Charred tomato, green chillies Smitten, Gingery-Skinned-Potatoes

---

Rustic old ways. Memories. Earthen. So real. And so inspiring.

When baskety mornings weave unreal dreams. And the thoughts enough to fill the day with shimmery senses.

When the sunlight playing hide n seek in the early morning hours, lure you to wake up to reality mixed with bitter, sweet hopes..waves of emotions that almost give you a headache, a hangover…that can only be cured as the day passes by with assuring and reassuring moments as the clock ticks by…

Now, coming back to the post..if you want to taste something real different and comforting.. this is the simple recipe to go for.

Charring has such a rusticness and burst of flavours  attached to it. Isn’t it? Never tried. Its never too late!

For this recipe take two big fresh tomatoes and put them over fire. Place it over your gastop directly which is the easiest  to do in an ordinary town kitchen.

Till the pulp goes all charred and charcolish. Aah.. the words itself now blend with the aroma that fills up the room.

Do the same with three to four green chillies. The green chillies should have heat in them to add to the flavours.

Green chilies and tomatoes..charred make for an impactful flavour together.

Parellel, parboil few potatoes with their skins on and some salt sprinkled while boiling them!

Once  the tomatoes and green chillies are ready.. heat a pan and drizzle some mustard oil till smoky!

Mustard oil adds to the real punch of flavours too here!

Add lots of grated ginger (about 2 tbsp) and stir fry on high heat with lotsa chopped coriander leaves.

Stir till they almost turn brownish. Add the tomatoes and mash them with a masher.

And chopped charred green chillies. Lower heat and stir for few secs.

Add the potatoes and mix them up well. Let the potatoes be stirred for atleast 2 to 3 minutes till it almost gets that roasted texture. Add some turmeric powder and salt. Throw in just a pinch of sugar.

Stir and then add very little water. Cover and let cook in slowly for another 10 minutes.

Squeeze some lemon on top.

The goodness of these charred veggies will beg for you to have these with your loved ones amidst a lot of greenery and love and conversations of fond memories! So, have it with steamed rice sprinkled with mustard oil (blissful combination of rice and raw mustard oil) and bites of raw diced onions sprinkled with some salt, lemon and raw chilly powder. Assuring you an unsophisticatedly lovely, charry, smoky, earthy, rustic, heavenly experience!

Do let me know!

Crispy leftover lentil rice jeera (cumin) fritters

 

 

 

 

Invention is always a challenge….Or discovering something that’s experimental and stimulating to the mind and taste buds as well.. Just not with food but with anything don’t we like to wonder if its worth the effort and experimentation and the investment, Well I say sometimes let things be for the joy of it… And if it brings joy to the heart, the returns come to you naturally.. Let the process be fun…no matter what the outcome.

With leftovers sometimes you just want to reheat and have them because else by then they get boring and mundane..

And Leftovers are common. But creatively churning out something that’s worth eating the next day too.. is quite a challenge…

I had left over Dry Spicy Khichdi/ an Indian preparation made from rice and lentils (dal).

Khichdi is commonly considered to be a comfort food, and was the inspiration for the Anglo-Indian dish kedgeree. Khichri is also thought to be the inspiration for the popular Egyptian dish, kushari.

In India Khichdi is usually prepared atleast once a week (Just a guess). An absolute comfort food.
If you are new to this, you must try and have it hot with the family with some pickle of your choice.

A quick recipe of Khichdi would be:

In a pressure cooker, temper in two tsp of hot refined oil, some chopped onions, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and green chillies. Add one cup of lentil (moong/ tuar),one cup of regular rice and three cups of water. Add two pinch of turmeric powder, 1/4th tbsp of red chilly powder, two tbsp or more tomato puree or chopped tomatoes, salt and let pressure cook with two whistles or till rice and lentile are just cooked. Garnish with chopped coriander.

 

So, since I had these leftovers, I ended up whipping these fritters/ snackers that would go perfect with you cuppa tea or coffee.. Click on the link to get a ginger tea recipe done the Indian way.

You can use left over steamed rice too and play with flavours by adding more spices to the fritters dough

The ingredients used in this recipe have a lot character and Indianess ! By that I mean, they all together add to the final recipe and taste!

To make this mathri kind of fritters or snackers,

Take a quarter plate or a big cup of khichdi.
Add 1 and half cup of sieved maida/all purpose flour.
Throw in 1/4th cup of fine semolina and 1/4th cup of sieved rice flour. And one tbsp of gram flour.
Add dry ingredients like, 2 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds, one tsp ajwain/ carom seeds, one tsp turmeric powder, one tbsp red chilly powder, some dry fenugreek/kasuri methi if you have. Add a pinch of baking soda and a pinch of castor sugar.

 

Now add two big onions chopped very very finely and a tbsp of chopped garlic. These added an interesting dimension indeed since the touch of onions added a sweet and crunchy taste/texture.

 

Knead it into a pastry kind of crumble. Do not over knead. Not soft but slightly firm. Add flour as per your judgement here keeping in mind that you would need to roll them and cut into pieces later.

 

Take tiny batches of these kneaded dough and spread on flat surface with a rolling pin. Not too thick. Maintain medium thickness.

Pierce all over.

Cut into pieces of your desired shape.

 

In a deep bottomed pan, heat sufficient oil for deep frying.

Once smoky hot, add these bits and let fry till crisp. Golden brown. Place them in paper towel so excess oil gets absorbed.

 

Let them stand for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy them crisp with a cuppta tea!!

 

Good to keep in mind:

You can also make soft round  flatbreads /parathas  with them if you do not want to deep fry

Cumin seeds add great taste so add as per your whim

Since these have onions and left overs its better not to store them beyond a day. Have them fresh once slightly cooled.

 

 

Instant Creamy Golden Brown Coconut dessert or Instant nariyal barfi

Homemade Coconut Round dessert or laddoos are my all time favourite dessert. I can finish 20 to 30 of them in a matter of two days. No seriously!

 

Since I am out of patience but had the craving.. here is the instant version. No. Not as good as the original. But perfect and delicious for sudden sweet cravings…if you know what I mean.

 

 

So, take two cup of dessicated coconut (readily available in food outlets)

 

Dessicated coconut is crisp, snow white in colour and has a sweet pleasant and fresh taste of the nut. It is made from fresh coconuts which are harvested at just the right time to ensure the best flavor. The coconut is then dried to the perfect moisture content to ensure long shelf life, best flavor and mouth feel. is produced from matured coconuts and the white coconut meat is granulated into the various desired cuts and is available as Macaroon, Medium, Flakes, Shreds, Chips, or as Coconut Flour. It’s also available either as Sweetened, Toasted, or Toasted Sweetened. It can be used as a substitute to grated fresh coconut in household preparations. It is a very important coconut kernel based product having very good demand all over the world in the confectionery and allied food industries (Source:tarladalal.com)

 

 

Toast them well in a deep bottomed pan by continuously stirring for a minute.

Add one cup of sugar granules and stir well. CONTINUOUSLY!

The aroma now will fill your kitchen and senses completely. But don’t get all lost…Stir as you watch these two ingredients turn golden brown and gooey…

Once golden brown, moist and not burnt! add one cup  of condescend milk goodness to it and stir/mix for another minute.

Remove from the gastop/flame.

Spread it in a plate carefully. Once slightly warm cut into square or triangular pieces….

Just in case you do not finish them all up, store them in an air tight container for upto a week or more..

 

 

coconuty rustic charm

 

Toasted Golden Brown Coconut Dessert

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Instant Basil pesto & red chilly Zucchini, Bellpeppers Veg

Watching the sunlight seep in secretly and undeclared into the kitchen can fill ones heart to brim.

Also a trip to the greens and sunsets to the town outskirts, had added a craving for something green and unique!

The idea popped up for some Sunshine and smiles and colours. And something instant.

I was a fan of basil pesto from the day I had Pasta in basil pesto with garnish of pinenuts and cherry tomatoes.

I had ordered these ready made pestos after confirming their quality just for such a Situation! 😉

Basil Pesto and red chilly dip. The ancient Romans ate a paste called moretum, which was made by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together.Basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, likely originated in India and was first domesticated there. (Source: wikipedia)

Red Chilly Dip ingredients!

Pesto is traditionally prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. First, garlic and pine nuts are placed in the mortar and reduced to a cream,then the washed and dried basil leaves are added with coarse salt and ground to a creamy consistency. Only then is a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino added. To help incorporate the cheese a little extra-virgin olive oil is added. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), covered by a layer of extra-virgin olive oil, pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week, and can be frozen for later use. (Source: wikipedia)

This recipe is good for a different menu in the middle of the week and a fresh change to the taste palate. NOT MUNDANE. No NO!

1) To prepare these unique yummies cut one zucchini, two yellow and red bell peppers and one small cauliflower into square half cubes.

2) Add one tbsp oil (olive/sesame or refined) into a preheated pan

3)Once smoky hot, add the zucchinis. Stir on high heat for 30 secs.

4)Now add the bellpeppers and cauliflower florets. Stir on high heat for another minute

5)Reduce heat, cover for a minute

6) Remove the lid to add two tbsp of basil pesto and two tbsp of red chilly dip with a dollop of tomato ketchup or puree

7)Stir to let it all cuddle up well with each other with sprinkle of salt and black pepper

7)Add chopped fresh parsley and cover for another minute with a squeeze of lemon on top

And that’s ready to serve !

Serve with raw onions and lemon and flat bread or rice of your choice

The zucchini, also known as a courgette, has origins which can be traced back more than 9,000 years to Mexico. Zucchini is a type of summer squash. They’re available in green and yellow varieties. Both have soft, succulent flesh. Zucchini is an excellent source of vitamin C, and provides some beta carotene and folate. Select firm zucchini with glossy skin. Store in an sealed plastic bag in the crisper for up to three days. (Source: taste.com.au)

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Sweet Mushy Banana Coconuty Fritters

 

 

Happens to me a lot..but these fritters… I tell you they are delicious if you have the slightest of sweet tooth!

 

 

 

 

I enjoy very particular kind of sweet stuff.

And I love these. Have always done. Sweet, savoury, deep fried,  with a lingering soft taste in the mouth and something you can pop in the mouth the next day too…and the next…

Nostalgia. Family. Togetherness.  The fritters personify these things and more…

HOW  DO I MAKE IT ?

Take two almost ripe bananas to prepare this recipe. Mash them and keep aside.

3/4th cup all purpose flour / maida

Two tbsp wheat flour/ aata

One tbsp rava/sooji/semolina (For crispiness)

Two tbsp rice flour (For crispiness)

l/4th cup of ready made desiccated coconut or better still FRESHLY GRATED COCONUT..

3/4 cup of milk

1/4th cup of condensed milk

half a cup of sugar

2 tbsp jaggery

1 tsp baking powder and a punch of baking soda (Just avoid if you don’t want to use these)

 

 

 

 

Mix mashed banana, sieved all purpose flour, sieved wheat flour, sieved rava (semolina), sieved rice flour, coconut,  and sieved baking powder and soda together.

Now, preheat a deep bottomed solid pan to melt the sugar and jaggery. I usually screw up sugar caramelization process so got to be careful if you are new at this too..

Once slightly preheated add the sugar granules. Let them turn brown from the edges. Stir initially and then stop stirring to avoid them from getting crystallized. These sugary lil things can turn evil and go all sticky and hard within miliseconds.. Add the jaggery pieces after 10 secs or so . Just when the sugar granules are slightly light brown add the milk and stir till it all mixes well into a smooth consistency.

Add this beautiful liquid to the dry mixture of flour. Add slowly and keep mixing with a whisk  to avoid lumps. Add the condensed milk and let it cuddle up well too.The consistency should be slightly runny like a pancake batter but not too thin or thick. Add milk accordingly.

Now, while this liquid rests, take a deep bottomed pan in a gastop  and fill with two cups of oil for deep frying. I like to add 1/4th of clarified butter or ghee too for a beautiful flavour.  Let the oil get smoky on medium flame.

Now, take a ziplock plastic bag and fill it with the banana, flour mixture that you have already gotten ready. Or use hands!

In the hot oil deep fry by slowly adding little rounds of the mixture. See how they puff up ! 🙂 Dont worry about the shapes 😉 its okay to have uneven shapes. They add to the rustic memories…and traditions of cooking homemade recipes..

 

 

Do it in a batch of 4 to 5 fritters if you are new at this.  Keep an eye to make sure the oil doesn’t get so hot as to burn up, so keep lowering the heat as and when you feel the fritters are going too dark. Look for golden brown . Try different shapes if you want.

Some like to shallow fry it too like tiny pancakes…

Let the oil get absorbed in a paper towel every time you take they off the pan after frying.

 

 

 

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

Beety Sesamy Flavour-Burst Rice Bowl ! Beetroot, fenugreek aromatic mix rice bowl in sweet, sour, hot flavours

Beety Sesamy Flavour-Burst Rice Bowl

Its good when you feel , intuitive, sure and creative! When certain basics are right and still there is a long way to go, discovering and exploring something never tried or heard before elevates the journey all of a sudden. And such is life. Each day you feel one way or the other.

Well I was feeling red and velvety… not like angry red.. but bright vivid red… and green.. like the fresh, garden green!

And that turned into a gardeny red healthy bowl of rice. I wish I could capture the flavours here. So try it and experience the delight yourself.

Beety Sesamy Flavour-Burst Rice Bowl ! Beetroot, fenugreek aromatic mix rice bowl in sweet, sour, hot flavours

The recipe is a veggie mix rice dish I ended up cooking and relishing with a taste that was exotic, comforting, with true and fresh burst of flavours.

Some key ingredients are beetroot and fenugreek (methi patte) …

“Beetroot is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants – a health-food titan” (Source: bbcgoodfood.com/)

“Methi contains protein, fibre, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, iron and alkaloids.” (Source: thehealthsite.com/)

Enjoy the process of cooking this simple dish by cutting, chopping, grating, mashing the required ingredients beforehand while you watch your favourite show. Just make sure to visit your nearest veggie seller for fresh vivid green fenugreek leaves and bright red beetroots..

Fenugreek leaves and dhaniya

Pre-preps

First Stage of Cooking the rice :

• Groundnut Oil or sesame/olive oil (I used groundnut)
• Fennel seeds: Just a little more than a pinch
• Finely chopped green chillies(Keep the seeds on!)
• Finely Chopped Garlic
• Finely grated Ginger
• Cooked Kolam or regular rice(not too soggy so that it can mix well later)
• Curry leaves: Chopped
• Hing or asafoetida
• Fresh Methi/fenugreek leaves : Two small bowls
• Beetroot : Two Chopped Coriander leaves for garnish
• Salt for garnish
• Pepper for garnish (peppery delights add punch of flavours)

For the wild tempering:

• Butter(How can there be no butter in my recipe 😉 )
• Oil
• White Sesame seeds (til)
• Sugar granules
• Whole Red Chillies
• Coriander seeds: Just a pinch (I would recommend crushing these already after slightly roasting)
• Grated Paneer

Added and recommended ingredient delights:

• Teeny weeny Pieces of apple : one tbsp
• Boiled potatoes with pinch of italion seasoning : One big potato
• Lemon juice

Mashed potatoes

Coriander seeds goodness

Cheese, green chillies, garlic, coriander seeds

Fennel and asofoetida/hing goodness Asafoetida is one of the spices native to Afghanistan and cultivated near India. It is one of the most common spices used in Asian cuisine and especially the Indian cuisine. Though the odor of the spice is strong, Asafoetida is known for its miraculous health benefits for human body. Used widely in dals/lentil recipes and pickel preparations.

Beety bites

Fenugreek or methi.. the yummier way

Grated cheese

THE RICE

An ingredient : Sesame : used in Indian Cooking since always for the crispy crunch to any recipe. Sesame seeds add a nutty taste and a delicate, almost invisible, crunch to many Asian dishes. They are also the main ingredients in tahini (sesame seed paste) and the wonderful Middle Eastern sweet call halvah. They are available throughout the year. One of my favorite facts about sesame seeds is that they are an abundant source of minerals.

Sesame, Curry leaves, coriander leaves, red chillies, Fenugreek

Let’s begin this exciting culinary journey!

Cook the beeroot in boiling water for say 5 to 7 minutes.

Pass through running tap water.

Peel off the skin and chop into fine tiny diced pieces.

Beetroot in boiling water

Keep aside.

Diced beetroot Maroon red delight

In a preheated deep pan on a gastop, add 1 tbsp oil.

Once heated, add half a tsp of fennel seeds.

Once toasted in the oil, add 1 tbsp of ginger and 1 tbsp of chopped garlic goodness.

Stir and let cook for 30 secs. Add the chopped green chillies. Stir for 30 secs only.

Add the methi/fenugreek leaves. Cook for 30 secs.

Beetroot contains betaine, which in other forms is used to help treat depression, and trytophan, the feel good chemical in chocolate. n 1975, during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, cosmonauts from the USSR’s Soyuz 19 welcomed the Apollo 18 astronauts by preparing a banquet of borscht (beetroot soup) in zero gravity.

Add the delightful par-boiled beetroot pieces. Stir till the fenugreek turns slightly crispy.

Add the rice and mix everything well making sure not to break the grains or letting it stick to bottom.

Sprinkle salt and pepper

  Parallel to it now, heat a tapered shallow pan in the othe rburner. Add few drops of oil along with half tsp of salted butter to avoid butter from burning.  Once heated add crushed slightly pre-roasted coriander seeds, raw sesame seeds, chopped red chilles, curry leaves chopped, a pinch of asafoetida and stir well. After 10 secs add a tbsp of sugar granules. Stir it all till sesame gets crispy  (be careful not to burn the sesame or red chillies) (I say just taste a sesame to identify if crispy and well roasted for the perfect topping to this dish)

Keep an eye by continuously roasting, toasting and stirring.

Gardeny tempering

Hey Sugar!    Sugar and sesame together are quite the pair to go for!

Tempering to be added to the main cooking

The ingredients for the tempering should be ready in 20 to 25 secs.

Add the grated paneer/cottage cheese (half a small bowl) and mashed potatoes which has been seasoned with pinch Italian dried herbs. (Italian seasoning is optional) Toast them well along with other ingredients in the tempering pan.

Separately  lightly roast the tiny bits of apples. Keep aside

NOW…

Add all of this except the apples in to the other pan with rice, beetroot, fenugreek mix..Mix well…

Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves on top and lemon juice. On topmost layer add the apple toppings…

Grab the entire bowl and enjoy with your favourite tv show and person!

Coriander, commonly known as Dhania in the Indian Subcontinent and Cilantro in the Americas and some parts of Europe, is an herb that is extensively used around the world as a condiment, garnish, or decoration on culinary dishes.

                                 

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at  http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

 

Excerpts From The Forum:

Fridays are usually filled with anticipation for a fun and exciting or relaxing weekend. Fridays feel different and are somehow more special than other weekdays. They’re days to indulge, to let your hair down, and to celebrate by kicking it up a notch.

So, share with us how you celebrate your Fridays.

Sewai Kheer/ Vermicelli dessert – a rich noodly milky delight

Sweet vermicelli kheer or dessert

A lil birdie visited me today. I saw her and thought to myself, she must be hungry… And so was I… Well she flew away, but the thought remained…

The TV telecasted sweet savories and the mind played tunes of some sweet and bitter memories…while calls poured in since it was a so-called special day…

While I sat back relaxed…not in the mind though, I decided to whip up  a sweet vermicelli/sewai kheer.

Rice Kheer is a popular dish on special occasions, but many like the sewai version better because its less heavy and tastes beautiful and sometimes like sweet soupy noodly goodly delight…

As Wikipedia aptly informs…”Vermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti.…The dish in the original language are variously known as seviyan in Urdu and Hindi, shemai in Bengali, sev in Gujarati, shavige in Kannada, sevalu or semiya in Telugu, and semiya in Tamil and Malayalam. The noodles are used in a number of dishes including a variation of kheer, a sweet dessert similar to rice pudding. Vermicelli are also used in many parts of India to make a popular dish called upma. ”

Sometimes, you don’t want a full fancy meal but want to revive old memories…you want replicate the original with right proportions..and nothing fusiony, experimental.. because somethings are good the good’ol original way!

For this recipe for two servings..

–>You need One litre of full cream good quality milk. Since milk is the main ingredient here. So no comprise!

–>Half a fist of sewai/vermicilli or a ratio of 2:6 (6 being milk)

–>Sugar: one fourth quantity of the milk or 2 to 3 tbsps of sugarfree sweetners for the calorie conscious.. sigh!

–>Milkmaid or condensed milk

–> Cashews, raisins, almonds

–>Cardamom powder if you like the taste of cardamom

–>Saffron (Optional..add if you want to add that shaahi/royal touch)

• Let the milk boil in a deep thick bottomed pot on low flame till reduced. Try reducing it to half by continuously supervising that the milk doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pan. You can ensure that by stirring it in between, and keeping a ladle in the milk.

• Take  another pan and roast the broken vermicelli in half tsp of ghee/clarified butter.
• Use a roasted vermicelli packet in which case you need to roast these for 2 to 3 minutes only otherwise till lightly pink or golden brown.

• Keep the vermicilli aside and roast the nuts in the same pan in ghee and switch off flame once they are just about roasted. Keep an eye to avoid burning of these nutty nuts.
• Meanwhile once the milk starts reducing add the sugar and milkmaid.

• After stirring and having reduced the milk to desired level,  add the vermicelli evenly.  (Actually since we are using condensed milk, you might avoid reducing it all the way to half, reducing it just a little to get a thicker texture is enough)

• Stir to avoid lumps from forming.
• Add the raisins so that they swell up and cuddle up with the lovely ingredients that have already created a storm in the pot with a lovely aroma.

• After another 10 to 12  minutes add the roasted nuts and if you like few roasted grated almonds.
• Sprinkle little pinch of cardamom powder.
• Add the few saffron strands.
• Switch off the flame.
• Let it stand for couple of minutes. Serve slightly warm in your favourite bowl and I say two spoons for a sweet, memorable experience with your loved one.

Might be good to keep in mind:

–> Vermicelli  have a tendency to thicken up in milk so its better to take lesser quantity compared to the milk and have it warm.
–>Roasting the nuts before adding to the kheer helps get a rich aroma, although personally I like the kheer without any nuts or raisins somehow
–>The things with such sweet /dessert is that the proportion is very important and the method helps make or break the dish.
–>Sometimes lot of people do not reduce the milk for this kind of dessert, but reducing it gives the rich gooey creamy taste and texture of milk that makes the cooking worth it. Just make sure that the quantity of vermicelli is much much lesser to the milk.

–>Once you add the vermicelli the texture starts thickening. So its good to keep an eye.

–>If you in trouble reducing the milk and to not burn it at the bottom consider using a thick bottomed kadhai and you are safe!

–> Try the chilled version with kulfi and some chopped cadbury chocolates for another heavenly experience

–>Adding the raisins while cooking helps them swell up which many love to eat that way only

  

Participated in the interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Colourful basic mix veg recipe

Well, its a beautiful morning and loved the colours on the sky…the untouched guitar still added music to the room silently…music of thoughts…

and then the mind wanders  on to whatever colourful was there in the fridge.. orange, green, white, brown….
You open the fridge and you wonder what to cook really! What today…
Sometimes just mix and match the veggies you have got with you..

The recipe I share today with almost realtime images and videos is easy, simple and colourful. Flavours of basic Indian spices. The process can be replicated with any of the other available dishes and you have a handy dish ready anyday, anytime.

Pick some Cauliflowers (phulgobhi), carrots (gajar), potato (aloo), capsicums (shimla mirch),and fresh coriander leaves .

Blanch the cauliflower by putting them in boiling water for a minute and transferring into a bowl of icecold water. Strain them dry.

VEGGIES from the street food sabziwala

Dice the veggies into whatever shape you like. I was in hurry so I went for diced square medium sized ones.

Preheat a deep pan for a minute. Add one tablespoon oil in a deep pan. Let it heat on medium flame. Add pinch of cumin seeds and mustard seeds (saabut jeera and rai).

Once they start spluttering, add the veggies except the tender colourful capsicum.

After say 5 mins of stirring it gently on high heat, lower the heat. Add, a pinch of turmeric powder (haldi), one big tsp of coriander powder (dhaniya powder), red chilly powder (laal mirchi), and pinch of garam masala.With it throw in freshly grated ginder of about half tsp.

Add the capsicums in the end . Stir for half a minute. Add the coriander leaves. Squeeze in half a lemon and some water (1/4th of a medium coffee cup)

Cover the lid and let cook slowly for 7 to 8 mins.

And we are done! 🙂

Enjoy with hot rotis/naan/steamed of any form of rice.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107334583016582356159/posts/At8WSFppbuA?pid=6054318457185009970&oid=107334583016582356159&authkey=CJKP3fWa8uP31QE

Participated in the interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Maggi Chowmein Style

Instant yet elaborate… sometimes we need to taste something restaurant style but want to cut down on the time. Neither do we want to step out and eat at a restaurant at all times. Like Hakka Noodles or chowmein?

Say when you are watching your favourite show on TV and crave to bing on something delicious and mouth smacking…

We have all grown up with it. In India Maggi is a hot favourite of most kids…and even adults!!!

Instant noodles that needs to be boiled in water with the spice mix or the ever popular maggi masala! that comes with it in the package, is enjoyed in different styles, by different people.

This is one of the very many styles I like relishing  my Maggi Instant Noodles…

To whip up a delicious, easy and comforting Maggi chowmein style, heat half tsp of butter and 2 tpsp oil in a tapered pan..

Saute onions

Throw in two small sliced onions and let it saute for a minute. The onions needn’t turn golden brown. Let them be slightly raw or just sauteed and soft.

At this time also, add 10 to 12 diced square potato cubes… Add thinly slit green chillies, pinch of garlic paste, and let it all saute for another minute.

Add the maggi noodles after potatoes turn tender

Add the maggi spice or masala  that comes with it and mix well.

Sprinkle half tsp black pepper powder.

Stir for few seconds and add few tbsps  of water. The water should be sufficient enough to give sufficient wetness to the mix in the pan. We do not want this recipe to be very watery like a normal maggi.

Cover with a lid and let cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle some Italian seasoning for added flavours and some chopped coriander…

morning instant and random breakfast tips

Mornings are when they say you must feed your poor stomach that has fasted the entire night!

 

Mornings ought to bring a sense of calm which is pretty difficult to find/achieve/try for often…Stress engulfs one and all these days. Newspapers and magazines are filled with articles of leading a destressful life… sigh..Well with mornings one of the best way to start your day is a glass of water…no matter how busy, rushed or stressed or lazy you feel..

 

For a light yet not so light breakfast..few things that caught my attention are:

Bread that are healthy like this new 9 grain bread slices available these days.

Have it with a healthy spread of peanut butter for that dose of instant energy (Personally I prefer cheese or plain salted butter) You could try it with some delicious fruit jam as well..

A cuppa coffee of tea/chai whatever makes you feel chirpy..

Roasted cashews..yummy!

Breakfast and more…

 

 

Bread Upma and chai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick bread upma is a good choice as well.

To make a plate of bread upma.

Crumble into tiny pieces 6 to 7 slices of bread (or brown bread). Add 1 tsp oil and dollop of butter in a pan, add jeera (cumin seeds), and mustard seeds. On spluttering add chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Throw in thinly sliced onions..

Now add the bread pieces with sprinkle of turmeric powder, red chilly powder, 1 tsp sugar and half tsp lemon squeezed juice. Sprikle salt evenly and throw in lot of fresh coriander leaves. You could try sprinkling bit of pavbhaji masala as well. Spicy, hot accompaniment with tea in the morning is ready for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, fruits are wonderful in the morning. If you can manage add in fruits to your daily diet. When I dont like having them I sprinkle black pepper, and salt to pieces of apples, pineapple, pear, mangoes etc and have them..

 

Work can start a bit later…Ideas can start flowing a bit after the mind has settled as well..

Serene nature and urban landscapes… fusion of new age peace mantra?