Home Made Recipes

Egg Spring Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Tue, 28 May 2013 05:44:00 +0000

This Egg Spring Rolls was in my drafts for months. After preparing this Egg Spring Rolls, I had tried on Dil Pasand Recipe with the left over spring roll sheets. I have already posted it long time and somehow forgot to post Egg Spring Roll recipe.

Egg Spring Rolls

These Egg sping rolls are crunchy and delicious evening snack . Kids will love to take it in their snack box and share it with their friends. I am yet to try this to make it from scratch. I have used readymade store-bought spring roll sheets. It surely saves lot of time.

Ingredients

Spring Roll sheets

Boiled Eggs -3

Onion - 2

Tomato - 1

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves - Few

Salt to taste

Ginger- garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder - 3/4 tsp

Oil- For deep frying

Egg Spring Rolls

Method

For Egg filling

1. Boil the eggs, remove the shells and chop the eggs into cubes.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok and add chopped onions. Fry till onions turn slightly brown in color.

3. Add in ginger- garlic paste and saute it for a minute.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Simmer the flame and let it cook till tomatoes softens.

5. Now add all the dry ingredients including salt and mix well.

6. Drop in the chopped eggs cubes , turn the flame to high and mix all the ingredients so that the mixture combines well and the water content is reduced.

7. Lastly add fresh coriander leaves and mix.

Now the filling for spring roll is ready

To separate the spring roll sheets, first defrost them to room temperature.

Follow the direction as directed in the cover and assemble all together.

Deep fry the rolls in hot oil till they turn golden brown in color.

Egg Spring Rolls

Note

You can add any filling to the spring rolls. Stir fried vegebales, grilled chicken or try out with any left overs dry sabzi.

Butter Chicken / Murgh Makhani

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:29:00 +0000

Butter Chicken Masala is an Indian Dish originated from Punjab which is popular all over the world. Its rich, delicious, creamy and the most flavorful dish. Butter Chicken Masala tastes great with Indian breads like Naan, Tandoori Roti, Chapati etc.

I met one of the sweet couple from Netherlands and they said they had this Butter Chicken Masala every alternate days for months during their stay in Bangalore. And there is hardly any restaurant without this famous dish in their menu card.

Butter Chicken

So coming back to the recipe, I didn't add onions or tomatoes to this. This version is totally mine and it tasted just like the one you get in Indian Restaurants. It was an instant hit at home and my hubby insisted that I have to post it in my blog soon so that I won't forget it and he will get the chance to taste the same version some time soon ;) So here's the recipe of the most popular Mughlai dish - BUTTER CHICKEN or MURGH MAKHANI

Ingredients

Chicken 300 gms ( with bone or boneless) I used 5 chicken drumsticks

Yoghurt / Plain curds - 1 cup

Chicken masala - 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Butter Chicken

Ginger- Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Haldi/ Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder / Dhania powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Cashewnuts - 15 (soaked in water for 30 mins)

Pudina/Mint leaves 1/4 cup (chopped) - Optional

Soft Unsalted Butter - 2 or 3 tbsp or( 2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp Oil)

Kasuri Methi / dried Methi leaves - 1 tsp ( I didn't add this as it was out of stock)

Method

1. Make some incisions on the chicken leg pieces with a sharp knife and set aside.

2. Blend all the ingredients in a blender except Pudina leaves, chicken, butter and Kasuri methi. Mix chicken and the prepared paste. [You can marinate this for 1 or 2 hours which I skipped again ;) ]

3. Heat 1 tbsp of butter + 2 tsp of oil in a cooking vessel. Add the chicken pieces along with the masala paste , chopped pudina leaves and mix well. Pour 3/4 to 1 cup of water depending on how much gravy consistency you want. Mix again and cover the vessel with a lid .Let it cook for 10 mins in a low to medium heat or till the chicken is done and the gravy gets thicken.

4. Now add 1 tbsp of butter to the dish and sprinkle some kasuri methi. Mix well and switch off the flame.

5. Serve hot with any Indian Bread or even with hot steamed rice.

Butter Chicken

Note: Restaurants add tandoori chicken pieces to the dish. Try this out and you will definitely enjoy with the most easiest butter chicken version.

Rainbow Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:59:00 +0000

Rainbow Cake

Its again a post on baking. Last week was my little boy's "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". He started planning for his birthday from last 3 months. But all his friends had gone out of the city since its their summer vacation. Poor boy! just like me, he too will never get a chance to distribute chocolates on his birthday in school. Ever since I baked a heart shaped Choco- Walnut cake for my hubby on his birthday, my son started complaining that I never baked a cake for his birthday and this time he too wanted a heart shaped cake on his much awaited birthday. It was a hectic week, and we already had ordered a surprise CHOTA BHEEM cake for our darling son. So, I decided to go with a Rainbow cake. I also baked his favorite Tutti Frutti cookies.

Rainbow Cake Recipe

Please follow the recipe of my Vanilla Cupcake here. Prepare the cake batter. Divide it into 4 to 5 equal portions. Mix different food colors to each portion like green, yellow, saffron, cocoa powder (brown). Leave one portion plain to get a off-white color in between.

Rainbow Cake

To make a rainbow strip effect

Its similar to the way I baked Zebra Cake.

1. Lightly grease the round or heart shaped cake tin with little oil or line it with a parchment( baking) paper.

2. Take a ladle full of green color cake batter and pour it in the middle of the baking tin. Then carefully go on adding other colored batters in the middle allowing the batter to spread on its own. Repeat the process till you finish all the bowls. I still had some more left over colored batters and that was used by my hubby to show his art on Cupcakes ;)

3. Once done, carefully keep it in an oven at 180C for 45 mins. Cake is ready when a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Remove the cake from the oven and carefully run a knife at the sides of the tin and invert it on a plate. Once cooled, decorate it with your favorite icing. I decorated it with whipped cream and Cadbury Gems.

Rainbow Cake

And now here's the Black Forest Chota Bheem Cake we ordered for our birthday boy.

Chota Bheem Cake

Happy Birthday My Boy! Love You Tons. God

Bless You Dear !

Zebra Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:28:00 +0000

Today is a very special day for us. Yes! Its our wedding anniversary. Life has shown its true colors and it still feels smooth and secured when we face it together. Thank Lord and our family. This is the first time, my husband is so busy that he couldn't apply a leave. Hmm! Spend morning with my son going through our marriage album and answering his cute innocent questions.

Baked this Zebra Cake for the occasion and packed some for my hubby's lunch box. Just got a call that its a hit there in his office. Thought of baking something else but couldn't find some ingredients. So ended up baking my all time favorite zebra cake.

When I told my son that i am gonna bake Zebra Cake, he was so excited and confused too. Enjoyed baking this with those tiny hands helping me out in every stage, bombarding with lot of curious questions and excitement and resulting in a much more messy kitchen. And a surprise cake is not at all a SURPRISE anymore if you reveal it to the little one ;)

Vanilla Sponge Cake is our all time favorite cake and so planned this for the celebration giving it some striped zebra effect. Click here for the Vanilla Cake Recipe. Both my super heroes loved the cake and I have saved some for my parents too whom we will be meeting in the evening.

Ingredients

Refer Vanilla Cake here

2 tbsp Choco Powder

Milk 1/4 cup

Method.

1. Refer Vanilla cake here. Divide the cake batter into two equal halves. Add cocoa powder to one bowl and mix it thoroughly. Add little milk if you find the mixture too hard/ thick. Keep the other bowl plain.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C

To make a zebra strip effect

1. Lightly grease the round cake tin with little oil or line it with a parchment(baking) paper.

2. Take a ladle full of plain vanilla batter and pour it into the middle of the baking tin. Then carefully pour another ladle full of cocoa batter on top of the vanilla batter. Repeat the process till both the bowl are empty. Do not spread the batter to distribute the mixture. It will spread and fill the pan gradually. You just keep on alternating the batters till you finish both the bowls.

3. Once done, carefully keep it in oven for baking at 180C for 45 to 50 mins. Cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the Cake from the oven. Carefully run a knife at the sides of the tin with knife and invert it on a plate. Once its cooled, cut and enjoy the Zebra Cake.

Coriander Powder/ Dhania powder - Fresh Home Made

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:42:00 +0000

After having tough time storing coriander seeds and dealing with small bugs or insects, I have now developed a habit of making this fresh Coriander powder at home. I find this very handy and the aroma it emits is so good. Coriander powder is vastly used in Indian cuisine, be it any non-vegetarian dish or even a simple sambar or rasam, this aromatic coriander powder is very much needed and it also acts as a thickening agent.

Here's the easiest way to make Coriander powder at home using a mixer.

Ingredients

Fresh Coriander seeds - 250 gms

Method.

1. Clean the coriander seeds to get rid of stones and other impurities.

2. Dry roast these fresh coriander seeds in a wok or a pan in a low- medium heat for about 5-7 minutes till you get a nice aroma of coriander seeds.

3. Allow it to cool completely. Now grind these roasted coriander seeds in a dry mixie jar to make a fine powder.

3. Once done, again shift this to the wok and allow it cool down completely and then store it in an air-tight container. This way it will stay fresh and can be stored for about 6 months.

Note:

Always use a dry spoon when needed and close the lid properly.

You can also sun dry the coriander seeds. I opt for roasting coriander seeds in a pan or wok.

You can also give this to the mill for grinding in case you need a very fine powder like the store bought one.

Try this and home and you will surely find this better and aromatic than the store bought ones.

Karela Pakoda/ Bitter Gourd Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:51:00 +0000

Posting another recipe of this most hated veggie KARELA or BITTER GOURD. A simple Karela Stir fry recipe is already on the blog. Check it out here. Everyone are aware of the nutritional values of this veggie but still avoid it. Try this and I am sure you will change your views for good.

Karela Pakoda/BitterGourd Chips

Here's the recipe of Karela/BitterGourd Chips/Fry

Ingredients

Karela/ Bitter Gourd - 1

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Haldi- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Besan/ Gram Flour - 2 tbsp

Rice Flour - 1 tbsp

Oil - Deep Frying.

Method

1. Wash the bitter melon and cut into halves. Remove the seeds and cut it into thin slices.

2. Add some salt and 1/2 tsp haldi to the sliced bitter melon. Leave it untouched for about 1/2 an hour.

3. After half an hour, you will notice some bitter water left out from bitter gourd. Wash it with water and squeeze out the water and transfer the squeezed bitter melon to another bowl.

Step 2 and Step 3 is to lessen the bitterness of the bitter gourd. You are always welcome to skip these two steps.Deep Frying also reduces the bitterness.

4. Mix all the ingredients along with squeezed bitter gourd (except oil) with little water till the bitter gourd gets coated with the flour. Don't add too much of water. Batter should be thick enough just to coat the veggie.

5. Heat oil in wok and carefully drop these veggie's one by one for deep frying. Fry it till in a medium flame till it gets golden brown and crisp.

6. Serve it hot.

Karela Pakoda/BitterGourd Chips

Note: You can also include the seeds of the bitter melon.

Add 1 or 2 tsp of hot oil before mixing it with besan and rice flour. It gives more crispier chips.

Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Its Summer again and this cute photogenic, gorgeous fruit is back in the market. I picked some of these for garnishing the Birthday cake I prepared for my husband. With the rest, I prepared this Pink, creamy milkshake and its so perfect chilled, refreshing drink for this hot hot summer.

Strawberry Milkshake

Here's the recipe of Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

Ingredients

Fresh Strawberries- 8(Medium sized )

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Strawberry Ice-cream - 1 scoop

Chilled milk - 2 cups

Strawberry Milkshake

Method

1. Wash the strawberry thoroughly and remove the green stalks.

2. Chop the strawberries and blend it in a mixer with sugar till you get a nice smooth strawberry puree.

3. Add chilled milk to this and blend it again for about a minute or till everything combines.

4. Lastly add a scoop of strawberry ice-cream and blend it just for 20 secs.

5. Pour it into the glasses and garnish it with few strawberry slices.

Delicious, girly, pink strawberry milk shake is ready to be served.

Strawberry Milkshake

Note:

1. Do not use warm milk or hot milk for the milkshake.

2. On an average, you will need atleast 3 - 4 medium sized strawberry per glass. Adjust it according to their sizes.

3. You can substitute strawberry ice-cream with vanilla ice-cream. Preferred is Strawberry ice cream.

Strawberry Milkshake

Tutti - Frutti cookies (Eggless)

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:47:00 +0000

Ever since I started blogging, I have been experimenting a lot of baking at home. My recent try was this Tutti Frutti Christmas Special Cookies. Yes! This is specially baked during Christmas time in Goa and I have tasted it in Goa during the festive mood and that was before my marriage. Since I love to cook and bake yummy delicious cookies for my DH and my little boy, I tried it last month and it came out super good , crisp and melts in mouth.

Recipe Source : Sharmi's Passion

Ingredients

Maida/ All prpose flour - 1 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup

Tutti Frutti - 1/4 cup

Milk - 1 or 2 tbsp

Unsalted Butter - 6 tbsp (room Temperature)

Method

1. Powder the sugar and bring the butter to room temperature.

2. In a mixing bowl, add powdered sugar and butter. Cream this to light and fluffy.

3. Add maida, tutti frutti and mix well.

4. Add milk to form a soft sticky dough. Lay a butter paper and roll the dough and form a log. Dust some flour if needed.

5. Wrap it with a butter paper and freeze it in a freezer for 40 mins.

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 180C for 10 mins.

7. Remove the dough logs from the freezer and slice them into thick slices appx 1/2 an inch.

8. Line the baking tray or a cake mold with butter paper and place these cookies carefully on a baking tray leaving some space in between each cookie. The cookies doesn't spread, still its better to follow this step.

9. Bake this for 15- 20 mins or till you notice the edges turning into light golden brown in color. This indicates that the cookies are done. Transfer carefully in a rack and allow it to cool completely. Transfer it into an air tight container and enjoy it during tea time or any time when you feel like munching ;)

Note:

Don't use a knife with wavy impressions. Always use a smooth finish knife or a plain sharp knife with no impressions to cut the cookie dough log. This results in getting a smooth layer on a cookie.
Check the cookies in regular 10 mins intervals since they turn to burn easily.
You can also use a cookie cutter to cut the cookies into any shape as desired.
The cookies turn out crisp when its cooled completely.

Dry Shrimp Kismur / Dry Prawns Salad - A Goan Delicacy

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:54:00 +0000

Goa is known for its delicious, mouth watering seafood dishes. For the seafood lovers like us, you will go crazy trying out different seafood Goan cuisine in Goa. You name a fish and you are surely gonna get it in the fish market there. This post is strictly for the seafood lovers. People from konkan belt and Goa are familiar with this dish but to others this post might sound strange.

During Summer, you get some fresh stocks of sun dried fishes like mackerel(bangda),prawns (sungta),shark fish(mori) etc in the fish markets . That's when the goans and coastal line people get prepared for the rainy season and store these dried variety of fishes for the monsoon season as deep sea fishing is restricted then and its difficult to get fresh fish. Even in dry fish, there are N number of delicious dishes.

Kismur or Dry Prawns Salad is made from dry prawns or dry fish like mackerel. This is one of the most popular Goan dish and its served in almost all restaurants in Goa. Its very simple and easy dish which goes very well as a side dish to any simple Indian meal.

Here's the recipe of Kismur/ Dry Prawns Salad

Ingredients

Dry Prawns - 1 cup (cleaned)

Fresh Grated Coconut - 3/4 th cup

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Tamarind Pulp - 1/4 tsp or Kokum (Sola) 2 or 3

Onion - 1 big sized Finely chopped

Coconut Oil/ Vegetable Oil - 1 tsp (Optional)

Salt to taste.

Method.

1. Clean the dry prawns by taking off the head, tail and legs.

2. I usually wash the dry prawns and then roast it. You can always skip this step.

3. If you are skipping step 2 then Roast the cleaned prawns on a frying pan on a low heat with 1 tsp of oil preferably coconut oil till prawns turn crisp. You are sure to let your neighbours know whats cooking in your kitchen at this stage. ;)

4. Once crisp keep it aside. Take a mixing bowl and mix all the above ingredients using your fingers slightly crushing them. Just before serving, add in the roasted dry prawns and mix well.

Delicious Goan Sungta Kismur is ready to be served.

Note: Adding coconut oil or vegetable oil is optional. If you are adding it, coconut oil is more preferable.

Dry Prawns can be substituted with dry fish like mackerel.

Add very less amount of salt as the dried fish or prawns contains more salt content.

You can also saute the onions with very little oil. But its not followed in a traditional goan dish. Except dry prawns rest of the ingredients are raw.

Rich Chocolate Walnut Cake - Birthday Special

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:02:00 +0000

This post is dedicated for the most wonderful person in my life - My HUSBAND. Last week was my Hubby's Birthday and I thought of baking this cake for him this year.

With the young kid around, its truly very difficult to keep or to do anything in the name of SURPRISE. He kept on telling his dad that mom has a surprise for you on your birthday, giving him big and multiple hints. Finally I am glad that I some how managed to keep this as a SURPRISE for the birthday boy. The moment DH came from office, he saw this cake on the dining table with a super excited kid desperately waiting to have it. I couldn't really see any excitement on DH's face :( We celebrated and then while having dinner he asked me "Cake was super delicious. Where did you get that from?" Ohhh! it was then I realized that he still believed it was from some nearby Cake shop. When I told him I baked and decorated it at home, I could finally see that excitement on his face. Yes! I never baked a cake on any special occasions like birthdays or anniversary and this was the first time I thought of baking one for him. :) Glad I didn't spoil the day :))

Here's the recipe of Rich Chocolate Walnut Cake (Eggless) with Fudge Icing

Recipe Source: Nestle MilkMaid FB Page ( recipe slightly modified)

Ingredients

Condensed milk - 1/2 tin (200g)

Milk - 1/2 cup (75 ml)

Dahi/ yoghurt / Curd- 100g

Butter - 100g

Maida/ All Purpose Flour - 1 cup (100g)

Cocoa powder - 25g

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Baking Soda - 1 tsp

Walnuts , chopped - 1/4 cup

Salt - A generous Pinch

Method

1. Bring condensed milk, butter, yoghurt, milk to room temperature.

2. Sieve Maida, Cocoa powder, Baking Soda and salt together.

3. Beat Butter,sugar and Yoghurt till light and creamy.

4. Fold in the seived ingredients, alternating milk and condensed milk. Add chopped Walnuts.

5. Grease and dust the baking tin and preheat the oven to 180C.

6. Bake for 25- 30 mins till tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow it to cool for 5 mins and remove onto a wire rack.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

Ingredients

Condensed Milk - 1/4 tin (100g)

Butter - 50g

Cocoa - 2 tbsp

Method

1. Mix butter, cocoa and condensed milk and beat well. Microwave this for 20 secs and mix thoroughly.

2. Spread over the cake and leave it to set. Decorate it with grated White and Dark Chocolate.

Slice and Serve.

Dil Pasand

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:11:00 +0000

Dil Pasand is one of our favorite bakery item especially from the Iyengar bakeries. Its a sweet dish with the crispy outer layer and the sweet fillings of coconut, dry fruits and colorful Tutti-frutti's. I tried this delicious Dil Pasand recipe from the spring roll sheets and it came out crispy and delicious. It tasted so good that, my two masterchef judges were all with praises. What else can I expect ! ;)

Here's the easy version of Dil Pasand using Spring Roll Sheets

Ingredients

5 Spring Roll Sheets

1/2 cup of Grated dry Coconut / Cobri

Sugar - 3 tsp

Tutti Frutti - 2 tbsp

Cashewsnut - 5 chopped

Raisins - 5- 10

Butter - 3 tsp

Method

1. Heat 2 tsp of butter in a frying pan and add dry grated coconut, nuts and sugar. Fry it on a medium heat till sugar dissolves.

2. Add tutti - frutti and mix well till everything combines. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool.

3. Take 3 spring roll sheets as a base. Spread the coconut sweet mixture over the sheets leaving the edges plain. Cover this sweet fillings with 2 or 3 sheets and fix the edges by brushing it with some water. Slightly press the centre and the edges with your wet hands so that the mixture and the sheets are completely sealed.

4. Grease the griddle with some butter and gently place this sheets on it. Fry it on both sides till they turn light golden in color.

5. Cut it into desired shape with a pizza cutter or knife and serve warm.

Note : Dry coconut or frozen/freshly grated coconut can be used.

You can also bake this instead of frying on a griddle.

Custard Marble Cake (Eggless)

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:15:00 +0000

I love to bake cakes especially when its butter free. And this is one such bakes where in there's no butter and eggs involved. Above that its MARBLE CAKE and the main ingredients here is WHEAT FLOUR and CUSTARD POWDER. I never tried anything with custard powder before except my favorite Fruit Salad. This cake is delicious, with a unique taste of custard and chocolate together. We loved the marble effect on the cake. The whole cake disappeared within an hour. I am sure to bake it again soon.

Here's the recipe of Custard Marble Cake

Recipe Source: Cook Like Priya (reduced the ingredients quantity)

Ingredients

Wheat Flour/ Atta - 3/4 cup

Maida - 2 tbsp

Custad Powder - 1/2 cup

Cocoa powder - 2 and 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp

Milk - 3/4 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp ( Optional, If you are using Vanilla flavored Custard Powder)

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Sift Wheat flour, maida, baking soda and Custard powder. Keep aside.

2. Mix milk, oil, sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl till sugar dissolves.

3. Add the dry ingredients to this little by little to form a smooth cake batter.

4. Now take 1/4 th of this batter in another mixing bowl and add cocoa powder. Mix well to form a smooth thick batter with no lumps.

5. Grease the baking tin or line it with butter paper.

6. Pour some custard batter and alternate with dollops of cocoa batter into the cake tin till both the batters are tipped in. Form some swirls with the knife on top of the cake. This stage was fun to do :)

7. Bake this in a preheated oven for about 40- 50 mins at 180C. Check in between with a toothpick coming out clean with inserted in the centre.

8. Once done, take the cake out and leave it in the cake pan for about 10 mins. Remove it from the baking tin later and allow it to cool completely by placing it on a wire rack.

Slice this Delicious Custard Marble cake and serve. Best tea time snack.

Spicy Green Chicken Masala

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:20:00 +0000

We are fond of spicy dishes and when it comes to chicken or fish dishes, it has to be spicy for us. This Spicy Chicken in Green masala is a quick, very simple and delicious dish with the goodness of greens. Tastes best with Chapati's, Dosa's or even with Hot steamed rice.

Here's the recipe of Spicy Chicken in Green Masala.

Ingredients

Chicken Boneless pieces - 1 cup (150g)

Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp

Tomatoes - 1 Roughly chopped

Onion - 1 Roughly chopped

Fresh Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Few Mint Leaves (Optional)

Green Chillieds - 3-4 ( according to your spice level)

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Dalchini/ Cinnamon Stick - 1 and 1/2 inch piece

Laung/ Cloves - 5

Dhania Powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method.

1. Make a fine paste of the above mentioned ingredients except Oil, salt and Chicken pieces.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add the prepared green masala paste. Saute for a minute.

3. Add Cleaned Boneless chicken pieces. Mix well. Don't add water or add very less amount of water if necessary. Cover the lid and cook it in a low- medium flame for about 5-6 mins.

4. Check in between and add salt to taste. Mix well.

5. Place the lid back on the wok and cook it again till you notice the oil seperating from the masala. (Don't over cook the chicken)

6. Switch off the flame and mix all together.

Spicy Chicken in Green Masala is ready to be served.

Serve hot with chapati's or hot rice.

Egg Biryani / Anda Biryani / Hyderabadi Dum Anda Biryani

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:12:00 +0000

Today, My blog hits 100,000+ hits. HURRAY ! Thanks to each and every visitor here.

Today's special recipe is our favorite rice dish ---EGG BIRYANI.

Some restaurants here, disappoint us when we order Egg Biryani. They just add boiled eggs to the regular flavored rice and serve it as Egg Biryani. Thats not the way right? There are only a few restaurants we know where we get super delicious perfect Egg Biryani's and one such restaurant is near our home. I was so happy when my husband said that this biryani tasted like the one we have in our favorite restaurant :))

Here's the recipe of simple Egg Dum Biryani

Ingredients

Boiled Eggs - 6

Parboiled Basmati Rice - 2 cups

Onions - 2 + 1 (for deep frying)

Tomatoes - 2 chopped

Haldi/Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Few Freshly chopped Coriander leaves

Few Fresh mint leaves

Ginger- Garlic paste - 3tsp

Bay Leaf- 1

Cinnamon Stick/ Dalchini - 2 inch piece

Cloves/ Laung - 5

Cardamom - 2

Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Coriander Powder/ Dhania powder - 1 tbsp

Green Chillies - 2 slit

Oil - 2 tbspns + Oil for deep frying onions

A Saffron Strands soaked in water or milk

Method

1. Cook rice with almost 5 cups of water with little salt and 2 tsp oil. When the rice is 3/4th cooked, strain the water and spread the rice on a wide plate. Allow it to cool.

2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add Bay leaves, cinnamon stick, laung, Cardamom.

3. Add finely chopped onions and fry till they turn slightly brown in color.

4. Add Ginger- garlic paste and saute for a minute.

5. Add Red chilli powder, Haldi and dhania powder. Fry for a minute and then add finely chopped Tomatoes. Mix well. Cover it with a lid and cook till you notice oil separating from the masala.

6. Now add slit green chillies, salt, freshly chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. Mix well.

7. Add egg halves and mix gently. Pour little water if you feel the masala is too dry. Cook for another minute.

8. Spread the masala evenly and spread the cooked rice on top of the egg masala to form a second layer.

9. Pour the saffron water along over the rice. Spread some fried onions, chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.

10. Cover the vessel with an aluminuim foil and cover it with a lid.

11. Place this vessel on a tava and cook on a low-medium heat for 20- 25 mins.

Hot steaming Delicious Egg Biryani is ready to be served.

Note: You can substitute Tomatoes with plain curds. Don't add both.
If you have more time, you can also go for wheat dough for sealing the biryani vessel instead of aluminium foil.

Channa Dal Halwa

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:11:00 +0000

Today is 8th March and the whole world is celebrating OUR day---That's WOMEN'S DAY.

Happy Women's Day to ALL.

Its meant to appreciate, respect all the famous and silent achievements of womanhood.

Celebrating this Day with a Traditional Mughlai dish - Channa Dal Halwa.

I joined this group called South vs North Challenge just few days back after having a virtual tour of delicious, mouth watering dishes from other food bloggers. The event is successfully hosted by Divya from You Too Can Cook - Indian Recipes. Its a great way to learn dishes from different regions and SNC is gaining its popularity day by day. To know more about this event, visit Divya's space here. I actually tried SNC -5 challenge of Green Peas Kachori with Dum Aloo yesterday and it became an instant hit at home. Will post the recipe soon.

This Month's Challenge is from Kirti of SNC- Northern Group. She challenged the Southern Group with this delicious Channa Dal Halwa/ Burfi. This dish is a Mughlai dish from her mom. Thanks Kirti for this recipe.

Ingredients

Channa Dal/ Bengal Gram/Kadale Bele - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/3 cup

Milk - 1 1/4 cup

Grated Jaggery - 1/4 cup ( Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup Sugar, I substituted it with jaggery)

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Almonds or dry grated coconut/ Cobri - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Wash and soak Channa Dal for 3-4 hours.

2. Cook it in a pressure cooker with little water for 2 whistle.

3. Remove extra water and cool them.

4. Mash it with a spoon to form a coarse mixture.

5. Heat Ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add this mashed Channa Dal mixture to it. Fry this on medium heat till ghee starts to separate.

6. Pour 1/4 cup milk to this and mix. Stir again on a medium heat till the mixture gets dry.

7. Repeat the above step (N0.6) till all the milk is used.

8. Now add jaggery and mix it. Keep stirring till the mixture gets dry and you notice ghee separating from the edges.

9. Add Cardamom powder and mix.

10. Serve it in a serving bowl topped with some grated dry coconut or chopped almonds.

You can also spread them on a greased plate and cut it into barfi's and serve.

Makes 2 bowls of Channa Dal Halwa.

Linking this to Kirti's Space.

Cheesy Onion- Pull Apart Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:39:00 +0000

Cheesy Onion- Pull Apart Bread

Finally, I am with this super soft perfect, freshly baked Home Made Pull Apart Bread. This is my very first attempt in baking a BREAD. Have been planning to prepare this for so long. Baked it yesterday and I am happy with the result. Prepared a filling of cheese, onions, Italian Mixed herbs and Chilli flakes. I am surely gonna try this out again with some sweet fillings.

Here's the recipe of Cheesy Onion- Pull Apart Bread

Recipe Source: My Diverse Kitchen

Ingredients

Warm Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar- 1 tsp

All Purpose flour/ Maida - 3 cups

Salt - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Active dry yeast - 2 tsp

Milk - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp to brush over the bread.

Unsalted Butter - Appx 25gm, Soft at room temp

For Filling

Melted Butter - 1tbsp

Onion - 2 finely chopped

Chilli flakes - 1 tbsp

Mixed Italian herbs - 3 tsp

Grated Cheese of your choice. I used Mozzarella/Pizza Cheese- 3/4 cup

Method

1. Dissolve Sugar and Dry Active yeast in a small bowl with some warm milk. Rest it for 5 mins till yeast bubbles up.

2. Mix Maida, salt and soft butter with 1/2 cup of milk and this prepared yeast mixture. Knead all together to get a soft, elastic, non-sticky dough. Add little extra flour if the dough is sticky.

3. Coat this dough with oil and place it on a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with a towel and leave it untouched for about 1 and 1/2 hours to rise to almost double in volume.

4. Dust your work surface lightly with the flour. Shape the dough into a square and roll it to make a larger square that is about 12' by 12' size.

5. Brush the surface of the rolled dough with melted butter. Evenly sprinkle herbs, chilli flakes, finley chopped Onions and Grated cheese.

6.Use a rolling pin to slightly press the toppings to the dough.

7. Slice the dough with a pizza cutter from top to bottom into 6 long and even strips. Gently lay each strip on top of another.

8. Cut it with a knife into 6 equal divisions.

9. Place this in a greased loaf pan as shown in the pic below.

10. Cover the loaf tin again with a towel and allow it to rest for another 1 hour to rise in volume again.

Lightly brush the top with some milk.

11. Bake at 180C for about 45 mins until its done and the top turns slightly golden brown in color.

Freshly Home Made Cheesy Onion- Pull Apart Bread is ready to be served.

Aloo Matar/ Potato-Green Peas Dry Sabji

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:38:00 +0000

Today's special recipe is Aloo Matar, the most popular Indian dish. Its cooked with Potatoes and Green peas and blended with some Indian Spices which goes well with Chapati's or Roti's.

Here's the dry version of Aloo Matar recipe

Ingredients

Aloo/Potatoes - 3 medium sized

Green Peas- Boiled 1/2 cup

Onion - 2

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Dhania/ Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp

Jeera/Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp (Optional)

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Oil -2 tsp

Fresh Coriander leaves - chopped

Salt to taste

Method

1. Cut Potatoes into small cubes after peeling and washing them.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add chopped or sliced Onions and fry till they turn translucent.

3. Add Potato pieces and little water. Mix once and cook, covered with a lid till potatoes are 3/4 cooked.

4. Add all the dry spices, Salt and boiled green peas. Mix once again and cook till water evaporates and potatoes are cooked completely and blends neatly with the spices.

5. Switch off the flame and add some fresh chopped coriander leaves.

Best Serves with Chapati's or Roti.

Methi Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:19:00 +0000

Methi Chicken

Methi Chicken is the delicious and very simple dish cooked with chicken and fresh Methi( Fenugreek) leaves, a Win - Win Combo for sure. Some use dried methi leaves too. Can't comment much on it as I am yet to try it with dry Methi leaves.

Here's the recipe of Methi Chicken

Ingredients

200g Chicken

Onion -1 chopped

Tomatoes - 2 chopped

Methi leaves/ fenugreek leaves - 1 bunch

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Ginger- garlic paste - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder( Coriander powder) - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil -1 tbsp

Method

1. Clean, wash and chop Methi leaves and keep aside.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai and add chopped onion to it. Fry till onions turn slightly brown in color.

3. Add Ginger- garlic paste and saute it for 2 mins.

4. Now add chopped tomatoes and saute it for a minute.

5. Add cleaned and chopped fresh methi leaves and mix well.

6. When methi leaves and tomatoes starts getting softer, add haldi, red chilli powder, and coriander powder. Saute it for 2 mins.

7. Now add cleaned chicken pieces and mix well. Close the lid and cook the chicken in low- to- medium flame without adding water.

8.Check in between and add salt. Pour very little water if needed.

9. Cook till chicken gets cooked completely or till you see some oil oozing out which indicates the dish is ready.

10. Hot and spicy Methi Chicken is ready to be served.

Best served as a side dish to rice and sambar/ rasam or with dosa's/ chapati's.

Prawns Fry - Kerala Style

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:07:00 +0000

Kerala is known for the delicious sea food dishes and today's special recipe is one of the most popular Kerala dish- Prawns Fry. My son is not a big fan of sea food but this one dish he instantly fell in love with. We had been to Kerala to meet my best friend who stays abroad and had visited her home town in Dec last year. This dish was introduced to us by her mom who just loves cooking. We exchanged some recipes and this is one of her recipes which I tried within a week after returning from Kerala. This is a deep fried dish with very less ingredients. Thank you Muktha Aunty for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients

Fresh Prawns - Cleaned - 15 medium sized

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Rice flour for coating

Oil for deep frying.

Aunty makes a fine paste of red chillies and salt. She stores in refrigerator to use this for other dishes too. I used red chilli powder instead.

Method

1. Make a paste of Red chilli powder, haldi and Salt.

2. Apply this to the cleaned prawns and marinate for atleast 10-15 mins.

3. Heat oil for frying.

4. Meanwhile coat the marinated prawns with rice flour and drop them one by one into the hot oil for deep frying.

5. Once it turns crisp and golden in color, remove it from oil and place it on an absorbent paper ans serve hot.

Corn Flakes Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:52:00 +0000

"I always looked for someone,

I could live with,

But Ended up loving someone,

I can't live without. I LOVE YOU "

Its a Valentine's Day and I see everyone celebrating with cakes, chocolates, flowers. Amazed with the lovely posts my fellow blogger friends are posting this Love Month. My post might be little weird for the season. Yes! its a Muffins made of Corn Flakes. My son started demanding for some bakes and I saw some regular Corn Flakes lying on the shelf which is always ignored by us. Thought of using those for muffins. Since I have been into lot of baking these days, I thought of opting for some healthier baking version. Glad that my family liked it.

Recipe Source: Food

So here's the recipe of Corn Flakes Muffins

Ingredients

Maida/ All purpose Flour - 1 and 1/2 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Baking Powder - 1 tbsp

Corn Flakes - 1 and 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 and 1/4 cup

Egg - 1

Oil - 1/3 cup

Tutti Frutti - 1/4 cup

Method

1. Coarse grind Corn flakes and keep aside.

2. Powder the sugar.

3. Sieve flour, baking powder and Salt together.

4. Take a bowl and beat one egg along with oil.

5. Add sugar and flour mixture to it. Mix well.

6. Add milk and corn flakes. Mix all together till everything combines.

7. Place the paper cups in the cup cake moulds. Pour batter into these paper cups filling about 3/4 allowing the rest space to raise.

8. Place them in a preheated oven and bake for 45 mins at 180C . Timing and temperature differs from oven to oven. So bake it accordingly.

9. Once done, remove them from mould and place it on a wire rack for cooling.

I poured the remaining cake batter into a loaf mould to make a Loaf Cake.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Curd Rice/ Yoghurt Rice/ Mosaranna

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:53:00 +0000

Curd Rice is a very simple comforting South Indian dish which tastes great with any Pickles. Its also perfect for lunch boxes. Its one of our all time favorite rice dish. Curd Rice or Yoghurt Rice can also be prepared with left over rice. I like the curd to be little sour for this dish. Adding fruits like pomegranate or grapes enhances the taste.

Here's the recipe of Simple Indian Curd Rice

Ingredients

Plain Curd/Yoghurt/ Mosaru - 2 cups

Cooked Rice - 1 and 1/2 cup

Curry leaves

Green Chillies - 2 chopped

Coriander leaves chopped

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing/ Asafoetida - A pinch

Red chilli - 1

Few Pomegranate seeds

Oil - 2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Salt, to taste

Method

1. Prepare the rice freshly or use the left over rice.

2. Prepare the tempering:- Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they start crackling, add urad dal and fry till it turns light brown. Add Curry leaves and Hing. Saute for few secs and then add one roughly chopped Red chilli. Switch off the flame.

3. Mix curds to the cooked rice. Add Salt to taste, green chillies, Freshly chopped coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds. Mix well.

4. Enjoy this simple Curd rice with any pickle of your choice.

Vanilla CupCakes - 100th Post

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:13:00 +0000

Yes! Its my 100th post. I have one more good news to share. My blog turns a year old this month. It feels so good. Never thought I have so many recipes to share. Just started blogging to keep a detailed note on my cooking experience and dishes which i tried and which is loved by my family and friends. It feels so good when someone appreciates our work and here I am where in people across the world do like my recipes, appreciate it, try it, love it and come back to say thanks. So kind of them . Just because of my encouraging visitors, I am her posting my 100th post. Thank you all for the support.

Today's post is a simple Butter free Vanilla Cup Cakes. This is a super duper hit at home. I have not topped these with any icing or frosting as we love to have them plain. You can go ahead and decorate with icings of your choice. These are best to try for kids birthday parties and also to send them to school in snack box. My son always does this. He saves atleast two for his snack box for the next day.

Here's the recipe of Simple- Basic- Vanilla Butter free Cupcakes

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour/ Maida - 1 and 1/2 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Eggs - 2

Milk - 1/2 cup

Oil - 1/2 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Baking Powder - 2 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Method

1. Sift all the dry ingredients mentioned above except sugar.

2. Powder the sugar and beat it along with eggs. Add oil, vanilla essence and milk to this and beat it again with an electric beater till everything combines.

3. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix it well. Adjust the cake batter consistency with little more milk if needed.

4. Preheat the oven for 10-15mins.

5. Place the paper cups in the cup cake moulds. Pour batter into these paper cups filling about 3/4 allowing the rest space to raise.

6. Place them in oven and bake for 40 mins at 180C . Timing and temperature differs from oven to oven. So bake it accordingly.

7. Once done, remove them from mould and place it on a wire rack for cooling.

8. Top it with any icing or enjoy it plain as we did :)

This recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes.

Linking this to Valentine day Recipe Contest hosted by Priya and Quixotic Fixes by Sumee

Roasted Baby Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:23:00 +0000

I went with my son to get some fresh veggies from our known nearby vegetable shop last week. The moment I saw these super cute Fresh Baby Potatoes, I started putting them for weighing. My son was surprised to see such small baby potatoes and screamed at me saying "Mamma! Those are so tiny potatoes. They didn't feed it well. Why are you buying those? They haven't grown up still". Everyone nearby had a light cheerful moment. Choo Chweet!

Now getting back to the recipe, I roasted them on a frying pan with little oil and other spices. This can also be done in oven/grill. It was spicy, cute, colorful and yummy.

Here's the recipe of simple and quick Roasted Baby Potatoes or Baby Potato Fry

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes - 15

Olive Oil/ Regular Cooking Oil - 1 tbsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 and half teaspoon

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Dhania/ Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

Plain Yoghurt/ Curd - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander leaves - Chopped

Method

1. Poke the potatoes with a fork and boil them in microwave with little salt and water in a microwave safe bowl for appx 10-15mins or till they are almost done.

2. Peel the skin and keep aside.

3. Add All the ingredients mentioned above except oil to the boiled and peeled baby potatoes. Mix well till all the potatoes gets coated with the masala.

4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add these masala coated baby potatoes into the frying pan and mix it.

5. Cover the lid and cook it in a low flame. Give a stir now and then till the potatoes are competely cooked and gets little roasted texture and flavor.

6. Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves.

Note:

Prepare this dish with the regular potatoes cut into medium sized cubes in the absence of baby potatoes.

This dish can be prepared in oven to get totally oil free yummy dish.

Potatoes can be marinated with the masala for few minutes. I didn't marinate those. Still was able to get all the added flavors.

Methi Rice/ Fenugreek Leaves Pulao

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:57:00 +0000

Methi Rice is a flavorful rice dish with a perfect blend of spices and a slight bitterness and aromatic fresh Fenugreek Leaves. Its a very simple flavored rice dish which goes well with Onion Raita and some spicy semi dry or dry side dish like Spicy Chicken Tava Fry.

The hard part in this dish is cleaning the leafy vegetable - Methi. Once that is done,cooking this flavorful rice doesnot take much time. This is a perfect dish to go into the lunch boxes. "Healthy bhi Tasty bhi! "

So here's the recipe of simple Methi Flavored Rice or Methi Pulao

Ingredients

Methi Leaves - 1 bunch

Basmati Rice - 2 cups

1 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp Ghee

Salt to taste

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder - Optional

Green Chillies - 3 slit

Cloves - 5-6

Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch piece

Peppercorns - 7-8

Bay Leaves - 1

Onion - 1 big sized, finely chopped

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp

Cardamom/ Green Elachi - 2

Cashewnuts - 8-10

Method

1. Clean the Methi( Fenugreek) leaves, wash it and chop it finely. Keep aside.

2. Wash and soak basmatic rice for 15-20 mins.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee in a cooker. Add some Cashewnuts and roast them. Remove them and save some for garnishing.

4. Now add Cinnamon stick, bayleaves, cloves and peppercorn. Saute it for a minute.

5. Add chopped oinions and slit green chillies. Fry till onions turns translucent.

6. Add Ginger- garlic paste and saute it for few seconds.

7. Now add the chopped fenugreek leaves and saute them till the leaves shrinks and gets half cooked.

8. Add 4 cups of water (for 2 cups of rice) and bring it to a boil.

9. Drain the water from the rice and add it to the cooker. Add salt to taste. Stir all once and then cover it with the cooker lid and allow it to cook for 1 whistle.

10. When done, mix once again gently and garnish with roasted Cashewnuts.

Serve it with Onion Raita and some spicy Veg or Non-veg side dish.

Note:

Cook the rice in a dum style as you cook for biryani's else cook it in a cooker for quick preparation.

Adding 1 tbsp oil is optional. You can use 2 tbsp oil or 2 tbsp Ghee.

Check out more rice dishes

Coriander Rice

Lemon Rice

Cheesy Egg Masala Omelette

noreply@blogger.com (Supriya S) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:31:00 +0000

I never experimented with Omelette's. I usually prepare plain Omelette's, Sunny side up and this spicy Indian Style Masala Omelette. Ofcourse, there are N number of Egg Omelette varieties. One among those is this Cheesy Egg Omelette's. Introduced this cheesy egg bites to my family and everyone loved it. Eggs never disappoint us in trying out new dishes right? My son who is not that fond of cheese, LOVED IT.

Here's the simple twist to our normal Indian style Masala Omelette

Ingredients

Eggs- 2

Onion - 1 (finely chopped)

Red Chilli powder or Green chillies finely chopped - 1/2 tsp

Haldi/ Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander leaves - finely chopped

Cheese Cubes - 1 ( I used Amul Brand)

Vegetable Oil/ Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Pepper powder

Method

1. Take a mixing bowl and beat the eggs. Add in all the ingredients except oil, cheese and pepper powder. Mix well.

2. Heat the frying pan. Spread 2 tsp of oil and pour this egg mixture to it . Place these finely chopped or grated cheese on top of it and cover it with a lid to cook in a low- medium flame.

3. Check after a minute. Gently flip it and allow it to cook on other side too.

4. Once done, remove it and serve it along with bread and a cup of milk/ tea/ coffee.

Cheesy Egg Omelette is ready to be served.

Note: Add little less salt than usual, since cheese too contains some bits of salt.