Carrot halwa - A real treat

After the tiring and depressing last week, I thought I would make something for my sweet husband who did take care of both of us. But since I have not yet recovered completely, I wanted to make something super easy. The bag of carrots lying in my refrigerator caught my eyes and ding.....I started grating the carrots. We just finished it real quick as it was delicious:)





Ingredients:


3 cups grated carrots
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup of non-fat dry milk
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tsp ghee(more if you want)
1 tbsp broken cashews
1 tbsp golden raisins
pinch of saffron
pinch of cardamom powder


Combine the dry milk and milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to boil. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp of ghee in a separate pan and fry the cashews and raisins till golden and keep aside. Using the remaining ghee in the same pan saute the carrots until they are half cooked for about 5 to 10 mins. Then add the sauteed carrots to the boiling milk. Cook till the carrot is completely cooked and all the milk is absorbed add the sugar. Keep stirring them, when it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan stir in the remaining ghee, cashews, raisins and cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from the heat and you can serve them either hot or cold. This would make a good dessert for guests and you can make them well ahead.

Back to blogging with yummy Chicken 65

Its been a week since I blogged. Me and my little one, both were sick and the week was pretty hectic. It was only my husband cooking most of the days and the kitchen was a no-entry zone for me:(

Even after I started feeling better, I was able to cook only simple meals. This is one such simple yet delicious chicken recipes that you could make for any time of the day. You can have them like appetizers are as a side dish for a meal. Especially for bachelors this would be a very easy dish to make. It is a one of the favourite dish of my husband.




Ingredients:


1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chilli powder(adjust according to your taste)
salt to taste
pinch of orange red food colour(optional)
oil for deep fry


Wash and cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces. Marinate the chicken with all the other ingredients except oil and refrigerate for at least 30 mins. Heat oil in a deep pan/kadai. When the oil is hot enough deep fry the chicken at medium heat. If you fry them at high heat, then the chicken will not be cooked properly in the inside. Fry them until they turn golden colour in medium heat. Serve hot. Isn't it really inviting??????

Whole wheat oatmeal cookies - A successful experiment

Its not everyday my experiments in the kitchen turns successful the very first time. These cookies were one such hit in my house. I just played with some ingredients and wow the end result was really good:)

Both my husband and my son liked it so much it just disappeared the same day I made them.







Ingredients:
(Makes 16 medium sized cookies)


1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp honey
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of baking soda
1/2 cup Olive oil
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 tbsp golden raisins


In a big bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients including the walnuts and raisins. Then add the oil and honey and form a dough. Divide the dough into 16 portions and shape them using your palm. Bake them in a preheated oven at 350F for 12 to 15 mins or when the cookies start to brown(depends on the thickness of the cookies and the performance of the oven). Cool them on a wire rack before serving.


A very simple and easy way to enjoy the home baked goodness without feeling much guilty. I am sending these cookies for the "EFM - Cookies" event hosted by Sri.

Eggplant and Pepper fry

Recently we had eggplant and green pepper fry in one of our friend's house and it was good. So today when I saw few eggplants and peppers lying in my refrigerator I thought to make the same. Its another simple and easy recipe that tasted really good.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

3 small eggplants cubed
1/2 green pepper cubed
1/2 red pepper cubed
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves chopped finely
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1/4 cup water

Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough add the mustard seeds and when they start to splutter add the onions and garlic. Add the salt and fry till the onions turn transparent. Now add the tomatoes and saute for 2 mins. Then add the eggplant, green pepper and red pepper and saute for another 5 mins. Stir in the chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and mix well. Add the water and close and cook on low flame for 10 mins. Serve with rice or rotis.

Simple Plantain fry

In my family we all love plantain. My mom makes variety of dishes using them. Its very simple to cook and makes a wonderful side dish with rice. Its always good to have plantain at home as it would come handy when you are cooking in a hurry. This plantain fry is very easy to make. It goes very well with sambhar, rasam, kurma, curd rice, lemon rice, puliohara etc., So please try this recipe and let me know how it turned out.




Ingredients:

1 plantain/Raw banana
1/2 medium sized onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sambhar powder
1/2 tsp pepper powder(you can adjust the pepper according to your spice level)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split urad dal
pinch of hing/asafoetida
1 tbsp oil

Peel the plantain skin using a knife or peeler and cut them into bite sized pieces. Soak them in a bowl of water immediately after cutting. Heat the oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough add the hing, mustard seeds and the urad dal. When the mustard seeds start to splutter add the minced garlic and fry for a minute. Then add the chopped onions and fry for another 2 minutes. Now add the plantain and saute for 2 more minutes. Then add all the spices, salt and very little water and mix well. Simmer and cook till the plantains are cooked completely. Make sure that the heat is very low and stir at regular intervals to avoid them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle water if necessary while cooking.

Rawa kesari - Quick and yummy dessert

In India unexpected guests are more common. In those days, there were no such formality like calling somebody before visiting them. So when we used to have such unexpected guests at our home, my mom usually makes this kesari along with some onion/plantain bajji. Even for marriages, they serve kesari with the morning tiffin. My mom makes so many variations to this and makes pineapple kesari, dry fruits kesari etc.., I learnt the basics for the kesari and upma from my mom. It takes less than 20 mins to make this yummy rawa kesari:)



Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

1 cup coarse sooji/rawa
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup water
4 tbsp ghee (you can use instead 2tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp broken cashews
2 tbsp golden raisins
pinch of kesari colour or any food colour of your choice

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. When the ghee is hot enough fry the cashews and raisins till they turn golden and keep aside. Then add the rawa in that ghee and roast them in medium to low flame for 15 mins or until they turn golden. While roasting the rawa stir continuously to avoid them from burning. Now add the boiling water(you can boil the water in a separate pan simultaneously while roasting the rawa) to the rawa and cook. When the rawa is cooked add the food colour and sugar and mix well. Keep stirring them for few minutes to avoid lumps. When it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan stir in the remaining ghee/oil, cashews, raisins and cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from the heat and serve.

Bachelor's chicken curry

I always prefer recipes that would require less effort from me...after running behind this little one I really get too tired for cooking elaborate recipes. This is one such simple curry that we love so much. It goes really well with everything..rice/roti/paratha/briyani/dosa..I am posting this especially for bachelor's who want to cook chicken at home. Do try this recipe and tell me how it came out.



Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

1/2 lb chicken breasts
1 medium sized onion sliced
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
4 to 5 red chillies
whole garam masalas - 2 cloves, 2 cinnamon pieces, 2 green cardamom, 2 black cardamom(optional), 2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chicken masala(store bought any brand, available in all Indian stores)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kasoori methi(available in Indian grocery stores)
salt to taste
1 cup yogurt(whip the yogurt using a whisk/spoon, this is very important otherwise the gravy would be curdled)
1 tbsp oil

Wash and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. In a heavy bottomed/non-stick pan heat the oil. When the oil is hot enough add the red chillies and fry for a minute. Then add the whole garam masalas and when they start to splutter add the onions and salt. Fry the onions until they turn soft, then add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 2 mins. Now add the chicken and saute for 3 more mins. Finally add the turmeric powder, chicken masala, garam masala, kasoori methi and the whipped yogurt. Cover and cook on medium to low heat for 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked completely.

Kadai vegetables - Nutritional side dish

I love eating vegetables. I could eat them any time of the day. Mostly on Mondays I make some kind of mixed vegetable dish, anything where I can use all my fresh veggies. This is one such easy and tasty dish that goes very well with Roti and pulao. All you need to do for this dish is cut vegetables and the rest is so simple.



Ingredients:
(Serves 6)

2 small potato cubed
2 carrot diced
Handful of green beans cut lengthwise into 1 inch pieces
1 small cauliflower cut into florets and soaked in hot water for 10 mins
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 green pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 onion cubed
1 tomato cubed
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp broken cashews
1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot enough add the cumin seeds and when the cumin seeds start to splutter add the cashews and fry till golden. Then add the onions and green chillies. Add the salt and fry till the onions turn transparent. Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. Then add tomatoes and cook for a minute. The tomatoes should not turn mushy. Now add the green beans, carrots and potatoes. Saute these veggies in medium flame for about 5 mins. Then add the green pepper, red pepper, cauliflower and green peas. Add all the spices and kasoori methi and mix well so that the vegetables are coated well with the masala. Cover and cook on medium to low flame for 15 to 20 mins or until the veggies are cooked but still crisp.

Serve hot with roti/paratha or pulao. This is one of my favourite vegetarian side dish loaded with nutrition, I like to have with rotis. So I am sending this to the "WYF:Side dish" event hosted by EC.

Simple, soft and easy to make Idlies

Who wouldn't like soft idlies soaked in hot sambhar? Idli is a very comforting food. Not too heavy but the same time appetizing. If you could get those soft idlies with less effort then why do you hesitate to try it:) Here is a simple method to make idlies please do try and tell me how it came out.



Ingredients:
(Makes 16 idlies)

3/4 cup split uradh dal
1 cup idli rawa (you can get them in any Indian store)
1 cup rice flour
pinch of baking soda
salt to taste

Soak the uradh dal for minimum 6 hrs and grind them to a smooth batter using water. You can add up to 2 cups of water while grinding, but don't add too much water as idli batter should always be a little thicker. Add the ildi rawa and rice flour to this batter and mix well. Let it ferment for minimum 12 hrs. Add the salt and baking soda just before you make the idlies and mix well. Grease the idli moulds with little oil and pour a big spoon full of batter in each mould. Steam them for 12 to 15 mins in medium heat. Serve hot with sambhar or your favourite chutney.

Note: You don't need an Indian mixer or grinder for grinding the batter, any blender would do fine.

A healthy snack - Fruit salad

When you are really in a mood for a snack, this would be the best choice. I love to eat variety of veggies but when it comes to fruits I don't show that much interest. So this is an easy and better way to eat fruits. He likes to have this fruit salad with ice cream. But I could eat this just like that. You can even serve this as a dessert for your guests.

Ingredients:

1 cup cantaloupe cubed

1 cup water melon cubed

2 small bananas sliced

1 cup grapes

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp raw almonds

1 tbsp raw walnuts(if you don't like raw walnuts just toast them and add)

1 tbsp pistachios

In a large mixing bowl, add all the fruits and other ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. If you would like to add richness then serve with ice cream:)

Healthy veg spaghetti

If you want to include lot of vegetables in your diet then this is the easiest way to do it. I make this at least once in two weeks. Making him eating veggies is a difficult task, when it comes to broccoli its a real challenge:) But he likes this veg spaghetti a lot. Sometimes he even complains that I trick him into eating veggies this way.





Ingredients:


4 oz uncooked spaghetti
2 cups of veggies(I used broccoli, carrots, cabbage, green pepper and red pepper)
2 stalks chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp tomato ketchup(use the hot and sweet ketchup variety...if you don't have then substitute this with 1 tbsp regular tomato ketchup and 1 tbsp chilli sauce)
1/2 tsp pepper powder(adjust according to your spice level. if you don't prefer spicy food then don't add pepper powder)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste


Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water along with salt for 8 mins. Then drain, rinse and keep it aside. Heat the oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot enough add the garlic. Then add the onions and saute for a minute. Now add all the veggies and stir fry them until they are 3/4 done. Stir in the salt, ketchup and pepper. Add the cooked spaghetti and mix them along with the veggies on high heat for 2 to 3 mins. Serve hot.