Jaisalmeri Chana

Jaisalmeri chana is a traditional dish made in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, i crossed this wonderful and nutritious chana dish from here, i got hooked to this quick,easy and delicious masala immediately which i bookmarked few days back..Yesterday i prepared this chana dish to serve along with some rotis, both together turned out our dinner super filling,satisfying and super delicious...This masala goes for a quick preparation and its quite a fabulous dish to enjoy even along with rice, i enjoyed having the leftover simply for my snacks,everyone at home loved this delicious Jaisalmeri chana..

2cups Black channa (soaked & pressurecooked)
2cups Curd
2tbsp Besan flour
1tbsp Coriander powder
1tsp Amchoor powder
1tsp Chilly powder
1tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Garam masala powder
1tsp Chaat masala
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
2nos Cloves
1no Cardamom
1no Cinnamon stick
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
1tsp Cumin seeds
Oil
Chopped coriander leaves

Heat enough oil in a pan, fry the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick,cloves, cardamom until they turns brown,meanwhile mix the curd,besan flour,coriander powder, amchoor powder, chilly powder,turmeric powder, garam masala powder, chaat masala,salt and keep aside with a cup of water..Add the asafoetida powder and green chillies to the fried spices and fry until the chillies gets well fried..

Now add the already prepared curd mixture and cook until its starts boiling, add the already cooked chana to the cooking gravy, add water in needed and cook in simmer for 15minutes, finally add the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove, serve hot with rotis..

Paneer Pakoda

I rarely saw people saying no to paneer, everyone at home love paneer as any form, its been a while i prepared pakodas with paneer..Weekend i prepared paneer at home,with which i prepared some pakodas to enjoy for our snacks, seriously these pakodas are quite addictive, irresistible,crispy and definitely a kid's friendly snacks,my teddies just enjoyed this pakodas with ketchup,needless to say these pakodas gets vanished easily and quickly..



1cup Cubed paneer
1/2cup Gram flour
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4cup Rice flour
1/4tsp Baking powder
1/4tsp Ajwain seeds
Water
Salt
Oil for deepfrying

Mix the gram flour,rice flour,red chilly powder,ajwain seeds, ginger garlic paste,baking powder,salt in a large bowl with enough water as thick batter..Meanwhile heat the oil for deep frying,dip each cubed paneer in the already prepared batter and drop gently to the hot oil, fry on both sides until they turns golden brown and crispy..

Serve hot with ketchup or simply with a cup of tea..

Broccoli & Green Peas Rice

I can have easily any sort of one pot meals for every day lunch,also its quite an easy and best way to sneak any sort of veggies..Thats why i can prepare any sort of one pot meal easily and quickly with different veggies..Our recent favourite rice is this broccoli and fresh green peas rice, seriously this rice need very less time to get ready also suits prefectly as a lunch box menu.. To be honest, even my little picky eater enjoyed this easy breezy rice simply with potato chips, he finished quickly his plate easily and he loved it..I used freshly cooked rice for making this easy rice, you can use very well leftover rice for making this rice too..

2cups Cooked rice

20-25nos Broccoli florets

1/2cup Fresh green peas

1tsp Briyani masala powder

1/2tsp Cumin seed powder

2tsp Green chillies (chopped)

1no Onion (big & chopped)

1tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal

Few curry leaves

Oil

Salt

Heat enough oil,let splutters the mustard seeds and urad dal, add immediately the chopped onions,chopped green chillies,curry leaves and salt,saute everything until the onions turns transculent, now add the fresh green peas, briyani masala powder,cumin seed powder,cook for few seconds, finally add the broccoli florets, saute for few seconds and add the cooked rice..Toss everything gently and serve immediately with chips or papads..

Caramel Poha/Aval Kesari

Cant believe its already our 7th day of blogging marathon, seriously time flies like a wink..I was paired with Monika of Sin-A-Mon, to make out my last post of this blogging marathon..As my theme is showcasing an ingredient as different ways, i choosed poha and i believe that you guys enjoyed my last 6 posts with rice flakes as main ingredients, while going through Monika's space, i wasnt able to get dishes with poha and finally decided to prepare myself a wonderful sweet dish to close this 7th day of blogging marathon..I love kesari,been a long i prepared them with poha and yesterday i prepared some kesari with poha and store bought caramel syrup, this combo turned out super delicious,quick and a delectable dessert to enjoy either warm or chilled..I couldnt stop having this delicious kesari and they were extremely addictive, we loved it very much..Do check my other buddies running this blogging marathon with me here..

1cup Poha/aval (thin)

1cup Milk

1cup Water

3/4cup Sugar

Pinch Salt

2tbsp Caramel syrup (store bought)

1tsp Cardamom powder

2tbsp Ghee

Few silvered almonds

Dry roast the poha until they get well roasted, keep aside...Bring boil milk, water,caramel syrup and sugar, once they starts boiling put the flame in simmer and add gradually the roasted poha little by little and stir well , keep the flame in medium high also add the cardamom powder, cook until they get off from the bottom of the vessel, meanwhile heat the ghee in a pan,add this hot to the poha kesari, stir well...put off the stove,garnish with silvered almonds..

Serve hot!

Banana Blossom Stirfry/Vazhaipoo Poriyal

My mom used to feed us quite often with countryside vegetables, eventhough we wont wish to have them, but i regret very much now whenever i saw  the price of those veggies, yep its quite expensive here when compared to the veggies we get from french farmer's market, i never stopped buying our Indian veggies even its very much expensive often, coz i wanted to feed my kids with those veggies...Even its quite a hard task for me to feed them, i never stopped making different dishes with our veggies..Banana blossom is one among those veggies, i usually prepare them as paruppu usili ,fritters or else as dumpling, its been a while i havent had them as simple stir fry and i prepared them yesterday for our lunch, even the cleaning the fresh banana blossom needs much more time than preparing this dish..I simply enjoyed them with rice and papads,needless to say that this stir fry is very much healthier than fried ones..

1no Banana flower (cleaned & soaked in buttermilk)
3nos Dry red chillies (broken)
1tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal
1no Onion (big & chopped)
1/2tsp Asafoetida powder
2tbsp Rolled oats or grated coconut
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil, let splutter the mustard seeds,urad dal, add the chopped onions, broken red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida one by one,fry everything for few minutes, add the chopped florets, drain the soaked buttermilk before adding, add the turmeric powder and salt..

Cook in simmer with lid closed, open and keep cooking for few minutes the stir fry turns dry, add the rolled oats or grated coconut and put off the stove..Serve with plain rice or as side dish..

Poha Tomato Bhath

Poha tomato bhath is quite a simple,quick,easy at the same time a filling dish to enjoy either for breakfast with chutneys or for lunch simply with side dishes, i do quite often this tomato bhath either using roasted rava or either with wheat rava..To give a twist to the usual preparation,i tried few days back this tomato bhath with thick poha aka rice flakes..Its a delicious,satisfying and complete one pot meal which gets ready in a jiffy..We enjoyed this yummy poha tomato bhath with spicy coconut chutney for our dinner and everyone at home enjoyed it a lot..DO check my buddies running this 6th day of blogging marathon with me here..

1cup Thick poha (washed and drained)

2nos Ripe n Juicy Tomatoes(chopped)

1/4cup Green peas (frozen)

1/2tsp Garam masala powder

1tsp Ginger(grated)

2nos Bay Leaves

2nos Cloves

1no Cinnamon stick

2nos Green chillies (slit opened)

5nos Curry leaves

Few coriander leaves (chopped)

Salt

Oil

Heat oil in a pan..add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks , fry them until they turns brown.. add the chopped tomatoes immediately with grated ginger,curry leaves slit opened green chillies, frozen green peas,garam masala powder, salt and close the pan with lid keep the flame in simmer,cook them until tomato pieces turns mushy,add immediately the washed poha,toss everything gently and put off the stove..Garnish with coriander leaves..

Tomatobhath is ready, serve them hot with coconut Chutney....

Mushroom & Poha Chops

Weekend went really fast, we had a wonderful sunny sunday and a beautiful day with our friends...We guys planned to have a small BBQ between friends before leaving to our summer vacations and i wished to make some fritters for this small get together...Since i know few of our friends loves Indian foods as anything, i went for this simple,quick,delicious,tasty and super crispy chops with mushroom,potato and poha aka rice flakes...Its quite easy to get ready and definitely crispy and wonderful fritters to enjoy simply with ketchup, its a real fun to watch even peoples hates Indian foods enjoyed having this mildy spiced chops with ketchup, everyone loved it and needless to say that this oats crusted chops vanished super easily and quickly...Do check my other buddies running blogging marathon here..Since i didnt have bread crumbs, i used rolled oats..You can use very well the bread crumbs for the crust also if you are healthnut, you can very well bake them..

2cups Mushroom (chopped)

1/2cup Poha/Rice flakes (soaked & mashed)

3nos Potatoes (cooked & mashed)

1no Onion (big &chopped)

1tsp Ginger garlic paste

1tbsp Green chillies (chopped)

1/2tsp Amchur powder

1/2tsp Garam masala powder

1tsp Corn flour

1tsp Coriander powder

1/2tsp Cumin powder

Salt

Oil

Coriander leaves (chopped)

For crust:

3tbsp Corn flour

1/2cup Rolled oats

Heat enough oil, sauté the chopped onions with ginger garlic paste until the onions,chopped green chillies turns transculent, add immediately chopped mushrooms, sauté for few minutes..Add the mashed potatoes,soaked poha along with salt,coriander powder, garam masala powder, amchur powder and cumin powder, cook everything simmer..finally add the corn flour and chopped coriander leaves, cook for few minutes and put off the stove..

Once this mixture get cooled,roll them as oval and keep aside..Make a paste with corn flour and water..dip the rolled chops to the cornflour paste and roll well over the rolled oatss..Keep this chops in fridge for an hour..

Heat enough oil for shallow frying or deep frying, fry the chops in small batches until they turns golden brown, enjoy with ketchup or any hot sauce..

Rose Poha Kheer

Kheer with poha can be prepared in jiffy and it tastes super incredible even if you serve them warm or chilled..For a change i have added some rose water and rose syrup to give a change to this usual poha kheer, for my surprise its tastes super fabulous and everyone at home enjoyed having this beautiful looking rose poha kheer..I whipped up quickly this kheer yesterday for my pooja, this tasty kheer takes less time to get ready and also get vanished very much quickly and easily.. My teddies says 'Yes' rarely to kheer,this rose poha kheer was a big hit among them and they just enjoyed it..Do check the other bloggers running along with me here..

1/2cup Aval/Poha/Rice flakes

2cups Whole milk

1/2cup Water

1/2cup Sweetened condensed milk

1/2tsp Cardamom powder

1tbsp Rose water

2tbsp Rose syrup

1tbsp Ghee

Few pistachios (for garnishing)

Heat the ghee, roast the poha until its turns mildly brown, add the milk,sweetened condensed milk,water,rose water and rose syrup, cook everything in medium flame until the poha get well cooked,finally add the cardamom powder and put off the stove..

Garnish the rose poha kheer with pistachios and enjoy warm..

Crispy Broccoli & Poha Balls

Weekend we had a nasty climate and i was craving for something deep fried to enjoy along with a cup of coffee, i immediately prepared this cute looking deepfried balls using some frozen broccoli florets ,quick cooking oats and poha along with mashed potatoes..Eventhough its deepfried, i cant say that this crispy balls arent that much healthy also its wonderful to see when kids enjoying this mini balls without any hesitation for their snacks..It was quite thrilling and excited to see all these deep fried balls gets vanished very much quickly even when its still hot..We just loved it..These crispy beauties are my 3rd day post of blogging marathon, do check my other buddies wats they are cooking for this 3rd day here...

2cups Broccoli (grated)

2nos Potatoes (cooked & mashed)

1cup Poha

1/2cup Gram flour

1/4cup Quick cooking oats (grinded coarsely)

Few curry leaves

1tsp Ginger (grated)

1tsp Fennel seed powder

2nos Green chillies (chopped)

1no Onion (chopped)

Salt

Oil for deepfrying

Few coriander leaves

Soak the poha in hot water, strain the poha..now take the grated broccolis,mashed potatoes, coarsely grounded oats, poha,gram flour,chopped coriander leaves, grated ginger, fennel seed powder, green chillies,chopped onions,few curry leaves,salt and turn everything as thick paste..

Heat oil for deep frying, make small balls from this mixture and drop gently to the hot oil, fry until these balls turns brown in colour, strain the excess of oil with a paper towel.. Enjoy warm..

MW Tandoori Babycorn & Some Gifts from Ivy

I love babycorns very much especially this tandoori babycorn, i noticed that i havent post my favourite tandoori babycorn yet in my space while going through my recipe index and prepared them two days back for our snacks..Its takes only less than 20minutes in microwave oven when compared to our usual oven, a quick,easy also at the same time a tasty snack or appetiziers to enjoy with some sweet chutney,my teddies loved this tandoori babycorn with ketchup..This tandoori babycorn are quite an easy breezy appetizer which suits prefectly as a crowd pleaser and a wonderful starter for a party menu, whoever loves babycorn will definitely adore this mildly spicy tandoori babycorns..

1/2kg Babycorn 

1tsp Paprika powder

2tbsp Greek yogurt

1tsp Red chilly powder

1/4tsp Pepper powder

1tsp Ginger garlic paste

1/2tsp Fennel seed powder

1tsp Garam masala powder

2tbsp Olive oil

Salt

Mix the paprika powder, red chilly powder, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, fennel seed powder, olive oil,greek yogurt and salt in a bowl as paste, add the babycorns to the spices and toss gently with the spice mixture, let them sit for half an hour..arrange as single layer in a microwave safe plate and cook for 15minutes in high until the babycorns turn crispy..

Enjoy hot or with any sauce..

Am happy to say that am a winner of Ivy's Creative Concoctions, she send me her gifts, i got them yesterday through post, thanks Ivy for your cute silicon moulds and saffron powder, cant wait to try them in my bakes and cooking...Here is a glimpse of her gifts..

Broccoli Poha

Today is our second day of blogging marathon and am sharing with you all a simple,quick,easy breezy,filling and healthy poha dish...Everyone at home loves poha as anything in anything, two days back while going through my fridge, i got some leftover broccoli florets sitting sadly to give them a second chance, after breaking my head i finally decided to finish as a simple poha dish just by combining those broccoli florets and prepared this quick and easy breezy broccoli poha, my teddies just loved it..Even they said they like eating poha and broccoli this way, seriously i was surprised when i heard the feedback given by my whole family after having this simple broccoli poha for our dinner...Its definitely a wonderful and best way to sneak this healthy antioxidant vegetable..A filling poha to enjoy without any guilt either for lunch or for dinner,also suits prefectly for a lunch box menu...Do check my other buddies running this blogging marathon with me here...

1cup Thick poha
15nos Broccoli florets
1no Onion (big & chopped)
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
1tsp Channa dal
1/2tsp Turmeric powder
2nos Dry red chillies
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
1tsp Ginger (grated)
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Soak the poha for few seconds and drain the water completely,keep aside..Heat enough oil, let splutters mustard seeds, urad dal,channadal,dry red chillies,curry leaves, add immediately the chopped onions, chopped green chilies, grated ginger and cook until the onions turns transculent..

Now add the broccoli florets, saute them for few seconds,add the turmeric powder, salt and add the already washed poha...cook everything in medium flame for few minutes and put off the stove..

Serve warm  and serve with some spicy coconut chutney...

Mexican Cilantro Lime Rice

The first time i ate this Mexican cilantro lime rice as a stuffing in burritos, which was quite new and different for me, i was pleasantly surprised that burritos stuffed with cilantro lime rice, i got hooked with this flavourful cilantro lime rice from that day and i already prepared twice at home,its one of the favourite Mexican food,everyone at home love it very much..We enjoyed last weekend this delicious rice with Refried Beans and a simple cucumber salad..This rice with its fabulous hint of lime and cilantro leaves makes a wonderful and flavourful main course food to be enjoy along with burritos and baked beans...I used basmati rice for making this incredible rice, you can also use long grain rice for making this Mexican rice as they both works out wonder..

1cup Basmati rice (washed)

1+1/2cup Vegetable stock water

4nos Garlic cloves (minced)

1/4cup Fresh lime juice

1tsp Lime zest

1/2cup Cilantro (chopped)

Salt

Olive oil

Heat the olive oil, add the garlic and rice,saute for few minutes, add the vegetable stock water,salt,lime juice, bring everything to boil and cover and cook in simmer for 15-20minutes, when the rice is done, add the lime zest and chopped cilantro leaves, give a quick stir and put off the stove..

Serve warm with refried beans..

Banana Blossom & Poha Bonda

Here comes another week of blogging marathon, this time i choosed to make out dishes with an ingredient during this whole week...I choosed immediately Poha aka Rice flakes as my main ingredient for making different dishes during this whole week..Definitely am gonna present different poha dishes through out this second week of blogging marathon and hope you guys will enjoy again my poha dishes this week..Check the other bloggers running this week of blogging marathon with me here..

I picked a fresh banana blossom this weekend from the Indian grocery, back home i cleaned them and used them for further uses...To change the routine potato bonda i prepared this wonderful crispy bonda using those banana blossom and poha along with some cooked and mashed potatoes..I tried out this combination for the first time and i was quite anxious about the final result, but for my surprise this combination works out tremendous and we loved this crispy beauties for our snacks with a cup of tea, a wonderful snacks to enjoy when its raining outside..Even my teddies enjoyed having this bondas, none at home noticed the addition of banana blossom and poha until i revealed the famous both ingredients in this bonda.

For Banana Blossom & Poha Mixture:
2nos Potatoes (big & cooked)
1cup Banana Blossom ( chopped & cooked in water with turmeric)
1cup Poha/riceflakes
1no Onion(chopped finely)
3nos Green chillies (chopped)
1tsp Ginger (grated)
Chopped coriander leaves
Salt
Oil

For Batter:
1/2cup Gram flour
1/4cup Rice flour
1/2tsp Baking powder
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
Salt
Oil for deep frying

Heat enough oil, add the chopped onions, grated ginger and chopped green chillies,sauté everything for few minutes until the onions turns transculent,now add the already cooked chopped banana blossom, saute again everything for few minutes in simmer...Meanwhile soak the poha in hot water until they turns soft and drain the excess of water and keep aside..Now add the cooked and mashed potatoes,softened poha with salt to the cooking veggies,cook for few minutes..finally add the coriander leaves and put off the stove..

Heat the oil for deep frying...Take all the ingredients for batter except oil and turn as a thick batter, make small balls from the prepared banana blossom and poha mixture, dip well in the batter..Drop gently to the hot oil, fry until they turns golden brown..

Serve hot with green chutney or else with a cup of tea or coffee..

Broccoli, Peas & Babycorn Masala

I can survive for many days just with stir fries or curries prepared with any sort of veggies, everyday i do make variety of stir fries with different combinations of veggies or simply with a vegetable just to feed my picky eaters, i can even say that am totally harcelling them to eat veggies everyday just by feeding them with these sort of veggie curries...I tried out this wonderful combination of curry yesterday for our lunch, i wasnt that much sure of the combo,but the final result was amazing, yep these three veggies works out super prefect in curries..I enjoyed this curry along with curd rice, even my teddies loved them and this masala get vanished easily...Definitely this broccoli,peas and babycorn masala works out wonder as side dish even for rotis...A simple side dish with loads of healthy stuffs in it, which suits tremendously even for a lunch box menu..

15nos Broccoli florets
1cup Fresh green peas
1/2cup Babycorn(chopped)
1no Onion (chopped)
2nos Tomatoes (chopped)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1tsp Red chilly powder
1tbsp Coriander powder
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
1tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil,let splutters the mustard seeds and urad dal, add immediately the chopped onions,chopped tomatoes and ginger garlic paste, saute everything for few minutes until the onions turns transculent, now add the fresh green peas and babycorn, saute for few seconds..

Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala,curry leaves along with salt, cook everything in simmer until the veggies gets half cooked(sprinkle water if needed), finally add the broccoli florets,give a quick stir, put the flame in medium flame and cook until the veggies gets cooked, (dont over cook the broccolis,they should be bit crunchy)..Serve warm with rice or rotis..

Simple Egg Sandwich

Cant believe its already the last day of our blogging marathon, yep its our 7th day, i truly enjoyed making many sandwiches during this 7 days of blogging marathon as i choosed picnic foods as theme for this week of blogging marathon, this time we marathoners have to choose our last day post from an another marathoners just to  give a change to our usual way of running this marathon.. Srivalli paired me with Padma Rekha of Plaintain Leaf, a wonderful friend of mine as i choosed picnic foods as my this week's theme i went through Padma's space for a quick sandwich, immediately i got hooked to this easy breezy yummy sandwich which tempted me a lot..This simple sandwich tastes super delicious and easy to carry even for picnic, definitely suits prefect for a quick lunch also for a filling breakfast..As usual you have numerous choices to enjoy this sandwich..Thanks to Padma for sharing this incredible easy sandwich and we enjoyed a lot for our today's lunch...

8nos Bread slices
3nos Hard boiled eggs
2tbsp Green chutney (recipe follows)
2tbsp Mayonnaise
Pepper powder
Salt

Grind few coriander leaves, mint leaves and a green chilly with salt as thick paste, this is the green chutney..Slice the eggs, spread the green chutney over a bread slice, in an another slice spread the mayonnaise generously...Now place the sliced eggs as per need over the green chutney spreaded bread slice and close the eggs with the mayonnaised spreaded bread slice, cut as triangles and enjoy either with salads or with a bowl of soup..

Do check my other buddies running blogging marathon here..

Kale Chane Ki Chhole - Black Chickpeas Curry

As i told earlier in my Missi roti post, this wonderful looking black chickpeas curry is from Priya's space, we enjoyed having this curry very much, while i was searching something as curry with black chickpeas immediately this curry tempted me a lot and  pulled me to try out, i got hooked to the simplicity of the curry with wonderful spices and flavours..Thanks a lot to Priya for sharing her kale chane ki chhole, seriously this dish is a keeper and i gonna make quite often in future as they suits prefectly to any sort of parathas, fried bread and y not with rice..

2cups Cooked black chickpeas
1no Onion (big & chopped)
1no Tomato (big & chopped)
5nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1tbsp Ginger (grated)
1tbsp Channa masala powder
1tsp Cumin seed powder
1tsp Chaat masala
1tbsp Kasuri methi
Salt
Oil

Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and ginger, fry for few seconds, add immediately the onions and fry them until they turns transculent..add the tomatoes,salt, channa masala powder, cumin seed powder, chaat masala,crushed kasuri methi and cook in simmer for few minutes..

Add the cooked black chickpeas with their cooked water and cook until it gets thickens..garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and serve warm with flat breads..

Refried Beans & Veggies Salad Wrap

Nutritious,filling and quite a satisfying wrap to enjoy anytime of the day without any hesitation,i used some leftover Refried Beans along with a quick,fresh and simple veggies salad as stuffing for making this healthy and delicious wrap..They suits super prefect to carry for a picnic,wrap them well in an aluminium foil and enjoy them either for a lunch or else enjoy them for your dinner..You can enjoy this filling wrap without any guilt and we had them for our dinner two days back..As i used the refried beans for making this wrap, needless to say that this wraps are definitely nutritious,also at the same time healthy coz of the addition of fresh veggies i used for making this wrap..I simply prepared a salad with some red bellpeppers,sweet corns,tomato,celery,grated carrots which i spiced up simply with greek yogurt ,pepper powder and salt, in case if you have refried beans you can very well use cooked rajma beans or any other beans of your choice also you can use chappathis very well for making the wraps eventhough i went for tortillas.....

1cup Refried Beans or any other cooked beans
1/2cup Grated carrot
1/4cup Sweet corn
1/4cup Celery (chopped)
1/4cup Red bellpepper (chopped)
1no Tomato (big & chopped)
3tbsp Greek Yogurt
Pepper powder
Slat
5nos Flour tortillas

Heat a pan,drop the tortillas one by one and cook them in simmer for few seconds on both sides and leep aside..mix together the veggies, greek yogurt,pepper powder and salt,give a quick stir and keep aside..

Now spread the refried beans as per need, followed by the already prepared veggies salad and roll the as wrap..Do check the other blogger running blogging marathon here..

Missi Roti

Missi roti is a Rajasthani speciality flat bread, its a type of paratha prepared with wheat flour and besan flour along with some variety of spices..Its a staple food of many  Rajasthani homes and its an excellent way to enjoy proteins in your diet, these missi rotis are high in taste and definitely healthy..While googling i came to know that this parathas can be prepared in many ways, seems some prepared with onions,garlic or either finely chopped or crushed palak or methi leaves, also its spiced up with red chilly powder along with ajwain and jeera seeds,obviously i went for red chilly powder, jeera seeds and methi leaves.. I served this healthy  paratha with black chickpeas curry which i prepared the same from Priya's Kale chane ki chhole, both turned out dinner simply filling, prefect and super delicious...

1cup Wheat flour
1cup Besan flour/Gram flour
1tsp Cumin seeds
2tbsp Methi leaves (chopped finely) or kasuir methi
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil for roti

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, add little water at a time and make a soft and stiff dough, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for half an hour..Make medium sized balls from the dough, roll its a thick circle disc using flour while rolling..

Heat a pan, add the rolled roti,drizzle oil to the cooking roti, cook on both sides until they get cooked, serve with any sort of side dishs or simply with pickles..

Vegetable Masala Sandwich - Iyengar Bakery Style

I fond always for bread sandwich especially vegetable masala sandwich, the famous sandwich we get from Iyengar bakery..I love these delicious,spicy sandwich with loads of veggies, its always been my favourite evening snack and recently my teddies favourite dinner...We love this fantastic sandwich anytime of the day and they gets ready very quickly and indeed a filling sandwich to enjoy without any hesitation...Since this sandwich goes for variety of veggies for filling, personally its quite a best way to feed my picky eaters easily...Usually this sandwich goes for a toasted bread slices topped with the vegetable masala..You can either prepare them as a open sandwich or with two toasted bread slices, the choice is urs..Needless to say this sandwich suits super prefect to carry for picnics, lunch box menu or else prefectly as an appetizier for a party menu..

8nos Bread slices
Butter (for toasting the bread)
1no Onion (big &chopped)
1no Tomato (chopped)
1/2cup Carrots (grated)
1/4cup Capsicum (chopped)
1/4cup Cabbage (chopped)
1tsp Garam masala powder
2tsp Green chillies (chopped)
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt
Oil

Heat oil in a pan, fry the green chillies and add the chopped onions, saute until the onions turns transculent, add the grated carrot, chopped cabbage, chopped capsicum and chopped tomatoes, salt and garam masala powder, saute for few minutes in simmer, finally add the red chilly powder,cook for while,finally add the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove..

Melt the butter in a pan, toast the bread slices one by one, now gently spread the already prepared vegetable masala over a toasted bread slices and cover the masala with an another toasted bread slices and serve..Check out my other buddies running blogging marathon here...

Bean & Corn Quesadillas

Quesadillas,a well known famous mexican food prepared with tortillas filled with a savoury filling and cheese, i have already posted quesadillas with greens and veggies, this time its gonna be with bean,corn and veggies..These quesadillas goes for a quick preparation and its takes truly very less time to get ready...I prepared the filling with rajma beans, fresh sweet corn,bell peppers,onions and tomatoes along with grated cheddar cheese...Its quite a satisfying quesadillas which suits prefectly for lunch as well as for dinner...You can very well carry this cheesy nutritious and filling sandwich for picnic, just pack them in aluminium foil to keep them warm,needless to say they tastes super prefect.

1cup Rajma beans (cooked)
1cup Sweet corn
1no Green bellpepper (chopped)
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomatoes (chopped)
1cup Grated cheddar cheese
1tsp All purpose flour
Pepper powder
Salt
Olive oil
2tbsp Coriander leaves
8nos Flour or corn tortillas

Heat oil, saute the onions until they turns transculent, add the sweet corn,chopped bellpepper,chopped tomatoes and cooked rajma, cook everything in high flame for few minutes, add the pepper powder,all purpose flour, salt and chopped coriander leaves,cook for few seconds and put off the stove..

Heat a pan in simmer,drop a flour tortillas to the hot pan, gently spread the cooked bean and corn mixture topped with cheese..Top the another tortilla over the cheese,press it with a spatula and cook for few seconds, flip the tortillas to toast the other side...Once the quesadillas get well toasted, transfer to a plate and cut as a 4 or 6 wedges..

Serve warm with salads ..Do check my other buddies running blogging marathon with me here..

Chunky Onion Tomato Chutney Sandwich

If you are searching something quick,simple,spicy and a delicious sandwich, you have to give a trial to this yummy sandwich, i simply prepared this wonderful looking sandwich with some leftover chunky onion and tomato chutney which i prepared for our yesterday's dinner..My mom used to prepare this quick chunky chutney whenever we bored of having the usual chutneys, this chutney goes for a quick preparation also it needs really very few ingredients to get ready...Needless to say that this sandwich goes for an easy preparation and its gets vanished really very quickly too, a simple sandwich to enjoy anytime of the day,serve this sandwich with some salads for lunch or else with a bowl of warm soup for dinner also a fabulous sandwich to carry for picnic, you have so many choices to enjoy this simple sandwich..

For onion tomato chutney:
2nos Onions(big & chopped)
2nos Tomatoes (big & chopped)
1tsp Sambhar powder
1tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

8nos Bread slices (toasted)

Heat enough oil, let splutters the mustard seeds,urad dal..add immediately the chopped onions,chopped tomatoes,curry leaves with salt and saute everything for few minutes, add the sambhar powder and cook everything in medium flame until the veggies get well cooked and turns thick..

Spread the chunky onion tomato chutney over the toasted bread,place an another toasted bread and make as a sandwich..Do check my other buddies running this 6th edition of blogging marathon here..

Mexican Refried Beans

If you would have asked me to cook Mexican dishes before two years, definitely i would have replied that i dont know anything about Mexican dishes coz  i never cooked them at home before.. I got an opportunity to taste their wonderful tacos,burritos and quesadillas in a famous Mexican restaurant here in Paris,since that day i have completely fallen in love with those quick and easy foods..I never stopped making myself many wonderful Mexican dishes till now at home, we love their foods thoroughly anytime of the day without any hesitation..Refried beans is one of the most important dish in Mexican cuisine, its very quick and easy to make and they tasted super delicious and nutritious..I prepared this refried beans with red kidney beans well known as rajma beans eventhough this refried beans are prepared usually with pinto beans, i prepared this quick refried beans with onions,garlic, jalapeno peppers along with cumin powder and served them topped with some grated cheese..You can also use pinto beans,white beans or a combination of pinto and rajma beans for making this nutritious refried beans..

2cups Dry rajma (soaked overnite &cooked)
1no Onion (big &chopped)
1no Jalapeno pepper (chopped finely)
2nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/2tsp Cumin powder
Salt
Pepper powder or red chilly flakes
Olive oil
Grated cheese (for topping)

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the chopped onions,jalapeno peppers and saute until the onions turns transculent, add the minced garlic cloves, cook for few minutes..Now add the cooked rajma beans with their cooked liquid and mash them with a potato masher, cook everything simmer with pepper powder, salt,cumin powder..Put off the stove once the mixture turns thick..

Serve warm topped with grated cheese or with tortilla chips..

Green Peas Masala Sandwich

Love fresh green peas as anything, i can have dishs with green peas everyday i wont get bored of this wonderful veggies, its quite a peek season for fresh green peas here and i couldnt stop myself to pick them whenever i go to farmer's market..Two days back i prepared a quick and simple green peas masala with those fresh green peas, we enjoyed this green peas masala along with sambhar rice for our lunch and with the leftover green peas masala i quickly prepared this easy breezy sandwich which suits prefectly for picnic, eventhough we had this simple but yet a delicious sandwich for our dinner along with a bowl of sweet corn soup..Both together turned out our dinner super filling,prefect and absolutely delicious..Spicy sandwich to enjoy without any hesitation, you can very well replace the fresh green peas either with the dried green peas or the frozen green peas watever nothing will replace this fresh green peas..



2cups Fresh green peas
1no Onion (big & chopped)
1no Tomato(big & chopped)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1tsp Fennel seed (crushed)
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt
Oil
8nos Bread slices

Heat enough oil, fry the crushed fennel seeds, add the chopped onions,chopped tomatoe and ginger garlic paste, saute everything until the onions turns transculent, add now the fresh green peas, saute for few minutes..Add the red chilly powder, garam masala powder,salt and cook everything in medium flame (sprinkle water if needed) until the green peas get cooked completely,finally add the coriander leaves and put off the stove..Let the masala gets cool completely..

Make sandwich with enough green peas masala with bread slices and serve with salads or soups..Do check the other participants of this blogging marathon here...

Eggless Banana & Cornmeal Muffins

I never thought that banana and cornmeal together works out wonder for making muffins until i tried them today with some over ripen bananas and yellow cornmeal as eggless muffins, this combo turned out super delicious,flavourful also with a wonderful texture, a prefect muffins to enjoy either for quick breakfast or for a simple evening snacks, this muffins are completely egg free and i used white vinegar and baking soda as egg subsitute..None will notice this addition of vinegar in this muffins until you reveal the secret ingredient you used to replace the eggs,this muffins goes for easy ingredients and its gets ready in less than half an hour...My teddies enjoyed this yummy muffins for their snacks with a cup of milk...

1+1/2cups All purpose flour

1/2cup Butter (room temperature)

1/2cup Cornmeal

1tbsp White vinegar

1/2cup Hot water

2nos Bananas (pureed)

1cup Sugar

1/2tsp Baking powder

1tsp Baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350F..Sieve the all purpose flour along with baking powder and baking soda..Now add the cornmeal to the sieved flour,keep aside,beat together the butter and sugar until they turn smooth..add banana puree,white vinegar to the sugar-butter mixture and beat everything together until they get well mixed..Finally add the flour-cornmeal mixture and hot water, mix everything well with a spatula,dont overmix the muffin batter..

Pour the muffin batter to the silicon muffin mould,bake for 15-20minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean..

Paneer Bhurji Sandwich

For the next two weeks i'll be running blogging marathon with my other blogger buddies, yep its time to run blogging marathon, as usual this month blogging marathon gonna be very much interesting coz of various theme choosed by Srivalli, she choosed interesting and beautiful themes for this blogging marathon.. I choosed for seven days of picnic foods,its was quite interesting and prefect for me to prepare some delicious picnic foods..Paris climate in neither sunny nor rainy, its changes a lot eventhough we had super sunny days before two weeks, we wont regret this mildly cold climate now..Coming to this sandwich, i prepared this delicious paneer bhurji few days back,sorry guys i couldnt stop preparing low fat paneer using low fat milk powder,thats y my recent posts are mostly with paneer as main ingredients..I simply prepared a quick and delicious paneer bhurji with some bellpeppers chunks which i finally turned as sandwich with some toasted bread slices...You can very well carry this sandwich for picnic or either as lunch box menu, they tastes super delicious....

1cup Scrambled paneer
1no Onion(big &chopped)
1no Tomato (chopped)
1/2cup Red & green bellpepper (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
1/2tsp Fennel seeds
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
Oil
Salt
8nos Bread slices
Butter (as per need)

Heat enough oil in a pan,let crack the fennel seeds and cumin seeds, add immediately the chopped onions,chopped tomatoes,saute everything for few minutes until the onions turns transculent, add the chopped green chillies, chopped red & green bell pepper, saute again everything for few seconds, add the turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt, cook everything in medium flame until the bellpeppers gets partially cooked, add immediately the scrambled paneer, cook in high flame for few seconds and put of the stove..Keep aside and let them cool completely..

Heat butter in a pan, place a bread slice over the melted butter, toast the bread on one side, keep toasting the remaining bread slices with the melted butter...take two toasted bread slices, place enough paneer bhurji,close the top of the bhurji with an another toasted bread slice,give a press and cut a two triangles..

Serve this yummy sandwich with some simple salads...

Do check out other blogger buddies running this BM with me..

Mixed Veggies & Paneer Stuffed Buns

Stuffed buns are always welcome anytime among my family members especially those with veggies or with paneer, this time i combined both veggies and paneer together to prepare some stuffed buns to enjoy for our dinner along with some salads..These cute looking stuffed buns tastes super marvellous when served along with salads and they were quite filling and delicious..A wonderful spicy buns to enjoy even for snacks but somehow i managed to serve for our dinner just to avoid cooking, you can very well prepare the stuffing with your favourite veggies or with meats..These buns also suits prefectly to serve as an appetizier for a party menu, you can serve them very well as mini buns..Even its bit time consuming, its truly worth to try this spicy stuffed buns anytime..




3cups All purpose flour
1tsp Active dry yeast
1/2tsp Sugar
1tsp Salt
1/2cup Luke warm water
3tbsp Olive oil

Mix the yeast,sugar and salt in luke warm water and keep aside for 5minutes until the yeast turns foamy..take the flour in a large vessel, add gradually the foamy yeast and olive oil, knead everything as smooth and soft dough, arrange the dough in a greased bowl,keep in a warm place for atleast two hour and let the dough gets doubled their volume..

Mixed veggies & Paneer stuffing:
1cup Potatoes (chopped)
1cup Scrambled paneer
1cup Mushrooms (chopped)
1/2cup Green bellpepper (chopped)
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Garam masala powder
1no Onion (big & chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
Salt
Oil

Heat oil in a pan, let crack the cumin seeds, add immediately the chopped onions,chopped green chillies, saute until the onions turns transculent, add immediately the chopped mushrooms,chopped potatoes,saute everything for few minutes, now add the chopped green bellpepper with garam masala powder,salt and cook everything in simmer until the veggies gets well cooked,(springle water if needed)finally add the scrambled paneer,give a quick stir and put off the stove,keep aside and let the masala get cooled completely..

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet over a baking tray..Punch down the dough and make 10-12medium sized balls..flatten them with a rolling pin as a small thick disc, place the already prepared masala;over the masala completely with the dough, shape the dough as buns..Arrange the stuffed buns over the baking tray and bake in middle rack for 20-25minutes until the crust turns golden brown..

Iyengar Bakery Khara Biscuits - Karnataka Special ~~IC Challenge

Our this month's Indian Cooking Challenge was these addictive, flavourful Karnataka special Iynegar Bakery Khara biscuits...Actually when Champa shared this wonderful biscuits in her space, immediately i bookmarked it to prepare them later, but when Srivalli announced the same khara biscuits for this month's challenge, i was quite surprised and definitely very much excited to try out these fabulous biscuits..These marvellous biscuits tastes super delicious, very flavourful and simply a prefect snack to enjoy with a cup of tea, i have already tried twice and everytime these biscuits vanished easily within few minutes, my teddies enjoyed this biscuits with cream cheese and they just loved it..I have to say a big thanks to Srivalli and Champa for making this month's challenge more interesting and flavourful...

2cups All purpose flour

6tbsp Butter

4tsp SUgar

1tsp Salt

2tsp Green chillies (chopped)

2tbsp Coriander leaves

3tbsp Yogurt

Preheat the oven to 325F, line baking sheets over a baking tray and keep aside...In a bowl, take the flour,salt and keep aside..In an another bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until they turn creamy, add the yogurt and beat for few seconds, now add the dry ingredients and mix slowly with ur hands, add the chopped coriander leaves, chillies, turn everything as a stiff dough..

Roll the dough as a thick disc, cut the dough with a cookie cutter and place them over the already prepared baking sheets and bake for 20-25minutes, let it cool completely..

Stay fresh for 4days if any leftover but these biscuits are very very addictive..

Eggless Apricot Ice Cream

Weekend, i got some juicy and beautiful apricots from farmer's market, i couldnt stop having them and finally decided to make some eggless ice cream using those juicy and sweet apricots, for my surprise this eggless icecream turned out super flavourful,delicious,less in calorie and everyone at home relished this fabulous icecream eventhough its rainy today, since i used hung curd for making this smooth and soft ice cream, its completely guilt free and definitely eggless, i can definitely say this icecream gonna be our most favourite after mango icecream and we loved it, i simply peeled the skin, removed the seed and prepared a thick puree just with some chopped fresh apricots and mixed up with hung yogurt and cream,sugar and prepared this icecream, quite an easy icecream to prepare if u feel like having some homemade easy icecreams...As ever you doesnt need icecream maker for making this wonderful icecream..Relish this yummy icecream to beat the heat..



2cups Hung yogurt
1cup Low fat cream
1cup Apricot puree
2cups Sugar

Beat the hung yogurt,apricot puree,sugar and cream as smooth paste, pour this mixture in a box and freeze them, beat every hour atleast for three times to break the crystals..Leave it in freezer for overnite..

Remove the icecream from the freezer for few minutes before serving and enjoy..

Banana & Homemade Granola Shake

Nutty,fruity and crunchy granola are always our favourite anytime, i rarely buy the store bought once a while, coz making granola at home is quite easy and you can prepare with our own choices of fruits,nuts,seeds, sweetner and grains, this time i prepared my granola with oats,cornflakes,seeds like flax seeds,pumpkin seeds and with walnuts,almonds,hazelnuts along with varieties of dry fruits..Granolas suits not only for breakfast,you can very well use them for making desserts or snack bars, i prepared myself a delicious shake by combining banana and some leftover home made granola with chilled milk, this shake tastes marvellous,filling and definitely delicious, a wonderful shake to enjoy for a busy morning breakfast or a lazy morning brunch..



1cup Granola (homemade or storebought)
2nos Bananas
2cups Chilled milk
Honey (if needed)

Blend the granola,bananas,milk and honey (if needed) as thick shake and serve immediately..if u want to more thin add some chilled water or more chilled milk and serve it..

Cream Cheese & Orange Sweet Bread

I couldnt stop making breads, this time i tried out a super prefect sweet bread with cream cheese and orange zest along with orange juice... I came across cream cheese sweet bread at Champa's space long back which i bookmarked immediately...I got a chance to make this wonderful bread this weekend and we couldnt stop having this flavourful sweet bread, my teddies enjoyed having this sweet bread with nutella spread and my H enjoyed with strawberry jam, obviously we had a wonderful sunday brunch with some hot chocolate along with this beautiful sweet bread..Thanks a ton to Champa for sharing this beautiful bread, in which i have added few orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice..We loved it..



3cups All purpose flour
150grms Cream cheese(cubed)
1/3cup Sugar
1/4cup Water
1tsp Salt
2tbsp Orange zest
1/4cup Orange juice
1+1/4tbsp Active dry yeast
Milk for brushing before baking

Mix the warm water,sugar, yeast together,keep aside until its turns frothy, in a large bowl mix the cream cheese,salt,orange zest and flour together, add the foamy yeast mixture and knead along with orange juice as soft and smooth dough, arrange the dough in a greased bowl and keep in warm place for an hour until the dough gets doubled..

Punch down the doubled dough and knead well,turn as a loaf..Place the loaf in a greased loaf pan,cover the pan with a towel and keep again in a warm place, let it double again atleast for an hour..Once the dough doubled the volume, preheat the oven to 375F,brush the dough with milk and bake for 20minutes, turn down the oven to 325F and bake for 10-15minutes until the crust turns golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped in the bottom..Keep aside and let them cool completely..

Slice the bread as per need and enjoy for snacks or breakfast with any sort of spreads..

Yam & Bread Pakodas

Seriously i dont trash anything that much easily, i always break my head to finish those leftovers sitting sadly either in my fridge or in my pantry, this time there were some already cooked yam pieces and some stale breads caught my attention, thats why i finished them as these crispy pakodas for our snacks, everyone loved this quick,easy and crispy pakodas with ketchup along with a cup of coffee or milk, also these pakodas can be served very well as side dish for any sort of rice dishes...They were quite addictive and definitely an interesting pakodas to enjoy either as snacks or as side dish..



2cups Yam (cooked &well mashed)
4nos Stale bread slices(soaked in water & squeezed well)
2tbsp Rice flour
1tbsp Cornflour
2nos Onions( chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
1/2tsp Ginger (crushed)
Few curry leaves
1tsp Fennel seeds
3nos Garlic cloves
Salt
Oil

Grind the fennel seeds and garlic cloves as fine paste, now take the mashed yam,soaked bread slices, cornflour,rice flour,crushed ginger,chopped onions,chopped green chillies, curry leaves and turn them as thick batter..Heat enough oil for deep frying, make small balls from the mixture and drop gently to the hot oil, fry until they turns golden brown..

Enjoy hot as side dish or for snacks..

Dark Chocolate Orange Brownies

I tried making some brownies with dark chocolate bar and orange zest with freshly squeezed orange juice few days back, they had a wonderful chocolate flavour with a fabulous hint of orange, even the texture was just prefect...Enjoy this brownies with a cup of milk, i can definitely say that you will have a wonderful snacks, definitely a fabulous treat for chocoholic person like me, instead of baking in a square pan, i baked this brownies as mini muffins using silicon mini muffins pan, we enjoyed having for our snacks needless to say that they vanished quickly,a wonderful brownies which goes for super simple preparation and it took just less than 15minutes to get baked, watelse we need na!.



3/4cup All purpose flour
150grms Dark chocolate bar (chopped)
2nos Eggs
1/2cup Butter (room temperature)
1/4cup Walnuts (chopped)
1/4cup Orange juice
1tbsp Orange zest
1/2tsp Vanilla extract
1/2tsp Baking powder
1/2tsp Baking soda
1cup Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F, meanwhile melt the butter and chopped chocolate bar in microwave oven for 2minutes in high, meanwhile mix together the flour, walnuts, orange zest,baking powder,baking soda,sugar in a large bowl, whisk the butter-chocolate mixture with eggs,orange juice, make a small well in dry ingredients, slowly add the wet ingredients and mix well until they turns as a slightly thick batter..

Fill 3/4th of the muffin mould with the batter and bake for 10-12minutes..Enjoy this addictive muffins anytime!

Garlic & Spinach Swirl Bread

Just love making breads myself, i have already tried variety of breads eventhough i give more preferences to breads with filling, as they doesnt need any spread or side dish to enjoy...Our recent favourite goes to this garlic flavoured spinach swirl bread, i was extremely tempted to make some garlic rolls after seeing few of my blogger buddies posted in their space, but finally i decided to make out as a swirl bread with garlic butter and simply sauteed spinach leaves...This bread tastes super delicious with a fabulous garlic flavour and while baking my house was filled with a beautiful aroma of this wonderful bread which pulled us to enjoy warm once the bread comes out the oven..A wonderful bread to enjoy warm with a cup of tea for snacks,also can be a dinner bread to enjoy along with a bowl of our favourite soup..



3cups All purpose flour
1tbsp Active dry yeast
3tbsp Olive oil
1tsp Salt
1tsp Sugar
3/4cup Luke warm water

Take the active dry yeast,salt and sugar in a luke warm water and keep aside for 5minutes,until they turns foamy, meanwhile take the flour in a large bowl,make a well and add the foamy yeast,olive oil together,knead everything as soft and smooth dough, arrange the dough in a greased bowl and keep in a warm place for two hours or until the dough gets doubled  their volume..

Garlic butter & spinach filling:
1/2cup Butter (room temperature)..
6nos Garlic cloves (crushed)
Salt (as per need)
2cups Spinach (sauteed for few minutes in a hot pan)

Mix the butter,garlic cloves and salt in a bowl and keep aside...Preheat the oven to 350F..Now take the dough and roll as a thick square dis by dusting enough flour, spread the already prepared garlic butter over the rolled dough, topped with sauteed spinach leaves,give a press, roll the dough as a loaf..

Arrange rolled loaf in a greased loaf pan and bake in middle rack for 25-30minutes until the crust turns golden brown..Enjoy warm with a cup of tea or coffee for snacks...

Watermelon Lemonade

Refreshing drink to enjoy without any hesitation to beat the heat, a fabulous thristy quencher too...I simply prepared this beautiful quencher using watermelon chunks,lemon juice and some basil seeds..Basil seeds when soaked in water they turns gelatinous and they are quite used in falooda and sherbet, they have many medicinal properties and quite used in Ayurveda and in Siddha medicine, a traditional tamilian medicine...We enjoyed this fabulous looking lemonade chilled, a wonderful drink to enjoy when its too hot.



3cups Watermelon chunks
2tbsp Lemon juice
Honey
1tbsp Basil seeds (soaked)

Blend the watermelon chunks with enough water, add the lemon juice,honey and basil seeds, stir well the lemonade and keep in fridge for an hour..Serve chilled or with ice cubes..

Potato, Paneer & Mushroom Calzone

Potato,paneer and mushrooms together as anything works out always wonder, they can be served very well as side dish or as stuffing for making buns or rotis...Few days back i prepared some homemade pizza dough and after making pizzas twice,there were some leftover dough sitting quietly in my fridge, to give a second life to those leftover dough, i prepared this ultimate combination of masala for stuffing and prepared as calzone.. Indianized calzone tastes super delicious,filling and suits prefectly for lunch as well as for dinner when served along with some simple salad or soup, we enjoyed this calzone for our lunch with a simple corn and lettuce salad..You can make mini calzones using the same stuffing for a party menu,why not for a snacks..You have so many choices to make and enjoy these delicious calzones..




For pizza dough:
1 tsp Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 +1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.Combine flour and salt in a bowl,drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Grease a bowl with olive oil, and form the dough into a ball,arrange the dough in the greased bowl, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better...

For Potato,paneer & mushroom filling:
1cup Scrambled paneer
2nos Potatoes (cubed)
1cup Mushrooms (chopped)
1no Onion (big & chopped)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/2tsp Cumin powder
1tsp Chilly powder
1tbsp Coriander powder
Salt
Oil
1/2tsp Fennel seeds
Few curry leaves

Heat enough oil, fry the fennel seeds, curry leaves until they turns brown, add the chopped onions,ginger garlic paste,sauté until the veggies turns mushy and the raw smell gets off...add the chopped mushrooms, sauté for few seconds, add immediately the cubed potatoes, salt..Cook everything in simmer..Add the cumin powder, chilly powder,coriander powder,stir gently for few seconds until the veggies gets well coated...Springle some water and cook in simmer until the veggies get well cooked,finally add the scrambled paneer, give a quick stir and put off the stove...Keep aside and let them cool completely..

Assembling the calzone:
1no Pizza dough
Potato,mushroom and paneer masala
Grated cheese (optional)
few drops of Oil

Preheat the over to 350F..Place the potato,paneer and mushroom filling to half of the dough, springle the grated cheese over the masala, fold the another half over the masala, give a press to the pizza dough with fingers or with a fork..brush the unbaked calzone with few drops of oil..Bake the calzone for 15-20 minutes until the crust turns brown..

Hibiscus Juice

We make many wonderful and healthy juices using fruits or either with veggies, eventhough we make rarely juices using flowers, i got an opportunity to get some precious fresh hibiscus flowers from my friend's house when we went last week to a small village quite far away from Paris..Back home, i cleaned and freezed those flowers for further uses, yesterday i prepared this beautiful looking juice using those frozen hibiscus flowers..You can very well make tea or sharbat using these flowers..Its tends to reduce the body heat also they have loads of medicinal value..Serve this juice chilled, you will definitely enjoy it when its terribly hot outside..



5nos Hibiscus flower(fresh or frozen)
1/2cup Sugar
2cups Water
1/4cup Lemon juice
1/4tsp Salt
Ice cubes

Bring boil the water along with hibiscus flower and put off the stove,keep aside for an hour...Strain the water, add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and add enough chilled water, ice cubes and enjoy..

Red Chori Dumplings Gravy/Karamani Urundai Kuzhambu

As most of the time, i used to freeze soaked beans for further uses, but sometimes its happens that i can forget them easily to use them in my cooking, i crossed a bag full of soaked and freezed red chori beans in my freezer while cleaning, i thawed them completely and grinded as vada batter,which i steam cooked and prepared this wonderful looking tangy and delicious gravy..Serve this tangy and fingerlicking gravy with rice along with papads or hard boiled eggs, i can surely say that you guys will have a wonderful lunch, also this gravy suits prefect as side dish to serve along with idlis,dosas,rotis etc..This thick gravy stays absolutely delicious for a week and needless to say that this gravy tastes more delicious and best after a day...Making out these sort of dumplings with those beans seems quite a best and unique way to feed my picky eaters, as these beans are loaded with proteins..



For red chori dumplings:
2cups Red chori beans/Karamani/Cowpeas (soaked)
1no Onion (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
1tsp Fennel seeds
1tsp Ginger (chopped)
2nos Garlic (crushed)
Salt

Wash thoroughly the red chori beans and grind them with fennel seeds,salt as a coarse paste, add the chopped onion pieces,chopped green chilly pieces,crushed garlic, ginger pieces, curry leaves,mix well with ur fingers.. Take a small portion and roll them as small lemon sized balls, continue making the dumplings until the grounded batter get finished, meanwhile heat a cup of water in pressure cooker n place those lemon sized redchori balls over a greased plate and steam cook upto 10 minutes..Keep aside and let them cool..

For Gravy:
15nos Steam Cooked Red chori Dumplings
1+1/2cups Tamarind extract
1tsp Red chilly powder
1tsp Coriander powder
15nos Shallots(cubed)
1no Tomato (big & juicy)
5nos Garlic cloves (crushed)
1/2tsp Mustardseeds
1/4tsp Fenugreek seed
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
Few curry leaves
Sesame oil
Salt

To grind:
1/4cup Grated coconut
1tsp Peppercorns
5nos Shallots

Take the grated coconut,peppercorns and shallots together, grind as fine paste along with water, keep aside..

Heat enough sesame oil, let splutters the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds,curry leaves & cumin seeds, add immediately the cubed shallotss, crushed garlic cloves,salt and chopped tomatoes,sauté everything until the onions turns transculent, add the grounded paste and cook in low flame until the oil gets separates, now add the tamarind extract, red chilly powder and coriander powder along with salt and cook the gravy with lid closed until the oil gets separates...finally add the already prepared dumplings, cook in simmer for few minutes and put off the stove..

Serve along with rice and papads..

Orange Rasam/Tangy Orange Soup

Its quite a long i prepared rasam with fruits, our recent favourite rasam is this quick,easy and delicious comforting orange rasam, actually i make this orange rasam using their peels which i skipped this time and prepared with freshly squeezed orange juice..Apart from adding orange juice and ghee, this rasam goes for a quick and usual preparation..Serve this rasam hot with rice and papads or spicy side dishes, am damn sure you will definitely have a wonderful lunch or dinner..This rasam will tastes super delicious if you use tangy orange juice..



1/2cup Orange juice
1no Tomato (crushed)
1tsp Rasam powder
2nos Garlic cloves (crushed)
1/4cup Cooked dal
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
2nos Dry red chillies
Few curry leaves

Salt
1/2tsp Ghee or oil

Take the cooked dal with rasam powder,crushed tomato,crushed garlic, salt along with enough water...heat the ghee, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida powder, red chillies,curry leaves and fry until they turns brown, add the tomato - dal water immediately, ..put of the stove once they starts boiling add the orange juice..

Serve hot with rice!!

Eggless Whole-Wheat Strawberry Bread

Quick breads are truly handy,simple which suits prefectly for a quick breakfast, i made this wonderful looking super spongy quick bread using strawberry puree during the weekend, i went for apple cider vinegar and baking soda instead of eggs, its a eggless bread which turned super spongy and we enjoyed having this delicious strawberry bread for our breakfast also for our snacks with a cup of tea..This bread goes for oil and yogurt,its completely butter free but not sugarfree, if you want to prepare this bread as sugar free you can very well use honey or maple syrup to replace the sugar..I have added few pumpkin seeds to give a crunchiness to this bread as this bread tends to be super spongy and moist..We loved it, my teddies enjoyed this super spongy strawberry bread with nutella spread for this breakfast..



1+1/2cups Whole wheat flour
1/2cup Cornflour
1cup Sugar
1/2cup Oil
3tbsp Yogurt
1/2cup Strawberry puree
1tsp Baking soda
1tbsp Apple cider vinegar
2tbsp Pumpkin seeds +1tsp for topping

Preheat the oven to 350F, grease a loaf pan and keep aside..In a large bowl,combine together the flours,pumpkin seeds,baking soda and sugar..in another bowl, mix the oil,yogurt,vinegar and strawberry puree everything well, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients, stir together gently but dont over stir..Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan,sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on the top and bake for 25-30minutes until the skewer inserted comes out clean..

Remove from the oven and let them cool completely,enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee...

Garlic & Spinach Rice

We all know very well that garlic and spinach together works out always wonder as anything..This wonderful looking rice goes for a quick,easy and simple preparation, which suits prefectly for a lunch box menu as well as for lunch to enjoy along with some fryums or else with hard boiled eggs..Usually i prepare these sort simple stir fry quite often with garlic and spinach together, this time i prepared almost the same stir fry which i spiced up with pav bhaji masala,cumin seed powder and garam masala, finally i tossed those cooked spinach-garlic stir fry along with already cooked rice..We enjoyed having this rice for our lunch today and everyone at home loved this flavourful,healthy and quite a delicious rice..



2cups Cooked rice
2cups Spinach (chopped)
10nos Garlic cloves (chopped)
1no Onion (big & chopped)
2nos Green chillies
1tsp Pav bhaji masala
1/2tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Cumin seed powder
1/2cup Grated coconut
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
Salt
Oil

Heat oil,let splutters the mustard seeds, urad dal, add immediately the chopped garlic,fry for few seconds, add now chopped onions,slit opened green chillies,saute until the onions turns transculent, add the pav bhaji masala,garam masala powder and cumin seed powder along with salt to the onions,cook for few seconds..

Add the chopped spinach to the spiced onions, cook for few minutes until the greens shrinks a bit, add the cooked rice, grated coconut and toss everything gently until the rice gets well mixed...Serve with fryums or any sort of spicy side dishes..