Thanks!

To Sireesha..she has presented me with the Yummy Blog Award!


Now, my turn to pass it around:
Rakhi : for her delish pickle and Amruth Phal
Namratha: http://fingerlickingfood.blogspot.com/
Smitha Karthik: http://spicedforlife.blogspot.com/

Enjoy Ladies!

Okra Curry

I had some frozen okra lying around. I've mostly made fry or used okra in sambhar. This time, I decided to bring two worlds together..the world of spicyness and okra. I"ve had this dish in couple of different varieties: Indian variety and Burmese variety. Here is what I made in the indian variety way:

Ingredients:
1. Chopped Okra - as needed
2. Onions - 1 medium size
3. Tomato - 1 large size
4. Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
5. Jeera Powder - 1 tbsp
6. Dhania Powder - 1 tbsp
7. Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
8. Cashews(optional) - 4 nos
9. Tadka: mustard seeds - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric Powder - optional
11. Salt to taste

Method de Preparation:
1. Finely chop onions and tomato.
2. Heat some oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. After they splutter, add the urad dhal
3. Once the urad dhal turns slightly brown, toss the onions in. Fry the onions till they become transparent
4. Add the chopped tomato and turn them around. Let the tomato juices flow.
5. Add chilli powder,dhania and jeera powder. Turmeric is optional. Let the mix boil for 3 mins. Add water if the mix is too thick


6. Meanwhile, cook the chopped okra till they become soft. Make sure that they don't become squishy



7. Once the okra is cooked, add the mix of onions and tomato to okra
8. Fry the cashews and add them to the top
9. Salt the entire sabji and turn around couple of times.



A delish curry that can be enjoyed with roti/rice is ready!

Bon App!

Burrito Senor/Senorita?

I recently received a free burrito coupon from Chipotle. Depends on my mood, but sometimes, I thoroughly enjoy a burrito. I like the idea of mixing veggies, proteins in the form of beans, some fat as sour cream/gauc and spice it all up on a wrap-burrito. While browsing thru' my pantry last evening, I have almost everything to whip up a delicious burrito. I realized there is not much of cooking in this recipe,it is just putting it all together! Here you go..enjoy the lovely colors of summer through a burrito!

Ingredients:
1. Burrito bread aka Tortilla - I had a jalapeno tomato version from a local grocery store: safeway
2. Rice - 1 cup
3. Peas - 1/2 cup
4. Corn - 1/2 cup
5. Black Beans - 1/2 cup
6. Onion - 1 medium
7. Bell Pepper - 1/2 red, 1/2 green, 1/2 yellow (just for giving a colorful look)
8. Guacamole - 3 tsp
9. Sour Cream - 1 tsp
10. Salsa - 2 tsp

Method de Preparation
Rice Prep:
1. Cook rice with 1 cup of water. The grains need to be separate after cooked
2. Cook peas in 1 cup of water in the microwave. It just needs to become soft.
3. Drain the water from peas and add it to the cooked rice


Corn Prep:
1. Cook corn for 5 mins with 1 tsp of butter and 1 tbsp of milk
2. Remove from fire, add some crushed black pepper and set aside


Black Beans, Bell Peppers and Onions Prep:
1. Chop bell peppers and onions into long slices
2. Cook bell peppers and onions separately till they brown a little and set aside
3. If you are using canned black beans, then u just need to wash them and toss them for coupla mins in a tava. Else, you need to pressure cook the black beans just for 1 whistle and add salt.



I could have made guacamole and salsa at home, but due to lack of time, I decided to go with the ones bought from the store. May be some other time, I'll get around to making those two at home.

Putting it all together

1. On a hot plate, cook the burrito for 2 mins on each side till it becomes a little soft and cooked
2. First spread the rice on the burrito
3. Follow it with black beans
4. Then goes the peppers and onions
5. Next is the yellow corn, guacamole and salsa
6. Roll it all into a big, fun burrito
7. Serve with Tortilla chips and salsa...





Bon App!

Tag! you're it!

Well, my good friend Sailu tagged me with Top 10 things I dislike. I've been thinking of this list and I am not able to put a finger on those TOP 10 things. But here goes a general list:
I dislike:
1. cockroaches
2. horror movies
3. people who back stab
4. people who are lazy
5. rock/death metal/trans music
6. spending weekends working
7. pretentious people
8. getting angry..but I do :(
9. kids who disrespect elders
10. peanut butter!

Now I tag:
Badri
Sugavan
Sriram

Play it on!

Thank you!

My first blog award! Sailaja passed me this award for being..well, talkative :). Right from school, I've always been a chatterbox. If I am silent, people usually ask me if something is wrong with my health or something is worrying me :). Some have even offered me help during my silence spells and convinced me to confide in them! All in all, I'm always chattering about something or the other under the sun. It was sweet to get this award:

Now to pass it on, I have enjoyed the following blogs:

My sweet friend from College: Ramya: Book Addict

The mellifluous friend: Vidya:Audio Blogging

A delicious blogger: Sailu:Her Food

Kadalai Maavu Chutney

My hubby's favorite side dish. It is simple to make and extremely tasty! My MIL's recipe passed down to her by her MIL..so I guess, sorta family recipe..enjoy!

Ingredients:
1. Besan/Kadalai Maavu - 2 tsp
2. Capsicum(red/green)/Bell Pepper - 1 nos finely chopped
3. Gingelly Oil - 1 tsp
4. Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Method de preparation:
1. Heat gingelly oil in a tava. Add asafoetida and finely chopped bell pepper and fry well
2. Once the bell pepper is semi cooked (in about 4 mins), mix besan with 1 cup of water. The mix should be thin consistency.
3. Add the besan water and cook well. Keep stirring the mix frequently so that the bottom doesn't burn.
4. In about 6 mins, the mix will start browning. It is time to enjoy!

This chutney goes well with Roti/Parata/Dosa
Bon App!

Microwave Therati Paal

When you are having guests over and don't have too much time to whip up a dessert, this is a perfect time saver. Therati Paal cooked traditionally requires a long time of stirring milk and paying constant attention to the stove. This sweet dish is special and is cooked for auspicious occasions too. Infact, right after marriage, a bride gets introduced to her new relatives over spoonful of therati paal!
Thanks to the microwave, you can whip up this dessert in no time(9 mins to be precise) and can bring you raving praises!

Ingredients:
1. condensed milk - 1 tin (approx 400 gms)
2. curd - 3 tbsp

Method de Preparation
1. Take a deep bowl and pour the condensed milk into a bowl. Ensure that the bowl is deep enough to let the condensed milk rise while microwaving.
2. Add the 3 tbsp of curd and mix it with a spoon
3. Microwave for 9 mins. Check periodically every 3 mins. Depending on your microwave power, it may thicken quickly. Once the mix thickens and browns, it is good to be removed. Usually the first 3 mins, the condensed milk tends to rise and boil over, watch out for that. But, it is ready to eat at the end of 9 mins!

Enjoy! Bon App!

Tangy Spinach Dhal

Lately, I'm enjoying cooking different varieties of dhal and greens. This is inspired from italian and indian cuisine. Italians tend to add tomatoes to give a tangy flavor to their soups. I wanted to try to give this an indian twist that resulted in this tasty dish!

Ingredients
1. Spinach - 1 bunch, washed and chopped
2. Tomato - either puree/paste/2 big nos
3. Payatham Paruppu/Moong Dhal - 2 handfuls
4. Dhania Powder - 1 tsp
6. Chilli Powder - 1 tsp/to taste
7. Ginger - to taste (optional)
8. Onions - 1/4 piece just for flavor
9. Oil to cook
10. Salt to taste
11. Jeera, urad dhal for tadka

Method de Preparation:
1. Pressure cook the moong dhal (2 whistles)
2. Boil the chopped spinach. It is known that spinach should not be let to boil for too long. Keep the spinach uncovered while boiling to preserve the green color
3. Drain the water. I usually preserve this water and later add it to dhal, if it turns out a little too thick
4. In a tava, sputter some jeera and urad dhal. If you prefer, you can add a dash of asafoetida to this.
5. Fry the chopped onions to golden brown. Add the finely chopped tomatoes/tomato puree. Let the mix heat up well.
6. Add Dhania powder and chilli powder and let this melange cook for a coupla mins till the raw tomato smell goes away
7. Add the cooked dhal and follow it with the spinach. Add salt and mix well.

It is ready to be enjoyed with rice/roti! Don't overcook the spinach as you'll loose the valuable nutrients from spinach in the water :).

Bon App!

Fried Bittergourd

B's mom's recipe and of course, B's favorite much. I figured this would be a good snack as opposed to deep fried potato chips. Given the bitterish taste, one cannot go overboard with munching this as well. Bitter gourd is said to be extremely good for health (once again proving that vegetables that are great for health aren't the greatest in taste =) ).
The stove cooked version typically takes over 20 mins of monitoring and tossing. My MIL developed a simple and a quick microwave version. This is extremely handy and B simply loves the results.

Ingredients:
Bittergourd - 5 medium size
Salt - to taste
Chilli powder - to taste
Turmeric - optional
Oil - 1 tsp

Method de preparation:
1. Finely chop the bitter gourd. I usually do not unseed them.
2. Add oil, salt, chilli powder and turmeric to the chopped bitter gourd
3. Microwave the mix for 10 mins. check regularly every 3 mins

Done! It is ready to enjoy!
Bon App!

Surakkai Kootu

I've always ignored bottle gourd when I do my groceries. May be it was the resemblance to the brinjal(eggplant) that B doesn't like, or may be it was I could accept the shape of the vegetable in green color! This time, I decided to give this vegetable a shot. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste.
Ingredients
1. Bottle Gourd - 1 nos
2. Moong Dhal/Paasi paruppu/payatham paruppu - 1.5 cups
3. For tadka: mustard seeds - 1 tsp
4. Red chillis - 2 nos
5. Urad dhal - 1 tsp
6. Hing - 1 pinch
7. Salt to taste

Method de preparation:
1. Skin the bottle gourd. Cut it into small cubes and boil it in some water with salt. This will help prevent the bottle gourd from turning into a dark color. Bottle gourd itself has a lot of water content, so you needn't take too much of water to boil in. It also cooks pretty quickly
2. Pressure cook the moong dhal. Once cooked, add a pinch of hing and stir the mix.
3. Heat oil in a tava, temper with mustard, red chillis, urad dhal. Add the cooked dhal and the cooked bottle gourd. Add some salt to taste and remove from the heat

The dish is read to enjoy with rice/roti. They key point with this dish is that the bottle gourd doesn't have to cook way to long. Ensure that the vitamins/minerals of the healthy vegetable is not lost simply by cooking too long. I try to even use the water in which I boil the vegetable to liquify the dhal.

Bon app

S inspired Kichidi

Last evening, I spent sometime with a good friend at her cozy home. We were talking about food and cuisines. She suggested a quick kichidi with black lentils (used in my previous recipe). This morning, I was tempted the make the same, but wanted to change the lentils (just for variety's sake). I had some split green lentils and voila, my tasty kichidi is ready!

Ingredients
1. Split green lentils - 1 cup
2. Rice - 1 cup
3. Onions - 1 nos
4. Green chilli - 3 nos
5. Ginger - to taste
6. Jeera - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
8. Garam Masala (optional) - 1 tsp
9. Pepper (optional) - 1 small tsp
10. Oil - 1 tsp
11. Salt to taste

Method de Preparation
1. Wash the split green lentils and rice separately and side aside
2. Chop onions, green chilli, ginger
3. Heat some oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter jeera and pepper. Add the chopped onions, green chillis and ginger and fry till the onions are transparent.
4. Add turmeric powder and garam masala
5. Add the washed lentils and rice and toss. Once the rice looks slightly transparent add water to this mix.
6. Pressure cook for 2 whistles
Et voila, it is ready to enjoy.

I used split green lentils as I did not soak whole green lentils before cooking. Split ones are easier to cook (in just two whistles in pressure cooker). Also, I wanted to style this like Pongal (another famous south indian dish). I also added some long beans to the mix and pressure cooked the whole thing. I like the mix of veggies and dhal. If you add carrots, make sure to balance the spice as carrots tend to be a little sweet.

Bon App!

Black Lentils Salad

The tabouleh inspired version that I spruced up for B's quick lunch. It came out (surprisingly) pretty tasty and health (I was sure of this part though).
Ingredients:
1. Black Lentils - 1 cup
2. Tomatoes - 2 nos
3. Corn - 1 small cup
4. Black Olives (optional) - 5 to 6 nos
5. Cilantro - 1 small bunch
6. Lemon juice
7. Salt to taste
8. Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method de preparation
1. Wash the blank lentils and pressure cook them (3 whistles). If you plan ahead, you may even soak the black lentils overnight. If you soak the lentils, then you need to cook only till 1 whistle. If you do not own a pressure cooker, simply boil the lentils in a pot of water until they are soft but not squishy
2. Cut tomatoes, black olives, cilantro and set aside. If you are serving this dish immediately, you may also add some onions
3. Cook corn in microwave for 3 mins. with some water. Drain the water and let the corn cool for couple of minutes
4. Now in a bowl, mix the black lentils, chopped tomatoes, black olives, cilantro (and onions, if any)
5. Add lemon juice and olive oil and salt. Mix them well. Make sure that the lentils don't get squished in the process

Thatz it, ready to serve and enjoy!

Bon App

ps: you may also add some feta cheese, if you like the taste...enjoy!

T for Tabouleh!

Another morning and I was staring at my pantry wondering what salad can I dish out for B. B's in a salad mood and would eat anything in the form of a salad. My eyes fell on the cous cous packet and I decided to relent to that urge to cook middle eastern..
Voila! quick and easy tabouleh salad

Ingredients
1. Cous cous - 1 cup
2. Cilantro - 1 small bunch
3. Lime/Lemon juice - 5 tbsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Black olives - 5 to 6 nos
6. Feta cheese - 3 tbsp
7. Olive oil - 5 tbsp
8. Mint leaves - 5 to 6 leaves
9. tomato - 1 finely chopped
10. Onions (optional) - half finely chopped
11.

Method de preparation:
1. Microwave cous cous in a bowl with half a cup of water for 3 mins. At about 1.5 min, add some butter and fluff the mix and let it cook through the remaining time. Cous cous cooks pretty quickly. Fluff it with a fork after taking out of the microwave.
2. To the cooked cous cous, add the finely chopped tomato and onions(optional) and fluff it again
3. Add the chopped cilantro and mint leaves. Savor the beautiful flavor that emanates :).
4. Add chopped black olives and a fistful of feta cheese to this mix. Fluff it again
5. Add the olive oil, salt to taste. Once the mix cools down, add the lemon/lime juice.
6. Refrigerate and serve chilled or serve at room temperature.

Again with this recipe too, you can choose to add crushed garlic. To make it a little spicy, add a tsp of chilli powder..

Bon App!

H for Hummus

I finally did it! I've been wanting to try my hand at Middle Eastern cooking and last Saturday and this morning, I did it!
There are definitely umpteen recipes available for Hummus, but I thought I'll share mine too and inspire many other novice cooks like me.
Hummus is a traditional middle eastern dish made from just chick peas. Here is how I went about it
Ingredients
1. Chick peas - 1 tin
2. Olive oil - half a cup
3. Mint - (optional) 2-3 leaves
4. Tabouleh sauce - 1 tbsp
5. Lime/Lemon juice - 4 to 5 tbsp
6. Salt to taste
7. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
8. Cilantro - 4 to 5 leaves

Method de Preparation:
1. Soak chick peas overnight. Drain out the water. If your are using a canned one, just wash the chick peas well in running water
2. Take the chick peas in a blender, add olive oil (you can choose to be generous or stingy), some salt to taste, tabouleh sauce, mint leaves and blend into a smooth paste.
3. Transfer into a bowl and add the lemon/lime juice and mix well.
4. If you like spicy hummus, then add a tsp of chilli powder and mix well
5. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve
Now some people prefer the garlic taste in hummus. If you wish to use garlic, sautee the garlic in olive oil and add it to the blender. I prefer my hummus without the garlic :)
Hummus can be enjoyed with crackers, pita chips, pita bread or even just carrots!
Bon App!

Green Rice

My friend has recently gotten into the blogging world. I drew inspiration from one of her recipes of Kothmira Rice. I had a lot of beans staring at me in my fridge. I put them together and had my greens for the day!

Ingredients:
1. Spinach - 1 bunch
2. Rice - 1.5 cups
3. Corriander - a handful
4. Ginger - 1 small piece
5. Green Chillis - 2 nos (to taste)
6. Beans - 1.5 cups
7. Tomato Paste - 2 tbsp (you can use 1 tomato too.I had only paste)
8. Onion - 1 piece
9. Cashews - handful
10. Cloves, Bay Leaves, Anise - as needed

Method de Prep:
1. Wash spinach bunch and boil in a pot of water. Chop and keep the onions, green chillis and ginger
2. Wash and cook rice in a rice cooker/pressure cooker. Ensure that the grains are separate. You can use basmati rice too if you wish
3. Chop beans and cook till soft. You can cook either in pressure cooker (1 whistle) or in microwave
4. Once spinach is cooked, grind it with corriander, green chillis and ginger
5. Heat a little oil in a pan. Add a pinch of asafoetida(optional), cloves, bay leaves and anise. Fry a little
6. Add cashews and the chopped onions and fry till brown
7. Add the cooked beans to turn around a coupla times. Make sure that the beans don't mash.
8. Once the flavor of the condiments arises, add the pulp from the mixer. Let it boil for couple of mins.
9. Add the cooked rice and turn it couple of times. Again, ensure that the rice doesn't squish together. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy! Bon App

Crunchy Salad

This is a recipe adapted from one of my dear friend's. I try multiple versions of it. I let my creativity fly and mix n match the ingredients.
Servings: 2 to 4
Here is the list of all possible ingredients to this snack:
1. Black Beans - 1 tin
2. Carrots - 1 big / 2 medium
3. Corn - 1 cup
4. Peanuts - 1 cup
5. Corriander - chopped 1 cup
6. Green chillis - 2 nos
7. Onion - 1 medium
8. Tomatoes - 1 medium
9. Lime/Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp


Set up work:
1. Wash the black beans
2. Grate carrots
3. If the corn is fresh, there is no preparation. If not, microwave corn in a cup with some water for about 2 minutes.
4. Finely chop corriander , onions and green chillis
5. Tomatoes need to be firm. Chop small pieces. Don't finely chop them as they could make the salad squishy
6. Microwave the peanuts also with water till they are a little soft. Don't overcook them as they could get soggy and squishy too!

Method de Prep:
1. In a bowl add all the above ingredients, some salt and lemon/lime juice. Toss together and it is ready to eat!

Simple and delish!

Bon App!

ps: I tried adding some grated ginger, but B dint enjoy it. Let me know if you find anything else you can add to the mix..Cheers!

Twist on a Chutney

Last week, my dear husband decided to get down and turn kitchen into his creative workshop. We both enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Sathamudhu (that is the iyengar speak for Rasam), a brinjal subzi and rice (he added some cloves and bay leaves while cooking..hmm interesting!). As usual, there was some left over subzi. Usually with brinjal, I find it hard to repeat the item for another meal. Added to that, my husband doesn't exactly like brinjals. He had made them the other day simply because the pantry was empty :). So I spruced up a quick side dish for delish dosas or idlis or any snack!
Ingredients:
1. Brinjal - one big size
2. Red Capsicum - 2 big/3 medium size
3. Green chillis
4. Asafoetida
5. Ginger - optional
6. Curry leaves
7. Urad dhal - 1 tsp
8. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method de Preparation:
1. Roast the big brinjal either on the stove or in the oven. While making it in the oven, I usually coat the skin with some oil and leave it on 400 F for 5 mins. Ensure all sides are evenly cooked
2. Skin the brinjal and mash it with some salt and drop it into a mixer
3. Heat some oil in a pan, add asafoetida poweder and then urad dhal. Roast till light brown
4. Add the red capsicum and fry till you get the scent of capsicum. You can add the capsicum seeds also
5. Add the slightly cooked capsicum to the mashed brinjal in the mixer
6. Add chopped green chillis, ginger
7. Grind into paste
8. Heat some oil on the tava. Splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and add to the ground paste.

Serve with any south indian tiffin or snack

Bon App!

ps: I haven't tried it with tamarind, but you can add some tamarind paste too for a tangy flavor!

Red Capsicum Chutney

Ingredients
1. Red Capsicum(large) - 3 nos
2. Tomatoes or Tomato Paste
3. Mustard Seeds
4. Gingelly Oil
5. Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
6. Chilli Powder
7. Asafoetida
8. Curry leaves (Optional)
9. Bengal Gram Dhal - 1 tsp (Optional)
10. Vendiyam Seeds
11. Tamarind (Optional)
12. Salt to taste

Method de Preparation
1. Cut capsicum into fine small pieces.
2. Heat 2 tbsp Gingelly oil in a tava. Splutter mustard seeds when oil is hot
3. Add curry leaves, urad dhal, vendiyam seeds and the bengal gram dhal, a tsp of asafoetida and fry
4. When urad dhal is light brown, add the tomato puree(thick) or tomato paste
5. Mix the paste well with the other ingredients. You can add some water if the paste is too thick. Alternatively, if you like the sour taste, you can prepare tamarind water and add it too. I prefer it without tamarind
6. Add red capsicum when the tomato starts getting a cooked smell. The capsicum can be added with the seeds.
7. Simmer and let it cook on low flame. Cover the vessel with a lid. The capsicum needs to cook till soft, not get fried in the heat.
8. Add Chilli Powder to suit your spicy taste and continue to cook. Make sure you regularly mix the chutney to ensure it is cooked evenly. Add salt to taste
9. Turn off after 15 mins.
The chutney can be mixed with rice or eaten with any snacks (from idlis to samosas)
Enjoy!
Bon App!

Broken wheat thirukannamudhu

Ingredients
1. Broken wheat - 1 cup
2. Payatham parupu - 1/4 cup
3. Vellam (jaggery) - 4 pieces
4. Saffron - 2 strands
5. Elachi - 2 nos
6. Cashew nuts/raisins - 4 nos
7.Milk - optional

Method de preparation
1. Cook the broken wheat and payatham parupu in a cooker(2 to 3 whistles)
2. Take the vessel out of the cooker and place on the stove and heat.
3. Drop the jaggery pieces into this warming/boiling mix. The jaggery will begin to melt. Add milk if the mix is too thick/dry.
4. Meanwhile, in a tsp of butter, fry some cashew nuts (you can break them into smaller pieces) and raisins
5. When the mix is boiling, add this fried dry fruits and 2 strands of saffron.

This can be served warm/cold. Enjoy!
Usually, this mix thickens if it is set aside for few hours. To thin it, add some milk.
Bon App!

cheedai

Ingredients
1. Rice Flour - 1 cup
2. Urad flour - 1 tsp
3. White sesame - 1 tsp
4. Jeera - 1 tsp
5. Butter
6. Salt to taste
7. Asafoetida - 1 tsp, mix it in water and use this water to make the dough

Method
1. Lightly warm the rice flour
2. Add the urad flour to the warm rice flour
3. Along with sesame seeds, jeera, butter and salt and mix it into a dough. The dough must be soft and malleable
4. Make small balls (about the size of small bubblegum).
5. Heat oil in a pan. You must see the fumes rise before you start adding the balls of cheedai
6. Serve as a snack!
Bon app!