GATHIYA ~ GUJARATI SPECIAL FOR ICC, JANUARY

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

How are you? Seeing me in Indian Cooking Challenge after 6 months. NO excuses, but really missed all the challenges. 

Hope you all are not Katti with me. 

Srivalli"s ideas are always very unique and she chooses the challenges very 

challengingly :-)

This time it is easier one, but again depends on the quantity of the baking soda 

and the time you roast it.

Srivalli has followed her friend Vaishali's recipe. 

And even my experience is same like Valli's. my dough also got stuck though I added water. And it was very hard to press, I had to call my daughter as my hands are not that strong to press. (got some problem)

And even I did not had mould for gathiya, I had this long strip one so thought of using it,

Whats there in shape??? right?

And I added some pepper powder to give a spicy taste, it was really good.

I used only 1/4th of the quantity as I already had a big packet of ready gathiya (ready made).

So, here goes my pictures for the challenge for the month of January 

which is Gujarati Special Gathiya. 

Here is the  original link from Valli's space:

Gathiya ~ Gujarati Special | How to Make Gathiya | Indian Cooking Challenge - January

AN EVENING TREAT TO MY SELF.

Keep Smiling,

PARLE - G KHEER FOR PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Sorry for not participating in the event in the last two months.Health was  a priority.
I always loved Parle-G biscuits, and who won't love these oldest sweetest biscuits. When I was young and not well, I always demanded Parle G because I knew this is the time to convince my mother and enjoy my biscuits dipped in coffee or tea. And I love that cute boy on the wrapper, I am sure you all too love him. 
Today I am here with a sweet using my favorite biscuit,which tastes good when eaten hot and tastes heaven when eaten cold.

I am talking about Kheer. I love kheer (again same slogan). I can have anything sweet. O K, leave me here only.

Coming to the recipe,

This is little different but very easy. You don't have anything and have very little time for an unexpected guest. And you really want to serve a better food with a great dessert. Your search ends here...

Ingredients:

Milk - 1/2 litre or 500 ml

Sugar - 3/4 cup or less(ask your tongue for it :-)  )

Parle G Biscuit - 8 to 10

Cardamom - 2, powdered

Ghee - 1 tsp

Method: 

• Boil the milk in a thick bottomed pan. 
• Once done, add sugar and keep on a low flame. 
• Boil it for at least 20 minutes, the milk will reduce to 3/4.
• Crush the biscuits and add it to the milk, 
• Stir and cook it for some more time(around 10 minutes).
• Be careful not to leave it alone, or it will burn at the bottom.
• Now add the cardamom powder and ghee.
• Mix well. Boil for few more minutes.
• Remove from fire and allow it to cool. 
• Have it warm or keep it in the fridge, have it chilled.

Linking it to 

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng... 

Keep Smiling,

HEALTHY BLACK URAD DAL RICE (FOOD REMAKE)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

So again I am here for the PPCS EVENT. This time I got my partner Balachandrika of http://www.ennillam.com. She has prepared a very healthy rice and yes it is, and a very good way to feed black urad dal to your kids without any problem. I loved it, my kids loved it(surprisingly my younger one took second help). I too prepared Brinjal curry with it as even Balachandrika had given in her post. My method is different but tasted good with the hot rice. Thanks Bala for this healthy and delicious recipe. 

Please visit her place for the detailed recipe as I have copied exactly the same. And for the brinjal curry, I will post it in a week. (Its a promise this time). 

http://www.ennillam.com/2013/11/healthy-urad-dal-rice-ulutham-parupu.html

She has explained it with step by step photos. Enjoy. 

Sending this to Jagruti's 

Keep Smiling, 

VEG MAKHANWALA FOR PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

This new trial is for you all and for potluck party dearies.

I just tried it without any plan in my head. (That's what happens always), but this one is awesome. It almost tasted like the restaurant one, may be better than that :-)

Its perfect with naan, paratha, puri or simple plain rice.

My 2 year niece had it plain in a bowl just like that. What else other appreciation I need then?

Coming to the recipe,

Ingredients :

Mixed vegetables - 1 big cup, finely chopped into cubes)

(fresh beans, carrot, Cauliflower, green pea)

Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Onion - 2 big

Tomato - 2 big

Oil - 1

salt to taste

red chilly powder - 1 tsp or to taste

Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Milk - 1/4 cup or fresh cream 1 tbsp

Hung curd - 1 tbsp or Normal curd, try to sieve it and remove water

Butter - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Kasuri methi - 1 tsp(optional)

Kitchen King masala powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp(MUST FOR THIS)

Fresh Coriander - 1 tbsp for garnishing

Method:

• First fry all the mixed vegetables and green chilly in 1 tsp of ghee till they are soft(around 10 minutes).
• Keep it aside.
• While you are frying these,
• Boil the onions and tomatoes separately either in a vessel on a  stove top or in Microwave for 2 minutes.(I used the MW)
• Allow these to cool.
• First grind the onion into paste, transfer into a bowl.
• Then paste the tomatoes. Keep it ready.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai.
• Add the onion paste, fry for few minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and mix well. cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add red chilly powder, kasuri methi, haldi and salt and hung curd. Mix well and cook till it leaves oil from the sides.

• Add the fried vegetables and milk, mix well. Add the Kitchen king masala.
• Cook for few minutes. add the butter before removing it from the heat.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Sending it to the event  

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng... 

 Keep Smiling,

EGGLESS SATHUMAAVU/HEALTH MIX VANILLA CAKE (Food Remake)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

 Hi All,

How are you?

If you observe the previous months, I have posted the recipes only for this PPCS event. (Trying to adjust the timing for everything), And today I am here with Manjula's healthy cake, and this is really healthy, We all loved the taste, the flavour, the texture and everything. I enjoyed it with my cuppa coffee. Its really yummy. Its little bit dry but you don't feel when you eat. 

Here is the link for original recipe. 

http://desifiesta.blogspot.in/2013/10/eggless-sathumavu-health-mix-vanilla.html

I used lemon juice instead of Vinegar as I was not having it. 

Shall I repeat the ingredients and the method of making it? Just copy and pasting it. (with your permission Manjula)

Ingredients
Maida - 1 cup
Sathumaavu/ Health mix - 1/2 cup(I used MANNA HEALTH MIX)

Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp
Condensed milk - 3/4 cup, I used the Nestle brand
Baking pd - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup ( extra if needed )
Vanilla  essence - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp

Method

• Sieve maida, sathu maavu ,baking pd, baking soda in a bowl.
• In another bowl add  all the wet ingredients  except lime juice and mix well.
• Grease and flour the cake tin and preheat the oven at 350F or 180 degree C.(I used 6" pan, may be the larger one gives the best result)
• Slowly fold the dry flour  with the wet  mix to get  a semi liquid batter.
• Add extra milk if you feel the batter is very thick only to make it semi liquid .

• At the last minute add the lemon juice  and mix the batter nicely.
• Immediately transfer the prepared batter in the greased cake pan.
• Bake this in preheated oven at 350 F for 15 - 20 min till a toothpick inserted in the cake come out clean.
• Once the cake is done cool it in the wire rack and turn it upside down in a plate.

 May be I used the smaller tin because my cake came out but it was puffy.

 

 Sending this to 

 Keep Smiling,

SPROUTED MOONG PARATHA for PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

How are you? Busy month it was, kids had mid term exam, I was down with fever. Still suffering from Sinus attack. 
Though kept few recipes ready to post but could not because of not having much strength to sit in front of the system. 
But as I did not wanted to break my participation here in this event I I thought of bringing Parathas for this party. Easy, healthy and tasty. Goes well with any gravy or just pickle or curds. 

Coming to the recipe,

 

Ingredients:

Green moong, Matki ( Moth) and Black  Masoor dal - 1 cup, soaked for one day and drained and kept either tied in a cloth or in a colander for a dayor till they sprout

Whole black Masoor dal is a must as it gives nice texture to the dish and tastes different.
Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - to taste
Green chilly - 1 small, finely chopped

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Amchur powder - 1 tsp

Haldi -1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 tbsp finely chopped

Garlic - 4 cloves, finely chopped(optional)

Oil - to roast

Ghee 1 tsp for each Paratha

Method:

Boil the sprouted moong in open vessel till soft.

Drain and mash it.

Transfer it to the big plate.

Add all the ingredients except oil and ghee.

Add water little by little to make soft dough.Adjust the seasoning. 

Divide into medium ball sized equal parts.

Roll into thick parathas.

Heat tawa and roast till crisp with little oil on both the sides. Before removing spread  a tsp of ghee on it. 

Serve hot with pickle or curds and paratha. 

My both the kids loved it with sauce.  

Sending it to the event  

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng... 

 Keep Smiling,

SPICY RAJMA MASALA (KIDNEY BEANS CURRY) for PPCS (FOOD REMAKE)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita 

Hi All,

How are you? Today is 28th and the day of posting  PPCS partner's  recipe. I am here with Sutapa urf Mon Sg (of Sutapa's Indian Cuisine)'s rajma-masala.

Its really spicy and tangy and wonderful combination with paratha, phulka or even a bowl of hot rice. I had it with thaalipeeth. (actually I liked it so much and did not wanted to wait till lunch time) It is simple but very tasty. Even perfect for small parties. 

As I have followed the exact recipe from her blog, I think its fine if I don't give the whole recipe here. Please do visit her blog to follow the recipe. 

HERE  is the link for her recipe 

 Sending this to Jagruti's original event which is hosted this month by Sowmya Karthy of nivedhanams.

 

Keep Smiling, 

OKRA IN KOKUM CURRY for PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

10th of September! I am here again, presenting you my recipe for POTLUCK PARTY CYBER STYLE which is started by Jagruti and this month Sowmya Karthy of  http://nivedhanams.blogspot.in/ is hosting the event. 

OKRA or LADY FINGER or BHINDI again! Yes! last time I brought Okra Chutney which was liked by many of you all. This time also I am with Okra dish. I had planned something else for the party but when I tasted this curry I thought this special curry should go to our Party first.

Without much introduction lets go to the ingredients directly. 

 

Ingredients:

Okra or  lady finger - 10 to12 big

Oil - 1 tbsp to fry 

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Kokum - 1tbsp soaked in warm water for 1/2 an hour(i tbsp is enough as kokum is strong)

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - 2 tsp or as per the taste

Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Jaggery - 1 tbsp

Oil - tsp 

To make curry powder

Dry roast

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1 tsp

Green chilly - 1, chopped

Curry leaves - few

Fresh coconut - 2 tbsp, grated

Ginger - 1/4"

 

Method:

Wash and pat dry the bhindi , cut into 1" pieces. 

Fry in a pan with 1 tbsp oil till light brown adding a dash of lime juice.

Dry roast all the ingredients in a pan and when cold, grind into a coarse powder. Add the kokum paste and grind into fine paste.

Heat oil in a kadai.

Add the ready paste and fry till it leaves the sides. Add  salt, jaggery, salt and haldi. Mix well and cook for few minutes. 

Add 1 cup of water and cook for a minute. Check the taste and consistency of the curry. Adjust it if necessary. 

Add fried Okra. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove from the fire. Wait for some time(at least half an hour) before serving so that okra gets the curry taste in it. Make it hot before serving.

Serve with Chapati or hot rice and ghee and Paapad. 

Sending it to the event 

Keep Smiling, 

O(pen)ATS SESAME, GINGER BARFI for PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

So how are you all?Girls from POTLUCK PARTY CYBER STYLE ! Are you all ready with the recipe from your partner's blog?

I am here with Nayana's recipe. Actually, she has posted Coffee n White Chocolate Panna Cotta  for the party . But,  sorry dear, my family is allergic to Gelatin and agar agar. I did not wanted to take a chance by preparing your dish. But I will make it some other day when I will be having guests at home.
And to get agar agar is a big problem in my city. I need to search a lot. China grass is available. I have used to many times in making custard but it has not set properly and don't want to spoil the dish. 

I checked her recipe index and most of her Western desserts are with Agar agar.  Then I thought of making some Indian sweets. At first I chose mysore-paak, but when I saw this recipe, I was happy because it has til and ginger which are my elder daughter's favorite and it has oats which makes it healthy. 

Please do visit her page for wonderful recipes.

The link for this recipe in her blog is HERE. 

Coming to MY recipe,

I have reduced the quantity as I had only 1/3 cup(80ml) of til. Still I got 10 medium size barfi.

And my barfi turned out white as the jaggery I used is white one. 

Ingredients :

Sesame Seeds - 1/3 cup

Oats - 1/3 cup 

Jaggery - 1/3 cup

Fresh Ginger grated - 1 1/2" or 2"

Ghee - 1 tbsp(I thought of pampering my barfis little bit)

Method 

Dry roast the sesame seeds till they splutter 

and oats separately for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Grind the ginger for few seconds in a mixi. Add both the sesame seeds and oats. Churn to make course paste.

Grease a small plate with ghee and keep it ready.

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai. 

Add the jaggery and bring it to a boil. 

Check the consistency  by taking a drop and putting it in a cold water bowl. If it hardens immediately then the syrup is done. 

Add the ready paste(or mixture). Mix well. 

Spread it on a greased plate. 

Allow it to cool. Cut into desired shapes.

Your healthy sesame seeds, oats and ginger barfi is ready to serve. 

My daughter and my hubby both enjoyed these barfis,

Thanks Nayana for such an easy and wonderful sweet recipe.

Sending this to Jagruti's event 

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng...

Keep Smiling, 

LADY FINGER OR OKRA CHUTNEY FOR PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

How are you? Festival time ladies. More work for us, more fun for family members, specially kids. All are waiting for the sweets, snacks and special main course.

Wait, I am not posting any special food for the party. Today I am here with a very simple side dish. Chutney is the basic item in a thali in any Indian food.

If you have not tried it before, you will really like it. Its different.

And can you guess with what we had this spicy chutney?? We had it with PAAPDIS. :-)
I got this recipe from my closest, dearest friend Renu, thanks dear :-) 

Jagruti has named me "CHUTNEY QUEEN" Trying to keep the title :-)

Coming to the recipe,

We need very few ingredients to make this chutney.

Ingredients:

Lady finger(Okra) - 150 gm(big ones, you can see in the photo, I took 12)

Oil -1 tbsp

Green chilly - 6 to 8(depends on the chilly, I took more because I wanted it spicy)

Fresh Coriander - 1 small bunch

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Crystal Salt to taste(optional, you can use the normal table salt)

Garlic - 1 small bulb(6-8 cloves)

Lime juice -1 tsp+ 1 tsp

Method :

• Wash and dry wipe the lady fingers and keep it aside.
• When dry, cut into round pieces.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai.
• Fry the cut lady finger pieces for some time.
• Add 1 tsp of lime juice to remove the stickiness.
• Add Green chilly and peeled garlic.
• Fry all till brown.
• Let it be cool.
• Separate the chilly and garlic.
• Take the cleaned fresh coriander, cumin seeds, chilly and garlic in a mixi.
• Grind into a coarse paste.
• Add the fried lady finger and just turn the mixi for few seconds. 
• Transfer into a bowl, add a tsp of lime juice. Adjust the seasoning. 

Enjoy it with chapati, hot rice and ghee or even a curd rice.

My husband brought the Paapadis in the evening when I made this chutney. My elder daughter and him both enjoyed the Paapadis with this spiciest chutney. 

This is my entry to 

Jagruti's  event:

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng...

Keep Smiling,

CUSTARD POWDER COOKIES (FOOD REMAKE)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

How are you? How is the weather there in your place? Here its very cold. Past 3 days its raining cats and dogs. Rainy season! enjoy the rain. I am enjoying it. Snacks are must in this rainy season to munch any time  with hot cuppa coffee or chai or milk. Some time sweet snacks, sometime savory.

According to me,(and my kids of course) cookies are the best sweet snacks to munch any time.

Today I am here with a different cookies. Different because its having Custard Powder in it. I have used custard powder in baking cakes and breads, but had never used it in cookies.

This time Jagruti's event Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng... chose Ramya of LemonKurry  as my partner for this month and she has prepared these lovely cookies. The recipe link is HERE .

Hey Ramya, my kids enjoyed these. Thanks dear for sharing this recipe with all of us and bringing it to the party.

I am here with her recipe prepared by me. There was a mistake in something 

I think, because my cookies got skinny. I did not get the fat ones. But taste was good and all got over within half a day. My kids loved it. And I too liked the custard flavor in the mouth.

Ingredients:

All Purpose flour - 3/4 cup +1/8 cup or  200 gm

Custard powder -  3/4 cup or 150 gm

Butter - 3/4 cup or 150 gm

Sugar - 3/4 cup or 150 gm

Baking Sod - 1/2 tbspa

Salt a pinch

Vanilla essence - 3 drops

I added

Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp to half of the dough done

Method :

Take APF, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Sieve it and keep it aside.

Pre heat oven.

Mix the custard powder with APF mix and mix well.

Whisk sugar and butter in a bowl till soft. Add vanilla essence and stir well.

Add the dry flour to this mix to make soft dough. 

Ramya says NOT TO FREEZE THE DOUGH.

Roll the dough in to your desired thickness.  

Cut with a cookie cutter or knife to make shapes.

Arrange these in a baking tray and bake it for 10 minutes or less. Keep an eye to check. Mine got burnt as I kept it for long time because my first batch was very soft.

AND 

I DIVIDED THE DOUGH IN TWO. IN ONE I ADDED 2 TBSP OF COCOA POWDER AS MY YOUNGER ONE WON'T EAT COOKIES IF THERE IS NO CHOCOLATE IN IT.

I got 15 big cookies. 

Sending it to the party.

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng...

Keep Smiling,