Carrot Beet Root Halwa

I needed to make a sweet dish and I didn't have much in my refrigerator because we had just come back from the vacation. I wanted to make Gajar ka Halwa but all I had were 3 medium sized carrots. That wouldn't make enough halwa for everyone. So I was looking for something else to make the sweet dish and I found a can of Beet Root. And thus the Gajar aur Chukandar ka Halwa. This is so yummy and a sneaky way to smuggle some beets into your kids tummy.

Carrot Beet Root Halwa 

Gajar ka halwa Chukandar ke saath

Ingredients:

1. 3 medium sized carrots peeled and grated with the finest grater you have
2. 1 can beet roots drained and ground into coarse paste
3. 1/2-3/4 cup sugar
4. 1/2 cup heavy cream
5. 2 cardamom pounded
6. 1/2 tablespoon butter or clarified butter (ghee)
7. 1 teaspoon each of raisins, chopped almonds and cashew fried in 2 teaspoons ghee

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the ghee and add the grated carrot and stir well. Reduce heat to medium and cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Add beet root paste and stir to combine. Cook further for 10 minutes. Add sugar and cook till it melts. Check if the carrots are tender to your taste or cook a bit longer. Add heavy cream and cardamom and stir to combine. Simmer till the water in the cream evaporates. Add the fried nuts and raisins and serve warm or cold

Apple Cider with Apple Juice

Today has been an especially cold day or I am feeling it. I am recovering from cold and I am not hungry but thirsty, thirsty and very thirsty.  And it being so cold I don't want to drink anything cold. I started searching for Apple Cider or Cyder which is usually had during the cold months.

I have never had hot Cider before and had no idea hot it is supposed to taste. But after looking at the recipes I thought I is a good cure for cold, with all the spices and everything.

And since I did not have any apple cider I used store bought apple juice and substituted orange for Tang. I guess the traditional cider makers will be very upset with me. But hey! whatever works. And now I am sitting all nice and warm from the hot cider

Apple Cider with Apple Juice

Apple Cider with Apple Juice

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups Apple juice for tots
2. 1/2 tablespoon honey
3. 1/2 inch ginger sliced thin (use more if you like)
4. 4-6 cinnamon sticks broken
5. 4-6 cloves (I am leaving this out)
6. 4 strips of only yellow rind from lemon
7. 1 heaped teaspoon orange tang

Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 12 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Let cool a bit and Happy Cider!!!

Lamb Curry with Broad Beans

Its winter and its been a few degrees cooler than average this year. Living in Los Angeles makes you think under 60 Degrees F is below freezing temperature. but I am not complaining. Its just that I am craving something creamy and gooey and hot and spicy. The spicy part had to be spared because here kids are involved in consuming the dinner.

Anne who!!! today I made the most yummiest lamb curry with Italian Broad beans. I served it with piping hot Sambar and rice

Lamb Curry with Broad beans

Lamb curry with broad beans

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb leg of lamb cut into pieces
2. 8-10 oz frozen Italian Broad beans thawed
3. 1 medium onion chopped
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
6. 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes chopped
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder
8. 1 cup chicken broth
9. Chopped cilantro for garnishing

In a heavy bottomed pot with lid add the oil and fry the onions till they start turning golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and all the powder ingredients and fry for 30-40 seconds. Add lamb and sear for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and stir to combine. Simmer for 15-25 minutes. Add green beans and 1/2-3/4 cup more water if needed and cook further for 10 more minutes. garnish with cilantro and serve

Boiled Potato Fry and Coconut Chutney

This is one of the most easiest of all the potato curries and yummiest too. This is the curry which is used as the masala in the masala dosa. And it is so versatile, you can just add other things to it and make different variants of the most popular potato curry in South India.

I am making Dosa to serve it with, and if I put this in the middle of the plain dosa it becomes the Masala Dosa. And also I made a different version of another popular dish the Coconut Chutney with Desiccated coconut and it came out equally scrumptious.

Aloo Masala (Simple boiled potato stir fry curry)

Boiled potato curry

Ingredients:

1. 3 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and cubed
2. 1 medium small onion sliced
3. 2 red chillies broken
4. Few curry leaves
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal (soaked in water for 10 minutes), turmeric, asafoetida
6. 1/2 tablespoon oil
7. 3/4 teaspoon salt
8. 1 tablespoon fresh peas (optional)
9. 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal , red chillies and curry leaves till they start to splutter. Add Hing or Asafoetoda and fry for 30 seconds. Add onions and fry till they become soft. Add salt and turmeric and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the potatoes and peas if using stir to combine and cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Mash a little. garnish with cilantro and serve on the side on inside the Dosa

Coconut Chutney with Dried Coconut

Desiccated Coconut

Desiccated coconut soaked in Water

Coconut Chutney with Desiccated Coconut

Ingredients:

1. 1 cups desiccated coconut
2. 1-11/2 cup juice from a small lemon sized tamarind
3. 1 jalapeno or Serrano chilli chopped
4. 1 teaspoon cumin divided
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of urad dal, chana dal (soaked in water for 10 minutes), mustard seeds, asafoetida, salt
6. 1/2 tablespoon oil
7. 1-2 dried red chillies broken
8. few curry leaves
9. 1 garlic pod chopped

In a microwave safe bowl add 1/2 cup water to the dried coconut and heat it for 1 minute. Set aside for atleast 15 minutes.

In a food processor grind together coconut, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, green chilly and salt with tamarind water into almost a smooth paste. In a pan heat the oil and fry all the remaining things (for tempering) until they start to splutter. Add asafoetida at the end and fry for one more minute. Add this to the top of the coconut chutney. Enjoy with hot fluffy rice or idli or carrot idli or  dosa or Ravva Dosa or Gaarelu 

Mooli Moong Dal

I have so many recipes I haven't blogged about and the back log is increasing by the day. I seriously need to spend more time with my laptop.

Anyway today I made Bhindi Do Pyaza and Mooli Moong Dal

Mooli Moong Dal (Split yellow grams with Daikon)

Mooli Moong Dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup yellow Moong dal dry roasted
2. 2-3 cups white radish or daikon chopped
3. 2 teaspoons oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric
5. 2 dried red chilies broken
6. few curry leaves
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
9. 1/4 cup chopped onion
10. 2 garlic pods chopped
11. 1/4 teaspoon hing

In a pressure cooker cook the dal along with chopped radish and turmeric for 3-5 whistles. Let it cool and open the cooker and mash the dal. Add salt and chili powder.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for 1 minute. Add broken chilies and curry leaves and fry for one more minute. Add onions and fry till they become brown. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add hing and fry for 30 more minutes. Add this tempering to the mashed dal along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 5 minutes. garnish with cilantro and enjoy with hot rice and Okra with Onions and Tomato

Potato Dill Soup

T'is the season for soup again half of my family is has runny noses and haven't been eating anything properly. And I am running low on supplies right now cause I belong to that half of the family who has cold.
Nothing is tasting right to me right now and I am craving some soup. I made a potato soup with Dill weed and it is soooo creamy and delicious. Just right for a cold winter evening.

Potato Dill Soup 

Potato Soup with Dill Weed

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2. 2-3 stalks of celery chopped
3. 1 medium onion chopped
4. 1/2-3/4 tablespoon olive oil (because it gives your body more heat)
5. 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
6. 3-4 cups low sodium chicken stock
7. 2 tablespoons chopped dill weed
8. 2 tablespoons sour cream
9. 1 teaspoon lemon pepper (or 1 tablespoon salt or to taste and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper)

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add celery and fry for a few minutes. Add potatoes and stir to combine. Let fry for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the salt and pepper and simmer covered on medium low heat for 20 minutes. Let it cool a bit and with an immersion blender or a regular blender blend the vegetables into a smooth cream. Return it to the pot. Bring it to a boil. Combine the Dill weed and the sour cream and add it to the soup. Stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for 5-8 minutes. Check for seasoning and enjoy hot hot soup as is or with toasted crusted bread

Here are some other soup recipes

1. Home Made Tomato Soup
2. Chicken Soup
3. Fish Soup with Rice Ovalettes
4. Carrot Soup

Mediterranean Cabbage and Saffron Rice

Its been quite some time that I made cabbage and I wanted to eat cabbage (of all things!!!) . I was searching my own recipes and this recipe is something I made a long time ago.
To go with it I made the most simplest Saffron rice dishes you would ever come across. Different people make it in different ways and here is a recipe for Saffron Pulao

Mediterranean Cabbage (Stir fried cabbage with dried fruit and nuts)

Mediterranean Cabbage

Ingredients:

1)4 cups of thinly sliced green cabbage
2)1/2 red bell pepper sliced and cut into 11/2-2 inch pieces
3)1/2 cup sliced red onion
4)1 table spoon kirkland signature mediterranean blend oil (or use any other oil)
5)1/2-1 teaspoon lemon pepper salt, 

6)Heaped teaspoon each of raisins, cranberries and sliced almonds

7)2 garlic pods grated

Heat a non-stick pan and dry roast the amonds and raisins and cranberries for 5 minutes on medium low heat. Remove and set aside. Roast the red bell pepper for 5 minutes. remove and set aside. Heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. And cabbage, reduce heat to medium cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add lemon pepper and stir to combine. Add the dried fruit and nuts and roasted bell pepper and stir to combine. Serve with Saffron Rice

Simple Saffron Rice (Saffron flavored rice)

Saffron rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice cooked according to the package directions or in a rice cooker.
2. 1/4 cup milk
3. Big pinch of saffron stands

Heat the milk for 30 seconds and add the saffron to it. Let sand for 5-10 minutes. Add this to the cooked hot rice. Stir to combine and serve after 5 minutes.

Mint Roasted Lamb and Vegetables

Its that time of the year when the table is spread with many different things and every one including the Turkey are stuffed. Last year I found a Turkey which was about 5 lbs in weight and it never got finished. So, this year I did not bother to go hunting for Turkey but instead I made roasted Lamb. The lamb is a hunk of meat about 2-2.5 lbs in weight. And there isn't much leftover. So I am happy.

Here is the recipe

Mint Roasted Lamb and Vegetables 

Roasted lamb with vegetables

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 lbs of lamb thawed
2. 1/2 cup olive oil
3. 6-8 cloves of garlic
4. About 2 cups of fresh mint leaves
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
7. 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
8. 1 cup chicken broth

Vegetables

1. 2 medium large potatoes peeled and cut into big cubes

2. 2 large carrots

3. 3 small yellow onions or one large onion wedged

4. 2 turnips

5. 1/2 tablespoon oil

6. 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Grind the garlic and mint along with salt, chili flakes if using, black pepper and olive oil. Put the lamb in a zip lock bag and add the marinade to it. Close the ziploc and Massage the meat . Marinate the meat overnight.

Leave the meat on the counter for about 30-60 minutes to take the chill out.

Add the oil to the vegetables and mix well with salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking tray with cooking spray and add the lamb and the marinade to it. Bake for 30 minutes.

Add the vegetables and continue to roast for 20 minutes. Add the warm chicken broth, reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast for further 50-60 minutes. 

Place the lamb on the serving platter and serve the vegetables around it. Cover it with a foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with all the other fixings

Brown Gravy (Gravy with pan drippings of roasted lamb)

brown gravy

Ingredients:

1. 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2. 1 tablespoon butter
3. salt to taste
4. About 11/2-2 cups pan drippings

In a pan heat the butter and add the flour. Keep stirring for 5- minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pan drippings and keep stirring. make sure there are no lumps. Strain if you want a smooth gravy. I like the little bits and pieces from the roast in my gravy. Serve over meat or mashed potatoes

Side with roasted lamb

1. Rosemary Corn Bread
2. Orange Cranberry sauce
3. Chicken Stuffing
4. Sour Cream Mashed Potato
5. Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Chana Dal Murgh

Chana Dal or Bengal Gram goes very well with meat but I never used to like it when I was a kid. But I have grown over it and now I really really like it. I wanted to see if it goes well with Chicken as well and let me tell you, this is one of the most delicious currys' I served with roti. Try it to believe it.

The creamier you want your dal to be the more you cook it. And my dal got totally mashed up and super creamy-the way I like it. And I used Chicken thighs but you can use any part of chicken you like. Enjoy

Chana Dal Murgh (Chicken with Split Bengal Gram)

Chicken with Chana Dal Gravy

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup chana dal soaked in water for 30 minutes
2. 1-1/2 chicken 
3. 1 cup chopped onions
4. 2 medium tomatoes chopped
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, chilly powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala
7. 1 tablespoon oil
8. 1 inch cinnamon stick broken
9. 2 cloves

Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric, chilly powder and garam masala for30-60 minutes. In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute along with the cinnamon and cloves. Add tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes. Add dal with a cup of water and cook for 2 whistles. Let all the steam escape, open the cooker and add the chicken and cook further for 2 more minutes. Simmer till the gravy thickens to your liking. garnish with a handful of cilantro and serve with your favorite Roti

Other chana dal recipes 

Purple Cabbage with Chana Dal

Chana Dal Mango

Basic Crepe

For a long time now I have been making the most amazing basic crepes and today I was searching for this recipe on my blog and I couldn't find it. I haven't blogged it till now but it has been available on the TasteBook page. Finally I am copying it here. please enjoy a delicious breakfast. I don't have the picture of the crepes but I will upload it soon.
I serve it with Nuttella and Peanut butter, powdered sugar and sliced bananas. Yum Yum. It is very very filling. You can also serve it for lunch with sauces made with mushrooms or shrimp or chicken or anything else you like

Basic French Crepe 

French Crepe with Chocolate drizzle

Crepe Up Close

Ingredients:

• 1)2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2)2 eggs
• 3)1/2 cup milk
• 4)1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5) butter for frying

In a bowl whisk together eggs, flour and salt and then add milk a little at a time and whisk until it becomes like a thin pancake batter. 

Heat a griddle and place some batter in the middle and spread it using a spoon with a light hand in an outward motion (like a dosa). Spread butter in the edges and fry for 2-3 minutes remove and spread with hazel nut or peanut butter and strawberries

Egg Puff

In the good 'ol days there used to be a bakery in my hometown it used to have something called a "Puff". There were two versions, a vegetarian version with potatoes and peas and Egg puffs. This was a puff pastry with the potatoes and peas or eggs. Today I made it using the Pillsbury's crescent dough. Finally I mastered unrolling the crescent dough.

Till this day I used to freeze them and try to unroll them but they never got unrolled properly. But now I know the unbaked crescent rolls have to be refrigerated. And I made the "Puffs" with boiled eggs and Potato Peas and ground lamb curry

Masala Puff and Egg Puff


Unroll the crescents and put the eggs or a teaspoon of your favorite filling and roll the crescent dough. bake at 350 degrees (because I was using a darker baking sheet) for 11-12 minutes. Let it cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy

Aloo mutter kheema

Lamb and potatoes are one of the best combinations ever and today I jazzed it up a bit by adding fresh green peas to it. This curry goes great with either white rice or ROTI . Today I served it with rice and baingan ka bharta or baingan Khatta. This baingan ka bharta is my mom's version and is pretty easy and super fast. So enjoy your delicious meal

Aloo Mutter Kheema (Ground lamb with potatoes and peas)

Aloo Mutter Kheema

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground lamb
2. 2 medium potatoes cubed
3. 1/2-2/3 cup fresh peas
4. 1 medium onion chopped
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder
8. Fresh chopped coriander for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start to brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the ground meat and fry for 10 minutes while breaking it. Add the rest of the ingredients and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add peas and simmer till potatoes are done. Garnish with cilantro and serve with  baingan ka bharta and rice

Chicken with Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Today was the day when Day light savings begins. And the weather has been weird. Its cold till 10.00 AM and then it gets super hot and then by 4.00 PM its getting cold again. Soup time is here. I didn't have many vegetables in my fridge but I had a couple of Zucchinis and Yellow Squash. So using those I made a delicious silky soup with Chicken and served it with flat bread and brown rice. Whatever you prefer to eat it with, it is delicious.

Chicken with Zucchini and Yellow Squash Soup with Mint

Chicken soup with Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium zucchini chopped
2. 2 medium yellow squash chopped
3. 2 chicken breast 
4. 4 cups chicken stock
5. 1 medium large potato chopped
6. 1 medium white onion chopped
7. 1/2 tablespoon each of olive oil, butter
8. 2-3 garlic pods chopped
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper, Italian seasoning
10. 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the butter and olive oil and add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the chicken and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add the vegetables and stir to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Cut the heat and let it cool. Drain the chicken and shred with a fork. Grind the vegetables with an immersion blender or a regular blender. Return the soup and chicken to the pot and simmer again for 20-25 minutes. Add the chopped minutes in the last 5 minutes. Serve with a flat bread or brown rice

Tomato Egg Curry and Ambada Dal

This is a variation of a egg curry recipe  I posted more than an year ago. I really loved the egg curry made by one of the cooks' who used to work for us. I was kind of young at that time and I am not exactly sure which of these versions is actually the original. No matter, both of them are equally delicious and easy to make. And it can be served with either rice or Any Roti

Tomato Egg Curry (Boiled eggs in Tomato Gravy)

Tomato Egg Curry

Ingredients:

1. 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled
2. 1 can petite cut tomatoes (I use fire roasted)
3. 1 teaspoon black gram (Urad dal with skin)
4. 2 cloves gralic chopped fine
5. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, chilly powder
6. 1-2 dried red chillies broken, few curry leaves
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of  turmeric, coriander powder 
8. 1 tablespoon oil+ oil for frying the eggs

In a wok or pan heat about 1-2 teaspoons oil and fry the eggs (make some slits in the boiled eggs else they will splutter in your face!) and fry for 5 minutes stirring often. Drain and set aside.

If there is not enough oil, add some more. Add urad dal and cumin, dried chillies and curry leaves and fry till an aroma starts emanating. Add garlic and fry for 30-40 seconds. Add all the powders and fry. Add tomatoes and stir well and cover and cook till pulpy. Add eggs and stir to combine and garnish with cilantro and simmer till almost all the juice evaporates. Enjoy with rice and Dal

Ambada Moong Dal (Amaranth leaves with Black Gram)

Ambada Moong Dal

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup yellow moong dal
2. 1/2-3/4 cup Amaranth leaves chopped and washed
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric, salt
4. 1 green chilly chopped
5. 2 dried red chillies broken
6. few curry leaves
7. 1-2 cups juice from a small lemon sized tamarind
8. 1 clove garlic minced

In the pressure cooker, cook the dal and Amaranth leaves with 2 cups of water and turmeric for 4 whistles. Let all the steam escape, open the cooker and mash the dal. Add the salt, green chilly pieces and tamarind juice. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. In a pan heat the oil and fry cumin and mustard seeds for a minute. Add garlic, red chilly pieces and curry leaves and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add this tempering to the dal and bring it to boil again and boil for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy

Gravy for Biryani

Whenever you order biryani in any of the Indian restaurants you get a side dish of GRAVY with it. I was never a big fan of this dish because it had too much oil and too much garam masala for my liking. But recently, there opened a new restaurant and I love the gravy they serve with the biryani. So I started searching for the gravy recipes and I made it. And I loved it soooooooo much along with everyone else. From now on, whenever I make biryani this is going to accompany it

                    This time around I made Mutton Biryani, gravy and Cucumber Raita. Here is the recipe

Gravy for Biryani (Tomato and Coconut based side dish)

Gravy for Biryani

Ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon oil
2. 1 medium small onion ground to paste or sliced thin
3. 2 medium tomatoes, quartered (and if they are big, slice into halfs again)
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of chilly powder, turmeric, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala
6. 1 teaspoon coriander powder 
7. 1/4 cup thick coconut milk
8. coriander for garnishing

Ingredients for paste

1. 2-3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2. 1 teaspoon khus khus (poppy seeds)
3. 1 teaspoon broken cashew 

Dry roast the ingredients for paste and let them cool. Grind it to a smooth paste . (I used coffee grinder)

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till translucent. Add all the ingredients in number 5 and 6 and fry for a minute. Add tomato quarters, reduce heat and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground paste and stir to combine. Add 2 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk, salt and coriander and stir to combine and simmer further for 3-4 minutes. Serve with your favorite rice dish like Mutton Biryani 

or Chicken Biryani or Ground Lamb Biryani

Pumpkin Spice Latte Lite

Yeah, Pumpkin season is here and the weather is surely getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. I am sooooo waiting for the day light savings to begin, just so I can have one more hour of sleep. But, I am pretty sure its not going to happen. Because my kids will be up on that Sunday on time based on their biological clock in their heads. I wish it was a Monday, because then nobody can wake up the kids. And they will sleep till afternoon

Anyway, there was this article about making a Pumpkin Spice Latte at home on Yahoo.com the other day. And I just had to try it. I made a few changes to the recipe (Roll Eyes...as Usual!!!) and the Latte was delicious. I hope you will try it too and DO let me know, when you get a chance

I am using Splenda here instead of sugar but not saying this as Sugar free because Pumpkin Puree has its natural sugars in it. SO its just Lite


Pumpkin Spice Latte (Spiced up Latte with Pumpkin Puree)

Pumpkin Spice Latte Lite

Ingredients:

1. 2 heaped teaspoons canned pumpkin puree
2. 3/4 cup 1 % milk
3. 1/4 cup water
4. Instant coffee depending on how strong you want 1 cup of coffee
5. 1 splenda
6. 1/4 teaspoon each of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom powders

In a pan heat the milk and add all the ingredients and whisk for 4-5 minutes. Add this to a cup and sprinkle with some nutmeg. Let it cool a bit and enjoy on a cold evening

Cannoli without Marsala Wine

Today is all about improvising. Its all about cooking without the right equipment and getting amazing results.
I made two dishes today. But for both of the dishes I didn't have the require equipment but I made them :D and they were great.

The first dish was a cheese stuffed chicken breasts dish and the second was this-Cannoli. Cannoli is a dessert made of fried tubes and filled with sweet ricotta or some other stuffing. First off, I did not have any Marsala wine with me today. Second I don't have the Cannoli tubes which are used to wrap the dough and fry in hot oil. Thirdly I didn't wanted to deep fry it. So here is the healthy (as per not being deep fried) version of Cannoli without wine

Cannoli without Marsala Wine

Cannoli without Wine

Ingredients:

1. 1 egg
2. 1/2 cup white sugar
3. 2 tablespoons each of butter, vegetable oil
4. 3/4 cup all purpose flour
5. 1/8 teaspoon each of  baking powder and salt
6. 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
7. 11/2 teaspoon each of distilled white vinegar and chilled water

Ingredients for filling:

1. 1-11/4 cup lite ricotta cheese
2. 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift the flour with baking soda and salt. In another bowl stir together the egg, sugar butter and oil till well blended. Add the flour to this along with vinegar and mix well. Add the water a little at a time until you get a thin pancake like batter.

Mix all the ingredients of the filling and leave it in the fridge until ready to use.

Heat a griddle to medium heat. Take 1/2 tablespoon of batter, place it into middle of the griddle and spread it with the back of a ladle with a light hand into about 4 inches circle. Let fry for about 2 minutes. Turn and fry for 1 more minute. Flip again and place a wooden cooking spoons handle and roll the hot cannoli onto it. Take it off into a place. Let it cool.

Right before serving, fill in the filling from the middle from both sides. Enjoy crunchy and cool Cannoli

Home Made Tomato Soup

Today, my little lady wanted to eat Tomato Soup and I didn't notice I didn't have her and my favorite store bought tomato soup, Campbell's Heat and Eat Tomato Soup. I had cans of tomato Sauce though. So I searched for the recipe and made my Home Made Tomato soup with canned Tomato Sauce. And it was as good as the store bought one but with just as much salt as I want.

Home Made Tomato Soup with Canned Tomato Sauce

Home Made Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1. One 8 oz can of tomato Sauce
2. 1/2 cup whole milk
3. 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
4. 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
5. 1 garlic clove minced
6. 1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper
7. salt to taste
8. 1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
9. 2 teaspoons olive oil
10. Grated Parmesan cheese for garnishing (optional)

In a small pan heat the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and stir well and add all the ingredients except milk. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add milk and simmer further for 10 minutes. Let it cool a bit and enjoy with your favorite toast or as it with a little garnish of your favorite cheese

Allum Pachadi

Its the weekend to time to eat something special dinner, lunch, brunch or breakfast. Today was Idli for dinner. And Idli is never complete without Chutney and Sambar. And the sambar recipe I finally was able to perfect is something which takes me back to a specific breakfast place in Hyderabad


Allum Pachadi (Sweet and Spicy Ginger accompaniment)

Allum Pachadi

Ingredients:

1. 1-1/2 cup of peeled and chopped
2. 2 teaspoons chana dal
3. 1 teaspoon urad dal
4. 2 red chillies
5. 3-4 garlic cloves
6. 3/4-1 teaspoon salt
7. 2 teaspoons brown sugar or jaggery
8. 1 tablespoon oil+1 teaspoon
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds
10. few curry leaves
11. 1/2 cup thick juice from a lime sized tamarind

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the chana dal and urad dal and red chillies. Drain and set aside. In the remaining oil fry the ginger and garlic for 5-7 minutes. Let it cool

Grind all these ingredients along with the tamarind juice into a smooth paste

Heat the teaspoon oil in a pan and fry the cumin and mustard seeds till they start to splutter. Add curry leaves and fry. Add this tempering to the chutney. Enjoy

Sambar for idli (Sweet and spicy lentil soup)

Sambar

Ingredients:

1. 1-11/2 tablespoons home made sambar powder or any store bought
2. 1 cup toor dal soaked in 2 cups of water
3. 2 cups juice from tamarind the size of a medium lemon
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt, chilly powder, turmeric
5. 1 green chilly chopped
6. Vegetable mix ( 1/4 cup each of roughly chopped onions, carrots, potatoes, 1 indian brinjal, 1 drumstick cut into pieces)
7. For tempering:  1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, mustard seeds, Hing/ asafoetida 2 red chillies, few curry leaves
8. 2-3 teaspoons sugar

In a pressure cooker add the dal and the water they were soaking in and cook for 4 whistles. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and mash them. Add the tamarind juice and all the other ingredients and bring it to a boil and slow boil for 20 minutes. Add the tempering i.e heat the oil fry the cumin, hing and mustard seeds. Add red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a couple of minutes. Add it to sambar, bring it to boiling again. Boil for 5 more minutes. Serve with your idlis or vada or dosa.

Achari Murgh

Its been pretty busy lately and I haven't been blogging anything recipes. Forget about blogging them, I am not even taking photos of them for later use. It's been crazy busy

Anyway, long time ago I made a dish with lamb called "Achari gosht". And the vegetarian version of the dish with eggplant called "Achari baingan" which was soooooo delicious. So today I had a whole chicken cut into 12 pieces and I made "Achari murgh"

So...what is "Achari" ? Achar is nothing bu pickle in Hindi/Urdu. And the spices which are used in making the pickles are the ones which are used in these dishes. Hence the name. So here goes

Achari Murgh (chicken cooked in pickling spices)

Achari Murgh

Ingredients for roasting

1. 1 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, onion seeds (kalonji)
2. 1/2 teaspoon methi or fenugreek seeds
3. 3 dried red chillies

Ingredients

1. 1 chicken cut into 12-16 pieces
2. 1 big onion sliced thin (about 11/2-2 cups)
3. 2 medium onions sliced
4. 1-2 green chillies
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1 tablespoon oil
7. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger- garlic paste
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten
10. 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Roast all the ingredients under " ingredients for roasting". Let them cool and grind to powder

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they starting turning brown. Add the ginger -garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till pulpy. Add the chicken and salt and turmeric and stir to combine. Add the yogurt and stir again. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the ground spices mixed with lemon juice, add a cup of water and simmer till chicken gets cooked. About 15 minutes.  Wait 30 minutes or more before serving. That will help all the spices mix together.
This curry is even better the next day

Serve it with white rice and Rasam

Tuna Rosti with Baked Yellow Squash

Its been ages that I had any time to blog. Especially with the kids at home in Summer, my days were super busy being a Chauffeur for them to all their activities. And now that school is open again I have a bit of a time to think of things others that which have to do something with the kids
                Anyway, today was a special Sunday night dinner. Something very different than what we are used to. Like my father used to say "if we don't eat rice, then it seems as if we did not eat dinner (even though we would have our bellies bursting with anything other than rice)"
               So I made "Rosti"... it is a dish mainly consisting of potatoes. And to go with it I made the most awesome baked Yellow Squash.

Tuna Rosti (Canned Tuna with Potatoes and eggs)

Ingredients:

1. Two 5-oz canned Tuna packed in water
2. 3 cups grated potatoes (squeezed to get as much water out as possible)
3. 1 cup bread crumbs
4. 1 tablespoon grated onion
5. 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
6. 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
7. 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
8. 1 teaspoon finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
9. 2 eggs beaten
10. salt to taste
11. Oil for frying

Drain the Tuna well. Squeeze the grated potatoes to get as much water out as possible. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a light hand. Add the beaten eggs and incorporate. Chill for 30 minutes. Divide in 8 parts. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry on medium high for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve warm

Baked Yellow Squash 

Ingredients:

1. 2 yellow squash ends trimmed and cut into 1/2 cm thick circles
2. 1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs
3. 2 tablespoons butter melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray non-stick cooking spray on a cookie sheet and lay the squash circles in one layer. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn midway

Coconut Ladoo

My Daadi Ammi or Grandma used to make this sweet with grated fresh coconut and in those days it was not one of my fav orites. But today I was craving something from the old times and I started searching for the recipe of LAUZ (thats what it was called in my household) and I found the recipe which is different from what my DaadiAmmi used to make. None-the-less I made it and it tastes great.

Narial Ladoo (Coconut balls made with milk and sugar)

Narial Ladoo

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups grated coconut (fresh or if frozen thawed)
2. 1 cup brown sugar
3. 2 cups whole milk
4. 2 green cardamom pounded
5. 1 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter

In a heavy bottomed pan roast the coconut till it turns into light brown. Take it out and set aside. Heat the milk and simmer till it becomes half of the original volume. Add the sugar and simmer further for 5-7 more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep stirring till it comes together. Cut the heat and let it cool till it becomes cool enough to handle. Wet your palms and make them into balls. Enjoy Coconut Ladoo

Salmon curry with Ambada Khatta

Its been ages that I blogged anything. Its just that the priorities have shifted a bit. Some other things have just been moved up the priority and bogging was pushed down. Anyway, here I am today I made Salmon curry with a side gravy of Sorrel leaves which are might sour, and I love them

Salmon Curry (Salmon Steak pieces in a simply yummy gravy)

Salmon Steak curry

Ingredients:

1. two pieces of 1 inch thick salmon steaks cut into 4-5 pieces each
2. 1 medium onion
3. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
5. 1/2-2/3 inch ginger
6. 2 green chillies slit
7. 2 garlic pods
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, methi powder, coriander powder
9. 1 tablespoons oil

Marinate the fish with all the powdered ingredients and oil and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Grind the onions and ginger and garlic  and cumin to a fine paste. Heat the oil and fry the onion paste until it starts getting dark. Add fish to it, add about 2 cups of water and slit green chillies simmer for 12-15 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro and enjoy fish curry


Ambada Khatta (Simple Sorrel leaves gravy)

Ambada Khatta

Ingredients:

1. 1 big bunch sorrel leaves separated
2. 1 small onion sliced
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric,
5. 1/2 tablespoons oil
6. 1 teaspoon each of salt, roasted peanut powder
7. 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder (optional)
8. 1 garlic clove chopped fine
9. 2 dried red chillies broken

Pressure cook the sorrel leaves with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1/4 sup water. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and grind the leaves to a smooth paste.

                 In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the urad dal, cumin and mustard seeds till they start to splutter. Add onions, red  chillies and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, 2 cups of water and simmer for 10 minutes,. Give it a taste test and add more water it it is very sour or salt as per taste. Enjoy

I deep fried some store bought yogurt chillies (green chillies marinated in yogurt and sun dried ). DELICIOUS. I put them in the ambada khatta and served them

Dahi Mirchi

Whipped Orange Juice

Today we went on a trip to a place called "Fillmore" and surrounding are the most amazing orange groves I have ever seen. Mile after mile of orange trees filled with juice oranges, lemons, grape fruit and sometimes a strawberry farm. And if it was not orange trees then it was Avocado trees. I have never seen a Avocado tree before and I thought it was a Mango tree cause the leaves were looking kinda similar. But anyway it was great.
         So while coming back we got a whole box of fresh oranges and MAN!!! are they sweet. I wanted to make this delicious drink called "Whipped Orange Juice" I once had in a Mexican restaurante. I found the recipe and I added my own items and it was great. So here is the simple but most refreshing orange juice ever

Whipped Orange Juice 

Whipped Orange Juice

Ingredients:

1. About 1 glass of fresh orange juice
2. 3-4 ice cubes
3. 2-3 teaspoons sugar

Whip all the ingredients in a blender for about 2-3 minutes or until frothy. Serve in a chilled glass on a hot summer day or any day you want to be refreshed. ENJOY