Butter Cake -RM # 2

As decided by the RM members,its got to be a sweet for the finale.I thought of making a cake and hence dropped a line jokingly saying that Sugar should be made the common ingredients for all;-).I wanted to make a butter cake after writing down the recipe a long time back.I had all the ingredients ready and I wanted to finish off the butter in the fridge after its not-so-happy-stay in nil electricity.

Its been a pleasure participating in the Recipe Marathon and I thank DK for coming up with something as spectacular as this.I wanted to prove to myself that I can accept a challenge and finish it too.Though the circumstances were not in my favour during the last few days,I have managed to tag along and willingly accept the late runner medal.I have enjoyed posting daily and it was real fun doing this as a great team.I thank all my fellow runners too…love you pals!!
This cake is my small gift for all of you!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 30-The grand Finale!!
Butter Cake

Ingredients

Maida – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Butter – ½ cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Eggs – 3
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Milk – 1 cup

Method

Sift together maida,baking powder and salt twice or thrice.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in the eggs one by one and beat well.
Mix in the vanilla essence and beat well till it is incorporated.
Add the flour in batches alternating with milk.
Mix well till you get a smooth batter.
Preheat the oven to 180*C.
Grease a cake tin with some butter and dust with flour.
Pour the batter into the tin and bake at 180*C for 25-30 minutes,or till done.
I had some chocolate syrup in the fridge which I incorporated into the batter halway,but that is purely optional!!I loved the chocolatey taste in between..;-).I got some leftover batter with which I made some muffins,they came out well too.Overall a great cake,though it doesn’t look much pretty!!

And have a look at the final post of my dear marathon runners!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Capsicum-Tomato Soup

Life's getting back to normal again.The roads are almost cleared of stagnant drain water and rains too have stopped.The only thing which is unpredictable is the electricity.One moment its there and the next its gone.I had plans of making a cake for the last day of RM,but I guess that has to wait.

I am not happy with the way I’ve dealt with RM.I would be most probably the only RM member who did not keep any drafts ready.I cooked for the day and posted about it.It worked fine till the cyclone struck.There was no electricity and even though I cooked a number of dishes keeping RM in mind,I just couldn’t take any pictures in pitch darkness,even during the day.I am ready to accept the Silver medal DK..and my grand finale post will make its appearance soon..

I made this soup for dinner today, mainly to finish off the once-plump-looking capsicum which became size zero due to no power..nothing spectacular,it just added a twist to the good-old tomato soup.And I made it in the MW,cooking in MW after a long long time!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 29
Capsicum-Tomato Soup

Ingredients

Capsicum – 1,chopped
Tomato – 1 big,chopped
Milk – ½ cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese spread – 1 tbsp(or 1 cube of Amul cheese)

Method

Cook capsicum and tomato in about a cup of water(full power-5mts).
When cool,grind to a smooth puree and strain.
Add the milk,cheese,salt and pepper-Mix well.
Microwave on full power for 5 minutes-stir well.
Serve hot with toast!!
A peep into my fellow marathoners kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Cinnamon Cookies

It’s a helpless feeling..really.Chennai is suffering due to heavy rains caused by Cyclone Nisha..there’s knee deep water everywhere,no electricity and hence water shortage too..things in the fridge are rotting..I feel terrible.Plus,I don’t feel like complaining when I see the incidents happening in Bombay..God..misfortunes do come together!!

Electricity has made an entry after 30 hours and I don’t know how long it will last.Even though I don’t feel like cooking anything,I just baked a batch of cookies to have with tea.I often remark about the lesser lighting in the kitchen,after cooking a few meals in darkness with the help of one candle,I feel the kitchen has never looked so bright!!!

I looked for an easy cookie recipe which I could bake in less than an hour.Had bookmarked Lakshmi’s Cinnamon cookie and wanted to try that.Though the recipe says the dough has to be refrigerated,I skipped that step.The butter in the fridge was a step short of flowing consistency,So I had to make something immediately.Lakshmi’s recipe yielded me superb cinnamon flavored cookies which we simply loved..I don’t know whether by skipping the refrigerating part I have lost out on melt in the mouth cookies..but mine did turn out very crispy and melt in the mouth..;-)

Recipe Marathon - Day 28
Cinnamon Cookies(Recipe adapted from The Yum Blog)

Ingredients

Maida/Flour – 1 ½ cups
Sugar – ½ cup
Butter – ½ cup
Cinnamon stick – 1’ piece

Method

Powder the sugar and cinnamon piece together to a fine powder.
Cream butter and sugar-cinnamon mix till fluffy.
Add the flour little by little and knead into a soft dough.
If the mix is too dry,you could add a few tsp butter.
Roll out the dough to about quarter of inch in thickness and cut into shapes using cookies cutters,or shape into circular discs with hand.
Bake at 150*C for 20 minutes(That is the normal baking time for cookies of our taste-crispy yet melt in the mouth,you can bake it according to the temperature settings of your oven).

Sprinkle some sugar on top immediately after taking out from the oven(optional).

Lets peep into our fellow marathoners kitchen to see what they've been cooking!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

And a small peep into what our locality looked like for about two days!!

Homemade Badam Milk

After my cool post,now its time to sip something hot!!Its been raining continuously for about three days now and the electricity does a disappearing act every now and then.Roads are filled with water and people are struggling to commute.I feel its the perfect time to enjoy some deep-fried goodies with a steaming cup of coffee sitting by the window side;-).Since I don't have any such luxuries(having deep fried goodies,I mean),I prefer to have a steaming cuppa..of home made badam milk!!

I had seen a recipe of this in a magazine and was looking forward to making this so much.My regular stock of Nandini badam milk powder was over too.Soaked some badam overnight and set about making it.I remember seeing it in Indira's blog,so checked that for making sure I was doing it the right way.I was in for a big surprise with the end product.It tasted nothing like the store-bought badam milk.It tasted purely of badam and I was not sure I liked it that much.I went ahead and added some cardamom powder and saffron strands to it.Now it started tasting somewhat like the badam milk which I was so used to!!

Hubby liked it plain while I preferred the milk-cardamom-saffron added version.Pure badam milk is an acquired taste I guess!!

Recipe Marathon - Day 27
Homemade Badam milk

Ingredients

Badam/Almonds -a handful,soaked overnight or for at least a few hours and blanched
Water - 2 cups
Sugar - to taste

Optional ingredients

Milk - 1 cup
Saffron strands - a few
Crushed cardamom - 1

Method

Grind the blanched badam to a very smooth paste adding enough water.
Sieve through a muslin cloth and extract milk.
Grind the residue once again adding enough water and extract the milk.
Add sugar to taste.
Pure badam milk is ready to be served!!

What I did - I added a few saffron strands and one crushed cardamom to the milk and microwaved the milk for a minute.It can be served hot or cold!!
Have you seen what my marathon buddies have been cooking today?

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Pudina Buttermilk

Have you ever ordered ice-cream on a rainy day and loved the expression that the sales person had..??I have experienced that and I love to see the look on the person's face..as though I am crazy!!In fact,thats exactly what I am feeling now,its raining heavily since last two days and here I am posting a recipe for cool pudina buttermilk..;-).

Buttermilk is a constant item on our menu come rain or sunshine.Even though hubby prefers plain buttermilk,I love to spice it up like this.Earlier I used to make huge quantities and store them in bottles in the fridge,but that spoiled the original taste and we are back to making small batches.Great drink to have on a hot day(in our case,cool days too;) and healthy too!!

Recipe Marathon - Day 26
Pudina Buttermilk

Ingredients

Buttermilk - 2-3 cups,whisked

Pudina/Mint leaves - a handful

Green chilly - 1

Ginger - 1' piece

Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

Grind to a smooth paste green chilly,ginger,coconut and mint leaves.

Mix the paste in the whisked buttermilk.

Add salt to taste.

Serve cool!!

A peep into my fellow marathoners kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Paneer Paratha - Step by Step Recipe

Stuffed parathas always excite me,mainly because of the variety of choices one can make while doing one and more important-you don’t need to make a side-dish to go with it-just a bowl of cool raita will do!!I remember making my first-ever stuffed paratha few months back.I had seen a yummy moong dal stuffed paratha in Srivalli’s blog and made it immediately for dinner that day.I had friends coming over for dinner,so I divided the dough into two,just in case if I messed it up!I knew I had a keeper recipe when they demanded that they want stuffed dal parathas and not plain rotis.I wonder how I forgot to blog about it…;-)

I had some home-made paneer in the fridge after 2 packets of milk curdled,due to regular power failures.Since my paneer never becomes firm,I always have to use them in recipes where it is required to be crumbled.I had recently made scrambled paneer on toast for breakfast(again forgot to blog about that!),so the next choice was parathas.I just followed my own instincts for a very simple stuffing.It came out great and am glad am turning hubby into a paneer eater,if not a paneer lover!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 25
Paneer stuffed Parathas

Ingredients

Paneer – 100 gms,crumbled
Onion – 1,finely chopped
Green chillies – 2,finely chopped
Ginger – 1’ piece,fiely chopped
Haldi/turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chilly powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Cumin/jeera – ½ tsp
Coriander leaves – 3-4 tbsp,chopped
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp

Chapathi dough as required

Method

In a kadai,add oil and splutter jeera.
Add the onion,green chilly and ginger-saute till the onions become light brown.
Add the powders-haldi,chilly powder and garam masala,salt to taste and mix well.
Add the crumbled paneer and mix till the stuffing becomes dry.(this is very important,if there is moisture in the stuffing,it will be difficult to make the parathas) Add the coriander leaves and make small balls of the stuffing,keep aside.
To make the stuffed parathas
Make small balls of the chapathi dough as you would for a regular chapathi,flatten a little.Place the stuffed balls. Close the sides carefully and loosely shape into a round disc. Flatten the balls into chapathis without giving much pressure using enough flour to dust. In a chapathi tawa,cook them until both sides become evenly brown.(add some oil/ghee if you like).
Serve hot!! I served it with some leftover Paneer Matar and Pomegranate Raita!!

A peep into my fellow marathoners Kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Paneer Matar

Paneer is something which I absolutely love and to me,any north-Indian meal is incomplete without a Paneer dish!I have come across many people who frown when they see me ordering Paneer Butter Masala-my favorite of the lot,and ask me..how can you eat THAT..??I show them,like THIS and gobble down a big piece of butter naan soaked in paneer;-).Strangely,its only the non-veg eating people who have this dislike towards paneer.(I am not being judgemental here,just sharing my experience and what I feel about it).My hubby for instance has a strong dislike towards paneer based dishes,I have to plead to him to at least TASTE the dish before saying anything.To my relief,he has started eating paneer dishes ONLY if I make them at home.

I always buy ready made paneer blocks,since they are much easier to handle and I don’t find much of a difference between store bought and home-made.(I maybe wrong here!),I also feel that home-made ones have that crumbly texture in contrary to the silky soft texture of store bought ones.I make paneer at home only if the milk curdles(which happens often due to the power failures!) and always end up making scrambled paneer with veggies(shall blog about that soon).
Fresh peas are in season and what better way to include them in your paneer dish than the famous Paneer matar..??A total win-win situation for me since peas is hubby’s favorite and paneer is mine..can it get better than this..??I followed the exact recipe from here,also check out her Notes and Health tips!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 24
Low fat-restaurant style Paneer Matar ala Saffron Trail

Ingredients

Paneer – 200 gms,cut into small cubes
Fresh/frozen peas – 1 cup
Onions – 2 medium,finely chopped
Tomatoes – 2 medium,finely chopped
Ginger garlic past – 2-3 tsp
Haldi/turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp
Coriander-cumin powder – 1 tsp each
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Broken cashews – 1 tbsp
Kasoori methi – 1 tsp

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed kadai. Saute the broken cashews till lightly golden.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and onions and cook on a low flame with a pinch of salt till they soften and turn light brown.
Add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder. Stir well and cook for 5-7 minutes, till mushy.
Remove the contents of the kadai and blend to a fine puree in a blender, once cooled thoroughly. You may use upto ½ cup water to aid the blending process.
In the same kadai, transfer the fine puree. Season with spice powders (red chilli powder, cumin coriander powder, garam masala) and salt. Simmer for 3-4 minutes till the gravy is infused with the spices.
Add the boiled green peas to this gravy and simmer for 5 minutes, after which the paneer cubes go in. Simmer for another 2 minutes, check for salt, sprinkle crushed kasoori methi and give it a stir.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!!

Check out my fellow maratoners kitchen to see what they've been whipping up today!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

P.S - Thank you all for your lovely Birthday wishes..;-)!!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake(Eggless) for a "Happy Birthday"

Ahem ahem..its my birthday today and I so badly want everyone to wish me,hence the addition of “Happy Birthday” in the post name!Well,I have to tell you guys,how else would you know,right..?*wink wink*So while you guys sing Happy Birthday to me..I present you people with a yummy cake –Pineapple Upside Down cake.

As always,I had major plans for my birthday cake.Hubby tried to give me an option of ordering a cake from outside(since we stay a stone’s throw away from one of the famous cake shops in Chennai),I was adamant that I would be baking a cake on my own.Had bookmarked many(MANY) recipes.Suddenly,hubby decided to take me out for dinner and we went to GRT Temple bay in Mahabalipuram with friends.Even though I enjoyed each and every moment there,at the back of my mind I was thinking about the cake,to be cut at midnight.We reached home quite late and I had barely 2 hours to whip up the wonder..scanned through the recipe books for the easiest of the lot,decided to let go of frosting/icing since it would take up so much of my time.Chanced upon this one and I knew this was it.Had all the ingredients ready(Thank God for that!),made the cake and cut it at midnight.Planning to relish the rest today..;-)

Recipe Marathon – Day 23

Pineapple Upside Down Cake(Eggless) [Adapted from Nita Mehta's Cakes&Cookies]

Ingredients

Pineapple slices(Canned) – 5-7,thinly sliced
Glazed Cherries – a few,cut into two horizontally
Almonds – a few,halved

Flour/maida – 1 ¼ cups
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – ½ tsp

Butter – ½ cup
Milkmaid – ½ tin
Pineapple essence – 1 ½ tsp
Yellow colour – a pinch (optional)

Milk – ½ to ¾ cup,as required
Sugar – 3-4 tbsps,for making the caramel

Method

Grease a round cake tin and arrange a pineapple ring in the centre.Arrange the rest of the slices to fill up the tin(I arranged half slices all over).
Keep a cherry half in the centre of the pineapple rings,the cut side touching the bottom of the tin.
Arrange halved almonds around the slices(flat side touching the bottom of the tin). 

Heat sugar in a heavy bottomed pan till it melts and becomes golden brown.Pour immediately in the cake tin on and around the pineapple slices.Keep aside.

Cream butter and milkmaid.

Beat well and add pineapple essence and yellow colour.

Sift together flour,baking powder and baking soda.

Add the flour and milk to the butter-milkmaid mix little by little till it becomes a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the decorated cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 150*C for 30-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven,loosen the sides and immediately turn into a wire rack to cool.

A peep into my fellow marathoners kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi
Happy Birthday to me..;-)

Mushroom Soup

Having soups along with dinner is something we have started doing of late.It helps to decrease the amount of rotis we gobble down..;-).Hubby was not the one for home-made soups though,he liked only a few soups and preferred to have it from his favorite restaurant!So I had an uphill task ahead to convince him that I make good soups too..;-).He dislikes tomato soup,so that was out of the question.I did not have any vegetable stock with me so I had to make a soup from scratch.

I got a packet of button mushrooms recently,so decided that I am gonna make a soup out of mushrooms.I remembered an easy recipe of creamy mushroom soup from a magazine,which I had shared with my cousin S.She had made it then and said her folks loved it.So I brushed up my memory a bit and made the soup.Hubby did not like it…He LOVED it.Thank God!!

Recipe Marathon - Day 22
Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

Button Mushrooms – 10,medium sized
Onion – 1,finely chopped
Milk – 2 cups
Butter – 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Chop the mushrooms into small pieces,reserve 2-3 and keep aside.
In a kadai,add ½ tsp butter and sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste,garlic paste,milk and let it boil.
Once it starts boiling,close with a lid and let it cool.
When it cools down completely,grind to a smooth paste in a mixer.
In the same kadai,add the rest of the butter and sauté onions.
Finely chop the mushrooms kept aside and sauté along with the onions.
Add the mushroom-milk mix and let it come to a rolling boil.
Serve hot with toast!!
Check out what my fellow marathoners have been cooking today!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Cheera (Keerai) Cutlet

The name got you interested isn’t it?The same interest (or was that curiosity?) was the reason I tried out this dish.All of you know about my dislike for greens and how I struggle to gobble down a greens dish just because its healthy!I have started liking dishes with greens only if they are disguised well,like Palak paneer.Next on my list is soups with greens ,but that’s for another time.

Coming to this cutlet,I came across this recipe in my ever-growing recipe collection.Got a bunch of cheera(keerai) and set about making it.My ignorance is the reason why am not able to say which keera I used;-).This recipe screams “healthy food”,mainly because it uses cheera as the main ingredient and second,it uses channa dal as the binding agent instead of the so-called-fatty potatoes.Enough rant about the goodness of this cutlet..make it and taste it to believe it!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 21
Cheera (Keerai) Cutlet

Ingredients

Cheera(Keerai) – 1 bunch
Channa dal – 1 cup
Onions – 2,finely chopped
Green chillies – 2,finely chopped
Ginger – 1’ piece,finely chopped
Coriander leaves – 1 cup,finely chopped
Chilly powder – 1 tsp
Pepper powder – 1 tsp
Bread – 5-6 slices,chopped into small pieces
Lime juice – of 1 lime
Grated coconut – ¼ cup
Bread crumbs as required
Salt to taste
Oil as required

Method

Chop the greens coarsely and dry fry in a kadai till it gets cooked-grind to a smooth paste.
Cook the channa dal just enough(shouldn’t be mushy),drain the water and keep aside-grind to a coarse paste when cooled.
In a kadai,add a tsp of oil and sauté onions,green chillies,ginger and grated coconut till they become evenly brown in colour.
Add pepper powder,chilly powder,chopped bread,lime juice and salt to taste.
Add the dal paste and greens paste to this and mix well.
Take a small portion in your hands and shape it as a cutlet.
Dip it in bread crumbs on both sides and shallow fry on a non-stick pan adding minimal oil.
When both sides are evenly browned,remove and serve hot!! More than a snack,it tastes great with rice as a side-dish,like this one.

My disastrous attempt at making them Heart-shaped!

A peep into my fellow Marathoners kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Mixed Vegetable Kurma

I am always looking for a side-dish for chapathi/phulkas.Since we have chapathis for dinner on most days,I look for variety at least in the side-dish.Mostly I prepare dal or pulses based dishes or mixed vegetable curries.Of the lot,I like curries with mixed veggies.Even though we like the Mixed vegetable Kurma that I make for chapathis as well as for idiyappams,it uses coconut as a base which we are trying to avoid these days.

I came across this wonderful recipe in Lakshmi Nair’s cookbook(Again!)..;-).All her recipes are superhits,so you don’t have to double check anything.Just follow the recipe instructions step by step and you sure will come out with great results.Once again,a keeper recipe.Tasted great with chapathis and I have kept aside some for pairing with Appam(Paalappam).

Recipe Marathon – Day 20
Mixed Vegetable Kurma

Ingredients

Carrots – 2
Beans – 6
Cauliflower – 2-3 florets
Potato – 1 big
Onions – 2,chopped
Green chilly – 1,chopped
Ginger-Garlic Paste – 3 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Haldi/Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – 1 ½ tsp
Cashewnuts – 25 gms(soaked in water and ground to a smooth paste)
Oil – 2 tsp
Milk – 1 cup
Water as required
Coriander leaves-for garnish
Salt to taste

Method

Chop the veggies into small cubes and cook in enough water,add salt to taste.
In a kadai,add oil and sauté onions and green chilly.
Add ginger-garlic paste,haldi,coriander powder and garam masala and sauté till the raw smell goes.
Let the mix cool a bit and then grind to a smooth paste.
Add this to the cooked vegetables and mix well till the masala coats the veggies.
Add the cashewnut paste and mix well.
When the curry starts to thicken,add milk and let it boil.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot!!
Check out what my marathon buddies have been cooking today!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi

Nei (Ghee) Roast ~ Step by Step Recipe

I am always confused whenever we go out for breakfast in a restaurant.I always order one thing and end up craving for another one on my neighbours plate..;-).I ask hubby what he’s having ,so that I can share his item and order something else..;-).A similar incident happened yesterday morning.We went to Saravana Bhavan for breakfast and we ordered our usual item-14 idli ghee sambhar,which is mini-idlis soaked in Sambhar with a spoonful of ghee as garnish.We simply love it and I was absolutely looking forward to have it with a hungry stomach.And here comes the twist,the 4-some in our next table ordered Nei(Ghee) roast and when I saw 4 Rocket shaped dosas smelling just divine,I wanted to have those..if given a chance,all 4 of them..;-).

There was no way I could stuff my stomach after the delicious bowl of mini-sambhar idlis.So the only option was to postpone my craving till our next visit or make it for breakfast the next day,and I chose the latter option.Had a scrumptious breakfast of Nei roast with thick coconut chutney today morning and felt so happy and content!!

Recipe Marathon – Day 19

Nei (Ghee) Roast

Ingredients

Idli rice – 2 cups
Urad dal – 1 cup
Methi seeds – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee – as required to make dosas

Method

Soak the rice and dal-methi separately and grind to a smooth paste.
Mix both the batters together,add salt to taste and keep the batter for fermenting overnight.
Add more water to the batter if it is too thick.
Place a dosa tawa on flame and make dosas.
Pour melted ghee on top and roast till the dosa becomes brown and crisp.

To make rocket dosa

Spread the batter thinly as you would to prepare a dosa.
Pour ghee and when it starts becoming brown and crisp,simmer the flame and make a small cut on the dosa with the dosa ladle from the middle to outside. Start rolling the dosa from the cut part till it becomes a rocket-shape. Serve hot with chutney.
For the Chutney
Add grated coconut(1 cup),1 green chilly,a small piece of tamarind,1 sprig curry leaves and salt to taste together and grind to a smooth paste WITHOUT adding water.If the chutney is too dry and does not grind easily,sprinkle few drops of water and then grind.

A peep into my fellow marathoners kitchen!!

1) DK
2) Siri
3) Srivalli
4) Ranji
5)PJ
6)Curry Leaf
7)Medha
8)Priya
9)Bhawna
10)Raaji
11)Ruchii
12)Anu
13)Kamala
14)Roopa
15)Rekha
16)Divya M
17)Lakshmi
18)Raaga
19)Lakshmi Venkatesh
20)Sripriya
21)Viji
22)Kamalika
23)Pavani
24)Karuna
25)Roochi