Hooked on to T & T

Dear friends,
i'm really hooked on to meena's hooked on heat !
she has a lovely blog out there with plenty of recipes and one can find recipes for daily cooking to elaborate dinner recipes... the best thing is i try something very simple from her blog and it turns out super hit ! Thanks a lot for sharing these recipes meena
i'm sending these to Tried and Tested food blogging event hosted by Kitchow and started byzlamushka

Some of the recipes which i tried form her blog are here.

i have sticked on to the original recipe just altering the quantity

please click on the recipe name for the original recipe

EGG MASALA
Spicy egg curry
this picture in meena's blog made me droooool !
this recipe can be made in a matter of time !
it was super spicy and tangy . perfect to cater the taste buds of spicy toothed(did i coin this ?) hubby !


hubby dear is going to enjoy his lunch !

GOBI MANCHURIAN

My all time favourite gobi manchurian..

i have made it dry as i like it that way !

Alu Bhaaji(potato curry)

BINDI PYAAZ (OKRA WITH ONIONS)

SPICY CURRY FRIED RICE

JEERA ALU

Parsley and Curry leaf bun

Ever since i came across the recipe in anudivya's blog i wanted to try it.
her buns looked so drool worthy and the way she had shaped the buns looked like a pro
i have just altered the flour used and i have not added gluten,the rest is the same as the original version. the original recipe is here


Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 cups
wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - To taste
Baker's yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
Warm water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
Parsley - 2 tbsp chopped
Pepper - 1/2 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp

Method

• Soak yeast in warm water along with sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes to foam and activate.
• Meanwhile in another bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, salt and pepper.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the activated yeast mixture, add oil and yogurt. Add the herbs and knead on a floured surface. Knead for 13-15 minutes by hand, or use a kneader attachment on the mixer. The dough should be soft and smooth.Cover and let it sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or till it doubles in size.
• After that, take the dough, fold it over 3 or 4 times, releasing the air bubbles. Pinch into smaller balls, roll them neatly and firmly. Place it on a baking tray with enough room to expand while baking.
• Cover with a cloth and place in a warm place again to rise. This method is called proofing

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• After an hour, brush them with oil or an egg wash on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds and bake till the buns are golden brown on top.
• Let it cool and slather with a spread/butter of your choice and devour.

sending these across to Low Fat (eggless) baking event by madhuram



also sending these to yeastspotting at wildyeast

Muskmelon/Cantaloupe smoothie

Muskmelons are refered to as kirnipalam in Tamil.. my mom used to make juices during our summers and we used to enjoy them thoroughly.. Yesterday i saw these melons in the market and i felt home sick ! got the melons and made a juice and relished it with those lovely times spent with bro and friends drinking juices !
my mom used to make this juice with milk but i have substituted with soy milk

Cantaloupe are a source of polyphenol antioxidants, chemicals which are known to provide certain health benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. These chemicals are known to up regulate the formation of nitric oxide, a key chemical in promoting health of the endothelium and prevention of heart attacks. (image courtesy,source :wikipedia)

Cantaloupes also are an excellent source of vitamin C and beta carotene.

Ingredients

Muskmelon - 1
Sugar/honey - 2 tbspn (acc to taste)
Soy milk - 1 1/2 cups
Method

• Cut the melon and scoop the pulp without the seeds
• and add the pulp,milk and sugar and blend them well
  
• serves as a refreshing breakfast !

hey look at the umbrella it was made by me !

sending these to show me your breakfast event by divya of dilse

Pound Cake

Hey friends

yesterday i had spent a considerable amount of time Baking ! i beginning to fall in love witht he baking process.. i feel so elated when the result turns out good , as though i have done a magic :-)
i had so many recipes bookmarked to be tried and one such is the pound cake from
Finger Licking Food by Namratha...
i have followed her recipe dint change even a thing.. the original recipe is here
but still i will give the recipe
The cake came out awesome and i have been snacking on it since yesterday !

Ingredients

2 cups All-purpose flour

1 tbsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Salt

1 cup Sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp

4 eggs, at room temp

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Method

• Centre a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325F.
• Butter a 9 x 5” loaf pan. Place on a baking sheet.
• Whisk flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
  
• Cream butter and sugar in another bowl on high speed for 5 minutes, till light and fluffy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time. Beat 1-2 minutes after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.

• Turn the speed to low, and add the flour little at a time, just until incorporated. Do not overmix it. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place in the centre of the rack in oven and bake for 70-75 minutes. The cake is done when a knife inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and transfer loaf pan to a rack. Let rest for 30 minutes, and then invert onto rack. Cool completely before slicing and storing.
  

Slicing: Slice it with a long serrated knife using a sawing motion. You can slice it thin or thick depending on what you are using it for.

Storing: Wrap the pound cake tightly with cling wrap and let sit on your kitchen counter. This tastes better the longer it sits. If wrapped well, the cake will hold good for 5-7 days at room temperature.

Channa Batura / chick peas curry

Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated (source :wikipedia)

When i got engaged my office colleague sent me an email containing a recipe PDF..
I had neatly printed it out and filed it. This came in handy during my trial times as i was zero in cooking .. i have tried this several times and this has always been a super duper hit at my place..
I'm not sure as to whether this is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe.. but the taste is unbeatable !

For Bhatura
Ingredients

2 cups plain flour (maida)
2 tbsp. curds
2 tbsp. butter or oil
1/2 tsp. soda bicarb
salt to taste
Milk to knead dough
oil to deep fry

Method

• Sieve together flour, salt and soda.
• Add and mix in curds and oil.
• Add enough milk to knead into a soft pliable dough.
• Cover with a wet cloth.
• Keep aside for 5-6 hours. Make sure the cloth does not dry up, or wet again.
• Knead dough again. Take fistful of dough. Roll into 1/4" thick 5" diameter round. Fry in hot oil.
• Turning only once. Till very light golden in colour. Repeat for all. Serve hot with hot channa and
• slices of onions and lemon.

For Channa

Ingredients

1 cup kabuli channa soaked overnight
1 large tomato
2 large onions
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tsp. ginger grated
1 tsp. garlic crushed
1 lemon (juice extracted)
2 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. ghee
1 tsp. tea leaves (tied into a pouch in a
small piece of clean muslin cloth)
4 green chillies slit
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cumin seeds

Dry masalas

1 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. each cinnamon - clove powder,
turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. each garam masala, pepper powder
salt to taste

Method for Channa

• Put the soaked, washed channa in a cooked with enough water, tea pouch and bay leaves.
• Pressure cook till done. (approx. 6-7 whistles).
• Cool about 5 tbsp. channa for grinding.
• In a mixie, blend together 1/2 tomato, 1 onion, cooled channa and 1/2 tbsp. coriander. Keep aside.
• Chop remaining tomatoes and onions fine.
• Heat oil in a large skillet.
• Add cumin seeds to splutter.
• Add ginger-garlic and fry for a minute.
• Add chopped tomatoes, onion and fry till tender.
• Add channa-paste, fry further 3-4 minutes.
• Add all dry masala except cinnamon-clove powder.
• Stir and fry till oil separates. Add drained channa and 2 cup water which was drained from channa.
• Stir and bring to boil.
• Simmer for 7-8 minutes till gravy thickens.
• Take in serving dish.
• Heat ghee in a small sauce pan.
• Add the chillies and cinnamon-clove powder.
• Add chopped coriander and pour hot over the channa.
• Squeeze lemon over channa.
• Stir in seasoning gently.

Making time :- 30 mins (excluding pressure cooking)

I'm sending this to My Legume Love Affair hosted by annarasa and started by susan

Maavathal kulambu (sun dried mangoes curry)

Dear friends

This dish has been my all time favourite.. its super tangy with lots of tamarind and sun dried mango.. but you can adjust it according to your taste..
Usually the raw mangoes are cut into pieces with lots of salt and are left in a container for few days
then they are dried in the sun for a couple of days until they become really dry..usually my grand mom makes these , but the poor mangoes gets eaten up by me and cousins before it reaches grand mom...the lucky survivors are used by her in the curries..
these mangoes were sent to me by my grand mom ( she managed to save them as we were not around :-) ....)
here is a picture of the sun dried mangoes



Ingredients

Sun dried mangoes - 6 to 7
shallots - 10
tamarind - size of lemon ( i make this dish very tangy so adjust the tamarind as per taste)
curry powder (kulambu milagai thool)- 2 tbspn ( substitute by chilli powder and coriander powder 1:2)
salt - as per taste ( be careful as the mangoes have lots of salt in it)
methi seeds- 1/4 tspn
cumin seeds - 1/4 tspn
curry leaves - 1 stalk
garlic pods - 6
sesame oil - 2 tbspn

Method

• soak the tamarind and the mangoes separately in hot water
• heat sesame oil in a deep bottomed pan and add the methi seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to splutter
• then add the curry leaves and then add the crushed garlic pods, you can sense the aroma at his stage
  
• add the shallots which are chopped lengthwise and saute till turns golden brown
• at this stage add the curry powder and saute for a min or two
  
• gently squeeze the tamarind and add only the tamarind water
  
• then add the sun dried mangoes and wait for a while then check for salt
• simmer it till the gravy turns semi thick
• when done remove it and enjoy with rice and a vegetable kootu
  

Sending these to Mango Mela hosted by srivalli of cooking 4 all seasons

Bell Pepper Rings

Dear friends

This time i have tried bajjis using green pepper..
Long back i had this snack at a friends place.. she had made with besan,green chilli paste and salt. so keeping that in mind i was planning to do the same except to substitute by adding red chilli powder but ended up adding many more things.. i had besan and then was preparing the batter and it had become too watery ... ooh i went to the pantry foraging for a packet of besan..alas to my dissapointment no besan was there.. crazy pooja was wondering what to do and finally ended up adding little rice flour but still the batter was little loose and then i opened the kitchen cabinet and there i spotted tomato ketchup..why not add some???? lets try ! thinking i added about a tsp of tomato ketchup.. the batter was better and believe me guys the recipe turned out to be good
now let me share this crazy recipe
you can also make this using the regular bajji batter

Ingredients

Bell pepper(green) - 1
gram flour/besan - 5 tbspn
rice flour - 1 tbspn
tomato ketchup - 1 tspn
red chilli powder - 1/4 tspn
turmeric powder - a pinch
asafoetida - a pinch
salt - acc to taste
oil - for frying

Method

• slice the green pepper in the form of rings
• mix the above mentioned ing with water to form a batter
  
• mean while heat oil in a pan
• now dip the pepper rings in teh batter and deep fry them in oil
  
• serve hot with tea

this can be made in a jiffy , when you want to fix a quick snack !
sending these to AFAM(a fruit a month) - Bell Pepper hosted by priya and started by maheswari of beyond the usual

Celebrating my first award with a sweet

I'm so very happy to receive my first award from pavithra
Pavithra you made my day.! i feel very touched !
i was looking at the coconut laddu from a2vegetariancuisine and was planning to make it .. fellow bloggers i must confess that i'm utterly zero in making sweets.. dessert at my dinner parties are always store bought ice creams.. this recipe was very easy and i thought , "why not give it a try?"
i was almost close to finishing the coconut laddu and was about to take some snaps, then a peed into my laptop and there was pavi's surprise.. i was so happy what a coincidence ! thanks again pavithra..

i sticked to the original recipe but changed it a little , i dint have condensed milk and so i used milk powder and mixed it with water and i added about a 1 tbspn of sugar.. thats all the changes i made.
Now lets share my award

This award goes to all my fellow bloggers but as i had to nominate 10...
This goes to ganga, divya vikram, parita , sharmi,vrinda , rekha, poornima nair,pooja,gita and padma
please accept the award and pass it on to your friends !

Souvenirs from Ivory Coast

This weekend was spent eventfully with some shopping, meeting up friends and ofcourse munching on foods .. well on saturday we planned on buying some souvenirs and we did purchase few wooden stuff

On the way to the beach there are numerous shops made of thatched roofs and you can see the hungry sellers running towards the vehicles to sell their stuff.. i have spent 1 1/2 years in Abidjan and it has been fun and i got to see Africa , visit new places, see the lifestyle of them, theirs cuisine..all in all it was an interesting experience !

it has been raining non stop since 3 weeks here.. so there was no chance of going to the beach . so we decided to visit a place which is little away from the city , where hand made wooden stuff can be bought. i landed up buying some ebony, so here is a little note about ebony

Ebony is a general name for very dense black wood. In the strict sense it is yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but other heavy, black (or dark colored) woods (from completely unrelated trees) are sometimes also called ebony. The best-known ebony may be that from Diospyros ebenum native to southern India and Srilanka.

Ebony is one of the most intensely black woods known, which, combined with its very high density (it is one of the woods that sink in water), fine texture, and ability to polish very smoothly, has made it very valuable as an ornamental wood.

Chicken Fry/Tandoori Chicken

Well i have experimented on tandoori chicken without using a tan door.
sounds strange but as i am away from india i dont have the tan door.
yeah but the chicken can be grilled in the oven also but i have used simple frying pan and cooked it on the gas.
This is a post from the archive but i would like to re-post it for the event Potluck chicken
hosted by viki


Ingredients

Chicken - 300 gms
For marination

• Ginger paste- 1 tspn
• Garlic paste- 1 tspn
• Vinegar - 1 tbspn
• Lime juice - 1 tbspn
• Curd - 2 tbspn
• Chicken masala - 2 tspn
• Red color powder - a pinch ( optional)
• salt - acc to taste.

Chicken masala

The chicken masala which i usually use is "sakthi chilli chicken "
Marination

• wash the chicken and make small incisions on it (with fork or knife) and set it aside
• in a bowl add ginger garlic paste and all the above mentioned ingredients for marination
  
• stir it properly so that the masala gets dissolved
• then add the chicken pieces and mix it well
• now this has to kept it in the refrigerator for to 1 to 2 hrs for proper marination
• sometimes i keep it overnight( depends upon the availability of time)

Method

• Heat about 1 tbspn of oil in the frying pan
• when its hot add the marinated chicken pieces
  
• make sure the flame is low
• occasionally brush it with oil n make sure to turn it
  
• keep cooking for about 10 to 12 mins
• here we go tasty chicken is ready

Enjoy it as a starter or with chappathi or naan

Bourekas

Bourekas are made out puff pastry filled with various fillings. The most popular fillings are cheese,mashed potato,spinach,eggplant,pizza-flavor, and mushrooms.
i have had this several times at a Jewish friend's place . On quizzing my friend got to know that Bourekas was brought to Israel by the Jews from Turkey and Balkans..
Burek ( other variant name) is popular in the Arab world, some countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the Slavic cuisines, throughout the Balkans and the former Ottoman Empire.
You can check out the variants here on wikipedia(Burek)

Whenever i go to my friends place she always gives these delicious treats and i end up eating so many and my tummy is so full by the times we reach the main course.I'm staying in West Africa and its difficult to get puff pastry here.. i tried one of store bought pastries and some how dint like the smell of it. Got to know from my friend that their house keeper prepared everything from the scratch and i was taken aback.preparing puff pastry at home... now was not that meant to be difficult... well i was so obsessed with the Bourekas and was very stubborn on learning it.. so one fine day she arranged a cooking lesson for me and i was so excited.
i had made video of the entire process and i tell you it was so much fun..
i came home all enlightened ( he he he) and the following weekend i was set to try it at home.
here i have made the bourekas using the fillings cheese and pizza flavour..




now for those of you who can get ready made pastry its very easy for the unlucky ones like me
the procedure for making the puff pastry is given below

Making the puff pastry

Ingredients

all purpose flour(for dough) - 6 cups
all purpose flour(for dusting) - 1 cup
oil(olive/sunflower)- 2 tbspns
salt- 1 tbspn
sugar-1 tbspn
margarine-200 gms
water-sufficient amount to knead
Method

• sieve the flour for the dough and add in the salt, sugar and oil
• add in sufficient water to form a smooth dough
• sieve the flour for dusting in a separate bowl and set aside
• choose a big platform and dust some flour on the surface and roll the dough to uniform thickness..its better to use a big surface as the dough has to rolled to about 1/4 inch thickness
• now grate the margarine all over the dough surface , about 25 gms should be fine.
• now close the dough from both sides and gently press with your hands
• dust some flour on top of the spread dough and beneath (on the surface) also , so as to avoid the dough sticking and rol the dough once again
  
• again grate some more margarine on top of the dough and repeat the process for 4 more times ( in total it is 6 times of repeated rolling, grating,folding and again so on for 6 times)
• this process is a little tiring but its worth the effort
• when you are done with the 6th time ,by then entire margarine should be finished
  
• roll the dough again to uniform thickness cut into small squares of desired size

Pizza-flovour

Ingredients

Onion- 1 small
Garlic - 1 pearl
tomatoes - 2 nos
tomato puree - 1 tbspn
pepper powder- 1/2 tspn
salt- to taste
oil- 1 tspn
grated cheese - 1/2 cup
Olives - 1 tbspn

Method

• heat oil in a pan add the finely chopped garlic and saute for a min and then add the finely chopped onions and when they turn golden brown add the finely chopped tomatoes(store bought can also be used) and add little salt and when they begin to become mushy add the tomato puree and pepper and saute for 5 mins and turn off the flame
• cool the mixture and to this add the grated cheese, i have used emmental cheese and add the chopped olives and mix it well

Cheese flavour

Ingredients

grated cheese- 1/2 cup
Olives- 2 tbspn
egg white - 1

Method

• mix the grated cheese, i have used emmental and the chopped olives and blend in the agg white and keep aside

Making the Bourekas

• On a lightly floored surface the dough has to be cut into squares
• place a tbspn of the required filling on the dough and close to form a triangle
• crump the edges using a fork
• place it on the tray lined with a baking paper
  
• and beat the egg yellow and brush the top of the bourekas and sprinkle sesame seeds on top
• bake at 350 degrees until puffy and golden brown
  

voila you have hot Bourekas , enjoy !






Thanx a ton to my dearest friends !

Idiyappam / string hoppers/Rice noodles

Idiyappam or string hoppers has been one of my favorite dishes since my childhood.. my appetite becomes never ending when i start eating this dish ! LOL
Idiyappam is also known as Rice noodles only that it is very thin. Its been a long time since i made this at home.. today i gave myself a treat !
i made idiyappam in 3 different ways today. lets jump start on to the recipes


Method for Idiyappam

• boil water thoroughly
• take about 2 to 3 cups of rice flour,i have used the store bought rice flour, alternatively rice flour can also be roasted at home at very medium flame for few mins
• add salt to the rice flour and about 1 tbspn of oil and pour in the hot water to form a soft dough ( i used a slotted spoon while kneading the dough, the water being very hot)
  
• fill the dough on to a idiyappam presser and squeeze it on to the idli trays and steam it for a couple of minutes
• when done allow it to cool and remove them
  

Coconut & sugar

• The Idiyappam can be had with grated coconut and sugar
• Just crumble the idiyappam and mix the desired amount of sugar and coconut
  

Savory lemon

• heat some oil in a pan add mustard seeds , urad dal and channa dal
• add in dry red chillies and curry leaves
  
• squeeze about half a lemon and add turmeric powder and salt
• crumble the required amount of idiyappam and and to this and garnish with coriander leaves

Kurma


Ingredients

cinnamon - 1/2 inch
cloves- 2
fennel seeds- 1 tspn
poppy seeds- 1 tspn
ginger garlic paste- 1/4 tspn
onion- 1
tomato- 3
grated coconut(fresh)- 1/2 cup
chilli powder- 1/2 tspn
garam masala- 1/4 tspn
coriander powder - 1 tspn
curry leaves- 1 stalk
coriander leaves - 5 to 6 leaves
salt - acc to taste
oil - 1 tbspn

Method

• Heat oil and add the cinnamon and clove
• add the finely chopped onions and saute them till they turn golden brown
• add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a min or two
• add the finely chopped tomatoes
• you can also add vegetables of your choice like potatoes and cauliflower ..
• add the chilli powder,turmeric powder, coriander powder,garam masala and salt
• mean while grind the fennel seeds,poppy seeds and grated coconut to a fine paste
  
• add this paste and keep sauting
  
• pour in sufficient amount of water and bring to a boil
• garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with the idiyappam.
  

.
I am sending this post to
monthly mingle- ravishing rice guest hosted by edible garden
Creator of Monthly mingle - meeta
also sending this to EFM June - Breakfast series
also sending this to show me ur breakfast hosted by divya of dilse