Carrot fry with Radish Sambar

The carry fry is one of the most easiest and fastest dishes ever (excluding the time needed to cut the carrot in to small pieces). This was one of my colleague's mom's dishes.  To go with it I made sambar with white Radish or Daikon. So here is the recipe


Carrot Poriyal (Simple stir fried carrot)

Simple carrot fry

Ingredients:

1. 2 big or 3 medium carrot peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes
2. 1/2 cup chopped red onions
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, salt, chilly powder, turmeric
4. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin for 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and fry until they become tender. Add the carrot and cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Fry for 5 more minutes and serve with roti or rice and sambar

Radish Sambar (Lentil soup with Daikon)

Radish Sambar

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup toor dal dry roasted
2. 1 medium white radish cut into 1/4 inch circles
3. 2 teaspoons sambar powder
4. 1 teaspoon or less of salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt, turmeric power, chilly powder
6. 2 teaspoons oil
7. 1 big or 2 small garlic pods finely chopped
8. 1/4 cup roughly chopped onion (optional)
9. 2 cups juice from a small lemon sized tamarind
10. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds
11. 2 dried red chillies broken
12. few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker cook the dal with turmeric and 2 cups of water for 3-4 whistles. Let the steam escape. Cook the radish for 3 minutes covered in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave.

Add all the ingredients to the dal and bring to a boil. Boil for 8-10 minutes. In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds till they start spluttering. Add the garlic, red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a couple of minutes. Add this to the dal. Continue to boil for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro if you want and serve with hot rice and carrot fry

Orange Shrimp with Broccoli and fried rice

I needed to do an assignment about ads in magazines and I was going through some magazines for it. And one of the magazines I picked up, was I think Woman's day and each and every magazine had some recipes in it. I was flipping pages fast to find two ads which are either very good or bad about similar product. Anyway, during my flipping I found a dish which was interesting and the recipe was Orange Shrimp and Broccoli. I don't remember what it was called in the magazine and it was served on white rice. But I made fried rice.

Shrimp and Broccoli in Orange sauce (Stir fried Shrimp and Broccoli with Orange flavor)

Shrimp and Broccoli in Orange Sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1 orange
2. 1 big or 2 medium heads of broccoli cut into florets
3. 1/2 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
4. 1-11/2 tablespoon oil
5. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
6. 1 teaspoon white vinegar
7. 1 teaspoon corn starch
8. 1/2 teaspoon or less of salt
9. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10. 1/2 large red onion chopped
11. 2 big or 3 medium garlic pods grated

Microwave the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes and set aside (this step is just to speed up the cooking )

Peel the orange zest or the orange part of the peel with a peeler. Four of them and chop to create about 1 teaspoon of chopped zest. set aside

Juice the orange (about 1/2 cup) and mix it with soya sauce, vinegar and corn starch and the water form the broccoli or 1/4 cup water

Heat about 1/2 tablespoon oil and fry the shrimp till they turn pink. Drain and set aside. 

Heat the remaining oil in a pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a minute. Add the broccoli and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp back to the pan and add the soya mixture and stir to combine. Add the orange zest, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. garnish with cilantro and serve

Fried Rice 

Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice cooked
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 2 tablespoons soya sauce
4. 1 teaspoon vinegar
5. 1/2-1 teaspoon red chilly flakes
6. 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
7. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the shrimp paste for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Reduce heat and cover and let fry for 5 minutes. Stir intermittently. Serve

Also try Egg fried rice

       Kheema Fried Rice

Palak Masoor Dal

My mom seldom used to make Masoor dal. For that matter we never used to eat dal at a regular basis in our house. But lately I have been making many dishes with masoor dal and I like it.
           Today, I asked my D what she wants to eat for dinner and she said "dal Roti". And instead of making any plain old dal I made masoor dal with Spinach. It is yummy and healthy and the kids ate it too without any fuss. So here is the recipe

Palak Masoor Dal (Red lentils with Spinach)

Palak Masoor Dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup masoor dal dry roasted
2. 3/4 cup loosely packed frozen spinach thawed or about 2 cups fresh spinach
3. 1 medium tomato chopped
4. 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
5. 1 big or 2 small green chillies chopped
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, cumin, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric, asofetida
7. 1 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
8. 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
9. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pressure cooker add the dal, spinach, tomato and turmeric with about 2 cups of water and cook fo 3 -4 whistles. In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them splatter. Add the onions and fry till they start becoming brown. Add green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and asofetida and fry for a minute. Add the dal and the rest of the ingredients and add about 1/2 cup water if it gets too thick. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot Roghni Roti 

Gobi Manchurian

It has been a long time I made anything fried. There are two reasons to it. I don't like food which is deep fried and it gets too hot standing in front of the hot oil. But its been ages that I made one of my favorite street foods of Indo-Chinese origin-the Gobi manchurian.

Gobi Manchurian is so famous, that whenever there is a fair or exhibition in India you are certain to find one of the food stalls to offer this.

It turned out to be so very irresistable. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did

Gobi manchurian (Deep fried battered cauliflower)

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium Gobi (Cauliflower) cut into medium large florets
2. 3/4 cup all purpose Flour (Maida)
3. 1 tbsp Corn Flour
4. Salt to taste
5. 1 big green chili chopped fine
6. 1/2 teaspoon Ajwain
7. 1 teaspoon each of finely chopped ginger, garlic
8. 1 medium small red onion cubed
9. Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
10. 2 tablespoons each Soya Sauce divided, white vinegar divided, Tomato Ketchup
11. 1 tbsp Oil + oil for deep frying

Make a smooth batter with the flour, corn flour and salt, 1 tablespoon each of vinegar , soya sauce and water. The batter should be like thick pancake batter
Microwave the cauliflower florets for 3 minutes covered (Just to make them a little softer) (you can skip this step if you want)
Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip the gobi florets in the batter fry till golden brown. Drain and set  aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in another pan and fry the ajwain for a couple of minutes. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. A ginger & garlic green chili to it. Add soya sauce, vinegar and tomato sauce to it. Add fried Gobi and stir to combine. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot

Masoor Khichidi, Sheek Kabab aur Dahi Raita

Today being the day light saving day, everything happens late. I did change my clocks last night but in the morning I was still going by my biological clock and I didn't start cooking atleast by 12 PM. I had to cook something fast, ofcourse I put the ground meat to thaw in the morning itself. So the menu for the afternoon is Masoor ki Khichidi with Cauliflower, yummy Sheek kabaab with ground lamb and easy yogurt raita
Masoor Khichidi (Rice with Red Lentils)

Masoor pulao with carrots in a clay pot

Sheek Kabab with Masoor Khichidi

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups uncooked basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 15 minutes
2. 1/2 cup masoor dal
3. 1 tablespoons oil
4. 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
5. 2-3 cloves and 1 inch cinnamon broken into 3-4 pieces
6. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
7. 2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
8. 2 green chillies slit
9. 3/4 teaspoon salt

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start changing color. Add ginger-garlic paste and the cloves and cinnamon and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the slit green chillies and cauliflower and fry for a few minute. Add 3 cups of water (1: 1.5 rice:water) and add salt to it and bring it to a boil. Dry roast Masoor dal this before hand, it will enhance the taste of the khichidi). Close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and serve hot with Sheek Kabaab  and Yogurt Raita

Sheek Kabab ( Ground lamb mixed with spices and baked)
Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground lamb
2. 1/2 medium sized red onion chopped fine
3. 1-2 green chillies chopped fine
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 cup bread crumbs
7. 2 teaspoons oil
8. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground blackpepper
9. 1 tablespoon milk
10. 1 egg beaten

Mix all the ingredients together with a light hand. Divide it into 8-10 equal parts and make it into little logs on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the logs of sheek kabab and bake further for 10 more minutes. Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish

Here is the recipe for Dahi/Yogurt Raita

Cilantro rice with Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas

Today being Saturday I wanted to make something special but not necessarily cook an elaborate meal. So the meal I made is super fast and super easy.
                   I made Creamy Cilantro rice. The creamy part comes from Hass Avocado. It is a great tasting nuitritional rice dish. And I served it with quick Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas saute. Please go ahead and try the meal and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did

Creamy Cilantro Rice (Cooked rice mixed with cilantro and Avocado)

Cilantro rice and Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas

Cilantro rice with Avocado and corn

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice cooked with 1 teaspoon of salt
2. 2 cups lighly packed cilantro
3. 1 serrano pepper (seeded if you need less spice)
4. 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
5. 1 garlic pod
6. 1/4 piece of a medium red onion
7. 1 hass Avocado (optional)
8. 1/2-3/4 cup corn kernels
9. Salt as needed

Cook the rice along with corn and one teaspoon salt. Puree the garlic, onion, cilantro and green chilly along with lemon juice and may be 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the avocado if using and puree once. Add this to hot cooked rice and mix well and serve.
Also try Green Goddess Rice

Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas (Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas stir fry)

Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb medium sized shrimp peeled and deveined
2. 2 cups sugar snap peas, stringed and snapped into two
3. 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
4. 1/2 medium red onion sliced
5. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic
6. 1 tablespoon each of soya sauce, white vinegar, canola oil
7. 1/4 cup white cooking wine/ sherry
8. 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, salt (optional), fresh black pepper

Pat dry the shrimp and marinate it with 1/2 ginger, 1/2 garlic, 1/2 soya sauce, 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 oil and red chili flakes for about an hour.
Heat a pan and fry the shrimp till they become cooked about 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add the onions and cook till they become translucent. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a minute. Add snap peas and cover and cook for minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add shrimp back to the pot and rest of the ingredients and cover and simmer for 5 minutes. garnish with green onions if available and serve

Zeera rice with Smokey Sausage and Black eyed Peas

The other day I went shopping at Fresh and Easy I found Smoked Turkey Sausage. I got it and thought it will be a nice snack for after school but the kids just didn't like it. So I had to make something out of it. So I made a curry/stew with this Smoked Turkey Sausage and Black eyed peas. It turned out to be soooo delicious. Kids loved it too. I served it over a bed of cumin rice

Smoked Sausage with Black Eyed Peas

Smoked sausage with Black Eyed Peas over cumin rice

Ingredients:

1. 8-12 oz of turkey sausage, casing removed and chopped roughly
2. 2 cups of frozen black eyed peas or a can of black eyed peas drained
3. 1 medium onion chopped fine
4. 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes chopped fine
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, salt, coriander powder, turmeric, madras curry powder or garam masala powder
6. 1 tablespoon olive oil
7. 2 bay leaves

If using frozen black eyed peas, thaw them and cook them in a pressure cooker along with the turmeric and a cup of water for 3 whistles.
In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start getting browned. Add the bay leaves and ginger-garlic paste and the rest of the powders. Add the sausage and fry for some time. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the black eyed peas and add some more water if it gets too thick. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with Cumin rice