Few Minute Wonders

Pista katli

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Happy Deepavali! Inspired by Lavi's cashew katli recipe I decided to prepare for Deepavali but, I let the cashew katli sit on the stove a little longer and hence lost the play dough consistency. Not very happy with my end result I decided to give it a try again. This time I used her recipe as the base and substituted pistachios for cashews.I have to mention that though I powdered the pistachios well they were not fine enough to give a smooth katli. But, I really liked the course texture that I ended up tasting in the katli. It was such a breeze to make this katli because I remembered to have my prepared tray ready before I started making the katli.

Gadgets:

Wok or heavy bottom vessel
Spatula
Greased tray
Knife
Food processor or Mixier
Plate

Ingredients:

Pistachios - 1 cup ( powdered)
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamon- 2
Camphor- a tiny bit
Ghee - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 4 to 5 tbsp or enough to cover the sugar

Preparation:

1. Blend together nuts, saffron, cardamon, camphor into a powder.

2. Heat the wok with sugar and water and allow the sugar to melt.

3. Keep dipping the spatula in the sugar and drop the liquid sugar syrup on the plate and tilt it to see if it flows. Keep doing this until you see the drop is stagnant.

4. Stir in the nut mixture well and remove the vessel from heat and pour into the prepared tray. Spread it out uniform with the back of a flat bottom bowl and cut into diamonds.

Note: Once I added the nut mixture it was like a play dough and it was easy to spread it out. So I think your mixture should resemble a dough.

Paneer Crème Fraîche Curry

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Happy New Month! It took me forever to come up with a title for the dish I prepared. I had purchased crème fraîche for some recipe and I had completely forgotten about it. With the intention of making something interesting with paneer, I made the basic gravy. The paneer was roasted and I was not sure as to what I must do with the crème fraîche. This was an ingredient I have not used before and so I had to taste it to get a sense of what I could do with it. I thought it tasted like very thick cream or sour cream and I very added it to my gravy. When I tasted it I realized that it did not taste like anything I had tasted before but was delicious and rich. So if you would like something simple but exotic try this one out. My critics have given me a thumbs up on this side dish served with rice or bread(roti, naan etc).

Gadgets:

Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring spoons and cups
Heavy bottom vessel or wok
Spatula
Blender

Ingredients:

Paneer - 450 gms
Crème fraîche - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Apple sauce - 1 tbsp
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2 (roma use 3)
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp heaped
Turmeric- 1/8th tsp
Cilantro minced - 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Add crushed kasuri methi and cumin seeds in it and allow it to roast a bit before adding onions, garlic and salt.

2. Once they are cooked add tomatoes, turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder and cook for 4 minutes.

3. Grind this mixture into a paste. Put it back in the wok with water and cook for 3 minutes.

4. In another wok add oil and toast the paneer that are cut into long rectangle pieces. Add this to the gravy and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from fire and add crème fraîche and serve them hot with roti or rice.

Orange Marmalade

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:54:00 +0000

If you have been following my blog for long you would know that I like Oranges. Among all jams I have always relished Marmalade. The bitter sweet taste with a slight tang makes it a very unique jam. I always buy Dundee brand marmalade jam from Trader Joe's, but I have not ever since I decided to make them myself. To my liking Ina Graten of Barefoot Contessa's show featured a wonderful marmalade jam that was her friend Ann's recipe. I followed her recipe but substituted limes instead of lemons. The sugar was also something I adjusted. It is a process but if you have the patience to go with it you will have some delicious marmalade in your pantry for a couple of month.

Gadgets:

Heavy Bottom Stock Pot
Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring Cups
Ladle
Spatula
Candy Thermometer

Ingredients:

Oranges - 6 smaller ones
Sugar - 6 cups
Water - 6 cups
Limes - 1
Lemon - 1

Preparation:

1. Cut the oranges, limes and lemons in half and make half moon slices(very think slices).

2. Add water and cook it to a boil.Then add sugar and allow to dissolve.Cover and let this sit over night.

3. Next day place it back on stove and cook until the liquid starts to boil, then reduce and turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 2 hours.

4. Cook until the jam reaches a 220 degree F and then turn off the heat.

5. Store in sterilized bottles and enjoy it over a slice of toast.

Awards!!!

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:01:00 +0000

While I was busy with Back to School, Lavi of Home Cook Recipes had tagged me with the Kreativ Blog Award and Sailaja of Sailaja's Kitchen had tagged me with the Honest Scrap Award.Thank you Lavi and Sailaja for these awards. Looks like both these have similar rules. I decided to combine them and post it.

The Kreativ Blogger award comes with some rules:-

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Honest Scrap Rules:

1. Must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Must list 10 honest things about myself.

3. Must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.

4. Must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links.

5. Must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Now coming to the part of addressing the honest things that people might find interesting about me:

1. I need to talk to someone on the phone if I have to do a lot of the dishes.
2. I like orchids plants but I do not know to keep them alive.
3. I drink tea when I am happy or sad, sunny or rainy.
4. I like to add water to any juice, typical Indian milk tea and coffee.
5. Love to feed people.
6. Baking calms me down.
7. Horror movies are not my cup of tea.
8. Love the smell of mud when it rains. (Mun Vasanai)
9.Love to eat molagapodi sadham or Ahvakai sadam especially in the night when I need a spicy snack.
10. Pray a lot for my favorite sports teams to win.

Here are the blogs that I would like to share the award and tag. Take your time gals and pass it on when you find the time.

Indhu of Thayirsadham

Mythreyee of Paajaka

Tina of Kaipunyum

Neha of Tasty Recipes

Kalavani Of Little Taste Buds

Sangeeth of The Art Of Cooking Indian Food

Dhanya Nambirajan of My Home Cooking

Instant Vella Cheedai

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:48:00 +0000

A recipe that really is a few minute wonder. I know I must have posted this one 2 days ago to help all of you prepare valle cheedai for Krishna's birthday. Though preparation is super fast its the documentation that is time consuming. This recipe is from Mrs. Radha Viswanath a good friend of my sisters. I think it tastes like the cheedai that our moms used to slog to prepare. It takes 5 ingredients to prepare and its as simple as mixing and deep frying. I was so thrilled with this recipe that I wanted to share with all of you and make life easy.

Gadgets:

Bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Wok
Spatula
Paper Towel
Collander

Ingredients: Makes 20-25 cheedais.

Rice flour (store bought) - 1 cup
Udad dhal roasted and powdered - 1/8th tsp
Butter- 1 tsp
Brown sugar - 1 cup
Elachi - 2 pods powdered
Water to form a dough ( a few sprinkles)
Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in the wok to medium. This is very important step.If you keep it on high they will disintegrate.

2. In a bowl add all of the dry ingredients and form the dough( not a wet dough for sure).It might for small cracks but that is fine. It helps them cook well.

3. Make small balls and deep fry.

Basic Masala Gravy Made Easy

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Masala or Curry are popular terms used in reference to Indian cuisine. Every household has its own ways of preparing the basic gravy. The basis of the gravy is how onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes are incorporated with a bunch of spices. Some like to cook the raw paste of these veggies in oil while another method is to cook them and then make a paste. Once the gravy is made any vegetable or paneer can be added to bring out different flavors. One basic and easy gravy that I often prepare is the one I have presented below.

Gadgets:

Blender
Wok
Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring spoons

Ingredients:

Veggies:Red Onions - 1, Roma Tomatoes - 1, Ginger - 1/2 inch, Garlic Powder - 2 tsp, Kasthuri Methi - 1 tbs, Green Chilli - 1 (without seeds for less spice), Veggies ( used bell pepper mixed colors - 1 cup)

Whole Spices: Shah Jeera - 1 tsp, Cardamon- 1 pod, Cinnamon - 1 inch stick, Cloves - 2
Powdered Spices:Turmeric - 1/2 tsp, Cumin Powder - 1 tsp, Coriander Powder - 1 tsp, Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp, Pepper

salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Sliced almonds for garnish - 1/4th cup

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil in a wok and add the whole spices to it except the shah jeera or cumin to it. In 20 seconds add garlic powder, onions, green chilli and onions to it and cook it until the onions are translucent.

2. Add tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes or until the tomatoes are well incorporated with the onion. Add all the powders and cook it for 4 minutes. Transfer this mix into a blender jar and blend into a paste.

3. Reheat the wok add oil and add shah jeera and kasthuri methi and allow them to mix in the oil for 20 seconds and then add bell pepper. Add a little salt and cook the peppers.When they are well cooked and slightly toasted add the paste and 1/2 - 1 cup of water and allow it to simmer covered for 5 minutes and serve it hot with rice or roti.

Aloo Gobi Made Easy

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:57:00 +0000

It has been a while since I checked on blogs or blogged. Been busy packing up boxes to move. There are some recipes that I had intended on posting last month but somehow it has been pushed to this month. One evening I wanted to cook something very fast to go with roti and I set out to prepare aloo gobi. This is a little different from the traditional method. I broiled the potatoes and cauliflower which came out very crunchy. I saved a lot of time by cooking the masala separate and the veggies separate. Not kidding the whole thing was done in less than 20 minutes.

Gadgets:

Heavy Wok
Spatula
Baking Trays
Cutting Board
Knife
Peeler

Ingredients:

Red Potato - 4
Cauliflower heads - 2 cups
Green Chilli - 1
Red Onion - 1
Tomato- 3
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Kasthuri Methi - 1 tbsp crushed
Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Peal the potato and cut into big cubes. Mix the cauliflower, oil, salt and pepper and broil in the oven for 15 minutes making sure to toss them in between.

2. Heat the wok and add oil to it.When that heats up at cumin seeds and allow it to pop and add green chilli's.

3. Add onions, garlic, ginger, salt and cook. When that is well cooked add tomato and cook it well with the onions.

4. Add the powders and cook until the tomato and onions are well mixed.

5. When the potatoes are well cooked add them to the mix in the wok and coat it well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of water to allow the flavours to get absorbed.

6. Garnish with kasthuri methi and cilantro and serve it hot with roti or rice.

A Break Through With Medhu Vadai

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:59:00 +0000

One of the best snacks to prepare is vadai. Its so common to south Indian cuisine and is often served for celebrations, offerings and snacks. To most people it is very simple to make vadai's but for me it has been a big struggle. For years I have tried many recipes and instead of making mini doughnut shaped vadais I would often make mini balls out of them. Apart from the shape the texture and taste was another thing I struggled with. The reason being,I wanted to recreate a particular taste and texture. My appa used to buy us some out of the world vadai's, bonda's and baji's from the guy who sold it next to Cross cut road Canadra Bank in Coimbatore. Its easily the best medhu vadai's I have ever tasted.

Gadgets:

Food Processor
Wok
Spatula
Measuring Spoons and Cups
Platter
Paper Towel

Ingredients:

Udad Dhal (I used the broken one) - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few shakes
Salt
Pepper - Crushed
Green chillis - 2 sliced
Red Onions - 1/3 cup
Water for soaking and grinding - 5 cups
Cilantro - a bunch

Preparation:

1. Soak the udad dhal in water for over 2 - 3 hours.

2. Place the udad dhal in the food processor and blend it adding maybe 1tbsp water at a time. The dough has to be thick and not watery so that is why the food processor helps. Allow the dough to fluff up and double.

3. Add sliced green chillis, onions, asafoetida, cilantro salt, powdered pepper and rice flour to the dough and mix well. Mix the dough with your hands well for about 25 times to allow air to move well through the dough.

4. As per grandma's tip drop a small ball of dough into water and see if it floats. If it does them you can start making vadai's.

5. Coat your hands with water and take half a golf ball size dough in your hands. Pat it with your tumb and make a hole in the center. Slide the dough into oil that has been heated for frying.

6. Fry on both sides until golden brown.Transfer into a paper towel and serve hot.

Healthy Bhel Salad

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:33:00 +0000

This bhel is some thing that I wanted to recreate from memory. My uncle used to treat my sister and me to the healthy version of bhel from street vendor. The way he had the ingredients arranged in his cart is something that I still remember. It contained veggies, puffed rice, some magic powder ( mixed spices) ,sauces, crunchy stuff like chips and nuts. He would mix all these ingredients skillfully in his steel bowl and parcel it off into paper cones. What a delight I used to experience when I took a mouthful of the bhel. After big discussion with my sister we decided on the possible ingredients he would have used. Too bad he no longer sells this in my neighbourhood to verify. But I made it 3 days in a row and in the end got it close to the vendor. My entry to Red and Green FIC Event hosted by Tasty Recipes and 15 Minutes Easy Cooking Event hosted by Indian Vegetarian Kitchen.

Gadgets:

My chopper
Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Steel Bowl
Spatula
Wok

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice - 2 cups
Tomato - 3 roma
Cucumber - 2
Red Onion - 1/4 cup
Spring Onion - 2
Pepper - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Chat Masala - 1 tsp
Sweet Sauce - 3 tbsp
Green Chilli Sauce - 3 Tbsp
Salt
Cilantro - 1/4 cup
Chips - 1/2 cup
Roasted Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Any other crunchy snack like mixture.

Preparation:

1. Cut the veggies into smaller pieces and place it in the chopper to make it into even pieces.

2. Heat the wok and roast the puffed rice if it has a smell to it or if you want to make it crunchy.

3. In the steel bowl add the puffed rice, the crunchy mixture and 1/2 the powders.

4. Add the chopped veggies and remaining powders to it.

5. Mix the veggies and puffed rice when you are ready to serve.

6. Add the sauces and crunched peanuts, chips and cilantro and serve.

T & T from Lisa's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs to visit. She has a wide variety of food that she has either created or tried from other cook books. There are some recipes that I have tried from her blog. Some of the recipes that I tried are Paneer Tikka's that I converted into another dish, Baked Strawberry Pancakes and Goat cheese dill muffins. Paneer and the muffins turned out perfect. As for the strawberry pancakes, the berries I used were not very sweet and so I think I messed up the pancakes. I however liked the photos of this breakfast food. My entry to My Diverse Kitchen's Event of T&T: Lisa's Kitchen. This event was started by Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen.

White Chocolate Mini Cakes Using Candied Orange Syrup

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:02:00 +0000

As promised here is the post with the left over orange peel syrup. I had an option of using the orange syrup as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Instead I decided to bake a cake. Before I write down my recipe I have to tell you all that I might have baked many cakes in the past but none turned out like this one. The texture is what I am talking about. It was very soft and moist and melted in my mouth. I am wondering as what caused this. Was it the use of kitchen aid mixer or the sugar syrup. If anyone can give me an explanation I would understand maybe the science behind the formation of this cake.

Gadgets:

Measuring cups and spoons
Oven
Muffin pans
Muffin pan liners
Electrical mixer

Ingredients:

APF - 3/4 cup
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour- 1/4 cup
Baking Powder- 1 tsp
White Chocolate - 4 ounces
Sour Cream - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/4 cup
Eggs - 2
Orange peel melted syrup - whatever is filtered
(please refer to point 4 in Candied Orange Peel )

Preparation:

1. Add the sugar, butter and sour cream to a bowl and mix well with an electrical mixer.

2. Add eggs one at a time and incorporate well.

3. Melt chocolate in the microwave with 1 tbsp of butter, cool and add to mixture.

4. Add dry ingredients in 2 batches. Pour the batter into prepared muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

5. Garnish with candied orange peel and serve.

Orange Candied Peel

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:27:00 +0000

A few weeks ago my sister gave me a bag of home grown oranges from her backyard. It has been sitting on my counter for weeks now and so I decided to make some orange juice with it. That afternoon I saw something interesting in a magazine. Cooking Light had a recipe to prepare candied orange peel. It was so easy to make candied peels with oranges or lemons. I made optimum use of the fruit by making candied orange peel and orange juice. The orange peel is wonderful to use as a garnish or as an ingredient in desserts. On this Earth Day I thought it would be appropriate to post something that is used to the best way possible. The remains of the orange after extracting the juice was put into the sink disposal to clean and to help remove bad odor and create freshness.

Gadgets:

Heavy Bottom pan
Spatula
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Sieve
Peeler
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Oranges - 2
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Using a Peeler peel only the zest of the orange carefully and cut into think strips.

2. Heat 1/4 cup of sugar and water and allow the sugar to dissolve completely.

3. Add the orange zest to the sugar liquid and allow it to cook for a few minutes.

4. Pass this mixture through a sieve and drain the zest.

Note: Do not throw the syrup away. Please wait for my next post to see what I created with it.

5. Spread the candied zest on to a parchment paper taking care to see that each zest is separated and allowed to air dry for some time ( took me over night to dry them, it all depends on the weather).

6. Toss the dried zests with 1/4 cup of sugar and store in air tight container and use it for desserts.

Cilantro Paneer

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Cilantro paneer is the perfect side dish for someone who likes the taste of cilantro. I have been pondering over how to incorporate cilantro into preparing something interesting. I had a purpose to make this for lunch instead of any other paneer dish.The reason being that Cilantro is hosting JFI event with Cilantro as the theme ingredient. I must say it came out better than I expected. Personally, I would have enjoyed it without toasting the paneer but everyone other than me liked it toasted. My entry to WYF side dish event hosted by Simple Indian Food.

Gadgets:

Heavy bottom pan
Blender
Bowl
Spatula
Cutting Board
Knife
Colander

Ingredients:

Paneer - 350 gms
Cilantro - 3 bunches ( only the leaves)
Onion - 1
Garlic - 4 pods
Tomato paste - 2 tsp
Tomato - 3 chopped
Ginger - 1 inch
Green Chilli - 1
Salt
Kasthuri Methi- 1tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup

Preparation:

1. Heat the heavy bottom pan with 2 tbsp of oil and toast the paneer cubes. Transfer into a bowl.

2. In a blender add onion, garlic, cilantro, ginger and water and blend into a fine paste.

3. Heat the pan again with 1 tbsp of oil add chillis and roast them a bit and then add the paste. Allow it to cook for 15 minutes covered.

4. Check to see if the raw smell of onion and garlic disappeared. Then add the powders, tomato paste and tomato and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add milk and sugar and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Add roasted paneer and cook for 4 minutes. Garnish with kasthuri methi and serve it hot with roti or naan.

7. Voila! Cilantro Paneer

Eggless Chocolate Banana Cake

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:32:00 +0000

It has been my intention to send in a post to Madhuram's Eggless Cooking event. The challenge was to substitute yogurt in the place of egg. I decided to make this chocolate cake on Saturday. I used an old recipe that was in my recipe book. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour in part instead of APF. When I tasted the cake batter it tasted of the flour and I kept adding more chocolate and vanilla essence. In the end I mushed some banana in to remove the smell. I baked the cake for 50 minutes and was surprised at the texture. It was soft but I still could taste the flour smell. With not much demand for the cake that night I decided to put it away. I was not enthusiastic about posting the recipe. On top of it my battery was drained from my camera and I had to let it all be.The next day I offered it to my husband and daughter and they said it tasted better. Today, my sister tasted it and said she liked it a lot which made me want to send in the entry. I set out to take the photos and send it to Madhuram's event only to find the round up already posted. But I still felt like sharing this recipe and photos.

Gadgets:

Loaf baking pan
Electric egg beater
Measuring cups and spoons
Spatula
Parchment paper
Bowls

Ingredients:

APF- 1 cup
Whole wheat pastry flour- 1/2 cup
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Cocoa Powder - 5 tbsp
Banana - 1 mushed
Oil - 1/4 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
Yogurt - 1 cup
Vinegar - 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Mix together all the wet ingredients.

3. Mix dry to wet ingredients and pour into a prepared loaf.

4. Bake for 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Kesari For A Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:19:00 +0000

A very Happy and Prosperous New Year to all.

For new years I decided on making Kesari. Served on a banana leaf hot it is an out of the world sweet to enjoy. Its something I really look forward to having at weddings where they focus on taste than health benefits and use a lot more ghee than I would use in my kitchen. Another reason why this sweet is very popular in my household is that my daughter loves it and calls it prasadham and does not need to be pushed to consume it.I think its the easiest sweet for me to prepare as it would be done in less than 10 minutes. I must confess that I make it milder so that I can eat a lot more. So if one is a true sweet lover please add 1/4 cup or more sugar to this recipe.

Gadgets:

Heavy bottom pan or wok
Kettle or saucepan with hot water
Spatula
Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

Rava/Cream of Wheat - 1 cup
Sugar- 1 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/4 cups
Water - 3 cups
Camphor - less than a pinch
Saffron - 1/2 tsp
Cardamon - 2 pods
Kesari Color ( optional)
Cashew Nut - 1/4 cup broken
Raisins - 1/4 cup

Preparation:

1. Boil the water in the kettle or saucepan.

2. Heat the heavy bottom pan and melt the butter.

3. As soon as the butter is melted and bubbles start to form toss in the dry fruit and nuts an roast it on medium high and drain them and keep it aside in a plate.

4. Add rava and roast it until all the raw smell leaves about 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Add water and cook the rava. The water will get absorbed.

6. Add sugar and mix well and allow it to get from melted form to thicker consistency.

7. Add saffron, cardamon, camphor and kesari powder and mix well.

8. Garnish with nuts and dry fruits and serve them hot.

Spicy Stuffed Mirchi/ Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:52:00 +0000

It was two years ago when I first tasted the stuffed Mirchi (Peppers) at my friend Geetha's place. Her mother was visiting her and invited my friend Sheeba and me to lunch. She had made us a huge spread of south Indian food and along with it was this stuffed peppers. It was so spicy that I imagined that I was a cartoon and saw smoke coming out of my ears. But I loved the super spicy nature of it. From then on I have been hooked on it. I often make a milder version with some gravy for those who cannot handle spice but the taste and flavor is maintained. I think the peppers determine the level of spice and adding more spice to the stuffing takes it to another notch. So for all those who love spicy spicy food please do try this simple easy dish and you would make it often.

Gadgets:

Heavy Iron pan or any pan
Wok
Spatula
Cutting board
Knife
Bowl
Measuring Spoons and cups

Ingredients:

Chillies - 12
Besan Flour / channa Dhal flour - 8 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - a few shakes
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1 tbsp
Salt
Chilli Powder ( For more spice optional)
Oil - 4 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Heat the wok and add 2 tbsp oil to it. Mix all the dry ingredients well and add it to the oil and roast it on medium low for 5 minutes to remove the raw smell and to cook the stuffing.

2. Wash each pepper and make a cut lengthwise. Remove all seeds (optional again) and fill it with 1 to 2 tbsp of the filling.

3. Set the oven to 350 degrees and heat the iron pan or wok with it. (If you do not own an oven skip this step) On the heated iron pan add 2 tbsp of oil and place the stuffed chilli in it and cook stove top covered or put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 and allow the chillies to get roasted a bit first and then place them on stove top to get them roasted evenly. This method works well when you are making a huge batch. Otherwise please use the stove top and roast the chills well and serve then with any kind of food.

Rava / Cream of Wheat Bonda (dumplings) With Potato Stuffing

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:42:00 +0000

One of those recipes that just hit me out of nowhere. I had no idea why I thought of potato or rava(semolina) at any given time. I was actually stunned at this one. I just followed my instinct to go and try it out. I made the rava dough and then I had some left over potato in the fridge. I used that to make the filling and ever since I came across Red Chillis idea of using the dutch oven or kuzhi appam vessel I have become such a big fan of it and have used it in various recipes. Once again I used it to make these bondas.

The benefits from this recipe is that oil is not wasted, it does not use more than 1 tsp per bonda and very eco friendly. Usually when you deep fry the remaining oil has to used up in one shot or have to be discarded as it has health consequences. That leaves us with the option of dumping when not used and that is not good for the environment. But rest assured that you don't have to compromise on the taste.

Next time you make potato curry or have any form of left over potato try this and in minutes you would have golden and crunchy bondas to snack on any time. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.

Gadgets:

Dutch oven or appam vessel( if you dont have it use regular wok)
Measuring Spoon and Cups
Table spoon
Bowls
Cutting Board
Knife
Wok
Aluminum foil

Cream Of wheat/ Rava dough:

Ingredients:

Semolina/ Rava/ Cream of Wheat - 1 cup
Salt
Asafoetida - a few shakes
Green Chilli's - 1 tbsp finely chopped
Ginger- 1 tsp
Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped
Butter Milk - 1/4 - 1/2 cup (depending on course or fine variety of Rava used)

Preparation:

1. In a bowl mix all the above ingredients and make a dough and allow it to rest covered for 10 minutes.

Potato Filling Recipe:

Ingredients:

Potato boiled - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green Chilli - 1 (add more for spice)
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few shakes
Oil - 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Curry leaves and Cilantro a little for garnish.

Preparation:

1. Heat the wok and add oil. Add asafoetida, green chilli's, onions and garlic and cook with a little salt.

2. When the onions are cooked add potatoes mashed a little and turmeric and cook to incorporate it well with the onions. Add lemon juice, cilantro and curry leaves. Allow this to cool and make into small balls.

NOTE: Please note if you are not using the kuzhi appam vessel then you can make the balls any size that best fits yous needs. But if you are using the vessel please see if it will fit it.

1. Spread out the aluminum foil on the counter. Place the rava dough in the size small lime or smaller than golf ball on it. Cover with another foil and and press with you hand so that you get a thin disc shaped dough.

2. Place the potato ball in the center and cover it with the rava dough. See that you seal the potato with the rava dough. Make the balls and heat the dutch vessel/kuzhi vessel with less than 1 tsp oil in each on medium high.

3. Place each bonda into the respective kuzhi and allow it to roast on one side before turning it over with a spoon on the other side.

4. When you see golden bonda remove and serve it with any chutney of your choice or sour cream mixed with some salt and pepper.

Paneer Makhanwala Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Paneer Makhanwala has always been one of my favorite side dishes in Indian cuisine. My sister and I would always order this to go with Naan or Kulcha. For the last year or two I have been trying to recreate the same taste and flavor that we used to enjoy in our neighborhood restaurants in India. Parampara mix came close to the ones we had tasted but I did not like the prepackaged mix and wanted to reproduce it from scratch. I remember that it had a reddish orange color creamy sauce with paneer floating over it. In my recipe I did not focus on the cosmetic part by adding red color but rather on the flavor and taste. I think I have come close to it.

Gadgets:

Mixie or Blender
Cutting Board
Knife
Onion Chopped
Measuring Spoons and Cups
Heavy Bottom Wok
Spatula

Ingredients:

Red Onions - 2
Tomato Paste - 2 tbsp
Green Chilli - 1 (de seeded for mild spice)
Garlic - 6 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Kathuri Methi - 1 tbsp
Dry Cilantro Powder - 1 tsp
Fresh Cilantro - 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cardamon - 1
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Fresh Cream - 1/4th cup
Paneer - 450 gms

Preparation:

1. Chop the onions, garlic and ginger in the onion chopper.

2. Add butter and 2 tbsp oil to the wok that is heated. Add cloves, Cinnamon and cardamon to it. Follow this with the chopped onion, ginger and garlic with some salt and cook until onion loses raw smell. Add tomato paste and cook well with turmeric, salt, cumin powder for 4 minutes.
Cool and blend with 1 cup of water to a very fine paste.

3. Heat the wok and add the ground paste and allow it to cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Taste to check for salt and then add the fresh cream, sugar and mix well and cook on low heat. Crush the kasthuri methi and dry cilantro in between the palms and add to the sauce and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Grate 2 tsp of paneer and add to the sauce and allow for it to cook on low flame. Meanwhile cut the paneer into 2 inch long rectangles. Heat a smaller wok, add 2 tbsp of oil and roast the paneer and add to the sauce.

5.Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve it hot with naan, roti, paratha, kulcha or rice.

Chocolate Brownie Using Brown Sugar

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:16:00 +0000

The best brownie I have ever tasted or baked is the one using Ina Garten's recipe. Her recipe produces very rich and delicious brownies but over the years I have changed a few things here and there and often made brownies that I now call my own version. I was thinking of making some brownies for a very long time and finally with the use of a kitchen aid mixer I had the pleasure of making brownies last Sunday. It makes all the difference with an good electric mixer for it makes the end product amazing. The major ingredient change I made to the recipe was substituting brown sugar for white sugar. The brownie had a milder sweet and it highlighted the taste of chocolate which i thought was very interesting. My entry to "For the love of chocolate" event hosted by Poornima of Tasty Treats.

Gadgets:

Baking Tray
Kitchen Aid Mixer
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Cookie Tray 13 x 9 x 2
Parchment paper
Spatula

Ingredients:

APF - 2 cups
Brown Sugar - 4 1/2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Semi- Sweet Chocolate - 12 ounces
Eggs - 6
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
Butter - 2 cups
Black Coffee - 2 tsp
Chopped Walnuts - 1 cup
Powdered Sugar - For sprinkling on top

Preparation:

1. Melt 1 cup of butter and chocolate over low heat on the stove, melt and allow to cool.

2. In the kitchen aid mixer with flat beater add to the bowl 1 cup of butter, sugar and vanilla essence and beat it on lower speed for 2 minutes and increase to a higher speed and beat for 1 more minute.

3. Add one egg at a time and incorporate the each egg well before adding the next. Using a spatula inspect to see if the mixture is well mixed.

4. Add the cooled chocolate, coffee and mix it on low speed for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients of APF and salt mix for 30 seconds. Using the spatula scrape off the sides and see if all the flour is mixed well.

5. Remove the bowl from the stand add 1/2 cup walnut and mix well and pour into the baking tray lined with parchment paper.

4. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on the top and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

5. Cut them into squares and eat them hot. YUM-A-LICIOUS!

A Bowl of Soup For Spring Time

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:40:00 +0000

It all began when my sister requested a soup "with lots of vegetables" for me to prepare. I took inventory of all the veggies in my fridge and freezer and saw a wide variety available for me to use for the soup. With spring time comes bounty of vegetables for one to use. I did not use a lot but just a little bit of this and that added up to over 3 quart soup. I think on the whole I used 10 plus veggies and it was very hearty and delicious for a cold spring night. Must say it was so easy and was done in a jiffy.

Gadgets:

Cutting board
Knife
Stock pot
Measuring spoons and cups

Ingredients:

Veggies - (frozen peas, carrots, beans, asparagus, potato,onions, corn, sweet potato,celery, bell pepper) about 1 1/2 quart chopped.
Ragu Marinara Sauce - 1 bottle
Salt
Pepper
Pasta Seasoning
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Cilantro
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 3 Ragu bottle amount.
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Heat the soup pot add butter and oil and allow to melt.

2. Add onion, garlic, ginger with salt and cook. Add the rest of the veggies and cover and cook for 4 minutes until they are all getting a little warm and cooked.

3. Add ragu sauce and mix well. Add all the remaining spices and mix well and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.

4. Add water and allow to cook for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are all cooked.

5. Serve them hot with some garlic bread.

Simply Spicy Peppered Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:23:00 +0000

One of those days when cooking felt tiresome and curling up in the couch and watching television sounded and felt just so perfect I still had to get motivated and cook something for dinner. I found some pasta in the cupboard and decided to make it as simple as possible. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted to make something different and very tasty. In the fridge I found a bunch of asparagus and carrots and thought that would make an interesting combination with some roasted garlic. I went from being not motivated to very excited and motivated to cook all of a sudden. By adding some pepper and dry jalapeno pepper the end product got me a lot of praise from my 5 year old daughter. My entry to Dil Se Divya's blog event Think Spice: Pepper.

Gadgets:

Cutting Board
Knife
Stock Pot
Colander
Wok

Ingredients:

Spaghetti pasta - 1 box
Asparagus - 1 bunch
Carrots- 2 sliced into thin long strips
Garlic- 8 cloves cut into halves each
Pepper - 3/4 tsp (this determines the spice)
Pasta Seasoning - 1/2 tsp
Dry Jalapeno - 1/4 tsp (from Costco)
Water for boiling pasta
Butter - 3 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

1. Boil water in the stock pot and cook as per the pasta instructions.

2. Heat the wok with butter and oil (this helps the butter to not brown up fast) and add garlic. Wait for it to roast and then add carrots cook for 3 minutes and then asparagus and a little salt.

3. Add pepper, pasta seasoning, dry jalapenos and toss in the cooked pasta with 1/4th cup of the pasta water to keep it moist. Serve it hot with some baguette on the side.

Pear Glazed With Apricot And Orange Juice

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:55:00 +0000

A very mild and elegant dessert that is super dooper easy to make is this baked pear. I wanted to prepare something healthy and easy for a dinner party and this was a big hit. This recipe was taken from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine. The changes I made to this recipe was I used apricot spread instead of preserve and used some nuts for garnish. By using the preserve this dessert turned out very mild and was perfect for people who liked mild sweet and or healthy dessert. What I liked about this one is that it was easy to prepare for a crowd. Served with ice cream and walnuts you can make it an outstanding dessert.

Gadgets:

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Bowl

Baking Tray

Cutting Board

Knife

Pear Corer

Peeler

Orange Juice Make

Oven

Ingredients:

Fresh Orange Juice - 3/4th cup

Apricot Spread - 1/2 cup

Pear - 4

Ice Cream ( optional)

Walnuts - 16

Preparation:

1. Peal the pear and cut them into half and remove the seeds from the middle.

2. Place them cut side down on the baking tray.

3. Mix Orange Juice (store bought or home made) and spread them over the pear t form a glaze.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes, cool and serve them with a scoop of ice cream and some toasted walnuts.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Yesterday for dinner I grilled some eggplant and onions and made some sandwiches. As I had some extra grilled veggies I thought I would make something with them today. This morning as I was pondering on what to convert the veggies into I thought of some grilled veggie pasta. Along with the veggies I tossed in some fresh tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes. Let me tell you something, if you like eggplant please do give this one a try. I just loved the marriage of flavors and it was just perfect to eat them hot and watch it rain outside. As I was half way into the pasta, I thought that it would be great to convert anything. For example, if we have some left over eggplant prepared the Indian way as a veggie side dish I am sure you can make some pasta and toss in the remaining eggplant and it would be very tasty.I have known of people eat pasta with vathal kozhambu, mor kozhambu etc.

Gadgets:

Sauce pan

Spatula

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Grill

Cutting Board

Knife

Bowl

Ingredients:

Pasta (Any kind) - 1 packet

Water for boiling pasta

Grilled Eggplant - 2

Grilled Red Onions - 2

Fresh Tomato - 2

Kalamata Olives - 3/4 th cup

Sun Dried Tomato - 1/2 cup

Pine nuts - 1/2 cup toasted

Salt

Pepper

Crushed Peppers - 1/2 tsp

Pasta Seasoning - 1 tsp

Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Basil - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Grill the eggplant and onions and cut them into cubes.

2. Cut tomato into big cubes and set it aside.

3. Dice the olives and mix them with the sun dried tomato and oil and set aside.

4. Cook pasta as per the instructions in the back and drain when its cook and add to a bowl. Add the seasoning and mix well.

5. Add the grilled veggies followed by tomato and then the olive sun dried tomato mix and coat every pasta well.

6. Add toasted pine nuts and serve them hot. DELISH.............

Kathirika Kootu/ Eggplant Side Dish

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Kootu is one of my favorite side dishes and very popular in the South Indian cuisine. There are so many types and methods to prepare a vegetable or a mixture of them and make them really delicious. A combination of kootu with rice and rasam or chapathi is something I enjoy at any given time. One kind of kootu that is very popular in my household is eggplant kootu. I found that using the type of egg plant matters. After experimenting I find the purple eggplant in the U.S and the Indian variety to be the best in creating the right texture and taste to the kootu. This is because I find the other varieties cook very easily and the eggplant does not hold its form well in the end.

Gadgets:

Cooking pan
Cutting board
Knife
Measuring Spoon
Seasoning Spoon/wok

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 1
Water- 1 cup
Cumin- 2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Cilantro powder - 1 tbsp or fresh cilantro - 1 tbsp
Dry Coconut - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Udad Dhal - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few shakes
Cooked Thoor Dhal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/4th tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Red chillis - 1 or 2

Preparation:

1. Cut the eggplant into big cubes and place it in the cooking bowl with some water and salt.

2. Add turmeric, cumin and sambar powders to it and cook for 8 minutes.

3. Add thoor dhal and allow it to cook for 2 minutes.

4. Heat the seasoning vessel and add 1 tbsp of oil. Add asafoetida and mustard. Allow it to pop and then add udad dhal and dry chillis. When the dhal becomes golden brown add dry coconuts and remove from heat. The coconut will get roasted in the heat.

5. Add the seasoning to the eggplant, garnish with cilantro and serve it hot.

Kadai Paneer

noreply@blogger.com (FoodyGuru (Srimathi)) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:14:00 +0000

The first time I had tasted Kadai Paneer was in a restaurant. I loved the flavor of the smoked paneer from the tandoor and the crunchy texture of bell pepper and onions. Its been on the back of my mind ever since to prepare it sometime but I kept postponing it thinking that it would be hard to get the tandoori effect. This recipe was something that developed while I was on the phone with Harry. Wondering what paneer dish I could prepare, I asked her for some suggestions. She suggested kadai paneer. It made me want to experiment to create something close to the version I had tasted. I was really happy with the outcome because I was able to create the smokey flavor and crunchy texture. It tasted wonderful hot out of the kadai. A must try if you are a paneer lover.

Gadgets:

Kadai/Wok

Wooden spatula

Cutting Board

Knife

Skewers

Bowl

Ingredients:

Red Onion - 1 big

Mini bell peppers - 20 or bell peppers - 3

Garlic - 6 cloves

Ginger - 1 inch

Tinned diced tomato - 1/2 tin or 2 roma tomatoes.

Cumin - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Coriander - 2 tbsp

Salt

Raw Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Paneer - 1 slab (450 gms)

Additional ingredients for paneer marinating:

Oil - 2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Preparation:

1. Cut the onion and peppers lengthwise. Slice the garlic and the ginger.

2. Heat the wok on high and add 2 1/2 tbsp oil. Then add the onions and cook them without any salt to make them stay crunchy.

3. Add garlic and ginger after 2 minutes followed by the bell peppers. Cook the bell pepper for 3 minutes and then add the tomatoes.

4. Add all the powders and salt and cook on medium high for 5 minutes constantly stirring.

5. Meanwhile cut the paneer into big cubes. In a bowl add oil, turmeric powder, salt and chilli powder. Give them a stir and add paneer and coat each cube with this mix.

6. Skewer 5 to 6 paneer cubes at a time and cook it over the gas stove to make tandoori or smoked effect.

7. Add skewered paneer to the cooked veggies. Garnish with cilantro and toasted peanuts and serve them hot with some roti.

Note: To roast the peanuts add 1/2 tsp of oil to the raw peanuts and microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.