Friday, March 20, 2009

Egg Briyani

EGG BRIYANI
Ingredients:
Eggs - 4
rice - 2.5 cups
water - 5 cups
onions - 2 (big)
tomatoes - 6
green chillies - 4
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
curd - 2 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
oil - 6 tbsp
cardamom - 2
cinnamon - 1"
bay leaf - 2
cloves - 4
corriander leaves - a handful
ghee - 2 tbsp
juice of 1/2 lemon
mint leaves (pudina) - 1 cup

Method:
To prepare eggs:
- hard boil the eggs and peel off the skin
- cut them into halves as shown
- in a pan add 1 tbsp of oil
- add the eggs and then sprinkle a pinch of red chilli powder and salt and fry till they are golden brown
- keep them aside

To prepare rice:
- wash rice, soak them in water for 1/2 an hour
- slice the onions length wise
- slice the tomatoes into cubes
- slit the green chillies in the middle
- in a pan add oil
- when the oil is hot add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf and fry
- add onions and fry till golden brown
- add the tomatoes and fry
- while they are frying add salt and ginger garlic paste
- add green chillies and fry
- add curd and fry
- add red chilli powder, corriander powder, jeera powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, pepper powder and mix well
- add the mint leaves and fry till they are done and dry
- add this mixture to the rice
- add the chopped corriander leaves on top
- add the ghee and lemon juice
- mix well and cook
- I used electric rice cooker, you can also make using the pressure pan and leave it to cook upto 3 whistles

To make egg briyani:
- serve this rice with the fried egg on top

Serve hot with raita.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Bottle Guard Parata

BOTTLE GOURD PARATA
Hi all,
I tried this recipe yesterday and that came out really awesome. I modified this recipe according to my taste. The recipe was too good and no words to say how amazing that was. Some how I managed to find a new recipe to add veggies into it and make my sweet hubby to eat. And no wonder he too loved the paratas.

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd - 1/2 (depends upon size, I took 1/4 kg) atta - 2 cups turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1
green chillies - 4
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil
Water


Method:
- peel out the skin of the bottle gourd.
- remove the seeds and grate it
- add some salt to the grated bottle gourd and allow it to sit for 10 mins.
- now add atta to the grated bottle gourd which would have given out water.
- grind green chillies to a fine paste
- add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and garam masala. Add the green chilli paste and the ginger garlic paste. Mix well.

- sprinkle water to knead the dough
- Be careful while adding the water as lauki will ooze out its own natural water.
- add little oil to the dough if necessary.

- roll into small balls.
- roll out into thin parata's.
- Cook on a tava on both the sides by spreading few drops of oil, till the parata are fully cooked .


Thanks goes to:
Purva's Daawat

Potato Podimass


POTATO PODIMASS
Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4
garlic - 10 - 12 (crushed)
oil - 5 - 6 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Method:
- peel off the skin for all the potatoes and then cut into fine slices
- mix red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, corriander powder with sliced potato
- mix well
- in a pan add oil
- when the oil is hot add the crushed garlic and mix well
- then when the fried for 2 - 3 mins add the potato mixture and mix well
- add 1/2 cup of water and close the pan with a lid
- when they are cooked, fry the potato until they are golden brown



This is for the EVENT:

Viki's Kitchen

Monday, March 16, 2009

Seimbaal

SEIMBAAL
The colostrum is also known as seimbal (Tamil), Posu(Konkani), Ginnu(Kannada), Junnu(Telugu), Kharvas(Marathi) is a sweet made from lactating cow’s milk. Usually it is prepared by the first 3 days milk from the cows who has littered. This is a sweet made in different ways. I prepare this like pal kova. When the colostrum is boiled that forms like crumbled paneer. And jaggery adds colour and flavour to the colostrum.

Ingredients:
colostrum - 4 cups
jaggery - 1.5 cups
salt - a pinch
cardamom powder - 1 tsp
water - 1/4 cup

Method:
- make a syrup with jaggery and water and bring it to boil
- then strain it and remove the dirt- the cool- now boil the colostrum.
- after 5 - 7 mins of constant stirring it forms small crumbles like paneer.
- now pour in the jaggery syrup and keep stirring once in between
- now when the sweet is firm add the cardamom powder and pour in a greased plate and cut them into cubes when they are cold.
- I have left them as crumbles as I prepared in the night and left them in the kadai.
- I consumed the seimbal during the early mornings.


This is for the EVENT : TASTE OF MYSORE








This is for the EVENT:


COOKING 4 ALL SEASONS


Baby Potato Masala (Goan Style)


BABY POTATO MASALA (GOAN STYLE)
I had been to Goa recently. I fell in love with the food there. It was kind of good and simple. We dont have to think about any complicated ingredients . I just tried out with potato that I had in my stock.The recipe came out too well. We had taken the masala with rice and Chappathi. It tasted awesome.

Ingredients:
baby potatoes - 2 cups
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
onion - 1
tomato - 2
oil - 3 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
salt to taste
corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
coconut milk powder - 3 tbsp
water - 1/2 cup
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
corriander leaves - 1 tsp

Method:
- pressure cook the potatoes and peel the skin
- cut onions into long slices
- cut the tomatoes into slices
- in a pan add oil
- add mustard seeds and urad dal
- then add the onions and fry till golden colour
- add the tomatoes and fry till they are smashed
- add ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, corriander powder, salt and turmeric
- mix well and add water
- let the mixture boil until the raw smell vanishes
- add the potatoes
- mix the coconut milk powder and the water without any lumps
- pour them into the boiling mixture
- add corriander leaves (chopped) and let it to boil for a minute
- serve.




This is for the EVENT:

Viki's Kitchen

Chilli Chicken (Srilankan)

CHILLI CHICKEN (SRILANKAN)


Hi all,This is a new dish. This is called as CHILLI CHICKEN, made by the sri lankan style. I got this dish from one of the book let where my mom had made a note of this. She had mentioned that this recipe is quite spicy and goes well with all kinds of mild flavoured recipes (rice/ roti's). She has also mentioned that this recipe is one of her favourite delicacy.


When I prepared it, the recipe made me feel so bored and tiring. I had to fry onion sepertely, green chillies and tomatoes.. kind of a long process. But believe me ............. It didnt take more than 1/2 an hour and the recipe came out awesome.


As I mentioned I never prepare a recipe with all the complete ingredients when I prepare for the first time. So just tried with 1/4 kg of boneless chicken I had in stock. This recipe could be tried with the chickn with bones as well.


Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/4 kg

onion - 2

tomato - 3

green chillies - 12

red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

garam masala - 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

oil - 5 - 6 tbsp

ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

water - 1 cup

corriander leaves - 2 tsp


Method:

- wash and clean the chicken

- marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric and ginger garlic paste

- grind the green chillies seperately into a fine paste

- make a paste with red chilli powder, pepper powder and garam masala along with water

- in a pan add 2 tsp of oil

- fry the finely chopped onions until they turn golden brown

- grind then into a fine paste by adding some water

- leave it aside

- in a pan add 2 tsp oil and then add the tomatoes (cut them into cubes)

- fry until the raw smell vanishes

- grind them into a fine paste

- leave them aside

- in a pan add the remaining oil

- add the ground onion paste and the green chilli paste

- fry till the green chilli's raw smell goes off

- add the tomato paste

- fry

- then add the mixed masala paste (all the powders)

- fry till the raw smell goes off

- now add the marinated chicken- fry for 5 - 10 mins

- add water and close the pan with a lid

- let it cook and when it forms a semi gravy, garnish with corriander leaves (finely chopped)
Serve this chicken with dosa, rice, ghee rice, vegetable rice, parata, appam etc.




This is for the EVENT:

Viki's Kitchen

Friday, March 13, 2009

Flax Seeds Chutney Powder

FLAX SEEDS CHUTNEY POWDER
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Flax seed meal
4 big cloves Garlic cloves
1/4 cup Peanuts
1 1/2 tsp Red chilli flakes (or more)
1/2 inch pieces Tamarind
Salt as per taste

Method:
- As i used flax seed meal, slightly roast it in a low flame, till you get a nice smell of flax seeds.
- Add chilly flakes, take off the heat and cover it.
- Separately, dry roast Peanuts and garlic cloves.
- Allow to cool them. Spread it in a flat plate.
- Now grind all the roasted ingredients+tamarind+salt to a fine powder
- Chutney powder is ready to be served with rice, idli or dosa.. even with curd for paratha's..

Thanks goes to:
Archy's Recipe Book

This is for the EVENT : TASTE OF MYSORE

Vadai Curry


VADAI CURRY


Ingredients:
Channa dal - 1 cup
onions - 2
tomatoes - 2
ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
dania powder - 1 tsp
salt to taste.
turmeric - 1/4 tsp


Seasoning:
oil for frying
cinnamon - 1 "
cardamom - 2
cloves - 2
bay leaf - 1


To grind:
saunf - 1 tsp
green chillies - 3


To garnish:
corriander leaves - 1/4 cup


Method:
- soak channa dal in water for 2 hrs
- grind green chillies and saunf to a fine paste
- now grind the channa dal and the green chilli paste with little salt to coarse paste
- the dal shouldnt be ground finely
- place this mixture in a vessel
- in a pressure pan add little water and place the channal dal mixture vessel in it
- steam it without adding any whistle for 10 mins
- remove from fire and allow it to cool
- now just break the chana dal mixture
- that wil look like bread crumbs
- Chop the onions finely - chop the tomatoes finely
- in a kadai add oil
- to it add all the sesoning items and allow it to stand for a minute
- then add the onions and fry until it becomes transparent
- then add the tomatoes
- fry till they are full smashed
- add salt, turmeric , ginger garlic paste and fry til the raw smell vanishes
- then add the red chilli powder, dania powder and fry
- now add a little oil and add the channa dal mixture
- mix well and close the pan with the lid for few minutes
- then add the corriander leaves and mix well
- serve it hot with dosa, idli, appam, chappathi or iddiyappam

This is for the EVENT:

Viki's Kitchen

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Fish Fry

FISH FRY
Ingredients:
Fish (tuna) - 1 full fish (cut into rounds)
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
oil - to brush

Method:
- marinate the cleaned fish slices with all the ingredients except for the oil
- leave them in the fridge over night
- in a grill tray spread a aluminum foil
- arrange the slices on the aluminum foil
- preheat the oven at 250 degress- then grill at 250 degress for 20 mins
- turn the fish over, brush with some oil- again grill for 20 mins
- serve.
This recipe is dedicated for the EVENT
Priyas Kitchen

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Baby Aloo Fry

BABY ALOO FRY
Ingredients:

Baby Aloo - 1/4 kg
onion - 1/2 - cut length wise
garlic - 2 - 3 - crushed
salt to taste
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
dhal powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
oil - 4 - 5 tbsp
curry leaves - 10 - 15

Method:
- add baby aloo and water in a microwave safe bowl
- microwave on high for 10 mins on with the bowl fully closed
- when the aloo is soft and cooked, remove and wash with plain water
- peel of the skin
- in another micorwave safe bowl add oil
- to that add onions, garlic and curry leaves
- microwave on high for 2 mins
- now add the rest of the ingredients, add the aloo and sprinkle 3 - 4 tsp of water
- mix well
- microwave for 5 mins on high, stirring in between once for every minute.
This recipe is dedicated for the EVENT

Omelette


OMELETTE
Ingredients:
eggs - 1
onions - 1 (finely chopped)
salt to taste
pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
oil - 1 tsp

Method:
- break open the egg and mix well with all the other ingredients except oil
- in a microwave safe plate add oil
- spread the oil and pour in the egg mixture
- spread the mixture evenly
- microwave at high for 4 mins
- remove the plate from oven, and turn over the omelette and microwave again at high for 2 mins.
- serve.


This recipe is dedicated for the EVENT

Priyas Kitchen

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Keerai Parrupu Kootu

KEERAI PARRUPU KOOTU
Ingredients:
Keerai - 1 bunch
thuvar dal - 1/2 cup
water - 2 cups
green chilles - 2
onions - 2
salt to taste
hing - 1 pinch
oil - 2 - 3 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp

Method:
- i used amarnath leaves. you can use any keerai as per your choice
- finely chop the keerai and wash them
- in a pressure pan add the washed thuvar dal and water and steam it for 2 whistles
- slice the green chillies finely
- slice the onions length wise
- in a pan add oil
- add urad dal and mustard seeds when the oil is hot
- add the onions and green chillies and fry till they are transparent
- add the salt and hing powder
- mix well
- now add the keerai and mix well
- add the cooked thuvar dal along with water and close the pan with a lid
- wait until all the water evapourates and then serve.



This is for the EVENT: CREATIVE SAGA




This is for the EVENT:

Viki's Kitchen

Monday, March 9, 2009

Rajma Masala

RAJMA MASALA
Ingredients:
rajma - soaked - 1 cup
tomatoes - 2 ripe
onions - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
red chillie powder - 1 tsp
dania powder - 1/2 tsp
black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to tastewater - 1 cup
oil - 2 tbsp
corriander leaves - 2 - 3 tbsp
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:
- add the soaked rajma, salt, turmeric powder in a pressure pan with 1 cup of water and steam it for 3 whistles
- finely chop the onions, tomatoes and the corriander leaves
- in a pan add oil
- add onions and fry till transparent
- add tomatoes and fry
- add the ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell vanishes
- then add the cooked rajma along with water
- add the red chillie powder, dania powder, pepper powder, garam masala and cook
- close the pan with a lid and cook in medium heat
- when all the water is absorbed add the corriander leaves and cook for 2 -3 more minutes
- serve it with roti/chappathi or rice
- squeeze the juice of half a lemon and mix well




This is for the EVENT:


Viki's Kitchen

Wheat Bread

WHEAT BREAD


This is the first bread I have ever baked. I came out too well. I dunno why the top portion of the bread was too crispy. Yet, happiness prevails becoz my first trial of baking a bread didnt let me down.

Ingredients:
Atta - 1 + 1/2 cup

yeast - 2 tsp
warm milk - 3/4 cup
sugar - 1 tsp
salt - 1/4 tsp


Method:
- in a bowl add sugar, salt and warm milk
- mix well.
- add t he yeast and mix well. Leave it for some time for it to prove.
- the mixture will become frothy.
- add the atta flour.
- mix well and make a dough
- if its too elastic, then add a little more flour and make a dough
- leave it in a closed bowl for 2 hrs
- now the dough will be double of its original size
- punch out the air and put that dough in a greased bread loaf pan
- close it with a wet kitchen towel
- allow it to rise for another 1 hour
- preheat the oven at 180 degrees
- then bake the bread at 180 degrees for 35 minutes
- when its done, remove from the mould and place that on a wire rack
- slice them when they are cold

This is for the EVENT : TASTE OF MYSORE



This is for the EVENT: COOKING 4 ALL SEASONS

Shankarpali

SHANKARPALI

Hi all,
My husband was not ready to allow me to cook this recipe unless and until I named it Bala - pali (Balachander being his name). I finally had to convince about this topic and tried this recipe. The recipe came out too crispy and a good snack to eat.

Ingredients:
200gms(2 in number) sweet potato (approx 1 and 1/4 cups after cooking and mashing)
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour(maida)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tea spn baking powder
2 tbl spns ghee
1/4 tea spn salt
Oil + 2 tbl spns ghee for deep frying





Method:


- Cook and mash sweet potatoes.
- Mix all other ingredients (except oil-ghee mixture used for deep frying) to make a dough.
- Take a big ball of the dough and roll into a circle of about 1/4 to 1/2 cm thickness.
- Cut them into parallelograms
- Deep fry them in oil-ghee mixture on a medium flame.
- Remember to fry them till they are dark brown.
- If they are fried less than that, they don’t get crispy.
- Cool to room temperature and then store in air tight container.


Thanks goes to :
Aayi's Recipes

This is for the EVENT : TASTE OF MYSORE


This is for the EVENT: COOKING 4 ALL SEASONS

Nutty Fudge

NUTTY FUDGE
Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate – ½ kg bar

Condensed milk – 1 can
Vanilla Extract – 2 tsp
finely chopped cashews – ½ cup

Method:
- In a bowl, put chocolate pieces and one can of condensed milk.

- Microwave it for 2- 3 minutes on high heat.
- When the chocolate has melted, add vanilla extract, nuts and combine together.
- Cover a foil over a 9 inch square pan, so that it will be easy to remove the fudge from.
- Pour the fudge mixture in it and refrigerate for 2 hours.

( I left them in the freezer for 15 minutes at high, and that got set and was ready to cut and serve)






Thanks goes to:
Ashwini



This is for the EVENT : TASTE OF MYSORE


This is for the EVENT: COOKING 4 ALL SEASONS

Friday, March 6, 2009

Award - Microwave Event - EFM

Hey All.............
This is to tell you all that I won the first prize in the EFM event Microwave series which was hosted by Srilekha. I had sent 31 entries and I won the first prize trophy in the event.

There are no boundries for the happiness that I have got here to share with you all. This is the first event I have ever taken part in all my life. And the first event has fetched me the first prize that I could ever imagine.

There were lots of good and bad during the event. And becoz of that I could say that I was not able to contribute a few more recipes from my end as per my plan.

Let me start with all the good ones.
First: I wanted to go to a good cake baking class for which my hubby was always dead against. He wanted me to try out recipes on my own and didnot ever want me to waste the time in the classes. But this event made him realize the real passion I had on cooking and finally ended up in allow me to attend the class and I had learnt 5 cakes and all are presented in the event.

Second: For baking pastries, hand beater is hard. So we had to purchase an electric blender and beater which I immediately purchased as soon I completed my cooking class.

Third: the man (my hubby) who was not all interested in the kitchen activities was always there by my side in helping me to cope up with this event and gave me new ideas. Thanks Bala.

Fourth: I learnt to prepare new recipes becoz of this event.

Bad ones:
First: My aunt (periyamma) had expired. So that had stopped me from my regular work for a weeks time.

Second: I lost my floxy ( a 3 months old female Lhasapso pup). I dont want to mention what happened to her, but having a pup who is some one dear in your family and being without her is just hell. Even today my home has lost all its happiness and liveliness. We are still not out of it.

Third: the event time was too less for me. I wanted to prepare a few more recipes which I had planned and the time was too less for me to execute them. But still managed with 31 recipes from my end
With all these good and bads I am happy Iam here as a trophy winner. It wouldnt have had happened without you all(blog visitors, the event host (Srilekha), my hubby and of course my friends)

A speacial Thanks to my hubby's office collegues (HSBC) who helped me to finish all the recipes I had prepared at home and still they did appreciate the good work.
I started getting new orders for baking cakes, Becoz of this event.
Thanks a ton all. Thanks Srilekha for inspiring me and motiving me.Thanks to Bala (my hubby) for being on my side to see what was my interst and never did try saying a NO for anything and everything I did throught my married life. Thanks to all the people (many of them, hard to mention) for making me learn the recipes and today Iam in a ocean (much much more than that too) of happiness.

Regards,
Sapthanaa Balachander (Abilashini)
Thanks to: Srileka.
The Event name: EFM MICROWAVE OVEN SERIES
Link: