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