Masala vada

As festival time is approaching, rolling up the sleeves to try on new recipes. Masala vada is the first snack which made us to say 'Wowww!!!, can we make these ones at home too" when one of our good friends prepared this snack for us...As we are from temple city, masala vada is one among the common snack in roadside stalls and people buy these snacks from stores in a minute. So nobody would think of spending time in preparing these snacks there...But US life gives us an opportunity to explore new ideas in all areas including culinary....Way to go...:)


Ingredients

1. Channa Dal - 1 cup(200g)
2. Red chilli - 2
3. Green chilli - 2
4. Onion(chopped) - 1
5. Ginger - optional
6. Curry/Coriander leaves - To garnish
7. Salt - as needed

Method

1. Soak channa dal in water for atleast 2 hrs
2. Except 2 tbsp of dal, grind the soaked dal with no water(grinded mixture should be coarse)
3. Mix onions, chillies, curry/coriander leaves, salt and the remaining channa dal
4. Fry oil in a pan and when its ready, make small balls of the channa dal mixture(pat it gently to get round shape) and fry it in oil for 3-4 mts...(in simmer for the inner mixture to fry properly)
5. Hot and spicy vadas are ready for a perfect evening snack ...Coconut chutney goes well with this one...

Tomato Rice Sevai

This is one of the 'easy-to-prepare' but yet 'good-to-taste' dinner. You can think of this dish when you are tired of making dinner but looking for something tasty.

Ingredients
No of people - 4

Rice Sevai - 4 cups
Green chilli - 1
Onion(big) - 3/4
Tomato(medium) - 3
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Seasoning items
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - some
Salt - to taste
Lemon - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Boil water and immerse rice sevai when the water bubbles up
2. Cover the lid and set it aside for 5 mts
3. Spread the rice sevai in a big plate to cool.
4. Heat oil in a big pan and add seasoning items
5. Saute green chillies and onion.
6. Add salt to taste, turmeric powder and wait for onions to become transparent
6. Add tomatoes to the mixture and saute till it gets smashed and mixed well.
7. Mix cumin, coriander, pepper powder and finally add lemon juice
8. Add the mixture to the cooling sevai and mix thoroughly

sevai is ready to serve. Note : In spite of spending hours of preparation on other dishes to satisfy elders, this is the only dish for which we got a 'good' certificate from parents.....and its very easy to make ...good going...catch you soon.

Soya Curry

It has been very long since we pen down. Life has become so busy in tackling kids and balancing work with family (especially when the kids are picky eaters). We would like to prepare and offer him different dishes to increase his appetite..But somehow our boy is a sweet boy who eats only sweety sweety items and nothing else..Amidst of running behind/begging/praying to feed him, somehow we found little time to prepare this dish. Soya is protein rich and it would contain the daily protein content in one serving. Thanks to Maheswari(publishtoday.blogspot) who is the owner of this recipe. It has been in mind since she posted the recipe, but was hesitant since she had mentioned it tastes like mutton/beef. Finally, its here.

Ingredients

Soya - 50 g( 1-2 cups)
Shredded Coconut - 4-5 tbsp
Coconut slices - 10
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder - 0.25 tsp
vinegar - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - as needed
Coriander leaves - as needed
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 tsp (chopped)
Garlic - 1 (chopped)
Salt - as needed
Onion - 1(small, chopped)
Seasoning items
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Soak soya in water for 15-20 mts
2. Squeeze the water in soya and cut into halves
3. Marinate soya with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 3/4 garam masala powder, 1 1/2 coriander powder, vinegar and salt and leave it aside for 30 mts
4. Boil soya with 1 cup of water in cooker for a whistle
5. Grind shredded coconut, curry leaves, coriander leaves, 3/4 garam masala powder, 1 1/2 coriander powder, black pepper
6. Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning items, ginger and garlic
7. Saute the onions for 5 mts and add the grinded mixture.
8. Add the boiled soya and boil it till the water drains out and the mixture comes together.

Enjoy the healthy/tasty recipe with rice/roti

Spicy Kuzhipaniyaram

It has been months since we blogged..Life has become so busy these days with a kid...wondering how people managing with twins and triplets....Amidst of enjoying the precious time with Adharsh, prepared this tasty receipe today....

Flour

1. Idli Rice - 2 cup
2. Raw rice - 2 cup
3. Urad dal - 1 cup
4. Fenugreek seeds - 10-12

1. Grind all together till it becomes thick texture and keep it aside
2. Mix salt, Green chilles, Onion, Pepper powder, Coriander leaves(according to taste)
3. Heat Kuzhipaniyaram pan and pour oil in all the holes
4. Pour flour on the pan and close it with a lid for a couple of mts.
5. Turn upside and wait till it gets cooked.
6. Serve hot with coriander chutney or hot sauce....





Serve hot

Blueberry Cherry muffin

Ingredients

1. Cherry(fresh/dry) - 1 cup
2. Blueberry(fresh/dry) - 1 cup
3. All purpose flour - 2 cups
4. Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
5. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
6. Salt - a pinch
7. Egg - 1
8. White sugar - 1 cup
9. Milk(reduced fat) - 1 cup
10. Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Mix all the flours (all purpose, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a bowl
3. Mix sugar, egg and blend till the sugar dissolves completely
4. Pour milk and vanilla essence to the egg mixture.
5. Add the wet ingredients into flour mixture.
6. Blend the mixture with cherries and blueberries
7. Line the muffin pans with baking spray.
8. Pour the mixture into the muffin pans and bake it for 30-40 mts

Tagging time !!!!

I was tagged for the first time by Maheshwari of publishtoday...Lets see how thought flows

What was I doing ten years ago?
Enjoying the colorful college life after the hectic and pressurized 12th grade..


What are five things on my to-do list for today ?
1. Play with our little one after reaching home
2. Grocery shopping for the week which was missed on last weekend because of friends visit for looooong weekend
3. Try an easy and simple recipe to keep the flow
4. Search out for birthday party venues
5. Fitness center


What are five snacks that I enjoy
samosa, cookies, fruits, shakes.....oh noooo wish to lose weight...junk snacks are at distance for now...no temptation please........ha ha ha..

What things would I do if I were a billionaire?
donate a percentage for sure

Jobs I have had:
IT Professional

Hope it is complete .....

Creamy Berry smoothie

Nowadays, we are in the downside on adding new recipes to this blog as other works are standing on top of the 'todo' list. Though we are slow in experimenting new ones, we dont want to keep it stale. We will try with some easy going recipes till we get back in good form. Here's one among those which takes only 5-10 mts of your time but it adds value to your healthy diet in a very big way.

Nutrients
Strawberries and Raspberries are good source of Vitamin C and act as antioxidant. Raspberries stands in the top list of highest fiber content fruits which has 20% of fiber per total weight.

Ingredients

1. Strawberry - 1 cup
2. Raspberry - 1 cup
3. Plain yogurt- 1/2 cup
4. Milk - 2 cup

Method

1. In a blender, combine milk, strawberry, raspberry with plain yogurt
2. Cover and process for 20 seconds or until smooth
3. Pour into chilled glasses
4. Crushed ice can be added if you are looking for a chilled drink and yogurt can be replaced with vanilla icecream, if its a party day :)

Serves good for 2 persons