Hyma's Flavours

Paneer Mutter Masala

2012-02-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

I started off making Paneer Butter Masala and it eventually also turned out into Paneer Mutter Masala as I added some peas to the dish! You can take the below recipe as either one of them or a blend of both. All in all it turned out to be delicious and we had to scrape the bowl for more. I had always wondered how the dishes in the restaurants get that rich colour and flavour and to my surprise this dish turned out exactly the way it is presented in the restaurants!

Ingredients:

- 200 gms cubed paneer
- 2 medium tomatoes pureed
- 1 onion chopped finely
- 1 tbsp green peas
- 1 tbsp fresh cream (preferable)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp chopped ginger
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 2 green chillies slit
- 1 cup milk
- Salt as required

Masala:

- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp tomato sauce
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/8 tsp turmeric powder

Source: Sharmis Passions

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 mins

Preparation:

- Heat 1 tbsp butter in a flat pan and shallow fry the paneer cubes. Drain the panner on a paper towel.

- In the same pan, add 1/2 tbsp of butter and fry the ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions and fry for 2 minutes. Later add the green peas and fry for a couple of minutes.

- Now add the tomato puree or store bought tomato paste, tomato sauce and fry for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

- Meanwhile mix all the ingredients given under "Masala" above with 1/2 cup of milk. Add this milk to the pan slowly to prevent the milk from curdling.

- Bring the mix to a boil and if it is thick add 1/2 cup of water and allow to boil for 7 to 10 minutes on medium flame.
- Now, when the gravy thickens add the rest of the milk slowly and add salt as needed. Let this come to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes.

- Now, add the paneer and let the paneer cook in the gravy for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and coriander leaves for garnish.

- Serve hot with Jeera rice or Roti!

Foot note:

- If you are using cream, make the dish in 1tbsp of butter and use 1/2 cup milk for mixing the masala. Replace the other 1/2 cup of milk with the cream.

Baby Corn Chilly Fry

2012-02-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

When you have'nt been cooking in a long time, all you want to do when you get the kitchen to yourself is to try something funky. Well, this recipe may not be exactly funky but it is defenitely one that will be loved by all at the table and is definitely spicy to tease your taste buds. This dish can be prepared in under 30 minutes if you have all the ingredients readily available.

Ingredients:

- 200 gms Baby corn
- 3 to 4 small onions quatered
- 1/2 cup sliced capsicum
- 1/2 cup chopped spring onion greens
- 1/2 cup chopped spring onion whites
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp tomato sauce
- 2 tsp green chilly paste
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tsp ginger paste or shredded
- 1 tsp garlic paste or shredded
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
- Water as needed
- Salt as needed

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

Preparation:

- Cut the baby corn into 1 inch pieces. Combine 1 tbsp corn flour, 1 tsp black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp chilly powder, Salt to taste with 2 tbsp of water.

- Marinate the corn in the above mix such that the flour mix coats the corn lightly.

- Mean while, get the other ingredients in place and have the veggies cut as required.

- In a flat pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and add the corns and shallow fry until brown. Turn over the sides and brown them evenly on all sides.

- Remove the corn and set aside. In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and add ginger and garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.

- Now add the spring onion whites and the quartered onions and saute for 2 minutes and later add the capsicum slices and fry on high for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Once the capsicums are sauteed for 3 minutes, lower the flame and add the vinegar, soy sauce, tomato sauce, chilly paste, sugar and salt as needed and mix well. Add the shallow fried baby corns at the time and mix with the rest of the ingredients and add 1/4 cup or less water if it is too dry. Let this combine for 2 to 3 minutes.

- Now, mix the 1 tbsp corn flour with 2 tbsp of water and add to the pan and keep stiring. The corn flour will thicken the contents and bring them all together.
- Now, add the spring onion greens, mix in well and switch off the heat.
- Serve hot with your favourite soup or noodle!

Note: If you do not have tomato paste or chilly paste you can add cut tomatoes and chillies instead as shown in the picture. I used tomato paste and cut chillies( in place of chilly paste)

Layered Pasta

2012-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since I did a post on a recipe outside Indian kitchen. Infact, while I checked my recipe list, I realised there has not been a single post on Pasta yet though I have posted the "base sauce" sometime back. So, to complete it, here is the recipe for homemade pasta, well ofcourse, with store bought sauce, cheese and pasta of your choice.

Pasta is very easy to make and can be a good choice of a complete meal when you have sudden guests or on one of those tired evenings when you want to spend less than 30 minutes in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups pasta
- 1 cup grated mozarella cheese or any cheese of your choice
- 1 cup tomato base sauce or store bought pasta sauce
- 1 cup white sauce (homemade or store bought)
- 2 tsp olive oil or any cooking oil
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
- Mixed Italian herbs for seasoning

Prep time: 30 mins Bake time: 10 mins

Preparation:

- In a large pot bring enough water to boil. Add 1 tsp of oil and salt and add the 3 cups of pasta. Let the pasta boil for approximately 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the basic tomato sauce if you are not using the store bought sauce.
- Drain the boiled pasta and pour some cold water on it to allow the pasta to be separate and not sticky.

- Smear 1 tsp of oil in a wide baking dish or melt just a little butter to coat the bottom of the dish.

- Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom and top it with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

- Spread half of the boiled pasta on the cheese and cover it with 1/2 cup of white sauce.
- Now, layer the remaining pasta and top it with the rest of the tomato sauce followed by the white sauce and shredded cheese.

- Pre-heat oven to 300 deg F and bake for 10 minutes. If you do not have an oven, microwave for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts on top and begins to brown slightly.

- Serve hot sprinkled with some crushed black pepper and the Italian herbs!

Karunai Kizhangu (Yam) Masiyal

2012-01-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

This is the second recipe am posting for this week and feels so good to be able to do it regularly. I have so many posts lying in my folders that are waiting to see the light of the day. I hope to clear them all and create space for more new recipes. My only wish at the moment being....find more time for blogging:-)!

This is a very simple and quick to make recipe and can be done under 30 minutes, most part of which is to pressure cook the veggie and the wait time to open the cooker! Many do not buy this veggie because of the fear that it will give them an itchy sensation in their throat or tongue. However, during the Dec-Jan period, while this veggie is most in season, one can be sure, there would not be so much trouble from it.

The dish goes very well as an accompaniment for dhal rice.

Ingredients:

- 400 gms yam
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 green chillies (as per choice)
- 2 tbsp boiled toor dhal (optional)
- 1 tbsp coconut
- 1 inch of ginger
- 1 tsp oil for tempering
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- Mustard seeds, curry leaves for seasoning
- Salt to taste

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Preparation:

- Wash and cut the yam in half and boil them in pressure cooker. Once the steam escapes, peel the skin and mash the yam with your hands or a laddle.

- Grind the coconut, green chilly and ginger with water.
- In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the mustard and curry leaves.
- To this add the mashed yam, boiled dhal, ground coconut chilly paste, salt and add 1/4 cup water. Boil for 5 minutes on low flame.
- Switch off heat and mix in the lemon juice. Serve with hot rice and ghee.

Avacado or Butter fruit Milkshake

2012-01-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

The first time I came across this simple and tasty fruit was in the hills of Kodaikanal. On a vacation to Kodai with my hubby, we went on a trek to a place called Dolphin Nose. The trek was amazing and proved to be a great calorie burner. The way back was tougher than the on-ward trek and we needed to take breaks in between to charge up ourselves! During one of these breaks, we stopped over for some tea at a small shop.

The shop had run out of tea powder just then and the lady in the shop offered to make us this butter fruit milk shake instead. We had no clue how it would taste and the look of it did'nt give us any great appeal either:-)! We trusted the lady and our guide and she scooped the pulp of the fruit into a bowl, added 2 cups of milk and some sugar and gave a it a beating with her spoon.... that's all she did...poured them on to two glasses and gave it to us with a spoon.....

Oh.....the taste of that yummy shake still lingers in me....I can't explain how good it was in words...u need to do that trek and then taste the fresh shake in the chill hilly atmosphere! Well, I wish I could do it every time...but of-course, that's not possible:-)! The next best option of-course is to bring it into your kitchen! From then, this milk shake has become a regular in our home and I discovered that butter fruit is available all through the year, so, no worries...beat it and eat it or drink it ....the way you like it!

Ingredients:

- 1 ripe butter fruit or avacado
- 4 cups chilled milk
- 2 tbsp sugar or as per choice

Prep time: 5 mins

- Cut the fruit around the center and twist open the fruit. Remove the seed from inside and scoop the pulp out.

- Add the pulp, milk and sugar into a blender and beat well until smooth.
- Pour into 4 glasses and serve chilled!

Foot note: If the milk shake is thick add more milk. The fruit does not taste sweet by itself, so going light on sugar will make it taste little plain!

Vaangi bhath - Brinjal rice - Blog hop

2011-12-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

Bloghop wednesdays really gets me going..I know I have mentioned this several times in the past, but I never imagined it would motivate me to wake up at 5.15 in the morning, so that I could find enough time to make a recipe and shoot them on my camera as well.

Well, if you are wondering why I need to wake up so early to make this under 30 minute meal...news is that I have started working again! Its keeping me really busy and I often find no time to check all of your posts friends. That is the reason I have not been able to comment on any of your posts. But it really feels good to be back to work after a 1 year break....more like after a holiday in the US:-)

So, if I had to get out of home on time to catch my shuttle I had to back work my timings given that I was not going to miss out on my yoga and walking routine! So, finally made this "vaangi bath" which I choose in no time from Rudra's blog Moms Corner. She has some really simple and easy to make recipes and this one fit the bill perfect for me. I needed a quick lunch idea for my box and something interesting as well and there could'nt have been a better choice than this!

It tasted really good....my friends at the lunch table almost emptied my box;-)! Wishing you all a very Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Ingredients:

- 3 medium brinjals finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato finely chopped
- 6 or 7 pearl onions finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh green peas or frozen peas
- 1/2 cup cooked raw rice

Seasoning

- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp channa dhal
- 1 tsp urad dhal
- 4 cashews broken
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 green chilly slit
- few sprigs of curry leaves
- small bay leaf
- Salt to taste

Masala Powder:

- 1 tbsp grated or slit coconut
- 2 tsp channa dhal
- 1 tsp urad dhal
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 small red chillies( as per taste preference)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp pepper powder or 2 to 3 pepper corns
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida or hing

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Preparation:

- Pressure cook the rice first so that it is done by the time the mix is ready.
- Roast the ingredients given under "masala powder" with 1/2 tsp of oil and set aside to cool.

- Dry grind the coarsely

- In a pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Later add the channa dhal, urad dhal given under "seasoning" and when they turn light red, add the curry leaves, bay leaves, green chilly and cashews.

- I generally remove the green chilly after sauteing them for a few seconds. However, this is optional.
- Now, add the onions and saute for a minute. Later, add the green peas, brinjals and tomato and mix well.
- Add the turmeric powder and salt as needed and fry the mix until all the veggies are cooked. You could sprinkle litle water nad cook covered if the green peas(fresh) takes a while to soften up.

- When the veggies are done, mix in the masala powder and remove from heat after a minute.
- In a bowl, mix the rice and the above veggie gravy. Add ghee for additional taste and serve hot!

Sending the recipe to Bloghop wednesdays hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

Eggless Choco Brownie Cup Cakes

2011-12-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Had taken a short vacation to Bangalore a few weeks back. Got my hands at baking a few goodies...not only my hands but my little nieces hands too! What fun it is, to bake with a kid. An exciting baking experience explaining every step and most of all that impatient wait (checking every 5 minutes if it is done) once the choco mix got into the oven....finally the warm, soft and chewy brownie cup cakes were devoured off the moment they got off the baking tray!

Needless to say it was more like a challenge attempt as the instructions(from my niece) about the final product were laid down crystal clear at the start...:-)...." it has to be a cup cake made with chocolate and also like a brownie.....I want a brownie in a cup cake"! Well, I thought that was very cute. So, me and my SIL did a search on google and found just the perfect recipe for these choco brownie cup cakes!

To top it all we made them eggless..tried substituting flaxmeal (powdered flax seeds) and they turned out perfect for the brownie effect!

Source: Joy of Baking

For food substitutes refer to : http://www.foodsubs.com/

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup powdered white sugar (castor sugar)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder
- 3 eggs or egg subsitute (refer below)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- a pinch of salt

Egg Substitute:

- 6 tbsp (90 ml) flaxmeal
- 9 tbsp (135 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp baking powder

combine the above 3 ingredients.

Prep time: 30 minutes Bake time: 30 minutes (varies with oven)

Preparation:

- Preheat the oven to 325 deg F or 170 deg C. Line the muffin tray with baking cup foils and lightly butter the foils. If you do not have a muffin tray, place the cup cake foils on a plain tray as well. Works out fine!
- Melt the butter in a bowl placed over a wide pan of boiling water. Once the butter melts, add the chocolate powder and stir well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Help from the little one to mix in the choco powder in the butter

- Add the powdered sugar and beat with a hand mixer( or manually).
- Add the eggs one after the other or the egg substitute and beat in well until they blend together. Add the vanilla essence too.

- Mix in the flour and salt until well belnded ( never beat the flour...it needs to be always mixed in or stirred in)

- Pour or spoon in the mix into each of the cup cake foils and place in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes.

- The baking time may vary with every oven...so, pls check after 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center has to come out clean.
- Remove when done and let it warm before serving!

Foot note:

- If using egg substitute, it tends to make the cake a little chewy( perfect for the brownie texture though). If you do not want that texture, pls add 1 tbsp of oil to avoid the chewiness.
- Using flaxmeal is good cause flax seeds help fight cholestrol!

Sending the recipe to

Bookmarked Recipes event hosted by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan and Aipi of US Masala

Gutsy cook club

ABC Series: Cakes for Christmas event at Ramya's Recipe

Carrot Halwa - Gajar ka Halwa

2011-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for blog hop wednesdays:-) It really pushes me to sit with the system to try and post a recipe. I knew I had to work for the bloghop but somehow it slipped my mind until this afternoon when I hopped into my partners blog for the week. I had to pick and try a recipe from the blog "Palakkad Chamayal" of Kaveri. She has got a very simple and neat blog with lovely pics and briefly explained recipes:-)! I loved the simplicity of her recipes and instantly zeroed in on Gajar Ka Halwa:-)

It has been a long time since I tried some desserts and we had bought these "Delhi Carrots" which are available in Chennai only during Dec-Jan! For some reason these are referred as Delhi Carrots here in Chennai. For one I know they are available in plenty in Delhi! They taste really sweet by themselves than the ordinary carrots and suit best for making halwa or kheer.

Inspired by the very simple steps on Kaveris blog, I instantly set upon preparing the dessert. Should I say it turned out awesome....look for urself:-) They were just out of the world. A very simple and easy to make dessert that can please everyone at the table.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups shredded carrots
- 2 cups milk
- 1 or 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp elaichi or cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp ghee, divided
- Few cashews and raisins

Source: Palakkad Chamayal

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 1 hour

Preparation:

- Peel and shred the carrots finely.

- Heat a deep or wide pan and add the ghee. To this add the shredded carrots and fry it for 10 minutes.

- To the fried carrots add the milk and let the carrots cook till the milk is completely absorbed and reduces fully. This may take approx 30 minutes in low flame.

- When the milk has fully evaporated, add the sugar and cardamom powder.

- Now, the carrots will loosen up again. Cook it for a further 10 minutes till the sugar is absorbed into the carrots and the halwa comes together without sticking to the sides of the pan.

- Fry the cashews and raisins in some ghee and garnish the halwa. Serve hot for best taste!

Sending the recipe to Blog hop Wednesdays hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

Sending the recipe to Jingle all the way at Edible Entertainment

Mango-Ginger Pickle- Variation 2

2011-12-01T05:33:00.001-08:00

A very simple and a quickie recipe to the pickled version of mango-ginger I had posted yesterday for blog hop. The below is usually the way we like to eat mango-ginger at home. It is very simple and quick and can be made in fresh batches just before meal time.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup finely chopped mango-ginger
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Salt to taste

Prep time: 15 mins

Preparation:

- Peel and chop the mango-ginger into fine pieces. Chop the green chillies and add them to the mango-ginger.

- Add the salt and lemon juice and mix them all in a bowl.
- Temper the mustard seeds in oil and them on to the bowl. Give everything a fine mix.

- Mango-Ginger pickle is ready to serve!

Sending the recipe to Show & Tell Vatsala's Potluck Party

Mango Ginger - BWW

2011-11-30T09:14:00.001-08:00

Mango-Ginger is an awesome root which is a part of the ginger family and has a raw mango taste to it. When you cut the root you will notice there are 2 layers within the root...one with ginger flavour and the other with mango flavour. Smells so fresh and tastes so great....a must try if you can find it anywhere near you live!

Sending to Black & White Wednesdays at Susan's Well Seasoned Cook

Mango-Ginger Pickle- Variation 1- Blog Hop

2011-11-30T08:24:00.001-08:00

Blog hop truly inspires me to stay in touch with my blog posts and my blogger friends posts for sure! Radhilka is being too nice to the blog hoppers by sending reminders...:-) If not for them, am sure I would skip them...thanks a ton Radhika for the great work you are doing with the Blog hop concept.

This week, I had to hop in around the blog Tamalapaku of Harini. As I have been following her blog for quite sometime, I was kind of familiar with her recipes. I had been wanting to try one of her pickles since a long time! More so, I had been waiting to buy Mango-Ginger from the market as it is in full season now. So, I aeroed in on this pickle and brought home fresh Mango-Ginger this morning:-)

I usually make a very simple and low spice version of mango-ginger. However, I noticed a different style in Harini's blog and wanted to try it. Off to the recipe while they are still soaking in the bowl over night...

Ingredients:

- 2 cups finely chopped mango-ginger

- 1 tbsp mustard powder

- 1 tbsp gingely(sesame) oil

- 2 tsp chilly powder

- 2 tsp lemon juice

- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

- 1/4 tsp methi(fenugreek) powder

- 1/8 tsp hing (asafoetida) for tempering

- 1/4 tsp mustard for tempering

- Salt to taste

Prep time: 15 mins Soak time: 7 to 8 hours

Source: Tamalapaku

Preparation:

- Peel the skin off the mango-ginger, wash and chop them finely.

- Add the salt, lemon juice and turmeric powder and mix in well.

- Add the mustard, methi and chilly powder and give it another mix.

- In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the mustard. Switch off the heat and add the hing to the oil.

- Pour the oil over the mango-ginger and mix in well so that the oil coats all over.

- Keep it over night or for 7 to 8 hours so that the flavours are well absorbed!

- Can be had as a side with dosa, chapathi or any of your favourite rice or upma.

Foot note:

- I used freshly ground mustard and methi seeds powder. This gives a great taste and fragrance to the pickle.

- Add hing after switching off the flame. Adding hing in too much heat, makes the dish taste bitter.

- The original recipe says to mix in the tempered oil after cooling. However, I added it while it is still hot, as it helps to remove the raw smell of chilly powder and turmeric.

Sending the recipe to Blog Hop Wednesday hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

How to make Peanut butter at home

2011-11-27T08:30:00.001-08:00

This has been such a discovery for me....ask me why?!...cause all this while I have never tasted peanut butter! Now, I realise what I have missed all these years! For some reason, I never felt like picking up one of these bottles from the stores...always felt, they may not taste great....why was I so prejudiced against this tasty wonder:-)?

Well, I no more need to regret cause I have learnt how to make it fresh in minutes right in my kitchen and I can make them anytime I need. So inexpensive and healthy with no added preservatives or extra fat! This is super simple and can be made in a few minutes. All you need is unsalted peanuts, a little bit of oil, a pinch of salt and flavoring of your choice...and ofcourse a blender:-)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/8 tsp salt

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: NIL

Preparation:

- If using unroasted peanuts, roast the peanuts in 1/2 tsp oil until the red skin turns dark and you are able to smell the roasted nuts.

- Cool them for a while and de-skin the peanuts by rubbing them on a paper towel or in your palms.
- If you get roasted, peeled and unsalted peanuts, you can skip the above process. Also, you could use the peanuts with the red skin on too. I have made it that way.

- In a blender or processor, add the peanuts, salt, honey and oil and blend it well until smooth.

- If you hold them down in a spoon, it should stick and not fall. This is the right consistency.
- Eat them as it is or as a spread on your bread and refrigerate the remaining in an air tight container.

Foot note:
- The peanuts have to be ground until they turn really smooth. Do not add any water. The peanuts themselves would release a lot of oil while grinding.
- If you need a little crunchy spread, you could stop grinding while it is a little coarse.

Sending the recipe to

Winter Carnival hosted by Radhilka of Tickling Palates

Pumpkin Peanut butter Soup

2011-11-27T07:51:00.001-08:00

Its been raining, no..actually pouring since the last couple of days here in Chennai and the monsoon has been very active since the last few weeks. You will agree that rains call for a lot of spicy, crunchy and hot comfort foods from the kitchen! One can cuddle up to the warmth of these cozy home made fresh food and enjoy the rains from the comforts of the living room:-)

I did make some spicy afternoon snacks over the last few weeks but all the while I had been wanting to make some soup as well. Somehow kept eluding it for want of more time and this evening, I was reminded of my date with the Gutsy Cook club and off I went to the market to buy the much needed pumpkin and peanuts!

One of the things I love most about Chennai...I live just one street away from the local market...which means I get fresh veggies from dawn to dusk within a minutes walk and all the grocery stores too are open 7 days a week. So, no need to stock up groceries for a whole week or two like we used to do in the US. And the best thing is the weather....its always warm and hot at its worst (during summers)...so, one can just step out in a pair of sandals without a care about wrapping up from head to toe against the cold!

OK, now off to the recipe. The original is a butter nut squash cum peanut butter soup. However, since we don't get butter nut squash around here...I have used pumpkin.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup cubed pumpkins
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 2 tomatoes boiled and skin peeled
- 2 tsp peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 dry red chilly
- 4 to 5 black pepper corns
- 2 or 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Mint leaves for flavouring
- Bay leaf for flavouring

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins

Source: My Recipes

Preparation:

- Boil the tomatoes in water for 10 mins, drain the water and allow to cool. Meanwhile, chop the onions, and cube the pumpkins and set aside.
- In a deep pan, heat the oil and add the bay leaf and then add the onions, garlic, pumpkin and salt and saute them on medium flame until the onions turn translucent.

- Meanwhile, grind the tomatoes, red chilly, pepper corns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and few mint leaves into a smooth paste.

- Once the onions turn translucent, add the tomato paste, peanut butter, salt and 1 cup of water and let the mix come to a boil for 10 minutes or till the pumpkins are cooked.

Peanut Butter

- Tasty and filling pumpkin - peanut butter soup ready. Serve with your favorite bread and enjoy this healthy soup!

- This is a very heavy and filling soup and the above proportion can serve 2 persons.

Foot note: Peanut butter makes this soup really heavy. So, do not add more of it.

Sending the recipe to

Gutsy Cook Club Week of Nov 20

Winter Carnival hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

Cheese Corn balls

2011-11-23T05:53:00.001-08:00

Usually I try to bake what needs to be fried but today I happened to do the opposite:-) Fried something that needs to be baked...well, I guess it is high time I get myself an oven before I begin to overdo this frying act. As part of the Gutsy cook club I had decided to make cheese corn puffs but as it turned out, did'nt have enough time to wrap it up by the weekend and over-shot the schedule. So, this one is kind of a modified version of the cheese corn puffs adn it turned out pretty good. A quickie for those sudden guests popping in from time to time...

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)
- 1/2 cup fresh or canned corn( if frozen thaw it well ahead of making)

- 2 green chillies
- 1 egg white (optional)
- 1/2 cup cheese ( any flavour)
- Salt as needed
- oil for frying

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 4 to 5 minutes per batch

Source: Food Network

Preparation:

- Grind the corn and chilly together without adding any water.
- Mix the ground paste with the flour, cheese and egg white.

- Add salt as needed
- Heat oil in a pan and fry small portions of the mix in low heat.

- Serve hot with any sauce of your choice:-) is'nt that the simplest!

Sending the recipe to

Winter Carnival hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

Coconut Scrapper- BWW

2011-11-23T01:47:00.001-08:00

Coconuts are so much a part of South Indian food especially in the Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka! Though Kerala leads the rest, even food of Tamilnadu uses a lot of coconut! As I took out a coconut from the fridge for using in the kitchen, my eyes fell upon the scrapper which I had not used since ages. Woman of today juggling between work, home, kids and so many other chores seem to have no time for slow cooking. Everything happens in a jiffy in the kitchen esply on weekdays if the woman of the house is also working.

So, the days of these scrapper are forgotten in new-age Indian homes, though every house has one of them....wondering for what?! What if your in-laws or parents come in to stay with you....they definitely can't handle cutting veggies and scrapping coconuts with a knife and cutting board! For them, the traditional kitchen cutlery are still the best and easiest. Sit on the floor, folding the legs across the wooden plank of the scrapper and finish the job in like no time:-)

No wonder woman of earlier generations had lesser osteoporosis and joint problems. Cooking gave them just all the right kind of exercises that their hands and legs needed. Using the mortar-pestle for grinding, scrapper for cutting veggies and so many other things where one had to physically exert a bit atleast:-) Well, all said and done, in these days...it has become next to impossible to use them during the morning rush hours and i guess we need to resort to spending quality time on exercising to keep us fit and healthy!

Sending to Black & White Wednesdays at The Well seasoned cook by Susan

Aapam with Coconut Milk - Blog Hop

2011-11-16T07:54:00.001-08:00

Its blog hop Wednesday again! Time really flies and blog hops makes me realise it every fortnight! My blog hop friend for this week is Roshan of Roshan's Cucina. Roshan has a very inviting and bright blog space and there were quite a lot of items under 'baking' which I wanted to try but for the lack of a proper oven in my kitchen. So, while I was browsing through her other recipes the "palappam" caught my attention.

This is something I had been wanting to make since a very long time but had not been able to make for some reason. Thanks to blog hop, today I tried it. Turned out fluffy and soft and went so well with the fresh and sweet coconut milk! My MIL used to make this too, so I borrowed some ideas from her and varied the ingredients for the batter slightly, from Roshan's.

Ingredients:

Aapam batter:

- 1 cup raw rice
- 1 cup idli rice (boiled rice)
- 2 tbsp urad dhal
- 1 tight fistful fenugreek seeds (methi/vendhayam)

Add on to the batter:

- Salt as needed
- 4 tbsp ground coconut
- 1 tbsp sugar
- a pinch of baking soda

For Coconut Milk:

- 1 fresh coconut
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar

Prep time: 1 day Cook time: 3 mins per aapam/ 10 mins for coconut milk

Source: Roshan's Cucina

Preparation:

- Soak all the ingredients under "aapam batter" above for minimum 3 hours and grind them into a smooth batter. Add salt and let it ferment for 8 to 10 hours or as required.
- Prepare the coconut milk just before you are ready to make the aapam. Grind the shredded coconut( if using frozen coconut, use 1 cup) with half cup water and filter and extract the milk and set aside. To this add the sugar and let it dissolve. Do not dilute the coconut milk.
- Prior to making the appam, grind 4 tbsp of fresh coconut in little water and add it along with the sugar and baking soda in the batter.
- If the batter is too thick, use some coconut milk to thin it a bit.
- Heat the appam pan and pour a ladle of the batter in the center and immediately roll the pan in circular motion to spread the batter around the pan.

- Cover and cook for approx 3 minutes on low flame. The center of the appam would be thick and fluffy while the edges would be thin and crispy.

- Remove from pan and serve with the coconut milk. Can be served with vegetable stew as well.

Sending the recipe to

Blog hop wednesday event hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates

Apple Upside down Cake!

2011-11-15T06:11:00.001-08:00

I am so thrilled and excited about this cake... it turned out as fabulous as Vardhini had posted in her blog. The moment I saw the post on her blog I had bookmarked it and wanted to try it for my bro-in-laws b'day which is today!

Being born with hearing and speech impairment, he is now going through some tough unhealthy phase in his life. I wanted to make this day special for him with all the ingredients he is allowed to eat and this cake was just perfect except for a few ingredients. Anyways, we live life just once....what is life, if we can't relish a piece of cake even on our b'day?! The cake was a big hit among all at home and vanished in no time:-)

Baking it in an oven would have made the cake rise much better and brown on top. However, am yet to equip my kitchen fully after relocation. So, had to bake it in microwave....have to say...it was super quick making the cake in microwave though I was not very pleased with the rising part.Now off to the recipe...

Ingredients:

For topping:

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
1 apple cored and skin peeled
1 tsp lemon juice

For cake mix:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup cake flour( I used pilsbury)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla flavoring
- few walnuts for topping

Prep time: 20 mins Bake time: 10 mins in microwave

Recipe Source: Zesty Palette

Preparation:

Topping:

- In a cake pan, add the butter, brown sugar and cocoa powder given under "for topping" above. I also added a tsp of powdered white sugar, as I had powdered some extra sugar. This is not needed though.

- Heat the above in microwave for 1 to 1 -1/2 minutes until the butter is melted. Mix all the ingredients.
- Peel the apple and core it. Slice them thin and place it over the melted butter and brown sugar mix. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples.

Cake mix:

- Beat 2 tbsp butter for a few seconds.
- Sieve the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together. Add the sieved flour to the butter and beat all together while slowly adding the milk.

- When everything comes together, add the egg whites and vanilla essence and beat the whole mix for a minute until everything turns fluffy.
- Pour this mix over the apples in the cake pan.
- Sprinkle some pieces of walnuts over the batter. While baking, these nuts will get soaked into the cake and would give a crunch while you bite into the cake:-)

- Microwave selecting the "cake" menu for 10 minutes. The time may vary from oven to oven. A toothpick or knife inserted in the center has to come out clean! At this point your cake is ready.
- Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Invert the pan on to a plate. The cake will slide on to the plate and voila.....your apple upside-down cake is ready to eat!

Sending the recipe to:

Hearth and Soul Hop at Alea's Premeditated leftovers

Love lock with sweets event hosted by Vidhya of Sweet Karam Kapi

Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie of Erivum Puliyum

Bookmarked recipes event hosted by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan and Aipi of US Masala

Peas Aloo Paratta

2011-11-11T05:18:00.001-08:00

Parattas or Paranthas are one of my favourite meal! During school days I have visited Delhi a couple of times for summer holidays. In some of those trips, I had been lucky to taste the parathas from the road side dabbas! Ohhhh...what taste they used to have? Even one paratha is more from those kiosks! The chill buttery lassi and parathas are simply the best food one can find in the North of India!

Somehow, I have never been able to master making parathas without the filling coming out of the covering...:-) Sometimes, I succeed with aloo paratha but have never managed with any other fillings! If any of you experts have any tips & tricks on making the perfect parathas pls share...I would be so glad to get your feedback!

When I saw the peas paratha post at Raks Kitchen...I was so impressed and wanted to try them that day. Instantly I soaked some green peas and made them for dinner! I did have the filling coming out of the covering...So, I used a different method to get the perfect ones;-)

Ingredients:

For filling:

- 1 Potato boiled and mashed
- 2 cups green peas or frozen peas
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 green chillies
- some chopped coriander leaves
- Salt to taste

For dough

- 2 cups wheat flour
- 1 tsp oil
- Salt to taste
- Ajwain seeds
- warm water as needed.

Prep time: 45 mins Cook time: 4 mins for each paratha

Preparation:

- Make the chapathi dough with the ingredients given above and make a soft pilable dough.
- Soak the green peas for 5 to 6 hours and pressure cook them with little water. At the same time, you can pressure cook the potato as well.
- If using frozen peas, thaw them and microwave for a couple of minutes before use.
- Drain the peas completely and let it cool for 20 minutes.

- In a blender, grind the chilly and ginger first. Later, add the green peas and grind until they become smooth.
- To this mash the boiled potato and add it along with salt and coriander leaves. Do not add any water.

Making the paratha:

- I tried making the paratha by covering the stuffing with the dough but it was a disaster;-)(one needs to admit the mess too)!!! Though I did not add any water, the stuffing was little soggy and tough to handle. So, i tried the following method.
- Make two thin chapatthis. Spread a spoonful of the stuffing on one chapathi.Press the other chapathi on top of the stuffing.

- Cook this with little ghee on both sides. Serve with onion raita or pickle of your choice!

- Tasty aloo peas paratha is ready to eat.

Sending the entry to

Cooking without Onion & Garlic event hosted by Sreevalli of Ammaji Recipes

Healthy Cooking Challenge hosted by Smita of My Tasty Curry and guest hosted by Kavi of Edible Entertainment

Oven fried Mushrooms

2011-11-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

Just today I realised there are many posts waiting to see the light of the day;-) Don't know why am letting them all sit instead of publishing. Some of friends and cousins had started asking me why am not being regular with my posts. Guess I have a lot of things to do at hand that by the time, I settle down to write a post , am too tired and keep it for another day. Wonder how all my fellow bloggers manage a family, work and also actively run events and regularly publish on the blog as well. I need to definitely strike a balance and I hope to do so very soon.....

Now, on to my favourite a quick starter! I had not been a great fan of mushrooms until one day I tried making this and found myself emptying the plate in a jiffy. It is such a simple mushroom starter and you can be sure it will be an instant hit!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of washed and chopped mushrooms
- 2 tsp olive oil or cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp chilly powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt to taste

Prep time: 10 mins Bake time: 30 mins

Preparation:

- Clean the mushrooms with a wet towel and slice them into desiered thickness. Never wash the mushrooms in running water or in a bowl as it makes them go mushy while cooking.
- In a mixing bowl, add the mushrooms and all the other ingredients and give them all a good toss and let it sit for 5 minutes. Go low on salt as mushrooms do not absorb too much salt.

- Pre- heat the oven to 350 deg F. Spread the mushrooms on a baking tray and leave it on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Tasty & oevn fried mushrooms ready to go as a starter with soups or drinks!

Foot note:
- You are free to use any kind of seasoning of your choice!

Sending the recipe to:

Cooking without Onion & Garlic event hosted by Sreevalli of Ammajis Recipes

Healthy Cooking challenge hosted by Smita of My tasty Curry and co-hosted Kavi of Edible Entertainment

Global Food Festival hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds

Coconut Trees & Navel Orange Tree - BWW

2011-11-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

All these shots were taken from the terrace of our house in Chennai, India. Only when I clicked did I realise how many of these beautiful trees were standing tall around the neighborhood! The Navel Orange tree adorns the backyard of my neighbor!

Coconut trees on an overcast afternoon!

Navel Orange tree of my neighbors backyard!

Coconut all set for harvest:-)!

Sending to Black & White Wednesdays even hosted by Susan of The Well Seasoned cook!

Paneer Laajawab for bloghop

2011-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

The new edition of blog hop has set everyone across the globe busy in their kitchens! This is such an exciting event as we get to see so many new recipes and meet so many new bloggers! My blog hop for this week is with Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's. Her blog had just the recipes I was looking for....authentic Punjabi delicacies:-) I bookmarked quite a few recipes and tried this one as it looked very new and interesting!

I should say, I probably have changed the recipe a little bit as it does'nt quite match the colour on Vaishalis post:-) However, it tasted great all the same ....except that the tomatoes flavour was slightly strong. My advise would be to use just 2 tomatoes instead of the 3 I used:-)

Ingredients:

- 200 gms cubbed paneer (cottage cheese)
- 1/2 cup Bottle gourd(calabash) puree
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 1/2 cup onion, chilly, ginger, garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp chilly powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- a pinch of turmeric
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp oil

Preparation:

- Boil the tomatoes in water for 10 minutes and set aside for cooling. on cooling, peel the skin and grind in a blender to make puree
- Peel the skin of the bottle gourd, cube the veggie and boil for 10 mins and drain. On cooling, grind in a blender to make puree

- Chop one medium onion, add 2 green chillies, 1/2 inch of ginger and 5 cloves garlic. Grind all together into a paste and set aside.

- In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the cubed paneer. Remove them on to a bowl with warm water and a pinch of turmeric. Let it stay until it is needed.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining oil, add the onion paste and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Now, add the bottle gourd puree. Cover the pan and cook until the paste becomes almost dry.
- To this, add the tomato puree, salt, all other masala powders and cover and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the oil separates.
- Now, add the paneer cubes and let the whole mixture come to a boil for 5 minutes. If the gravy is too thick, you can add some milk to thin it.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream if available!

Sending to

Fire roasted Brinjals or Aubergines - BWW

2011-11-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Love the flavour of fire roasted brinjals! The smoky flavour it adds to the recipes is just too good to miss!

Sending to Black & White Wednesdays Hosted by Susan

Sugar Apples or Sitaphal - BWW

2011-11-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

A very popular and immensely tasty fruit called the Sitaphal by Indians! Not eaten by many because of the laborious task of getting the pulp separated from the many seeds inside the fruit and getting your hands all messy! But to me...that is the fun part! What is eating without messing up a bit once in a while....Eating this fruit makes you feel like a kid again:-) So, if you get them around where you live, pick the ripe ones and indulge! Tastes best when eaten as a fruit or as a milkshake too!

More info on this fruit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple

Sending to Black & White Wednesdays hosted by Susan

Nellikai rice - Amla Rice - Gooseberry Rice

2011-11-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

Have never thought these simple gooseberries could be used to make a healthy and quick fix lunch! Gooseberries have always meant pickles to me and I have never tried to imagine it being used elsewhere except in the tonics and oils for Vitamin C nourishment.The very mention of gooseberry gets my taste buds tickling with sourness..sssssssssss!Yes, thats the way I felt when I first heard about this rice.

Since a long time I had wanted to try this recipe but I could not get hold of gooseberries in US. After I landed in India, the first thing I bought on my very first groceries shopping trip was gooseberries! They were patiently waiting to see the light of the day in my fridge for over 10 days! Well, when I did make them, it turned out awesome! It is such a quick and easy rice to make and is a perfect fit for the dabba!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup rice (raw rice or basmati)
- 3 gooseberries grated
- 1 or 2 green chillies
- 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp oil, divided
- few curry leaves
- chopped coriander
- a pinch of turmeric
- Salt to taste

For tempering:

- 1 tsp urad dhal
- 1 tsp channa dhal
- 1 tsp peanuts
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin(jeera) seeds
- 2 or 3 cashews broken

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins

Preparation:
Source: Delicious Desi Dishes

- Cook the rice of your choice and set aside for cooling. Rice has to be cooked in such a way that the grains are seperate and not sticky.
- While the rice is cooking, grate the gooseberries, chop the onions, slit the chillies in half and gather the ingredients for tempering.
- In a small pan, heat 1/2 tsp of oil, add the mustards and once they splutter add the cumin seeds and other ingredients. You can temper with any or all of the ingredients listed under tempering.
- Once the dhals are roasted remove the tempering and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining oil, add the onions and chillies and fry till the onions turn translucent.
- Now add the grated gooseberries, salt and turmeric and saute constantly for 2 to 3 minutes.Remove from heat and mix with the tempering.

- Add the warm rice to the above and toss everything together.
- Pack them into your dabbas for lunch or serve with any raitha of your choice!

Footnote:
- For those who are not very calorie conscious, you could add 2 tsp of grated coconut while sauteing the gooseberries for added flavour:-)

Sending to Bookmarked Recipes Event hosted by Priya and Aipi

Helathy Cooking Challenge hosted by Smita of My Tasty Curry and guest hosted by Kavi of Edible Entertainment

Oven Baked Stuffed Capsicum

2011-10-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

It feels so bad to be posting just once in a week. Don't know if its my personal feeling or this is the way it is....but life in India seems to be too busy that finding time to cook in leisure is in itself a luxury. Am yet to find that luxury though. So, I decided to post some of the posts which were saved up for such rainy days. Now, when I have the time to post, they are coming in handy.

Last month, while we had gone farm picking, I got hold of some really cute capsicums and could think of nothing but make stuffed curry out of them. I decided to bake them in the oven instead of roasting them stove top and it turned out equally good with roti and rice!

Ingredients:

- 6 small capsicums

- 1 medium onion finely chopped

- 1/2 cup lima beans

- 1/2 cup mixed veggies finely chopped

- 1/2 tsp each of coriander powder, chilly powder, jeera(cumin) powder and garam masala

- 1/2 tsp jeera(cumin) seeds for seasoning

- 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

- 1 tbsp coarsely ground peanuts

- Salt to taste

- 1 tsp oil

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour

Preparation:

- Chop the head of the capsicum and core the seeds from inside.

- Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F while you get the stuffing ready.

- Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add jeera and allow to splutter. Now, add the onions and ginger garlic paste and saute until the onions turn translucent.

- To this, add the veggies, lima beans and all the masala powder and salt. If needed add some water. Mix everything and cook covered or open.

- When the veggie masala is dry and cooked, add the peanut powder and fry for a minute before removing from heat. Garnish with some coriander leaves for added flavour

- On cooling, scoop the masala into the cored capsicums and arrange them in a baking tray or pan.

- Spray the stuffed capscums with cooking oil and place them in the lower rack of the pre-heated oven.

- Bake for 30 minutes. Baking time may vary depending on the oven.

- If you do not have an oven, you can try them in a pan on stove top as well. Ensure to turn the capsicum over on all sides to cook it evenly.

Foot note:

- Since the capsicums are not cooked in spice, you could add little extra salt in the stuffing if you prefer.

- You can choose to make any kind of stuffing you prefer.