Bisibelebath in crockpot

Crockpot is also called slow cooker. This was something new to me and have been thinking of investing in for a while. Since we're rice eaters and use rice cooker quite a lot, almost everyday you can say, wasn't sure it will be of any use for me. Last november I went ahead and bought one of these and I fell in love . It's easy, simple and heavy of course. Have been trying dishes which might reduce my cooking and staying in the kitchen time.( my long cooking time, that's why I said I love it).

I have tried couple of dishes now and I still go and check every now and then to see if it needs any more liquid or is it boiling or is it burnt :P. But now have got an idea and still up for experiments. This one is of those experiment dishes I did and know now what changes I need to make next time. Crockpots are perfect for working ladies and whose family demands for fresh hot meals.

This crockpot  is a very basic one and has only 3 settings and there're quite in the market with automatic ones. This one is working well for me. I would definitely recommend who wants to buy a crockpot, don't hesitate give it a try. 

I guess it was big into on CROCKPOT, now lets get talking about the dish, Bisibelebath a South Indian Dish very well known and favorite for most of them. It's a main dish with lentil and rice with vegetables. It's a super filler and very tasty. It can be altered according to your spice levels/tastes. It is usually eaten with a yogurt dip(Raitha) and chips. My kids call this dish as BB Bath and we do have started to call it that way. So let's see what all we need to prepare it.

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor Dal

2cups Rice( uncooked)

2 cups fresh/ frozen vegetables( I used Greeb beans, carrot, peas, potato, capsicum)

1 medium sized onion chopped

1-2tbsp BBbath powder

1tsp tamarind paste

A small ball of jaggery

1 Tomato

Few curry leaves

1tbso oil

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Urad dal

5-7 Peanuts

1tsp turmeric powder

Method:

First cook the Toor dal in pressure cooker for 3 whistles. In a small pan add oil and once it's hot put mustard seeds, as the splatter add urad dal, peanut & curry leaves. Now add capsicum and fry for couple of mins until the capsicum is soft. Now pour this into the crock pot and add cooked dal, washed / thawed vegetables, and the rest of the ingredients except rice. Give it a nice stir and add rice.  Now add 8 cups water and salt to taste. Finally cover it and turn it on to low for 5 hrs or high for 2.5-3 hrs.. It's a perfect warm meal for any day.

Serve it with Raitha, chips and ghee.

Tips: 

1. Never add Dal/lentil directly before you precook it. Otherwise the Lentil will not break down and it will get to that consistency. 

2. Check for enough water, as each rice needs different amount.

3. Choose any vegetables you like.

4. 2 cups rice yields for 4 people easily.

Eat it warm with Raita and chips.Enjoy! Happy Cooking. My next dish would be vegetable Lasagna in Crockpot.

Paneer Butter Masala

This is one of the easiest dishes I have ever prepared. It was as yummy as you get it in a restaurant. I was wondering why restaurants charge such huge price on this simple and easy dish. So I recommend you all to give it a try and see. You can alter some of the fatty items here, but substituting butter might not be that tasty as name itself says butter masala. I made this dish from Vahrevah.com website and his video. So here is the link for the same. Enjoy.

Video:-

Recipe:(This link also has the video)
http://www.vahrehvah.com/Paneer+Butter+Masala:3536http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSygSz7aj9w

Avalakki Bisibele Bath

Avalakki is a kannada term which means Poha/ Beaten Rice. This is a simple dish to make and its as yummy as the regular Bisibele Bath. Instead of Rice here we use Avalakki/beaten rice. This is a best dish for Breakfast/Bunch or at Snack time. This can be made heavy meal with lots of vegetables or can be kept simple with just onion. I usually do only with Onion but this time I tried with lot of vegetables as I made it for Lunch on Sankashti, as I'm not supposed to eat Rice/ Toor dal.

Ingredients:
1 cup Beaten Rice
1/2-3/4 cup Moong Dal
1/2 Onion Thinly sliced
1 Tomato chopped
1 cup Vegetables of your choice(I added Beans, Lima Beans, Carrot and Capsicum)
1tbsp Oil
1tsp Mustard seeds
1tsp Urad dal
Hing
Few Curry leaves
10-12 Peanuts/Cashew nuts/both
salt to taste
1tsp Tamarind Paste
Jaggery to taste
1-2tsp MTR Bisibele Bath Masala

Method:
Cook the Moong dal with tomato & vegetables except Onion & Capsicum in a pressure cooker. Meanwhile if the beaten rice needs to be soaked for long time do it now otherwise you can do it at the end. Once the cooker is cooled pour the dal in a heavy bottom pan and get it to a boil and add 1-11/2 cups water and add tamarind paste, Masala, jaggery and salt. Let it boil for 2-3 mins. Meanwhile get the tempering ready with Mustard seeds, urad dal, peanuts, curry leaves, turmeric powder and add onion- capsicum and fry for 2 mins till its soft. Now add the beaten rice to the boiling dal and let it mix well, now keep stirring as it will get thick and burn at the bottom. Finally once it reaches the consistency add the tempering with onion-capsicum and let it cook for 2-3 mins. The BBB is ready, serve it with a spoon of ghee.

Zucchini-Carrot Kofta

Malai Kofta is one of my favorite curry, but thinking of the deep fried kofta's and lot of butter, cream involved in it scares me away. So I tried a healthy version with some vegetables and baked kofta. It was as yummy as you eat it at a restaurant with guilt free. I have used Zucchini, carrot and potato, but you can use any vegetable of your choice. But I am a big fan of Zucchini so, I tried this.

Ingredients:
2 Zucchini grated
1 carrot grated
2 Potato cooked and mashed
1cup Soy Chunks(I grinded it into fine powder-Nutella Brand)
salt to taste
1tsp Lemon juice
1-2 green chillies(optional)
1tsp Cashew nuts and Raisins

For gravy:
1tsp Oil
1 can tomato Puree(No salt and low sodium)
1 Onion finely chopped
1tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1tsp garam masala
1tsp Chilli powder
1tsp Kichen King Masala(optional)
1tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 bay leaf
1tsp Sugar
salt to taste
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp Heavy cream

Method:
Squeeze all the water from Zucchini and mix it with grated carrot and mashed potato. Add green chillies, cilantro , lemon juice, salt to taste and cashewnuts-raisin. Mix it well and divide into equal parts and give it a round shape and roll it in soy chunks powder and bake it in the oven at 350*F for 20 mins with a little sprinkle of oil on each of the kofta balls.

Gravy:

Saute the onions with a tsp of oil and add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few more mins. Now add the tomato puree and all the dry masalas, turmeric powder and cover it and let it boil for 2-3 mins. Lower the flame and keep stirring every few mins till the oil seperates. Add salt and sugar and finally add Kasuri Methi and cream. Keep the gravy hot till you serve. Add the kofta's before serving otherwise they get soggy. Enjoy with Naan/ Chapthi.

Walnut Burger

Burgers for me meant to be just the Boca Burger. But after exploring the web and cooking channels I found this yummy and very healthy burger which has become very common burger at my house. Its very simple to make and delicious. Of late I have tried a no. of burger's and am happy with so many choices for a vegetarian like me. Will post some of them in my next posts.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Walnut
1/2 Cup cooked Garbanzo beans(or 1 can)
1/2cup Mashed potato(I substituted for 1 egg)
1tsp Garam Masala
1/2tsp Chilli Powder(adjust to your taste)
salt to taste

1 Big burger bun
1 big Romane lettuce leaf
2 big slices of Tomato
1 slice of Red Onion

Method:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend it till its coarse/mashed well to make a patty. Now divide it into 4 parts and make it 4 balls and pat a little bit. If the patties are a little moist, then refrigerate for 30 mins. Bake it on a indoor/outdoor grill for about 4 mins on each side. You can place a cheese slice on top of the patty at the end and bake it for a 1 min/till the cheese melts a bit. Bake the Burger Buns for a min so it doesn't get soggy when the patty is placed.
To arrange:

Take the bottom part of the bun and put a lettuce leaf and tomato and the patty on it. 1 or 2 slices of tomato and cover it with the top bun.dress it with tomato ketchup and mayonnaise.

Sago/ Sabbakki Idly

I was cleaning my pantry and found some Sabbakki/Sago seeds. The only dish i knew with this was sabbakki payasa/Sago kheer, Which I wasn't in a mood to make but wanted to try something new with this. Upma is one more dish I know, but nobody likes that in my family. So I started my hunt and found this recipe on some blog, So I thought why not give it a try and ....it turned out so good and I liked it. So its a keep for sure.

Ingredients:

1cup Sabbakki/Sago seeds
1cup yogurt
1/2cup Fine sooji
cilantro leaves chopped
1tsp Oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
1/2tsp channa dal
1-2 green chillies chopped
salt to taste
3/4tsp ENO/fruit salt
Method:

Soak the Sago seeds in the yogurt overnight or at least 6 hrs with additional water if necessary. In a pan make tempering with oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, green chillies and broken cashew nuts(optional), add sooji and roast it for couple of minutes. Cool it and add it to the tapioca-yogurt batter. Add chopped cilantro, salt and eno and mix well. pour it into Idly stand and steam it for 15 Min's. Enjoy with sambar/chutney of your choice. Eat it warm.It is similar to rava idli's but has a little taste of Sago seeds.

Oatmeal Dosa(crepes)

Oatmeal Dosa is a one of the easiest and healthy Dosa I have eaten. Dosa is something I do every weekend and was so bored of soaking and grinding process. Since I was on a diet and not eating Rice items I was in hunt of a healthy version of Dosa and gave this a try. It was a gr8 hit in my house and tasted good too. Its simple to make and can be eaten any time of the day. Just mix and soak for an hour and its ready to make. The aroma of oatmeal on the griddle is superb. I enjoyed making and eating it.

Ingredients:

For Dosa
~~~~~~~~
1cup Instant Oatmeal
1/2cup Rice flour
1/2cup Yogurt/curds(if sour its still better)
1/2cup Semolina/fine Sooji
1tsp Finely chopped Green chillies
1tsp Cumin seeds/powder
1/2tsp Sugar
salt to taste
1tbsp Chopped Cilantro

For Rasa
~~~~~~~
1tbsp chopped Onion
1tbsp Tomato
1tsp Rasam Powder
salt and jaggery to taste
1tbsp Dalia/hurigadale Powder
1cup water+1tbsp
1tsp oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
a little Hing
cilantro for garnish

Method:

Soak oatmeal , rice flour, semolina and yogurt together. Soak for atleast an hour , add the other ingredients to the above mixture and make a semi-thick batter.Pre-heat a tava/griddle and pour a big spoon of batter and make a thick dosa or else they break while they are turned to cook on the other side. Put a spoon of oil on the sides serve hot with chutney/sambar/Rasa. Eat this dosa hot from the griddle, if cooled dosen't taste that good.

Rasa:

In a small pan make the tempering with hot oil ,mustard seeds and hing and let it splutter.Now add onion and fry till they are soft . Add tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Add Rasam powder, salt and jaggery and bring to a boil. Mix the hurigadale powder in a little water and make a thin batter and add it to the rasa with a low flame bring it a boil for 3-4 mins and garnish with cilantro. It tastes good with Dosa. (don't add too much jaggery it will taste like gojju, It has to be a little sweet and little spicy at the same time.)

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Jalfrezi is Indian version of Chinese stir-fry. This word is derived from different languages...Jhal/jal is a Bengali word which means spicy hot and frezi a slang for fry-zee. Zee is Urdu word and it means fry.Together this Jalfrezi makes a spicy hot fried dish. This is really interesting how a dish gets its name an its equally interesting to eat. Its a perfect Indian stir-fry, it spicy, tangy and filled with vegetables. Our family enjoyed every bite of it. Here vegetables have to be a little raw and crispy, you should not fry/cook it completely. But if you have somebody in your family who doesn't like the half cooked vegetables then cook a little more but fry less.

Ingredients:

1/2 Onion (cut into long thin strips)
1 Bell Pepper (cut into long thin strips)
1 Potato(Skin peeled and cut into long strips like french fries )
1 tomato(preferably hard cut into long strips after De-seeded)
1Zucchini(cut into long thin strips)-optional
1 Carrot (cut into long thin strips)
5-6 long cut Tofu/Paneer pieces
5-6 Baby corn
1tbsp oil/butter
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Chilli powder
1/2tsp Dhania-Jeera powder
cilantro for garnishing

Method:
Put the potato, baby corn and Carrot in a microwave safe bowl and boil the potatoes for 5 Min's, till they get tender and not mushy. Heat the oil in a frying pan add cumin seeds and once they splutter, add turmeric powder and onion. Fry till they r soft, now add bell peppers saute them for few Min's and then add zucchini and saute them, now add cooked vegetables and finally add tomatoes. Meanwhile shallow fry/deep fry the tofu on a griddle. Once all the vegetables are saute well add tofu and dry masala and few drops of water and fry them few Min's till the masala's are well blended. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Note: If you want this to be a gravy version then add some water and bring to a boil andd 1/2tsp cornstarch powder mixed in 1tbsp milk. Mix well and serve hot.

Pita Bread

Pita Bread is a Arabic word khubz (ordinary bread). Its mainly used in Mediterranean Cuisine but now a days its pretty common in almost every cuisine. Its simple bread and similar to our Naan bread. Its either deep fried or baked on a very high temperature. But when you want to do it at home the oven's max temp is 500*F. But it still puffs and you get a pocket when cooled. Only thing i didnt like is it becomes a little crispier and hard when cooled. Next time i would like to try on a hot griddle and see if it stays soft. Here I have tried wheat pita bread, but White flour will make is still more softer i guess.

Ingredients:

1tsp Sugar
1packet Yeast
2cups All purpose Flour(1cup APF + 1cup Wheat Flour)
11/2tsp Salt
1cup Warm Water
Method:

In a small cup put sugar, yeast and add warm water mix well and let it stand for 10 mins and rise. Meanwhile Put the APF in a bowl and add salt. Now add the yeast and mix with while adding warm water. Make a very soft dough. Its fine if its sticky. Grease another bowl with a spoon of oil and dump the dough and coat it well with oil and cover it with a damp cloth/plastic rap. Let it rise for an hour or 2.

Flour the counter well and start kneading the dough with a folding motion till the dough is no more sticky to hands. Divide them equally and let it sit covered for 10 more mins. Preheat the oven for 500*F and place the baking sheet too.Now roll each one at a time for 6-8' diameter. Put it on the hot baking sheet and let it bake for 4 mins and then turn and bake for 2 mins on the other side. Let it cool before u cut it. I like to cut it with a scissor. Store in a plastic bag or hot case for couple of days and enjoy it with a nice filling. I have one Mexican Pita Pockets recipe, will post it soon. U can put a burger/hummus/just vegetables and make a sandwich. Its easy for even kids to hold it and eat.

Sorry the picture quality is not so good. I was in a hurry and tired. Will to upload one next time.

Vegetable Pot Pie

Now a days I am trying some new dishes which I would have never thought of trying it at home. After getting calorie conscious I am digging for new dishes with less calories and more vegetables and filling. This is one such dish which has high amount of vegetables and flavors but if done individual pot pies it cuts a lot of calories in the pie base. This was a nice change on a cold/rainy day. The crust was crispy with soft and tender vegetables and the perfect sauce with it.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)[I used Canola oil]
2 cups sliced yellow onions
1 fennel bulb,
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
Pinch saffron threads
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups large-diced potatoes (1/2 pound)
1 1/2 cups Green Beans
1 1/2 cups carrots
1 1/2 cups butternut squash
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced parsley

For the pastry:

1box of ready pastry mix.

Method:

Melt the butter/oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel and saute until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, saffron, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the beans, carrots, and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, onions, and parsley to the sauce and mix well. Let it stay warm.

For the pastry, make the pie base as given in instruction on the box.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.Make 4 pie base for an ovenproof bowls filled with the filling.. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the butter wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the sides, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.Vegetable Pot pie is ready. Serve at Room Temperature.

Kai-Sasuve Chitranna / Coconut mustard Rice

I would like to wish all a very Happy Belated Ugadi Wishes. I wanted to post this last week on Ugadi but somehow couldn't. So here it is a Rice item which is very different from the usual rice item. I usually do this on festivals and when I have fresh coconut, otherwise it doesn't taste that good. The main ingredients in this is Mustard and coconut other than Rice. Its simple and it dosent need any raita to the side.

Ingredients:

1tsp Mustard seeds
1cup Freshly grated coconut
1tsp Red chilli powder(or 6-8 Red Chilli)
1/2tsp Jaggery
salt to taste

For tempering:
1tsp Oil
1/2tsp Musatrd seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1tsp Peanut
5-6 curry leaves
Hing


Method:
First grind mustard seeds, coconut, red chilly/chilly powder, jaggery, salt. If needed add few spoons at a time water, otherwise try to grind it without. Once you grind it to a paste, prepare tempering with oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, peanut, turmeric powder,hing and curry leaves. Add the paste and saute it for couple of mintues in low flame. If you have added water while grinding then saute it a little more otherwise 3-4 mintues should be fine. Add this mixture to the cooled rice and mix well. Serve warm.

Khaju/Cashew Masala

The name itself says how rich, creamy and elegant this dish is. Its one of my favorite dishes I used to have when I used to go to a Restaurant called "Gokul" in Bangalore. Its a small restaurant but this dish was one of the best there. I wonder now how I used to eat this and burn the calories in it. This is a very royal dish so don't make it quite often. Last time I had this dish was 2 yrs ago when I visited B'lore and learn't this dish in a cookery class. Once in 3-4 months is ideal. If you are fan of veggies in curry then this can be a side dish , as there are no vegetables in this dish its just cashews. Cashews are one of the healthy nut and its good if you eat 4-5 nuts daily. For more information on cashews you can refer this link. Now lets move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1cup Whole Cashews
1/4cup Khova/heavy cream
2tsp Ghee
2 Onions chopped & paste
2 cloves
2 cinnamon
2 cardamom pods
1/2 cup Tomato puree
1tsp G+G+G[Ginger+Garlic+Green chilli]
2tsp Coriander powder
2tsp Red Chilli powder
1/2tsp Cumin powder
1/2tsp Pepper powder
1/2tsp cashew paste[5-10 cashews and 1tsp water and grind into fine paste]
1/2cup Fresh coconut slices
few curry leaves
1tsp Kasuri Methi

Method:
Fry Whole cashews in oil and keep aside. Heat ghee/oil in a pan add whole masalas, onion paste, G+G+G and saute for a minute. Then add tomato puree and dry masalas. Now fry till the oil seperates. Add 1/2 to 1 cup water[depending on the consistency required] and salt , when it starts boiling add khova/cream and fried cahews. Cook for few minutes. Finally add cashew paste, coconut bits and cook for 2-3 minutes and serve warm with chapathi's/ roti.

Spinach Chapathi/ Tortilla with Zucchini Palya/sabzi

"Go Green"would be the best name for this dish, as everything is green.In my last grocery shopping I was looking for some tortilla's for making chips and found spinach tortilla and liked the color but I didn't feel like buying as I felt its kinda old. So i thought how about i try it at home and see how it tastes. It was really tasty, healthy and a lovely color. Its simple though as we do regular methi chapati. I usually have the baby spinach bag in my refrigerator, so it made my life a little simpler.

Ingredients:

Chapati:
1 cup Baby spinach
2 cups Wheat flour
1tsp salt
1tsp oil

Palya/Subzi:

4 Zuchhini
2tsp huli pudi/curry powder
1tbsp fresh coconut grated
1tsp oil
1/2tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp urad dal
salt to taste
jageery(optional)
1tsp cilantro for garnish


Method:
Chapati-
Grind the spinach with a little water in a blender/food processor. Now mix that with the wheatflour, salt and oil and make a dough. Now roll each ball and roast it on the griddle for 2 mins on each side.

Palya/Subzi:
Cut the zucchini into cube shapes.Prepare the tempering with mustard seeds and ural dal. Now add the chopped zucchini and fry for 2-3 mins and then add salt and saute for a min more. Now add huli pudi/ curry powder, jaggery and coconut. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with chapati.


I am sending this post to 'Healing Foods Event'-Spinach, hosted by Divya.

Bisi Bele Bath (2 versions)

Bisi Bele Bath is a kannada term which means Hot lentil Rice. Its one of the tasty rice and everyone loves it.Its a rich and heavy food as it has a combination of both Rice and dal. My son loves this and he calls it BBBath. Its been a while since I made it at home as I am on a strict diet.

My New year resolution(lol) is to shed some weight and its been going on good and I am happy that I am able to keep up my first resolution for the year. So I am in hunt of just good, healthy food and under 400 calories.So obviously BBB is not under 400 calories or you can't stop with just few spoons. Then today suddenly i realized of experimenting it with cracked wheat which is one of my common food now a days. As we all know wheat is healthier than Rice and I wasn't disappointed. It was very tasty and I loved it. I have even tried doing Pulao, Pongal and kheer.All are yummy and tasty.Will post those recipe soon.

Ingredients:

Regular BBB
=========
1 cup Rice
1/2cup Toor Dal
1tbsp MTR BBB powder
1tsp Tamarind paste
1/2tsp jaggery
salt to taste
1cup vegetables(beans, carrot, peas,speckled beans, lima beans, potato)
1/2cup Onion and Bell peppers

For tempering:
1tsp Oil
1/2tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp urad dal
1tsp Peanut
3-4 curry leaves
pinch of hing

Method:

Cook the Toor dal in the pressure cooker. Now a deep frying pan heat 1/2tsp oil and saute onions and bell peppers till its soft(by frying these seperately it stays crispier and bell peppers give a nice taste in BBB) and keep aside. Now take the cooked dal in the same pan and boil it and add vegetables, masala powder, tamarind paste, salt and jaggery. Once it boils for 2-3 mins then add rice and keep adding boiling water(always add boiling water to BBB so u dont vary the temperature and the taste remains the same) to get to a consistency. Once the rice is cooked add onion and bell peppers and tempering and boil once and serve with Raita.

[Note: By adding the onion and bell pepper in the final keeps them crisp and dosent melt with so much of boiling. You can even add everything and pressure cook it, but cooking in an open vessel has a different taste.(This is my mom's tip)]
BBB with Cracked Wheat.
==================
(substitute rice with cracked wheat the rest remains the same)
Ingredients:
1/2cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup toor dal(even less will do)
The rest follow the above ingredients.

Method:

Roast the cracked wheat with a little oil in the pan till u get a nice aroma out of it. then add the dal, vegetables, masalas, tamarind, jaggery,salt , tempering and cook till the wheat is cooked and the consistency is reached.Serve hot with Raita and baked Chips.
[Note: 1/2 cup is quite a filling for 1 person.]

Heerekai Huli towe/ Chinese Okra Dal

"Heerekai Huli towe" is one of favourite towe's and my mom makes it perfect and tasty.Here I have tried to reach her level, but can never match Mom's cooking. For this the Heerekai/Chinese Okra should be fresh and tender, so it gives a nice taste. It can be substituted with any other vegetable, I even do it with Cabbage. Its a thick Dal, so it goes well with Chapati/ Rice. If eating with Rice add a spoon of peanut oil and it tastes yummy! but if you are dieting you can skip that, simple.

This post is to one of my Good, First and Family friend in USA. She always calls me and prepares this recipe when she wants to make it. On her demand I am putting this Recipe, Here you go Shilpa.

Ingredients:

1/2cup Toor Dal
1 big Heerekai/Chinese Okra
1tsp Tamarind paste
1tsp Rasam Powder
a little jaggery

For Tempering:
1tsp Oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
3-4 curry leaves
a pinch hing
Method:

Pressure cook the Dal for 3 whistles. Peel the Chinese okra and cut into cubes and cook in a boiling water for couple of minutes till its cooked.[It can be pressure cooked but it melts by the time the Dal is done]. With a little water add the cooked Dal, rasam powder, salt to taste, tamarind paste, jaggery and boil for few minutes and add the tempering and serve hot.

Minestrone soup

Minestrone soup is one of my families favorite soup.Its so delicious, healthy and filling on a chilly evening. Whenever we go to Olive Garden restaurant, this is a must order. I wanted to try this at home to make it more healthy and enjoy it whenever we need it.So i found a perfect recipe almost similar to the restaurant taste. Only thing I came to know was they add Red wine to the soup, which is bad news for a non-alcoholic person like me. But Red wine is very good for health and a similar drink is used in Ayurveda so I am kinda o.k with it once in a while. Since it requires lot of ingredients it needs a little preparation before hand. Its good for kids as its filled with vegetables and pasta.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup Zuchhini chopped
1/2 cup Italian Green beans (frozen)
1/4 cup Celery minced (about 1/2 stalk)
4 tsp Garlic minced(about 4 cloves)
4 cups Vegetable Broth
2 (15 ounce) cans/soaked Red Kidney beans
2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans, drained
1 can(14 ounce) diced tomato or fresh tomato diced
1/2 cup carrots shredded
2 tbsp Parsley fresh minced
1 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Dried thyme
3 cups Hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup Small Shell Pasta

Method:

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings. Finally add Parmesan cheese on top and serve with Garlic bread.

Note: Make a pot full so it last for a week, as it stays good in fridge .

Masala Dosa(Crepes)

Breakfast is said to be the most important part of the day as it makes your days routine.One of the most popular Breakfast in south Inida is Masala Dosa."Masala Dosa" mentioning this Breakfast/snack makes everybody crave to eat.

I read an article online about Masala Dosa and your Personality, which i loved and wanted to share it with you all, so here you go following with the recipe to make one.

Masala Dosa and Your Personality:

There are many ways to eat a masala dosa .What ever the way one eats; there is a very good reason for doing that. It shows some traits of the person...


Case 1: People who open the masala dosa and eat it: These are the people who are very open about their life. Everyone one the persons friends would know all about him/her. I have generally seen guys do this rather than girls. Some people think that it is a gross way of eating but in truth, these people are just portraying who they are and how their life is.

Case 2: People who start from both end and approach the masala later: These are the people who like to wait for the exiting things to come to their life. Sadly when the times comes, they are not too interested or just do not know how to enjoy it to the fullest. These are the folks who just want life as either dry or exiting. They just do not know how to phase their life and enjoy it no matter what. There are two types of people within this group

Case 2.1: People who do not finish all the masala:These folks just do not care as much for the fun times as they are already brought down by the harsh reality of life. The dry periods in their life has left them with so much scars that they do not want to be really happy when the time is right... They just take only as much as they needed and end their life. A very sorry state indeed.

Case 2.2: People who finish all the masala with the little dosa they have: These are the folks who just are the extremes. They just go all out in life. No matter it is dark or bright. They may not enjoy life to the fullest but they sure make sure that they get every single good and bad thing out of life. Sometimes these folks are really hard to get along with. They are either your best friends or your worst enemies. They do not have a middle path at all.

Case 3: People who start from the middle and proceed to both ends: These are the people who like to get right to what they think is their best part of life. Usually these guys finish of the good portions in a hurry and get stuck with nothing but worst parts of their life. The thing to note among these people is that the tendency to burn out very early in their life. Like the above case, there are two kinds of people in this group too.

Case 3.1: People who do not finish the dosa: These folks are really the saddest of people. They are the ones who tend to end their life as soon as it hits the bad patch. For them, they only need and want the best things in life and nothing more. Typically, they are not prepared or tuned to life as a whole. They just want to enjoy from first till last. Sadly, no one in the world can live without even an ounce of sadness in life. Not even the richest of the richest. But to self destruct at the mere sign of distress is very bad. That is what these guys tend to do. Some learn to live life but most of them do not.

Case 3.1: People who do finish the dosa: These folks are the typical human beings. We all enjoy the greatest of times in life and push the sad parts thinking about the great times in life. Typically the plate is clean and nothing is left for fate or in life. Happiness and sadness are part of life and these guys know that and are kind of prepared for it. Life is not always happy but there are moments of happiness here and there.

Case 4: People who eat the dosa making sure that the masala lasts for the whole dosa: These people are very rare. These are the people who like to attain balance in their life. It is hard to displease these people and it is hard to make them really happy. They like their balance and are very protective of it. Sadly these are the people who tend to be lonely as anyone else may upset the balance of their system. Perfectionist to the core and are very careful. These guys do not make the best company but are needed in any group to make the group from going hay wire.

Case 5: People who do not share and eat the dosa as if it is precious: These folks are very protective about their life. They do not want anyone to come and interfere in their life. They like to hide their true nature and intensions for their benefit. Beware of such people as they are in every group for their own need and nothing else.

Case 6: People who offer their first bite to others: These guys are overly friendly. They do anything to be part of a group and make everyone feel like the group is important than the individuals. They are the glue that holds any group together. They are very friendly and bring the best of all the others in the group. They go out of their way to help other friends. Most groups should have a person like this and they are the ones who plan the group outings and other group activities. Once this person is out of the group, typically the group slowly falls apart.

Case 7: People who take one or two bites and then offer the dosa to others: These guys care about friends and friendship but they take their time to get into the group. They take their time in making friends and they typically are very committed once into the friendship. These guys like to always be in the side lines and typically do not jump into anything in life. They always take their time to analyze the situation and then make a decision. These guys take the better safe than sorry approach.

Case 8: People who wait for others to make the offer first: Typical people I must say. They are unsure about everything. Even if they wanted to offer, they will wait till the other person offers the food first. If the other person is silent, so are these people. They are the followers. They do terrific idea, they will pitch it to someone else and get their advice before proceeding. Sadly, most of the elderly world like these types of people.

Case 9: People who offer dosa only when they cannot finish it on their own: You all may be familiar with these kinds of people. People who are very generous only when all their needs are fulfilled. These folks are selfish but at the same time not misers or greedy. They just want to satisfy themselves before they give it to the world. They typically do not stuff themselves nor do they tend to starve. They are very good people who would give you the best of advices in life. They would make sure that you are not sad following their advice.

Case 10: People who offer the whole dosa and eat from others plates: These folks are other extreme. They know what they want, they get what they want but they cannot enjoy what they want. Instead they tend to settle for other things in life which satisfies the needs but does not satisfy the person completely. These guys are termed as born losers cause even when they have the thing they wanted, they can't stop others from stealing it from them.

So next time you sit with a person eating a masala dosa, look closely and see if he/she falls into one of the above categories. You maybe surprised as how much it reveals about the person.

Enjoy eating Masala Dosa !!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Dosa Batter(soak 3:1 Rice and urad dal for 4-5 hrs and soak 1tsp of methi seeds seperately for few hrs and grind it well with lot of water and add with Rice and Urad dal and grind it to a fine batter and ferment it overnight)
salt to taste

Stuffing/Palya
1cup Boiled and mashed Potaotes
1Onion
2-3 Green chillies
4 curry leaves
1tsp Fresh coconut
1tbsp oil+to fry dosa
1tsp Mustard seeds
1tsp urad dal
1tsp channa dal
1tsp Turmeric powder
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Method:

First prepare Palya-take a pan and put a tbsp oil and make tempering by adding mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, turmeric powder,curry leaves and green chillies,onions & saute well.Now add boiled and mashed potaotes and salt to taste and mix with coconut and coriander leaves and keep aside.

Now on tava put 1 big spoon dosa batter and make dosa as thin as possible by adding 1 tsp oil.Once its nicely roasted put 1 scoop of Masala palya in the middle and fold it on both sides and serve with chutney and sambar.

[Note:Dont add salt to the batter before it ferments and add salt only to the batter u r using to make dosa's, the remaining you can store in the refrigerator and use it whenever u need so they dont get sour.
Palya can be made way in advance if required.]

Paneer-Kaju curry

Its been more than a month that i have made any post on my blog or visited my friends blog.The reason being I was busy with Parents. Its so wonderful being with them that I didn't get time to Blog. Now they are back in India I wanna get back to blogging. I am so happy to see so many new recipes and posts from all my friends.Will definitely try out some of yours.

Yesterday i tried a new curry i saw it on TV.I liked it as its rich and has very few ingredients, its called Paneer-Kaju curry.It tastes very good and nice for a party or a potluck.Kaju means Cashewnut in Hindi. Paneer is one of my favorite cheese, so I am always in for any vegetarian dish with Paneer in it.

Ingredients:
1cup Paneer cubed
10-12 Whole Cashewnuts
1 stick Cinnamon
3-4 Cloves
1tsp Jeera seeds
1tsp Coriander seeds
1tsp Kuskus
1tbsp fresh coconut
1tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2-3 Green chillies
1 small Onion chopped
Fresh coriander leaves
1tsp Sunflower seeds(optional)
1tsp Red chilli powder
1cup tomato puree
3tbsp Oil
salt to taste
1tsp sugar
1tbsp cream
Method:

First fry the cashewnut and paneer in oil seperately and keep aside.Now dry roast cloves, cinnamon, kuskus,jeera seeds , coriander seeds blend it with ginger garlic paste , coconut and green chillies and make a fine paste.Now take a pan and put some oil and fry onions to golden brown and add the paste and fry for few more mins. till the oil seperates then add tomato puree.Now add a tsp of red chilli powder and add 1 cup water and boil it to the desired consistency.Now add fried cashewnuts ,Paneer and mix well add salt and suagr.Finally add cream and simmer for a mintue more and serve hot with Roti/chappathi.

[Note: You can add capsicums or any other vegetable if you want.]

Carrot Rotti

Akki rotti is a popular breakfast dish in South India.Akki means Rice, but here we use Rice flour to make them.Usually its made with lots of onions but can be used any vegetable and it tastes wonderful. Akki rotti must be prepared with fresh grated coconut otherwise the rotti will become hard and doesn't taste as rich as it has to be. Some prefer gravy with it and some don't , its all individual preferences. In my In-law's house they serve with sambar but my Mom's house its eaten with a dollop of butter on top.I like both the ways.I have used carrot in the recipe so it tastes a little sweet, to make it spicy i have added more green chillies again its an optional.

Each person can eat 2 rotti at a time.When you want to prepare more rotti's you can use a Holige paper which you get in India or else alumium foil.Grease it well and pat it and turn it over on the tava and peel it off.It saves time.Another way to do is turn the tava backwards and run cold water on it so it cools the tava and grease the tava with a little oil and continue the same procedure.
Ingredients:

1 cup Rice flour
1/2cup Fresh grated Coconut
1tsp Cumin seeds
3-4 Green chillies
2 Carrots grated
Salt to taste
oil for frying(1-2tsp)
2tbsp Finely chopped coriander leaves



Method:

In a bowl mix all the ingredients except oil using 1/2 cup or less/more of water and make a soft dough.Put some oil on the tava and grease it well and take a ball of dough and pat/spread it evenly on tava and make few holes in the middle and add a spoon oil on the top and roast it on a medium high flame for about 3 minutes and turn it and taost it again.Serve hot with 1tsp of unsalted butter on top or with a cup of Mango puree(Rasayana).

[Note:Don't make the dough too hard nor too soft it will be hard to spread on the tava and it doesn't bake well too.If you dont want to use so much of oil u can dip u hands in the water while patting the rotti on tava and avoid the oil.]

Veggie Quesadilla (with leftover Tortilla/Chapati)

"Quesadilla" is a Mexican snack, which means 'little cheesy thing' in Spanish.Its a very simple and easy recipe and best part is you can do it when u have some leftover Tortilla's/Chapatis. Its a kid friendly food as it is stuffed with cheese and veggies.

Ingredients:
[To make 4 quesadilla's]
2 Tortilla's/Chapatis
2tsp Salsa
1/4cup Onions finely chopped
1/4cup Bell Peppers finely chopped
1/4cup Tomatoes finely chopped
1/2cup Shredded Cheese(i used Mozzarella)

Method:
Heat the grill/frying pan on medium heat,put one tortilla/Chapathi and spread 2tsps of salsa over it and add the toppings one by one,Onions, bell peppers and tomatoes.Now add Cheese and cover it with another tortilla on the top and press a little and allow it to bake for about 4 minutes till in gets crispy.Now slowly turn the quesadilla with a wide spatula and bake for another 4 minutes.Take it off the grill and keep it on a cutting board and cut it into 4 parts.Quesadilla's are ready, Serve them hot.

[Note:Bake quesadilla's till they are crispy dont burn them.Any kind of cheese and vegetables can be added.]