Harry Potter and Yummy Rawa Idlis and Dhoklas

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.

Fun with Fruit

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.

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

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.

Very wholesome Chapati and Egg Rolls

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.

Amazingly Delicious Paneer Potato Bites

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.

The delights of blogging: Funke/Waffole

From the day I became a blogger I have seen so many different varieties of foods from all over the globe. I have even tried out a few and loved them. But for a few weeks now I have been Googling away on the Internet like never before for something not global but very close to home. The reason behind it is this very interesting project that I am doing with a group of friends. The project is to create an attractive display of Maharashtrian Culinary Delights (in pictures of course) for our local library. Everyday as we are prepare for this I realise what a vast variety of Maharashtrian recipes there is to choose from and it is mind boggling having to choose which ones will go up on the display and which ones won't. And this is the case inspite of the fact that we are dealing with only one state of India. God knows we would probably have gone crazy had it been a project about Indian Cuisine in general. Now Maharashtra being a large state (as the name itself denotes) boasts of a cuisine so varied that some of the dishes that are commonly cooked in the north of the state are not even heard of in the south and vice versa of course. I must say this project has provided the perfect opportunity for us to explore the delightful cuisine of our own state.

Just a couple of days back while I was on one such culinary journey on the net I discovered this fabulous and very very simple recipe from Khandesh. Khandesh is an area to the north of Maharashtra and Khandeshi cuisine is particularly known for it's earthy and spicy flavours. I read the original recipe on Aarti's Corner and it was the simplicity of the recipe that really appealed to me. I made just a couple of changes. Firstly I reduced the number of chillies so my son would not make a fuss , secondly I mixed in the sesame seeds along with all the other ingredients in the dough and I also added a bit of sugar .

You need:

1 cup Toor Daal

2 onions finely chopped

1/3 cup coriander, finely chopped

1 inch ginger minced( or use a tblspn of store bought bottled minced ginger)

3 cloves garlic minced

2 green chillies minced

4-5 tsp sesame seeds

1 -2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tspn sugar

salt to taste

Method:

1) Soak Toor Daal for 1-2 hrs

2) Drain all water and coarsely grind it

3) Mix all the remaining ingredients and knead together

4) Make small dumplings of any shape you like

5) Put these dumplings in a steamer/cooker and steam it for 15-20 mins .

The healthy version of this dish is the steamed one . But if you are in an indulgent mood like I was you can fry the dumplings. Eitherway they are irresistable.

If any of you have any typically Maharashtrian recipes that could be used for my project ,do mail me your suggestions . I would be more than happy to research them.

Mirchi Bhaji /Batter-fried Chillies (A Special Farmaish)

My hubby although a food lover doesn't frequently request (read that as pester) me to make any particular kinds of food . He loves everything I make and eats it with gusto. So once in a while when he has a craving for something it's simply impossible to ignore. Then even if it is a deep-fried item like bhajis (which I normally completely avoid making) I oblige.

His craving was for Moong dal bhajis which we all know are simply irresistible. So I made them. Now anytime we speak about foods like bhajis or batata wadas my hubby always tells me " Aai always fries a couple of chilli bhajis in the last remaining batter and they are simply awesome . They give a kind of kick to the whole batch of bhajis. " So I too fried a couple of them dipped in the same moong dal batter. And although I simply could not bring myself to eat any, hubby dear definitely ate them with great relish. Just watching him eat them gave me immense satisfaction. He even asked me to pack some in his lunch box the next day.

For the Moong Dal Bhajis I used:

1.5 cup yellow moong dal, soaked in water for 2 to 3 hrs,

4 tblspn semolina,

2 green chillies,

1 tblspn saunf powder (powdered fennel seeds)

1 tblspn ajwain,

1/2 tspn turmeric powder,

1/2 tspn sugar,

1/2 tspn baking soda,

a nice generous handful of fresh coriander chopped,

salt as per taste.

Oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Blend the soaked moong dal , chillies, and all the spice powders to a not very smooth paste. Its nice to have a coarse textured batter for the bhajis.

2. Add to the batter salt ,sugar, baking soda, semolina and the chopped coriander and give it a good stir. Add a lilttle water if the batter is too thick.

3.Heat the oil in a kadhai and drop teaspoonfuls of batter in the oil and deep fry. Remove bhajis on a kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil . Serve hot with ketchup.

4. For the Mirchi bhajis take whole green chillies (as many as you want).

5. Slit them vertically and deseed them. Dip each chilli in the batter and immediately drop into the hot oil. The batter tends to slide off the chilli so hold the chilli horizontally . The bhaji looks very pretty with some of the green chilli peeping out of the fried batter.

6. Serve the chilli bhajis with a cool minty yogurt dip and not with any chutney or sauce.

7 Prepare the dip by adding some chopped mint to a bowl of yogurt and a pinch each of salt and sugar. It soothes the pallete.

Well enjoy and let me know how you liked it.

Ghaarge (A Delicious Travel Snack)

OK People I am leaving on Sunday morning for India and will not be blogging for 3 whole weeks. There are a thousand things I need to do before I leave but it seems as if I just cannot let go of my blog. I am still cooking as I need to finish quite a lot of stuff in my kitchen cupboards and fridge. So when I saw this big piece of red pumpkin in the fridge I knew I had to use it, and use it in such a way that everybody in the house would finish it up before we left . I do not want any leftovers at this moment. Then I had an idea. You see my little one does not take too well to airline food and just barely manages to nibble on a piece of bread or roll or whatever the airline people have deemed as suitable to serve the economy class passengers. So its always a good idea to carry some easy to carry food alond with me just for him. So when I saw the pumpkin these Ghaarge were the first and the best thing that came to mind. They are easy to make, easy to carry,easy for a child to eat while travelling, very nutritious, and keep for at least 5 days without refrigeration

Ghaarge is such an authentic Marathi snack that calling it puris or anything else would just be so wrong. The word is pronounced ghaargay for those reading it for the first time.

Here is what you need:

About 200 gms of grated raw pumpkin (i.e about 2 cups)

1 cup fresh grated coconut,

1.5 cups grated jaggery,

1 cup rice flour,

2 cups wholewheat flour,

a pinch of salt,

apinch of turmeric powder,

1 to 2 tblspns oil,

Oil for frying

Procedure:

In a pan heat 2 tblspns oil ,mix the grated pumpkin, coconut and turmeric powder and steam them over a gentle heat until the pumpkin softens. Next add the jaggery and let it melt completely. After the jaggery has melted cover the pan and cook for a few seconds on gentle heat. Now add the rice and wholewheat flours and stir them in . There is no need of heavy kneading. Just bring all the ingredients together to form a dough. Cover and let it rest for at an hour. You can also keep it overnight.

Next make small balls from the dough and spread them out between to sheets of greased plastic to the size of a puri and fry these in hot oil .

These Ghaarge taste great when they still hot, but even better once thay have cooled down and the best when they are one or two days old. If they last that long that is.

And yes this is definitely my last post now until I come back end January. Wish you all a Very Happy Wholesome New Year

The Fastest Dhokla Ever

You are just up from a sunday afternoon nap sipping your tea and still a bit groggy when you get a call from friends saying that they are coming over in 20 mins. First of all you think "Oh let them come ,I am not going to make anything to eat, thay can have tea and some biscuits." But then slowly the foodie in you comes alive and starts nagging you to take the effort and make something. You reluctantly get up and go through your kitchen cupboard to see what you can make and stumble across a packet of Eno Fruit Salt. And you immediately know what you are going to make. Its the Fastest Dhokla Ever.

Here's how:

2 cups besan (chickpea flour) , 1 Glass water, 1 tblspn Sugar, 2/3 cloves garlic finely crushed, 4/5 Green Chillies finely chopped, 1 tspn lemon juice, 1 tspn Eno Fruit Salt (any flavour will do,I had the lemon flavour), 1/2 tspn Turmeric powder, salt to taste.

For the tempering:

2 tblspns oil, 2/3 tspns mustard seeds, 2 pinches asafoetida, 6/7 curry leaves

For the lemon -sugar syrup: 1/4 cup water, Juice of one lemon, 1 tblspn sugar. Just mix it all together.

Process:

Mix the Besan and Water to form a smooth batter.

Add the crushed garlic , chillies, turmeric, salt and sugar and give it a good stir. Taste the batter. It should be sweet and sour and hot all at once.

Grease a steel vessel that goes into your pressure cooker. Place this vessel in the cooker and place the cooker on the gas hob. After the water in the cooker begins to boil add the Eno to the dhokla batter, stir again quickly, you will immediately see the batter rising.

Now quickly pour this batter into the cooker vessel and put on the cooker lid. Steam the Dhokla for 8 to 10 mins without pressure.

After 10 mins open the cooker and let the Dhokla rest for a while. When it is warm to touch mark out the slices with a sharp and well oiled knife. Spoon the lemon-sugar syrup gradually over the marked slices. The syrup is absorbed by the dhokla making it extremely moist from the inside unlike shop-bought dhoklas which are terribly dry from within.

Prepare the tempering by adding the mustard, asafoetida and curry leaves to hot oil. Cool it and then spoon this over the dhokla. Garnish with fresh coriander and fresh grated coconut.

I served this with sweet and sour tamarind and jaggery chutney and lightly fried green chillies. For the chillies you will need 5 to 6 long green chillies. Slit them vertically without cutting them into 2. Stuff them with a mixture of salt and asafoetida. Lightly fry them on a tawa with a little oil. Cover them while frying or else everyone in the house will be coughing in minutes.

Your guests will love these home-made Dhoklas