PANEER BHURJI (Scrambled Paneer)

Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients:

Paneer grated/crumbled - 400 gms
Onions - 2 medium chopped finely
Ginger -Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 4 nos slit
Tomatoes - 1 big
Thawed frozen Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1/2 of a medium chopped finally
Capsicum - 1/4 of a medium chopped finely
Coriander leaves - a handful chopped
Coriander Powder - 1.5 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - .5 tsp
Garam masala - .5 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:
Heat Oil in a pan. Once hot add in jeera. Once it splutters add in the onions and saute till light pink. Then add in the ginger garlic paste  and saute till onions turn light brown in color. Add in the carrots and tomatoes and saute till tomatoes are cooked. Then add in capsicum and peas and saute for about 5 mins. Add in the masalas and saute for another 5-8 mins on slow - medium flame. Finally add in the grated paneer and mix thoroughly with ladle. Add in salt and cook on low flame for 7 mins. Add in the coriander leaves and add in slice of lemon as garnish. You can enjoy this Hot phulkas :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

 

PALAK PANEER

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

Palak - 2 bunch
Paneer - 8-9 cubes
Green Chilli - 3 nos
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Tomato - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 cloves
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Methi Leaves dry - 1 tbsp
Milk/Cream - 3 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:

Clean palak well and discard stems. Now chop the leaves roughly and boil with just 3-4 tbsp water till leaves are cooked. Then drain and wash them in cold water to retain color. Once cool blend them to a puree with green chillies and keep aside.

Add butter/oil in a pan ad fry the paneer pieces slighly brown. Roughly about 2 mins on each side of paneer.

Now in a pan add butter/oil and add in the onions. Saute till transparent and then add garlic. Saute for a min or 2 and then add in tomatoes and saute till tomatoes are smashed well. Puree this mix in grinder by addind minimal water ( this puree stage is purely optional). In the same pan add the pureed mixed and once boiled add in the powders. Saute till raw smell of powders are gone. Then add in the methi leaves and saute for a min, Next add in the pureed palak with chilli and mix. Add in salt, milk/cream. Once boiled switch off and add in the paneer. Serve warm with roti.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

PALAK KOFTA (Low Fat Version)

Palak Kofta

Ingredients:
Palak - 1 bunch

For the Kofta:
Potato boiled - 1 big
Paneer grated - 1/4 cup
Peas boiled - 1/4 cup
Green Chilli chopped veru finely - 3 nos
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Brown Bread slices - 2 nos
Low fat cream - As needed
Salt

For the Curry:
Butter - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Cashew nutes - 8 whole
Onion sliced - 1 large
Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Tomato - 2 medium sliced
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi - a liberal pinch
Low Fat milk - 1 cup
Low fat cream - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut the stems of the palak and chop finely the leaves. In a pan add about 2 tbsp water and add the chopped palak and boil till water gets evaporated. Drain well. I further chopped the palak and kept aside.

For the Koftas:
Smash the potato so that no lumps are formed. To this add all the ingredients, 1/4 cup of palak, except bread.

Cut the ends of the bread and soak the bread in the water and squeeze nicely. Then add to the potato mix.

Now make small round balls of the mix. Flatten the the balls lightly and add about less than 1/4 tsp of cream and then cover the flatten ball to form a ball again.

Add 1/4 tsp of oil into Unniappam Pan, add each balls into one hole and fry till golden brown. Alternatively you can make a paste of cornflour, salt and water to a thick paste. Dip each balls into the cornflour and deep fry till golden brown. Drain in a tissue to remove excess oil.

You can see the cream in the centre when kofta is cut

For the Curry:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp butter. First add the cashew nuts and fry till golden brown and remove. Then to the same oil, add sliced onions. When slightly pink in color add ginger garlic paste and fry till light golden color. Then to this add tomato and saute till tomato gets smashed nicely.

Add in the powders and saute till oil starts leaving the sides. Leave the mix to cool down. In a grinder add the onion-tomato mix and cashew nuts and grind to a paste. I added almost 1/2 cup of milk too the grinding stage.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp butter and add the grinded mix and also remaining milk. While its coming to boil, add the very finely chopped remaining boiled palak to the mix and stir. Then add add kasuri methi and cream and stir. Switch off flame.

Serve the koftas topped with curry. It goes best with rotis and naans :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
While adding boiled palak, squeeze once more the water out and add.
Kasuri Methi is purely optional.

BOMBAY BREAD TOAST/FRENCH TOAST/BREAD TOAST

Bombay Bread Toast

Ingredients:
Brown Bread - 5 nos
Egg - 2
Milk - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp
Butter

Preparation:

Beat the egg till light and fluffy. Beat milk and sugar together and then pour into beaten egg and to this add cinnamon powder and beat further.

In a flat pan, rub fair amount of butter on it. Take bread the slices and dip in the mix. Dip the reverse side too. Place the dipped bread slice onto the buttered pan and cook on low flame till both sides are light brown in color. . Serve with fruits and honey. Best for breakfast or evening snacks ..

Can it get more helathier than this :) :)...

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes
You can definitely use normal white bread instead of brown bread.

POTATO KIBBEH

Potato Kibbeh

Potato kibbeh is basically a middle eastern dish with potato and carmellized onions sometimes stuffed with meat (chicken, lamb). I would prefer to make this dish veg and then serve with non-veg to go with it. I surely would make this several times as its very healthy and filling too.

Recipe Source : Discover Lebanon

Ingredients:
Potato - 1 large boiled and mashed ( roughly about 1 cup)
Wheat Bulgar - 1/2 cup
Garlic Powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil - 2 -3 tbsp

Walnuts - 1 large handful
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely

Preparation:

Roast the walnuts in 180C pre-heated oven for about 55-7 mins till nuts turn slightly brown in color.
Roast the onions in 1 tsp of oil in a pan till lightly brown color.
Wash the bulgar and blend it in a processor.
Mix the mash potato, blended bulgar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Divide the mix into two parts. Place one part into the baking dish. Layer the onions and walnuts on top. Then layer with the second potato mix. Cut over the top into squares roughly and pour the olive oil so that it sweeps between the cuts.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 10C for 40 mins. You will see it will turn lightly brown in color.

Serve warm as it is or you can have with tuna (which i had and it tasted superb) or with cooked chicken mince.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
You can add variations like cashew nuts, raisins or even cooked meat instead of walnut areas.

EGG CHEESE PARATHA

Egg Cheese Paratha - STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Ingredients :

The Stuffing :
Egg - 2 nos:
Cheddar cheese grated - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 large chopped finely
Green Chilli - 2  - 3 nos chopped finely
Coriander Leaves - a handful chopped
Salt
Oil

For the Dough:
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Warm Water - 1/2 cup (almost)
Salt

Preparation:
Prepare the dough by adding sufficient water and salt and knead till you get a soft dough. The dough shouldnt be sticky or too dry. Cover with damp cloth and keep aside.

Prepare a scrambled egg. First beat egg nicely with salt. The add in the onions and chilli and beat again. In a pan, add a bit oil and move the pan round to make oil coated over the whole pan. Then pour the egg mix over and once half fried start scrambling the mix witha  spatula. Once the mix is done add in the cheese grated and the coriander leaves. Mix and keep the mix to cool down.

Now take ball sized dough (larger than a golf ball) and flatten them and roll them out round. Not very thin. Apply half  tsp of oil one one half and then place a spoonful of mix on one half of the dough. Cover it with the other half of the dough into half and Apply oil on top of half covered dough. Again fold into half to form a triangle as shown in pic 2 & 3. Then dust the dough with flour and roll the dough lightly to a bigger triangle and thinner.

In a heated pan, put the triangle stuffed dough and wait till one side has lightly brown spots. Turn over and apply oil to the brown spotted side and vice-versa. Turn over again and cook for 30 seconds or so and serve. Serve with boondi raitha.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

WHEAT SANDWHICH BREAD LOAF

 Wheat bread

I have been planning to make wheat bread for a healthier diet and finally i managed to make today and i was so glad when i sliced the bread it was so much looking perfect and the taste was awesome!!!

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 2.5 heaped cups
All purpose Flour - 1 cup ( you can use whole wheat instead)
Warm Water - 1.5 cup
Oil - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 cup ( i used half white and half brown sugar)
Dry Yeast - 1.5 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp

Preparation :

Add in a bowl the suagr, warm water and yeast and keep it in warm place for 10 mins till the mixture turn frothy on top. By 10 mins your can smell the yeast in the whole kitchen. Add the salt and oil to the mix.

In the a big bowl mix both the flours nicely and then add the yeast water and knead to a dough. its gonna be a messy job with your hands. If the dough is too sticky use oil on your hands and knead for 10 mins or more till you get the dough like an elastic (This is very important for the bread to come out nicely). Rub oil all over the dough and keep this dough covered with a cling film in a bowl and keep it in warm place for 1 hour till the dough doubles in size. fter 1 hour, on a well foured surfce, gently punch down the dough to release the air trapped inside and gently knead again for a min. Shape the dough like a loaf and keep it in bread pan and covered for another 45 mins to double in size.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F . Brush milk on top of the bread and then spray water inside the heated oven to create a moisture and put in the bread pan. Bake for 30 mins. By now the whole house will be smelling with awesome smell of baked bread. I felt i was in bakery store ;).

The pic shows as soon ,after the baking was done

Then roughly cover with aluminum foil and bake further for 10 mins and allow the bread to cool on rack itself. To know if the bread is done, tap at the bottom and it will sound hollow.

Let the bread cool down completely before slicing it and enjoy!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

CHEERA MUTTA THORAN ( RED SPINACH EGG THORAN)

Cheera Mutta Thoran

My fav fav fav of all time is this red spinach thoran!! i love the combo with rice and can eat unlimited. When mixed with egg it makes even more tastier and more healthier and high in proteins :) I m sure kids will never say NO to this :).
Ingredients:
Cheera - 1 bunch
Egg - 2 nos
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Garlic powder - 1 tsp
Paprika Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

Clean and chop the spincah finely. I even added the stems too.

Beat the egg with little salt and paprika powder and keep aside.

In a pan, add oil and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, then add in the onions. Saute for 2 mins and then add in garlic powder. Once onions turn light pink in color, add in the powders. Saute for another a min or so and then add in the chopped spinach. Cook for about 3-4 mins on medium flame. Then add in the coconut grated and cook further for 5 mins. Add in salt. Then pour over the beaten egg mix and saute till egg gets cooked. Serve warm with rice.

I would like to send this over for the event Kerala Event. I m glad Khushi is conducting this event. This will let us explore our range of culinary ideas :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

STUFFED MUSHROOM SNACK

Stuffed Mushroom Snack

Ingredients :

Large Mushrooms : - 6 nos

For the filling:
Onion - 1 no chopped
Garlic - 1 large chopped
Black Olives - 10 nos desseded and chopped
Parsley - few chopped
Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt
Olive Oil

For covering the filling :
Breadcrumbs - 4 tbsp
Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Oregano - 1/2 tbsp


Preparation:
Clean the mushrooms and then in a pan with sufficient water boil them for about 5 mins or till done.

Then carefully with a knife remove the stem from the base if the head ( without tearing the head) and keep aside. The chop finely the stem.

In a pan, add butter and saute onion and garlic. Once onions turn light pink color, add in the salt, parsley, cheese and olives. Cook for 1 min on low flame and switch off.

In a bowl. mix the breadcrumbs, butter and cheese.

Marinate the olives with olive oil inside out. Then stuff the olive filling first and then the breadcrumb mix on top and press lightly. Repeat this for all the rest of the mushrooms.

For Baking/ Grilling:

Put in a baking tray with parchment paper placed on top and then at 180C bake till the top layer of the stuffing ( breadcrumb mix) becomes light brown in color or you can grill for sometime till brown color appears.

For frying:

In a pan add a little butter (1 tbsp) and then fry the mushroom with the stuffed part facing down first and then reversing. It will take only few mins for this to be done.

I am sending this over for the event Sunday Special conducted by Roshan.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)


Note :
For healthier verison you can substitue olive oil for butter.
I used cheddar cheese rather than processed cheese.

WHOLE WHEAT COOKIES

Whole Wheat Cookies

I am crazy about biscuits n cookies. There is no greater pleasure than baking at your own home and that too in a healthy way. The biscuits were finished in a jiffy and i have to make  second batch for myself ;). Great for kids tiffin and evening snack :)

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour - 3/4 cup
Oats - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/4 cup
Egg - 1
Cinnamon powder - a big pinch
Salt - a pinch
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1/4 tsp
Semi-sweet chocolate chips + Walnuts + Cashew grounded - 1/4 cup

Preparation:


Melt the butter in a microwave. Then to this add in the sugar and mix properly. Beat the egg and blend in the egg, vailla essence and the powders. Then slowly add in the flour and oatmeal and start mixing till you get a soft dough. Add in the chip-walnut -nut mix and mix again.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F/ 180C.  In a baking tray, palce a parchment paper or aluminium foil. Take a small ball of dough and flatten it on tray. Make sure when u place dough, to leave a space of atleast 1 inch as they get bigger while getting baked. Bake for 20 mins or till you see light brown color below the biscuits.

Pre-heat the oven to In a baking tray, put in parchment paper or aluminium foil. take a small ball of the dough and place them on the tray and flatten slightly. Place more balls like this and make sure you give them a space of atleast 1 inch in between each dough as they tend to get biggger while baking.

Bake for 12-15 mins until done. Another way to check is that the biscuits turn light brown in color on the sides and below.

Cool for a min and have your biscuits warm. Its tastes divine with melted choco chips in between!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

SOYA VEG CUTLETS

Soya Veg Cutlet

Yes! I am huge fan of soya. I try to implement soya recipes atleast once in a week of our daily diet. Its said to be very nutritious and also high in protein. I found that this cutlet is one way to get my kiddo to eat more. After all if kids eat good food, moms are even more happier. What more you want :)...

Soya Chunks - 2 cup heap
Potato - 2 large (boiled)
Veggies - mix ( beans, carrot, peas, corn)
Onion - 2 medium chopped finely
Green chilly - 2-3 nos chopped finely
Ginger - 2 tbsp chopped finely
Garlic - 2 tbsp chopped finely
Chilli Powder - 1tsp (heaped) (adjust according to your spice level)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp (heaped)
Coriander Leaves - 4 tbsp finely chopped
Lemon Juice - 1 lemon
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Salt

Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup or as required
Rava - A big pinch for that extra crispiness (optional)
Egg - 1
Water - 2 tbsp
Oil - for shallow frying

Preparation :

Boil the Soya chunks in water and cover with for about 10 mins. Once cooled take the soya chunks in batches and press in between hand to remove all the water. Mince the chunks in a chopper or mixie.

Cook the carrot, corn and beans with salt in little water till evaoprates. Pressure cook peas till cooked.

Boil potato in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle or boil in a pan with water till cooked. Remove the skin and smash with back of the spoon or smasher till no lumps are formed.

In a pan, add about 2 tbsp of oil. Add in onions, ginger, garlic and green chilly. Saute till they turn light brown in color. Then add in the chilly powder and turmeric and saute for a min. Then add in the soya mince and cooked veggies and cook for about 5-10 mins. Take from flame. Now add the coriander leaves, salt, pepper, lemon juice and garam masala. Now add this mix to the potato. Mix well.

Beat the egg and 2 tbsp of water to it. Place breadcrumbs and rava on to a plate.

Now make small flat balls and dip in beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs+rava mixture. The cutlets should be well coated with breadcrumbs. Then shallow or deep fry them in oil. Serve with sauce or as side dish for rotis :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)



Note :
I was out of beans so didnt add them.
If you are not health conscious deep fry the cutlets. It will be more tastier.

LAUKI METHI CHANA CURRY

Lauki Methi Chana Curry

I opened the fridge to see what to cook today. All i could find was lauki (bottle gourd). Lauki is said to be very nutritious in health and what if that is made with chickpeas. More healthier. Chana curry is my all time favourite and i thoguht why not try it with lauki. It turned out as yummy as simple chana (kadala in malayalam) curry.

Ingredients:
Chick pea - 2 big handful
Lauki - 1/2 chopped (skin and seeds removed)
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Tomato - 1 small chopped
Kasuri Methi - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1.25 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.25 tsp
Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:
Soak chickpeas in water overnight and boil till cooked or add in a  pinch of baking soda and pressure cook till cooked. When chickpeas are 3/4 th done add in the chopped bottle gourd and pressure cook again when both chickpea and bottle gourd are done.

In a pan, add oil, add in cumin seeds and when they splutter add in the onions. Saute till onions turn soft and then add in the ginger galric paste and saute till raw smells goes. then add in the tomato and saute till the tomatoes gets mushy. Then add in the powders one by one and saute on low flame till the aroma of the powders are relased. Make sure you dont burn the powders. Add in the 'lauki-chana' with the water and add salt and kasuri methi. Then cover and cook on low flame till you you get a thick curry consistency.

For roast version you can cook with lid open till water gets evaporated.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Finally I Baked!!! Dates-Walnut Whole Wheat Bread (Totally healthy!)

 Dates-Walnut Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients :

Whole Wheat Flour - 3.25 cups
Dates - 12 nos (pitted)
Walnuts - A big handful (cruhsed)
Brown Sugar - 2 tbsps
Salt - a big pinch
Olive Oil - 2 tbsps
Soya Milk - 1/4 cup ( you can use whole milk or low fat milk too)
Yeast - 1.5 tsp
Water- 1/2 + 1/2 cup


Preparation:
Take the seeds of the ripe dates and soak in 1/2 cup hot water (approx) for 1 hour. I actually didnt measure the water. Just soak the water just above the dates.

Meanwhile in 1/2 cup warm water add in the yeast and keep it to ferment till a frothy mixture is formed for about 10-15 mins depending on the environment. I kept in warm oven undisturbed.

Once the dates is dissolved, press nicely with hand ( like u would take the pulp of tamarind) to make a thick paste.

Take the flour, brown sugar, olive oil,salt, dates syrup, yeast mix, milk and start kneading. It will take around 5-7 mins. Knead till you get a nice smooth dough. Make sure the dough should not be too wet. In case you need to wet the dough use more milk or flour if its too wet. Adjust accordingly to your need. Dab with oil all over the dough (not too much) and cover with wet cloth and keep it for 1 hour. I kept in warm oven. After 1 hour see if the dough have risen double its size. If not keep for some more time.

Once doubled, add in the granulated walnuts and start kneading again for few mins. Save few for garnishing. Brush some oil on to the loaf pan.  Now shape the dough like a bread loaf form and transfer to loaf pan. Make 3 slanting slits on top on the dough and sprinkle with walnuts. Cover the pan with cling wrap or plastic wrap and keep for another hour for the dough to rise. After 1 hour you will the dough has risen again double to the size of the initial stage. It might even have risen over the loaf pan. Now you might be tempted to touch the dough.but No!!!.. Its will be soft as cotton :)..

The left pic shows when i kneaded the dough and shaped into loaf. The above pic shows after 1 hour when the dough doubled in size. The right pic shows the bread soon after it was baked from oven.



Pre-heat the oven to 200C and keep the bread pan inside and bake for first 20 mins. Then after that cover loosely with aluminium foil and bake another 15-20 mins.

To test if bread is done, tap on the bottom of the bread to see if its sound hollow. Go on..Tap and have fun :).

Leave on the rack itself to cool.

I had warm fresh bread and that experience was awesome!!.. I felt like the bread was just melting in the mouth! yuuummmmmmm...

Serve with hummus, jam or butter or anythign u would love to have with.

I seriously couldnt believe my baking went on perfect for a first timer that too a healthy one!!.. I simply loved and even my family memebers. So will you! try it!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

VEGGIE TUNA PASTA

Veegie Tuna Pasta

OMG! I looked back to my blog and was quite shocked how long its been since i have posted a new recipe..Sigh! ya ya i know.. cant blame always on my lazy part. Last week I got few mails and chats, asking why there are no new recipes. I then relaized I have been very lazy girl and there are many who actually really want to see a recipe. So then i decided i will now onwards i will definitely keep posting recipes :).. You wont believe even my toddler picked and had on her own and was eating it. One way to fool the kids to have the heathier way of good food is to make this! ;)

Ingredients :

Pasta - 1 packet ( a medium one)
Salt
Water
Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Cabbage - 1/4 chopped finely
Capsicum - 1/2 chopped finely
Carrot - 1 chopped finely
Beans - 15 nos chopped finely

For the Tuna :
Tuna (tin) - 2 nos
Onions - 1 large finely chopped
Tomato - 2 medium finely chopped
Green chilli - 1-2 finely chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Black Pepper grounded - 1 tsp
Olive Oil - 1 -2 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Salt


Preparation. In a pan add water (add enough water to make all the pasta sunk and running while boiling) and bring to a boil. To it add salt and oil and then pasta. When pasta is cooked drain and keep aside.

I bought tin tuna in water and salt. So drain the water and keep the tuna aside.

In another pan, add a tsp of oil. Once hot, add in onions, ginger garlic paste and saute till onions turn light brown in color. then add in the green chillis and tomatoes and sute till tomatoes are mushy. Then add in tuna and saute till tuna is almost fried. then add a bit of 1/4 water and then add in beans and carrot and cover and cook till they are slightly tender. Then add in the cabbage and capsicum and cook for about a minute. We want that crunchiness in the veggies so dont over cook. Add salt and pepper. Dont add too much salt as tin tuna itself has salt in it.

Next step, we have to mix paste into this mix or vice-versa. Mix and serve warm with ketchup. You can garnish with coriander leaves too :)..

Ladies, if you re so lazy you can omit the veggie and simply make the TUNA PASTA too in the same method :)...

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

DAL PALAK

DAL PALAK

Dal and Palak are very protein rich food and aids in good digestion. This is very good for people who wants to have something light for dinner with rotis. Mixed with rice and a bit ghee serves excellent nutrious food for the toddlers too.

Ingredients :
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Toovar Dal - 1 cup
Palak - 1 bunch chopped
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
Tomato - 1 medium chopped
Green Chilli - 1-2 nos chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder - a pinch
Red chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

Wash and cook dal in pressure cooker for 2 whistles or till cooked. Leave ot to cool down. Then in a pan add in a tbsp of oil and add cumin seeds. Once seeds start to splutter, add in the onions and garlic and saute till onions are slightly transparent. Then add in the green chilli, and the powders (turmeric and chilli). Saute for about 5-6 seconds on low flame and add in the tomatoes. Saute till tomaotes turn mushy and add in the palak. Cook on low flame till palak turns soft. Then add in the dal including the water and cook for about 5-7 mins. Add salt, red chilli flakes and serve hot with rotis or chapathis....

Cheers.
Neetz ;)

Note :
For LASOONI DAL PALAK - add in 3 large garlic cloves and the proceure follows the same.
You can also pressure cook palak with dal. But i prefer this way so that palak is not over cooked.

RAGI ELA ADA ( MILLET ADA IN BANANA LEAF)

RAGI ELA ADA

These evening snacks or breakfast is very healthy and mostly kids favourites. The sweet stuffings on the inside makes it even more tastier. Like in Kerala, we dont get to pluck banana leafs here. We have to pay to get them in bunch of 6 or 7. So I dont make these frequently as I dont have any clue what to do with the excess banana leaves.

Today I was no mood to cook, though i had to do for the dinner. My little one is so irritated today that for each and everything she keeps crying. One way or other I got her to sleep. So, while I was surfing through my cookery pics I noticed I havent uploaded this for a long while. So here goes the recipe..

Ingredients :

Ragi Flour -  1 cup
Rice Flour - 1/4 cup
Water
Salt

For the Filling:
Ripe Plantain : - 1 nos chopped in cubes
Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
Poha/Beaten Rice - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1-2 tbsp (as per ur taste)

For Wrapping - banana leaf


Prepapration:

Wash and cut about more than 1/4 of the total leaf and keep aside

Mix all the ingredients for the filling and keep aside.

Mix all the flour with water and salt to make dough. Now take a small ball size from the dough and spread onto the banana leaf as shown in the pic (the pic shows for the ada made with rice flour) Dip fingers in water and spread the dough if its sticky.

Add in the filling ingredients of about a 2 tbsp or so and fold the leaf in half. Make like these more and steam them in idli steamer or any steaming utensil for about 15 mins. When warm, unfold and serve.

The above pic is made with rice flour and details are given below. In here, the filling comprises of just coconut, cardamom powder and sugar.

Note:
You can do this same with the Rice flour. For that you have to add boiling water to the dough and mix and the rest procedure is the same as for the ragi ela ada.

Fillings can be changed according to your needs and taste. Jaggery is very common filling in this. Since it was out of stock, I didnt add.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

BROWN BREAD HALWA

Brown Bread Halwa

Its been quite a long time since I have posted recipe. I m not lazy to cook, but very lazy to type. I hate myself for that sometimes.. Finally I decided its high time I put my hands to work on this :)... This bread halwa is on the healthier side than normal bread and trust me its tasty!! You can use your leftover bread. Now you know what to do when you wonder what to do with leftover brown bread :) :)...

Ingredients :

Brown Bread - 7 slices
Milk - 2.5 cups (I used the low fat version)
Sugar - 1 cup or as needed as per taste
Ghee or Clarified Butter - 2 tbsp
Nuts and Pista Slivers - few

Preparation :

In a pan, fry nuts in ghee, add keep aside

Remove the Four borders and cut the bread into cubes(not necessary it need to cut into exact cubes). In the same pan, fry the bread in ghee till slightly roasted. Once cooled, powder the bread into crumbs.

Start boiling the milk and add in the bread crumbs and sugar. Keep stirring and once milk boils, you will start to see that the mixture starting to thicken. Add in more ghee if needed for smoothness. Add in water or milk if you need in more loose consistency. I ddi add a bit more milk as the mixture will thicken more when cooled down. So basically it all depends on your personal choice of consistency.

Add in the nuts and pista slivers. Garnish with pista slivers and serve warm or cold.


Cheers,
Neetz ;)

SOYA CHUNKS FRY

Hi All!!!

Missed u all like hell :(.. i was on vacation for almost 45 days and just came back yesterday. Boy am i glad that i m back :).. now i can blog again and be on track with all u people out here.... so how was ur all blogging.. hope everyone was having fun... so many recipes and i really dont know from where i should begin to look from each one of urs :).. i m so happy to see my friends are and have progressed a lot :)...

This is a simple easy to do dish and especially when u r out of stock of veggies in ur fridge :).. A protein rich food and very healthy one!!

Ingredients :
Soya Chunks - 15-20 pieces
Onions - 1-2 nos sliced
Garlic - 4-5 cloves big sliced
Green Chilli - 2-3 nos chopped
Curry Leaves - 2 spring
Chicken powder - 1 tsp or more as per your taste ( i used eastern chicken powder)
Salt - as needed

Preparation:
Soak soya chunks in hot boiled water and cover and keep for 20-30 mins. Then drain the soya chunks and squeeze all the water out from the chunks . Cut the soya chunks inot small pieces and keep aside.

In a pan add oil, once hot add in the onions, garlic, curry leaves and green chilli. Saute till onions are slight brown in color and then add in the powder and saute for 1 min. Then add in the soya chunks and mix properly and saute till the whole mix gets light brown in color.Add salt accordingly and serve with rotis.

Cheers,
Neetz;)

Note:
For veggie people, u can use curry powders instead of chicken one.
Chunks need not be cut into small pieces if not desired.

PAVAKKA MEZUKEPERRUTI (BITTERGOURD FRY)

Bittergourd Fry

Another simple dish and quickly made when you have to make tiffin lunch at mornings :)... This is little different compared to normal fry as you have to microwavefirst. For those are not in favour of bitttergourd, for this you can use the white bittergourd than the green one as white is less sour than the green :)

Ingredients:
Bittergourd - 2 nos medium sliced finely
Onions - 1 big sliced
Garlic - 5 nos sliced
Green Chilli - 3 nos sliced
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

First in a microwave bowl add in the sliced bittergourd, salt and green chilli. Mix these by hand in the bowl and on high, microwave for 5 mins. Once cooled, in a pan add in oil. Once hot add in the curry leaves and and put in the bittergourd and saute for 2 mins on low flame. Then add in the onions, garlic and turmeric powder. Saute on low flame till you get your desired fry version. Enjoy with dal and rice :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

MUTHIRA THORAN ( HORSEGRAM WITH FRIED COCONUT)

Muthira Thoran

One of another protein rich food pulses and obviously healthy :). This is very common in Kerala and some even have it with rice porridge. In Hindi its said " kulthi" and in Tamil " Kollu". Its very good for diabetic people too.

Ingredients:
Horsegram : 1 cup
Small Onions - 7-8 nos
Coconut  1/2 cup
Red Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Green Chilli - 2 nos
Salt

Preparation:
Clean and soak horsegram in water for 1 hour. Then pressure cook for 5-6 whistles till horsegram are done.

In a pan. add a bit oil and saute onions and garlic till light brown in color. Then add in the coconut and fry a bit till color changes on low flame. Add in the curry leaves and powders and saute for 15 seconds. Add in the cooked horsegram with salt, chilli flakes and cover and cook for 2-5 mins on low flame. Serve warm with rice :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)