Chinese fried rice and chilli paneer gravy

Hello,

Today I made Chinese rice with lots of vegetables. I know how difficult it is for every mother all over the world to make children eat nutritious vegetables. Its very tough job. In fact kids make big fuss over veggies. But few dishes you can try where your child will relish and enjoy the crunchy tasty vegetables and enjoy eating without much difficulty. 

Chinese fried rice

Ingredients

Basmathi rice - 1 small cup

onion - 1

green chilli - 2

ginger a small piece

garlic - 2 pods

carrot - 2

beans - 5

cabbage - 50 grams

celery leaves - a few

clove - 2

cinnamon a small piece

capsicum - 1/2

green chilli sauce - 1/2 tsp

soy sauce - 1 tsp

salt as required

crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and keep the basmathi rice aside for 20 minutes. In a large pan pour water allow it to boil add basmathi rice and cook till soft and long. Drain excess water, spread in a tray.  Trim and chop all vegetables, chilli and ginger into very small pieces. In a heated kadai pour olive oil/sunflower oil add clove, cinnamon and allow it to release its delicious aroma. Now add onion, garlic, chilli and ginger, sauté for a while. Add rest of the vegetables one by one and sauté. Allow the vegetables to cook in high lame. Add crushed pepper, soy sauce, green chilli sauce and celery leaves.  Cook till the vegetables are well cooked and crunchy. Now add prepared basmathi rice adjust salt and mix gently. Serve hot with Chilli Paneer  gravy.

Chilli Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Gravy

Ingredients

Paneer - 200 grams

corn starch - 2 spoon(add two cups of water )

ginger a small piece

green chilli 2

spring onion - a few

garlic - 2 pods

Paneer miracle masala - 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and cut small cubes out of Paneer. Add a little salt and crushed pepper and roast it in a frying pan till golden brown. Keep aside. In a thick bottom pan add a little olive oil add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilli. Sauté for a while. Now add corn starch mixed with water. Make sure you mix it well and no lumps are there. Allow the mixture to boil stir well. As the corn starch  will make it very thick.. Add a tea spoon of Chinese Paneer miracle masala and stir further, Now add a little soy sauce and add roasted paneer. Allow it to mix well. Sprinkle spring onion and serve hot with prepared chinese fried rice.  

Bread Pakoda evening snack for kids

A quick snack for children. Use fresh bread for this Pakoda. I have used atta (whole wheat) bread,

Bread pakoda/bajji. Evening snack for children.

Ingredients

Bread slice - 5 to 6
Besan - 1 cup
Chat masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Salt as required
Oil for frying

Method of preparation

Cut bread into four. In a bowl add besan and rest of the ingredients. Add water n make a thick batter. In a heated kadai pour enough oil for frying. Adjust the flame. Keep the frying oil in medium heat dip each bread piece in batter and fry till golden brown. 

Serve hot with tomato ketchup/coriander pudina chutney.

Whole Tuwar Dal

Whole tuvar dal. Trying a new recipe. Its first time. Fingers crossed. Surprisingly the dish turned out to be very tasty. 

Whole tuvar dal 

Soak and cook in pressure cooker

Onion tomato masala

Tuvar dal masala 

Ingredients

Tuvar dal - 150 gram 
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1 large
Green chilli - 2
Ginger a large piece
Dhaniya powder - 1 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala -1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Clove - 1
Jeera -1/4 tsp
Bay leaves - 1

Method of preparation

Soak and pressure cook tuvar dal by adding turmeric and salt.  

Chop onion, tomato, ginger and chilli. Grind and keep aside.

In a pressure pan pour ghee or oil add jeera, bay leaves one clove. Let the jeera release its aroma now add onion paste and saute till it release oil. Add cooked tuvar dal. Add all the dry masala powders and pressure cook for two whislte. Remove and pour in a serving bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves.   Serve hot with freshly made phulkas or basmathi rice.

Cauliflower masala (Restaurant style)

Cauliflower masala restaurant  style for roti. A quick gravy.  

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 250 grams
Onion - 1 large
Tomato -1 large
Capsicum yellow and green - 1/2 each
Ginger a large piece
Green chilli - 2
Cashew nuts ,- 1 tbsp
Thick curd - 1/2 cup

Dry masala

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder -1 tsp
Dhaniya powder -1 tsp
Badhshaa vegetables masala - 1/2 tsp

Method of preparation

Wash and put cauliflower florets in hot water add a little salt. Keep aside for 20 minutes. Drain excess water.

In a kadai add little oil and roast cauliflower in slow fire till its brown spots appear. 

Chop vegetables into big cubes.

Grind cashew nuts and curd into a fine blend. 

Grind onion, tomato, green chilli, ginger into smooth paste. Pour ghee/ oil in kadai add jeera, saunf and clove. Let the spice release its aroma.  Now add yellow and green bell peppers (capsicum) and saute. Carefully add roasted cauliflower. Mix well. Adjust salt. Add cashew but paste. Reduce flame and mix well. Add dry masalas and garnish with coriander leaves. Its taste best with phulkas.

Karadaiyan Nombu salted and sweet adai/Uppu and Vella adai

Karadaiyan Nombu Uppu and Vella adai.

Karadaiyan Nombu salted and sweet adai.

For salted adai

Raw rice powder - 1 cup(roasted)
Lobiya bean soaked and cooked - 2 tbsp
Coconut sliced into small pieces - 1 tbsp
Salt a required
Oil a teaspoon
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal 1/2 tsp
Green chilli one chopped
Curry leaves a few

Method of Preparation

In a heated pan pour oil, mustard seeds, urad dhal. Allow mustard to crackle. Add curry leaves and green chili. Pour two cups of water and allow it to boil. Add roasted rice powder, lobiya bean and coconut. Mix well. Make sure no lumps are formed. Add salt. Once the dough is soft off the stove.

Wash and grease with oil banana leaves. Take a small lemon sized ball of the prepared dough and make small thin disk. Make a hole in the middle. Gently place it on the leaves. Prepare the rest of the adai and steam it in idly vessel or cooker for 12 minutes.  Once done remove from the leaves and arrange in hot casserole. Serve it with unsalted butter.

Sweet adai

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup(roasted)
Jaggery - 1/2 cup( melted)
Coconut sliced into small pieces - 1 tbsp
Lobiya bean cooked - 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

Boil two cups of water add raw rice, coconut and lobiya bean. Mix well. Add melted jaggery and mix well and cook for a while till the dough is soft. Let it cool. In the meanwhile grease banana leaves. Make small ball and gently press it into a small disk. Continue making adai with the rest of the dough. Place a hole in the middle. Steam the adai for about 12 minutes. Serve it with unsalted butter.

The two types of delicious adai is made during savithri vrat in the south. Its known as Karadaiyan Nombu.

Tomato pickle from garden fresh tomatoes

Today was harvest day from my terrace garden. A handful of freshly plucked tomatoes.

Tomato pickle

Fresh tomatoes 1/2 kg
Red chilli a handful
Badige chilli - 3
Coriander seeds -1 tsp
Jeera -1 tsp
Methi -1/4 tsp
Hing a large piece
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad deal - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt as required
Ginger a large piece
Green chilli -2
Oil 4 tbsp

Method of preparation

Wash chop tomato, ginger and green chili. Dry roast red chilli, coriander seeds, jeera, mustard seeds, hing,methi. Crush to powder.

Pour oil in a heated pan add mustard, chana deal and urad dal. Allow mustard to crakle. Add chopped tomato, ginger and green chili. Saute and allow to cook till soft. Add turmeric powder, crushed masala powder. Mix well adjust salt. Simmer and cook for about 5 more minutes till all masalas are well mixed and tomatoes are tender and soft. By now you will see oil is separated from the pickle. Off stove and cool down. Serve as a side dish with curd rice. 

Pan Cake with Maple Syrup

Pan cake

Ingredients

Baking powder -1 tsp

Egg -2

Whole wheat flour - 200 grams

Sugar - 2 tbsp(powder)

Salt as required

Butter milk - 1 1/2 cup

Method of preparation

Beat egg. In a deep bowl add wheat flour, salt, sugar power,

butter milk and eggs. Gently mix. Now add butter milk. Mix 

everything and make a thick batter. Leave it for 20 minutes.

In a heated pan add butter and place one ladleful of batter. In

medium flame cook both sides till golden brown. Serve with 

maple syrup.

For variation chop and add a handful of cranberry/banana/ choco chips