Veggie Flavours

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA

2011-09-23T16:31:00.000+05:30

Ordering pizza when hubby is eating out is slowly becoming less frequent, ever since i tried my own pizza. Who wants to eat the refined flour based overpriced pizzas when you can bake a healthier version at home. :)

The novelty of baking a pizza at home is loading(unloading)
it with the ingredients you really like(dislike) on pizza. No compromising and no guilt. It can always be less cheese more veggies and still be very tasty. So have a feast.

Base
-----

Whole wheat flour -- 1 1/2 cups

Warm water -- 1/2 cup
Dry active yeast -- 1 teaspoon
Sugar -- 1 teaspoon
Olive oil -- 2 tablespoons

Salt -- 1/4 teaspoon

Sauce
------

Olive oil -- 1-2 tablespoon
Garlic -- 2-3 cloves (chopped)
Onion -- 1 medium chopped
Tabasco sauce -- 1- 2 teaspoons
Tomato puree -- 1 cup
Tomato concasse -- 1/2 cup (tomatoes skinned, deseeded and chopped)
Basil leaves -- 6-8 (torn)
Oregano -- 1/2 teaspoon (dry powder)
Salt -- a pinch
Sugar -- 1 teaspoon

topping
---------
Vegetables assorted -- 1 cup (sliced and diced) (Tomato, onion, capsicum, olives, jalapeno pepper etc.)
Mozzarella cheese -- grated

Sift flour and add salt and olive oil to it. Dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Set it aside for 5 minutes till the yeast is frothy. Now pour it to the flour and make a dough. Knead it for 10 to 15 minutes. Place it on oiled bowl, cover it with wet cloth and set it aside in a warm place for one hour.

Heat oil in a pan,and add chopped garlic and onion. Once the onion is done add the concosse and cook for a minute. Now add the puree and boil until you get the desired consistency. While boiling add all the herbs and seasonings to the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C. Take the dough and knock it down. Form two equal size balls. Flatten one into an 10 inch disk on the baking sheet. Spread the tomato sauce and top it with thin slices of mozzarella. Spread the veggie toppings. Sprinkle more cheese shavings if you don't mind the calories. Sprinkle a little oregano for more flavoring.

Bake it in the oven and for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden spotted. Serve hot.

The above recipe makes two medium sized pizzas.

I kept the 2nd half of the dough in the fridge for the second rise and used it next day. Usually recommended to keep it in the fridge for 5-6 hours.

This base tastes much more tastier than the regular rise. Take out the dough in advance to bring it to the room temparature before using it. Then bake it as usual.

WHITE BREAD

2011-08-30T17:47:00.001+05:30

After the whole wheat, i wanted to try out a plain white bread just to see how it comes out at home. I am really happy with the result. The bread was beautiful (if u call food beautiful!) and yummy.

I think ii will try out the mixture of plain flour and whole wheat next ti
me. Don't want to make this white bread often as i am sold out on the healthy eating concept ;) and want to follow a good diet as much as possible.

Warm water -- 1/2 cup(40-42 degree)
plain flour -- 2 cups
milk powder -- 2 tablespoons
Active dry yeast -- 1 tsp
Salt -- 1/4 teaspoon
Oil/butter -- 3 tbsp.
Honey -- 1tsp.

Mix honey water and yeast in a bowl and set it aside to foam.
In a large bowl mix the flour, milk powder and oil. Fold the formed yeast mixture into the flours, add salt and mix thoroughly.

Knead this dough for 10 minutes. cover it with a wet cloth and set it aside in a warm place for an hour or until the volume is doubled.

Once it is doubled, punch it down and knead it again lightly. Form it into loaf shape and place it in a oiled bread pan.

Now again allow it to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree and bake the bread for 30 minutes.

Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before using.

SPICY STUFFED BUN

2011-08-18T18:36:00.001+05:30

Potato buns and spicy capsicum buns are the specialties of 'bangalore bakery' i think. I can't find them in many other bakeries and not here in hyderabad. We have a bangalore bakery nearby but his buns are always "over" by the time we go there and ask for it.

So i decided to try my hand at
the buns.
I got the bun recipe from Andrea Mayers food blog, but used my own measurements and method. Made some stuffing with whatever i felt like throwing in. and surprisingly it turned out really nice. I just made four of them as i was not very sure of the out come. Turned out real nice and tasty. Planning to make them with potato stuffing very soon. In the mean time here is the recipe.

bun
----

Whole wheat flour -- 1/2 cup
Plain flour -- 1 cup
Potato -- 1 (medium)

Warm water+milk -- 1/2 cup
Yeast -- 3/4 teaspoon
Honey -- 2 teaspoons
Butter/ oil -- 2 tablespoons
Salt -- 1/4 teaspoon / or to taste

stuffing
---------

Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Mustard -- 1/2 teaspoon

Onion -- 2 small (sliced)
Tomato -- 2 small (chopped)
Capsicum -- 2 medium (Sliced into 1 inch long slices)

Tomato sauce -- 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder -- 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Curry leaves powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala -- 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar -- 1 teaspoon (optional)
Salt -- to taste

Mix both the flours and salt and keep it aside. Pressure cook the potato till its very soft. Mash it and keep it aside.

Heat the milk and water to lukewarm. Add the honey and the yeast to it and set it aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes the yeast mixture will be frothy and bubbly. Now add the mashed potatoes and mix.

Take the yeast mixture in a mixing bowl and add the butter/oil , and give the liquid a stir.

Now gradually add the flours to this mixture, mix with a spoon.

Lightly dust the counter top and knead the dough becomes smooth and soft. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Once done, oil the bowl. Coat the dough with oil to prevent it from sticking to the bowl. Cover it with a wet cloth and leave it in a warm place until it doubles in size.

For the stuffing, heat oil and add mustard. Let it splutter. Add onion and fry till it is transparent. Add the tomato and cook it for a couple of minutes.

Now add the capsicum and cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add all the spices, and seasonings and cook it for 3-4 minutes stirring in between, until the spices loose the raw smell and the oil starts separating.
Stuffing is ready. Let it cool a bit.

Once the dough is double in size, punch it down. Lightly knead again to remove all the air bubbles.

Divide the dough into four equal parts. Flatten it and stuff it with the prepared stuffing. Keep the stuffing in the center of the flattened dough and slowly cover it to seal it inside(just like how you stuff an aloo paratha). Repeat it with all the four buns.

Once stuffed keep the buns in your baking tray and keep it covered with a wet cloth for the second rise. Should take hale an hour to 45 minutes.

Fifteen minutes before baking preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Place the pan in the hot oven and bake the buns at 180 degree for 10-12 minutes.

Cool it on a rack. Ready to serve.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, My first bread,

2011-08-11T18:43:00.007+05:30

in fact my first baking attempt. The bread was very good and made from whole wheat flour. (regular atta) I wanted to make a healthy bread without refined flour and am happy with the result. Even though it was not as spongy and soft as 'bangalore iyyengar bakery'
bread the taste was very good.

As soon as i got my new oven first thing i wanted to try out was the bread. So googled for the recipe and found this recipe on utube. Original recipe calls for lecithin which i don't know where to get. Trying to find it. I have changed the amount of the ingredients. This recipe will make one small loaf.

Whole wheat flour -- 2 cups
Milk -- 3/4 cup
Butter/oil -- 3 tablespoons
Honey -- 1 tablespoon
Yeast -- 1 tablespoon(active dry)
Salt -- 2/3 teaspoon / or to taste
Oil / butter for greasing

Heat the milk to lukewarm (40-42 degree C). That is the best temperature for the yeast to activate.
(If you don't have a thermometer then heating up a cup of water/milk for 1 minute in microwave should work fine.)

Add the honey and the yeast to the warm milk and set it aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes the yeast mixture will be frothy and bubbly.

(If this doesn't happen possibly the yeast is dead. Better use fresh yeast and start from the begining)

Take the yeast mixture in a mixing bowl and add the butter/oil , and give the liquid a stir.

Now gradually add the flour to this mixture, while mixing with a spoon. When the mixture becomes thick batter-like, add salt.
(Adding salt in the beginning will kill the yeast, preventing the dough from rising properly.)

Keep adding the flour until it becomes difficult to mix it with a spoon and the dough starts leaving the sides if the bowl, remove it on the cleaned counter top or a wide flat surface for kneading.

Lightly dust the counter top and knead the dough until the dough stops sticking to the surface and becomes smooth and soft. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Once done, oil the bowl. Coat the dough with oil to prevent it from sticking to the bowl. Cover it with a wet cloth and leave it in a warm place until it doubles in size. This should take about an hour in warm weather.

Once it is double in size, punch it down. Lightly knead again to remove all the air bubbles.

Grease a bread pan. shape the dough into a loaf and place it in the pan. Cover it again with the wet cloth and let it rise. It should take some 45 minutes to double again. Once doubled ready to go in the oven.

Fifteen minutes before the final time is up preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Place the pan in the hot oven and bake the bread at 180 degree for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove the bread from the pan immediately and let it cool on a rack. Slice them and serve once cold.

CLEAR VEG SOUP

2011-08-03T18:04:00.000+05:30

Soups are our(me and my hubby) favorite, especially when we have it in our head to loose weight :) It is a filling and nutritious meal. And some like this one are easy to make too.

I prepared this soup long before i went for the
break. The photo was just lying in my draft. I have decided to dig up the drafts and post them during this week. So started with the tasty warm soup. More to come.

Mixed chopped vegetables -- 1 cup (cauliflower,beans,carrot,baby corn,cabbage,spring onion whites etc.)
Vegetable stock /or/ water -- 2-3 cups

Butter/ oil -- 1 tablespoon
Onion -- 1 medium (chopped)
Salt -- to taste
Pepper powder -- to taste
Vinegar(white) -- 1 teaspoon(optional)

Spring onion -- to garnish (chopped)

Heat butter/ oil in a thick pan and add the onion. Sautee till transparent. Add all the vegetables and sautee for a couple of minutes.

Heat vegetable stock/ water in a pan. Add the chopped vegetables and bring it to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer it for another 8-10 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked according to your taste.

Add salt, pepper and vinegar according to your taste. Garnish with the spring onion greens and serve hot.

BACK TO BLOGGING

2011-07-29T17:09:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone,

Hmmmm... it been a long time since my last post! I have been ... lets say 'distracted' from many things in these last few months, from traveling to sickness to summer break and not to forget the new found hobby of painting. :)
So finally decided its high time i started posting those drafted posts as well as some new stuff.

Thank you, all of you, who left lovely comments in my absence. I am yet to visit many of the blogs, which i will be doing very shortly. In the mean time thanks for visiting and the comments.
Keep visiting.

BANANA CHIPS

2011-02-07T19:18:00.003+05:30

When Mrs.R dropped in with the nice raw bananas from her backyard, i suddenly got the idea of making chips.
It had been real long time since i had these things. Again the childhood memories of my grand parents place and all.... :) . You all pretty much know how the story goes.

Anyway i tried my hand at these chips not sure if they are going to be soggy or crisp. But they turned out real nice. Yummy too. So i am so inspired to try out the Nendra banana chips next time. All i have to do is find some nendra banana ;-)

This banana chips is very easy to make. Doesn't take much time also there are many different flavours you can use for variation. The ingreadients i used are

Banana -- 2-3 (usually the variety which is used for cooking )

Note that all bananas are not same and will not produce the same results. Some variety are not fir to make chips and will turn soggy and oily.

Salt -- 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder -- 1 teaspoon

Oil -- for deep frying

You can change the amount of the salt and chili powder according to your taste.
Different masala powders or chat masala can be used for different flavour.

Heat oil i n a frying pan. While the oil is heating wash and peel the bananas. Mix salt and chili powder and keep aside.

Once the oil is hot, using a slicer, slice the bananas into thin wafers direclty in to the oil. Fry till crisp and lightly golden in color.

Remove on kitchen tissues. Sprinke the salt and chili powder mixture on them. Toss lighly coat it evenly. Cool and store it in a airtight container.
You can snack on it or eat it with your meal like your regular potato chips.

GREEN PEA CURRY

2011-01-24T20:02:00.001+05:30

Had some dry green peas in my pantry for sometime now. So tried this version of curry with a fusion of both south and north. It turned out slightly different but tasty.
So here is the recipe.
Green Peas – 1 cup

Oil – 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Cinnamon -- a samll peice
Cloves – 2
Curry leaves – few

Ginger garlic paste – 2 teaspoon
Onion – 1 (sliced)
Tomatoes – 1 medium (chopped)

Coconut milk – 3/4 cup

Chilly powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoom
Garam masala powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander -Cumin powder -- 1/2 teaspoon

Salt – to taste
Lemon juice -- 1 tablespoon or to taste

Soak the green peas in water overnight or for 8-10 hours.
Cook in a pressure cooker with enough water until soft.

Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling add the whole spices and stir for a couple of minutes.

Now add the ginger garlic paste and onions. Saute till the onions turn light brown and the garlic looses the raw smell. Add the curry leaves and saute for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and kepp stirring untill the tomatoes turn soft. Now add the four spice powders. Saute till the aroma of the spices come outand the oil starts sepetating.

Now add the cooked green peas along with the water(leftover after cooking). Add salt and bring it to boil. Add the coconut milk and simmer it till the gravy is thick. Add the lemon juice and mix nicely. Turn off the heat.

Serve hot with roti/paratha.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP (INDO-CHINESE)

2011-01-11T19:35:00.000+05:30

Hot and sour soup is an ideal soup for the cold weather. Its really easy to make too. Doesn't take a lot of time.

Made this one when hubby had cold. A hot bowl of soup in winter is a really nice experience especially when you are down with the sour throat!

I have added my own combination of extra veggies into the soup. Try and experiment as long as you don't change the main taste or ingredients of the dish.

I don't use MSG in my chinese dishes. Being health conscious and all, but go ahead and use it if you like the flavour. ;)

Capsicum (green bell pepper) -- 1/2 (sliced)
Spring onion -- 1/2 cup (chopped)
Carrot -- 1 small (grated)
Cabbage -- 1/2 cup (shredded)
(add sweet corn, cauliflower, baby corn, Chinese cabbage etc. if you want more veggies)

Soy sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Tomato sauce -- 2-3 tablespoons
Chili sauce -- 2 tablespoons (or to taste)
Vinegar -- 1 tablespoon

Ginger -- 1 teaspoon (grated)

Pepper powder -- to taste
Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Corn flour(corn starch) -- 1 tablespoon

Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a vessel.

Add soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and tomato sauce to the boiling water. Simmer it for a couple of minutes.

Now add all the chopped vegetables and ginger. Cook for a minute or two on a medium heat.

Add salt,sugar and pepper and simmer it for another minute. Turn off the heat.

Dissolve corn starch in 1/2 cup water and keep aside.

Before serving, heat up the soup. Once it is boiling, add the corn starch and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Don't worry about the color of the soup at this point. Corn starch will make the soup whitish, but once it is cooked the original color will be restored. Also make it a point to serve immediately after the cornstarch is added. The Soup will not have the same taste or consistency once it is cold.

Serve hot.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-01-05T10:05:00.009+05:30

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.

Well the wishes come a little late as i was a bit busy. Couldn't login to my account for more than a week now. Today took out some time for the first post of the year.

I wish you all the readers and followers a very happy and bright 2011. May god grant your all of your wishes.

BUTTERED VEGGIES

2010-12-27T15:57:00.003+05:30

Its been more than a week since my last post. I been busy with personal things ,guests and everything. Well.., still am i busy with those things but today i sneaked a few minutes for this post.

I love simple food with minimum ingredients. This is one of those lovely dishes i love snacking on! Well it is healthy right?

Ok, here is the recipe. Hmmm.. Infact there is almost no recipe for this dish! It is as simple as tossing assorted veggies in butter and adding a dash of salt and pepper.
But still i will go ahead and tell u how i made it anyway.

Butter -- 2-3 tablespoons (Add more if you don't mind extra workout)

Green peas -- 1/2 cup (fresh/frozen)
Sweet corn kernels -- 1/2 cup (same again)
Carrot -- 1/2 cup (cubed)
Broccoli -- few florets (toss is as many as you like)
Salt -- 1-2 pinches
Pepper -- to taste (optional)

Add/skip any vegetable of your choice. I also make it with only broccoli.

Melt butter in a large wok.

Add the veggies and stir-fry for 4-6 minutes on medium to high flame. Sprinkle salt and peeper and serve hot.

AWARD

2010-12-17T16:04:00.001+05:30

Suja Sugathan of Kitchen Corner has passed on 'Best Blogger' award to me. Visit Suja's place for a collection of variety of recipes.

Thank you very much Suja for the lovely award.

Akhila of Learning to cook- Akhila's kitchen has passed on an award to me. Visit Akhila's place place for a collection of variety of yummy recipes and interesting events.

Thank you very much Akhils for the lovely award.

Chitra hegde of Chitranna has passed on a thank you note for the award she received from VEGGIE FLAVOURS.

MIXED-GREENS PARATHA

2010-12-13T17:11:00.001+05:30

The greens vendor is back in our colony! He had disappeared for a couple of months but now back. So i can buy all the fresh stuff and enjoy.

First thing i thought of making was Methi Paratha, then decided to try something different and new.

The mixed green paratha turned out to be more healthy :)
and tasty. I like the blended favours of the greens. I have used equal quantity of methi, dill and spring onions and double the amount of spinach as it has milder flavour and more water.

Mixed greens -- 2-3 cups(chopped Spring onions,Methi(Fenugreek),Palak(Spinach),Dill)

Whole wheat flour -- 2 cups
Chickpea flour(besan) -- 1/2 cup

Cumin powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder -- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curd -- 1/2 cup (optional)

Oil/Ghee -- 3-4 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Pour in some water (around 1/2 to 3/4 cup)(depending on the water content of the greens you may change the water quantity) to the chopped greens and cook it covered for 5-6 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool a bit.

When the cooked greens are still warm add both the flours, powders and curd to make the dough.

Roll it out into thin discs and cook it with oil or ghee until light brown on both sides.

Serve hot.

ONION CHUTNEY

2010-12-10T18:32:00.001+05:30

We had a nice tangy tomato chutney at the restaurant last weekend. I liked the tangy taste and wanted to try it out at home.

Since i was running low on tomato, decided to make a onion version. Turned out nice.

For the toamto version add 1 cup of chopped tomato instead of tamarind juice. Decrease the amount of onion to 1/2 cup and add 5-6 chopped garlic pods
for additional flavour.

Oil -- 2-3 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Chili flakes -- 1 teaspoon
Onion -- 1 cup
Tamarind juice(thick) -- 3-4 tablespoons
Jaggery -- 1/8 cup
Chili powder -- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan. Add fenugreek, cumin, mustard seeds, and let splutter. Add the chili flakes and fry for a minute.

Add onion to the pan and saute till the onions are tender and lightly browned.

Now add the tamarind juice, jaggery, chili powder, and salt and cook it for a 5 minutes on low flame.

Serve with paratha or dosa.

SESAME BEANS

2010-12-07T18:12:00.001+05:30

When we were kids we used to love eating raw beans. When it is tender and crunchy it tastes very nice. Of course i am a veggie lover, and used (still do ) eat many of them raw.

So when we got fresh, green, tender beans from the market, we would finish off a portion in the raw form as soon as it was washed. Guess my parents didn't have a tough time making us children
eat vegetables. :)

Anyway when i saw the similar photo(as above) in a magazine(unluckily, without the recipe), i tried to put together my own version of beans salad. I have adapted this recipe from veggie stir fry recipe i had,(will post it some other time) with only the beans.

I liked it. So here it goes..

Green beans (french beans) -- 1/4 kilo
Salt -- 1/2 teaspoon

Oil -- 1 tablespoons ( sesame oil if u can get or olive oil)
Chili flakes -- 1/2 teaspoon
Soy sauce -- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Vinegar -- 1/2 teaspoon
OR
Lemon juice -- 1 teaspoon
Sesame seeds -- 2 tablespoons

Clean and trim the beans.

Cook them in salted water for 3-4 minutes, until slightly cooked but still crunchy.

Heat oil in wok and add the beans to it. Add the chili flakes, vinegar/lemon juice, and soy sauce and toss it for a half a minute. Add salt if necessary. Turn off the heat.

Before serving, dry roast(on a low flame) the sesame seeds in a small pan until it starts crackling, and add it to the beans. Toss and mix them nicely and serve hot.

BREAD DOSA

2010-12-06T18:40:00.000+05:30

The other day we were watching a cookery show on TV. The host made these yummy looking bread dosas which i decided to make with the leftover bread which i had.

Since i had not noted down the amount of ingredients, i have used my
own measures. You are welcome to adjust it to your to your own taste.

The dosa turned out quite nice and my hubby liked it. so noted it down for the future reference. ; )

Bread slices -- 8-10

Semolina (wheat rava) -- 1/2 cup
Rice flour -- 2 tablespoons
Yogurt (curd) -- 3-4 tablespoons

Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Split black gram (urad dal) -- 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Ginger -- 1/2 inch piece (grated)
Onion -- 1 medium (chopped finely)
Curry leaves -- few (chopped)
Green chilies -- 2-3 (chopped)

Salt to taste
Oil for cooking and greasing

Remove the crust of the bread slices. Dip the slices in water and crumble it.

Take semolina, rice flour, curd in a blender. Add the crumbled bread slices and water to it and run the blender to make a smooth paste.

Transfer the content in a bowl. Keep aside.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add urad dal . When it is light brown add mustard seeds let it crackle.
Now add curry leaves, ginger, green chillies, onion and saute till onions are lightly browned.

Before making dosa, add the browned onions to the prepared batter. adjust the consistency and make dosa on hot tawa. Cook both sides with a teaspoon of oil until light brown spots appear.

Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Recipe source: 'bombat bhojana' on suvarna.

AWARD TIME - RE VISITED

2010-12-06T17:28:00.001+05:30

Santosh Bangar of Sanosh's kitchen has passed on the best blogger award to me. This is very exciting. This week has been awards week for me.

Thank you very much santosh for the lovely award. Santosh has a lovely blog where she has n number of mouth watering recipes. Do visit her blog.

Biny Anoop of Biny's Recipes has shared her 'Best Blogger' award with me. Visit Biny's place for a collection of yummy recipes.

Thank you very much Biny for sharing the lovely award.

APPLE-POTATO SALAD

2010-12-02T18:10:00.001+05:30

Salad is a very flexible dish as you can literally make it from any food group. Veggies, fruits, dairy, meat, nuts, lentils.... the list is endless as to what can be used in a salad.

Its a healthy way of eating as mostly there are many uncooked
veggies thrown in almost all the salads. So lets indulge in some guilt free food !

Apple -- 1
Potato -- 2-3 (medium)
Cucumber -- 1 small
Lettuce iceberg -- 1/2 cup (torn)
Sweet corn kernels -- 1/2 cup
Purple cabbage -- 1/2 cup (shredded)(optional)

For dressing
------------
Mustard -- 1/2 teaspoon (add more if u like it)
Garlic -- 2 small cloves
Olive oil -- 2 tablespoons
Vinegar -- 1 teaspoon
Red chili flakes -- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Cook potato and sweet corn.
Cool and slice the potatoes into wedges. Slice the cucumber and apple into thin wedge shaped slices.

In a salad bowl add all the ingredients for the salad and toss it. Chill it in the fridge.

Crush mustard and add finely chopped garlic,oil, vinegar, salt and chili flakes and mix it nicely.

Before serving take the salad veggies out from the fridge and add the dressing. Toss the salad nicely to coat the dressing evenly on all the vegetables.

Ready to serve.

VIRGIN MARY

2010-12-01T18:02:00.000+05:30

Virgin mary, a non-alcoholic version of bloody mary is a mock tail, which in fact one can drink at any time of the day.
This drink can be had for breakfast or brunch or can be served at parties as a
mock tail. and very easy to whip up.

It is a tomato based drink which is spicy as well as healthy.

And when i am not feeling like drinking it spicy, i add up sugar to make a different flavored tomato juice!!

Tomatoes -- 4-5 (big, juicy)
Lemon juice -- 1-2 tablespoons
Celery seeds -- a pinch (powdered)
Worcestershire sauce -- 1 teaspoon
Tabasco sauce -- 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper powder -- to taste
Salt -- a pinch + for garnish
Ice cubes for serving
Celery stick for garnish

Rub the rim of the glass with little lemon juice and dip it in the salt. Chill the glass in a refrigerator.

To blanch the tomato, drop them into the boiling water for a couple minutes. Remove and run cool water on it. Peel the skin off. Quarter them and remove the seeds.

Run the tomatoes in a blender until smooth. Chill it.

Before serving add all other ingredients except ice cubes to the chilled tomato juice and mix it nicely in your blender or a cocktail mixer.

Take the chilled glass. Fill the ice cubes (as much as u wish) and pour the virgin mary in the glass. Serve garnished with a celery stick.

OK, ANOTHER AWARD , ...

2010-11-29T16:36:00.003+05:30

Well, another award for my blog.

Kurinji of Kurinji Kathambam has passed on "One Lovely Blog Award" to me. Thank you very much Kurinji, for a lovely award.

Kurinji had beautiful blog, which is an assortment of yummy recipes as well as some craft,art, entertainment ideas. I especially like her Rangoli collection. Please take time to visit her.

Since she has requested me to pass on the award to the 12 bloggers of my choice, i am passing it to the following bloggers.

1.Gayatri Kumar of Gayathri's Cook Spot
2.Chitra Hegde of Chitranna
3.Aipi of U.S.Masala
4.Pratibha of The Chef and her Kitchen
5.Divya of Easy Cooking
6.Sharmi of Sharmis passions
7.Padmajha SureshbabuSeduce Your Tastebud
8.Gayatri Bharadwaj of AmmanAdge
9.Panch Pakwan
10.Nirupama Sriram of Its life
11.Hari Chandana of Indian Cuisine
12.Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore

Congratulations to all of you.

Priya Sreeram of BON APPETIT has also shared the "One lovely blog" award with me.

Priya has a collection of mouth watering recpies at BON APPETIT. Check out her place for the step-by-step guide to all the recipes.

Thank you very much Priya for sharing the award.

STUFFED EGGPLANT

2010-11-29T16:13:00.002+05:30

Eggplant(aubergine) or brinjal is one of my most favorite veggie. I know, i know.. many of you won't agree with me. I know there are many people out there who don't even consider it edible. Am i not surrounded with such people!!

Mu hubby's family has an unofficial brinjal hater's club! My Sis-In-Law even goes to the extent of announcing it totally devoid of
nutrients of any kind ! And not so long ago my hubby dear was a faithful member of the hater club.

But after i tried my mom's recipe of stuffed brinjal, he is eating the hated vegetable, and not even grumbling about it! Well that is something. But whatever the case, i simply love this dish.

Eggplant (brinjal) -- 8-10 (small sized)

Oil -- 1 teaspoon
Dalia (roasted split chickpea) -- 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Clove -- 1

Ginger -- 1 inch piece
Garlic -- 2-3 cloves
Green chili -- 2-3
Coconut -- 1 cup (grated)

Tomato -- 2-3 (finely chopped)
Onion -- 1 big (finely chopped)

Red chili powder -- 1 teaspoon (optional)
Lemon juice -- 2 tablespoons
Salt -- to taste

Oil -- 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds -- 1/2 reaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few
coriander leaves -- for garnish (chopped)

Wash eggplants and slit into 4 or 6 slivers, without separating them completely. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a small pan and fry dalia, cumin seeds and clove for a couple of minutes. Once the dalia had light brown spots turn off the heat.

Take coconut in a blender. Add the fried ingredients, green chilies, ginger, garlic and grind it into a coarse semi solid powder.

Mix the chopped onion, tomato and the powdered spice mix in a mixing bowl. Add salt, lemon juice and red chili powder. (Only if you like your dishes spicy and hot.) Mix all the ingredients nicely and stuff it in the slits of the eggplant

Heat oil (1/4 cup) in thick bottome3d pan. Add mustard, turmeric and curry leaves. Once the mustard starts spluttering arrange all the eggplants in the pan. Top it with the spice powder mix (whatever is left).

Add enough water to immerse the eggplants. Cover and coo on low flame until the eggplants are done. Simmer for some more time if you are left with watery curry.

Garnish with the corianer leaves and serve hot with the roti/pulkas or jowar roti.

An AWARD,

2010-11-26T17:19:00.004+05:30

and my first one too.

I am really very happy about this.

Chitra Hegde from Chitranna has passed on "Nice bloggers award", for my blog.

Thank you Chitra for a nice,cute award. It is quite motivating.

STEAMED RICE BALLS

2010-11-25T19:01:00.000+05:30

I was just browsing the fellow food blogger's blogs when i came across this recipe. These stemed rice balls look damn cute to resist.

When i read the recipe i realized the method to
prepare them is very similar to akki shavige method. I always love the rice balls out of the steamer while making shavige or rice roti. So i was sure i was going to love this dish and i had to try it out.

The give the credit where it is due, i have used the recipe. UNDRALU from Padma's Recipes. i have written the recipe in my words with the slight changes i made(not much).

Rice -- 1 cup
Coconut Oil(or any other oil) -- 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Coconut oil -- 2 tablespoons
Urad dal -- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1 pinch
Green chili -- 2-3
Curry leaves -- few
Coconut -- 1/4 cup(grated)

Soak rice for 6-8 hours. Wash and grind it to a smooth paste. While grinding add water enough to only immerse the rice. (can be a little less also)Take care to make the batter smooth.

Now add salt to the batter and pour it in thick vessel. Add oil and keep it on low flame to cook.(i have added coconut oil to give it a nice coconut flavour)

Keep stirring the batter all throughout the cooking process. Cook until the batter forms a ball and starts leaving the bottom of the vessel. Turn off the heat.

Cool the batter and using a little oil make smooth balls of small playing glass marble size. Steam these balls until it is cooked. It is cooked when it is somewhat transparent inside out and a toothpick comes out clean.

Heat oil in pan and add urad dal. When the dal turns pinkish add mustard seeds, asafoetida, green chilies and curry leaves.

When the mustard is crackling add the steamed rice ball and toss for a minute. turn off the heat.

Ready to serve. Can be served with chutney.

CHEESE DOSA

2010-11-23T17:50:00.004+05:30

Last month i went to this restaurant were they serve awesome dosa and idli. My hubby is a big fan of their chocolate dosa, which i am planning to reproduce very shortly.

Anyway i tried this cheese dosa and it was very nice. So i wanted to try it at home. Advantage is you can have it any time u want!! ;) The cheese dosa turned out very nice. Pity my hubby is not into cheese.

It is very simple to make. All you need is

Dosa batter -- 1 cup

Capsicum -- 1 big (sliced)
Onion -- 1 big (sliced)

Cheese -- 1/2 cup (grated/roughly chopped )(i have used processed cheese slices chopped)

Make thin dosas as usually made for masala dosa. Sprinkle capsicum and Onion slices. Cover and cook for a minute.

Remove the lid and sprinkle chesse gratings on it and wait till the cheese melts. I feel the processed cheese works better, as i tried mozerella and the taste was not so good.

Fold the dosa nicely and serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Entering this into Akila's

and srivalli's

SHAHI TUKDA / DOUBLE KA MEETA

2010-11-18T18:39:00.004+05:30

Double ka meeta is one of the special delicacy of hyderabad. First time when i had this dish in a restaurant i was really impressed with the taste. Next thing i know, i am trying to make it at home.

I found the shahi tukda recipe in many places which is very similar to the double ka meeta. I think the only difference is that the double ka meeta is served with bread slices crumbled and shahi tukda has a definite shape.

Whatever the differences it definitely is very tasty. so this time i prepared this for my birthday. A little treat for myself ;)

Here's the recipe.

Bread slices -- 10(1 day old or hard bread works best)

Milk -- 1 liter
Sugar -- 1/3 cup
Ghee (clarified butter) -- 2/3 cup

Mixed chopped nuts -- 1/4 cup (lightly roasted)

Boil milk and simmer it on low flame until the milk thickens. Reduce it to almost 1/4 of the original quantity. Run it in the blender to get smooth, creamy milk.
Chill it in the fridge.

Remove the Crust from the bread and cut it into desired shape (round, triangle etc.).

Heat ghee in wide pan and deep fry the bread slices until light golden brown and crispy. It is best done on low flame. Take them out on the paper towels.

Add enough water to the sugar to dissolve it and cook it on a low flame to make a thick sugar syrup.

15 minutes before serving,

Arrange the bread slices in a plate. Pour the sugar syrup on it and let it soak for 3-4 minutes.
Now transfer them in a serving dish. Pour the chilled creamy milk on the slices. Garnish with chopped nuts.

Refrigerate it for another 10 minutes and serve chilled. (do not wait till it becomes soggy)

Entering this into Melodie's