Aroma From My Kitchen (Indian Cuisine)

Sabudana / Saggubiyyam Dosa

2011-05-04T02:06:00.005-05:00

Recipe Source: From My Mom-In-Law.

Makes: Around 12 dosas

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of rice flour

• ½ cup of maida / all purpose flour

• 1 cup of saggubiyyam / sabudana

• 2 cups of fresh curd

• 4 cups of water

• Salt as per taste

• 2 medium size onions --- finely chopped

• 6 green chilies of medium size --- finely chopped

• 1 carrot --- grated (optional)

• 1 small bunch of coriander leaves --- finely chopped (optional)

• Oil to sprinkle on the top of dosas

Prerequisite:

Soak 1 cup of sabudana overnight in 2 cups of fresh curd.

Process:

Add ½ cup of rice flour and ½ cup of maida to the soaked sabudana.

Add around 4 cups of water to it.

Mix well with a whisk to avoid lumps.

Add enough salt to it.

Add finely chopped green chilies, onions, coriander leaves and grated carrot to it.

Let it sit for a while (10-30 mins).

Heat a non-stick griddle.

Pour dosa batter on the heated griddle like how you pour for rava dosa.

Cook it for a while. It takes little longer time to cook like rava dosa.

Sprinkle little oil on the top and at the rims of the dosa.

Flip over the dosa and let it cook for a while on the second side of the dosa too.

Flip over the dosa and fold it to half and transfer it to a serving plate.

Have it with tomato pickle.

To make another dosa just rub over the griddle with a paper towel.

Gobi Paratha

2011-04-19T06:07:00.011-05:00

Recipe Source: Cooking And Me.

Makes: 4 parathas

Ingredients For Stuffing:

• 1 cup of finely grated cauliflower /gobi (Used food chopper)

• ½ cup of very finely chopped onion

• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tsp of grated garlic

• 1 Tblsn of oil
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp of red chilly powder
• ½ tsp of garam masala powder
• ½ tsp of amchur powder

Ingredients to Make Chapathi:

1 cup of wheat flour
1/2 of water approximately
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of oil

Making Chapathi Dough:

Take a little water in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar to the water. Mix till they get diluted in water. Then add wheat flour to it. Mix gently by adding water little by little till done. Then knead the dough nicely and add a few drops of oil on the top of it and spread the outer part of the dough. Better to set it aside at least for 30 minutes.

Process of making stuffing:

Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and fry till they turn golden brown colour.

Add finely chopped onions and finely grated ginger and garlic or ginger-garlic paste. Fry them till onions turn translucent colour.

Add finely grated cauliflower into the pan and mix well.

Add a pinch of turmeric powder, enough salt, red chilly powder, garam masala powder and amchur powder and mix well.

Cover it and cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Sprinkle water if needed and stir it up intermittently don’t burn the bottom.

Keep the stuffing aside.

Process of rolling for parathas:

Make small balls out of chapathi dough. Roll each ball to thick chapathis then place little gobi stuffing on it and bring all the edges to the top of it and close the edges by squeezing and remove the excess chapathi dough. Then press gently and roll like how you roll for puris.

Process of frying:

Fry both sides with little oil.

Have it with any pickle of your wish and curds.

Aloo Gobi

2010-07-02T16:43:00.011-05:00

Recipe Source: Vah Chef Sanjay Thumma (Vahrehvah)

Serves: 2 people / 9-10 chapathis

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of medium sized cauliflower / gobi florets

2 Cups of Gobi Florets

• 2 medium sized boiled potatoes in micro-wave

• ½ cup of very finely chopped onions

• ½ cup of very finely chopped tomatoes

• 1 Tblsn of crushed green-chilli-ginger-garlic paste (2 green chillies, 1 inch ginger piece & 2 cloves of garlic

Crushed Chilli-Ginger-Garlic Paste

• 1 Tblsn of kasoori methi (optional)

• Coriander Leaves

• A pinch of turmeric powder

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp of coriander powder

• 1 tsp of amchur powder

• ½ tsp of red chilly powder

• ½ - ¾th tsp of garam masala

Ingredients For Seasoning:

• 1 Tblsn of oil
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing

Process:

 Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and a pinch of hing. Fry till the cumin seeds turn their colour.

 Add crushed chilli-ginger-garlic paste to the pan and fry till the rawness goes off.

 Add finely chopped onions to the pan and fry for 2 minutes.

 Add finely chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder. Mix well and cover it with a lid. Cook till tomatoes become mushy.

 In the meanwhile, take ¼ cup of water in small bowl and add 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of amchur powder & ½ tsp of red chilly powder and mix well.

 Add this mixture to the pan once tomatoes are cooked.

 Take a Tblsn of kasoori methi put them on your palms and rub them with your palms and add the powder into the pan. Mix well. (This is optional)

 Wash chopped gobi florets with water and add them to the pan. And add enough salt to it. (Note: I cooked potatoes in micro-wave. Then remove the skin and chopped them to cubes. If you are not going to do in that way add cubed potatoes at this stage and add ¼ cup of water to the pan.) Cover and cook on medium heat till gobi is done ¾th which takes around 10 minutes.

 Add cooked, peeled and cubed potatoes and chopped coriander leaves.

 Add ½ - ¾th tsp of garam masala and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Taste it and adjust salt.

 Transfer it to a serving bowl.

 Have it with Roti, Pulka, Chapati, Paratha or Poori. It tastes yummy.

Breakfast / Tiffins

2010-06-03T13:54:00.046-05:00

Idlies

Plain Idly

Ravva Idly

Dosas or Uthappams

Minapattu	Masala Dosa	Uthappam
Ragi Dosa	Sorrakaya Appachi	Ravva Dosa
Wheat-Flour Dosa	Set Dosa	Pesarattu
Tomato Dosa	Besan Dosa	Oats Dosa

Burger

Veg. Burger with Cutlets

Veg. Burger with Aloo Tikki

Upmas

Poha Upma	Semiya Upma	Oats Upma
Tomato Bath

Bread or Sandwiches

Frozen Garlic Bread

Potato Sandwich

Rice Dishes

Pongal

Oats Dosa

2010-04-20T14:25:00.006-05:00

Want to try something easy, healthy and tasty? Then just give a try to this "Oats uthappam".

Recipe Source: My Sister-in-law (Lakshmi)

Makes: 6 of this size.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Quaker Oats

1/2 Cup of Sooji Rawa

A Big Pinch of Asafoetida / Hing

Salt as per taste

Approximately 2 Cups of Water

And Oil to sprinkle on uthappam

For Topping:

6-8 Green Chilies --- Sliced

1 Carrot --- Grated

1/2 Of The Big Onion --- Finely Chopped

& A Small Bunch Of Coriander Leaves / Cilantro --- Finely Chopped (Optional)

Process:

Soak 1 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of sooji, a big pinch of asafoetida, enough salt in 2 cups of water.

Let it sit for 30 minutes.

Add 2 ladle-fulls of batter onto the griddle and spread it around the griddle.

Immediately add sliced green chilies, finely chopped onions and grated carrot as a topping to the dosa. Pat them gently with a spatula. Sprinkle little oil on the top of it.

When the bottom is cooked, flip over the dosa with help of a spatula and cook till done.

Transfer the uthappam to a serving plate.

Have it with coconut chutney or curry leaf powder. It tastes great.

Oats

2010-04-20T14:25:00.001-05:00

Malai Kofta

2010-04-20T14:24:00.003-05:00

I have been waited to make this dish for such a long time and finally attempted last week. My husband liked this so much. I picked this dish from Sanjay Tumma the Vah-Chef.

Ingredients For Kofta Balls:

• 2 big carrots or 6 baby carrots
• ½ cup of frozen peas or ½ cup of soaked fresh peas (soak around ¼ cup of fresh peas in water for about 3 hrs.)
• ¾ cup of grated paneer
• ½ cup of boiled and grated potato
• 1 tblsn of finely chopped green chilies
• 1 ½ tsp of coriander powder
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of red chilly powder (adjust it)
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup of white corn flour or all purpose flour (maida)

Ingredients For Gravy:

• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
• 2 Tblsn of fried cashew-nut powder (Dry roast 20-25 whole cashews till done. Let them cool. Grind them to a powder.)
• ½ - ¾ cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tblsn of coriander powder
• 1 ½ tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of red chilly powder (adjust)
• Black Jeera or Shahjeera
• 1 Tblsn of ginger-garlic paste
• ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
• A handful of finely chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tblsn of oil

Process:

Making Kofta Balls:

• Peel the skin of 2 big carrots and cut them into big chunks. Put them in a pressure cooker. Add ½ cup of soaked peas or frozen peas. Add water to the bottom of the pressure cooker. Keep carrots and peas in a bowl.

• Cover it with a lid and pressure cook them for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off. Strain the water and wait till it comes to room temperature or till you can hold them. Take the cooked carrot chunks and cut them to small pieces. Take all the cooked and chopped carrot and cooked peas to a muslin cloth and squeeze out all the water from it. It is the important step do it perfectly. Keep the squeezed water aside.

• Take a big bowl and add in ¾ cup of grated paneer, ½ cup of boiled and grated potatoes and this cooked and squeezed carrots and peas.

• Add 1 Tblsn of finely chopped or ground green chilies. Add in 1 ½ tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of cumin powder, 1 tsp of red chilly powder (adjust) and enough salt.

• Mix the mixture well. The mixture should be almost dry. If not add some bread crumbs if you have or corn flour into the mixture which evaporates all the moisture in your mixture and mix well.

• Now make around 10-12 small dumplings out of the mixture and roll them on corn flour / maida (to remove extra moisture) and keep them aside.

• Now heat oil for deep frying the kofta balls. Fry the dumplings into the heated oil on medium heat till light golden brown colour. (When you fry them on less heat the inside of the kofta balls will be cooked nicely.)

• Transfer the fried dumplings into a colander or to paper towel. (Till now one big job is done.)

Making Gravy:

• Heat 2 Tblsn of oil in a wide pan.
• Add chopped onions and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add 1 Tblsn of ginger-garlic paste and fry till the rawness goes off.

• Add chopped tomatoes.

• Add a pinch of turmeric powder, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of red chilly powder, 1 Tblsn of coriander powder, 1 ½ tsp of cumin powder fry for a while. Add the squeezed out water from the cooked carrots. Cover it and cook till tomatoes become mushy.

• Let them cool and grind them to a smooth paste add water if required at the time of grinding. Keep the ground paste aside.

Combining:

• Heat 1 Tblsn of oil in the same pan. Add in 1 tsp of black jeera to it and fry till they crackle.

• Add the ground paste to the pan. Add around ½ - 1 cup of water to it. Bring the paste to a boil and cook till all the froth disappears.

• Now add ¾ - 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to it. Again bring that to a boil.

• Then add 2 Tblsn of fried cashew nut powder to it and mix well which adds-up the taste and thickens your gravy too.

• Now gently drop your fried koftas to the pan and turn-off your flame. No need of cooking koftas in the gravy. It will absorb the juices from the gravy from that remaining heat.

• Now sprinkle a pinch of garam masala on the top of it. And add a handful of chopped coriander leaves.

• Mix well and cover it and set aside for 5-10 minutes.

• You can have these koftas with pulkas/chapathi/naan/roti/fried rice/biryani etc.,

Masala Rice With Channa Powder

2010-04-20T14:22:00.004-05:00

I have picked up this recipe from Show Me The Curry. It's really quite simple to make and tasty to eat either. It tastes similar to tamarind rice.

Serves:

As a main course: 2 people.
As one of items in the menu: 4-5 people.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of basmati rice
2 1/4 cups of water
3-4 Tblsn of Channa Masala (I used store-bought channa masala)
2 tblsn of oil
2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 cup of peanuts
1 Tblsn of finely chopped green chilies (around 10 small in no.)
a few curry leaves
a handful of chopped coriander leaves
and finally enough salt

Process:

Wash and soak basmati rice for 30 minutes in water. Drain the water from the rice and add 2 1/4 cups of water to it. Allow it cook till done.

Mix 3-4 Tblsn of channa masala when the rice is hot itself and keep aside.

Note: If you are going to make with left-over rice just mix the powder into it and sprinkle little water on the top of it and cover it with a wet tissue paper and microwave it for a minute. Give a turn nicely and sprinkle little water and cover it with a wet tissue paper and microwave it for 1 more minute.

Take a big pan and heat 2 Tblsn of oil to it. Add 2 tps of mustard seeds and let them crackle. Then add 1/4 cup of peanuts to it and fry nicely till done.

Add 1 Tblsn of finely chopped green chilies and a few curry leaves to the pan. Let them fry till the green chilies turn slightly white in colour or wrinkle.

Add in cooked rice which is mixed with channa masala to the pan. Add in enough salt to it. Stir continuously for 3-4 minutes on medium-high.

Add a handful of chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

Transfer the rice to a serving bowl.

Serve with or without curd of ones choices.

Black Chick-Pea Vada / Alasandala Vada

2010-04-20T14:18:00.002-05:00

I came to know about these vadas from Indira. I liked them very much. I felt they are much more easier and better than regular medu vadas.

Makes: 30-32 Vadas

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Black Eyed Peas /Alasandalu
• 2 cups of chopped onions / 1 big onon
• 1 Tblsn of roughly chopped green chilies
• 1 ½ Tblsn of roughly chopped ginger
• Salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

Pre-requisite:

Clean and soak 2 cups of black eyed peas in plenty water for 4 - 6 hrs.

Process:

1. Drain the water from soaked black-eyed peas and grind it to a coarse paste by adding green chilies, ginger & salt without adding water. (If you are not able to grind just sprinkle little water / 1 tsp – Tblsn of water) (But grinding this is much more easier than normal regular vada.) Mix the ground batter well.

2. Add chopped onions and mix well.

3. Heat oil for deep frying the vadas.

4. (Wash both of your hands and wipe them with a dry cloth.) Take a small amount of ground batter. Flip over lightly in air to make smooth round ball. Put that smooth round ball on your left palm. Pat on it gently to make it flatten. Make a hole at the center of it. And drop gently in the heat oil.

5. Fry it on medium heat so that it will be well cooked. Fry both sides till golden brown. Remove from oil.

6. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Black Channa Curry / Aloo Chick-pea Curry

2010-04-20T14:16:00.001-05:00

My friend Archana served poori along with this curry. It tasted awesome. Till then I had a notion that nothing will be good with poori other than that aloo curry which exclusively for made poori. We can have this curry along with poori, pulka, or rice.
Serves: 4-6 people.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of black channa
• ½ of the big onion or ¾ cup of chopped onion
• 3 tomatoes chopped
• 4 cloves of crushed garlic
• 2 Tblsn of fresh shredded / grated coconut
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp of Sugar (optional)

To Grind:

• ¼ cup coriander seeds (dhania)
• ¼ cup cumin seeds
• ¼ cup dry red chilies (tightly)
• 1 Tblsn raw rice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• A handful of curry leaves

Dry roast all the above ingredients. Let them cool. Then grind them to a fine powder. For this preparation it takes 2-3 tblsn of powder adjust it according to your taste. And you can store the rest of the powder in an air-tight container.

For Seasoning:

• 3 Tblsn of oil
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1 tsp of urad dal
• A few curry leaves

Pre-requisite:

Clean black channa with water and soak them in water for 6-8hrs or overnight.

Process:

• Wash soaked black channa once again with water and add them to a pressure cooker. Add enough water and salt and pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off.

• Heat 3 tblsn of oil in a pan. Season it with mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves & crushed garlic.

• Add chopped onions and fry them till translucent.

• Add cooked channa along with water.

• Add chopped tomatoes and 3 tblsn of ground powder. Don’t add salt at this stage. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes by stirring up intermittently and add little water if required because the curry should be gravy.

• Add 2 tblsn of shredded coconut and ½ tsp of sugar and cook for 5 minutes.

• Add chopped coriander leaves mix well and turn off the heat.

• Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Aloo Chickpea Curry

In the same way you can even make with chickpeas too. But I have added 1 peeled and chopped potota after adding cooked chickpeas into the pan. And I have added 3 Tblsn of tomato puree along with the tomatoes.

Thotakura Perugu Kura

2010-04-20T14:14:00.001-05:00

This is the dish which is tasty to eat and healthy for our body too. You can make this dish without oil. You don’t even feel that there is no oil in it. Leafy vegetables are very good for health. We should include leafy vegetables to our diet daily. You can make the same curry with palak too. Definitely give a try.

Recipe Source: Dr.Manthena Satyanaryana Raju

Serves: 2 People or 12-15 pulkas

Ingredients:

• Amaranthan Leaves Thotakura --- 2 bunches or when chopped 2 ½ tightly.
• Green Chilies --- 10 small
• Onion --- ¼ of big US onion or 1 normal onion
• Tomatoes --- 4 small or 1-1 ½ cups when chopped
• Curds --- 1 cup

• Coriander leaves --- 10 - 15 strands or 1/4 cup tightly

• Salt --- 1/2 - 3/4 tsp (adjust)

Ingredients To Grind:

• Peanuts --- 2 Tblsn
• Urad Dal --- 1 Tblsn
• Channa Dal --- 1 tsp
• Sesame Seeds --- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves --- a few or 10 around

Ingredients For Seasoning:

• Channa Dal --- 1 tsp
• Urad Dal --- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves --- a few

Process:

1. First clean the leaves with water. Cut the edges of the strands. Chop finely and add them to a pressure cooker directly. Slit 10 green chilies and them to the pressure cooker. Chop ¼ of a big onion into pieces and add them to the pressure cooker. Chop 4 small tomatoes and add it to the pressure cooker. Add ½ cup of curds to the pressure cooker. (No need of adding water to the cooker). Mix well and pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off.

2. In the meanwhile, dry roast all the above said ingredients (Peanuts, channa dal, urada dal, sesame seeds and curry leaves). Let them cool and grind them to a fine powder. (No need of removing the skin of peanuts.) Keep that aside.

3. In the same pan dry roast channa dal, urad dal and a few curries for seasoning/tadka/popu and keep them aside.

4. When the pressure comes again turn the heat on and add the prepared powder, seasoning which made and kept aside and chop a few coriander leaves, the rest of the curds (1/2 cup) and ½ -¾ tsp (adjust) of salt to the cooker. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat by mixing occasionally.

5. Turn off the heat. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl. When the curry is warm have it with hot pulkas with sliced onions. Tastes good.

Whole Bitter Gourd Fry

2010-04-20T14:12:00.003-05:00

We call ‘Bitter-gourd’ as ‘Kakarakaya’ in telugu.

This fry tastes wonderful. Being it is a deep fry it is good to make quite often. You can try this ‘Bitter-Gourd Curry’ too which is also tasty.

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Serves: 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

• Bitter Gourd --- 8
• Oil --- To deep fry
• Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp heap
• Salt --- 1 tsp
• Ghee --- 2-3 drops on each fried bitter gourd

Process:

1. Peel the skin of the bitter gourd slightly. Wash them with water. Cut the edges of bitter-gourd. Make a slit for each bitter-gourd. If the bitter-gourds are too big cut them to half. Try to select tender ones for this fry. If they are too bitter soak them in salted water for about 30 min after slitting them. Then squeeze nicely to remove all the water.

2. Heat oil in pan for deep fry on medium heat. (Try not to use non-stick pans for deep fry which is not good for health.) The oil should not be too hot. If the oil is too hot the fried bitter-gourd becomes crisp after frying and won’t be good. They should be soft after frying. So, keep the heat on medium and fry.

3. Drop silted bitter-gourds and fry till they turn to light dark color, which has taken around 20 minutes for a batch to me. Don’t over fry them. Transfer the fried bitter-gourds to a paper towel.

4. In the meanwhile, add 1 tsp heap of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of salt into a bowl. Mix well and keep aside.

5. When you are done with frying, stuff with the mixed powders to the slit of the bitter-gourd and add 2-3 drops of ghee / clarified butter onto the slit.

6. Have them with hot rice. Tastes wonderful. I love this fry.

Sesame Seed Laddoo

2010-04-20T14:07:00.002-05:00

These are called "Nuvvundalu" or "Chimmiri" in Telugu.

Sesame seeds are very rich in calcium. One laddoo will provide enough calcium required for that day. It is very healthy being it is made out all natural products.

Recipe Source:

Manthena Satyanarayana Raju

Makes:

9 Laddoos

Ingredients:

Sesame Seeds (Nuvvulu)(White) --- 1 Cup
Dates --- around 12 big size or ½ cup when grinded or mashed
Dry Coconut Powder --- 2 Tblsn
Honey --- 1 Tblsn

Process:

Dry roast sesame seeds on medium heat. Let them cool. Grind them to a fine powder and take it to a bigger bowl which will be easy at the time of mixing the mixture to make laddoos.

If the dates are very soft no need of grinding them or else grind them to a smooth paste. Don’t add anything at the time of grinding. Add this to the dry roasted sesame seeds powder.

Add 2 Tblsn of dry coconut powder to the bowl.

Mix them nicely till all the above mixes uniformly. Check the sweet if needed add enough dates paste.

Add 1 Tblsn of honey to it. Mix well.

Now make laddoos.

Storage:

Keep the laddoos in an air-tight container.

Self-Life:

Around 15 days. No need to refrigerate.

Ragi Dosa

2009-05-06T16:05:00.018-05:00

Recipe Source:

One of my friends Archana told me about these dosas long back. She told that these are very healthy so they have once in every week. But I thought Ragi flour means it may not taste good and didn't try. After 2 years I tried it for my in-laws who visited my place. These are really very tasty and we all loved them.

But I tried the recipe from this blog… Curry In Kadai She explained the recipe very nicely.

Makes: 15-16 Dosas

Ingredients:

• Ragi Flour --- 2 cups
• Rice Flour --- 1 cup
• Beaten Curds --- ½ cup
• Salt --- to taste
• Green Chilies --- 5
• Cumin Seeds --- 1 tsp
• Onion --- 1 big
• Coriander Leaves --- 20-25 strands
• Curry leaves --- 2 strands
• Oil --- to sprinkle on dosa

Process:

Add 2 cups of ragi flour and a cup of rice flour.

Beat a cup of curds till soft and add it to the flours.

Mix well with a whisk by adding water (it takes approximately 5-6 cups --- [adjust]) to make a thin batter like ravva dosa.

Slice 5 medium size green chilies to small pieces. And add it to the flour.

Chop a big onion into small pieces. And add it to the flour.

Chop coriander leaves and curry leaves into small pieces and add them to the flour.

Mix well.

Let it sit for 15-30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick griddle and pour the batter around it and make a round dosa. Holes will form by itself.

Fry both the sides by adding little oil.

Transfer the dosa to a serving plate and serve hot with tomato pickle.

Just clean the griddle with a paper towel or a paper after every dosa. So that, the griddle won't get spoilt and each and every dosa comes nicely. (Got this tip from my friend Kalyani.)

Majjiga Pulusu with Amaranth Leaves / Buttermilk Stew

2009-04-26T18:55:00.001-05:00

Recipe Source: My Mother-in-law.

Serves: 4 People.

Ingredients:

Beaten Curd --- 1 cup

Water --- ½ cup

Besan --- 2 tsp

Green chilies --- 4 small

Red chili powder --- ¼ tsp (adjust according your taste)

Amaranth Leaves (Thotakura) --- 2 big strands

Coriander Leaves --- 5 strands

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds --- 1 tsp

• Cumin seeds --- ½ tsp

• Hing --- a pinch

• Dry red chilly --- 1 halved

• Curry Leaves --- a few

Process:

Clean and chop amaranth leaves along with the strands if they are tender.

Add water to the chopped leaves till they cover.

Cook them till they are done and keep them aside.

Add half a cup of water to the well beaten curds. Mix well and make buttermilk to medium thickness.

Add 2 tsp of besan to the buttermilk. Mix well without lumps with a whisk. (If you are not using a whisk for mixing mix besan in little water and add to the buttermilk.)

Chop green chilies to thin slices and to the butter milk.

Chop coriander leaves and add it to the buttermilk.

Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan. Season it with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a pinch of hing, halved red chilly and curry leaves.

Turn the heat to low / sim and then add mixed buttermilk. Keep it for a boil. Add cooked amaranth leaves along with the cooked water. Mix well and turn off the heat.

Transfer it to a serving bowl.

Aloo Tikki & Veg. Burger

2009-04-12T17:01:00.008-05:00

This is one of the easiest appetizers. And if you are going to make burgers out of these patties, I call it as easier version of making burgers.

Recipe Source: Show Me The Curry.

Makes: 7 Burger Patties and 7 Aloo Tikkis

Ingredients:

Potatoes --- 7 medium size
Salt --- to taste
Green Chillies --- 6 very small
Onion --- 1/2 of the big one
Cumin Seeds --- 1 tsp
Amchur (Dry Mango Powder) --- 1/2 tsp
Dried Fenugreek Leaves --- 2 tblsn
Chaat Masala --- 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves --- 10-15 springs
Bread Crumbs --- for coating
Oil --- for shallow fry

Process:

Boil, Peel and Grate Potatoes.
Add enough salt, 1 tsp of chaat masala, dried fenugreek seeds by pressing them with your palms.
Dry roast a tsp of cumin powder and make a fine powder with the help of mortar and pestle.
Chop 10-15 coriander leaves and add them too the potatoes.
Chop 6 little green chilies finely and them to the potatoes.
Chop 1/2 of the big onion into fine pieces and add them to the potatoes.
Mix all the above ingredients.

Grease your palms.
Make small balls and press them gently with your palms to make tikkies.

If you going to make burger patties make the balls big and press them gently with your palms.
Coat bread crumbs both the sides of the patties.

Shallow fry in oil.

The upper part of the tikkies are crunchy and the inside it will be soft.

Have it with tomato ketchup and enjoy.

If you going to make burger, put lettuce leaf on the bottom part of the burger bun. Place the fried patty on the top of the lettuce.

Add Ranch sauce and tomato ketchup as dressing.
Place tomato and cucumber slices.

And finally place the upper part of the burger bun.

NNNjoy the taste of it.

For more clarity watch this video:

Poha Snack / Chivda / Atukula Mixture

2009-04-09T20:42:00.013-05:00

Recipe Source: Show Me The Curry

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

Thin Poha (Atukulu) --- 1 cup
Salt --- 1/2 tsp
Oil --- 1/2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1/2 tsp
Peanuts --- 1 tblsn
Dalia --- 3 tblsn
Curry Leaves --- a few
Red Chilly Powder --- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Note:

We don't like our poha snack to be sweet. So, I didn't add sugar and raisens to it.

Process:

Add a cup of thin poha into a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave it for 1 minute.

Give a good mix and again microwave it for a minute. The poha should by crispy and crunchy. Keep it aside.

Add half a tsp of salt in a motar and crush it to a fine powder with the help of a pestle. Keep it aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil in a pan. Turn the heat to medium.

Add 1/2 a tsp of mustard seeds and let them splutter.

Add a tblsn of peanuts and fry till done half.

Add 3 tblsn of dalia, curry leaves and 3/4 th of crushed salt too.

Roast dalia till done.

Add a big pinch (half of the 1/4 tsp) to the pan. Stirfry for a while.

Add microwaved thin poha.

Stirfry for 2 minutes till the turmeric is well coated to the poha.

Transfer it to a serving bowl.

Let it come to room temperature and then serve.

For detailed explaination watch this video:

Other Evening Snacks:

Bread Pakoda

2009-04-06T19:50:00.016-05:00

When we went to Archana's house, she served us with these tasty bread pakodas. We both liked so much. So thought of trying.

Recipe Source: My friend Archana.

Makes: 4-6 Pakodas

Ingredients:

For Potato Curry:

Potato --- 2 small
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Salt --- to taste
Oil --- 2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds --- 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies --- 2 finely chopped
Onion --- 1/4 th of the small onion
Chilly powder --- 1/4 tsp
Coriander Leaves --- 4 strands

For Pakoda Batter:

Besan / Chickpea Flour --- 1 cup
Rice Flour --- 1 Tblsn
Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp
Salt --- 3/4 tsp
Ajwain --- 1 tsp
Baking Powder --- a big pinch
Water --- 3/4 cup

Other Ingredients for Bread Pakoda:

Bread Slices --- 4-6
Oil --- for deep fry

Process:

Make Potato Curry:

Peel the skin of the potatoes. Chop into cubes. Add the chopped potatoes in salted water. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and pressure cook them for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes away. Drain the water with the help of a colander. Chop green chillies very finely and chop onions and coriander leaves too. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them splutter. Add chopped green chillies and onions too. Fry till onions turn translucent. Add boiled potatoes. Adjust the salt. Add chilly powder. Fry for a while. Add chopped coriander leaves. Turn off the flame. Transfer the curry to a bowl.

Make Pakoda Batter:

Mix all the above metioned pakoda batter ingredients with the help of a whisk/spatula/palms.

Fill the curry in the Bread:

Take a bread slice. Keep a little potato curry one side. Wet the edges of the slice with water. The edges should absorb the water. Then close the edges of the bread like a pack. Keep them aside.

Note:

Don't make with whole bread slice like below. It is bit tough. Cut each slice into 2 parts and fill the curry and close. Then it will come is square shape which it bit easy to fry the pakodas.

Deep Fry:

Heat oil for deep fry. When the oil is at right hot. Take a Tblsn of oil and add to the pakada batter and mix well. Now dip the bread packs in the pakoda batter and gently drop them in the oil. (Note: The batter should cover the whole bread pack, which you have to do very carefully. If the batter doesnot cover the bread pack, the bread absorbs so much of oil.) Fry till golden brown. Transfer the fried bread pakodas onto a tissue paper or paper towel. Bread Pakodas are ready to be served.

Related Posts:

Veg. Cutlets

Aloo Bonda

Mint Kebab

Medu Vada/Vadao/Gaare

Channa Dal Vada / Senagapappu Vadalu

2009-03-25T11:50:00.006-05:00

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Makes:

Around 40 Vadas of cutlet size. But Mom makes big ones. If you make like my Mom you can make around 20 I guess.

Ingredients:

Channa Dal --- 1 Cup (250 ml)

Green Chilies --- 12 small ones
Ginger --- 3 inches piece
Onion --- 1/2 of the big one
Coriander Leaves --- 10-15 strands (chopped) (Optional)
Mint Leaves --- a few (Optional) (But gives a nice flavour to the vadas.)
Curry Leaves --- a few (chopped) (Optional)
Salt --- to taste
Besan / Chickpea Flour --- as required (to bind) (if required)

Pre-Requisite:

Clean and soak a cup of channa dal in water for atleast 2 hrs. You can soak it in water for about 2-4 hrs.

Before Soaking

After Soaking

Process:

Drain the water from the channa dal with the help of a colander. Wait for 5 minutes.
Add 1/5 th of the soaked channa dal to a blender and grind to a coarse paste by adding green chilies and ginger. Don't add water. I have grinded a cup of channa dal in 4-5 batches. So, grind little after little which makes the task simple and easy. If you blend all the channa dal it won't blend properly. Because you are not adding water to it. If you are having a food processor use that for grinding.
Transfer the grinded stuff to a bowl.

Chop 1/2 of the big onion into small pieces and coriander leaves / curry leaves / mint leaves and add that to the grinded channa dal. Add enough salt and mix well.

Check whether you can make dumplings out of it. If there is excess water in the dal you can't make dumplings. So, add besan or chickpea flour to the grinded dal which acts as a binding agent. (My Mom don't use besan she does it like that only. But I couldn't do that, because this is the first time for me.) (I got this tip from Vahrehvah.)
Mix well and make dumplings out of it. I made dumplings of cutlet size but my Mom makes big dumplings.

Heat oil in a steel pan. (Try not to use non-stick pans.) When the oil is at right hot drop the dumplings gently to the heated oil.

Fry till gloden brown and remove the vadas with holes ladle.

Transfer the vadas to a paper towel.

Serve hot. Tomato Ketchup goes well with this.

Related Posts:

Veg. Cutlets

Aloo Bonda

Mint Kebab

Medu Vada/Vadao/Gaare

Onion Pakora

Palak Cutlet

Cabbage Chutney / Pachadi

2009-03-24T13:58:00.008-05:00

I love chutnies very much. But my husband don't consider chutney as one dish. So, I make chutnies very rarely. After my marriage this is the first time to make this cabbage chutney. I had my full lunch with that. I didn't even tasted the other dished which I made today.

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Serves: for around 4-5 people.

Ingredients:

Cabbage --- ½ of the small one (when chopped comes around 2 ½ cups.)

Oil --- 3 tblsn

Dry red chillies --- 5 (for spicy chutney)

Split urad dal --- 1 ½ tsp

Tamarind --- 2 strands

Tomato --- 1 small one

Salt --- to taste

Process:

Chop half of the small cabbage into small pieces. When chopped it comes around 2 ½ cups. Keep that aside.

Heat a Tblsn of oil in a pan. Add 5 whole dry red chilies. Fry for a while and then add 1 ½ tps of urad dal. Stir fry till done.

Transfer the fried chilies and urad dal to another bowl. Clean 2 strand of tamarind and keep it the same bowl.

Add 2 ½ tblsn of oil to the same pan. Add chopped cabbage. Fry till done half.

In the meanwhile, chop a small tomato and add it to the pan when cabbage is half cooked.

Fry till the tomato cooks.

Keep one fried red chilly aside (if you can't eat that spicy) and add rest of the fried red chilies and urad dal and that tamarind too. Blend it nicely.

Then add fried cabbage and tomato to the pan. Add salt to taste to the blender. And blend it to a coarse paste. If required sprinkle little water to blend. Taste it and if required add the chilly which we have fried and kept aside and adjust salt.

Transfer the chutney to a serving bowl.

Mix the chutney with hot rice along with ghee and have it. Spicy and tasty. I liked it very much.

Other Chutnies:

Beetroot Chutney

Carrot Chutney

Tindora / Dondakaya Chutney

Ribbed Gourd / Beerakaya Chutney

Gongora Chutney

Rajma

2009-02-26T16:01:00.016-06:00

Recipe Source --- My friend Saroj.

Serving for --- Around 15-17 pulkas

Ingredients:

Kidney Beans / Rajma --- 1 cup (250 ml)

Water --- 3 cups
Tomatoes --- 7 medium size
Salt --- to taste
Red chilly powder --- ½ tsp
Cumin power --- ½ tsp
Coriander powder --- ½ tsp
Rasam powder --- ½- ¾ th tsp [I use MTR rasam powder (soup mix)]
Garam masala --- ¼ th tsp

To Grind:

Onion --- ½ of the big one
Green Chilies --- 3 small
Ginger --- 2 inches piece
Garlic --- 2-3 cloves

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeera --- ½ tsp

Pre-Requisite:

Clean and soak kidney beans / rajma overnight or for 8 hrs. Or else, soak them in warm water (microwave 3 cups of water for 4 minutes) for 4-5 hrs. Do not drain the soaked water.

Process:

First make Tomato Puree:

Clean tomatoes. Take them as a whole to a pressure cooker. Pour water till the tomatoes immerse completely in water. Pressure cook for a whistle. Wait till the pressure goes off. Drain the water with the help of a colander.

Let the tomatoes cool. Remove the skin of tomatoes. Grind them to a smooth paste to make a puree.

Pressure cook kidney beans / rajma along with the soaked water by adding enough salt to it for 3 whistles.

Make a raw paste:

In the meanwhile, grind ½ of the big onion (cut into big pieces), 3 small green chilies, 2 inches of ginger, 2-3 cloves of garlic to a paste.

Heat 2 tblsns of oil in a non-stick pan. Season it with mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Let the mustard seeds splutter.

Add grinded raw paste to the pan. Stir fry till the rawness of the paste goes off.

Then, add tomato puree. Cook till the oil leaves the puree.

Add enough salt, ½ tsp of red chilly powder, ½ tsp of cumin powder, ½ tsp of coriander powder, ½- ¾ th tsp of rasam powder [I use MTR rasam powder (soup mix)]¼ th tsp of garam masala.

Add cooked rajma without draining the water. If needed add one more cup of water too. The curry should be gravy not thick.

Cover it and cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir intermittently to prevent from burning at the bottom of the curry.

Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Serve hot with chapathi or pulka with sliced onions.

Related Posts:

Black Eyed Peas Curry

Cholle or Channa Masala

Corn Curry

Spinach & Potato Pulav / Aloo Palak Pulav

2009-01-07T13:59:00.006-06:00

The combination of spinach and aloo is great. It is health, spicy, tasty and simple to prepare too.

Recipe Source: My friend Archana

Serves: As a main course for 2 people.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice --- 1 Cup
Water --- 2 cups
Spinach / Palak leaves --- a handful or (when chopped 1 ½ cup tightly)

Potato / Aloo --- 2 medium size
Onion --- ½ of the big one
Ghee --- 2 Tblsn
Cloves --- 4
Cardamom Pods --- 2
Cinnamon Stick --- 1 small
Bay leaf --- 2-3
Star Anise --- 1 (Optional)
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste --- 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Salt --- to taste
Red Chilly Powder --- ¾ tsp
Garam Masala --- ½ tsp

Process:

Clean and soak a cup of basmati rice.

Take a handful of spinach leaves. Clean and chop them. When chopped it should come 1 ½ cup tightly. Keep it aside.

Slice half of a big onion. Keep it aside.

Peel and chop potatoes into cubes and keep them in water. So tht potatoes won’t discolour.

Heat 2 Tblsn of ghee or oil in a pan or in a pressure cooker.

Add 4 cloves, 2 pods of cardamom, 1 small cinnamon stick, 2-3 bay leaves, a star anise which is optional, ½ tsp of cumin seeds. Fry till cloves splutter or for a minute.

Add sliced onion and a tsp of ginger-garlic paste. Sauté till the onions turn to translucent.

Add chopped spinach. Fry till limp.

Add cubed potatoes. Fry for 2 minutes.

Add cleaned & soaked basmati rice, a pinch of turmeric powder, enough salt, ¾ tsp of red chilly powder, ½ tsp of garam masala. Fry for 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups of water and adjust salt at this stage itself and cook till done in the rice cooker or keep it for 2 whistles in the pressure cooker as Archana said.

Mix well and serve hot with curds or raita.

Bhindi / Okra / Bendakaya Masala Stir Fry

2008-12-25T14:51:00.003-06:00

Recipe Source:Chutki Bhar Pyar.

Cooking Time:

On medium heat it takes about 15-18 minutes.

Ingredients:

Okra / Bhindi / Bendakaya --- 25 no.
Besan --- 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder --- ½ tsp
Cumin Powder --- ½ tsp
Garam Masala --- ½ tsp
Salt --- Slightly less than ½ tsp (adjust)
Oil --- 4 Tblsn

Process:

Wash Okras.

Wipe okras one by one and spread them on a clean cloth or on paper towel. Let them dry. Clean the cutting board and knife, wipe the water and let them dry too.

In the meanwhile, mix 1 tsp of besan, ½ tsp of red chilly powder, ½ tsp of cumin powder, ½ tsp of garam masala powder, and slightly less than ½ tsp of salt (adjust) in a small bowl. Keep tht aside.

Snip the head & tail of okras. Cut length wise. Keep them aside.

Heat 4 Tblsn of oil in a wide pan. Spread oil onto the pan.

Add chopped okras like as shown in the below picture. Wait till they become brown.

Now, reverse them. Fry them till they become brown.

Add enough mixed powder to the pan. Stir fry for 5 minutes till the okras are slightly crisp.

Transfer the fried okras on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.

Have it with hot rice along with ghee. Tastes great when they are bit crispy. My husband liked it very much.

Vegetable Burger & Cutlets

2008-12-17T19:46:00.010-06:00

Recipe Source: My friend Kalyani. She told the recipe long back. But I tried out recently.

Ingredients for the Vegetable Patty & Cutlets:

Potatoes --- 3 big
Carrots --- 4 big
Frozen Green Peas --- 1 cup
Oil --- 2 tblsn + for deep fry
Ginger-Garlic Paste --- 1 tsp
Salt --- to taste
Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp
Garam Masala --- ¼ tsp
All Purpose / Maida Flour --- 1 tsp + ¼ cup
Corn Flour --- 1 tsp
Chilly Garlic Sauce --- 1 tsp
Tomato Ketchup --- 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves --- 15 stalks
Cake Rusks or Bread Crumbs --- to dip the cutlets

Other Ingredients for the Burger:

Hamburger Buns --- 4 buns
Tomato Ketchup --- as required
Ripe Tomato --- 1 medium
Lettuce --- 8 leaves (small)
Ranch Sauce (for dressing) --- as required (I have used ‘Hidden Valley’s ‘The Original Ranch’)
Black Pepper Powder --- a pinch (Optional)

Process Of Making Cutlets & Burger Patties:

Boil, Peel & Grate Potatoes.
Peel the skin of carrots. Chop and add these to the pressure cooker bowl. Clean and add a cup of frozen green peas too. No need to add water in the bowl. Just add water at the bottom of the pressure cooker.

Pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off.

Drain the water from the pressure cooker bowl if any. Mash the cooked carrots and peas with the help of the masher.

Add the stuff to a muslin cloth or a neat and new hanky. Squeeze it tightly to remove the excess water from the vegetables. Try to remove all the moisture from the vegetable. (Don’t skip this step) Keep it aside.

Chop 15 strands of coriander leaves. Keep them aside.

Heat 2 tblsn of oil in a wide non-stick pan.

Add 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for a while.

Add cooked, mashed & squeezed carrots and green peas.

Add a tsp of corn flour and a tsp of all purpose flour.

Add a tsp of red chilly powder, a quarter tsp of garam masala, enough salt, a tsp of ketchup and 1 ½ tsp of chilly garlic sauce.

Stir fry till the rawness of ingredients and the excess moisture from the vegetables goes off. At the same time the bottom should not be burnt. Look at the bottom how clean it is. Try to use a non-stick pan for this.(Do this step perfectly.)

Add chopped coriander leaves. Stir fry for a minute.

Turn off the heat.

Add mashed potatoes. Mix well. Adjust salt and mix well.

Make soft and small round balls. Give a shape to them as you wish. Keep them aside. (I made 4 patties for burger and 7 as cutlets.)

Heat oil in a steel pan for deep fry. (Next time I will try to shalllow fry the vegetable patties instead of deep fry.)

In the meanwhile, take a bowl add ¼ cup of all purpose flour. Add equal amount of water and mix without lumps. Add ¼ th cup of water again and make a thin batter out of it.

Grind 4 cake-rusks to a coarse powder. You can use bread crumbs too.

When the oil is at right hot. Dip the cutlets or burger patties in the maida batter just to coat them. Take the cutlets or burger patties immediately out of it. Don’t let them stay in it. Drop them immediately in the cake-rusk powder or break crumbs.

Drop them gently in the hot oil and fry till golden brown.

Have / Serve the cutlets with tomato ketchup.

In the same way, fry the burger patties too.

Process Of Making Burger:

Divide the hamburgers into half. No need to toast them.

Place the vegetable/burger patty which you have made on one of the tops of the burger like this and add little ketchup on the top of it.

Place sliced tomato on the top of it.

Add little Ranch sauce as a dressing. I like this so much. So, I will add more than required.

Add chopped lettuce or a small lettuce leaf on the top of it.

Cover it with another half of the burger.

Have it. (By looking at theses pics again I want to eat burgers. I looooooove Burgers.)

Bottle Gourd / Sorrakaya Pulusu

2008-12-15T05:42:00.001-06:00

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Ingredients:

Bottle Gourd --- 1 small
Green Chilies --- 4
Onions --- ½ of the big one (if you have small onions just cut them horizontally into half)
Jaggery --- 3 pieces
Tamarind --- a lime size ball
Salt --- as per taste
Red chilly powder --- 1 – 1 ½ tsp (adjust)
Rice Flour --- 1 tblsn

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 ½ tsp
Cumin Seeds --- 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilies --- 1 halved
Hing --- a big pinch
Curry leaves --- 1 strand

Note:

Hing is not good for the pregnant ladies. So, avoid it if you are or if you making for any of them.

Process:

Peel and chop bottle gourd into big cubes. Add them to a pressure cooker directly.
Chop green chilies. Add them to the cooker.

Chop onions and add them too.

Add 3 pieces of jaggery to the pressure cooker.

Clean a lime size ball or tamarind.

Heat it in the micro wave for 30 seconds. Take 2 cups of tamarind juice out of it by pouring little more water. Add tamarind juice too to the cooker.

Add a pinch of turmeric powder, 1 – 1 ½ tsp of red chilly powder, and enough salt.

Mix well and pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Wait till the pressure goes off.

Heat a tblsn of oil in a big deep pan. Season it with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly, hing and curry leaves. Add the pressure cooked ones to the pan.

Take still more (around 4-5 cups) tamarind juice out of it by adding little-little water.

Add it to the pan.

Take 1 tblsn of rice flour. Mix with little water without any lumps. Add tht too to the pan.

Adjust salt.

Cook it for a boil.

Simmer it for about 15-20 minutes.

Have it with plain dal and rice by adding ghee. Tastes wonderful.

Junnu with Junnu Powder

2008-12-11T13:21:00.003-06:00

After the cow gives birth to a calf, it produces a sort of milk. Usually, we make junnu with that milk. But these days, they are selling them as a powder. When I went to India I got these packets from my home town.

This is a good dessert to be served. You can make this before the day itself and refrigerate it and can serve when it is cold.

Recipe Source: My Mom.

Serves: 6 people exactly

Ingredients:

Junnu Powder --- 70 grms

Milk --- 2 cups (500 ml) ½ liter
Grated Jaggary --- 150 grms / Sugar --- 200 grms
Cardamom Powder --- a pinch
Crushed Black Pepper --- a big pinch

Process:

Take grated jaggery in a pressure cooker bowl.

Add junnu powder in a small bowl. Mix it with little milk without any lumps.

Pour the mixer on the jaggery. Add rest of the milk too.
Mix well till the jaggery melts.
Add a pinch of cardamom powder and a big pinch of black pepper powder. Mix well.
In a pressure cooker pour water and keep the pressure cooker’s bottom plate. Keep this bowl on the top of it.

Don’t cover it with lid. Cook it on medium-high till it becomes little hard which takes about 40-50 minutes. Check the bottom water level. If required pour water at the bottom. Turn off the heat.

Bring the junnu to room temperature. As is cools down it becomes harder.
Serve it.
Or else, keep it in refrigerator and serve when it is cold. (If you keep in refrigerator it becomes still more harder and tastes even more good.

Shelf-Life:

2-3 days when it is refrigerated.

Beetroot Chutney

2008-12-10T14:41:00.005-06:00

My friend Kalyani told me to make this chutney. She told it is “healthy and tasty” too. “At least in this way we can have beetroot”, she said. So, gave a trail. It is really good.

Recipe Source: My friend Kalyani.

Ingredients:

Beet Roots --- 3
Dry red chilies --- 7 big / 9 small (adjust the chilliness acc. to ur taste)
Garlic --- 3 big cloves
Jeera --- 1 ½ tsp
Tamarind paste --- 1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Oil --- 2 tblsn

Prerequisite:

If, the beetroots are in the refrigerator, remove them from it long before (2-3 hrs) your preparation. Wait till they come to room temperature.

Process:

Peel the skin off from the beetroot.

Chop them into small pieces. Keep them aside.
Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan. On a medium heat add and fry the red chilies and transfer them to the blender bowl. Keep it aside.

In the same pan add one more tblsn of oil and add chopped beetroot. Stir fry them for 5 minutes. (No need to fry till they cook.)

Add garlic cloves and turmeric powder and fry for one more minute.

Add tamarind paste and cumin seeds and fry for ½ minute.
Cool it.
Transfer them to the blender.

Add enough salt.
Make a coarse paste by adding 1 tblsn of water to it. If you are not able to grind just sprinkle little more water and grind it. But don’t add too much water which spoils the taste of it.
Mix the chutney well.
Transfer the chutney to a serving bowl.

Mix it with hot white rice and ghee. Have it.

Shelf-Life:

After serving keep the chutney in the refrigerator. It will be for 4-6 days without spoiling.

Kosambari

2008-11-30T17:26:00.008-06:00

Kosambari is a very healthy salad. It has sprouted moong dal, raw carrot, peanuts and pomegranate seeds.

This very good to offer as 'Nivedhyam' to the God.But,I made this for a potluck yesterday.

Recipe Source: From one of my friends Saroj.

Serves: 15 people.

Ingredients:

Whole Green Moong Dal --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup (160 ml)
Yellow Moong Dal --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup (160 ml)
Peanuts --- 2 Rice Cooker Cups (320 ml)
Carrots --- 8 large When grated --- 6 Rice cooker cups
Pomegranate --- 2 (seedless)
Coriander Leaves --- 10 springs
Salt --- as per taste
Lemon Juice --- for taste

Pre-Requisite:

Soak a rice cooker cup (160 ml) of green moong dal in water overnight 2 days before for the preparation. Drain water in the morning. Cover it with lid. Let them sprout.

Soak a rice cooker cup (160 ml) of yellow moong dal in water for 2 hrs for the preparation.

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 2 tsp
Green chilies --- 8 medium chopped

Process:

In a big bowl add sprouted green moong dal.

Drain the water from yellow moong dal. Add them too to the bowl. Mix them up.

Peel the skin of the carrots and grate till 6 rice cooker cups and add that too to the bowl. Mix well.

Season it with mustard seeds and green chilies. Add them to the bowl and mix well.

Chop 10 springs of coriander leaves. Add them to the bowl mix well.

Add enough salt and lemon juice to it and mix well.

Add pomegranate seeds to the bowl. Mix well.

Dry roast peanuts on an open pan on medium heat till light brown. Let them come to room temperature. Remove the skin of the peanuts by rubbing with the palms. Add it just before serving and mix well.

Pomegrate seeds had given an extra taste to it.

Shelf Life:

Good When it is fresh.

Dal Fry

2008-11-13T15:08:00.007-06:00

Recipe Source: From my sister-in-law (Lakshmi)

Serves: for 10-12 pulkas

Ingredients:

Masoor dal / Toor dal --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup

Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Salt --- to taste
Coriander leaves --- 10 springs

For Seasoning:

• Ghee --- 1 tblsn
• Garlic --- 4 cloves
• Cumin seeds --- 1 ½ tsp (more than normal seasoning)
• Green chilies --- 8 very small / 4 medium

Process:

Clean the dal twice with water. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles by adding a pinch of turmeric powder and 2 times of water to the dal. Wait till the pressure goes off.

In the meanwhile, chop the garlic cloves very finely and slit the green chilies and keep aside. Heat a tblsn of ghee in a pan. Add chopped garlic and fry till golden brown like the below picture. Add cumin seeds and fry for a while.

Add slit green chilies and fry till they are translucent.

Now add the pressure cooked dal to the pan. Add a cup of water to the pan and enough salt to the dal. Fry for 8-10 minutes on medium heat.

Just before turning off the heat, add chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.

Transfer the dal to a serving bowl.

Chop onions into thin slices. Sprinkle pepper power, salt and with lemon juice on the top of the onion slices.

Have the dal fry with pulka / chapathi along with the onions.

Sweet Pongal

2008-11-02T19:07:00.004-06:00

‘Sweet Pongal’ is a very good ‘Nivedyam’. It is offered to the God at the time of festivals and some special occasions.

After coming back from India I have cleaned my pooja mandir. Whenever we clean the pooja mandir we will offer some sweet to the God. In this occasion I made this.

Sweet Pongal can be made with milk and without milk too. I like the ‘sweet pongal’ which Babitha makes the most. Whenever a festival comes she makes this and distributes this as prasadam to all of us. I used to wait for that.

My Mom makes this with milk.

Note: Whatever we offer to the God it should not be too hot. Wait till the vapours go off completely.

Learnt From: My friend Babitha.

Serves: 8 people. (Can adjust for 10 people)

Ingredients:

Raw-Rice --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup (120 ml)
Yellow Moong dal --- ¼ th Rice Cooker Cup (40 ml)
Grated Jaggery --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup (tightly)
Ghee --- ½ - ¾ th Rice Cooker Cup
Cardamom Powder --- ¼ th tsp
Shredded Coconut or Coconut pieces --- ½ Rice Cooker Cup
Cashews --- a few
Raisens --- a few

Process:

Fry ¼ th cup of yellow moong dal in an open pan till the colour changes. (This step is optional. This is to take off the stickiness from the dal.)

Wash a cup of raw-rice and ¼ th cup of raw or fried yellow moong dal with water. If you have fried the yellow moong dal wash the rice separately.

Add 3 cups of water (trice the qtty of rice) and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

Wait till the pressure goes away. Remove the lid.

In the mean while, grate 1 cup of jaggery. (tightly pack the cup with jaggery)

Add 2 cups of water to the grated jaggery. Micro-wave it for 2 minutes. Mix well to melt the jaggery.

Add pressure cooked rice and dal to a pan. Add 3 cups of water to it. Mix well and cook it for a while.

Add melted jaggery water to the rice. Cook it nicely till the dal mashes completely.

In the meanwhile, fry cashews, raisins & coconut in ½ cup of ghee.

Just before turning off the heat add this fried ones and ¼ tsp of cardamom powder to the rice.

Mix well.

A Surprise Gift Before Going For A Vacation

2008-09-26T12:31:00.015-05:00

We are going for a vacation to India for a month. Before We go I am giving a surprise gift to my blog viewers. If you have kids enjoy the rhymes (with videos & lyrics). If you are getting bored play 'Sudoku'.

Here I am introducing one more blog "My English Collections".

After coming back will post "Tomato Chaat" and "Perugu Aavada (Dahi Vada)".
For "Tomato Chaat" I made from "Ruchii". So, Click on the picture for the recipe. But I have added lemon juice too.

For "Perugu Aavada (Dahi Vada)", I made vada without onions and I dropped them in salted water for a minute then squeezed the excess water from it which made the vadas soft. (But don't keep them for long. ) Keep them in another bowl. Then beat curds till soft without adding water to it. Grind 6-7 green chilies, 2-3 inches of ginger, coriander leaves (optional) and enough salt to it. Add this paste to the curd. Adjust salt. Mix nicely. Now pour this beaten curd on the top of the squeezed vadas. The Vadas should completely immerse in the curd gravy. They should be soaked in the curd gravy nicely.

Season it with oil, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilies, hing & curry leaves. Pour this on the top of the dahi vada.

For more details watch this video. He is my guru for the vadas and for dahi vadas too.

Chai / Tea / How to reduce head-ache?

2008-09-18T13:28:00.002-05:00

Recipe: From my Husband

Health Tip:

From Eenadu Telugu News Paper. Carbohydrates, Protein, Fiber, Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron percentage are high in Cardamoms. Cardamoms play a vital role in increasing the digestion.

Cardamom reduces the burning sensation in heart (acidity), Gastric problem.

Cardamom reduces the bad breath.

If you have a tea made with cardamoms when you have head-ache especially which comes because of indigestion, it provides you a relief.
Here is the way of making cardamom chai / tea.

This is to make a strong tea which my husband likes very much. If you want a light tea, just the measurements.

Ingredients:

Water --- ½ cup
Milk --- 1 cup
Tea Powder --- 1 ½ tsp (It may vary from brand to brand. Mine is Brook Bond’s ‘Red Label’.)
Sugar --- 1 ½ tsp
Cardamoms --- 4 crushed
Cardamom Powder --- a small pinch (optional)

Process:

Take a steel vessel. Pour ½ cup of water to it. Add 1 ½ tsp of tea powder, 4 crushed cardamoms along with the shelves and a small pinch of cardamom powder.
Bring it to a boil on medium-high heat. Let the water reduce to half of the quantity. This is nothing but decoction.

Add a cup of milk to it.

Again bring it to a boil.
Now reduce the heat to medium and boil it for another 5 minutes so that the rest of the water also evaporates. But be careful at this stage. If the vessel is not big enough the milk may spill.
Turn off the flame. Filter it with a tea filter. Add sugar as you need. Mix well with a spoon.
Serve hot.

Ginger Chai/Tea:

If you want to make a ginger tea, just clean 2” piece of ginger nicely. Don’t peel the skin off. Take a knife and cut the ginger along with the skin into big pieces and add to the water in the beginning along with the tea powder and I add cardamoms at this time too.

Earlier I used to peel the skin and used to chop the ginger into tiny pieces and used to crush them and squeeze the liquid and used to add that stuff too. Still my husband used to tell still he didn’t get that ginger flavor.

Later I used to grate. Still he is not satisfied. But finally, this way which my sister-in-law told me has clicked. Among all, this is the easiest way and he is satisfying too!!!

Masala Tea:

I neither add ginger nor cardamom to make a masala tea. I use ‘tea masala’ powder which we got from ouside.

I make tea first. Just a minute before, to turn off the heat I add a pinch of this masala powder. That’s it.

Kitchen Tip:

If you make decoction first and add milk later, cleaning the tea vessel becomes easy. Try it out and let me know.

Aloo Bonda

2008-09-16T16:18:00.002-05:00

Recipe: From Charu.

Makes: 19 Bondas.

Ingredients:

Pakora / Pakora Batter (bit thicker than that)
Potatoes --- 4 big
Green Chilies --- 5-6 small
Onions --- ½ of the big one
Salt --- as per taste
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Coriander Leaves --- 10-15 strands
Lime --- ½ of the big one

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp

Process:

Peel and chop potatoes into cubes and cook them in salted water for 3 whistles by adding a pinch of turmeric powder. Wait till the pressure goes away. Drain the water by using colander.

In the mean while, mix pakora batter but make slightly thicker than that.
Heat 2 tblsn of oil in a pan.
Add a tsp of mustard seeds and let them pop nicely.

Add finely chopped green chilies and fry for a while.

Now add chopped onions. Fry till the onions turn to translucent.

Add potatoes and mash them with a ladle. Adjust salt.

Just before turning off the flame add lime juice and chopped coriander leaves.

Let it cool.
Make small round balls with the potato filling.

Heat oil in a steel pan for deep frying the bondas.
When the oil is at right hot, dip the potato balls in the pakora batter and drop them gently into the hot oil.

Fry them till they are golden brown. Remove them and keep them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Even though they are deep fried they take very less oil.

Have / Serve them when they're hot.

Chapathi / Pulka Chaat

2008-09-07T12:47:00.009-05:00

As soon as I saw this recipe in Eenadu paper, I decided to give a try. I got sev from outside and tried it. In the recipe she told that you can try this with leftover chapathis. But I made them with fresh pulkas. It is like ‘Dahi Sev Puri’. It’s wonderful. It’s a tasty and healthy chaat.

Learnt From: ‘Ruchulu’ Eenadu Telugu Paper.

Serves: 2 People

Ingredients:

Chapathi’s / Pulkas --- 4 medium
Oil --- 2 tblsn
Beaten Curd --- 5-6 tblsn
Date & Tamarind Chutney --- 6-8 tsp
Salt --- a pinch
Red Chilly Powder --- a pinch
Dry Roasted Cumin Powder --- a pinch
Sev --- 3-4 tblsn
Coriander Leaves --- 10 stalks

Process:

Make thin pulkas or chapathis. If they are leftover’s it is a very good way to consume them in this way.

Cut each pulka or chapathi into 4 parts.
In a pan, add a tblsn of oil and fry the torn chapathis till golden brown. After removing from the heat they should be crispy.

Repeat the process till they are done.
Make small pieces out of fried pulkas or chapathis.

Add beaten curd on the top of the fried pieces.
Add tamarind sweet chutney which you made and kept aside.
Add a pinch of salt, red chilly powder and cumin powder on the top of that.

Add sev on the top of that.

Add chopped coriander leaves.
Serve or Have immediately. Like this make one more plate.

Still more closer view.

Sunundalu / Urad Dal Laddoo’s

2008-09-06T19:51:00.010-05:00

Learnt From: My friend Rama.

Ingredients:

Urad Dal --- 2 Cups
Fine Powdered Sugar --- 1 ¾ th Cup (adjust)
Ghee --- ½ cup
Cardamom Powder --- a pinch (Optional)

Makes: 20 Laddoos

Process:

Dry roast urad dal on medium low heat till light golden brown. Stir continuously. Let it cool.

Grind to a very fine powder in a blender or food processor. If you have a food processor blend it in that so that it will come super fine powder which is good to make Sunundalu.
Sieve it through very small holes. (My sieve was not tht good. So it didn’t come like super fine powder.)

Melt the ghee.
Now in a bowl, add powdered urad dal and sugar (But I don't like super fine sugar. Just coarsely powdered sugar I have used). Mix nicely.
Add melted ghee till you can make laddoos out of it and mix thoroughly.
Make laddoos out of it. This takes time. Gently you have make this to give a nice shape.

Storage:

Keep it in a air-tight container. Will be good till it gets over.

Shahi Paneer

2008-09-04T11:49:00.008-05:00

I have become very lazy to upload these days. On the same day when I made paneer I made this shahi paneer. But I have taken so many day to upload it to my blog.

Learnt From: Sanjeev Kapoor’s Book Collection.

Ingredients:

Paneer --- 10-15 cubes
Ghee --- 2 tblsn
Onion --- ½ of the big one
Ginger --- ½ inch piece
Green Chilies --- 3 small
Tomatoes --- 4 medium big
Cardamom seeds --- 2
Curd --- ¼ th cup
Red chilly powder --- ¾ th tsp
Garam Masala --- ¾ th tsp
Salt --- to taste
Milk --- ¼ - ½ cup (see at adjust … If you add more it will be very sweet)
Tomato puree/paste/sauce --- 2 tblsn

Process:

Slice onions into narrow strips. Chop ½ inch of ginger, 3 small green chilies, and 4 medium big size tomatoes into pieces.
Heat 1 tblsn of ghee in a pan. Add sliced onion, chopped ginger, green chilies and cardamom seeds. Fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes.

Add beaten curd and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add ½ cup of water and cool it.

Add it to a blender and blend it till smooth.
Heat 1 tblsn of ghee to a pan.

Add the blender mixture to the pan.

Add ¾ tsp of red chilly powder, ¾ tsp of garam masala, enough salt, and 2 tblsn of tomato puree/paste/sauce.
Boil till it becomes thick.

Add ¼ - ½ cup of milk and 10-15 paneer cubes. Boil it for 3-4 minutes.

Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve when it is hot for chapathi or pulkas.

Home Made Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

2008-08-13T16:29:00.006-05:00

I made paneer for making Rasmalai. But I don’t know how to make cubes out of it. I have seen Vahchef’s video to make paneer cubes.

Learnt From: Vahrehvah (Video Recipes)

Makes: 20-22 cubes

Ingredients:

Milk --- 6 cups (6 * 250 ml = 1500 ml)
Lemon --- ¾ th of the big one

Process:

Take 6 cups of milk to a steel pan. Don’t use non-stick pans. They will spoil. Use only steel vessels for boiling milk.
Bring that to a boil. Then turn the heat to medium – low heat.

Add 3 wedges of lemon juice to it. Stir continuously at this time. You can see milk is curdling.

Turn the heat to medium.
Stir occasionally till you see paneer (cottage cheese) separating from water kind of a thing.

Turn off the heat.
Take a muslin cloth or a neat hanky. (I kept a hanky only for this purpose. I won’t use that hanky as a hanky.) Place it on a bowl and allow it strain liquid. Your paneer lumps should be on the hanky.

Twist the hanky and make a round. Keep the hanky with the paneer on a flat vessel.

Add half of the water to the cooker or any vessel and place on the top of the paneer.
Keep the weight for an hour.

Remove the paneer from the hanky.

Now cut into cubes. The paneer should be very soft like a sponge.

Use immediately or keep it in an air-tight container and keep it in the freezer for future use.

For more clarity watch Vahchef's Video.

Radish / Mullangi Sambar

2008-08-07T12:10:00.002-05:00

Learnt From: My friend Saroj.

Ingredients:

Raddish / Mullangi --- 1 Big (20-25 slices)
Carrot --- 3
Toor dal --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup (160 ml)
Water --- 3 Rice Cooker Cups (480-500 ml)
Turmeric Powder --- a big pinch
Tamarind --- 1 medium lime size ball
Sambar Powder --- 5 tblsn
Jaggery --- a small ( ½ ) piece (optional)
Shredded Coconut --- 1 tblsn
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 ½ tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilies --- 2 halved
Curry Leaves --- 5-6
Hing / Asafoetida --- a big pinch

Process:

Peel and chop radish and carrots into thick slices.
Take a rice cooker cup of toordal. Clean twice with water. Add 3 rice-cooker cups of water to it. Add a big pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well. Add slice radish and carrots to the cooker.

Keep it for 3 whistles.
Wait for 15 minutes till the pressure goes away. Remove the lid of the cooker.
Make a small lime size ball out of tamarind. Clean well with water. Add a little water to it. Microwave it for 30 seconds. Take 4 cups (1000 ml) of tamarind juice by adding little and little water to it. Add 4 cups of juice to the cooker.
Take 5 tblsn of sambar powder into a small bowl. Add little water and mix without any lumps. Add this paste to the cooker.
Add ½ piece of jaggery to the cooker. (optional)
Add 1 tblsn of shredded coconut to the cooker and enough salt.

Keep it for a boil.

Taste it and adjust sambar powder and salt.
Keep it in medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.
In the meanwhile, season it with mustard seeds, red chilies, curry leaves and hing.
Transfer it to a big bowl.

Have it with rice.

Salad with Sauce

2008-08-07T12:01:00.005-05:00

Learnt From: My Sister-In-Law (Lakshmi)

Serving for: 1 Person.

Ingredients:

Lettuce --- 6 leaves
Cucumber --- 1 small
Tomato --- 1 medium size
Carrot --- 1 medium size
Honey Mustard Sauce / Ranch Sauce --- 1 tsp (But I like this with Ranch Sauce)

Note:

You can use any other sauce of your choice.

Process:

Peel the skin of cucumber and carrot.
Chop Lettuce, peeled cucumber, tomato into very small pieces.
Grate carrot.
Keep all in one bowl.
Add a tsp of honey mustard sauce.

Mix well and have it.

Garlic Bread - Frozen

2008-08-04T14:55:00.006-05:00

Many of you may know about this. But I came to know after 1 year. Here in US we will get Garlic Bread. - Frozen . When I don't have mood to cook and feel hungry in the evenings I have this.

If you don't know about this give a try. But don't take too much. It is made with butter which is not good for health.

Buy this:

Keep it in the freezer.

Whenever you want, take it from the freezer.

Heat a non-stick griddle on medium heat.

Toast the bread till becomes soft.

Have it.

God's Pharmacy

2008-08-01T15:11:00.002-05:00

One of my friends Sunitha has sent this mail to me. I was amazed to see the resemblance between all our fruits and vegetables to our parts of the body. I thought of sharing to my blog viewers too.

Thank you sooo much for forwarding such a nice mail to me.

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!!!

God's Pharmacy!!! Amazing!!!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (mo dern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoeslook like the pancreas and actual ly bal ance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just l ike the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Brinjal / Eggplant Gojju

2008-07-31T14:06:00.009-05:00

Learnt From:

One of my friends Saroj. It is a Karnataka dish. I love the taste of it. She told that they make different kinds of gojjus. Should learn them too from her.

Ingredients:

Brinjals --- 5 round medium size
Potato --- 1 large
Tomato --- 1
Onion --- ½ of the big one
Tamarind --- 1 lime size
Jaggery --- ¾ th of the piece
Salt --- to taste
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch

Dry Roast & Grind the following Ingredients:

Dry Red Chilies --- 5
Channa Dal --- 1 tblsn
Urad Dal --- 1 tblsn
Coriander Seeds --- 1 tblsn
Fenugreek / Methi Seeds --- ¼ tsp
Sesame Seeds --- 1 tblsn
Cumin Seeds --- 1 tsp

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp

Process:

Chop ½ of the onion.
Heat 2 tblsn of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Fry them till they splutter.
Add chopped onions. Fry them till they turn to transulucent colour.

In the mean while, Peel the skin of a potato and chop them into pieces, chop 5 brinjals too and keep both of them in plenty of water till they get immersed completely in water. Orelse they will discolour.
Add chopped potato and brinjals.

Chop a medium size tomato too and add tht chopped one to the pan.

Add a pinch of turmeric and salt.
Cover it and cook till done half. Stir occasionally.

In the mean while, clean a lime size ball of tamarind with water and heat for 30 seconds in micro-wave by adding little water.

Take tamarind juice out of it by adding little more water.
Add tamarind juice and ¾ piece of jaggery to the pan. (look at the piece of the jaggery in the following picuter.)

In the meanwhile, dry roast the above mentioned ingredients and grind them to a fine powder. (Note: Instead of coriander seeds and cumin seeds, I have used coriander powder and cumin powder.)

Add the powder to the pan.

Adjust salt.

Cook till done.
Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Have it with pulka / chapathi or with rice. Either is good.

Mixed Vegetable Semiya Upma

2008-07-30T12:15:00.009-05:00

Ingredients:

Semiya / Vermicelli --- 1 cup

Frozen Mixed Vegetables --- ½ cup

Water --- 1 ½ cup

Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tblsn

Channa Dal --- 1 ½ tsp

Urad Dal --- 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds --- ½ tsp

Process:

In a pan stir fry vermicelli / Semiya till light golden brown.

Heat 2 tblsn of oil in another pan. Add and toast seasoning one by one like channa dal, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Clean and add mixed frozen vegetables. Add a big pinch of salt for frozen vegetables. Cook till the water evaporates from the vegetables or till they are almost done.

Add 1 ½ cups of water to the pan. Keep it for a boil. Add enough salt to the water.

When the bubbles start … add fried vermicelli / semiya. Cook till done or the water evaporates.

Transfer the upma to a serving bowl.

Serve hot with ginger pickle.

Note:

If you are making this upma without vegetables you can add green chilies.

Black Eyed Beans Curry

2008-07-07T17:42:00.007-05:00

Learnt From: My friend Sunitha.

Ingredients:

Black Eyed Beans --- 1 Rice Cooker Cup

Onions --- 1 big

Tomatoes --- 2 medium

Salt --- to taste

Red chilly powder --- 1 tsp

Coriander powder --- 2 tsp

Cumin powder --- 1 tsp

Lemon --- 1

Pre-Requisite:

Clean and soak black eyed beans in water for 4-6 hours. If I am going to make this curry for the supper time I soak this in the morning after or before break fast or afternoon before or after lunch.

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn

Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp

Process:

Chop 1 big onion and 2 tomatoes into small pieces.

Heat a tblsn of oil in a pressure cooker.

Add & toast mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

Add half of the chopped onions and keep the rest aside.

Add chopped tomatoes.

Drain the water from the soaked black eyed beans and add the soaked ones.

Add a pinch of turmeric powder, enough salt, a tsp of red chilly powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder and a tsp of cumin powder.

Mix well.

Pressure cook for 3 whistles.

Wait till the pressure goes away.

Mix well. Take the curry to a serving bowl.

Serve it with lemon wedges and raw chopped onions.

Tastes great with pulka or chapathi.

Tomato Rice

2008-06-30T11:04:00.008-05:00

Learnt From:Vahrehvah's Video (Sanjay Tumma)

Serves for:

As a full meal for 2 people.

Ingredients:

Ripe Tomatoes --- 3

Raw – Rice --- 1 Cup
Green Chilies --- 8 small
Ginger --- 2 inch pieces or 1 ½ tblsn when chopped
Onion --- ½ of the big one
Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp
Garam Masala --- a big pinch
Salt --- to taste
Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) --- 10-15 strands

For Seasoning:

Ghee --- 1 tblsn
Channa dal --- 1 tblsn
Black Split Gram Dal --- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds --- ¾ tsp
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Broke Cashew nuts --- 10-15
Dry Red Chilies --- 2 halved
Curry Leaves --- 6-7
Hing --- a pinch

Process:

Clean a cup of raw-rice twice with water. Add 2 cups of water to it and cook it rice cooker or presser cooker as you cook rice normally.
Chop green chilies, ginger, onion and tomatoes.
Break cashew nuts to pieces.
Heat a tblsn of ghee in a pan.
Season it with channa dal, black split gram dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilly, broken cashew nuts, & hing.
Add curry leaves, chopped ginger and green chilies. Stir fry till the green chilies get white spots.

Add chopped onions. Fry till light transparent.

Add chopped tomatoes.

Add enough salt, 1 tsp of red chilly powder, and a big pinch of garam masala.
Cover it and cook till done.

In the meanwhile, chop coriander leaves.
Add boiled rice.

Mix well and adjust salt.
Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Closer view of Tomato Rice.

Have it with raitha.

Dondavakai / Tindora Pickle

2008-06-29T15:57:00.005-05:00

Learnt From: My Sister-In-Law (Lakshmi)

Ingredients:

Tindora / Dondakayalu --- 20 no.
Salt --- 1 tblsn
Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tbsln
Mustard Powder --- 1 tblsn (Grind raw-mustards to a fine powder)
Oil --- 2 ½ tblsn

Process:

Clean tindora thoroughly. Wipe the tindora with a paper towel. Keep them on a paper towel for half an hour to one hour and make them dry completely. Not only tindora but also cutting pad, knife, and a bowl & spoon.

Make sure ur hands are also dry. Then cut the tindora into tiny pieces. Add 1 tblsn of salt, red chilly powder, mustard powder & 2 ½ -3 tblsn of oil.

Mix well.

Rest it for one full day & night.
Have it with rice or curd rice.
Keep it in the fridge. Good for a week or more.

Note:

Don’t take full tblsn … take till the edges of the spoon.

If you can’t eat very hot then reduce the quantities (salt, red chilly powder & mustard powder)from 1 tblsn to ¾ th tblsn to a tsp. If you reduce one, reduce all in the equal ratio. Because salt, red chilly powder & mustard powder should be in equal ratio.

Bobbatlu / Puran Poli

2008-06-28T20:36:00.011-05:00

In the same manner, we can also do "Halwa Puri". Instead of Channa dal & Jaggery balls we have to stuff sooji halwa. Even that tastes good. When compared to "Puran Poli" it is very easy to prepare.

Sending "Puran Poli" to the Sweet Series event.

Learnt From: My Mom

Makes: 22 Bobbatlu

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour / Maida --- 2 ½ Cups (625 ml)
Channa Dal (Pachi Senaga Pappu) --- 2 Cups (500 ml)
Grated Jaggary (Bellam) --- 2 ½ cups (625 ml)
Elachi Powder --- a pinch
Oil --- for deep fry

Process:

In a bowl add 2 ½ cups of all purpose flour. Add 6-7 tblsn of oil, a pinch of salt to the flour. (Others should not know tht you have added salt to tht. So add a pinch tht’s it.) Mix well. Later add enough water to make a soft dough. Knead the dough. After kneading add 10 tblsn of oil on the dough. Soak the dough in oil. Don’t mix the dough after adding oil. Keep like tht aside. Rest the dough for 1 – 1 ½ hour.

In the mean while, in a sauce pan clean 2 cups of channa dal twice with water. Add approximately 8 cups of water to the dal. Cook the dal till the rawness goes off. Don’t cook till mashy.

Drain the water with the help of a strainer. Keep tht aside.

In the meanwhile, grate 2 1/2 cups of jaggery. Keep tht aside.

Now, grind the cooked dal in a blender to a fine powder. Sieve the grinded powder. Sieving step is optional. If you do tht ... you can make thin flat patties.

Add grated jaggery and a pinch of elachi powder to the dal. Mix well. You should mix in such a way tht the dough should become wet.

Make small balls from the dal and jaggary dough. Keep them aside. I like to eat this laddoos.

After 1 ½ hr again knead the maida dough which you have soaked in oil.
Make balls with the maida dough. Should be smaller than dal & jaggary balls.
Take an aluminu foil or a thick plastic cover.
Dip your fingers in oil.
Grease oil on the foil.
Place the maida ball on foil.
Press the ball with fingers to a flat patty.
On the top of the flat maida ball place the dal & jaggary ball.
Cover the dal & jaggary ball with the maida edges.
Remove the excess maida joints at the top.
Press gently to a flat, thin, & round shaped patty.
Make sure tht the dal & jaggary dough should not come out of maida.

Heat griddle.
Place the stuffed patty on the top of the griddle.

Fry either sides of it with oil.

Make all the rest too in this way.
Don’t pile up the fried bobbatlu on the top of the other. It sticks to the other and will tear when you try to take them.

Enjoy the taste of soft Bobbatlu.

Storage:

Keep them open till they comes to room temperature. Later keep them in air tight container.

Shelf-Life:

Good & soft for 2-3 days.

Masala Dosa

2008-06-28T13:03:00.008-05:00

Learnt From: One of my friends Charu.

Makes: for 6 dosas.

Ingredients:

Potatoes --- 6

Onion --- ½ big (finely chopped)
Green chilies --- 4 small with less hot (chop into tiny pieces)
Curry leaves --- 6-7 (chopped)
Salt --- to taste
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp

Process of making curry:

Boil Potatoes and mash them.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Fry till they splutter.
Add chopped green chilies, curry leaves and onions.

Stir fry till onions turn translucent.
Add mashed potato, a pinch of turmeric powder and enough salt to it. (I forgot to add turmeric powder.)

Add ¾ th cup of water to the pan if you have boiled them in micro-wave.
Cook for 5-7 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Transfer the curry to a bowl.

Process of making dosa:

Pour a ladle full of dosa batter on the hot griddle.
Spread the dosa batter to a thin sheet.

Let it cook for a while till it cooks. (You can see the white colour of the batter losing its whiteness.)
Add ¼ tsp of oil to the rims and top of the dosa.
You can keep the curry at the center.

Or you can spread the curry on the dosa.

Cook it for a while.
Fold the dosa in this matter.

Serve hot with dalia chutney.

Pongal

2008-06-27T09:31:00.008-05:00

Learnt From: My Sister-In-Law (Lakshmi).

Serves:

As a full meal for 2 people.
As a break-fast for 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

Raw-Rice --- ½ cup
Yellow Moong Dal --- ½ cup
Water --- 6 cups
Salt --- 1 ½ tsp (adjust)
Ghee --- 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves --- 10 strands (chopped)

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 4 tblsn
Black pepper seeds --- 20 or 1 tsp
Ginger --- 2 inch piece or 1 ½ tblsn chopped

Cumin seeds --- 1 ¼ tsp
Black pepper powder --- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves --- 6-7

Process:

Take half cup of raw-rice and yellow moong dal to a pan.
Clean twice with water.
Add 6 cups of water to the pan.
Cover it and cook for a boil.
In the meanwhile, chop ginger and coriander leaves.
Remove the lid. Cook till the rice cooks (when you press a grain it should cut into two pieces).
Add approximately 1 ½ tsp of salt.
Cook till it becomes bit thick.
Add chopped coriander leaves. Stir well. Turn off the heat.
Heat 4 tblsn of oil in a pan. Stir fry Black pepper seeds, chopped ginger, cumin seeds, black pepper powder and curry leaves.
Add a tsp of ghee to the pongal. Mix well.
Transfer the seasoning to the pongal. Mix well.

Serve hot with dalia chutney or with tamarind chutney (it is made especially for pongal … soon will post tamarind chutney too).

Note:

As the pongal cools down it becomes thick. So cook till it is bit liquid consistency.

Mango Ice Cream

2008-06-25T18:32:00.010-05:00

There are so many recipes in my blog. But this is one of the easiest & tastiest recipes I have ever made. No dish can be made as simpler as this. Surely, give a try. Not only kids we also love this ice-cream.

Learnt From: Showmethecurry.com

Serves: 16-18 scoops.

Ingredients:

Mango Pulp --- 1 lb

Sweetened Condensed Milk --- 14 oz

Whipped Topping --- 8 oz

Process:

Add mango pulp, sweetened condensed milk & whipped topping into a bowl.

With a hand whisk mix nicely altogether.

Transfer the content to an air-tight bowl to avoid ice-crystals. Or cover the container with a polyethylene.

Keep it in the freezer for 4 hours.

With an ice cream scoop or with a steel ladle take it nicely as a scoop.

Transfer the bowl from freezer to the fridge before 10 minutes to serve. Serve immediately.

Tastes wonderful. Really it is very yummy … yummy … yummy …

Note:

No need to blend the mixer like other ice creams.

Use only hand whisk to mix the mixer.

Sending this for Cool Desserts event to Mythreyee.

Rasam Powder

2008-06-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

Learnt From: My Mom.

Ingredients:

Dry Red Chilies --- 10 big
Toor Dal --- ½ Cup full
Coriander Seeds --- ½ Cup
Channa Dal --- 2 tblsn full
Black Pepper --- 1 tblsn full
Cumin Seeds --- 1 tblsn

Process:

Grind all the above to a fine powder.

Note:

No need to fry them. Use raw ingredients only.

Storage:

Store it in an air-tight container.

Chekkalu / Crackers

2008-06-24T12:34:00.006-05:00

Learnt From: My Mom.

Makes: 25 crackers

Ingredients:

Raw-Rice --- ¾ cup or Rice Flour --- 1 cup
All Purpose Flour / Maida --- ½ cup
Channa dal --- 1 tblsn
Yellow Moong Dal --- 1 tblsn
Peanuts --- 2 tblsn (optional)
Red Chilly Powder --- 1 tsp
Salt --- ½ tsp
Oil --- ¼ cup + for deep fry

Pre-Requisite:

Soak raw-rice overnight in plenty of water.

Note:

You can even make with ready made rice which is available at store. But my mom does in traditional way and I followed her.

Process:

In the morning, drain the water from rice and keep them in a strainer.

And soak a tblsn of channa dal & yellow moong dal in water.

Let them become partially dry. In the afternoon, grind the raw-rice into fine powder.

Sieve it.

Take a cup of sieved flour to a bowl.
Add half a cup of all purpose flour.
Drain the water from channa dal & yellow moong dal.
Add them to the bowl.

Dry roast peanuts till brown on medium heat. Remove skin of the peanuts when they come to room temperature. Grind coarsely till the peanut breaks to 1/4th of its size. Add them to the bowl.(This step is optional. My mother adds peanuts. But I didn’t.)

Heat ¼ th cup of oil till hot. Add the heated oil to the bowl. First mix with a spoon because the oil is hot.

Then mix with bare hand till the oil incorporates to the flour nicely.

Then add enough water to make a tight dough. (like poori dough).

Heat oil in a pan for deep fry. For deep fry use a steel pan rather than non-stick pan. Non-stick pan is not good for deep fries.
Knead the dough nicely.
Make small balls.

Take an aluminum foil. Grease foil with oil.
Place the small dough. Press the dough to a thin patty.

Remove gently from the foil with your thumb from one edge. Check whether the oil is right hot or not by dropping a tiny ball into the oil. Deep fry till golden brown.

Transfer the fried to a paper towel.

Enjoy the taste of crackers.

Storage:

Wait till the crackers come to room temperature. Transfer the crackers to an air-tight container.

They will be good for a week or more.

Carrot Peas Curry

2008-06-23T14:43:00.008-05:00

Learnt From: My Mom. But cooking carrots in pressure cooker is from my sister (Sunanda). She told me that cutting raw carrots takes lot of time and effort. But when we pressure cook carrots, we can cut them so easily which makes work simple.

This is one of easiest and tastiest curries. I like this curry.

Ingredients:

Carrots --- 9-10 Big
Green Peas --- ½ cup
Green Chilies --- 8-10 small
Shredded Coconut --- 2 tblsn
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Urad Dal --- 1 ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Dry Red Chilies --- 1 (halved)
Curry leaves --- 6-7

Pre-Requisite:

Clean and Soak green peas for 4 hours. Generally, I soak overnight to cook in the morning.

Process:

Peel the skin of the carrots.

Cut carrots into half so that it easily fits into the cooker.
In a pressure cooker, add soaked green peas by draining the water.

Add carrots too.
Add approximately 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker.
Cook it for 2 whistles.
Wait till the pressure goes away.
In the meanwhile, grind green chilies and coconut.
Drain the water by keeping them in colander.

Wait for a while. Chop cooked carrots into small pieces.
Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan.
Add and toast seasoning one by one like urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves.
Add chopped carrots.

Add peas, a pinch of turmeric powder, ground green chilly, shredded coconut and enough salt.
Cook it for 5-7 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Have it with rice or chapathi. Either is good.

Fruit Custard

2008-06-22T23:27:00.013-05:00

Ingredients:

Custard Powder --- 3 tblsn

Milk --- 6 cups

Sugar --- 7 tblsn (adjust)

Apple --- 1

Bananas --- 2

Dates --- 10-15

Strawberries --- 5-6

Serves: 8-10 people

Process:

Boil 3 cups of milk in a bowl.

In another bowl, mix 3 tblsn of custard powder without any lumps.

Add the mixed custard milk to the bowled milk.

Stir it for 3-5 minutes till the rawness of the custard goes off.

Let it cool.

Stir occasionally at the time of cooling, or else a layer forms on top of the custard.

In the meanwhile, peel and chop apple, bananas, dates & strawberries into very small pieces or fruits of your choice.

Add the chopped fruits to the custard.

Mix well.

Refrigerate it.

Serve cold.

Sending this for Sweet Series to Mythreyee:

Dalia (Veeyinchina Senagapappu) Chutney

2008-06-21T13:11:00.005-05:00

Learnt From: My Mom.

Ingredients:

Dalia (Veeyinchina Senagapappu) --- 1 Cup
Coriander Leaves --- 20-25 stems
Tamarind --- 3 strands
Shredded Coconut --- ½ Cup
Green Chilies --- 8 small
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Urad Dal --- 1 ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Dry Red Chilly --- 1 halved
Curry Leaves --- 5-6

Process:

Add dalia, coriander leaves, tamarind, shredded cocounut, green chilies and enough salt to the blender.

Blend to a paste by adding enough water.

Transfer the chutney to a bowl.
Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan. Add and toast urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves.
Transfer the seasoning to the chutney.

Mix well.
Tastes good with Idly, Dosa, Vada, and Upma.

Bottle-Gourd curry with peanut-sesame powder

2008-06-20T10:04:00.008-05:00

In Telugu this curry is called ‘Sorrakaya Noogu podi kura’. I have tasted this curry in Sunitha’s daughter ‘Baarasaala’ function. It tasted really so good.

Once, if you make ‘Peanut-Sesame powder’ and preserve at home. Then it becomes easy to make this curry.

Learnt From: My friend Sunitha.

Ingredients:

Bottle-Gourd --- 1 medium size
Peanut-Sesame Powder --- 2 tblsn (adjust)
Milk --- ¼ cup or to cook
Turmeric Powder --- a pinch
Salt --- to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Urad Dal --- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds --- ¾th tsp
Cumin Seeds --- ½ tsp
Dry Red Chilly --- 1 (halved)
Curry Leaves --- 5-6

Process:

Peel the skin of Bottle-Gourd. Clean tht with water. Take the seed stuff from the middle of the bottle-gourd. Chop them into small pieces.
Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan.
Add & toast seasoning one by one like urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, halved dry red chilly & curry leaves.
Turn the heat to medium.
Add chopped bottle-gourd pieces to the pan.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder and enough salt to the bottle-gourd pieces.

Cover it and cook.
Add milk to cook if required.

Cook till the bottle-gourd becomes tender.
Add 2 tblsn of peanut-sesame powder to the pan.
Cook for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Have it with rice.

Sending this for 'Vow Bottle Gourd' (Vegetable of the week event) to 'Pooja'.

Peanut-Sesame Powder

2008-06-17T16:49:00.006-05:00

This is the powder which we use as an ingredient in making some curries.

Learnt From: My friend Sunitha.

Ingredients:

Peanuts --- ½ cup
Sesame Seeds --- ¼ cup
Dry Red Chilies --- 8
Tamarind --- 3-4 strands
Salt --- as per taste

Process:

Turn the heat to medium-low. Keep a pan on it. Add peanuts fry for a while.
Add dry red chilies, sesame seeds, fry till nice aroma comes or till the peanuts come to light brown colour.
Add tamarind fry for a while.
Turn off the heat.
Let them cool.
Grind all the fried into a fine powder by adding enough salt.
Let them come to room temperature.

Store the powder in a air-tight container.

Aloo Bartha

2008-05-20T10:40:00.006-05:00

This is one of the simple, easy and tasty curries. When you have this curry along with chapathi or pulka it tastes like aloo partha. Amazing … right?

Learnt From: One of my friend’s blog Archysrecipes

Serves for: 7-8 chapathis or pulkas

Ingredients:

Boiled Potatoes --- 3 big
Coriander leaves --- 15-20 strands
Turmeric powder --- a pinch
Salt --- as per taste

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 2 tblsn
Mustard Seeds --- 1 tsp
Red chilies --- 3 halved

Process:

Heat 2 tblsn of oil in a pan.
Add & toast seasoning like mustard seeds & red chilies.
When the mustard seeds starts spluttering add mashed potatoes.
If you have boiled potatoes in the micro-wave add ¼ th cup of water to it.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder and enough salt.
Mix well.
Chopped 15-20 strands of coriander leaves.
Add to the potatoes.
Mix well.

Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

Have it with pulka or chapathi.

Potato Sandwich

2008-05-05T14:08:00.015-05:00

This is one of the easiest and tastiest dishes.

Learnt From: One of my friends Saroj.

Makes: 5-6 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Wheat / Plain Bread --- 12 slices
Potatoes --- 4 big
Salt --- as per taste
Red chilly powder --- ½ tsp
Coriander powder --- ½ tsp
Cumin powder --- ½ tsp
Garam masala --- ½ tsp
Onion --- ½
Tomatoes --- 1 big
Cucumber --- 1
Lettuce --- 1

Note:

You can use vegetables of your choice.

For Seasoning:

Oil --- 1 tblsn
Mustard seeds --- ¾ tsp
Curry leaves --- 5-6 leaves

Process:

Boil & Mash Potatoes.

Heat a tblsn of oil in a pan.
Add and toast mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves.
Turn the heat to medium-low.
Add mashed pototoes.

Add enough salt, red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala.
Cover it and cook till the rawness of the powders go off. Stir occasionally.

In the mean while, slice onions, tomatoes, cucumber and Chop lettuce.
Toast the bread slices if you like. But we don’t like toasted bread. We don’t like that crispiness.

Place a toasted bread slice on a plate.

Take a small amount of potato curry with a spoon and apply it on the bread slice like you apply jam.

Top it with sliced onions, tomatoes, cucumber and chopped lettuce on it.

Cover the stuffing with one more slice on it.

Have or Serve it. It tastes so good.

Boiling Potatoes

2008-05-05T14:02:00.004-05:00

Is it looking crazy to post how to boil potatoes? But for me I felt it is useful. These are the simple things … but if we don’t try … it will be unknown forever.

If you have a micro-wave and not using it for boiling potatoes … do in this way and see the difference.

Earlier I used to boil potatoes using pressure cooker only. But my friend Kalyani used to scold me … Why you increase ur work. She advised me many a time to use micro wave for boiling potatoes. Finally, now I have used micro-wave for boiling potatoes. Really, it is very easy and the potatoes won’t take water for boiling so that it is easy to make dishes like cut lets, kebabs, burger patties etc ., which should not need to much wateriness.

Process of boiling potatoes in the micro-wave:

Take a Potato. Clean it nicely with water.
Place the cleaned potato on a micro-wave safe plate.

Keep it in the micro-wave.

Micro-wave it for 4 minutes (or keep it in the potato symbol on the micro-wave).
Remove it from micro-wave.
Let it cool for a minute.

Remove the skin of the potato with hand.

Repeat the process till you get enough.

Cut the potatoes according to ur wish.
Or else, If you want to mash the potatoes. Grate the potatoes using a grater.