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Summer special... Sagoo fruit 'n' nut

23:14 | Labels: , ,


This summer make Sagoo/Tapioca pudding by simply cooking tapioca pearls in milk,sugar and vanilla and serve with chilled fruit salad and sprinkle lots of nuts and if your kids never tried sagoo pudding befor,they are sure to enjoy this pudding served up in translucent glasses and enjoyed through a spoon with tapioca as the secret ingredient.

Ingredients:
For the sagoo pudding:

  1. 1 cup sagoo/tapioca pearls
  2. 11/2 cups sugar 
  3. 1tsp vanilla essence
  4. 1/2 liter full cream milk
  5. 5 cups water



For the fruit salad:

  1. 3 cups mixed fruits ( apple,banana,black and green grapes,orange,pomegranate  and pineapple)
  2. 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  3. 1tsp vanilla essence

For Garnishing
1 cup mixed nuts ( almond chopped,cashew nuts,chopped, and Raisins)
1/2 cup Tutti fruitti 

 Method:

  • Soak tapioca in 2 cups of water for 1-2 hour.
  • Boil them in 5 cups of water,stirring to prevent the tapioca pearls from sticking together.
  • Cover and simmer until pearls are soft and translucent .Take it out from the fire.
  • Now add sugar and warm milk and cook again till the sugar dissolves completely.
  • Let it cool and then refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
  • Mix all the fruit salad ingredients and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving
  • Now take a tall serving glasses,add 2 tbsp of pudding neatly.Then arrange a layer fruit salad ,nuts and tutti fruitti.Repeat the layers,Finally sprinkle some nuts.Keep it in the refrigerator for chilling.
  • Serve cold.

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Posted by Unknown

Gobi Ka Bhartha

03:07 | Labels: , ,


This is a punjabi dish mostly prepared with Brinjal or Eggplant.The word Bharta refers to dishes in which the vegetables are mostly roasted and mashed either before or after the dish is prepared. Bharta is a north indian dish  and made from all sorts of vegetables.My version of Gobi ka bharta is easy to make.All you need is 20 minutes to cook up a delicious Bharta.Serve it with hot chapatis or rotis or as a side dish.

 Ingredients:

  1. 1 Medium sized Cauliflower,cut into florets 
  2. 1/2 cup Fresh Green peas
  3. 3 Tomatoes, finely chopped
  4. 3 Onions,finely chopped
  5. 10 Garlic cloves,minced
  6. 1 tsp,Ginger,chopped
  7. 1/2 tsp Turmeric/haldi
  8. 1 tsp Garam masala powder
  9. 1 tsp Daniya /coriander Powder
  10. 1/2 tsp Cumin/jeera powder
  11. 2 tsp Red chilly powder
  12. 1 or 2 Green chillies ,finely chopped
  13. 2 tbsp Cooking oil or Clarified butter/ghee

For garnishing :

  • 1 tbsp Fresh coriander leaves/cilantro 
  • 1/2tsp Grated Ginger

Preparation:

  1. Wash and blanch the peas and cauliflower in water and drain the water.Mash it slightly with a back of a spoon.
  2. Heat a pan on medium and the cooking oil/ghee.When hot ,add the cumin seeds and cook till the spluttering stops.
  3. Add the onions and fry soft and translucent .
  4. Add the minced garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes, green chillies and all the powdered spices,including Garam masala powder.Stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes.Stirring ofter to prevent  the spices from sticking to the pan. Sprinkle a little water if needed.
  6. Now add the cooked peas and cauliflower  and mix well.Cover and cook till the dish is almost dry ,turn off the heat and serve Garnished with chopped coriander and grated ginger.


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Posted by Unknown

Tender Coconut -sagoo shake

10:29 | Labels: , , ,


Tomorrow is Maha shivratri-Night of Lord Shiva...We hindu's bow to lord shiva,from whom "OM" was created.On this day mostly all Hindu's observe Fast by taking only water.My version of the fast is dairy,fruit,vegan from sunrise this morning to sunrise tomorrow. The most preferred fasting food in india is Sabudana/tapioca pearls fresh fruits and dried fruits,milk products and vegetables.
Today i want to share one interesting shake prepared using sagoo/sabudana and tender coconut.This is a drink combines all the goodness of coconut and sagoo. So a high energy -high mineral drink...just perfect for summer tropical holidays




Ingredients:

  1. 2 tender coconuts
  2. 2 tbsp Sabudana/sagoo
  3. Sugar to taste
  4. 1 cup ice cubes

Method:

  • Take out the coconut water,then scoop out the flesh.
  • Boil sagoo in 3 cups of water till soft and cooked well. you can add more water if it is too thick.
  • Let it cool,drain and wash it well with the clean water and keep aside
  • Now in a blender add coconut water,coconut flesh,sugar and blend it well.
  • Add cooked sago pearls and blend again for couple of seconds with ice cubes.
  • Transfer to glasses and serve immediately.



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Posted by Unknown

Chinese style "Prawn/shrimp fried rice"

22:07 | Labels: , , ,


Prawn/Shrimp fried rice is a great recipe for nights when you're looking for a quick way to use up leftover rice. Feel free to experiment with using fresh mushrooms or other vegetables in place of the prawns

.
Ingredients:

For the marinade:

  1. 1/2 kg Medium sized prawns
  2. 2 tsp Oyster sauce
  3. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  4. salt and pepper to taste
  5. 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 1/2 tsp of water

For the main dish:

  1. 1 Medium sized onion diced
  2. 4-5 cups of cooked rice
  3. 2 green onion/spring onion
  4. 2-3 eggs
  5. Oil for stir-frying, as needed





Cooking Directions:

  1. Wash,shell and devein the Prawns.If you are using tiger prawns then chop into small pieces.
  2. Add the marinated ingredients and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
  3. Dice onions and green onions.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons oil, or as needed. When oil is hot, stir-fry the onion and shrimp on high heat for a few moments, remove and set aside.
  5. Beat the eggs lightly with chopsticks, add a dash of salt (Add a bit of oyster sauce if desired) .then pour 1/2 of the egg mixture into the same wok and cook over medium heat,scramble it nicely. Cook for few seconds and save for later.
  6. Now for the rice heat again 2-3 tbsp of oil,turn the heat down to medium and stir fry the rice.Then add the stir fried prawns and onion.and combine thoroughly .Alternately ,mix the green onion and scrambled eggs ,keeping some for the garnishing  with the prawns Add bit of soy and oyster sauce if desire
  7. Serve the fried rice with the remaining scrambled eggs and the green onion as garnish.
Fried rice cooking tip: 
If you are using  fresh cooked rice:it will be lumpy and and sticking together.To separate it ,place the rice in a large bowl or plate,add 1tbsp of vegetable oil.Now using a fork,mix the oil into the rice and separate lumps,until the rice has returned into more or less individual grains.
If you are using old rice:There's no need to add anything to the rice,as it should fall apart into individual grains quite easily.Old rice is generally better compared to fresh rice but i recently made this fried rice with fresh rice which i kept in the refrigerator for an hour was still really good!

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Posted by Unknown

Instant Khaman Dhokla....in 20 minutes

21:00 | Labels: ,


Its a mouth watering traditional Gujarati Snack prepared with Gram flour and butter milk and seasoned with sesame seed and few other spices.Its so easy that you can prepare this soft and spongy instant Dhoklas in less than 20 minutes and you need not prepare batter 4 or 8 hours in advance.The secret of its sponginess and no requirement of advance preparation lies in using Eno fruit salt.Its simple yet aromatic garnishing  with coriander and coconut  makes it simply irresistible. Ok lets start with the ingredients.


For the batter:

  1. 1 cup Gram flour/besan/chick pea flour
  2. 1/4 cup Butter milk/curd
  3. 1 tbsp Semolina/Bombay rava
  4. 1tsp Crushed green chilli -ginger paste
  5. 1 Tsp Eno Fruit salt
  6. 11/2tsp Lemon juice
  7. 1tsp Sugar
  8. 3/4 cup water
  9. 2tsp Oil 
  10. Salt to taste

For The Tempering:

  1. 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
  2. 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
  3. 1 /2 tsp White Sesame seeds
  4. 2-3 Green chillies,slit and cut into 1 inch pieces
  5. 2 spring curry leaves
  6. 2 tbsp oil
  7. A pinch of Hing/asafoetida powder
  8. 2 Tbsp Freshly grated coconut
  9. 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves
  10. 1tbsp Sugar
  11. 1/2 cup water
  12. 1tsp Lemon juice

Method:
For the batter and steaming Dhokla:
  • Sieve gram flour and keep aside
  • Now pour 3 cups of  water in steamer at bottom and heat it over medium flame.You can use idli steamer of steaming the dhokla.
  • Grease big 12-14 inch thali or cake tin  using little oil
  • Take gram flour,semolina,lemon juice,green chilli-ginger paste,curd,lemon juice, sugars and salt in a bowl.Mix them properly into smooth batter using little at a time.Make sure that there are no lumps.
  • Add Eno fruit salt in batter and stir in one direction for a minute. You will notice its size would increase to almost double and the batter becomes frothy.
  • Now pour the batter immediately to the greased thali/plate.Fill it to 1/2 in thickness. 
  • Place plates in boiling steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes.First boil on high heat for 5 minutes then reduce it to medium flame.
  • After 12 minutes,insert a knife or toothpick into dhokla and check if it comes out clean.If it does,then its is ready otherwise cook 2-3 minutes more.
  • Take out plate from the steamer and let them cool for few minutes.Cut Spongy Khaman Dhokla into 11/2 inch squared using sharp knife .Transfer it to a serving plate.Now its time to prepare the tempering.
For the Tempering:
  • Heat oil in a small tempering pan.Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds,when seeds begin to crackle ,add white sesame seeds,curry leaves,hing,and green chillies,saute them for few seconds.
  • Add 1/2 cup water,lemon juice and sugar and bring it to boil,let it cook for a minute over high flame.Now pour this tempering over dhoklas and spread it gently until each dhokla is coated well with this tempering.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut.Best tastes with sweet and sour mint chutney
chefs tips and suggestion:

  • If you want to prepare Dhokla in batches ( for given amount of batter).then follow the given steps.
  1. Prepare batter without adding Eno fruit salt  and divide it into two equal portions.
  2. Add 1/2tsp eno fruit salt in one portion,whisk it well for a minutes and pour it immediately into greased plate
  3. When the 1st batch is done,remove it from the steamer and add 1/2 cup water in the steamer and let it boil.now add remaining Eno fruit salt in the 2nd batch of the batter and follow the same process as mentioned above..

  • After adding Eno salt do not keep the batter for long time otherwise you'll end up with hard not so spongy dhoklas.
  • After pouring tempering please spread them gently until all the pieces are covered with it from all the sides.Do not pour the entire tempering in single go,pour it with a spoon in small quantities so that the dhoklas do absorb all the water evenly  and does not become soggy.

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Posted by Unknown

Stuffed bitter-gourd/karli rings

21:40 | Labels: ,



Bitter gourds are very low in calories but dense with precious nutrients.You should always choose unripe bitter gourd that are firm.Ripe bitter gourd can be excessively bitter.This vegetable is very good for diabetic patients.

Ingredients
For the bitter-gourd:
  • 2 Big sized bittergourd/Karela/Karli
  • 2 tbsp Jaggery
  • 1 Marble sized tamarind ball
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 3 cups Water
For the stuffing:

  • 1/2 cup Dry coconut/copra grated
  • 1/4 cup Ground nuts
  • 1 tbsp Sesame seeds/white til
  • 3-4 Dried whole kashmiri red chillies
  • 1 tsp Saunf/fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp Garam masala powder
  • 1 inch piece Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
  • 1/4 tsp Cumin/jeera 
  • 2-3 Cloves
  • 1 tsp Jaggery crushed
  • 8 Garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup Coriander leaves,chopped finely
Cooking Directions
To prepare the bitter-gourd:
  • Wash and cut bitter-gourd into 2-3 inch thickness.Scoop out the seeds inside and make one hole in the center so that our stuffing fits into that hole
  • Apply salt on bitter-gourd and keep it aside for sometime. Remove excess water from the bitter-gourd
  • Now boil water in a pan and add all the ingredients.Cook till the bitter gourd pieces are soft but not mushy.
  • Drain the water and wash it with cold water to get rid of the bitterness and dry them with a kitchen towel to remove all the moisture from them .
For the stuffing:
  1. Take a pan and dry roast all the stuffing ingredients except coriander leaves,let it cool completely before grinding.
  2. Now coarsely powder the roasted ingredients and take it on to a plate.
  3. Add chopped coriander leaves to the this mixture and mix it well.Now the stuffing is ready.
  4. Start stuffing the bitter gourd pieces with 2-3 tsp of this mixture and press in tightly so that the stuffing will remain intact.
  5. Now slice the bitter gourd pieces into 1 cm thickness and arrange on a plate.
For frying:
  1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan/tava and Put all the rings one by one and start frying 
  2. Fry 7-8 bitter-gourd rings at a time  till its turns golden brown on one side.Turn it over and fry on the other side,again put some oil and fry on very low flame till golden brown.Repeat with the remaining rings.
  3. Serve hot.


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Posted by Unknown

THANKSGIVING DINNER...

22:59 | Labels: , ,


Well, it's Thanksgiving and I thought I would put up a menu for a simple and easy Thanksgiving that gives an nontraditional twist on some of our favorite classics. I am all about simple and easy. If it involves a ton of tedious steps, you won't find it here. No fuss, no muss. For the starter chicken tikka with sweet potato and white chick pea salad  and My Main course is south indian style chicken rasam podi. This first dish pays homage to the main course, of course. Roasting a turkey may seem daunting to some and terrifying to others. In that case, I have nixed that idea for a butterflied chicken breast. It's an easy thing to do and doesn't take long. I got this recipe from India's's prominent two-star Michelin chef Vineet Bhatia on the second season of his culinary-cum-travel show "Twist of Taste with Vineet Bhatia" its a simple and easy south Indian style dish and some stir fried cauliflower and capsicum












Rasam Podi chicken

Ingredients:
For the main dish:
  • 4 Chicken breast
  • 3tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
  • 2tbsp Curry leaves,roast and powder
  • 100 ml Oil
  • 3tbsp Rasam podi
  • Salt to taste
Cashew nut stuffing :
  • 1/2 cup Cashew nuts
  • 1/4 cup Finely Chopped onions
  • 2 spring curry leaves
  • 1tbsp of ghee or oil
Rasam Podi:
  • 100 grams Coriander seeds/daniya
  • 75 grams Jeera/cumin seeds
  • 50 grams Pepper
  • 8-9 Dry red chillies
  • 2 spring Curry leaves
  • 2-3 tsp Toor dal/split pigeon pea
Cooking Directions
For the Rasam podi:
  1. Dry roast all the ingredients till coriander seeds turns to light brown colour or until you get nice aroma of the spices and take it on a plate to cool.
  2. Once the spices are cooled down completely coarsely powder the roasted ingredients using mixer grinder.Now its ready to use.
For the stuffing:
  1. Heat ghee or oil in a pan and add cashewnut pieces and fry till it changes to light brown colour. In the same pan roast curry leaves till crisp.
  2. Mix finely chopped onions,roasted cashew nut pieces and roasted curry leaves and keep aside.
For the chicken breasts:
  1. If the chicken breasts have tenderloins, remove them. Trim, rinse, and pat the breasts dry.
  2. Make a pocket on the thicker side of each breast. Using a sharp boning or utility knif.1st place one hand on top of chicken to keep it steady. Insert a sharp knife in the middle of the thickest part.
  3. Make a slit about 5cm long. Run the knife into the breast until it's three-quarters of the way through.
  4. Now take a big bowl and add 3tbsp of Rasam podi,ginger garlic paste, powdered curry leaves ,oil and salt to taste.Mix all the ingredients well with a spoon and add prepared chicken breasts and nicely coat it with the marination.
  5. These chicken breasts can be refrigerated for up to three hours before cooking.
  6. After 3 hours heat pan and shallow fry all the breast till it changes to light golden brown on all the sides.Remove and  stuff the each breast pockets with cashew nut mixture and fry again for a few minutes to get that nice rich golden brown colour.
  7. Serve hot with tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce:
Ingredients :
  1. 4-5 big tomatoes
  2. 10 garlic ,chopped finely
  3. 2 tsp Sugar
  4. curry leaves
  5. 2 tsp Rasam podi powder
  6. 1 tbsp tamarind juice or paste
  7. salt and water
Method:
  • Heat oil in a pan,add mustard seeds,let it crackle,then add garlic cloves,curry leaves.
  • Add in tomatoes chopped and 2tsp of Rasam podi powder and salt to taste saute for 2 minutes.
  • Then add tamarind paste and sugar and little water and fry it till tomato pieces becomes soft and mushy.Switch off the flame and serve.

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Posted by Unknown
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