Nanna Adige

Blogging Break...

2009-07-19T17:22:00.002-05:00

Ya..I know...again I am taking a long break. I thought last break was long but this will be even longer. Sorry to dissapoint all of you. This is a sudden trip to India due to some personal reasons. So see you all in mid of October. Till then enjoy rest of summer and happy blogging.

I am back...with Eggless Snow Capped Cookies

2009-07-07T15:41:00.006-05:00

Hello Everybody, hope everyone are enjoying and having great time in this summer. I know, I took a long break from blogging, but I am back now and hopefully will not take such long breaks again.

The reason for such a long break is that, we bought a new house last month and all the process of packing and unpacking all the stuff took this long. Still there are few more boxes to unpack, will do that slowly. When we moved last month we just did pooja and milk boiling. Then later that week on a Poornima day we did Satyanarayana Pooja. We missed our family during this celebration.

While packing all the stuff, I was getting frustrated, as it was never ending. At that point, I realized that I had accumulated so many things. It has been a month since we have moved, I am still excited to unpack things, don't know why...

The first thing that I unpacked was the kitchen stuff. Although I prepared sweet on the first day, with all the excitement forgot to click any photos. So, I baked these cookies in my new kitchen. I often make these cookies for my daughter, as it has chocolate and also it is very soft and nutty. This is a recipe given to me by one of our family friend few years back. I have been making them ever since. It is very simple with less sugar, light and delicious. It is nice to have these snow cookies in this summer.

Ingredients:

Plain Flour - 1 3/4 cups

Pecans (chopped) - 1 cup

Butter (softened) - 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup)

Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 2 tsp

Vanilla - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Bakers Semi-sweet chocolate - 3 squares

Bakers White chocolate (coarsely grated) - 2 squares

Method:

Heat oven to 350 deg.
Combine flour and pecans and set aside.
Mix butter and sugar until well blended.
Add water, vanilla, salt and mix well.
Gradually add flour mixture, stirring until well blended after each addition.
Shape into 1" balls; place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Cool on wire racks.
Melt semi- sweet chocolate in a bowl kept on boiling hot water.(see directions on package)
Dip each cookie halfway into melted chocolate, then sprinkle or press top lightly into grated white chocolate to create snowy appearance.
Let stand until set.

PS:

You can use wheat flour instead of plain flour.
I have added less sugar, you can add more according to your sweetness.
Walnuts can also be used instead of pecans.
Grate white chocolate and refrigerate immediately, until ready to use.
This proportion gave me 36 cookies.
In this heat to avoid melting of chocolate you have to refrigerate them, otherwise you can store them outside.

Murgh Kaju / Cashew Chicken

2009-05-12T14:46:00.010-05:00

I know, I am taking long breaks now a days. It has been 2 weeks again since I have blogged. Though I am not posting often, I am trying to visit all your blogs and your yummy recipe. So, now am back with this simple and spicy Kaju Chicken.

Ingredients: Chicken - 2 Lb

Coconut grated – ½ cup

Garlic Cloves - 8

Ginger – 1 ½ Tb spoon

Coriander seeds – 3 Tb spoon

Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

Red chillis – 6

Cloves – 5

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Cashew – ¾ cup

Onions – 1 cup (chopped)

Pepper corns – 1 tsp

Butter – 2 Tb spoon Method:

Soak red chilies in hot water for 10 minutes.
Roast separately coconut, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon over low heat until it leaves a nice aroma.
Add cashew and onions and roast altogether for 10 min.
Turn off the heat and let it cool.
Grind all the above ingredients.
Heat butter in a pan, add ground spice and fry for 10 min.
Add chicken pieces, salt and little water and cook until tender.
Serve with rice, roti / chapathi or poori.

Yummy and spicy Kaju Chicken goes to "Potluck - Chicken" hosted by Vicky.

PS: Adjust the spices according to your spice level. You can add water according to the thickness needed.

Have a nice week ahead.

Eggless Apple - Banana Muffins

2009-04-27T20:30:00.010-05:00

Hello Everybody ! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Last week we were feeling like summer has started as it was burning with 95 deg temp already. Weekend was cloudy and cool, today we had thunderstorm warning. The weather is crazy, can't predict or plan anything. We did not send our daughter to school today as it was raining very heavily, she enjoyed her long weekend and by evening, she wanted to go to school :-).

Last weekend, one of our friends planned a picnic to a park so that everybody can meet and kids also can have fun together. We were not sure about the weather, as it was raining in the morning and by afternoon it was hot and very humid. We decided by afternoon to meet around 4:00 pm. So, we all decided to make something light and healthy snacks/dinner. I made this egg less muffins as a dessert. Kids enjoyed playing, all men enjoyed talking about their usual stuff and also looking after the kids, we (ladies) walked a small trail talking when the trail will end :-). Totally, everybody had a great time with nice dinner.

So, coming to the muffin, it is quick and easy to make in short amount of time. I made two batches, one with chocolate chips for the kids and the other without them for adults.

Ingredients:

Apple finely chopped - 1

Big ripe banana - 1

Raisins - 1/2 cup

Pecans - 1/2 cup (toasted and chopped roughly)

Flax seed powder - 1 Tb spoon (optional)

Plain flour - 1 cup

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 - 1 1/4 cup (I have added 1 cup)

Baking powder - 3/4 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder -1/4 tsp

Milk - 1 cup

Butter - 3/4 cup

Lemon juice - 1/2 Tb spoon

Chocolate chips – 1 cup (Optional)

Method:

Toast pecans at 350 deg for few min, then cool and chop roughly.
Sieve dry ingredients together 2-3 times.
Melt butter in large bowl, add milk and gently fold in dry ingredients.
Smash banana, and sprinkle lemon juice over it to avoid it from turning black.
Peel the skin of apple and chop to very small pieces and sprinkle lemon juice.
Add raisins, banana and apples, mix very lightly.
Mix in chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
Keep mixture a bit lumpy, and do not mix too much.
A lumpy batter makes better muffins.
Pour spoonfuls of mixture greased in muffin trays, or in small cups.
Bake in preheated oven at 350 deg C for 20 minutes or till done.
Serve hot or cold. Makes: 18-20 cup sized muffins.

Thanks to all the bloggers, who love my blog and have passed on cute award. I love all of your blogs too. I am very honoured to receive it from you all. I have added it in my side bar along with the names. Thank You once again.

Bye Everybody

Have a great week !!

Egg less Chocolate – Praline Buttons

2009-04-18T08:59:00.007-05:00

Eggless Chocolate - Praline Buttons, goes to Madhuram's "Egg substitute-Yogurt" event.

It also goes to Srilekha's "EFM-Cookies" event and also to Poornima Nair's "For the love of Chocolate" event. Thank You for hosting the events.

Ingredients: Pecans – ½ cup Unsalted Butter – ½ cup(1 stick) Sugar – ¾ cup Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp Milk – 1 Tb spoon Yogurt - ¼ cup (Egg Substitute) (Or Egg – 1)

Flax Seed powder - 1 Tb spoon (Optional) Flour – 1 ¼ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder – ¼ cup Salt – ¼ tsp Baking powder – ¼ cup Semisweet chocolate chips – 1 cup Pecans for decorating – ½ cup

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Spread ½ cup pecans evenly on a baking sheet .
Bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant, 5 – 10 min.
Remove from oven and let cool. Chop coarsely.
In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add sugar, eating until light.
Add yogurt (Egg substitute), vanilla, and milk; beat thoroughly.
In a small bowl, blend flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
Add to the butter mixture and stir well to combine.
Stir in chocolate chips and toasted pecans.
Drop in teaspoons or table spoons (or a small ice cream scoop) onto a parchment sheet.(Don't worry about the shape, natural is just fine)
Top with pecans halves.
Bake for 8 – 10 min or until done. Let cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy soft and yummy cookies.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Sprouted Pulses Rotti

2009-04-15T15:52:00.004-05:00

I just realized that, it has been long since I have posted anything. So, am back with a simple and healthy rotti. All Kannadigas know about rotti usally made from rice flour. This is done without any flour in it. When I was speaking with my MIL, she told me that she had added pulses for the rotti. So, thought of trying it with my own twist to it. I just soaked all the pulses that I had, sprouted it and made rotti with it without adding any flour. Just added all the ingredients that you add for the plain rotti. You can also make dosa instead of rotti. I could not believe that it would taste that good. It is a must try...

Ingredients:

Hesarukalu / Green Moong dhal – 1 cup Bili Halasandi /Black Eyed peas – ½ cup Kadalekalu /Brown Channa Dal – ½ cup Red Kidney Beans – ¼ cup Onion – 1 big (Chopped finely) Green chili – 2 -3 (adjust according to your spice) Ginger – 1 tsp (grated) Cumin / Jeera – 1 tsp Dill leaves – ½ cup (chopped finely) (optional) Coriander leaves – 1/4 cup (chopped finely) Curry leaves – 2 Tb spoon Salt Method :

Soak all the pulses overnight with enough water.
Next day remove all the water and allow it to get sprouted for 1-2 days.
Grind all sprouted pulses with as little water as possible.
Add the chili too while grinding.
Mix onion, dill, coriander leaves, curry leaves, cumin, salt and ginger.
On a plastic paper apply little oil, then take a ball size of the dough, spread it evenly with hand till it is thin and the size of a chapati.

Keep dipping your hands in water while spreading to avoid any sticking.
Fry on a hot tava on both sides until brown.
Serve hot with any chutney or plain yogurt with pickle or just by itself.

Sprouted Pulses Rotti, goes to Cococooks who is guest hosting "MLLA-10th helping", an event which is started by Susan. PS:

You can add any pulses you have.
If it becomes too watery, don't worry. mix little rice flour to it or you can convert it to dosa.
You can either grind chillis along with piulses or you can just chop it up later.
You can add any veggies along with it.

Ugadi Feast

2009-04-02T20:02:00.015-05:00

Finally, I found some time to post the recipes of Ugadi platter. These were the items my Mom used to prepare, so tried my best to do everything. Items are from left..Salt, Kossambhari(moong dhal salad), Hullikayi Palya (Beans fry). Thondekayi Palya, Aloo Fry, Halasandi Vade(Black Eyed Peas),Mosaru Pachadi(Raita), Payasa, Burfi, Obbattu(Puran Poli), Mavinakayi Chitaranna (Raw Mango rice), Rice and Obbattu Saru.

Kossambhari:

Ingredients: Moong dhal – 2 Tb sp Carrot – ¼ cup (grated) (optional) Cucumber – ¼ cup (chopped to small pieces) Chili – 1 Hing – 1 pinch Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Coconut – 1 Tb spoon(optional) Coriader leaves Curry leaves Lemon juice – 1 tsp Oil Salt

Method:

Wash moong dhal and soak in water for 2-3 hours.
Then drain all the water, add grated carrot and cucumber.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, hing and chillies.
Fry for a minute and add to moong dhal.
Mix in coriander leaves, coconut and lemon juice.
Add salt just before serving. If you add before, it will become watery.

Thodekayi Palya: You can find the recipe for this here.

Hullikayi Palya:

Ingredients: Beans – 1 lb (chopped very small) Channa dhal – 1 tsp Urad dhal – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Onion – 1 medium (chopped finely) Coconut – Optional Sambar powder / Vangibath powder – 1tsp (adjust accordingly) Coriander leaves Salt Oil Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds; when it splutters, add channa dhal, urad dhal.
When it turns to golden brown, add onion and curry leaf and fry till golden brown.
Then add beans, add sambar powder and salt.
Mix well, cover and allow it to cook on low flame.(do not add water)
Stir occationally.
When fully cooked, add coconut and sprinkle coriander leaves.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

Aloo Fry:

Ingredients: Potato – 2 big Onions – 1 big (chopped) Chilli powder – ½ - 1 tsp Coriander powder – 1tsp Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Cumin powder – ¼ tsp Ginger paste – 1 tsp Garlic paste – 1tsp Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Coriander leaves Oil Salt Method:

Cut potatoes into half, add little salt and boil it.
After it has boiled cut into medium pieces and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add onions and fry till till golden brown.
Add ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute.
In a small bowl, add all the powders, salt and mix with 3 Tb spoon water.
Add the powder water to the onions and fry for a min on low flame (Do not fry till dry).
Then add the cubed potatoes and mix well with the masala.
When it has mixed thoroughly, sprinkle coriander leaves and serve.

Mosaru Pachadi /Raita:

Ingredients:

Red onion – 1 small (chopped length wise) Tomato – 1 small (chopped to small pieces) Coriander leaves Yogurt – ½ cup (beaten by adding 2 Tb spoon water) Salt

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and serve.

Halasandi Vade / Black Eyed Peas Vada:

Ingredients: White Halasandhi / Black Eyed Peas – 1 cup Onion – 1 medium (chopped finely) Dill – ¼ cup (finely chopped) Ginger – ½ inch Garlic – 4 -5 cloves Chilies – 2-3 (according to spice) Cloves – 2 Cinnamon – ½ inch Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Coriander leaves Salt Oil Method:

Soak Peas in water overnight.
Drain the water and grind peas along with ginger, garlic, chilies, cloves, cinnamon and cumin.
Do not add too much water.
After grinding, add dill, coriander, onions and salt to it and mix well.
Heat oil, take a little dough in your hands, flatten and drop in oil.
Fry till golden brown both sides.
After frying drain on paper towel and serve.

Semiya Payasa:

Ingredients:

Semiya – ½ cup Milk Sugar Cashew Raisins Cardamom -1 Ghee Saffron

Method:

Fry Vermicelli in ghee until it is golden brown.
Add milk and allow it to boil.
When it has boiled, add sugar, powdered cardamom and saffron.
Then heat ghee in a pan, fry cashew and raisin till brown and add it to semiya.
Serve hot or chilled.

PS: I have not used any measurements. You can adjust according to your taste. Adjust the milk and sugar accordingly.

Mavinakayi Chitaranna /Raw Mango Rice:

Ingredients: Rice – 2 cups (sona masuri - cooked) Raw Mango - 1 medium sized (grated) Green chilies - 3-4: For Tampering: Oil - 3 Tb spoon Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Urad dhal – 1 Tb spoon Channa Dhal / Chickpeas – 1 tsp Ground Nuts - 1 Tb spoon Turmeric – ¼ tsp (accordingly) Asafetida - 1 pinch Curry leaves - 1 strand Gtampering:rated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional) Coriander Leaves / Cilantro Cashew – 1 Tb spoon Method:

Spread cooked rice and let it cool. This is very important as hot rice will break easily while mixing.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add ground nuts, cashews, urad dhal, channa dhal & fry till golden brown.
Then add green chillies, curry leaves & sauté for few minutes.
Add the grated mango & sauté it for 20secs. (do not fry for too long).
Then add turmeric and asafetida.
Pour this tempering on the rice; add salt, grated coconut & coriander leaves.
Mix them thoroughly & gently. Ensure that there are no lumps.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

PS:

Make sure that the rice is not mushy.
Raw mangoes, which we find in India, are very sour, but the one which we find here are not too sour. So, this chitranna tastes good if mango is little sour.
If the mango is not too sour, either add little lemon juice or add one more grated mango.

Burfi:

You can find the recipe for this 'here'.

Obbattu / Puran Poli:

You can find the recipe for this 'here'.

Obbattu Saru:

This is a rasam made from the filtered water of dhal used for puran poli. It tastes delicious as the days goes by..

Ingredients:

Jeera / Cumin – 1 sp Methi seeds– ¼ tsp Pepper – ½ tsp Red chillis – 4-5 (according to your spice) Garlic – 7-8 Dry coconut – ¼ cup Curry leaves – 2 strands Mustard seeds – ½ tsp Coriander leaves Tamarind – lemon size Asafetida - pinch Ghee

Method:

After draining all the water of the boiled dhal for puran poli, add 2 strands of curry leaves to the water and allow it to boil on low flame.
Soak tamarind in hot water.
Fry jeera, pepper, garlic and methi separately by adding a little ghee till you can smell the aroma of each while frying.
Fry red chilies, then off the stove and then fry coconut just with the heat of the pan.
Then grind all the fried items.
Add the paste to the dhal water, then add tamarind water and add water according to the thickness.
Add a little hoorana to it; add salt and allow it to boil.
Heat ghee in a pan; add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add asafetida and 2 byadige chilies.
Mix the tampering to the liquid and boil.
The more you boil, more flavor it releases.
Serve with rice, ghee and vada.(this is my fav combination).
It tastes better everytime you boil for the next 2-3 days.

PS: Adjust the spices according to your taste and quantity.

Thondekayi Palya and Halasandi Vade goes to Cococooks who is guest hosting "MLLA-10th helping", an event which is started by Susan.

Mavinakayi Chitranna, goes to Smitha's "Colors of taste-Flavored Rice" event.

Thondekayi Palya, Hulli kayi Palya, Aloo Fry goes to "WYF-side dish" event hosted by EasyCrafts.

HAPPY SHREE RAM NAVAMI TO ALL OF YOU!!

Have a happy and healthy weekend..

Artichoke Jalapeno Potato Pancakes and Click

2009-03-30T13:51:00.006-05:00

Ingredients: Potatoes – 2 cups (Boiled and mashed ) Artichoke Jalapeno Dip – ½ cup Parmesan Cheese (grated) – ¼ cup (optional) Red bell pepper (finely chopped) – ¼ cup Zucchini (grated) – ½ cup Spring onions (finely chopped) – ¼ cup Coriander leaves / cilantro – 2 Tb spoon (finely chopped) Plain dry bread crumbs – 1 cup Oil / butter Method:

In a medium bowl, mix mashed potatoes, dip, parmesan, bell pepper, zucchini, spring onions and cilantro together until blended.
Shape into round (size - slightly bigger than lemon), coat in bread crumbs, set on wax paper and pat till the size of poori.

Heat a heavy skillet on medium- low, and add oil or butter.
When oil is hot add cakes and cook both sides until brown.
Serve hot with sour cream or just by itself.

Potato Pancakes is my contribution to the event "Cooking for kids- Potato" hosted by Deepa, authored by Sharmi.

PS:

You can use ready made mashed potato too.
You can add any veggies to it of your choice.
I have not added the cheese to it. The dip is little tangy. So you may adjust accordingly.

Now coming to the click..It is the last day today for the click, din't want to miss, so thought of participating. This is my entry for Click: wood event hosted by Jugalbandi.

Ugadi Wishes with Ugadi Feast..

2009-03-27T17:06:00.014-05:00

Wish You all a very Happy Ugadi. Hope this year brings you in good Health, Peace and Prosperity.

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. It is a season for raw mangoes spreading its aroma in the air and the fully blossomed neem tree that makes the air healthy. Also, jaggery made with fresh crop of sugarcane adds a renewed flavor to the typical dishes associated with Ugadi

Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement.

On Ugadi day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. The significance of tying mango leaves relates to a legend. It is said that Kartik (or Subramanya or Kumara Swamy) and Ganesha, the two sons of Lord Siva and Parvathi were very fond of mangoes. As the legend goes Kartik exhorted people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway signifying a good crop and general well-being.

After doing prayers, we serve jaggery mixed with neem leaves. The bitter taste of neem leaves and the sweet of jaggery symbolize joy and sorrow in life. Here we just had jaggery as we din't get neem flowers:-).

This festival brings back lots of memories. It is mainly of the food we used to have. We used to help our mom prepare the feast. After doing the pooja we used to sit down and eat on banana leaves. This time, I found banana leaves in a mexican store and was very exited. I have tried my best to do all the dishes my mom used to make for this festival. So here is the feast on a banana leaf..

The dishes are from left ..Salt, Kossambari (salad), Hullikayi Palya( Green beans fry), Thondekayi Palya( Tindora fry), Aloogadde Fry (Aloo Fry), Mosaru Pachadi( Raita), Mavinakayi Chitaranna (Mango Rice), Halasandi vade (Black eyed peas vada), Shavige Payasa (Payasam), Burfi, Obattu (Puran poli), Rice and Obattu Saru ( Rasam).

Will post the recipes soon.. Happy Ugadi..

Tomato Gojju (Gravy) And Simple Cucumber Salad

2009-03-24T13:53:00.013-05:00

This is a simple gojju (gravy) which can be made when you are out of veggies or when you want to make something simple and fast. My mom used to make this along with chapati and we used to crib all the time for eating. I had a big list of only "I don't like this vegetable or pulses". After coming here, I don't say no to any thing :-). This gojju was on my don't like list, but now I make this very often. Ingredients:

ಟೊಮೇಟೊ /Tomato – 4 Big (chopped) ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ / Onion – 1 big (chopped) ಹಸಿಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ /Chilies – 3-4 (chopped) ಮೆಂತ್ಯ ಸೊಪ್ಪು /Methi leaves – ¼ cup (optional) ಕಡಲೆ ಬೇಳೆ /Channa Dhal – ½ tsp ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೇಳೆ /Urad dhal – 1 tsp ಸಾಸಿವೆ /Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp ಕರಿಬೇವು /Curry leaves ಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು /Coriander leaves – 2 Tb spoon ಧನಿಯ ಪುಡಿ /Dhaniya / Coriander powder – ½ tsp ಅರಿಶಿನ ಪುಡಿ /Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp ಎಣ್ಣೆ /Oil – 2 Tb spoon ಉಪ್ಪು /Salt Method:

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and after it splutters add channa dhal and urad dhal.
After it is lightly brown add onions and fry till golden brown.
Then add methi leaves, fry for a minute, then add tomatoes, chilies and curry leaves.
Add Coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt and mix all together.
Cover and allow it to cook .If you want little gravy (add little water).
If the tomatoes are juicy, no need to add water.
When all the tomatoes has become mushy and nicely blended, remove from stove and sprinkle coriander leaves.
Serve with chapatti or rice.

PS:

Methi leaves are optional. I just added this as I had it.
You can adjust the spice accordingly.
You can also add veggies to this.

Cucumber Salad:

Ingredients:

Cucumber – 1

Onion – 1 Tb spoon (finely chopped) Fresh Coconut – 1 Tb spoon (optional) Pepper – 1/4 tsp Salt Spring Onion or Coriander Leaves – 1 Tb spoon

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp Method:

Chop cucumber to small pieces.
Mix all the above ingredients together.
Serve either cold or fresh.
You can add yogurt too if you want.

Cucumber Salad, goes to Neha of "Tasty recipes" who is guest hosting "AFAM-Cucumber", an event started by Maheswari.

Salad goes to Sunita's Think Spice, Think...Pepper.. being hosted this month by Divya of Dil Se….

My tomato gojju goes to Sanghi's Fall in Love(FIL) - Tomato Event.

Mexican Rice with Refried Beans

2009-03-22T20:30:00.010-05:00

Mexican cuisine is known for its varied hot and tangy flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and ingredients added in each meal, many of which are native to the country. The food is rich in proteins and minerals. In our house, all three of us love Mexican food. I always used to wonder how they get the color for the rice with all the flavour. Then when I saw it was tomato, I was surprised. I found the perfect opportunity to make it. I surprised both of them with this simple rice with re fried beans.

Rice:

Ingredients:

Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup Chopped Green Bell pepper - 1/4 cup Garlic, minced - 1 large clove Long-Grain Rice - 1 cup Tomatoes - 3 medium (chopped) Carrot - 1 medium(chopped) Chili - 1 (chopped) (optional) Chili powder - 1 tsp Ground cumin - 1/4 tsp Vegetable Broth - 1 1/2 - 2 cups Oil - 2 Tb spoon Salt Method:

In a heavy skillet, heat oil, saute onion, green bell pepper, carrot and garlic until onion is softened.
Add rice to skillet and fry over medium-high heat until rice has browned.
Grind the tomatoes and keep aside. Don't add water.
Add chili powder, salt, vegetable broth and also the tomato puree.
Bring to a boil; cover, lower heat, and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if needed.

PS: I have used fresh tomatoes, you can also use 1 can (15 oz) tomatoes.

Adjust the spice according to your taste. If you don't have vegetable broth, you can just add water. Don't add too much water, as the rice should not be mushy.

Refried Beans:

Ingredients:

Pinto beans - cups

Fresh Garlic - 1 Tb spoon

Cumin powder - 1-2 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Bay Leaf - 1

Onion - 1/4 cup(finely chopped)

Butter - 1-2 Tb spoons

oil

Salt

Method:

Rinse the beans and let the beans soak in a large pot overnight. Use plenty of water since the beans expand quite a bit.
Add Cumin powder, Garlic paste, Bay leaf, Chili powder, pepper powder, salt and boil them for about an hour or so… basically until they are soft (make sure to keep on adding water).
You want the beans so soft that they are falling apart (it makes it easier to mash them later on).
After the boiling is complete, you need to empty out a lot of the water… but not too much or else the beans get really dry.
For starters try emptying out the water so that only the bottom half of the beans are in water.
Then mash the beans using potato masher.
The consistency of the beans should not be uniform.
In a large pan, heat 2 Tbs of olive oil and saute onions.
Reduce to a low heat. Add the beans to the sauteed onions. Mix in 1-2 Tbs of butter.
Now the re-frying begins. Don’t re-fry for too long; it tends to dry out the beans. And don’t let them burn.
If the beans get too dry, add the bean water which was emptied out.
Serve with Rice and sauteed corn.

Mexican Rice and Refried Beans goes to "It's a Vegan World-Mexican" hosted by Vaishali of "It's a Vegan World"

Mexican Rice goes to Sanghi of "Sanghi's Tasty Bites" blogs new event "Fall in Love-Tomato".

Mexican rice with refried beans is off to " WYF- Cuisine" hosted by EC of "Simple Indian Food- An Easy Cooking Blog "

Oatmeal, Date and Pecan Squares.

2009-03-16T18:08:00.009-05:00

First of all, I am very exited and honoured to receive this beautiful Mammoth Pecans as a gift from the Pecan Company. Last month, when I had posted my Egg less Sweet and Savory Pecan cookies, Jessica dropped by and mentioned about a contest in her company and asked me to send this recipe over. I just sent it over and they told that they will prepare, taste and then select recipes that will be published on their website. The recipes which got selected received this beautiful 1 Lb packet of Pecans. All thanks goes to Jessica who mentioned about this contest. I am really very honoured and also exited on receiving this, as I have not won anything before. It really makes you happy and also motivates you, when you receive such gifts. Hurray!!

So, coming to the recipe, this is a easy and healthy bars. Very soft and has crunchy bite to it while eating.

Ingredients: Pitted dates(coarsely Chopped) – 8 oz or 1 cup Orange juice – 1 ½ cup All purpose flour – 2 ½ cups Brown sugar ( firmly packed) – 1 ½ cup Salt – ½ tsp (optional) Margarine or butter – ¾ pound (3 sticks cut into pieces) Quaker Oats (Quick or Old fashioned, uncooked) – 2 cups Unsweetened shredded coconut – 1 ½ cup Pecans – 1 cup Method:

Preheat oven to 350 deg.
In a medium saucepan, combine dates and orange juice, bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.
Mix the butter pieces to this and combine till they are crumbly.
Stir in oats, 1 cup coconut and nuts.
Remove 4 cups oat mixture for topping.
Press remaining oat mixture evenly onto bottom of an ungreased 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
Spread date mixture over crust to within1/4 inch of edges.
Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Then sprinkle with remaining ½ cup coconut, patting gently.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Cut into squares.

My Oatmeal, Date Pecan Squares are off to "Sunday Snacks - Grab n Go" hosted by Pallavi.

Strawberry - Banana Smoothie and Awards

2009-03-11T20:27:00.004-05:00

At last Spring is here, can see colorful Tulips all over. We had a wonderful weather with 80 deg from past three days. It was very humid, felt as if it was summer already. Scared already how hot it will get this summer...Thought of having a something cool and which is also nutritious too for this humid weather... So prepared this smoothie yesterday, today already there was a sudden drop in temperature and is raining heavily. We were just talking yesterday to keep aside all winter clothing and remove our summer wear. Also were talking about drinking more liquids to beat the body heat and suddenly today we are all wearing all socks and sweaters. Just can't say anything.

Ingredients: Nonfat Plain Yogurt – 2 cups Medium Size Ripe Banana – 1 Sugar – 2 Tb spoon (optional, I have not used) Lemon Juice – 2 Tb spoon Frozen or Fresh Strawberries – 3 cups Flax Seed Powder – 2 Tb spoon Honey - 1 Tb spoon (optional) Method:

Combine yogurt, banana, honey, lemon juice and flax seed powder in a blender.
With the blender running, add strawberries.
Process until smooth.
Pour into glasses and serve.
This makes 4 servings.

My Strawberry -Banana Smoothie, goes to Priya of "Priya's easy and tasty recipes" who is guest hosting "Food in Color-Pink", an event started by Harini.

Now coming to Awards, Trupti and Vibaas have showered me with these cute awards. Thank you both of you.

Vibaas has passed me "Circle Of Friends" and "You are a Super Duper Chef" award along with these cute awards.

I am really honoured and happy to receive these awards.Thank you. I would like to pass all these awards to each one of you. Please fell free to pick it up.

Dhal Idlis And Awards

2009-03-06T10:02:00.013-06:00

This idly is something which is very healthy and can make it instantly..not that instant as the dhal's take time to soak..Only thing is you can prepare this as soon as you grind the Dhal's . No fermenting needed. No rice or urad dhal required for this idly. You can add any veggies to this. Great for kids and for us too.

Ingredients:

ಕಡಲೆ ಬೇಳೆ /Bengal gram dhal - 1 cup

ತೊಗರಿ ಬೇಳೆ /Thoor Dhal - 1/2 cup

ಹೆಸರು ಬೇಳೆ /Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup

ಸೊಪ್ಪು /Green leaves / Dill - 1 cup

ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ /Onion - 1 medium (chopped finely)

ಹಸಿಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ /Green chilly - 4 nos.

ಶುಂಠಿ /Ginger - small quantity

ಬೆಳ್ಳುಳ್ಳಿ /Garlic - 3-4 flakes

ಕೆಂಪು ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ /Red chilly - 4 nos.

ಜೀರಿಗೆ /Cumin seeds - 1 Tb spoon

ಕರಿಬೇವು /Curry leaves - small quantity

ಉಪ್ಪು /Salt to taste

ಎಣ್ಣೆ /Oil

Method:

Wash and soak all three Dal's in water for 2-3 hours along with cumin seeds and red chillies.
Grind them to a smooth paste along with ginger-garlic, green chillies and curry leaves (Do not add too much water)
Add chopped onions , dill (or any greens) and salt to the paste. Mix well.
Grease idly plates, pour this batter and steam for 5 min.

Dal idly is healthy and ready to be served.
Serve it with any of the chutneys or kurma or sambar or you can eat by itself.
I have served mine with simple kurma.

My Dhal Idli goes to Lentils Mela hosted by Ashwini..

I'm also sending this recipe to Laurie's "My Legume Love Affair" started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

PS:

You can add and greens like Methi, spinach, coriander leaves..
You can also add any veggies to it.
Adjust the spice accordingly.
You can add any other dhal to this.

Now, its time for Awards.. Nithya Praveen has passed me these beautiful awards. I am very humbled to receive them. Thank You so much.

I would like to pass them to all the blogger's who take time and visit my blog. Please feel free to take them.

Deepa has passed me this beautiful and lovely award..Thank You dear..

The award states that:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement (? big word, lol). Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Its really hard to choose just eight. There are many bloggers who deserve it. But since i have to do, i would love to pass this award to:

Dilled Salmon Cakes

2009-03-02T20:33:00.006-06:00

There are so many wonderful things about salmon that it’s hard to know where to start. It’s a fish which, even people who don’t like fish can enjoy. It’s firm enough to grill, can be cooked in many different ways, and does not dry out as easily as many other fish.. Wild salmon can be eaten without fear of excess contaminants or mercury, and it has a very high nutrient profile, including the highly-prized omega-3 fatty acids. What’s not to like? Salmon is a highly nutritious food. Of course, it is high in protein, and the “good fats." But did you know that a 4 oz serving of wild salmon provides a full day’s requirement of vitamin D? It is one of the few foods that can make that claim. That same piece of fish contains over half of the necessary B12, niacin, and selenium, and is an excellent source of B6 and magnesium. We’ve all heard a lot about the heart-healthy benefits of salmon lately. Countless books by well-known doctors tell us that eating salmon two or three times a week will keep our hearts, brains and joints sound, and even erase our wrinkles and crow’s feet.

Though with all good nutritional value...I don't bring Salmon often, as my daughter does not like them. She likes other fishes except Salmon. So, thought of making something light and which tempts her to eat...We gave her saying it was Vada(she loves them), and she liked it :-). It worked this time..will see the next time.

Ingredients:

Dilled Salmon Cakes Pink Salmon (boneless) – 1 Lb Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) – ¾ cup Far free milk – ¼ cup Egg whites – 2 (lightly beaten) Onion (finely chopped) – ¼ cup Fresh dill (chopped) - ½ cup Cumin powder – ¼ tsp Coriander powder – ½ tsp Chili powder – 1 tsp (according to your spice) Salt Method:

With a fork just scrape the salmon to pieces or you can finely grind in a mixer.
Combine all the above ingredients together and allow it to sit for 5 min.
Shape into patties about 1 inch thick.
Lightly spray a non stick skillet with cooking spray.
Cook Salmon cakes over medium heat for 3- 4 min on each side or until golden brown and heated through.

PS: You can use canned salmon instead of fresh one. Use one 14 oz can.

I have just scraped the fish with fork, got uneven small pieces. You can also grind it in a mixer.

I have added the spices according to my taste..You can add your own spices.

You can add chili paste or chili pieces instead of chili powder.

You can replace dill weed instead of fresh dill.. You can also make patties and bake it in oven.

Dates and Grapes Covered With Cheese (Cheese Balls)

2009-02-26T18:08:00.008-06:00

This is a simple snack for the evening, of course if you like cheese... You can use any cheese of your liking.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil – ¼ tsp Seedless grapes Ground black pepper Medjool dates, pitted Goat cheese – 2 ounces Salted pistachios, roasted and chopped – 2 ounces Method:

Pour olive oil onto a plate. Add grapes and roll to coat.
Grind pepper onto grapes.
Slice open dates, flatten between hands and set aside.
Divide goat cheese into 4 pieces. Place each piece in your hand and flatten with the heel of your hand.
To assemble, place each grape on a flattened date and set in the center of the flattened goat cheese.
Form the cheese around the date-grape, covering completely.
Roll in chopped pistachios

This is my contribution to the Click Event -Cheese/Tofu hosted by BEE & JAI of Jugalbandhi.

I would like to thank Vidhas, Trupti for passing on the "Super - Duper Chef " award. I am very humbled to receive it.

I would also like to thank Archy for including me in her "Circle of Friends". Thank you Archy..Very glad to be one of your friend. Cute award..

PS: You can use any cheese of your choice. I had Goat cheese, so used that..It is little bland for this..You can use any shape cheese with little spice in it.

You can use any filling inside the cheese.

You can also use any nuts like walnut, pecans, peanuts etc..Instead of nuts you can also roll on fresh herbs of your choice.

You can also make savory cheese balls.

Green Papaya Subzi (Palya)

2009-02-21T20:15:00.007-06:00

This is a simple subzi made from Green Papaya. Other than eating the ripe papaya, I did not know that you can do variety of dishes using the unripe green papaya. I came to know about this thru my hubby's friend. He used to cook everything possible from dosas, varieties of chutneys, desserts etc..This is one of the dishes..When I got this recipe, I immediately tried this subzi and the taste was amazing...It is very simple and healthy too. I served this with instant dosa.

Ingredients: Green Papaya - 1 Urad Dhal - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds – ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp Red Chilies – 2 Curry Leaves Chili Powder – 1 tsp Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp Jaggery - 1 tsp Coriander Leaves – 1 Tb spoon Oil – 1 – 2 Tb spoon Salt Method:

Remove the outer skin and cut papaya into small squares.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, jeera. When it splutters, add urad dhal, split red chilies and curry leaves.
When urad dhal has turned brown, add papaya pieces.
Add red chili powder, turmeric, jaggery and salt to it.
Mix well, cover and allow it to cook on low flame without adding water.
Cook until done.

Serve hot with Chapati or as a side with hot rice and dhal.

I would like to send my Green Papaya Subzi to FIC - Orange hosted by Aparna started by Harini.

PS: People who are trying to conceive or who are in their first tri-semesters, please avoid eating papaya, as they say it heats your body and plays a big hand in abortion. Avoid both raw and ripe papaya.

Awards

2009-02-19T10:18:00.005-06:00

Thank You Adlak for passing on this wonderful award..I will always wear it and cook :-)..Very thrilled and humbled to have it.

Thank You Adlak, Malar and Trupti for thinking of me and passing this sweet award..Humbled and honoured to receive this sweet award..

Thank You Trupti for this cute Chat Blog award..Exited and humbled to have this award from a sweet Chat friend..

All these awards goes to all my fellow bloggers. You guys are the best I could ever wish for .. extraordinary friends, my big supporters, who always are there..

This is the world within the world, friends without faces, but certainly not without hearts. It is the beauty of your hearts, that is shining here above all. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Rava Omlet / Dosa with Chutney And a Sweet Award

2009-02-17T11:14:00.019-06:00

Almost every Sunday, bread omelet used to be our breakfast most of the times in our house. My mom is a pure vegetarian, she does not take egg or cake or biscuits which has egg. But poor thing she used to prepare bread omelets for us almost every Sunday. She used to make this dosa with rava or carrot sandwich for herself. She used to add different flours every time and make this dosa and she used to call this as omelet and the dish got its name as Rava omelet :-). We used to like this more than the bread omelet. I remembered this on Sunday and made this for breakfast.

I would also like to thank Yasmeen of Health Nut for adding me in her list and giving this sweet award which is created by her. I am very humbled and honoured to receive this. Thanks a lot Yasmeen. You too are a sweet heart..

Ingredients: Fine Rava / Semolina – 2 cups Rice flour – ¼ cup Maida / All purpose flour – ¼ cup Curds – ½ cup Onion (chopped finely) – 1 big Chilies – 6-7 (chopped finely) Cilantro /Coriander leaves (chopped finely) – ¼ cup Curry leaves (chopped finely) – 1 Tb spoon Ginger grated / paste – ½ tsp Cumin – 1 tsp Soda – ¼ tsp Salt Tomato (chopped finely) – 1 big Carrot (grated) – 1 Spring onion (chopped finely) – 1/4 cup Method:

Mix rava, rice flour and maida with curds and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Then add all the ingredients except tomato, carrot and spring onions.
Mix them all by adding water to form a batter with a consistency of not too thick or not too watery.
In a bowl mix tomato, carrot and spring onion and keep aside.
On a hot tawa pour one big spoon of batter and spread like any other dosa, then add tomato, carrot and spring onion on top.

Apply oil and cook till brown on both sides. CHUTNEY Ingredients:

Coconut – ½ cup Groundnut – ¼ cup Green chilies – 4 -5 Coriander leaves – ¼ cup (chopped finely) Curry leaves – 4-5 leaves Garlic – 1 piece Ginger – ½ inch Salt Lemon juice – 1Tb spoon For Tampering: Oil / ghee – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Urad dhal – ½ tsp Curry leaves – 3-4 leaves (tear them to pieces in hands) Red chilies – 2-3 Method:

First fry the groundnuts until brown.
Then add all the above ingredients and grind them in a mixer till it forms a smooth paste.
Then heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add urad dhal, red chillies, and curry leaves.
When urad dhal becomes brown, mix this mixture with the prepared chutney.
Serve with hot rava omelet / dosa.

PS : You can mix tomato + carrot + spring onions to the batter itself. If you leave the batter mix for 1 or hours then you will get nice colour . You can also make this as rotti by making it dough instead of batter. For the chutney you can add tamarind instead of lemon juice. You can omit the addition of garlic if you do not like the taste of it.

Five Minute Nutty Fudge

2009-02-13T21:49:00.011-06:00

“Come ..Fall in Love”…it is so true..I am talking about most watched and my all time favorite movie DDLJ( Brave – Hearted Will Take the Bride). I really fell in love with that movie... I don’t remember how many times I must have seen this movie…still, I will watch it as if I am seeing it for the first time. All the dialogues are so heart touching…my fav is “Hum to Apne Desh ko Hamare Dil Mai Rakthe Hai” and I also love this line…"Aise Bade Bade Deshome Aisi Choti Choti Bathe Hothi Rehthi Hai"… I have seen it so many times that I remember every dialogue and scenes by heart. Oh God.. My daughter is a very big fan of SRK like mom. She watched this movie too with us without blinking her eye. At the end, when she saw SRK being slapped, she din’t want to see that part and asked us to fast forward it. So cute... Nice way to start a Valentine weekend. Valentine's Day without a sweet(chocolate) ..no way. Thought of making this simple fudge, which is chocolaty, nutty and a little kick to it for my two Valentines in the house:-). I have added few pinches of chili powder for just a kick when you swallow. Ya, as mentioned it only takes five minutes to make this but you have to refrigerate for 2 hours.

Ingredients:

Semi – sweet chocolate – 1 bar Condensed milk – 1 can Vanilla Extract – 2 spoons / 2 tsp Chili Powder – 2- 3 pinches (optional) Pecans & Walnuts (chopped) – 1 handful each (1/2 cup combined)

Method:

In a bowl, put chocolate pieces and one can of condensed milk.

Microwave it for 2- 3 minutes on high heat.
When the chocolate has melted, add vanilla extract, chili powder, nuts and combine together.
Cover a foil over a 9 inch square pan, so that it will be easy to remove the fudge from.
Pour the fudge mixture in it and refrigerate for 2 hours or more or until it becomes solid.

Then remove the foil and cut the fudge to required shape and size.

My Nutty five minute Fudge goes to "Lets Go Nuts" hosted by Aquadaze with my choice of both Walnuts and Pecans.

It is also off to Recipes for the rest of us - Dessert hosted by Varsha and also Ramki of One Page Cookbook.

It is also off to EFM - Microwave Oven Series hosted by Srilekha.

It also goes to' Just For You ' Event hosted by Alka.

Brinjal - Zucchini Subzi with Dill Chapathi

2009-02-11T16:10:00.009-06:00

I was wondering whether it is a Brinjal /Eggplant week or is there something about eggplant or may be just a coincidence that everybody thought of making eggplant this week...as I am seeing so many brinjal varieties ..

Seeing all brinjal yummy dishes, I too made brinjal subzi but included zucchini to it and made dill chapati for the subzi.

Ingredients:

Brinjal / Eggplant (cut to medium cubes) – 1 big Zucchini – 1 medium Onion (chopped) – 1 big Tomato (chopped) – 1 medium Ginger paste – 1 ½ tsp Garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp Garam masala - ½ tsp Chili powder – 1 tsp Dhaniya powder – ½ tsp Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Cumin seeds – ½ tsp Coriander leaves – 2 Tb spoon Oil – 2 Tb spoon Lemon juice(optional) – 1 Tb spoon Salt Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add cumin.
Then add onions and fry till golden brown.
Add chopped tomato along with ginger and garlic paste. Fry till oil leaves.
Add all the powders (adjust them according to your spice level) and fry for few minutes.
Then add chopped brinjal and zucchini, add salt, give it a stir, cover and allow it to cook on low flame for few minutes.
Do not add water, as it will leave water on their own.
When it is cooked sprinkle coriander leaves on top along with some lemon juice and serve with chapati or rice or Nan.

I have served mine with Dill Chapati. As I had freshly bought dill and had this recipe in mind for a while..so gave it a try with few additions to it. The original recipe is from Maya of Konkan World. You can find the original recipe here. I have made a few variations to the original recipe.

Dill Chapati

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 2 cups Soya flour – 2 Tb spoon Dill (chopped finely) – 1 cup Ajwain – 1 Tb spoon Turmeric – ¼ tsp Milk – ¼ cup Salt Oil

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients except oil, add water and knead to form smooth dough.
I have just chopped Dill and added it without and frying or boiling.
Keep aside for 30 minutes.
Then make chapatis.

Serve hot with subzi and salad.

My Brinjal/Eggplant - Zucchini Subzi with Dill Chapati goes to 'Made For Each Other' event hosted by Asvadha .

PS:

For the subzi, you can make only brinjal without the zucchini.
Yellow squash and also Calabaza could be added to it.
You can add vangibath powder to it instead of garam masala and chili powder.
I have added milk, more ajwain,turmeric and soya flour to make chapati.
Soya flour makes the chapati soft and is healthy too.

Eggless Pecan Cookies - Sweet and Savory

2009-02-09T10:39:00.013-06:00

Seeing all the egg less cookies, drove to bake some cookies too. I came across this egg less cookie with less sugar and pecans. I had to give it a try...

Pecans has got so many nutritional values such as adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may help inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping prevent coronary heart disease. It also plays a role in lowering cholesterol, aids in weight loss and maintenance. The review cited studies indicating that nut consumption may increase metabolic rates and enhance satiety Nearly 60 percent of the fats in pecans are monounsaturated and another 30 percent are polyunsaturated, leaving very little saturated fat in pecans. In addition, pecans contain no trans fat. Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals – including vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, several B vitamins and zinc.

Ingredients:

Softened Butter – 1 cup Sugar – ½ - ¾ cup Vanilla Extract – 1tsp All Purpose flour – 2 cups Pecans (Finely chopped) – 1 cup Confectionery sugar Method:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Gradually add flour and then stir in pecans.
Shape rounded teaspoonful of dough into 2 ½ inch logs and shape into crescents.
Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 325 deg for 20 – 25 minutes or until set and bottoms are lightly browned.

Let stand for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving

Savory Pecan Cookies:

When I baked the sweet cookies, my husband started pestering me to make something savory to munch..So, in the evening, I made this cookie and added the nutrient pecans too to it. This recipe is something similar to the khara biscuits (Savory) you get in the bakery in India.

Ingredients:

Softened Butter – ¼ cup All Purpose flour – 1 cup Pecans (Finely chopped) – ¼ cup Onion (Finely chopped) – 1 medium Chilies (Chopped) – 5 – 6 Cumin / Jeera / - 2 tsp Chilli powder (optional) – 1/2 tsp (according to your spice) Salt Soda (optional) – 2 pinch Coriander leaves - 2 Tb spoon(finely chopped)

Method:

Fry chopped onions till light brown.
Mix all the above ingredients till it forms nice smooth dough.
If it is too dry, add a little water while mixing.
Shape rounded teaspoonful of dough into 2 ½ inch log and shape into crescents.
Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 325 deg for 20 – 25 minutes or until brown in color.
Let it cool on a wire rack.

My Eggless Pecan Cookies - Sweet and Savory goes to Aqua Daze of "Served with Love" blog's event "Let's go Nuts: Walnuts or Pecans" with my choice of Pecans.

PS:

You can use also use walnuts to it.
You can increase the sugar quantity for the sweet cookies according to your taste buds.
If you cant make the crescent shape, you can make your own shape.
You can store both in an air tight container.
For the savory cookies, you can add chillies according to your taste. You can use either only chillies or chilli powder or both according to your spice.
You can adjust the butter to according to your taste.

Bruschetta

2009-02-06T12:13:00.006-06:00

Ingredients: Red seedless grapes – 1 cup Green seedless grapes – 1 cup Cinnamon – ¼ tsp Nutmeg – 1/8 tsp Dash of ground cloves Almond extract – 1/8 tsp (optional) Part – skim Ricotta cheese – 1 cup Candied ginger (minced) – 1 Tb spoon Walnuts (chopped) – 1 Tb spoon Baguette – 1 (cut into 16 slices) Fresh mint leaves for garnish Method:

Pulse grapes in a food processor 3- 4 times, just until chopped. Drain thoroughly.
Transfer grapes to a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and almond extract.
Stir to blend.
Place ricotta, ginger and walnuts in another bowl and stir to blend.
Toast bread slices.
Spread 1 Tb spoon of the ricotta mixture on each bread slices. Top with a spoonful of the grape mixture.
Garnish with mint or halved grapes, if desired. This makes 4- 6 servings.

PS:

Thin – slices biscotti, toasted mini bagels or English muffins can be substituted for the baguette.
If you like the flavour of cinnamon with cheese , then this is a perfect snack.
This can be served as breakfast or as a snack in the evening.
Original recipe is from Amy Muzyka - dietition/certified culinary professional.

Refreshing Vegetable Salad

2009-02-05T12:12:00.010-06:00

Ah! yet another warm day today. The temperature is around 70 degrees today and happy to have warm weather instead of the cold freezing weather. It has been a pretty warm all this week. So, for a change made this colourful and crisp medely of summer veggies, bursting with flavor. Between impromptu games of tag and catch, everyone can help lay out the refreshing salad. Enjoy!!

Ingredients: Zucchini – 2 medium (chopped) Asparagus – 10 Red bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Yellow bell pepper – 1(chopped) Orange bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Green bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Red onion – 1 medium (chopped to bite size pieces) Tomato – 1 big (chopped to small pieces) Corn – ½ cup Blue cheese – 2 Tb spoon (optional) Dressing: Red wine vinegar – 2 Tb spoon Olive oil – 1 Tb spoon Salt Pepper

Garlic -2 (finely grated) Cilantro – 2 Tb spoon Basil leaves – 1 Tb spoon

Method:

Heat a pan and add chopped zucchini and fry for few seconds on high heat.
Fry asparagus too and then cut them to one inch pieces.
Fry corn too in a similar manner.
Mix all the veggies in a bowl.
In a bowl, mix red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro and basil leaves together.
Add the dressing to the veggie bowl.
Give a stir and serve at room temperature with a little cheese on top.

This simple salad on its way to SWC- Salad under 15 minutes at Cooking Station hosted by Lakshmi . PS: Another way of trying this salad:

Chop zucchini to very small pieces.
Add all chopped veggies to it and mix the dressing.
Keep it refrigerated for 1 -2 hours and serve chilled with cheese on top.

I have not added the green pepper and cheese as I dint have them. I don’t like the raw taste of zucchini, so I have fried them. You can add any vegetables you like. When you are frying the veggies you can add salt and pepper to them individually. Do not over fry the veggies and make them mushy and soft. Just fry for few seconds on high heat so that they are still crunchy.

Click - Red

2009-01-30T13:46:00.004-06:00

This is my entry for Click - Red hosted by Jai and Bee.

Seeing all the fruits in the house, thought of taking photos of them for Click - Red. After taking couple of photos, finally decided to go with this photo.