Recipe Index

Baby Corn Paneer Jalfrezi

July 30, 2012 By anusha 10 Comments

How To Make Baby Corn Paneer Jalfrezi?

BABY CORN PANEER JALFREZI- BABY CORN & COTTAGE CHEESE COOKED IN A TANGY SAUCE.

Before i delve into Baby Corn Paneer Jalfrezi recipe, i have some things to share.Have you heard my diatribe on corn before?? If not please, i insist you read my post on corn katti rolls. I am not that gal who goes all oohing and aahing over a bowl of corn kernels. I m not even that person who is visited by sudden gung ho when i pass through fields where corn taller than me has grown. I admit they are beautiful but only grudgingly though.

No kind of corn appeals to me a great deal and baby corn is no exception. But the combinations of a meal platter that is possible with baby corn will leave anyone more than amazed. I have a list as long as the Hanuman s tail. What s the list about?? Oh its got baby corn recipes. I find the light yellow of the baby corn light on the eye and boy! am i addict to those crispy baby corn fritters. Probably a recipe that i ll write up soon. In the meanwhile, here s baby corn paneer jalfrezi.

Recipe For Baby Corn Paneer Jalfrezi

( Learn how to make baby corn paneer jalfrezi, a simple curry with tender baby corns and cottage cheese)

Ingredients

Baby corn 8 cut length wise
Paneer cubes 1 cup
Bell pepper 1 sliced thinly
Spring onions chopped finely 1 cup divided
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Hing a pinch
Ginger green chili paste 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a large pinch
Chili powder 1/4 tsp
Tomato puree 1/4 cup
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander for garnish

Directions

In a pan, heat oil.
Add cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add hing,ginger chili paste, spring onions and capsicum.
Saute until capsicum becomes just tender and the spring onions begins wilting. Let s say this takes about 30 secs.
Now, add the spice powders and saute for another 30 secs.
At this stage, add the baby corn and saute for a min.
Now, add the tomato puree and cook till oil separates.
Add salt to the mixture and combine well.
Add paneer cubes next and mix gently.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with any flat bread of your choice.
This is in memory of the wonderfully talented Barbara of Winos and Foodies who lost her battle to cancer recently. I dint have the chance to know her personally but then her blog is a testament by itself to her life and her willpower.This month s Monthly Mingle is all about A Taste Of Yellow and is being hosted at Cook Sister in memory of Barbara. We are all cooking something in yellow this month for Barbara, the brilliant blogger!

Arisi Kadala Paruppu Payasam- Rice& Chana Dal Pudding

July 22, 2012 By anusha 8 Comments

August is the month of festivals and it is the time to make Payasam including this delicious and simple Arisi Kadala Paruppu Payasam.It starts off with the red letter amavasya and newly wed brides amidst the madhwas perform gouri pooja for five weeks on tuesdays. In that sense, every week brings in a festive day and the lunch menu almost always is a huge spread. The usual lunch accompanied by a koshimbir, kheer and lentil fritters, when the lunch is over, our tummies are begging us to let go and leave a little for the others to eat. Let not forget the tables that groan under the weight of all the food served.

We madhwas have a few restrictions on what to make on a festival day and along those lines, moong dal, yams, greens and such stuff are not to be cooked. And every festival has a predetermined menu. So what was the menu for the amavasya this thursday? Eggplant mor kuzhambu, fried okra, apple rasam, koshimbir, lentil fritters and then this delicious rice chana dal pudding.
I love Arisi Paruppu payasam for so many reasons but mainly because it uses jaggery and is loaded with proteins. A health package and a dessert too. Can it get healthier than that? Oh boy. Yes it can. Cos you can almost make this with as little ghee as possible. Of course, i wont deny that the taste element goes upto another level when there s oodles of ghee. But for the conscious, you know what i m talking about, dont you?? This recipe also doesnt require a gourmet chef in action. It s an easy sail and no one can get it wrong.

Prep Time: Under 10 mins
Cook Time: Under 30 mins
Serves 4 to 6

(The chana dal must be firm and cooked and not mushy. You can avoid the condensed milk and add more jaggery if you desire. Freshly pressed coconut milk takes this pudding to completely another level. The first pressed milk tastes best. In case of freshly pressed milk, use about 3/4 cup. In case of using packed coconut milk, dilute it with about 1/4 cup of water. You can also add bits of coconut to the pudding in the end. I used amul mithai mate for my condensed milk but you can use any brand you desire.)

Ingredients

Raw rice 1/2 cup
Channa dal 1/2 cup
Jaggery grated 1 cup
Condensed milk 1/2 cup
Coconut Milk 1/2 cup diluted
Green cardamom crushed about 3 pods
Cashews broken 15
Raisins a handful
Ghee 3 tbsp

How To Make It?

Wash the channa dal and rice and pressure cook for 3 whistles until the rice is cooked and the dal is cooked but firm.
Once done, add the jaggery to the rice dal mixture and mix well until the rice is mashed well and the mixture is well combined.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan.
Add the crushed cardamom pods and the rice mixture.
Saute on medium flame for about 2 mins.
Now, add the coconut milk and the condensed milk and combine well.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 4 to 5 mins on medium flame.
Now, heat the remaining ghee in another pan.
Add the cashews. After about 30 secs, add the raisins.
Wait till the cashews become light brown and the raisins fluff up.
Add to the pudding.
Mix well.

Serve warm as dessert after a huge lunch.
Sending this to My Legume Love Affair hosted by Simona of Briciole

Simple Cabbage Saute Recipe| Side Dish for Flatbread

July 21, 2012 By anusha 4 Comments

In my vegetable likes list, there are ranges from frenzy to hatred. If you know, what i m talking about, then you also have a similar list. Coming to the list itself, while there are some veggies that can give me a heady feeling of euphoria, ( almost like the fragrance of petrol or even some varnish) there are some which i think are probably God s way of punishing the once excessively naughty and troublesome me. Well, you guessed it right and one such veggie is the Cabbage. The ubiquitous cabbage. The smelly cabbage. The cabbage in red. The cabbage in green. The cabbage in yellow. The cabbage that tastes bitter. The cabbage with the thick and lumpy leaves. Oh, i could go on and on.

If you allow me, i ll write a sonnet or an ode for the cabbage and will probably call it An Ode To The Vegetable That Needs A Body Spray sort of thing. Do you get my idea? Now that i ve actually started off, i might as well write a sonnet or rather an ode. It will probably go like this.

The fat ole cabbage,

stink full of leaves,

And some of greens.

In the lush green fields,

A place it has,

And people who tend to it,

But no matter what,

Its just stink that the cabbage leaves.

So full of peeves.

The deep purple ones,

the creamy yellow tonnes,

And then the spring green fellas.

So much of color and yet all the same.

No matter what color,

what shape.

The cabbage is just one big round

which is lifeless and

then of course, tasteless!

Now that s what happens when you get me started on cabbage. I cant believe i wrote a whole poem. Ok so now that i ve told you all about my intense dislike for cabbage, i also have to agree that its not as bad as it smells and then, there s the phosphorous in it. So i do eat it now and then but i make sure that i make it in a decent way. This is just one of my ways of making cabbage and is probably as easy as eating a cake. Try it on one of those days when you are not upto too much chopping or when you are running late for that pedicure appointment but yet to make lunch. Oh and yeah and by the way, i must accept,cabbage makes a fantastic photo subject. So its definitely not as bad as it stinks. I m just saying.

Recipe For Simple Cabbage Saute

( Learn how to make a simple cabbage saute with spices and cabbage)

Ingredients

Cabbage chopped finely 2 cups
Onion 1 large chopped finely
Tomatoes 2 small chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Carom seeds 1/2 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Spice Powders:

Red chili powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin Coriander powder 1/2 tsp

Garnish:

Chopped coriander leaves 2 tbsp

Directions

Heat oil in a pan.
Add cumin seeds and caraway seeds.
Once they crackle, add the onions and saute until pink.
At this stage, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 30 secs.
Next add in the spice powders and saute for 30 secs.
At this stage, add the chopped tomatoes and cook till oil separates.
Now, add the cabbage and salt and cook on a low flame for about 7 to 8 mins until the cabbage is cooked.

Once done,garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Sending this to Kalyani s Kitchen Chronicles Only Vegan hosted by Vardhini this month.

Bitter Gourd Chips

July 17, 2012 By anusha 7 Comments

Let me be honest here. I m not a fan of bitter gourd. Mr.P eats it though but not with much fervor. But then, when i amble along the farmer s market and my eyes chance upon them, i do feel that sudden upsurge of guilt in me. Amma s voice admonishing in the back of my head for not eating my veggies right. And then, i ll go all in a frenzy and buy half a kilo of them. Only to regret the decision later and give away the gourds to the maid. That s my love hate relationship with bitter gourds.

There s one exception to the vegetable though. Bitter gourd chips are my favorite.Maybe because i can munch on them guilt free. Whatever the reason, i ve been in love with these chips since the time i got to taste them at Adyar Anand Bhavan some years back. The chips were forgotten for a while until i saw them at the store on my last trip home. From then on, i wanted to make them at home and finally here they are. I m sure you will enjoy them. Even the bitter gourd haters out there.

(This recipe requires an enormous amount of patience. Dont drop the coated bitter gourds in a cluster. Make sure each one of them is separate. I wanted to add sesame seeds to the batter but then forgot at the last minute. In case you experiment, let me know. Dont remove the chips from the oil until the hissing sound subsides. Or you ll land up with soggy chips. More like bitter gourd bajji. Get my point? In case you want to make a large batch, then after you fry them completely at 200 C for about 10 mins. And dont add more liquid than mentioned in the recipe. The amount of liquid is the key factor in getting the chips crunchy munchy.)
Prep Time: Under 15 mins
Cook Time: Under 20 mins
Yields about 2 cups

What You Need?

Bitter Gourds 3 sliced thinly but not deseeded

Corn Flour 1/8 cup

Chickpea flour 1/8 cup

Rice flour 1/8 cup

Cumin powder 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder 3/4 tsp

Red chili powder 2 tsp

Fennel powder 1/8 tsp ( optional)

Curd 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

How To Make It?

In a large mixing bowl, place the bitter gourds and all the other ingredients except the curd and the oil.
Combine well.
Now, add the curd and mix well ensuring that the batter coats the gourd slices evenly and generously.
Heat oil in a pan.
Wait until it reaches the right heat. Make sure the oil is hot enough but not smoking.
Now, drop the bitter gourd slices one by one.
Reduce the flame to a low medium and fry till golden brown and the hissing sound from the oil subsides.
The whole quantity will get done in 2 to 3 batches but a lot of patience is required.
Once golden brown, transfer the chips onto kitchen towels and store in an airtight container.

Snack on them while you enjoy a cup of hot coffee or a mug of chocolate.

Snake Gourd Lentil Stew Version 2 for Blog Hop Wednesdays

July 13, 2012 By anusha 15 Comments

Between all the people visiting me like crazy and my visiting spree during which i ve made making my parents life full of torments and tumults the dictate of my existence, cooking has been put on the back burner. Well, one can only do so much. Isnt it?? But in the little time that i cooked, i managed to whip up some delicious stews and sides. The stews basically laden with lentils of all sorts and sides as usual bursting with veggies. That s just the dieter part of me worrying about our dose of proteins. And yes i do diet! (emphasises again) So when Radhi paired me up with Sangee, i was, let me think. I was euphoric. Sangee, who is also one of the gourmets on Gourmet Seven, is a fabulous cook who has walked more than an extra mile when it comes to conjuring delicious pots of food. Her space is a delight to any vegetarian and non vegetarian though she s primarily veggie. I had too many recipes that i wanted to try but too lil time. But the thought of this lentil stew with chunks of snake gourd appealed to me more than anything. Lets just say when she posted this recipe, i couldnt wait to lay my hands on these gourds! Needless to say, that sunday when i got back from the farmer s market, i had an armload of veggies which included these gorgeously green gourds. The recipe s quite a breeze to prep up and make. And its definitely comfort on a sunday when all you want to do is lie down on that couch and watch old movies with your belly full of food that will make you feel all cozy and fuzzy inside. Get my idea?I ve one more version of this stew and that s without the onions and tomatoes.Try both. After all, will i lead you astray?

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Cook Time: Under 30 mins
Serves 2 to 3
Pair This Up With Vatral Kuzhambu, steamed rice and some poppadums

( I tweaked Sangee s recipe a little bit. I used channa dal or bengal gram mostly with little moong dal. You can make it the other way too. Also, i did not pressure cook the onions but sauteed them before adding the cooked dal and the ground paste.)

What You Need?

Snake gourds 2 medium chopped into roundels
Channa dal or bengal gram 1/4 cup
Moong dal 2 tbsp
Onion 1 medium finely chopped
Tomatoes 2 small finely chopped
Turmeric powder a large pinch
Oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

For The Paste:

Coconut grated 1/4 cup
Green chilies 4
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

To Temper:

Oil 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Curry leaves a sprig
Hing a large pinch
Dry red chili 1

How To Make It?

Grind together coconut, green chilies and cumin to form a smooth paste.Add water as necessary. Set aside.
In a flat bottomed vessel, place the dal, snake gourd and tomatoes in that order in a layered fashion. Add water and turmeric and pressure cook for 3 whistles until the dals are cooked but make sure not to cook them till mushy.
Now, in a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add onions and saute till pink.
Now, add the ground mixture and cook on low flame for about 1 min.
Next add the gourd and the cooked dal and saute for about 2 mins on medium flame. Combine well but gently making sure you dont make the mixture mushy in the process. We are looking forward to eating those tender bengal gram bits.

At this stage, add the salt and stir well.
Simmer for about 2 to 3 mins on medium flame.
Now, in a tempering pan, heat oil.
Add mustard seeds and once they crackle, add the rest of the ingredients.
Add this to the lentil mixture and gently combine.

And thats it! Our stew is ready to be devoured alongside hot rice and ghee. Some poppadoms wont hurt either. Just dont think about that growing waist line!
This goes off to Blog Hop Wednesdays Week 19 and My Legume Love Affair hosted by Simona for Susan this month.

Flax Seed Curry Leaves Spice Powder

June 28, 2012 By anusha 5 Comments

I m not a big fan of spice powders. Strange for that statement to come from a person who s a south indian at her very core. We southies eat a variety of these spiced powders. Called as podi, no south indian household is complete without a generous stock of this stashed away in the pantry. Why i m not a fan is something i m yet to discover.But then after making this powder, i ve changed my mind. I m in love with the concept of eating dosas with spice powders mixed with copious amounts of sesame oil.Or better yet. Mix a heaped tablespoon of this along with some ghee, hot steamed rice and some salt and gorge on this for breakfast.

I m salivating now. And the brownie point is that this s so healthy!Flax and curry leaf! Can you beat the duo? No.On second thought, there are two brownie points. The other being this s such a breeze to make in the kitchen. So get your blenders ready. We are all set to go!

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Cook Time: Under 20 mins
Makes about 200 g

What You Need?

Flax seeds 1/2 cup
Curry leaves fresh ones preferably 1 cup packed
Bengal gram or kadala paruppu or channa dal 1/2 cup
Urad dal or black gram or ulundhu paruppu 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Sesame seeds 2 tsp
Dry red chilies 15
Hing 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 1.5 tbsp

How To Make It?

In a kadai, dry roast the curry leaves until aromatic. Takes about 3 to 4 mins. The leaves must not have any moisture left.
Then in the same kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil.
Now, add the channa dal and urad dal and roast till they turn a light brown.
Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In the same kadai, add the coriander seeds, hing,cumin seeds and the flax seeds and roast till aromatic.
Now, finally, add the dry red chilies and saute for 2 mins.
Let all this cool down completely.
Once cool, add salt and grind to a coarse mixture or a fine powder.That option s purely yours.

Store in an airtight container and relish your idlies, dosas or rice with this delicious yet healthy spice mix.

Battenberg Cake ~ Daring Baker Challenge 2

June 27, 2012 By anusha 20 Comments

I ve made so many cakes before.But all of them have been one bowl or simple ones until now. I ve not had the nerve to ice a cake till now.Let alone make a post of it. I mean i did frost one and it was beautiful and all that but somehow,i knew i could do better.So, this month when the daring baker challenge was announced, i was both excited and a lil scared. I wanted to try the cake real bad but at the same time, so many things about this cake daunted me. Like the chocolate plastique for starters.I wont say this s a great attempt but then even though slightly run of the mill, the cake boosted my confidence like hell. And that s why i thought i m definitely posting my cake!
So what s battenberg cake? I sure had not heard of it before this challenge. And i must say it was quite a challenge!When Oggi couldnt make it to host this month s challenge, Mandy of What The Fruit Cake came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg cake challenge. She highlighted Mary Berry s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease. I must say she made the whole thing a lot simpler for us and i m so in love with that chocolate plastique that she gave us.She even suggested a combination of flavors. Thanks Mandy! Well, off to the cake now.

I must tell you all that this requires some amount of planning and a lot of patience.The reason why my cake looks a lil badly finished is because the pink half broke into two when i was turning it out from the tin and i had a very difficult time assembling the cake. So this cake s all about patience and slow down actions! You cant make this snappy!

Prep Time: Under 30 mins for the cake
Under 30 mins for the chocolate plastique
Cook Time: 30 mins for the cake
Under 20 mins to knead the plastique
Under 20 mins for the assembly
Makes an 8″X6″ cake
(Because i dint have enough butter to make buttercream, i used jam.But in case you are using chocolate plastique, your best bet is some butter cream icing.I really wanted to take pics of the tin and the prep of the cake but i was so short on time that i couldnt.I ll make the cake sometime again and repost the pics.Until then, just enjoy the finished pics :))

What You Need?

For The Cake:

Butter softened and unsalted 3/4 c
Castor Sugar 3/4 c
Self Raising Flour 1 and 1/4 c
Eggs 3 large at room temperature
Almonds ground 1/2 c
Baking powder 3/4 tsp
Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
Almond extract 1/4 tsp
Pink food coloring liquid or paste or gel a little

For The Dark Chocolate Plastique

Cooking dark chocolate 200g chopped coarsely
Liquid glucose syrup or corn syrup 4 tbsp

Special Equipment:

Battenberg cake tin or an 8″X8″ cake pan divided into two with the help of parchment.

To Finish:

Any fruit jam 1/2 c and some more

How To Divide The Cake Tin?

You Will Need:

Butter paper or parchment paper.
Tin foil

Fold a sheet of tin foil several times to reinforce the divide.
Now, fold the butter paper into half and insert the folded tin foil in the fold.
Now, grease the pan with butter and place the parchment paper with the tin foil in between.
The butter will help glue the paper onto the pan.
Your battenberg tin s ready.

How To Make The Plastique:

In a double boiler,melt the chocolate until glossy and shiny.
Let it cool for about 5 mins.
Now, add the corn syrup or liquid glucose syrup.
The chocolate will seize up immediately.
Now, in a sealable bag, place the chocolate mixture, spread it evenly and leave it overnight or leave it in the fridge to set for about 2 hours.

How To Make The Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180C.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Now, add the eggs, vanilla, almond extract and whisk until the mixture is light and just combined.
At this stage, add in the flour and whisk until well combined.
Now, divide the batter into two.
In one half, add the food color and mix well.
Now, place the pink batter in one half of the tin.
And the yellow batter in the other half.
Bake for 25 to 30 mins till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool completely before you turn the cake out.
Now, trim the edges of both the cakes and cut them into 2 vertically.Make sure all the strips of the same size to get an even finish.
You will have 4 vertical strips of alternate colors now.
On a large cutting board, place the cake strips.
Heat the jam on high in the microwave for 1 and 1/2 minutes.
The jam would have become liquid now.
Spread the jam on the sides of the cake strips.
Combine one pink strip and yellow strip this way.
Now, spread the jam on the top of the cake strips.

Combine the other two strips in the same fashion like you did the first two strips.
Place the combined two strips over the first two strips making sure that the pink strip is over the yellow strip and the yellow strip s over the pink strip.The objective is to get an alternate checkered pattern in the cake.
Now, remove the chocolate from the sealable bag and start kneading the chocolate on a surface coated with powdered sugar,
It will break in the beginning but as it warms up and will become pliable.
Knead until you get a dough like structure out of the chocolate.
Now, roll out the chocolate plastique into a thin sheet of rectangle.
Spread the jam over the chocolate well so that once you place the cake, it will stick to it and stay firm.
Now, place the cake on one end of the chocolate rectangle and start rolling the cake making sure that the chocolate covers the cake well.

Now, trim the broad ends of the cake a little bit to get an even finish.
A battenberg keeps well for 2 to 3 days. Dont put it the fridge as the chocolate hardens up and the cake becomes a lil crumbly. Keep it in an airtight container and enjoy a slice whenever you breeze in and out of the kitchen.And at that rate, you neednt even be contemplating storage.Just saying though !

Corn Flakes Cookies~ Vegan

June 21, 2012 By anusha 7 Comments

I was a butter person. Note the tense. Was. That s the grammar gal in me talking. But i am now a convert. No, its not that i m crazily becoming a vegan or something.Its just that the prospects of me sweating it out in a gym seems scary to me. So we go easy on the butter these days.And i try and veganise cookies. Mind you only cookies. Why? Because i like cookies with less mess and butter means a lot of measuring, calculating and cleaning up. The others. The cakes, the breads and everything else, we eat oodles of butter. Am i sounding self contradictory? Yes i m. I just dint want to tell the whole world that i m a lazy bag on bones who hates softening butter and cookies means i ve to soften butter.Or i dont get the texture right. Did you even think that i ll worry about work outs? Come on.. are you kidding me?

Anyway, i made these cornflakes cookies for two reasons. One, they are chewy and i absolutely love chewy cookies. And two because, Mr.P in the name of dieting picks up about half a dozen boxes of cereal and never bother to open them. He always manages to eat dosas or poha.Anyway that s another story.But these cookies are gone now.Not even a crumb left to feed the poor squirrels who rummage about for food in my trash. So, will you bake these?

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Chilling Time: 1 hour to 12 hours max( refer notes)
Cook Time: 12 mins
Yields 16 cookies

(Let me warn you! these cookies are not quickies.In my opinion no cookie s a cookie. Because you have to chill the dough to have fabulous cookies. And you must chill the dough atleast 10 hours. I baked 2 batches of cookies. One with dough chilled for an hour. And the other chilled for 10 hours.And i must say there was a phenomenal difference in both. You can make this a normal cookie by using 1/2 cup butter instead of oil and cow s milk or full fat milk instead of soy milk. The baking powder acts as a brilliant leavening agent in this cookie and hence no eggs.)

What You Need?

Flour 1 cup
Corn flakes 1 cup
Corn flakes coarsely crushed 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup powdered
Canola or any flavorless vegetable oil 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
Baking powder 1/4 tsp
Salt 1/8 tsp
Soy milk about 2 tbsp
16 cashew halves to top the cookies

How To Make It?

In a medium mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, salt and baking powder.
Add the sugar and combine well.
Now, in another large mixing bowl, place the oil and the vanilla extract.
Add in the sieved flour slowly until just combined.
Use your hands and gently bring the dough together until it forms a mass.
The dough should be a teeny weeny bit crumbly at this stage.
Wrap with cling film and let it sit in the fridge for about 10 hours at least.
At the end of the chilling time, preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a baking tray with tin foil.

Take out the dough and if you find it too hard to mix, add about 1 tbsp of the milk and try and bring together the dough.Add the remaining only if required.
Now, add the corn flakes to the dough and mix gently.
Its ok if they break a lil in the process.The idea is to get those lovely crunchy flakes as you eat the cookie.
Once you are done, divide the dough into 16 equal portions.
Shape each portion into a small ball and coat them with the crushed corn flakes.
Gently flatten the cookies into flat discs and place them on the baking tray atleast 1/2 inch apart.Place a cashew half on each cookie in the middle.
Bake for 12 mins until you get a light golden crust on the top.
I must tell you that at the 8th min, the house was enveloped in a heavenly smell of vanilla along with that comforting aroma of a cookie baking.
The cookies will be a lil soft when you take them out.
They harden once they cool down.If you bake for longer, then the cookies become very hard. Mine were perfectly done and chewy.
Transfer to an air tight container.

Enjoy with a glass of cold milk or hot chocolate.
Can there be a better meal?
Sending these cookies to I love Baking 5, Lets Cook Kids Special and Vardhini s Bake Fest 8 hosted byReshmi

Peerkangai Thugayal Recipe| Easy Chutney Recipes

June 20, 2012 By anusha 18 Comments

My fancy for gourds s unrelenting. Especially my love for ridge gourds. Its something like the ice cream love that you have when you are a kid. Everytime the ridge gourds make an appearance at the market, i ve to buy them. Many a times, i even turn my head away from the vendor who has beautifully arranged the gourds on his wicker basket. But no. I know i ll walk back to that guy and without a second thought buy 2 or 3 of those fleshy gourds no matter what the price. If you ask me why, i really dont know except that my love for these gourds is something special. If you ask me how i cook it, then i only have 3 ways of making it. One in a dal and the other this chutney. And then fritters. I dont know any other recipes. Nor do i want to know. Because i want to keep the memory of eating tender ridge gourd chutney unadulterated.

I make this chutney in 2 or 3 ways. This way is just one of them. Actually this s technically a Thuvayal or Thugayal as the tamilians back home call it. There s a lot of difference between chutney and thugayal.While a chutney s traditionally served with idlies, dosa or upma, the thugayals are made with some vegetable and are eaten along side rice.Or some people, i call them the thugayal devotees mix them with the rice itself and devour it like there s no tomorrow. I m proud to say i m one of those. These thugayals are a God send when you are short on veggies or when you really dont have the mood to whip up pot after pot of rasam and sambhar and curry. Its a terrific God send when you are just back from a tiresome day punctuated with an arm load of shopping and eating too much road side food. Try this with a cup of hot rice and generous spoonfuls of ghee and you wont be disappointed.
( You can add more coconut if you desire.You can even substitute the green chilies with dry red chilies. Saute all the ingredients separately.Use the stalks of the coriander leaves too for a nice flavor.In case you dont have tamarind, then add about 2 tsp of tamarind paste that you get ready made.)

Recipe For Peerkangai Thugayal

( Learn to make peerkangai thugayal, an easy chutney or dip with ridge gourds)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Serves 2 generously

Allergy Info: Vegan, Nut And Soy Free

Course: Side

Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

Tender ridge gourd 1 large one peeled and cubed
Tamarind the size of a marble
Coconut grated 1/4 cup
Urad dal 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves a small bunch
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Green chilies 4 to 5
Oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

To Temper:

Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Oil 1 tbsp
Hing a large pinch
Curry leaves a sprig

Directions

Heat a kadai with 1 tbsp oil.
Saute the gourd and the green chilies until the gourds are tender and have wilted. Takes about 5 mins.
Now, transfer this to a bowl and set aside to cool.
In the same kadai, add the urad dal and cumin seeds and roast for about 1 min until the dal is a light brown. Set aside to cool.
Once cool, place the gourd, chilies, tamarind, urad dal, cumin, salt, coriander leaves and coconut in the blender and grind to a thick paste without adding any water. The water in the gourd is sufficient to grind this.
Transfer to a bowl and temper with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves.
Serve alongside rice and rasam or mix it up with hot rice, add a spoonful of ghee or sesame oil and devour it with papadams or chips.

Chocolate Bark

June 19, 2012 By anusha 10 Comments

In the midst of all that was loaded onto my plate, the fact that i completed a year of blogging went by just like any other day. I completed a year of Tomato Blues on the 14th June. Little did i know a year back, that i would get so hooked on to writing about food and more so ever, making food with a fervor unbeknownst to my folks back home and here. The kitchen s all i need. A skillet s all i want. I was a girl who loved shopping for her clothes.There was a time when not a month had gone by without me splurging on a new t shirt or that stylish jacket. Funnily now, times have undergone a drastic change. I dont want to buy colorful tshirts or sassy jackets anymore. All i want to buy is table linen and white crockery and cutlery. Like i said, the kitchen s all i need.
I was married a year before i began blogging. As a new bride who dint know her lentils and spices, i did find the time spent in the kitchen annoying and sometimes frightening in the beginning. I really dont know when my perspective on food changed or how it changed. But then, that change has sort of changed my whole way of life. And it s given me so much of hope and love from around the world. A year of marriage, some experimentally successful cooking and Mr.P was gently urging to me begin telling the world how to cook. I was apprehensive but once i began, there was no looking back. I ve not stopped since and i doubt if i will.
The beginning of a food blog was not very exciting for me. I had too many inspirations.But still, to get the aesthetics of food blogging right took me about 6 months. And then, a whole new world opened up to me. Bloggers i met through virtual events went on to become great friends. And now they have all transcended to being my best friends. I know it s been a while since i have been here on the blogosphere. But to this date, any new comment still leaves me with a wide grin just like my first comment on my first post did.
I must thank a few people for helping me come so far. First, Mr.P of course. Its not easy living with a food blogger. Mind you. But he does and i m really thankful to him for that. It can be very irritating when your stomach is growling with hunger, the food s readily sitting on the table looking all pretty but then your wife has to click that picture or she wont have a post to do. He s put up with my experiments( some were real nasty) and my constant urge to click anything food for the past 1 year. And whats more! He s been there with me when i ve talked to him about how much i long for some ramekins in white. He s borne all this with abundant patience and for that i m terribly grateful to him.
And after Mr.P, its definitely Amma and Daddy who take the time out to look into my blog and tell me what they think. I couldnt have asked for better critiques. While Amma calls me often to tell how much she liked one picture or the other, Daddy, just like Dads are, tells me that all my posts are lovely and that each recipe s simply mouth watering.
Now that we are done with family, i ve some more people who i must say, have made a great impact on the way i blog. Lets start with all you beautiful beautiful people who cook from my blog. I value all your comments and even though i dont respond to each comment, believe me they are all incredibly inspirational to me. Thanks a million for your unwavering and growing support for Tomato Blues.And then there are my lovely friends.Co bloggers who ve become chuddy buddy sorts now. The entire Gourmet Seven is like extended family to me. I resort to them when all else fails in my kitchen and they ve never let me down until today. Thank you beautifuls for making my blogging experience such a delight.
Having said all this, no one finishes a year of something without something to celebrate the memory with. Mr.P became very generous last month and bought me a Nikon D55 to commemorate the occasion of my first blogoversary. Thanks to Mr.P for such a loving and thoughtful gift again. I ve been meddling with the camera for sometime now and that s the reason i ve such good pics at times and then i ve some real dirty ones. Please bear with me until i get the hang of it. I m experimenting a lot with colors, whites and focus. So until i m there, the pics are going to be this way. A lil nice and a lot bad.

Now, all this definitely calls for some kind of a toast. I decided i ll toast all the lovely people in my life, Mr.P, Amma, Daddy, my precious readers and the whole of G7 with this chocolate bark. After all finishing up a year sure does make one feel festive. Before i begin, here are some recipes that won many hearts in my one year of blogging.

Masala Biscuits

snake gourd kootu

Moong Cheelas

Curry Leaves And Garlic Kuzhambu

Capsicum Paneer Masala Dosa

Dhoklas

Sponge Dosa

Egg Plant Kara Kuzhambu

Butter Scotch Blondies

Marble Cake

Chocolate Cornets

Tomato Bread

1 min Microwave Mug Cake

Methi Malai Mutter Paneer

Paneer Cigar Rolls Baked

Lauki Kofta

Molten Lava Cupcakes

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

Recipe For Chocolate Bark

( Learn how to make chocolate bark at home. Loaded with nuts and dried fruit, its an easy and great edible gift choice)

Prep Time: Under 20 mins

Cook Time: Under 20 mins
Setting Time: 1 hour
Yields about 12 medium size pieces

( This chocolate bark cant get easier. You can make this using dark chocolate or milk chocolate or white chocolate. You can add about any kind of topping or stick to one particular combination like maybe craisins and pistachios or you can even make some that are nutty and minty. You must be very very careful when you are melting the chocolate. Even a teeny weeny bit of water can spoil your chocolate and then you will be terribly disappointed.If you are melting your chocolate in a double boiler, then make sure you dont let the steam escape or the moisture from the steam will spoil the chocolate. Line your tray with butter paper before you begin the entire process.)

What You Need?

Cooking chocolate ( dark or white or milk) 250 g chopped roughly
Mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios) 1/4 cup slivered
Mixed dried fruits ( candied peel, figs quartered, raisins, sultanas)1/4 cup

Other Things That You Must Have:

A tray that is 1/2″ deep
Butter paper 1 sheet
Rubber spatula
Two steel bowls.One that will fit in snugly into the other and will have a gap of about 10 to 15 cms between the both to use as a double boiler.For more details on how to melt chocolate read my posts on
chocolate fudge cake and home made mint filled chocolates

How To Make It?

Line a tray with the butter paper and keep ready.
Place the chocolate in a double boiler and let it melt completely stirring occasionally.
Once the chocolate s completed melted and glossy, pour the chocolate onto the lined tray evenly.
This step entirely depends on how thick you want the bark to be.In case you want thick barks, then you need not spread the chocolate to the whole tray.

Once you are done pouring the chocolate, drop the tray gently on the kitchen counter.
Spread the nuts and fruit on the chocolate while its hot evenly.
Now, let it come to room temperature.
Once it comes to room temperature, let it set in the fridge for about an hour.
Once set, chop into pieces and pack them up into cute gifts.

Or start devouring them like we did.You cant resist home made chocolate bark, can you?

Cherry And Banana Smoothie

June 16, 2012 By anusha 9 Comments

Cherries. For some reason they cheer me up.May be its got to do with the name. And the color too. Yeah color definitely. And then that sweet sour zing that you get when you bite into one of them. Well, isnt it obvious that i m a cherry lover. I eat them by the boxes. Everytime i open the fridge, i pop a few of them into my mouth. There was a time when i ate 3 boxes of them in a day. That much s how much i love them.

Cherries having become ubiquitous in Baroda, Mr.P picked up a huge box for me the other day. And immediately i was delving myself into a world of gastronomical utopia. Cherry cobbler, cherry pie, cherry smoothie. What not? So here comes cherry and banana smoothie.Quick recipe. Breakfast menu. And will be gone in a shot.

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Cook Time: Nil
Makes 2 tall glasses

( This s a versatile smoothie. You can skip the ice cream and add condensed milk. Replace about 1/2 cup of the milk with 1/2 cup of yoghurt. You can even add a mango instead of a banana. See what i mean?)

What You Need?

Cherries pitted about 15
Banana 1 large
Milk 2 cups
Vanilla ice cream 1 scoop or about 1/2 cup
Sugar 2 tbsp

Ice cubes to serve

How To Make It?

Place the cherries, banana and ice cream in a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
To this, add the milk and the sugar and blend again.

Serve chilled with ice cubes.

Methi Soya Curry Recipe| Side Dish For Flatbreads

June 13, 2012 By anusha 7 Comments

It has been a while since i posted some curries. Easy to make that is. After all, you cant make restaurant style food everyday at home. I have to tell you all something now that i ve started on restaurant food anyway. The other day, Mr.P and i visited a new restaurant. After much deliberation on where to go and what to eat, we had zeroed in on this one with practically a lot of difficulty. Anyway. We found the place nice. Great ambience. Great music. Heck! We even had a maitre’D.Plus the service crew was flashing bright smiles. Nothing could have gone wrong at all. Until the menu appeared. When the very handsome and cherubic waiter presented the menu, i was like a cat which had swollen a canary. Its in my making you know.

I look forward to seeing a hotel s menu just so that i can learn new dishes, grill the poor waiter guy about what goes into what and all that. So, it was that familiar feeling kicking in. But then, when i opened the menu, i felt like a deflated meringue. I mean everything seemed familiar. And at the back of my head was a voice which said “you can make this at home” So i just decided not to complicate the dinner further and looked up at Mr.P. Mr.P now gave me a sheepish smile and told me very succinctly, “You know you should stop making everything at home.” That kinda summarised the entire menu for me. From that night till today, i ve not made a single gourmet dish with the exception of that tomato and corn pie. Luckily for me, there are no good pies available in Baroda. So no fear of overdoing them. Well, this curry is just one of those attempts in making finger licking good old home food which only has love and comfort written all over it.

Recipe For Methi Soya Curry

( Learn how to make Methi soya curry, a medley with fenugreek leaves and textured veg protein)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Serves 2

Allergy Info: Vegan, Gluten free

Course: Accompaniment

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Soya chunks or textured vegetable protein 1 cup
Methi or fenugreek leaves 3/4 cup chopped finely
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Tomato Puree 3/4 cup or 2 medium tomatoes pureed

To Be Ground To A Paste:

Onion 1 large
Garlic cloves 3
Ginger 1/2″ bit
Green chili 1

Spice Powders:

Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Punjabi garam masala 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Directions

Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a large pan.
Add some salt and the soya chunks and cook them for about 5 mins.
Drain, let cool and squeeze all excess water out.Keep aside.
In a pan, heat the oil. Add cumin seeds.
Once they splutter, add the ground onion paste, bring down the flame to the lowest and saute till the paste turns a light brown.
At this stage, add the spice powders and saute for about 30 secs.
Now, add the methi leaves and saute till they wilt.
Add the tomato puree next and cook till oil separates.
Now,add the soya chunks along with salt and cook for about 6 to 7 mins.
After this, if you want a semi dry curry, then you can remove it off the flame. In case you desire a gravy like curry, then add about 1/4 cup of water and bring the whole mixture to a boil.

Serve hot with phulkas or rotis or rice.

Butter Beans and Peanut Sundal

June 9, 2012 By anusha 5 Comments

Its actually amusing to watch a 3 year old. I ll call it the transformation phase. From a toddler to a kid. So when my SIL s daughter was here, she blew up quite a storm. I m used to a quiet house all to myself. So, having her here was a lil different and boy! she s quite a charming young lady. She can convince anyone with that big toothsy grin of hers. Now, if you are wondering why i m talking about this particular charming young lady, it s just to tell you that i ve been dead on the blog because of her. While the television was constantly tuned into POGO with Chota Bheem performing all kinds of antics, the lil minx dint spare the kitchen as well. She used to breeze in unexpectedly, raid all the shelves, pick up a packet of those yucky packeted chips ( sorry if you like them!) and go back to watching Bheem. So, doing anything normal was itself a big task. Doing something out of the ordinary.Well! the question was ruled out. I did manage to make a few things before she breezed in to color our lives. Unfortunately i couldnt get the camera out when she was here. So this s just a part of those set of dishes that i made way back.
Sundal is a Navrathri thingy in most south indian homes. We can liken it to a legume salad with all the indian elements in it. This s a very simple recipe and is a face saver on one of those days when your H wants to snack on something but you dont have anything. Whizzing to the recipe now.

Prep Time: Soaking Time-2 hours
Others Under 10 mins
Cook Time: Under 30 mins
Serves 3

( This is kinda an indian salad. Loaded with protein, its a fun snack as well as a great accompaniment to any meal. You can add onions to this if you desire. But then, avoid the lemon juice.Make sure you dont overcook the peanuts and beans or you will be left with a gooey mass.)

What You Need?

Peanuts 1/2 cup
Butter Beans 3/4 cup
Grated coconut 4 tbsp
Green chilies 6 minced
Salt to taste

To Temper:

Oil 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Hing a large pinch
Curry leaves a sprig

Garnish:

Lemon juice 2 tbsp

How To make it?

Soak the beans and peanuts together in about 3 cups water for 2 hours.
Pressure cook the beans and nuts together for 3 whistles or until tender and soft. Drain the water completely.
Heat a kadai with the oil.
Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the chilies, urad dal, hing and curry leaves.
Once the dal turns a light brown, add the peanuts and beans along with some salt and combine well.
Now, add the grated coconut and saute well.
Remove from fire. Let cool completely.
Add the lemon juice and mix well.

Serve as a snack or as an accompaniment for lunch.
Sending this to My Legume Love Affair hosted by A Canadian Foodie this month.

No Bake Brownies

May 21, 2012 By anusha 10 Comments

I ve been gone for a long time now. I know that i ve not been a star blogger these few weeks. Too many things on my plate and then there s the scorching heat which makes any chore to be done in the kitchen a daunting task. Added to all the mayhem was the AC which failed us dutifully. Which only made us crankier than ever. Sleepless, sweaty as pigs and scorning was how we were this weekend. I couldnt stand that status much. I mean, crankiness and sweating are not my best friends and i dont appreciate the situation if it goes on for a long time. So this time around, i decided that i ll try and better the situation a little. And that s why these brownies got made in my kitchen. Despite the fact that the AC did not work. And the fridge was acting up.

I know that a lot of things on this blog has been on a standstill. FBTE and Cook Book Tuesdays havent been happening much. I ve been ignoring the kitchen for a long time now. And that includes my book shelf too. I decided to make a comeback today with these brownies. I hope these brownies work as my good luck charm in the coming week. I hope i will be able to do a few posts in the coming days. And the next post s extra extra special. Its a guest post. A very special guest and a simple post. But then the guest s who that matters. So stay tuned for the next post too. And if you are bored like me or if you feel that you simply cant stand the heat, then make these brownies, cut them up and down them in as many goes as possible alongside a glass of chilled milk. Believe me, then, your day will look way better.

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Cook Time: Nil
Makes a 9″ brownie

( These brownies require atleast 3 hours of setting time in the fridge. You can add any nuts of your choice. You can even try a combination of nuts. Make sure you crush your biscuits coarsely for a beautiful texture in the brownies.You can use granulated sugar too.)

What You Need?

Digestive biscuits 20 to 25
Condensed milk 1/2 tin or 200 ml
Castor sugar 2 tbsp
White chocolate chips 1/4 cup
Unsweetened Cocoa powder 3 tbsp
Walnuts roasted and chopped coarsely 1/4 cup

How To Make It?

Crush the biscuits into a coarse powder using a rolling pin. Make the whole job less messy by placing the biscuits in a zip pouch and then rolling the pin over it. Do not use a processor to do this as you will land up with a fine biscuit powder and that s simply not the brownie way.
Now, add the cocoa, sugar, nuts, chocolate chips and combine the mixture well.
Add the condensed milk to this mixture and start mixing. The mixture will be very thick and will not make it a delightful experience. But cheer yourself up by licking the batter now and then continue to mix anyways.
Now, line a pie dish 9″ in size with butter paper or parchment paper if you are one of those fancy bees.
Transfer the biscuit mixture to the pie dish and cover the pie dish with cling wrap.
Now, start evening out the mixture using your hands making sure the mixture is evenly spread on the dish.
Leave it in the fridge to set for atleast 3 to 4 hours.
Once done, remove the brownie from the pie dish and chop into squares.

What are you waiting for? Start gobbling them brownies and dont forget to get a glass of milk to go with them.

Chocolate Cupcakes

May 13, 2012 By anusha 18 Comments

Chocolate and cupcakes. No one can beat that. I mean, chocolate cupcakes!! Cant get any better, right? Anyway, coming to the point, I somehow do not believe in Mother s day or Father s day or husband s day. I mean if that exists. I m not sure. But i mean do we really need a day to celebrate our loved ones. Especially your mom. Every individual thinks the world of her mom.Correct me if i am wrong. Oh! but i m doubly sure here. In fact more than doubly sure!! For me every single day of my life is Mother s day, Father s day and Husband s day. I think of them every moment. And i thank God everyday for blessing me with an abundance of love. I ve never felt love lost in my life. Oh.. its not like i dint have my teenage tantrums or something. I was stubborn as a mule and as rebellious as an army of soldiers when my mom did tell me something. Those telling me off occassions were rare. And i ve had my share of duels with my mom over a pink frock or a sleeveless top. But at the end of all that, my mom still manages to be a beautiful soul who touches my life in every way possible. In spite of the zillion rows we have, we still talk on the phone for hours on end. With my father in the background reminding us that the phone service provider may get annoyed and disconnect our connections. Fat chance of that happening! She was a working mom but that did not stop her from teaching me to do the right things or bringing me up as a good human being who respects others’ feelings. Sure, i dont have a fat pay check. But like amma says, every one s special in some way and you neednt bring home a hefty pay check to be special. I am widely admired by a lot of people in the circle of my friends and family. While my mom stands back and watches me with a smile, i know that its my mom who deserves all that oohing and aahing. I may not tell her that she s the bestest mom everyday. But i love her and i am grateful beyond words to her for her timely bits of wisdom, for holding on to the rocky boat,for her thoughtfulness to pick up a bundt pan for me and then some more scrunchies and earrings. Even though she knows i have a treasure chest full of them.And for letting me wail and cry!! I am proud of my mom and i admire her for bringing me up as a decent human being. Above all that, i m thankful to God for giving me a mom who manages to be there for me all the time. No matter i want to cry or laugh.

My mom doesnt go gaga over cakes and cookies. Not that i do. But then, i made them because my mom s like this cake. A lil sweet, a lil sour, a lil bitter and a lil salty. All in the right amounts. That you simply cant ignore any of the bits and yet you will get a taste of every bit of flavor there s in the cake. All moms are like that in their own way. And we dont need a day to celebrate motherhood. We just need to make the time.

Recipe For Chocolate Cupcake

( Learn how to make Chocolate cupcake, a flavor loaded easy cupcake recipe)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Yields 12 to 14

( The original recipe calls for buttermilk. But i replaced it with yoghurt and it worked like a charm. The cakes were moist, soft and lovely. They rose beautifully too.In case you want to use buttermilk, use 6 tbsp of it instead of the yoghurt. You can frost these with whipped cream or cream cheese or even some dulce de leche.)

What You Need?

Flour 3/4 cup spooned and levelled
Sugar 3/4 cup powdered
Butter 3 tbsp melted
Egg white from a large egg
Egg 1
Thick fresh yoghurt whisked 6 tbsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder 6 tbsp
Hot water 3 tbsp
Salt 1/4 tsp

Muffin cups for lining the tray

How To Make It?

Preheat the oven to 180 c.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder along with the sugar and combine well. I sieved this twice. Set aside.
Now, combine the cocoa and hot water to make a thick paste.
In another bowl, add the melted butter, cocoa paste, yoghurt, egg white and egg and whisk until just combined.
Now add the flour mixture to this cocoa mixture and slowly combine until well incorporated. You can do this in an electric mixer on low speed for about 2 mins.
Spoon about 2 tbsp of batter in to each muffin cup.
Bake for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool on a wire rack completely before removing them.

Once cooled, enjoy them with a scoop of ice cream or eat them up as they are.
Sending a bite of these to I Love Baking 4

Missi Roti

May 3, 2012 By anusha 6 Comments

How To Make Missi Roti, A Rustic Flatbread Using Gram Flour?

Missi Roti is a rustic chewy flatbread made with whole wheat and gram flour along with a few spices including turmeric.There are some things which are an eye sore in my pantry only to the limited audience of me of course! And one among them, in fact, the only one is the chickpea flour or besan. I loathe that light yellow flour. I hate the texture, smell, flavor and everything else there s about besan. Sorry if you all are pally with besan. I really do not know when i developed a yawning hatred for chickpea flour. Maybe it was when a friend told me about some fritters that she ate which made her sick. I have no clue. But all i know is if i look at chickpea flour, then i m pushed to screwing my face up. If i am asked to cook with chickpea flour, then i m almost going to be in tears. And if you ask me to eat something that has chickpea flour, then you have pushed me to tears.When i was on a pantry cleaning spree last week and when i knew i ve to empty my gram flour stocks ,i decided to make some missi roti, a wonderful rajasthani delicacy. I loved these rotis. But chickpea flour is still not my BFF.Serve hot with some spicy Paneer T awa Masala or some shahi paneer. Recipe coming soon!! Also,Sending this to MLLA hosted by Priya for Susan.

Recipe For Missi Roti

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Missi Roti

Missi roti is a rustic flatbread made with whole wheat flour and chickpea flour. Vegan.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: North Indian

Servings:

Author: Anusha Praveen

Ingredients

Chick pea flour or besan 3/4 cup
Whole wheat flour 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves chopped finely 3 tbsp
Green chili minced 1
Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Carom seeds 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Chaat masala 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tbsp plus some more to cook the rotis
Water for kneading 1/2 cup plus or minus a few tbsp

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, sieve together both the flours along with the chaat masala, turmeric and salt.
Now, add the cumin, carom seeds, green chili, coriander leaves and combine well.
Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour 2 tbsp oil.
Now, add 1/4 cup of water and start kneading.
Add more water as necessary to knead the dough into a soft pliable and supple dough.
But make sure you dont add more than 3/4 cup of water. We dont need a sticky mass here.
Having kneaded the dough, cover with a clean damp kitchen towel and set aside for about 10 mins.
After 10 mins, knead the dough for a min and then divide it into 12 equal parts.
Now shape the dough parts into round balls, press them a little, dip them in flour and roll them into small rotis.
Cook on a tawa applying oil on both sides until brown spots appear.

For Instant Pot & Air Fryer Recipes

Instant Pot timings may vary based on your geographic location. Air fryer settings and timings may vary based on the capacity and the model of the Air fryer.

Disclaimer

Nutrition values are provided here as a courtesy and are only a rough guide. Please consult a health care provider if you have any concerns.

Tried this recipe?Mention @tomatoblues or tag #tomatoblues!

Baby Corn Pulao Recipe| Rice Recipes

April 30, 2012 By anusha 9 Comments

I can see my interest in the blog dwindling. With other things on my mind, i am not able to click much. Lets say i m not feeling very pally with the shutterbugs now. I m cooking a lot though. And what a duffer am i to miss the FBTE yesterday. Well, yesterday was a different story with a runny nose and a hoarse voice. I simply cant click. No focus. And the mind is blank. I cant summon the energy to assemble the food, adjust the lights and click. And then edit. Seems like a herculean task all of a sudden. Maybe it s the heat that s bringing about this lack of spirits.

After some lengthy introspection yesterday morning, i decided that this attitude simply wont do. It s not taking me anywhere and it wont either. I have to snap out of that lethargic phase where anything and everything seems too much work for me. And i did get back my spirits when i decided to make this pulao.
Albeit the fact that i did have some doubts in making pulao with corn, i knew i was terribly wrong when i had finished chopping up the tender and sweet baby corn ears. I certified myself that i was wrong when i ground the masala. And when the pulao was cooking, i admonished myself for presuming too much about some simple yet wonderful things in life.

Recipe For Baby Corn Pulao

( Learn how to make baby corn pulao, an easy rice dish with baby corns and coconut milk.Vegan option included)

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Serves 2
Allergy Info: Can be made vegan, Gluten free, Soy free
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Basmati rice 1 cup
Thin coconut milk 2 cups
Onion 1 thinly sliced
Baby corn 10 halved
Bay leaf 1
Cloves 3
Cardamom 1
Cinnamon 1″ piece
Ghee or oil 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

To Be Ground Into A Paste:

Coriander leaves 1/2 cup firmly packed
Green chilies 4
Garlic cloves 4
Garam masala 1/4 tsp
Ginger 1/4″ bit

For Garnish

Onion 1 thinly sliced
Cashews a handful
Oil 2 tbsp

Notes:

1.Use vegetable oil for a vegan version.
2. I found that using freshly extracted coconut milk lends a beautiful flavor to the rice as opposed to canned coconut milk.
3. This recipe calls for coconut milk and not coconut cream

Directions

Wash the rice well with water and soak in the coconut milk for about 15 mins.
In the meanwhile, grind the masala, adding water little by little, to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
Now, add the onions and fry them till pink.
Add the baby corns next and fry them for about 3 to 4 mins.
Now, add the ground masala and bring the flame to the lowest.
Simmer the masala and the corns for about 1 min.
Add the rice and coconut milk to this mixture along with some salt. Mix well.
Cook until done or transfer to an electric rice cooker and cook till done.
Alternatively, you can make the whole thing in a pressure cooker and cook the pulao without the pressure valve on low flame for about 10 mins.
Finally, heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry cashews till golden.
Drain and in the same pan, add sliced onions and fry till golden.
Now add fried onions and cashews to the rice and mix well.

Serve hot with any raitha of your choice.
Sending this to Love Lock Rice

Peanut Butter Cookies

April 26, 2012 By anusha 6 Comments

I got immensely lucky today. Not because i went shopping. But because i found cream of tartar. No let me think. Is it the tartar? Not really. Its because i baked a decent batch of cookies today. And i baked one of my favorites. If you ask my what my favorite flavor of ice cream is, i wont tell chocolate. You see, i m a lil abnormal in that sense but still my favorite is a banana split concocted with flavors of mint, coffee and peach. I m a lil abnormal when it comes to cookies too. My favorite cookies are not stuffed with chocolate to the brim. They are full of nuts but peanut butter has a soft spot in my heart. I m in love with peanut butter all the time. Eating it from the jar directly s a vice that i have had ever since i turned 18. And this s a complete secret. Not a soul knows. Well, it s no longer that way. Now that i ve told the whole world.
Anyway, i love cookies but buying them is so not my style. And buying them from Cookie Man is definitely not me. I hate cookie man. Any cookie from their oven puts me off instantly. I ll go from all chirpy to sour faced if you give me a cookie from cookie man. I ll tell you one more secret. The reason is i envy them. I can bake cakes, bake breads. but cookies. No. They evade me like the elusive sages in the forest who dont appear at all. So when i take a look at the row of cookies in a Cookie Man, i become jealous. So green. And then i become a sour chick from a chirpy duck. That s the end of Cookie Man story.
Coming to today s cookie, shall i tell that i wont be jealous anymore when i see those discs of brown crispy cookies at Cookie Man. Because this batch came out from the oven as beautifully as they could. They did crack a little on the top but then they were brilliant to munch on. It s very difficult to stop with one. And i regret making a small batch. Let me just say, bake them and you will love them.

Prep Time: Under 30 mins
Cook Time: 12 mins
Makes 18 cookies

(This s truly a one bowl cookie. You can substitute regular sugar with dark brown sugar. And use olive oil or melted butter instead of canola oil. Use any vegetable oil too. Dont over bake the cookies as i did bake them for 15 mins and i burnt a whole batch. The cookies are soft when you take them out but harden as they cool. So 12 mins s the ideal baking time.)

What You Need?

Flour 1 cup
Peanut butter 1/2 cup
Milk 4 tbsp
Canola oil 3.5 tbsp
Sugar powdered 1/2 cup
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract 3/4 tsp

How To Make It?

In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients and combine well.
In another mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, canola oil, vanilla and the milk and combine well.
Now, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
Set aside for five mins.
After five mins, give it a nice stir making sure that the dough comes together in one big lump.
Refrigerate the dough for about 20 mins.
Towards the end of the 20 mins, preheat the oven to 180 C.
Line a baking tray with tin foil and grease the foil generously
Using a tbsp, scoop out the dough, shape the dough into small balls and place on the tray.
Now, give it a gentle press to flatten it into discs.
Using a fork, make criss crosses on the discs.
Pop them in the oven and bake for 12 mins.
Remove once they are set and a light brown in color.
Let cool completely and then store in an air tight container.

Enjoy with a glass of cold milk or better yet, have one for breakfast. Who s to know anyway?

Butterscotch Blondies Recipe| Dessert Recipes

April 24, 2012 By anusha 6 Comments

What do you do when your H is working 12 hours? What do you do when you are wondering when your favorite foodie program is going to begin but then there s an hour left anyway? What do you do when you are done with all your chores and you are left with paltry options like watching reruns of desperate housewives, considering that you are not one? What do you do when you have been grilled by 12 and 13 year olds on adjectives and reported speech?
The answer is very simple. Make butterscotch blondies. And eat them before you can even properly remove them from the pan. Butterscotch is an addiction. I have many more addictions too. Like banana splits and cheese balls. Even though i go around chastising people on how cheese balls are junk and pav bhaji is not junk.

I made these blondies yesterday and they tasted incredibly awesome. They were like those truly melt in your mouth kinds. I couldnt even wait for it to cool down before i inverted the pan. I vented my day s fury onto the pan and what i got was a blondie bisected in the shape of the Africa map. But maps aside, the blondie was irresistible. The pics are not great. Thanks to my impatience but the blondie is a sure try. Give it a shot. Please. See, now i m down to saying please and that definitely means you must make them!

Prep Time: Under 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins exactly
Yields about 12 medium squares

( You can add white chocolate to this and you will get something that will make you feel like a cat that s swallowed the canary. It s buttery so stop counting the calories while you swallow them and stop feeling guilty after swallowing them. It s a total breeze whipping this blondie up.What i loved about making this is that it involves no fussy whisking till fluffy yada yada..)

What You Need?

Flour 1 cup
Unsalted Butter 1/2 cup melted
Butterscotch chips 3/4 cup
Brown sugar packed 1 cup powdered
Egg 1 large
Salt a pinch
Vanilla extract 1 tsp
Butter for greasing

How To Make It?

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Grease a square cake tray 8X8 dimensions generously and keep aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light.
Now, add the egg and whisk till light. Maybe for about 2 mins.
Add the vanilla next and combine till well incorporated.
In another mixing bowl, sieve together the salt and the flour.
Add the flour to the egg mixture and combine well making sure there are no lumps.
Add the magic ingredient next~ butterscotch chips.Mix gently making sure that there are chips all over the mixture. We dont want ceratin parts of the blondie with concentrated levels of butter scotch, do we?
Transfer this mixture to the cake pan. The mixture will be a lil stiff so even it out gently using the back of a spoon.
Drop once gently on to the kitchen surface.
Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 30 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool completely before you even attempt inverting the tray or you will have a part of the world map with you like me.

Chop them up into squares and indulge yourself.
Sending this to I Love Baking, Bake Fest 6 by Vardhini and Cook Eat Delicious~ Picnic Desserts

Paneer Tawa Masala Recipe

April 23, 2012 By anusha 14 Comments

Tawa Paneer or Paneer Tawa Masala – no matter how you choose to call it, is a delectable mélange of soft and succulent pieces of cottage cheese marinated and cooked in a rich gravy.

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paneer tawa masala served in a beautiful Balti style serving bowl — Tawa Paneer is complete Party dish that will make everyone happy!

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What is Tawa Paneer?

Paneer tawa masala, as the name suggests is a gravy in which paneer is marinated in spices and shallow fried on a tawa and then added to a onion tomato based gravy.

In some restaurants, this is served as a semi dry dish along with rice and another juicy curry or a dal.

After having concluded thati ve after all not been civil to my blog,i decided thati must do something about it. And quickly too. And then there are these bunch of recipes thati ve tagged andretagged but have not made. The fun which lasts as you go on tagging fizzles out when you plan on trying one of them. I mean, it s easier to read about chopped onions but doing the very act is you know alil tearful and alil smelly. See whati mean?

I m out of my lazy phase. And to celebrate that, i made paneer tawa masala, a recipe that i tagged 3 months back but got around to making it only today. Oh the curry was simply brilliant. It was divine to dunk a piece of phulka into the gravy along with a chunk of paneer. This Paneer Tawa Masala is a party recipe that you can indulge in again and again. Something that doesnt involve all the cashews and grinding but flavorsome and filling. This Paneer Tawa Masala is also my entry to Healthy Diet~ Veg Side Dishes by Priya

Recipe For Paneer Tawa Masala
( Learn how to make Paneer Tawa Masala, spicy curry with marinated cottage cheese cubes)

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Paneer Tawa Masala Recipe

Paneer Tawa Masala is a lip smacking gravy made by dunking marinated and shallow fried paneer in a mild gravy.

Prep Time1 10

Cook Time20

Total Time1 30

Course: Paratha, Side Dish for Roti

Cuisine: North Indian

Servings:

Calories: 856kcal

Author: Anusha Praveen