Masala vada

Methi garelu or nethi garelu are very famous breakfast in south India... Dahi vada/perugu vada are most famous evening snacks for north Indians. As a whole methi vada is very favorite food for Indians. I love all kinds of vada made out of this dough!!! This masala vada goes good with dahi/curd/yogurt. You can also have them  with out chutney/yogurt.

Ingredinets
Ingredients:
Split Urad dal-2cups(when measured iwth 160ml cup)
Coconut- shreaded-2ts (optional)
salt to taste
Pepper powder-1/2ts
Mint leaves/pudina-1/4cup
cilantro/coriander leaves-20springs chopped
green chili-2 finely chopped
onion-1/4cup finely chopped
oil for deep fry
baking soda(pinch-optional)

Method

• Soak  Urad dhal for at least 6 hrs.
• Drain the water and grind it in a blender to a smooth batter
• Use very little water in the course of blending.
• More water will ruin the vadai shape & texture
• At the end, add all the above mentioned ingredients and mix well with slow speed to aerate your batter.
• TIP: To find if the batter is well aerated, just drop little batter in a bowl of water. If it sinks, batter needs to be aerated. If it floats, it is well aerated.
• Aeration will yield fluffy soft vadas.
• Heat a pan of oil - keep it in medium flame
• To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small pea sized batter in the hot oil - if it sizzles and rises to the top immediately, oil is good to go
• Wet your hands in cold water, gently scoop the batter with your bare fingers, and roll up into a ball and gently make a hole using your thumb, drop it into the oil  .
• Always remember to fry them under medium flame, high flame will burn vadas out side leaving raw inner part.
• In couple of minutes, flip the vada upside down and let it fry until both sides turn golden brown
• Drop the vadas minimum 3 in a batch and using a perforated laddle scoop them all onto a paper towel to absorb the excess oil
• Serve hot with chutney
• To keep the vadas crisp for few hours, you may either preheat the oven to 250 degrees - turn it off and keep the vadas in or just keep cover the hot oil pan (after frying) with plate and place the vadas over the plate and cover up with another plate.

Black Friday Deals 2011 and Happy Thanks Giving

Walmart: Black Friday Online sales start Friday, 12am PST (3am EST)
Best Buy: Black Friday Online sales start Thursday - they don't list a time but it's likely 12am EST
Target: Thanksgiving Online sale starts Thursday, 11/24
Target: Black Friday Online sale starts Friday, 11/25
Kmart: Black Friday Online sale starts Friday, 11/25
Toys R Us: Black Friday Online sale starts Thursday, 11/24 at 9pm EST
Kohl's: Black Friday Online sale starts Thursday, 11/24, then Early Bird specials are on sale 12am to 3pm CST on Friday, 11/25
Amazon: Black Friday Online sales going on right now!

Free $10.00 Gift Card when you buy HP Combo or Twin Ink Packs at Target!
Tabasco Hot Sauce Only $0.79 at Target!
Energizer LED Headlight Only $9.49 at Walgreens!
Rare!  $0.40 off Kraft Jet-Puff Marshmallows, $0.49 at Safeway!
Krazy! Saveur Magazine for Only $4.99 per Year!
Free Holiday Labels, Photo Holiday Cards & More at Vistaprint!!
Aveeno Moisturizing Bar at Target, Only $0.04!
Free Small Popcorn at AMC Theaters!
Tylenol Precise Only $3.27 at Walmart!

Hope they will be useful to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All the best!!!

Kidney beans, Black eye peas & vegetables Healthy soup

Yesterday I made this yummy soup for dinner. This smells awesome and tastes delicious. Apart from haing excellent smell and taste we have to look at the another important and intresting feature of this recipe. It is healthy and can be had with roti(Indian Bread) or Bread or Rolls. We had with toasted white bread. You can also have this soup with out any bread. You can modify this recipe to your taste, that is you can add more spices or reduce the spices and cook. You can even choose your favorite vegges also. That is why I like this soup a lot. Try it and you will ike it for sure.

Ingredients
Kidney beans 1/2 cup
Black eye peas-1/2cup
water as required
carrot-1 medium size sliced
Tomato-1 medium size schopped
Cauliflower/broccili-1/2cup florets
Green chili-2
salt to taste
Method

I am making the mild spicy version of this recipe. you can prepare it to you taste by reducing or increasing the amout of ingredients. Wash and soak Kidney beans and Black eye peas for about 4-6hrs.
Now take a pressure cooker and add Kidney beans, black eye peas, chili, carrot, tomato, cauliflower and cook it for 3 whistles by adding required amout of salt. When all the pressure escapes from the cooker open it and mix well with spoon. Serve hot.

For more spicy version
Prepere tempering (talimpu/thadka). For this heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add 1tbsp of cumin seeds and 1/2tbsp of fresh garlic crushed. When the garlic turns golden brown mix with the cooked soup. You can also add 1/4tbsp cumin powder and 1/4tbsp of coriander powder and cook it again.

Garnish with coriander/cilantro and serve hot.

Hope you like my recipe.

Guest Article by Leroy Templeton-Eat Healthy & fight Cancer

Dear readers,
I got a surprising mail few days back from Leory Templeton. The reason for her mail was to educate people with the good eating habits in order to fight against cancer. She wanted to do this through this guest article in my blog. I felt very happy and welcomed her to my space and now here is the wonderful article written by her regarding eat healthy and fight cancer.

Eat Healthy & fight Cancer

By: Leroy Templeton

“You are what you eat”

It’s a well known saying, but it may ring truer than most realize. Though it does not get as much press as others, diet is one of the leading causes of cancer development. An estimated 30% of cancer cases list dietary choices among the causes of the diagnosis. This is especially and important factor because it can play either a helpful or a harmful role. While poor dietary choices can lead to cancer, the right choices not only don’t promote cancer, but they actually work to prevent it!

Clearly, you do not want to eat foods that cause cancer. In order to do that, you should know which ones to stay away from. The most basic barometer for whether something is good or not for fighting cancer is how natural it is. The more natural and organic the better. Many foods that have unnatural preservatives and additives also contain cancer causing carcinogens. These chemically enhanced foods may have improved taste and they may last longer before expiring, but they can do serious damage to your body. You should always try to eat as natural as possible.

You will also want to steer clear of red meat. Many developments in research have shown us the dangers inherent in red meat, especially in its connection with colon cancer. As red meats can be difficult to digest, the amount of time it sits in the body allows for certain cells to be exposed to bacteria for an extended time. Also, as animal fat is high in cancer causing carcinogens and since red meat contains a lot of animal fat, you should avoid it doubly.

The foods that help fight cancer are known to be those with high amounts of flavonoidsand antioxidants. Flavonoids keep plants alive. They are often found in bitter foods such as coffee and dark chocolate. Flavonoids improve cell division and cell function. As cancer is often developed through irregularities in this process, the help offered by flavonoids is very important. Antioxidants limit many cancers including gastric cancerand pleural mesothelioma. By eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables you should be able to utilize the power of these vitamins and natural chemicals.

Healthy eating is essential to having a cancer-free diet. Always try to eat natural, limit harmful red meat and increase the intake of essential vitamins. Follow the aforementioned plan and your diet will start to work for you, so much so that it may even save your life.

Buttermilk rasam

Looks surprising isn't it? i was surprised too when i had it for the first time at my engineering friend swathi's  home. It was delicious and I had my complete rice with this rasam. If you have any one in home who does not like to have curd/yogurt directly you can try this. Because it does not smell like curd, it looks and smells awesome. My hubby do not like curd smell, so I made this and gave him for the lunch and he said it is awesome. Only if you are allergic to curd, do not try it otherwise it is good to have daily. Now coming to recipe

Ingredients
Yogurt/curd-1cup
Gram flour-1tbsp
red chili powder-1/4tbsp
Garlic cloves-2
red chili-1
green chili-1
cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
Curry leaf-1 rind(optional)
Turmeric-pinch
water-1 cup
oil-2tbsp
Coriander/cilantro-for garnishing
salt to taste

Method

Take yougurt/curd in a large bowl and add water whisk it throughly untill it forms a uniform mixture. To this mixture add gram flour, red chili powder, salt and mix well. Kee this mixture aside. Now heat oil in a pan and add Mustard seeds. When they splatter add cumin seeds and cook for while. Now add red chili onions and green chili saute them under medium flame till onion turn transperant. Then add garlic cloves by crushing them along with turmeric and mix well. Saute till raw flavor of garlic goes away. Now add Buttermilk mixture and mix well. Boil this mixture under medium flame for 10min. Check for taste, add salt if you require. Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy with plain rice/bagara/biryani. Hope you like my recipe.

Bean- vegetarian- burrito

Burritos!!!! Yummy these are one of my favorite Mexican fast food recipe. For vegetarians there are only few options for me to have a satisfactory food outside. Almost all the US fast food centers serve non vegetarian food. Mexican is the best choice for them. Here you can order any kind of food item that you like in the menu with no meat. I love vegetarian chalupa with beans apart from burritos. Now coming to burrito, it is beans, lettuce and tomatoes with cheese wrapped inside a tortilla sheet. In some taco bell restaurants it also may contain rice. Coming to recipe

Ingredients
Refried beans -1 can
Tortilla sheets 4
Lettuce chopped 1 cup
Onions chopped 1 cup
Tomato 1/2 cup finely chopped
Rice 1/2 cup
Cheese of your choice 1/4 cup grated
Sour cream 1/2 tbsp for each burrito

Method
Take a tortilla sheet and add 4 tbsp of Refried beans, 2 tbsp of tomato, 2 tbsp of onion, lettuce 2 tbsp and sour cream at the center. Sprinkle some grated cheese and roll it up. It is optional to bake it in oven for 10 min at 350F. Enjoy this yummy burrito.

You can prepare Refried beans at home by soaking kidney beans/ black eyed peas/ black beans/ pinto beans/ rajma for 6 hrs and cook them with little salt. For tortillas you can substitute chapati/roti

How to make crispy potato bajji- Instant Indian Snack

I know after reading the title of the snack your mouth becomes watery!!!These snacks are that tempting, They are really easy to prepare and delicious in taste!!!
Feels like "NO ONE CAN EAT JUST ONE"!!!! I really love to have hot hot in this chill chill weather!!!
I will also tell you which oil you should use for fries etc.,

potato bajji instant Indian snacks

Ingredients
This recipe is for 2
Potato 1 big-pealed
Gram flour-2tbsp
Rice flour-1tbsp
red chili powder-1/2tea spoon
salt to taste
Ajwain/ Vama-1/2tbsp
Jeera-1/4tbsp
Oil for deep fry

Method
Peal and wash potato. Choose a thin blade slicer(If you have mandolin slicer it is well and good). Slice the potato to very thin pieces. Now take a bowel and add all the ingredients and mix well. add 1tbsp of water and mix well. To this mixture add all thinly sliced potato pieces and mix care fully. Now heat a thick bottom deep pan. Pour enough oil for deep fry and heat it under medium flame. Add one by one potato piece and deep fry till it is golden brown. Take them out and place them on a paper towel so that excess oil gets absorbed. These bajji will be crispy only when they are fried under medium flame, this is the healthy way of frying the vegges. Under high flame there is a chance of converting fatty acides to cis for to the trans, which is very dangerous. And another advantage of cooking them under medium flame is they will cook completely. The crispness of the chips also depends on how thin you slice them, thinner the slices more crispy they come!!!

Here is the list of the cooking oil that you can use for different purposes.

Oils that are suitable for high-temperature frying (above 230 °C/446 °F) because of their high smoke point

• Avocado oil
• Corn oil
• Mustard oil
• Palm oil
• Peanut oil (or groundnut oil)
• Rice bran oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame oil (semi-refined)
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil

Oils that are suitable for medium-temperature frying (above 190 °C/374 °F) include:

• Almond oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil
• Ghee, Clarified butter
• Grape seed oil
• Lard
• Olive oil (Virgin, and refined)
• Rapeseed oil (Canola oil or "vegetable oil" )
• Mustard oil
• Walnut oil

Hope you find this infromation usefull!!!!

Hosting Event with Surprise Gift for Thanks Giving 2011

Friends Thanks giving is approaching, I hope every one has started googling recipes. Turkey is the common recipe in every home for thanks giving. I think this will be a great advantage for those who are searching for the thanks giving recipes. Hope you will post your favorite recipes for thanks giving to me. There are no rules, the recipe can be newly prepared or which you have prepared for the last thanks giving. The winners will get a surprise gift. This contest is open to all. You need not have to be a blogger to participate in this contest.

This LOGO is must on your blog.
Just you should  have a photograph and recipe.
Please email your recipe with photograph to
foodblognews(at)gmail(dot)com
and also with
Your Name:
Blog Name:
Link to recipe:
Recipe title:
Ingredients:
Method:
Photograph:

Leave a comment here when you Email me


Please keep visiting my blog for more wonderful recipes!!!!
I hope you will post the recipes and make this contest a grand success!!!!

Purple cabbage and Cauliflower Noodles

I love noodles however you cook. My hubby is not a very big fan of noodles but yesterday night the delicious smell of this noodles tempted my hubby. I just prepared and gave him hot hot from the pan and he finished it in no time. I did not prepare any magical recipe, I just made a simple one with out any janjat(I mean to to say that I simplified the recipe, with limited ingredients) and made to Indian taste. I really loved this kind of non spicy and simple version, it is healthy and perfect for late night dinner.

Ingredients
Noodles(Spaghetti)- boil with little salt and soaked in cold water-1 cup
Purple Cabbage chopped to long thin slices-1/4cup(you can use regular cabbage too)
Cauliflower florets-1/4cup
Tomato puree-4tbsp
Salt to taste
Red chili powder-1/4tbsp
Pepper powder-1/4tbsp
Aginamoto-pinch(optional)
oil-1tbsp

Method:
Heat 2tbsp of oil in a skillet and add onions and cook for 1min under medium flame, then add Purple cabbage, cauliflower and little salt and mix well. Keep sauteing till all vegges get cooked. Then add Tomato puree and mix well. Check for taste add red chili powder,aginamoto, pepper powder and salt to your taste and keep in mind that you already added salt to noodles while boiling. When the raw smell in tomato goes away then add Noodles and mix well. Saute till the noodles are warm and serve hot with the sauce you like.

Additional tips:
You can make this recipe more rich by adding soy sauce-1/2tbsp, chili garlic sauce-1/2tbsp and vinegar-1/4tbsp. You can also add other veggies such as carrot, batani/green peas etc.,If you wanna make egg noodles just whisk egg and add it to the side of the skillet when the egg is completely cooked them mix with other ingredients. I think adding cooked meat will be a bad chooice. It does not taste good with cabbage(well its my opinion it is up to you!)

Hope you like my recipe, please post your comments and keep visiting for more wonderful recipes!!!!Have a Great day!!!!

Win a necklace-open to everyone

Click here to enter
Hurry closes nov 4th.

Anniversary giveaway- Cook eat Delicious

You can be the winner of this amazing kitchen appliance: The Hamilton Beach-Set n’ Forget 6 quart Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid, Click-in-Spoon, and thermometer probe.

Giveaway guidelines:

1. To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment on this post using your name & a real email address (in case you win).

For additional entries:

2. Like me, CookEatDelicious.com, on Facebook and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.
3. Share on Facebook about this giveaway using: “Win a Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker & Cookbook or KitchenArt Spice Carousel on http://www.cookeatdelicious.com” and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.
4. Follow me, @CkEatDelicious, on Twitter and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.
5. Tweet about this giveaway using: “Win a Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker & Cookbook or KitchenArt Spice Carousel on http://www.cookeatdelicious.com” and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.

That is 5 chances to win! Two comments will be randomly chosen on a number generator for the first & second place giveaway prizes.

Make sure to leave separate comments as each comment is a separate entry. This is a worldwide giveaway.

This giveaway runs until Wednesday, November 30th, 2011. One whole month of celebrating! So start your commenting now!

Win $4500 through Essay

Click Here to enter
Grand Prize winner will receive up to $4,500 in funding by Sponsor the winner to achieve the Goal stated in the Grand Prize winner’s Essay.
Sorry folks this Contest is only for USA and Canada legal residents.