Tried and Tasted ~ Gajar ka halwa

Carrot halwa the famous sweet is one of our fav. I love to have this warm with vanilla ice cream. I love combination of sweets (Yes.. that makes it double pleasure and also double calories..:P ). My pacchi make yummy carrot halwa with the red carrots. I love those carrots but since they are not available here I used the normal carrots. This sweet was not a very common one at our household. I did not know the recipe that my pacchi used but I remember her using milk to make it tastier. When I was browsing through recipes at Manasi's Acook@heart I found this and bookmarked it. Thank you Manasi for the wonderful recipe. Please hop over to her blog to find some more interesting recipes.

A treat!

My hubby celebrated his birthday early this month. In between with Diwali and our vacation I was unable to post it here. I planned a surprise birthday party for him and invited all his friend's home for dinner. Hubby was not aware of my plan and when he was back from office the house was decorated with balloons and ribbons. Friend's helped me out to carry on with the plan perfectly and it was the best birthday party. I baked a blackforest cake from Nita Mehta's book. The icing was melting at rapid speed and I was not sure of it so I rushed to the nearest bakery and got a mocha cake. Hubby had two cakes to be cut.

We had a dinner menu consisting of all my hubby's fav. Green salad, Puri, Chole, Idli, Sambar, Biryani and potato masala. My friend and her mother made Biryani and Potato masala. I need to learn the recipe from aunty. She is a wonderful cook. I was not able to get all the pics. Hence few of them to share with you.

You can find idli recipe here. I used ready made sambar powder to make sambar.

For chhole:

1 cup Chickpeas (soaked overnight and pressure cooked until soft)

2 Onions finely chopped

2 Tomatoes

1 tbsp finely chopped and crushed Ginger & Garlic

1 Bay leaf

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Chat masala

1/4 tsp Amchoor powder

1-2 tbsp Everest chhole masala powder

1 tbsp or more Red chilli powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

a generous pinch of kasuri methi

1 tbsp Tomato ketchup

1/2 tsp Coriander cumin powder (Optional)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Oil

Coriander leaves chopped for garnishing

Procedure:

1) Pressure cook the chickpeas until soft. Drain and reserve the liquid. Blanch the tomato in hot water. Peel and puree.

2) Heat oil add Cumin seeds and bay leaf. When they splutter and chopped onion and ginger garlic paste. When Onions turns pinkish add Tomato puree and cook until the raw smell goes off.

3) Add in all the masala powders and stir for a min or two.

4) Add in cooked chana with little water (from boiled chickpeas) and salt. Let it boil. Add a tbsp of tomato ketchup and kasuri methi and give it a quick boil. (I read in some blog that adding tomato ketchup gives it the dhaba taste. From then on I have been using it regularly and everyone has liked the taste of chhole. I am not able to get the blog name. If anyone has an idea please suggest. I would like to give the credit to the blogger) Mash few chickpeas to get a thicker gravy. Taste the gravy and add any seasoning if needed. Let it boil until you get desired consistency.

5) Switch off. garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Puri accompanied with freshly chopped onion and lemon.

Diwali Special

I am sure everyone must have enjoyed a lot this Diwali. I wanted to make this post right before Diwali but due to some issue with connectivity and lack of time I was unable to do so. Anyways my warm wishes to everyone.

We had a good time this Diwali. Visiting friends, bursting fire crackers everything made it so special.

Thanks to the wonderful bloggers I tried my hand at making Chakkuli's (Murukku), Sev etc. It seemed so simple and tasty that I will not have to look out for store brought one's here after.

From Surpiya's Home spices blog I tried Kashi halwa (Wintermelon/Ash gourd halwa) and Chakkuli. Both were a big hit. Thank you Supriya :). I made Sev using Chakali blog. I have bookmarked a lot of dishes from this site. Do visit the sites for the original recipe. Sorry for the poor picture of halwa as we clicked it at the last moment before leaving for the party :)

A quick fix dinner ~ MW Carrot Pepper Rice

We have no routine or timing for a weekend! We wake up around 7-8. Then look for options for breakfast. Eat at 10 or so. Clean the house a bit. If the weather is good we normally go cycling or go to play badminton. Lunch we eat outside or finish the breakfast leftovers!. Go grocery shopping or watch movie or visit places... It just goes on. It was one such day on Sunday.. We had gone to a nearby place as the weather was pleasant in the evening and then had some grocery shopping to do. After coming home I was not in mood to cook elaborate but neither did I want to eat outside. Was just flipping through Nita Mehta's MW cookbook and got the carrot pepper rice. As it is I love carrot and bell pepper's are my fav too. The recipe was also very simple without wasting time I made it. I really loved the simple flavored rice. We had some leftover curry that we polished off with this rice.

Serves 4

1 cup rice - soaked for 15-20 mins

3 tbsp oil

1 onion sliced

1 capsicum chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 tsp salt (increase as per your taste)

1/2 tsp freshly crushed pepper ( I used 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp soya sauce

Procedure:

1) Mix Oil,onion,carrot and capsicum in a big microwave proof dish and microwave for 3 mins.

2) Add rice, 2 cups water, salt, pepper and soya sauce. Microwave for 13 mins. Stir once in between and add more salt or pepper powder as required. Serve after 5 mins.

It did not take long for me to make this. While the rice was soaking I and hubby did with the chopping and within twenty five mins the dinner was ready to be served.

Patholi ~ steamed rice cakes with jaggery stuffing

Patholi is a sweet dish that is prepared on NagarPanchami, Ganapathi Chowthi etc. This sweet is wrapped in fresh tumeric leaves and steam cooked. Tastes best when served hot with a dollop of homemade ghee.

I wanted to make a complete tutorial of this but was unable to do it. But next time I make it will surely update this post. I had brought some turmeric leaves from my uncle's garden during my recent trip to India. While hubby was on vacation we could not prepare it hence I got these leaves with me and made it. If you do not get turmeric leaves you can even make it with Banana leaves.

Here is what's needed:

1 cup Idli rice (Any rice will do. I use idli rice as this is the only one available. At home we use sona masuri) soaked for 4-6 hrs

2 tbsp grated coconut

salt to taste

P.S: Some add a small amount of jaggery about a tbsp or two to the outer batter. It tastes better. I avoided as I wanted to use the leftover batter if any for dosa.

Filling:

1 cup grated coconut

1/2 - 3/4 cup jaggery

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1 fistful Poha roasted lightly and powdered

Procedure:

1) Grind soaked rice, grated coconut and salt with little water to smooth paste. Keep the consistency of the batter thick.

2) Heat 2 tbsp of water and add jaggery. When jaggery has melted and the syrup is slightly thicker add cardamom powder and switch it off. When it has cooled slightly mix the grated coconut and poha powder. Poha powder is optional. I used it as it acts as a binding agent. [Even

Laayi pitto can be used instead of poha]

How to assemble it:

1) Clean and pat dry all the leaves and trim its edges. (Do not discard them. It can be used to make cheppi kheeri..Coming up soon!)

2) With a spoon spread the prepared batter evenly leaving the edges.

3) Take a tbsp of filling and spread it lengthwise along the center.

4) Fold the leaf along the center. Repeat it with the remaining batter. Cook the patholi in a steamer for about 15 mins. When they are done the leaves change the colour and kitchen is filled with wonderful aroma of turmeric leaves.

Remove the leaf and serve the steamed patholi with a some ghee.

Note:If the outer batter remains then you can simply make Panpolo out of it. The inner filling also called the choornu can be served along with panpolo. It is one of the famous combi breakfast in our hometown.

Tried and Tasted ~ Simple Vanilla Tea Cake

With lot of minor hiccups I had kept my baby steps in baking. After taking help from most of the wonderful bloggers I was finally able to bake a neat cake. All the while I was making a big mistake with the size of the cake tin. Now that has been resolved and I am looking forward to bake more.

I had few of hubby's friends coming over for tea. Along with Tea and some hot pakoda I decided to serve some simple cake. When I was looking for a small and simple cake I reached Divya's blog. Her Vanilla cake attracted me. I had all the ingredients at hand so went about with it. It came out really good and everyone loved it. Than you Divya for sharing your tried and tested recipe :)

Aps has been really sweet and is showering me with awards constantly. Thank you Aps for making my day.

Requirements:

I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it.

I must list 10 honest things about myselfI must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.

I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links

I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Ten honest things about me:

1) I am very emotional and family means the world to me. I cannot bear the fact that someone hates me.

2) I love chocolates and Ice creams. If not for the calories I would have had them for breakfast,Lunch and dinner!

3) I love travelling a lot.

4) I am a chatter box. As a kid every aunt in my neighborhood knew me! And Aps my dad used to also say the same thing that I could talk to street lamp too!!

5) I love to shop veggies from fresh market. The sight of fresh and green veggies makes me buy them. I often buy them without having any particular dish or item in mind.

6) I hate milk and its products like Curds, Butter, Ghee. I can eat Paneer but not over a certain limit. I prefer sweets made with coconut milk than with milk. I drink milk only if it is flavoured.

7) I love to listen to music and read books. I prefer slow classic melodies with good lyrics than heavy metal music. I prefer reading books to watching TV.

8) I easily mingle with people but I also enjoy spending time alone.

9) I am particular about cleanliness. I cannot cook without washing my hands n number of items. I do not like my kitchen messed up and my dress dirty.

10) The best way to lift up my mood is to either talk to my mom/ hubby / my friends or take a walk or play with kids. I enjoy playing with kids than participating in a gossip.

Well, that's about me girls now I am tagging few of my friends for the same:

1) Parita

2) Suma

3) Happy Cook

4) Divya

5) Archana Pritish

6) Curry Leaf

7) Raaga

Gobi ke parathe

Paratha's were not a very common item at our home. The only paratha that I was aware of was the Masala chapathi and we never ate chapathi/Phulka's for lunch. It was a breakfast item. I was introduced to lovely paratha's by my best friend H and during our vacation to North India. From the time I have had these I have loved them. I was not very good at making paratha's initially and my paratha's had stuffing oozing out all over. With practice and patience am now able to make better paratha's but there still needs some improvisation. I was not aware of gobi paratha's until a year back, but once I tasted it I have fallen in love with it. Paratha's can be served with pickle and masala dahi or if you are like me have it with tomato ketchup. I know sounds silly but that is how I have loved to have them :D

Here is what's needed:

For the outer dough:

2 cups whole wheat flour or atta

1 cup All Purpose flour or maida ( I normally do not add maida but a friend suggested me to try this. Hence I added it this time. I prefer not to add maida due to health reasons)

1 tbsp kasuri methi soaked in warm water for 5 mins

salt to taste

For the filling:

1 small cauliflower cleaned throughly and grated.Discard the stems.

3 green chillies chopped fine

1/2 " ginger chopped fine

a small pinch turmeric powder

1/4 tsp amchur powder

1/4 tsp kitchen king masala

red chilli powder & salt to taste

chopped coriander leaves to garnish

1 tsp lemon juice

Procedure:

1) Heat little oil and add in the ginger and green chillies. Fry for a min. Add in the grated cauliflower and all the masala powders and fry for 4-5 mins until it turns dry. Garnish with coriander leaves and add in the lemon juice. Let it cool.

2) Make a dough using whole wheat flour, maida, salt, kasuri methi and water as required. If the dough is sticky you can add a little bit of oil. Let it rest covered for 15 to 20 mins.

3)To make Paratha's. Pinch a lemon sized ball from the dough and roll into a small circle. Place 1 tbsp of filling in the center and gather everything together. Dust and roll it carefully into a paratha that is thicker than normal roti. If the filling spills out dust with more flour and continue.

4) Shallow fry with tad bit of oil or ghee until golden. Serve hot with Masala Dahi and pickles.

Microwave Peas Pulao

Finally completely settled back and back to blogging which I have missed dearly. Aps has been sweet enough to share a lot of awards with me. Thank you Aps. It means a lot to me :)

I am crazy about collecting cookbooks. I have a decent collection of them and am always in hunt for more. This time during my Mangalore visit I picked some books of Nita Mehta. I personally like her books as the recipes that I have tried so far has always been a hit with us. The following pulao too is from her book. This Pulao is mildly spiced and goes well with any simple raita. Microwave cooking was something I had not ventured into but was always interested. I feel it is non messy and also quick. I will definitely explore more on microwave cooking as it reduces cooking time and does not require to be in front of the stove. I followed the recipe to T and it was perfect.

Here is the recipe that I followed:

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice - soaked for an hour

1 cup shelled peas

1/2 " piece ginger - grated

1 large onions- sliced finely

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp Garam masala powder

2-3 cloves

2 green chillies

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 firm tomato - cut into strips & pulp removed

3 tbsp oil

Procedure:

1) Microwave oil in a large dish for 2 mins.

2) Add peas, sliced onions, salt, chilli powder,garam masala and cloves. Microwave for 3 minutes. I felt this was not enough hence increased time by two more mins after giving a stir at 3 mins.

3) Add the rice and 2 cups of water. Add green chillies, coriander leaves and tomato strips.

4)Microwave covered for 11 mins. Stir once after 5 mins.

5) Let it stand for 2 mins. Fluff in up with a fork to separate grains. Serve hot with raita.

You can check my other version of peas pulao here

Almost everyone I know have received this award. Will Pass it on when I find someone who has not yet received it.

Murmura Upma

After a long gap it feels great to be back to the place I belong to.. to my very own Food blog.. I have decided not to take any more breaks and be active here. I have learnt a lot of recipes during my stay back here and wish to share them all with you. For now it is simple Murmura upma that can be fixed in jiffy. I learnt this from a very good friend of mine in Shanghai, Swapna. This can be a breakfast item or a quick evening snack.
Ingredients:
4 cups Murmura
1 medium sized Onion chopped
2 green Chillies slit
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves chopped finely for garnishing
Procedure:
1) Keep the murmura in a big vessel. Heat a kadhai with little oil. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add in the onions and fry until done. Add turmeric powder and salt.
2) Pour little water over the murmura and squeeze it all and add the Murmura quickly. Make sure not to add too much water as it will make the murmura soggy. Mix well. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot.

Long time no see

I know its been ages since I have blogged on this site. Initially I had to stop as blogger has been blocked in China. I decided that I would resume my blogging from India (Yes! I am in India for the past 2 months on vacation. Will be going to Shanghai next week :D) A lot has been happening here and that left me with no time to blog.. Will be back to blogging soon :)
Take care.. See you soon