SOYA CHILLY TIKKA

SOYA CHILLY TIKKA

I never actually liked Soya dishes very much although it is very rich in protein and good for health. But Soya Chilly Tikka hooked me to Soya and made me crave for more….

This dish can be had as a starter, it can be had as a snack or as a side dish, a meal accompaniment. You will enjoy this Soya delight anytime.

Soya Chilly Tikka - Sukanya's Musings

Ingredients

Soya chunks 2 cup

Onion - 1 (medium)

Capsicum -1

Tandoori Masala Powder – 1 tbsp

Red chili powder -1 tsp

Coriander powder -1 tsp

Cumin powder -1 tsp

Garam masala -1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Corainder leaves for garnish

Lemon - 1

Oil

Method

Boil soya chunks for about 5 minutes with salt. Drain by passing through a colander. Rinse in cold water and then squeeze the soya chunks to remove the water. Take a big bowl. Add the soya chunks, then add Tandoori masala powder (you can make it fresh, recipe in my blog) or you can buy it from the market(It is available in India stores), Red chilly powder, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Garam masala, Ginger paste and salt. Mix well as shown in the picture. The soya chunks must get completely coated. Allow to marinate for about half an hour to one hour. You can even marinate it overnight in the refrigerator and make it for the afternoon lunch. The longer it marinates the tastier it gets.

After marinating…..

In a wok take some oil and deep fry the soya chunks as shown in the picture. It should be a nice reddish-golden color.

Remove and set on Kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Once all the soya chunks are deep fried.

The next step would be Chop the onions and capsicum into thin long strips.

In a non-stick pan, take about 1 tsp of oil, add the onions and sauté until transparent, then add the capsicums until they are done. In the end, add the soya chunks and mix well. Serve on a platter as shown garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves and a wedge of lemon. You can squeeze some lime and relish these delicious soya chilly tikka.

I would like to send this entry for Sia’s JFI –Soya event.

CARROT PUDDING(GAJAR KA HALWA)

CARROT PUDDING (GAJAR KA HALWA)

This is one of the most favorite sweets of Indians no matter which part of India people belong to.

Carrot Pudding or (Gajar ka Halwa) has also been epitomized by our Bollywood film stars.

The hero will tell his mother, “Maa, mujhe tum apne haathon se banaya hua gajar ka halwa khilao na”.

The melodramatic Maa(mother) with tears in her eyes will say, “ Beta aaj maine tumhare liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai”.

So many movies have Nirupa Roy telling her reel sons, “beta gajar ka halwa tumhe pasand hai na? aaj maine tumhare liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai”

I used to wonder how come Dharamendra, Amitabh, Shatrughan and all the bollywood heroes like only Gajar ka halwa, when there are 1000’s of sweets to choose from….

I don’t know what’s the relation between mother’s and son’s and gajar ka halwa, but I guess gajar ka halwa or any dish made by your mother with love holds memories for every child.

Gajar ka halwa is not so easy to make as it involves a lot of back and shoulder breaking stirring until you see the moisture disappear. So every time we dunk into that bowl of homemade gajar ka halwa, we know that there is the biggest X-factor in it “LOVE”.

I will share with you 2 versions of the gajar ka halwa one made the traditional way and one much easier made in the microwave. The traditional version doesn’t have khoya but I have used khoya in the microwave version. My mom makes fantastic gajar ka halwa without using condensed milk or milk, only carrots in sugar syrup and that tastes awesome too, that could be considered as a third version.

I made a lot of gajar ka halwa as I was expecting guests at home. But you can reduce the quantity to ½ of the proportion that I have mentioned in my recipe.

Ingredients

Carrot -2 kgs grated

Milk -2 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Condensed milk -1 tin

Cardamom powder - 1tsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Cashews – 1 tbsp

Pistachios cut into thin slivers - 1tbsp

Silver leaves(Chandi ka warq)(optional)

Method

Peel, wash and grate the carrots. In a wok add the grated carrots, milk, sugar and cardamom powder and cook until the carrots are soft. Then add one tin of the condensed milk, mix well. Check for sweet, if less, then at this point you can add some more sugar. As Condensed milk is also sweet I added only 1 cup of coarse sugar, but if you are using Fine sugar or Castor sugar you may require more. Add sweet as per your choice, some like it very sweet, some like it just right and yet others like it less sweet.

In a small pan, melt 1tbsp of ghee and add the cashew nuts, fry until golden and pour into the halwa. Mix well. Keep stirring and stirring and stirring till you see that all the milk has been absorbed by the carrots.Be careful don’t let it catch the pan as it will become black and not taste good. So, there is no choice left but keep stirring. Once you see the mixture has become totally dry and left the sides of the pan, you know the gajar ka halwa is done.

Serve hot or cold garnished with Toasted pistachio cut into thin slivers and silver leaves.

GAJAR KA HALWA (Microwave version)

This is the easier version as it doesn’t involve too much of stirring. I have added almonds in this recipe instead of cashewnuts. You can add raisins, almonds, cashews and pistachios or all in gajar ka halwa . It is your choice.

Ingredients

Carrot -1 kg grated

Condensed milk -1 tin

Milk -1 cup

Almonds (peeled and cut into thin slivers)- 1tsp

Cardamom powder - 1tsp

Khoya grated - 1 cup

Method

Add the grated carrot, condensed milk and milk in a bowl and keep on high for 12–15 minutes.

Then add almonds (peeled and cut into thin slivers), Add cardamom powder and grated khoya. Put in the microwave for another 7 minutes. See if done else can keep for some more time.(depending on individual microwave). Your Gajar ka Halwa is done without much of back breaking and shoulder breaking stirring. Remove and Garnish with grated khoya and nuts.

I would like to send this for EC’s Colour in Food Event

For the orange color of the carrot halwa

I would like to send the Gajar ka Halwa also to Purva’s Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi Festive Food event as the halwa has milk and milk products

GOKULASHTAMI AND APPAMS

I had done the Neivedhyam of the Appams on Gokulastami day. In south India Appams are specially made for Lord Krishna. I would like to send the Appams to Purva’s Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi Festive Food event

GOKULASHTAMI AND APPAMS

Gokulashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna. The festival is called in different names as "Krishna Jayanti", "Janma Ashtami", "Krishnaashtami" , "Gokulashtami", and as "Sri Jayanti".

Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day of the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the month of Shraavana in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatram is ascendent. The Hindu calendar being lunar, these two events the day being the eighth of the waning moon (Krishna-paksha Ashtami) and the Rohini Nakshatram being ascendent may overlap for only a few hours.

In such an event, the festival may be celebrated on different (but successive) days by different people, depending on their local or family traditions.The festival falls sometime in the months of August/September of the Gregorian calendar.

(This info courtesy Wikipedia)

Read more about the story of the birth of Lord Krishna by clicking on the below link

http://www.aryabhatt.com/fast_fair_festival/Festivals/Gokulashtami.htm

Lord Krishna was born at midnight. So we celebrate on the both days, i.e the day prior (in anticipation of his arrival) and the next day(celebration of his arrival). Since this year Gokulashtami was celebrated on 24^th Sunday so preparations started in my house on the 23^rd Saturday itself. Krishna is my little one’s most favorite diety, as I keep telling her of our little Krishna’s leela’s(You can read some of the Krishna Leela’s under the Mythology section in my blog.)

On Saturday evening, I drew Maa-kolam outside the house (picture on the left) and in front of the altar at home(picture on your right) and all over the house I drew tiny feet of little Lord Krishna entering all the rooms from the entrance to my home. This This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home and also amma says at 12.00 am the lord will walk into our house. I also made sweet appams.

The appam is made without tasting, I chant Lord Krishna’s name while making. Only after I do Neivedhyam(offer the lord) can we taste it. Here is the recipe of Appam;

APPAM

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Rice flour - 1 cup

Grated jaggery – 2 cups

Cardamom – 4-5 pods

Ripe Banana –

1

Oil for frying

Method

Mix the wheat flour, rice flour and jaggery well, ensuring that there are no lumps. The jaggery must be completely dissolved. Mash

one banana and add to the mixture. Pound the cardamom pods, remove the skin and powder the seeds a bit coarsely and add to the mixture. It will be in the consistency of the dosai batter. Now use the Appakarai/ Paniyaaram moulds. Pour oil and once the oil is hot, pour the batter with a spoon into the hot oil.Once the side is done, turn over and fry on the other side, then with a

chopstick(picture on your left), poke into the appams and remove them from the oil, Place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil and serve hot. I usually make a lot and keep in the refrigerator and enjoy it the next day also. Cold appams also taste great.

I bought the Cheedai, Murukku and Thattai from outside (since I could’nt make so much at home). Traditionally all this is made at home down south. Luckily since my ghee was over, I made fresh ghee at home. I also made fresh butter with some cream for my little Krishna(as you can see in the picture on your right). I served it all on a mini platter in little stainless steel utensils borrowed from my daughters playthings. I kept a grand feast for the lord, appam, cheedai, murkku, thattai, Aval(poha, beaten rice), vellam(jaggery), yogurt, milk and freshly churned white butter.

On Sunday we celebrated Gokulashtami by joining the ISKCON group at the Sivan temple at Sungei

Kadut.The altar was decorated very beautifully with flowers and fabric and other decoration items. On your right is a picture of the altar.

It was beautiful, the priests chanted the holy mantras and bathed the idol with Panchamrit which comprises of Gangajal (water from the holy Ganges River), milk, ghee (clarified butter), curd, and honey

pouring all these from a conch shell. After this bath the idol of the infant Krishna was placed in a cradle. We chanted the Lords name, sang and danced and swung the lord in his cradle and ate divine prasada alongwith Panchamrut.

TOMATO OMELETTE

I would like to pack this tasty and sumptuous breakfast to WBB–Combi Breakfast hosted by Masala Magic

TOMATO OMELETTE

I had about 2 ladles of leftover dosa batter, so I decided to make Tomato Omelette. Tomato Omelette is a spicy pancake. This is one Omelette that is made without eggs. This dish can be rustled up quickly for breakfast or on a day when you are lazy to cook.

Tomato Omelette is usually served with a slice of bread. You can either place one Omelette between two slices of bread or eat it with one slice of bread spread with butter.

In my recipe I use some rice flour also, so it won’t be sticky and easy to spread on the tava (flat pan)

Ingredients

Gram flour (besan) - 2 cups

Rice flour – 1 cup

Left over dosa batter – 2 ladles (optional)

Onion – 2 medium size

Ripe Red Tomatoes – 2

Ginger – a small piece

Green chillies - 4

Chilly powder - ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Asafetida – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Oil

Method

Mix the gram flour, rice flour and dosa batter with some water. Put in a mixie/blender, this

batter, one onion chopped, one tomato chopped, ginger chopped, 2 chillies and the Cumin powder, chilly powder, asafetida and salt as per taste. Blend all this well into a fine paste. This ensures that the batter doesn’t have lumps and also the essence of the onions, ginger, chilly and tomato have entered the batter. This also ensures an even mixture.

Now chop the other onion and tomato into small pieces and add it to the batter. Also chop the other 2 chillies into small pieces and add to the batter. This you won’t grind, as when you make the Omelette you want to get some pieces of onions and tomatoes to bite upon. Add the finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and mix well.

Now take a tava (a flat pan), Heat on medium heat and pour 1/2 teaspoon of oil into it. Spread it evenly. Pour one ladle full of this batter onto the pan. Cook until you see the sides turning golden. At this point flip over and cook on the side. Once it is golden on both sides. Remove from pan and serve. This is eaten hot with a slice of bread, tomato sauce and green coriander chutney.

PESTO

This recipe of mine goes to Srivalli's blog who is hosting the Weekend Herb Blogging event which was started by Kalyn and the herb Iam using in this recipe is " Basil
You can read more about the Benefits of the herb Basil in my blog(Click on the link)
PESTO
Pesto is a green sauce that originates from Italy.
Pesto is commonly used on pasta, lasagna, strozzapreti or trenette (forms of pasta). It is sometime used in minestrone as well. Pesto tastes good when served on tomatoes and sliced boiled potatoes. It can also be served as a dip for chips also. It can be served, spread on a baguette (French loaf)
It is very important never to cook pesto because basil when heated gets bitter.
Pesto is made with basil, salt, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, European pine nuts (often toasted) and a grated hard cheese like Parmesan or Romano).
Historically, pesto was (and is sometimes still) prepared in a marble mortar with wooden pestle. First the basil leaves are washed and dried and then put in the mortar together with garlic and some coarse crystals of sea salt, crushed to a creamy consistency. Then the pine nuts are added and crushed together. When the pine nuts are well incorporated in the "cream", the cheese plus olive oil can be added and stirred together with a wooden spoon. The sauce is now ready. Store in a tight jar, or simply in an air-tight plastic container, pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen, if needed. If you want to freeze the pesto you may omit the cheese (it doesn't freeze well). Line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap, and fill each pocket with the pesto. Freeze and then remove from the ice tray and store in a freezer bag. When you want to use, defrost and add in grated Parmesan or Romano. Most basil pesto recipes call for pine nuts but you can easily substitute it with walnuts.
(Info courtesy Wikipedia)
Ingredients
1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Pick out the basil leaves, Use only the leaves, not the stem, seeds or any other part. Wash it thoroughly in a colander. Then spread on a plastic paper to dry.
Traditionally the pesto was prepared using a mortar and pestle, but those who don’t have one, you can chop the ingredients finely, but this involves a lot of chopping so I used a chopper. Of course nothing can beat the taste of pesto crushed with a mortar and pestle. The other option is putting the ingredients into a blender, but doing that would make it into a fine paste. We want it to be in medium texture not too coarse or too fine.
Because I used the chopper (picture on the left), I could take care that the pesto didn’t become a fine paste.
Most pesto recipes call for Parmesan cheese, but I used Romano cheese in my recipe, this has a stronger flavor.



Chop the garlic in the chopper finely, then add the pine nuts(see picture of pine nuts on the right)
and chop into small pieces, then add the basil and chop until all of it blends into a fine mixture. Add the Romano cheese and run until the mixture blends well. Check for salt. The cheese already has salt, so after adding the cheese, if required add salt as per taste and run the chopper to blend it well. Now remove and put the pesto sauce into a glass bottle and top it with 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Don’t replace with normal Olive oil, Use only Extra virgin Olive Oil (as shown in the picture on your left). Check the label on the bottle while buying the oil.
Your homemade Pesto is ready. You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. Pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen as mentioned above, if needed, this gives it a longer shelf life.

BISI BELA HULI ANNA / BISI BELE BHAT (BBB) / SAMBAR SADAM

BISI BELA HULI ANNA / BISI BELE BATH (BBB) / SAMBAR SADAM
One Pot meals are the need of the hour. What we must remember when we make one pot meals is not only the simplicity of the dish but how much nutrition it packs into the meal.
Bisi Bele Huli Anna as it is known in Karnataka or Bisi bele bath/ bhaath as it is known colloquially, is a Rice dish combined with lentils(for protein), vegetables, Tamarind and spices, making it a One pot meal fulfilling the nutritional needs of the body.
This dish is said to have originated in the Mysore Palace and from there spread across the other states. Every state has it's own recipe of BBB.
In Tamilnadu, we call it "Sambar Sadam". The Bisi Bele Bath/Bhaat (BBB) has many variations, Every state, every house has it's own variations to the dish and the masala blend as well. 

I will share with you my version of the recipe. Whenever I cooked this for my guests they relished it. 

My recipe is the marriage of 2 states. 

Nothing can beat the comfort of eating a hot and simmering plate of BBB drizzled with ghee with a batch of pappadams.  Enjoy!!!

Ingredients
Raw Rice – 2 cups
Toor daal – 1 cup
Drumsticks – 1 stick
Onions – 2
Tomatoes - 1
Potatoes – 1 cup diced

Carrots - 1 cup diced

French Beans - 1 cup diced

Green Peas - 1/2 a cup
Raw Banana – 1
Brinjal – 1-2 slit vertical
Tamarind – lemon sized ball soaked in water
Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coriander leaves to garnish
Ghee to drizzle on top of the servings
Asafetida – a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil

For Masala
Freshly grated coconut -3-4tbsps
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies -3-4
Peppercorns – ½ tsp
Fenugreek – ½ tsp
Onion – ½ an onion chopped / you can alternatively use 2 small onions (shallots/chinna vengayam)

Method
Rinse and soak the Rice for about 5 -7 minutes.
Wash the toor daal and add 1 1/2 cups of water to it. Cook it in a pressure cooker. up to 3 whistles.  Keep aside.

Now Prepare the wet Masala - Roast all the ingredients stated above in the Wet masala and grind into a thick paste using a little water at a time. Keep this masala aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dal and Fenugreek seeds for the tempering. Once the mustard starts to crackle, add in the  curry leaves. 

Now Add the onions and fry till transparent.

Then add the tomatoes, cook until squashy, followed by adding the rest of the vegetables and the wet masala, add in 3-4 tablespoons of concentrated tamarind juice, Asafetida & Salt and Mix all well.

Fry for about 5-7 minutes till you hear a sizzling sound. 

Now add the soaked rice and mix well and sauté for about 5 minutes,  Check for salt and the Tamarind taste at this time, If you feel the need to adjust, kindly do so at this point. 

Pressure cook this until 3 whistles or you can also cook it in the pan, cook covered until the rice and vegetables are done. Add the cooked toor dal, mix well , cook the dish for another 5-7 minutes and then garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with papads, add a dollop of ghee on top while serving. 

VARIATIONS

• You can use Green Peas, Fresh Edmame, Capsicum or any vegetables of your choice. 
• BBB in Karnataka comes with additional spices like Cinammon, clove, nutmeg, poppy seeds etc. 
• You can fry Cashewnuts in ghee and add it to the BBB as a rich and exotic garnish 

TIPS

• If you don't have fresh Vegetables, You can add 1 cup Frozen vegetables too and follow the recipe as abpve  Here we get the combination of  (carrots, beans, & green peas) & Sometimes corn as well. 
• You can add the half cooked toor dal and cook it alongwith the rice, but here the toor dal doesn't get cooked well, hence I add the toor dal after it gets cooked. 

I would like to send this exotic Karnataka delight to Sheetal of Sweety-My Kitchen for the SWC-Karnataka Event that she is hosting in her blog.

TIRANGA CAKE & INDEPENDANCE DAY

I would like to send this post to Pooja's Theme-Independence day 2008" event,

INDEPENDENCE DAY
15th August is India's Independence Day. It is celebrated to commemorate its independence from the British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947.

These are the days that we miss our Motherland the most.

The National Anthem has special memories for me coz I was the person who used to sing the National Anthem everyday in my school right from Class 6 to Class 10 and here I am living in Singapore.

My hubby Yo's grandfather was very active in the freedom struggle and even went to jail with Veer Savarkar(one of the prominent Freedom fighters).

I strongly believe that, "Living abroad can’t change the love that one has in their heart for their motherland".

RESPECT OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM

Last year during Independence Day, a video was aired repeatedly, This video was made with the idea that people must respect Our National Anthem and it sure has managed to strike a chord. It used to make me cry every time that they played it.

You can watch this video here;

TIRANGA CAKE

Here is an attempt to show our National Flag on an Eggless Cake, you can click on this link for the recipe in my blog
The only change here is I have tried making an icing for the cake
For the Icing
Ingredients
Powdered Sugar – ½ cup
Vanilla Powder – 1 tsp
Milk 3-4 tbsp
Food colors – Orange and Green
Method
Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla powder and add milk little by little till you get a thick paste. this icing shouldn't be very thick, u should be able to apply with spatula. Now divide into 3 portions, you can mix the colors and apply on the cake, the top line is Orange, plain icing for the middle one in white and the bottom line is Green. Now keep it in the fridge for few hours and then apply second coat which is a smooth and final coat.
Now my little one was so excited about the cake that she wasn’t patient for me to apply the smooth and final coat and so the icing is not enough and doesn’t look professional, so please pardon my imperfection
I also used a Monaco biscuit and drew the lines with a blue marker depicting the Dharma Chakra.
Pooja’s event also says;“Create anything having combination of 3 colors. i.e. you can just catch a picture of array of vegetables/birds/flowers / anything having these 3 colors.”
So here is a picture of the beautiful flower Anthurium growing in my little balcony garden.

Gift of nature just in time for independence day as the Leaf like bract called the “Spathe” is dark orange in color. The fleshy spike called the "Spadix" where the tiny flowers emerge is white in color and the leaves below are green of course, symbolizing the 3 colors of our National Flag.

JAI HIND!!!!!

VANDE MATARAM!!!!!!

HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY TO ALL THE INDIANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MILO DINOSAUR

This is my entry for Srilekha’s Icecreams and Milkshakes Event

MILO DINOSAUR
This is my daughter’s favorite drink. Whenever we eat outside, she will make it a point to order this if it is on the menu. I am not sure if this drink is available anywhere else, I think this would be a Singapore special drink and may have originated here. The recipe is simple and kids adore this drink.
Ingredients
Milo – 1 ½ tbsp
Water – ¼ glass
Milk – ¾ glass
Sugar – 2 tsps (as required)
Icecream – 1 scoop (Preferably Vanilla or Chocolate)
Method
In the glass/tumbler that you are serving, Add 1 tbsp of Milo, 2tsps Sugar and ¼ glass of hot water and stir well, Top it with boiled milk, stir well, Check for sugar, if more sugar is required, add, stir and chill it in the refrigerator. When cool, use a hand blender to work up a froth. This increases the volume of the Milo and makes it look like Expresso Milo (just like Expresso Coffee).

Use a transparent glass/tumbler so that the kids can see how attractive the drink looks. Top it up with a scoop of icecream, Vanilla or Chocolate flavor icecream goes best with this drink and on top sprinkle the remaining ½ tbsp of Milo powder with a tea strainer.

Put in a straw and serve this deliciously refreshing and nutritious drink to your kids.

CHEESE TOMATO CROISSANT

I would like to pack this sandwich for the picnic basket of “Waiter There’s Something in my……….Picnic hosted by Johanna of thepassionatecook.
CHEESE TOMATO CROISSANT
Croissants are made of a leavened variant of puff pastry by layering yeast dough with butter and rolling and folding a few times in succession, then rolling. A lot of time goes in making Croissants, so I decided I would buy it off the rack.
Ingredients
Croissant - 1
Tomatoes - 1
Cheese Slice - 1
Salt
Pepper
Method
Slice tomatoes, keep aside. Take one piece of croissant and carefully slice in the middle. Place one cheese slice inside and on top of it neatly place the tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt and freshly crushed pepper over the sliced vegetables. Enjoy this delicious sandwich.

VEGETABLE SANDWICH

I would like to pack this Vegetable sandwich for Johanna's(the passionatecook) picnic basket for her Picnic fare event.
I absolutely adore the logo which says “Waiter There’s Something in my………." which is a headline grabber for sure.
Here is an out and out picnic recipe from me which is nutritious, light on the stomach and can be assembled at the picnic spot with the help of friends.
VEGETABLE SANDWICH
I have used White bread in my recipe but brown bread would be a healthier option. Sandwiches taste best when freshly made, so here’s a tip, you can carry all the sliced vegetables in ziplock bags and assemble the sandwich at the picnic spot and enjoy the crunch of the fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
Two slices of White Bread/ Brown Bread
Cucumber – 1
Tomatoes - 1
Beet Root – 1
Potato – 1
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Green Coriander Chutney(Optional)(refer to link below for recipe)
Chat Masala (Optional)
Method
Peel and boil the Beet root. Boil and peel the Potatoes. Make slices of both and keep aside. Peel the cucumber and slice it. Slice tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the sliced vegetables. Once all this is done. Apply butter to one side. Place the sliced potatoes first, Place the sliced beet root over it, then place a layer of the sliced cucumbers and over it a layer of the sliced tomatoes. You can sprinkle a bit of Chaat Masala( is a tangy savory powder available in Indian stores)
On the other bread apply some Coriander chutney.(Click on the link for the recipe). Cover the sandwich with the slice of bread which has chutney on it. Top it with a bit of coriander chutney and tomato sauce as shown in the picture while serving it.

CABBAGE PORIYAL

Priti our KC member from Singapore and Purva from London are hosting the Festive

Food Event and since Rakshabandhan is round the corner their theme is Rakhi - "The Thread of love".

I belong to Tamilnadu where we dont have the tradition of Rakhi, but I was born and brought up in Mumbai, which is so cosmopolitan that we learn to adapt to different cultured and traditions and celebrating as many festivals as we can is always fun. We do have another festival that coincides with Rakshabandhan festival and on festival days we usually have a fixed menu fare as certain vegetables are avoided and only certain vegetables are cooked. We cook many dishes like Sambhar, Rasam, Avial, Dry curry(poriyal), Payasam, Pachadi, papadam, Vadai etc. I have noticed that during festivals Amma usually either makes Cabbage poriyal or beans poriyal.
So here is my recipe for Cabbage Poriyal..........

Cabbage Poriyal
Some call the dry sabzi "curry", some call it poriyal, some call it upkari and yet others call it palya, but in my house we use to call it podutuval. So here’s amma’s recipe of Cabbage podutuval.
Ingredients
Cabbage – 1 medium sized
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Udad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Green or Red chillies – 1-2
Ginger grated – 1tsp
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Turemric powder – 1 tsp
Asafetida – a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil
Method
Chop the Cabbage, rinse in a colander and keep aside. Heat the oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds, when they start to splutter add the udad and chana dals, when they are slightly pink add in the chillies broken into 2 pieces and the grated ginger, fry for a minute. Now add the cabbage, turmeric powder, salt to taste and hing and mix well, Cook closed with a lid on a low flame and let it cook in its own juices. Open after about 3-4 minutes. Add some water if required. Cook till the cabbage is done. Once the cabbage is totally dry, Add the grated coconut and mix well and cook for another 2 minutes till you get the faint aroma of the coconut.
Serve hot with chappati, rice and dal.
Beside the Plates are Rakhis made by me. I will be posting how I made the Rakhis and close-up photos of the Rakhis soon in my hobby blog

ONION FRITTERS WITH RED JALAPENO PEPPERS AND CASHEWNUTS

ONION FRITTERS WITH RED JALAPENO PEPPERS AND CASHEWNUTSIn the desi style we can call it Onion Bhajji/Bhajiya lal Mirchi aur kaju ke saath.

I guess I am hooked onto red Jalapeno peppers, I love the color, the flavor, the extra funk or you may say punch that it adds to any dish. Don’t replace the red jalapeno peppers with any other pepper, the taste won’t be the same. If you don’t get Jalapeno peppers in your country, you can use Red Capsicum. Here is yet another Original recipe of mine.

Ingredients Onions – 3-4

Red Jalapeno Peppers – 2

Cashewnuts – 1 tbsp

Gram Flour – 1 cup

Bishops weed (Ajwain/Omam) – ½ tsp

Asafetida – 1 tsp

Red Chilly powder – 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil

Method

Chop the onion in thin slivers, Slit the Red Jalapeno peppers de-stem and de-seed them. Chop them in thin strips also. Put them in a bowl, Add the cashewnuts, then add 3 tbsps of gram flour, the bishops weed, Asafetida, Red chilly powder, salt and mix well. Allow the onions and chillies to marinate in the mixture for about 5 minutes. The onions start to sweat and you will notice the mixture to be moist, at this point, add the rest of the gram flour and some water, The water is added to make the mixture a bit loose and in dropping consistency as shown in the picture. Again keep aside for 4-5 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan and when the oil is hot, drop small balls of the batter, while dropping spread your fingers so they drop unevenly and look shapeless, this makes it more crispy. Fry the Bhajiyas(fritters) till golden and crisp on a slow fire. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Serve hot with green chutney/ coconut chutney or tomato sauce

I would like to send this dish also to Lore's Original recipes Event.

CUCUMBER IN YOGURT WITH RED JALAPENO PEPPERS

Here's yet another post for Lore's Original Recipes Event

CUCUMBER IN YOGURT WITH RED JALAPENO PEPPERS
This is also known as Cucumber Raita in India. Raita or Pachadi is usually prepared by adding vegetables or savories to thick yogurt. This is considered very cooling to the body so it is served with spicy dishes. This recipe of mine is an ode to the Chef who prepared a similar raita at KK hospital(Singapore) where I delivered my second baby. I don’t know who prepared it but it used to taste awesome. The red jalapeno peppers have an awesome flavor and this raita is simply mindblowing. Don’t ever replace the red jalapeno peppers with any other chilly as the taste will not be the same. This is my version though, so here is yet another Original recipe for Lore's event.
Ingredients
Cucumbers - 1-2 big ones
Red Jalapeno peppers – 2
Yogurt – 10-12 tbsps
Mustard seeds -2 tsps
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Asafetida(Hing) - a pinch
Curry leaves – a sprig
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tsp
Method
Peel and grate the cucumbers in a vessel. Drain the water that seeps out of the grated cucumber, we don’t want our raita to be very watery. Use thick yogurt, ensure that there is no whey else the raita will be watery. If the yogurt is not thick, hang it in a cloth, so you can get the thick yogurt. Mix the yogurt with the grated cucumber with salt as per taste and keep aside.
Chop the red Jalapeno peppers, this pepper is not very spicy. If you don’t want even a tinge of spice, you can slit and remove the seeds. But if you don’t mind a little spicy punch to the raita, you can retain the seed. In my case, I de-seeded it as I only wanted the flavor of the jalapeno peppers and not the spice.
Now in a small pan, heat1 tsp oil, add the mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds starts to splutter, add a pinch of asafetida, now add the chopped jalapeno peppers and fry, the peppers should get slightly fried, they become even less spicy when fried. Add the curry leaves and fry. Now add this to the grated cucumber and yogurt mix and serve chilled. You can serve it with any meals or you can have it just like that. Indulge in this cool delightful condiment.

MINT-CORIANDER-COCONUT POWDER (PUDINA-KOTHAMALLI-TENGA PODI)

I would like to send this post for Lore's Original Recipes Event.



I would also like to send this for Roma's "Long Live The Shelf Event"




MINT-CORIANDER-COCONUT POWDER(PUDINA-KOTHAMALLI-TENGA PODI)
People prepare Kothamalli podi (Coriander powder), some prepare Pudina podi (Pudina powder) and yet others prepare Tenga Podi (Coconut powder). These are usually had as an accompaniment to our daily meals, idli, dosa or adai. But here is an exotic creation from my kitchen. I combined all 3 and the result is a tasty podi combined with the nutrition of the mint and coriander and the aroma of roasted coconut.
Ingredients
Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
Mint leaves – 1 bunch
Curry leaves – 10-12
Grated Coconut – 1 cup
Udad Dal – 2 tbsps
Chana dal – 2 tbsps
Red chillies – 4-5 (If you like it spicier you can add more)
Tamarind – A lemon size ball
Oil - 1 tsp
Asafetida (Hing) – 1-2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Method
De-stem the Mint leaves (pick the leaves from their stem), Pick the coriander leaves, De-stem the curry leaves, Rinse them in a colander well and spread on a newspaper till it is dry. If you can sun dry it will be good, the reason to dry them out is to get rid of the moisture that the leaves have after washing them.
Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the udad dal, chana dal and the red chillies, Tamarind, Asafetida. Fry until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate.
Now in the same kadhai add the Udad dal and Chana dal and roast till it is light pink in colour.
When it is well roasted, a lovely aroma is emanated. Roasting enables the dals to get powdered easily and also roasting enables to store the masala powders for longer time. Once roasted, remove from flame and allow it to cool down. Then run it in the dry mill to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.
In the same kadhai, put in the sun-dried leaves, add salt and roast until they reduce in volume and loose moisture. Keep aside.
In the end roast the grated coconut until it gets a faint pink color and gives that wonderful coconut aroma. Now in the dry mill of your blender, run the roasted leaves and keep aside and then the coconut and then mix all 3. Check for salt, if required add at this stage Run once more in the blender, so the salt gets mixed well with the other ingredients. This time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough.
This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine. If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty. All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately.
Serve it with Idli, dosa, Adai or Rice and enjoy this savory powder.
This powder can be kept outside for 2 days and inside the refrigerator for 15 days. Use a clean, dry spoon always for it to have a longer shelf life.