[Home cooking- Recipe] Pasta with roasted broccoli and brussel sprouts...

Had bought Brussel Sprouts few days back and was wondering what to make with them. It is one of my favourite vegetables, following close on the heels of Bitter gourd.  So finally decided I shall make pasta for dinner.  Here is how I made it,

Preparation Time: 10mins
Cooking time- 30mins

Serves - 2.5 pax [there was half a cup leftover, which Floppy gobbled up in a flash]

Ingredients 

2 cups of Penne/Fusilli pasta [had some of both and so mixed em up]

Olive oil 

10 - 12 Brussels sprouts [depends on the size... cut them in half/quarter ]

1 cup of Broccoli florets [broken into smaller pieces] 

1/2 Yellow Bell pepper [capsicum- cut into big chunks]

Green olives [ chopped up small]

Salt & Italian herbs[ of your choice- optional]

2 tsp Lime zest 

1/4 cup grated cheese 

Garlic [ optional]

The Method

1) In a pan, bring water to boil with salt & some olive oil. Add pasta and let it cook [ should take about 10-15mins max]. 

Strain and keep aside. 

2) Take an oven tray- Put the broccoli, sprouts, capsicum - sprinkle salt, herbs, lime zest and drizzle olive oil. Mix them all up well. 

Slide into the Oven and let it roast for 10mins, or until the veggies are cooked but have a bite to them.

[you can add garlic with skin on, I dint cos gramma doesnt eat ]

3) In a pan, add some olive oil, toss in the veggies, the pasta , olives and finally the cheese. Just sir for a second and serve hot... Ta da, dinner is served!

Besan Ka Chilla [Cheela]

During my recent trip to Mumbai, friend made Chilla/Cheela one day for breakfast/dinner and it was yumm. I have made it earlier but with just onions or tomatoes, but this friend added plenty of spinach to it. Ever since I got back to Chennai, I had been wanting to make them at home, but just dint get around to it, till last evening.  When I told gramma I was going to make Chilla, she gaped. I then told her this was a sort of Dosa made with Gram flour.. A friend said it is also called Vegetarian Omelette [well I couldn't get myself to call it that cos I love eggs and the word makes me miss eggs].. 

Since I already had a packet of Besan [Gram flour] and some veggies, I was all set. Here is how I whipped it up.. 

Ingredients [makes 4-6 chillas]

• 1 cup gram flour
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch of spinach- roughly chopped up 
• ½ tsp jeera
• ¼ tsp Red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp Dhania powder
• ¼ tsp Jeera powder
• a pinch of Chaat masala
• 3 tbsp curd
• water according to batter consistency
• salt as per taste
• oil as required to cook the Chilla

Options: You can add ajwain, kasuri methi and just about anything else you like.. it doesnt matter as long as you love the flavours :)

Making the Chilla: 

1. In a bowl add all the dry ingredients, mixing them well.
2. Now add the curd and then add water according to the consistency [ the batter should like like a dosa batter, pourable but not too watery]
3. Let it sit for about 10-15mins so all the ingredients meet, mix and get to know each other better..
4. Heat a flat [dosa] pan on a low flame. add oil and pour two ladles of batter. Let it cook on both sides, it takes wee bit longer than a regular dosa. 
5. Drizzle some oil around the batter once you have spread it out.
6. Once it gets golden or brownish, it is cooked and ready to be eaten. have it hot with curd or pickle or just as it is.. :)

I made two versions last evening. One with onions and other without[for gramma].. Ate it plain and loved it..I kept thinking about the random conversations with the friend while making the dosas....Infact I messaged her right after making them, sent a pic as well.. It is amazing how food is more than just ingredients and process, it has memories, experiences attached to it. 

[Recipe] Padhir Peni

I am not sure when my romance with the Padhir Peni began, but must be a decade ago.. Since it is a Karnataka based dish, I must have had it at a wedding/function held there or in someone's house there or someone who is from that state.. Anyways, that doesnt matter.. This is a dish that I love, it resembles a giant puri of sorts but is quite flaky.. 

In weddings, I remember the staff putting a separate plate near the banana leaf, placing the Pathir peni, another guy sprinkling some powdered sugar on it and then finally a good cupful of hot milk/badam milk is poured on it. You then wait for a few mins for the peni to soak up the milk before digging in. Infact, I remember skipping meals and just having one yummy peni.. 

It has become an unsaid rule in my family that anyone who goes to karnataka or knows someone from there shall bring back few of these for me [well I do share it with all] 

Last week, one evening gramma was glued to the TV watching a cookery show, Revathi Shanmugam when I happened to look up from the laptop and noticed she was making Padhir Peni. I always thought it was a complicated thing to make and did not bother finding out recipes. But when I saw this show, I realised even though it involved a long process, it wasn't complicated or rocket science..

A few days later, thanks to the incessant rains, we decided to give it a shot and must say it came out quite well... Here is how it is made,

For the dough

Maida [you can alternatively use Chiroti Rava]- 1 cup 

Water  - enough to knead the dough

Salt a pinch

For the Paste:

Rice Flour-  2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Others

Oil for Deep frying 

Powdered sugar 

The Process

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the dough and make a smooth dough [ almost like what you make for roti] - set this aside , covering with a cloth or cling film

In another bowl mix the rice flour and ghee to make a nice paste [ shouldn't be too thick or too runny]

Now take the dough, make balls - roll them out like rotis - you will need 4 for each batch. Once the 4 have been rolled out, apply the paste between layers.

Once done, roll the entire thing like a swiss roll[ long log] and cut into pieces. 

Press them down flat so you can see the layers and paste from the top. 

Gently roll them out into thick puri like things. 

Take a pan, add oil and let it heat up.. Now deep fry these once by one on gentle flame till they are cooked all through

Sprinkle generous amounts of sugar and eat it as it is or with hot milk.. 

[Shared] Making of Soan Papdi

Every time any of us got back from a trip to Bangalore, there would be expectant look on everyone's face at home. They werent looking for fancy gifts, they were looking for that signature white plastic bag with a box that contained nothing but melt in your mouth Soan papdi from K C Das.. before they discovered K C Das, uncle used to buy soan papdi in lose form from Nilgiris.. And before that they used to get it form the street hawker who had a distant bell sound, i still find him on our street these days.. Has a big glass dome under which is some divine soan papdi..

And the amazing thing is that after a day or after being open for a few hours, it becomes chewy and then in a couple of days it becomes dry and weird... :D

But, the very first time I saw how they made this sweet was on a  TV Show years ago.. Left me baffled.. Why on earth would someone go to such extents and who on earth discovered this sweet/process..

Well, today I once again stumbled upon a site showing a video of how this sweet is made.. Once again the same questions came flooding into my head.. lol.. If any of you know the answer, do let me know.. For now, go watch in awe..

How Soan papdi is made

Do you like this flaky soft delicate sweet? where do you buy it from? 

[Recipe] Veg korma

A bunch of us friends had decided to do a potluck dinner at a friend's house and I was assigned the task of making a Veg korma. The other dishes that came were Biryani/pulao, cupcakes, paneer tikka, chilli-carrot soup, roti, curd, ice cream and cheesecake.. :-) 

Here is how I made the korma [dint follow any recipe, just went with my instincts]

What you need- 

Oil – 2 Tbsp   

Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece

Cardamom – 2

Cloves – 5

Black Peppercorns – 1/4 tsp

Broken Cashews – 1/4 cup

Raisins – 1 Tbsp

Onions – 2 big ones chopped up roughly 

Salt – to taste

Yogurt – 1/2 cup 

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp [alternative would be fresh ginger & garlic chopped up]

Green Chilies –2

The Masalas:

Cumin Powder – 1 Tbsp

Coriander Powder – 1 Tbsp

Red Chili Powder – 2tsp

Turmeric Powder – a pinch

Paneer – 1 packet 

Tomato – 3 large

Carrots – 2 

Cauliflower – 2 cups

Potatoes – 2

Green Beans – 1 cup

Water – approx 2 cups

Note: All veggies to be chopped in the same size [paneer can be slightly bigger]

The process:

1. In a pan heat some oil, lightly fry the cashews and raisins. Remove all, incl the oil and set aside.  

2. In the same pan, add cloves, Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Peppercorns. Dry roast for few seconds and set aside.  

3. To the same pan, add some oil, then saute the Onions with Turmeric Powder and a little Salt. To this you can add the ginger garlic paste and green chillies as well. Once all cooked well, add tomatoes to this and saute for a few mins till tomato is soft. Remove and cool to blend.  Blend to a puree in the mixie. You can also blend the cashews like I did, makes it rich and thick. 

4. Now, while sauteig the onion and tomato, put the vegetables to boil in another pan. I did this on the induction stove. Cooked the Cauliflower, Peas, Carrots, beans and potato with a pinch of salt. 

5. Back to the pan- add the vegetables and the paste made with onion & cashews and cook till the oil oozes out of the sides.  

6. Time to add the masalas-- Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder and Red Chili Powder. Add required amount of water to help bring them all together.  

7. Just before turning off the stove, toss in the Paneer and mix well. 

8. Add the curd and allow to come to one boil. [any more and it will split]  

Ta da.. Korma was ready!! At every stage, check spices and seasoning by tasting and add whatever you feel is required.. This tasted yumm, even if I do say so myself.. And well, the bowl was wiped clean by the end of the meal.. :-)) 

This quantity served 6 adults

Took about 20-30 mins to prepare [incl chopping time] 

Cooking with the Tadka Girls- Pasta in lemon pepper sauce!

Few weeks or maybe a month ago, I read a blog post by a friend in which she had mentioned this book "Around The World With The Tadka Girls [Ruchira Ramanujam, Ranjini Rao]".We spoke about the book to a point where she mentioned it was a good book to have, not only were the recipes good, they were easy to make and the ingredients were all simple ones [most of which we would have around the kitchen]

Two weeks ago,I was at a bookstore, when I called this friend asking about the title of the book. Another friend who was with me exclaimed on seeing the book in my hand. We decided to buy a copy and share the book! 

Day before, when I was wondering what to make for dinner, I decided to refer the book. Spotted a Fettucine and prawns recipe, read through it and went ahead to tweak the recipe a bit [since am a vegetarian, i chose to replace prawns with vegetables].. It turned out beautiful, took less than 15mins to cook and I loved the tangy peppery flavours.

The Recipe!

Ingredients-

Farfalle pasta- 1 cup

Onion- 1

Garlic- 3 pods

Thyme/mixed herbs- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Black pepper- 2 tsp

Oil- as much as required

Butter- 1 small cube

Water- enough to boil the pasta in

Vegetables- mushroom, baby corn, carrots and capsicum [green, yellow & red]

Lemon/lime juice- 1.5 tsp

Lemon/lime rind/peel- 1 tsp

Method:

In a pot, add water, salt and oil- add the pasta and allow it to cook. I added the baby corn to this as it takes a while to cook.Strain and keep aside. Dont throw away all the water, keep 1/2 cup aside. 

In another pan, add the butter and oil, saute the garlic and onion for a few minutes. 

Add the chopped vegetables and saute till they cook

Now, add the salt, black pepper and herbs

Once the vegetables are well done, toss in the cooked pasta and mix well.

Squeeze in the lime juice and add the lime ride/peel[either grate it or chip finely]

Add 2 tbsp of pasta boiled water and turn off heat when all come together.

Serve hot!

[Recipe] Tomato garlic chutney

Damn, it was nearly 7.40pm and I hadnt cooked dinner yet.. Did a mental run through of all that I had and after a short debate I knew what I was going to make for dinner. I had decided to make Pongal for dinner. Wanted to make it with Saamai but noticed there were bugs in the unopened sealed packet [had bought two packets a few weeks ago, was done with one and now this second one was goner], dumped it and went with rice option. 

Phew, the main was decided, but what about the side? This is when I walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge and stood staring at it as if an idea was going to spring at me. Kaboom.Well, it kinda actually did. 

Here is what I made,

Spicy Tomato Chutney:--

Tomato     2  roughly chopped
Dry Red Chillies    3
Garlic      4 cloves
Tamarind    a tiny piece
Salt     to taste
Water- 1 tsp just to get the blender going

For tempering:
Oil  1
tbsp
Mustard seeds      1/2 tsp
Urad dal    1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Hing      a pinch

In the blender, add all the ingredients and make into a thick puree. If needed, add the water.
In another pan, add the oil and do the tempering
Now add the puree to the tempering and allow it to cook well for a good 5-8mins till oil starts coming out on all sides.
It is now ready to be devoured..

Perfect for any plain rice, dosa, and was good with pongal as well.. Spicy and tangy, with strong garlic flavour..

[Recipe] Dal Tadka

I was getting back home after my evening walk and suddenly I thought of Dal Tadka and the past hour I spent looking at recipes on the net to see how easy/complicated it was.. And now I think I found the ultimate recipe.. I found it on this blog. It sounded easy and interesting so off I went to the kitchen to give it a shot.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, and here is how I made it

Cooking time: 35mins
Prep time: 10mins
Serves- 2

The Daal
2 tbsp  tuvar dal
1 tbsp moong dal
1 small onion chopped roughly
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups water

Salt to taste

For the tempering

1/2 tsp Ghee
1 tsp cumin
2 red chilies

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small tomato, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger- garlic paste

1 tsp garam masala powder 

a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1 tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
salt as required
 
Method

1. In a pressure cooker, add the washed dals with a pinch of salt, onions, 2 cups of water and allow it to cook [5-6 whistles] . Once done, remove and mash the dal well.
2. In another smaller pan, add some ghee, and all the ingredients listed under "tempering" and let it saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the cooked dal to the tempering and let it come to a boil.
3. If you feel daal is too thick, add water depending on your preference

Serve hot with plain rice. I also had some pickle and it was heaven!! :-))

{recipe} Clear vegetable soup

I like my soup to be chunky, dont like it completely smooth. And one soup I love is the clear vegetable soup. I remember having a version of this in Cascade years ago. Last month one day I stood staring into the veg tray for  a few minutes, shut the fridge and repeated the same once again.  I gave up! I had 2 carrots, a small piece of cabbage, 1 onion, 1 potato, handful of fresh peas, 1 tiny bit of zucchini, 1 tomato and a small piece of tofu. I broke my head for a while and finally a lightbulb moment happened. I decided to make the soup for dinner and have it with 2 slices of multi grain bread. 


Ingredients 
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup cabbage
1 onion 
2 carrots 
1 potato
1/4 cup peas 
1 tomato
1/4 zucchini
50-60 grams tofu 
1 liter water
Salt
Black pepper
2 cloves of Garlic
1 tsp vinegar

Method

1. Chop all the veggies into cubes and set aside. 
2. In a pan, add oil, saute the onions, garlic for a few minutes and then add the rest of the chopped veggies and saute them for 3-4 mins
3. Add water and allow it to come to a boil, cooking the veggies [if you want you can pre-cook the potato and peas]
4.  Once the vegetables are all cooked, take a tbsp of the same and puree. 
5. Add puree back to the boiling vegetables in water and let it simmer
6. Add salt and black pepper along with vinegar [this gives it a nice kick] and finally add the tofu. Let it boil for a minute and turn off stove

Your soup is now ready to be served!! 

Options:
You can add any vegetable you can get your hands on- cauliflower, broccoli, beans, zucchini, mushrooms,pumpkin, squash, boiled chickpeas etc etc
You can also add an egg at the end- crack open the egg and drizzle from a height, and stir-  this becomes an egg drop soup :D
You can infact add a few spinach leaves if you have them [ quite like the change in colour]
You can make the same with meat as well 
If you like it spicy and with heat, add few chopped red chillies 
To make it a better meal, you can toss in some boiled noodles/pasta/macarooni
Similarly, a bay leaf will boost the soup's flavour

As you can see, sky is the limit when it comes to soups!! 

{recipe} Spinach Soup

It was one of those days when I had been sneezing all day, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. I got home, tired and cranky and all I wanted was a bowl of hot soup. Rummaged through the fridge and came out victorious. I had spotted a few interesting ingredients. This is what I whipped up..

Ingredients

2 Cups chopped spinach leaves
1 Onion chopped
2 cloves of Garlic [finely chopped]
2 Cups water [enough to boil spinach and dilute the soup]

1 tbsp milk 

1 tbsp Butter/olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

The Process:

1.  In a pan, boil the spinach and take it off the heat once cooked.
2. In another pan, add some oil/butter and saute the onion and garlic for a few seconds.
3. Puree the boiled spinach with the onion & garlic 
4. Add salt, pepper and milk when bringing it to a boil

Serve hot. You can add a few bits of roasted pounded almonds or peanuts

Bon Appetit!!

Hot Chocolate with a twist

For some strange reason, felt like having hot chocolate. I am so not a chocolate person, which made me wonder where this craving came from. Anyways, decided to experiment a bit [I dint/dont really know how hot chocolate was/is made]

Made my version of hot chocolate and it came out quite nice... Here is how,

Ingredients:
Milk- 1 cup
Handful of chocolate chips[Ghirardelli]
Cinnamon powder- a tiny pinch
Ferrero Rocher chocolate- 1/2
Salt - a tiny pinch
Coco pops cornflakes- 1 tbsp

The process:
1. Bring milk to heat up, added the chocolate chips ,Ferrero Rocher and cinnamon powder- let it boil.
2. Switch off gas, add the salt
3. Sprinkle a good spoonful of coco pops cornflakes and serve hot...

It was delicious!!

[Recipe] Celebrating International Chocolate Day - Chocolate Pancakes

To be honest, am not a big chocolate fan. Am not the kind who will rush to grab that last piece of chocolate or attack the bar once someone hands it over. I don't opt for chocolate ice cream or chocolate cake, i always reach out for the apple pie or anything with berry in it. But then, one morning I walked into my kitchen, pulled out pretty much all that sat in one particular shelf in my fridge and discovered there was a bag of chocolate chips.. That was probably a sign from above asking me to make something with chocolate! Who am I to disagree..

I ended up making Chocolate Pancakes for breakfast and they were yummy..

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp Milk
1 egg
2 tsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla essence
Handful of chocolate chips[Ghirardelli]

Process:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients
2. Now add the wet ingredients and whisk well
3. Take a pan, add some oil/ butter and add dollops of the batter in small circles. Allow them to cook for 2mins on each side and voila, fluffly soft delicious pancakes are ready..

You can pretty much add anything you like to the pancakes. I have made using fruits, once with cheese and jalapeno as well.

I had these with honey!!

And guess what, today is International Chocolate Day! Who would have thought :-))

Preparation time: 5mins
Cookigg time: 5mins

Daal Makhani Courtesy GITS

I went over to my grandparents place after about a week and noticed a package sitting on the side shelf where post is normally kept. It had my name on it and seemed to be a box of sorts. When i opened it, I discovered a big blue box that said "Ready to eat" Dal Makhani & Biryani from GITS. I had no clues where it was from, a mystery which still has me wondering. I did find a note inside from FBAI saying this was a review box and they had found me amidst the blogging community. 

There was a box of Dal Makhani which looked very tempting. Ever since I began living on my own, I have been creating one pot meals - salads, soup, pulao, pasta etc. But the minute I saw this box, I pulled out the packed of dosa batter I had in the fridge and decided my dinner. Dosa with Dal Makhani. 

I made 2 dosas and kept them aside

In a pan, I added a drop of oil and 2 tbsp of Dal Makhani and heated it up . 

Voila, dinner was ready.

The Dal Makhani was good, it was thick rich and yet not heavy [not loaded with butter/cream/etc]. I managed to use the packet over 4days, for brown rice, roti and 1 more round with dosa. Now, am curious to try the Biryani. 

One packet of Dal Makhani is priced at Rs 59/- For someone like me who enjoys the occasional Dal Makhani, but is too lazy to soak, boil, cook and eat, this is a good alternative!! 

[Recipe] Tawa pulao

Last evening while out walking, suddenly it hit me.. I knew what I was going to make for lunch today [monday]. I quickly walked across towards More supermarket and bought what I needed. I had seen and tasted this dish at Spoonbill when Kamalika made it, so there was no confusion on the process. What was I making? Tawa Pulao ofcourse :D

Here is what you need:-
1 cup Rice 1 tbsp – Oil 1/2 tsp – Cumin seeds 1/4 Onion chopped 1 Garlic pod 1 cup Mixed vegetables - Yellow capsicum, red capsicum, baby corn - all chopped into chunks 2 tsp – Pav bhaji masala 1/2tsp - curry powder Salt- to taste Mint leaves/coriander leaves Water to cook the rice and boil baby corn
Other Options for vegetables: Peas, cauliflower, paneer, and just about anything you can think of.

The process:
1. Take a pressure cooker and cook the rice [1cup rice =3 cups water- 4 whistles]- turn off stove and set aside I placed the baby corn in a plate along with the rice and cooked it. 2. In a pan, add oil, jeera, garlic and onion. Once sauted, add remaining vegetables and the masala powder & curry powder. Let it cook till the raw smell of masala goes away. Add required amount of salt and let it cook. 3. Add the cooked baby corn to this and saute for a minute. Now add the rice and spread it amidst the veg mix and cook for 2-3 minutes till it evenly mixes.
Voila.. Serve with curd, pappad or onion raita. I had it with boiled beetroot and curd.

PS: Am using pictures taken at Spoonbill because today I forgot to take pictures as hunger had taken over my brain.. :-)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves: 2

[Recipe] Quick Fix Pasta

I had been busy cleaning up the house, and other chores that it completely slipped my mind that I had to cook lunch. Only when I was talking to a friend who mentioned she was just winding up lunch did it hit me.  Walked into the kitchen knowing I had only a few items there..

An idea formed in my head and within 25 mins Lunch was ready. What did I make? A Quick fix pasta with the ingredients in my cupboards.

Ingredients:
Pasta - penne- 1 cup
Garlic- 1 pod crushed
Cabbage- few leaves finely chopped
Beans- cut lengthwise [1 inch long pieces]
Capsicum- 1/4- finely chopped
Baby corn- 3- finely chopped
Almonds or walnuts- 4 to 5 chopped up
Pesto sauce- 1 tsp
Sundried tomatoes- 1
Olive oil- 2tsp
Cheese- 1 small piece
Salt- to taste

The process:
In a pan, add enough water, a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and allow pasta to cook  [al dente]. I went ahead and added the baby corn to this water to allow it to cook well [you can cook it separately]. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it out , saving 1 tbsp of the water.

In another pan I added 1 tsp of olive oil, the garlic and other vegetables, allowing them to saute for a few minutes. To this I added the pesto sauce, almonds, sun dried tomato and salt. Add the water [in which you boiled the pasta]  and finally sprinkle the grated cheese and serve hot..

It tasted good, even if I do say so myself...

Serving portion - 1
Cooking time- 20mins
Prepping time- 10mins

Sunday Lunch- Noodles, Schezuan style

I stood there in the kitchen wondering what to make for lunch when the doorbell rang. Glad to get away from the fridge and stove, I answered the door to find a courier. It was a set of Knorr sauce mixes. Nice. Just the inspiration I needed to make something new. It was going to be a one pot dish.  What did I make? 

Noodles, Schezuan style. How? Read on to know how... 

Ingredients:
1/2 onion [ thinly chopped]
2 cloves garlic [ finely diced]
6-7 button mushrooms [cut into small pieces]
6-7 beans [cut into 1inch pieces]
1 egg
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 packet Haka Noodles

2 cups Water
2 tsp Knorr-Chinese-Schezuan mix

The process:

1) In a pot, add 1 to 1.1/2 cups of water and cook the noodles. I added the egg to the same water and let it cook for about 10mins and removed the same. 

2) In another pan- add the oil, saute the garlic and onions, before adding the remaining vegetables [you can add any vegetables to this dish], add some salt and pepper. 

3) Remove the veggies once cooked and in that same pan-- mix about 2 tsp of Knorr-Chinese-Schezuan mix to 1/2 cup of water and allow it to come to a simmer. Add the cooked vegetables to the sauce and check for seasoning. I also added the noodles and finally the egg to complete my lunch. 

How easy is that? I am now itching to try the others from Knorr range!!

Cooking time: 25mins
Prepping time: 15mins 
This portion I cooked serves - 1 

[Recipe] Semiya Dosai

Dinner was Idli... And I will eat Idli only if it is the last thing available on earth, that is when the plants, bugs, and everything else has perished and I was left with nothing but an Idli. So, that evening my mind was buzzing - wondering what to cook for myself. We were watching TV, and suddenly on came Vineet Bhatia, in the Twist of taste show, and where was he? He was in Madurai. :-) I sat up straight and glued in, waiting to see the places they featured and if I knew any of them. [background story- we lived in Madurai and that is when I began school]. 

Vineet walked around Meenakshi amman temple, tried his hand at Bun parota [that looked like a fluffly version of the parota], sampled some dosa and nonveg side dishes at Konar hotel. The show then moved to the studio where he announced he was making an interesting version of the dosa[with masala] and chutney.  I noted it all down in my head and quietly snuck away to prep for the Dosa [decided to try the masala and chutney another day]

Semiya Dosai 

Ingredients

Roasted vermicelli- 1 cup

Rice Flour- 2tbsp

Beaten yoghurt- 1.5cups

Water- if required to dilute the yoghurt

Salt- a pinch

red chilli powder- a pinch

green chillies- 2

coriander- a bunch[optional]

Oil- as required

Roasted Vermicelli/semiya

Dosai that I had with a side made with leftover karamani and a nombu adai

Method:

In a pan, roast the vermicelli with a tbsp of oil if not pre-roasted. Take it off the heat. In a bowl, pour the yoghurt, and add all the ingredients, finally adding the vermicelli and mixing it well. Set this aside to soak for about 5-10mins. [this is so that the vermicelli will become nice and soft]

Take a dosa making pan, add some oil, pour out a ladle of the batter and allow it to cook on both sides. [Each side will take about 2mins to cook]

Variation:

Add grated carrots, sliced onions, more coriander, dosa milagai podi to the dosa and make it like an oothappam. 

Bon appetit! 

[Recipe] Spinach Daal

What you need:

Spinach: 2 cups

Onion: 2

Green chillies: 2

Cooked green gram dal/moong dal: 1/2 cup

Tamarind: 1 small sized ball

Tomato: 2

Urad dal: 1/2 tsp(for tempering)

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp(for tempering)

Oil - as much as you need

Salt- to taste

Curry leaves - 4-6

Taken on mobile- BB

Method-

In a pan, heat oil and add mustard, urad dal and curry leaves. to this, add the chopped onions and green chillies. When they turn to a golden brown, add the chopped spinach and fry well for a couple of mins.

Put a pan and the green dal to cook in it, once that is done, add to the fried spinach and onion along with the tamarind(that has been soaked in water n strained), chopped tomato and salt. Boil for about five minutes..

If you want, you can grind the spinach.. but i like spinach as it is.. and it sure tastes yummy with Roti and Steamed rice.. enjoy~~~

Recipe- Makki Di Roti & Palak Subzi

No, you read it right. We had Makki Di Roti & Palak Suzbi. I know the traditional combo is Makki di roti and Sarson ka saag, well, we don't get Sarson ka saag [the Mustard greens] in Chennai and so this alternative :)

When we had visited Delhi earlier this month, when i mentioned i like this combo, my aunt asked her maid to make it. Mom & I walked it down to this cool organic store called The Roots and bought Maize flour.We devoured the rotis and the Sarson ka saag, and mom decided she wanted to make them once we were back in Chennai. Since there was a packet of flour leftover, we brought it with us and yesterday mom made it for lunch.

She had asked the maid how to make [in her broken hindi] and managed to make a few small rotis, invited me over for lunch excitedly :)

What you need:
Maize Flour - 2 cups   

Salt -to taste
Ghee - as required to knead the dough

How to make:
1. Add salt and ghee to the flour and mix well till becomes a nice soft dough.
2. Make balls or divide the dough into portions
3. Take a plastic sheet and pat the dough on it, making it into a roti [dont make it too thin, it will stick to the sheet]... Alternatively you can roll out each ball between the folds of a greased plastic sheets.
4. Heat a tawa and cook the roti on it till both sides are done.
5. apply a dollop of butter or ghee and serve hot.

Palak Subzi that mom made was the usual subzi you make for rotis and it did go well with Makki di roti...

What you need:
Palak/spinach leaves - a bowl of chopped leaves
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Green chilli- 1[optional]
oil- as required
Salt- as required
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Cream/milk/curd- 1 tsp

How to make:
1. Boil the palak leaves with a dash of salt and make a puree
2. In a pan, add some oil and saute the onions & green chilli, once they turn golden brown, add the tomatoes and saute for a few more minutes.  [you can blend these if you wish]
3. To this add the spinach puree, salt, garam masala and allow it to cook
4. Add some cream/milk/curd just before you serve...

You can add palak to make it Palak paneer or potatoes if you desire. 

Bon Apettit!!

Thiruvathirai Special

Thiruvathirai, a star, also a festival celebrated in the marghazi masam [Dec-Jan] is a day when we celeberate the thandavam (cosmic dance) performed my Lord Shiva. Another side to this day is that it is Lord Shiva's star birthday today, the star being arudhra. The one thing i remember about Thiruvathirai is lunch menu, unfortunately it consists of items i dont like, well, these days i have a nibble and dont grunt as much. What is on the menu? Kali and Thalagam.. Sounds greek and latin, well, not really, but it is a wierd combination and mix of flavours.

We were in Delhi recently, and mom made Kali cos my uncle loves it and well, that was probably the 1st time i ate some on my own [with no one breathing down my neck] and actually liked it.. Hmm... so, today at lunch, i made myself some rotis and had a spoonful of kali as well :-) [Good girl i am]

Kali is a sweet dish, while Thalagam is a graavy made using 7/9/11/13/15 vegetables [something like a heavy duty sambar] 

How are these made? For the 1st time, i paid attention to mom and gramma when they explained the dishes. So, here goes..

Kali

What you need-

Raw Rice - 1 cup

Mung dal - 1 tbsp

Jaggery- 3/4 th cup

Butter-2 tbsp

Water - 2 to 3 cups

Coconut- 1 tbsp grated

Cashewnuts- fried in ghee

How to make Kali-

1. Wash and dry the rice 

2. Dry roast the rice and daal till the rice turns light golden.

3. Grind to a coarse powder or finely [depending on your preference]

4. In a kadai, add 2 cups of water to the jaggery and let it come to a boil. When it does, run it through a sieve to make sure there were no dust or foreign particles in the jaggery

5. To this liquid, add the rice - daal and coconut. Keep stirring and add water if you feel the mixture is too thick. Like Sooji upma, the rice will absorb the water, so dont worry if it looks runny. 

6. Stir for a good 15- 20mins till the rice cooks and starts releasing ghee around the corner. 

7. Sprinkle the fried cashewnuts and serve. 

Thalagam
What you need-

Vegetables of your choice- Today gramma used 15 veggies- Carrots, yellow pumpkin, beans, potato, sweet potato, arbi, butter beans, snake gourd, flat beans, string beans, brinjal, chow chow, raw banana and so many more.... [typically Indian veggies are used] - Chop them up into bite sized pieces.

Dry red chillies- 5 to 6 [depending on how spicy you like the dish] 

Toor dal - 1tbsp

Rice- 1/2tbsp

Coconut - 1/2 cup grated

Black Sesame seeds- 2tsp

Tamarind- the Size of a small lemon

Gingely oil- 2tsp

Mustard seeds- 1tsp

Salt- to taste

 

How to make the Thalagam-

1. Just like you make sambar, soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water for 5 - 10 minutes , squeeze and set aside the tamarind juice. 

2. In a pan, heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, allow to splutter and set aside. 

3. In the pan, add some more oil and add the toor daal, red chillies, rice, coconut and sesame seeds. Saute them till they all turn light brown colour and then grind to a fine powder. 

4. In the pressure cooker put all the chopped vegetables, tamarind juice, some salt and cook till they are tender. 

5. Now add the ground powder, and water if required. Mix and allow to cook well.  

 Note: The mix should not be too runny or light, it will be like a gravy/koottu.