Dill-Dal Stir fry/Sabsige Soppu Palya and Rasam

It is always confusing for me what to cook for lunch and dinner daily because of the limited variety of vegetables and greens available here.Dill leaves is one of the greens which are abundantly available here but I rarely cook them at home.My mom makes excellent stir fry with the dal and greens mixture which is surprisingly very dry and complements well with both rice and roti.I like to eat this stir-fry especially with roti as it complements very well with it.Even the rasam which is made up of this mixture is very simple and flavorful and the meal with both the stir fry and rasam is simply yummy.If you like the flavor of dill leaves you will definitely like this combo,give it a try to believe my words.

Ingredients:
1 bunch Dill leaves
1 cup toor dal
1 big onion,chopped
1 tsp green chilli paste
1 tbsp thick tamarind pulp
1 tsp sambar powder
1/2 tsp grated jaggery/sugar
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
salt to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook dal and dill leaves for 1 whistle.Do not cook more otherwise the dal becomes mushy.You can even cook this on stove top until the dal is cooked slightly.
• Strain the water from the above dal-dill mixture and squeeze out the extra water from it.Save the water which is strained and sueezed fom this mixture for making rasam.
  
• Heat oil in a kadai crackle mustard seeds and add urad and chana dal and fry until golden in color.
• Add finely sliced onions and green chilli paste and fry until they are light brown in color.
• Add the squeezed dill leaves-dal mixture to it and fry for a minute.
• Add tamarind paste,jaggery,sambar powder,salt and fry until the mixture is dry and all the masala's are well blended.

Serve it hot with rice/chapathi/roti.

Note:
Adjust tamarind,jaggery and spicyness according to your taste.



Dill flavored Dal Rasam :

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of water strained from dill-dal mixture(cooked above)
1/4 cup cooked toor dal(optional)
2-3 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp jaggery
1 1/2 tsp rasam powder/sambar powder
salt to taste

for Tadka:
1 tsp oil/ghee
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a sprig of curry leaves
a pinch of hing

Method:

• Heat the water along with the cooked dal and add tamarind pulp,salt, jaggery,rasam/sambar powder to it and boil properly.
• In a small tadka pan heat oil/ghee and crackle mustard seeds and add curry leaves,hing to it and add the tadka to the boiled rasam and cover it with lid.

Serve it hot with rice and papad.

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Raw Mango Dal...completely Andhra Style(mamidikaya pappu)

Raw mango dal is one of the few delicious and easy dals which are prepared in Andhra.This dal has a very typical flavor because of the natural sourness of the mango and is complemented well when mixed with hot white rice with lots of ghee and some fry.Here goes the recipe of this simple and yummy dal.

Ingredients:

1 sour Raw mango,peeled and chopped into small thin slices
1/2 cup Toor dal
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste

for Tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera
a pinch of hing
5-6 garlic pods,slightly crushed
2 red chillies
8-10 curry leaves
1 tsp ghee/oil

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal mixed with turmeric and mango slices in different containers until the dal and mango pieces are soft.
• Add the cooked mango pieces to the dal and mash it properly.Add some water to the mixture and let the mixture come to a boil on stove.
• Add red chilli powder and salt to it and mix well.
• Mean while in a small tadka pan heat ghee/oil and crackle mustard and jeera and then add smashed garlic pods,hing and fry until they are light brown in color.Add broken red chillies and curry leaves and give a stir.
• Add the tadka to the dal and mix well and cover the pan wid the lid.

Serve it hot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee(must) wid some fried papad/fritters.

Notes:

• Always cook dal and mango pieces separately,otherwise dal will not be cooked properly.
• Add lots of garlic to the tadka,it will give very nice flavor to the dal.
• If you dont have fresh mangoes,you can even add dried mango pieces to prepare this dal.
• For a Vegan version use only oil instead of ghee in tempering.
  

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

First of all I would like to apologize for my sudden disappearance and I know its been a very long time that I posted a recipe.These last three months were hectic to us as we were in the process of shifting and was also busy with my parents and inlaws who visited us during the shifting process.Now I got settled down at my new place and I am back to my normal life style and I can promise you guys that I will be active in blogging from now.

In Mumbai the rainy season has started and its pouring like anything from the last few days.Sipping into a hot cup of coffee or a bowl of soup or savoring hot hot pakoda's are few cravings for us to enjoy in this rainy season.Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetable as it gives a wonderful taste in what ever form it is transformed.The richness of this soup is even doubled by adding cauliflower even though no cream is added to the soup.This is again one of the no fail recipes which I tried from her soup's book.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Cauliflower
1 big onion,sliced
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1" Ginger
1 Green Chilli
1 tbsp wheat flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp pepper powder
salt to taste

Method:

• Heat butter in a pressure pan and fry sliced onions for 2-3 mins in reduced flame.
• Add cauliflower florets and continue stirring for few more mins.
• Sprinkle wheat flour and fry for another one minute.
• Pour a cup of milk and half cup of water to it.
• Add ginger and whole green chili to that and pressure cook for 1 whistle in reduced flame.
• Cool down completely and discard ginger and green chilli pieces and grind the rest into a very smooth paste and pass the same through a sieve.
• Dilute with half a cup of milk and water .
• Add enough salt,sugar and let it come to a boil in reduced flame.
• Sprinkle pepper before serving.

Note:

• You can serve it hot with grated cheese on top.
• Discard the ginger piece,otherwise it will create a strong flavor of ginger for the soup.

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Eggless Chocolate Banana Bread..a low fat version!!!!!

Hi folks!!!
I am sorry for my sudden disappearance from blogging and not posting regularly and not even doing blog hopping,the reason behind this was just a bit of laziness added after my inlaws visit to our place and then I got stuck with a couple of tasks.
I will try to visit your places soon and will also go through all the yummy posts which I missed.

And coming to today's recipe,I have tried this bread long back almost four months back from priya's blog,and yes you guessed right even these pictures are four months old.The reason behind why I liked that recipe is its low fat version and also a very healthier option as half the portion of refined flour is replaced by whole wheat flour.The recipe was so simple and I absolutely loved this low fat chocolaty and nutty banana bread.


Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup Wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup Sugar
3 tbsp oil (I used saffola brand )
2 big ripen Bananas
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup Almonds
2 tbsp chocolate chips
1 cup water


Method:

• Grease a Loaf pan( 9 x 5 x 3) with butter and dust it with flour evenly or place a butter paper in the pan.
• Preheat the Oven to 180 deg for 10 mins.
• Sieve all purpose flour,wheat flour,cocoa powder,baking soda,baking powder all together for 3-4 times until you get a uniform mix of all flours.
  
• Grind the almonds to a coarse powder.
• Mash the ripen banana's into a smooth mixture and add sugar to it and mix well until it melts.You can even grind the sugar to a fine powder and add that to the above mixed dry ingredients.
• Add oil,water,apple cider vinegar,vanilla essence to the banana mixture and mix well until everything is well incorporated.Use a hand whisker to make this job easier.
• Add few spoons of dry ingredient mixture and almond powder and fold into the banana mixture carefully.Repeat the process and by using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula mix until the batter is thick and chunky.(Do not over do the process of mixing as that yields in a rubbery bread).
• Add the chocolate chips which are tossed in 1/2 tsp flour to the above mixture and gently fold into the bread mixture.
• Gently scrape the batter into the greased loaf pan and place it in the oven and bake at 180 deg for 45-50 mins or bake until the crust is brown and tooth pick should come out clean when inserted.
• Cool it on the wire rack and slice it and serve.

Note:

1. You can even add walnuts along with the chocolate chips.
   
2. You can even add other dry fruits like raisins,pecans,etc to the batter.
   

Serving Suggestions:

1. Toast the banana bread slice and serve it warm with tea.
2. Apply peanut butter to the toasted slice of banana bread and serve.
3. Serve it slightly warm(by keeping it in microwave for few seconds) with vanilla ice cream.
4. Serve it at the room temperature.

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Strawberry Frozen Yogurt(Froyo)....a must do seasonal dessert!!

Strawberries are one of my favorite seasonal fruits which I enjoy eating boxes and boxes of strawberries in this season.I always think of preparing something with strawberries but always end up eating them just like that before they get turned to any other form.So, this time I bought two boxes so that I will definitely use them in making this yummy dessert which I wanted to try from a long time when I saw it here and here .This is a very yummy and easy dessert which does not require any cream and is a very ideal dessert for calorie conscious people.

Ingredients:
1 pound(240 gms) fresh strawberries
2/3 cup(130gms) Sugar
1 cup(240gms) curd/yogurt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

• Tie the yogurt in a muslin cloth overnight(atleast 2-3 hrs) and keep it in the refrigerator to get thick creamy and cheesy yogurt.
• Roughly chop strawberries and toss them in sugar and keep it aside for 1/2 hr until the sugar dissolves completely and make the strawberries look still red.Toss in between a couple of times.
• Blend the strawberry mixture and strain it in a strainer.I did not strain as I wanted to enjoy the fruit completely.So,this step of straining is optional to you if you do not like seeds in the dessert.
• Add lemon juice and hung curd to it and blend again to a smooth mixture.Check the sweetness at this point and add extra sugar if needed according to your taste.
• Pour the mixture in the ice cream maker and let it run in the freezer until you get thick,creamy and luscious frozen yogurt.The time taken by the ice cream maker depends completely on the brand of the maker but it helps in getting ice free frozen yogurt/ice cream.(If you do not have the ice cream maker,you freeze the strawberry mixture in a plastic box and blend it after it hardens,repeat the process 4 to 5 times until you get ice-free frozen desset.)
  
• Remove it from the ice cream maker and store it in a plastic box in the freezer.

Sprinkle some pistachios/ mint leaves on top of the frozen strawberry yogurt scoops and serve it cold.

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Vegetable Toast...Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style...!!!!

I got introduced to this toast only in Bangalore bakeries,especially in Iyengar bakeries which are located widely in the city.Iyengar bakeries are famous for their signature items like vegetable toasts,aloo buns,khara bun,khara bread,benne biscuits,khara biscuits,plain sponge loaf cake,fruit cake,vegetable puff's etc..etc.My visit to Bangalore will not be complete without having these bakery stuff from Iyengar bakeries.This toast is very simple and filling and is a perfect snack to have with tea in the evening or a couple of slices to have as morning breakfast and is also ideal for kid's lunch box.You can even cut those slices into long strips and serve in parties as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
8-10 Whole wheat/White bread slices
1 medium carrot,grated
1 medium onion,finely chopped
1 small capsicum,finely chopped
1 medium ripen tomato,finely chopped
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander
2 green chillies,finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp chat masala(optional)
1/4 tsp jeera
a pinch of sugar
2 tsp tomato sauce
salt to taste
2 tsp oil
1 tbsp butter

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and crackle jeera and then add finely chopped onions and green chillies and fry until they are translucent.
• Add chopped tomato and capsicum and fry them for 2 mins until they are slightly done(no need to make tomatoes mushy).
• Add grated carrots,red chili powder,chat masala,a pinch of sugar,salt and mix well and cook for a minute.
• Add chopped coriander and tomato ketchup and mix well.and remove from stove and keep it aside.
• Heat a thick non stick tawa and toast bread on one side then apply this mixture on that toasted side properly and level it with a spoon and apply butter to the tawa and toast the other side until red and crisp.

Serve it hot with tomato sauce.You can even cut it into half diagonally and serve.

Note:

• You can even cover with another slice and grill it and have like normal sandwich.
• You can even add colored peppers and grated paneer to the above vegetable mixture for yummy toast.
• Avoid butter in the recipe for a Vegan version
  

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Mixed Vegetable Kurma

Its been a long time I posted any recipe,Though I was on a blogging break for sometime it did not restrict me to do little blog hopping to some of my favorite blogs and enjoying reading their recipes.I should say Blogging is a kind of addiction for me.I still need sometime to drop in comments at your spaces,so gals please bear with me till then.
And coming to today's recipe,Mixed vegetable kurma is a multi purpose curry which goes well either with poori, chapathy, parotta or any pulao variety.This vegetable kurma tastes best when the vegetables are crunchy and not over cooked and is well balanced with mild flavors from spices and fresh coconut.I made low calorie flaky whole wheat parotta's to enjoy with this kurma which is even ideal for lunch box.

Ingredients:
1 Carrot,peeled and cubed
1 large Potato,peeled and cubed
10-12 French beans,cut into 1/2" pieces
8-10 small cauliflower florets
1 small capsicum,seeded and cubed
1/4 cup fresh/frozen peas
2 tsp fresh/frozen corn(optional)
1 big Onion,sliced
1 tomato,chopped
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp jaggery(optional)
a sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp jeera
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

To roast:
4 cloves
1" cinnamon
2-3 elaichi
1 black cardamom
1 tsp jeera
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
3-4 red chillies

To grind:
1/3 cup grated fresh coconut
2 tsp khus khus
roasted masala's
Method:

• Dry roast the masala's given under 'To roast' section until the aroma starts and cool it.
• Grind the roasted masala ingredients along with grated fresh coconut and khus khus to a very fine paste.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and crackle cumin seeds.Add curry leaves,ginger-garlic paste and fry well.
• Add sliced onions and fry until translucent and add chopped tomato and fry until it becomes mushy.
• Add all the chopped vegetables and peas and fry well until they are well coated with oil and become tender.
• Add the ground masala paste and fry well until the raw smell disappears and the oil leaves from the edges.
• Add salt to the mixture and 1 and 1/2 cups of water and close it with a lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
• After it cools open the lid add tamarind pulp and jaggery and let it boil for some time.
• Add chopped coriander to it at the end and mix well.

Serve it hot with Poori/Parotta's/Fried rice/Ghee rice/Chapathy's.

Variation:Avoid tamarind pulp and jaggery adding at the end to the gravy,instead add 1/2 cup of beaten curd to it at the end and boil it for few minutes.This definitely gives a different flavor to the curry.


I am sending this Parotta - Mixed vegetable curry combo to Pari's 'The Combo' event.

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My Blog baby turns ONE Today...!!!

Image source:google

Time flies away so fast ,I never realized that my blog baby will turn one year old so soon!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY my BLOG baby!!!

I am thankful to all my blogger friends,followers and regular readers of my blog for their constant support and encouragement with their lovely words.Blogging has not only become my passion now but also gave me so many good friends who are in touch regularly.My one year of blogging made me to learn lots of tips and new recipes from our wonderful blogger friends and also had widened my exposure to different cuisines around the world.I got to meet even some blogger friends in Bangalore which was really a wonderful experience.

I know I am not regular in visiting your spaces these days as I am little busy with my In-laws who visited us for two weeks.I am missing all your wonderful recipes and I will be back soon with a new recipe,till then happy blogging!!

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Oats Uthappam | Instant Dosa Recipes | Indian Oats Recipes

Dosa is always a hot favorite breakfast item for all South Indian's,especially in our family everyone likes all different varieties of dosa's.My week days breakfast menu consists of sandwiches,cornflakes and porridges and all the South Indian breakfast items will be prepared only on week ends Rice being the main ingredient of any dosa is not prefered by many people because of its high calories,for such kind of people I am posting this instant,easy and healthy version of dosa which is made up of only oats.
This Oats oothappam is quite different from the other oats dosa as this does not require any other flour's other than oats which makes it more healthier.These oothappam's are very porous and tastier,all I can say is this version of Oats Oothappam/dosa is the best thing I have tasted so far with oats which are quite boring otherwise to include in other porridge's.I have adapted this version from a cookery show and modified it to make it more tastier and perfect after several attempts.All the dosa's I have posted in this blog were always a hit among our blogger friends,So friends believe me and try my version of healthy and tasty oats oothappam I am sure even you guys will love it.

Ingredients:
1 cup quick cooking Oats(thinner ones)
1 tbsp chiroti rawa/fine semolina
1 cup slightly soar curds
1 tsp Eno fruit salt (or 1 Eno sachet)
salt to taste
oil

for Toppings:
1 Big onion,finely chopped
1 medium capsicum,finely chopped
1 carrot grated
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander


Method:

• Grind Oats into a fine powder,add curds to it and grind again to a fine paste adding some water if required.
• Add sooji(rava) and salt to the mixture and mix well.The consistency of this batter will be very thick,so add water to it and mix well with hand until you get dosa consistency kind of batter.
• Just before making oothappam's, add eno fruit salt to the batter adding little water if required and mix the batter properly.You will see lots of bubbles forming in the batter and even the batter becomes light like normal dosa batter.
• Mix well finely chopped onions,grated carrot,finely chopped capsicum and chopped coriander in a bowl and keep it aside.
• Smear oil on a hot tawa(Iron cast/Non-stick)and pour a ladle of batter and spread slightly like how we do for oothappam's(thicker than normal dosa's).Pour oil all over and around the corners of the dosa.
• Quick sprinkle the onion mixture all over the oothappam and cover it with a lid and let it roast over medium high flame until the edges are golden brown in color.
  
• Slightly press the onion mixture all over the oothappam with a spatula and pour some oil over it and turn to the other side and roast on the other side.
• The batter turns very thick quickly,so keep checking the consistency and add water if required in order to get nice and crispy oothappam's.
• Remove the oothappam from the tawa and serve directly on to the plate.

Serve the uthappam piping hot with coconut chutney/peanut chutney or chutney of your choice.

Note:

• The toppings are basically your choice,you can even add finely chopped tomatoes or colored bell peppers or finely chopped mushrooms.
  
• In order to make the oothappam's bit more chatpata sprinkle some Idli/Dosa podi (kaarappodi/Milagai podi) all over along with the other chopped vegetables.
• I added a table spoon of chiroti rawa to make the oothappam's crispier,it is optional to use it.

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Green Peas Usli.....North Karnataka style

Hope Everyone had celebrated this Valentine's day in a wonderful way....Love is in the air and so in the blogs too,all the blogs were so so colorful with those lovely special dishes and themes for the valentines day..

Usli is one of those traditional dishes of Karnataka people and is prepared in different ways among different parts of Karnataka.It is also our family favorite and is a perfect delight for spicy and garlic lovers.Actually Usli is made up of tender avarekallu(hyacinth beans) which is available only in season and is also a great curry for avarekallu lovers.Though the Usli made up of fresh and tender avarekallu and tastes the best ,but those beans are available only in season,so we do the usli with fresh green peas which are easily available through out the year in India.In our house Usli is prepared in slightly a different way which I will try posting even that version soon.The version I am posting today is done in the way of northern parts of karnataka which is equally yummy and perfect with chapathy's.Try it out at your place to enjoy our family favorite curry.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh shelled Green Peas /fresh and tender avarekallu(hyacinth/mochai beans)
2 large onions,chopped
3/4 cup grated fresh coconut
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
7-8 green chillies,slit
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 lemon,squeezed
2 sprigs of curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp fresh white butter
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

To grind:
2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/4 tsp methi/fenugreek seeds

Method:

• Slightly roast jeera and methi seeds until warm,cool it and grind it to a powder.
• Heat butter and oil in a pressure cooker and crackle mustard seeds and add green chillies and fry until they change their color.
• Add curry leaves,ginger and garlic paste and fry well.
• Add chopped onions and fry until they turn translucent.Now add fresh green peas to it and fry well.
• Add ground jeera-methi powder,grated fresh coconut,salt,chopped fresh coriander and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add 2 spoons of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle.After you open the cooker add freshly squeezed lemon juice to it.

Serve it hot with hot chapathy's/Roti's.

Note:

1. Usli tastes best with fresh and tender avarekallu.So do not miss trying this in avarekallu season.Just replace fresh green peas with those tender avarekallu and follow the same procedure.
2. Usli can also be prepared with the soaked whole green moong/green moong sprouts following the same procedure and is much more a healthier option.
3. Use only fresh green peas instead of frozen one's to enjoy the fresh and tasty Usli.
4. Use fresh white butter in making this curry to get the authentic taste of Usli.Use 2 tbsp fresh butter if you are not calorie conscious,otherwise replace half the quantity with oil.
5. Avoid butter in the recipe for a Vegan version.

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