed into oblivion. I know it has been a significant year. I met my childhood friends and it was such a nostalgic time, there is nothing better than meeting your friends you knew so many years ago. When I spoke to them over the phone last year and met couple of them, I knew life has come round a circle. This year I met about thirty of them. We have planned for a bigger group next year!

Also finally I thought I liked a tag line for the blog. "Memories that churn food and Tales". For the records I posted about 277 recipes on Cooking for all Seasons and about 220 in Spice your Life!

I appreciate the support that is shown by the visits and emails. This space if I had wanted it to be just a personal record for my kids, I would have kept it a private one. I enjoy the interactions that happen on this space with my readers, so look forward to reading them.

I wish all my readers a great year ahead!

Aloo Paneer Bondas | Potato Indian Cottage Cheese Fritters | Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-28T23:24:00.001+05:30

After the stuffed bajjis that Konda liked a lot, Peddu wanted some for himself. Though seeing the chillies he said he wanted something else. That's when I remembered that he used to love bondas as a kid and wanted to make the stuffing as bondas. When the boys were 2 & 1/2 or so, we had taken them to Tirupati along with my sis in laws family. Over there while we had gone for darshan, my bil had taken the kids for snacks. That's when they saw the bondas they wanted to eat that. In fact they ate and even after coming back home, they kept asking for bondas. So if I wanted the boys to eat something I normally resort to making them as bondas and telling them it's the same they ate at Tirupati.

Truth be said, these stuffed fritters were really awesome. Of course there is no denying that deep fried snack tends to be very delicious.

Prepare the stuffing as it was in Stuffed Chilli Bajji and the outer layer too.

Then to the stuffing, add in 2-3 bread slices soaked in water and squeezed out completely. Crumble this mix with the stuffing and combine everything to a stiff balls.

Dip the balls in the batter and deep fry them right away.

This goes for my Snack Mela, which is on till the end of the month.

And to my Kid's Delight, hosted by Veena this month themed on colourful palette

Stuffed Chilli Bajji or Fritters | Stuffed Mirapakaya Bajji | Bajji Mirapakaya Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-27T16:07:00.005+05:30

Recently we came across these stuffed chilli bajjis in some magazine and Amma wanted to make these for evening snacks. Though we got the ingredients needed, until the last moment I didn't really give lot of attention to them. I was really surprised that it had pomegranate seeds along with nuts. And I was glad that both Konda and Peddu loved it!

I wasn't sure what I was thinking when I was writing this post, I had scheduled without the pictures or the anything else. So just edited it again with the pictures.

We went to Don 2 along with kids and they enjoyed it a lot. Well if I should refer the Popcorns and the Corn Chat that accompanied, well it was a great evening..:)

Stuffed Chilli Bajji or Fritters

Ingredients Needed:

Bajji pepper - 250 gms (10 - 12)

For the Stuffing:

Potatoes / Aloo - 2 to 3 medium

Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese - 3/4 cup

Coriander leave, finely chopped - 3 -4 tsp

Chat powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Chopped dry fruit (Cashew nuts, Almonds) - 1/2 cup

Pomegranate seeds - 1/2 cup

Green chilli, finely chopped - 3 medium

Oil - 2 tsp

For the outer coating

Gram Flour / Besan - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Soda a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

How to make Stuffed Chilli Bajji or Chilli Fritters

For the Stuffing

Wash and make slits on the potatoes. Microwave for 6 mins. Once done, cool in water and peel the skin. Mash then well.

Make Paneer as you normally make. You need not worry about pressing them to a shape as you will need to crumble them for this recipe. Chop the nuts and keep it aside.

Heat a non stick pan, add 2 tsps of oil, saute aloo, then crumbled paneer, dry fruits. Saute well.

Then add salt chilli powder, chat powder and mix everything well. Once done, allow to cool.

Remove and add the pomagrante seeds, coriander leaves and green chillis.

For the Chillis

Wash and pat dry the chilis, slit in the middle and remove the seeds completely. continue with the rest and keep them ready.

For the outer coating

Take the besan in a bowl, add rice flour, soda and salt. Slowly add water and make a batter of pouring consistency.

Stuffing and frying

Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. Make sure the oil is hot and not smoking.

Now stuff the chilis with spoonful of the aloo mix into the chilis. Press well. Dip these stuffed bajjis into the besan and gently slide into the hot oil.

Cook on both sides and drain on a kitchen towel.

Serve hot with ketchup.

This goes for my Snack Mela, which is on till the end of the month.

And to my Kid's Delight, hosted by Veena this month themed on colourful palette

Wafer Chat | Potato Chip Chat | Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-26T23:28:00.006+05:30

December always reminds me of holidays and celebrations. Though the month starts off with the half yearly exams, the kids look forward to the ten long days of vacation and the parents join the fun too. Even at work, it normally ends up being fun filled and holidaying mood. I remember the many Christmas based events and games we always had during December and this year too, we decided that we should do something similar.

A team was formed with the juniors being given the responsibility of coming up with different themes, including games and other events. As always no event or celebration is complete without food and yes, I was asked what I could make. My colleagues quickly referred the blog and just that day I had the Snack Mela announced and everybody loved the concept. Couple of years ago, when we had a lunch cooked for 100 employees, I had a team of 20 members helping me with all the dishes. Though we thoroughly enjoyed that day, it was little hectic. Plus given the fact that most wanted snacks to be prepared, I agreed to make snacks in the evening. We had great fun zeroing on the snacks. The organizing team tagged the event as December Drizzle!

The snacks had to be something different from our usual fare plus the fact that we were going to cook for 100 people. We had planned for four days and three are done. All the three have been a smashing hit and everybody simply enjoyed themselves. I made Pancake with condensed Milk and cinnamon topping, next Royal Idlis and finally last week it was a wafer Chat.

Pancake was made using the ready made mix, still estimating, mixing 4 & 1/2 kgs of flour was a huge task and I had very efficient team helping me blend the mix. I completely forgot to take my blender and had to relay on muscle power. I was told it was a great exercise to those who helped me blend the batter..:)

Second was the Royal Idlis, and this was another interesting challenge as everybody thought I was going to make Masala Idlis. They never expected such a twist to the idlis and must say many went for 3 helping too. Even though when I posted this dish, it was supposed to have been with leftover idlis, it hardly was then. You can make with fresh batch anytime.

We had a platter of Manchurian planned but I finally said making that will be really a tougher job, considering the deep frying part plus not knowing how the reception would be. Finally others voted against it as it was a regular dish. They wanted the surprise element to be still there.

So the fourth week's dish was moved to week three and it was Wafer Chat. One of the organizing member ate this at a restaurant and he loved it. So we experimented it once and I said I will surely have to improvise on the things that went in. I was really happy with the way I was able to change few of the components and the end dish turned out really fantastic. Pair the chat with a Chocolate Milk Shake, and you have one happy lot!

The ingredients required for making the entire quantity was mind blowing! We custom ordered 8 kilos of Potato Wafers. The wafers had to be thin and crispy. I am sure listing out the other ingredients in their whole quantity will not surely work out. So I will scale down to a smaller measurement.

Of course when it comes to chat there is never enough!

Since the other two recipes were already blogged, I requested my colleague to click pictures while I was preparing it.

Chocolate Milkshake is always a winner and it can never go wrong in pleasing. Since I had made it previously, there was a common demand for it to be made again.

Step by Step Pictures

Chocolate Milkshake with Chocolate shavings

15 liters milk was used, 2 big Hershey's chocolate syrup with 10 20 gm chocolate bars along with 2 huge vanilla family packs. There was an unlimited supply flow and I have never seen such content faces before this.

Wafer Chat | Potato Chip Chat

Ingredients Needed:

For Assembling the chat

Potato Wafers - 1/2 kg
Chat masala
Kala Namak
White Pepper
Finely chopped onions
Finely chopped tomatoes
Coriander leaves
Sev
Coriander leaves
Lemon
Potato Mash
Green Chutney
Sweet Sour Chutney
Curds

For the Potato mash

Boiled Potatoes - 4 medium
Roasted Cumin powder - 2 -3 tsp coarsely ground
Salt to taste
Green Chillies - 4 -5 medium
Oil - 3 - 4 tsp

Wash and chop potatoes and boil till soft. Crumble and keep it aside. Heat a pan and roast the cumin seeds. Once cooled, grind it coarsely to a powder.

Heat the pan again and add oil. Add the mashed potatoes, cumin powder, salt and finely chopped green chillies. When you are making large quantity make sure you don't mash it completely. Just crumble it enough to get blend together.

Allow it to cool and crumble again to get it to dropping consistency.

For the Green Chutney

Mint leaves - 2 bunch
Coriander leaves - 2 bunch
Red Chilies - 8 - 9
Salt to taste

Wash all the leaves and grind to a fine paste adding water and salt.
I normally add green chilies, though red chilies give a wonderful taste.

For the Sweet Sour Chutney

Dates, pitted - 250 gms
Tamarind - 250 gms
Jaggary - 250 gms
Red Chilies - 100 gms

Wash and soak the dates in hot water, remove the seeds and allow it to soak well
Similarly soak the tamarind in hot water. When both tamarind and dates become soft, add more water and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, add the jaggary. Grind the red chilies using water and add to the boiling mix.
pulp and dilute if the sauce is very thick.

Curds / Yogurt Sauce

Thick Curds - 2 cups
Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Kala Namak
Sugar

Hung curds in a muslin cloth for 15 mins. Using a blender, blend the curds to a thick and smooth consistency.

Make a paste of the coriander leaves and add to the thick curds, continue blending further. Finally add the salt, kala namak and sugar. The taste should be salty and curd tangy. And you should feel that mild coriander taste. Mix in cold water to make it pouring consistency.

Assembling the Wafer Chat in the following way

Assemble the wafers on a plate,
add the potato mash on top,
Next pour the curds over it
Next goes the green chutney and sweet sour chutney.
Then the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves.
Next the sev
Finally sprinkle the chat masala, Kala Namak, White pepper. You can repeat any of the other ingredients depending on your preference.

Make sure you assemble and serve this right away as potatoes tend to get soggy if allowed standing.

Other Chat Recipes from my Kitchen

Dahi Papdi Chat Recipe
Dahi Samosa Chat Recipe
Ragda Patties | Aloo Tikki Chat
Masala Peanut Chat
Pani Puri / Gol Gappe
Aloo Tikki Recipe

This goes for my Snack Mela, which is on till the end of the month.

And to my Kid's Delight, hosted by Veena this month themed on colourful palette

Carrot Cake | Eggless Carrot Cake Recipe | Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-25T15:17:00.001+05:30

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

Since it's holidays for the kids, I wanted to bake something different than the usual chocolate versions. But trust my boys to insist only on chocolates. So to get them off my back, I made another version of my eggless chocolate cake first and ended up baking two times as the first batch disappeared before I could even blink!

After the second batch saited their love for chocolate cake, they let me get on with the baking I had in mind. I have been wanting to bake a carrot cake for a long time. Couple of days back I read this recipe in a book and saw that it is very similar to the basic condensed milk cake that I bake.

Everytime I have excess carrots on hand I always think I should bake a carrot cake, but never come around baking it. Years back, when we have excess carrots it was always carrot halwa that was made. When I started using microwave, the entire process became even simpler with the microwave version.

Now we hardly make carrot halwa because of the calories. If the kids ate sweet, I could at least make for them. However they hardly touch a sweet. They do love cakes, only chocolate at that. Anyway I went ahead making a cake with carrots just at least to see if it tastes.

Eggless Carrot Cake

Step by Step Picture Recipe

Wash, scrape and trim the ends.

Grate enough carrots to make 2 cups.

Dust with 2 tbsp flour

Mix everything together.

Sieve the flour along with baking powder, baking soda and corn flour.

Measure out soft butter to a cup

Take the soft butter and 1/2 tin condensed milk in a bowl.

Cream everything together.

Add 2 -3 tbsp castor sugar and cream it again.

Add the flour mix to the creamed butter

Mix everything together.

Sliver handful of almonds

Grease and dust a 9 x 5 baking tray, sprinkle the almond slivers over it.

Gradually mix in the carrot mix to the creamed butter and blend everything together.

Add 1/2 cup milk and blend to a semi pouring consistency.

Pour into the prepped tray.

Pat it down on the counter top to make sure the batter settles well. Meanwhile pre heat the oven at 170 degree C

Bake first at 170 degree C for 17 mins, then reduce to 140 Degree and bake for 15 mins.

Insert a sharp knife in the center to check if it is done.

Allow to cool over the rack and then slice

Since the cake is not that sweet you can dust icing sugar on top.

Eggless Carrot Cake

Carrot, grated - 2 cups
All purpose flour - 1 & 1/2 cups
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Condensed Milk - 1/ 2 tin
Castor Sugar - 3 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Corn Flour - 1 tbsp
Butter - 3/4 cup
Flour - 2 tbsp for coating carrot
Almond Slivers - Handful

How to make Carrot Cake

Wash, scrape and trim the ends. Grate enough carrots to make 2 cups. Then dust with 2 tbsp flour and mix everything together.

In another bowl, sieve the flour along with baking powder, baking soda and corn flour twice. Keep it aside.

In a mixing bowl, measure out a cup of soft butter and add 1/2 tin condensed milk and icing sugar. Cream everything together.

Once the butter is creamed well, add the flour mix and combine everything well. Now add the grated carrots and mix everything, making sure you don't beat it too much. Add 1/2 cup milk and blend to a semi pouring consistency.

Dust a greased baking tray and sprinkle almond slivers.

Pre heat the oven at 170 C.

Pour the batter into the prepped tray, tap on the counter to make sure the batter spreads evenly.

Bake first at 170 degree C for 17 mins, then reduce to 140 Degree and bake for 15 mins.

Insert a sharp knife in the center to check if it is done.

Allow to cool over the rack and then slice

Since the cake is not that sweet you can dust icing sugar on top.

Other Eggless Cakes

This goes for my Snack Mela, which is on till the end of the month.

Microwave Eggless Chocolate Cake | Christmas Special Cakes | Step By Step Recipe

2011-12-24T22:42:00.002+05:30

It's time for the usual Christmas Special Cakes to make it's appearance. Last year I was bent on making Plum cakes or Fruit cakes, but I completely forgot to soak the fruits this year.

So wanted to make something special this year, even if it was another chocolate cake. We do not celebrate Christmas as it is supposed to be. But the festive mood surely gets on to you and end up doing something special to mark the day.

Last year it was two wonderful fruit cakes without eggs

The moment I took the butter out, my boys wanted to make chocolate cake. Though I had Carrot cake in mind, I ended up baking chocolate cakes two times as the boys were not happy with just one round. The first round of cake disappeared the moment it came out of oven. Finally the second batch was saved for a click.

Step By Step Pictures

Ingredients Needed:

Plain Flour - 3 tsps
Cornflour - 1 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Castor Sugar - 3 tbsps
Cocoa Powder - 2 tsp
Milk Powder - 3 tsps
Milk - 2 tbsps
Condensed Milk - 1 tbsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Chocolate Syrup for topping

How to make Microwave Eggless Chocolate Cake

Melt the butter in a mw bowl.

Then mix all the ingredients except the syrup in a bowl.

Pour them in a greased mw bowl and microwave for 2 mins. Check and mw again for 30 secs if required.

Allow it to cool for a min before turning over.

Once done, top it with Chocolate Syrup.

Sending this to Kavi, who is hosting my MEC this month and she is accepting all dishes made in microwave.

And you will be seeing some quick Snacks in the view that Snack Mela is coming to an end this month. Have you linked your entry yet?..For my Snack Mela, which is on till the end of the month.

Vankaya Bangaladumpa Koora | Brinjal Potato Curry | Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-20T07:16:00.000+05:30

Vankaya Urulagadda Kura is one of those most frequently made side dish in our house. Though Amma used to make a variation of this at home, the typical Brinjal Potato Curry per se according to hubby dear started after I got this introduced by Athamma. She makes this side dish for Sweet Poli, the combination I got to know after my marriage. I must say it does taste great!

I know I have been so behind my posts here, not sure how exactly I missed out so many days. But it struck me very strange and I thought I could at least share the pictorial I took while I was making the festival dishes, Athamma was making this. Funny part was, I completely forgot to take the final gravy and then it became that I wasn't cooking brinjal or potato at home, so will click another one when I start making the vegetables.

Meanwhile enjoy the pictorial! The recipe for Vankai Urulagadda Kura as we call, is exactly the same as I have already published.

I also completely forgot about preparing for the Christmas Cakes. So here's what I had made last year!

Have a great week ahead.

Soups and Salads Mela ~ Part 2

2011-12-07T21:23:00.005+05:30

After the wonderful round up of Soups in the first edition, it's time for the Salads to make an appearance. There were so many that I was really glad getting in all of them. Now there is no reason to say we have no ideas.

Check out the Soups and Salads Mela ~ Part 1

****************************************************************

Now for the entries!

Amy's Bitter Gourd Salad, Snake Gourd Salad

Archana's Palak Salad, Sautikai Kosambri, Tossed Salad with sweet lime, Masoor Salad & Fruit Chaat

Bava Narayanan's Corn and Rajma Salad

Cool Lassi(e)'s Cucumber, Radish and Dill Salad, Sprouted Beans and Avocado Salad & Fruit Salad with Milk and Farina Dressing

Dhyuthi's Cleansing Fruit Salad, Fruity Sprouts Salad, Tomato-Egg white salad

Divya Viswanathan's Chickpeas and Honey-Sweet Cherry Tomatoes Salad & Potato Salad- American Style

Faseela's Chocolate Fruit Salad, Macaroni Fruit Salad & Fruit Salad With Yogurt

Gayathri Kumar's Apple and Cucumber Salad & Fruit Salad

Harini - Jaya's Curried Tofu Quinoa Salad, Spicy Apple Salad & Kidney Bean Salad

Jaleela kamal's Black channa & Apple salad & Raw Mango Salad

Kalyani's Couscous Salad

Krithi Karthi's Green Salad with Ginger Lemon Dressing & Pasta Salad with Lemon Peanut dressing

Malathi Savitha's Green vegetable salad, Sweet Corn Salad & Green vegetable salad

Pradnya's Guava and Carrot Salad, Panzanella Salad, Potato and Beetroot salad & Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Priya Suresh's Creamy Corn & Olive Salad, Cucumber Walnut Salad & Pineapple Chocolate Sauce Salad

Rajani's Rice Salad, Zucchini Salad & Fruit Salad

Sadaf's Healthy Garden Salad, Pasta Salad & Sadaf's Russian Salad

Sadhana's Mixed Veg & Chick Pea Salad with Parsley Yogurt Dressing

Shobha's Garden Salad, Mixed vegetable Salad & Veg Russian Salad

Smitha Joga's Bread Salad or Panzanella, Simple and Easy Cucumber Salad & Pasta Salad

Sujatha Subramanian's Black eyed bean - capsicum salad

Suma Gandlur's Cracked Wheat Salad, Tomato Basil Salad, Fruit Salad with Custard & Fruit Salad with Mango Sauce

Vardhini's Crunchy Avocado Salad, Healthy Broccoli Salad & Waldorf Salad

Veena krishnakumar's Paneer and Bean sprout salad

Vidhya Subramony's Lettuce Cups

and finally from me Beetroot Salad

Amita's Spiced Chicken Salad

Ingredients Needed

Chicken - Big 1 & 1/2 inch pieces to be carved from the boiled chicken with which the stock was prepared
Red Bell.Pepper - 1, diced into 1- 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
Yellow bell Pepper - 1, diced into 1- 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
Onion - 1, diced into 1- 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
Soya Sauce+ Vinegar+ Olive oil - Just enough to add colour and Taste

Garam Masala to be ground fresh:
Cinnamon, Cloves, Cumin Seeds, Black Peppercorn - whole+ Cardamom Black - 25 gms each (should be freshly roasted on a tava, and ground coarsely immediately)
Salt / Pepper to taste
Ghee - 2tbsps

How to make the Spiced Chicken Salad

Chop all the ingredients and keep in in separate bowls.

Heat the pan, add the oil when smoked, add the coarsely ground spices, soya sauce+ vinegar . and gently fold in the chicken pieces one by one over a low flame. Add salt/ and pepper to give the necessary taste.

Remove from the fire. Allow it to cool.

Just before serving:

Add the veg, fold in gently. along with the dash of olive oil.

Serve immediately along with the almond & chicken soup otherwise it will lose its crispy style.

This can be served with the Chicken Soup and garlic bread

********************************************************

Thanks to everybody who joined in me. Please let me know if any entry is missed out. Will add in promtly!

And do join me in Snacks Mela!

Soups and Salads Mela ~ Part 1

2011-12-05T22:41:00.005+05:30

With so many entries I was bound to be late with the round up and as expected it got delayed. We have over 146 entries for this Mela, with about 62 different Salads to choose and rest all appetizing Soups! When I announced Soups and Salads Mela, I wanted to make sure I get enough to help me plan my salad days. I must say I have been very happy.

For today, lets see the Soups that came in.

Amy's Cream of Mushroom Soup, Cream of Parsley & Onion Soup
Archana's Cal de Verde & Tomato Soup
Ashwini's Low Fat Broccolli Soup
Cool Lassi(e)'s Meatball and Collards with Pasta Soup. Red Lentil Soup with Mint and Potatoes, Roasted Vegetable Bisque
Dhyuthi's Cabbage Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Spicy Indian Yogurt Soup & Spinach Carrot soup
Divya Viswanathan's Healthy Vegetarian Minestrone Soup & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Gayathri Kumar's Carrot Soup
Harini - Jaya's Black Eyed Peas Soup, Cabbage-Chickpea Soup, Carrot-Orange Soup With Curried Tofu, Curried Carrot Lentil Soup, Red Chori Bean Soup & Soy Chunks - Vegetable Soup
Kalyani's Schezwan Tom Yum Soup
Kavi's Sopa De Ajo (Castilian Garlic Soup)
Krithi Karthi's Apple Celery Soup, Broccoli - Cheese Soup, Minestrone Soup, Mixed Vegetable Soup, Tomato Basil Soup & Vegetable Clear Soup with Quinoa

Malathi Savitha's Corn Carrot Soup, Ragi Soup & Simple Potato Soup
Meenakshi's Vegetable and Lentil Soop
Nisha's Cream of Broccoli Soup
Pavitra's Tomato Oats Soup
PJ's Minty Lemon rasam
Pradnya's Alpha Past Soup, Mulligatawny Soup, French Onion Soup, Gazpacho Soup & Sweet Corn Soup

Priya Suresh's Mushroom Glass Noodles Soup, Onion Soup, Pumpkin Oats Soup, & Vegetable Clear Soup
Priyadarshine's Tomato Soup
Rajani's Creamy Tomato Soup, Mixed Vegetable Soup, Rice Soup - Kanji & Tomato Salsa
Rudra's Cold Cucumber Soup, Gazpacho & Green Pea Soup
Sadhana's Spinach & Bean Soup
Shobha's Clear Corn Soup, Cream of Spinach Soup & Rajma Soup

Smitha Joga's Indianized Vegetable soup with lentils, Mexican Tortilla Soup & Vegetable and Corn Chowder
Sukanya's Cream of Mushroom Soup
Suma Gandlur's Black Bean - Carrot Soup, Black Eyed Peas Soup, Broccoli - Cheese Soup & Corn Soup
Sumedha's Pumpkin Soup
Vani Hegde's Sweet Corn Veg Soup

Vardhini's Carrot Lentil Soup, Garlic, Chickpea and Spinach Soup , Minestrone Soup & Oven Roasted Tomato Soup
Veena krishnakumar's Cream of carrot soup, Persian Shorba, Pumpkin Soup, Roasted beet-carrot soup & yellow bell pepper soup

Amita's Chicken & Almond Soup
A recipe from my reader

Ingredients Needed:

Chicken stock - 1 Litre
Almonds slivers. - 20 - 25 no
Salt/ Black pepper/ ajinomoto - to taste
Soya sauce+ Vinegar - Just enough to add colour and give that tangy taste.
Cornflour - 2/3 tbsps
Almond essence.+ Butter - if required (a few drops only)
Parsley - A few leaves

How to make Chicken Stock

This can be made from boiling one small broiler chicken which has been thoroughly washed/ cleaned & patted dry. Add I litre of water+ Chicken jointed into 4/6 pieces+ laung (5/6 pieces) + dalchini (1inch piece)+ Nutmeg (1cm bit coarsely crushed) + adequate amt of salt)

After boiling and checking that the chicken is tender, the chicken may be drained & set aside.

Almonds slivers.
Almonds - washed and soaked in water for i hour/ or heated in a microwave 3 mts. Cool and peel, and cut longitudinally into slivers. Set aside.

How to make the Chicken and Almond Soup

Put chicken stock on the burner.
Add all ingredients except the slivers of Almonds and cornflour.
Let it simmer on a low flame stirring in between till the ingredients mix well and the aroma pervades the room. This might take about 10 mts
Thicken with the cornflour mixed in a little water to make a smooth homogeneous paste. Remember to keep on stirring continuously while adding the cornflour else it will get lumpy
Add 1/2the slivers of almonds into it.
Serve hot along with parsley and left over slivers of almonds

Jaleela kamal's Sweet corn Chicken soup
Smitha Joga's Chicken Chilli Soup
Taruna Deepak's Chicken Soup

*******************************************************

Will be back with the Salads shortly, I hope I have included all the soups that came my. My sincere apologies if any entry is missed.

Gurugakku Pappu / Chenu Akka ~ Authentic Andhra | Step by Step Recipe

2011-12-03T22:02:00.001+05:30

Now if I am to say what this variety of greens is called in English, then I am really at wits ends to know what it is called in English. This is a variety of greens that is only grown in the back yards in villages or towns. Amma got these green when we had visited our native place sometime back. I was so surprised at the different versions that they used to prepare with this. We made a pappu with it, and it made a wonderful meal.

I have been trying to update this space for a while, yet something or the other comes up and I loose focus. I have also been busy teaching my boys for their term exams. It's been equally a tough period for me, as I have to understand how to make them understand. They have so much portions to study, I wonder why 5 year old kids need to learn so much. They have sample worksheets followed by the actually exams. I am sure they have so many other things that can do much in ways to teach them.

Anyway coming to the recipe, check out the step by step pictures to make this dal.

Ingredients Needed:

Chenu akku - 1 bunch
Toor dal - 100 gms
Green chilies - 3-4 long
Tomatoes - 2 small
Tamarind - 1 small marble size
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

Seasonings
Mustard, Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Sambar onions. - 4

How to make the dal

Wash and take the greens in a pressure cooker along with washed toor dal, green chillies, tomatoes,
tamarind, sambar onions and enough water. Pressure cook till done.

Once the pressure falls, remove the water and churn the greens and dal using the lentil masher.

Heat a pan with oil, temper with seasoning ingredients. Saute till the onions are sauteed well. Then add the mashed dal with greens.

Add salt and enough water and bring to boil. Simmer for couple of minutes as required.

Serve with steamed rice.

Announcing the "Best of year 2011" Event!

2011-11-30T06:45:00.001+05:30

Even if I have been saying the same almost every year, this year does seem the time passed with a major impact on my blogging way. I have been happy that I have been regular in blogging at my Spice your Life blog with Blogging Marathon.

That also meant I remember to post this event on time. We are at that period in the year when we think back and look forward to the next year.

So I decided I repeat myself and do the same points again and it will be fun to read about so many new blogs and what they did this year.

If you are interested to take such a time to pause and think back, I would welcome you to share it with me.

It can also be whatever else you want to share with me and your readers.

I am just giving few items for you to get started. It can be these or whatever you want to share:

1. Top 5 or 10 recipes of the year
2. Best dish of the month
3. Best recipe prepared from other blogs
4. Best Meal of the year
5 New things discovered in the year (can include anything related to cooking)
6. Best post or picture for each month or year
7. New blogs discovered
8. Cooking resolutions for the Year 2012!

Lets celebrate the new year with a recap of what we did during 2011!

Guidelines for the event.

1. Write your post by 31st December 2011.
2. Please use to the logo to spread the event.

3. In your post, include a link to this announcement.

4. Mail me your details to cooking4allseasons@gmail.com with the subject line "Best of 2011".

I hope you will enjoy doing this recap.

Hoping to read the many wonderful things that happened around!

If you have time, do check out my best of the year posts that I did in the past - 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 here.

Chicken Varuval ~ Weekend Cooking | How to make Chicken Fry Tamil Style | Step by Step Recipe

2011-11-26T22:12:00.003+05:30

I have been getting so many requests for non vegetarian dishes that I decided that I should make something different and post. So for the last two weekends, it's been new recipes that I tried. Today's recipe is yet another chicken varuval, that Amma got to know this recipe from our family friend. Vasantha Aunty makes non veg dishes the best and her dishes are well known. She makes a mean meat balls and for all the get together parties, she will surely make those meat balls.

During the recent gathering, she had made this chicken varuval and daddy liked it a lot. So Amma had to get the recipe and she made it at home. Everybody liked it and naturally I got to make it again. The spice level has to be increased if I was serving just for hubby dear, however it was just correct for the kids.

Since this is step by step recipe, if you are a meat eater, please skip the post and check out Spice your Life for Vegetarian dishes!

Step by Step Recipe for making Chicken Varuval

Boiling the Chicken

Wash and cut the chicken as desired.

Add red chili pw, salt, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder to the chicken and mix well.

Add 1 cup water and bring to boil

Continue boiling till the chicken is cooked.

Simmer and dry the chicken.

Keep it aside for it to be fried.

Spice powder:

Dry roast the wholepepper and cumin seeds.

Once cool, grind to a fine powder.

For making the Fry:

Heat a kadai with oil,

Finely chop the tomatoes, and slit the green chilies.

When the oil is hot, add the green chilies, ginger garlic paste,

Saute well.

Then add the chopped tomatoes.

When the tomatoes are cooked, add the ground powder. Add the cooked chicken and roast till the chicken is well done. Finally add the curry leaves and the coriander leaves.

Chicken Varuval | Chicken Fry

For the boiling Chicken

Chicken - 1 kg
Red chili pow - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric a pinch
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup

Wash and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Wash and drain in a colander.

Add salt, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder to the chicken pieces.

Take the chicken pieces in a pan and add 1 cup of water. Bring to boil, cook till the chicken is cooked. When the chicken is cooked, continue till all the moisture is evaporated.

Masala powder:

Wholepeper corn - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Heat a kadai, dry roast pepper and cumin seeds. Cool and powder to a fine powder.

To fry the chicken:

Oil - 4 tsp
Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 2
Cardamon - 2
Green Chillies - 3
Ginger Garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium.
Salt to taste

How to make Chicken Fry

Heat a kadai with oil, add clove, cinnamon, cardamon. Saute for couple of mins, then add slit green chilis, ginger garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, fry for a while. Adjust salt and add as required.

Once the tomatoes are mushy and soft, add the pepper and cumin powder. Saute for couple of minutes. Add the boiled chicken. Fry on high flame, then simmer the flame and continue frying till oil comes out.

Add curry leaves and coriander leaves and simmer for 5 mins. When the chicken is dry, increase the flame and saute again for couple of minutes.

Enjoy as a starter!

Announcing Snacks Mela

2011-11-22T16:51:00.006+05:30

As usual before I could do the round up of the previous Soups and Salads mela, I decided to announce the next one, so that everybody can participate in the event and the event gets more time.

For this edition I thought after Soups and Salads, a dose of Snacks would be simply great.

Snack is referred as a light informal meal, that one can have between meals. In other words it can be anything that is eaten in between meals, can be light if you prefer or heavy depending to whom you are serving!

I was hoping to make this announcement earlier but days somehow have a knack of passing off quickly. For the Blogging Marathon#10 this month, I wanted my friends to dish out guilt free snacks. After all I need to balance out all types. But in general it can be anything that you call as a snack.

So from now till December 31st 2011, post any dish that can be classified as Snacks on your blog. It can be sweet or savory. The dish can be of any cuisine, both Veg and Non Veg accepted.

Link back to this announcement and send me your entries to cooking4allseasons@gmail.com.

Usage of the logo is appreciated as it helps spread the word.

I will try to leave a comment within couple of days, or at least before the round up..:)

Multiple entries are accepted, in fact would be glad to get all different dishes that you have already posted. But please update the post with this announcement post link. This is the least I can expect, but do not link all your archive posts in one post.

~~The email can be in this format~~

~~Subject: Snacks Mela~~
~~Name~~
~~Post URL~~
~~Recipe Name~~
~~Picture of your dish.~~

Last date to ~~send~~ link in your entries will be December 31st 2011.

I hope you will enjoy participating in this event and make it a success.

Those of you who have already sent me the entries, I will upload myself.

Please use the Link Tool to link your entries!

Snakegourd Stir Fry with Moong dal | Paasi paruppu Podalanga Poriyal | Step by Step Recipe

2011-11-16T06:49:00.001+05:30

Days tend to get extremely busy without our notice and I was surprised to note that almost 10 days have gone without an update. I am struggling to keep up with the posts and there are so many drafts that I want to clear off, guess it requires more efforts than what I have. When I actually think back on what's happening, guess we just caught up the everyday rut of rushing the kids to school, rushing off to work. Wish life could pass on more leisurely so that one gets to remember these incidents.

There are days stretching endless with me chatting with Amma or Hubby dear about what the boys or Konda say. Like last week Konda had given me her lunch weekly menu and was insistent that I follow the menu strictly. When I saw that I had to make Fried rice, I was able to convince Peddu about it but Chinnu said he doesn't want it. I said I am not running a restaurant and he has to carry that for his lunch too. He threatened me saying he will not eat. When I came back home in the evening, Peddu rushed in to say he loved the rice and wanted it for next day also, while Chinnu was having a cross face. Looking at me, he said "I didn't eat, but my teacher fed the rice to me" Imagine saying that was a pause. He was so clear in his likings and that statement was so hilarious when he said in telugu. There have been so many other antics that I now see I haven't recorded. The way the boys have started talking, with their innocence and the smart way they think for every small thing, makes the days so wonderful. Looking at Konda, I wonder all of sudden where is my baby! She is all the typical pre teen, yes kids these days looks like they become teens by 10!

Anyway coming back to the recipe, this is a wonderful protein packed stir fry, very delicious with sambar or dal. If I am not making Podalanga Kootu, it's this stir fry that's made.

Check out how to clean or prep Snake gourd in Spice your Life. We are running the 10th edition of Blogging Marathon from today and I decided to take up Preps and Preserves.

Split Yellow Moong dal is called in tamil Paasi paruppu / Payatham paruppu / siru paruppu

Sending this to Priya for her event Cooking With Seeds-Mung/Moong Beans

Step by step picture Recipe

Snakegourd Stir Fry with Moong dal
Ingredients Needed:

Snake gourd / Podalanga / Potlakaya - 1 medium (this is not the long ones)
Split yellow Moong Dal / Payatham paruppu / Paasi paruppu- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Red chili flakes - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Fresh coconut, grated - 2 tsp

Tempering

Dry Red Chili - 2 -3 (spicy varities)
Mustard Seeds, Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves few

How to make Paasi paruppu Podalanga Poriyal

Refer how to clean or prep Snake gourd and follow the process. Once you have squeezed out the vegetable from salted water, add 1/2 water and microwave for 10 mins.

In another mw bowl, wash and micro moong dal for 10 - 15 mins. Once done, drain the vegetable and keep it aside.

Heat a non stick pan with oil, add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard pops, add the cooked snakegourd. Saute well. This takes about 5 mins. Then add the cooked dal and mix well, add salt and chili flakes. Simmer for 5 mins, then add the grated coconut finally and switch off.

Serve with Rice and Sambar as the side.

No Cook Beetroot Halwa | Beets Salad | Step by Step Recipe

2011-11-07T17:58:00.003+05:30

Soups and Salads is one category my Recipe Index really lacks for choice. That really made me choose this as the theme for the Mela, hoping I will make something for the event myself. Well almost nearing the deadline, I finally have one recipe to talk about. And this is more so on a sweet note. I came to know about this recipe from my dietician who made this for a fitness club. She was telling me that she thought about this after hearing about Mexican Salad that I had made and taken for them. They were so impressed about it, that she thought she could try something on the similar lines with the beetroot.

Best part was that one could almost think this as a beetroot halwa. I am not joking, it was seriously tasting like that and all without ghee or sugar. This is a very quick no cook salad that's quite filling. You can just about mix and match ingredients to be added in this. Jaggary is added, so you can reduce to give just a hint also, as beets is already sweet.

No Cook Beets Halwa

Ingredients Needed:

Beetroot - 1 medium
Banana - 1
Almonds - 10
Jaggary - 2 tsp

How to make the No cook Beets halwa or salad

Wash and peel the beets. Grate it in a bowl.

Add powdered jaggary and mix well. Then add finely chopped banana, followed by finely chopped almonds.

Mix everything and serve.

Notes:

This tastes very much like the halwa that's made the regular way. Increase the jaggary based on your choice. Adding just a teaspoon is just enough.

This goes for my Soups and Salads Mela

Mysore Pak (Hard) Recipe | Diwali Sweets

2011-11-05T19:32:00.007+05:30

This post is almost a week late in making an appearance. When I think of some of those delicious recipes that are yet to be out, this is fine. I am sure many of you know about the melt in the mouth types of Mysore Pak that's sold in the shops. There is another version of this delicious sweet that's mostly done at home and that's the hard version of Mysore Pak, which has those characteristic honeycomb texture and design. What makes this recipe even more interesting is the fact that you can make this with the leftover sugar from the other sweets.

Imagine after helping Amma so many years in our Deepavali sweets and savories, this simple point somehow missed me. I was so surprised by the innovation our mothers come up with. The sugar syrup that was left out after preparing Kaja, was used to make this Mysore Pak. So you really don't have to worry about the Mysore pak being soft. Harder it is, it's better.

I know the weather right now is not really suitable for sweets, pakodas might be very inviting. It's been pouring non stop for the past week or so. It's been worse today and I came back home early. Riding through the rain, not bothered about getting drenched, enjoying every single moment, makes it so wonderful. Of course one shouldn't think about how unprepared the city is for rains. I wish govt takes some efforts to make things better.

Anyway with the rain lashing at the background, kids studying for their mid terms that's going to start next week, I will leave you with the recipe using leftover Sugar syrup to make Hard Mysore Pak. If you are in mood to savour something that lasts for a while, then this is something that you would choose rather than those melt in the mouth types of Mysore Paks.

This was part of our Deepavali Sweets this year.

Not only has Amma reduced the usage of ghee, she has replaced it with some cooking oil.

For making Mysore Pak, with step by step pictures you can check out the soft version.

Making hard Mysore Pak with leftover sugar syrup after making Kaja.

Mysore Pak (Hard)

Besan / Bengal Gram flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee - 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup

Method to prepare:

In a kadai heat ghee and oil together till it is warm. Simmer for couple of minutes.

In another non stick pan, roast the besan on low flame.

Melt the sugar by adding just enough water to cover and remove the impurities.

Continue boiling it for couple of more minutes. Soon you will have a one thread consistency.

Add the besan to the sugar syrup and mix everything together. Then slowly add the ghee oil mix little by little.

Grease a plate or a square tin ready with ghee.

When you are done with all the ghee, continue stirring briskly for another couple of minutes when you see the batter leaving the sides, it means the paak is done.

Immediately pour it on the greased plate. Wait for 10 minutes, before making marks on the top.

Allow it to cool completely before breaking it.

Notes: We had about 1 cup of sugar leftover, we added 1 more cup which needed to be cooked for removing impurities.

Thenkuzhal Muruku 2 | Diwali Savory Snack | Step by Step Recipes

2011-11-01T19:12:00.006+05:30

By now it must be obvious that I love murukkus. This is going to be the third recipe that I am sharing. I got this recipe from my neighbor, Konda's friend K's Mom. She makes this for Diwali every year and every year I ask her for the recipe and never get around to make it.

This year I made up my mind that I was going to make it and wrote down the recipe. Just the day before Deepavali, I told Amma that I wanted to make this version. As it happened I had noted down the recipe in my phone and looks like I missed out few things. So I had Amma talk to K's Mom and noted down the recipe.

One main thing I didn't tell Amma was that this recipe measures the whole rice, which then is powdered. Since we had rice flour on hand, we had to modify according to the recipe. After finally getting to the dough I realized how easy this muruku is to make.

Another factor that Amma told me was the fact that all Thenkuzhal murukus call for the rice flour to be roasted. We did that and the Murukkus came out awesome.

Best part about this recipe is that, there is no butter or ghee added.

Step By Step Recipe.

Thenkuzhal Muruku 2

Ingredients Needed

Rice flour - 5 cups
Urad Dal -- 1 cup
Water - 3 - 4 cups
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Asafoetida a pinch
Oil for Deep frying

How to make Thenkuzhal Muruku

Wash and pressure cook the Urad dal with 3 cups of water for 3 whistles. Once the pressure falls, check if the urad dal is cooked to mushy. If not, add one more cup of water and cook again.

Heat a kadai, dry roast the rice flour till it's done. This can be checked by taking a pinch of roasted flour and doing a kolam or drawing a line on the flour. If it forms a uniform line, it means the the flour is roasted well.

Once the flour is roasted, remove and allow to cool. Sieve to remove lumps.

To the Urad dal, add the asafoetida, cumin seeds, sesame seeds. Dissolve salt in about 2 tsp of water and sprinkle over the Urad dal. Mix everything well.

Then slowly add the rice flour, and mix into a dough. It took about 5 cups of rice flour for us to get a smooth batter.

Heat a kadai with oil. When the oil is hot, check with a small bit, when it comes out, it means the oil is hot.

Pinch out a ball enough to fill the muruku achu. We used 3 holes achu.

Since the dough is very soft to use, you can directly press the muruku over the hot oil. Else press you can press over the back side of a ladle and gently slide into the oil.

Cook over medium flame on both sides. Drain to a kitchen towel.

Notes:
The original recipe calls for 4 cups of rice. Since we had rice flour, we knew 4 cups of rice would yeiled about 5 -6cups. 5 cups of flour was almost enough.

There is no need to add butter or ghee, the murukkus come out very soft and tasty.

Make sure you cook till it browns slightly. else it might not harden once it cools down.

The murukus from pan will be soft initially. After it cools down, it will turn crunchy.