Egg curry with Zucchini

Today I made a super fast egg curry for one ( assuming 'one' eats two eggs) with little bit of more fiber than usual. This egg curry with zucchini is super yummy. Try it when you are in a mood for something different

Egg curry with zucchini
Ingredients
1. 2 eggs hard boiled and peeled
2. 1/2 cup chopped red onion
3. 1/2 zucchini grated or about 1-11/2 cup
4. 1/2 tablespoon oil
5. 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder, turmeric, cumin
6. 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Fry the hard boiled eggs ( make a few slits in them otherwise they will burst in your face) for 3-5 minutes and set aside. Add cumin and fry till they splutter. Add onions and fry till they start changing color. Add the spices and ginger-garlic paste and fry for a
Minute. Add tomato paste and zucchini and stir to combine. Cook covered for 7-8 minutes. Add some water if it gets too dry. Add eggs and simmer for a Few Minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot rice or roti

Rava idli

Today being a weekend morning, one of those days when we can sit for a proper Indian breakfast, I wanted to eat idlis. Bur unfortunately idlis takes lot of pre- planning- like soaking the dal the previous morning and all. So I made the fast version if it with different ingredients and served it with delicious Sambar

Rava idli( steamed dumplings with semolina)
Ingredients
1. 1 cup upma ravva
2. 1 cup plain yogurt
3. 1 medium large carrot grated fine
4. 1/4 cup chopped spinach
5. 2 teaspoons ghee
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, black urad dal, salt, baking soda.
8. 1-2 green chillies finely chopped
9. 1 tablespoon each of grated coconut, chopped coriander, cashew
10. 1 teaspoon Chana dal
11. 1/2- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

In a pan heat the ghee and fry the cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal and Chana dal until they start splattering. Add green chillies and ginger and stir and cut the heat. Let it cool
In a bowl mix the rava with all the ingredients except cashew and 1/4 cup water. Add the fried items also. Set it aside for 30 minutes

Oil the idli steamer and put a cashew and add batter and steam. Let it cool a bit and serve with hot sambar and chutney

Sabudaana seviyah kheer

It's been quite long that I made th sabudaana or saagudaana or tapioca kheer. And the other day my girl had a taste if this when we went to an Indian restaurant. She loved it. So on popular demand I made this dish and my girl didn't disappoint me. She ate it happily

Saagudaana semiyah kheer ( tapioca vermicelli pudding)
Ingredients
1. 1/4 cup small sabudaana
2. 1/4 cup fine vermicelli
2. 3 cups milk
4. 1/2 cup sugar
5. Chopped nuts of your choice for garnish
6. 2 cardamom lightly pounded

In a heavy bottomed pot bring to boil 2 cups if water. Add tapioca and boil for 15-20 minutes until tapioca becomes translucent. Add milk and vermicelli and bring to boil again. Boil on medium low heat for 10 minutes. Add cardamom and sugar and mix well till sugar dissolves. Garnish with your choice of nuts and serve

Chili garlic potatoes

I haven't been making potatoes that often lately but yesterday we got a whole package of potatoes and it was about time to give some respect to the king of spuds.

The original recipe called for baby potatoes but I used the smallest of the Russet potatoes from the bag I got

Chili Garlic Potatoes ( stir fried potatoes with garlic and three different chilies)

Garlic Chili Potatoes

Ingredients
1. 1 lb baby potatoes or small potatoes boiled till they are fork tender. Peel them
2. 1-11/2 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1 Serrano chilly chopped
5. 1 teaspoon Chinese chilli paste
6. 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
7. 1/2 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar
8. Salt to taste
9. Tiny pinch of red food color (optional)

In a non stick pan heat the oil and fry the garlic and green chillies for a couple of minutes. Add red chili paste, little bit of salt, food color if using and stir well. Add soy sauce and vinegar and stir to combine. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and pepper and stir to combine into sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add baby potatoes or cut the small potatoes into halves or quarters depending on the size. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Check for salt and add if needed. Serve as an appetizer or a side dish

Bisquick biscuits

I have tried making biscuits from scratch quite a number of times and I could never get them right. But this time I had the Bisquick original mix at hand and I tried the biscuit recipes and they turned out great.

But I don't like the pancakes made with this mix. They are too dry for my and my kids taste. So I would have to somehow make more biscuits and finish the whole 5 lbs of the mix

And by the way, 2 1/4 cups of bisquick mix makes 9 biscuits

Bisquick biscuits

Bisquick Biscuits

 

Ingredients
1. 2 1/4 cup bisquick original mix
2. 3/4 cup milk

Mix the bisquick and mix with a light hand until it forms dough. Knead it on a surface which has been sprinkled with bisquick for 10 times exactly. ( supposedly if you knead it more the biscuits will become hard)
Pre heat the oven at 425 degrees ( since I am using a dark cookie sheet. Otherwise heat to 450 degrees)
Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into circles using a cookie cutter. Stack two biscuits and bake for 9-11 minutes

To heat the leftover biscuits wrap them loosely in a foil and heat at 225 degrees for 10 minutes

Serve with butter, jam, gravy or an omelet places in the center and making a sandwich. Yum yum breakfast

Roasted cauliflower

The farmfreshtoyou.com site also delivered an organic cauliflower to me. Seriously I dont rally find any difference between organic and pesticide/fertilizer ridden vegetables. But yes, if the produce is fresh no matter how it us grown it tastes great

Anyway, I was searching for cauliflower recipes and the roasted cauliflower looked yummy. And it turned out great. The original recipe called for Parmesan cheese but I am not a big fan if Parmesan. So I used a heaped tablespoon of finely shredded mozzarella. And it is totally optional. The pieces which did not have cheese in them tastes just as yummy

Roasted cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1. 3 cups cauliflower florets

2. 1 tablespoon olive oil

3. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper salt

4. 1 teaspoon chaat masala (optional)

5. 1 heaped tablespoon finely shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Microwave cauliflower with a tablespoon of water on high for 3-4 minutes covered. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Drain and cauliflower florets. Mix the cauliflower with olive oil and lemon pepper. Bake for 20 minutes turning the florets midway. Transfer it to a bowl and ads cheese and chaat masala if using and stir to combine. Serve while still warm

Kale chips

The other day I found a groupon offer for farmfreshtoyou.com. This is a site which delivers locally grown organic fruits and vegetables to you. And when I got the delivery I had a bunch of kale in it .

I was watching food network and ms. Giada made kale chips and they are delicious and a great change from potato chips and the bonus was my 2 yr old loved them. So I will be making them often from now on

Kale chips

Kale Chips

Ingredients

1. 2 cups kale leafs washed and chopped or torn into 1-2 inch pieces

2. 1-2 tbsps olive oil

3. 1/2-1/3 teaspoon lemon pepper salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 if using dark baking sheet) . Mix all the ingredients together and lay them in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Turn mid way. Enjoy chips made if kale as a snack or a aide dish

Cream of broccoli with tuna

It's the season of soups, cause its been super cold here this year. And I guess it's been cold everyone cause I have been calling people in different parts of the world and everywhere it's the same thing...it's too cold here this time with only Australia being an exception where it's been recording breaking hot this week.

Anyway, it is the season of soup and when I asked my hubby dear if he wanted to eat thick creamy soup or the light brothy (it's not a real word :d. ) soups. He said he wanted creamy soup. So here it is. Cream of broccoli with Tuna and it was super great for a cold evening


Cream of broccoli with Tuna 

Cream of Broccoli with Tuna

Ingredients

1. 1 big head of broccoli or 2 medium
2. 1 medium large carrot peeled and chopped
3. 3 large garlic pods peeled and chopped
4. 1 medium small red onion chopped
5. 1 teaspoon lemon pepper salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
7. 1 5 oz can of tuna in water drained
8. 1 tablespoon olive oil
9. 2 cups chicken broth
10. 1 cup 2% milk
11. 1 heaped teaspoon all purpose flour (optional)

In a stock pot heat the oil and fry the onions till they become tender. Add garlic and cook for a minutes. Add chopped broccoli and half of the broccoli stalk and carrot and fry for a few minutes. Add chicken stock and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cut the heat and let it cool a bit

Grind it to a paste with an immersion blender it regular blender. Return it to the pot and add milk , tuna and the rest of the ingredients. In about 1 tbsp water mix the flour if using and add it to the soup. Stir to combine and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Serve hot with crusty bread

Meetha Adrak Achar

This is an amazingly yummy condiment to any Dosa or Pesarattu or even hot plain rice. I learned this recipe from one of my dad's cousins' and whenever I go to visit her she always makes sure that she has a fresh batch of this Achaar waiting for me.

The recipe is in Kgs and when I make this Achaar I convert it into the closest lbs

Meetha Adrak Achaar (Sweet Ginger Condiment)
Ingredients:

1.  1/4 Kg Ginger peeled and cleaned with a dry cloth
2. 1/2 Kg Tamarind
3. 100 gms red chili powder
4. 3/4 kg Jaggery (GUDD ) or dark brown sugar
5. 1/4 kg salt
6. 1/4 kg oil
7. 1 whole garlic bulbs peeled

For tempering:

1. Handful of dried red chillies broken into big pieces
2. 1 whole garlic bulb peeled

Peel the Ginger and clean it with a dry cloth. Slice it into thin slices and let it dry in the sun for 2-3 days or until the ginger feels crispy (This step helps the achaar to last longer)

If there is no sun, then lay the ginger slices on a cookie sheet and leave it in the oven at 200 degrees for 4-5 hours. This will dry up the ginger. Keep checking it intermittently to make sure its not burning and turn it once.

Grate the Jaggery to make grinding easier.

Boil 3 glasses of water and shut the heat. Add the tamarind to it and let it steep for 30 minutes. Later take as much thick juice from it as possible and stain it for any tamarind pits  

Grind the ginger and garlic into a coarse smooth paste. Add jaggery and grind again. Add salt and chili powder and mix well.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic and dried red chillies for 5-10 minutes. Add this tempering to the Ginger Achaar and mix well. Serve with your favorite dish and store it in an air tight container.

Allam Rasam and Arvi Baingan

My mom used to make "Chaaru" which was a simple dish made of tamarind juice and some basic spices. I and my mom used to love it. I loved to just drink it like soup. But my brother never liked it. He always used to say "oh! if only you would just throw in some tomatoes for some taste in there" . I never understood him. I just loved the Chaaru my mom used to make.

Today, I made this Allam Rasam/Chaaru. Seriously I am not sure what the difference between Rasam and Chaaru is.

Anyway, the rasam I made today has a generous dose of Ginger in it and just a little bit of Toor dal or lentils in it to make the dish just a bit thicker . I served it with Arvi Baingan and plain white rice.

Arvi Baingan (Taro Root with Eggplant Curry)

Arvi Baingan

Ingredients:

1. 1/2-3/4 lb Arvi or Taro root cooked in the pressure cooker for 1-2 whistles. Peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 1 lb egg plant chopped into big pieces
3. 1 medium tomato chopped into pieces or 1/2 cup tomato paste
4. 1 medium small onion chopped
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
7. 1/4 teaspoon cumin
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander powder,chilly powder
9. 3/4 teaspoon salt

In a non stick pan heat the oil and fry the cumin till they start to splutter. Add the onions and fry till they become translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and eggplant and stir to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the boiled arvi pieces and 1/2 cup water and stir to combine. Simmer for 6-8 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with Roti or rice and rasam

Allam Rasam (Tamarind soup with Ginger)

Allam Rasam

Ingredients:

1. 1 in x 1 in x 1 in piece of ginger grated (heaped teaspoon of grated ginger)
2. 1 tablespoon toor dal (cooked with 1/4 cup water in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Mash them)
3. 1 garlic pod grated
4. 1 teaspoon rasam powder
5. 4 cups juice from tamarind the size of a small lemon
6. 1 large tomato chopped fine
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal
8. 1/2 tablespoon oil
9. 1 teaspoon salt
10. 1 green chilly chopped
11. 2 red chillies broken
12. few curry leaves

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and add cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal red and green chillies and curry leaves and fry till the seeds start to splutter. Add ginger and garlic and fry for 30-60 seconds. Add tomatoes and fry till they become mushy. Add the mashed toor dal. Add the tamarind juice and bring to a boil. Add rasam powder and salt and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro and serve with steamed rice