Back from a wonderful trip to India a week ago. We are still settling in. We managed to have as much fun we could have in the three weeks time. This trip was all about my little one spending time with the family. He sure was pampered to the core by grandparents from both sides of the family and I am glad he experienced it.
I was not in a mood to cook anything fancy last week. This is when drafts come in handy and I am using one of my recipes from draft.
Ingredients:
- Chicken - 1 lb
- Onion - 1 big chopped finely
- Tomato - 1 small chopped finely
- Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Curry Leaves - few
- Ginger Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
- Green Chillies - 3 or 4 slitted
- Fresh ground pepper - 1 tablespoon
- Salt - as needed
Method:
- In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves once the oil gets hot.
- Add Onions, green chillies and ginger garlic paste and saute till all the raw smell goes away.
- Add tomatoes and wait till it gets mushy and soft.
- Now add the chicken pieces and give it a quick stir.
- Add a little water, cover the pan and cook the chicken until it is just about done.
- Once the chicken is cooked, wait till most of the water is absorbed.
- Add freshly ground black pepper and mix it well. Wait till oil separates from the chicken.
Serve it with fresh rotis or over rice.
Me: Kavin, did you notice that there is something new today around the trees.
Kavin: Looks carefully around a tree and comes back with a smile saying "Mushrooms". Why there are mushrooms today?
Me: Because it rained yesterday and the land is damp. Mushrooms grow anywhere it is damp.
Kavin: Amma, can I go and touch the mushrooms?
Me: They are wild and poisonous mushrooms and not edible. So you cannot touch them.
Kavin: What do you mean by edible?
Me: You call something edible, if you can eat it.
Kavin: Why is this mushroom wild?
The conversation about mushroom goes on and on and on between me and my 2 1/2 years old on a cloudy day before he sits in the car to go to his daycare. I am completely enjoying this phase of motherhood answering all his why and what questions. Sometimes I also need to do some research before I answer his questions :-) .
So today is a post about "The meat of the vegetable world" .
This mushroom briyani/pulav has become a frequent visitor to our kitchen nowadays. All of us in our house like this simple dish which has a lot of flavor from the mushrooms. Mushroom briyani paired with cucumber and onion raitha is a heavenly combination.
Ingredients:
- Mushroom - 1 pound
- Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
- Onion - 1 thinly sliced
- Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
- Tomato - 1 large finely chopped
- Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon/ more if desired
- Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons
- Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
- Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Whole garam masala - 2 cloves, 2 cardamom, 2 inches of cinnamon
- Cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup
- Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
- Salt - as needed
Method:
1. Clean the rice and soak it in 2 cups of water.
2. In a heated pressure cooker, add oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the whole garam masala.
3. Saute till the aroma of the garam masala comes out. Add onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute till the onions become soft and translucent
4. Now add the tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Let the tomatoes get mushy.
5. Add chilli powder and coriander powder. Cut the mushrooms into bite sized chunks and add it to the masala.
6. Saute it till most of the water oozed out of the mushroom is absorbed.
7. Now add the rice and water. Check for salt and adjust if needed.
8. Cook in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles.
Serve it with Cucumber and Onion Raitha.
Couple of weeks back, I prepared these little treats for the little hands. It is fun to prepare and the filling can be anything of your choice. My filling was just peanut butter. But some fruit jelly along with the peanut butter would have been even better. Or, for chocolate lovers, peanut butter with few pieces of chocolate chips will be an excellent treat.
Ingredients:
This recipes makes 18 pillows.
1. Puff Pastry - 1 sheet
2. Peanut butter - 1/3 cup - 1/2 cup
3. Fruit Jelly - 1/4 cup
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Thaw the pastry sheet to room temperature. Sprinkle some flour over an even surface and roll out the sheet a little bit.
2. Fold the sheet like a book to form a crease in the middle. Using a pizza cutter, cut along the crease formed.
3. Stack the 2 sheets(Make sure you sprinkle some flour in between the 2 sheets to avoid them from sticking together). Using a pizza cutter, cut it into half lengthwise. Then make 18 even squares. Since you have a stack of two sheets you will get 36 squares. (Huh... I feel like I am in a math class.A picture to explain this would have been much better.)
4. Remove the top squares from the bottom squares and set them aside for later.
5. Using a spoon, place a small amount of peanut butter. If you are using fruit jelly or chocolate chips, spread the peanut butter a little bit and place the fruit jelly or chocolate chips. Repeat this for all the 18 squares.
6. Using a pastry brush or your finger, dampen the edges of each square with water. Top each square with another square that we saved earlier.
7. Use a fork to crimp and seal the edges. Make sure the edges are well sealed, otherwise the filling might ooze out while baking.
8. Place these squares on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush each square with milk and sprinkle sugar generously on top of each square.
9. Bake them for about 8 to 12 minutes or until they are perfectly golden.
Allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. They are super delicious when they are slightly warm.
Busy weekends with summer outings and shopping for our upcoming India trip is making us less frequent visitors to the grocery stores. It was one of those days, where we did not feel like going out for dinner nor prepare any elaborate dinner at home. I looked into the fridge and there was no vegetable left to make any quick subzi for rotis. I saw a pack of chicken and I was all smiles. Starring pointlessly at that pack of chicken, gave birth to this simple recipe which was ready in no time. It was simply delicious.
Ingredients:
1. Chicken - 1 1/2 lb
2. Oil - 2 tablespoons
3. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Curry leaves - few
5. Onion - 1 big finely chopped
6. Tomato - 2 medium - finely chopped
7. Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
8. Salt - as needed
9. Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
10. Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon (or more if required)
11. Garam Masala - 1-2 teaspoons
13. Yogurt/ thick curd - 2 tablespoons (optional)
Method:
1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and clean it thoroughly.
2. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add mustard seeds. Wait for it to splutter and add onion, ginger garlic paste and curry leaves.
3. Saute till the onions become pink and soft.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.
5. Now add yogurt,chilli powder and garam masala powder.
6. Add the chicken and give it a quick stir. Sprinkle very little water and pressure cook till one whistle.
7. After the pressure is released, transfer it to a wide pan and let it cook till most of the water evaporates and the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.
8. If you prefer to have it more on the curry side, remove it from heat a little early.
9. Once it reaches your preferred consistency, remove it from heat and garnish it with cilantro.
Serve it over rice or roti's.
Today's post is about Saravana Bhavan Special "Kaima Idli" which is always a big hit at home. Deep fried idlis in spicy and tangy sauce cannot be missed by anyone who visits Saravana Bhavan. I am a die hard fan of their Kaima Idlis and Mixed Vegetable Parotta.Yesterday, when I made this for dinner, we discovered that our little hero likes this a lot too. So Kaima Idli is going to be a frequent visitor to our kitchen. 
Ingredients:
1. Idlis - 10 to 12
2. Oil - 1 tablespoon
3. Onions - 1 medim (finely chopped)
4. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tablespoon
4. Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
5. Tomato paste - 2 tablespoons
6. Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon or more if desired
7. Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Cashews - 8 to 10
9. Cilantro - to garnish
10. Salt - as required
11. Oil - to deep fry the idlis
12. Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Method:
1. Cut the idlis into bite sized pieces and deep fry them in hot oil till it turns golden brown.
2. Place it in a paper towel and leave it aside.
3. In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil, add onions, ginger garlic paste. Saute till the raw smell goes away and the onions turn translucent. Green peppers and red peppers can also be added at this stage.
4. Add tomato and salt. Let the tomatoes get mushy. Add tomato paste.
5. Add chilli powder and garam masala and saute for a couple of minutes.
6. Add a few tablespoons of water, just so that the fried idlis can absorb the sauce in.
7. Add the fried idlis and gently mix it with the sauce.
8. Saute it till the idlis absorb the sauce.
9. Add a tablespoon of ghee and add cilantro and fried cashews to garnish.
Serve it with onion raitha.
Broccoli is high in vitamin C, as well as dietary fiber; it also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium. A single serving provides more than 30 mg of Vitamin C and a half-cup provides 52 mg of Vitamin C. The 3,3'-Diindolylmethane found in broccoli is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into an anti-cancer compound sulforaphane, though the benefits of broccoli are greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled. Broccoli is also an excellent source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells. Broccoli has the highest levels of carotenoids in the brassica family. It is particularly rich in lutein and also provides beta-carotene.
I had a slight aversion towards broccoli initially. But knowing the health benefits of this green vegetable, I try to include it in my cooking very often. I guess I can never eat raw broccoli. The trick is to blanch the broccoli for not more than 2 minutes. This will take out the raw taste of broccoli and brings more cooked taste.
Ingredients:
1. Broccoli - 1 head
2. Raisins - 2 tablespoons
3. Almonds - 2 tablespoons
4. Toasted sesame seeds - 1 tablespoon
For the dressing:
1. Lowfat Yogurt - 1 cup (I used no fat and it tasted good)
2. Sesame Oil - 1 tablespoon
3. Salt - to taste
4. Chilli flakes - 1 teaspoon(or more if desired)
Method:
1. Blanch the broccoli florets no more than 2 minutes. The broccoli should still be firm but the raw smell of the broccoli will be gone.
2. Let it cool down. Sprinkle raisins, almonds and toasted sesame seeds over it.
3. For the dressing, just mix all the ingredients under "For the dressing" section to a smooth paste.
Mix the dressing to the broccoli salad just before serving. You can also add shredded carrots to it.
I am happy to send this entry to Salad Spred.
