Tomato Chutney

There are many ways of doing tomatoes chutneys.  This is my version - it has a slight taste of sweet, sour and spice added to it....You can add a little sugar if you wish.....

It's an excellent dish with thosei (dosa), idlis and chapatis......

What you need:
5- 6 ripe tomatoes
2 big onions
2-3 garlic
small ginger
1 red chilly
1 -2 dry chilly
/2 tsp of tumeric powder
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of urad dhall
a sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste
Coconut oil

How to do:

1. Chopped the tomatoes and onions.  Slice ginger and garlic. 
2. Cut the dry chillies in small pieces.
3. Slit and remove the seeds of the red chilly.
4. Heat coconut oil on a pan.  Once it is hot, add in the mustard and urad dhall.
5. When it starts to crackle, saute the onions till they are soft. 
6. Add in the chillies and curry leaves and saute for a few more minutes
7. Lastly add in the chopped tomatoes,tumeric and salt, mix well and cover the pan.
8. By covering the pan, more water will come out from the tomatoes.  Keep stirring to avoid the tomotoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
9. You can add water if the mixture is dry.
10. Once the tomatoes are soft and cooked, remove from the heat.  Let it cool for a short while and then blend to a fine puree.
11. Ready to serve....

Apricot (Orange) Sesame Cookies

The original recipes calls for apricot jam - i changed it to orange jam instead.

Apricot (Orange) Sesame Cookies..
courtesy of Wan Noor Baya of http://www.resipinet.com/

Ingredients
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp of almond extract (I use vanilla essence)
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
7 tbs of sesame seeds
6 tbs of apricot jam

Method

1. Cream butter, sugar and almond extract till fluffy.
2. Add flour, salt and mix together further.
3. Roll into 1 inch ball, roll over sesame seeds and make an indent to fill the jam.
4. Bake at 10-12mins or till slightly brown.

Note : Place apart the cookies as they tend to expand graciously.....

Sugee (Semolina) Cookies

This is another biscuit or cookies usually we entrusted to bake for divali when we were kids......another version of quick and easy baking....

Sugee (Semolina) Cookies

What you need
2 cups of semolina
1 cup of sugar castor
a pinch of cardamon
a pinch of salt
ghee, melted - enough to make a dough.

How to do

1. Preheat oven at 180C
2. Grind both semolina and sugar to a fine powder
3. Mix all the dry ingredients and gradually add the melted ghee till a soft dough is formed.

4. Roll into a small ball, indent slightly, place on baking tray and bake for 12-15mins.

Peanut & Almond Cookies

Ok the long awaited cookies that I made for Divali. 

This is one of the cookies which we do diligently every year when we were kids.  Remember sitting around to make balls of the dough.  It is quite easy and can be quite additive once we starts to snack on them.  Original recipes calls for only peanuts, however I decided to add on almond powder.  No regrets as it turned out very well indeed.....

Lets see the what you require for Peanuts & Almond Cookies.

PEANUTS & ALMOND COOKIES

2 cups of ground almonds
2.5 cups of ground peanuts - slight roasted and powdered
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt
soya oil, sunflower oil or mazola oil enough to bind the flour

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180C for 10mins.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Gradually add the oil and mix well till they form a dough.
4. Take a small amount of dough and roll into a ball and slightly flatten with a fork.
5. Brush with egg yolk onto the cookie and if you wish to decorate can place a small groundnut on it.
6. Bake at 180C for 15mins or till it is golden in color.
7. Remove from oven, leave it for a few minutes before removing from pan.

Happy 16th Birthday Varsha.....

I have been missing from the scene for sometime....loads of work and plenty to upload.....

My lovely princess turned 16 last.....Happy birthday darling....May God bless you with the best of everything....Love Amma and Appa and also Kirenraj.........

For her birthday she decided to bake own cake and obviously a chocolate one too....She baked one of the same which did for her gathering at home with her friends....It turned out superb.....only she had a go on it without the topping............. Since she likes MnM's very much, I decided to decorate the car with it...so the colorful cake....

The first one she did was rather dark in color although moist and so today we decided to alter here and there.  Lets look at the recipes..............

Recipe courtesy of http://www.resipi.net/  This is one of those recipes that are simple and direct and plus you do not need a cake mixer...Ideal for beginners...

MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup of cooking oil ( I used corn oil)
1 cup of castor sugar
1 cup of brown sugar

Ingredient (A)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup of fresh chocolate milk
1/2 cup of water mixed with 2tsb of nescafe

Ingredient (B)
2tsb sodium bicarbonate
1tsb baking powder
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
2 cups of self raising flour

Topping
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of condensed milk
1 tbs of oil

Method

1. Preheat oven at 170C
2. Grease the sides of the bottom and sides of the pan or lined it.
3. Sieve ingredients (B), set aside.
4. Mix all of ingredients (A) and set aside.
5. Whisk egg till it is fluffy.
6. Add sugar and whisk further.
7. Gradually add oil and whisk.
8. Add the dry ingredients (B) little by little alternating with the wet ingredients (A). Mix well
9. Bake for 1 hour or till done.
10. For the topping - add all the ingredients in a non stick pan, cook over slow fire till it looks glossy and ok.  Glaze over the cooled cake.

For the second cake, I omitted the brown sugar and use instead 2 cups of fine sugar, omited the choclate milk and nescafe - used 2 cups of fresh milk.

Divali - A Time to Rejoice.....

Have been busy lately and not able to post many dishes.....have to plan better.

Divali or Deepavali is just a few days away ~ November 5....This is our second time celebrating away from our homeland....

Being away does not means no celebration, as usual what is Divali without the many indian tradional snacks, cookies and cakes.....and more food on the divali day itself.

Wishing all a joyous and prosperous Divali ~ Inniya Deepavali Valzthukal, Divali Mubarak Ho.

I prepared muruku and acchi muruku with my mother's help.  Will share them with you later...I made a few types of cookies ~ Smarties Cookies (I have posted previously), Orange Sesame Cookies, Groundnuts & Almonds Cookies, Sujee Cookies & Honey Cornflakes (another one which I have posted earlier).

Signing off till we meet with the recipe updates/post in a few days - Divali Mubarak Ho...........Looking forward to nice time with friends and family...

p/s: picture greetings is Varsha's photography work....

Home Made Rasam Poodi @ Rasam Powder

Rasam Poodi

What you require......
1 cup of coriander seeds
3 tbs of cumin seeds
1 tbs of black pepper seeds
2 tbs of red chilli powder ( I used a few pieces of dry chillies)
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of fenugreek
a pinch of turmeric
a pinch of asoefitida
a few curry leaves

How to prepare....
Dry roast everything except turmeric, asofoetida, and curry leaves on low heat. making sure to stir every now and then to avoid.

Leave to cool for a few minutes.

Grind the roasted spices, turmeric, asofoetida and curry leaves using a coffee grinder to fine powder.

Store in a airtight container and use accordingly.

Bhindi in Tomato Sauce

A simple dish cooked in tomato sauce. 

Bhindi in Tomato Sauce 

What your required....
1 bowl of bhindi, washed and cut in small pieces and steam
2 big onions - sliced finely
2 -3 tomatoes - cut small
1 green chillies - chopped
1 small piece of ginger - sliced
a sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste
turmeric
chopped coriander leaves

How to prepare......

1. Heat oil in a wok. 
2. Once hot, saute onions till soft, add in green chilly, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric and tomatoes
3. Saute till the tomatoes are soft. Season with salt and stir well.  Remove from heat and leave to cool for few minutes and then blend puree.
4. Heat pan, pour in the tomatoe puree and add in the bhindi.  Cook till it starts to bubble for a few minutes.
5. Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot.

Chocolate Chips Muffins

I have a habit of copying/printing recipes in the hope of doing them sometime later.  I cant remember where I had copy this recipe..Nevertheless it turn out quite well.

Chocolate Chips Muffins

Ingredients Required
A.  1 cup of butter - melt
     2 cups of fresh milk
     2 eggs - whisk slightly
     1 tsp of essence vanilla

B.  3 cups of flour (I used all purpose flour)
     1/2 cup of cocoa powder
     2 tsp of baking powder
     1/2 tsp of bicarbonate powder
     2 cups of brown sugar

1/2 cup of chocolate chips
muffin papers

note : I did not use cocoa powder, subsituted cocoa powder with flour too.

How to Prepare

1. Preheat oven at 190C, 10-15mins.
2. Prepare muffin cups on trays or muffin trays.
3. Mix all ingredients of B till well incorporate.
4. In a different bowl, whisk all of A ingredients till well mix.
5. Add gradually of B into A, whisking till no lumps and mix well
6. Fill the muffin cups 3/4.
7. Add in chocolate chips on top of the batter.
8. Bake at 20mins or till it is done.
9. Remove on rack, cool and serve.

Sorra Meen Masala @ Shark Fish Masala

This fish is easily available over here in Doha as well in Malaysianot to mention it is reasonably priced to. In Doha it is about 6QAR per whole fish which can weigh anything between 1.5kg - 2kg.(1QAR = RM0.849; about RM5++ ), back home its about RM6-7/kg.

It is a soft white fish with long soft bone.  You definitely need the fishmongers to clean and cut the fish as the skin is rather hard to be removed - they do a good job. 

It is usually part of the menu for the ladies who just gave birth.. especially for breastfeeding mums...

You can make sorra puttu - steamed fish, finely cut onions, shredded coconuts;  or simply shallow fry the fish which is marinated with some tumeric, ginger/garlic paste and salt and serve hot..Its yummy yummy...Or you can prepare them which is not typically what you expect of fish curry -
Now lets look at how to prepare Sorra Meen Masala.

Sorra Meen Masala

Ingredients Required
1 kilo of the fish - cleaned and sliced to bite size
2 tbs of ginger/garlic paste
1 big onions - sliced finely
2 tomatoes - quartered
a sprig of curry leaves
1 cinnamon
2 cloves
2 aniseeds
2 cardamons
1 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tsp of fennel seeds
3-4 tbs of meat curry powder (depending on the spiciness
1 tsp of turmeric powder
3 cups of water
1/2 cup of milk/coconut milk

How to Prepare

1. Heat oil in a wok.
2. Saute cinnamon, cloves, aniseeds,cumin seeds and fennel seeds.  When they turn color, saute onions and tomatoes. 
3. When the onios are soft, add in meat curry powder, turmeric and curry leaves.  Fry for a few seconds.
4. Add in 3 cups of water and boil the gravy to a require thickness.
5. Once the gravy is thick, add in the fish and reduce the flame to medium/low heat.  As this fish cooks rather fast, make sure the flame is low.
6. Add salt to taste, becareful when stirring as the fish breaks easily. Add in the milk, stir slowly and let it boil for a few more minutes on low heat
7. Remove from heat, sprinkle some chopped corianders and serve.

Nandu Perathal @ Crab Masala

Me and my mum  were at the fish market in Al Khor where I live currently...  Found some lovely fresh looking crab...still dancing alive...

So whats next,we bought 2kilos of it and with a few more types of fresh fist from the market and headed home straight to the kitchen....

A gala day at the kitchen with the crabs and fishes...Lets see at the nandu perathal aka crab masala my mother's way....

Crab Masala
source : my mother's...

What you require...
2kilos of crabs
3 big onions - quartered
3-4 big onions - sliced finely
1/4 cup of ginger/garlic paste
3 chilies - slit into half
sprigs of curry leaves
2 pieces of cinnamon
4-5 cardamons
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 - 5 pieces of aniseeds
3 -4 pieces of cloves
5-6 tbs of meat currypowder (the amount depends on the spiciness required)
salt to taste
coriander leaves - chopped (optional)

How to do....

1. Clean the crabs and cut into 2.
2. Mix the crabs with ginger/garlic paste and leave aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok/pan. 
4. Once the oil is hot, saute cinnamons, cardamons, aniseeds, cloves, cumins and fennels till aromatic.
5. Add in the onions, chillies and tomatoes and saute till the onions are soft. 
6. Add in the curry leaves and crabs and mix well.
7. Cook till the crabs are done.
8. Mix curry powder into a paste and add into the crab.  Stir well so that the paste and the crabs are coated well.
9. Cook to desired gravy level.
10. Serve hot with rice.

Sweet Potato Fritters

Sweet Potato Fritters  @ Keledek Goreng

What you need:
Sweet potato - washed, peeled and sliced slantly.

Batter
2 cups of besan flour (tepung kuda, chickpea flour)
1 cup of rice flour
2-3 tbs of corn flour
10-15 cubes of rock sugar (diluted in 1/4 cup hot water)
salt to taste

How to do:
Whisk well all of the flours together with salt and sugar water and enough water.  The consistency should not be too watery nor too thick. 

Heat oil.  Dip the sliced pieces into the batter and fry till golden in color.
Serve hot...

Steamed Brownies

I was in a mood to baking (or actually steaming off...).  My new neighbour Marida from Indonesia, shared a delicious recipe, Steamed Brownies.  Then I made another cake  - Steamed Chocolate Cake. After the steaming marathon, it was time for some baking ~ Honey Cornflakes.

Lets first look at Steamed Brownies...

Steam Brownies
source : Marida Nababan

What you need:
10 eggs
420gm sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
250gm flour
100gm chocolate powder
350gm butter
250gm dark cooking chocolate
chopped almonds, optional 

How to do:

1. Melt butter and dark chocolate.  Once fully melted, stir well, remove from heat and cool it.
2. Whisk eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla essence till smooth and well mixed.
3. Add flour and chocolate powder gradually into the mixture  till well blended.
4. Add melted butter/chocolate mixture in and stir well.
5. Stir almond, if desired.
6. Cover the mixture with aluminium foil before steaming to avoid the water dripping into the mixture.
7. Steam over high heat for 1 ~ 1.5hours or till the cake is well done.

Steamed Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe from Izah's blog. was tempted to try and so the baking starts (or actually the steaming of the cake).  Steaming is a processed where bowl/pan filled with water is boiled to a point of steaming oozing out.  Normally steaming for cakes takes approximately an hour to 2 hours, there are instances where they are steamed for 4 hours...

Tips when steaming, when you need to add more water to your steaming pot, use only hot water....cold water slows down the whole process as the cold water reduces the heat of the existing water, thereby taking time to heat and thus the steaming process is not effective..

When pouring into lined pan, make sure it is about half of the pan.

Cover with aluminium foil to avoid water droplets onto the cake mixture...

Steamed Chocolate Cake
source : http://www.izahdaut.blogspot.com/

What you need:
2 eggs
1 cup oil ( I used sunflower oil)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
(A)  1 tsp vanilla essence
      1 1/2 cup of coklat milk
      1/2 cup of water + 2tsp of nescafe
(B)  2 tsp sodium bicarbonate
      1 tsp of baking powder
      1/2 cup of cocoa
      2 cups of flour
(Topping)  1/2 cup cocoa
               1/2 cup condensed milk
               1 tbs oil

How to do:

1. Whisk egg till fluffy.  Add sugar and whisk further.
2. Add oil and stir well.
3. Mix all ingredients of (A).  Sieve (B).
4. Add gradually alternating with A into egg mixture.
5. Pour into lined pan and steam for an hour or so or till the cake is done.  You may also bake them at 170C for an hour.

Topping : Whisk together ina  pan on slow fire till the mixtures turns shiny/glossy.  Glaze over the cake when cool.

Enjoy.........

Chicken Yogurt Masala

Chicken Yogurt Masala

I made this to accompany with Takkali Sadam @ Tomato Rice.  This chicken masala has a little sour taste from the yogurt.  Another easy going dish.

What you need:

500gm of chicken - cut to bite size
170gm of tairu (yogurt)
2 big onions - sliced
1tbs ginger/garlic paste
1 tomato - cut into wedges
1-2 green chillies (depending on how spicy you want the gravy)
2 tbs of chicken masala
1 tsp of tumeric
2 small cinnamon
3 cardamons
2-3 cloves
2-3 aniseeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of curry leaves
a few sprigs of mint leaves - optional

How to do:

1. In a bowl, marinate chicken with yogurt, ginger/garlic paste, tomato, tumeric and green chilly for 30 mins.
2. In a wok/pan, heat oil and saute cinnamon, cardamons, aniseed, cloves, bay leaf, fennel and cumin seeds for a few minutes.
3. Add in onions (about 3/4) and saute further till soft. Add in curry leaves.
4. Add in chicken, mix well and cover to cook.  Stir occasionally and add water if needed.
5. When the chicken is tender, add in the chicken masala, stir well, salt to taste.  Add in the remaining onions and mint leaves. Stir well and cook for a few more minutes.  Remove from heat and serve hot.

Honey Cornflakes

I have been doing this cookie for Divali for the last few years.  I just fancy those cookies which are simple, easy and quick to do and yet delicious.

Honey Cornflakes

What you need:
90gm butter
1/3 cup of honey
1 1/2 tsb of sugar
4 cups of cornflakes
1/2cup of cashewnut (I used chopped almond)
1/4 cup of dessicated coconut - roast lightly
1-2 tbs of sesame seeds - roast lightly
cherry - chopped finely for deco (I did not use)

How to do:

1. Melt butter and honey together with sugar over slow heat till well mix and starts to boil.
2. Let it cool.
3. Add all others - mix well and scoop into small paper cups.
4. Bake 10-13 minutes till golden brown.

Takkali Sadam @ Tomato Rice

Takkali Sadam (Tomato Rice)
source : my mum

Takkali Sadam - Takkali being tomato and Sadam is rice in Tamil.  When my mum mention that she prepared this rice, I was interested to find out more. 

You see this is not the typical tomato rice which has tomato puree/paste, evaporated milk, cinnamon etc. It is simple and quite a dish by itself.  You can have it with any type of raita.  I had mine with Chicken Yogurt Masala.  Lets look on how to prepare Takkali Sadam.

What You Need
2 cups of basmathi (or any long grain rice)
3 cups of water
2-3 tomatoes - cut small (I used cherry tomatoes)
15 shallots - sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of garlic
1 green chilly

How to Prepare:

1. Wash and soak rice for 20mins.
2. In a wok, heat oil.  Saute onions, garlic, garlic and ginger till the onions are soft.
3. Add in tomatoes and saute further till the tomatoes are soft.
4. Remove from heat, cool and blend into a paste. 
5. In a rice cooker, add in the rice, mix the tomato mixture and salt, mix well. Cook

Note : the amount of water depends on the rice used.

Kirai Karee (Spinach & Dhall Gravy)

I love making this curry. It is normally a combination of a few type of vegetables usually available in Malaysia/India.  Otherwise simply adding spinach to cooked dhall and you get a wholesome meal.  add along a spicy dish to it vegetarian or non vegetarian...simply superb.

300gms of spinach - chopped finely/coarsely
1 1/2 cups of thoor dhall/mung dhall
a few pieces of birds eye chill(red/green)
2 tsp of ginger/garlic paste
2 -3 tbs of lemon juice or tamarind juice
1 cup of coconut milk ( I used fresh milk)
1 tsp of tumeric powder
salt to taste

Tempering
1tsp of mustard seeds
1 onion finely sliced
1inch of finely sliced ginger 
curry leaves
a few pieces of dry chillies
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
hing

Method

1. 
   
   Wash and boil dhall with ginger/garlic paste and tumeric. 
2. 
   
   Once it is cooked, add in tomatoes, chillies and chopped spinach into the dhall and cooked further till the spinach is soft and cooked.
3. 
   
   Heat oil in a separate wok.
4. 
   
   Once hot add in hing, fry 1 -2 seconds.  Add in mustard seeds.
5. 
   
   Add in onions, ginger and fry for a few minutes.  Add in dry chillies, curry leaves, cumins and fennel seeds.  Fry till the onions are soft and light in color.
6. 
   
   Pour this into the dhall, add in lemon juice, coconut milk and salt and stir well. Remove from heat once it starts to boil.
7. 
   
   Serve hot with rice.

Note : Normally I cut the spinach coarsely. When they are done, I remove 3/4 of it and pulse it using a mixie/blender before adding in the tempering ingredients. I will have a mixture of coarse/pulsed spinach.   Tradionally, it is normally mashed by using a wooden mortar. Well gone are days where these are used.......

Sambal Hijau (Green Chili Sauce)

Sambal Hijau
source : Resipi.net

a hot spicy sambal superb combination with hot steaming rice....

Ingredients
10 green birds eyes chilli
1/2 green tomato
2 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
2 tbs of anchovies
a few pieces petai ( I omitted this)
oil

Method
Pound chilli, tomato and garlic into a fine paste.
Heat oil. 
Fry the paste together.
Add in the anchovies and petai.  Mix well and saute for a few minutes.
Ready Serve.

Sweet Soya Sauce Chicken Javanese Style

Sweet Soya Sauce Chicken Javanese Style
source : Salwa Musa

This recipe was shared a good friend of mine, Salwa.   Thanks Wa for sharing a lovely dish.

Ingredients
450gm of chicken breast - cut into small pieces
salt to taste
1 tsp of tumeric
2 - 3 tbs of ginger/garlic paste (this I add on)
2 cloves
2 small sticks of cinnamon
2 cardamons
2 aniseeds
1 big onion - cut into rings
3 tbs of chilli paste (you can add more if you like it spicy)
2 tbs of sweet soya sauce

Methods

1. Marinate chicken with salt, ginger/garlic paste and tumeric powder. Leave to marinate for a while.  Fry the chicken.
2. In a wok/pan, heat oil, once hot saute cinnamon, cloves, aniseeds and cardamons till aromatic.
3. Add in onions and saute further till they are soft.  Add in the chilli paste and fry further for a few more minutes.
4. Add in chicken and soya sauce and stir well mix.
5. Serve with rice.

Onion Chutney

Chutney mania!!!! - yes I made 2 different chutneys for my dinner dosa/thosei. One is tomato,mint, coriander chutney and the other one is onion chutney.

My children love their dosa with ghee and sugar and coupled with this chutneys, there are awesome combination, sweet from the sugar, tangy/sourish from the tomatoes, nice aroma from the mint/coriander, spicy from the chillies....

Lets venture them.

Onion Chutney
Loads of onions saute in virgin coconut oil, it is really an awesome aroma.



4-5 onions - finely chopped/sliced
3-4 tbs of coconut oil ( you may opt to other types of oil)
1 tsp of urad dhall
2 sprig of curry leaves
1 dry chilly - break into pieces
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of fennel powder
1/4 tsp of tumeric powder
1/4 tsp of coriander powder
salt to taste

Method

Heat coconut oil. Once hot, add in urad dhall. Once it starts to splutter, add in the chillies, curry leaves and onions. Saute till the onions are soft and light in color. Add salt and all the powders, mix well and fry for a few minutes and remove from fire. let it cool. Once cool blend in a food processor and serve.

Tomato,Mint & Coriander Chutney

Tomato, Mint & Coriander Chutney


3-4 large tomatoes- chopped
a handful of mint
a handful of coriander - chopped finely
1 tsp urad dhall
1 tsp of cumin seed
1 tsp of fennel seed
1 green chilly - finely chopped ( I used 2 bird eyes chilli)
salt to taste
oil for sauteing

Tempering
1 tsp of mustard seeds
a few sprig of curry leaves
a pinch of asofoetida (hing)

Method

Heat oil, once hot, add in urad dhall, cumin seed and fennel seeds. Once start to splutter, add in chilly, saute for a few seconds, add in mint/coriander and saute for a few more minutes. Remove to a plate.

In the same work/pan, heat a little oil, once hot add in tomatoes and saute for a minutes till the water evaporates and the tomatoes are soft. Remove and let it cool.

Blend coriander/mint, add in the tomatoes and blend into a fine paste. Remove to a bowl.

In a wok, heat a little oil, once hot, add in hing and fry, add in mustard seeds, once they start to splutter, add in curry leaves, saute for a few seconds and pour the chutney. Serve.

Onion Pakora

Pakora or fritters is made of besan flour (chickpea flour/tepung kacang kuda), a generous amounts of onions and corianders, some chillies, mixed together and fried in hot oil. Serve hot with chutneys, chilli sauce or just as it is....


Onion Pakora

1 cup of besan flour
1 big onions - sliced finely
1 green chilli - finely chopped
a handful of coriander leaves - finely chopped.
1 tsp of cumin powder
salt to taste
enough water to make batter

Method

Add in flour, salt, cumin powder, onions, chilly and coriander leaves. Stir well. Add in water little by little. The batter should not be too thin or too thick.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, spoon the batter into the hot oil. Fry the pakoras till golden in color. Once the pakoras are cooked, drain the excess oil on a kitchen towel.

Serve hot with chutney.

Upma

I made Upma for breakast a few days ago. It is a simple dish made of semolina flour (tepung suji or Rava as it is known in Tamil). I love to take mine with loads of sugar....it is just heaven against the smell of ghee...





Upma

1 cup of semolina flour (fry slightly without oil)
3-4 tsbs of ghee
2 cups of water
1 onions sliced finely
1 green chillies or 1 dry chillies - break into pieces.
1 tsp of mustard seeds
a few sprigs of curry leaves
salt to taste

Method

Heat ghee, once melt, add in mustard seed. Once it starts to splutter, add in onions, chillies, curry leaves. Fry till the onions are soft.

Add in water and let it boil. Add salt to taste. Once the water is boiling add in the flour and stir well till the flour is mix well with the water. Cook for a few more minutes stirring occasionaly.

Serve hot.

Aloo Cheese Parotha

i cant remember where I got this recipe, nevertheless it turn out quite well too. (aloo = potatoes)


Aloo Cheese Parotha

1cup of wheat flour (atta flour)
1/2cup of boiled and mashed potatoes
1/4cup of cheese (I used grated cheese)
1 chopped green chilly (I did not use this)
1/2tsp of garam masala
1/2tsp of red chilli powder
1/2tsp of coriander powder
1/2tsp of ginger garlic paste
2tbs of oil
salt to taste
enough water to knead the flour

Method

Knead all together with 2tbs of oil as usual. Cover and leave to set. Take a lemon size dough and rolled them out as thin as possible.

Heat tawa and cook on both sides of the roti. Serve.

Mooli Thepla @ Raddish

Mooli Thepla
source : www.archanaskitchen.com

an overdue of postings....a week ago we had 2 different types of rotis for our dinner...Mooli Thepla ie roti with raddish. I used the small kind of raddish which is red in color. Quite wholesome.

Another is Aloo Cheese Parotha. Quite a good combination of cheese, wholemeal flour(atta flour) and boiled potato with some spices added in.

Moolii Thepla

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons yogurt
1 cup grated radish
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoons oil + Oil for cooking the thepla
Salt to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons in a saute pan; add the cumin seeds, turmeric powder, grated radish, saltand saute until the radish becomes tender and soft. Turn off heat and allow it to cool.

Combine all the ingredients together to the above radish mixture and knead to a firm dough adding water only if required. The process of kneading with yogurt and the warmth of the hand can make the thepla dough very sticky and very soft. Add more flour if needed to reduced the stickiness and top of with a dash of oil to make it smooth from the outer.

Make 12- 15 lemon sized balls and roll them out as thin as you can to approximately 6inches in diameter. Note tossing the dough in dry flour while rolling will prevent it from getting sticky when rolling them out.

With iron skillet on high heat, cook the rolled out theplas smearing about 1/4 teaspoon of oil on both side and until brown spots appear on the theplas. Remove from heat.

Continue the above with the remaining portions of the dough, stacking the cooked thepla’s one over the other. This will prevent them from drying and also preserve moisture.

Note that the theplas are cooked on high heat and hence cook very fast.

Mango Pudding

An easy and simple not so sweet pudding... Enjoy

13gms of jelly powder
250gm of sugar
1 liter of water
1 cup of mango puree
385ml of evaporated milk
1tsp of essence vanilla


Method

Dissolve sugar and water, together with jelly powder.
Place on stove on medium heat and stir frequently.
Add in essence vanilla.
Stir together mango puree and evaporated milk well.
Once the mixture starts to boil, add in the mango mixture to the jelly mixture, stir till it mix well.
Pour in a mould, let it cool and place in fridge for the pudding to set.

Fried Tempe Taufoo

When I saw Treatntrick's post, I was determined to cook them as I really miss this dish. I ask Nina, my Indonesian friend where I can buy tempe in Doha and the next thing I know it, Nina sent it over to my house..Thank you very much Nina for the tempe..

Tempe is fermented soya bean normally packed in a banana leaf. Cut and fry them, add with some veges like long beans, fried taufoo and some fresh prawns with hot steaming rice and you have an amazing dish...

As usual I have made mine according to the things available in my kitchen.

Treatntrick's version.

4 hard tofu cubed and fried
4 tempe cubed and fried
1 tbs tamarind mixed with 1/2 cup of water
1 onions sliced
3 red chillies sliced
3 green chillies sliced
1 stalk lemon grass - slightly bruised
1 cm of lengkuas (galangal) bruised
10 long bean cut diagonally
1 cup of coconut milk
salt and sugar to taste
cooking oil

Grind into a paste

10 dry chillies soak to soften
8 shallots
3 cloves of garlics
1/2 inch of ginger
1 tsp of shrimp paste (optional)

Method

Heat oil and fry grinded chilly paste together with lemon grass and gallangal. Add in salt and sugar to taste, fry till fragrant and some water.

Add in the taufoo and tempe, mix well.

Pour in coconut milk and tamarind juice, stir well and simmer till gravy is fairly thick.

Add in sliced chillies, onions and long beans and cook further until the gravy is dry. Ready to serve.

p/s : I used birds eyes chilli instead and also fried anchovies and dried prawns and omitted long beans.

Moong Dhall Chilla/Spiced Lentil Crepes

source : www.archanaskitchen.com

I tried a simple and easy to cook pancake from Archanaskitchen. Its nutritional and quite wholesome meal... Thanks Archana

1 cup Yellow Moong Dal
1/4 cup White Urad Dal
2 cups Finely Chopped Spinach
1 large onion sliced finely
2 green chilies chopped finely (optional while giving children)
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Salt to taste
Vegetable/Sunflower Oil

Method
Soak the Yellow Moong Dal and Udat Dal together for 2 hours. Grind into a fine paste by adding 1 ½ cups of water. Make sure to use the water which is used for soaking. It has all the nutrition of the lentils packed inside. The batter should be of thick pouring consistency.

In the mean while, heat frying pan, crackle the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and add the sliced onions. Sauté on medium heat till the onion changes color.

Add the sautéed onions, chopped spinach, chopped green chilies (optional), turmeric powder and salt to the lentil batter.

Heat the non stick griddle on medium heat; spread 1 ladle full of batter on the griddle. Put about a teaspoon of oil around spread batter. Let it cook on medium heat. After about ½ minute, flip it over. You will notice that one side is turned golden brown. Cook until both sides have a golden brown color.

You might like the chilla to be crisp, so you can let it cook a little more on low heat till you get the required texture.

Alternatively

You can add finely chopped raw cabbage, chopped mint leaves, finely chopped fenugreek leaves, raw grated carrots to make tasty chillas.

Banana Chocolate Cake

http://resipicitarasawan.blogspot.com

I tried this cake many days ago and my children love it...though the recipe calls for a ganache to finish off the recipe, I decided to do without it as it was good as it is. It is easy as it is divided into 2 parts - the wet stuff in one bowl and dry ones into another and mix them and bake voila you have a yummy cake to indulge on...I guess with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to go with, it will be heaven....Lets look at the recipe.

Ingredients for the cake
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) safflower or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter

Garnish: (optional)
Dried banana chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Bread Barfi

August 24, is Raksha Bandhan - Raksha means protection and bandhan means bond. It is a day to celebrate the relationship between brothers and sisters and predominantly celebrated by the North Indian community. It is celebrated on a full moon day in the month of Shravan (tamil month= Aani). Sisters ties the rakhee,a string of assorted designs,on the wrist of their brothers. Sisters feed their brothers sweets and brothers in return offer gifts to their sisters, promising to care for their sisters....For more write-up on Raksha Bandhan,you may look up at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raksha_Bandhan

Since I am married to one, I would like to ensure that my children, Varsha and Kiren follows the tradition and I decided to make something sweet - bread barfi. I am attaching the original version and the version I made.

Not forgetting, I am dedicating this barfi to my brother, Vikniswaran Murugain, who is so near yet so far away on business trip....we catch up this weekend, ok....

original recipe
2cups of soft breadcrumbs
1 cup of milk
1 grated coconut
1 cup of sugar
4tbs of oil
pink color as required
2-3 drops of rose essence
8-10 chopped cashnew nuts

Method
Soak bread crumbs in milk for about 10 minutes.
Combine coconut and sugar, stir over a low fire till the sugar melts.
Add the soaked breadcrumbs and stir till well mixed (for about 5 to 7 minutes).
Add oil and continue stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
Add coloring, essence and cashewnuts and mix well till the color is evenly blended.
Turn the mixture onto a greased tray and spread it evenly.
Allow it to cool and then cut into desired shapes.
Makes 22 pieces (2"x1").

my way....

2 pieces of bread - cut into small cubes
1 cup of milk
4-6tbs of ghee
2 cups of dry coconut/dessicated coconut
1 cup of sugar
a handful of raisins
drop of green color
1tsp of essence vanilla.

method - as above

Bread Pancake

I tried this savory pancake for dinner to accompany my chicken keema. and it turn out very nice. my son loved it as it is - delicious he says....my daughter says it looks too healthy for her and dad just enjoyed.... Thanks Treatntrick for sharing...sorry though I made a little alteration to suit the tastebuds of the house....

Bread Pancake.
source : http://treatntrick.blogspot.com/

Ingredients

6 slices of bread cut into small cubes
2 onions chopped
2 tomatoes chopped ( I omitted this)
1 tsp of ginger minced
4 chillies finely chopped ( I omit this too)
a handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup of water
salt to taste
oil
1/4 red capsicum - chopped finely - this I add.
Method

Place flour, salt and bread into a bowl. Add water gradually and mix well.
All other ingredients except oil. Stir well till well combined.
Heat and grease a pan.
Pour a few spoons of batter and spread round.
Cook on both sides, drizzle oil if needed.
Serve hot with sauce/chutney...

Indian Style Mix Vegetables

Indian Style Mix Vegetables
source : my own

Ingredients
1/2 bowl of cauliflowers
1/2 bowl of carrots - cut into julienne
1/4 bowl of red capsicum - cut into juliene
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 red onions - chopped finely
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
water
salt to taste
vegetable oil
ghee
chopped coriander leaves

Method

Wash and cut vegetables accordingly.
Heat a pan with some oil just nice to coat the vegetables.
Once hot add in cumin seeds, once it starts to crackle, add in the vegetables and cook for 5-6 mins ensuring there are well coated with the cumn seeds and oil.
Remove from the pan and put aside.
Heat ghee, once hot, fry onions till brown and soft.
Add in the chilli, turmeric and coriander powders and salt to taste, fry for a few seconds, do not burn them.
Add in the vegetables, stir fry well, add enough water and cooked till all the water are dried up.
Serve with chopped coriander leaves.

note : you can add in french beans and potatoes to the combination of vegetables....
Enjoy.

Chicken Keema

Emm today is a medley of food combination a little of this and that. I had wanted to try out keema, an Indian/Pakistani dish. Keema is actually minced meat and normally the main ingredient will be mutton/lamb/beef.

As both my kids and husband are not mutton/lamb lovers, I opted to try out with minced chicken, hence Chicken Keema. I was made to understand that many versions of keema existed, some with grean peas and some with potatoes, sometimes with both in. So I thought of making something authentic served the net as usual and found a hyderabad cuisine. Lets look at it.

Keema
source : http://hubpages.com/hub/Hyderabadi-Keema by skyfire

Ingredients:

1 lbs Lamb Mince
1/2 cup yogurt
4 tablespoon oil
1 Boiled Egg
2 Chopped Onion
1 Chopped ginger
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup Chopped Coriander Leaves
1 tablespoon garam Masala
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon green chili paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Salt as per taste

Method
In a bowl, add salt, yogurt, turmeric powder, garlic paste and mix it well with the mince chicken/mutton/lamb. Marinate for an hour or so.

In a frying pan, add 4 tablespoon of oil in it. Add garam masala and allow it to crackle. Also add chopped onions and let it heat till onions change color to slightly brown. Now add chopped ginger, coriander powder, red chili powder, green chili paste into pan and let it cook for 2 minutes. Again if you don’t want to make it too spicy then either skip green chili paste or add 1/2 tablespoon of green chili paste. ( I skipped the green paste)

Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook till fat leaves masala. Tomato can also be skipped if anyone wants to but it adds to the original recipe taste so if possible add it. Now add marinated lamb mince into the pan. Let it cook till you see the thick gravy. Add slice of boiled egg before you serve in plate.When it comes to serving add coriander leaves and serve it with lukmi, puri or roti. You can even flavor this dish with traditional charcoal seasoning

I skipped the charcoal part and I serve them with rice instead.

Chili Chicken

Chilli Chicken (Kori Kempu Bezule)
source:The best of Indian Cooking-a selection of recipes from the Taj Group of Hotels

a simple and easy to cook dish...

8 chicken breast fillets
1 tsp of tumeric powder
salt to tast
1 tbsp garlic paste
3 green chillies
oil for deep frying
10 curry leaves
4 tbsp of natural yogurt

Batter
4 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp superfine flour
salt
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp red chiili paste (I used chilli powder)
1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander.

Method

Remove the skin and cut chicken breasts into 15mm wide strips. Place in a shallow dish, sprinkle with turmeric powder and salt and cover with garlic paste and then set aside for 3o mins.
Heat the oil in a pan until moderately hot. Coat the chicken in the prepared batter and place in the hot oil. Fry till golden and crispy. The remove with a slotted spoon. Next heat a fresh pan, add the curry leaves, chillies yoghurt and chicken and toss until the yogurt has evaporated. Adjust seasonings to taste and transfer to a serving dish.

To make a batter: sift the cornflour, flour and a little salt into a mixing bowl. Break in the eggs,add the chilli, coriander and just sufficient cold water to produce a thick batter. Mix well.

Kaduku Eral (Mustard Prawns)

I tried out this recipe and another called Chilly Chicken from a book that was a gift to my by my hubby when we got married - "The best of Indian Cooking - a selection of recipes from the Taj Group of Hotels". I had loaned this and another titled "Vegetarian Cooking by Lalita Ahmed" to a friend. So these books missed the packing and since there are light weight, I decided to bring them to Doha to try more of the recipes from these books.


Kaduku Eral - Mustard Prawns
source:The best of Indian Cooking-a selection of recipes from the Taj Group of Hotels

600gms of prawns
1 large onions
2 tomatotes
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 heaped tbsp of chilli powder
salt to taste
chopped coriander leaves

Method

Shell, devein the prawns, then wash under running water and pat dry and set aside.
Chop finely onions, tomatoes and garlic.
Heat oil in a pan until very hot, then add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
When they start to crackle, immediately add onion and garlicand saute until softened. Next add tomatoes and cook for 4 -5 minutes, then add the chilli powder and stir well.
Lower the heat and add the prawns. Cookfor 10-12minutes, stirring frequently then season with salt to taste.
To serve transfer to a large plate nd garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Varuval (Dry Masala Chicken)

there are many ways of doing this chicken varuval... some fry the chicken before hand, some steam and then lightly fry. and this is how my mum - Madam Rajeswary, does her chicken varuval...

Chicken Varuval Amma's Way...

1 whole chicken - remove skin, cut into small bite size
4 tbs of ginger garlic paste
2 tomatoes - quatered
10 dry chilies - break into small pieces (can add more if prefer spicy)
2 whole onions - chopped finley
2 sprig curry leaves
*3 tsp of fennel seeds
*1 tsp of cumin seeds
*2 cardamons,
*2 aniseed
*3 cloves
*2 cinammon
2 tbs of red chilly powder
1 tsp of tumeric powder
3 clove of garlic - pound lightly
1 tsp of black pepper - grind coarsely
salt to taste
coriander leaves to garnish

Method

Mix well ginger/garlic paste and tumeric powder to the chicken pieces.
In a wok heat a little oil, once hot, add in chicken and tomatoes and mix well, cover and cook till done.
Do not add water to the chicken as the chicken will release water when its covered. Make sure to stir to avoid being burnt.
Once the chicken is well cooked and with little water, add curry powder and salt to taste, stir well. Reduce fire.
In a different work, heat oil, once hot, saute all those marked (*), fry till aromatic and starts to crack. Add in onions, dry chillies and curry leaves,fry the onions are soft, add this to the chicken mixture and mix well. Cook further till it is well coated and dry.
Add in the coarse pepper and garlic just and serve...

Amma's Briani Rice

I have not been updating for sometime although did try out a few dishes. Now that we are settled again in Doha, so it is time to update my blog again. Just before leaving Malaysia had a feast of food at my mum's. She made her special Briyani Rice and Chicken Varuval ie Dry Masala Chicken. I add on with 2 new dishes tried out from a recipe book which my hubby got it for me after our wedding.... I have tried a few of them which I will share later on. Now let us feast on the recipes....

Amma’s Briyani Rice

8 cups of basmathi rice or long grain rice
1 cup of evaporated milk
6 cups of water
A handful of cashew nuts – halved
A handful of raisins
A handful of rock sugar
Salt to season
2 large onions – chopped finely
2 tbs of ghee
2 cinnamons
2 star aniseeds
2 cardamoms
2 bay leafs

Method
1. Wash rice and soak for at least 1 hour. Drain dry.
2. Heat ghee in a wok. Once melted, sauté cinnamon, star aniseeds, cardamoms and bay leafs for a few minutes.
3. Next sauté onions till translucent and soft.
4. Fry cashew nuts about 1-2minutes, add raisins, stir fry for a more seconds, add rice and mix well.
5. In a rice cooker, boil both evaporated milk and water together with rock sugar and salt. Once boiling, add rice mixture into the water and cook till is done.
6. You may garnish with mint leaves and chopped coriander leaves.

note : water ratio should be based on the type of rice used. adjust accordingly.