Monday, August 8, 2011

Pakodas/fritters

Pakodas.hmm...everybody knows how to make em,but are you the one who try it with various style and veggies and  if by chance you get good results,you  start making it  quite often.If so please share it with us here.I love fried snacks.hahaha..i knw..i knw...its not good.but wat do?baking doesnt give the same result as frying. I  tried hard to resist frying ...but failed...afterall  i  have indian  taste buds..   :)
neways try this pakodas,they are really hard to resist.



Ingredients :

Besan/chickpea flour - 3/4 th cup
Onions - 1 medium sliced
Carrot - 1 grated
Potato - 1 grated
Pudina/mint leaves - 1-2 sprigs chopped finely
Green chillies- 2-3 chopped finely
Ajwain - pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Oil


Method :


Cut  the veggies and keep aside.




Put in a bowl,add besan,ajwain seeds,cumin seeds,red chilli powder and mix well.(water from onions are enough,or else just wet your hand and mix the batter for that extra water).now add salt as per the quantity and mix well.




Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai.

Take little portions and drop slowly and carefully in the hot oil.

Put as many portions just to cover in the oil,dont overcrowd else pakodas will turn out soggy and soak more oil.




Turn the pakodas with a slotted spatula and cook till golden brown.




Take out on a paper towel and allow to drain excess oil.



Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.





                                                 Happy Eating..!!!

Beautifull butterflies

Ofcoz we dont eat butterflies... :).




This is  my daughter Nuhaa's fav. shaped pasta.she is 22 month old and say 'buttafyy' when she see this pasta in her plate. Thought of sharing with all of you a easy and yet tasty recipe of pasta.you can use any shaped pasta you have.



Ingredients :

Bow tie pasta - 2 cups
Salt
Butter-2 tbsp
Oil- 1tsp
Water
Onions - 1 medium chopped
Garlic - 4 chopped
Green onions - 2 sprigs chopped
Mix veggies - 1 cup
Eggs-3
Green chillies- 4 chopped
Black Pepper powder & Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp each  (avoid if making for kids)
Pasta sauce- 1 cup (if you dont have ,substiute with  tomatoes added right after onions are done)
Cheese - 1 1/2 cup i use mix of jack,cheddar and parmesan.
(if you are not satisfied you can add more cheese,my dh is so cheese conscious that i have to hold my hand back while sprinkling cheese...  :).


Method :

Cook pasta in hot water with salt and 1 tsp of oil.keep aside.



Meanwhile heat butter in a pan and add onions,saute till translucent.

Add garlic,green chillies,half of green onions,and saute for few secs.dont burn the garlic.

Add the mix veggies,salt, black pepper,red chilli powder and cover it to cook on slow flame.



Meanwhile heat 2 tsp of oil in another pan and make scrambled eggs.(beat eggs with salt in a bowl and pour in the pan,keep stirring and breaking it for 2 mins.keep aside.

When the veggies are done,add in the cooked pasta and the pasta sauce,mix well.



Spread the scambled eggs on top of pasta.



Spread the Cheese on top.



Pour in 3/4th cup of milk from the corners and cover it .

Simmer it for a minute .




Serve hot...





Happy Eating..!!!



Friday, August 5, 2011

Shrimp-Turai/snakegourd curry

Shrimp and turai /snakegourd combination makes an excellent curry for chapatis.Try this if you are bored of the regular plain turai curry.



Ingredients :

Turai - medium
Potato - 1 small diced into medium pieces
Shrimps  frozen or fresh - 1/2 kg
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onions-1 small chopped into big chunks
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt
Oil -1 tbsp
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Curry powder - 1tsp
Crushed garlic-2
Garam Masala-1/2 tsp

Method :

Peel the Turai and cut into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan,add cumin seeds,onions and curry leaves.

Add diced potatoes and saute well ,add in the turai pieces and saute well for a while

Add the salt,turmeric and mix well.

Add in the shrimps and the curry powder.



Cook cover for 5 mins,add crushed garlic,red chilli powder,garam masala .

Serve hot with chapati/paratha.



Happy Eating..!!!

Khatti Daal/lentil soup

Khatti daal  is an all time favourite of every hyderabadi.You can call it sambar if you add the sambar powder to it ,a well known andhra dish.This palate of khatti daal,plain rice and bhuna gosht ( lamb) is a great combination for weekends or for friends coming over..



Ingredients : 

Toor Daal - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind juice - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 2 broken into halves
Onions - 1 medium thinely sliced
Tomato-1 medium chopped
Curry Leaves - 3 sprigs
Green chillies- 4-6
Drumsticks - fresh or frozen -10 cut pieces
Bottle Gourd-1 cup cubed into big chunks
Okra-5-6 whole with tip ends cut
Carrot-1 small cut into pieces
Raddish-1 small cut into pieces
Salt
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water

Note: You can skip any veggie if you dont have it.But basically khatti daal gets it taste from the drumsticks,bottle gourd and curry leaves.

Method :

Wash the daal and cook in pressure cooker until very soft.

Mash it with adding 1-2 cups water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep pan and put mustard seeds,cumin seeds,red chillies,curry leaves.

Add onions,saute for while.

Add tomatoes,saute till it wilts.

Add all the veggies one by one mixing  in between.




Put turmeric powder,salt,red chilli powder and fry for a while.
Pour in the tamarind juice with desired quantity of water(3-4 cups) and let it boil for 20 mins.




 Pour in the Daal and  put the lid and simmer it for another 15 mins.Be carefull that it doesnt boil and spill over.




Serve it with plain rice and a stir fry veggie or my fav. boneless lamb fry.





Happy Eating..!!!


Baigan/eggplant fry


                                     

Eggplant is a quick fry veggie which goes well with both rice and roti.Again it can be made into lot of styles.iam going to share the easiest version which you can make whenever you dont have much time to cook time taking food.



Ingredients :

Eggplants - 1/2 kg
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies.2 broken
Curry leaves- 2 sprig
Onions - 1 small chopped
Crushed garlic -2
salt
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Oil-2 tbsp

Method :

Wash eggplants and  cut into small pieces and soak in salty water until all eggplants are done.




Heat oil in a pan,add the mustard seeds,cumin seeds,red chiilies,curry leaves.

Add onions,saute till translucent.

Drain the eggplants and add in the pan.

Saute on high for few mins.




Add turmeric powder,salt and let it cook on medium flame,stirring in between.





When the eggplant is done (in 10 min) add in the crushed garlic,red chilli powder.

Serve hot with rice or roti.



Happy Eating...!!!



Stir fry Beans




Beans-A common vegetable used by almost everybody in the world.Green beans  are delight for vegetarian lovers for their wholesome nutritional qualities.Fresh green beans are very low in calories and rich in dietary fibre and contain no saturated fat.These are very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrientsI personally like its stir fry version as compared to curries.It goes well with plain rice and daal.




Ingredients :

Beans - 1/2 lb
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 small chopped
Dry red chillies- 2 broken
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Crushed garlic-2 big
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp


Method :

Wash and cut the beans into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan,add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,red chillies.

Add onions and saute till translucent,add curry leaves.

Add the beans and fry on medium flame for 5 mins.

Add in the turmeric and salt.Mix well.



Add in the cumin powder,let it cook on slow flame until the beans are cooked but crunchy.

Add in the crushed garlic and red chilli powder and mix well.

Serve hot with rice and daal.



Happy Eating...!!!

Dosa/Indian pancake

Dosa-almost everybody loves this south indian dish.This is made out of various lentils such as urad daal or moong daal mixed with rice to give it a crispy texture.The one made with urad daal is more popular which iam sharing here as compared to the moong daal in indians (called pesarratu in telugu).Everybody has there own ratios of daal : rice in their dosas.My ratio is 1 : 1 as it gives me the desired crispyness and taste.



Ingredients :

Urad daal - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Chana daal-1/3 cup
Salt
Oil

Method :

Wash and soak Urad,rice and chana daal together in water overnight or minimum of 5 hrs.

Grind in the blender adding water in between to a thick flowing batter.you can add water later accordingly.

(If you want batter to ferment leave overnight (the usual way) else you can always make dosa with fresh batter and next day anyways you can have the fermented little sour dosas)

Add the salt and mix well.


Heat the pan.

Pour a tsp of oil on the pan and rub a cut onion or wet kitchen towel,removing excess oil.(this is to season the pan and dosa wont stick to your pan)


Pour a ladle full of dosa batter in the middle and go in circles spreading the batter outwards making a round dosa.



Pour a tsp of oil around the edges of dosa and 1/2 tsp on the body of dosa... :)



Let it cook for 5 mins till golden brown and crisp.( good batter will make  the edges to leave the pan by itself indicating dosa is ready)

Take of the dosa with a broad spatula and serve hot with desired chutney or pickle.



Tips :

1. If you can,use separate pans for dosa and chapati,this way dosa doesnt stick to your pan much.

2. You shouldnt wash your dosa pan everytime you cook unless required.

3. If you want to ferment batter dont add salt in the batter,it reduces the fermentation,add salt before 
    making dosa.
    For fermentation,you can put the batter inside the oven for a good rise in batter.(off oven)

4. You can make lots of variations in stuffing for dosas like finely chopped onions,ginger and green  chillies  or grated  carrot for kids or make a simple dry potato curry for masala dosa.Always put the stuffing 2 mins after you spread the batter on the pan so as to save the  crispiness of dosa.


Basic chutney:

Peanuts -1cup
Split chana daal/dalia -1/4cup
Green chillies - 4-6
Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil

Method:

Heat a pan and dry roast peanuts on medium flame for 15 mins until they turn golden brown(not black, else chutney wil taste bitter).Allow to cool.

In the blender add peanuts,dalia,green chillies,tamarind pulp and make a paste adding little water in between.

Add salt and mix well.

For Tadka :

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split urad daal - 1/2 tsp 
Dry red chillies -2-3 broken into halves
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Oil
 
 Heat 3 tsp oil in a pan,add mustard seeds,split urad daal and red chillies.

When the mustard seeds crackle add curry leaves.

Please dont burn the tadka,it wil make the chutney bitter.

Allow the tadka to cool a bit and pour in the chutney and mix well.
(Hot oil cooks the dalia in the chutney making it sticky).

 Enjoy with hot dosa.

For first timers you need little practice to get a perfect dosa but you know once you get it right,this is the easiest breakfast after cereals....:) .
prepare batter and chutney in the night ,keep the chutney in the fridge and the batter on the counter to ferment and next day you have breakfast with little effort as compared to making parathas.




Happy Cooking..!!!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Ramadan Mubarak


Ramadan Mubarak to all of you.cant believe how fast the year passes by.As we fast and pray in this holy month may our faith in almighty lead us to happiness.And may he bless us with  good health and fulfill our dreams.

          Ramadan is here and it make me miss hyderabad a lot.I miss the iftar (fast break) samosas and the yummy haleem.i can bet that you cant get that taste of haleem anywhere else other that hyderabad.People do make it here in US but no-nothing close to the hyderabadi haleem.I feel to go India right away to have it.Hey one thing i just got to know from youtube is that hyderabadi haleem got the 'geographical indication' tag .Its such an honour,it really is .These are few of the many famous haleem houses in hyderabad :

     1.Pistahouse
     2.Shah Ghouse
     3.Paradise
     4.Bawarchi
     5.CafĂ© Bahaar

Hopefully i wil be making it very soon and share with all of you.

        It is such fun and pious feeling to wake up early in the morning for sehari (start the fast).In india we used to do it with all my cousins.Sehari and Iftar was a fun part and praying five times during this Ramadan month gives us a sense of piousness and contentment.
          
          Here in US me and my dear hubby wake up early morning  for sehari and for Iftar we go to the mosque where the whole community gathers for Iftar.Its nice to pray with everybody and break our fast.

                                Wish all of you a very blessed Ramadan