Need a Break !!!

Hey Friends.... It's Vacation time for me.... yippieee.... so I won't be able to blog for 10 days. Catch you all after a refreshing break !!!!  :)

zucchini Curry

Ingredients:

• Zucchini - 2
• Onion - 1 small
• Tomato - 1
• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Kasoori Methi - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Water - 1 cup

Directions:

• Heat oil in a pan, sizzle cumin seeds.
• Add sliced onions. Saute till golden.
• Add chopped tomato. Cook till tender.
• Add garam masala, turmeric, chili powder.
• Add chopped zucchini and water. Add salt.
• Cook covered till zucchini is done and the gravy comes together.
• Crush kasoori methi in between your palms and add it to the curry. Cook for another 1 minute and turn off the heat.
• Serve with rice or chapati.

Variation:

• You can add other veggies  to the curry, like potato or carrots.
• You can make it in pressure cooker till 1 whistle .
• You can substitute kasoori methi with chopped cilantro.

Beetroot Paratha

Beetroot Paratha was again an invention to get beetroot into my little picky eater. She would never eat if I made beetroot curry, but enjoy eating this red paratha, as she calls it.
Why would I ever tell her that what she was eating with joy was beetroot. ~ hahaha ( evil laughter )
Well as they say, " Ignorance is Bliss "
I am happy that she is eating beetroot, She is happy that she got an interesting colored paratha instead of the regular boring paratha !!  Happy Ending :))
It doesn't take much of an effort. Just grate beetroot and mix it with the regular flour and make chapatis the way it is usually made.

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Grated Beetroot - 1 cup
• Warm Water  - 1 cup approx
• Salt - to taste
• Chopped Green Chillies - 1 ( optional )
• Ajwain ( Carom Seeds ) - 1/4 tsp

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour , grated beetroot, ajwain, chillies and salt. Avoid chillies when making for kids.
• Add water slowly to knead the dough till all the dough comes together.
• Rest the dough for half an hour.
• Make balls of equal size from the dough.
• Roll them into round parathas.
• 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 cooked.
• Serve with boondi raita, any curry, pickle and salad.

Cabbage Soup

This is a nutritious, low calorie soup which is very easy to make. Weight watchers would love it.

Ingredients:

• Shredded Cabbage - 5 cups
• Onion - 1 small
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Garlic - 1-2 cloves
• Water - 2 cups
• Salt -to taste
• Pepper Powder - to taste
• Butter - optional

Directions:

• In a deep sauce pan, boil cabbage, chopped tomato , chopped onion, garlic with water.
• Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
• Blend till smooth.
• strain it back into the pan and heat again.
• Add more water if required. Add salt to taste.
• If the soup is too watery, add half a tsp of corn flour paste. ( optional )
• Cook till the required consistency is reached.
• Serve in a bowl. Add pepper powder to taste.
• Add just a little , say 1/4th tsp of butter in a bowl of soup to enhance the taste. It is optional though.
• Have it hot on a cold day :)

Prevent Fruits and Vegetables from Oxidation

When few fruits and vegetables are cut and exposed to air, they oxidize due to which discoloration occurs. To prevent them from oxidation, you can follow one of the following tips as soon as you cut them.

• When cutting raw banana( plantain ), potato or eggplant, soak them in water to avoid discoloration.
• Similarly, to prevent apples, bananas or peaches from browning, add lemon juice.
• Cover the cut fruits or vegetables tightly with plastic food wrap or ziplock covers.
• Cook the vegetables as soon as you cut them; the heat would stop them from oxidation.

If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section.

Turnip Greens Poriyal

Ingredients:

• Turnip Greens - 1 bunch
• Onions - 2 small
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Grated Coconut - 2-3 tbsp
• Whole Red Chillies - 2
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Salt -to taste
• Curry Leaves - a few
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Directions:

• Wash and clean the leaves properly.
• Trim the hard stems and discard. Chop the leaves finely.
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal and let them turn reddish.
• Add hing ( asafoetida ) , red chillies, chopped garlic and curry leaves.
• Add finely chopped onions and saute till translucent. Add turmeric powder.
• Add chopped turnip greens and a little salt.
• Cook on medium heat for around 5 minutes.
• Add grated coconut and mix well.. Cook for another couple of minutes.
• Serve as side dish with dal and rice.

Bachali Kura Pappu

Bachali kura (Malabar Spinach) cooked with split red gram.


Ingredients :

• Bachali Kura Leaves - 1 bunch
• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Tomatoes - 2 medium
• Tamarind Extract - 1 tbsp
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Whole Red Chillies - 2
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Salt - to taste
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

Directions:

• Remove and discard the hard stems of the bachali kura. Wash and chop the leaves.
• In a pressure cooker, take toor dal, chopped leaves, diced tomatoes, turmeric powder and cook with sufficient water till 3 whistles or till dal is cooked.
• Let the pressure release by itself before you open the pressure cooker.
• The dal now needs tempering.
• In a small pan, heat ghee, splutter mustard seeds. Add red chillies, crushed garlic, curry leaves, asafoetida, tamarind extract. Cook for a minute. Turn off the heat, add red chili powder.
• Pour this over the dal. Add salt and give it a good mix.
• Serve hot with plain steamed rice or roti.

Matar Paneer

Matar paneer is a beautiful combination of peas and cottage cheese, cooked in creamy gravy along with other spices.
It can be eaten with rice or roti or naan.


Ingredients:

• Paneer - 1 cup
• Peas - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 small
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Cream - 1/2 cup
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Bay Leaf - 1
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt -to taste
• Water - as needed
• Cilantro - for garnishing

Directions :

• Cut the paneer into 1 inch cubes.
• Heat very little oil or ghee in a small pan, and shallow fry the paneer cubes till brown on both the sides. Remove and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a bigger pan, sizzle cumin seeds, bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
• Add finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute till onions turn golden brown.
• Add diced tomatoes and around 1/4 cup of water and cook till tomatoes turn into pulpy sauce. You can also use tomato puree instead.
• Add coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, red chili powder and mix well.
• Add another 1/2 a cup of water and peas . you can use either fresh peas or frozen peas.
• Cook covered till the peas are tender and cooked. Add salt.
• Add the paneer cubes and cream to the curry and stir lightly. Cook till the curry reaches the consistency you like. I like it to be watery. If you like it dry , use less water and cook till all the water dries up.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• Eat with any rice preparation like jeera rice or roti or naan.

Egg Bhurji ( Indian Scrambled Eggs )

Egg Bhurji is nothing but scrambled eggs made with veggies and few other spices.
It is very easy to make and can be made in no time.


Ingredients:

• Eggs - 4
• Onion - 1/2 medium
• Tomato - 1 small
• Ginger- Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Green Chillies - to taste
• Chopped Veggies - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Salt -to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Chopped Cilantro - for garnishing

Veggies - You can use the veggies of your choice, typically, carrots, bell peppers, beans, peas.

Directions:

• Beat the eggs well , add a little salt to it and keep aside.
• Heat oil, and saute chopped onions till golden brown.
• Add chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste. Saute for a minute more.
• Add tomatoes and all the chopped veggies and saute till solft. Do not over cook them. Let the veggies be crunchy.
• Add garam masala , salt and red chili powder and mix well.
• Add the beaten eggs to the pan and keep stirring constantly till the eggs dry up and form into lumps and egg is coated with the masala. Cook for around 3-4 minutes.
• Adjust salt and garnish with cilantro.

It can be eaten with rice or roti. It can also be used as filling for sandwich or wraps for breakfast.

Peel the skin of Almonds, etc easily

To peel the skin of almonds, tomatoes or peaches, simply soak in boiling water for 5-7 minutes. The skin can be easily removed.


If you know of any other tip, please mention in the comment section.

Peanut Chutney ( Palli Pachadi )

Peanut Chutney is a very delicious dip for idli or dosa or upma. Peanuts posess rich protein value.

Ingredients:

• Peanuts - 1 cup
• Red Whole Chillies - 2 or to taste
• Tamarind Pulp - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste

For Tempering:

• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red whole Chili - 1
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Hing - a pinch

Directions:

• Dry roast peanuts till they turn reddidh and are totally cooked.
• Add red chillies to the peanuts and roast them for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool.
• In a grinder, add peanuts, tamarind pulp, red chillies and grind it to a smooth paste with little water.
• Add salt and mix well.
• For tempering, heat oil , splutter mustard seeds. Add torn red chili, curry leaves and hing.
• Pour this over the chutney. and mix well.
• Serve as a side dish with idli or dosa or upma.

You can store this in fridge for about 4-5 days.

Variation:

Additional Ingredients:

• Garlic - 2 pods
• Onion - 1 small

There is an alternative method too. You can add onions and garlic to the chutney as well.

• In a pan, heat oil and saute crushed garlic, then add sliced onion and saute till brownish. 
• Let it cool , then grind it to a smooth paste. 
• Add this paste to the above mentioned chutney. Mix well. Adjust salt. 

Lemon Rice ( Chitrannam )

Chitrannam or lemon rice or nimmakaya pulihora is a tangy South Indian variety of rice.
This is similar to pulihora which is made in a similar way but tamarind is used instead of lemon juice.
In most of the festivals , along with sweets we also make lemon rice or pulihora. It is sometimes made as a part of naivedyam. It is many times given as prasadam in temples or even ganesh pandals during ganeshotsav. You simply can't get enough of this. This dish does not require any side dish . It is best eaten by itself.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 2 cups
• Lemon Juice - of 2 lemons or adjust to taste
• Green Chillies - 3-5 or to taste
• Red Whole chili -1
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Chana Dal - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 spring
• Hing - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Peanuts - 2-3 tbsp
• Cashew Nuts - 2-3 tbsp
• Oil - 2tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Chopped Cilantro - for garnishing

Directions:

• Cook the rice and keep aside.
• In a pan, heat oil and roast peanuts until golden. Then add cashew nuts and roast till golden. Remove and keep aside
• In the same pan add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add chana dal and urad dal and let them turn reddish.
• Add curry leaves, slit green chillies, red chili, hing, turmeric powder and saute for few cesonds.
• Pour this over the cooked rice. Also add roasted cashew nuts and peanuts to the rice.
• Add salt and lemon juice and give it a good mix , but gently without breaking the rice grains.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• Serve warm or even at room temperature. This can be either eaten by itself or with plain curds and pickle.

Bell Pepper Chutney

Ingredients:

• Bell Peppers - 2 ( preferably red and orange, but u can even mix the different colors )
• Tamarind Pulp - 2 tbsp
• Red whole or Green Chillies - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste

For Tempering:

• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch

Directions:

• Dice the bell peppers and saute them in little oil in a pan.
• You can take bell peppers of any color. Try to include 1 red one to get that color.
• Cook till they are tender. Let them cool.
• In a grinder, add cooked bell peppers, tamarind pulp, turmeric and chillies. Grind them all to a fine paste.
• Add salt and mix well.
• For tempering, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add asafoetida and urad dal. Let the urad dal turn reddish.
• Pour this tempering over the chutney and mix well.
• Serve with steamed rice or idli or dosa.

Palak Puri / Palak Paratha

Palak Paratha or Palak puri is spinach flavoured Indian flat bread wherein Spinach and a few spices are added to the dough and rolled out into puri or paratha. This is one of the best ways to get spinach into picky eaters. Kids are fascinated by the colorful paratha and would not even know that they are eating spinach which they actually  hate to eat.

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour - 3 cups
• Spinach - 1 bunch
• Carom Seeds ( Ajwain ) - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
• salt - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Oil - For deep frying ( in case of puris )
• Ghee - for pan frying ( in case of parathas )

Directions:

• Wash and grind the spinach into a smooth paste with as little water as possible.
• In a mixing bowl, take flour, add ground spinach paste, carom seeds, ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and knead it with lukewarm water. Add water little by little to make a pliable dough.
• Add 1 tsp of oil and knead once again.
• Cover and rest the dough for half an hour.
• Roll them out and make either puris or paratha.
• For detailed description of how to make puris or paratha click on the following:

How to make Puri

How to make Paratha

Serve hot with any curry of your choice, curd, pickle.

Katiki Pesarapappu Pachadi ( Moong Dal Chutney )

This is one of my favourite chutneys. My mom used to make it very often just for me. When I made this chutney after marriage for the first time, my husband was pleasantly surprised to know such a chutney existed. It doesn't take much time to make this one and goes extremely well with plain steamed rice or even as a dip for idli or dosa.

Ingredients:

• Moong Dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind Pulp - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red whole chillies - 2-3 or to taste
• Water - as needed to grind.
• Salt -to taste

For Tempering:

• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida ( Hing ) - 1/8 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 5-6

Directions:

• In a grinder, add raw moong dal, broken red chillies, tamarind pulp and turmeric powder and grind with minimum water required for grinding into a smooth paste.
• Transfer into a bowl and add salt and mix well.
• For tempering, heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal, let it turn reddish. Add hing and curry leaves. Pour this over the chutney and mix well. The chutney is ready.

With the heat of oil in tempering, the raw flavour of dal will disappear and it will taste very good. Hence be little generous on oil.
Mix this chutney with plain steamed rice and a dollop of ghee. This is the best way to eat this chutney. However you can use it as a dip for idli and dosa.

Variation:

• You can soak the dal for about 15-20  minutes before grinding. I prefer unsoaked dal for the crunchy texture.