Cauliflower Kurma

 

Cauliflower is a favorite veggie for all of us at home. I made this simple kurma to be served with chapathi. I usually add coconut to my kurmas, but this time it was with out any coconut. The khus khus and cashews five it a rich creamy consistency. It may seem like a lot of steps involved, but it's easy though!

To make it more colorful, add any vegetables you have in hand.

 

Get Ready:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 cup chopped  red onions
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 2 green chillies slit
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Khus khus
• 1 tbsp cashews
• salt to taste
•  3 tsp olive oil.

Go:

• Soak cashew and khus khus in 2-3 tbsp of water for 20 mins.
• In a large pot, boil water. Add a pinch of salt, turmeric powder to the boiling water. add the cauliflower florets, cover the pot and turn the heat off.
• Drain the water after 10 mins and keep the cauliflower aside.
• In a pan, add 1 tsp oilve oil and sayte the onions till brown. add the ginger, green chilli, chopped tomatoes and saute till they are soft.
• Turn the heat off. Once cooled, grind the onion, tomatoes into a pulp. Set aside
• Grind the cashew khus khus with the soaked water into a fine paste.
• In the same pan that you fried the onions, add 2 tsp of oilve oil, add the pureed tomato, onion mixture.
• Add all the masala powders and fry till the oil separates out.
• Add the cauliflower, salt to taste, ground cashew  khus khus paste and mix well.
• Add water to a desired consistency and let it come to a boil.
• If less spicy add some garam masala.
• Once it boils, cover  and simmer for 5 mins. turn the heat off.
• garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Enjoy :))

  

Milagu Vadai and lessons learnt

Milagu vadai is a special prasadham offered to Lord Hanuman. It is crispy, crunchy with a hint of pepper and jeera made with Urad dal. People offer this to Lord Anjaneya as a garland with belief that he will take care of everything. I used to do this often many years ago, as we jad a nice hanuman sannidhi, near our house in east London.

I was planning do something similar fora while and finally decided last weekend. It doesn't take much soaking and easy to prepare. My son and hubby had gone for basket ball practice and my daugher was napping.
I follow the  exact recipe of Mallika Badrinath and this is how it goes.

So, let's get to business

Get ready:

•  1 cup urad dal
• 1 tbsp rice
• 1 tsp black pepper corns
• salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

  

Go:

• wash and soak the urad dal and rice for 20 mins.
• Powder the pepper
• drain water and grind coarsely with little water. Mixie/ blender is fine, just add little amount of water.
• Add salt to taste and pepper powder to the batter. add salt at the end.
• Heat oil in a pan to deep fry.
• Add 3 tbsp of hot oil to the batter and mix well.
• Make small balls with little water on your hands.
• Use a zip lock bag and  flatten the balls thin like a thattai and make a home in the center.
• Drop in the oil carefully after lefting them off the zip lock,
• Deep fry till golden and crispy.

If the batter is runny you can add a little rawa/ sooji.

I made 2 vadais and then My daughter was crying in her nap. I turned off my electric coil and went to attend her needs. I was trying to put her back to sleep as I had to finish frying the vadai's. Suddenlt I heard some beeping noise and wondered, " why is the smoke alarm going off?'.

I rushed downstairs and was shocked to see that my kadai with oil was on fire. The flames were so intense that my over therange microwave was on fire and the flames were slashing up to the ceiling. I had not turned off the heat properly, How stupid is that??

I was in total shock. I grabbed the pan with a " idukki". put it out on the deck and put the fire out with water.
There was black soot every where and  I was just shaking. It could have been worse!

I heard my daughter crying in panic as the smoke alarm was very loud. I quickly grabbed her, called 911 and got out of the house.

This is what was left....

 No more vadai's... No more microwave! Even though the insurance will cover, the inconveniences I have created are....!

The lessons I learnt ( hard way) were..

1. Make sure you turn off the stove before you go on to do something, especially if you have hot oil.

2. Never use water to put off a fire with grease. cover the pan with a lid and that will contain the fire.

3. Have a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen which can be reached immediately.

4. Don't multi task, as we woman always do!

Karela fry/ Pagakka kari

I never was a fan of karelas as a kid. In my household karelas were only used for pulikozhambus, pitlai and sambhar. I became a big karela eater once i tasted the thinly sliced deep fried ones. I don't know why these fried stuff tastes so good, but bad for you :((

I don't deep fry them, but cook them with lots of onions, tomatoes and spices to take the bitterness away. These are perfect accompaniments to either rice or chappathis.

They can be sliced as rounds or cut thin wedges. The key is to remove those seeds and pulp from the centre as they are not so nice!

Get ready:

• 4 karelas sliced round
• 1 tsp sambar powder
•  1/4 tsp salt
• drizzle olive oil
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 2 small tomatoes chopped
• 1 tsp sambar powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp asafetida/ hing
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1 red chilli

Go:

• Marinate the sliced karelas with  a drizzle of olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and sambhar powder for about 20 mins.
• In a pan, heat oil and do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilli.
• Add the sliced onions and fry till they are brown.
• Add the tomatoes and fry till they are all mushy.
• Now add the karelas, hing, and mix well.
• Reduce the flame, cover let the karelas sweat as they cook.
• Add salt to taste, sambhar powder, coriander powder and mix well.
• Uncover and cook on alow flame tossing them intermittently till they are browned and well coated with spices.

Enjoy!

Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup

Now is the best time to enjoy soup when the days are dull, cold and gloomy. Having said that we had spring like temperatures today. I am not complaining, but you can still enjoy this creamy soup anytime. I was inspired by Ellie krieger to  make this creamy soup. It's very low in calories and very hearty too. I gave it a twist by adding some coconut milk. The fresh basil at the end boosts the flavor a ton. I am a big fan of cilantro, but basil gives it a unique flavor. I made this  soup 2 weeks ago but did'nt have time to blog it. I made mine a little runny, but you can make it very creamy if you decrease the water. the ground corn gives the creaminess for this soup.

If you want a chinese twist, add some soy sauce, chilli sauce, but remember to cut down the salt :))

So, get your soup pots and get going!

Get Ready:

• 1 cup frozen corn ( thawed)
• 1/4 cup warm milk (1%)
• 1 & 1/2 cup diced veggies ( potato, carrot, red and orange  bell pepper)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 green chillies
• 1 rsp chopped ginger
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt as needed
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/3 cup water  to used used in small increments ( can be replaced with vegetable broth)
• 3 tbsp coconut milk powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Go:

• Add the coconut milk powder to the warm milk and whisk till well blended.
• In a blender puree the corn with the milk, coconut milk combo till creamy and set aside.
• In a pan heat oil, add the onion, garlic and saute till the onions are translucent.
• Add the chilli, ginger and fry for few seconds.
• Add the diced vegetables saute for few mins, add little salt and very little water just enough to cook the vegetables.
• Add the creamy corn puree.
• If the soup is too thick add a little water to to your desired consistency
• season with salt and black pepper as needed.
• Let it come just to boil and turn the heat off.
• Add roughly chopped basil leaves and serve hot with soft roll or a salad.

Sweet Potato Paratha

 

I have blogged a lot about the benefits of sweet potato earlier. To add to my list of sweet potato dishes of Podimas and sweet potato fries ,comes Sweet potato paratha.

 

 

Healthy afterschool snack or a lunch box idea for kids and kids at heart!

 

Get ready:

 

Yields 7 parathas

 

• 1 cup cubed sweet potato, cooked
• 1 cup whole wheat atta
• 1 tsp sambhar powder
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp olive oil

 

 

Go:

 

• Mash the cooked sweet potatoes well.
• Add sambar powder, salt to taste and cilantro.
• Add the atta and knead into a soft dough with 1 tsp of olive oil.
• No need to add water as the sweet potato has the water.
• Refrigerate for 20 mins and roll into a paratha/ roti.
• Heat a tava and cook the parathas on both sides till golden with ghee or oil.

 

They are perfect for kids lunch box, as they stay very soft.

 

Both my kids loved this! I hope you all will enjoy it too!

Oatmeal smoothie

I never would have thought of making smoothie with oatmeal! The beauty is no cooking..Seriously!

Honestyly the name may sound wierd, but it's very tasty, healthy and filling breakfast smoothie.

Now there is no excuse to skip breakfast as this can be done in a snap. I've made it twice this week and my son loved it too!
You can add any fruits/ peanut butter/ nutella or even add some fruit juice to replace milk and make it very interesting.

Get ready: ( serves one)

1/2 cup 1% milk
1/3 cup quick oats
1/2 banana sliced ( best thing is to slice them and freeze them, as they work as ice cubes too)
1 cup strawberries ( I used fresh, frozen works great too)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp sugar ( can use honey too)

Go:

• In a blender add the oats and whizz it till it's a fine powder.
• Add the milk, fruits, sugar, vanilla and blend them till smooth.
• If it's too thick add some more milk.

Grab and go breakfast is ready to be enjoyed!

Ginger tea orangade

I made this for a birthday party and it was finished in no time. I had bookmarked it from aipi and the original source is from Giada's. Aipi had made it as a lemonade and i was planning the same until i realized that I had no lemons! duh....
I had some oranges in hand and substituted the lemon juice for orange juice.  I did not use black tea but used our good old brooke bond tea bags.
It still tasted pretty awesome to me and my guests. Unlike me you all will all be smart and check your ingredients before you make something! ha ha....

Get Ready:

• 2 cups water
• 3 black tea bags, preferably English breakfast tea
• 1 1/3 cups Ginger Simple Syrup, recipe follows
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 cup sparkling water or club soda, chilled
• 2 cups ice
• Orange slices, for garnish, optional

Go: 
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea bags. Stir and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add the Ginger Simple Syrup, orange juice, and sparkling water.

Put the ice in a large pitcher. Pour the orangade mixture over the ice. Garnish with orange slices

Ginger Simple Syrup:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, water and ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.

Sending to the Bookmarked event

Akkara Adisil

This is a traditional sweet dish made during the month of Marghazhi/ dec to jan. Akka adisil is vey authentic in Iyengar cuisine in the south. It is similar to chakkara pongal except the rice and moong dal is cooked with lots of milk and jaggery.
 My mom used to make this sugar and saffron and it gives a very pleasing color. It's so creamy rich and out of this world.

So here is the recipe!

Get Ready:

• 3/4 measure raw rice
• 1/4 measure moong dal
• 3 cups 1% milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• A pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp. cardamom powder
• 1/2 - 1 cup ghee
• 1 tbsp. chopped cashews and golden raisins.

Go!

1. In a pan, dry roast the moong dal till they are pink.
2. Once the moong dal is cooled, add 3 cups of milk and rice & pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
3. In another pan, add sugar and just enough water to cover the sugar.
4. Let the sugar boil for 10 minutes till it forms a thick syrup. Now add saffron to the syrup.
5. Mash the cooked rice/dal mixture and add it to the sugar syrup.
6. Add ghee, little by little, to the rice/dal mixture and stir it till it leaves the sides.
7. Turn the heat off.
8. In a pan, add a little bit of ghee and fry the cashews & raisins till golden brown and add it to the adisil.
9. Garnish with cardamom powder and enjoy!!!

The adisil may look runny, but it will thicken once cooled.

Tell me what do you think of this akkara adisil with sugar.

B-)

Naan Pizza

 I am not a big fan of frozen naans. My husband had stocked some frozen ones when i was away couple of months ago. I was thinking of some excuse to not use it at all. But then as i was blog hopping i found a novel way to use the naan.

This is a totally cool fusion recipe!

Yes, it was to mkae pizza out of it. Whenever we order pizza, i am not a happy camper as i don't like the thick crust pizzas! My husband and my son will unanimously go for domino's thick crust and leave me guity of eating lots of carbs!

Naan pizza gives you a thin crust and you can add any toppings you want. All you need is some marinara sauce and a little creativity!

So here you go with the recipe!

• Tandoori naan ( frozen or regualr from whole foods/ trader joe's) 1 per person
• Store bought marinara sauce
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Red Onion thinly sliced
• For topping _ chopped red pepper, broccoli, jalapeno peppers and some frozen corn.
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt to taste

 Go:

• Pre heat oven to 400F
• in a pan add the olive oil, saute the onions till soft.
• Add the vegetables and saute for 5 mins. add salt to your taste and turn the heat off.
• Arrange the naan on a baking sheet.
• Add 1 tbsp of marinara sauce on top of the naan and spread it.
• add the veggie toppings and shredded cheese.
• Bake for 10 mins till the cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy this total family pleaser!


Sending this to priyasnowserving

Wishes for 2011!

I am sorry for my long absence ! My daughter had been sick for the past week. She had Pneumonia and was hospitalized, treated with oxygen antibiotics etc. I wanted to end this year with a sweet dish, but the last week has been very hard for my little girl and us. I treat lots of sick kids, but when it's your own it is totally different.

I am so thankful that she is better and we came home today. It is gonna take couple of days for her to recover and am sure she will bounce back well.

In the mean time, I managed to squeeze 5 mins to wish all my wonderful blog friends a wonderful and prosperous new year!

May 2011 bring you all joy, happiness, good health and prosperity!

See you next year!

Pineapple Pulissery/ Morkozhambu

Pulissery a.k.a morkozhambu is a authentic Kerala recipe. The difference between the Tamil Nadu and the Kerala recipes are the addition of coriander seeds, cumin, and a little toor dal. The pulissery has only coconut, cumin, and chilis.
Pineapple is grown in abundance in the Alappey region of Kerala. I have tasted only mango pulissery. Tried pineapple pulissery and it was no way inferior to the mango counterpart. I used fresh pineapple chunks but canned one will work as well. Anyways, enough talk: let's get down to business!!!

Get ready:

• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 cup yogurt beaten
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 1 red chili
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. hing/asafetida
• Water as needed

For Tadka:

• 2 tsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp. methi seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves

Go!

• Cook the pineapple chunks with turmeric powder, a pinch of salt, and enough water to cover them.
• Grind the coconut, red chili, and cumin with little water to form a fine paste.
• Add the yogurt, hing, ground coconut paste, and salt to taste to the cooked pineapple. Make sure you have only just a little water in the pineapple before u add the yogurt and coconut.
• Cook the pulissery till it foams at the sides. Take care not to bring it to boil as the puliserry may curdle.
•  
• Do the tadka and pour it on top pf the pulissery.
• Serve hot with rice and a ny side dish.

Wishing you all a merry christmas!

Aarudra Darshan/ Thiruvathirai: celebrating with Kali & Curry

Arudhra Darshan  is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December – January). It is essentially a Saiva festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. It takes place on the full moon night in the month of Margazhi. The festival is mainly observed by Tamil brahmins.
Most temples perform special poojas for shiva in the form of Nataraja, (king of dance) who is worshipped on this special day.

People make kali, pronounced more like cully and a curry made with at least 7 vegetables. I have no idea why a sweet dish is served with a savory curry. Surprisingly it goes pretty well. Some special vegetables added for this include koorka (chinese potato) and kavathu (dunno what it is in tamil or english).

There is also a lot of regional variation in how the curry or kootu is made. People also call it "thalagam". I would like to share with you all how this is made in my home.

Thiruvathirai Kali: ( serves 2)

• 1/2 cup raw rice
• 1/4 cup moong dal
• 1/2 cup jaggery powdered
• 2 cups water ( can be 1 3/4 cups depending on your rice)
• 2- 3 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp cashews
• 1 tbsp ghee.

Go:

• Dry roast the rice and moong dal separately till slightly pink. Do it on a medium flame and take care not to burn it.
• Once cooled, grind them together into a coarse sooji/ rawa like powder.
• In a heavy bottomed pan add the water, jaggery and coconut. Once it comes to a boil and frothy, add the powdered rice dal mixture, cardamom powder and stir well till they all are well incorporated.
• Turn the heat off.
• Transfer it into another vessel and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.
• In a pan add the ghee and fry the cashews till golden and add it over the cooked kali after you take it oit of the cooker.

To make the curry/ kootu :

• Mixed vegetables 2- 3 cups medium size cubed ( I used beans, bottle guard, carrots, peas, pumpkin, potato and eggplant.)
• Coconut 1/2 cup ( more coconut, better it tastes)
• 2 green chillies
• 1 small marble sized tamarind soaked and pulped in 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste.

For Tadka:

• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves ripped

Method

• In a heavy bottomed pan, add the vegetables and just enough water to cover them. Add salt and turmeric powder and cook till veggies are soft.
• Add the tamarind extract to the partially cooking veggies.
• Grind the coconut and green chilis into a fine paste adding water as needed.
• Add the ground coconut paste to the cooked veggies and let it come to a boil.
• Turn off the heat.
• Do the tadka and add it to the curry.
• Serve with kali or rice.

Tomato Cashew Chutney

I had bookmarked this a while ago and finally made it! Yay.... It was such a flavorful , creamy chutney to be enjoyed with steaming idlis or crispy dosas.

Get ready:

• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp cashews
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped onion
• 1tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coconut grated
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• a few curry leaves

Go:

• In a pan add 1/2 tbsp oil and fry the cashews till golden.
• Add onion and saute till translucent.
• Add the ginger, tomatoes, red chilli powder and fry till the tomatoes are mushy.
• Add salt, coconut and fry for few min. turn the heat off.
• Once cooled a little, blend them into a chutney like consistency.
• Do the tadka with the remaining oil, mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.

  

Sending this to bookmarked recipes

Butternut Squash Erissery and being tagged!

A traditional kerala feast includes a variety of dishes made with lots of coconut. Nothing can beat the taste of freshly grated coconuts. Being a palgat brahmin, coconut is a must in most of our cookings. Times have changed and frozen coconut is a staple in my freezer. This is my family recipe and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Some dishes to name are  Olan , Pulissery, Thoran, Kalan and Erissery. Traditionally it is made with Chenai ( yam) and plantains. I replaced it with butternut squash and it tasted excellent.
  Using coconut oil brings out the best flavor of this dish. The black pepper gives a nice kick to the erissery.

Get Ready:

• 2 cups butter nut squash cubed
• 1/4 tsp black pepper corn/ kurumilagu
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 red chilli
• 2 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

For the tadka:

• 2 tsp coconut oil/ olive oil
• 1 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 3-4 curry leaves

Go:

• Add enough water just to cover the butternut squash in a pan.
• Cook till soft, not mushy with turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Grind the pepper, red chilli, cumin, coconut with a little water to form a nice paste. ( no need to roast them)
• Add the ground paste to the cooked squash and mix well, without mushing up the squash too much.
• Let it come to a boil and turn the heat off.
• In a pan do the tadka. by spluttering the mustard seeds. curry leaves and fry the coconut till golden on a low fire.
• Pour the tadka an the erissery.
• Serve hot with rice as a  side dish.

Nithu  tagged me and gave an excellent idea to pick and choose questions from 3 fellow bloggers. And that's what I did!

1. Who inspired you to cook or bake?

My parents and the foodie in myself! He.. He...

2. What is your take on organic food? is it a big deal for you?

I have accidentally bought organic bananas in the past and thought,"Gee! these bananas are expensive!" I then tried buying milk, but was getting way too expensive. They became like sour grapes for me and went back to regular food. so, bottom line, not a big deal!

3. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?

I will feel miserable all day and look back to see, what went wrong. Once I identify where I screwed up, I will give it a try again and may be even again. Three strikes and it's out from my recipe collection!
 
4. Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?
 
I really want to avoid snacking junk. At work, there is always easy access to cookies, cakes and brownies as it's someone's birthday all the times. I want to have the guts to say no to my cravings and keep it under control.

5. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?
 
I strongly believe in eating meals on time. Untimely meals may increase one's chance of developing acid peptic diseases and binging later.

6. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?
 
Parsley, too much cheese, olives

7 . Name three things you have to use in most recipes ?

Oil, cilantro and mustard seeds.

It's my turn to tag these gals ... and pass the link to your friends!

Aipi
Kiran
Priya mharorajasthanrecipes
Prathima
hamareerasoi
chitchatcrossroads
Nitha

Happy weekend for you all!

Gujarathi Kadhi & my 100th post!

It has been more than a year since I started blogging, but I have been on the slower pace. Although, I have a long list of bookmarked recipes, finding time to do them seems to be hard on me. I am so thrilled that i have come to my 100th post. I was initially planning to come with a bang cake, but then dropped it.

I wanted  this post to be simple and satisfying! I found this gujarathi Kadhi recipe from tarla dalal's cook book and wanted to share with you all.

Gujarathi kadhi

Get Ready:

• 2 tbsp Besan/ gram flour
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 &1/2 - 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp green chilli ginger paste
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste 

Tadka:

• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• Asafetida a pinch
• 1 red chilli
• 1 tsp oil

Go:

• Mix besan,yogurt, 1 & 1/2 cups of water and whisk well.
• Add chilli ginger paste, salt, sugar, curry leaves and let it  come to a boil on a low heat.
• simmer and stir and turn off the heat.
• Ina pan, do the tadka and pour it on the kadi.
• garnish with cilantro and serve hot with plain rice.

Sending this to Priya & Aipi's Bookmaked event.

Banana and Nutella Crepes

Banana and Nutella is one of the matches made in heaven!
I could pretty much eat Nutella with any fruit, sandwich or cookie. It's creamy. Its chocolatey. Its hazelnutty. What more could you ask for?
Recently I saw on cooking channel about a  "Crepe Amor", a fast food crepe joint in Washington DC. It was started by 2 Indian guys, who have taken crepes to a different level.
Crepes are a thin, lacy, pancake like food a popular street food in Paris. Here is my take on that which I whipped up with nutella, bananas, and strawberries.

Get ready

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. butter melted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup Nutella
• Cooking spray
• Bananas and strawberries, thinly sliced.
• Cool Whip whipped cream

Go!

• Add the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, melted butter, and milk to a blender and pulse for a few times till everything is blended well without any lumps.
• Heat a tawa or a griddle and grease with cooking spray.
• Use a 1/4 cup measure to pour the batter on the tawa.
• Swirl it around and make a circular crepe.
• Flip over the other side when the edges are loose.
• Cook the other side till golden.
• Cook all the crepes with the remaining batter.
• Microwave the 1/2 cup Nutella for 45 seconds so that it is runny and easy to work.

To serve, spread the Nutella on one side of the crepe.
Arrange bananas or strawberries on top of the Nutella.
Fold the crepe over and serve with a spoon of whipped cream and drizzle some Nutella.


What are you waiting for, go DIG IN!!!

I am sending this to Veggie Fruit: Banana  started by mharorajasthanrecipes!

Coconut Kiss Macaroons

 I am so happy to share with you all that i won the second place in the "Eggless holiday cookie contest" held by Manjula's Kitchen.

I  honestly could not have made it without all your support and I sincerely  thank you all for that.

(Yields 25 cookies)

 Get Ready

•  2 ½ cup sweet grated coconut (One 7 oz. bag)
•  1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder 
•  A pinch of salt  
•  4 oz. sweetened fat free condensed milk
•  1 tsp. vanilla extract
•  25 mini milk chocolate morsels

Go: 

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment and grease with cooking spray. This step is very important as it prevents the cookies from sticking to the sheet.
• In a bowl, mix the coconut all purpose flour, cardamom powder, and salt.
• Add the condensed milk and vanilla to the coconut mixture and mix well till everything is well blended.
• Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 20 mins.
• After 20 mins., with a teaspoon or using your hands make small balls and spread the cookies on the cookie sheet. These cookies won’t spread and you can arrange them closely.
• Press a mini milk chocolate morsel in the middle of the macaroon and bake for 15 20 mins. or till golden.
• Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let the macaroons cool for a few minutes on the parchment paper.
• Remove the macaroons and let them cool on a wire rack.

Store and enjoy any time!

Cilantro Pistachio Pesto

It is hard to keep 1 bunch of cilantro fresh for long here. especially if your family is small and not using cilantro every day. i love cilantro so much that i buy it ,but it breaks my heart to see it getting all mushy very soon. I had to rescuse that poor cilantro and some untouched pistachios sitting in mypantry.
I was inspired by Satya's pesto pasta to make this dish. I did not use parsley, as I don't like it and used all cilantro.

I used 3 medium green chillies for this pesto, which was on the spicy side for me. I just loved the taste of it and the pesto can be used for pasta, rice dish,sandwich spread, as a dip with crackers etc..

Get Ready:

• 1/3 cup pistachios
• 1 cup cilantro leaves and stem
• 3 green chillies
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste

Go:

• In a blender, pulse the pistachios, cilantro, gralic, chillies and salt till combied and minced.
• Add the olive oil slowly and grind to a smooth or coarse paste according to your taste.
• Store refrigerated for later use.

Cilantro pistachio pesto pasta

Cook some elbow pasta.
reserve some pasta water. Take 2 tbsp of pesto and whisk it with the pasta water in the pan. Add the drained pasta and toss. I threw in some cherry tomato just for some color.

Mirchi Ka Salan / Italian pepper curry in creamy sesame coconut peanut sauce

Mirchi ka salan is a very famous curry from the hyderabadi cuisine. It uses all the locally grown produce like peanuts and sesame seeds  abundant in the state of Andhra pradesh.
I have never tasted this curry before, but heard lot about it after I started blogging. It has been in my bookmarked list for a while and finally got to do it.
It tasted excellent and reminds me of bhagara baingan.
Mine was medium spicy , thanks to the kick from those peppers. But, if you want it mild, remember to deseed the peppers.

Ok, let us get to the recipe. The list may seem exhaustive, but easy to make it. One can use even japeno peppers, but..

Just, hold on... get your tums, malox, zantac or any other gizmos if you have a lighter stomach:))

Get Ready: ( serves 2)

• 6 Italian/ banan peppers
• 5 pearl onions
• 1/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 long red chilli
• 1/4 tsp hing/ asafetida
• 1 small marble sized tamarind, soaked in 1/2 cup water and extracted
• 2 tbsp jaggery or to taste
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 cup water
• few curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Go:

• Cut the stem/ kambu of the pepper, and slit them but not in halves. De seed them if you don't want it spicy.
• In a pan, dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut separately. peanuts will become golden, sesame seeds will pop and coconut will turn golden. Set aside.
• Add a 1 tsp of of oil and fru the pearl onions for a few mins and keep aside.
• In the same pan roast the coriander seeds, red chilli and hing with the oil that coated the pan. set aside.

Enough of roasting, I promise...

• Now grind the peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut, red chilli, pearl onions, jaggery, hing with the tamarind extract into a smooth paste. This is your gravy base.
• In a pan add the remaining oil, do the tadka with mustard seeds, cumin & curry leaves.
• Add the peppers and sear them on either side. They will turn white, make sure you don't burn them.
• Then add the ground masala to the seared peppers.
• Add salt to taste, turmeric, redchilli powder and 1/2 cup of water. if the gravy is too thick add more water to the desired consistency.
• Let it come to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 mins.

Turn the heat off and serve with plain rice, pulav, biriyani or rotis.


Enjoy!

Cranberry Salsa

Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving!!! I was away in Boston and New York visiting friends and family, and had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I was thankful to have such wonderful company! I missed you all and wasn't able to visit your wonderful blogs. But, here I come with an awesome salsa that I made with my friend in Boston. Our Thanksgiving lunch included cranberry salsa, vegetable dum biriyani, sweet potato fries, butternut squash with rosemary, and apple pie. It was SO DELICIOUS!!!
Cranberries are abundant around this time and especially in the New England area. They are tart and sour and are a kind of wild berries. They are mainly used as a sauce or a relish for Thanksgiving feasts. Try this spicy salsa and you would wanna stock up cranberries forever!!! :)

Get ready

• 2 cups fresh cranberries (Cut them in halves or quarters) 
• 1 1/3 cups chopped red onions
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced green chiles
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 5-6 tbsp. orange juice
• Salt to taste

Go!!!

• In a bowl, mix the cranberries, chili, onion, cilantro well. Add salt and sugar according to your taste.
• Add lime juice and orange juice; toss well.  The lime juice and orange juice can be adjusted according to your taste.

Serve as a side and enjoy!!!

Pretty easy, huh?

Again, happy Thanksgiving and ENJOY!!!

I'm happy to inform you that I am amongst the 5 selected in holiday eggless cookie contest hosted by Manjula's Kitchen. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!!!!! (:-)