Lemon poppy seed biscuit layers

Sunday...the day when something delicious is expected for every meal. So, I  decided to jazz up the regular old buttermilk biscuits with lemon poppy seed sugar and make them more yummilicious.

The original recipe is from www.pillsbury.com .
I skipped the butter.
Also the cream cheese topping makes it yummy. Otherwise the biscuits are not as sweet

Lemon Poppy Seed layered biscuits

Lemon Poppy seed pull-apart biscuits

Ingredients

1. 2/3 cup granulated sugar
2. 2 tablespoon poppy seed
3. 1 large lemon (1 tablespoon grated peel and 1 to 2 tablespoons juice)
4. 1 Pillsbury Grands  refrigerated biscuits
5. 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
6. 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Prepare a 9X5 loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In small bowl, mix granulated sugar, poppy seed and lemon jest.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 2 layers. Dip into poppy seed

 mixture. Starting at one short end of pan, place biscuit layers on their edges, just 

touching each other, until pan is loosely filled. Sprinkle any remaining poppy seed 

mixture between biscuits.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. To prevent excess browning, loosely cover

 with aluminum Foil, if necessary. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack,

 using parchment paper as handles. Cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, the cream cheese,

 powdered sugar and lemon juice with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and 

drizzling all over the biscuits. Serve warm.

Ground meat with cluster beans

Gavvar ki phalli  or Gawar ki phalli in Hindi or Cluster beans in English or Goruchikkudu in Telugu is a kind of beans which, while growing up were not my favorite. But by and by I started to like them and these days once in a while I have a craving for them and when I cook them they taste pretty awesome and my family also loves them.

This recipe with ground meat and the cluster beans is one such recipe. Everyone loved it and it just flew off the dish like it has wings.

Ground meat with cluster beans

Ground meat with cluster beans

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground meat / chicken or lamb
2. 8-12 oz of frozen or fresh cluster beans ends removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/ teaspoon each of turmeric, salt, chilli powder
5. 1 teaspoon each of ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder (optional)

In a pan heat the oil (skip if using ground meat with less than 90% fat). Add the ground meat and cook for 5 minutes breaking it. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and chopped green chillies (if you like it a bit spicy) and serve with roti or rice and dal

Here are one more recipe with Gawar ki phalli 

Maath ki phalli nariyal masala

Chana Dal Maath ki bhaji

Maath ki Bhaji (Amaranth leaves) or as it is called in Telugu...Thota kura. This is one of my favorite leafy vegetables .

The other day I got "Pav" from the Indian store to make Pav Bhaji but life happened and I could not make the bhaji with potatoes for the Pav. I wanted to make another "bhaji" for the Pav and I made this awesome, super delicious Chana dal Maath Ki bhaji. This is awesome with the Pavs or rice or with any Indian bread.

Chana Dal Maath ki bhaji (Split peas with Amaranth leaves)

Chana Dal Maath ki bhaji

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup chana dal soaked in water for 30-60 minutes
2. 1 cup packed or 2 cups loosely packed chopped Amaranth leaves
3. 1 large tomato chopped
4. 1 large carrot chopped
5. 1/2 cup chopped onions
6. 1 tablespoon oil
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of nigella/onion seeds (optional), ginger garlic paste
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, red chilli powder, turmeric
10. 1 teaspoon each of amchur powder (or 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice) , pav bhaji masala

Cook the chana dal in a pressure cooker along with the amaranth leaves, tomatoes and carrots for 10-12 whistles. 

In a pan heat the oil add the bay leaf and the onion seeds and fry for a minute. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes or until they start to turn brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Let the steam escape. Open the cooker and add the dal mixture to the pan along with all the spices. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with roti/rice/pav with chopped cilantro and red onions and lemon wedges

sweet potato fries

sweet potato fries are one of the best things you ever eat. They are sweet and good for you too and if they are not dripping with oil thats another great thing to add to the list.


Sweet Potato Fries

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1. 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries 1/2 inch thick sticks about 3 inches long
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. Oil for spraying on the baking sheet
4. 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray. Add the sweet potato fried to the tray and sprinkle with half of the salt and bake in the middle rack for 20 minutes.

Take out, flip the fries, sprinkle the rest of the salt and bake on the bottom rack for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off. Sprinkle the sugar if using and leave it in the oven for 5 more minutes. Cool the fries for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Black pepper Celery Chicken

Chicken with Celery and Almonds

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts  cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally
4. 1/2 medium white onion sliced
5. 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic
7. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8. 1/2 teaspoon numbing peppers (optional)
9. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10. 1/4 cup roasted salted almonds (optional)
11. 3 scallions, thinly sliced white and green, separated

Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper, corn starch and ginger for atleast 30 minu.tes
Mix the soy sauce and white vinegar in a medium bowl, set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and fry for 8-10 minutes until done. Drain and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, the celery and onions. Fry for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the soysauce and vinegar and mix well.
Give it a taste taste and adjust the salt and add the almonds and scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra

This is one of the most delicious fish curries there is. I have always liked fish with eggplant/Brinjal. My mom and my grandma were excellent cooks and their fish curries were the best.

The curry I made today may have some Malaysian roots to it. But it is my own version and is super delicious.

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra (Salmon cooked with spices in a coconut based gravy)

Salmon curry with Eggplant and Okra

Ingredients:

1. 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2. 1 medium small onion chopped fine
3. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
4. 1 inch ginger (julienned) (30g)
5. 1 can coconut milk
6. 1 teaspoon each of Salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder
7. 2 cups American egg plan, peeled and chopped fine
8. 1 cup okra trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
9. 2 salmon fillets without skin and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the eggplant on high heat for 5 minutes. Add okra and onions and fry for 5 more minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and stir and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add all the spices and mix well. Add the coconut milk and stir and reduce the heat to simmer. Add the salmon pieces and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with steamed rice or Methi thepla

Crab Fried Rice

Fried rice is a super hit dish at my house.  The one I usually make is Easy fried rice or Fried rice with ground meat.

This recipe from thewoksoflife is pretty unique and I think I am going to add this to my favorites' list.

Crab Fried Rice

Crab Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 tablespoons oil
2. 1 tablespoon each of grated ginger, minced garlic
3. 2 cups white rice cooked
4. 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas thawed
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper
6. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
7. 2 eggs (beaten)
8. 1 cup cooked lump crab meat 
9. 2 scallions chopped
10. Cilantro chopped

Heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the ginger and fry stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the garlic. Add the peas and stir well. Add the cooked rice, stir fry the rice for 3 minutes. Now add the white pepper and soy sauce, to the rice.  Add salt to taste. Stir to combine all together.

Using your spatula, spread the rice out into an even layer. Pour the beaten egg evenly over the rice. Stir the rice until all of the egg is cooked and incorporated.

Before adding the crab, use your spatula to once more spread the rice evenly. Add the crab to the rice and stir thoroughly. When the crab is warmed through, add the scallion and cilantro and stir well. Enjoy with Roasted Cauliflower