Moong dal cake

Hello,

Let us celebrate friendship day with a healthy,tasty and nutritious sweet made with moong dal. 

Happy Friendship Day to all my readers.

Moong dal cake

Ingredients

Moongdal - 1 1/2 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup

cardamom pod - a few

Method of Preparation

In a heated pan add moong dal, a teaspoonful ghee and dry roast till golden brown. allow the dal to reach room temperature. In a mixer add moong dal and sugar make a fine powder out of it. add a few cardamom pods to it. Powder further till you get absolutely fine powder. Put the powder into the pan and keep very low flame. Mix it gently by adding ghee. Now transfer into greased plate  Flatten it with a laddle. Cut into desired shape garnish with broken cashew nuts. If you add less ghee you can roll into soft melt in your mouth maladdu! 

Aloo fry

Hello,

Yet another kids favorite. Aloo fries with indian flavour! My kids are very fond of it. These potatoes are much heavier and longer than the ordinary pototes that we use. 

Ingredients

Potato - 3 long and large

crushed pepper/kashmiri red chilly powder - 1 tsp

salt as required

Oil required for shallow fry

Method of Preparation

Wash peel and cut pototo into long thin stripes. wash and cook in water for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the water. In a flat frying pan pour sunflower oil and shallow fry potato by arranging them well so that each piece gets cooked and roast in medium flame. Remove from the frying pan and place it on a kitchen absorbant towel allow the excess oil to drain from the fried aloo. Arrange in the serving plate gently sprinkle crushed pepper/red chilly powder and salt. Mix gently and serve with sauce. 

Bisi bisi vegetable Upma

Hello,

Let me share with you the worlds best breakfast. 

You thouhgt its very easy to make Upma wait, till I explain to you the process!! Its need lot of effort and technique to make tasty yummy upma.  Over the years I have mastered the art of making tasty Upma.

Ingredients

Semolina/sooji rawa -  1 1/2 cup

Vegetables 

Onion - 1

carrot - 1

beans - a few

ginger - a big piece

green chilly - 2

curry leaves - a few

sunflower oil - 1 tbsp

ghee - 2tbsp

coconut oil - 1 tsp

mustard seed - 1 tsp

broken urad dal - 1/2 tsp

channa dal - 1 tsp

hing powder - 1/2 tsp

salt - as required

Method of Preparation

*In a heated pan roast semolin/sooji rawa by adding a spoonful of oil till golden yellow. You will get the roasted aroma when its ready. Make sure you keep the flame low so that it will not burn the rawa. Remove it on a plate.

Wait till I explain to you the level of difficulty.

* cut all the vegetables into small pieces. Cut a few curry leaves. 

* Boil 3 to 4 cups of water in a vessel.

Pour oil in the same pan in which you fried the rawa. When hot add mustard, urad dal and channa dal. When mustard spluter add chopped vegetables fry till they are just cooked, add fried rawa, salt and hing powder and saute more. Once well mixed start adding boiled water 2 cups at first, reduce the flame allow the rawa to cook. After sometime add one more cup of boiled water, reduce the flame. Let the rawa cook till soft and tender like soft flowerets. Add curry leaves. If necessary add more water and cook further. But make sure you add just a little water at a time. Once done pour coconut oil on top and serve hot with pickle and curd/sambhar. 

Read how Upma won the best breakfast award!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/Up-Up-Upma-Indian-chef-wins-100000-prize-in-New-York/articleshow/8881462.cms

Ven Pongal with Gojju

 #breakfast

#dailymeal

From my food blog

Ven pongal with gojju, fruits

Recipe link

https://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/07/ven-pongal-with-gojju.html?m=0

I have recorded jamming that was happening in kitchen with my puppy calling me to play, the sizzling  of tadka and gojju boiling. The kitchen orchestra!

A delicious and simple breakfast on a Saturday morning. Pongal is a delicious dish prepared in many Tamil Brahmin homes as a breakfast dish. Its a whole dish with lentil and rice and freshly ground spices. 



Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal

Ingredients

Rice - 1/2 cup
moong dal - 1/4 cup
ginger Julian - 1/2 tsp
pepper corns - 1 tsp
jeera - 2 tsp
hing - 1/2 tsp
broken cashew nuts - 2 tsp
curry leaves - a few
ghee - 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

*In a bowl add raw rice and lentil together wash and pressure cook by adding salt and ginger. Now add 4 cups of water.

* In a small pan fry pepper, jeera  till the aroma releases and ground to a coarse powder.  

* In the same pan pour ghee and fry cashew nuts and curry leaves till golden brown.

Open the pressure cooker add ground spices and hing powder, mi well now add golden brown cashew nuts and curry leaves. Serve hot with Gojju.

Tomato onion gojju

Ingredients

Tomato - 2
onion - 1
green chilly - 2
ginger - a large piece

For frying
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
channa dal - 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and chop onion and tomato, green chilly and ginger into fine pieces. In a heated kadai pour oil add mustard seed, urad dal, and channa dal. Let mustard crackle. Now add all chopped vegetables and mi well, Allow the onion and tomato cook well. Now add two cups of water and boil till the gojju thickens. Serve as a side dish for Ven pongal.

Variation : You can add brinjal to this dish but make sure the brinjal is cooked well.   

Rajma chawal

Hello,

On our trip to Jammu Kashmir two years back we had the best Rajma chawal at Khajuria dhaba, Peerah.  The most delicious Rajma cooked fresh and served with plain rice, onion, chilly and junglee anar chutney.  I made Rajma for kids. They enjoy the soft tasty Rajma on a rainy day afternoon. 

Rajma

Ingredients

250 grams Chithrawali Rajma/small red rajma (organic) - 

2 onions

2 red ripe tomatoes

3 green chilies

A small piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic 

Dry masalas

1/;4 tsp turmeric powder 

1 teaspoon kashmiri lal mirch

1teaspoon coriander powder

1teaspoon jeera powder

1/2 tablespoon amchoor powder

1/2 tablespoon garam masala

1/2 tablespoon kasuri methi

salt to taste

Butter/ghee - 2 tbsp

1'tablespoon chopped coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method of Preparation

* Soak chithrawali Rajma overnight. Pressure cook add enough water by adding turmeric and salt cook for 3: to 4 whistles. 

*Open lid, use a mathu to gently mash. We want the rajma to be bit broken.

* Wash, peel, chop ginger, green chilies and garlic.

*Chop onions and tomatoes into very tiny pieces.

*In a thick bottom kadai or pressure pan pour ghee and add onion, garlic and green chilies and cook until it's well cooked.

*Add chopped tomatoes, cook in high flame for 4 minutes, 

*Add all dry masalas, mix well. 

*Keep  cooking it till the ghee separate. 

* Add cooked Rajma, mix well, we will cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. So that rajma is well blend with the masalas.

Add salt,( if needed, remember we have added salt while pressure cooking the rajma) and adjust taste. 

*Mix well add chopped coriander leaves. 

Serve hot with freshly cooked Basmati rice and vegetable salad. I am sure you will enjoy hot rajma on a rainy afternoon. My kids enjoy it with a bowl of yummy curd. 

Notes

*Cooked rajma should be slitely mashed for it to blend well with the masalas.

*Amchoor powder gives the tanginess wecare looking for in rajma, so don't forget to add it.

*Soaking rajma is very important, so that you save cooking time and rajma gets cooked in pressure cooker.

*Select good quality fresh rajma for best results.

Spiral Pasta soup with an Indian twist

Hello,

Today I tried to make pasta soup for kids. As always the recipe was modified Indian version! Try this I am sure you and your family will enjoy it.

Pasta Soup

Ingredients

Pastazzara Spiral pasta - 250 grms
Rajma - 100 grms
karamani/lobia bean - 1 tbsp
long bean - 4
onion - 1
tomato - 3
pepper powder - 1 tsp
Del monte pasta sauce - 1 cup
pasta cheese - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
bread - 6 slices

Method of Preparation

* Boil water in a large bowl add pasta cook till tender. Drain excess water and keep aside.

*Chop onion, tomato and long bean into 2 inch long pieces.

* Soak for about 5 hours and pressure cook rajma and karamani/lobia bean till soft. Preserve the cooked water.


* Before serving pasta soup toast bread slice.

In a thick bottom heated  pressure pan pour olive oil add onion, tomato and long bean saute for a while. Add cooked rajma and karamani/lobia. Mix well add pasta sauce and add cooked pasta, mix well and add preserved water from cooked rajma and lobia. Bring to boil add crushed pepper and garnish with two table spoon grated cheese serve hot with toasted bread.

Palak Paneer gravy

Hello,

I thought of sharing with you a very simple gravy. Palak 

paneer which is power house of protein, iron and calcium.

Essential for your growing kids and you. 

Ingredients

Palak - two bunches

paneer (cottage cheese) - 250 grms

onion - 1

green chilly - 3

ginger - a small piece

tomato - 1

coriander seeds - 1 tsp

jeera - 1 tsp

methi- 1/4 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash, remove stem and chop palak into big pieces. Add 

enough hot water and cook for 5 minutes.  Drain excess 

water and immediately put cooked palak into ice cold water. 

Remove water. Now use a blender and make a smooth 

puree out of palak. Peel and chop onion, green chilly, ginger

and tomato.  

Dry roast coriander, jeera and methi, crush to a coarse 

powder.  

Add two tsp of butter and sauté chopped onion, green chilly 

and ginger. Grind to a coarse paste.In little water cook 

chopped tomato and peel the outer skin.

Blend into a smooth paste.  In a heated kadai add 1

tsp ghee add onion paste and tomato paste. cook till 

ghee separate. 

Add palak puree and cook for 2 minutes. Add soft paneer 

cubes. Allow paneer to cook in palak gravy for about 3 

minutes. Add crushed masala. Mix well.Serve hot with 

phulkas.

                                                 Wash remove stem and 

chop palak into big pieces. Blanch in hot water for five 

minutes. Drain water and immediately put in a bowl of ice 

cold water. Drain water and blend palak to a fine puree in 

blender.

.Chop one onion, 3 green chilli, a small piece ginger, one 

tomato. In a heated kadai add 2 tsp of butter and saute 

chopped onion, green chilli, ginger, tomato till the raw smell 

goes. Grind in mixer adding a little water

                                 Pour two tsp ghee and saute tomato

 onion paste. Allow ghee to separate.

 in a heated small pan add 1 tea spoon jeera, 1 tea spoon 

coriander, 1/4 tsp methi. Dry roast and crush to coarse 

powder in morton and piston.


In hot water add paneer and allow it to become soft. Drain 

excess water keep aside.

When onion tomato paste is well cooked add palak. When 

palak puree is blend properly with onion tomato add soft 

paneer cubes.Allow paneer to cook well in palak. Its time to

add crushed jeera, coriander, methi powder. Mix well. Serve

hot with phulkas.

 







.