Matar paneer

Ingredients-
1 cup green peas
200 gems paneer
( put them together in a medium boil with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. This process ensures peas are evenly cooked and paneer remains soft and does not taste like chewing gum!)
1 onion thinly sliced
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp zeera
2 tomatoes sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam Masala
Water
Oil to cook, salt to taste
Method-
Heat oil in a wok. Add zeera and let splutter. Add onions and let them brown well. Now add tomatoes. Cook till the raw smell is gone. Add peas and paneer. You will get a lovely color now
Add the dry masalas , salt and ginger garlic paste and cook, stirring in breaks. After a while, add water to make gravy. Cook a bit more till the gravy mas alas are absorbed by the paneer. Serve hot with pulav or pooris!

Honey sweetened home-made chocolate

Ingredients
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter / amul lite
3.5 tbsp cocoa

Method-
Whisk the honey and melted butter together. Add the cocoa. Whisk. You will have something of the consistency of frosting. Stop and taste heaven! Set in mould or eat spoonfuls from jar like me!

Gangnam Style!

It was on one of the weekends that Yashi caught me watching some music videos on Youtube. I had been watching Psy's song "Gangnam Style" and I noticed Yashi watching it too, with her eyes wide open. I was about to switch to Rafi's songs when Yashi said “Satyle”! No wonder Gangnam style is the biggest viral sensation of 2012!

When I had the time to, I did some reading on Psy and his song. Some trivia -

• Psy is Park Jae-sang. Psy is short form or reference to the word “psycho."

• What is Gangnam Style?

Gangnam, a district in South Korea with a bizarre concentration of the country’s wealth. It's generally agreed that Psy's most famous song is a not-so-subtle jab at Gangnam's excesses.

"People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are – it's only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are ‘Gangnam Style' – so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they're not," Psy said.

• Oppan Gangnam Style is the most liked Youtube video since being posted in July 2012. On September 20, Gangnam Style was recognised by Guinness Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history.

• Rapper Psy has become the first South Korean musician to make it to number one in the UK with his single Gangnam Style.

• Celebrities have caught on too. From Nelly Furtado to Britney Spears to our very own Amitabh Bacchan have got down to the Gangnam Style riding the invisible horse!

What about you? Check out the video today, you won't be disappointed! The music is catchy and you can't watch the video once. The next time that you're watching it, you will find yourself doing the dance trot! Oppan Gangnam Style :-)

Resources-

Put together from several sites on the internet

Phirni

Ingredients
2 tablespoons rice powder, roasted till color turns slightly brown
1 cup leftover rice - optional
3/4 litre milk
Raisins/nuts as needed
Sugar as needed
Recipe
Bring milk to a boil
Add some water to rice powder and make a paste. You can mix the rice powder directly but that may give you lumps so best to avoid it.
Add the paste to the boiling milk and simmer. Keep stirring else phirni may stick to bottom of the vessel. When it has reached a desired consistency switch off flame, it will thicken further on cooling, add sugar and raisins and nuts. Mix well. Serve chilled or serve warm for quick comfort!

Kadala Curry

Tried Kadala curry from a blog-
http://palakkadcooking.blogspot.in/2012/07/kadala-curry.html

Though I have a puttu maker, my puttu always turns out dry. I am still figuring out how to perfect it.. I served Kadala curry with idlis.

Cornbread in the cast iron wok

I tried this recipe sometime back
Skillet cornbread

I added diced onions and capsicum and fresh corn to the batter. The cornbread was totally yum!

Batter

Tried and Tasted !

Tried the following recipes from Sin-A- Mon and loved them totally!

Bread Kofta Biryani
Check recipe here

Couldn't click any pics before we tasted it right from the dish!

Savory Semolina Cake
Check recipe here

Nutella mug cakes
Check recipe here

Dahi wala Bread upma
Check recipe here

Sorry for bad pics. Used my phone for all of them.

Apple pie with bread bread crust and crumb topping

I was short of time and flour :) And I found this awesome recipe which uses bread as crust. I have made these twice already and sent over to a friend also, and her family loved it as much as we did!

I made these with whole wheat bread from the local bakery and I sued apples and pears for filling. I didn't cut those bread rounds, I just cut them in halves and used all of it to line my baking dish. Sorry for the half eaten pic :) We just couldn't stop!!

Raagi and rice balls

Left over rice was used to make raagi balls for dinner. I loved them, Niket didn't.  Served it with Black chana stew and ghee.
Recipe from here.

My Raagi balls were not perfect balls, for some reason, even after cooking for a long time, I couldn't give them the round shapes :) But they tasted great!

Eggs in green curry

Green Egg Curry has a peculiar flavor of fresh coriander, coconut and saunf. You will love it!

Ingredients:
4 eggs; hard boiled, peeled and cut slightly
1 large onion; very finely chopped,
1 tomato
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt as per taste,
2-3 tbsp Oil to cook
1 tsp tempering (I used panch phoran)
water for the gravy

Grind together-
1 tbsp fresh coconut
handful of green coriander
1/2 tbsp saunf
1 green chilli

Method:
Heat oil in a kadhai and tempering, add chopped onion. Sauté on low-medium flame until it changes it color to pinkish brown. Add tomato and cook with salt and the dry powders till the tomatoes are mushy and cooked well. Add the ground paste and cook till the gravy starts leaving oil from the sides of the kadhai. Then add water and bring to boil. Add salt if required. Drop eggs into the gravy, cover and cook for few minutes. Serve hot.

Leftover dal cutlets

Bread and leftover dal made these awesome cutlets.
Used recipe from Dee's kitchen

Dark chocolate fudge cake

And here's another one from Nags' blog :)
I didn't bake them as doughnuts, I just baked them as cake.
Very moist and fudgy :)

No-bake mango cheesecake

I used the recipe exactly from Nags' blog
It was a big hit at home and at work!

Walnut Brownies

Last evening, I roasted walnuts and the aroma filled my kitchen. I immediately thought of baking brownies, but it was late and I put it off till Sunday. I have been off baking, and hence off blogging for quite a while. Work gained priority. Though I have been cooking and experimenting, I haven't been blogging. Sunday looked like a good day to come back to my blog- after baking!

Yes I finally baked the walnut brownies, and I used Bournvita instead of cocoa powder. The result is a sweeter buy nonetheless yummier version. 

Check this click-

My recipe-

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup bournvita / any chocolate drink should be OK if you don't have cocoa
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Melt the butter in a mixing bowl, stir in bournvita, sugar, salt, flour. Mix in egg and walnuts. Spread the dough evenly into the baking pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Microwave Banana cake

I read about Saffron Trail in Timeout or FB, and the day I checked it out, I marked several recipes to try, one of them being the microwave cake.

The good thing was it is an easy cake to make, and healthy and helped me use up my overripe bananas.

Samosa chaat

Fried samosas with chhole for samosa chaat
Samosa recipe here. I fried them this time.

Chhole recipe here I used the matar variety which is usually used in chaats.

Mint chutney recipe is from Nags' blog

Candied orange peel

Dried orange peel toasted and then coated with a bit of sugar makes a good mouth freshener.

Steps-
Cut the peel in strips, remove pith, dry the orange peel in the sun.
Toast them in a non stick pan.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and toast a bit more.
Let cool, store in airtight container.

Vitamin C powerhouse and makes your mouth smell good too :)
Try making a similar one with ginger.

Ras puas

It is Holi and we are in Bangalore, missing the usual festivity in Bihar. No better way to compensate and celebrate with delish food :)

Also put the paniyarams pan to good use.

The batter for ras pua is similar to malpua. Check recipe here I used whole wheat instead of maida.

No guilt in enjoying these light and sweet raspuas!!

Paniyarams

I started making my own dosa - idli batters. And I got myself a Paniyarams pan. I have tried a lot of things in the pan- dahi vadas, ras puas and ofcourse savory paniyarams!

They are quick and easy to make for dinner or snacks and Yashi loves them too. Serve with coconut chutney for a wholesome dinner.

Recipe from here.

Dum aloo

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes - one whole pack- abt 400-500 gms
Oil : 2 tbsp
Onion : 1 (Medium)
Tomato : 1
Ginger - Garlic paste : 1 tbsp
Yogurt : 1 cup
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
salt : required to taste
water - 1 cup

For Masala :
cinnamon : 1 “
Black Pepper : 6
Cardamom : 3
Cloves : 3
Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds : 1/4 tsp


Method of Preparation :
Peel the potatoes and cut in to two halves and prick them.
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a large pan and just shallow fry the potatoes till it becomes light golden brown color and keep them aside.
Now grind all the masala ingredients into a coarse powder and keep them aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a pressure cooker add bay leaves, onions, and fry till it is golden.
Add ginger and garlic paste mix it well and fry till the raw smell goes off.
Now add the ground masala  and fry for a bit.
Now add turmeric powder and salt mix it all together and fry for 3 minutes.
Add tomatoes and potatoes and cook.
Now pour water to make gravy, let it come to a boil, simmer for a couple of minutes or pressure cook for one whistle.
Add beaten yoghurt after the pressure comes off, let it come to a boil and switch off flame.
Garnish if you have patience, serve hot with Pooris!!

PS- I used a handful of crushed kasoori methi for added flavor.

sesame brittle / til ki chikki

Ingredients

200 gm til (white sesame seeds)
500 gm jaggery
1 cup water
1 greased dish to set the chikki

Directions-
Dissolve the jaggery in water. Let it come to a boil.
In the meanwhile, roast the til in a kadai.
Check the syrup now. Let the syrup thicken so that when a drop of it is dropped in a bowl of cold water, it forms a lump.
To this syrup, add til and stir well. Cook for a minute and remove from heat.
Pour in the prepared dish to set. Let it cool. Once it cools down, cut into desired shapes. Let it cool further so that it hardens.
This is a Makar Sankranti recipe :)

This is going to-
Kiran's CWF- Sesame seeds

Amla Jam

Ingredients-
Amlas - 10
Clean, wash and pressure cook for one whistle with 1/4 cup water. Keep aside
Jaggery - 3 tbsps
1" stick cinnamon, 3 cloves, 1 cardamom

Directions-

Once the amlas have cooled down, deseed them and mash them roughly with a potato masher. Meantime, get about 1/4 cup water to boil and add the jaggery and amlas to it along with the spices you are using. Simmer and keep stirring the mixture till it turns thick. Let it cool. The mixture thickens further and becomes sticky on cooling.  Store in fridge, it stays for upto a week.

Pudina rice with avrekai / hyacinth beans

Ingredients-
1 tbsp oil / ghee to cook
1 tsp panch phoran
1 cup plain rice - cooked
2 tbsps pudina / mint- chopped
1/2 cup avrekai / hyacinth beans ( shelled, cleaned, soaked overnight and then peeled)
1 onion, 1 tomato chopped
salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric

Directions-
Heat oil and add panch phoran, wait till they splutter.
Fry the chopped onions till golden. Add avrekai and tomatoes and cook till raw smell of tomatoes disappears. Add turmeric and salt and cook for a minute. Add chopped mint and cook for another minute. Add plain rice and mix well. You can also use paste, another recipe for pudina pulav is given here!

This is going to Flavors of Tamil Nadu. Avrekai is found abundantly in Karnataka and TN. 

Matar kebabs

Ingredients-

1 cup peas shelled and boiled
1 raw banana
2 medium sized potatoes
1 onion chopped
Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsps
2 green chillies
salt to taste
Oil or ghee to shallow fry
Optional - Besan 2 tbsps

Directions-
Pressure cook the bananas and potatoes. They should not get very mushy so be careful. Let cool, peel and mash together with peas. Follow the same steps as given here. 

This is going to -

MLLA 43 of Susan from The Well-seasoned cook hosted by Claire at Chez Cayenne

It is also going to HLI- Peas started by Kalyani hosted at Veena's blog

Chicken Biryani Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe tweaked

Ingredients-

Chicken 500 grams - cut into small pieces
Rice 1cup
Oil and to deep fry - 2 tbsps
Cinnamon 1 inch stick
Bay leaves 2
Cloves - 4
Cumin seeds  1 tsp
Cardamom- 2
2 Onions chopped

2 tomatoes chopped
Green chillies to taste
Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsps
1/2 cup curd mixed with 1/2 cup water

Directions-
Clean chicken and keep aside.
Boil rice and keep aside too. Rice should be three-fourths done. 

In a pan, heat oil, add cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, cumin seeds, cardamoms and fry. Add onions, green chilles and saute. After a minute, add the chicken pieces. Add tomatoes. Add salt, dry spices, ginger-garlic paste, curd mix and add the boiled rice on top. Mix well.
Keep the flame on lowest and cook on low heat for about ten minutes. Turn off flame, check for done-ness. Let it rest for about 10 mins or so before serving.

Linking this to Kaarasaaram's Royal Feast - Biryani 

and also entering the giveaway announced!!

Cucumber Sambar

Ingredients-
4 tbsps dal / Toor dal
1 tsp Turmeric
salt to taste
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
Tomato -1 chopped
Tamarind- Small lemon size
Onion-1 chopped
pepper - 1 tsp
sambar powder- 1 tsp
1 chopped cucumber, 1 carrot

For tadka-
Oil - 1 tsp

Jeera- 1tsp
Mustard seeds -1tsp
Curry leaves- 5-6 (I didn't have them!)
Hing- pinch

Method-
Pressure cook dal with salt and turmeric.
In the meantime, prepare the veggies- cut the cucumer, carrot and onion. Add veggies,  ginger garlic paste, tomato to the dal. Pressure cook this again.
Make the tamarind pulp.
Tip- to make the pulp quickly, microwave it for a minute in a bowl of water. Let it cool and squeeze the pulp.
When the pressure is off, take the lid, add the tamarind to dal and let the sambar boil for few more minutes. Turn off flame.

Now it's time for tadka. In a tadka pan, heat oil, add the ingredients for tadka and add it to sambar.

This is going to my event- Veggie / fruit of the month- Cucumber. 

Cardamom and lemongrass tea

Masala Chai
Ingredients-
1/2 cup milk

2 cups of water
2 whole cardamom pods

2 tsps lemongrass
Optional-1tsp crushed fresh ginger
3 tsps black tea

Directions-
Lightly crush the cardamom. Boil the milk and water together. Add tea, cardamom, ginger , lemongrass and sugar in the pot. Add the boiled contents to the pot. Allow to steep to desired strength.

Strain in cups and serve.

This is going to sizzle your food and health with spices- Cardamom at Anu's Kitchen-