Cantoloupe Mango berry smoothie

This is a super smoothie packed with lots of goodness and nutrients to start your day. very easy to put together for breakfast or any time and will satisfy your hunger until noon.

Here is what you need. ( serves 2)

A handfull of diced cantoloupe


3 strawberries

1/2 cup mango juice ( got from the Indian store)

1/2 cup 2% Milk

2 tsp Sugar.

4-5 Ice cubes.


Put them all ina blender and blend till smooth. Pour it into any fancy glass you have ( of course I did'nt have one) and enjoy.! :)))

I am submitting this for http://http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/serve-me-some-juices-shakes-smoothies/

Oats upma

Bored of eating the same oatmeal everyday, Try this quick and easy Oats upma.

Ingredients:

Quick oats 1 cup
Ghee 1 tbsp
green chillies 1 chopped
Frozen peas a handful.
Grated coconut 1 tbsp
2 cups water
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2  tsp Urad dhal
1 tbsp Oil
2 -3 Curry leaves
Asafetida a pinch
salt to taste.


Add 1tbsp of ghee toa pan. Roast the oats in the ghee till fragrant. Set aside ina plate.

Add oil to apan and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and green chilli. Saute for a few mins. Add the peas and hing and saute for a 2 mins. Add 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Once it comes to a boil, add the oats, coocnut and mix well. Reduce the flame and cover the pan. Let it cook for a few mins.

It may look all sticky and gooy, don't panic.

Let it cook on low fire till the the oats get separated.
Garnish with cilantro and serve.

It tastes like the good old godhuma rava upma!

Sweet Potato Podimas

This podimas is so easy to make and tastes delicious with rice and sambhar. the natural sweetness of the sweet potato wis kind of mellowed by ( duh...) the kick from ginger and chillies plus the refreshing lemon.

Try this and you will enjoy! you can add or take away the chillies according to your taste.

Ingredients

1 medium sized sweet potato
2 green chillies chopped
1 inch ginger peeled and chopped
lemon juice according to taste.
Cilantro for garnishing
Grated coconut 2 tbsp.
salt to taste
hing 1/4 tsp


tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1/2 red chilli.
curry leaves few
oil

Peel the sweet potato and cut into medium dice. Cook on stove top or microwave till soft. Do not pressure cook it as the ones available in USA become really mushy.

In a pan add oil, splutter the mustard seeds, urad, channa dal. Ad the redchilli and curry leaves. then add the hing, green chillies and ginger and saute for a few seconds. Now add the cooked sweet potato, grated coconut and slat according to your taste.

Cover and cook for a few minutes. Turn off the stove, squeeze the lemon juice to suit to your taste. Garnish with cilantro and it's ready to be apired with rice and curry.

Yumo!

Vegetable Puff

Who doesn't love vegetable Puffs? stop! If you don't you better read this post! Once you've tasted these babies you'll love it.

It reminds me of college days where Puffs were a big hit in the cafeteria.

It is such asimple snack to put together and will take you down the memory lane!

Here is what you need ( makes 9 puffs)

Pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets 1 box.
1/2 potato
1/2 onion
Frozen peas 1/2 cup
Frozen corn 1/2 cup
coriander powder 1 tsp
chaat masala 1 tsp
oil.
Cilantro as much as you want.

This is what i had at home:))

There are 2 sheets inside a box of PPF puff pastry sheet. Take 1 sheet out and let it thaw for about 40 mts on the counter.

In mean time, dice potatoes and slice onions. heat oil ina pan and add the onions. Ssaute till they are soft and a slightly carmalized. Add the potaoes, corn, peas, salt all the masala and saute. cover and reduce the heat. cook till the potaoes are soft and the peas are cooked. Garnish with cilantro.

Youcould add grated carrots, bell pepper, paneer etc if you have them in hand.

Pre heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with it oil.

Take the thawed pastry sheet on toa cutting board. You can open it inot a rectange. cut it inot 9 smallrectangles.

Add the filling ( approx 1 tbsp) in each of he rectangle. fold the edges over like folding a blanket. seal the edges with a lit bit of water.

Pop it inthe oven and bake for 15mts or until golden and flaky.
Let it cool for 10 -15 mts and then... you know what to do.

Curried Butternut Squash soup

Try this creamy, yummy soup and you won' regret one bit.

Tis so easy to put together.

Here isall what you need.

Ingredients:

Butter nut squah small 1

2 carrots diced

2 ribs of celery diced

1 onion thiny sliced

2 garlic cloves crushed

multipurpose curry powder 1 tsp

salt to taste.

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Pre heat oven to 400f. Cut the BNS in half. Scoop out the seeds. drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast the BNS for 45 mts. Let it cool.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry till soft. add th rgarlic and saute till a nice aroma comes.Add the celery and carrots and saute for a few minutes. Add the curry powder, salt according to taste. Add 2 cups of water. Remove the flesh of the BNS and add it to the vegetable mix. Let it come to a boil and allow it to simmer for 20 -25 mts till the vegetables are cooked and soft.

Let it cool and blend it a puree of your liking. If it is too thick, add some water or half and half.

Serve with garlic bread or roll.

Egg plant Kootu

Egg plant / Kathrikai is one my favorite. Unfortunately my husband does not like it. I think people love egg plant coz whoever made it for them to taste it the first time did a pretty good job. people who don't like it.. well it's self explanatory.

I can pretty much eat it as a dry curry, kootu, bajji, in sambhar.. you name it.

Here is my version of egg plant kootu.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized egg plant
1/2 cup cooked toor dhal
Frozen peas 1/3 cup
sambar powder 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
dessicated coconut 2 tbsp

tumeric powder 1/4 tsp
salt to taste

For the tempering

Oil
mustard seeds
urad dhal curry leaves
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida

wash the eggplant and dice into small cubes. Saok in water, otherwise it will change color.

add water just to cover the egg plant. Add salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder, tamarind paste and cook on a low fire. Half way down add the frozen peas. You don't want to over cook the peas.

You cna increase the sambar powder/ tamarind according to your taste.

Once the veggies are cooked add the cooked and masher toor dal and coconut. if it is too watery add a little bit of rice flour mixed with water to make it thicker.

let it come to a boil. Turn off the fire. In a separate kadai, temper all the ingredients and add it to the eggplant kootu.


Enjoy with rice/ sambhar/ rasam asa side dish or with chapathi's.

Basic Tomato Curry

This is a basic tomato curry that I relish a lot. My grand mother used to make it for chappathi. It goes well with rotis, poori and even rice.

This is what you need.

Tomatoes 2 medium size
green chillies 2 slit in length

jaggery a pinch or according to taste
salt according to taste

for tempering:

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
jeera 1/2 tsp.
curry leaves
HIng a pinch,

Boil water in a pan. Blanch the tomatoes in the hot water for 15 - 20 mts. Once you remove the lid, you will see the tomato peel has started to come off.

Once cooled, peel the skin of the tomatoes and puree it in a blender.

Heat a pan. Add oil and splutter the mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves and green chilli. Now add the tomato puree, hing, salt and let it come to a boil. Allow it to simmer till the consistency you want. Add jaggery at the end according to taste.

You can increase or decrease the chilli according to your taste.

Enjoy with hot chappathi's.