Soya Balls Gravy

Ingredients

• Soya Balls - 2 cups
• Tomato - 2
• Onion - 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Green Chillies - 2
• Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Star anise -2 to 3
• Cinnamom stick - 1 (crushed)
• Cardamom - 2
• Cloves - few
• Red Chilli powder - .5 to 1 tsp (adjust for your spiciness)
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/6 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - as per taste
• Oil - 3 to 4 tsp
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

• Wash the soya balls and soak in water for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Squeeze out the water fully and keep aside.
• Now grind the tomato and onion to a paste in a mixie or food processor and make it to a coarse paste.
• In a pan, add oil and above mentioned spices and fry for a minute.
• Add the green chillies.
• Now add in the grinded paste, ginger garlic paste and saute well, till the raw smell of onion and ginger garlic goes off.
• After that add in all the powders except garam masala.
• Now add the soya balls, salt and garam masala and allow to cook.
• If gravy becomes very thick, add little amount of water.
• When the oil starts floating on the top, switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with any chappathi or roti or nan.

 

PaavBhaji

Ingredients

• Potato - 2 (medium sized)
• Cauliflower - 1/2 cup
• Carrot - 1/2 cup
• Corn - 1/4 cup
• Peas - 1/2 cup
• Beans - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 2
• Green chillies - 1
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 2 pinch
• Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as per taste
• Paav Bhaji Masala - 1 to 1.5 tsp
• Bun - 4,
• Butter - 2 tsp (i used salted itself)
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Cilantro - 1/2 cup or handful
• Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

  

Method

• Peel the potato and slice it.
• Now boil all the vegetables in a pan with enough water such that, the vegetables gets cooked and becomes soft.

 

• The vegetables must be soft, so that they can be mashed well.
• MeanWhile, in a flat bottomed pan, add the oil, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, fennel seeds and saute until the tomatoes becomes tender.

 

• Now add the mashed vegetables, cilantro (save 2 tsp of cilantro for garnishing), chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and again mash and mix them well with the spatula.
• Add the 1.5 tsp of butter and if the gravy becomes thick, add small amount of water.

 

• Add the paav bhaji masala and mix for another minute.
• Add the lemon juice and switch off the stove.
• Cut the buns into half and toast them in the tawa with the remaining butter.

 

• Serve hot the paav bhaji garnishing with cilantro.



Notes

• Instead of paav bhaji masala, garam masala can also be added.
• Concentrate on spiciness, since we use the ginger garlic paste, chillies, and chilli powder. Adjust according to your taste.

Oasts Rawa Dosai

Ingredients

• Rawa - 1 cup
• Oats - 1/2 cup
• All Purpose flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
• Rice flour - 1/2 cup
• Corn flour - 2 tsp
• Pepper corns - 2 tsp
• Green chillies - 2 (chopped nicely)
• Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Water - 3 to 4 cups (or as needed)
• Oil - 1/4 tsp per Dosa
• Curry leaves - a handful

Method

• Mix all the ingredients except oil.
• Make in a watery content.
• Heat the Dosa Pan and sprinkle the rawa dosa batter.
• After that, pour the oil around the dosa and on the dosa.
• Cook till the dosa becomes crispy.
• No need to turn the dosa to cook on the other side.
• Serve hot with peanut chutney.

Sending this to Priya's CWF: Oats

Vegetable Rice Sevai Upma

Ingredients

• Rice Sevai - 2 cups
• Carrots - 1/4 cup (small pieces)
• Peas - 1/4 cup
• Corn - 1/4 cup
• Raw Mango - 1/4 piece (grated or cut into thin lengthy pieces) (optional)
• Green Chillies - 3 (chopped finely)
• Urud dhal - 2 tsp
• Bengal gram dhal - 2 tsp
• Mustard - a pinch
• Salt - as per taste
• Oil - 3 to 4 tsp
• Curry Leaves - few
• Coriander leaves - few for garnishing
• Hot water - 3 cups
  
  
  

Method

• In a large bowl, add little salt and rice sevai and pour the hotwater on it till it gets soaked well and cover with a lid and leave it for 4 to 5 mts.
• It becomes soft and filter the water from it and keep the rice sevai aside.
• In a pan, add oil, mustard, urud dhall, bengal gram dhall and fry for few minutes.
• Add curry leaves and green chillies to it.
• Now add the vegetables - carrot, peas and corn and fry them nicely.
• After the carrot becomes soft, add the grated mango pieces and just fry for an minute.
• Mix the rice sevai now with this and mix well and cook for few minutes adding salt.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note:

• Adding mango is optional.
• Do not add the mango pieces along with other veggies, since it gets cooked easily and you cannot get the crunchy taste.
• You can add any veggies of your choice.

Sending this to Food palette series event

Dry Fruits Strawberry Icecream

Ingredients

• Milk - 1 litre
• Paneer - 1/2 cup (grated)
• Strawberries - 6 to 8
• Sugar - 1 to 1.5 cup
• Dry fruits - Dates, Raisins - few
• Nuts - Cashews, Almonds - few
• Strawberry Essence - few drops (optional)
• Saffron - Garnishing - few (optional)

Method

• Boil the milk until it reduces to half its quantity.
• Meanwhile, grind the strawberries with little milk in a processor or mixier to fine paste.
• Add this paste, sugar, dry fruits, nuts, strawberry essence, grated paneer to the milk and allow it to cook for another 5 to 8 mts keeping in simmer.
• Now switch off the stove and allow to cool.
• Then pour them to a bowl and keep in fridge (freezer).
• Every half an hour take it out and mix well and again keep in freezer. Do this for 4 to 5 times, untill it becomes a soft and smooth icecream. [ i am doing this as i dont have icecream maker with me]
• Garnish with some dry fruits and nuts and saffron and serve cool.

This goes to my event Dish Name Starts with D

Banana in Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• Banana - 1
• Cocoa powder - 2 tsp
• Condensed Milk - 4 tsp
• Warm water - 2 tsp
• Dry fruits (Dates, Raisins, Apricot) - few (Chopped nicely)
• Nuts (Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios) - few(Chopped nicely)
• Jelly - as we need (Crushed)
• Honey - 2 to 3 tsp

Method

• In a wide pan, add the cocoa powder, Condensed milk and warm water and cook on simmer.
• Mix well so that no lumps found and a fine chocolate paste is formed.
• Allow it to cool.
• Meanwhile crush the jelly and keep it aside.
• Now in the banana, pour the chocolate sauce, chopped dryfruits, chopped nuts, crushed jelly, honey and serve.

Note: Instead of preparing the chocolate sauce, you can melt any milk chocolate and use as chocoloate sauce.

This goes to the following wonderful events

• Veggie/Fruit a month - Banana by Aipi and Priya
• Choco-Delite's Event by Smitha 

I received an award from the lovely bloggers - Savitha of Savitha's Kitchen and Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot. Thanks a million to both Savi and Gaya for giving this award to me. They both have a wonderful blog. Please do visit theirs for lovely recipes.

I would love to share this with the following 12 bloggers  

• Krishnaveni of Krishnaveni's Kitchen
• Satya of Super Yummy Recipes
• Priya of Bon Appetit
• Sowmya of Vegetarian Cultural Creatives
• Divya of Divya's Recipes
• Anu of Kitchen Skills
• Sameena of My Culinary Creations
• Priya of Mharorajasthanrecipes
• Ramya of Simple Vegetarian Recipes
• Jay of Tasty Appetite
• Mehnaz of Chef Naaz
• Priya of Priya's Easy n Tasty Recipes

Mint-Coriander Yogurt Chutney

Ingredients

• Mint - 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
• Yogurt - 1/4 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch (crushed nicely)
• Pepper powder - 1/8th tsp (optional)
• Green chillies - 2 (can be adjusted to taste)
• Cumin seeds - a pinch
• Lemon juice/Vinegar - 2 tsp

Method

• Grind all the ingredients to a thick paste in a food processor or a mixie.
• Goes well with Chicken Tikka, Tandoori chicken and other fried things.

This goes to Only event - Greens by Pari and Sara

Also i am tagged by Shoba of  Foodmazza. She has a wonderful blog with lovely recipes. The questions i need to answer are,

1. Are you a vegetarian or have you thought of being one?

No. I am non-vegetarian and sometimes thought of eating only veg. just to reduce my weight (i think like that, not sure whether it is true). 

2. Who inspired you to cook?

In my childhood days, my grandma and mom inspired to cook. But later on, my office colleague inspired me a lot as she prepare very different and tasty recipes. Then, after my marriage, while started searching on net for the recipes, all my fellow bloggers inspired me a lot. So i am now in to the cooking world.

3. How do you celebrate christmas or a favorite festival of your choice?

We dont celebrate christmas. We celebrate all the Hindu festivals.

4. Do you prefer to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and/or family to ring in the New Year quietly and privately at home?

It actually depends on the situation. Sometimes, we go out with friends to see the fireworks on the New Year Eve, and the next day some friends/relatives come to our house or we go to their house.

5. If some one were to ask you to bring a dessert to a party, what would you bring? store-bought or home-made? If you were to make at home, what would you make?

When i am new to cooking, i usually get sweets from store. But now a days, i prepare at home. I try to do, different custard varieties, Rasmalai and icecream.

6. How will you celebrate your next birthday?

Mostly we go temple, have lunch at hotel and celebrate. Since i have small kids, i have left to their choice.

7. Do you have a New Year resolution and will you be sticking to it?

Now a days, i could not able to stick on to it stubbornly. So do not have any resolutions for this new year.

I would like to tag these questions, to my following lovely fellow bloggers.

Shanavi of Kitchen Secrets

Mahi of Welcome to Mahi's Space

Ms Chitchat of http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/

Savitha Ramesh of Savitha's Kitchen

VineelaSiva of Vineela siva

Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip

Santosh of Santosh's Kitchen

Priya Sreeram of Bon Appetit

Ganga Sreekanth of My Favorite Foods

Geetha of என் சமையல் அறையில் 

Nandhini of Nandhini's Food Page

Uma of Uma's Culinary World

Urundai Mor Kuzhambu

Ingredients

I. For paruppu urundai

• Kadalai paruppu – 1 cup
• Thuvaram paruppu – ½ cup
• Onion – 2
• Garlic – 5 cloves (cut into small pieces)
• Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Cloves – 5
• Curry leaves – 5 (cut into small pieces)
• Rice flour – ½ tsp
• Dried red chilli - 2
• Salt as required

II. Morkuzhambu

• Curd/Yogurt - 2 cups
• Green chilli - 4
• Thuvar dhall - 2 tsp
• Raw rice - 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Urud dhall -1/2 tsp
• Grated Coconut - 3 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Coriander leaves - few
• Salt - as per taste

Method

For making the urundai/balls

• Soak the Channa dhal and thoor dhal for 1 to 2 hrs.
• Grind the dhalls and the other ingredients in I to a coarse paste.

• Make it into small balls with out any water. ( if you feel excess water slightly press the balls to squeeze the water out)

• Steam cook the balls in a idli cooker and keep aside.

For making the morkuzhambu

• Soak the Thuvar dhall and rice for 20 mts atleast.
• Grind the thuvar dhall, rice, green chilli, cumin seeds, grated coconut to a coarse paste.
• In a kadai, add oil, urud dhall, curry leaves, coriander leaves.
• When urud dhall becomes brown, add the coarse paste to it.
• Add little amount of water, water and turmeric powder and boil it.
• While boiling add the soar curd and again bring to boil.
• Now add the steamed balls/urundai and allow to cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Switch off the stove and serve hot for rice.

Sending this and the following

Mangalore Rasam

Mango Rasam

Simple Paruppu Rasam

Pavakkai Pulikuzhambu

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu(Dal balls Gravy)

Manathakkali Vatha Kuzhambu(Sun dried black night shade Gravy)

to the beautiful events

CMT - Daal/Kadhi/Sambar/Rasam by Priya vaasu and Jagruthi

Thank You Mom - Event by Satya

Celebrating Regional Cuisine - Event by Sujana - My dishes are TamilNadu Recipes.