Sarva Pindi/Ginnappa for ICC FEBRUARY

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am back in ICC after 5 months. Sorry Valli. No excuses :-(. I am ready for any punishment :-)

Hope I am still in your team. Here is the Indian Cooking Challenge for  February month. Srivalli, this is tastiest food, which I would have never tried without you. She has taken the recipe from Usha.  Ranjani and Lavanya's blogs are also given for the reference.

 

In North Karnataka we also prepare the food similar to this with only difference in using the flour. Here we use Jowar flour as the main ingredient. We call it ThaaliPeeth and the link is here.

 

 

When I was making this one, the aroma filled the whole house and my daughter could not control to have it. She had it directly from the tawa :-)

Enjoy this crunchiest, hottest(???), I added more chilly snack with tea or morning breakfast or for picnic or just like that. Do we need any reason or time to have good food???

Please visit Valli's RECIPE for the detailed post.

Keep Smiling,

Star Fruit Juice

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am not lazy!! I am lazy!! I am confused... I hate to say I do not get time to post the recipes here. Because it was me, who used to stay awake till 2 in the midnight to post the recipes, it was me, who used to try new recipes after 11 in the night just to post the recipes here... it was me, who never missed a single day  to check other blogs and interact with them..

What has happened to me now!! even I am not sure. But yes, I am finding it difficult to manage my time... Hope you all will understand and wait for me to come up with regular posting.

Thanks to those who visit me here even though I am not regular..

Coming to today's recipe, 

Summer is here... my kids wait for my new trials for their thrust. 

Here is one more juice which is really magical as it can be prepared either with raw fruit or even the ripe one.

I have used the ripe star fruits for the juice.

The STAR FRUIT name comes because of its shape when cut into slices. It looks really beautiful.. I love those little stars. 

Star fruit is green when raw. I love the green color. Its sweet and very sour when raw. I love to eat those with salt and chilli powder. You try it and you will love it..

When it turns into Golden yellow color it is ripened and tastes more sweeter.

Recipe for the juice with ripe one:

Star fruits - 10 to 12

Sugar or powdered sugar or Jaggery  - 2 tbsp or as per the sweetness of the fruit

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt a pinch

Water to make juice

Wash and clean the fruit. Cut a slice and check for the sweetness or sourness.

Peel off  those long lines and discard those.

Cut into half. You can see the seeds and the thread like part in the middle. Remove those.

Cut the remaining part into small pieces. 

Add the sugar or powdered  jaggery and cardamom powder. Put into the blender or grinder and turn into puree. 

Add the water as per the taste. I added more than 1 glass of water.

Have it just like that or sieve it before serving.

Enjoy the chilled juice in this hot summer :-)

If you are using the raw fruit you may need more sweet and salt in the juice.

This makes 2 big glass of juice.

Both the juice tastes different and look different. 

Any one try the raw fruit and let me know.. (I have tried both,but could not get the picture of the raw fruit juice)

Keep Smiling,

Crispy Chapati sticks

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Two more recipes from leftover food. And again it is prepared with left over Chapatis.. My kids love it.

The best way to use the leftover chapatis and methi parathas.

For Crispy Sweet sticks:

I learnt it after I got married, in my in law's house its very common which is served with morning tea. They call it Khakar. 

Ingredients:

Left over Chapatis - 8 to 10

Sugar powder - 1/8 cup or more

Cardamom powder  a pinch

Oil to fry the chapatis

Method:

Cut the chapatis into desired shape. I prefer long strips.

Keep one big plate ready.

Mix the powdered sugar and cardamom powder.

Heat the oil in a kadai.

Fry the cut chapatis in batches till brown.

Transfer it into the plate and sprinkle the powdered sugar immediately.

allow it to cool and store in a airtight jar.

Now, 

the same way you can make with left over Methi Parathas.

Cut the parathas into desired shape.

Fry in hot oil till golden.

Allow to cool and store in a air tight jar. 

Perfect with evening Tea.

Sending it to veena 's event

Guest Hosting An Event"-Cooking With Left Overs-Kitchen Chronicles

Keep Smiling,

Chapati Poha(Reposting)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

One of my favorite breakfast... Chapati Poha

Reposting for the event...

Recipe here,

Left over chapatis (Indian wheat flat breads) - 8 to 10

(Click Soft Chapatis my way for the recipe to make chapati)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Green Chilly - 1 finely chopped

Curry leaves - few

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal (Skinned Black  gram) - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder - pinch

Sugar - 1 tsp

Tomato - 1 medium (optional)

OR

Lime juice - 1 tbsp(I used this)

Fresh coriander to garnish

Cut the chapatis in to four pieces. Grind into batches to turn those into coarse powder, not powder. We need the chapati like Poha. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. 

Add mustard seeds. When splutter, add Urad dal

when they start changing the color, add jeera or cumin seeds, curry leaves. Fry till the urad dal changes its color to gold.

Add onion, green chilly. Fry it till the onion becomes almost brown and well cooked. Add the tomato in between (If you are adding it)

Now add salt and  turmeric powder. Add lemon juice. Mix well. 

Put the coarsed chapati. Add sugar and mix well to combine the ingredients together.

Cook for 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Sending it to veena 's event

Guest Hosting An Event"-Cooking With Left Overs-Kitchen Chronicles

Keep Smiling,

Nankhatai with Choco Chips(Food Remake)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

My one more try in Baking :-))))

Its just yummy, vanishes as it goes into your mouth.. you crave for some more and you have rights too. The best part is its very easy to make:-)

I am talking about these Nankhatai which I adopted from Simple Indian Food and she took it from  Raaga of The Singing Chef.

Please visit her blog for the recipe. WAIT!!!

I have altered the recipe!!

I added 2 tsp of milk as my dough was very dry and crumbled

AND

I added 1/4 cup of Choco chips as my kids love it..

The result was fantastic.. 

I am going to make these again..

Keep Baking and

Keep Smiling,

Double Decker Parathas

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am here after long time. This time it is for our blogger friend veena of veg junction. She is on with her first event and is very much enthusiastic about this. All the best to her.

Today's recipe is from my favorite breakfast.. Parathas... I love parathas. And when I got the recipe in Tarla Dalalji's website, I could not wait to try it.. Even though its a very common dish, the way she made is kid's friendly and my younger daughter loved it very much. 

I just took a basic recipe from her and modified according to my taste.

I followed the recipe from here. She says its good for diabetes. 

She has used the ready cooked chapatis but I prepared fresh(half baked, check the recipe below).

Thats the only difference.

Its little time consuming but tastes great with fresh chapatis

Recipe is copied and pasted from Tarlaji's post with some editing.

Ingredients:

For the carrot stuffing

Grated Carrot - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Finely chopped green chillies - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste.

For The Green Peas Stuffing

Green peas - 1 1/2 cup

(Boiled and mashed)

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Finely chopped green chillies - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste.

Other ingredients:

Oil  or butter(not for diabetic people)  for cooking

Chapati ata to make chapatis.

Method 

For the carrot stuffing

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the cumin seeds until they crackle.
2. Add the carrots, green chillies, lemon juice and salt and mix well.
3. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Keep aside.

For the green peas stuffing

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the cumin seeds until they crackle.
2. Add the green chillies, coriander and salt and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the green peas and cook for another minute. Keep aside.

How to proceed

to make one double decker paratha

roll out three medium size chapatis.

Heat tawa and bake two only one side and one fully(this one is for the center part)

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of the carrot stuffing on one side cooked chapati, make sure to keep the uncooked  side outside.and cover with cooked  chapatti. Then spread 1 tablespoon of the green peas stuffing, place another uncooked chapatti(again uncooked side on the upper side) on the top and press firmly to seal the edges.

1. Cook the double decker parathas on a tava (griddle) on both sides, using a little oil.
2. Repeat with the remaining atta and the stuffing to make more parathas.
3. Serve hot with pickle or sauce or curds.

This is the mini size paratha which my younger daughter loved to have.

Sending these double decker parathas to Veena's event :-) which is started by Kalyani.

And
Priya's
Announcing Cooking With Seeds - Peas

And
Kid's Delight-Colourful Palate  guest hosted by Veena,event by Srivalli..

And
Vatsala's  LGSS-Stuffed Paratha



Keep Smiling,

NOODLES IN TOMATO BASKET

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

ONLY PHOTOS SPEAK IN THIS POST :-)

Steamed tomato baskets..

Keep Smiling,

Fresh Avarekalu(Hyacinth beans) ladoos

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Do you all think that I am feeling lazy to post anything here in the blog!!! Yes and NO. Lazy because I am not trying anything new to post the recipe, No because I am not able to manage the time .

Today I am posting a very unusual recipe. Ladoos made with fresh Avarekalu/Hyacinth beans/Surti Papdi.

This recipe is from my mother which she saw in a cookery show and made it immediately when she was in Pune.

And last week she prepared it when I brought the beans...


Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients :
Fresh beans - 250 gm
Powdered Sugar - same as the powdered beans
Oil to fry the beans
Ghee - 2 tbsp (more or less)
Green cardamom powder - 1tsp
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp, small pieces(optional)

Method:

Clean and wash the beans.

Dry with a cloth or kitchen tissue.

Heat the oil in a kadai and fry the beans till crispy and the raw smell of beans should go.

Transfer on a kitchen towel or tissue to remove the excess oil.

Once cool grind into powder and measure the quantity.

Measure the powdered sugar same as powdered beans.

Mix powdered beans, sugar, ghee and cardamom powder nicely. Add more ghee if you feel its dry.

Add cashews (if adding), make into small ladoos.

Keep Smiling,

You will be missed Jayasree :-( / Vella Avil and Whole Wheat Choco Chip Cookies

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Death is inevitable. We know it, but the pain is also unbearable when it happens in the family or friend circle.  I was in this pain when I heard about Jayasree's death. Sometimes, we really do not know people personally but they become close to us for some or the other reason. Blogging world has given me a chance to know many good people among whom many are my  very good friends. 

I was not so regular visitor to Jayasree's blog(Experiments in Kailas Kitchen), but have tried few of her recipes. So this post is to tribute to her. Her blog is full of amazing and very interesting recipes with an authentic touch.

I tried two of her recipes:

ONE is 

VELLA AVIL : The taste was really good and was perfect for my Thursday Offer to Sai Baba.

and the 

SECOND one is 

WHOLE WHEAT CHOCO CHIP COOKIES with a little change in it. I added little oats powder to make it more healthier.

You will be missed Jayasree.

May her soul rest in peace. May God give her family the strength to face this loss as its not possible to fill the loss by anything.

There are many more recipes in her blog to try and learn.

Potato Fry - Chinese Style

Tried and tasted by Nivedita 

Hi All,

One more time to say SORRY for not posting any recipe here. Its exactly one month that I posted any recipe here. I could not manage the time to be regular here.

Today I am here with potato fry in Chinese Style. My kids loved it. Its simple, yummy and perfect side dish for kids.

Ingredients :

Baby potatoes - 250gm

Onion - 1 big,  sliced

Ginger - 1tbsp, finely chopped

Garlic - 1tbsp,  finely chopped

Soy sauce - 1tsp

Vinegar - 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp( I used Maggi hot n sweet ketchup)

Chilly paste - 1/2 tsp

Crushed pepper - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Olive oil - 1 tbsp(normal oil is also fine)

Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp, roasted 

Fresh coriander  and spring onion - 1tbsp each, finely chopped for garnishing(not in the photo)

Method:

Boil the potatoes.

Peel the skin and keep aside.

Heat oil in a thick kadai. When its full hot, add ginger and garlic. 

Saute it till brown.

Add onion and fry till brown.

Add the potatoes and fry for few minutes.

Now go on adding Soy sauce, Vinegar, ketchup and chilli paste.

Add Salt and pepper powder and mix well.

Fry for another minute on high flame.

Garnish with fresh coriander, spring onion and sesame seeds.

Serve hot with chapatis.

Keep Smiling,