Kadala Curry/ Channa gravy/ Kondai kadali kuruma

          This recipe resembles my mom's channa/ garbanzo gravy, the only difference is she'll mash some channa to get a thick gravy instead of using ground coconut. This is a good side dish for all the indian flat breads, iddly, dosa and appam. It's a popular pair for puttu Rice Puttu Recipe  in Kerala. We can substitute garbanzo/ channa, with other legumes like fava bean, lima beans and red kidney beans. Add boiled eggs instead of channa for a great tasting egg curry.  

Kadala curry with Puttu

      To cook dry channa (garbanzo beans), soak it in water for 6-8 hrs or overnight. Wash it, add water and salt to it and cook till it becomes soft. If using canned garbanzo, drain the liquid and use. 

Channa curry/ Kadala curry

Ingredients:
1 cup      garbanzo/ channa 
1             tomato
1             onion 
2             green chilli
1/2 tsp    fennel/ saunf/ sombu seeds
2 tsp       chilli powder
1/2 tsp    ginger & garlic paste 
1/2 tsp    curry powder/ chicken masala pwdr
1/2 tsp    mustard seeds
few         curry leaves
few         cilantro/ coriander leaves strands 
1/4 cup   coconut
1 tbs        oil
salt to taste
Method:
1. Chop and slice the tomato and onion, slit the green chillies length wise. 
2. Grind the shredded coconut in a blender/ mixer with the fennel seeds and  2- 6 tbs of warm water, to a fine paste.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when it splutters add the onion and green chillies and cook till the onion turn soft and brown.
4. Lower the heat and add the curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Stir for few mins. Add the curry powder and chilli powder, stir it well in the oil.
5. Increase the heat a little and add the chopped tomato and cook till it becomes soft and well blended into the masala.
6. Add the channa/ garbanzo and the ground coconut paste, stir it well, mash few channa with the back of the spoon. Add 2 cups of water and check for salt.
7.  Lower the heat to sim, and cook till it's becomes a thick gravy and oil seeps from the sides.
8. Tranfer it to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Ready to eat!!!

       
                            

Egg Nest/ Eggs and toast

        This is my 6yr old nephew's favourite food. He can eat this 3 times a day. There are some interesting names for this toast in the internet: toad in the hole, eggs and toast, egg in the basket, bulls eye toast, to name a few. 

Egg nest/ basket

       I used hamburger bun, instead of the regular bread used to make this dish. 

Egg Nest

Ingredients:
1               egg
1               bun
1 pinch      salt & pepper 
1/2 tsp       butter / oil

Method:
1. Cut the middle portion of the bun with a cookie cutter (from the top slice). 

2. Reserve the cut out portion. 

3. Heat oil/ butter in a pan, place the bun and the cut out piece on the pan. Crack the egg and drop it inside the hole.

4. Season it with salt and pepper, cook until the bottom side becomes crispy, flip it over (gently) with a spatula. 

5.  Remove the bottom slice from the egg and place it on the pan, cut side down (it'll have some egg sticking to it) and cook.  

 5. Sprinkle salt and pepper and cook the egg until  the desired consistency is obtained. Flip it once more and cook the other side.

Tips for taste: 
1. This is an easy and healthy breakfast/ lunch for kid's.
2. For kid's lunch prick the yolk and cook, that way it'll be easier for them to eat without getting messy.

                                                                     ENJOY :)
                                      
                                           
                                           
                                                

Beetroot raitha/ Salad baskets

  Raitha is a yogurt/ curd based indian salad, it may have fruits or vegetables in it. This is a popular side dish  in the spicy Indian cuisine. This recipe has spicy beetroot stuffed inside a cucumber cup, on a yogurt bed. Beetroot can be substituted with carrots/ red onions or any fruits.

Salad Basket!

Ingredients:
1           big cucumber
1 cup     shredded beetroot 
1 cup     yogurt / greek yogurt
1 small  green chilli (chopped)
2 tsp      oil 
1/2 tsp   mustard seed     
 few       cilantro strands 
1/8 tsp   powdered cumin 
salt to taste

easy to eat...

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seed. when it splutters add the green chilli, beetroot and cumin powder.
2. Add 1 tbs of water and salt to the beetroot mixture, cover the pan and cook till the beetroot becomes tender. Add the chopped cilantro leaves and switch off the heat.
How to arrange:
1. Score lines on the cucumber peel with a peeler or lemon zester.

2. Cut the cucumbers into 1" rounds, with a spoon remove the middle part of the cucumber.

 3. Cut the cucumber cup across into small pieces. 

4. Arrange it back (firmly) to it's original shape.

5. In a serving plate, spoon 2 tbs of yogurt, arrange the cucumber cup in the middle, spoon 1tsp of beetroot into the cucumber cup.  

6. Pour a tsp of yogurt over the beetroot, top it off with your favourite nuts.
                                   ENJOY :)