Strawberry Pannacotta

Pannacotta is a traditional, easy, simple, delicious and creamy Italian Custard prepared by simmering milk, cream with sugar....after trying out many sort of pannacotta, i tried out this strawberry pannacotta with fresh strawberry chunks...We just loved this flavourful strawberry pannacotta and really relished each and every spoon...Pannacotta is eaten all over Italy where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis.Its peak season for berries and i really enjoying making out few desserts with summer fruits, strawberry pannacotta is one among those desserts..

1cup Low Fat Cream
1cup Full Fat Milk
1/4cup Sugar
2tbsp Gelatin Powder
5nos Strawberries (chopped)
1cup Strawberry puree
Strawberry chunks (for garnishing)

Heat both milk n cream with sugar in a heavy bottomed pan.. whisk everything well...now add the gelatin powder directly to the hot milk-cream n whisk well until they get well mixed, put off the stove and keep aside..Add the freshly grounded strawberry puree and chopped strawberry pieces to luke warm milk-gelatin mixture..

Pour this creamy strawberry mixture to small ramequins r small moulds ....let them get cool..cover them with aluminium foil n arrange them in fridge, dont disturb them for atleast 2 hours..

Just take off the panna cotta with a knife edge, arrange some strawberry chunks over the pannacotta...serve them... Enjoy!!!!!

Vegetarian Chilli Sambal

Sambal or sambol, its just like our chutneys or side dishes which Srilankans used to have as side dishes for their roti, rice etc...Chilli sambal is one among those famous sambal..this sambal is usually prepared with red chillies and dry maldives fish..but i googled for vegetarian version of sambal and finally i have found this vegetarian version here .. Sinhalese peoples call this chilli sambal as Lunu Miris coz this dish is prepared simply with shallots and dry red chilly flakes..This sambal suits prefectly for rotis, with our usual breakfast dishes like idlies, dosas etc..Its quite spicy and hot, but i loved it with hot idlies...Obivously this sambal goes to AWED-Srilanka guest hosted by Siri, event started by DK....

1cup Small onions/Shallots
4tbsp Dry red chilly flakes
2tsp Lemon Juice
Salt

Peel the onions and chop roughly as small pieces... Take the dry red chilly flakes, lemon juice and salt along with chopped onions in a blender...Adjust the salt and add red chilly flakes if u need more spicy...Use freshly squeezed lemon juice to prepare this sambal...

Serve as side dish!

Water Spinach Stir-fry

Water Spinach  is one of variety of spinach with plenty of vitamin A n C.You can find it out very much easily in chinese n vietnam stores...This water spinach is used very much in chinese cuisines..its a regular side dish for SouthEast Asians with their bowl of rice..This water spinach,practically all parts of the young plant are edible although the shoot tips and younger leaves are preferred. Coarse stems and leaves are often used for animal feeding. The tender shoot tips and leaves are eaten fresh or lightly cooked as wat we do with spinach. Cooking in oil is common, the addition of spices enhances the relatively bland flavor. These plant greens provide the nutritional benefits of most green leafy vegetables.This stir fry need very few minutes to prepare and this stir fry is very healthy goes prefectly with hot steaming rice...This stir fry goes to Sowmya 's SWC-Cooking with Greens...

2cups Water spinach (chopped)
1no Onion (chopped)
1/2cup Grated coconut
5nos Garlic cloves (minced)
4nos Red chillies
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
3nos Curry leaves
Salt

Heat oil in a pan n spultter the mustard seeds, urad dal n red chillies..fry it add the chopped onions and stir it well..when its transparent add the minced garlic..stir for 2 minutes...Add the chopped water spinach to the kadai and add salt...turn it continously..dont add water at all.... cook for 10 minutes in simmer..add grated coconut n put off the stove..this stir fry will be slightly crunchy.

Shouldnt cook water spinach greens for a long..certain veggies need to cook for a long but this water spinach need just a short period to cook..else it will lose vitamins,as it contains sufficient amount of vitamin A n C.

Enjoy with rice!!!

Chettinad Karuveppillai Chicken

Chettinad cuisine, famous cuisine of chettinad region of TamilNadu in South India and the people of this region are Chettiars...This cuisine is very famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly for non vegetarian food..Chettinad cuisine is one of the spicest and aromatic cuisine of India...They also use a variety of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, coz of their dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. They do not eat beef and pork.

In Chettinad food, the most important spices are Dry flower pods,Star aniseed and Black Stone Flower. In addition to these spices chettinad cuisine involves tamarind, whole red chillies, fennel seeds , cinnamon, cloves, bayleaf, peppercorns, cumin seeds and fenugreek..This karuveppillai chicken fry is also one among those delicious chettinad non vegetarian dish..This dish is made with chicken pieces simmered in curryleaves masala prepared with handful of spices cooked with onion and tomatoes, one of the best and flavourful chicken dish..This delicious chicken masala goes to Viki's The Potluck-Chicken event...

To Marinate:
2cups Chicken pieces
1/2tsp Turmeric powder
1/4cup Curd

To Masala:
3nos Onion (chopped)
2nos Tomatoes (chopped)
2tsp Coriander powder
2sprigs Curry leaves
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Fennel seeds
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt
Oil

To grind:
3/4cup Curry leaves
1/4cup Shallots
1inch Ginger (chopped)
5nos Garlic cloves
2nos Green chillies
2nos Red dry chillies
2nos Cloves
1no Cardamom
1no Cinnamon stick
1tbsp Pepper corns
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tbsp Dessicated coconut flakes

Marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder n salt for half an hour..Grind all the ingredients under the list 'To Grind' as thick and fine masala and keep aside..

Now heat enough oil in a kadai, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves, let them splutters..add the chopped onion and fry until they turns transculent, add the marinated chicken pieces along with chopped tomato pieces...cover the kadai with a lid and cook for few minutes..chicken pieces will leave some water, now add the ground masala, coriander powder and also salt if needed...fry until the masala turns until the oil get separates...Garnish the chicken masala with coriander leaves..

Serve hot with rice!!!!

Aloo Palak Tikki

Making out cutlets with greens was completely new to me until sterday..i tried out this aloo and palak combination for making out cutlets and they turned out really very tasty..Instead of making out with fresh spinach leaves i made this tikkis with frozen spinach leaves which made this dish very much easy...Wat all u need is to just thaw the frozen spinach leaves which are already chopped and freezed...With already cooked potatoes, this already chopped thawed spinach leaves get mix very well and u dont need to cook r chop the spinach leaves before making out as tikkis...Otherwise, this tikki is very easy ,tasty, delicious and healthy also very easy to prepare, can suits prefectly for snacks, as side dishes for main course....

1cup Cooked potatoes
1/4cup Spinach (frozen n thawed)
1no Onion (chopped)
1/2tsp Red chilli powder
1/4tsp Garam masala powder
2tbsp Chopped Coriander leaves
1/4tsp Fennel Seed powder
1/4cup Corn flour
1/4cup Bread crumbs
Salt
Oil

Take the cooked potatoes and the spinach leaves in a large bowl..meanwhile heat few drops of water and stir fry the chopped onion until they turns brown..keep aside and let them cool..add the red chilly powder, fennel seed powder, garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves, fried onion pieces and salt to the cooked potatoes-spinach mixture, mix well everything...

Make a white sauce with corn flour and water in a plate, take the bread crumbs in another plate...Make small balls out from the spiced potato and spinach mixture, flatten them in ur palms..dip gently in the cornflour paste and roll over the bread crumbs...Keep the breadcrumbed tikkis aside and shallow fry the tikkis until they turn golden brown colour on both sides..Serve hot with ketchup!!

Rasedar Rajma -T&T from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Any dish with Rajma goes immediately to my favourite list..here is one among them..when i browsed through Susan's FatFree Vegan Kitchen i saw this rasedar rajma and i loved the simplicity of this dish, immediately i tried it for our dinner and served with sweet potato paratha.. and this rasedar rajma tastes delicious together with any sort of rotis, parathas etc..This rajma dish was really comforting, nourishing and healthy but i skipped the soy yoghurt and replaced the soya yoghurt with 1/4cup of coconut milk coz i wasnt able to find out unflavoured soya yoghurt that much easily coz most of the soya yoghurts are sweetened and flavoured..Susan have posted many lovely Indian dishes in her space too...Am sending this Rasedar Rajma to T&T-Fatfree Vegan Kitchen guest hosted by Vaishali of HolyCow, event started by Zlamushka...

2cups Dry rajma beans
1tbsp Ginger (crushed)
Salt
1no Onion(chopped)
2nos Garlic cloves (minced)
2nos Tomato (chopped)
1tsp Garam masala
1/2tsp Ajwain seeds
1/4tsp Fenugreek powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1tbsp Coriander powder
1/2tsp Turmeric powder
1/4cup Coconut milk
Oil
Salt
1tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)

In a pressure cooker, add the dry rajma beans, crushed ginger, salt with enough water, cook in high flame until 2 whistles and put off the stove...drain the water and add 3cups of water and bring it to boil until the beans get well cooked..keep them aside...Drain the cooked water and keep aside for making out the sauce..

Heat enough oil and add the chopped onions, stir until they turn transculent, add the ajwain seeds and crushed garlic cloves and stir for a while, add the chopped tomato pieces, cook until they turn mushy, add the coconut milk, coriander seed powder, red chilly powder, garam masala powder, salt and fenugreek powder..Add the drained cooked water to make sauce..stir well and cook for a while...add now the cooked beans to sauce and let them cook until turns thick..add the chopped coriander leaves to the gravy..

Serve with rotis, naans or parathas!!

Pasta, Chicken N Bellpepper Salad

Pasta suits prefectly for making out salads...whenever i have a cup of cooked pastas i'll surely turned them out as salads with tomato pieces and cheese cubes, for cheese our preference goes immediately to mozzarella cheese cubes...Today i was planning to prepare pasta with chicken pieces and bell pepper pieces...Even it was quite cloudy today, my hubby asked me to prepare something as salads..Immediately i turned the cooked pasta as salad with sauteed chicken chunks, bell pepper pieces..We had this delicious salad for our lunch with simple fruit salad and its was really very nourishing, delicious..This salad suits prefectly for dinner too and Y not for picnic, am damn sure i gonna prepare this salad often since its very simple and also very easy..can also replace the chicken chunks with shrimps also with omelette...This pasta salad goes to Presto Pasta Nights#114 guest hosted by Sara of I'm a foodblog, event started by Ruth..Am also sending to Viki's The Potluck-Chicken...

1cup Cooked pasta (any type)
1/2cup Chicken chunks
1/4cup Green bellpepper pieces
1no Red onion (chopped)
2tbsp Parsley leaves (chopped)
1tsp Soya sauce
1tsp Sesame oil
1/4tsp Pepper powder
Salt

Heat the sesame oil and saute the chopped red onion pieces until they turns transculent, add immediately the chicken chunks, cook until the chicken chunks get well cooked..add the bell pepper pieces and saute just for 2 minutes with enough salt..put off the stove..Keep aside and let them cool...

Take a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, cooked chicken and bell pepper pieces...add the soyasauce, pepper powder, chopped parsley leaves and mix everything well..

Serve as salad !!!

Cherry Date-Nut Balls - T&T from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

 Its quite rare i go through vegan blogs, but when Vaishali of Holy Cow announced for Tried & Tasted event she was hosting for, i immediately went through Susan's FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog, i was completely fallen to her blog, wat a lovely collection of huge varieties of vegan dishes...Outstanding dishes, gorgeous and tasty treats with beautiful clicks really pulled me to go through her blog, i can say i really spend my free time almost there since few days...Its really a hard task for me to choose and prepare her dishes, everything were healthy, utterly delicious...I just loved her Cherry Date-Nut Balls coz it was no cook and healthy as well as delicious balls which need hardly few minutes to prepare...Obivously this healthy balls goes to T&T-FatFree Vegan Kitchen guest hosted by Vaishali of HolyCow, event started by Zlamushka...

1/2cup Almonds (blanched)
1/4cup Walnuts
1tbsp Flax seed meal
1/4cup Dates (pitted and chopped)
10nos Dry cherries
2tbsp Coconut flakes

Grind the almond and walnuts together coarsely, add the flax seed meal, pitted and chopped dates, dry cherries and grind until everything until well mixed, if u take a pinch of this mixture it should sticks, if so turn this nuts and dates mixture as small balls and roll over the coconut flakes...

Enjoy!

Strawberry Custard

I love custard with fruits as desserts, i do prepare custard with store bought custard powder whenever i need for making out custards at home, after a long hesitation i prepared myself at home for our desserts, also here its peak season for summer fruits like strawberry, raspberry etc...we were bored of making milkshakes and ice creams with these delicious fruits..As usual every weekend we went for farmer's market and i bought a basket  full of strawberries for death cheap rate, immediately i grabbed strawberries...thought of making something different i prepared myself custard at home and prepared this strawberry custard with strawberry chunks served with chilled home made custard...Voila!! a delicious creamy dessert, ready to relish...Am sending this strawberry custard to Happy Cook's Strawberry Feast...

1 cup Full fat milk
1/2cup Sugar
2 nos Eggs
1 cup Strawberries (chopped)
1½ tsp Vanilla extract
2tsp Corn flour

Heat milk in a heavy bottomed pan n bring it to boil...take a large bowl whisk both egg n sugar together until they turns soft n fluffy... add 1/4th of the boiled milk to the egg n sugar mixture n beat them together, add the rest of the milk to egg mixture, this is to avoid to cook the egg... While adding a boiled milk ,eggs may  get cooked to avoid this, add slowly the boiled milk with the egg mixture... add the vanilla extract n transfer the egg, milk n sugar mixture to the heavy bottomed pan, n stir it continously for a while, this is custard mixture.. while cooking, this mixture will turns slightly thick, mix the corn flour with a 2 tsp of water n keep aside..cook the custard mixture in simmer for atleast 15 minutes, now add the corn flour batter n stir again for a while...put off the stove..

Let it cool..take 2 tablespoon of chopped strawberries in a bowl n pour the custard on the top of the chopped strawberries, finish the strawberries with the custard..keep them in fridge atleast for  4 hours r overnite..

Cheesy Pizza Swirls

Store bought pizza dough are always helpful whenever we need of making out any simple pizza at home...its really very handy and versatile for making out any dish with this pizza dough...After making out many pizza dishes with store bought pizza dough, i tried out this cheesy pizza swirls with cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, spices with dry thymn leaves, pepper powder and salt...its such a simple dish, easy to prepare and definitely kids will surely love this cheessssyyyy swirls baked in oven for 15 to 20 minutes...Needless to say that this cheesy swirls goes to RV& Sudeshna's Foods For 7stages Of Life-Healthy Fast Foods and to Sunday Snacks-Cheese guest hosted by Superchef...

1no Storebought Pizza Dough
1cup Cream cheese
1/4cup Mozzarella cheese cubes
1tsp Dry Thymn leaves
1/4tsp Pepper powder
Salt (per need)

Dust the pizza dough with all purpose flour, whisk together the cream cheese with salt as per ur need and spread the cream cheese as thin layer over the pizza dough, springle the cubed mozzarella cheese, dry thymn leaves, pepper powder over the cream cheese and roll the dough...Preheat the oven at 350F....

Cut the dough as small pieces and arrange one by one over a baking sheet, arrange the baking sheet in middle rack and bake for 15-20 minutes until the swirls turns golden brown..

Serve hot!

Potatoes N Chicken Sausage Gratin

Gratin is originated in French cuisine, and its usually prepared in a shallow dish..A gratin is baked or broiled to form a golden crust on top and traditionally served in baking dish often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg or butter...This potatoes and chicken sausage gratin is a type of gratin dauphinoise which is prepared with thinly sliced and layered potatoes, chicken sausage,egg and cream cooked with buttered dish..This is a complete dish served with salads for lunch or for dinner...Gratin can be very much prepared with fish, vegetables or simply with cheese...

5nos Potatoes (sliced thinly)
1cup Chicken sausage pieces
1+1/2cup Grated cheese
1cup Milk
1cup Low fat cream
1/2tsp Nutmeg powder
1/2tsp Pepper powder
Salt
2tsp Butter

Beat together milk, low fat cream, pepper and nutmeg powder, salt until everything get well mixed...Preheat the oven at 350F...butter well a shallow baking pan and arrange the thinly sliced potatoes as layer, springle chicken sausage pieces over the potato pieces and cheese...now arrange again a layer of potato pieces and again springle the chicken sausage pieces and cheese, finish the potato pieces, chicken sausage pieces and cheese, pour the milk-cream mixture over the unbaked gratin....

Arrange the gratin in a middle rack of the oven and bake for 30-35minutes until the top turns golden brown crust..

Serve hot with salads!!!

Mint Leaves Rasam

Without rasam, our lunch wasnt complete...i do many varieties of rasam with mint leaves, tomato, lemon, ginger etc...Here come one of among my variety rasam..Mint is one of the most simple natural herbs, and has a lot of good uses, besides just tasting good. It is also easy to grow..Mint also functions as an expectorant, helping to drain the sinuses and ease the congestion of colds. It can be imbibed in a tea, or it can be added to a vaporizer or pot of boiling water, to fill the air with mint impregnated steam. Mint can be grown from seed, however usually it is much easier to simply purchase small plants. The plants should be planted to the depth of the soil in the pots. Water well, especially right after planting. When the plants reach about a foot in height, the top half inch or so can be pinched off to encourage the plant to grow bushier. Coming to this rasam, its such a delicious and easy dish i use to prepare very often whenever i buy few bunches of mint leaves...This flavourful rasam goes to Sowmya's SWC-Cooking with greens and also to JFI-Mints guest hosted by Ashiwini , event started by Indira...

1/2cup Mint leaves (chopped)
1no Tomato
1/4cup Toor dal
2nos Garlic cloves (crushed)
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
2nos Dry red chillies
1tsp Lemon juice
Salt
Oil

To Grind:
 1tsp Peppercorns
1tsp Cumin seeds
2nos Dry red chillies
1tbsp Coriander seeds

Dry roast all the ingredients from the list 'To Grind' as coarse powder...Cook toor dal with a cup a water in pressure cooker until they turns soft...keep aside and smash the tomato, add the smashed tomato and crushed garlic cloves to the cooked toor dal...add the grounded spice powder as per ur need and salt..

Heat enough oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida powder and red chillies and let them splutters, add the chopped mint leaves to the tadka and stir until the mint leaves shrinks, add the spiced water to the kadai and once it starts bubbling and put off the stove..

Serve with rice!

Dahi Beets Cutlet

Its too hot since three days, i want to prepare anything and something refreshing for our lunch..i planned to make out beets cutlet with grated beets, cooked potatoes spiced with chilly powder, garam masala and prepared as cutlets with corn flour paste and bread crumbs...usually i do add many veggies to make out as vegetable cutlets but this time i want to make out simply with fresh beets i bought sterday from our farmer's market which is quite difficult to find out..instead of making out simple stir fry with beets i prepared this beets cutlets which is really very much tasty....After prepared my beets cutlets as shallow fry i soaked just 5 beets cutlets in a spiced curd and arranged in fridge...while serving the lunch i served this dahi cutlets to my H, who loved very much and asked to turned all the cutlets as dahi cutlets...he enjoyed having this delicious dahi cutlets for snacks...Healthy, refreshing and tasty dahi cutlets goes to Priti's Summer Treat....

For Cutlets:

1cup Beets (cooked and grated)

2cups Potatoes (cooked )

1no Onion (chopped)

1tsp Red chilly powder

1/2tsp Jeera powder

1tsp Garam masala powder

1/4cup Corn flour

1/4cup Bread crumbs

Salt

Oil for shallow frying

For Making Dahi Cutlet:

2cup Curd

1/4tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal

1/2tsp Oil

Salt

2tsp Mint leaves (chopped)

 

Smash the cooked potatoes and add the cooked and grated beets with red chilly powder, jeera powder, garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves and salt...Heat few drops of oil and add the chopped onion to the hot oil and stir until the onions turns transculent, add the cooked onions to the potato-beats mixture and turn everything as dough...take a 10-12 balls and flatten it as cutlets..

Mix the corn flour with enough water as white paste..dip each cutlets in white sauce and roll it evenly in bread crumbs, fry as shallow frying until both sides of the cutlets turns brown...drain the excess of oil in a paper towel..

Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal and add this tadka to the curd as well as the chopped mint leaves...Soak the already fried cutlets and serve chilled....

Refreshing and delicious dahi cutlets!!

Cantaloupe Melon Smoothie

 Its seems peak season of melons here, coz its never happened these cantaloupe melons this much easily here...we get nowadays very cheaply these delicious cantaloupe melons from our farmer's market..Cantaloupes have a pleasant orange flesh, the orange flesh has beta carotene just like carrots also these cantaloupes are great source of beta carotene for the eyes..Cantaloupes have large amounts of Vitamin A and C, they also help to protect again the free radical damage, lower the risk of cancer and heart disease..

                              

Cantaloupes can be chilled to create a cool summer snack. We can peel, slice, and eat cantaloupes. We can also cut them into chunks and eat them as finger foods. Once we have peeled the cantaloupe, seeds removed, and are cut up, adding a little salt and pepper can be an added taste to the sweetness of the cantaloupe. Coming to the cantaloupe smoothie, i tried out simply with cantaloupe chunks, yogurt, milk and maple syrup..This smoothie tastes too delicious and refreshing for hot summer..Delicious smoothie goes to Madhuri's  Serve me some..juices, shakes & Smoothies..

2cups Cantaloupe melon pieces

1cup Yogurt
1/4cup Milk
2tsp Maple Syrup
Ice cubes

Blend together the cantaloupe melon pieces, yogurt, milk and maple syrup with ice cubes as fresh juice...Serve immediately!!

On the way to Priti's Summer Treat...

Beans Rice

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese, also green beans are very good source of vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron. And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. Green beans are also commonly known as snap beans. Haricot verts are French green beans that are very thin and very tender. Green beans are in the same family as shell beans, such as pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans.

If possible, purchase green beans at a store or farmer's market that sells them loose so that you can sort through them to choose the beans of best quality. Purchase beans that have smooth feel and a vibrant green color, and that are free from brown spots or bruises. They should have a firm texture and snap when broken.Store unwashed fresh beans pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days. This beans rice is a simple version of masala rice i do prepare often for our lunch, this beans rice suits prefectly to lunch box menu too.

2cups Green beans (pieces)
2cup Cooked Basmati rice
1no Onion (chopped)
3nos Green chillies (slit opened)
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Pepper powder
1/2tsp Jeera powder
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
5nos Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, let them splutters...add the chopped onion pieces, slit opened green chillies, curry leaves and saute everything for a while until the onions turns transculent.

Add the chopped green beans with garam masala powder, pepper powder, jeera powder and salt, cook everything in simmer and cook everything until the beans turns slightly cooked, add immediately the rice and toss gently with cooked and spice beans and put off the stove...

Serve hot with any side dishes!

Carrot N Bokchoy Poricha Kootu

I had recently poricha kootu when i went to my friend's place for lunch, i got hooked to this delicious dhal curry spiced with coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies which pushed me to try out once i came back to home, i tried out with carrots and baby bokchoy leaves which suits prefectly to make this simple but yet delicious kootu...Carrot and bokchoy leaves together made this kootu more delicious and we loved having it for lunch also for dinner with chappathis..This poricha kootu recipe is definitely a keeper for me, to come up with different veggies..With papads and potato roast this poricha kootu will tastes definitely a divine... This healthy and colourful kootu goes to  Sanghi's FIL-Carrots n also to Sowmya's SWC-Cooking with Greens...

1cup Masoor dal (cooked)
1/2cup Carrot pieces
1/2cup Bokchoy pieces
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomato( chopped)
1tsp Lemon juice
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
2nos Dry red chillies
5nos Curry leaves
1tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt
Oil

To Grind:
1/4cup Grated coconut
1tsp Cumin seeds
3nos Green chillies

Grind all the ingredients from the list 'To Grind' as fine paste with enough water..meanwhile heat enough oil and add chopped onion, chopped tomato pieces and cook until the onions turns transculent, add immediately the carrot pieces, stir until the carrots turns bit tender.. Add the bokchoy leaves and saute for few seconds, immediately add the cooked masoor dal, water as per need and grounded paste with salt and cook until the veggies get well cooked...

Heat oil again in a pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida powder, curry leaves and dry red chillies and fry..add this tadka to the cooking kootu, also add the chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice and put off the stove..

Serve with rice, paaps and any other side dishes as u desire!

Microwave Instant Broccoli Pachadi

Throughout the year, broccoli is one of the easiest foods to locate as most supermarkets supply this nutrient rich vegetable..I still remember i came across this veggie for the first time once i went to farmer's market, i tried out a simple side dish with broccoli but none at home liked it, i completely trashed that simple dish..but once googling i came across that broccoli's health benefits and i was completely amazed to read about this green vegetable...Yes, Broccoli provides a high amount of vitamins C, they are rich in antioxydants, folic acids,potassium etc...When preparing this vegetable, its important to remember that overcooking broccoli equals a reduction in vital nutrients..

To savor every last drop of vitamins and healthy components, you should try steaming, microwaving, or preparing broccoli in a tasty stir-fry. Next time when you shopping for vegetables, note that some broccoli tops appear purplier than others, meaning they possess a higher level of carotenoids, which is better for your health. I bought fresh broccoli  two day back, i dont want to loss any nutrient value of this fabulous vegetable, i tried out simply as spicy, tangy pachadi with broccoli in microwave oven..they tastes too hot and a prefect pair for sambhar rice, curd rice etc..Here is a simple instant version of spicy, crunchy broccoli pachadi...This broccoli pachadi goes to MEC-Essential Extras guest hosted by Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen, event started by Srivalli..

1cup Broccoli(chopped finely)
1+1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Mustard seeds + 1tsp Mustard seeds
1tsp Fenugreek seeds
3tbsp Oil
Salt
2tbsp Lemon juice

Cook the finely chopped broccoli florets in a microwave safe bowl for 5 minutes with enough salt in high..take out the bowl and strain the water from the cooked broccoli florets..take a 1tsp mustard seeds with fenugreek seeds in a microwave plate and heat in microwave oven for 2 minutes, stir inbetween until it tuns slightly brown, grind this fried mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds as fine powder...

Heat the oil in a microwave bowl for a minute and add the 1/2tsp of mustard seeds and cook for 2  minutes, now add the already cooked broccoli florets, red chilly powder,1tsp of grounded mustard-fenugreek powder to the bowl and cook again for 3 more minutes...toss the spiced broccoli florets with lemon juice and salt, keep aside...

Serve as side dish to rice dishes, rotis etc!!!..On the way to Sowmya's SWC-Cooking with Greens...

Rajma N Tomato Rice

Red kidney beans (Rajma)are grown in many places around the world and can be found in the cuisines of Spain and Latin America.These kidney beans are large and deep maroon in colour,They tend to lend colour to the dish in which they are cooked. The beans have a strong musky and nutty aroma and a full, chewy taste. The skin is thick and has a slightly sweet aftertaste. These beans go into "Chilli Con Carne" and many wholesome soups and stews. These require soaking and long cooking time. These beans go well with onions and tomatoes.Store dried kidney beans in an airtight container in a cool, dry and dark place where they will keep for up to 12 months. Cooked kidney beans will keep fresh in the refrigerator for about three days if placed in a covered container. Kidney beans are an excellent source of molybdenum. They are a very good source of folate, dietary fiber and manganese. Kidney beans are a good source of protein, thiamine, phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, and potassium. I do cook often many dishes with red kidney beans atleast twice a month, here comes one of my rice dish which i do often whenever i was bored to prepare our lunch, i prepare this dish with tinned rajma beans which make the rice dish much easier..Am sending this delicious rice to CFK-Tomato guest hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester...

2cups Basmati rice (cooked)
1no Tinned rajma beans
1no Onion(chopped)
2nosTomatoes(chopped)
1tsp Red chilly powder
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/4tsp Jeera powder
1/4tsp Pepper powder
2nos Bay leaves, cloves
1inch Cinnamom stick
5nos Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Strain the tinned rajma beans in a strainer and keep aside...Heat enough oil and add the bayleaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, fry until they turns brown..add the chopped onion pieces, chopped tomato pieces and cook until the onion turns transculent and tomatoes turns mushy...add immediately the rajma beans with red chilly powder, garam masala powder, jeera powder, pepper powder , curryleaves and salt and cook everything in simmer until the oil get separates..

Now add the already cooked basmati rice to the cooking rajma masala and toss gently until everything get well mixed..

Serve hot with papads or any other side dishes!!!

On the way to My Legume Love Affair -11th Helping guest hosted by Lori Lynn of Taste with the eyes, event started by Susan

Microwave Mango Halwa

I have bookmarked this microwave mango halwa at Cham's Space quite a long back, she prepared very simply through microwave cooking and the day itself i have fallen for that glossy delicious mango halwa which i was longing since a long, this delicious mango halwa need just a tin of mango pulp which makes me happy coz i never get that much easily ripen mangoes here, I recently bought a tin of mango pulp and tried out this tasty mango halwa in microwave and served this yummy halwa to my guests who came to our home for lunch, they just loved it and even asked me how to prepare, i have to say thanks to Cham for making and posting this mango halwa which was quite a big hit at home..just relished each and every spoon..

1cup Tinned Mango pulp
1/2cup Sugar
2tbsp Ghee
1tbsp Cardamom powder
1/4cup Almond pieces +almond flakes for garnishing

Mix the mango pulp, sugar in a microwave safe bowl, cook for 15 minutes in high.. Give a stir every 3 r 5 minutes, add the ghee, nuts and cook in high again for 5 minutes..finally add the cardamom powder and stir again, Voila!!! a shiny mango halwa is ready...

Serve as desserts!

Multigrain Bread

Its quite a long, i prepared bread at home..I want to prepared something different with flours from my pantry..i came across ragi flour, soya flour and whole wheat flour so i thought of making out bread with all these flours..I never ever tried bread with ragi and soya flour and i was initially little bit confused whether they turn out prefect or not..anyhow i want to give a try and started preparing as i do usually while preparing breads..Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen announced BBD#20 - Multigrain Bread, i wanted to come up with something different, coz i have already prepared many breads with oats, which i have completely skipped in this bread..This bread tastes very delicious and healthy with plenty of healthy stuffs in it..Soya flour is made from whole soybeans that have been roasted and ground. Soya is a stable food with great nutritional value. Soyabean flour contains high protein and is usually mixed in with whole grain flours in many recipes. Use soyabean flour in home cooking for a delicious and highly nutritious dishes also to get a little more soya in the diet.Raagi is a kind of millet. It contain high protein. Ragi flour has advantages of slow digestibility and high calcium content. High-protein biscuits made with ragi flour. Ragi flour is used in the preparation of rotis, dosa, porridge, and other foods. Ragi flour is also known as Kurakkan flour in Karnataka, India.Wheat flour is high in nutrients. Because of its fiber properties, wheat flour is the first choice of the health conscious people...So needless to say that this bread is quite healthy, prefect for breakfast with jams or with nutella...Also sending to JFI-Ragi hosted by Madhuram..

2cups Whole wheat flour
1cup Ragi Flour
1cup Soya flour
2tsp Active dry yeast
1tsp Sugar
1tsp Salt
3tbsp Olive oil
1/2cup Luke Warm Milk
1/2cup Luke warm water

Mix together the luke warm water and luke warm milk, add the active dry yeast, sugar and salt, let them sit together for 5 minutes until the yeast turns foamy..

In a large vessel , add the whole wheat flour, ragi flour, soya flour, sieve the flours twice...pour the foamy yeast, water (if needed) and olive oil, knead them as soft and stiff dough..grease a vessel with a few drops of oilve oil and place the dough..arrange them in a warm place until the dough double their volume for two hours..

Knead again after for few minutes and roll them as small round balls and place the dough balls over a baking sheet...let it sit for an hour in a warm place..Preheat the oven at 350F and arrange the baking tray in the middle rack and bake for 35 minutes...Let it cool for atleast few minutes...Serve them with butter, jam or else with chocolate spread..

Healthy bread for a healthy breakfast!!!!

Carrot N French Beans Thoran

Simple side dish prepared with carrots, french beans, soaked moongdal and spiced with green chillies...this thoran/poriyal is one of our favourite side dish, which goes perfectly as side dish with sambhar, rasam and curd rice..its just take few minutes to cook and very healthy thoran too, i do the same with carrots, cabbage,french beans, zucchinis,cauliflower etc.. the choice of veggies to make out this simple dish depends on the veggies i can get from the farmer's markets, this is our usual side dish i do atleast twice a week for our lunch...sometimes i used to add cooked rice and turned this side dish as rice dish by just adding garam masala and pepper powder...This is how i feed my family members whenever they get bored of usual dishes..This healthy and colourful thoran goes to  Sanghi's FIL-Carrots ....

1cup Carrot pieces

1+1/2cups French beans pieces

1no Onion (chopped)

3nos Green Chillies (slit opened)

1/4tsp Mustard seeds

1/4tsp Urad dal

1/4cup Moongdal (soaked for half an hour)

1/4cup Grated coconut pieces

Oil

Salt

5nos Curry leaves

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal and let them splutters..add the chopped onions and slit opened green chillies and cook until the onions turns transculent..add the carrot and french bean pieces and stir cook everything until the veggies turns bit tender, add immediately the soaked moongdal to the cooked veggies with salt and curry leaves and cook in simmer..springle some water and stir occasionally until the veggies get well cooked..add finally the grated coconut and toss gently until everything get well mixed..

Serve hot!

Microwave Frenchbeans Raita

After making out raita with potatoes, here come one more easy and simple raita with french beans, as usual i tried out this french beans raita in microwave...French beans are very rich in proteins, calcium, phosphorus,vitamin A,B ,D and fat..they also contain much iron which helps the blood cells production..French beans are neutral in nature and can be consumed frequently. French beans make great soups and are highly nutritious. Do not eat French beans raw, as they contain red blood cell coagulant that causes food poisoning. French beans can be very well prepared easily as any style of cuisine, i do often dishes with french beans which consumes very less time and suits prefectly as any type of dish..Stir fry green french beans are good for the eyesight too...i bought a bag of french beans before two days back, i just tried them as simple raita which i served with rajma rice for sterday's lunch..cooking green vegetables in microwave keeps the green colour of the vegetables, i just love to keep the green colour of veggies and also microwave cooking cook prefectly the green beans within 5 minutes very well...Simple raita goes to MEC-Essential Extras guest hosted by Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen, event started by Srivalli..

1/2cup Green french beans (chopped finely)

1tsp Jalapeno pepper pieces

1cup Thick yoghurt

1/4tsp Red chilly powder

1/4tsp Chat Masala powder

Salt

Take the finely chopped french green beans in a microwave safe bowl with salt and cook in high for 5 minutes, take off from the microwave oven and add the jalapeno pepper pieces, red chilly powder and cook again for 2 minutes...add finally the thick yoghurt, chat masala powder and salt (if needed), whisk everything well until they get well mixed..

Serve with any pulao r rice dishes!

Am sending this easy french beans raita to FIC-Favourite guest hosted by CL, event started by Sunshinemom..

Aamras

Mangoes are known as king of fruits, they are fully packed with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, also contains proteins, fats and calories like all fruits...Taking mango regularly males the complexion fair and the skin soft and shining..Each and every part of mango and mango trees are very rich in many medical values, Dried and powder mango leaves helps a lot for kidney and gall stones, while for dry cough the juice from mango helps to eliminates all the bronchial congestion and give relief from coughing..Dried Mango seeds is a good toothpaste, strengthens the gums and helps in curing dental problems..Mango is high in iron, pregnant women and people with anemia are advised to eat this fruit regularly.Coming this aamras, i have bookmarked this easy and delicious mango dessert from Suma's Cuisine which need hardly 5 minutes, as Suma said this dessert can be prepared very simply at anytime..Yummy mango dessert tickle surely ur tastebuds..This goes to MBP-Mango Masti guest hosted by Neha of Tasty Recipes..on the way to Srivalli's Mango Mela ...

1cup Mango Pulp
2tsp Sugar
1/2cup Milk
2pinch Saffron Strands
1tsp Cardamom powder

Blend everything except cardamom powder until they turns smooth paste, add finally the cardamom powder and beat again just for few seconds..

Serve chilled!!

Jeera Chicken Roast

After peppercorns, i just love the flavour of jeera powder in my dishes..i do often jeera rice whenever i bored of making out usual pulao r briyanis...here is one of my easy preparation of chicken fry with jeera powder..this chicken roast is as simple as like pepper chicken fry, i follow the same as my mom do for pepper chicken fry, but instead of roasting fresh peppercorns i will roast black cumins and prepare this flavouful dish.. We know very well that cumin seeds have traditionally been noted to be of benefit to the digestive system..The health benefits of cumin include digestion, piles, insomnia, respiratory disorders, asthma, bronchitis, common cold, lactation, anemia, skin disorders, boils, immunity, and cancer.The essential oils present in cumin act as disinfectants and help fight viral infections which cause common cold. Cumin also does not let cough formation in the respiratory system as it is supposed to be hot and dries up the excess mucus. Cumin is rich in iron and has considerable amount of vitamin-C, which are essential for a good immunity and keeps infections away. Cumins seeds are very used in our Indian cooking since long ago, they are very much used in ayurvedic medicines as well as home prepared medicines which our grandma's specials..Coming to this chicken fry, its quite a simple, delicious and flavourful roast, goes awesome as side dish for any sort of rice dishes, also for rotis & parathas..This jeera chicken roast goes to Viki's The Potluck-Chicken Event..

2cups Chicken pieces
1/2cup Onion (chopped)
2nos Tomatoes(chopped)
1tsp Garlic paste
1tsp Ginger paste
1/2tsp Fennel seed powder
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/4tsp Pepper powder
2tsp Cumin powder (roasted n powdered)
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil and add the cumin seeds, let them splutters.. add the chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, ginger paste, garlic paste and stir everything for a while until the onions turns transculent and raw smells disappears, add the chicken pieces with enough salt and stir for a while..now add the fennel seed powder, garam masala powder, redchilly powder, pepper powder, roasted cumin powder and stir again, cook in simmer with lid closed and stir occasionally, mostly the chicken pieces will leave some water else u can add water to cook the chicken pieces...

Cook well until the chicken pieces get well cooked and the oil get separates, add the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove..

Serve hot as side dish for any rice dishes!!

Mint Pakoda

Pakodas, crunchy snacks can be just prepared with onions sometimes with vegetables also with greens..prefect for evening snacks with a cup of hot tea or coffee, nothing will replace this combination if the season is cloudy, rainy etc..I prepared pakodas out of fresh mint leaves which i bought this weekend from our farmer's market, they were really very fresh and i want make out some snacks with those aromatic leaves, immediately i thought of making them as ribbon pakoda and finally prepared them as pakodas with mint leaves and onions..Tasty, crunchy mint pakodas turns out prefectly and we enjoyed having this flavourful pakodas...

2cups Besan flour
1cup Rice flour
1/2cup Mint Leaves (chopped)
1/2cup Onions (chopped)
10nos Curry leaves
3tsbp Hot oil
1tsp Fennel seed (pounded)
5nos Garlic(crushed)
3nos Green chillies (chopped)
Salt
Oil

Take the besan flour, rice flour, chopped mint leaves, chopped onions, pounded fennel seeds, crushed garlic, chopped green chillies, salt and add the 3tbsp of hot oil, turn everything as thick paste, can also springle water them turn them as paste..

Heat the oil for deepfrying, take a handful of the thick paste and drop gently in the hot oil..fry until they turns golden brown and strain the excess of oil in a paper towel, fry in small batches..

Enjoy the flavourful mint pakodas with hot coffee or tea!!!

Melon Cooler

Watermelons can be round, oblong or spherical in shape and feature thick green rinds that are often spotted or striped.Watermelon is not only great on a hot summer day, this delectable thirst-quencher may also help quench the inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis.Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A, notably through its concentration of beta-carotene.Cantaloupe is the most popular variety of melon of the cucumber family. Cantaloupes range in color from orange-yellow to salmon and have a soft and juicy texture with a sweet...Cantaloupe folate content is important for the production and maintenance of new cells, especially during pregnancy.This melon cooler is just the combination of this both watermelon and canteloupe melon together, i prepared fresh juice with watermelon and maple syrup, with few canteloupe melon balls which i scooped out from the canteloupe melon...This cooler is definitely a thirst quencher and rich in vitamins..This cooler goes rite to AFAM-Melon guest hosted by Ashwini, event started by Maheswari, also going to Srivalli's Mithai Mela..

                                      

1cup Watermelon cubes
1/2tsp Maple Syrup
10nos Canteloupe melon balls
Ice cubes

Blend together watermelon cubes with water and maple syrup as juice...while serving add the canteloupe melon balls and ice cubes...

Enjoy!

Also sending Watermelon Milkshake & Canteloupe Granita to the AFAM-Melon event...

Jain Lauki Koftas Curry

I can surely say this kofta curry is absolutely jain cuisine coz i didnt used Onions, garlic and potatoes in this recipe which is strictly avoided in Jain style of cuisine..Lauki well known as bottle gourd  is 96.1% of water, and aids digestion. A 100 gm serving of lauki contains just twelve calories and is ideal if you are watching your weight.Bottle gourd is very valuable in urinary disorders. It should be given once daily in the treatment of burning sensation in urinary passage due to high acidity of urine. Instead of deep frying r shallow frying i baked my lauki koftas in oven until they turns golden brown and stiff also i prepared a gravy based with tomatoes, cashew nuts, ginger, redchilli powder, thick yoghurt and dhaniya powder..This delicious lauki kofta curry tastes too delicious and quite easy to prepare..as i baked the koftas in oven i just used one tbsp of oil to prepare this lauki kofta curry...Yummy dish without onion and garlic..This kofta curry goes directly to RCI-Jain Cuisine guest hosted by PJ, event started by Lakshmi...

For Koftas:
1cup Grated Bottlegroud pieces
4tbsp Besan flour
1/2tsp Ginger paste
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Garam masala
Salt

Mix both grated bottlegourd pieces and salt , keep aside..grated bottlegourd pieces may leave some water,meanwhile preheat the over to 350F.. strain the water (keep the bottlegourd water aside, can use while making gravy) and add all the ingredients to the bottle gourd pieces and make small balls...bake for 20-25minutes in a baking sheet until its turns golden brown...

For Gravy:

1+1/2cups Fresh Tomato puree
 Leftover Bottlegourd juice

3/4tsp Cumin seeds

1tsp Ginger paste

1tsp Red chilly powder

1tsp Coriander powder

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Garam masala powder

8nos Cashew nuts

1/2cup Yoghurt        

2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
        

Heat oil and cumin seeds, let them splutter, add the ginger paste and fry for few minutes, meanwhile grind finely the cashew nuts with yoghurt as paste.. immediately add the tomato puree, bottlegourd juice, red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt and bring them to boil..keep the flame in simmer and cook for few minutes, add gradually the cashew-yoghurt paste cook until the oil get separates..finally add the oven baked lauki koftas to the simmering gravy...cook for 2 minutes and add finally the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove..

Serve hot with rotis and parathas!!!                           

Microwave Potato Raita

Have you ever heard about potato raita?? i dunno whether u ppls know this..but i tried it out as microwave version for today's lunch with pulao...i often cook potatoes in microwave for my masalas and curries, microwave cooking take less time when compared to stove top cooking for potatoes, i finished making out this delicious slightly spiced raitha with potatoes, red chilly powder and yoghurt, tempered with mustard seeds...Delicious potato raitha within few minutes, we just loved it and quite different from our usual raitas we do with cucumber, onions or else with carrots..

2nos Potatoes

1cup Yoghurt

1/4tsp Mustard seeds

1/4tsp Red chilly powder

1/2tsp Oil

1/2tsp Coriander leaves (chopped)

Salt

Cut the potatoes as small pieces and cook with a cup of water and salt in microwave bowl for 5 minutes..drain the water and smash the potatoes slightly...heat the oil in a microwave bowl for a minute in high, add the mustard seeds and cook again for a minute...now add the slightly smashed potatoes to the bowl with red chilly powder and give a stir..cook everything for 2 minutes...take out the bowl and add the yoghurt, chopped coriander leaves and salt, mix everything well..

Serve as raitha with pulao etc!!!!

Bottlegourd N Peanut Curry

The bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India. It is yellowish green, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds in spongy flesh...Bottle gourd is not only rich in essential minerals, iron, protein and trace elements; it is also rich in fibre. The cooked vegetable is cooling, diuretic, sedative and anti­bilious. It gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it. In India, bottlegourd's woody shells serve as utensils and as sounding boxes for the sitar and ektara used by the bauls of Bengal....Bottle Gourd prevents excessive loss of sodium, quenches thirst and helps in preventing fatigue. This bottlegourd with peanut curry is one of the authentic village side dish, this curry is very much often prepared in my grandma's village for almost twice a week with fresh bottlegourd and roasted grounded peanuts...I just love this simple bottlegourd dish which tastes delicious with grounded peanut coarse paste.

2cups Bottlegourd pieces
1/4cup Raw peanuts
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
3nos Dry Red chillies (broken as pieces)
5nos Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and broken dry red chillies and let them fry, add immediately the bottlegourd pieces and stir with enough salt, meanwhile microwave peanuts for 2 minutes( arrange the raw peanuts as single layer in microwave plate), ground the roasted peanuts as coarse powder and keep aside...once the bottlegourd pieces gets well cooked add the coarse peanut powder and toss gently until the cooked veggies get well mixed..put off the stove..

Serve as side dish!!!

Microwave Carrot N Pistachio Chocolate Fudge

Fudge, my recent favourite quick and easy dessert...needless to say that am a chocoholic and anything with chocolate will surely goes directly to my favourite list...After making out almond chocolate fudge, i tried out this time again as chocolate fudge but with grated carrots and pistachio nuts for a change, initially i was quite freaky to try out this combination but anyhow i started preparing with very much confidence as ever whenever i prepare anything new...i cooked the grated carrot pieces with a tsp of butter until they turned tender and followed simply as i did for my MW Almond Fudge, also the cooking time took just 6 minutes in microwave...

1cup Grated carrot
1/2cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
1no Chocolate bar (chopped)
2tbsps Butter +1tsp Butter
1/4tsp Salt
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4cup Pistachio(chopped)

Cook the grated carrot in a microwave bowl with a tsp of butter for 3 minutes in high and keep aside...Take the condensed milk and butter in a large microwave bowl, cook in high for 1minute, mix both and add the chopped chocolate pieces, salt and vanilla essence, mix everything with a spatula and cook in high temperature for 2 minutes, take the bowl out from the oven and add the cooked grated carrot pieces, mix everything and keep again for a minute...

Meanwhile line a baking sheet r aluminim foil in a plate r baking pan..mix the chopped nuts, pour the fudge over the pan or plate, keep in fridge, let it set for half an hour..

Enjoy!!

Wattalappan ( Sri Lankan Spiced Coconut Custard)

Wattalappan, a Sri Lankan dessert prepared with palm sugar r jaggery, thick coconut milk, eggs with nutmeg and cardamom powder...i found this recipe while googling for sri lankan desserts..while reading the ingredients itself i got tempted and tried out this delicious steam cooked coconut custard. I prepared this custard with half jaggery and half packed brown sugar coz my family dont like much jaggery based desserts also i found while googling jaggery can be very well replaced with packed brown sugar completely anyhow i dont want to change the authentic dessert by making out this dessert completely with packed brown sugar, this delicious sri lankan dessert tastes amazing with spiced coconut flavour and very simple to prepare, they can be either prepared with steam cook r in microwave, the authentic wattalappan is prepared in small bowl like vessel and steam cooked for twenty minutes by simmering water..i prepared this coconut custard in pressure cooked for twenty minutes..They tastes divine when served chilled...This Sri Lankan dessert goes to AWED - Sri Lanka guest hosted by Siri, event started by DK, also goes to Srivalli's Mithai Mela...

1/2cup Jaggery ( grated)
3/4cup Packed Brown sugar
5nos Eggs
2cups Thick Coconut milk
1tsp Vanilla extract
1tsp Cardamom powder
1/4tsp Nutmeg powder
10nos Cashew nuts

Make a thick syrup with grated jaggery and water, strain the jaggery syrup and keep aside, beat together the thick coconut milk, jaggery sryup and brown sugar, beat until the sugar get well dissolved and keep aside..meawhile beat the eggs separately, gradually add the coconut milk-sugar mixture..beat for 5 minutes..finally add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, vanilla extract and cashew nuts..beat for a while..pour the coconut custard in small ramekins and cover it with grease proof paper....cook in pressure cooker as steam cook for 20 minutes..

Serve Chilled!

Bok Choy Stir-fry

Bok choy also known as snow cabbage is a chinese leaf vegetable quite used in chinese cuisine, this vegetable is related to our usual cabbages even they looks like turnips..as i am living in China town, my craving for our indian greens are very much replaced by these chinese greens leafy vegetables very much often, whenever i go to chinese stores usually i pick water spinach greens, bok choy and kailan leaves, which ressembles quite as our greens and very easy to cook also they suits prefect for our indian style of making out curries, stir fries etc...here is a simple stir fry with baby bokchoy i do often with simple ingredients...This healthy bokchoy stir fry goes to SWC-Cooking With Greens guest hosted by Sowmya of Creative Saga ...

2cups Bok Choy (chopped)
1no Onions (chopped)
1no Green chillies (chopped)
3nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/4cup Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
2nos Dry red chillies
2tbsp Grated coconut
Oil
Salt

Heat enough oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and dry red chillies and let them splutters, add immediately the chopped onions, chopped green chillies, minced garlic pieces with enough salt and saute until the onions turns transculent.. add the chopped bok choy and saute until they turns tender, finally add the grated coconut and put off the stove..

Serve hot with rice as side dish!

On the way to FIC-Favourite guest hosted by CL, event started by Sunshinemom