"Lip Smacking Delicacies"

PINEAPPLE KESARI BATH!

2010-04-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

"Kesari Bath" is the authentic sweet of South India preferably Karnataka,Tamil Nadu,Andra Pradesh. It is known by many names like "Sajjigey","Kesari Bath" etc

I prepared "Pineapple Kesari Bath" this "Raam Navami" and it came out well..!!

Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rava
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp Ghee
1 cup of cut pineapple pieces
cashews,raisin as per taste

Method:
1>Add the milk,water and sugar to a frying pan and allow the milk to boil.
2>When the milk starts boiling, add rava and mix well immediately avoiding the formation of lumps
3>Keep it for 5 mins and just 30 secs before removing it from fire, add the pineapple pieces to it and then add 1 Tbsp of Ghee
4>Remove from fire and garnish with raisins and cashews

Note:
1>Rava should be added after milk boils in order to prevent formation of lumps
2>Ghee is added to give the "Authentic" Kesari Bath taste!!

Home Made Pizza!!

2010-02-07T18:58:00.001-08:00

Pizza Maniac?? Wish to prepare Pizza at home but did not know the recipe?
If you wish to prepare "Home Made Pizzas", here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour(maida),
2 cups warm water,
1 packet(2 teaspoons) of dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar,
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt,
2 Tbsp Olive oil,
1 cup Pizza sauce,
1 cup shredded cheese(mozzarella)

Method for preparing dough:
1>Add sugar and dry yeast to warm water and set it aside for 5 mins to allow it to bubble.
2>Add flour,salt,oil and the mixture(prepared in step 1) to the Food Processor. Mix the ingredients and prepare a soft dough.
If you do not possess a Food Processor,use your hand to knead the dough for 15-20 minutes.
3>Smear olive oil in a bowl and place the dough in it.
4>Roll the dough in that bowl for oil to be spread evenly.
5>Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep aside for 1 hour 30 mins in a warm place such that the dough doubles itself
6>Punch down the dough and divide the dough into 2 balls.
7>Keep the dough balls seperate bowls for 10 minutes.
8>Place the Pizza Stone and preheat the oven for 450 degrees for at least 30 minutes

Method for preparing Pizza Crust:
1>Take the dough and press and pat it to make a circular base about 10 -12 inches wide and thickness about 1/2 an inch.
2>Take a cutting board and sprinkle some "corn meal" on it. Transfer the Pizza base on it
3>Apply olive oil on the Pizza base.
4>Add 2-3 Tbsp of Pizza sauce, 1/3 cup of cheese and cut vegetables on the crust.
5>Again sprinkle some "Corn meal" on the Preheated Pizza Stone,place this pizza crust on it and bake for 15 minutes.

Final Product: Vegetarian Pizza:

Gobi(Cauliflower) Parantha

2010-02-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:[Makes 6 parathas]
1 cup of cleaned and grated cauliflower
2 onions,finely chopped
3-4 green chillies,
4 cups of wheat flour/atta
1 tbsp of finely chopped coriender leaves
1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method:
A>Preparing Parathas-
Take 4 cups of wheat flour and add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of oil to it . Add 2 cups water to the mixture and prepare the dough.

B>Preparing the Filling-
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the frying pan.Toss the cumin seeds. Add chopped green chillies,onions,coriander/cilantro leaves to it.
Add grated cauliflower to it and stir until the raw smell goes away.Add salt to it and mix well and allow the mixture to form a paste. Remove from fire.

C>Preparing the Gobi (Cauliflower) Parathas-
Roll out the parathas about 5 inches diameter. Place one spoon of filling prepared in it and close the parathas.
Roll out again. Fry the parathas . Serve with curd.

Green Peas Soup

2010-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

The extremely chilling weather beckoned me to prepare something "Hot". So,I tried preparing 'Green Peas Soup' at home.
Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 Onion,finely chopped,
1 Cube,Vegetable Bouillion,
2 cups(or 500 ml) water,
1 cup Green Peas,
Salt to taste
Pepper
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Method for preparing Soup:
1>Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2>Add the chopped onions to the oil and fry till golden brown
3>Add 2 cups of water and the Bouillion to the frying pan and allow it to boil.
4>Add 1 cup of Green peas to the frying pan and cook for about a minute or two.
5>Add salt and pepper.
6>Remove from fire and blend it to a smooth paste in a blender.
7>Serve the soup garnished with Croutons (specified in the steps below).

Method for preparing Croutons:
1>Take 2 slices of bread and cut them into small cubes. Drizzle them with oil.
2>Pre heat oven at 300 deg F
3>Place the bread cubes for 25 mins on a baking tray inside the oven (or until they turn golden brown)

My First Experiments with Cutlet!

2010-01-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

I prepared "Vegetable Cutlet" from scratch at home. It came out well and tasted Delicious too!

This was my First attempt!

Here is the pik...

Sugar Figures prepared by us for Pongal

2010-01-12T06:50:00.001-08:00

Sankranthi (Pongal) is a festival widely celebrated in South India. On this day, people prepare "Sugar Figures"(known as Sakkare Achchu in Kannada) and distribute it among friends and relatives.

It being our first Sankranthi after wedding,hubby and I being far away from our family and friends,decided to keep this tradition alive. We decided to prepare these Sugar figures on our own in USA(even though its a tedious process and requires experience)

I asked my mom-in-law to courier me the wooden molds and also asked the recipe. Usually,the sugar syrup of correct consistency is prepared and poured into wooden molds having certain carvings. Upon cooling, this sugar syrup solidifies,forming "Sugar figures" of corresponding shapes and sizes will be formed.

Having procured the wooden molds as well as the recipe, hubby and I set out to prepare "Sugar Figures".

This preparation took around 4-5 hours of our time. It is a tedious and lengthy process.

We were successful in preparing these Sugar Figures.It was all worth the effort that we put in!

We even emailed these piks to our family and friends and everyone were proud of us!

In fact one of my aunt even emailed me asking me for the recipe(which was unbeleivable for me!)

Here are few pictures of Sugar Figures prepared by us at home.

1>Sugar Figures waiting to be removed from wooden molds.

2>Forty Five Sugar Figures prepared by us

3>Sugar Figures of different shapes and sizes

Veg Chimichanga

2010-01-04T07:55:00.001-08:00

Being Vegetarians,we usually order for Veg Food like Bean Chalupa,Bean Burrito and triple layer Nachos at Mexican Restaurant.

For a change, I ordered "Veg Chimichanga". Its a cross between a Veg Puff and Veg Roll.

Ingredients:

2 Flour tortilla - 12 inches atleast (can use store bought)

1 onion - sliced

1 bell pepper/capsicum - sliced

1 tomato - cubed

Any other vegetables you like

taco seasoning/ masala(powder)

salt as per taste

flour - 1 cups

warm water - 1/3 cup

baking powder 1 tsp

oil for frying

Cheese(Mozzarella) - 2 tbsp

Method:

Tortilla:

1 Make a soft dough using flour, 1 tsp oil, salt ,baking powder and warm water.

2 Roll out 2 tortillas (12 inches diameter) .

3 Heat a tava and cook the tortilla ( with only a few brown spots/ do not cook as much as a chapati).

Filling:

1 Grill all the vegetables for about 2-3 minutes on a hot tava.

2 Add salt and seasoning/masala.

- Put 3-4 spoonfulls of the filling on a tortilla and fold it like an envelope(fold four sides).

- With the folded side down fry the roll in about 1 inch of oil.(you could also smear some oil and bake it in an oven for 10-15 minutes at 400 F).

- Granish(while hot) it with 1 tbsp of shreaded cheese( microwave it for aout 30 seconds if you need to melt the cheese).

Happy New Year 2010!! Greetings

2010-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

As the New Year approaches, I wish my family,friends,my blog readers,followers and subscribers,a very "Happy and Prosperous New Year"! :)

May All your dreams come TRUE this year! Let God shower his best and choiciest Blessings on you ALL!! ;)

P.S: I am Post Dating this post to appear on the dawn of "New Year" as I will be in a "New Year's Eve" Party tonight

Eggless Chocolate Cake

2009-08-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Tired of eating a cake with egg in it? Think it is inevitable? Wish you could devour a cake without egg?Well.. Here s the recipe! and all you need is a Vinegar(as substitute for Egg) and Conventional Oven for baking the cake !

Disclaimer:Please note that Conventional Oven is DIFFERENT from Microwave oven!
I have explained how to prepare this recipe using Conventional Oven!
I am not responsible for any hazardous injuries caused due to preparation in pressure cooker or microwave oven!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar 1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup cocoa
3/8 cup oil
1/2 t. vanilla
1 T. vinegar(This is used as a Substitute to Egg)
1 cup water

Method:
1>Mix the ingredients well. I beat it in the blender for 1 minute
2>Take a 9x11 inch pan, grease it and sprinkle some flour on it (to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan)
3>Pour the mixture into the 9X11-inch pan.
4> Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes.
5>Test with a toothpick to make sure it is done right.

I later cut the cake into two,placed the 1st half,put some icing on the 1st half and placed the 2nd half on it.
This is done to make the cake fluffy and soft.
Decorate the cake with icing and yippee!! Your 'EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE' is ready!!!

Gulab Jamoon

2009-08-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Gulab Jamoon Powder(preferably MTR)
Cups of Water and Sugar in the ratio 1:2

Method:
a>For making dough:
1>Mix the gulab jamoon powder and water in the ratio 1:0.25 in blender to make a dough.
2>Make tiny balls of the dough(make TINY balls of dough only because,if you make Larger ones,it will start breaking when you fry in oil.. Also,the tiny balls of dough will become big when you fry in oil)
3>Fry the tiny balls of dough in oil till they turn golden brown. Remove from fire and keep aside.

b>Method for preparing Sugar Syrup:
1>Mix 1:2 cups of water and sugar in a frying pan until a thick sugary paste is formed.

c>Method for making Gulab Jamoons:1>Add the fried balls of dough to the sugar syrup prepared and fry till the dough absorbs sugar syrup.
2>Remove from fire and serve hot.

Carrot Halwa

2009-08-13T11:13:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
2 cups of grated Carrot,
2 cups of sugar
1 cup milk,
Always remember,the ratio of carrot:sugar:milk=1:1:0.5
2 Tbsp Ghee,
Cashewnuts and Raisins as per taste

Method:
1>Add grated carrot,sugar and milk to the frying pan and mix well.
2>Allow the ingredients to become thick.
3>Add 1 Tbsp of ghee to the thick mixture,mix well and remove from fire.
4>Take a small frying pan,add 1 Tbsp of remaining ghee to it,add the cashewnuts and raisins and fry till cashews turn golden brown.
5>Mix the fried cashewnuts and raisins to the halwa prepared and serve hot

Peach Cobbler

2009-08-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
4 cups fresh sliced peaches
1 cup flour
3/4 - 1 cup milk
2 cups sugar(seperated)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1 stick butter or 8 tbsp

Method:

1>Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in 9x9 inch baking tray.
2>Take flour,milk,1 cup sugar and baking powder and make a fine batter.
3>Mix peaches with 1 cup of sugar and cinnamon.
4>Pour the batter over the melted butter in the baking tray.
5>Drop in the prepared peaches into the batter in the tray.
6>Bake for 30-45 mins or until golden brown.
7>Remove from oven and serve.

Pav Bhaji

2009-08-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:(Serves 4-5 people)
1 onion,finely chopped,
1 tomato finely chopped,
1 cooked potato,mashed,
1/2 carrot,cooked and cut,
5-6 big cauliflower florets,
1/2 capsicum/ green pepper deseeded and cut,
1/2 cup peas,
6 tbsps of Butter,
Salt as per taste,
3-4 tbsps of Pav bhaji masala,
1 tsp Red chilli powder,
finely chopped cilantro/coriender for garnish,
Pav buns

Method for making Bhaji:

1>Heat tawa,add about 3 tbsps of butter to it.
2>Add finely chopped onions and fry till onions are golden brown
3>Add tomato pieces,pav bhaji masala,chilli powder and salt. Add 1/2 cup water to it,make a paste and fry for a min
4>Add the remaining vegetables, add 2 cups water.
5>Mash the ingredients well and cook until well done.
6>Garnish with coriender and add 3 slices of butter.
Preparing the Pav /Bun/Bread
1>Take a seperate pan,toast pav with some butter
2>Serve pav and bhaji garnished with onions and little bit of lime juice.

Masala Puri-Bangalore Special

2009-08-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is my hubby's own recipe! Trust me its AWESOME!! :)

Ingredients
2 cups of dry green peas
3 tbsp of Pani puri masala
1 onion,finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1/4 cucumber,finely chopped
4 tbsp of grated carrots
4 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
Salt as per taste
4 tbsp of tamarind-date chutney(sweet chutney)
2 tsp of green chutney(green chillies +coriander+mint)
20 puris(puris that are used to make pani puris)*
*If puris are not available, you can use white corn tortilla chips(preferably scoops) as substitute.
100gms sev

Method:
1>Soak green peas for 3 hours.
2>Cook them in pressure cooker by adding water just covering the peas in the cooker bowl and add a pinch of salt to it.
3>Remove the cooked peas from the cooker.
4> Take 5 tbsp of this cooked peas and make it a fine paste in a blender
5>Heat a frying pan and add this paste to the pan,add 1 1/2 cup water to it.
6>Add pani puri masala,green chutney,salt,red chilli powder,tamarind-date(sweet chutney)and 1 tbsp of sugar to it in low flame,stir and bring it to boil.
7>Take a plate and crush the 4-5 puris on it. Add the cooked peas,pour the masala which you just prepared over the peas,add all the cut vegetables,sprinkle sev and coriander leaves and serve *.
* Adjust salt,sweet and chilli powder as per your taste

Shavigey(Vermicelli) Upma

2009-08-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
4 cups of vermicilli(serves 4-5 persons)
4-5 cashwenuts sauted in ghee
1/2 tbsp of mustard seeds,
1/2 tbsp of jeera/cumin seeds
1 tbsp bengal gram
a pinch of Asafoetida/hing
2 finely chopped onions
3-4 green chillies,finely chopped
1 tbsp of finely cut coriender leaves
few curry leaves
1/4 tsp of turmeric
2 carrots,finely cut
1/2 cup green beans,finely cut
1/2 cup of peas
1 tbsp of grated coconut
8 cups of water
1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt for taste
Oil for frying

Method:

1>Heat 2-3 tbsps of oil in a frying pan.
2>Toss mustard seeds,jeera and allow it to spatter.
3>Add asafoetida,1/4 tsp of turmeric and 1 tbsp of bengal gram(kadle bele) to it .
4>Add finely cut green chillies,onions and curry leaves to it for the flavours to spread and fry till onions are golden brown.
5>Add finely cut vegetables like carrot,beans,peas to it. Fry for 2 mins.
6>Add 8 cups of water and add grated coconut to the mixture and mix well.
6>Add salt (as per your taste) to the mixture and allow the vegetables to cook well and bring the water to boil.
7>Add the vermicilli(shavigey) to the mixture and cook well. Turn off the heat.
8>Add 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice to it and mix well .
9>Sprinkle the cut coriender leaves on the mixture and also the cashews sauted in ghee and serve.
In order to prepare Regular upma, we need to use RAWA instead of Vermicilli
1>Fry the rawa till golden brown for few mins on the frying pan(with 1/2 tbsp of ghee).Remove from fire, allow it to cool.
2>The remaining procedure is same as Shavigey upma.
3>In the end, rawa is added instead of vermicilli

Quick Khara Pongal

2009-08-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Rice and Moong dal in the ratio 1:0.5, i.e if you take 2 cups of rice,take 1 cup of moong dal
Water should be twice X quantity of rice + 1 cup for moong dal... i.e if you take 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of moong dal,water should be 5 cups (i.e twice * quantity of rice +1 cup for moong dal)
You can add more water if you like the pongal to be more liquid
1/2 tbsp of powdered pepper
salt for taste
1 tbsp of grated coconut
2 tbsp of ghee
Cashews sauted in ghee

Method:

1>Take Rice and Moong Dal(Hesaru bele) in the ratio 1:0.5 and wash it with water.
2>Keep the mixture in cooker bowl and add tumblers of water according to the ratio of rice and moong dal.
3>Also,add salt(as per your taste), 1/4 tbsp of turmeric,powdered pepper,1 tbsp of grated coconut, 2 tbsp of ghee to it and mix well.
4>Cook until 3 whistles and switch it off.
5> Spinkle the cashews sauted in ghee and serve with curd or raitha

Akki Rotti and Ragi Rotti

2009-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
4 cups of rice flour(makes 6 rotis)
2 onions,finely chopped
3-4 green chillies
salt, as per your taste
2 carrots,grated
water for mixing.

Method:

1>Add 3-4 cups of rice flour, salt(as per your taste),finely chopped onions, finely cut green chillies,grated carrot to the mixing bowl and mix well.
2>Add sufficient water to the mixture and make it a solid dough.Make few balls of this dough
3>Take an aluminium foil, smear little oil on it.
4>Place a ball of this dough on the aluminium foil ,press and spread the dough to form a circle of 10 inches diameter.
5>Transfer the pressed dough onto the heated tava(frying pan)with the aluminuim foil on the top.Wait for a min and peel the foil off.
6>Put 1 tbsp of oil,cook for 2-3 mins and turn the rotti on the tava and cook on the other side.
RAGI ROTTI:
The method is same as AKKI ROTTI, But Ragi flour is used instead of Rice flour.

Tandoori Roti and Tandoori Naan

2009-08-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sad that you dont have Tandoori Oven to prepare your favourite Tandoori Roti or Tandoori Naan??
Do you desperately wanna eat home made Tandoori Roti/Naan w/o using Tandoori Oven?
Then.. all you need is a Conventional oven!!
Here's your answer as to how to prepare Tandoori Roti and Naan using Conventional Oven!

Ingredients:
2 cups wheat flour(makes 4 tandoori rotis)
1 cup water
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of oil
1/2 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of finely chopped coriender leaves

Method of preparation of Tandoori Roti:

1>Prepare the dough using wheat flour. Keep the dough in refridgerator for 3 hours.
2>Pre heat the Oven at 250 degrees
3>Roll out the rotis atleast 1/4 inch thick and place it in the oven for 5 mins
4>After 5 mins,turn the rotis in the oven,smear water on them.
5>Turn it back again and smear oil on the other side of the rotis.
6>Set the oven to BROIL for 2 mins or until the roti is cooked well.
7>Take the rotis out of the oven. Smear butter on them. Sprinkle the cut coriender leaves on the rotis and serve
Method for preparing Tandoori Naan:

Make the dough with maida instead of wheat flour and repeat ALL the above mentioned processes.

Radish Paratha

2009-08-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:[Makes 6 parathas]
1 cup of cleaned and grated radish
2 onions,finely chopped
3-4 green chillies,
4 cups of wheat flour/atta
1 tbsp of finely chopped coriender leaves
1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method:
A>Preparing Parathas-
Take 4 cups of wheat flour and add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of oil to it . Add 2 cups water to the mixture and prepare the dough.
B>Preparing the Filling-
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the frying pan.Toss the cumin seeds. Add chopped green chillies,onions,coriander/cilantro leaves to it.
Add grated radish to it and stir until the raw smell goes away.Add salt to it and mix well and allow the mixture to form a paste. Remove from fire.
C>Preparing the Radish Parathas-
Roll out the parathas about 5 inches diameter. Place one spoon of filling prepared in it and close the parathas.
Roll out again. Fry the parathas . Serve with curd.

For Carrot or Aloo parathas, Repeat the same procedure but with grated carrot and cooked aloo
For cauliflower paratha,first soak the cut florets in salt water and repeat the above mentioned procedure

Gobi Manchurian

2009-08-07T12:44:00.001-07:00

Planning to prepare 'Gobi Manchurian' on your own?Well.. here is the recipe!
Ingredients:(Serves 4)
2 gobis(cauliflower),soaked in salt water for 30 mins,
Cups of Rice flour : Maida: Besan in the ratio 1:1:0.5
2 onions,finely chopped,
3-4 green chillies finely cut,
Tomato ketchup,
Soy sauce,
few msg crystals

Method:
1>Mix the rice flour,maida and besan in the ratio 1:1:0.5 and make a paste.
2>Dip the gobis(cauliflower)in that paste and fry in oil.Keep aside.
3>Heat frying pan,add 4 tbsp of oil,add chopped onions,green chillies to it and fry onions till golden brown.
4>Add tomato ketchup and soy sauce to the mixture on the frying pan.
5>Add fried gobis(cauliflower) to the above mixture,add salt,powdered pepper and msg crystals.
6>Serve hot with Ketchup/Sauce

Fried Rice

2009-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Washed and Cooked rice (As per the quantity you require. But the ratio of rice: water should be 1:1 for fried rice)
2 onions ,finely chopped,
2 carrots,finely chopped,
finely chopped green chillies(as per your taste)
1/2 cup beans,finely chopped,
salt as per your taste,
soy sauce,
few msg crystals

Method:
1>Clean and cook the rice with the ratio of rice:water as 1:1 (for fried rice)
2>Heat frying pan,add 3-4 tbsp of oil, add cut onions,green chillies,cut vegetables and salt and fry.
3>Add cooked rice to the fried ingredients and add soy sauce and msg crystals and mix.
4>Serve hot with Ketchup/Sauce

Baby Corn Manchurian

2009-08-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:(Serves 4)
2 cups of babycorn,
Cups of Rice flour : Maida: Besan in the ratio 1:1:0.5
2 onions,finely chopped,
3-4 green chillies finely cut,
Tomato ketchup,
Soy sauce,
few msg crystals

Method:
1>Mix the rice flour,maida and besan in the ratio 1:1:0.5 and make a paste.
2>Dip the baby corns in that paste and fry in oil.Keep aside.
3>Heat frying pan,add 4 tbsp of oil,add chopped onions,green chillies to it and fry onions till golden brown.
4>Add tomato ketchup and soy sauce to the mixture on the frying pan.
5>Add fried babycorn to the above mixture,add salt,powdered pepper and msg crystals.
6>Serve hot with Ketchup/Sauce