Thai Curry ( Red / Green )

Thai Curry is a mixture of variety of veggies cooked in coconut milk with little thai curry paste.
There are two types of thai curry pastes available in the store: Red and Green.
This recipe is shared by one of my dear friends, Preeti.
Preeti had prepared this dish in one of our kitty party potlucks, and i just loved it.
So here I am sharing her recipe with all of you .

Ingredients :

• Thai Curry Paste ( Red or green ) - 2 tsp
• Veggies ( Broccoli, Beans, Snowpeas, Bell Pepper, onion, Tomato, Mushrooms, Tofu ) - 2 cups
• Coconut Milk - 2 cups
• Salt -to taste
• Roasted Peanuts - 1 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Directions :

• Dice all the veggies and stir fry them in a pan for a couple of minutes in hot oil.
• Add the curry paste to the veggies, mix well.
• Add coconut milk and salt.
• Cook it covered for about 10 minutes, till the veggies are semi cooked yet soft. Don't over cook them, it would be good if they are a bit crunchy.
• Garnish it by adding roasted peanuts.
• Serve hot with rice.

Jeera Rice

Jeera rice is a cumin flavoured rice , very easy to make unlike other fried rice or biryani.

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Cumin Seeds ( jeera ) - 2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Finely Chopped Onions - 1 small
• Finely Chopped or Grated Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Bay Leaves - 2
• Star Anise - 2
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
• Mint leaves - 1/4 th bunch
• Black Cardamom - 1
• Black Pepper seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak washed rice in water for 15 minutes.
• In a pot, heat oil, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon stick, star anise,pepper seeds , ginger, onions and saute them till golden brown.
• Then add rice and water to it. Add required amount of salt. Just throw in few mint leaves.
• Cook covered on high giving slight stirs just a couple of times in between.

Tip: You can also substitue fresh onions with dried onions. If you are using dried onions, you do not need to saute them, just add it to the rice when it is half way done.

Serve hot with any curry or raita.

Samosa

Samosa is a famous Indian snack . It is a part of any party, get-togethers, cold rainy day, or just a 4 pm hunger. Here is the recipe of the same.

Ingrediens:

• All Purpose Flour ( Maida ) - 1 cup
• Potatoes ( Boiled, peeled and mashed ) - 2 large
• Onion ( finely chopped ) - 1/2 cup
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 1/2 sp
• Cilantro (finely chopped) - 1 tbsp
• Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp
• Green Chillies ( finely chopped )- 2-3
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - to deep fry
• Water - to knead the dough

Method :

Dough

• In a mixing bowl, take flour add 1tsp cooking oil, salt and very little water and mix well.
• Keep adding water very little at a time and knead to form a soft pliable dough ( not too soft , not too hard )
• Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let it rest for half an hour.

Stuffing

• In a pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil , add ginger , coriander seeds, green chillies and onions and saute them till golden brown.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli, garam masala, salt and stir for a couple of minutes.
• Add boiled,peeled and mashed potatoes , chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. Stir for another couple of minutes.
• Keep aside and let it cool.

Variation : You can also add boiled green peas or grated carrot to the potato stuffing.
Samosa

• Make a lemon sized ball of the dough and roll it out into a circle of around 6-7 inches diameter.
• With the help of a knife, cut the circle into 2 halves.
• Take one semi circle and lightly wet it's straight edge with water with the help of your finger tip.
• Fold it into a cone , and press gently to seal well.
• Fill this cone 3/4th full with the stuffing made earlier and kept aside.
• Lightly wet the open edges and press to seal well.
• Heat the oil in a wok for deep frying.
• Deep fry these samosas on medium flame . Do not fry them on high.
• You can fry 4-5 samosas at a time depending upon how big the wok is.
• Fry till golden brown and drain on kitchen towel.
• Serve hot with Tamarind Chutney and Green Chutney

Incase you do not want to make tamarind chutney or green chutney , samosas can also be eaten with tomato ketchup.

Broccoli Paratha

Broccoli is very rich in vitamin C as well as fiber. It is usually eaten steamed or boiled or sometimes raw. However it is a NO NO for my daughter. She would not even come to the dinner table if she saw broccoli. I am sure this is the case with many kids and concern of many moms.

I thought of an idea to disguise the broccoli and cheat my child. I stuffed it in the paratha, and told her that this was green paratha. Looking at the colorful paratha, my daughter was ammused and ate it saying "yummy yummy in my tummy "

It worked. :) Sometimes, cheating is good.

Lemme share the quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients :

• Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Grated Broccoli - 1 cup
• Warm Water / Milk - 1 cup approx
• Salt - to taste
• Finely Chopped Green Chillies - 1 ( optional )
• Ajwain ( Carom Seeds ) - 1/4 tsp ( can be replaced with cumin seeds if ajwain is not available )
• Turmeric Powder - 2 pinches

Method :

• In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour , grated broccoli, turmeric powder, ajwain, chillies and salt.
• Add water or milk to knead the dough till all the dough comes together.
• Rest the dough for half an hour.

For more details on how to knead the dough click here.

• Make balls of equal size from the dough.
• Roll them into round parathas , little thicker than chapati .
• Pre heat the tawa and layout this paratha on the hot tawa.
• Roast these parathas by applying ghee on both sides.
• Remove from the pan when both sides are crispy and golden brown.

For more details on how to make parathas, click here

Your disguised broccoli paratha is ready ;)

Aloo Tikki Chat

Aloo Tikki Chat is one of my favourite Indian street food. The tangy and spicy taste of it... ummm.. can not be explained in words. It is just heavenly :)) Here is how you can make it at home:

Ingredients : ( to make one serving )

• Aloo Tikkis - 2 ( click on it for the recipe )
• Boiled Chick peas - 1/4 cup
• Chopped Onion - 3 tbsp
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Green Chillies - 1
• Red Chilli Powder - a pinch
• Green Chutney - 2-3 tsp ( Click on it for the recipe )
• Curd - 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind Chutney - 2-3 tsp ( Click on it for the recipe )
• Chat masala - a pinch
• Chopped Cilantro - for garnishing

Directions:

• In a serving plate , arrange the two aloo tikkis.
• Add salted boiled chick peas and finely chopped onions around the tikkis.
• Add green chutney, tamarind chutney on top of the tikkis and peas.
• Beat the curd and add sugar to it. Now add this sweetened curd on top of the tikkis.
• Sprinkle chat masala, red chilli powder and chat masala on the chat.
• Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and green chillies.

Note : There is no fixed amount of the ingredients to be added. You can adjust every ingredient according to your taste. You can avoid green chillies if you do not like it spicy. Or adjust the amount if chutneys you add to your chat.

Mango Rice ( Mamidikaya Pulihora )

Mango Rice ( or mamidikaya pulihora, in telugu ) is a rice item specifically made on festivals like Ugadi or especially Sri Ram Navami. It is the season of mangoes and I love mangoes in any form, be it simply juicy fruit, or pickle or shakes or in rice. So here is the recipe of mango rice, I would like to share with you :

Ingredients :

• Cooked Rice - 2 cups
• Grated Green Raw mangoes - 2 - 4 cups ( depending on how sour you like )
• Green Chillies - 4-6
• Cashews - 10-12
• Peanuts - 10-12
• Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
• Urad Dal - 1tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Dried Red Chillies - 1-2
• Curry Leaves - few
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Hing - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Oil/ ghee - 1-2 tsp

Method :

• Cook the rice , not too mushy, and keep aside.
• In a skillet, heat oil/ ghee, and add peanuts, cashews, chana dal and urad dal. Fry them until golden brown.
• Now add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies, green chillies, curry leaves turmeric powder and a pinch of hing. Stir to saute them.
• To this , add the grated mango and mix it.
• Cook this mixture for just 2-3 minutes and add salt. Put off the flame as it should not be overcooked .
• In a mixing bowl, mix this mango mixture with cooked rice thoroughly but gently without breaking the rice grains.

Tip : Usually the proportion of rice to mango is 1 cup : 1.5 cups , however you can adjust it according to your taste.

Ugadi Pachadi

Ugadi Pachadi is made in every Andhra household on Ugadi which is a telugu new year day. Ugadi is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and karnataka. It is also celebrated in Maharashtra and is called Gudi Padwa.

Ugadi Pachadi is a blend of 6 different tastes offerd by nature , like Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Tang, Hot, Salt. This pachadi signifies life. Life is a mixture of different experiences like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and Jealousy. Lets see how this unique, yummy chutney is made.

Ingredients :

• Jaggery ( Sweet = Happiness ) - 1 cup grated
• Neem Flowers ( Bitter = Sadness ) - 1 tbsp
• Green Chillies ( Hot = Anger ) - to taste
• Salt ( Salty = Fear ) - to taste
• Tamarind Pulp ( Sour = Jealousy ) - 4 tbsp
• Green Raw Mango ( Tang = Surprise ) - 1 cup

Method :

• This would be the easiest recipe on earth. Mix all the above ingredients and add little water to it to form like a sauce.

Tip : If you prefer it very thin, add more water and adjust salt to taste.

Variation: The above mentioned 6 ingredients are a must in this recipe. However you can add few other things to it as well, like chopped ripe banana or small pieces of sugarcane.

Enjoy !!
Happy Ugadi to one and all !!