Food-n-More

Mataar Usal and Bread ( A very hearty and filling winter supper)

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000Z

Winter has settled beautifully over Pune . The mornings kick off really cold and all throughout the day the air is pleasantly cool even with strong sunshine. It makes going out, even to do daily chores a pleasurable activity . I mean you don't return home all sweaty and feeling all dusty and gritty. So I am enjoying it while it lasts. Another lovely delight is the wonderful veggies that are available in this season. The greenest of greens can be seen at the grocers and everything is so fresh that you want to buy even those veggies that you wouldn't know how to cook.:))

And to top it all I have found this wonderful little stall that sells organic vegetables.. Yes !! really delicious and fresh and the tastiest of organic fruit and veg is available to me on my daily morning walk route. The spinach and methi are awesome , the ginger and garlic are so packed with flavour that I was completely zapped the first time I used them , but the star attraction for me are the sweet limes. They are sugar sugar sugar sweet. I have never eaten a sweet lime that has so lived up to its name. And of course I must mention the carrots. To look at they are quite unattractive , but they are sensational to taste. We have been eating bagfuls of carrots and practically fighting over them at the dinner table. Last week though I also bought a whole load of green peas from the same place and these too passed taste and freshness test with full marks.
Now in most Maharastrian households you will find that this mataar usal (call it green peas curry) is cooked for dinner at 5/6 times during these cold winter days. Firstly because the best of green peas are available in abundance and secondly and more importantly it is a very comforting and soul warming to eat this hot and spicy usal on a cold winter evening with soft slices of bread ,dollops of homemade white butter (लोणी) ,thinly sliced onions and wedges of lemon.
The bread soaks up this thin runny curry or (रस्सा ) and each mouthful is a delight.

So here goes: (For mataar usal for 4 people)

1/2 kg green peas (boiled )

For the green masala paste)

3/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1.5 cups fresh coriander
juice of 1/2 a lemon
5 to 6 small cloves of garlic
2 tspns jeera
1 large onion (optional)
1 tspn salt

2 tblspns jaggery
5 tblspns oil for tempering
2 tspns mustard
1/4 tspn hing

4 to 5 tea cups of water (start with 4 and add the last one only if you want a very thin curry)

Method:
Boil the peas until slightly soft. They don't have to be completely cooked at this stage as we will be cooking them further later
In your grinder put all the green masala ingredients and grind to a fine paste. Don't forget the lemon juice as this retains the green colour of the dish.
In a pan heat the oil and temper it with mustard and hing.
Add the green masala paste to the pan and fry it on a moderate heat for 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so that the masala does not burn
Now add the boiled peas , water and jaggery and increase the heat to high
Bring the usal to a roaring boil and then lower the heat back to moderate. Give it a taste. It will need more salt but do taste it first before adding any. Let it boil on a moderate heat until the peas are completely cooked and the oil in the curry rises to the top.
Give it a final taste and immediately transfer the usal to a glass serving bowl so that the fresh green colour is retained. Leaving the usal in the pan tends to darken it in colour.

As I said before enjoy it with fresh bread, butter and an onion salad.

Happy Sankrant Everyone ! Tilgul Ghya Goad Bola!!

2012-01-14T10:04:00.000Z

It's that time of the year again folks, winter is in full bloom in Pune and it is deliciously cold. After experiencing the severe winters in UK for last six years this mildly cold weather of Pune is a delightful change for all of us. I admit it still makes getting up early in the morning on school days very difficult, and almost everyday I am tempted to let my little one sleep and not bother him to go to school. Hmmm .... but that's not the way it works does it? If I give in to this temptation he would probably miss school every second day, and that is definitely a big NO NO.
Its also Sankranti time. One of my favourite festivals! I love tilgul and gulachi poli and halwa and the fact that the colour black is celebrated. I have a favourite black saree which I always make a point to wear on Sankranti. Sankrant is normally celebrated on the 14th of January,only this time it is on the 15th. So tomorrow I'll be preparing gulachi poli, and tilgul.

As with most Indian festivals which are in one way or the other associated with the seasons of the year , Sakranti too has an association with the winter season. Sesame and jaggery the 2 main ingredients here both produce heat in the body and are the main heroes in all the sweets prepared for this event.
Many married women also invite other ladies to their homes for a haldi-kumkum ritual ,during which tilgul is distributed and each lady also gets a small gift to take home. That's the fun part of this programme. It's great fun going into the markets which are jam packed with different goodies you can buy for your haldikumkum function.
Today I am going to share with you the recipe for Gulachi Poli, which is a delicious sweet poli made with a filling of jaggery and sesame. Its to be eaten strictly with generous dollops of homemade ghee. That's a must.
So here goes:

Ingredients for 10 to 12 polis

1/4 kg plain jaggery (available at any grocery store)
1/2 cup of roasted sesame powder,
1/2 cup gram flour
1/4 cup oil to roast the gram flour
1/4 tspn cardammom powder

For the outer poli cover:
2 cups of wheat flour
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup fine semolina
1/4 cup gram flour
1/2 tblspn rice flour
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup of very hot oil
1/2 cup rice flour to dust the poli when rolling it out

To make the filling:
Heat the oil and roast the gram flour until it changes colour slightly
Grate the jaggery. When the gram flour cools down add to it the jaggery and the cardammom powder and the sesame powder. Knead the mixture until it all blends well together. You could even pound it a bit. Keep it to one side.

For the cover:
Mix all the ingredients for the cover and knead into a slightly stiff dough.
divide the dough into 18 to 20 equal portions and the jaggery filling into 9 to 10 equal parts
Now for every poli you need two portions of dough and one portion of jaggery.
Roll out all three portions into small discs of equal size. Place the jaggery portion in between the two dough portions and then roll out all three together into a thin poli the size of the regular phulka or roti.
Roast it on the tawa .
These polis will not be soft like normal rotis . They are slightly stiff to touch and break easily into smaller pieces. That's the way they should be.
They keep easily for 8 days without refrigeration.
Serve with big dollops of ghee.

Other Sankrant special recipes on Food-n-More:
Sesame snaps

Tilgul

Simply Refreshing Homemade Widaa (Paan)

2012-01-09T16:22:00.000Z

This post of mine has been coming up for the last 6 months and I am sure most of you are thinking that I have completely forgotten about it or have simply abandoned my blog and run away. Initially I found it funny that I have a very smart statement (a bit oversmart actually) like coming up next posted here but nothing happens for six months and I actually had a good laugh over it everytime I popped in to see my blog but then gradually it was not funny anymore. I knew I had to get down to actually creating the post, as this is definitely something worth sharing .
The delay happened at first because I wanted to click step by step pics of the whole process of filling and rolling a widaa, but somehow I never got to take the pics. I just kept thinking I'll get them I'll get them but to no avail. So I have finally decided that I am going to share this post with you pics or no pics :))

So here we go:

As most of you know this is a paan recipe, except that it is a homemade paan which called Widaa in marathi. It is a very much healthier version of the paan we buy at the roadside paan shops and very very delicious.

Paan is basically the betelnut leaf which is found in many varieties the most popular being Maghai and Banarasi. Paan or Widaa is eaten after a meal to cleanse the palate and leave a very refreshing taste in the mouth and it also acts as a very good digestive so much so that new mothers are advised to one paan everyday for at least a month after giving birth.
At home we make Widaas on special occasions and it is my mom who is the expert although my sis and I have learnt the art too.

What you need to make these homemade widaas:

For 10 widaas:

20 Maghai leaves (can be bought at the local paan shop , some people also have the maghai plant in their gardens)

10 generous tspns of gulkand

5 tspns of store bought ground masala supari

1 tspn elaichi powder (a pinch in each widaa)

10 tblspns of fresh grated coconut

paan chutney (available at paan shops)

a small amount of chuna (a smear of chuna on each paan is enough)

and kaat balls (this is what colours your mouth read after eating a paan)
10 cloves to pin the paan together
10 whole almonds
few strands of saffron (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and de -stem all the paan leaves .
2.Place 2 leaves one on top of the other with the dark green and glossy side of both leaves facing downwards. Arrange all the leaves (in pairs) similarly in a row so you fill all the widaas simultaneously .
3.Put a smear of chuna on the top leaf of each pair. Then place a tspn full of gulkand on top followed by half a tspn of masala supari, pinch of elaichi , a couple of kaat balls, 1/4 tspn of paan chutney and half a tspn of coconut and a couple of strands of saffron .
4.Now roll the top leaf only by bring in all the sides (OOHhh I wish I had the pics at this stage)
And then wrap this rolled leaf into the outer leaf ( close the bottom edges and leave the tops open)securing the edges with a clove.Prop up all the rolled paans tightly together in a container as you see in the pic above
5. Put the remaining coconut into the open tops of the paans and tuck in an almond in each of them.
6. You can place them in the fridge for a little while as they taste really fresh when eaten cool .

Believe me although it is very easy to pop over to your local paanwaala and buy a paan these homemade widaas are highly appreciated when you are entertaining guests , people can't believe you took all the effort to make these at home and they are worth every bit of the effort you take

Non-Fried Dahi Wada (Dahi Bhalla)

2011-08-08T15:49:00.001Z

I bought a new non-stick appam patra (Appam Mold) last week and to say that I have been using it non-stop will be a serious understatement. I have made sweet appam by the dozens for the first time ever and impressed my family, but the really really impressive bit came when I made wadas for my dahi wada dish in my appam mold. Yesss ! Wadas in made in appam style. Frankly though I cannot take the credit for this idea. It was my Aai who came up with this idea a couple of years back and always told me to do the same to make dahi wadas oil free. Many of you might also be doing it the same way but when I told my friends what I done , it was a completely novel idea to them and they loved it, not to mention they loved the Dahi Wadas too. It was their praise that prompted me to immediately blog about them.

The entire process of making the wadas is just the same as you would for the fried version. Even the ingredients are absolutely the same. Only while preparing the wadas instead of deep frying the batter, pour spoonfuls into the appam mould. Now because I wanted them to taste just as good as the fried ones I put a few drops of oil on each wada (and I seriously mean a few drops) Cook on moderate heat for 4 to 5 mins on either side and pop them out.

Ingredients for the wadas:

3 cups urid dal (Split black lentils) soaked overnight or for 5 to 6 hrs

1 cup fresh grated coconut,

10-12 chillies,

3 tblspns cumin

2 to 3 tspns sugar

salt to taste.

Ingredients for the yogurt mix:

1 litre and a little more thick whole milk yogurt,

sugar to slightly sweeten the yogurt,

3 tspns of ginger and chilly paste,

1 tspn cumin and coriander powder each

salt to taste

Ingredients for the tempering:

3 tblspns of oil,

2 tspns mustard

10 to 12 curry leaves finely chopped

1/2 tspn asafoetida (hing)

Method:

Soak the urid dal overnight or at least for 5 to 6 hrs,

•Grind the soaked urid dal finely along with the grated coconut, chillies , cumin, salt and sugar . While grinding the dal add water in small quantities only as much as needed to aid the process of grinding.

•Keep aside for a little while.

•Prepare the yogurt by whipping the yogurt to a smooth consistency.

•Add some milk to the yogurt to give it the consistency of a thick pouring sauce. Mix in the sugar ,salt and ginger, cumin and coriander powders and the ginger-chilly paste.

•Before cooking the wadas keep a large pan of lukewarm water at hand . Add to the water a little yogurt and mix it well . This water is used to soak the cooked wadas .

•Drop tblspnfuls of wada batter into the the mold and cook on a very moderate heat turning them over once.

•After cooking the first batch let them cool . After they have cooled pop them into the lukewarm water and let them soak in the water for a while until they become slightly soggy

•Repeat this process with all the wadas, putting them in water only after they have cooled slightly

•Note: if hot wadas are put in cold water they remain hard at the centre, so let them cool slightly first.

•When all the wadas have been put in the water squeeze out the water from each wada by pressing it gently between your palms and place them flat one next to the other in your serving dish.

•Pour over the prepared yogurt evenly over all the wadas

•Prepare the seasoning by adding the mustard seeds to hot oil. When they begin to splutter add the hing and the curry leaves and switch off the gas.

•Spoon this seasoning over the dahi wadas carefully . Sprinkle some chilly powder over the finished dish and garnish with coriander . Let your guest help themselves to the date and tamarind sauce

•Also offer your guests extra cumin and coriander and chilly powder .

This makes a wonderful side dish during a meal or a main snack at tea time and now you can enjoy these in unlimited quantities as they are NOT FRIED . YEHHHHHH!!!!!

Two Kinds of Pizza: One Saintly and the other Naughty :Just a Teaser

2011-08-02T17:01:00.000Z

If there is one food I can never resist , it is Pizza . Well ... come to think of it there can be quite a few others as well but don't even get me started in that direction. Right now we are talking about Pizzas and that's what we will do. I can eat all kinds of Pizzas. I can eat Pizza in the middle of the night, cold, out of the fridge .I love the normal fare from Dominos and Pizzahut definitely, but I also love the desi varieties of Pizzas that are on the menu at my local Pav-Bhaji stall. Boy! Does the chef have an imagination or what!! He puts everything possible on that little disc of Pizza Base. There's tomato puree of course, topped with a very spicy stir-fried mixture of capsicum, onions sweetcorn , and green peas , and I suspect sometimes even cauliflower. Yesss , that's right cauliflower. But I am not complaining. The whole thing is topped with loads of Amul Cheese and has a mind-blowing taste. I always order that for home delivery when I visit my mom. My dad and I enjoy it immensely. Infact my Dad very seriously said the last time we had one that he likes it much better than the Pizzahut one and ..... hold your breath....... even the one he ate in Italy. Yes , Italy .... the Mecca of Pizza. We had a good laugh over that . What can I say ?? To each his own.

So the kinds of Pizzas I normally tend to make at home are the two you see here. If I am in a very virtuous mood I make the one with a Wholewheat Pita Bread as the base with minimum cheese which I mix with veggies like mixed bell peppers, sweet-corn asaparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes and spiced with dried oregano, and basil. t tastes awesome no doubt , is extremely healthy and completely guilt-free.

ON THE OTHER HAND....... if I am not feeling so saintly ,and am in the mood for wicked food then it has to be the other one. It has a mini naan as a base , not many veggies , well actually only tomatoes and sweetcorn, but loads of cheese. Sometimes even a combination of Mozzarella and Cheddar. I also spike it with chilly flakes. Naan makes a fabulous base, it's much tastier than the readymade plain pizza bases that are available in the stores. Best one to go for is the coriander and garlic. It's a whole load of white flour to consume that's why I use only the mini naans and not the big ones. If the Pizza is going to be shared then it's ok to use the larger Naans

So tell me! What's your favourite kind of Pizza?

Harry Potter and Yummy Rawa Idlis and Dhoklas

2011-07-24T16:06:00.002Z

One weekend can be so different from another. Last weekend was simply horrible, we had a power failure for 20 hours , yes that's right 20 hours, my maid did not turn up for two consecutive days without any prior notice . Yes I have to admit , that in spite of having done all my washing up and laundry and vacuuming myself for last 6 years , I am now already used to the luxury of having a daily maid come in and do all that for me and although I don't have a major panic attack if she doesn't turn up I do get a bit irritated no doubt. And to top it all the hattrick was completed by no water supply. Aaghhhh !!! But I some how managed to keep my calm and keep things going.

But this weekend has been a delight so far. Saturday started late and that is very late. After a quick trip to my son's school to complete some scholarship formalities we had a leisurely brunch of idlis and dosas washed down with cups of hot filter coffee and aromatic ginger tea at a nearby restaurant. Afternoon was spent helping D with his homework and preparing a bit for his forthcoming unit test (surprisingly it went very well with D co-operating to the T). But the best bit came in the evening which we spent with Harry Potter. Reading this you might think that I am a big Harry Potter fan ,but believe me you couldn't be further from the truth. I am probably the biggest Harry Potter non-fan ever , so much so that I am always teasing hubby and son that I am going to start a Non Harry Potter fan club etc etc. So the funniest thing is I have not watched any of the Harry Potter movies nor have I read any of the books other than 1/2 of the first one but today I watched the last one Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. That too in 3D in a cinema hall .Can you beat that? And I quite enjoyed it. My friends laughed at me saying that I am probably the first person who has started enjoying Harry Potter in the reverse order. Come to think of it I am kind of toying with the idea of reading Harry Potter :)) Lets see how long my interest in HP lasts.

Anyway speaking of brunches and idlis reminds me that I too made some idlis last week. These were simple Rawa Idlis which I sometimes serve as Idlis and sometimes as Dhokla. They taste just as awesome either way.

When made as Idlis I just put a couple of vegetables like grated carrots and maybe peas in them and sometimes even cashews and as dhokla I just add loads of fresh coriander and green chillies. They are perfect to take on picnics or as a healthy afterschool snack. Here's how I make them:

Ingredients:

1 cup coarse Rawa (ordinary Semolina, not Idli rawa)

1 cup water

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup par boiled peas (or frozen ones which are already par boiled)

1/4 cup urid Dal which have been soaked it water for 1/2 an hour (split black lentils)

handful of chopped cashews

2 green chillies very finely chopped

Some chopped coriander

1 tspn Eno Fruit Salt

1 tspn sugar

Salt to taste

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients keeping the soda-bi-carb for the last.

The mixture should have the same consistency as ordinary idli batter.

If you find it too thick just add some more water.

Give it a taste once you have mixed it and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

It does not need any resting time.

Just leave it aside until you oil the Idli moulds and then you can immediately steam them.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or ketchup.

On other occasions make the batter with finely chopped green chillies and plenty of fresh coriander and steam the batter as dhoklas like in the pic below

Serve the Dhoklas with the traditional tempering of hot oil , mustard, asafoetida and curry leaves. Put dollops of hot and sweet ketchup on top of each piece to make it pretty and also easy to eat.

Kadhai Paneer and Hot Phulkas (A Killer Combination)

2011-07-21T17:09:00.002Z

Ooooh it really feels good to blog again. I have been away from the blogging scene for so long that that it feels like it did when I had just started Food-n-More in UK. It was the only thing I could think about . I used to constantly check (like about 50 times a day) to see if there were any new comments and everytime I made something new I wouldn't let hubby or son have a taste of it until I had photographed the dish from all possible angles and was finally satisfied with my amateurish photography attempts. They have always been so sweet and indulgent about it . Hubby has always proudly shown off Food-n-More to all his friends and colleagues and son is so sweet that he has started his own blog in which he posts about the different construction toys he makes. He also calls it by a name similar to my blog . He calls it Struxx-n-More because he wanted something just like Food-n-More. Needless to say that they are both very happy that I am blogging again.

There have been times when I made food especially for blogging and then at other times I have blogged about recipes that are firm favourites in my house with classic ingredients. A very hot favourite of mine is Paneer. Just thinking about it makes me smile. I love to cook with paneer, so much so that if I am having guests over hubby usually asks me "So what paneer recipe are you thinking of madam?" And he is usually not wrong in guessing that there will be atleast one paneer dish.

I don't exactly remember when I made this Paneer Kadhai because I cook so often with paneer, but I thought it good enough to share with you guys. Chapatis is another thing I love to make. Whenever we had get togethers in the UK where all of us pooled in and prepared the meal ,chapatis were always alloted to me, or rather I always volunteered to make chapatis. Believe me well made soft chapatis can very often be the show stopper. So this makes the picture above my all time favourite meal. Delicious Paneer and soft pliant chapatis hmmmmmm !!!!

Recipe for Paneer Kadhai: (taken from Tarla Dalal and tweaked a bit here and there)

500 gms paneer

2 cups capsicum (or coloured bell peppers which I have used)

2 tsp coriander seeds

5 whole red chillies

3/4 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

2 green chillies, chopped

2 tsp chopped ginger

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander

3 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

For the paste

6 cloves garlic (lehsun) mixed with a little water

Method

1.Cut the paneer and capsicum into cubes

2.Pound the coriander seeds and red chillies together.

3.Heat the ghee, add the garlic paste and cook on a slow flame for a few seconds.

4.Add the capsicum and pounded spices and cook on a slow flame for 30 seconds.

5.Add the green chillies and ginger and fry again for a few seconds.

6.Add the tomatoes and cook until the ghee comes on top.

7.Add the kasoori methi and salt and fry again for a few seconds.

8.Finally, add the cubed paneer and cook for a few minutes.

9.Sprinkle coriander on top serve hot and enjoy it yourself too.

These are a few of my favourite things

2011-07-15T09:16:00.000Z

To say that the last 6 years of my life in the UK have been brilliant will be a major understatement. I have spent the best days of my life there , eaten some of the best food in the world and seen so many beautiful places not only in UK but all throughout Europe that I truely consider myself to be very lucky.

Having now moved to India and after spending the last 3 months here in my hometown, in all honesty I will have to say that very often it is only my physical presense that is here whereas in my mind I am miles away in my UK home. And believe me it does not take much to trigger off memories of beautiful days spent there. It can be anything like a jar of peanut butter, or tea made with tea bags and a hot water kettle, or seeing iceberg lettuce in some store or simply a pair of socks I bought at Wimbledon. It makes me long to go back. I know this was to happen . It is not an easy transtion and I need to give myself time ,but I cannot dodge that feeling of melancholy that takes over for some time, until I make a very conscious effort to drive it away by distracting myself into something else. But at other times I don't want to let go of the memories and what I do then is open my drawer of little treasures that I have collected over the years. Today I want to share a few with you: And here they are:

I bought these Little Elf Bowls in TK Maxx last Christmas. I absolutely did not need these but I just fell in love with them. I am sure I will put them to good use.

These Salad Hands are simply too good. They are marvellous to use to serve salads of all kinds. Those of you familiar with Sainsbury's will know the brand TU that you can see on the tag

This little wall piece I bought as a gift for someone ,but eventually could not bear to part with it. Bought it from Little Timbers , a gorgeous little shop selling all kinds of wooden artefacts with funny things written on them. It now hangs happily on my kitchen wall in India.

One of favourite shops in UK was The Works where I always found some or the other good bargain. These cute postcards will soon be framd to put up in my new home

These cute magnetic fridge pegs are for those important reminders that need to be there on the fridge all the time staring you in the eye so you do not forget. These are of course from the Kath Kidston Collection and I bought these on my way back on the airport.

The plan is to bring UK into my Indian home with these small but special personal touches. They make me feel good and bring back lovely memories of some of the best days of my life. Feels good to share them with you all :))

Ashadhi Ekadashi (An Auspicious start to blogging again)

2011-07-12T03:52:00.001Z

A very big Hello to all my dear readers. Yes, I am back with Food-n-More after a year long break . And boy what an year it's been. It's brought about huge changes for me and my family. As I already mentioned in my previous post, Food-n-More now comes to you from India and you bet I am very excited about that. Blogging from my home in India is going to be great fun for me. There is so much more I can experiment with here. I have my mom close by from whom I can take live demos from for all those dishes that I find daunting and besides having access to all the brilliant ingredients available at my local grocer , I am also very excited about all the loads of crockery I have in my cupboards that I can use in my pics. My crockery is one thing I used to miss very badly when I was away.So much so that hubby used to say that I miss it more than I miss my parents, but I think most of my culinary buddies will relate to that feeling we have about our precious possessions in the kitchen.

Let me tell you that I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could blog about in my first post after so long. I kept thinking it had to be something extraordinary , something that would blow everybody way but then I altered my thinking and felt that it was also so much nicer to share something that I love eating myself, which is basically what I have always done . And it is this thought that made it so much easier for me to start off.

I started writing this post yesterday as it was Ashadhi Ekadashi .Although not a very religious person at heart I thought it was a good auspicious day to restart blogging. That's the reason behind the picture above of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini.. Ashadhi ekadashi is a religious procession festival and is celebrated during the months of June- July. People consider the two eleventh days, "Ekadashi", of every month to be of special importance. But the eleventh day (bright) of Ashadh is known as the great Ekadashi or Mahaekadashi. This Mahaekadashi is also known as Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day Vishnu falls asleep to wake up four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in the Kartik month. This period is known as Chaturmas and coincides with the rainy season.

Now Ashadhi Ekadashi is a day of fast and on this day people go walking in huge processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see their God Vitthal. The yatra starts in Allandi and ends on Guru Poornima day at Pandharpur.

For me and my family Ekadashi is a day on which we enjoy all the foodie treats that are allowed on a day of fasting. Not for us a fast which comprises of eating only fruit or having only liquids .... oh no we love our "fast" food too much :)) So I made a couple of things yesterday, out of which I managed to photograph only one and that is my favourite Dahi Sabudana.

Now inspite of being my favourite it's surprising how rarely I make this dish. I don't know why. But I made it a point to make it yesterday and we all loved it, even my 9 year old who had it for the first time. It's one of those things which prove the saying "The simplest things in life sometimes give you the most pleasure" Well Dahi Sabudana definitely ticks all the boxes for me. What you need is:

Ingredients:

1 cup sabudana (Sago seeds)

1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts

3/4 to 1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

4 tblspns finely chopped coriander

2 tspns sugar

Salt to taste

For the tempering:

3 tblspns oil

2 green chillies finely chopped

2 tspns Jeera (cumin)

Method:

You need a bit of prepping the day before you make this dish or in the morning if you would like to serve it in the evening .
As this is a dish eaten cold and the sabudana is not actually cooked we need to roast the sabudana well before leaving it to soak.
So roast the sabudana on a low to moderate flame for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
Let it cool off completely before soaking it
Once it has cooled soak it in water (water level should be only 1/2 a cm above the sabudana) for at least 6 to 7 hrs or overnight.
To prepare the dish first prepare the tempering and leave it to cool.
In a large bowl mix all the items listed under Ingredients and then add the cooled tempering to it. It is very important to have cooled the tempering before mixing it with the sabudana.
Garnish the dish with more chopped coriander and crushed peanuts
And that's it really .Dahi sabudana is ready to eat .

Eat it at breakfast, as an evening snack or even as a light supper on the day of fasting. Or better still don't wait for a day of fasting enjoy it anyway. :))

Food-n-more is coming back very soon !!! Yehhhhh !!!!

2011-07-05T11:05:00.000Z

Yes that's right !! Food-n-more will soon be coming back with delicious dishes and tips and much much more very soon. And guess what it is now coming to you from INDIA.

So watch this space guys and get ready for some brilliant gastronomic delights.

Crispy Vegetarian Spring Rolls (A real Treat)

2010-08-15T10:46:00.002Z

Let me begin this post by wishing all my Indian readers A VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY. I started the day by explaining to my eight year old (who has lived in UK since he was 2 ) why this day is celebrated in India as Independence Day and how we used to go to school very early in the morning to hoist our tri-colour. Explaining it to him also made me remember things about our history that I had not thought about for a long time, and that was good. We fnished our mother-son talk by me reading to him part of the book Great Freedom Fighters of India in the Amar Chitra Katha Series.We read about Lokmanya Tilak and although he listened to it like any other story I enjoyed answering all his questions . It's a great series by Amar Chitra Katha which makes everything so enjoyable for a young children to read understand, rather than just read about history only from a textbook. I definitely recommend it.

Secondly I would like to say a big Thank-You to each and everyone of my reader who has visited by blog regularly inspite of my very irregular and sometimes none at all posting. You readers have been so good , not only visiting my blog but also dedicating posts to me and giving me credit for inspiring you to cook and think about cooking in a different light. Gosh thanks a ton for all that love and appreciation. It has also motivated me to take that effort again to start posting again.

So here's what I have today. It's the summer holidays going on currently in England and as I work in a school I too get to enjoy 6 weeks of summer holidays. I have recently come back from my holiday in Italy and now is the time to catch up with everything pending like deep cleaning the house, cooking something different other that the daily fare, spending time with my son watching DVDs together and going out for a Pizza with him and of course catching up with friends and a bit of entertaining.

Last week I had a friend over for lunch and I made these veg spring rolls which we all loved. Vegetarian because at present we are not eating any non-vegetarian food as it is the month of Shrawan which is a auspicious month in the Hindu calender. And although I am not a very staunchly religious person I do like to follow certain practices only because they teach you self control. Particularly in the west where restaurant menus are so dominated by chicken , pork and beef . (Although I draw the line at chicken and fish and would never ever dream of eating pork or beef. ) So no non-veg food for a month at least and for 4 months (the entire Chaturmaas till after Diwali) if I can manage it. Not so difficult is it? And the one ingredient I love and always rely on to make my veg dishes perk up is Paneer.:)) Yes gorgeous , delicious, creamy full fat paneer. It never let's me down. That's what I used here too.

So what you need for 16 to 18 spring rolls is:

Ready made store-bought spring roll wrappers (available in Indian or Chinese grocery stores) OR Sheets of Filo Pastry (available in all big food stores)
Note: If you do get the special spring roll wrapper they are already in the correct square shape and size, so that one wrapper makes one roll, but if you are using filo then you will need to cut out the sheets into approx 5" X 5" squares. Also remember to keep the pastry or wrappers covered with a damp tea towel as they dry out very easily.

For the filling:
1 cup each of finely chopped or grated of the following veggies
carrots, beans, spring onions, cabbage ,coriander
1 cup of frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 cup of green peas
1 cup finely diced paneer,
1 cup boiled noodles (optional)
1/2 cup finely diced chestnut mushrooms (optional)
1 red chilly finely diced
1 tblspn chinese soy sauce
1 tblspn sweet chilly sauce
1 tblspn chinese five spice
1 tspn hot chilly powder
1 tspn of garlic paste, 1 tspn of ginger paste
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking

Method:
Heat 3 to 4 tblspns of oil in a wide pan or wok
Add the garlic and ginger paste and fry on low heat for few minutes
Add all the other veggies and mushrooms and stir them all frequently
Add the five spice, chilly powder, salt soy suace and sweet chilly and cover and cook until vegetables are cooked but still have a bite in them.
Lastly add the boiled noodles and paneer, give it all a good stir ,
Give it a taste and adjust all the seasoning according to your taste
Let this filling cool completely before you start making the rolls

Making the rolls:

Lay out a wrapper on dry surface with one corner towards you. Place a large tblspnful of filling near the corner .
Now roll that corner over the filling twice. Next fold inwards the the two side corners so your roll will be closed from the sides. Roll up the rest of the wrapper up to the corner away from you . Apply a bit of water to this corner so that it sticks firmly to the roll.
Do all the rolls in the same way. make these in advance at least a few hours before you want to fry them, so that they have a chance to seal well.
Fry in hot oil and drain over kitchen papers
Serve with sweet chilly sauce, schezuan sauce or any othet sauce of your choice.
Make loads of these if you are entertaining as it is very likely that they will be the star attraction particularly when your friend know that you made them at home:))

Fun with Fruit

2010-06-23T20:16:00.000Z

Hi all. We all know the benefits of eating our 5 a day. Now I am lucky to have a 7 year old (sorry 8 year old; he just turned 8 and I keep forgetting it :-)) ) who adores most fruit but we all love a bit of variety and I know there are mums out there who are all the time trying to find different ways to make this 5 a day more interesting for the kids. Well here is one sure shot way to have your kids eat more fruit. Cut out the fruit of your choice into big cubes and let the kids thread the skewers as they like them. Believe me they will be gobbling it all up and asking for more.

A Super Bowl (Veggie Lentil Curry with Jeera Rice)

2010-06-16T13:20:00.001Z

Hi guys!! I know I know , I have been as bad as ever. Neglecting my blog again for days now. Just got caught up doing other things (like playing Farmville!!) . But now I am back and have something wonderful to share. Wonderful yet very very simple to make , but very nutritious ,mind you. I made this dish just 2 days back. Got the recipe from a diet magazine and the picture in it was so good that I had to make it immediately.
This dish is perfect for those days when you have the middle of the week dinner blues and can't think of what to put on the dinner table that day. Well this ones a winner. It's fast to cook and very little washing up to do later as it can all be eaten from a single bowl.

What you need:
2 medium onions chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup of uncooked masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 cup of green beans cut into pieces
1 cup of cauliflower florets
1/2 cup of green peas
1 tblspn each of garlic and ginger paste
1 heaped tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn cumin
1 tblspn hot curry powder
1 tspn chilly powder (more if you like)
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
Oil to cook
coriander to garnish

Method:

Heat about 3 to 4 tblspns of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds first. When they begin to splutter add the cumin and fry for about 30 secs.
Next add the onions and the ginger- garlic pastes and fry well
Add to this the curry powder, chilly powder and turmeric
Now add the lentils and the vegetables, salt and 3 to 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer.
Cover and cook until the veggies are cooked and the lentils are mushy. The beans take the longest to cook , so if they have cooked , rest assured that the rest of the veggies have cooked.
Adjust the seasoning according to your taste and garnish with chopped coriander

Have this curry with a rice of your choice. I made simple jeera rice and just made a salad to go with it. It makes a quick and power packed supper with minimum hassle.

Right! Now after that spicy curry here's something completely different. Recently I was introduced to the GrazeBox. What is a GrazeBox? Well it is just what it sounds like . It's a box which contains 2 or 3 types of nibbles which you can graze on throughout the week. It's the best thing to have to control those 4o'clock hunger pangs .It contains delicious things like nuts, raisins, seeds dried fruit ,fresh fruit and even some exotic spicy nibbles. This is what a graze box looks like from the outside.

And this is my box from last week. I ordered a graze fresh box and got all this delcious stuff in it. Believe me it's supposed to last you for atleat a week but it was gone in minutes.

So if you are in the UK and interested in ordering one yourself or would just like to know more about graze then do visit http://www.graze.com/

If you feel like ordering one then please use the promotional code below. That will give you your first box free.

free box code: LYLD625A

So go Grazing!!

Mango Bread-n-Butter Pudding

2010-05-11T12:58:00.000Z

Although one day late , here I am as promised with the recipe for Mango Bread and Butter Pudding.The Mango flavour is just a twist on the classic Bread and Butter Pud which is a favourite in the UK. It's quick to prepare and delicious to taste. I made mine with Brioche rather than ordinary bread because I had some leftover Brioche, but ordinary white bread is fine too. Butter both sides of the bread slice if using plain bread. For Brioche you do not need to butter it as it already has a lot of butter in it. As a variety Croissants can be used too .

Ingredients:
8 slices of Brioche/ or plain white bread
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
handful of raisins
1 cup and a little more mango pulp (use canned or fresh) .If using fresh just blend the pulp to a smooth consistency before using
2/3 tspns sugar (more if using plain bread)
2 tspns vanilla essense
Ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 175deg C
Mix well together the milk ,eggs, sugar, vanilla, and mango pulp
Grease a baking dish and lay out the first layer of brioche slices. Sprinkle the raisins over the brioche.
Now lay out the second layer of brioche, and make sure all the raisins are covered under this layer, so they don't burn when you bake the pudding.
Pour the custard mixture over the top now making sure to cover all the bread slices thoroughly.
Press down gently so the lower layer also soaks up the custard.
Bake for 25 to 30 mins or until the pudding is golden and puffed up.
Serve with fresh mango slices, warm custard, or cream

ENJOY!!

P.S. For those of you who haven't yet read the round-up of Mango Moods just scroll down to the next post.

Mango Bread and Butter Pudding and Round-Up : Mango Moods

2010-05-09T15:33:00.002Z

OK People ! Thanks a ton for being ever so patient while I was roudning -up all the gorgeous and lip-smacking that were sent by you all to make Mango Moods a super duper success. We have 28 entries from 17 blogs and they are all just mind-blowing. So without much further delay here's presenting the Grand Mosaic of Mango Moods

I have lined up all the recipes below . Follow the pics row by row from left to right and you will find the corresponding recipe in the list below. My contribution to the event is at the very end of this post. Hope you like it. Thanks once again for your very enthusiastic response. Enjoy the Round up.

1.Eggless Mango Custard by Pavithra of Binge On Veg

2.Mango Mousse by Jayashree of Spice and Curry

3.Mango and Banana Bake from Guyana by Bala of A Life Journey Together

4.Mango Puree Coconut Cream Panacotta by Lakshmi of Palate Desires

5.Mango Swiss Roll also by Lakshmi of Palate Desires

6.Paneer Burrito again by Lakshmi of Palate Desires

7.Coconut and Mango Agar Agar by Lakshmi again !! Yes from Palate Desires!!

8.Mango Chutney from Nayna of Simply. Food

9.Mango Bread by Rachana of Sizzle N Spice

10.Mambhazha Kuzhambu by Nithu of Nithu's Kitchen

11.Nuts and Fruits Dessert another yummy creation by Nithu from Nithu's Kitchen

12.Mango Dessert : A third delicious recipe by ...yes Nithu again from her kitchen

13.Ripe Mango Chutney : The fourth fantastic dish by Nithu.... Looks like all the mangoes in the market are going to Nithu's Kitchen

14.And to top all that we have a Spicy Fruit Salad yet again from Nithu's Kitchen

15.A beautiful Mango Trifle by Cooking Foodie from 365 Days of Eating

16.A spicy hot entry from Pranis Kitchen is her Kadu Mango Pickle

17.A very exotic Prawn with Mango Curry comes from Sudha of Malaysian Delicacies

18.Beat the heat with Lalaine's cool Chamango

19.Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes very proudly sends Aam ki Launji

20.Sisters Harini and Jaya of Tamalapaku have teamed up to send not one but three great
recipes : First one is Bisipinakaya (Rasa Gaya)

21.Next from them is Mango Palak Carrot Chapati

22.Priya from Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes sends her Mango and Chocolate Chips Bread

23.The delectable Mango Muffins are from Neeta of Chatak Matak

24.And the third tasty dish from Harini and Jaya is Raw Mango Rice

25.Ayeesha sends her fabulous Mango and Cardammom Gateau from Taste of Pearl City

26.Divya of Divya's Kitchen has made a beautiful looking Mango Sesame Curry

27.The Mango Sesame Chutney is another creation again from Divya

28.Priya from Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes has sent us Multi-grain Mango Scones which look and sound just absolutely gorgeous.

And now for my entry to the event. This must be the quickest pud I have ever made. And surprise surprise it turned out great. But recipe will be posted tomorrow. Promise!! So keep watching this space.

If I have missed any entries do let me know as I am quite a scatter-brain about things like this and absolutely unorganised.

Leaving you all for now. Will be back tomorrow.

Update: Mango Moods

2010-05-05T20:44:00.000Z

A very big Thank-you to all of you who have responded to Mango Moods, taken the effort and participated with such lovely entries. I am absolutely thrilled to see the variety of dishes that has come up and just as excited about the round-up as all of you are.

I would have loved to put up the round-up tomorrow , but I am currently experiencing a lot of problems with my laptop and having repairs done for the same, so please bear with me till the coming weekend and I 'll have the round-up ready by then.

Thanks ones again for your participation. I'll see you very soon!

Delicious Kesar Pedhas (Delights of Blogging)

2010-04-14T14:50:00.002Z

Hi all ! Hmmm ... I must say I was a bit disappointed to see only one comment to my Mango Moods post. I am sure though that many of you have read it and are also giving a good thought to what you can make and send in . So do that people and send in as many entries as you like . Let me tell you entries have actually started trickling in. So I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway let me get back to this post because this too is a special post. I call it my "Delights of Blogging" kind of post and that's because it is a recipe I have followed from someone else's blog and has turned out delightfully well. All the credit for this recipe goes to Ramya of Foodie Catalog. Thankyou Ramya for this awesome recipe I have always been on the lookout for a good recipe for Pedhas. I just love Pedhas and always wanted to make some at home especially as the ones we get here in UK come nowhere near the ones I am used to eating in Pune. So when I saw Ramya's recipe and her photos I just had to make some. I barely managed to wait until I could go out and buy some condensed milk.

The verdict on the Pedhas? SUPERB !! Simply Superb!! They taste so fresh and delicious. I shared some with a couple of friends and they were full of praise. One of them even said that had I not told him that they were homemade he would never have known. So there you are.

Now me being me I had to tweak the recipe a little, for the usual reason of not having one or the other ingredient at home . This time it was the butter. I did not have any, so I used ghee. That's it .

Ingredients:

Milk Powder – 2 cups

Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 OZ)

Ghee – ½ cup

Saffron – few strands

Water – 2 tsps

A pinch of salt

For decoration I used milk masala , which is nothing but a combo of crushed pistachios, almonds, cardammom and saffron

Method:

1.Take a large wide mouthed microwave safe bowl and heat the ghee just until it melts.

2.Now add both the condensed milk and milk powder and microwave on full power for 4 –5 mins stirring after every minute.

3.Heat water and add saffron. Mix with the dough and microwave again for another 4 to 5 more mins. The mixture kind of begins to thicken and also rise up . Be very careful when microwaving the hot mixture. Do not forget to stir frequently.

4.Cool the mixture for a good 10 mins until it is warm enough for you to handle . It get's the consistency of chapati dough.

5. Now roll the pedhas. If tyou do this while the dough is still warm the Pedhas will roll into smooth balls. Give the pedhas a slight dent in the centre so that they look like the shop bought ones. Sprinkle with my suggested milk masala or any other dry fruit of your choice.

These Pedhas taste even better the next day. After a day or two store them in the fridge so they keep longer. Just microwave as many as you want for 5 secs before eating or serving and they will taste fresh again. Next time you have a Pooja at your place amaze your guests with this Prasad.

Announcing Mango Moods

2010-04-05T13:23:00.000Z

That's right people ! Food-n-More is hosting the grand event of the year. It's Mango Moods. Yes, it's that time of the year when people all over India await the arrival of this delicious and heavenly fruit so let's celebrate it's arrival and welcome it in a grand style my having our own Mango Moods Festival.

Rules of the event are very simple .

Main ingredient in the recipe has to be " Mango " of course.
Use any kind of Mango you like.
It can be raw or ripe.
It can be a drink or a dish , sweet , savoury or even spicy.
Send me your recipe with a photo on anupamadotpuranikatgmaildotcom
Also send me a link to the recipe from your blog
Link your post to this post
Non -Bloggers are welcome too. Just type out your recipe and mail it to me on the above email- id. Send along a photograph too if you can.
Last date for sending in recipes is 5th May 2010. So you have a whole month to come with your best recipe ever.
You are welcome to use the pic below in your post.

So come on everyone get into the Mango Mood!!

Golden Honey-n-Oat Bars

2010-03-29T20:23:00.000Z

Stepping out of the house and working definitely has it's benefits. I mean we all know the most obvious ones like earning your own money, being independent , developing yourself as an individual in the outside world etc etc. But the one thing I am most enjoying is getting to know my colleagues at work. I am learning so much everyday from each person that I work with, not only about work but so many other things as well. So I was thrilled to know that my colleague /friend A loves to bake. 'A' always gets the most delicious baked goodies for us to enjoy. Sometimes it's a freshly baked seeded bread , sometimes a cheesecake or then the most delicious cherry cake I have ever had. Last week it was these Honey and Oat Bars that she made for us and to top it she even had copies of the recipe for us to take home and try out. So Sweet!!

Now you know me. Whenever I fancy a recipe I just have to make it at once even if that means tweaking the original recipe a bit because I do not have all the necessary ingredients at home. So I made these bars at home over the weekend. They turned out good, although the ones 'A' made were a lot better. The original recipe calls for soft brown sugar, I did not have any at hand so I used ordinary white sugar, instead of self-raising flour I used all purpose plain flour with a tspn of baking powder sifted along with it, and thirdly I did not have margarine, so I replaced that with butter. RESULT: Great tasting bars , just not as nicely chewy as her's. Mine turned out a bit biscuity. But nevertheless half of them have already been polished off. My son came home complaining as to why I had given him only one bar in his lunch box, and hubby had 3 of them for dessert after dinner. So it's safe to assume that the Honey-n-Oat Bars are a hit.

I have for you here the absolute original recipe . I would urge you to stick to the brown sugar even though I did not. This recipe makes about 20 bars
So here goes:

Ingredients :
3 cups rolled oats
1.5 cups self-raising flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup soft brown sugar
2 tblspns honey
1 cup margarine

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients well together
In a pan melt the butter and add the honey to it
Mix the margarine and honey mixture well with the dry ingredients
Press the mixture into a greased baking tray and bake at 170deg C / 325deg F for 25 mins or till golden brown
Cut into bars while still warm and leave to cool in tin.

These are great with a cup of tea, or with a glass of milk for kids after coming back from school. They are also an interesting travel snack or a a lunch box treat

Fabulous Kesar Rasmalai (The Cheats Way)

2010-03-25T15:41:00.000Z

Hi Guys!! This Rasmalai is what I actually made to celebrate Gudi Padwa . Now if you have been a Food-n-More reader for a while you will remember that I have already posted a Rasmalai Recipe here may be a couple of years back. So why another one now? The reason for that is that this recipe is a short cut. It's something you make when you have a craving for Rasmalai but do not have the time to go through all the slow boiling process to evaporate the milk to the exact consistency, which is the key to that delicious creamy taste that we all want. So that's why I call this the Cheat's Way to make a great tasting Rasmalai without all the hassle.

I boiled the milk in the microwave on full power in a large glass mixing bowl . I did not know how long it would take and also wasn't sure if I was going to get the result I wanted . So I boiled it in two parts. One litre at a time. It took me 25 to 30 mins to get the one litre milk thickened to the Rasmalai consistency. The milk had a beautiful pale creamy colour and there were also strands of cream formed in it. It had reduced to three quarters of it's original volume . So that makes it around one hour approx for 2 litres. Which is not bad considering the time it takes to reduce milk in the conventional way on the hob. Secondly there is no fear of burning the milk , which has happened a few times with me , leaving a horrible burnt smell in the milk which does not go away even if you change the saucepan in which you are cooking it. Just remember to use a big glass bowl , so that the milk does not boil over.

After the milk had reduced I added enough sugar tro make it as sweet as I liked and also added of course the cardammom powder and a generous amount of saffron strands . I just cannot be stingy with saffron. I just love the spice and have to use it generously.

Now instead of making Rasgulla's at home I just bought a can of Haldiram's Rasgulla's . In the earlier rasmalai post I have shown how to make rasgulla's at home. But this time I bought them . Opened the can , squeezed out all the sweet syrup from them and put them in the sweet milk only when the milk had cooled down a little and was not hot but just warm. This ensures that the Rasgullas soak the milk well.

That's it really. Left it to cool in the fridge for a 3 to 4 hours and we had a great tasting Rasmalai for dinner.

Wish all visitors at Food-n-More a very happy Gudi Padwa

2010-03-16T16:03:00.000Z

To all my dear readers: I wish you all a very very happy and prosperous new year. May the new year bring as much sweetness as these Gulab Jamuns.

Sorry I do not have a recipe to share on this auspicious occasion , but how could I not wish you all today. I'' be here very soon with the next recipe. Till then ..... Bye.

Yummilicious Cinnamon Toast (An awesome treat for a lunch box)

2010-03-09T14:57:00.000Z

Call it Cinnamon Toast, French Toast , Eggy Bread or anything else it is just as delicious and you cannot just stop at one. At least I can't. I have loved this bread snack since I was about 9 or 10 and now that my son loves it just as much I am glad to make it for the two of us (or sometimes even for hubby if we leave any for him) on a Sunday morning or sometimes as a lunch box treat.

It's the easiest thing to make, almost embarrassingly easy actually to blog about but I love it so much that it has to have a place on my blog. You can make it as simple or as rich as you like. And make it with plain bread or a speciality bread, the choice is yours.

This time I used Brioche instead of plain ordinary white bread. Brioche is a sweet buttery french bread that tastes awesome even when eaten all by itself with a strong cup of coffee or it is one of the best bases for something like this Cinnamon toast or a rich Brioche Butter Pudding. It's available easily in the bakery section in the form of a loaf or there are packs of 6 small brioche loaves.

I used a combination of Cinnamon and Vanilla in my toast which went beautifully together, but to give it an Indian touch you could use Cardammom or Nutmeg powder and a bit of Saffron essence. These spices taste great too. My mom used to make it with Cardammom.

What you need:
6 thick slices of Brioche
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup milk
4 to 5 tspns sugar
1/2 tspn cinnammon powder,
1 tblspn vanilla essence
Some sugar to sprinkle on top
Butter or oil for lightly frring the toast

Method:
Mix together the milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and pour this mixture out into a shallow dish . This makes it easy to dip the bread slices into the batter and soak the mixture.
Heat a frying pan or a skillet or tawa and coat it generously with butter or oil.
When the pan is hot, dip a slice of bread on both sides into the egg milk mixture and put it on the pan. The pan should be hot enough so that there is a sizzling sound . Lower the heat to medium after a minute so that the bread cooks to a beautiful golden colour without burning.
Turn the toast over to the other side and cook this side until golden and crisp as well.
Do all the slices in the same way.
While each toast is still hot sprinkle sugar on it.

That's it . Your Crispy Golden Cinnamon Toast is ready for you to enjoy.

Spicy Chicken Burgers (Simply delightful and very satisfying)

2010-03-03T19:19:00.002Z

Hi everyone! I am so glad to be posting again. Last week was a good week food-wise . I tried out a few new recipes and they turned out pretty neat. One of them was this burger recipe that was a complete hit. Recently I have taken to watching re-runs of 30 Minute Meals by Rachel Ray and there is something about that show that really inspires me to just get up and spend time in the kitchen trying out recipes. It's probably Rachel enthusiasm on the show and the very homly no-fuss dinners that she makes that I find very appealing. So a few days back I saw her cook some burgers and cole slaw and I decided then that I wanted to cook burgers for dinner too. I already had chicken in the fridge. But I also wanted really spicy burgers.

So I surfed the net for some good burger recipes and was completely impressed by a recipe put up by Kevin on his blog Closet Cooking. Its a fab idea to use curry powder for burgers. My family just loved these burgers, so thanks Kevin for a great recipe.I tweaked it a bit here and there to suit my taste and it came out awesome.

What you need:

500 gms chicken mince (you could buy chicken breast and mince it in your processor)

4 spring onions finely chopped,

1 cup finely chopped coriander

1 tblspn minced ginger

1 tblspn minced garlic

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tspns lemon zest,

4 tspns hot curry powder,

2 tspns chilly powder,

2 to 3 tblspns tomato ketchup

salt to taste

To assemble the burger you need:

Burger Buns,

Mayonnaise,

Lettuce

Tomato slices

Cheese slices

Ketchup or Hot Jalapeno Relish

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients well , but do not overmix. Use a gentle hand. This prevents the chicken patties from drying out.

Shape them into equal sized patties shallow fry for 10 to 12 mins turning them once over half-way through.

Assemble the burgers as you like and enjoy with some oven chips and a glass of icy coke.

ENJOY!!!! I know we did

Coconut Strawberry Cupcakes

2010-02-22T17:39:00.002Z

A very BIG HELLO to all of you after almost a million years. Yes that's what it feels like to me today. Last post I put up was in October last year and after that I have kind of gone into a winter sleep where blogging is concerned. But that's only where blogging is concerned. A lots happened since then. The first break happened because my parents were here to visit us and ofcourse with them here obviously blogging was the last thing I could find time to do. They had a great stay and we did the touristy trips with them all over UK.

After they left I got a job. YES A JOB!!!! Isn't that great? I now work in a Primary School as a Learning Support Assistant and I am happy with my job. That's the second reason why I am not actively blogging. I am ofcourse cooking and entertaining but I now cook mostly in the evenings and my food pics taken in the evening are horrible. I have to also admit that many a times the food is eaten and polished off before I can photograph it. So no blog posts!

Then in Dec I went on my annual trip to India for 5 weeks. I spent the most fabulous 5 weeks there eating everything that I had missed in the last one and half year. It was simply great being back in Pune and riding my Honda Activa and driving the Santro. We had a blast and my son loved it. In his words "Aai INDIA ROCKS". What else did I need to hear.

But now I have been back since one month and things have fallen back into a routine with school and office and other activities and I am definitely back on the blogosphere.

A week back I baked these little cakes from a recipe from one of my most used books and that is The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking by Tarla Dalal. Now in the book these cakes are called Madeleines, but I prefer to call them just "little cakes" as traditionally a Madeleine is a shell shaped cake eaten at tea time and which is baked in special shell shaped moulds, so for me these are just small cakes or cup cakes which have a delicious coating of strawberry jam and dessicated coconut. These cakes come out beautifully each and every time and no matter how many I make they are never enough.

Note: These cakes need to be ideally baked in individual cup cake moulds, but I do not have those and baked them in a muffin tray which worked just fine

I have followed the recipe from the book word to word, and here it is for you.

Ingredients:

115 gms sugar
115 gms butter
2 medium eggs
115 gms self-raising flour
1/2 tspn lemon or vanilla essence (I used vanilla)
1/2 tea cup milk approx
red jam (I used strawberry jam)
dessicated coconut

Method:

Sieve the flour
Cream the butter and sugar very well until light and creamy
Beat the eggs well
Add a little of the egg mixture to the butter and sugar and beat well. Gradually go on adding eggs beating well all the time. If the mixture curdles, add a little flour ,mix well and then continue adding the eggs.
Add the sieved flour and enough milk till the batter has a dropping consistency.
Add the essence.
Grease and dust your muffin tray or the cake moulds and fill upto 3/4 with the cake mixture.
Bake at 400 deg F for around 20 mins.
Cool the cakes
Warm the jam and brush the cakes with the melted jam.
Roll the cakes in dessicated coconut.

The cakes are now ready to eat. Try these they are simple to make and taste awesome

Delicious Butter Chicken with the Restaurant Taste

2009-10-23T13:14:00.005Z

Hi everyone ! So Diwali is behind us now and so are all the rich sweets and treats. So it's time for something different now. I tried out this Butter Chicken a few days back and it turned out pretty good and tasted just like the restaurant one we get in India. I checked out a recipe from http://www.videojug.com/ which is a fabulous site with very clear and step-by-step easy videos on how to make lots and lots of delicious recipes. Do check it out yourself sometime. I almost followed the entire recipe just as shown except for one step, and that is regarding pre-cooking the chicken. On videojug they have sauteed the chicken before adding it to the curry but I find that makes the chicken very chewy. So I grilled the chicken breasts in the oven until completely cooked and then cut them into bitesize pieces.

You will need…
2 chicken breasts,
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, crushed
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp ground almonds
220 g can of whole peeled tomatoes/ or chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp fresh coriander or spinach, chopped , 1 heaped tblspn kasoori methi (which was not in the original recipe )
salt and pepper

Method:
Step 1:
Smother the chicken breasts with the vegetable oil and season well with salt and pepper
Step 2:
Grill the chicken breasts in the oven at approx 200 deg C for around 30 mins or until completely cooked .
Step 3: After removing from oven let it rest for a few minutes before cutting it into bite-size pieces and put it aside
Step 4:
In a frying pan melt the butter.
Step 5:
Fry the onion with the cinnamon.
Now add the onion and cinnamon and fry together in the pan.
Step 6:
Add the remaining ingredients.
At this point add the crushed garlic, crushed ginger, turmeric, chilli powder, almonds, peeled tomatoes, tomato paste and the natural yoghurt. Stir all of the ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
Step 7:
Bring to the boil and cook.
Bring the ingredients to a boil and stir for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 8:
Add the chicken.
Put the chicken back into the pan and combine with the other ingredients.

In last stage of cooking add the kasoori methi. Before adding it microwave it for a few seconds and then crush it slightly between your fingers to release it's flavour.
Step 9:
Add the fresh coriander.
To compliment the dish, garnish with coriander,or fresh spinach ,or finely chopped spring onions and mix with the sauce.
Step 10:
Serve steaming hot and eat up with Naan Bread or Rice!

Wish you all a very Happy and Delicious Diwali

2009-10-17T07:10:00.002Z

!! दीपावलीच्या तुम्हा सर्वांना खूप खूप शुभेच्छा !!

!! Happy Holidays to all on Food-n-More !!

It's just around the corner now!

2009-10-12T20:30:00.002Z

Yes, it is ,isn't it? Diwali is almost here now and I am so excited. I am completely into the Diwali fever. And this is inspite of the fact that I am in the UK where things are definitely nowhere as exciting as they are back in Pune. I have started preparing the snacks and am also going to make a Aakash Kandil very soon to hang outside my door. Well maybe not outside but definitely inside my house.
I made two snacks today. I started with those that keep the longest. They are Chiwda and Shankarpale. Two classic Diwali snacks . And today I will share with you the Shankarpale I made.

These are All-Butter Shankarpale and believe me they just melt in the mouth. I know Shankarpale are normally made with ghee but try them with butter and you will love them.
So here we go:
Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter,
1 cup + 2 tblspns water,
1.5 cups sugar,
approx 750 gms plain flour
oil for deep frying

Method:
Put the butter ,sugar and water together in a heavy bottom pan and heat gently just until the sugar completely dissolves
Switch off the heat immediately,
Set aside and let this mixture cool down
When it is cool start adding the flour and go on adding it until you have a medium soft dough (Dough should not be too soft , nor too firm. I have stated the quantity of flour as 750 gms but that is only an approx measure)
Once the dough is kneaded cover it and and let it rest for 1/2 hour
Then divide it into equal sized parts and roll out each part thinly.
Cut out diamond shapes and fry on a moderate heat until light golden in colour.
Drain onto a paper towel and store in a air tight container when cool.

That's my first recipe for you this Diwali . I plan on making a few more snacks which too I would love to share with you so do come back again soon and check them out.

!!!Happy Diwali Cooking!!!

2009-10-05T13:08:00.006Z

Hi everyone! Yes I am back after ages, but that's because earlier my parents were here and then after they left I got a job. So I have been keeping very busy and that has resulted in my not being able to give much time to my dear blog. But of course that does not mean I am going to stop blogging completely, no way. I love blogging way too much to give it up . So here I am back again.
Just last Saturday my friends and I got together with families for our pot-luck dinner at my place. Each one of us got one lovely dish and that made up a very very sumptuous dinner. It is so much more fun when each one plays a part in the cooking . You might have made a certain dish hundreds of times but it tastes so different and interesting when someone else cooks it. Like the Pav Bhaji that my friend Ash makes. It's delicious with a capital D . Praj in our group is the Basundi expert. So obviously she made that except this time we added Haldirams Rasgullas to the Basundi and turned it into a mouth-watering Ras Malai . And of course there is Jyoti who loves to cook and have people over to eat all the delicious South Indian delicacies that she creates . So she brought along Chitraanna , which is mildly spiced rice with lots of lentils and peanuts in it.
My contribution was Dahi Wada, which all of us just love . So this is what I will share with you today.

Ingredients for the wadas:
3 cups urid dal (Split black lentils) soaked overnight
1 cup fresh grated coconut,
10-12 chillies,
3 tblspns cumin
2 to 3 tspns sugar
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Ingredients for the yogurt mix:
1 litre and a little more thick whole milk yogurt,
sugar to slightly sweeten the yogurt,
3 tspns of ginger paste,
1 tspn cumin and coriander powder each
salt to taste

Ingredients for the tempering:
3 tblspns of oil,
2 tspns mustard
10 to 12 curry leaves finely chopped
1/2 tspn asafoetida (hing)

Method:
Soak the urid dal overnight or at least for 5 to 6 hrs,

Grind the soaked urid dal finely along with the grated coconut, chillies , cumin, salt and sugar . While grinding the dal add water in small quantities only as much as needed to aid the process of grinding.
Keep aside for a little while.
Prepare the yogurt by whipping the yogurt to a smooth consistency.
Add some milk to the yogurt to give it the consistency of a thick pouring sauce. Mix in the sugar ,salt and ginger, cumin and coriander powders.
Before frying the wadas keep a large pan of lukewarm water at hand . Add to the water a little yogurt and mix it well . This water is used to soak the fried wadas .
Now heat the oil and drop tblspnfuls of wada batter into the oil and fry on a very moderate heat. This is important for the wada to cook well right upto the centre. If the wadas are fried too fast the centres remain uncooked.
After frying the first few drain them onto some kitchen paper and let them cool . After they have cooled pop them into the lukewarm water and let them soak in the water for a while until they become slightly soggy
Repeat this process with all the wadas, putting them in water only after they have cooled slightly
Note: if hot wadas are put in cold water they remain hard at the centre, so let them cool first.
When all the wadas have been put in the water squeeze out the water from each wada by pressing it gently between your palms and place them flat one next to the other in your serving dish.
Pour over the prepared yogurt evenly over all the wadas
Prepare the seasoning by adding the mustard seeds to hot oil. When they begin to splutter add the hing and the curry leaves and switch off the gas.
Spoon this seasoning over the dahi wadas carefully . Sprinkle some chilly powder over the finished dish and garnish with coriander . Let your guest help themselves to the date and tamarind sauce
Also offer your guests extra cumin and coriander and chilly powder .

This makes a wonderful side dish during a meal or a main snack at tea time

Ganapati Bappa Moraya

2009-08-22T16:33:00.008Z

Hello after a very long time. I know I have been away from my blog but I just had to come back today to wish you all Ganapati Bappa Moraya!! I hope you all enjoy the Ganapati festival just as much as I do with my family here in UK.

My parents are here to visit and we have been very busy doing all sorts of activities with them and that's the reason behind my absence from the blogging world. Thanks to all those who have sent me lovely mails in this past month. I will return to regular blogging soon . I promise. Till then have a great time celebrating the Ganapati festival wherever you are in the world.

I leave you today with 2 Ganapati special recipe posts from last year. Hope to find them useful.

What I have for you today is a very special dish made particularly on Ganesh Chaturthi as it is Ganapati Bappa's favourite. It is Modak. The one I have for you today is the fried and the steamed version .

Ingredients:
For the outer cover :
1 cup Plain Flour,
2 tspn Fine Semolina,
3 tblspn very hot oil
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling:
210 gms fresh shredded coconut
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cardammom powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg powder

Procedure:
Filling: (Filling can be prepared one day in advance and kept ready)

1. In a heavy bottom pan mix the coconut, jaggery and sugar on a moderate to low heat . Keep stirring until the the mixture loses moisture and becomes slightly dry. This takes about 10 t0 15 minutes .
2. Switch off the gas and then sprinkle the two spice powders and mix well. The mixture is ready. Optionally you can make it richer by adding raisins, broken cashewnuts etc. Keep the mixture covered until you need it.

For the outer cover:
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Keep covered for at 30 minutes.
2. Before using soften the dough by drizzling a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) on it and pound it in a pestle and mortar. This is very tedious but very neccessary. It makes the dough pliable.
3. Now make small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a thin puri.
4. Place it on your palm and put a tspn full of filling in the centre. Pinch the sides of the puri at regular intervals and close the modak firmly from the top. Place the modak on a plate and cover the dish with a clean wet cloth so that the modaks do not dry out .
5. Make all the modaks in the same way.
6. Deep fry 3 to 4 modaks at a time on a moderate to low heat. Let cool and then store a container.

The steamed version of Modak is even more delicious. Follow these steps carefully and you will have the most gorgeous modaks on Ganesh Chaturthi

Ingredients (For 7 to 8 Modak):
For the outer cover:1 katori very fine Rice flour (sieve the rice flour to get a fine and soft flour),
1 katori water,
a pinch of salt,

Ingredients for the sweet stuffing
:2 cups fresh grated coconut,
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 tspn cardamom powder,
1/2 tspn grated nutmeg

Procedure for Outer Cover:
1.In a steel container mix the rice flour ,water and salt to make a smooth paste
2. Pressure cook this paste like you would do for dal in a pressure cooker, (thats about 3 whistles and simmer for 5 to 7 mins)
3. Let the pressure cooker cool for a while before opening it.

Procedure for the stuffing:
1. While the pressure cooker cools down prepare the stuffing.
2. In a heavy bottom pan mix the grated coconut and jaggery and cook the mixture for 20 to 25 mins on a very low heat, stirring frequently
3. After switching off the heat add the cardamom and nutmeg. Let the stuffing cool.
4. After the rice flour dough which is called Ukad has cooled down enough to handle ,oil your palms well and knead this dough till it becomes very pliable and soft enough to fill and shape into a modak. Along with oil also use water on your hands to further assist you with this.
5. Now make a lemon size ball of dough ,place it between two oiled plastic sheets and spread out the dough with your thumb to the size of a puri (see pic)
6. Place this puri on your wet palm and place a tblspn full of stuffing in the centre.
Make vertical pleats in the dough by pinching it at regular intervals between your thumb and forefinger (I wish I could show you a pic but I was struggling so much at this stage that holding a camera was simply impossible)
7. Now close the modak from the top by creating tapering shape .(Gosh! I am so bad at explaining this) But I guess all marathi readers will know what I am talking about and for others the final product should look like the modak in the main pic and the pic below. )
8. To steam these I used an idli cooker and idli moulds. Use any kind of good steamer. At home in India we normally place a soft muslin in a colander ,put all the modaks in it and then place the colander just inside the rim of the pressure cooker and steam for 15 to 17 mins. Alternatively they can be steamed in an electric rice cooker too.

Imp Note: Before steaming, dip each modak quickly in water and then place in the steamer. This prevents the modaks from cracking
Serve with generous dollops of homemade ghee. No ! don't say no to Ghee. You must have Ghee (or Sajuk toop as we call it) with Modak.
ENJOY!!!!

Kutcchi Dabeli

2009-06-24T13:11:00.003Z

You all probably know from many of my previous posts that we friends have regular tea get-togethers on Fridays. It gives the kids a chance to have a great time on the last day of the school week and it gives us ladies an excuse to meet and chat and eat tasty snacks. Well this week it was my turn and my choice of snack was this ever -popular Kutcchi Dabeli. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kutcchi Dabeli ,it is a Gujarati snack ,it's name being derived from the place Kutch in Gujarat. But it is a very very popular street food in Maharashtra and is probably just one place below Vada-Pav which tops the best-seller list of street-food.

Very surprisingly though I never ate Kutcchi Dabeli when I was in college. Never even once. I ate it the first time here in England when a friend made it . I just loved it and have ever since wondered why I never ate it earlier. I mean if it tastes so good at home it must be great when eaten on the road-side, right?? Well I definitely will find out the next time I am in Pune ,which unfortunately is not so soon. So till then I will keep making it at home.

Now Kutcchi Dabeli needs a special Masala /Spice Mix which is easily available back home, but not here in UK. The most popular brand is Siddhi Masala , so I had my sister bring me a few packs of that when she last visited. But it can be substituted with cumin-coriander powder and garam masala which is also a blend of the same spices just probably in different proportions.
So now on to the actual process :

Ingredients for approx 12 Dabelis:
12 soft rolls /buns
1 kg potatoes boiled ,peeled and mashed,
1 pack of Dabeli Masala (100 gms) OR
2 tblspns each of coriander and cumin powder, 2 tblspns of garam masala, 1 tblspn of chilly powder,
Salt to taste (you don't need any salt if you are using the dabeli masala . It has everything in it.)
Date and Tamarind Chutney,
Red chilly and garlic chutney (blend red chillies, garlic salt and sugar together in a blender with a little water)

For the garnish:
Seeds of one or two pomegranate,
Sev,
2 finely chopped onion,
Salted/spicy peanuts
Finely chopped coriander

Method:

Boil and mash the potatoes and keep aside,
In a pan heat 4 to 5 tbslpns of oil , add to that the mashed potatoes and all of the 100 gms of dabeli masala or the alternative spice powders with the salt. (Remember no salt if using the Dabeli Masala) and mix it all well. Your filling is ready.
Spread out this filling evenly on to a large plate and garnish generously with all the garnishings as you see in the pic. It looks very pretty.

To serve:

Split a bun in half and spoon both the chutneys in it first, then put about 2 tblspnfuls of potato filling on top .

Put some more salted nuts and sev if you wish.
Top again with date and tamarind chutney and close with the top part of the bun.
Butter the bun on both sides and brown it nicely on a tawa/flat pan.
Serve hot

Wheat and coconut cream pudding

2009-06-07T11:57:00.004Z

A couple of days back my good friend Kavita left UK and went back to India for good. Before leaving she gave me a bagful of groceries that she had left over and obviously couldn't finish before she left. This is a normal practice amongst us friends . Whenever one of us is leaving for good we kind of have a grocery distribution programme between us . The person who is leaving accumulates all the store cupboard groceries that she cannot use up and asks us to take what ever we fancy . So everyone kind of gets to explore her groceries which is fun . Although of course it is no fun to have one of your group leave forever. It leaves a kind of empty void that is very difficult to get used to.

So this time along with other things I got something that I had never used before. She had a container full of hand-threshed whole wheat from her family farm back home in India. So it was of the best quality ever. K said her mom-in-law and sisters in law make a kheer out of it although she had never tried it herself it UK. My initial enthusiasm on recieving it faded a bit when I saw the whole grain and wondered how I would cook it. I have cooked bulgar wheat before but this was something else altogether.

So I tentatively cooked it in my pressure cooker with some water. Thankfully it cooked beautifully and the kheer or pudding that I made from it turned out just fabulous. I cooked it in coconut milk and the taste was mind-blowing. So thanks to K for that! Bulgar wheat being widely available and imparting the same taste is my recommendation as a substitute to the wheat I used for this pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Bulgar Wheat,

1 can of coconut cream

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut,

3/4 cup jaggery (or use light brown muscovado sugar)

a generous pinch of saffron,

1/2 a tspn of cardammom powder

1/2 cup approx milk (to thin the kheer if needed)

2 tblspns ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Cook the Bulgar wheat with the grated coconut and some water in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

In another pan heat the ghee and add the cooked wheat and stir for a couple of minutes

To this add the coconut milk/cream from the can and stir it in well,

Next add the jaggery/sugar and the saffron . (you can soak the saffron in warm water or milk for some time but it's not neccessary)

Now simmer the kheer /pudding for a good 20 to 25 minutes on a very low heat, stirring occasionally so it does'nt stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you would like it a bit thinner in consistency add the milk. Remember it becomes thicker and thicker as it cools down, so it a good idea to have it a bit thinner than you would like when it is hot.

Switch off the heat after 25 mins and sprinkle the cardammom powder and stir it in well.

This pudding tastes good warm or chilled. We love it chilled. So I chilled it in the fridge for an hour before serving. To serve decorate with cashews or almonds or any dry -fruit of your choice.

S.P.D.P

2009-06-03T08:50:00.005Z

Have you heard of the abbreviation S.P.D.P before? Well if you are from Pune or have lived in Pune for a while you are sure to know what I am talking about. It's the most popular dish in the most popular cafe in Pune. The dish is Sev Potato Dahi Puri , a tantalising combo of crisp puris filled with boiled potato, beaten yogurt, sweet and sour tamarind chutney, hot chilly and mint sauce, finely chopped onions and tomatoes all topped with more yogurt and crispy sev. In short it is heavenly.

The cafe is of course Vaishali on Ferguson College Road . For those of you who don't know Pune so well Vaishali is the most popular hangout for people of all ages in Pune. Mostly frequented by college going teenagers, it is also a favourite with ladies who come there in groups maybe for theie kitty parties or just to catch up on the latest with their friends , with people who come there for steaming hot idlis and delicious coffee after a session of tennis or badminton in the morning , and of course with pensioners who come there to relax and enjoy the youthful atmosphere . It is considered a great achievement to get a table in Vaishali as soon as you get there. Normally you need to wait at least 10 to 15 mins unless you are fortunate to know a waiter there who will be kind to procure a table for you at once.

So coming back to S.P.D.P it is a dish I have eaten umpteen times at Vaishali and have of course replicated it at home on many occasions too. I made it a few days back and could barely spare a few puris to take a picture of the dish. In my family we are notorious for devouring all kinds of chaat items in a matter of minutes

Making this in the UK requires a bit of planning as the puris are available only at the Indian grocers (you can make them at home but I find that a bit tedious ) and you must have plenty of coriander ,mint and chillies at hand not to mention tamarind and palm sugar or demerara sugar for the chutney .

So you need:
1box of Pani Puris or flat Puris (whichever you prefer, it is easier with the pani puris as they are puffed and therefore easier to fill )
2 large potatoes boiled and coarsely mashed,
3 to 4 cups of sprouted moong beans (this is optional but I recommend it , soak green moong lentils one day earlier and then wrap them up the next morning in a thin cloth till they sprout )
1 large onion finely chopped,
1 large tomato finely chopped,
Sweet and sour tamarind chutney (recipe given below)
Chilly and mint sauce (recipe below)
2 cups beaten yogurt (add a little sugar and salt to this)
Chilly powder to sprinkle on top
Chaat masala to sprinkle on top (available at Indian stores)
Fine Sev (available at Indian stores)
Fresh coriander for garnishing

Whew!! thats quite a list.

Prepare ahead:
Tamarind Sauce or chutney
Boil a handful of tamarind fruit in water till the tamarind goes all soft and pulpy, let it cool a bit, then check to see that there are no seeds in the pulp, remove seeds if you find any. Strain this boiled tamarind so that you have a smooth pulp left ,
Add double the quantity of palmsugar (jaggery) to the pulp, 1 tspn chilly powder, 1 tspn salt, 1/2 tspn each of cumin and coriander powder and blend it all together in a blender. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning. If you find it too sour add more jaggery and blend again.
Your tamarind sauce is ready

For the mint and chilly sauce:
Blend together a handful of mint leaves, 3 green chillies, and a handful of coriander with 2 to 3 tspns of lemon juice and a tspn og salt. Add a little amount of water while blending but keep it to a minimum as we do not want a very runny sauce.

Now the assembling:
To serve place 6 puris on a plate. Make a hole on the top of each one them to put in the different fillings.
First put in the boiled potato bits, then come the sprouted moong beans, now the onion and tomato, , next add the yogurt and the two sauces, and finally top it all with plenty of sev, another lashing of yogurt and season with chaat masala ,chilly powder and salt. Garnish with corainder and serve.

Don't get discouraged by all the prepping that is involved. The final product is worth every bit of effort it takes

Mango Mastani (It's seriously addictive)

2009-05-19T11:11:00.004Z

My memories of enjoying a Mango Mastani go back a long long way, right to the time when I was about 10 years old. I mean today Pune has some fabulous Mastani places where the Mastani is sold in many different flavours but back then my dad used to take us to a small place , a stall actually, located at Saras Baug (readers from Pune will know the location ) . It was called Vasant Cold Drink House . It belonged to a friend of my dad's and he and sold the most awesome Mango Mastani made from fresh Alphonso mangoes and made in a hand turned ice cream maker. Eating this Mastani was a luxury and at a price as low as Rs.10.00 per glass it was practically free considering today's prices. A Mastani today costs around Rs.60.00 to 70.00 at Sujata Mastani in Pune .

So every time I think of Mastani I always remember that small place which gave me my first taste of this beautiful beautiful dessert. No wonder it's also got this royal name . Mastani was a danseuse and wife to Bajirao Peshwa . She was a stunning combination of beauty and bravery that history recollects and it is said that her skin was as smooth and delicate as porcelain. Well our Mastani is just as beautiful, don't you think?

So here's my version of the Mango Mastani:
As it the Mango season I used fresh mangoes but otherwise just go ahead and use canned mango pulp, but preferably Alphonso mango.

To make 2 tall glasses of Mastani you need:
Pulp of 1 large Alphonso Mango or 2 medium ones (or of course the equivalent in canned pulp)
1.5 glasses of cold whole milk,
4 tpns sugar
lots of ice cubes
And good quality mango icecream or mango kulfi (I used kulfi)

Method:
Whizz up the milk ,mango , sugar and ice in a blender until thick and frothy. Pour out into tall glasses upto three quarters. Then put in 2 scoops of mango icecream on the top and decorate with cubed mango and some whipped cream . Put in a straw and a long spoon and serve chilled. Or drink it and go straight to heaven.

Other good variations are :
Rose milkshake and mango icecream,
Rose milkshake and pistacchio icecream,
Strawberry milkshake and vanilla icecream
But of course nothing comes close to the total mango version.

Five Star Dal Fry

2009-05-13T09:31:00.003Z

See guys I have kept my word and am posting every few days now. In fact I keep rushing to take pics every time I have a dish ready to serve. I just hope I can keep it up.

So this is a dal that I have for you today . I make this quite frequently for dinner as it is a good change from the regular Amti (a maharashtrian dal preparation) that we make practically everyday . I call it 5 star dal fry not because I first ate it at any 5 star restaurant or something but because it is a combination of 5 different dals, which makes it a powerhouse of protein. The special touch comes from cooking it in pure ghee rather than everyday sunflower oil. The ghee even when used in small quantities imparts a delicious taste and aroma to the dal which has everyone helping themselves to seconds and thirds. I very often cook this dal when I am out of fresh veggies . As there are 5 lentils in here it more than provides all the nutrition to make a balanced meal and as it is thick in consistency it is also very filling

Currently as it is the mango season we try to have aamras (fresh mango pulp) for dinner whenever possible. In India we have it each and every day in summer until the Alphonso is in season but here in England we are not so fortunate although this year we have got some of the best Alphonso which we bought in Kingsbury , London. So with aamras on the dinner plate vegetables tend to take a back seat which none of us really mind as it is temporary. So on such occasions this dal really completes the meal beautifully.

So here goes:
Ingredients needed:
Fill a cup with equal quantities of :

Toor Dal,
Yellow Moong Dal,
Masoor Dal,
Whole masoor and
Chana Dal
1large tomato chopped,
1 onion chopped,
3/4 cloves of garlic minced,
2 to 3 dry red chillies,
2 tspn coriander powder,
3 to 4 tblspns ghee,
2 tspns jeera (cumin seeds)
1/2 tspn hing (asafoetida)
1 tspn turmeric powder,
1 tspn chilly powder (optional)
8 to 10 fresh curry leaves,
salt to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

Wash the dals together and cook with double quantity of water and a pinch of salt and 1 tspn of turmeric powder in pressure cooker as you would for any dal.
In a pan heat the ghee and temper it with the cumin seeds, hing, and red chillies and curry leaves,
Next add the chopped onion, and garlic and fry on moderate heat until onion turns light golden in colour.
To this add the chopped tomato and cook further for a few more minutes,
Now add the coriander powder, and a little turmeric powder and cook further . Add a little amount of water at this stage.
Next add the cooked dals and stir well. Add more water to make it as thin as you like and bring it to a boil. When it begins to boil turn down the heat and let the dal simmer for about 20 mins.
Check the seasoning, you might want to add more salt and also more chilly powder to the dal at this stage.After 20 mins on simmer switch off the heat . Turn out the dal into you serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander and enjoy with rice , chapatis or parathas.

You can even add a dollop of butter to the dal just before serving . It's sinfully indulgent but tastes simply awesome.

Very wholesome Chapati and Egg Rolls

2009-05-07T09:09:00.003Z

Come summer and my mind goes into the "Quick Recipes Mode" or the QRM as I like to call it. I mean it's simpy impossible to toil over the hob for hours at a stretch to cook elaborate meals . And the weather in UK being so kind for once , you just have to make the most of it and spend time outdoors as much as possible rather than in the kitchen.

So currently I am constantly on the look out for recipes requiring minimum time but with no compromise on taste and full flavour. As you must have derived by now from my previous posts I fancy all kings of wraps. I just love making wraps. They are quick and easy to make , delicious and a single wrap can hold the nutrition of an entire balanced meal. And most important of all is that in my family all three of us like them just as much. So everybody is happy.

Yesterday I made these chapati and egg wraps for my lunch and they tasted so good I just have to share them with all of you.

What you need is:

2 chapatis (homemade or readymade store bought)
2 eggs
1 spring onion finely chopped,
1/2 cup fresh sweet corn kernels,
2 mushrooms finely chopped (I used chestnut mushrooms),
1 tblspn grated cheese,
salt and pepper to season (you can replace pepper with chilly powder too),
Oil to cook

Method:
In a pan heat the oil and gently saute the spring onions , mushrooms and corn for a few minutes.

Crack the 2 eggs in a large bowl and beat lightly.

To the eggs add the sauteed spring onions ,mushrooms and corn.

Add the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Beat the mixture gently together and make 2 omelettes .

After the omelettes have cooled a bit lay out one omelette on each chapati , dot it with your favourite sauce, and roll up tightly.

Cut each roll diagonally into two pieces .

Your lunch is ready. These are awesome also in a lunch box or to carry on a picnic. Enjoy with a salad accompaniment or a glass of juice.

Blushing Pink Raspberry Smoothie

2009-05-01T08:53:00.004Z

Hey ! Here I am back again so soon . I said I was going to break the bad habit of taking long breaks and I have kept my promise. So what do I have today? Well it's this deliciously refreshing raspberry smoothie that is my son's favourite . And mine too actually although given a choice I really prefer to eat the raspberries just like that . They are so delicious and have sucha heady aroma that I can never have enough. It's very funny actually because believe it or not there was a time when I was not particularly fond of this fruit, but that was because I had yet to taste really great tasting raspberries. I now buy mine from M& S and they are perfect everytime. They are sweet and deliciously tart and I just want to buy them by the kilo. My son and I actually fight over who has eaten more raspberries from the box and who gets the last one. Very often it is I who get to eat more because of course I am snacking on them when the poor guy is in school but then I compensate him by making this yummy smoothie which definitely goes down a treat with him.

Surprisingly he doesn't mind that it is pink in colour, because otherwise he will run miles from anything that even closely resembles the colour pink. He has all these typical (for a 7 year old) ideas of pink is only for girls but this he doesn't mind hmmm!!!!

So we made this yesterday.
This is how:
Ingredients:
Approx 1 cup fresh raspberries (I froze them for an hour before using them)
1/2 cup plain yogurt,
1 cup chilled whole milk,
2 to 3 tspns sugar
5 to 6 ice cubes

Method:
In the blender first put in the milk and yogurt and then put in the frozen raspberries and sugar and ice. Putting the liquids first prevents the raspberries from jamming your blender mechanism.
Give it all a good blitz until nice and frothy and serve.
Raspberries also combine well in taste with mangoes in a smoothie. Try that once too.

Yummilicious Paratha Frankies

2009-04-28T13:43:00.003Z

Hi everybody! I am back after my long break again. These long breaks are becoming an annoying habit you might say , but it is one that I definitely intend to break very soon. Anyway, how have you guys been? I have missed you all too. What I have for you today is something I thought of today morning at 5.00 o'clock when I was disturbed out of my sleep and just could not go back to sleep again. And our mind you know has this annoying habit of immediately kicking into action with all kinds of thoughts rushing in which makes it even more difficult to sleep.

So my mind turned to the most nagging of thoughts and that was what to pack in the lunch boxes. Fortunately there was paratha dough already ready in the fridge, but as that was what we had had for dinner there was no way I could repeat the same in the lunch boxes . Well not as an ordinary paratha anyway. But then I remembered the block of paneer in the fridge and the mixed frozen veggies in the freezer and I had my lunch boxes all planned in minutes.

So I made paratha frankies . They are tasty, wholesome ,convenient to carry and a great change from regular chapatis and vegetables or sandwiches. So much so that my husband called up from office to say that he had enjoyed his lunch. Great!!!

So to make the parathas you need:

2 cups wheat flour, 3 cups of finely chopped spinach, 1 cup finely chopped carrots, 2 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2tspn chilly powder, 1 tspn turmeric powder, 1tspn each of cumin and coriander powder, 1 tspn of ground saunf, 1.5 tspn sugar, salt to taste, 2 tblspns oil .

Knead all the above into a medium soft dough and and cook the parathas a little thinner and larger than a roti.

For the filling you will need:

1 onion, 1 and a half tomato, 1 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2 cups mixed vegetables chopped finely (I had the frozen mix which contains peas ,corn,beans and carrots), 200 gms paneer, 2 tblspns tomato ketchup, 2 tspn pav bhaji masala, 2 tspn cumin seeds, 2 tspn chilly powder, 1/2 tspn turmeric powder, salt to taste, and oil for cooking.

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
After a few seconds add the chopped onion and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute
Next add the chopped tomato and let this cook for at least 2 to 3 mins
Now come the chilly powder, turmeric , and pav bhaji masala along with the vegetables. Let the vegetables cook on a low flame. When they are cooked add the salt and ketchup.
At the last stage add the paneer which does not need any cooking . Mix it all gently together until the paneer is coated with the spices.
Give it a taste and adjust seasoning accordingly .

To serve take a paratha and spoon about 2 tblspns of filling on it and roll tightly. To put in a lunch box wrap the roll in foil so that the filling does not fall out while eating.

Enjoy!!!

Amazingly Delicious Paneer Potato Bites

2009-03-26T10:40:00.003Z

A very warm Hello to all my dear readers. Sorry I have been away for so long. Had a lot of other tasks to do and somehow in all the rush to do 20 things at the same time it is always my blog that takes a back seat. But it is never far from my thoughts. Whenever I cook something different from the ordinary my mind is planning out how I can present this on Food-n-More. In fact in the last fortnight it so happened twice that I did make some tasty snacks and was determined to take pics of the dishes but somehow I left it too late and the food was over and gobbled up (don't ask by whom) before I could get my camera out of it's case. But not this time. This time I did take pics before anyone had a chance to set eyes on what I had made. And what did I make? Yes these very delicious ,crispy and mouthwatering Paneer Potato Bites.
They were practically made in minutes . They are a great starter for any party or get together and my friends loved them. So will you!

Here's what you need:
1 large potato and 1 small one cooked ,peeled and mashed
150 gms paneer grated
2 cubes of cheddar cheese (approx 40 gms),
a handful of fresh mint leaves finely chopped,
some coriander (optional)
cumin and coriander powders 1 heaped tspn each
1 tspn sugar,
1 tspn garam masala,
1 and 1/2 tspn chilly powder
salt to taste
Oil for frying

1. Mix all the above ingredients together (except of course the oil) very well .
2. Make small bite sized balls and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil and fry the balls until golden (hardly takes a few seconds)
4. Serve on cocktail sticks with your favourite dip. I used Thai Sweet Chilly Sauce.

Now wasn't that quick?
N.B : I fried them a little before my guests were due to arrive and left them in the oven at 100 deg C. They were nicely warm and crispy when I served them. These are excellent finger food for kids' parties too.

Happy Holi everyone !

2009-03-09T09:16:00.004Z

The Spring Festival of India, Holi which is on the 10th of March this year is a festival of colours. Celebrated in March or April according to the Hindu calendar, it was meant to welcome the spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land. As with all the Hindu festivals, there are many interesting legends attached to Holi. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali.

Special sweets are prepared on Holi with the Puran Poli taking the place of pride and in the evening friends come together around a bonfire which is a representation of burning away all that is evil and starting afresh. It is a festival of fun and frolic and the exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable. The day after Holi is called Dhulwad in Maharashtra and is celebrated by splashing colours and water on each other. This is particularly popular with teenagers and collegians who are seen going around the city in large groups on their bikes and scooters having a fantastic time.

So coming back to Puran Poli this is what I have for all of you today. Puran Poli is the like the heart and soul of Maharashtrian cuisine and and it's a true test of your cooking skills. It's a skill not just learnt from a cookbook but something that is handed down generations. The best Puran Poli I have eaten is the one made by my mother-in-law. They are just the ultimate and I really have to keep a check on how many I eat . Having said that I also take great pride in saying that my own Puran Polis come out beautifully as well considering the fact that I make them only once or twice a year. My family loves them and we can never have enough. So I have to share them with all of you, don't I?

For those to whom Puran Poli is a new dish, Puran is basically a sweet stuffing made from chana dal and jaggery. Poli is a flat bread. This puran is stuffed in dough and then rolled out gently to make Puran Poli which is eaten with loads of melted ghee. It is heaven on earth.

Here's how I go about it:

Ingredients for the Puran:

1.5 cups chana dal

1 cup jaggery

1/2 cup sugar,

1/4 tspn grated nutmeg

1/4 tspn cardammom powder,

1/8 tspn saffron strands soaked in warm water

1/4 tspn salt,

3 cups water to cook the chana dal

Ingredients for the outer cover or Poli

1 cup wheat flour finely sifted

1 cup plain flour (maida)

1/4 tspn salt

8 to 10 tblspns of oil to knead the dough,

1 cup rice or plain flour to dust while rolling out the poli

Method for cooking the Puran:

Ideally the chana dal is cooked in a open saucepan till it gets soft and mushy but I prefer to cook it in a pressure cooker as that is much faster and and I don't have to watch it all the time. So place the chana dal with double quantity of water and pinch of turmeric in a pressure cooker container and then pressure cook it . I cook it for a little longer that I would cook normal dal .

While this is cooking prepare the dough for the poli. Mix the 2 flours and salt and form a soft dough by adding enough water. Pour all oil and knead well. The quantity of oil seems a lot but believe me it is necessary to make a delicious puran poli. Leave the dough covered for 1 to 11/2 hour.

When the dal is thoroughly cooked and mushy remove the container from the cooker and drain the excess cooking liquid from the dal. This is called Kat and is used to make a delicious spicy soupy meal accompaniment called Katachi Amti.

What I do now is blend the dal well with a hand mixer still it is smooth with absolutely no grainy texture. Then place this dal ,the jaggery and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and cook it on a low flame stirring frequently till the mixture thickens to the point where if you insert a serving spoon in it , it will stand in the mixture. This is how experts test it. Finally add the nutmeg , cardamom powders and the soaked saffron and give it all a good mix . Switch off the gas. Stirring the mixture frequently is important as it sticks easily to the bottom of the pan.

After the Puran has cooled you can rolling out the Puran polis by taking a ball of dough and thrice as much puran . Roll out the dough a little then place the Puran over it and pulling all the edges to the centre close the mouth of the dough. Dust a small amount of flour on the surface and on the rolling pin and gently roll the poli ensuring that the puran is evenly spread inside without breaking out of the dough.

To roast you need the tawa (skillet) just moderately hot. Roast on one side then flip once and the poli is done. Do not over cook. This is a delicate creation and treat it accordingly. To serve melt ghee and spoon generously( and I mean really generously) over the poli and with some warm saffron flavoured milk alongside. Serve hot.

Delicious Chicken Wraps (Like they say"No one can eat just one")

2009-01-21T09:51:00.005Z

I am a cook of varying moods. I guess we all are to some extent. What I cook each day is to some extent ruled by my mood on that particular day. Many people get the impression that because I run a food blog I am completely besotted by cooking and the kitchen. But that's not always true.
I have also read and heard people say that cooking is relaxing. Not for me. It can be very exhausting at times .I feel cooking can be relaxing only if you do it once in a while. It also depends on where you are when you are cooking. For eg: cooking in the UK where the weather is mostly cool is OK. It does not make you all hot and flushed. But I have also cooked in Pune and Mumbai where the temperatures are soaring quite often and cooking is the last thing you want to do in such weather . And that too Indian cooking which has you standing at the hob for at least an hour doing all the stirring and frying and rolling out piles and piles of chapatis. Not a thing I relish always.

So when I have one "I don't want to cooking moods" what do I do? Well , the answer to that is not always easy. Sometimes I have to go through the entire rigmarole because that's the healthiest option for everyone in the family. But not to worry , there are other healthy options as well . And this dish today always comes up trumps with my family. There is minimum fuss with maximum taste and you don't even have to switch on the gas if you have shop bought cooked chicken.

What you need is:
For 4 people:
8 tortilla wraps (I buy "wheat and white")
approx 3 cups cooked chicken (shredded)
hummous
mayonnaise
3 grated carrots
lots of fresh crisp lettuce
hot peri peri sauce (or any other hot sauce)
grated cheddar cheese

Method:
First spread generous amounts of hummous on a wrap
Next spread the shredded chicken,
Top this with grated carrot and crispy lettuce
Dot it with hot peri peri sauce and sprinkle the grated cheddar last
Roll up the tortilla tightly and cut into 3 or 4 pieces to make it easier to eat.

There you have a healthy and hearty meal ready without having to toil over the cooker hob for hours. If you wish have your favourite soup along with it (that too a canned one ) to make the meal even more filling. You can replace the chicken with canned tuna or mackerel and vegetarians can replace the chicken with paneer.

Enjoy

Fritatta

2009-01-16T13:22:00.004Z

Fritatta is something I have always been fascinated with but never cooked. For that matter until a few days back I had not even tasted a fritatta. But somehow it just always managed to catch my attention from pictures in food magazines and food blogs and of course food shows on TV. On one of my shopping trips I even bought a oven proof pan particularly with the intention of making a fritatta. I just loved the idea of eating a big fat omellete filled with all kinds of delicious veggies, cheeses and mushrooms.

Well last week I was at the surgery (that's what a doctor's dispensary is called in UK) to see my GP . ( Reason for which was I had a nasty fall 2 weeks back and have been making quite a few trips to the doctor's for treatment on my leg which I hurt very badly.) So while I was sitting in the waiting area for my name to appear on the electronic display I was browsing through a magazine and once again my attention was drawn to a very yummy pic of fritatta. I memorised the ingredients and the method of cooking and decided there and then that I would make a fritatta before the end of the week and I did.

What's the verdict? Well all three of us loved it. Infact each of us could have done with one more helping but there wasn't any left. It was delicious , very filling and very easy and quick to make. Despite having bought a pan specially for that purpose I ended up using a oven proof Pyrex glass dish because as it turns out the pan is not big enough to cook a fritatta for three people. So what do i do with that pan now? Ohh I am sure I will find some use for it.

The ingredients for a Fritatta for 4 people are:

6 eggs

6/7 chestnut mushrooms (or any other)

1/2 a bellpepper (any colour of your choice)

approx 7 tblpns of grated cheddar

1 cup of finely chopped spinach,

8 to 10 leaves of fresh basil (chop these just before adding to the eggs)

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 deg C

In a bowl break the eggs and add all the other ingredients to it. From the cheese add only half of it and keep the rest for spreading on top. Season well with salt and pepper

Grease a oven proof glass dish and pour the mixture into it. Place in hot oven. It takes about 20 minutes to cook . After 20 minutes (or when the fritatta has begun to set) open the oven door, partially slide out the dish and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Return the dish to the oven and cook further until the cheese melts and turns slightly golden.

Let it cool slightly before cutting it into triangular wedges. This dish can be eaten at breakfast, lunch or supper. It can even be carried on a picnic.

Try it ! You will love it!

Ruby Red (Click :January 2009: Red)

2009-01-12T10:23:00.005Z

It's been ages since I participated in Click. For those of you who are not aware of this event (although I really doubt that there is any food blogger who is not aware of Click), it is a fabulous photography event hosted by the very talented Bee and Jai at there blog Jugalbandi each month.

An event completely devoted to good photography. An event that motivates amateur photographers like me to try and come up with something different everytime and to keep taking better and better pics . I just love it.
But as I said it has been a very long time since I participated for various reasons, but when I saw what the CLICK theme was for the month of January I knew I wanted to participate and post this photograph of Ruby Red Strawberry Jelly as my entry.

I hope all the viewers (and judges of course ) like it just as much as I do.

White peas with Sweet Potatoes (Some simple cooking after a very sweet Christmas)

2009-01-06T20:39:00.008Z

Hi and a very bright and beautiful New Year to all my avid readers. May all your troubles this year be as short-lived as your New Year's resolutions:>)

So! ! I am back again from one of my long breaks . I know I have been taking so many long breaks between posts that I think you all are probably tired of hearing my reasons. But please hear me out one more time. The break in blogging started because of the Christmas holidays. 2 weeks of sheer relaxation. I like Christmas holidays particularly as it is a holiday without having the stress to celebrate the festival as we don't celebrate Christmas . Well we do it a little bit just for my son who still believes in Santa and reindeer and all the Christmassy bits that are so important and delightful to a child . So we have some fairy lights in the house and of course he has a Christmas stocking and his Christmas present of course.

But basically what the holidays mean is husband and son at home . (i.e son for 2 weeks of course and husband only for the long Christmas weekend and on New Years.) , no getting up early to pack lunches and no nagging them both to get out of the house on time for school and office late brunches and generally a sense of taking everything easy . I was practically getting up at half past eight everyday. Felt guilty sometimes but I easily pushed the guilt away. That was not difficult at all.

Before the Christmas weekend we made sure that the fridge and store cupboard were well stocked , made a trip to the library for some good books and magazines and DVDs to loan and we were set. What more does one need? Right? Christmas Day and the next two days were spent playing Monopoly with our son. It was great . The three of us really enjoyed our time together. I also did quite a lot of cooking (you have to cook a lot when all of you are at home). But that meant I could not find the time to blog. All the time was spent by the three of us together, eating , playing games, going out, visiting friends and of course visiting the sales on Boxing Day.

But now it's back to routine. I am alone at home again doing my thing while hubby and son have gone to their respective places of duty. The festivities are over and everything is back to normal which includes the cooking. No more puddings and cakes and mince pies in my kitchen. We have had our fill. Since a couple of days I have started googling the name of whatever vegetable I have in my fridge and checking what the net has to offer . It's the best way to come up with different combos and different ways to cook that same old veggie.

This time I had soaked a cup or two of dried white peas ( that's not chana ) and wanted to cook them with another veggie. Normally I use dried white peas only to make Ragda Patties . But yesterday I cooked them with sweet potato and the result was delicious to say the least. All three of us loved it with chapatis. It was simply cooked with no fuss and minimum spices. The dish looked beautiful too because of the sweet potatoes which are a beautiful coral colour.

Here are the ingredients :

1.5 cups of dried white peas to be soaked overnight (they increase in quantity to a little more than 2 cups after absorbing the water)
1 medium sized sweet potato cubed (keep them immersed in water until you need them so they do not discolour)
1 small onion chopped,
3 cloves of garlic finely crushed,
1 large tomato chopped
3 tblspns oil,
2 tspns mustard seeds,
1/2 tspn hing (asafoetida),
1 tspn whole cumin (jeera),
1 tspn each of coriander and cumin powder,
1/2 tspn turmeric powder,
1 tspn sugar,
some fresh chopped coriander,
salt to taste.

Method:

Cook the peas in a pressure cooker with some salt and the turmeric powder.
In a pan heat the oil and temper it with the mustard seeds, hing and cumin,
Next add the chopped onion and garlic and fry for a few minutes on moderate heat,
Now add the tomatoes and cook further,
Add to this all the spice powders (coriander,cumin, chilly and some more turmeric). Cook these on low heat for a further 2 minutes.
Now add the 2 star ingredients : Cooked white peas and the sweet potato cubes, add 2 cups of water
As the peas are already cooked and sweet potato cooks very fast you will need to cook these further for a very little time just until the sweet potatoes are done and the spices are nicely mixed and absorbed in the whole curry. Add more waterwhile cooking if you find it getting too thick . Stir in most of the chopped coriander into the dish and use the remaining to garnish just before serving.

Eat with hot rotis or jeera rice. It makes a very simple but hearty and healthy meal.

Layers of Chocolate Delight (For a sweet Christmas)

2008-12-17T16:04:00.006Z

A very warm Hello after a long time. I believe we all need all the warmth we can get in this cold cold weather. My long break this time is due to the fact that my broadband connection was cut off and I could not access the internet for quite some time. But all is fixed now I am back. While I was away from blogging I did do a couple interesting things that I would love to share with you all.

I sold my first cake ever . Yesss ! I did. It was at the Christmas Bazaar in my son's school that I got the opportunity to do so. They had a cake stall at the bazaar and I made a Banana Cake. I was very happy .

And secondly I gave my first ever cooking lesson. OK maybe calling it a cooking lesson will be an exaggeration, as it involved only showing a friend how to prepare some Indian dishes. But all the same I did prepare for it very thoroughly. I showed her Chana Bhatura and Paneer Tikka . The Paneer Tikka will soon feature on Food-n-more. I really enjoyed doing it.

So doing these two things in the last 2 weeks has given me great joy. Today I am going to share with you another dish that I tried out a couple of days back for the first time.It's a very quick Chocolate Pudding. I saw this one on TV . It's a dessert that has maximum flavour with minimum efforts and ingredients. It's simply delicious and with the Christmas holidays coming up, it's the thing to make.

Ingredients:

200 gms dark chocolate,

200 gms double cream,

250 gms ready to eat custard,

one small plain sponge cake coarsely crumbled (or any other plain cake),

Method:

Place a heat proof glass bowl over a saucepan with simmering water, break the chocolate into small pieces, place these in the bowl and melt the chocolate slowly. Take care that the water in the saucepan is just simmering and not boiling. Also the base of the glass bowl should not touch the water.
After the chocolate has melted set it aside and let it cool down.

In another bowl whip the double cream until it has soft peaks,

When the chocolate cools add the chocolate to the whipped cream and fold it in gently.

Next add to this the custard and again mix it in gently. This mixture has the same consistency as that of a mousse. And it's delicious to eat even at this stage. But let's take it a step further .

I used ordinary glasses to serve this pudding. In the bottom of the glass first put a layer a layer of the chocolate mousse, then a layer of crumbled cake and then again a layer of mousse and continue alternating these layers till you come to the top. at this stage chill the pudding well . When serving decorate the top with a big dollop of whipped cream and grate a bit of chocolate for a special touch.

Believe me your guests will be asking for seconds. I am now going over with this delicious treat to Tasty Treats where JZ of Tasty Treats is hosting Santa's Holiday Challenge, a fabulous Christmas Event which will showcase all kinds of delicious Christmas Sweet Treats.

Quick Coffee Cake in a Microwave

2008-12-02T10:43:00.003Z

For past few days hubby and son keep craving something sweet after meals. I mean my son has always favoured sweet more than spicy but hubby dear is going even further and asking for desserts everyday. It's quite unusual for him. It's probably all the Christmassy ads on TV showing all different kinds of yummy desserts that is causing these cravings. It's also maybe because it's winter it really feels nice to tuck into a hot dessert after dinner while sitting warm and cozy in front of the telly.

So I just went out and bought a few ready to eat desserts that can be like warmed up in the microwave for a few seconds. But then I also browsed the internet for some easy to make desserts and came across some pretty good stuff. What caught my eye this time was this very fast to make Coffee Cake that can be baked in 5 mins flat in the microwave. I am great fan of "coffee anything" and immediately got down to making it.

There was also a butter frosting in the recipe and I had my usual doubts about it. I love frosting in moderation as long as it is not very very sweet and does not completely overpower the original taste of the cake. But I went ahead and made it anyway. I am glad I did. The coffee flavoured butter icing was delicious. It really enhanced the taste of the entire cake and the cake tasted even better the next day. This recipe makes a lot of batter so I made 2 cakes instead of one large one

Here's the recipe:
Preapare two microwave proof dishes by greasing with butter and dusting them with flour.

Ingredients:
225 gms or 1 cup salted butter (butter has to be really soft at room temp)
225 gms or 1 cup sugar
225 gms or 2 cups plain flour
5 eggs (also at room temp)
45 ml or 3 tblspns coffee essence
1 tblspn cocoa powder (this was my addition to the recipe as coffee and cocoa really enhance each other
1 tspn baking powder

For the frosting:
2 tblspns coffee essence
1 tblspn instant coffee dissolved in 2 tblspns on water ( this is also something I added to the recipe to the make the frosting brown in colour)
175 gms butter
150 gms icing sugar

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar together until really soft and light.
Add to this the eggs one by one beating well after adding each egg
Add the coffee essence and cocoa powder next and stir in well
In another bowl sieve the flour and baking powder together
Slowly fold in the flour completely and evenly into the wet mixture. Do not over mix.
Pour the mixture equally into the 2 bowls and bake one at a time in the microwave at full power for 5 mins.
Let the cakes rest for another 4 /5 minutes.
A cocktail stick inserted should come out dry.
Wait for the cakes to cool completely before turning them out and icing them.

For the frosting mix all the ingredients and smooth the frosting over the cake . To get best results use a palette knife (which I do not have). I used the star nozzle to decorate the borders.

I think this is a good cake to make for the Christmas holidays

My Tribute to the Real Heroes of India

2008-11-29T18:46:00.005Z

A very quick and very delicious rice

2008-11-19T12:35:00.004Z

On weekdays I eat my lunch alone. Hubby and son both having carried their packed lunches along with them are never at home for lunch on a weekday. Now I am a person who loves one dish non-fussy meals. Hubby being a bit of a traditionalist where eating is concerned likes elaborate meals and so when I cook a Maharashtrian meal for the three of us (which is every evening ) I cook Bhaji, Amti, Chapatis some form of Koshimbir or salad and sometimes rice. It takes about an hour and a half to cook all this from scratch. Gets a bit monotonous when you have to do it almost everyday, though I admit I do prepare pasta and garlic bread and stuff like that and all three of us are very happy eating that too. Why wouldn't we be?

But then when I eat alone I try to make food that requires minimum amount of time cooking but is at the same time filling, nutritious and full on flavour. No compromise there. Some days back I made this rice with whatever was available in my fridge. I was surprised at how good it tasted. It was hot, spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time. And although I couldn't wait to dig in I had the good sense to take a picture of the dish. And am I glad I did. I can share it with all of you today.

Ingredients:

3 cups leftover cooked rice,

1 onion sliced,

1 tblspn readymade garlic paste from a bottle

1 cup cooked and shredded chicken,

1 cup assorted diced vegetables (capsicum, carrots,peas corn, sugar snap peas)

2 spring onions finely chopped,

2 tblspns tomato ketchup,

2 tblspns soya sauce,

1 stock cube of OXO veg,

salt to taste

Oil to cook

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok, and stir fry the sliced onion ,garlic and all the veggies until cooked but still with a bite to them

2. Next add and stir in the shredded chicken and crush and sprinkle the OXO stock cube over it. As the chicken is already cooked it does not require any further cooking.

3. Now add the rice, both the sauces and salt. Toss it all well but with a light hand. As a final touch add the chopped spring onions . These come at the end as a garnish.

Your rice is ready to eat. You can replace the chicken with scrambled eggs or skip both and make it completely vegetarian. The star ingredient here is the tomato ketchup. That is what lends the rice that awesome flavour. It is bit of cheating but who is complaining.

Vegetable and Chicken Stew (A very satisfying combo)

2008-11-14T11:28:00.005Z

Last whole week has been a nightmare. I mean something like a boiler breakdown in mid November leaving you with no hot water and no central heating is something that happens only on TV commercials where they are tying to persuade you to to purchase one particular brand of boiler, right? Wrong! It happens . It happened to us. Seven days ago the boiler made a series of very threatening sounds and then went completely silent. Result: No Central heating and no hot water running from the taps. Total nightmare.

The CH problem has been temporarily solved with a portable electric heater which our kind home-owner provided us with but no hot water means taking a bath with only one small bucketful of water ; water that has been heated in a big pot on the gas hob, no showers , and washing up the dishes all other pots and pans in ice cold water , which is ice cold even with rubber gloves on.

My one major concern was doing up the washing up in the evening after dinner. The idea of washing dishes in cold water in the evening is something I just could not bear. So I decided that till I had this problem I would cook dishes that would be one dish meals ,could be cooked in one big pot and eaten in disposable plates or bowls.
Now a thick soup is something all of us love at home. So I knew this stew would definitely be agreeable to all three of us. It's yummy, very filling, nutritious and the perfect thing to eat with a piece of nice crusty bread on a very wintry evening.

So Stew it was: A vegetable and chicken stew made with frozen veggies and small chunks of chicken.
Ingredients:
3 cups of mixed frozen vegetables (the variety I had was peas , carrots, corn and beans)
1 cup finely diced chestnut mushrooms (use any other you like)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage,
1/2 cup cooked rice (I had some leftover in the fridge)
1 onion finely chopped,
2 cloves of garlic crushed,
2 cups of chicken cubed (uncooked)
2 cubes of OXO chicken stock (use any brand you prefer)
5 cups of water
1 tblspn cornflour
2 tblspn butter (can be replaced with 3 tblspns of oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes on a moderate heat until they are light brown in colour.
2. Add all the other vegetables in there frozen form , cabbage and the chopped mushrooms.
3. Next add the cubed chicken and saute until chicken turns white on the outside.
4. Add all the water now and bring to a boil. (The quantity of water is approx ,add more if you like) . When the water reaches a boil crush the stock cubes in it stir well and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken pieces are completely cooked .
5. Now mix the cornflour in a small amount of cold water and add this to the stew. Keep simmering until the stew thickens. At this stage add the cooked rice. Then add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with big chunks of warm crusty bread.

This a very heart -warming stew. Children love it and is also great for people recovering from any illness. And of course great when you have no hot water to do the washing up:;)

Nankatai (Earthquake cookies ??)

2008-11-06T20:24:00.006Z

I was asked a couple of days back by my son's teacher if I would like to come to school to celebrate Diwali Day. They were celebrating it a little after Diwali as the school had it's half term break exactly during the Diwali break. I was asked whether I would be interested in doing some cooking so that the children could have a taste of some Indian food. I was definitely interested and it really got me thinking as to what I could make. It had to be something that children found attractive , didn't take too much time to cook and had an Indian touch to it. Making Diwali snacks was totally out of question as we all know that most of the snacks that we prepare for Diwali are very very time consuming and also require concentration.

So I asked Google for advice and I also did some blog hopping but finally the idea came completely on it's own accord . " Nankatai": The delicious Indian cookie. I knew it was a great idea as it is quick to make does not require too many ingredients and as the school has a oven baking was no problem. I had also seen it being made on UKTV Food by a very talented Indian Celebrity chef and I thought if he can make such a simple dish on national television I could definitely present it in my son's school. But before I finalised it I had to take a trial at home . The quantity of each ingredient had to be determined and how many cookies would I make in one batch. And so I did. I followed a recipe from here with a few changes here and there of my own.

Ingredients:
1 cup maida (plain flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup castor sugar
2 tsps chopped almonds

1 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp saffron soak in 1 tbsp hot water

Method:
Seive flour and baking powder together. Mix ghee and sugar till creamy. Add the flour mixture,the saffron and cardomom . Knead well and make into small balls. Flatten and place on lined tray. Dip a fingertip in water and dab on the centre of each ball of dough. Bake in oven till cooked for about 20-25 mins at 375 deg.

Now what actually happened is that after I made these ,tasted them and passed a satisfactory verdict on them I spoke to a friend about them . She was of the opinion that although Nankatai was a great recipe to make as such , all said and done it was a biscuit; a biscuit that tasted very similar to Scottish Shortbread which most children in UK have eaten thousands of times. So would it not be better to do something else a bit more Indian.

She suggested Instant Dhokla and I came up with the idea of Amrakhand. And these are to the 2 dishes that finally made it to the school Diwali celebrations. I hung 1 kilo of Greek Style yoghurt overnight . In the morning I mixed in sugar and cardammom in it. After putting it in a plastic container it was ready to carry to the school. Along with I took along a can of Alphonso mango pulp so that the children could mix the pulp and the yoghurt themselves and make their own Amrakhand

I also took a pack of Gits Dhokla mix and my idli stand to the school. Within minutes of arriving at the cooking area I had the first batch of idli shaped Dhoklas ready . I offered the children the choice of topping their Dhoklas with fresh coriander and coconut and a tempering of mustard but most of them were happy just munching on the plain Dhoklas. A few even asked for seconds and I was so thrilled.

The Amrakhand idea was also a complete hit. The kids loved mixing mango with yogurt and polished off all the Amrakhand from their little cups before asking for seconds and also thirds. You can imagine how nice it felt . The teachers were also very happy with the way things went and they too got a sampling of the Dhokla which they loved.

So in the process of deciding what to cook at school I discovered how easy it was to cook Nankatais. Why do I call them Earthquake cookies? Well in the evening when my husband saw them and the huge cracks on them he asked me if there had been an earthquake after I made them. Ha ha ha!!!

Wishing You All A Very Bright And Sparkling Diwali

2008-10-27T14:49:00.007Z

Hello people! I hope you all have a fabulous and fun-filled Diwali .

Finally it took a big event like Diwali to get my blog out of hibernation. It's been a whole month since I blogged. That must be my longest ever no-particular-reason break I have taken. But no more. I am very much back. Last whole week I have been practically tied to the kitchen counter concoting all different kinds of Diwali snacks and although it's been a bit tiring I have enjoyed every moment of it. It's really only once a year that I devote so much of my time to the kitchen and so it's really welcome. I love the challenge and am thrilled when the end products turn out well. Seeing friends and family members eat the treats and rave about them is priceless. And I am very lucky to have friends who are very generous with their compliments.I feel so happy to recieve the compliments that I can hardly eat any of the snacks myself. I am completely filled with joy at just seeing people enjoy the food that I have worked so hard to make.

Karanjis made with fresh coconut filling

Now every year it is my ambition to make one such thing for Diwali that I have not cooked ever before. Mind you it doesn't always get achieved, but it is something I hope to do every year. This year I had my heart set on Bakarwadi. For those of you who are not familiar with it , it is the snack that you see on the left in first pic above. It's a savoury snack which is a speciality of Pune my hometown. I don't think there exists a single soul in Pune who has not eaten Bakarwadi. It is something we Puneites adore and are very proud of. Visitors from other cities always have the Bakarwadi at the top of their shopping list to take back home . Its popularity has even taken it to the US . Unfortunately I have not yet seen it anywhere in the UK markets and it is something we get to eat only when a friend goes on a visit to India and gets back some for all of us here.

So I thought it would be nice if I could make some at home. And so I tried. Verdict? They turned out quite nice and went much beyond my expectations. The taste mind you was not exactly the same as the shop variety but hey it was my first attempt and I am sure they will turn out better with every attempt.

Here's how I made them. I followed the recipe from a Marathi Cookbook called Swayampak by Sindhutai Sathe. The recipe although not difficult has several components and so many ingredients which need to be combined.

Ingredients:

For the outer cover:

3 Cups plain flour, 2-3 drops orange food colour (I did not have this so did not put any), 4 tblspns very hot oil, 1/2 tspn salt, 1 tspn red chilly powder, water to form a dough.

For the Filling (which is called Bakar):

3 tblspns toasted poppy seeds, 3 tblspns toasted sesame seeds, 1 cup roasted dessicated coconut, 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander, 1 tblspn grated onion (squeeze out all the onion juice completely ) 1 tblspn lemon juice, 3 tblspn sugar, 1 cup fine sev.

Seasoning:

3 tspn red chilly powder, 6 cloves of garlic finely crushed , 1 inch garlic finely crushed, 8 to 10 leaves of fresh mint, salt to taste.

Spices:

1 tblspn coriander powder, 1 tblspn cumin powder.

Method:

Combine all the above components in a dry grinder and grind them coarsely. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning. The taste should be a combo of sweet, sour ,salty and spicy.

Mix all the ingredients for the outer cover and form a moderately stiff dough. The hot oil in the dough makes the rolls crisp on frying. Make dough balls the size of a golf ball . Taking one dough ball at a time roll out into a thin roti and spread the filling to cover the entire roti. Then roll up tightly like a cigar. Hold the roll vertically in your palms and press it gently to elongate it further. Place it back on the platform and cut into one inch pieces.

Similarly make all the wadis and then deep fry them slowly at a moderate heat. Frying them at a moderate heat in important to make them crisp.

Try them .

Other Diwali treats on Food -n-More are:

Coconut Laddoos

Jhatpat Chiwda

Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune have been the pioneers in making the most delicious Bakarwadis for decades now . To see some mouth-watering sweets and snacks and a clip of how Bakarwadi is commercially made click here.

***WISH YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN A VERY GRAND DIWALI ***

Simply Delicous Eggless Semolina Cake

2008-09-29T09:16:00.003Z

I have for a long time now been on the lookout for a good recipe for eggless cake and there are a quite a few on the net. Some advise the use of extra baking soda and some instruct you to use sparkling soda water. I even went looking for those egg replacement substitutes in my food store but could not get my hands on any. So I tried my hand at one recipe which had a substantial amount of soda-bi-carb in it. What happened was initially the cake rose beautifully but a few minutes after I had removed iy from the oven it fell flat. So flat that it got a stodgy texture and was simply impossible to eat. Even my 6 year old son who normally eats anything sweet quite happily refused to accept this one. So I gave up on it for some time.

Some days back though when I was planning the menu for a tea time get together for my friends I recollected this awesome eggless semolina cake that my aaji (granny) used to make in a non-stick pan when I was a child. At that time the concept that my aaji could make any kind of cake was itself very amusing to me . I mean I come from a middle class marathi family where cake baking was done only by a few moms in those days so something like that done being done by a grand mom was simply unheard of.

Now to come back to the cake , I remember I loved it and always ended up eating quite a lot of it. So I called my mom in Pune and asked her about it. She said that the recipe was in some old marathi cookbook and she would look it up for me. And so she did .

It's my habit now to try out a certain dish in a small quantity first before cooking it in a larger quantity for entertaining. That's what I did with this one as well and the end result was so good that this recipe has gone into my lists of personal favourites forever. Thanks to you Aaji!!
The only hitch here is that the cake is made with semolina and not flour so it has a grainier texture than an ordinary cake. But believe me it tastes awesome. So do try it out.

Recipe:
1.5 cups semolina,
1 cup milk,
1 cup plain natural yogurt,
1/2 cup butter,
1.5 cups sugar,
1 tspn baking soda,
1 tspn vanilla essence or almond essence (almond essence is lovely),
3 to 4 tblspns of sliced almonds for sprinkling on top (optional),
a pinch of salt

Method:
1. Mix the sugar and yogurt thoroughly so that the sugar completely dissolves,
2. Then add all the other ingredients to the yogurt. Now let this batter stand for an hour. Keep it covered . This enables the semolina to soften completely before baking.
3. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 200deg C and grease and line a baking tray with baking paper.
4. After one hour pour the batter into the prepared tray and sprinkle the sliced almonds all over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden in colour and a cocktail stick inserted comes out clean . Wait for it to cool before slicing it. If it does not easily come off the tray do not force it out but slice it in the tray itself and remove the slices carefully with a broad knife or a fish slice.

It's a great after school snack or even a lunch box treat for kids. Store it in the fridge after a day and warm it in the microwave for a few seconds every time you serve it. Tastes even better after a day or two.

By the way I did not make this for my last tea party as I was not feeling too well ,but it's a must make next time I have my friends over.

Hot Crispy Spicy Samosas (Just the thing for a rainy day)

2008-09-23T11:20:00.003Z

Just the thing to eat on a rainy day. That's what came to my mind when I made these. Crispy and spicy they are the kind of food that everyone fantasizes about on a wet rainy day, don't we? . So for a perfect ,almost Utopian afternoon indulge yourself with these samosas , make yourself a hot cup of alyacha chahaa (ginger tea) to go with them , settle down near a window where you can see the rain pouring outside with a book by your favourite author and sink into complete bliss. Wow!! Wouldn't we all just love that!
Well to bring this into reality you have to first start making the samosas at least. Right? Well here goes then.

I made these with Filo Pastry and that made my task oh so easy. I used Filo for the first time and was not sure how exactly to go about it but the instructions on the pack were so clear with such good illustrations that it was a breeze.

For the Filling I used:
3 cups frozen green peas (I thawed them in the microwave before cooking them)
1 onion chopped finely
1 cup dessicated coconut
Paste of 5 to 6 green chillies,
1 tblspn minced garlic
1/2 tblspn minced ginger
1 tblspn garam masala
1 tspn red chiily powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tblspn whole cumin
1/2 tspn hing (asafoetida)
1 tblspn sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Oil for cooking
salt to taste

Method:
Before starting the actual cooking I put half the peas in a dry grinder and coarsely ground them while leaving the other half of the peas whole. This lends a nice texture to the filling.

1. In a heavy bottom pan heat 2 tblspns of oil and add the whole cumin first. After a few seconds add the hing followed by the chopped onion. Fry the onion lightly . Doesn't have to be browned.
2. Next add all the spice powders and the green chilly paste and fry further for about half a minute.
3. Now add the green peas (crushed and whole), coconut ,salt ,sugar and lemon juice. Give it all a good stir. Add a little water to the mixture and cover and cook until the peas are completely cooked. Keep adding small amounts of water intermittently if the mixture becomes too dry.
4. Give it a taste and adjust all the seasoning as necessary. Let the filing cool completely before assembling the samosas.

Assembling the samosas:
Now the Filo pastry that I bought was the frozen kind and came in a pack of 6 sheets placed one on top of the other. I left the pastry in the fridge overnight to defrost and then at room temp for 1/2 an hour before using it. I cut all 6 sheets at once into 4 long strips each measuring about 2 inches in width. So I made 24 samosas from one pack.

Place a tablespoonful of the filling at one end of a strip and pull the left corner of the sheet diagonally to the right so that it forms the first triangle . Keep rolling the samosa further in the same way maintaining the triangle shape.
Apply a few drops of water to the last bit of the sheet to seal the samosa tightly. Assemble all the samosas in the same way while keeping the ones already done covered so that the pastry does not dry out.

Fry the samosas in hot oil at moderate to high heat and serve with a combo of mint chutney and hot and sweet tomato sauce. These go very well together.

Mini Egg Rolls (Perfect for the school lunch box)

2008-09-16T20:03:00.002Z

It's been quite a few months since I shared any lunch box ideas so when I made these mini egg rolls for my son I knew they would make an appearance on my blog. But what put me into action sooner was my 6 year old . He had the egg rolls at school and liked them so much that when I asked him if he had enjoyed his lunch ,he said" Aai they were so good , you must put them on your blog".

So here they are. Basically a sandwich but put together in a more interesting way. I occasionally buy these cute little wholewheat rolls in a pack of 6 from M&S. They are healthy no doubt as they are not only wholewheat but also seeded and secondly just the correct size for little hands to hold. Plus they appeal tremendously to children as avery welcome change from the normal sandwich.

Though my son is very comfortable with most foods it is my constant endevour to get more and more veggies into him. So to make the rolls healthier I had a handful of chopped frozen veggies to the egg mixture. I also made mini omelets the same size as the rolls so they sanwiched perfectly in between .One large egg makes 3 mini omelets.
Let me tell you these rolls went down a treat.

Here's in short what I did:
For the omelets:
1 large egg,
a handful of chopped mixed veggies (carrots, sweetcorn, peas and beans)
1 tblspn grated cheese
salt to taste,
and I used a pinch of chilly powder rather than pepper because I feel that makes an omelet tastier.

Method:
Beat all the ingredients together and cook small omelets rather than one large one.
Butter the rolls and warm them a little
Sandwich one omelet in each roll, top with a dollop of ketchup and they are ready to be packed. Pack each individual roll in grease proof paper so they don't come apart.

Try it out and tell me if your child liked the idea.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya

2008-09-03T12:43:00.007Z

A very big Hello !!! to all my dear readers and blog friends. I am back after a very very long break and believe me I am now really really ready to blog again. My trip to India was super. It was one big social event. I was visiting friends and family left ,right and centre. Visited some nice restaurants too and ate lots of delicious stuff and inspite of all the hogging I did there I lost some weight. Isn't that amazing? I am very happy.

And here I am with my latest dish that I have just prepared minutes ago and is fresh off the stove. I couldn't have chosen a better day than today to start blogging again . Yesss! It's Ganesh Chaurthi today . That special festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated for 10 days with great pomp all over the state. Before starting any new venture we believe in praying to Lord Ganesh or Ganapati Bappa as he lovingly called in Marathi. It is believed that Ganapati can remove any obstacles that may be a hindrance in your way to success and that is the reason why any new venture is first started by praying to Lord Ganapati.

So I am definitely starting on a very good day. What I have for you today is also a very special dish made particularly on Ganesh Chaturthi as it is Ganapati Bappa's favourite. It is Modak. The one I have for you today is the fried version

Ingredients:
For the outer cover
1 cup Plain Flour,
2 tspn Fine Semolina,
3 tblspn very hot oil
A pinch of salt
Ingredients for the filling:
210 gms fresh shredded coconut
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cardammom powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg powder

Procedure:
Filling: (Filling can be prepared one day in advance and kept ready)
1. In a heavy bottom pan mix the coconut, jaggery and sugar on a moderate to low heat . Keep stirring until the the mixture loses moisture and becomes slightly dry. This takes about 10 t0 15 minutes
2. Switch off the gas and then sprinkle the two spice powders and mix well. The mixture is ready. Optionally you can make it richer by adding raisins, broken cashewnuts etc. Keep the mixture covered until you need it.

For the outer cover:
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Keep covered for at 30 minutes.
2. Before using soften the dough by drizzling a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) on it and pound it in a pestle and mortar. This is very tedious but very neccessary. It makes the dough pliable.
3. Now make small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a thin puri.
4. Place it on your palm and put a tspn full of filling in the centre. Pinch the sides of the puri at regular intervals and close the modak firmly from the top. Place the modak on a plate and cover the dish with a clean wet cloth so that the modaks do not dry out
5. Make all the modaks in the same way.
6. Deep fry 3 to 4 modaks at a time on a moderate to low heat. Let cool and then store a container.
This will make appoximately 21 modaks. The other version of Modak is the steamed version which is even more delicious. For the recipe click on the picture on the right side bar.

Have also updated Chintu cartoon strip after a very long time. Sorry for not having updated for so long. Do scroll down and take a look.

Much needed trip to India.

2008-07-07T12:57:00.003Z

A big Hello to all my dear readers after a long time. But with the big Hello also comes a tiny Goodbye. Nooo !! I am not giving up blogging, I am only taking a small break from it as I am off to India for my annual trip. This trip was due in Jan but had to be postponed till July due to one reason after the other. But yesss !! Finally we are going. I can't wait to meet my parents and my sister and also very eager to see my in-laws again. I have spent these last few weeks shopping for myself and for gifts to take back home and have really enjoyed myself. It's that one occassion when hubby dear does not mind loosening the purse strings a bit. And you can bet I take full advantage of it.

So I'll see all of you sometime in August. I am going to click loads of snaps of everything that my mom cooks and then when I am back again I'll share every delicious recipe with all of you. So it's bye from me for a few weeks. Try not to miss me too much!

Fresh Mango Yellow (Click: Yellow for Bri)

2008-06-23T10:40:00.006Z

My entry to Click:June 2008 {Yellow for Bri} is this delicious fresh and very tantalising Alphonso Mango. I clicked it with my Sony DSC-P73.

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account. This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

Delicious Summer Mango-Strawberry Trifle

2008-06-11T01:00:00.005Z

The Mango Mania in Maharashtra is something that words simply cannot describe . Alphonso or Haapus: The King of Mangoes is the one that grabs all the limelight and quite rightly so.

There is a palpable excitement in the air at the arrival of the Alphonso which makes an appearance in the markets in small numbers at the start of the season (which is from end March to May) . On it's arrival it is quite expensive. But by the time the harvest peaks it is all over the place and can be bought in large quantities though I would say the price is never really as low as that of other other ordinary fruit like apples and bananas.

It’s sweetness and flavour go way beyond the word “delicious” and is truly a “Slice of Heaven on Earth”.

The Alphonso takes it’s name from Afonso De Albuquerque : a Portuguese sailor who brought this exquisite and expensive variety of mango to Goa. The locals took to calling it Aphoos in Konkani and in Maharashtra the pronunciation further changed to Hapoos.

At my mom's this trifle is a must-make every summer. Not just once every summer but as many times as possible. It really is the ultimate trifle and all because of one magic ingredient. Yes, you guessed it.... the Alphonso Mango. If you have good Alphonso mangoes , you don't need any other fancy ingredients. The mangoes do all the work. They are the heart and soul of this pudding.

I was very lucky to get my hands on a box of excellent Alphonso mangoes a couple of days back. Now here in UK although Alphonso is available you can't eat it on the scale that you do in India. So when you have just 12 mangoes at a time to do with you have to think really hard how you can enjoy them to the fullest. The best way of course is the simplest way i.e. to slice them and enjoy the heavenly taste, but I thought I would spare just one of the mangoes for this pudding. After all once the mango season in India comes to an end you have to wait for next year to make this as it's not the same with tinned mangoes. So I urge all my readers particularly those in India and who have access to good Alphonso to make this pud at least once before the mangoes disappear .

I happened to have most of the other ingredients in my fridge. So I used:

1 large Alphonso cubed,

5 /6 strawberries cut into small pieces,

2 cups vanilla custard (I used ready to eat Ambrosia Custard)

1 cup strawberry jelly (I had set some the previous day for my son and had some leftover, but go ahead and use the ready to eat variety available in all stores),

4 plain cup cakes cut into thin round slices ( these too I had , but use any plain cake of your choice)

1/2 cup orange juice to soak the cake (use fresh or boxed)

Method:

You can decide from the number of people you are making it for whether you want to make the trifle in individual glasses or a large bowl .

1.Placed the cake slices at the bottom of each glass,

2.Drizzle the orange juice over the cake to soak it a a little,

3.Next top with mango and strawberry pieces,

4. Spoon jelly over the fruit

5. Pour custard till the fruit bits and jelly are completely covered,

6. Place next layer of cake and continue till you fill the glass completely leaving space for the top most layer of custard and top with more mango bits for decoration,

7. You can also use whipped cream as an option to top up the glasses.

Chill the trifle thoroughly (5 to 6 hrs) and then serve. Sit back and wait to be showered with compliments and a lot of OOHS and AAHS. Don't forget to save some for yourself though.

Cool and Classy Meeta of "What's For Lunch Honey ?" has announced "Mango Mania" as the theme for her Monthly Mingle and of course my trifle is making a grand entry there.

Do you have one of these?

2008-06-03T17:00:00.004Z

OK , guessing game over! When I posted this pic I knew with all the expert cooks that we have on the blogosphere that this one was too easy, but still I could not resist. So Srivalli ,the first one to comment was absolutely right. For those who would like to know what this is ,it's a Paneer Mold, or a Paneer Maker. I have one in India and now thanks to a friend who gave me her's when she permenantly moved to India from UK , I have one here too.

I used to very often make my own paneer at home in India. Whenever I made it people always exclaimed over how soft , creamy and fresh it tasted than the store-bought variety. But here in the UK this gadget (if you can call it that) has been lying at the back of the cupboard for ages. I love paneer but somehow I could not be bothered to make it at home here in the UK till date. But then last week with a surplus of milk at home and no space in my tiny fridge to store it all was when this Paneer Maker came out and was finally used.
After using it I was glad I did because the final product was so delicious that my son and I managed to greedily gobble quite a few paneer cubes as soon as I cut them out.

I used 1 lt of whole milk. Brought it to the boil and then added 1/2 a cup of vinegar to split it with the heat very low. Switched off the gas and covered the pan for a few minutes. Afterwards I strained it through a muslin placed in a sieve and gently squeezed out as much water as possible from it. I then placed the muslin pouch in the paneer mold , put the lid on and weighed it down with a large can of chopped tomatoes. After just one hour (ideally I should have waited longer... but no I was impatience personified) I removed the slab of paneer from the muslin and gently cut it into pieces. 1 litre of milk makes 200 gms of paneer approx.

Homemade paneer is much more delicate than the store one so it needs delicate handling. In curries it should be added at the last minute and stirred in very carefully. But don't worry it does not dissolve in the curry and holds very well. You can even fry it lightly before adding it to a curry. If you leave it in the mold overnight you will get the best result.

This mold is easily available in all stores selling steel utensils in India. I now think having one around in your kitchen is definitely worth it.

My First Awards Ever !!

2008-06-02T10:04:00.004Z

Last two weeks have seen some fantastic things happening on my blog. It started with the terrific response I got for my Sandwich Festival . When I decided to host it I had not anticipated the huge number of entries that would flood my mailbox. So something that was initiated by me very casually turned into a real grand festival and was I thrilled to bits about it. Thanks again to all those who participated. While I was still basking in all the limelight and the attention that was being showered on my blog I got two more lovely surprises.

The first one was THE YUMMY BLOG AWARD given to me by Suma of Suma's Cuisine.

Thank-you Suma for the Award and for thinking of me. As I told Suma this is the first award my blog has recieved till date and will always be cherished. As per the rules I have to mention 4 of my favourite sweets and they are:1. Rasmalai, 2. Jilebi, 3. Sutar Pheni, 4. Puran Poli

The rules also state that I have to pass on the award to 4 other bloggers who I think put up the yummiest looking treats on their blogs. It was a tough job but after some thought I have zeroed in on these 4:

Ketki of My Two Cents

Nupur of One Hot Stove

Priya of Akshayapaatram

Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cookbook

Congrats ladies !!

Now as if that was not jubilation enough for me that I recieved my second award in a matter of 4 days. This is the "You Make My Day" award. Hetal of Isha's Kitchen thought of me as a a suitable recipient for this award and my heartfelt thanks to her. Getting this award definitely made my day. I would now like to present it to Nandita , hostess of the very health-conscious blog "Saffrontrail" . Nandita's attitude towards cooking has always inspired me to make traditional recipes a bit more healthy without compromising on taste and flavour. So this one is for you Nandita and for Saffrontrail.!! Keep inspiring us to eat healthy!!

Spicy Chana Chaat {Click: Beans & Lentils}

2008-05-30T09:33:00.005Z

My Entry to Click:Beans& Lentils for the month of May is this lip-smacking and very moreish Spicy Chana Chaat. I could not decide whether to picture raw lentils and beans or something cooked. But this dish made the decision easier. It's a great side or starter with a casual evening meal with friends.

Toss together cooked chana (chick peas), boiled and cubed potato, chaat masala, slices of raw mango, salt ,chilly powder, lemon juice and plenty of fresh chopped coriander. Serve it as a starter or a side and watch it disappear in minutes.

I clicked this pic with my
Sony DSC-P73

The Sandwich Festival 2008 : Grand Round-Up

2008-05-26T09:09:00.011Z

A very big HELLO to all of you. Welcome to the Grand Round-up of The Sandwich Festival 2008. To say that the event was a success would be the ultimate understatement . We have 63 delicious sandwiches from Sandwich Lovers all over the world and you are going to be spoilt for choice. So now without any further delay let me take you on The Grand Sandwich Tour.
{Note: I have listed the entries one by one according to the horizontal rows}

1.Peameal Bacon Sandwich by Kevin of Closet Cooking

2.All Grown Up: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Stramato by Lalaine of The Cook Mobile

3.Veggie Toast by Hetal of Isha's Kitchen

4. Veggie Garden Burger by Karuna of Foodie by Nature

5. Vegetable Club Sandwich by Vandy of Vandy's Culinary Adventures

6. Muffuletta Sandwich with Olive Salad by Asha of Aroma Hope

7. Fish Sandwich by Homecooked

8.Tempeh Club Sandwich by Pavani of Cook's Hideout

9. Vegetable Frankie Wrap by Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar

10. Vegetable Chutney Sandwich by Madhu of Ruchii

11. Sandwiccia: A Focaccia Sandwich by Deeba of Passionate about Baking... & beyond

12. Kheema Sandwich by Sailaja of Sailu's Kitchen

13. Hashbrown Melt by Siri of Siri's Corner

14. Carrot Sandwich by Trupti of Recipe Centre

15. Bacon Cheese Sandwich by Maheshwari of Beyond The Usual

16. Spicy Veg Sandwich with Rasberry Vinaigrette by Cham of Spice-Club

17. Cold Tuna Sandwich by JZ of Tasty Treats

18. Spicy Sandwich by Uma of Essence of Andhra

19.Avocado Sandwich by Sita from "For Spicy Lovers"

20. Easy Vegetable Sandwich by Latha of Masalamagic

21. Avos+Chargrilled Veggies+Homemade Bread= Delectable Sandwich by Shibani of Pearls of East

22.Triple Decker Grilled Sandwich by Rashmi of "Delhi Belle"

23.Steamed Catfish Sandwich by Sig of "Live to Eat"

24.Refreshing Summer Sandwich by Priya of "365 Days of Pure Vegetarian"

25.Curried Sandwich by Pearlin of "Knotty Hands"

26. Tuna Sandwich by Pearlin of "Knotty Hands"

27. Green Sandwich by Pearlin of "Knotty Hands"

28. Mince/Egg Sandwich by Perlin of "Knotty Hands"

29. Chicken Sandwich by Pearlin of "Knotty Hands"

30. Kutchhi Dabeli by Hetal of Isha's Kitchen

31. Simple Sandwich by Neha of Tasty Recipes

32. Cumin Lamb Meatball Pitas with Mint and Apricot Dressing by Michelle of Greedy Gourmet

33. So Much More Than A Beef Sandwich by Kittie of Kittens in the Kitchen

34. Kutchhi Dabeli from Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

35. Toastizza by Roma of Roma's Space

36. Vegetarian BLT by Dana of Dulcedo

37. Pressed Grilled Veggie Sandwich by DJM of Isolated Foodie

38. Almond Pate by Suganya of Tasty Palettes

39. Chilli Paneer Sandwich by Supriya (Recipe at the end of this post )

40. Aloo Tikki sandwich by Ranjani of Wake up and smell the Masala

41. Bites of Toast by Arundathi of My Food Blog

42. Pure Bread by Smita of Smita Serves you Right

43.

Hoagie,Sub,Hero,Grinder by Lisa of Jersey Girl Cooks

44.

Cheese Cucumber and Spicy Sandwich by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons

45.

Pear and Brie Sammich by Anuzi of Life with Extra Mirchi

46. Big Bite Sandwich by Ketki of My Two Cents

47. Mushrooms and Grilled Zucchini Panino by Dhivya of DK's Culinary Bazaar

48. Grilled Cheese Tomato Sandwich by Vanamala of My Kitchen World

49. Toasted Cheese by Nina of Nina's Kitchen

50. Sour Cream Sandwich by Aditi of Bhaatukli

51.Simple Sourcream Sandwich by Divya of Fun With Spices

52. 20 Minutes Veggie Bread Cups by Srimathi of Few Minute Wonders

53. Kheema Toast by Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

54. Mutton Roll by Meera of Enjoy Indian Food

55. Ramp Kimchi Masoor Dal and Potato Sandwich by Maybelle's Mom of Feeding Maybelle

56. Picnic Chicken Sandwich by Priyanka of Asankhana

57. Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwich by Mythreyee of Paajaka Recipes

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Here are also some excellent sandwiches recipes from a two Non-Bloggers:

58.From Sweatha we have:

Potato Dal Toast :Ingredients: Potato -1 medium cooked and mashedToor dal- 1/2 Tsppepper powder,salt- as per tastelime juice- 1/4 limeonion - 1 medium

Preparation:Cook and mash potato and toor dal. heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions , saute till brown. Add potato-dal mix, salt, pepper powder.mix well saute. add lime juice as garnish. Turn off gas. mix well. Let stand for few minutes till it absorbs the seasonings. Take sandwich bread slice,cut it into triangles,remove crust if u want,apply the paste on a triangle and cover with another. Heat a tawa,add butter/ghee. toast both the sides. Serve hot.

Carrot Onion Sandwich :

Ingredients: carrot - 1 grated onion -1 grated/chopped thinly pepper powder, salt -as per taste Cheese-any type

Preparation:Grate carrot and onion. Mix with pepper powder,salt. Stand it for 5 minutes.(it gives out water the more you allow to stand). Heat the tawa/toaster. Slice the sandwich bread into triangles,apply cheese (you can even mix cheese gratings in the onion carrot mixture). Apply the carrot onion mix and cover with another triangle and toast it .Serve hot.

Simple Tomato Sandwich :Ingredients: Tomato-1 chopped coriander leaves- few sprigs (optional) pepper powder, salt- as per taste

Preparation: Chop tomato into small pieces. Mix with pepper powder,salt and coriander leaves. ( if you are a spicy person,you can also add 1 small green chilly chopped into this mix.)Heat the tawa/toaster,spoon this mix on sandwich bread triangle. Cover with another and toast on both sides. Serve hot.

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59.Supriya has sent us: Chilli Paneer Sandwich

Ingredients:4 slices of 12-grain bread (store brand) ButterShredded mozarella cheese , 1 spring onion - chopped For the tomato spread -1 large clove of garlic - chopped 2 tomatoes - chopped 1 tbsp regular ketchup 1 tbsp Maggi Hot & Sweet Ketchup 1/2 tsp ova/ajwain 1/4 tsp Degi mirchi pwd 1 tbsp olive oil Salt, pepper

For the chilli paneer - 1 cup paneer cubes (Store-bought paneer, cut into small cubes) 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp Degi mirchi pwd, Salt, pepper.

Marinate the paneer cubes in the above mix for about 1/2 hr, then shallow fried them in 2 tbsp olive oil. Prep the tomato spread by heating oil, adding garlic, frying till light brown, then adding all the other ingredients and cooking few mins. To prep the sandwich, butter the slice lightly & grilled in on my grilling pan, then lay on some of the tomato spread, topped with the paneer, shredded cheese & finally garnished with some spring onion slices. Leave it open-faced & served a simple salad of greens, cucumber & shredded carrots on the side.

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And finally two entries from me. Actually one from me and one from my 6 year old who got so excited about all the entries that he decided that he had to make his own sandwich entry to celebrate the Sandwich Festival which his dear Aai was hosting.

After looking at all the beautiful and elaborate entries I admit I am a little embarrassed to submit my very very simple and ordinary entry. But Tuna is something completely new to me and I have very recently discovered how delicious it tastes in a sandwich. The second ingredient I tasted for the first time when I came to UK and simply loved is Hummus. So although the combination of the 2 might be unconventional I went for it and made this Tuna Cucumber and Hummus Sandwich which is delicious ,very filling and wholesome. Another reason why I am posting this particular sandwich is because this picture of mine has recieved a record number of views on Flickr in a very short time. So I thought a lot of people might like to know what's in it.

Tuna Cucumber and Hummus Sandwich

There is no recipe as such as I have used all store bought ingredients like Tinned Tuna, Hummus ,Cucumbers and Lettuce. Just piled them all one on top of the other and my Sandwich was ready.
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Nutella and Banana Sandwich by Devashish

This one according to my son is the ultimate sandwich. He spread Nutella Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread on two whole wheat slices and sandwiched slices of banana between the two. He goes into a dreamy trance while eating this.

Updates: Here are three more entries to the Sandwich Festival

Pizza Style Sandwich by Raaga of The Singing Chef

Vegetable Focaccia again by Raaga of The Singing Chef

Mixed Vegetable Sandwich by EC of Simple Indian Food

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So there you are ! I must say "The Sandwich Festival 2008 " has been a stupendous hit. Thanks a million to all of you for taking all the time effort and interest to participate. If I have missed any entry do drop me a mail and I'll update the post. Hope you enjoyed the celebration !!

Reminder: The Sandwich Festival 2008

2008-05-24T12:14:00.000Z

Today is the last day for sending in your entries to The Sandwich Festival 2008. A very Big Thank you to all those who have already taken great efforts to send in the most delicious varieties of sandwiches. I am completely overwhelmed by your response to the event. Just thought I would let you know that I'll be doing the Grand Round-up in a couple of days so do tune in. I'll see you all very soon.

Golden Orange Cake (Delights of Blogging)

2008-05-17T16:20:00.002Z

Every now and then while surfing the blogosphere a recipe comes up that catches my fancy to such an extent that I cannot wait to try it out. I am very very impatient to try it out and feel good only after I have made it , tasted it and passed my verdict on it. In my rush to create the new dish I sometimes also oversee the fact that I do not have one or two of the ingredients mentioned in the original recipe. I convince myself that I can substitute something with something else that is available at home at that time. Well what happens is that sometimes my substitutes work and sometimes they are a real flop. But thankfully this time my efforts were rewarded beautifully.

The recipe that caught my fancy this time was Orange Cake from Meeta's What for Lunch Honey. As usual Meeta's photograph of her cake was so enticing that I could practically taste the cake in my mouth just by looking at the pic and secondly the recipe was so simple that even a clumsy baker like me could not have gone wrong . Now the only hitch was I did not have any pudding powder that was in the recipe. Ideally I should have waited for my next trip to the stores and bought some. But no!! I wanted to make that cake on that day itself. So I substituted that pudding powder with cornflour. Thankfully nothing went wrong and I baked the most delicious ,aromatic and soft fluffy cake ever. I also reduced the amount of baking powder.

Meeta's cake has a beautiful orange glaze over it . I kept mine plain as hubby loves plain cakes. But I am going to try the glaze the next time I make it. Her pics are too tempting.

Ingredients:
250g all-purpose flour ,
2.5 teaspoons baking powder,
40g cornflour,
340g sugar,
3 eggs,
80g oft butter - cut in pieces,
2 teaspoons orange zest ,
250ml orange juice

1.Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees C.

2.Prepare a cake tin by greasing and lining it with baking paper. I used a square one as that's the one I had.
3.Sift flour, baking powder and the pudding powder into a large mixing bowl.

4.Add the eggs, sugar, butter, orange zest and juice to the dry ingredients and whisk into a smooth thick mixture. I did it by hand but do it with a electric cake mixer if you have one.
5.Pour the cake mixture into the cake form, even out with a rubber spatula and bake approx. 40 to 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick or knife is inserted in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
6.Take out of the oven and allow to cool a little in the mold itself. Run a knife along the sides of the cake and tip out . Peel off the baking paper.

By now I was dying to taste it and cut my self a large slice to gobble down. Hmmm!! I was in heaven.

Thanks Meeta for this fab recipe .

Kairicha Panha (Raw Mango Juice Drink)

2008-05-12T13:05:00.011Z

I am currently experiencing a Mango Mania. I think ,talk ,eat ,breathe Mangoes. And this is the case inspite of the fact that I am in UK not in India. So you can imagine the level of my Mania when I am in India. Why only me , I think everybody in India and particularly from Maharashtra (that's the state I come from) is happily in the clutches of this Mango Mania in the months of April and May. The Alphonso Mango or Haapus Aamba ,which is rightfully called the King of Mangoes makes a very royal entry in the markets at this time of the year and it is THE fruit to be enjoyed. Forget the bananas,apples and all other ordinary fruit. Enjoy Haapus while it is available in tonnes. It is the Pride of Maharashtra. It's this Haapus that makes even the hottest of summer days bearable.

In my parents house and at my in-laws too Haapus is always bought in huge boxes. This box is called a Peti and one peti contains approx 5 dozen mangoes . One peti is followed by the next in quick succession and the next one is bought before the earlier one is completely polished off. You can't risk getting withdrawal symptoms, can you? Yeah and you do need to buy them in large quantities when you are practically surviving on them. What I mean by this is:

At Breakfast we have them just sliced or cubed and sprinkled generously over cereal.
At Lunch we have Aamras , which is fresh mango pulp with our chapatis or puris if it's a special occasion. Not a single day passes without this for lunch.
At teatime we either have it simply sliced or have chilled Kairicha Panha which is a heavenly juice drink made from raw mangoes which I am going to share with you now
At Dinner the rules are same as Lunch. Aamras is a must.
And last but definitely not the least have a thick Mango Milkshake as a nightcap and you are aassured of a great night's sleep.

In addition to this there are other peripherals that are equally delectable like mango pickle, mango jam, mango lassi, and of course fresh mango icecream. Have I forgotten any item? Feel free to remind me of it. So do you also experience the Mango Mania and behave similarly? I would love to know.

So what I have for you today is Kairicha Panha. It's a sweet and tart drink made from raw mangoes. An excellent coolant and the best welcome drink any guest would love to have.

Ingredients to make approx 10 glasses of Panha:

1 large green raw mango (when buying raw mangoes always go for the firm ones),

At least 20 tspns of sugar,

10 to 12 glasses of cold water,

2 to 3 tspns salt,

a generous pinch of saffron,

pulp of 1 ripe alphonso mango (optional)

Method:

Peel and cook the raw mango in a pressure cooker or in a large open saucepan till soft and pulpy,

Remove all the pulp from the stone after the mango has cooled a bit

Add one glass of water and the pulp of one ripe alphonso mango to it and give it a wizz with a hand blender or in an ordinary blender to make it smooth,

Next add the rest of the water , sugar and salt and stir until completely dissolved. Lastly add the saffron. Give it a taste. Quantity of sugar depends on how sour the mango is. So adjust accordingly. Also increase the quantity of water if you want a thinner consistency. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Go on enjoy your summer now.