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Andhra chicken curry

When the hubby made a puppy face and asked “can you make chicken gravy with rice today please?” It did melt my heart, but I couldn’t help remembering the horrendous disasters I had with a simple chicken curry. The next few words out the husbands mouth “Ask mom how to make it” and then I was more determined than ever to make a chicken curry of my own, I was determined to make it as tasty as I could... And yes, my determination did yield some spicy fruit... Me: “is the curry good?” Husband: “Yes, Yummy!” Me: “Great, so my recipe worked...” Husband: Stares at me and asks “u dint ask mom how to make this?” Me: “Nope” and I give a toothy smile:-D

½ kg chicken (preferably chicken thigh) Marinade: 2 tbsp curd ¼ tsp turmeric ½ tsp salt Juice of half lemon Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and rub it through the chicken and let it marinate for 20 minutes. Ingredients 3 Tbsp oil 1 green cardamom ½ inch cinnamon 2 cloves 5-6 black pepper corns 3 green chilies slit into half (adjust according to heat tolerance) 3 medium sized onions, 2 medium sized tomatoes 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste 3 tbsp freshly grated coconut 1 tsp coriander powder 1 ½ tsp chili powder ½ tsp roasted cumin powder ½ tsp garam masala Salt to taste 1 bunch coriander leaves Cut 2 onions into slivers and keep aside. Roughly chop one onion, 2 tomatoes and puree in a mixer (Food processor) and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan; add the chicken pieces and fry for 5-8 minutes till they turn light golden brown. Take out the chicken keep aside. In the same oil, add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns. Sauté for 1 minute, add the onions fry till translucent ( About 4 minutes ), then add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 4 minutes ,add in the coconut and fry for another 3-4 minutes. Now add the onion and tomato puree, half bunch chopped coriander and fry till oil starts separating. Add in the cumin, coriander and chili powder and fry for 2 minutes. Add 2 ½ cups of water cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add in the chicken pieces, salt, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, till the gravy thickens. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with Rice or roti. Note: If using chicken breast, fry the chicken till 80 % cooked and add cook the chicken in gravy only for 5 minutes. Cooking the chicken breast in tomato sauce tends to make it rubbery.

Nune Vankaya Kura / Stuffed Brinjal in spicy coconut gravy

This a very classic dish made my by MIL, she makes to such perfection that you can never stop eating it. It goes well with anything, with dosa, rice, roti… or just slather some gravy on the bread, wedge a lil aubergine between 2 slices add some fresh salad to it and you are good to go! It is a versatile, very forgiving dish; you can sneak in some more spices or just leave out some and it will still taste good.. But I followed my MILs recipe to the T as the hubby is not very happy with experimenting as he loves this dish as his mom makes it... so I dint have much freedom to fiddle with it..

What all is needed 1. ½ KG fresh small purple brinjals. ( Preferable even in size ) 2. ½ cup coconut pieces/1/4 cup shredded coconut 3. ¼ cup peanuts ( If allergic to nuts, replace with same amount of coconut/ add a large tomato ) 4. 3 tbsp white sesame seeds ( Dry roast and keep aside ) 5. Key lime size tamarind, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes / 2 tbsp thick tamarind paste 6. 6 cloves garlic 7. 1 large onion cut into chunks 8. 4 tbsp red chili powder 9. 1 tbsp coriander powder 10. Sprig of curry leaves 11. 1 tsp each mustard seeds, cumin seeds 12. ¼ tsp turmeric powder 13. 1 green cardamom,2 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon stick 14. ¼ tsp fenugreek powder ( Dry roast and grind fenugreek seeds ) 15. ¼ + ¼ cup oil 16. 1 liter tap water, add 2 tsp salt to it and keep aside 17. 1 bunch coriander leaves

Add the cocnut,peanuts (if using, else tomato ), toasted sesame seeds, onion, garlic, chili powder, coriander powder, tamarind paste in a food processor / mixie and pulse to form a smooth paste. Heat ¼ cup oil in a pan, add ingredients 10-13 to the oil and toast for 2 minutes, and then add the coconut paste and fry for 15-20 minutes on a medium heat till the oil separates and take off heat and let it cool. While the paste cooks, wash the brinjals, keep the stems intact, hold each brinjal near the stem and make a “+ “shaped slit from the broad base. Now put these slit brinjals in the salted water. Stuffing the brinjals: Gentle open the slits and put 1 tbsp coconut paste in the slit. Now, put a wide pan on heat and add ¼ cup oil and heat. Add the fenugreek paste and fry for 20 seconds, now gently place all the stuffed brinjals. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes. Now add the rest of the coconut paste, add 2 cups of water and half bunch chopped coriander , cover and cook for 25 minutes / till the brinjals are soft but not mushy ( Test by picking one brinjal by its stem, it should hold shape but should not fall off the stem/ press and see if it gives any hard resistance ) If using pressure cooker, cook on low flame till 3 whistles.

Garnish with some more coariander and serve.

Salted Caramel and crunchy caramel chocolates

This post will be dedicated to my darling husband!.. cause the recipe that I am going to share is a sweet one and the surprise is that the DH doesn't run away at the name of sweet... but he loves this as they taste similar to the Cadbury's 5 star chocolate and this was the first ever chocolate the DH had had as a child and loves it with his heart and soul!!

caramel.. as complicated as it sounds... it is one of the most easiest things that you can make... so here goes the recipe.. Ingredients for the caramel 1. 200 ml cream ( I used Amul cream ) 2. 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 3. 1 cup water 4. 1/4 tsp cinnamon 5. 1 tsp vanilla extract 6. 1/8 tsp salt in a heavy bottomed pan, pour in the water, add the sugar in the center of the pan. Let the sugar melt by itself on a low heat, restrain from stirring. once the sugar is completely melted add the cinnamon and vanilla, turn the flame to high and allow the sugar to turn a golden brown. The whole process may take from 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan as in no time the beautiful golden brown will turn to a black burnt mess. while the sugar is melting, heat the cream in microwave for about 30 seconds to bring it to a thin pour-able consistency. once the sugar is turned golden brown, reduce heat to low,wear oven mitts, whisk the cream into the sugar syrup. whisk for 2 minutes. Take off heat, add salt whisk and leave it to cool off completely.

ingredients for the chocolates 1. 100 grams semi sweet cooking chocolate 2. 20 grams rice crispies and corn flakes crushed slightly 3. and of course the caramel chop the chocolate into very small identical pieces, put it in a microwave safe bowl, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, take out the bowl and stir with a spoon. heat again for 30 seconds in microwave and stir with a spoon. Note : when chocolate is in the microwave do not go by the look of the chocolate, it will hold shape even when it is almost melted. take a chocolate mold, pour 1/4 tsp chocolate in each mold, then add some caramle, sprinkle some corn falkes mixture and fill the mold with chocolate again. Freeze for 20-30 minutes.

Lahsun Chutney

I tasted this chutney from my roomie a few years ago, she used to get it in small zip lock bags and it used to disappear in no time. I got the recipe from Janhavi's ( The roomie )mom... she is an amazing cook.. and we had the best food when we visited them in Mumbai.this chutney almost tastes like the south Indian ground nut podi, But it had a very distinct smell and taste of garlic... So is the name lahsun chutney.. A very popular accompaniment in Maharashtra… it can be had with any Indian meal. You can use it a spread on your sandwiches also…

Ingredients

1 full dry coconut
¼ cup peanuts
10 dry red chilies (modify according to spice tolerance)
15 small cloves of garlic (if using large cloves, cut down to 10)
2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Break the coconut into small bite sized pieces. Dry roast separately the coconut till it is golden brown, dry roast the peanuts, red chilies. Set aside to cool. Remove the skins of the peanuts. Meanwhile peel the garlic. Put all the ingredients in a mixer grinder and pulse to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.

Raw/green tomato chutney

I tasted this beautifully tangy chutney when one of my colleague brought it in her lunch box... it had the sour n hot taste... I immediately asked her for the recipe... but sadly, she dint know all the ingredients... all she could say was it is made of green tomatoes... so my vigorous search on the internet, showed me umpteen recipes.... but none of the recipes gave me the "yes this is it" kind of feeling. so I got down to test my palette, and yay!! the end results were amazing... :-)

4 medium sized firm green tomatoes

1/2 medium sized onion
1/4 cup coriander leaves ( Loosely packed )
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
8 dry red chilies ( adjust according to heat tolerance )
salt to taste
1/4 tsp amchur
1/2 tsp powdered jaggery

dry roast and grind 1/4 cup peanuts with 2 red chilies and keep aside.


for tempering

5 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
10 curry leaves
1/4 tsp hing/asafetida

roughly chop the green tomatoes, onion and coriander. Blend tomatoes, onions, coriander, garlic, ginger, red chilies and salt in a mixie.

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves and fry for a minutes. then add the blended paste of tomatoes and fry till the oil leaves the sides of the pan. then add the jaggery powder, amchur, 2 tbsps of peanut powder and cook for 5 minutes. serve with steamed rice or chapati... this can be had as a chutney with idli/dosa.
Sending this post for back to basics B2B event hosted originally by http://jayawagle.blogspot.com/2011/08/reviving-back-to-basics.html, B2B chtney event hosted by Siri @ http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/2011/09/back-to-basics-basic-chutneys-event.html

Puliyogare / Tamarind rice

In southern India any festival is incomplete without this dish. It is one of those dishes which is very frequently served in many temples as an offering/ prasadam. It is a spicy tangy preparation and is widely eaten as a breakfast too. It is very popular in Tamil and Telugu households...
Tamarind – ¾ cup
Jaggery - 1 tsp ground
1 cup warm water
Powder
½ tsp methi seeds
1 tsp dhaniya seeds
½ tsp black pepper
Dry roast all the above ingredients and make a powder in a blender.
For tempering
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Dry Red chilies – 8-10 ( according to the spice that you can handle ) broken into small peices
Curry leaves – 15
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Asafetida powdered - 1/4 tsp ( use less if using the hard and dark variety )
Oil – 10 tsps
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish.
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water for 15 minutes and pulse it in a blender to get a thick paste, run it through a sieve and Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter, add the asafetida, then add red chilies, chana dal, urad dal and fry for about 1 minute, add curry leaves, then add the tamarind pulp. Boil it till the oil starts separating ( about 10 minutes on low flame ), then add the powder made of methi dhaniya and pepper, stir and cook for another 5 minutes add salt according to taste.

Cook 2 cups of rice in 3 ¾ cups of water. Do not mush the rice as each grain needs to be separate. Mix the prepared past according to taste, garnish with coriander leaves.

Chili Idly

Chili idly (Serves 3)

This was a regular lunch box option when I was in college. As I never like idlys much, mom dint have an option but to search for a better option whenever she made idlys. So she came up with this idea and it was a huge hit.. not only at home but also in my friends circle... recently my friend was visiting us and she asked to make the chili idlys.. so I made them and of course they cant go wrong... they were a huge hit with my friends and hubby too ...

here are the ingredients and the recipe..

do reduce the spices if serving to children..


1. Idly batter 1 liter ( I used store bought ID idly/dosa batter which produces fairly fluffy idlys )
2. Tomato 2 ( Big ) finely chopped
3. Onion 1 ( Big ) finely chopped
4. Green Bell pepper 1 ( Medium ) stemmed, seeds removed and finely chopped
5. green chilies 3 slit length wise
6. Coriander powder 1 tsp
7. Kashmiri Chili powder 1 tsp
8. ½ tsp turmeric
9. A large pinch of asafetida
10. 2 tsp oil/ghee
11. ½ tsp each of Mustard, cumin, urad and chana dal for tempering


Steam the idlys for 15 to 20 minutes in a pressure cooker on medium low flame, do not use the weight
Note: If you are using steel idly plates, make sure to apply oil lightly so that removing idlys will be easy. Also remember to dip your spoon in water and then try taking them off the plate… they come of easily without sticking. And do not try to take them off when really hot... Let them cool for couple of minutes and then take off.
Once the idlys are ready, break them into small pieces and keep aside.
Heats oil in a pan, add asafetida, turmeric and all the ingredients for tempering, once the mustard starts spluttering, add the slit green chilies and fry for a couple of minutes.
Then add onions and fry till they turn translucent, then add the chopped tomato and wait till it turns to a mush. Add coriander powder, Kashmiri chili powder, and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add the idly pieces and stir to coat the masala on all the idly pieces. Serve by itself or with chutney

Baked Oatmeal with Apple Compote

I am posting this recipe for the event called 'wholesome wholegrain cooking' hosted by Monika Manchanda @ http://sinamontales.wordpress.com/ see this link for the event announcement http://sinamontales.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/eevnt-announcement-wwc-oats-in-baking/ and originally started by Sanjeeta @ http://litebite.in/. Find the event details @ http://litebite.in/event-wwc/

This recipe is an absolute no brainer ! and this is a real treat for people who do not like to have oats in the same old mundane way! with milk :-) Just spare 30-40 minutes and you have a yummy breakfast or you can very well have it for dessert :-)

Ingredients for oatmeal:
Oats- 1 ½ cups
Butter- 1 tbsp melted
Brown sugar- ¼ cup packed tightly
Milk - 100 ml
Egg - 1
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Baking powder- 1 tsp

For Apple compote
2 Apples
1 tbsp butter
4 Tbsp sugar
A dash of vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Powder the oats in a blender. Mix the powdered oats, sugar, baking powder, essence, egg and milk together without any lumps. Finally add the melted butter and mix well. If you are looking for a soft texture pour it in a shallow baking dish and bake it in for 15 to 20 minutes until the top layer looks firm.

While the oatmeal is baking, peel core and coarsely chop the apples. Melt butter in a saucepan; add apples along with cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. Stir everything together, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning of the sugar.
Serve baked oatmeal with Apple compote

P.S: Just look at my blog background for the baked oatmeal pic... but anyways.. m gonna post a better one as soon as I get home !

Spiced Mango coconut whole wheat oat crumble

There were lots of mangoes in my fridge… courtesy my granny. I keep wondering how all grand moms can be so loving... and they all have warmth of a huge mug of hot chocolate … I wanted to bake with Mangoes and dint want to do a huge cake... So it was time to put my beautiful ramekins to use, out came the ramekins and an hour later, some warm mango crumble. Here is how I made it.
For the crumble

1 cup of whole wheat flour
½ cup butter chilled and cubed
½ cup damerara sugar
½ cup oats
Mix all the above crumble ingredients and rub with the finger tips to resemble coarse bread crumbs and chill while you prepare the fruit.
For the fruit base
2 medium mangoes peeled and diced to bite sized pieces
Large pinch of cinnamon
Large pinch of nutmeg
6 table spoons of freshly scraped coconut
3 tablespoons of brown/ damerara sugar (Avoid if your mango is very sweet... like mine was)
Mix the spices and coconut with the fruit , place about 2 tablespoons of mixture in a lightly buttered each ramekin, then add 2 tablespoons of the crumble on the top and bake in 108 degree preheated oven for about 25 minutes/ till the crumble is golden brown. This mix will make 8 ramekins of mango crumble... Serve warm with whipped cream/ice cream.

Bisibelebath

Bisebelebath


lazy day? having thoughts about eating out?? This is the kind of food you would love to cook....

Just a little effort with the masala and you are all set to have a wholesome filling meal...

Veggies, rice, lentils all in one... this is what is called one pot meal!!!

I am not gonna say this was a meal that brings back childhood memories.... cause my mon never made/makes this dish.. this a Karnataka special..

But this is my current fav.. and any trip to MTR would be incomplete with out bisebelebath...

recipe looks long... but it is easy. feel free to double or triple the masala recipe and store in airtight container for future use.


1. Rice - 1/2 cup
2. Toor Dal - 3/4 Cup
3. 5 3/4 cups water
4. jaggery 1 tsp powdered

soak rice and toor dal togather for half an hour

Vegetables

1. capsicum 1, chopped finely
2. 2 small carrots Diced
3. 1 medium onion thinly sliced
4. 8-9 beans chopped into 1 inch peices
5. key lime size tamarind, soaked in 1/4 cup water


Tadka

1. 2tsps desi ghee
2. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
3. 1/4 tsp jeera seeds
4. 12 curry leaves
5. a large pinch powdered hing/asafoteda
6. turmerci - 1/2 tsp


masala powder

1.8 red chillies (Adjust according to taste)
2.1/4 tsp each of cumin,corainder seeds
3.5 methi seeds
4.1 tsp each of chana dal and urad dal
5.8-10 pepper corns


dry roast all the above ingredients for masala powder, cool and grind to a fine powder

pressure cook soaked rice and dal till 5-6 whistles and mash.
par boil the vegetables
Meanwhile, in a pan heat the ghee, add mustard, cumin and curry leaves stir for 10 seconds, add in asafateida and turmeric, add in onions and saute till they are transparent, add boiled vegetables and stir.
Then add the mashed rice dal mixture and stir well.
Mix 2 1/2 tbsp of masala powder in 2 cups of and add it to the rice, followed by tamarind pulp, and 1 tsp powdered jaggery.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with potato chips/papads....

Aratikaya Pulusu/ Raw banana tamarind curry/ Vazakkai kara kuzambu

6 tbsp oil... Most of the diet conscious will stop reading this post as soon as they see this… sorry guy! But this recipe tastes good only with lot of oil…
Raw banana – 1, Thinly sliced
Onion – 2 big, finely chopped
Tomatoes – 2 medium (made to a pulp in a blender)
Fenugreek seeds – 6
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Chili powder – 3 tbsp (adjust according to taste)
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Tamarind – key lime size (soaked for 5-10 minutes in half cup water)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan; use the traditional pan... not a non-stick one...

Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek and let them splutter; add the onions and sauté till transparent pink.
Add the thinly sliced raw banana and fry for about 5 minutes, keep stirring or the onions will burn...
Add chili powder, coriander powder and cook till the raw smell is gone...
Add pureed tomatoes and cook till the raw smell goes away..
Then add the tamarind pulp, 1 cup water and salt.
Cover the pan and boil on a low flame till the raw bananas are soft…

Serve with hot rice and papad..

Kat Chaaru/ Kattina Saaru/ Katachi Amti

This is a thin lentil soup, best eaten with rice.
It brings back my childhood memories; every vacation of mine was spent in my maternal grandmother’s place.
It is a huge ancestral home, built nearly 200 years ago.
It was a combined family; nearly 20-25 people lived together.
The number climbs to 30 people during the vacations.
The lunch always used to be a family affair, and it was traditionally served in banana leaves.
It used to be fun… it was party everyday!!!!

This was usually prepared by one of the many grandmothers living in the house... Her name is Kanthavva…. Very sweet lady… she has a very fond of cloths…

Here goes the recipe…

1. 1 Cup split chickpeas ( senaga pappu ), soaked for 30 mins and boiled in a pressure cooker till mushy.
2. 2 tsps ghee
3. Key lime size tamarind , soaked in a cup of water
4. 1 tsp pepper corns
5. 3-4 garlic cloves
6. 4-5 broken red chilies
7. ½ tsp mustard seed
8. ½ tsp cumin/ jeera seeds
9. a generous pinch of asafetida
10. pinch of turmeric
11. ½ inch cinnamon
12. 2 cloves
13. 5-10 curry leaves
14. Bunch coriander, chopped finely

Crush the pepper corns, jeera/cumin, cinnamon and cloves into a fine powder using a stone pestle add in the garlic cloves and crush them.

Heat the ghee in a pan, add mustard seed, let them splutter, add curry leaves, asafetida, turmeric and red chilies toss for few seconds then add the pepper mixture to it and toss for few seconds.

Mash the boiled chickpeas and make it into a paste and add it to the pan, then add the tamarind pulp, salt and heat till light foam appear on the top. Don’t boil, as charu/saaru loses taste when boiled.

Serve with hot rice, ghee and some tomato/mango pickle……

forgot to take a picture of this... as we were very busy savoring this with rice ;-)

Snicker muffins

I have fallen in love with snickers…

Since the age of 15, when ever any relative visits us from the states, the first thing on my wish list would be snickers…

When these started selling in India, my joy new no bounds.

I love baking, I love snickers…

I combined both… and I have the snicker cup cakes…. ( Widely tried and tested on many blogs)

This baking trial was not a 100% success… the cupcakes were not sweet enough…

I modified the recipe a bit, so that they can b a little sweeter…

1 Cup all purpose flour

½ TBSP baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 cup whole milk

¼ cup melted butter

1 medium egg

¼ cup granulated sugar

Vanilla extract

12 mini snicker bars ( frozen all through )

¼ cup jaggery

¼ cup butter

1. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

2. Melt the butter in microwave at full power for 1 minute.

3. Beat the egg lightly, add milk, sugar, vanilla and beat lightly.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and keep stirring with a whisk to avoid lumps.

5. Don’t over beat the mixture as I will lead to dry muffins.

6. In a muffin tray arrange paper muffin liners and drop in spoon full of the batter in each cup. Leave some space in the cups for the batter to rise while baking.

7. Drop one mini snickers on each muffin

8. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees and bake the muffins for 30-35 minutes at 180 degrees.

9. Let the muffins cool on a wire rack

10. Melt the butter and jaggery in a pan till soft.

11. Pour the jaggery sauce over each muffin for that extra sweetness…

You can also always, chop the snickers into teeny tiny pieces and put it over the muffins…..

Vanjaram (King/sear Fish) Fry

This is a very simple dish…. and my hubby says.... it tastes yummmm...

I cant say how it tastes as I dont eat fish :-(

As any fish dish does, this tastes best when the marinated fish is left in the fridge and fried the next day….

8-9 medium sized fish slices.  (they should not be this as we are pan frying these fishes )

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste (Preferably fresh)

Juice of a medium sized Lemon

2 tsp oil

1tsp coriander powder

1 ½ tsp chilli powder

Mix all the ingredients and apply the paste on the fish slices.

Rest them in the fridge for about an hour.

Add few drops of oil (only few drops as the fish itself will leave some oil after a few mins of cooking)

And place the marinated fishes, wait till they are golden brown and flip over to the second side.

Fry on medium low flame and complete cooking should take about 15-20 minutes ( i.e approximately 10 minutes on each side )

Carrot Cake

I am at home today....

I am down with a worse stomach ache.....

and I am tiered of lying on the bed.... which is making me more fatigued...

I am craving for a cake..... a cake... yummmm...

I dint want a normal choco cake or a sponge cake... I wanted something different..

I raided my fridge... and saw cover lying in a corner of my veg basket...

Baby carrots...

a carrot cake it would be...

1 Cup Flour
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Praline ( Recipe below )
3-4 tsp of milk ( Optional )

grated carrots

Method :

1. beat oil, sugar and eggs togather till they are pale.

2. seive the baking powder and flour.

3. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat well

4. fold in the carrot and praline you can also add any nuts of your choice.

5. if the batter looks very thick, add some milk and mix..

PH oven to 180 degrees C

Bake for about 50 minutes/ till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

serve this with some icecream.... yummmm

I served it with Baskin Robbin's very berry strawberry Ice-cream....
Praline :

3 tbsp sugar
10 cashews
10 almonds
1 tbsp butter


add sugar in a pan and wait till it turns a little brown.
add the butter and then the nuts.

stir for about 10-20 seconds and puor it on a baking sheet.
Let cool and crush to a coarse powder.

Off to Kerala

Hey there...

I am off to the god's Own country... Kerala....

Not for a holiday... but to attend my very good friend's wedding.... aaaaaaw they are wonderful couple....

Anju and Abraham.....

Grrrr... she dint attend my wedding....

They have a farm house...... and they have all sorts of animals there... starting from a duck to a buffalo ;-)

I am an animal lover and would have a wonderful time there!!!!!!

See you back on Monday with all beautiful wedding pics....!!!!

Anju darling.... I am coming!!!!!

My dear Hubby n me..... had a wonderful candle light dinner.... Mauritius

Methi Thepla...

Yes indeed, I made the methi thepla for dinner yesterday...

I had a tough time rolling out the theplas as I made my dhough sticky, and the other major reason was the onions

The theplas came in various sizes and shapes :-)

But,  yayyyy they tasted realy yummy....

With no further delay.... Here goes the recipe..... Thanks Vasudha....

1 1/2 cup Wheat Flour
1 cup Methi Leaves
2 Green Chilies (sliced)

Pinch of Asafoetida ( hing )

1 tsp Ajwain Seeds

½ tbsp Turmeric

1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1 tbsp Red Chili Powder
1 tbsp Cumin Powder

Salt

1 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 tbsp Garlic Paste

½ cup Curd
2 tbsp Oil

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
2. Add 1tbsp of oil and mix, till the dough resembles bread crumbs.
3. Then ad ginger and garlic paste and mix the dough a little.
4. Gradually add the curd and knead the dough.
5. The Dough has to be soft and not very sticky.
6. Pinch the dough into medium sized balls and roll them into thin chapattis.
7. Heat a griddle and fry on both sides till golden brown bubbles appear.
8. Apply butter on both sides and serve with Raitha.

hump!!! still to get very used with the blogger...

Dint u like my pic bloggie???? :-( The browse button is disabled for me....

one of my Hubby's favs : Methi Dal (Menthaku Pappu)

Methi Dal

Serves 3 (when eaten with rice)

Ingredients:

1 Cup toor dal

1 1/2 cups water (u can vary it according to us measurements) the dal needs to be thick.... it cant be watery as it ruins the taste completely

2-3 cups methi leaves (Preferably Fresh)

1 big Onion (cut into big pieces)

1 big green chilli (Slit length wise)

1 large tomato (Cut into big pieces )

Salt (according to taste)

Turmeric

Tamarind (Small lime size, soaked in water )

Tadka :

2-3 tsps of oil/ghee

Jeera

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds

2 Dry red chilies

4 cloves garlic crushed

1 pinch hing

Coriander leaves (Garnish)

Method:

1. Wash and soak toor dal for 20-30 mins.

2. Wash and pinch the methi leaves (wash thoroughly... or else u will end up having mitti dal :-)  )

3. Add water, onions, turmeric, tamarind juice, salt, green chillis and tomato

4. Pressure cook on medium flame till 5-6 whistles

5. Mash the dal.

6. Add 2-3 tsps of oil in a Kadai, add Mustard and jeera seeds, once they start popping, add hing, garlic cloves, dry red chillis and curry leaves.

7. Pour the tadka over the dal.....

Serve hot with Rice/Chapati.....

Sad that I cant upload the pics.... Lost my cam.... have to get a new one.. will do it soon....

Please be patient till then....

I think today I will try Methi Thepla  ..... My dear friend Vasudha had given me the recipe....

IndiJoe's RMZ infinity, OLD Madras Road, Bangalore

I am statring with a restaurant review....

Indijoes.... its owned by the BJN group, which also owns a bunch of restaurants(sahib singh sultan, angeeti, Bombay Post, Firangi Pani.. Etc..) .

All these restaurants are self claimed as 'fine dine' ( Read it Pricey )

Me and my husband had been to this place yesterday and my overall experience can be rated a 'very good'
(ratings being Excellent, Very Good, Good, Worst, Worse)
 Wha is served ? Pizza, Pasta, Sizzlers, Cocktails, Mocktails, Desserts ( all have a huge variety )

Decor            : Resto.
Tables, chairs : Quite comfortable
Staff               : Cordial and very helping
Music             : Little Loud....u need to shout over your plate to make ur friends hear you....
                        (Not very suitable for a romantic dinner/Lunch )
 Food             : Sizzlers are excellent, quite huge portions
                        ( if u r ordering one sizzler per person, make sure  your are as hungry as you can be )
                        Mocktail : Good
                        Dessert   : Excellent
Price              : Quite Expensive

What we had : 1. spicy chicken sizzler with soft nooodle :
                           This sizzler had 2 huge chicken breast peices on the first layer
                           tasty sause, soft noodles, french fries and loads of veggies like beans, peppers, peas
                      

                       2. Triple deck vegan sizzler:

                           Sauce tasted something very much like a sweet and hot tomato sauce.

                           First layer was crispy noodles, and then fried rice, then again crispy noodles.

                           Had French fries and loads of veggies.

      

                    P.S: Please make sure to go till the last layer…

                            You will find caramelized onions…. They are stuck to the sizzler plate…

                           Don’t feel shy; scrap the hell out of that plate….. And you will never regret it….

                            Those onions are crispy and yummy…..

                 3. Double sizzling brownie:

                    By the time we finished the sizzler, we were rather feeling heavy and very drowsy…..

                   But when I was reading the menu initially, I could not stop myself from going to the Dessert Menu….

                I tried telling myself, “you are feeling full, don’t order for a dessert “

                I gave in to my tempations, turned a deaf ear to my dear hubby and ordered for a sizzling brownie….

              Good Gracious, it was a huge brownie, cut into 2 triangles , 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and a scoop of whipped cream.

The steward dutifully poured a cupful of Chocó sauce over it…..

I took the first bite and ‘HEAVEN’

The twist for this brownie was the salted butter they had poured first thing on the plate before placing the brownie…..

The slightly salty, soft, warm and yummmmmm brownie.

A dessert can never be bad!!!!

They do have a Lunch Buffet (serves continental, Pizzas, Indian and desserts)

Mon-Thu: 275

Fri - Sun: 295

This place is a must visit….

Hello....

Hi,

Here I am with my very first post...

As traditionally done, let me introduce myself....

I am chandhana, I am an IT professional.

Tied the Nuptial knot on 29^th August 2010.

I want to be a better cook and good baker….

Every time I turn on the microwave, my husband should come running, to eat what I made and not to turn off the oven (which is what he does now  L )

All suggestions, enhancements and modifications to any recipe I post are most welcome….

Help me be a better cook….