Peas Pudina Pulav

Colorful, attractive pulav with a great aroma. What else do you need to relish?? You will enjoy eating every byte of it..

Conversation between myself and my hubby:
Me: Pulav is ready & I'm very hungry. Come we'll have our dinner. (Usually, we both have our dinner together :))
Hubby: I'm not hungry as I had snacks in the evening
Me: Okay, I'm hungry & will have my dinner. Will serve you later.
Hubby: Okay.

When I got the plate, he liked the aroma & the color of the pulav so much that.., his next statement was....

"nangu hakikodu, ootada kelsa mugidu hogli.." (English: Serve me also, I'll finish my dinner).
ha ha ha..

The pulav served its purpose of attracting people. My mother used to prepare this in a different method.., I made some modifications to suit our requirement & here it goes...

Ingredients:
2 cups pudina/mint leaves
1 cup green peas
3 green chillies
1 onion
1/2 inch ginger
1 pod garlic (I didn't add this as it is not my personal choice..)
1 tablespoon grated coconut.
2 cups basmati rice (even normal rice would do.., I added normal + basmati as I had less of later)
1.5 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch cinnamon (powdered)
1 star anise
2-3 cloves
1 cardamom
2-3 tablespoons butter or oil
4 cups water.
salt according to taste

For tempering/oggarane/tadka:
1 cup capsicum (cut into cubes.., it would become colorful, if all the 3 colors of capsicum are added.., I added green & yellow, as I didn't get red capsicum)
1 onion sliced
1 tablespoon oil

For garnishing:
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice(optional)

Method:

• Mix pudina, ginger, garlic, onion, chilli and grated coconut together and grind in a mixer to form a smooth paste (without adding much water)
  
• Soak the rice for 10 mins.
• In a pressure cooker or pan, heat oil/butter.
• When oil is hot add, cinnamon(powdered), cardamom, star anise, clove & fry for a minute.
• Now add the paste prepared & fry in oil until all the water evaporates.
• Add green peas & rice, when paste starts leaving oil from the sides.
• Mix the rice, green peas well with the paste & add garam masala, salt & water.
• Close the lid of the cooker & cook for 1 whistle.
• Now prepare the tadka in a seperate kadai(vessel), add oil & when oil is hot, add onions. When onions become translucent, add capsicum & fry for a minute.
• Add this tadka & lemon juice to the rice cooked
• Mix well and serve it hot with carrot raitha

Carrot raitha:
Mix finely chopped onions, tomatoes , grated carrot with curd (yogurt)
Add salt according to taste
Carrot raitha is ready :)

Bread Dosa | Avalakki Dose

                    (Dosa served with ginger chutney, guacamole & sauteed broccoli)

Don't get carried away by the name. You do not need bread to prepare this dosa..

It is named "bread dosa" because of the texture of the dosas. It is surprisingly soft & melt in the mouth. I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law who is a stupendous cook. I must say she is an expert in preparing different varieties of dosas. Being born in a South Canara family, she has imbibed cooking & does it so fast & yummy, that you'll have to just keep licking your fingers :)))

Ok, now that we had her introduction, let us move on to the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw rice, refer notes
1 cup poha/beaten rice/avalakki
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds(menthya)
3/4th cup sour curd(yogurt)/buttermilk
salt according to taste.

Method:

• Soak the rice & fenugreek seeds for atleast 3-4 hours
• Soak the poha in sour curd for about 30 mins to 1 hour.
• Grind the rice, fenugreek seeds & poha along with the curd to form a smooth batter.
• Ferment the batter for 8 hours.
• Add salt just before preparing the dosas.
• Prepare the dosas & have it with a chutney of your choice!
  

Notes: 

• Dosa will not become crisp with this batter. It will become unusually soft & tastes different. Prepare the dosa a little thicker than the normal dosa (similar to set dosas).
• You could use sona masoori rice, ponni rice, idli/dosai rice or raw rice for this dosa. It tastes great with all the above mentioned rice varieties. I haven't tried it with basmati rice or jasmine rice. 

Update: Some pictures are updated on 11/24/2013

Veg Noodles

My favorite cuisine included Chinese..., until I had it outside India.Has anybody tried eating Chinese food outside India? It is totally disparate & disappointing(for me, at least).You will not get the taste similar to what you used to get in India. Now, I understand that what we get in India is not authentic Chinese but Indianized version of the same...

My taste buds have ceased to function since I moved out of India. I get very easily bored of eating my own cooked food. I'm very fussy in eating unlike my hubby, who is fine with any food (as long as it is vegetarian). I am wanting to eat roadside pani-puri(gol-gappe), churmuri, gobi manchurian..., aha.., I'm drooling. Eagerly waiting to eat all these.....:))

OK, I understand that by consuming so much disk space filled with my blabbering, I will not get to eat these wonderful dishes..I guess, most of us who have moved out of India, will be having similar wishes.

We were in mouna vratha ( as usual some disagreement) before having our dinner.., so didn't get his comments about the noodles.., but the bowl indicated a lot. The noodles was all finished & nothing left!!



Ingredients:
500gms noodles (I took normal yellow noodles, you can prepare with flat noodles also.., if you wish like)

1 cup green, yellow, red capsicum (slit lengthwise)
1 small carrot (slit lengthwise)
1/2 cup shred cabbage
1/2 cup spring onions chopped
1 big pod of garlic(crushed & cut into very small pieces)
1 & 1/2 teaspoon black soya sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce.
2 tablespoons olive oil ( tastes better with this oil., other cooking oil can also be used)
1 tsp vinegar
salt according to taste

Method:

• Cook the noodles & allow it to cool
• In a broad pan, add the oil
• When oil is hot, add garlic & spring onions
• Once the garlic becomes golden brown in color, add the remaining vegetables (capsicum, shred cabbage and carrots)
• Allow the vegetables to be cooked in oil for 2-3 minutes
• Add the noodles, salt, soya sauce, tomato sauce, vinegar, salt and mix the whole thing, well
• Cook whole mixture on a slow flame for 2 minutes
• Garnish it with coriander leaves

PS: I have not added ajinomoto. If you wish to add, you may do so.

Bread Bonda

Another day...Another fried food :)
Everyone in my family, including my little monster, loves eating fried foods and the month of September, being full of family occasions, gives many chances for their (and even mine) wishes to get fulfilled...
This time the occasion was my son's birthday and the dish what I tried was 'Bread Bonda'...

Before we jump right in, my standard disclaimer:
If you are calorie conscious, please stop reading this right now and read my other blog on 'Ragi Dosa' :) :)



Ingredients:
Bread - 2-3 slices (preferably white bread)
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
Salt (according to taste)
Oil (for deep frying)


Method:

• Sieve the gram flour and rice flour
• In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except bread and make a paste out of it
• The paste should be thicker than the normal bajji paste
  
• Remove the edges of the bread and toast it on a tava till the bread becomes crisp
• Allow the bread to cool
• Cut the bread into smaller pieces (4-6 pieces)
• Dip the bread pieces one-at-a-time in the paste and deep fry the same
• Bread bondas are ready to be serve
• Tastes best with spicy coriander chutney or chilli sauce/hot & sour sauce.
  

Sabudana/seeme akki vada

Who doesn't like eating deep fried items like vada, chakkuli (murukku), cutlet?? Most of us supplicate for it. I can hear some people saying "nooooooo" to this. This recipe is for people who wish to eat deep fried items.

Statuary warning for people who are dieting: please close your eyes, else you will also be tempted to eat. Do not complain later to me that, I spoiled your diet :)))

Here goes the very tempting vada recipe

Ingredients:
1 small cup sabudana/seemeakki.
1 medium sized potato (boiled & peeled)
1/2 cup chopped cliantro/coriander leaves
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1-2 green chilli (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon rice floor (optional)
oil for deep frying.
salt according to taste

Method:

• Soak the sabudana for about 3-4 hours
• Drain the water completely from the sabudana
• To this add mashed potatoes, green chilli, coriander leaves, chilli powder, salt & mix well.
• Make a thick paste of rice floor & add this paste to the sabudana mixture.
  
• The mixture has to be thick for making crisp vadas.
• Heat the oil in pan & when oil is hot, add the vadas to it.
• Fry till it turns golden brown.

Hot sabudana vada is ready. Enjoy preparing this & having it with your loved ones.

Sorekayi (Louki/Bottle guard) halwa

Vangi bath, mosaranna, sorekayi halwa, seemeakki vada!!!!
yenidu list antha kelbedi.., idella naane madiddu.., iste allade poori, aloo palya kooda madidde..
[English: Dont ask me what list is this, I only prepared all these dishes.., on top of this I also prepared poori & aloo(potato) subji]



All these were prepared on my hubby's birthday to impress him. No idea whether he was impressed or not.., but I enjoyed eating all of these & also was happy about myself that I can cook whole lot of dishes :)

Now, directly to the ingredients & the preparation. I'll post the recipes of vangibath, saabudana vada later.

Let me start with the sweet/dessert.

Sorekayi halwa/ Louki halwa
(Kannada : Sorekayi, Hindi:Louki, English:Bottle guard)


Ingredients:
1 medium sized sorekayi
150 gms sugar
4 tablespoons of ghee
3 tablespoons khova ( as I didnot find it here, I only prepared it!!!)
2 tablespoons of dry fruits (cashewnuts, raisins, badam)
a pinch of cardomom powder

Method:

• Peel the skin & de-seed the sorekayi
• Grate the sorekayi & remove the water from the grated sorekayi
• Keep this water as it is helpful while cooking
• In a broad vessel, add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee.., to this add grated sorekayi
• Mix the sorekayi well in ghee, now add little water and cook it for awhile (keep stirring to avoid loki sticking to the pan)
• When Loki is half-cooked, add the sugar and mix it well
• Now, the whole mixture becomes little watery and keep cooking this mixture, until all the water evaporates
• When the mixture is cooked (when the ghee separates from the mixture, it is an indication that the mixture is cooked), add the khova, cardamom powder and mix it well
• cook this for 10 minutes
• In a separate kadai, add the remaining ghee. Put the dryfruits into the ghee & fry the same.
• Add this fried dry fruits along with ghee to the sorekayi mixture & mix it well.
• Sorekayi halwa is ready.

Your taste buds will crave for hot sorekayi halwa with icecream(vanilla). Try it once & you'll remember what I said, each time u have it :)

Tarakari uppittu ( Vegetable Upma)

Here goes my family favourite.., my amma, appa, brother, sister, hubby, son.., no one is an exception for this. Everybody loves eating upma at any time of the day!!
Amma used to fast (oppotthu) on every Thursdays & she used to cook upma as oppotthu thindi ( breakfast) for supper for herself. The whole family used to crave for that upma.., though she wouldn't have added any vegetables, onion or any supplements to make it tastier. Yet.., we used to wait for it without having our supper & each one would take a small portion in the upma prepared(my father & granny were also not an exception!!). My mom used to end up eating very less or nothing some days as we all would have finished it :((

I prepare this for night dinner also sometimes...Here is the recipe of this simple dish...

Ingredients:
1 cup medium rava (semolina)
2 cups water
1 onion (optional)
2 green chillis (depends on individuals)
1/2 cup finely cut & half boiled carrots, french beans, potatoes.
1/4 cup green peas (frozen or boiled)
1/2 capsicum chopped
1 spoon cashewnuts
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (saasive)
1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon channa dal
salt according to taste
1 teaspoon sugar

For garnishing:
cliantro/coriander leaves
2 tablespoon grated coconut.
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a kadai
• Add rava to it and fry it till turns light brown in color (You will start getting a nice aroma by then)
• Remove it from flame and allow it to cool for 5 minutes
• In a broad kadai, add the remaining oil
• When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal and fry for a minute
• Add cashew nuts and fry the mixture
  
• To this, add curry leaves, green chilli and chopped onion
• Fry till onion becomes translucent
• Add capsicum, all the boiled vegetables & the green peas. Stir it & allow the vegetables to be cooked in oil for a minute.
• Add 2 cups of hot/warm water. Add salt and sugar.
  
• When water starts boiling, add the rava little-by-little and keep stirring (Avoid formation of lumps)
• Once all the rava is put, close the lid and cook it in a low flame for a minute
• Mix the whole thing thoroughly and garnish it with coriander, grated coconut
• If you want the upma to be little sour, add little lemon juice
• Upma is ready to serve