Crispy & Spicy boiled Egg

SPICY PAN FRIED EGGS

Ingredients 

4 boiled & halved eggs

For Masala powder 

2 tsp - dry mango pwdr or lemon juice

1tsp - chili powder or lemon juice 

1 tsp - any flour

Salt to taste

Method

1. Boil & Slice the eggs 

2. Spread the masala mix 

over  the cut side portion 

evenly. 

3. Press the masala over the egg.

4. Heat oil in a pan.

5. Place the masala coated 

           cut side egg on the pan.

6. Spread the remaining 

masala powder over the eggs.

7. When the masala looks cripy, flip the eggs carefully.

8. Garnish with curry leaves or chopped coriander leaves.

Paruppu Usili

  Paruppu Usili : It’s crumbly soft dal combined with vegetables such as green  beans, banana flower, cluster beans, asparagus,  greens etc

       This delicious Poriyal goes nicely with plain & variety rice, flat bread it’s a dry curry.

Ingredients: 

1. Green beans - (chopped) 2 cups 
2. Oil - 3+ 1 tsp 
3. Chana dal/ kadalai paruppu/bengal gram 

(We can substitute canned or dry garbanzo beans too)

   4. Garlic  - 2 cloves 

   5. Dry chilli - 3 or according to your taste 

   6. Green chilli (optional)

   7. Turmeric - 1 tsp 

    8. 1/2 cup water 

    9. Salt to taste 

  1. Wash and soak chana dal/ kadalai paruppu/bengal gram/ for 1 hour, drain  the water completely.

2. First, grind red chillies, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves coarsely, add coconut and pulse twice.

3. Now add the dal and pulse once or twice it should be coarse & crumbly not to a paste ( do not grind everything together) We can use mortar and pestle  to crush too. 

4. We can substitute canned garbanzo beans too, remove the skin wash in ice cold water and crumble it, but always try this awesome recipe using dry bengal gram

5. Heat oil in a pan, lower heat and add mustard seeds and urud dal, after it turns light brown. Keep the heat to med/high Now add the ground dal, mix it well, now add beans, turmeric powder and salt to taste, stir it nicely for few mins.

6. Add 1/4 cup water, close with a lid. Cook the beans till it’s done, (add more water if needed, till it’s cooked) add the remaining oil when it becomes dry and the dal looks soft and crumbly, keep it in low for 2 more minutes and remove from heat

7. This creamy veggie goes nicely with buttermilk kulambu, rice or any other spicy kulambu/stew. 

Brinjal/eggplant pan fry

I used the bigger size globe eggplant/brinjal when cubed 1 fruit yields around 5-6 cups. When eggplant cooks, it reduces in quantity by about half. 

      Add or reduce the quantity of spices according to the quantity of brinjals you have. Eggplant/brinjal . If using Indian brinjal use 5-6 medium size brinjals. 

Ingredients:

Brinjal/eggplant – 4-5 cups when diced 

Turmeric Powder  – 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tbs (adjust according to your 

                            Preference of spiciness)

Mango powder/

Lemon juice.          2 tbs 

Cilantro.                  10 sprigs (chopped)

Dried fenuugreek - 1 tbs or curry powder

Method:

Take brinjal and slice them lengthwise and cube.  Add all the dry ingredients add mango powder if you have or add lemon juice, add oil and combine everything together. 

       Cook it for 5 to 8 mins in low/medium till it turns light golden, and the masala gets reduced into half the content. 

Now add chopped cilantro and gingelly oil and mix well. Cook it on a low flame covered  for 8 to 10 mins or till golden and dry. Serve with rice.

Pan Fried - Crispy Broccoli

This veggie tasted so crispy, like pakoras, but it's not dipped in a wet batter or deep fried like pakoras. I used spiced, garlicky bread crumbs, broccoli and almonds.

 Ingredients:

25                             almonds/ fav.nuts (sliced)

3 tbs                          oil

1.50 lb/ 680 gms        broccoli (trim & cut into 2-3' florets) 

2 cups                       bread crumbs

1 tsp                          cumin seed/ jeera

3 tsp                          chilli pwdr

1 clove                      garlic

1/2 tsp                       salt or to taste

Method:

1. Rinse, trim and cut broccoli into 2-3' florets. Pulse cumin seed and garlic in a mixer/blender. Mix garlic, chilli powder,salt and bread crumbs.

2. Add wet broccoli florets to b.crumb mixture, toss to coat, push bread crumbs between stem gaps.

3. Heat 2 tbs of oil in a non stick pan (med/high) and toast almonds. Remove almonds when it starts to change color. Add crumb coated broccoli to pan, stir it in oil.

4. Cover the pan, reduce heat and let it cook for 5 - 8 mins, till it becomes crisp and tender.

5. Remove the lid, add 1 tbs oil, toasted almonds and increase heat, stir occasionally until it becomes golden brown and crispy.

6. Remove from heat, transfer to a serving plate.

  

Rava/ Sooji / Semolina Kesari

Love this sweet so much, no need for any spl. occasions to make this. It's very easy to make. In this recipe, kesari is not overly sweet/ oily, it is moist and silky. This is my mom's recipe :)

Ingredients:

1 cup         thick rava/ sooji/ semolina/ grits

1 cup         water

1 cup         milk

1 tbs          oil 

1 tbs          ghee/ clarified butter (melted butter)
1/2 cup      sugar (reduce or increase the amount according to your taste) 

1 tsp          oil + ghee (each)

1 handful   cashew nuts & raisins

2               finely crushed cardamom 

4-8            saffron strands/ 2 pinch orange food color

Method:
1. Heat oil + ghee in a pan, roast cashew. When it turns golden brown, add raisins,  fry till it becomes plump.

2. Now add rava to the same pan and stir it nicely in the remaining oil on med/high, till it gives out a nice roasted aroma, lower the temperature and stir it for another 2-3 mins ( don't let it burn), 
remove the roasted rava from pan. 

3. Pour milk + water to the same pan and heat it (med/high), add cardamom powder, saffron and/or orange color, sugar and stir till the sugar dissolve. 

4. When the liquid starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and add  the roasted rava (a little at a time) & stir the mix in circular motion simultaneously. 
5. When the liquid gets evaporated, switch off the heat and add another tsp of oil/ ghee, raisins and nuts. Stir it well.

                                          Yummy kesari!
*Heat it before serving 


   

Breaded Paneer Fry

This breaded and pan fried paneer cubes (few spoons of oil only) will be a crowd pleaser in any party, can be enjoyed as an appetizer or as a snack with a cup of coffee. The filling can be a spicy chutney/ any condiment of your choice. I used tomato chutney as the filling and coriander chutney for dip.

Ingredients:
8oz/230 gms         paneer
1/2 cup                 your fav. chutney/condiment
1 cup                    bread crumbs
1/2 tsp                  chilli pwdr
1/4 tsp                  turmeric pwdr
1 tsp                     chat/garam masala 
1 tsp                     lemon juice
1/4 tsp                  ginger garlic paste
1 pinch                 salt
Method:   
1. Cut paneer in about 2" slices, mix turmeric, salt, lemon juice, chat/garam masala.
2. Marinate he paneer cubes in the lemon mixture for 1-3 hrs.
3. Slit a side of a paner slice with a knife (don't slice it through, it should be like an envelope to fill the chutney) push small amount of your fav.chutney inside the slit.
4. Heat a flat pan, add few spoons of oil, mix chilli pwdr with bread 
crumbs.
5. Roll the paneer slices over bread crumbs, press crumbs to it's sides, carefully place the paneer slices on the hot pan. Turn it when it gets brown, repeat the process with the remaining paneer cubes.
6. Transfer it to a serving plate and serve with pudina/ mint chutney or ketchup.
To make your own bread crumbs:
Toast 2 slices of bread in a pan/toaster, till it becomes brown and crispy, let it cool. Crush it and process in a blender/mixer to get an evenly textured (coarse) crumbs. You can add your fav. seasoning to it too.
  

Easy Carrot Halwa/ Gajar Ka Halwa

       My friend brought me a big bowl of carrot halwa a few months back, i'm not a big fan of halwa, i've always felt it's tooo sweet and oily, and it's also a tedious job in the making....stirring and stirring till my hands fall apart :(  

     But my perspective in halwa's taste and it's preparation soon changed, after tasting her creamy halwa. It tasted so good....not very sweet and it was not dripping oil. She gave me the recipe too...easy to make and good to eat. Thanks Sasikala :)
Ingredients:
2 cups                      grated carrots
4 - 6 cups                 whole milk
1/2 cup                     sugar
3 tbs                         ghee/ melted butter
1 tbs                         oil
1/2 tsp                      cardomom powder
1/4 cup                     finely chopped nuts
1/2 cup                     mava/khoya or scraped paneer (optional)
Method
1.  Heat oil + 1tbs ghee in a pan and fry chopped nuts till crisp, remove it from the pan and keep it aside.

2.  Put scraped carrots in the same pan and fry it in the remaining oil in the pan, for few mins.

3. Add milk to the pan (carrots must be fully covered fully in milk), when milk starts to boil, lower the heat and let it cook till the mixture becomes dry.

4. Add sugar, ghee, nuts and mava/paneer stirring in between each addition. Garnish it with more chopped nuts and serve it warm :) 
     

Fish kuzambu/ stew without coconut

This is my mother in law's super easy and healthy fish gravy. It's very tasty with white rice, fried fish, veggie poriyal and curd :) When she visited us she made this and ever since this is our fav. fish dish. 

Ingredients: 

2                                 (each 6 oz/ 170 grams) fish fillets

1 tsp                           tamarind paste

3-6 tbs                         oil

salt to taste

To grind:

1 1/2 med sized            onion (finely chopped)

4                                  green chillies

2 clove                         garlic (chop)

1 med                           tomato

1/2 tsp                          turmeric pwdr

1/2 tsp                          coriander pwdr

1 tsp                             cumin/ jeera pwdr

5-6                                curry leaves

To season:

1/2                                 thinly sliced onion

2                                    green chilli

1-2 tsp                            chilli pwdr

1 tsp                               whole cumin, mustard seeds, methi/ fenugreek seeds

Method:

1. Clean the fish with a little turmeric, grind the ingredients given under-"to grind" to a fine paste with little water.

2. Heat oil in pan, fry the whole spices given under "to season" in low flames till it get's aromatic.

3. Add onion and curry leaves and fry till it becomes golden brown.

Add chilli pwdr and stir it few times with the oil. 

4. Combine the ground onion mix with the onion masala in the pan, add 3 cups of water.

5. Increase the flame to med/high, when the stew starts to boil, add the fish and let it boil for 5 mins, reduce the heat and let it simmer until you get your desired consistency.

6. Add tamarind paste and salt.

7. Let it sit for  afew hours, before serving with rice.    

 

  

Buttered Toast and Jam Bread Pudding

This is a Martha Stewart's recipe from Everyday Food- Oct 2012. It's a moist and rich pudding, use your fav.jam/preserves and bread. 

Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
8 slices country white bread
3/4 cup strawberry jam, or your favorite kind
4 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter bread on one side and arrange in a single layer, buttered side up, on baking sheets. Bake until deep golden, 7 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, butter a 4-by-8-inch loaf pan.....

Spread jam in an even layer on bottom. Use jam or preserves...

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Cut toast in half and arrange, cut sides up, in pan.

In a small saucepan, combine milk, cream, vanilla, and salt and heat over medium until just warm; whisk into egg mixture. Slowly pour over toast (being careful not to disturb the jam layer)

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Cut toast in half and arrange, cut sides up, in pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolk, and sugar.

In a small saucepan, combine milk, cream, vanilla, and salt. Heat over medium until just warm; whisk into egg mixture. Slowly pour over toast (being careful not to disturb the jam layer); let sit for 30 minutes.

Bake until toast is deep golden brown and custard is set in the middle, 1 hour. (Loosely tent with foil if overbrowning.) Let cool completely on a wire rack, 1 hour.

                                                         

Moist and Rich Pudding :)

Thanks for visiting this page. Feel free to comment, i love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Hav a blessed day :)

Spicy Quinoa Stir Fry

Quinoa stir fry is very easy to make. We can make it spicier by adding chilli powder along with indian spices/Mrs Dash or any other prefered spice seasoning. Cook quinoa, mix it with stirfried veggies and chicken (beef/shrimp/goat meat). Fried egg should be well cooked, without any crispy edges....i over cooked my egg :(

Quinoa stir fry with egg

About Quinoa:
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the international year for Quinoa, in recognition of ancestral practices of the Andean people, who have preserved quinoa as food for present and future generations, through knowledge and practices of living in harmony with nature.       Quinoa has been called a super food, it is a source of  protein and it contains more amino acids than other grains.
       1/2 cup cooked quinoa contains 17 grams carb, 2.5 grams fibre, 4 grams protein and 111 cal. It's glycemic index (GI) is 9. Foods lower in glycemic index is digested and absorbed slowly, thus producing gradual rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. It can be substituted for rice, pasta, bulgur or millet in any recipe -about.com, wikipedia, wholefoodsmarket. 
To know more about glycemic index click the link What is GI?

Wholesome food!

Ingredients:
1 cup                quinoa
1/2 cup             water
1/4 tsp              salt (to taste)
1.5 - 2 cups      finely chopped- cooked chicken/beef/shrimp
1/4 tsp              turmeric
2 tsp                preferred seasoning/masala powder
2 cups/ 12oz    chopped seasonal vegetables/ i used 12oz mixed       
                        veggie pack.
1 tsp                chilli pwdr (optional)
1                      egg
2+ 3+1 tsp        oil 
* Use indian meat- masala pwdr/ currypwdr/ MrsDash or 2 pks of * Top Ramen/ Maggie seasoning.
* To get a crunchy texture, stir fry cooked quinoa in 2 tsp oil (high)  before adding it to vegetable/meat mixture.
* Rinse quinoa few times before cooking (use wire mesh sieve), the seeds are coated with saponins, a natural plant chemical that can cause bitter taste.
*Omit the meat and make it a vegetarian dish (still high in protein) 
Method:
1. Dry roast quinoa in a pan. Cool, rinse and drain it in a fine mesh strainer. Cook with 1/2 cup water and 2 tsp oil. When it's 90% cooked, cover and remove from heat.

dry roast quinoa!

2. In a pan, heat 3tsp oil and brown the meat, add your prefered seasoning/masala and chilli powder, remove meat from the pan and set it aside.

brown cooked meat...

3. Put the veggie mix in the same pan, stir fry on high. After few mins reduce the heat, sprinkle few teaspoons of water, cover and cook. When it's half done add meat. Cook until the vegetables are crisp and tender (shouldn't get mushy).  

seasonal/mixed vegetable...

4. Combine the quinoa with meat and vegetable mix, check for salt.
5.  In a pan, fry an egg with 1 tsp oil, should be well cooked without crispy edge (i over cooked my egg)

Spicy quinoa stirfry!

6. Garnish: Transfer quinoa stirfry to a serving dish. Before serving, place the fried egg over the quinoa, (use 2 steak knives/ forks) cut the egg and mix it gently. 

Thanks for visiting this page. Feel free to comment, i love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Hav a blessed day :)

Refreshing and Healthy Watermelon and Mint Juice

Both mint and watermelon have amazing cooling and relaxing properties, this spicy thirst quencher will refresh and cool us  during these warm summer days. 

Ingredients:
4-6    mint leaves
1       clove 
1       cinnamon 
1       cardamom 
1/4    watermelon
1 tbs  honey (optional)
1 cup water  

 Method:
1. Heat 1 cup of water in a small pan and add fresh mint leaves and the whole spices, bring it to a boil over medium heat. 
2. Switch off the stove when the water starts to boil, let it cool. Remove the mint leaves and spices from the water. 
3. Cut watermelon into small chunks, remove seeds. Put it in a blender/juicer/mixer and process until smooth and well pureed.
5. Mix mint syrup, watermelon puree and honey (add honey according to your preference) together and chill it.
6. Pour a glass of this easy breezy melon drink, sit back and enjoy the sun :)  

Thanks for visiting this page. Feel free to comment, i love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Hav a blessed day :)


    
      

Thanks for participating!!!

   This is the (much delayed!) round up, of April 2013 -Dish It Out event. I enjoyed hosting it, i like to thank Vardhini of cooksjoy.com , for giving me the opportunity to host this event. I really thank my  blog friends Priya, Pavithra, Jayanthi and Vardhini for sending their entries and making this event a sucess. Check out their wonderful blogs for more great recipes.

Priya Elias -   http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot 
Pavithra.R -   http://secondattemptinblogging.blogspot 
Jayanthi Padmanabhan -  http://foodbetterbegood.blogspot.sg

Vardhini - http://cooksjoy.com

http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2013/04/carrot-paneer-bonda.html

http://secondattemptinblogging.blogspot.in/2013/04/simple-carrot-and-paneer-pulao.html
http://foodbetterbegood.blogspot.sg/2013/02/carrot-cupcake-with-cream-cheese.html
http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.in/2013/04/paneer-and-carrot-rice-basmati-rice.html
I'm giving away 25 $ Amazon gift card to the participants.

Carrot and Paneer- Dish it out event announcement

This month i'm happily hosting fellow foodie Vardhini's ( Cooks Joy) Dish it out event. This is a monthly event. The host will choose 2 or 3 veg. ingredients, and the participants should use that as the key ingredients in their dish. The ingredients of this month are: carrot and paneer (cheese). This event runs from April 4 to May 5

Few pointers to follow if you are participating:
1. Prepare any vegetarian or vegan dish, highlighting carrot and paneer.
2. Eggs can be added in baking.
3. Usage of logo is appreciated.
4. You can send any number of entries. You can link the old entries if they're republished with the logo and links given below.
5. Link your post to this  announcement page and Vardhini's dish it out page, that's mandatory.
6. Non bloggers can send your recipes to neetarufus[at]yahoo[dot]com.
Please enter your entries through the linky tool attached to this post by May 5. Looking forward to all the yummy recipes :) There will be a surprise giveaway when I post the roundup next month.  Happy cooking!

Spicy Bulgur Pilaf /Dalia khichadi /Rava Godumai upma

Kothumai Rava Kichadi

It tasted just like vegetable biryani. We can call this dish vegetable bulgar/ dalia /wheat rava biryani. Bulgur can be a good alternative to white rice.Compared to unenriched white rice, bulgur has more fiber and protein, a lower glycemic index, and higher levels of most vitamins and minerals. One cup of dry bulgur contains approximately:

• Energy: 2003 kJ (479 kcal)
• Dietary fiber: 25.6 g
• Protein: 17.21 g
• Carbohydrate: 69 g whereof 0.8 g sugars
• Fat: 1.86 g whereof 0.2 g saturated fat
• Potassium: 574 mg
• Iron: 3.44 mg
• Glycemic Index: 48 -Wikipedia

Ingredients:
1             big carrot
3 oz         paneer- cut into v.small cubes  
10-12       mint leaves 
2 cloves   garlic
1/2"         ginger    
1 cup       cooked bulgur /kothumai rava/ dalia
3 tbs        finely chopped onion
1/4 cup    green peas
1/2 tsp     ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp     chilli powder
salt to taste
Method:
1. Grind mint leaves, ginger and garlic to a fine paste.
2. Finely chop carrot, dice paneer into very small and uniform cubes.
3. The size of onion, paneer and carrot should be uniform.
4. Heat oil in a pan, saute onion till it become golden color, add ginger and mint paste. Mix it well, lower the heat and add chilli powder and salt.   
5. Now add carrot and peas, cover the pan and cook unti the vegetables becomes soft yet crispy. Add bulgur and cook it for few more minutes. 
6. Add paneer to the bulgar mixture.
7.  Remove from heat and transfer it to a serving dish, garnish it with chopped cilantro.
8. Serve it with any flat bread.

Thanks for visiting this page. Feel free to comment, i love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Hav a blessed day :)