Sunday, May 31, 2009

Cauliflower Masala Curry

Cauliflower used to be a seasonal vegetable when I was in India. We dont get it throughtout the year. I have never tried cooking cauliflower before marriage. I am not good in making cauliflower curry. So I only make gravy with cauliflower. Then I remembered a white curry my mother make with cauliflower. I tried it yesterday and it turned out better than my other efforts so far. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium cauliflower
  • 1 Big onion chopped lengthwise
  • 1 Teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon cummin seeds
  • 1 1/2 Cups of shredded coconut (fresh coconut)
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • 5-6 Chillies
  • 3 Tablespoons of cooking oil
  • Salt to taste
Directions

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and jeera and allow them to splutter. Now add the chopped onions and salt. saute until the onions are cooked. Microwave the cauliflower florets for 15 minutes. Meanwhile grind the coconut, green chillies, fennel seeds and garlic into paste.

Now add the cauliflower to the onions and saute for sometime. Stir in the masala paste to the cauliflower and cook until the raw aroma of the masala goes.

Serve with chapathi or steamed rice.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Vegetable - Green Gram Idly

I make pesaratu once in a while. Its not the authentic one but my own recipe. Few days back I soaked green gram in water to make pesaratu. But my mood changed. I thought I would use the green gram and make something else. I ended up making green gram idlies. I added vegetables to make it more tasty and healthy. Here is the recipe. Hope you will like it.

Ingredients
  • 4 Cups of green gram
  • 1/2 Teaspoons of Fennel Seeds
  • 10 Red Chillies
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 Teaspoon of mustard seeds
  • 2 Teaspoon of urad dhal
  • 1 Tablespoon of cummin seeds
  • 1 Big onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Bellpepper finely chopped
  • 1 Carrot finely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons of oil
  • 3 Tablespoons of corriander leaves, finely chopped
  • Salt to taste

Directions

Soak the green gram overnight. Grind it into a coase batter with red chillies, garlic cloves, fennel seeds and salt. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Add the cummin seeds, urad dhal and corriander leaves and then add the onions, bellpeppers and carrots. Saute the vegetables until they are cooked. Mix the sauted vegetables with the batter. Pour the batter into idly mould and cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with corriander chutney.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Spicy Poblano Tortillas

Poblanos are spicy mexican peppers that are bigger than jalapenos. I make corn stuffed poblanos for dinners. I shall post the recipe later. I once had a mushroom-poblano dish at a mexican restaurant. I tried to recreate the same but I didnt know how to make the sauce. Instead I added few other ingredients and it turned out delicious. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 Poblano peppers
  • 6 Corn tortillas
  • 1 Small onion, chopped lengthwise
  • 10 White mushrooms rougly chopped
  • 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 Cup shredded cheese
Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees. Cook the poblanos for 10-15 minutes until they are soft. Remove the skin and seeds and roughly chop them. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the onions. Saute until onions turn translucent. Add the mushroom and saute until mushrooms are cooked. Add the poblanos, salt and pepper and give a stir.

Spread the poblano-mushroom mixture on the tortilla and top it with shredded cheese (Check the picture below).

Fold the tortilla and bake it in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce.

Egg Dumplings

When I was in India I used to eat egg bhonda from a road side shop. I have tried the same at home lot of times. I wanted to try a different recipe. I made dumplings with eggs and vegetables. I am sure people that dont like to smell of egg would love this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium onion finely chopped
  • 5 Hard boiled eggs roughly chopped
  • 1 Small bellpepper finely chopped
  • 1 Carrot finely shopped
  • 2-3 Tablespoons of Corriander leaves
  • 1 Tablespoon of corriander powder
  • 1 Teaspoon of red chilli powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon of corn powder
  • 1/2 Cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 Cups of seasoned bread crumps
  • 3 Cups of oil (I used corn oil)
  • 1 Cup of shredded cheese (optional)
  • 1 Cup of water
Directions

Mix eggs, vegetables, corn powder, salt and the spices together. Make medium size balls with the mixture. Add the water to the all purpose flour and mix well. Dip the balls in the all purpose flour and roll them over the bread crumps. Deep fry in the oil. Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce.

I am tagging the Foodista website to this blog.

Egg on Foodista

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Quick Snack

Tea time is the most challenging time for me. I need to make something to munch since my husband he always comes home very hungry. I usually make oven baked snacks for tea time. I also grill asparagus and we have it with sauce. Its a very simple and healthy snack.

Ingredients

  • Asparagus
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking tray arrange the asparagus. Drizzle some olive oil on the asparagus and sprinkle the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss the asparagus with hands so that all the asparagus are seasoned. Cook it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the asparagus are tender. Serve it with ranch or ketchup.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Chocolate Delight

Chocolate has been favourite relish for majority of the people especially women. I am not an exclusion. I love chocolates. My other favourite is hazelnut. I found combination of chocolate and hazelnut. Its an Italian spread like peanut butter that we get here. I use it instead of jam. I made a sandwich with this spread and banana. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 Slices of bread
  • 2 Tablespoons of chocolate and hazelnut spread
  • 1 Ripe banana
  • Butter

Directions

Apply the chocolate hazelnut spread on one side of the bread slices. Cut the banana into small slices and keep in on a bread slices. Spread butter on the outter side of the bread and toast the bread as how you toast a sandwich. Serve hot.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bellpepper Raitha

When it comes to raitha onions, cucumber, carrots and tomato are the common ingredients. I made a raitha with bellpepper. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 Bellpepper seeded and finely chopped (Any color is fine. I used yellow one)
  • 1 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
  • 3 cups of whipped yogurt
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons of corriander leaves finely chopped
Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Now add the jalapeno and onion and saute for sometime. Add the bellpepper, red chilli powder and salt and saute until bellpeppers are cooked. Toss these into the yoghurt and give a stir. Garnish with corriander leaves.

This raitha can be a side for chapathis as well.

Jeera Rice

Weekends are the time I would like to relax. So I usually make easy dishes. One such dish is Jeera Rice. It takes no time and not a lot of ingredients. Since jeera rice doesnt have lot of spices in it, you can make some spicy red gravy as a side for it. Instead of gravy I made bellpepper raitha. (Click here for the recipe.) Here is the recipe for jeera rice.

Ingredients

  • 7 Green Chillies
  • 3 Cups of basmati rice
  • 5 Tablespoons of ghee
  • 2 Tablespoons of cummin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons of Corriander leaves finely chopped to garnish

Directions

Soak the rice in water for 10 minutes and rinse it in running water. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a deep pan. Add the green chillies and cummin seeds (jeera). Now add the rice to pan and saute for sometime. Stir in the water and add salt. Cover the pan and cook the rice in medium heat until the rice is cooked. Once the rice is cooked add the remaining ghee and corriander leaves and give a stir. Serve hot.


Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Onion-Bellpepper Chutney

I made Dhania Thepia today for dinner. I got the recipe from my friend Ramya's blog. I didnt want to make gravy for sidedish. I wanted to try something different. I started making onion chutney. I added two more new ingredients to it. It came out very good. Checkout the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium sized onion roughly chopped
  • 1 small bellpepper
  • 3 tablespoons of corriander leaves finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of urad dal
  • 3 tablespoons of yellow split peas or channa dal
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 4 red chillies (more if want the chutney spicy)
  • 1 small ball tamarind
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • Salt to taste
Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add red chillies, urad dal and spilt peas. Now add the onions, corriander leaves, ginger and garlic until onions turn translucent. Add the bellpeppers and saute until bellpeppers are cooked. Let the ingredients cool. Process the mixture in a processor or a blender. Serve it with Dhania Thepia.

Dhania Thepia with Onion-Bellpepper chutney

Monday, May 4, 2009

Simple Soup

I make soup almost everyday for dinner. Its a very filling and healthy food. You can make it in minutes. If you are trying this soup dont limit yourself to the vegetables that I have given. I even add green lentils and tofu to the soup.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 Medium onion roughly chopped
  • 4 Cups of vegetables, roughly chopped (Carrot, Bellpepper, Zucchini, Broccoli florets, Celery, Cauliflower, Green beans)
  • 6 cups of water or low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 Tablespoon ground pepper
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoon Corriander powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • Croutons to serve
Directions

Melt the butter in a stockpot. Add the onions and saute for sometime. Add the vegetables and pour in the vegetable stock. Stir in all the other ingredients. The bay leaves gives the soup a flavour. Let the soup boil until the vegetables are cooked. Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Serve hot with the croutons.

Masala Tostadas

I have seen masala papad as an appetizer item in most of the Indian restaurants. I make this at home as an evening snack with vegetables and tostadas. Tostadas are crisp flat tortillas. I made 8 of these. The ingredients are for 8 tostadas.

Cook Time - 20 Minutes
Level - Easy
Serves - 4-8

Ingredients

  • 8 Tostadas
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 Green bell pepper finely chopped
  • 1 Carrot finely chopped or shredded
  • 1 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped (2 if you want it hot)
  • 1 Zucchini finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt (more if you need)
  • 1 teaspoon chat masala
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used mexican style mixed shredded cheese)
  • 2 tablespoons dill leaves finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons corriander leaves finely chopped
  • 1 cup Tomato ketchup
Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 Degrees. Mix all the vegetables and spices together. Spread each tostadas with tomato ketchup. Alternately, you can also use chilli sauce. Top the tostadas with the mixed vegetables. Bake the tostadas in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve hot.


Saturday, May 2, 2009

French Toast

I tried to recreate french toast I once had at a restaurant. Its very easy to make and tastes good.
Cook Time - 15 Minutes
Level - Easy
Serves - 3

Ingredients

  • 4 Slices of bread
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons of butter

Directions

Remove the brown parts from the bread. Cut the bread into one inch strips. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, milk and cinnamon powder together. Heat the butter in a skillet. Dip each bread slice in the egg and shallow fry in the butter. Serve with maple syrup.


Friday, May 1, 2009

Chilli Parathas

When I was pregnant I craved for lot of Indian fastfood dishes. One such dish was chilli parathas. I tried them with the frozen parathas and it turned out to be too good. You can try it too!

Cook Time - 30 Minutes
Level - Easy
Serves - 2-3

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium sized onion cut lengthwise
  • 4-5 Green chillies cut lengthwise(depending on how hot you want the dish to be)
  • 6 Frozen plain parathas
  • 2 tomatoes diced
  • 1 bell pepper cut lenghtwise
  • 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon corriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon funnel seeds
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • Corriander leaves to garnish

Directions

Heat the oil in a wok and add fennel seeds, green chillies, ginger garlic and turmeric powder. Let these sizzle for a few minutes. Now toss in the onion and pepper and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to stir until the tomatoes soften. Add garam masala, salt and corriander powder and keep stirring.

Meanwhile, make the parathas as per the instructions given on the packet. Cut the parathas into thin strips and shallow fry it in oil. Now add the paratha strips to the wok. Toss everything together. Garnish it with corriander leaves and serve hot.

Chilli parathas can be served with any raitha.

Bread and Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs

Egg is a staple food in our everyday diet. I cook eggs for breakfast almost everyday. I learned a lot of simple mexican breakfasts from my dear friend. In addition I try to come out with my own recipes. Here is one such recipe - scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs go well with bread toast.

Cook Time - 10 Minutes
Level - Easy
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons Olive oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions(I am not mentioning the size of the onions because the size ofthe onions in the US varies. I bought jumbo onions this time. I can use one onion for 3 days. They are so big)
  • 1 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 Bell Pepper seeded and finely chopped (Any color is fine)
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped tomato
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the jalapenos, onions, bell peppers and tomato and saute for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl with the milk, salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the skillet. Cook the eggs on the low heat, stirring constantly to the desired doneness.

You can add shredded cheese to the scrambled eggs if desired. To make this dish Indianized you can add garlic powder and garam masala while whisking the eggs.

Welcome!

Hello! Thanks for stopping by. I didnt want to start a recipe blog since there are a lot available on the Internet. My friends often ask me breakfast recipes especially what they can do with eggs. So I thought why not. I will try to post recipes from different cuisines but in my way. Hope you find them useful. Have fun! Happy cooking!