Mushroom Methi Anda

Egg Scramble is one of those most easiest and delicious dishes you could eat...if you eat eggs. Whenever I am in a time crunch and I need some curry ready in a jiffy, egg scramble with different vegetables is the thing I make.

Today's version is another of the more healthier versions of just plain scrambled eggs. This has mushrooms and fresh fenugreek leaves

Mushroom Methi Anda (Scrambled egg with onions, mushroom and Fenugreek leaves)

Mushroom Methi anda phugina

Ingredients:

1. 1 package mushrooms chopped into small ;ieces
2. 1/2 cup each of finely chopped onions
3. 1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric,  ginger-garlic paste
5. 4 large small eggs beaten well with a little salt
6. 2 tablespoons oil

In a pan heat the oil andadd onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add mushrooms and fenugreek leaves and continue to fry for 7-8 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Add the beaten egg to the curry and stir well to scramble the egg. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with rice or roti

Here are few more variations of the good old scrambled egg curry
Scrambled egg and mushroom
Scrambled egg with cabbage
Indian style scrambled egg with onions

maamidi kaaya charu

Charu as Rasam is caaled in Telugu sometimes, is one of those things South Indian eat quite a bit with rice. And it is delicious...full of vitamin C as it is mostly made with tamarind juice. But this one is made with green mango. And it is super delicious and for people like me who love sour foods, it is a taste of heaven. Serve with hot steamed rice and yum yum yum

maamidi kaaya charu (Green Mango accompaniment for rice) 

Maamidi kaaya rasam

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized green mango peeled and chopped into pieces
2. 3/4 teaspoon each salt, urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic, turmeric
3. 3 dried red chillies broken
4. few curry leaves
5. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pressure cooker cook the mangos for 3-4 whistles with 1 cup water and salt and turmeric. After the steam escapes, let it cool a bit and grind it to a smooth paste.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, dried chillies and curry leaves till they start to splatter. Add ginger and garlic and fry for 30-45 seconds. Add the ground mango paste and 2 more cups of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamed rice

Turkish yogurt soup

Yogurt is supposedly one of the things you should be eating when you have cough and cold. Since the flu season is going string and 3/4 score of flu at my house, I was looking for some dishes with soup...actually warm yogurt dishes. And I found this recipe "food and wines" website. And it is one of the best dishes I made with yogurt.

Turkish Yogurt Soup (Spicy yogurt soup with chickpeas and rice)

Turkish Yoguet chickpeas soup

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup basmati rice
2. 3 cups water
3. 1 chicken bouillion
4. 1 cup plain yogurt
5. 1 egg yolk
6. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7. 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
8. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of Salt and freshly ground pepper
10. 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
11. 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
12. 1 heaped teaspoon minced garlic
13. 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper depending on how hot you can handle your food
14. 3 tablespoons finely chopped mint

in a pan, heat half  the water and add the chicken bouillon add the rice and cook for 5 minutes. 

In a bowl whisk the yogurt with the egg yolk and flour. 

In a pan heat the oil and butter and fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes. Take care not to burn it. Add the chickpeas and stir. Add the yogurt mix and the remaining waterand simmer on a very low heat for 10 minutes. Add the Rice to the pan and stir. Add the lemon pepper and cayenne pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Give it a taste test for salt and enjoy.

Make sure you have some napkins by your side, as this soup will make your nose run.

NOTE: You can also make this soup with just chickpeas and skip the rice

Confetti Soup

This soup is super delicious an looks pretty too and one of the healthy soups you would eat. I made this soup to serve with my chicken stuffed bread

Confetti Soup (Broccoli and carrot soup)

Confetti soup

Soup and chicken stuffed bread

 Ingredients:

1. 4 cups broccoli florets
2. 1 cup chopped carrot
3. 1/2 cup chopped onion
4. 2 large or 4 small garlic pods
5. 1 chicken buillion
6. 2 tablespoons each of flour, butter
7. 1 tablespoon olive oil
8. 1/2 teaspoon garlic
9. 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
10. 2 cups milk
11. 1 cup water

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and carrot and cover and cook for 8 minutes. Add garlic and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Let cook and grind to a small coarse pieces.

In the same pan heat the butter and fry the flour stirring continuously for 3 minutes on medium low heat. Add heated milk and water to it and mix until there are no more lumps. Add the ground paste and everything else and simmer for 10-15  minutes. Give it a taste test and adjust the salt. Serve with breadsticks 

Chicken stuffed bread

Long long time ago I made stromboli...at that time I was a novice at baking and I felt it was very difficult to knead the dough and all. But now I have become a pro - baking things for kids lunches every single week.

So, today I made buffalo chicken stuffed garlic bread and man its delicious. And I made green and orange confetti soup to go with it. The combination was sooo filling and great on a cold night. SO here you go

Chicken stuffed bread (Shredded chicken stuffed in bread and baked)

Turkey Stromboli with caramelized onions and mushrooms

Ingredients:
For Shredded chicken:

1. 1 chicken breast butterflied
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, lemon pepper, ground cumin
3. 1 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder

Sprinkle the chicken with all the ingredients and set aside for atleast 15 minutes. Spray a pot with tight fitting lid with cooking spray. On medium heat fry the chicken on each side for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the pot and reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 8-10 minutes. Drain, let cool and shred

recipe for dough

After the dough is ready, divide the it into 2 part. roll the dough on a clean counter until it is 12 inch thick and 8x6 flat. Spread half of the chicken, top with it 1/2 cup mexican 3 cheese blend, roll the edges 1/2 inch and the roll it the longer side. Put it on a prepared baked sheet seam side down. Poke the bread a few times.

NOTE: for spice loving adults, I added 1/2 cup spicy salsa to the shredded chicken before using it to top the dough

Set it in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Brush the bread with 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt

One other way of shredding chicken

Ingredients for Turkey Stromboli with caramelized onions and mushroom:

1. Oven roasted deli turkey
2. 1/2 cup  onions chopped
3. 4 oz button/cremini mushrooms sliced
4. 1 teaspoons olive oil
5.  for filling along with turkey provolone cheese and feta cheese

In a pan heat the oil and add the onions and mushrooms and cook on low heat for 7-8 minutes. Let cool and assemble the stromboli with laters of turkey , cheese, little marinara sauce, some onions and mushrooms and repeat. Make into stromboli, let rest for 20 minutes and bake and enjoy with marinara sauce on the side

Khaja

Khaja is an Indian sweet which is pretty sweet and super delicious. This is a layered deep fried dough which is then dropped into sugar syrup to absorb the syrup. And it is super yummy delicious. It is available in every sweet stall where I come from in India. But here it is quite difficult to find. So finally I mustered up the courage to make it at home. And boy oh boy, I am happy about my decision.

The recipe is very easy to make and the end result is great. So go ahead...take a plunge and enjoy the results

Khaja (Deep fried layered dough in sugar syrup)

Khaja

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 tablespoon ghee
3. 2 tablespoons milk
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. water as needed
6. Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for filling:

1. 2 tablespoons rice flour
2. 2 tablespoons ghee

Ingredients for syrup:

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1/2 cup water
3. 1 teaspoon rose essence

Mix the flour with salt and milk and ghee. Add water little by little to make soft dough. Cover the dough and set it aside for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 parts and roll it on a clean counter top into a thin circle.

Add a tablespoon of filling and spread it. Roll the roti and cut it into into 1/2 inch pieces. Flatten the edges and pinch the place where the edge is.

Make the sugar syrup with and boil it for 5-7 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the khajas till golden brown. Add them to the sygar syrup and drain after 1 minutes. Enjoy warm Khajas :)

Dosa with rice and urad flour

My household is a big fan of Dosa. But making dosa is a long process. You can't just think you want to eat it and make it then and there. It needs "pre thinking". At least planning a day ahead. Sometimes it is not possible and you absolutely want to eat dosa  right then. That's when making it with the flours instead of with the legumes comes in handy.

And this recipe is absolutely great. It turns out to be exactly like the once made with soaked dal and rice. They are crispy and yummy. Do try when in a time crunch or just when you are craving hot crispy dosas

Dosa with Rice and Urad Flour (Indian crepes made with rice and black gram flour)

Instant Dosa

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup flattened rice ground to fine powder
2. 1 cup rice flour
3. 1/2 cup urad dal flour
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda
5. water as need to make thin batter
6. oil for frying

Mix all the powders together. Add water little by little ( up to 2 cups) and make a thin batter. 

Heat a griddle and test with a drop of water. If it sizzles then the griddle is ready. Add a ladle of batter in the center and spread it into a circle getting bigger and bigger with a light hand. Add oil to the edges. Let fry for 2-3 minutes and when the sides lift up turn the dosa and fry for 1 more minute on the other side. Serve with your favorite chutney or Potato Curry