Raksha's Kitchen

Peanut Curry | Shengdanyachi Amti

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sun, 2 Oct 2016 10:59:00 +0530

Peanut Curry or Shengdanachi Amti is a Maharashtrian curry made especially during fasting days. This curry is usually served with varicha bhaat which is made using samo seeds. This varicha bhaat and no onion and no garlic shengdanyachi amti is usually made during the holy month of shravan or Navratri when most people fast.

Peanuts are high in protein and fibre and helps to improve satiety and aids in weight loss. They are rich in vitamin B6 and vitamin E and lots of minerals like magnesium, zinc, iron, magnesium, etc. Peanuts also help in anti-aging.

You can also try this no onion and no garlic varan bhaat during your fasting days.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 20 Minutes, Serves: 4
2 cups peanuts
4 tablespoon grated coconut
3 green chillies
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
3 tablespoon grated jaggery
2 cloves
4 kokum petals
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tablespoon desi ghee/clarified butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Water as needed
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1) Heat a kadai and dry roast the peanuts till they turn crispy and brownish.
2) After cooling, peel them by rubbing them against each other between palms.
3) Grind the peeled roasted peanuts, grated coconut, cloves and green chillies to a fine paste by adding ½ cup water. Keep it aside.
4) Heat a kadai/wok. Add ghee. After ghee gets heated, add cumin seeds and let them flutter.
5) Add curry leaves and fry for few seconds.
6) Now pour the peanut curry into the kadai and mix well. Add ½ cup water if needed.
7) Let it come to a boil. Then add jaggery and mix well.
8) Simmer for 5 Minutes.
9) Add kokum petals and mix. Again simmer for 5 minutes.
10) Add salt to taste and mix.

For other no onion and no garlic recipes, click here.

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Lauki Thepla | Bottle Gourd Thepla

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Lauki Thepla or Doodhi Thepla is a healthy and delicious flat bread which can be packed in the tiffin boxes or had for breakfast or dinner. These can also be made and carried while travelling. You can serve lauki thepla with curds or pickle or any vegetable of your choice. We loved having it with curds or yogurt.

I have added gram flour in this recipe, you may not add it and add only wheat flour. Remember not to add water as bottle gourd is contains lots of water. Addition of curds makes the thepla soft. I have applied ghee/clarified butter while making the theplas. This keeps them soft till lunch time and hence can be added to the tiffin boxes.

Bottle gourd is rich in iron and vitamin B and C. It also has lots of anti-oxidants which promotes overall health. The high sodium and potassium content in bottle gourd makes it excellent for people with high blood pressure and hypertension. A glass of bottle gourd juice early in the morning, helps in weight loss too.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 40 Minutes, Makes: 8
1 ½ cups wheat flour
½ cup gram flour
1 cup peeled, grated bottlegourd/lauki
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 tablespoon coriander leaves, finely chopped
1-inch ginger, peeled and crushed into paste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons thick curd/yogurt
2 tablespoons desi ghee/clarified butter per thepla
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1) In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour, gram flour, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, chopped green chilli, ginger paste, garam masala, salt to taste and grated lauki.

2) Mix everything with your fingers. Keep on mixing till a firm dough is formed.

3) Add curds only if needed. Normally bottle gourd releases water. But if the dough becomes too dry, add curd little at a time and make firm dough.

4) Do not let the dough rest as the bottlegourd in it will release water and make the dough sticky.

5) Make balls of equal size. Dust the rolling board with flour. Flatten the dough balls and roll it into thin theplas. Do not make them thick.

6) Heat a tawa/griddle, spread 1 teaspoon ghee. Fry the thepla by applying ghee on both sides. When the theplas turn brownish they are done.

7) To keep theplas soft, apply more ghee/oil to the theplas.

For other breakfast options click here. For bottle gourd recipes, click here and no onion and no garlic recipes click here.

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Bengali Egg Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Bengali Egg Curry is a delicious preparation of eggs and potato which are cooked in a gravy made up of onion, tomato and ginger garlic paste. The curry is delicious and can be served either with jeera rice or steamed rice or rotis. This dish can be served for parties or packed in lunch box along with rice and salad.

Eggs are healthiest and most nutritious food. Eggs are rich in proteins and vitamin B2. Egg white lowers the bad cholesterol and are rich in number of vitamins and minerals which help in providing energy to the body.

I learnt this recipe from my best friend Reena Dey and I dedicate this recipe to her. I had heard that Bengali egg curry turns delicious. This time I felt like preparing it. So I pinged Reena and asked her to share the recipe. She shared the recipe over a personal message on Facebook. The recipe reached Bangalore all the way from Turkey and Reena deserves all credits to this. Thanks for the recipe dear. Next time when you visit India, I will surely make this dish for you :)

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 45 Minutes, Serves: 4
4 eggs
1 medium sized potato

For marinating:
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the curry:
2 medium sized onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
5 black pepper seeds
1 medium sized tomato, chopped
1 bayleaf
2 elaichi/cardamom pods, crushed
½ medium sized onion, sliced
2 green chilies, slit
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
2 teaspoon panch phoron
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 cup water
4 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

For garnish:
Chopped coriander leaves

Procedure:
1) Boil the eggs and potato separately. De-shell the eggs. Slightly slit the eggs and apply ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon red chili powder and salt. Keep aside.
2) Peel the potato and chop into cubes. Apply ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon red chili powder and salt and keep aside.
3) Add chopped onion, cumin seeds, black pepper and ginger- garlic paste and grind together to make a puree. You can add ¼ cup water while making puree. Keep aside.
4) Make a puree of chopped tomato and keep aside.
5) Now let us fry the eggs and potato.
6) So heat a skillet and add 4 tablespoon oil. Fry the eggs till they turn golden brown in colour.
7) After the eggs fry, remove and keep aside.
8) To the same skillet add potatoes and fry for some time. Remove and keep aside.
9) Now to the same skillet, add more oil if needed. Add bayleaf and crushed elaichi pods.
10) Then add the onion puree and mix well. Let it fry for 5 minutes.
11) Add tomato puree and mix well.
12) Add slit green chillies and mix.
13) Add the spice powders like cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and panch phoron and mix well.
14) Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add water ¼ cup at a time and let the gravy simmer for atleast 10 more minutes.
15) Add potatoes and salt to taste and mix well.
16) Finally add the eggs. Simmer the gravy for 8 minutes.
17) Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice or rotis.

Also check other recipes with egg.

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Watermelon Juice And A Review Of KENT Cold Pressed Juicer

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

I always prefer extracting juice from fresh fruits instead of consuming packed juice. Juices are one of the easiest and safest ways to replenish the body with nutrients and fibres. I used to hate the process of extracting juice. Adding pieces of fruit in blender, blending it and then passing it through a sieve. The entire process was time consuming and bit tedious.

Last week I received a KENT Cold Pressed Juicer for review. It was love at first sight as I loved how the juicer separated the pulp from clear fruit juice. I tried different types of juices like tomato juice, apple juice, watermelon juice, pomegranate juice and even carrot juice. I was impressed by how juice from a vegetable like carrot was extracted.

KENT Cold Pressed Juicer

About KENT Cold Pressed juicer:

KENT has always believed that clean and healthy living is the right of every individual. They have created a brand which has become synonymous with well-being and health. KENT Cold Pressed Juicer uses a low speed squeezing technique which not only extracts juice, but also retains the natural and original taste. The extracted juice is healthier and tasty.

The juicer comes with low speed squeezing technique which ensures preservation of fibers, nutrients and original taste. The KENT Cold Pressed Juicer has a reverse motor action to clear blockages. The juice flows quickly from the unique juice outflow passage. The body is made of food grade plastic and is quiet sturdy.

Extracting watermelon juice

There are two filters provided with the product. A fine-meshed filter screen for hard fruits and vegetables like carrot, cucumber, apple, etc and wide-meshed filter screen for soft fruits and vegetables like watermelon, orange, tomato, etc.

In comparison to conventional centrifugal juicers, KENT cold pressed juicer does not produce as much heat and thus keeps the nutrients and fibers intact. In conventional juices, the nutrients and fibers get oxidized due to heat generated from high speed spinning. KENT Cold Pressed Juicer produces more juice than conventional juicers.

Extracting carrot and tomato juice

You can even add nuts to get the yummiest almond or cashew nut milk shake which is not possible with conventional juicers. Also very less noise is produced compared to conventional juicers.

Summing up the features:
· Retains More Nutrients and fibers
· Produces More Juice
· Juices tastes better
· Faster Extraction
· Low noise
· Eliminates constant pressing of ingredients

There are plenty of unique features which cannot be matched to other conventional juicers available in the market. The juicer suits best for fruits which contain more juice like beets, carrots, cucumbers, apples, watermelon, pineapple, sweet lime, grapes and melons.

Free flowing, clear watermelon juice, straight from juicer

You need not remove the thin peels, just remove the thick outer skin of fruits like watermelon, orange, sweet lime or pineapple. You can also extract juice from leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce. You need not remove the seeds from fruits like watermelon and pomegranate. The juicer takes care of all this.

Do not add starchy fruits like mango, banana and papaya to the juicer. They can be processed using a blender or food processor. You cannot use the KENT Cold Pressed juicer to extract juice from fruits like sugarcane.

I found cleaning the wire mesh a bit difficult. But they have provided a brush with the product which cleans the filter properly. I recommend to clean it soon after use. The parts cannot be washed in a dishwasher.

Kids love it too

KENT Cold Pressed Juicer which not only extracts more juice but also retains more nutrients and fibers in extracted juice. You can see the below video of how systematically juice is extracted and pulp is separated. Thanks to my little one who helped me make this video. She loves watermelon juice. This juice is a perfect thirst quencher on a summer afternoon.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 10 Minutes, Makes 1 litre juice
1 medium sized watermelon

Procedure:
1) Peel and chop the watermelon into bite sized pieces. Add the pieces to the juicer and get free flowing, clear watermelon juice.

Drink it immediately to reap maximum health benefits.

You can also make this watermelon and mint juice.

I also tried carrot and tomato juice. Simply add pieces of 2 carrota and 4 tomatoes to the juicer and get clear juice. The skin of tomato got stuck to the wire mesh, but I managed to clean it.

The apple and ginger juice turned delicious too. I added chopped and cored apple pieces and chopped ginger to juicer. Loved the pulpy apple ginger juice.

When I extracted juice from pomegranate, my hubby was impressed. You can try this pomegranate, kokum and tangerine sherbet too.

The juicer also helped in extracting clear pineapple juice. If you want thicker juice, use the wide mesh filter.

You can also make interesting mocktails like cucumber and orange mocktail or cucumber and coconut lemonade using this juicer and impress your guests. I will be trying many more fruit and vegetable juices.

Do join me in taking a step closer to healthy living.

Visit https://www.kent.co.in/Kent-Slow-Juicer/Cold-Pressed-Juicer to know more.

#GetMoreJuice #KENTCOLDPressedJuicer

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Carrot, Beetroot And Radish Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Today I am presenting to you all another innovative recipe from my kitchen. The recipe name is carrot, beetroot and radish sandwich. I have used simple vegetables which were present in my fridge to make this sandwich. Normally children are fussy eaters and don’t eat all vegetables.

Carrots are rich in vitamin A and are good for maintaining a healthy eye sight. Beetroot is rich in folate and vitamin C and iron and radish are rich in folate, fibre and vitamin B6. Make this healthy recipe be 100% sure that you are making the best recipe for your child or family member during the 6’o clock hunger prangs. You can also pack it in your child’s tiffin or snack box.

Ingredients: Makes: 2 sandwiches, Prep. Time: 20 Minutes
4 bread slices
½ cup peeled and grated carrot
½ cup peeled and grated beetroot
½ cup peeled and grated radish
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoon butter
2 cheese slices
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1) For making the carrot, radish and beetroot sandwich first take a mixing bowl and add the vegetables mentioned in ingredients.
2) Add black pepper powder and salt to taste and mix well.
3) Take a bread slice and apply butter to it. On this spread the vegetable mix.
4) Place a cheese slice on top of this.
5) Close this with another bread slice and apply little butter on top.
6) Similarly assemble the other bread slice.
7) Grill the sandwiches in a panini grill press till the top most bread slice turns golden brown.

Also check carrot and peas sandwich, egg white sandwich and fruit sandwich.

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Egg Dum Biryani

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Egg Dum Biryani is a delicious preparation of rice, spicy masala paste and boiled eggs. Serve this dish with raita. You can make this biryani and serve this for parties. Sometimes you can pack it in lunch box too. I had prepared this egg dum biryani today and my family loved it. My daughter told me to cook this biryani frequently and also to pack in her lunch box.

The ingredient list is a bit long, but you can reduce the effort by cooking things simultaneously. Like you can cook rice and boil eggs simultaneously to save time.

You can also try this vegetable biryani and prawns biryani from my blog. They also turn equally delicious. Today is Eid and on this occasion I am sharing this wonderful recipe with you all.

Traditionally biryani is made in huge vessels and after mixing rice, the vessel is sealed with dough made of wheat flour. But I made it in a small utensil and sealed it tight with lid after mixing rice and biryani masala. Hope you try this recipe and I am sure you will love it.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 1 hour, Serves: 4
4 eggs
1 ½ cups Basmati rice
3 bay leaves
4 cloves
½ inch cinnamon
4 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

For biryani masala:
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 medium sized onion, julienned
2 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped
1 capsicum, julienned
10 garlic pods, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2 cardamoms, crushed
6 black peppercorns
2 inch piece of cinnamon, broken
1 star anise
½ javitri/mace
1 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon garam masala/biryani masala
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
10 cashewnuts
1 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup milk
5-6 strands of saffron
Salt to taste
4 tablespoon oil or as needed

For marinating eggs:
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon oil
Pinch of salt

Procedure:
1) Add saffron to warm milk and soak it for 30 minutes.
2) Heat a kadai and add oil. Deep fry the onion juliennes till brown and crisp and keep it aside.
3) Deep fry the cashewnuts and keep it aside.
4) Boil the eggs. Cool and de-shell. Keep it aside.
5) Par boil the rice by adding 2 bay leaves, 4 black pepper pods, 1-inch cinnamon and 4 cloves.
6) After boiling, drain water and spread on colander. Alternatively you can boil rice by adding the spices in a rice cooker.

Now let’s marinate the eggs.
7) Make 4 slits in the boiled eggs.
8) Heat the kadai and add oil. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and ginger garlic paste and mix well. Add the eggs and coat them with the spice powder mix. Remove and keep it aside.

Now lets prepare the biryani masala:
9) To the same kadai, add oil.
10) Add the spices like bay leaves, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and mix. Let the oil get infused with the spices.
11) Now add chopped onion and fry till onion turns pinkish. Add chopped garlic and fry.
12) Add tomatoes and fry till they turn mushy.
13) Add capsicum juliennes and fry for 10 minutes.
14) Now add ginger garlic paste and mix.
15) Add chopped mint and chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
16) Add deep fried cashewnuts.
17) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala and toss.
18) Add salt to taste and mix.
19) Add marinated eggs and mix well.
20) Simmer for 5 minutes and switch off the gas.

Let’s mix the egg masala and rice:
21) Take a deep bottomed pan. Add a layer of rice.
22) Top this with prepared biryani masala. Again spread rice. Top this with biryani masala.
23) Continue doing this alternatively till all the rice and biryani masala paste is over.
24) Top this with the eggs and deep fried onion juliennes.
25) Close the lid of the utensil and heat the biryani over low flame for 5 to 10 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve it hot with raita.

Check here for other rice varieties and here for recipes with egg.

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Kiwi Banana Milkshake And A Review Of OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Since I am a software engineer by profession, I lead a sedentary lifestyle. After office, when I return home, I cook, click and write about food as I am a food blogger too. I have no time for exercise at all. I had been trying to lose weight since many years, but all attempts failed. I would start an exercise routine and leave it after some days due to lack of time. Recently I came across OZIVA Meal shakes and after finding more info about it, I decided to give it a try.

I logged into their website and found a helpline. I called the OZIVA helpline to know more and was convinced that I should go for this product as it is made with whey protein and ayurvedic herbs. The dietician also confirmed that the products don’t contain any sort of steroids or chemicals and are completely healthy. The dietician recommended me to try the OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake for women as I was aiming at weight loss.

I placed an order at the OZIVA website and soon after placing an order the dietician called me for a free consultation and told me to follow a particular diet which suits my lifestyle. She told me to replace one meal (either lunch or dinner) with this wholesome nutritional meal shake and to include atleast 20 minutes of walk every day. I chose to have OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake for dinner along with a fruit and to stay hydrated throughout the day. I also walk everyday for 20 minutes when I go to office in the mornings, so I don’t have to do any extra exercise.

With the inclusion of OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake in my diet I started feeling more energetic. After office I used to feel tired. But now I feel less tired and bit stress free too. I am also feeling bit lighter :)

About OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake

OZIVA aims at solving the basic challenge faced by many people i.e. lack of nutrition, irregular meals, consumption of fast food, stress and lots of other factors which are a part of the modern lifestyle. The products contain nutritional components and ayurveric herbs which are selected with care maintaining highest quality. This ensures that the products are adulteration free and are full of nutritional value.

The Nutritional Meal Shake for Women aims at the weight loss that is to make fat loss and detoxification of the body more efficient. The shake is designed to fulfill the nutritional requirements of the body for one meal. It is made with ayurvedic herbs like Shatavari, Tulsi, Ginger, Green Tea Extract and Garcinia.

Ayurvedic herbs like Shatavari helps bring about hormonal balance, Tulsi has purifying properties, Green tea extract acts as a powerful antioxidant and fat burner.

Nutritional Meal Shake for Women is different because it digests rapidly, helps in muscle toning and the earthy properties of herbs help in maintaining overall health in a better way.

A glass of nutritional meal shakes (30 gm in 300 ml skimmed milk) will give:

28 gram of protein = to 4 serving lentils or 5 eggs
28 Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Save 500-700 calories
Keeps one full for long time (till next meal)

This meal shake is ideal for young ladies.

What are the health benefits?

Accelerate weight loss
Detoxify body
Relieve stress
Prevent fat build-up
Boost vitality
Curb cravings

How to use?

Replace 1 meal (lunch/dinner) with 1 serving of Nutritional Milk Shake with 300 ml of skimmed milk.
Add 20 mins walk/jog or exercise or do yoga.
Achieve your ideal weight in a healthy way.

The OZIVA Nutritional meal shake provides the protein required for building body’s muscles(tissues). Protein is also important for healthy hair, skin and nails and aids skin tightening.

They have products for both men and women. I am planning to buy Protein and herb shake for Men for my hubby too as he is a software engineer and an active football player. Definitely this product will help him ease post workout muscle soreness and provide stress relief.

The product is available on OZiva website ( You can Buy Here) , Amazon and Paytm as well.

Today I am sharing with you this delicious Kiwi And Banana Milkshake to which I have added a scoop of chocolate flavoured OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake. You can add this nutritional powder to any type of smoothie or milkshake.You can even add it to a glass of milk, mix and drink. The chocolate flavour makes the meal shake tasty and does not leave any after taste of herbs.

Ingredients:
1 banana, peeled and chopped
1 kiwi
1 cup milk
1 scoop OZIVA Nutritional Meal Shake
¼ cup water
2 tablespoon sugar

Procedure:
Let us prepare the Kiwi Banana Milkshake:
1) Peel the kiwi and cut into cubes.
2) Heat a sauce pan and add water.
3) After water boils, add kiwi and sugar and let it cook for 5 minutes.
4) Switch off the heat and let kiwi cool down.
5) Take a blender and add chopped banana, cooked kiwi, milk, 2 tablespoon water from the sauce pan in which kiwi was cooked and Oziva nutritional meal shake.
6) Blend till you get smooth puree.
7) Serve it with some ice cubes or drink as it is.

Note: This product is not to be used for medicinal purpose.

The products are FSSAI approved and are made in FSSAI/ISO certified manufacturing units ensuring high quality.

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Chettinad Fish Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 8 Sep 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Chettinad fish fry is a delicious and spicy preparation of fish made in the Chettinad region of South India. This cuisine is known for spicy food which is made using freshly ground masalas. You can use any type of firm fleshed fish in this recipe. I used surmai/seerfish to make this delicious fish fry.

Fish is rich in omega 3 fatty acids which promotes heart health. They are also rich in proteins and promotes eye and brain health. Eating fish regularly lowers blood pressure and increases good cholesterol levels.

Since I love to cook fish, I try different recipes using fish. We love spicy food and this Chettinad fish fry turned spicy and delicious. Normally I cook rava fried fish, but this Chettinad fish fry was a winner. Serve this Chettinad fish fry hot with steamed rice and fish curry.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 45 Minutes, Makes: 4
4 steaks of seerfish, finely sliced

For the Chettinad Masala:
1 tomato, chopped
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 big marble sized ball of tamarind, soaked in 2 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8 garlic pods, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger- garlic paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
10 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon oil

For frying the fish:
5 tablespoon oil

For garnish:
1 lemon

Procedure:
1) Wash the seerfish and keep it aside.
2) Heat a tadka pan and dry roast curry leaves, garlic and spices till nice aroma is released.
3) After the spices cool down, using a mortar and pestle grind these spices by adding 2 teaspoon oil. I tried grinding it in mixer but since the spice quantity was very less the spices did not grind well.
4) Now add tomato, tamarind along with the water in which it was soaked, the ground spices, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt to a mixer.
5) Grind it into a thick paste. The paste will be dark brown in colour.
6) Check salt and add more if needed and mix well.
7) Smear each and every seer fish steak with this spicy paste on both sides. Be generous while smearing the paste. Let it be thick.
8) Marinate this for atleast 20 minutes.
9) After 20 minutes fry the fish.
10) Heat a non-stick pan. Spread oil.
11) When oil gets heated shallow fry the marinated fish.
12) After 5 minutes, carefully flip the fish to the other side.
13) Continue to fry till the fish gets cooked.
14) The fish will appear flaky when it’s cooked.
15) Garnish with lime juice and serve hot.

Also check rava fried kingfish and Kerala fish curry with kingfish.

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Tea Appreciation Event By Sublime House Of Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sat, 3 Sep 2016 21:06:00 +0530

We all Indians love to start our day with a cup of tea or “chai”. Many of us have around 4 to 5 cups of tea a day. But I am sure that majority people have atleast 2 to 4 cups of tea during the day. Last Friday I attended a tea-tasting event at Soul City, Oakwood Premier, UB City, Bangalore. Being a tea lover I always wanted to learn more about tea and how to brew the perfect tea. This was the first time that I attended a tea-tasting event. Apart from tasting different types of teas, I also learnt lots of things about tea.

The tea tasting event was sponsored by Sublime House of Tea. There was a talk and a cook-off. Anamika Singh who is a tea-taster by profession engaged the audience in a 30-minute demo on tea appreciation. Following this there was a tea tasting session. I got to learn lots of notes about tea.

Anamika Singh started her talk by saying that “tea is one beverage which completely centers you”. You bond over tea when you have it with a group of friends. She shared lots of interesting things about tea and various types of teas. I also learnt that tea is also grown in Orissa and Bihar and not just Coorg and Darjeeling. Oh and did you know that tea comes from different bushes? Yes! Assam CTC comes from Assam bush and Darjeeling tea comes from China bush. Oh did you know that Nepal and Sri Lanka are also sources tea?

So did you ever wonder what goes into making of tea leaves? Ok, Only the tender unopened leaves are plucked from the tea bush to make tea and not all the leaves from the bush. Many such interesting things were shared about tea at the tea appreciation event.

The tea expert also told us that we should sip tea and not “drink” tea. She also told how we should taste tea. First smell the tea and then take a sip and first taste it by swirling in the mouth and swallow it. Tea should not be drunk like a soft drink, but we have to enjoy and sip it. Also remember, we should sip tea without sugar, honey or milk to reap maximum health benefits.

Anamika also told how we should buy tea. Never go by the box and packaging. But you should know from where the tea is sourced. Just like how you buy your vegetables, you should be very particular while buying tea.

We infuse Darjeeling tea and brew masala chai or Assam tea. The moment we add sugar and milk to tea and boil it continuously the health benefits of tea die down.

I never knew that water also plays an important role while infusing tea. Water is the mother of tea. It should be at the right temperature. If tea does not taste right, it means either the source was not right or the tea was not done properly. Also while making tea, first add tea leaves to the pot and then pour water from a height on to the leaves. This ensures that the leaves uncurl and open out to better release their flavours.

Tea should always be served in transparent glass cups. We always first taste with our eyes, so let it look visually appealing. Infuse tea in rounded glass or porcelain pots. The round pots allow the tea leaves enough space to move around and to release the flavor.

During the session we were also tasting different types of teas. The first tea which I tasted was the Darjeeling tea. The tea has rich muscatel aroma with floral finish. It is also referred to as 'Champagne of Teas'. It has a light, flavourful and thoroughly distinctive taste.

Followed by this we tasted Sublime’s Green Jasmine Mandarin tea. These are premium green tea leaves having the Jasmine fragrance and dried mandarin orange. The delicate fragrance of jasmine makes the green tea refreshing and leaves us feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

The next tea which came for tasting was the Sublime’s White Tea with Raspberry flavor. The white tea was everyone’s favorite as it has a delicate fruity raspberry flavor. I can have this tea any number of time in a day.

Now tasting white tea.. @sublimetea @ubcitybangalore pic.twitter.com/2dCQhVSp34
— Raksha's Kitchen (@rujal29) August 26, 2016

Some tea storage tips were also shared. We normally store the tea in kitchen. But according to Anamika Singh, tea should be stored in cool, dry, dark cupboard away from direct sunlight and away from kitchen. Exposure to moisture reduces their flavour.

Sublime House of Tea will also sell some gadgets specially to be use for brewing tea. We got to see some tea timers and infusers at the event too. The tea timers are sand clocks which can be used to time the brewing process.

During the second part of the session Chef Michael Swamy spoke about teas and cooking with teas. He also put together a special cocktail with limited edition tea.

Chef Michael Swamy spoke about smoking meats like lamb and duck. He smoked chicken with tea. He demonstrated two recipes that used tea. Vegetarian pesto salad was served to vegetarians and chicken salad smoked that was smoked with tea leaves was served to non-vegetarians.

Then Chef Michael demonstrated making of cocktails with tea. For whiskey he suggested to use strong flavored teas like oolong tea and for vodka use lighter rose in bloom tea. The rose in bloom is a herbal tisane that combines rose petals, liquorice, fennel, aniseed, pepper and nutmeg. This fresh brew cools the body down and is an excellent digestive drink.

The tea tasting session went really well and at the end of the session I was richer in knowledge about tea. It was a gift for a tea lover like me.

Sublime House of Tea:

Sublime House of Tea was started in 2013 by Uzma Irfan who is the Executive Director of Prestige Group and Founder of Sublime Galleria. Sublime House of Tea’ is promoted by the Prestige Group and Sublime Galleria.

The tea has been handpicked with care to value quality and diversity rather than quantity. There are various types of Sublime teas in its portfolio. From sought after bouquets such as Green Tea, Assam Tea and English Breakfast to intriguing localized brews like Moroccan Mint, and Seventh Heaven, eclectic admixtures like White Tea with Raspberry and the complex flavors of herbal tisanes like Rose in Bloom and Chamomile, there is a tea to suit every palate and occasion.

The tea is packed in pyramid tea bags, rather than the regular filter paper tea bags, thus further enhancing the taste of the tea by giving the fullness of the liquor. The ancient Chinese believed that tea can be used in treatment of wide variety of medical conditions. Recent studies show that white and green tea is rich in catechins. Catechins are a variety of antioxidants that help to counter the harmful effects of free radical cells in our body and lower cholesterol levels. Drinking tea can potentially be beneficial in preventing diseases like cancer, neurological conditions and coronary heart diseases. Studies are being conducted the world over to determine the exact nature and extent of the benefits.

For more information on Sublime House of Tea - visit:

http://www.sublimehouseoftea.com/welcome

While I was walking for the tea tasting session, I also got to see some beautiful art works in Sublime Galleria.

Sublime Galleria merges the essence of the artworks that inspire the existence of Infinite Divinity with a blend of unique flavours brought together by Sublime House of Tea to rejuvenate your evening.

Last week I went for a tea appreciation event with Sublime House of Tea. On the way I saw some beautiful art works by Sublime Galleria at UB City. If you are an art lover, you should visit the Sublime Galleria at UB City, Bangalore. #artfestivalbengaluru #yesbankab7 #artfestival #art #bangalorediaries #Bangalore #vblog #foodandtravel #beautyful #sublime #tea #ubcitybangalore #ubcity #artbengaluru7 #painting #fineart @ubcity.bangalore @sublimehouseoftea #sublimehouseoftea

A video posted by Raksha Kamat (@rakshaskitchen) on Sep 2, 2016 at 1:29pm PDT

The Galleria invites art enthusiasts and tea lovers alike to come, indulge and savour the moments, best suiting one's own tranquility.

Let me wind up the post here. Stay tuned for more posts on the restaurants that we visited at UB City.

Also visit www.ubcitybangalore.in for more details about UB City.

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Bosch Dishwasher Review – Get Sparkling Clean, Dry Utensils Without Any Noise

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sat, 3 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0530

2 years back I had been to California on a short vacation of 10 days. I stayed in one of the 5-star residence hotel. My single bedroom suite provided all the comforts and luxuries. It also had a fully equipped kitchen with an expensive dining bar. The kitchen was equipped with stove, chimney, oven, fridge, kettle, utensils, crockery and a Bosch dishwasher which made my stay enjoyable.

I used to shop for grocery from the local mall and cook different Indian dishes in my hotel room. After eating food my hubby used to load the dishwasher and we used to then freak out touring the city. Oh, I loved the dishwasher as after returning back, the utensils used to be sparkling clean and dry. Ever since then I loved the dishwasher and wished that one day or other I will get it home :)

Some weeks back my hubby surprised me by saying that he is buying a dishwasher for me. I jumped up with joy as I knew that this is one of the best thing which will come home. Soon an appointment was fixed with a technician who visited my home for site inspection. After the dishwasher was delivered, the technician visited and installed the product and also gave me a demo.

Soon I started using my dishwasher. Every morning after cooking food and packing the lunch boxes, I would load the dishwasher and leave for office. It does a fab job of cleaning the utensils, drying them and leaving them sparkling clean by keeping its mouth shut. Opps... I mean it does the job silently. I don’t have to listen to my maid’s tantrums any more. The normal utensil washing activity in any Indian household is noisy and messy. I am in love with the dishwasher as it does the fab job of cleaning utensils noise free.

You all know how Indian cooking is. We cook in heavy kadais. But right from the milk vessel, tea utensil, oily kadai and rice cooker inner utensil, all the utensils came out sparkling clean. The tava which I used for frying fish too was neat and clean. All the bowls and kadais should be placed upside down as the water gets jet-splashed from the bottom. There is a separate stand provided for small spoons and forks.

It is better to use the detergent recommended by BOSCH for the dishwasher. Just add it to the small compartment meant for detergent. For reducing water hardness, salt is added to a compartment in the dishwasher. Rinse-aid is also added for shine and also to prevent water spots which normally remain on utensils after washing them. A 200 ml bottle of rinse-aid lasts for approximately 3 months.

The entire washing cycle takes approx. 2 hours, but you can set the program to run the cleaning cycle for 30 minutes too. This depends on how badly your utensils are spoiled. It also does not consume much water as compared to manual washing where the tap is left open. And yes, it does not consume much electricity too. So do not worry about the electricity bills.

The compartments are designed in such a way that all the utensils fit properly. The plates, bowls, small glasses, big woks or big kadais, tavas, etc. fit in properly. You can set different temperatures for washing the utensils. You can choose intensive program for those badly or heavily soiled utensils. For glass and plastics, you can set the temperature to 40 degrees or less and also set less time as these utensils do not need much time to be cleaned.

Oh yes, the utensils get dried too. You need not wipe them clean to store them in the kitchen cabinets. They are sparkling clean and dry after the wash.

Pros:

1) Consumes less water compared to manual cleaning of utensils where the tap water is left open for long time.
2) Consumes very less power, so do not worry about electricity bills.
3) Makes the utensils sparkling clean.
4) Dries the utensils and they get ready to be stored in kitchen cabinets.
5) Different settings are available for the wash. So depending on whether the utensil needs heavy cleaning or mild, you can set the temperature and time.
6) Child lock option for door is present.
7) If in case there is a power cut-off in the middle while the washing cycle is on, the product automatically resumes the washing cycle from the place from where it paused.
8) There is no sound of utensils being washed. This is a plus point.
9) Vinyl coated basket material helps to keep it rust free.

Cons:

1) Product is big. You need more space to store this product. But if you have a big kitchen, you can easily store it in the kitchen cabinet. It is the size of a fully automatic washing machine. So if you are planning to build a new home, do keep in mind to design in such a way that you can store your dishwasher.

2) You have to use the cleaning products meant only for dish washers. Normal detergents which are used for manual cleaning won’t work here.

3) Since the product is heavy, it is not possible for one person to move it easily. But I don’t think one will ever need to move it after the installation.

Though there are some cons, they can be neglected as the pros are really too many and the cons are not very major issues. The best thing is that it does the cleaning job noise free. So even at night prior to sleeping, I put on the dishwasher and go to bed. By early morning the utensils come out dry and sparkling clean. I use the dishwasher at night to specially clean the tiffin boxes which comes out sparkling clean in the morning ready for packing food for the day.

With all the pros mentioned, I have really loved the sound of cooking dishes. I now cook food without any worry about the cleaning. I have almost forgotten the sound of washing the dishes :) Hey I should say that this product comes with a 2-year warranty and is worth every penny spent.

The product is available in all electronic stores. So if you are planning to buy one, you can visit any electronic store and purchase it.

To know more about this dishwasher, visit the Bosch website:

http://www.bosch-home.com/in/products/dishwashers.html

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Tortilla Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 1 Sep 2016 09:00:00 +0530

The moment you mention the word pizza everyone jumps with joy. Everyone loves pizza and we love to have them in various ways. Like thin crust, thick crust, extra cheese or with lots of toppings. Today I have made this tortilla pizza which is a very simple recipe. Tortilla as you know are thin and soft flat breads made from either corn, wheat flour or plain flour. You can either make these tortillas at home or get it from a store. I have used store bought ones to make this recipe. You can also use left-over tortillas to make this pizza.

You can add any type of toppings on this pizza. Both veg and non-veg can be added. I made the tortilla pizza with simple vegetables like onion, tomato and capsicum as I wanted the pizza to be ready really quick.

If you need a quick evening snack, this tortilla pizza is a must try. It is also less expensive from the pizza which we order from pizza outlets. I would recommend to load the pizza with lots of veges so that you can get enough vitamins from the veges.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 20 Minutes, Serves: 1
1 tortilla
2 tablespoon pizza sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium sized tomato, sliced
1/2 medium sized onion, julienne
½ capsicum, julienne

For garnish:
1 tablespoon Oregano
1 tablespoon red chilli flakes

Procedure:
To make the tortilla pizza: 1) Place the tortilla on the baking tray.
2) Spread 2 tablespoon pizza sauce all over the tortilla.
3) Spread 2 tablespoon cheese all over.
4) Spread the toppings. First place the tomato slices 2 inches apart from each other.
5) Now spread onion and capsicum around.
6) Spread a generous amount of cheese on this evenly.
7) Pre-heat the oven at 180C for 5 minutes.
8) After 5 minutes, place the baking tray with tortilla pizza inside the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and the edges appear crisp
9) Garnish with oregano and red chilli flakes and serve hot.

For other pizza recipes, click here.

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Vaya Brand Launch And Vaya Tyffyn Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

You all have seen that I cook various types of recipes. You also know that I cook food early in the morning and pack in our lunch boxes which we carry to office and little one carries to school. But one problem which I face and I am sure which many people face is that the food gets cold by the time it is time for lunch. This might be the problem faced by majority of people reading this. Apart from food getting cold and food getting leaked, you also sometimes feel embarrassed to carry the bulky lunch boxes.

I tried all types of options. When I started packing lunch for my family initially, I packed food in steel dabbas. I used those big traditional steel dabbas stacked one above the other. Oh, I always faced the problem of curries leaking from the sides of these containers. The dal would leak and settle at the bottom of the bag/bo which was used to carry the dabba.

I was so frustrated with steel lunch box, that I discarded them and started using attractive branded plastic tiffin containers with leak proof lids. Everything was fine till one day. I read an article that plastic is harmful for health. I used to cook food and pack hot steaming food in those plastic containers without understanding the side effects.

Just then I got an invite from Vaya India that they are launching premium lunchboxes and would want me to attend the event. I was eager to see what those lunch boxes were. So I quickly agreed to attend the event. The event was held at ITC Gardenia on 19th August 2016.

The event started by a welcome talk by Lakshmi Rebecca who is the brand ambassador for the product. After a warm welcome message, there were some dance performances and a standup comedy show by Karthik Kumar who is also known as Evam Karthik. This was a real garam garam start for the product launch.

Soon after the performances, the CEO Mr. Vashist Vasanthakumar walked up the ramp with the lunch box on his shoulder. He then placed it on a table and opened the product. As soon as the product was unveiled, the entire audience went gaga over it. The lunch boxes are named as tyffyn.

The vacuum insulated boxes keep food very hot. They are made with steel and copper. High quality Copper is on the outside and good quality stainless steel on inside. These are then closed with plastic leak proof double shot lids. The latches are stainless steel too.

There was also a panel discussion by Archana Doshi and Nisha Millet who shared their childhood lunchbox memories too. The first Vaya tyffyn was handed over to Archana Doshi and Nisha Millet by the CEO.

Soon after the product launch there was a gala dinner with cocktails. The launch event was grand well organized. At the end of the event few lucky people were gifted a Vaya tyffyn. I was one among those lucky people to get a Vaya tyffyn of my choice. I chose the wool variant, but I loved the maple too.

Here is my personal review of the Vaya tyffyn:

The Vaya Tyffyn comes in 3 variants graphite, wool and maple.

There is a stylist cover bag provided which can be unfolded to be a water proof table mat. There are 3 containers in the tyffyn, the lowest and the largest being 400 ml in capacity and the other 2 are of 300 ml in capacity. The tyffyn is slim and easily fits into the laptop bag too. So this solves the problem of you carrying those bulky lunchboxes.

The VacuTherm technology, incorporates correct amount of vacuum within its copper lined cover shell that helps in heat retention. Product keeps food hot for upto 6 hours of packing. So you can get hot food during lunch time. The tyffyn is packed in attractive box making it a wonderful gifting option too.

There is no way for the food to get leaked. The food remains hot and fresh. Eating food in these tyffyns is not only stylish but also leads you one step near to living a healthy life.

Some points about Vaya Tyffyn:

1) VacuTherm technology lunchbox keeps food hot and fresh for 6 hours by incorporating correct amount of vacuum.

2) The cover shell is made of stainless steel and is lined with copper. It traps the rising heat and retains heat.

3) The tyffyns are specially designed for Indians where we carry full meals to office or college.

4) Chapattis remain soft like just prepared.

5) Double shot container lids help in preventing leakages of contents inside the container. This is the only place where plastic of very good quality has been used.

6) No need to stand and heat food in microwave, thus eliminating unwanted radiation effects.

7) 100% leak-proof. Dals and curries does not get leaked.

8) Place the tyffyn in a bag which looks like a stylist sling bag. Walk to your college/office in style.

9) The Vaya bag is designed in such a way that it retains heat. The tyffyn and bag play a role together.

10) The bag mat also comes with a cutlery holder.

11) Spread the bag mat and have your food in style. The food looks good too.

12) Makes a great gifting option.

13) Place it inside a laptop bag without fear of food getting leaked.

14) The Vaya tyffyn is bit heavier compared to plastic tiffins. That is because the outer shell is made of copper which retains heat.

15) Kids below class 4 would find the lids difficult to open. Also they will find the Vaya tyffyn heavy to carry to school along with the heavy school bag.

I know that you all are now going gaga over it. My hubby told his team mates in his office about this revolutionary product and they all were impressed as the curries remained hot and I recommend you all to buy this Vaya tyffyn. It comes with a 1-year warranty and costs just Rs.2500/-

You can place your orders at www.vaya.in

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Brigge Launches Bangalore Hobby Week

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 22:40:00 +0530

We all have different types of hobbies. Some people love to paint, some write poems, some play football, some go hiking, some love to watch movies together with friends and some people like me love to cook, click and blog. The list goes on and on. These hobbies are precious to us as they make us relax. So we all need to celebrate these right? So here comes Bangalore’s first ever leisure festival called “Bangalore Hobby Week”. The hobby week started yesterday i.e. 26th August and will run till 04 September 2016.

This is an initiative where people of similar interests come together to do something they love. Lots of activities are being conducted during this week. The activities feature an array of hobbies, both common and niche across the city hosted by the community for the community. Certainly there is something or the other for everyone.

You only have to download the Brigge app on your android or iOS phone. Then login using your email id or Facebook. Create a group and gather people with similar interests. Then plan an activity like “Mix And Learn – Cocktail Workshop” or “Zumba & Aqua Zumba Workshop”. You can choose a venue like Vapour, Indiranagar or Play Arena Sarjapur or any other venue from a list of 30+ venues. Invite friends. Spread the news on social media. The more vibrant the group looks; the newer members will join. This is a great way to make people come and join the event. Yes, you can charge as per your normal pricing.

Brigge app will also promote the Bangalore Hobby Week groups and activities on all the social media, news media. Apart from this you will be listed as BHW champions if your group does well.

So what are you waiting for? You can check these interesting activities happening now:

Get Fit With Wanitha - http://www.brigge.co/app/#!activities/3495

You can feel like a Bollywood star with all the matkas and jatkas.

This event is happening on 28th Aug at 4.00 PM at Play Arena, Kaikondrahalli Bengaluru

Mix And Learn – Cocktail Workshop - http://www.brigge.co/app/#!activities/3456

Learn to make cocktails and impress your guests at home.

This event is happening on 30th August 2016 at 8.00 PM at g77 Café, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Beer Workshop - http://www.brigge.co/app/#!activities/3455

Learn more about beer – the history, ingredients, brewing process and also sample some.

The event is happening at g77 Café at Indiranagar, Bangalore on Aug 31st at 7.30 PM

Zumba & Aqua Zumba - http://www.brigge.co/app/#!activities/3469

Learn more about fitness. Loose 1000 plus calories in the super workout. Since it is aqua Zumba it has less impact on joints.

The event is happening on 3rd Sept 2016 at Play Arena at 7.00 PM.

Along with these, there are many more activities which are being held across the city at various locations. Login to http://www.brigge.co/ to either register for a new activity or conduct a new workshop.

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Patoli Recipe | Pattoleo Recipe | Coconut, Jaggery And Rice Dumplings Wrapped And Steamed In Turmeric Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Pattoleo or patoli or patolyo or coconut and rice dumplings steamed in turmeric leaves is a traditional Goan food normally made on special occasions like Shravan Sunday or on 1st day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Shravan is an auspicious month in India which comes during mid or beginning of August. As soon as the monsoons start, you see everything green around. You see life everywhere and new things start growing.

During this month, various festivals are held like Nagapanchami, Janmashtami, Varamahalakshmi, etc. Along with these festivals, we Goans also worship the Sun god on shravan Sunday. We call it “Aitaar poojan”. Aitaar means Sunday. During the Shravan Sundays we make various sweet dishes at home and Pattoloe or patolyo are normally made on the first Shravan Sunday. During this Shravan Sunday, married ladies collect flowers and different types of leaves. They also make a small art work with palm leaf and offer it to Sun god. They eat veg food during the Shravan Sunday and pray for the longevity of their husband.

I wanted to make this dish since a long time. But I could not find turmeric leaves in Bangalore. Last week my parents visited me and they got lots of turmeric leaves from our backyard in Goa. I did a secret happy dance after seeing these leaves.

Today when I prepared these pattoleo, we did a team work at home. My hubby and my little princess sat and spread the rice flour dough on the turmeric leaves. I added the grated coconut mixture, sealed them and steamed them. Hubby later offered it to god as neivedyam as it was a Sunday too. After that we all consumed it. Little one was very excited to make them. She loved them and all the while she kept singing “Patoli patoli… “ :)

I have made these using rice flour. Some people soak rice overnight, grind it and then follow the same process. I just went the short-cut way.

Oh the smell of turmeric leaves while the dumplings get steamed is divine. The flavor of turmeric leaves gets seeped into the rice flour while steaming and enhances the taste of patoli. Do try this delicious dish and let me know your thoughts. You can share the pictures with me via email or send it to me on Facebook.

Ingredients: Makes 15 patoli, Prep. Time: 1 hour
15 turmeric leaves
1 cup rice flour
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups freshly grated coconut
5 cardamom pods, peeled and crushed
¾ cup grated jaggery
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1) Boil the water. After boiling, add the rice flour and salt in parts and mix well with a spoon. After it absorbs all water, switch off the gas and let it cool. After cooling down a bit, take the dough on a plate and mix it well as shown in the picture below.

2) Meanwhile, wash the turmeric leaves and pat them dry.

3) Heat a kadai, add grated coconut, grated jaggery, crushed cardamom pods and salt. Stir for 2-3 minutes till grated coconut and jaggery gets mixed. Switch off the gas. Let it cool. As per my mom, this process is known as “charcharavop” in Konkani.

Now let us start making the pattoleo or patolyo.

4) Keep a container filled with 1 cup water handy to dip the fingers when they get sticky.

5) Place the turmeric leaf on a plate. On the smooth inside part of the leaf, spread 2 tablespoon of rice flour dough. Whenever the fingers get sticky with dough, just dip them in water and spread the dough. This helps for spreading the dough smoothly. Leave some space near the edges of the leaf, this will help in sealing the pattolyo.

6) Over this spread 1 teaspoon of grated coconut and jaggery mixture. If leaves are too big, you may need to add more mixture. Do not add too much of coconut jaggery mixture as we will not be able to close and seal properly. Do not worry if the edges remain slightly open too. Our ultimate goal is to steam the dumplings.

7) Close the pattoleo by bringing the edges together, just like how we close a book when kept on a table. Apply slight pressure after closing it. You may also close it by vertically.

8) If the patolyo are big, cut them in halves.

9) Steam them in a steamer for 20 Minutes.

Take time to smell the divine fragrance of steaming turmeric leaves.

Enjoy these pattolyo steaming hot.

Check the following video and enjoy the patolyo.

Hot steaming patolyo or patolleo made today specially for Shravan sunday known as "aitar poojan". Shravan is an auspicious month in India and in Goa we worship the sun God on Sunday. Patolleo are normally prepared on first Shravan sunday, I got a bit delayed as I did not have turmeric leaves. My dad got these from Goa during his visit last week. Enjoy the hot steaming patolleo. My house is filled with divine fragrance of the turmeric leaves. We make this dish with rice flour, grated coconut, jaggery and cardamom powder. These are stuffed in layer inside the turmeric leaves and steamed. Detailed recipe will be up soon. Till then enjoy the video. #sunday #goa #auspicious #holymonth #indianfoodblogger #bangalorediaries #foodporn #turmeric #turmericleaves

A video posted by Raksha Kamat (@rakshaskitchen) on Aug 21, 2016 at 1:25am PDT

You might also want to check maanganem recipe and sabudana kheer.

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Thayir Semiya | Curd Vermicelli

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Thayir Semiya or Curd Vermicelli is a quick dish which you can make for lunch or for evening snacks. If you are bored of eating curd rice everyday, you can always make this Thayir semiya or curd semiya for a change.

In South India, people consume curds everyday. Curds has numerous health benefits. It cools down the heat in stomach after eating spicy food. Curd consumption strengthens the immune system. It contains calcium and hence it helps in maintaining bones and teeth. Curds also helps lower the blood pressure and reduces cholesterol. It helps in weight loss too. Curd is a super food and you can consume it in anyway that you like.

These days people are fasting as it is auspicious month of Shravan. Do try this recipe one day and I am sure you will start preparing vermicelli in the same way again and again.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 20 Minutes, Serves: 2
1/2 cup roasted vermicelli
1 cup curds

For tempering:
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon urad dal
1/2 teaspoon chana dal
2 dry red chillies
Pinch of asafeotida
1 sprig curry leaves

2 teaspoon oil
5-6 cashewnuts for garnish

Procedure:

Let us start preparing thayir semiya or curd vermicelli. Follow the following steps.

1) Boil the vermicelli in 2 cups water.

2) Drain it and spread on a colander.

3) Pass cold water through it. This ensures that the vermicelli does not become sticky.

Keep it aside and let it cool down.

4) Heat a kadai and add oil. Add the cashewnuts and roast til it turns brownish.Remove and keep it aside.

5) In the same kadai, add more oil if needed and add the mustard seeds and after it splutters add the other ingredients meant for tempering.

6) Add the boiled vermicelli and mix everything.

7) Add salt to taste and mix.

8) Finally just before serving add curds and mix well.

9) Garnish with roasted cashewnuts.

Check here for more fasting recipes.

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Valchya Bhajjiche Tonak | Malabar Spinach Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Malabar Spinach Curry or Basella Soppu Curry or Vaalche Bhajiche Tonak is a recipe which is almost extinct. This is a traditional Goan recipe. As you all know that nowadays with more and more gourmet foods and junk entering Indian markets, people have started losing the healthy traditional recipes. Talk to today’s generation about this curry and most of them would not know anything about it.

This Malabar Spinach or Vaalchi bhaji grows as a long creeper and it is rich in anti-oxidants, thus providing numerous health benefits. Since it is rich in iron, it can be used to treat people suffering from anemia. The high vitamin A content can be used to maintain a healthy eye-sight.

This time when hubby got home this vegetable, he told me to make this curry. I called mom and she gave all the directions over skype. So, here I am sharing with you all a nutritious and healthy recipe. Do try it. You can serve it with rice or with rotis or bread. It turns yummy. This recipe is very uncommon as it is made from one particular type of leafy vegetables.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 30 Minutes, Serves: 4
1 bunch Malabar spinach, leaves separated from vine and finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
6 tablespoon coconut, grated
5 garlic pods, chopped
3 Kashmiri red chilies
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
4 black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tablespoon jaggery, grated
2 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1) Add the chopped Basale leaves, chopped tomato and 2 tablespoon chopped onion to a pressure cooker. Add 1 cup water and pressure cook it upto 3 – 4 whistles or till it is cooked. Let the pressure get released naturally.

2) Meanwhile, heat a kadai and add 2 tablespoon oil.

3) When oil gets heated, add remaining chopped onion and fry till it turns pinkish.

4) Add garlic and fry till the raw smell of garlic goes away.

5) Add the spices – red chilies, cloves, peppercorns and coriander seeds and fry for 2 minutes.

6) Next add grated coconut and fry till the grated coconut turns brownish.

7) Switch off the gas and let this cool down.

8) After cooling, add the grated coconut and onion mixture from kadai to a grinder. Add tamarind and ½ cup water and grind to a thin gravy.

9) Now the gravy is ready.

10) The kadai will be empty. Use the same kadai and pour the gravy in it.

11) Simmer for 2 minutes and then pour the pressure cooked vegetables in the kadai along with some water.

12) Add grated jaggery and salt to taste and simmer for 10 minutes.

Note: The gravy should be very thin. You can adjust the water content as per your choice.

You might also like Colocasia leaves curry recipe.

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Pepper Idlis

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Wondering what to cook with left over idlis? Wondering what to serve as a healthy evening snack? Want to eat something healthy but spicy and chatpatta? Try these pepper idlis. Every bite of these idlis are filled with deliciousness. They are very easy to cook and can be easily made with either fresh idlis or left-over idlis.

You can follow this recipe to give your idlis a new taste and a new look. You can also make this recipe with mini idlis and pack it in your kids snack box. My daughter loved these pepper idlis and even asked me to pack it in her lunchbox. I made them with mini idlis for her.

Ingredients:
6 idlis or 18 mini idlis
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
2 green chilies, slit
3 tablespoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoon ghee/oil
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Let us make the pepper idlis from left-over idlis:
1) Cut the left-over idlis into bite sized pieces and keep aside.
2) Heat a kadai, add oil or ghee.
3) Add chopped onion and fry till onion turns pinkish.
4) Add curry leaves and slit green chilies and fry for few seconds.
5) Add chopped coriander leaves and mix.
6) Add black pepper powder and salt to taste and mix well.
7) Now add the idli pieces or mini idlis and mix it with the black pepper powder.
8) Ensure that the pepper powder coats the idlis properly.
Serve it hot.

Also check palak idli, instant rava idli and idli sambar recipes.

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Oats And Spinach Pongal

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Tue, 9 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Wondering what to cook for breakfast everyday? Try this Pongal or khichdi which is healthy and loaded with nutrients needs to kick-start your day. This Pongal is made with oats instead of rice and no one will even be able to figure out that oats have been added to this recipe. Serve it hot with ghee and raita or salad. You can even have this for lunch/dinner when you want to eat something light.

Oats are loaded with fiber which helps to reduce bad cholesterol. Spinach are loaded with iron and vitamins and moong dal is a good source of proteins, vitamin B, calcium and dietary fiber. This Pongal is very good for digestion. It can be served to a kids and toddlers too.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 20 Minutes, Serves: 2
¾ cup oats
½ cup moong dal / yellows split gram dal
1 cup spinach chopped / 1 small bunch spinach
1 cup water
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
15 black peppercorns
1 sprig curry leaves
1 teaspoon asafoetida
1 green chili, slit
15 cashewnuts
2 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Let us make the oats pongal.
1) Dry roast the oats for 5 minutes and keep aside.
2) Pressure cook the moong dal along with chopped spinach for 2 whistles.
3) Heat a kadai, add ghee. When ghee heats, add cashewnuts and fry till they turn brownish. Remove and keep aside.
4) In the same kadai, add more ghee if needed.
5) Add cumin seeds and after the cumin seeds crackle add black peppercorns, curry leaves, slit green chili and asafetida.
6) Add the roasted oats and mix well. Add water, ¼ cup at a time, mix and cook till oats get cooked.
7) Add the pressure cooked spinach and moong dal to the kadai with oats.
Mix well.
8) Add salt to taste. Garnish with roasted cashewnuts.

Note:
Serve this with a tablespoon ghee.

For other breakfast options, click here.
Also check this Banana Oats Pancake, Oats Upma and Instant Oats Dosa recipe.

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Open Faced Radish Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 4 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Radish sandwich makes a healthy and nutritious breakfast. You can either eat this as open faced sandwich, or slice it with another slice of bread and consume it. I have added a slice of cheese in this sandwich, but you can opt not to add it. You can also close this sandwich with another slice of bread and grill it and eat.

You might not like radish due to the pungent taste. But it is loaded with several vitamins and nutrients and offers numerous health benefits.Consumption of radish lowers cancer risk, it is good for diabetics and also regulates blood pressure. Apart from this consumption of radish helps combat constipation and also helps with weight loss. These are just few health benefits, but there are plenty.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 20 Minutes, Serves: 2
1 pink radish, finely sliced
2 slices of cheese
2 slices of bread

Procedure:
1) First soak the radish slices in water for 30 minutes.

Lets make the open faced radish sandwich:
2) Take one slice of bread and arrange the cheese slice on it.
3) Over this spread the radish slices.
4) You can place 5-6 slices of radish.
5) You can either serve this as open faced sandwich or close it with another bread slice.
6) Assemble the other bread with cheese and radish and serve.

Also try open faced egg,spinach and tomato toast and open parmesan toast recipe.
For all sandwich recipes, check this.

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Mixed Sprouts Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 1 Aug 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Looking for healthy recipes to pack in kids or your snack box? Wanting to lose weight and looking for recipes which can help you with this? Want to shed bad cholesterol? Well there is a miracle ingredient which can help you to achieve all of this. It is nothing else but sprouts. So use this miracle ingredient and make some interesting recipes. Sharing with you all masala mixed sprouts sandwich.

Sprouts are rich in protein and dietary fiber. They also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals and are extremely good for health. Add sprouts to your daily meal menu and take one step closer to good health. Make this sandwich and either eat it for breakfast or snacks. Pack it and take it to office too to munch during the breaks.

Ingredients:
4 bread slices, sides cut
¼ cup green grams/moong sprouts
¼ cup red lentils/sabut masoor sprouts
¼ cup kidney beans/rajma sprouts
¼ cup black kabuli chana sprouts
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized onion, finely sliced
1 tomato, finely chopped
4 garlic pods, finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon chat masala
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped
2 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Procedure:

For the filling:
1) Add the sprouts and 1 cup water to a pressure cooker and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
Switch off and let the pressure get released.
2) Heat a kadai and add oil. When oil gets heated, add onion and saute.
3) When onion turns pinkish add tomato and fry till tomato turns mushy.
4) Add garlic and fry till the raw smell of garlic goes away.
5) Open the pressure cooker and add the boiled sprouts and mix.
6) Add the spices and mix well.
7) Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
8) Adjust salt and switch off the heat.
9) Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Now the filling is ready. So let us assemble the sandwich.

10) Take a slice of bread and spread 2 tablespoon of the sprout mixture.
11) Top this with one or two onion slices.
12) Close it with another slice of bread.

Either eat the sandwich as it is or grill it if you prefer.

Check carrot and peas sandwich, fruit sandwich and egg white sandwich recipes here.

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Wishvilla.com - Shop Indian Specialties Online

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Wishvilla.com is an e-commerce web portal that is gaining popularity rapidly in the Indian e-commerce sector. Little did I know about this unique website. It was introduced to me by a sweet friend of mine who is a wishvilla addict. Yes you’ve heard it absolutely right she is a die hard ethnic girl. She is fond of India and Indian culture, its art, its colors, food and everything. According to her she found everything about India on wishvilla.com. After all of her over-hyped appreciation about this portal, I couldn’t hold the horses. I headed straight back to my home and logged on wishvilla.com and man, was I amazed…. She was absolutely right. This portal had everything related to India. The ethnic India, Indian traditional clothes, Indian famous sweets, food, arts and crafts, handicrafts, footwear, clutches and more. All in all it is the only Indian ethnic web portal, which is bringing all Indian made regional authentic products and handicrafts under one channel. Since this discovery, I am a regular user of this website. So thought of writing an honest review about it.

Shopping is a flip a coin task at Wishvilla.com

It is a user friendly website. Placing an order with wishvilla is very easy! You just have to choose the product you want, add them to your cart and then checkout! Enter your details in the form that will come during checkout, including your area pin code and then select the mode of payment- cash on delivery, debit card, credit card and net banking processed through secure and trusted gateways. After that, you get an email regarding the order you placed, when they dispatch the order. You also get mail with the tracking number and all necessary details, crystal clearly mentioned. Also they have customer care number where we can discuss our query about orders like dispatch time, shelf life of sweets and namkeen. They also let us know about product specialty & their manufacturers. Wishvilla.com has a lot of products including Indian Sweets and snacks, Indian art, handicrafts, ethnic dresses, famous Indian carpets and lots more!

Buy Sweets Online Spree Experience

I must accept I have a sweet tooth and I quench my sweet craving at wishvilla.com, it’s very unusual to see an eCommerce portal having so many different varieties of sweets from various parts of the nation that too produced by famous sweetmeat merchandisers around the nation all together.

So recently I placed an order of the famous Indian sweet Nag Peda, and I received the order in mere 3 days at my door step fresh, soft and tempting.

I couldn’t believe that I was having the famous Bengali Nag Peda from Gupta Brothers Sweets of Kolkata at my home in Bangalore, Karnataka.

It felt like I was enjoying the delicacy at the very own Gupta Brothers Sweets shop in Kolkata. The sweet was wrapped in a very appropriate manner, which helped to preserve the freshness of sweet and was packed in a very elegant box, with proper tags and markings.

PROS-
1) Site is very easy to access and is very user friendly.
2) Quick to load.
3) Contains so many products which are very much genuine and of absolutely fine quality.
4) Placing an order is a kids task, not at all cumbersome.
5) Fast delivery time of 2-3 days.
6) Products were very appropriate according to what was promised.
7) No damage done to products.
8) 100% genuine products.
9) Quick and consumer friendly Customer Service.
10) Different modes of payments like COD, Debit Card, Credit Card and Net Banking available.

CONS-
Absolutely no negative feedback for Wishvilla .

One last verdict on Wishvilla.com. It is a complete ethnic portal which is bringing Indian merchandise to Indian people of different cultures and religions together with one platform. So get close to your country and enjoy lip smacking sweets and snacks from famous Indian merchandisers at your door step.

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Barbecue Nation Opens New Outlet in SoulSpace Arena, Bangalore

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Barbecue Nation is the place which comes to our mind whenever we want to dine out, or whenever we want to suggest a place for a team lunch at office. No matter how many times you visit, you still feel like visiting this place often. I remember when I joined my 3rd company 7 years back, we were all treated at a Barbecue Nation restaurant at Indirananagar. It was the first restaurant from this chain to be opened in Bangalore. But today believe me, there are several branches from the same chain.

Barbecue Nation is one of the most successful casual dining restaurant chains in India. On 18th July 2016, I was invited for the launch of Barbecue Nation restaurant in the heart of the silicon valley of India. The new outlet has opened at the Soulspace Arena Mall. Oh, this is the 70th one in the country too. We received a warm welcome at the restaurant and were also surprised to meet a popular South Indian actress and model Kavya Shetty who was the special guest for the day.

The new outlet sports a brand new white-orange logo, with a crown on top of the brand name. It promises a unique dining experience and boasts of lip-smacking recipes that are popular and have gained a special place in every diner’s heart.

The USP of this place are the famous live on table grills and these are now prepared in an open kitchen.

Ambiance:

There are some more changes to this outlet when compared to other outlets. The colour schemes, seating arrangement and ambiance is different. There is an open kitchen and the wall décor is lovely too. The music was lively and they do have live music there. With the new open kitchen, customers can customize the food to suit their taste buds and also can watch the food being prepared.

The live counters

Service:

Barbecue Nation provides the best possible dining experience to the customers in terms of both food and service. What I liked was that the service executives were all dressed in uniforms. The food did not take too much time to arrive at the table and the grills kept on re-filling till we moved the flag down.

Food:

There were several options in veg and non-veg grills. In veg they served Achari Kumbh which were yummy. I had several of these. The sweet and Smokey pineapple is a signature dish of this place and was delicious. Paneer ajwaini tikka and BBQ fruit were also served on the grills. Hara bhara kabab, spicy sweet corn and Cajun spiced potato were served separately.

Cajun spiced potatoes is a must try in the veg starters.

The grills are served with 3 types of dips.

In non-veg they served Asian grill chicken, chilli garlic prawns, kasundi fish and mutton Mughlai seekh on the grills. Angara tangdi was served separately. All the non-veg grills and starters are yummy.

There were several dishes in main course too like Murg Wazid Ali and Burani Ghost in non-veg and paneer tikka masala, subj E Meloni and Aloo Gobi Masala in veg. Rotis and naans were served at the table.

We also ordered some mocktails.

There are several live counters added at this outlet like –

Soup Counter: Here the vegetable stock had been prepared and served. We can customize the soup with either exotic vegetables or shrimp, chicken or mutton.

Exotic meats counter: Here some seasonal exotic meats like rabbit, quail and duck will be served. You can ask the chef to customise it according to your taste. The chef grills the meat on tawas right infront of you.

Shawarma Counter: Where you can ask the chef to make the classic shawarma roll for you.

Kathi roll Counter: Where you can order rolls made of roomali roti with fillings of choice – mushroom, paneer tikka, chicken tikka and salads.

Biryani Counter: Here you can get 3 different types of biryanis – vegetarian, chicken and/or mutton. They are served with 3 types of salans and 3 types of raitas.

Dal Counter: This was a unique one and you could ask the chef to customize your dal with tadka, spices and salt as per your taste. Oh they also made 3 different types of dals.

Dessert Counter: Oh yes, we all love desserts and it is very nice to see some of the desserts being prepared live right infront of us. The ‘rasmalai’ juice was actually prepared right infront of us. This was different from regular rasmalai.

Oh yes, you should not miss the kulfi counter. You can customise the kulfi with toppings of your choice.

My daughter got her kulfi customized to pink to match her dress

This place is very close to my house and I am sure I will be visiting this place often now. Any occasion needs a place to celebrate and Barbecue Nation is one such place where moments we share become memories.

Address: Soul Space Arena, Outer Ring Road, Doddanekkundi Village, Bangalore.

Note: I was invited for the launch of this restaurant. This is not a paid review.

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Kerala Style Mushroom Thoran

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Thoran is a stir fry made with any type of vegetable and coconut in Kerala. Today’s recipe is mushroom thoran or mushroom stir fry Kerala style. This thoran is made with finely chopped mushrooms to which a paste made of coconut and shallots is added. It is then tempered with mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. This dish has a mild flavor and is not spicy. We loved having it with steamed rice and dal.

Mushrooms are rich in selenium and vitamin D. They are rich in anti-oxidants and also help in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Consumption of mushrooms also helps promote cardiovascular health as they are rich in potassium and vitamin C. These are few of the health benefits but there are plenty.

And did I tell you that you can pack this mushroom thoran in your lunch box and have it with rotis? Yes, my daughter had it with roti and she loved. So this recipe can be given to kids too.This recipe is dedicated to my friend Ashwathy from Kerala. She guided me in cooking this recipe and also described how in Kerala they prepare different types of thorans. Thanks Ashwathy.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 30 Minutes, Serves: 4
1 packet/20 medium sized button mushrooms, finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

For tempering:
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 dry red chilies
2 sprigs curry leaves

For spice paste:
4 tablespoon freshly grated coconut
4 shallots
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 green chilies
5 curry leaves

Procedure:
1) Grind all the ingredients meant for spice paste into a thick coarse paste by adding ¼ cup water.
2) Heat a kadai and add oil. Add mustard seeds and after they splutter, one by one add the other ingredients meant for tempering and mix well.
3) Add the finely chopped mushrooms and turmeric powder. Mix well. After some time water will be released from the mushrooms. Cook it for 10 to 15 minutes till the mushrooms appear tender.
4) Now add the ground coconut paste to the mushrooms and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
5) Add salt to taste and give it a stir.

Also check other recipes with mushroom.

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Goan Colocasia Leaves Masala | Terren Tonak

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Terren or Terre leaves or Colocasia leaves are found in abundance in Goa during the monsoon season. They grow in plenty in backyards or in forests. Terre or Terren is a type of colocasia leaf. Other is “Aluche pan” and both can be cooked using the same recipe. Various types of delicious dishes are cooked in Goa during this monsoon season using the seasonal produce. Just walk around the villages and you will see people selling forest mushrooms (almi), colocasia leaves (terren), bamboo shoots (killa), colocasia roots (maddi), cashewnuts (bibe), forest bittergourds (phagla), etc.

My dad is a pure vegetarian and loves the seasonal produce, especially terren, phagla and forest mushrooms. I used to never eat vegetarian food in my childhood. But when I started college, one fine day my dad told me to taste terren and phagla. Ever since then I fell in love with these veges.

During my recent trip to Goa, my mom packed some colocasia leaves and told me to cook it after going back to Bangalore. She narrated the recipe over phone. The recipe turned delicious just like how mom cooks. I clicked pictures and sent it to them on WhatsApp and over a Facebook video call I even showed the curry to mom. She gets very happy when I replicate her recipes and she feels proud that a girl who never entered kitchen is now running a food blog and is helping people to cook good food :) Ok ok.. Let’s go back to the recipe...

Since these colocasia leaves are acrid, some people might get allergic and mouth, lips and throat might start itching. So it is always advisable to cook these leaves with souring agent like tamarind or kokum. Also if you are sensitive then while peeling or cutting the leaves, apply oil to your hands and do it.

I am really lost into childhood memories when it used to rain heavily in Goa. The currents used to go off when it poured. The bettlenut trees in backyard swayed and it felt like as if they are dancing with one another. I miss being in Goa during raining season. Everywhere you will see only greenery and you will also notice these big elephant ear types’ leaves growing around :)

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 30 Minutes, Serves: 4
15-20 terren or colocasia leaves
¼ cup chana dal/ split Bengal gram dal/green grams
4 peeled and crushed jackfruit seeds

For the masala curry:
½ cup freshly grated coconut
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
3 dry red chillies/shepda/byadgi chilies
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tablespoon grated jaggery/gur
3 kokum petals
Salt to taste

For tempering:
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves

Procedure:
1) Before making the colocasia leaves curry, apply oil to your hands and start peeling the terren/colocasia stems. Finely chop the stems and leaves. Chop it into fine pieces.
2) Wash and soak the grams or chana dal for atleast 30 minutes.
3) After 30 minutes, take a pressure cooker and add the chopped leaves, stems, chopped jackfruit seeds and grams/dal. Add ½ cup water.

4) Pressure cook for 5 whistles or till the grams/dal is cooked. Switch off the gas and wait for the pressure from the cooker to be released naturally.
5) Take a grinder and add all the ingredients meant for the masala gravy except salt.
6) Add ½ cup water and grind into a thin gravy.
7) Now heat a kadai/heavy bottomed pan. Add 1 teaspoon oil in it. After oil gets heated, add mustard seeds. After mustard seeds flutter, add curry leaves and fry for ½ minutes. Pour the gravy into it.
8) Mix the contents from the cooker in the gravy and mix well.
9) Add jaggery and mix. Add kokum petals.
10) Let it simmer.
11) Now add salt to taste and mix.

Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Also check Goan yaam tonak, maskachi bhaji with jackfruit seeds and mushroom xacuti recipes.

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Rajma Stir Fry | Kidney Beans Stir Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Raksha) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 06:30:00 +0530

Today’s recipe is stir fried kidney beans ot rajma. Rajma rules the kitchen in every North Indians home. But other than that people everywhere also consume kidney beans due to the health benefits it provides. They are rich in protein. Consumption of rajma strengthens the immune system, lowers blood cholesterol, prevents diabetes, prevents hypertension and aids weight loss.

Simply soak the rajma overnight or for 8 hours. After 8 hours, pressure cook it and either make a delicious stir fry or make our favorite Rajma rasmisa. You can even make a salad out of it and consume it for breakfast. Check this chatpata rajma wrap recipe where I have stuffed this same stir fry into a chapatti and made a wrap.

You can pack this stir fried rajma in your lunch box and have it with rotis or as a side with jeera rice and dal.

Ingredients: Prep. Time: 30 Minutes(excluding soak time), Serves: 2
½ cup rajma / kidney beans
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
5 garlic pods, finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoon kitchen king masala/garam masala
1 teaspoon dry mango powder/amchur
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
2 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1) Soak the rajma overnight or for 6 hours. Boil them till they are soft. Drain and discard the water. Slightly mash ½ of the boiled rajma and keep aside.
2) Heat a kadai and add oil. After oil is heated, add onion and fry till it turns pinkish.
3) Add garlic and saute, till garlic emits strong aroma.
4) Add chopped tomato and saute, till tomato turns mushy.
5) Now add the rajma and mix well.
6) Add the powders, namely turmeric powder, red chili powder, kitchen king masala and dry mango powder and mix well.
7) Add tomato sauce and mix.
8) Add salt to taste, mix and switch off the gas.

For all rajma or kidney beans recipes, check here.

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