Wednesday 28 March 2012

Lemony Spaghetti

Hola Amigos !!
                       Can we think of pasta in minutes ?? Yes it is possible with this recipe, which is an instant fulfilment to an empty stomach :) :).It is very yummy and easy to cook.

This is what you need :

Pasta - 100 gms (Spaghetti)
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
Parmesan Cheese - 2 tbsp
Chestnut Mushrooms - 6( cut into halves)
Ground Pepper - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 ( grated)
Salt - to taste
Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp
Basil (Fresh) & Parsley - few leaves

This is how you do :

1. Boil pasta according to the instruction in the packet and take 1/4 cup of boiled pasta and keep it separately.
2. In a kadai add Olive oil and after it is hot add grated garlic,chestnut mushrooms and toss them for few minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl add boiled pasta ,tossed mushroom mix ,Italian Seasoning,Ground Pepper, Salt, Lemon Juice, Pasta boiled water and Parmesan Cheese and mix everything together.
4. Garnish it with fresh basil and parsley and serve it hot.




Saturday 17 March 2012

Cabbage and Onion Pakoda and My First Blog Award..

Hola Amigos !!!
                          My hubby loves the word "instant snacks" and that is when I made this  yummy snack. It became an instant delight to both of us :) I tried this as an onion and cabbage combo and it was a super hit.




 I am happy to share the awards I got from my blogger friends  Gayathri and Hema !!






I would like to pass this blogger award to Farah,Nupur,Anu,Shobha,Maha ....



This is what you need :
Cabbage - 1/2 cup( chopped )
Onion- 1/2 cup ( chopped)
Green Chilies - 3 ( finely chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 inch ( finely chopped)
Curry leaves - 2 springs( chopped)
Rice Flour - 3 tbsp
Gram Flour/Besan - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry

This is how you do :
1. Mix cabbage ,onion,green chilies,ginger,curry leaves and salt in a bowl and wait for a few minutes. This will release some water from the mixture, which is sufficient to mix all the ingredients.
2. After five Minutes add the rice flour and slowly add gram flour until the mixture is completely coated with the dry ingredients.
3. Heat oil in kadai and after it is hot sprinkle the mixture over hot oil and take them out after they become golden brown.




Wednesday 15 February 2012

Home Made Vegetable Pizza

Hola Amigos !!!
                         It was long time wish to bake pizza at home and the dream came true few days back. I tried it from Rak's Kitchen with some changes . It came out very well and in turn I got a big smile as a gift from my hubby :) :)

Origin : Without a doubt it hails from Italy. It all started in a small town where the bishop of the town was given 12 Pizzas every Xmas and Easter day. This was when tomato and Bread topped with Cheese pack evolved !

Nutrients : Shhhhhh!

This is what you need :
For the pizza base :
All purpose flour/Maida - 1&1/2 cups
Dry yeast - 1/2 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp

For Pizza sauce :
Tinned tomatoes - 1 cup
Chilly flakes - 1/2 tbsp
Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the Toppings :
Onion - 1 ( cubed )
Tomato - 1 ( cubed )
Capsicum - 1 (cubed )
Olives - 10
Mushrooms - 4-5 (diced) ( I didn't use it )
Sweet corn - handful
Grated cheese (mozzarella or cheddar ) - 1/4 cup

This is how you do :

Pizza Base :
1. Boil the water ( it should be warm ) and add sugar and yeast to it. Allow it to settle for few mins. After 5 Min the yeast will start to bloom. Keep it aside.
2. In a bowl mix flour and salt together and add olive oil,milk and yeast sugar mixture and mix them well. Knead the dough for at least 5 - 10 Mins and this makes the base soft.
3. Keep the dough covered with wet cloth for almost 4 hours.
4. After 4 hours, the dough will be double in size. Punch the dough with your strong knuckles :-),  to release  air from the dough and knead it well.

Pizza sauce :
1. In a kadai add few drops of olive oil and add canned tomatoes and allow it to boil. After it has boiled a bit, add Italian seasoning and half of the chilly flakes and allow it to boil for another 5 Mins until it becomes thick.
2.Turn off the flame and allow it to cool.

Final Step :
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C for 10 mins.
2. Using a rolling pin just roll the pizza and adjust the thickness of the sides.
3. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough evenly.

4. Finally add the toppings of  our choice. I added the vegetables mentioned above and finally add the grated cheese .


4. Bake it in the oven for about 15-20  Mins until the base turns golden brown and cheesy layer is melted completely.


Serve it pipping hot !!!!




Saturday 11 February 2012

The One with Cheesy Mushroom Bakes

Hola Amigos !!
                Mushroom is one of my favourite vegetables, which is rich in proteins and perfect source of vitamins and proteins to Vegans. My Cousin and I had a great time doing this dish during New Year. We added Indian spices to this stuffing and it became a perfect Desi Starter.

This is what you want :
Mushrooms - 8
Onion - 1 ( chopped)
Tomato - 1( chopped)
Garlic - 1 (grated )
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat Masala - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Grated cheese - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp

This is how you do :
1. Clean the mushrooms and remove the stalk of the mushrooms.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 C
3. In a kadai add oil and after it is hot, add garlic ,onion and fry them until transparent. Now add tomatoes and fry them until mushy.
4. Add salt, chili powder and fry for some time until the raw smell of the spices is gone. Now turn off the flame and add Chat Masala .Mix them well.
5. Stuff the Masala into mushroom cups and sprinkle some grated cheese over them. Arrange them in a baking tray and bake them in oven for 10 Min until the upper crust is golden brown.
6. Serve it hot as evening snack or as a starter.



Add on's :
We can add some bread crumbs for a crusty upper layer :)

Wednesday 8 February 2012

The One with Noodle Rice Balls

Hola Amigos !!!
           Today's dish is from my own laboratory,a total try out of some left over noodles and rice at home. It was very nice , totally crispy outside and soft inside with a different flavour.

Origin :  Nivizkitchen!, However Noodle word comes from Germany and the actual dish without a doubt from China.

This is what you need :
Noodles - 1/2 cup ( cooked )
Rice - 1/4 cup ( cooked)
Rice Flour - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves( finely chopped)
Green Chillies - 2 (finely chopped)
Salt - to taste
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Chili Sauce - 1 tsp ( optional )
Oil - to fry

This is how you do :
1. Mash the cooked rice and add all  remaining ingredients and mix them well.
2. Finally add noodles and do not mash them much. Just add them and mix them together.
3. In a kadai add oil and allow it to heat. Now make small balls with the mixture and fry them in oil until golden brown.


Serve it hot with tomato ketchup !!!

Thursday 2 February 2012

The One With Beet Root Poriyal

Hola Amigos !!
                       I was wondering for a long time to try a different dish with Beet Root and saw this recipe in Vahrehvah website. It is very spicy and flavourful recipe. It goes very well with Roti and Sambar Rice and yes a  slightly modified version :-) .


Origin : Beetroot, botanically-known as Beta vulgaris, evolved from wild seabeet, which is a native of coastlines from India to Britain and is the ancestor of all cultivated forms of beet.


Nutrition : Beets are highly nutritious and “cardiovascular health” friendly root vegetables. Simply eat it because its healthy folks :)!
Recipe Source : Vahrehvah


This is what you need :
Beetroot - 2
Jeera -  1 tsp
Onion - 1 ( chopped)
Curry leaves - 2 springs
Corriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro- 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp


This is how you do :
1. Grate two beetroot and chop onions finely.
2. In a kadai add oil and after it is hot add jeera ,after it starts spluttering add curry leaves and  onions and fry them until soft.
3. Add some salt and close the lid . Cook it on slow flame until they become soft but not mushy. It may take some 5 -8 Mins. If it becomes dry we can add 1 tbsp of water.
4. After the beetroot is cooked well, add the spices and mix them and cook them with closed lid in simmer flame.
5. When the raw smell of the spices goes off add cilantro and turn off the flame.




Serve it hot with rice or roti !!!!

Saturday 28 January 2012

The One with Enai Kathirikai Kuzhambu

Hola Amigos !!!
                         This recipe is very close to my heart. The KT for this Kuzhambu is passed from my grand ma to my Mom and from my Mom to me now. Though all have their own way of doing this Enai Kathirikai Kuzhambu , this method which I learnt from my Mom is my all time favourite :)

Origin : This SLURP plant has its nativity dating back to very old Indian cultivation. Also known as Brinjal,Aubergine, Eggplant across different countries.

This is what you need :
Brinjal - 8 ( small  size)
Onion - 2
Garlic - 4
Tamarind - lemon size ball
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery- 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

To roast and grind :
Red Chillies - 5-7 (depending on the taste)
Jeera - 1/2 tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 3/4 tbsp
Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - a pinch

To Temper:
Gingely Oil - 2 tbsp
Musturd Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 spring

This is how you do :
1. Dry roast all the ingredients in the above list and grind them to coarse powder. Divide them into two portions.
2. Slit the bottom of brinjal both vertically and horizontally but do not cut them fully (like a + mark). Stuff one part of  the ground powder to all the slit brinjals and keep them aside.
3. Soak tamarind for about 1/2 hour and extract juice from it. Add salt ,turmeric powder and jaggery to it and mix them well.
4. Chop onion and garlic finely. In a kadai add gingelly oil and add all ingredients in " to temper" list and add onions,garlic till they become soft.
5. Now add the stuffed brinjals and fry them in oil until they become soft . It may take around 10 Mins.
6. After it is soft add the tamarind juice and allow to boil.The Raw taste of tamarind should be gone.
7. Finally add remaining ground powder and allow it to boil again for few Mins till the kuzhambu starts thickening. Turn off the flame amd transfer to a bowl . Garnish with corriander leaves :)


Sending this recipe to Dish It Out - Brinjal and Garlic Event by SangeethasKitchen