Palak Soya Nuggets Curry (Healthy curry)

Did you ever try making palak and soya chunks in palak-panner style? or wondering how it tastes, then here is the simple recipe. I was craving for palak panner curry today, but I am on a diet so I cannot have panner. When I thought of healthy replacement for panner, the only thing that came into my mind was soya chuks. I tried it and it was wonderful, I couldn't say that it compensated my thrust for panner, but it has got its own taste. Spongy soya chuncks when cooked in spinach curry has got it's own unique flavor that makes you mesmerize.  I tried, tasted and tested on me and my hubby, we loved it I hope you like it too!

Ingredients:
Spinach chopped-4cups
soya chunks dry-1cup
onion chopped-1 cup
oil 3 tbsp
tamarind-1/2 lemon size
cumin seeds-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds (aavalu)-1tbsp
Red chili-1
Red chili powder-1/2tbsp or to taste
salt to taste
cumin powder-1/2tbsp
coriander powder-1/2tbsp
garam masala-1/4tbsp

Method:
Wash and cook soya nuggets/chunks in a water till they are soft by adding a tbsp of salt. When they are done cooking take them out and allow them to cool and squeeze all the water out of it. Do not throw the water you can use the same water for making spinach paste.
Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan and add onion and when they turn transparent add spinach and cook till it is tender and raw flavor is gone. If you wish your curry to retain green color cook it in an open  pan, but this takes a while to cook and is not a healthy practice too. I cooked in a closed pan under medium flame. When the spinach is done, take it into a plate and allow it to cool. When the mixture gets cooled up add garlic and tamarind and grind it to a paste with the help of water (remember the water you stored after squeezing soya).
When the spinach paste is ready, heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan ad add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and when they start splattering add soya chunks and fry them under slow flame for 5min. Add spinach paste and cook till the mixture comes to a boil. The curry thickens as it cooks so add enough water in the beginning. Now add all spices red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala and mix well. check for salt and adjust according to your taste. Cook this mixture till oil separates out fro the curry. The curry is ready to serve, enjoy this with roti, steamed rice, biryani or any combination that you like.

Tip: You can add lemon juice instead of tamarind and also you can add little somph (Fennel seeds) while you add cumin in the curry, if you like some sweetness or twist in the dish.

I hope you like my recipe and please visit again.

Click here for Palak Panner recipe
Click here for normal palak and soy chunks curry
Click here for Soya chunks and baby potato curry

Vegetable Burger with Yellow peas

There are very few recipes that taste good and do good, vegetable burger is one among them. I always love making veggie burger patties before and refrigerate them, because they make my work simple for the next day lunch box. Yellow peas are readily available in marked in tins, but I prefer soaking the dry peas myself and preparing them for making patties. This is the first time I tried to make a burger with yellow peas, always I used to make with chick peas. Believe me they tasted wonderful.

Ingredients

Yellow peas-dry-100 grams

Soft boiled small potato mashed

Lemon juice 1/2 tbsp

oil 6 tbsp

walnuts-hand full

onion-1/2cup

cilantro-1/4cup chopped

cumin powder-1/2tbsp

coriander powder-1/2tbsp

green chili t taste

turmeric-pinch

cumin seeds few

ginger garlic paste to taste

Method

Soak dry yellow peas for at least 8 hrs and pressure cook them for 3 whistles (or until soft). Let the pressure in the cooker come down then in the mixi jar take all the above mentioned ingredients along with peas and grind them coarsely. Now in a pan heat 2tbsp of oil and add few cumin seeds and allow them to splatter and immediately add ginger-garlic paste and cook under medium flame till the raw smell disappears. Finally add the ground mixture, lemon juice and turmeric and mix well. 

After 10 min of frying under low flame, take this mixture in to separate bowl and allow it to cool. Finally divide the mixture in to 4 equal parts and flatten them in to Patti shape with your hand. Grill them on both sides with sufficient oil. Now the patties are ready and when they cool down to room temperature place them in zip lock bags and freeze them. you can use them for one week if you perfectly freeze them. when you are about to use take them out from freezer 30 min before you serve and microwave them fro 20 sec. Now, place them in the bun with your favorite toppings and dressings. Hope you like my recipe.

Click here for Chickpea Vegetable Burger
Click here for blackeyed peas burger
Click here for Indian food calorie chart

Tip: Kindly note it please, these burgers are very tender, they break easily since there is a very little binding, if you do not mind having egg then I recommend you to add one egg along with onions and carrots and mix well. Egg acts as a super binding agent and also adds moisture and great texture to your patties. If you do not like adding egg then add more wheat flour, if your patties are tender.

Tangy and Spicy Chili

Sauteed  and salted chili are my all time favorite with samosa; I do have them as a side dish with rice, especially with curd rice. My grand mother used to have raw chili's with curd rice, I tried it too, but it didn't work that great because, I started to see tears in my eyes, you could imagine how spicy it would be. But do not worry, here is the simple recipe with less spice.

Ingredients:

Long Red chili (I used Finger chili)- 5

Lemon juice 1tbsp

salt to taste

oil 4tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Slit chili along length wise on one side, remove seed if you wish, add very little amount of salt in the slit. Add them to the hot oil and saute them till they turn medium brown. Remove them from the pan and sprinkle some lime juice on top of it. There you go, spicy and tangy chili are ready to serve. Hope you enjoy my recipe, please do not forget to comment on the post and keep visiting!!!! :)

Tandoori Chicken legs With Puff pastry

Tandoori chicken is always my hubby's favorite snack. I prepare this for every special event in my house. This time I want to try something different but I do not want to disappoint him, by not making tandoori chicken. So, I tried keeping the tandoori taste same but wrapped it in a puff pastry and he liked it very much. It not only tasted wonderful but also looked like something that a professional chef presents. He was so surprised to learn that I made it. My love and bond for cooking is very strong, and getting very intense that it is  making me very professional everyday. If I were allowed to do something other than studies, then I would  immediately take spoon in one hand to cook and camera in one hand to capture frame to frame of my recipes and share with you all. My passion for cooking and photography is that zealous.

Now coming to the recipe


Ingredients:
Chicken legs---7
Curd/Yoghurt---1cup
Tandoori barbecue/barbeque masala----4ts
salt to taste
chili powder---1ts
coriander powder--1ts
Lemon juice---4ts
paprika/red color--pinch (optional- i did not add)
onions, cilantro and lemon for garnishing
Ginger garlic paste-2ts
Zip lock bag
Puff pastry sheet-1

Method:

1. Remove skin and clean the chicken drumsticks.
2. Make 6-7 deep cuts on each drumstick and keep aside
3. Now prepare marination by adding all ingredients(Curd+BBQ masala+salt+chili powder+coriander powder+lemon juice+color) in a large bowl and beat them till it attains uniform color.(2-3min)
4. Now coat each drum stick with this masala.
5. Add remaining marination along with drum sticks in to zip-lock bag and close the bag.
6. Mix by turning bag upside down 2-3 times.
7. Keep this in the refrigerator and incubate overnight.(or minimum 2-6hrs)
8. Next day, take the drumsticks out of the bag and place it on the tray that is warped with aluminium foil and greased with oil.
9. Bake at 500F for 20-25min turning at regular intervals.
10. Now, when the Tandoori chicken is almost 90% done take it out and let it cool to room temperature.  
11. Take the puff pastry out, cut a 1/2 inch strip along length wise (The longest side of pastry).
12. Now take this strip and roll it around the pastry. 
13. Refrigerate for 10min and bake it for 20min at 450F (or follow the instructions on the pastry box). 
14. When done take them out and serve hot. 

I hope you like this recipe and please leave your comments as a token of appreciation. Thank you for visiting my blog, and keep visiting for more wonderful recipes.

Noodles Vs Spaghetti; Fried egg Spaghetti

Can you identify the picture below? is it Noodles or Spaghetti. I know, it is difficult to find unless you have tasted it. Noodles and Spaghetti both look alike but they have a big difference form the way of cooking, serving and eating. 

The main ingredient of spaghetti is wheat flour, but noodles can contain different types of ingredients such as rice starch, rice flour, potato starch etc., A good quality of spaghetti is prepared of durum wheat. Noodles originated from China, where as spaghetti from Italy. The way of boiling of noodles to different from spaghetti.  Noodles are boiled in hot water with out any addition of flavor, where as spaghetti is boiled in a salted and herb flavored (optional) hot water with few drops of olive oil.


Noodles are served after stir frying them along with the ingredients where as spaghetti is served with sauce on topping. Generally, spaghetti is had with fork and Noodles with a chopstick. 

Now, enough of the story about their difference and jumping to the recipe.
As mentioned above the cooking of noodles and spaghetti is very different  But, I treat them the same and some times cook spaghetti like noodles and noodles like spaghetti. I do not mind changing the recipes because all that matters is about satisfying our taste buds. Here, I made a fried egg spaghetti with spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients
Spaghetti-1/2 box (100gr)
onion finely chopped-3tbsp
green chili finely chopped-1/4tbsp
olive oil-1tbsp
salt to taste
pepper powder to taste
spaghetti sauce-2tbsp
ginger garlic paste-1/2tbsp
egg-1

Method:

1. Take a deep bottom medium size pan and and fill it with 3/4 volume of water. 
2. Bring water to boil and add 1/4tbsp salt, 2drops of olive oil and pinch of oregano/thyme (optional).
3. Add spaghetti,  and cook till it is done (Make sure you are not over cooking it.
4. Take another thick bottom deep pan and add 1tbsp of olive oil and heat it.
5. Add onion and green chili and cook till onion turns transparent. 
6. Add ginger garlic paste and when the raw flavor goes away, add spaghetti sauce and mix well.
7. Keep stirring and cook for 2more min under medium heat. 
8. Drain water from spaghetti and add to the pan, mix well till all the ingredients are uniformly mixed.
9. Check for salt and pepper and add if required. 
10. Now in the same pan move  the noodles to one side and create an empty space, break open egg and add it on the other side of the noodles.
11. Cook till it obtains a omelet kind of texture, now scramble it  and mix with the spaghetti.
12. Serve hot, Hope you like my recipe and keep visiting for more wonderful recipes. You can also make Noodles in the similar style. I used tomato, mushroom raghu sauce, you can use any kind of sauce or only tomato puree instead of sauce.      

Bread bonda

It's been almost a month now, I have no blog post yet. I do not blame me for this delay, I balme my college (Like in telugu Movie Bomarillu Dialoge "Antha college ee chesindi!!" ;)haha! ). Finally my Fall Semester started and I am having classes every day for this sem. As ususal assignments started from Day 1. Taking a little time to post this yummy recipe.

For me bread always used to be an excuse when I was young, I used to think that bread and apple is only for those who fell sick. As we grow up our choice and taste will change along with time. Now, bread is  must in my weekly grocery list. It is like an all purpose food. We can make filling and appetizing snacks, breakfast n many more with in no time.  If you have any extra bread in your home and it is soon going to expire and you do not know what to do, then here is the excellent recipe for you, that is instant and super delicious.

Ingredients:
Bread-10 slices for 10 Bondas(I used whole wheat bread)
Oil for deep fry
12cup water in a flat plate
For stuffing:
Potato 2 large boiled
Green chili paste 3/4 tbsp
1/2 Onion finely grind
Coriander powder 1/2tbsp
Cumin powder 1/4 tbsp
Turmeric pinch( optional)
Salt to taste
Cilantro/ coriander chopped 2 tbsp
Method:
For stuffing:
Grate the potato with a large pore grater. You can mash it as well but while mashing we get some clumps.  Grating will yield more smooth stuffing. Now heat 2 tbsp of oil in a skillet and add grinded onion, ginger garlic paste and keep sauteing till the raw flavor of onion goes away. Then add turmeric, cumin powder, salt and coriander powder and mix well. While all the ingredients are finely done, add potato and cilantro and turn off the stove.
For Bondas:
Take the bread slice and tear the edges off. Heat oil for deep fry under medium flame. Wet it in a water for a fraction of a second and immediately press it between your palms to squeeze excess water. The bread should not be too dry or moist. Take 1 tbsp full of potato filling and put it at the center of the bread and bring all the edges of the bread to top of it and close it. smoothen it whith your palms. Fry these dumplings under meduim heat untill brown. Serve hot with green chutney or just sprinkle chat masala on top and serve.
These Bonds are vey crips and you can add lemon juice to the potato stuffing before filling them to bread, this imparts a tangy flavour to the recipe. Hope you like it.


 

White sauce spaghetti and Endless wait on my Visa

No one likes waiting! I don't like it too, this wait is making me restless. I feel depressed some times because of my bad luck. Feels like you are seeing much frustrated and restless me, right! well all this anger and distress is due to long wait on my visa status. We’re all aware of the identity crisis that many girls experience after they get married and come to the USA on a dependent visa, famously or infamously known as H4 visa holders. The alarming number of stories about depression and loneliness experienced by H4 wives inspired me to share this part of story of me with you all.

I am also like many girls who come USA on dependent visa. I love working and my dream is to become a successful Biotechnologist. Though I have masters degree in India it is not enough to get a job here. So, I have joined school, for MS degree again. Recently, I have been granted an assistantship by my school, for which I am not eligible since I am on dependent visa. I have to apply for so called student visa F1. It's been more than two months now, still status is stuck at an initial review. I would give a damn to such rules that make the dependents more frustrated. I do not know what to do right now! I should have an SSN by next week to have my assistantship in hand. I would fairly consider this as an injustice to the dependent visa holders that they cannot work. At home I always feel that I am in golden cage where my dreams are being burnt in a charcoal casserole. I am stumbling all along my path towards my dream goal since I am in USA. Life here is not so easy if you come here with a dream, you have to do much more hard work than you think, to make your dollar dreams come true someday., I hope that all will be well soon and ending my story with a positive note and anxiety..

I just happened to see this recipe on some TV show one day and made it yesterday. It was really awesome and I am happy to share with you all, you will definitely love it.

Ingredients
Spaghetti: 1/2 packet
Water as required
salt to taste
milk-1 cup
wheat flour/ all purpose flour/ maida-1tbsp
pepper powder to taste
oregano or your favorite herbs-1/2tbsp
olive oil-1tbsp
garlic crushed-1/2tbsp
cheese of your choice- I used American cheese and suggest you to use shredded cheddar cheese.
If you wish to add veggies you can add them boiled
1tbsp of butter/olive oil
Method
Fill the pot with 3/4th water and bring it to boil. Add 1/2tbsp salt and spaghetti. While the spaghetti cooks we will prepare sauce. it should cook in just 10min. Then you drain 1/2 of water and keep it aside with remaining water left in it so that spaghetti may not stick to each other. But, while serving remove entire water.

For sauce:
Add 1tbsp of butter/olive oil in a medium heat pan and add 1tbsp of maida/wheat flour. Fry till it turns slight brown. Add 1 cup of milk and and keep stirring on a medium flame. Soon the mixture turns to a thick paste and to that paste add herbs, salt and pepper. Mix well and turn off the stove.

Seasoning Spaghetti

Heat 1/2tbsp of oil in a pan and add garlic and vegetables if you wish and mix well. Finally add spaghetti when the raw flavor of garlic disappears.

Serving:

Noe take a serving bowl and add spaghetti. Spread white sauce on top of it and sprinkle come cheese. yummy and delicious white sauce spaghetti is ready. I suggest you to add mushrooms to this recipe, it gives an amazing taste to this recipe.

Hope you will enjoy it.

Dhokla with the readymade flour available in the market

Dhokla is one of the dish I always wanted to try, this time I bought some ready made dokla flour form the "Patel brothers" one of the Indian grocery store in our near by area. The ingredients on the pack say that it contains besin (Gram flour) and rice flour. I was little confused, about the kind of ingredients that goes into the recipe. Later I did a little research and came up with my own recipe. It worked, dokla came out wonderfully. I never tasted dokla before, but now after making this yummy and healthy Indian flour cakes, I regret for not tasting them before. Form now dokla always stays in the weekly snack menu of our home.

I feel so dumb sometimes, because I bought dokla flour but forgot the fact that I do not have dokla plates. If your case is same like me, give me "high-5"!! No problem you can use the idli plates instead. Problem solved!  Now coming to the recipe.

Ingredients:
Dokla flour- 1 cup
Curd/ Yogurt-1/2cup

Turmeric-1/4 t.s
Chilli powder-1/4 t.s 
salt-1 t.s
Curry leaves-8
Green coriander-2 tbls
Eno fruit salt-1 t.s

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds- 1/2tbsp

oil-2tbsp

water-3tbsp

Whole green chillies-4

Coriander/cilantro leaves few

fresh grated coconut (optional)

PROCEDURE-
Take curd/yogurt in a bowl, beat well, then mix dhokla flour, turmeric, salt, chopped green chillies, lemon juice and chilli powder and make a semi thick batter with water. Keep aside for 20 minutes,add more water if it became thick.

Grease the plates with oil , add 1/2 t.s eno to the mixture and mix well and pour in to the greased plates and steam them. I used Microwave Idli maker for this process, I kept on high for 7min. Later when the dhoklas are ready wait for  5 minutes and let them set. When the dhoklas are all set remove them from the plates and cut into square or diamond shape pieces.

For seasoning:
Heat 3 tbls of oil in a small pan,add 1 t.s mustard seeds,pinch of asafoetida,,when done ,add 2 tbls of water in it and then garnish this mixture on the top of the dhokls along with coriander/cilantro and fresh coconut

Serve these yummy cakes with mint or coconut chutney. Hope you like my recipe, please leave your valuable comments and keep visitng.  

Besin Bhendi Fry

Besin/ Senaga Pappu/ Gram flour is one wonderful powder that adds magic taste to few recipes, besin bhendi is one of them. Everyone like their bhendi/Bendakaya fry crispy and no sticky, that is possible only when we deep fry the vegetable which is unhealthy. Addition of besin to the already cooked bhendi fry makes the curry non greasy by absorbing all the moisture in the fry. Bhendi is my dad's favorite vegetable, now after tasting this curry my hubby became a huge fan of bhendi. Now coming to the recipe.

Ingredients
Bhendi/Ladies finger- 20 in number chopped to medium size pieces
Besin flour- 3tbsp
onion- finely chopped-1 small
green chili-1 chopped
Ground nuts/palli- fried in oil till golden brown-20 in number (optional)
red chili powder-1/4tbsp
salt to taste
Amchur powder/dry mango powder-1/2tbsp(Optional, but gives a kind of snack flavor to the recipe)
Coriander powder-1/2tbsp
cumin powder-1/4tbsp
Oil-3tbsp
ginger garlic paste-1/2tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
Cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
urad dal (Minapa pappu)-1tbsp

Directions
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when they start splattering add cumin seeds and urad dal. When the urad dal turns brown add onion and fry till they are transparent. Add turmeric and ginger garlic paste and cook till raw smell disappears. Add bhendi and cook till they are tender you can cook even by closing the pan with a lid or in an open pan. Cooking in a closed pan makes it to cook faster, but once the bhendi is cooked you will have to remove the lid and cook. Add Cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt and amchur powder and mix well. Finally add 3 tbsp of besin flour and mix well. Cook in the while lid open under medium flame till the fry turns crispy. Finally add oil roasted ground nuts and mix well. Turn off the stove garnish with cilantro if you like and serve with rice. This goes awesome with tomato rasam and white rice.
Hope you like my recipe, please leave your valuable comments!!!

Spring Onion Gram flour curry

Few days back when I visited Vimitha anad's blog "My culinary trial room" I found this amazign recipe. It is very simple and I love this curry due to a very special reason that I always dump the leftover spring onions every time I bought it, now I know how wonderful recipes can be made from scrach as well. This recipe is very simple and it tastes wonderful with pulka/roti. I just fell in love with this curry by tasting it just one time. Hope you will like it too!

Ingredinets:
Spring onions -1 bunch(10 in number) chopped
Onion finely chopped-1/2cup
Gram flour/besin-2tbsp
Green chili finely chopped-1
Mustard seed-1/2tbsp
cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
turmeric pinch
red chili- 1
oil-2tbsp
ginger garlic paste-1/2tbsp
Red chili powder-1/4tbsp
salt to taste

Directions:
Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and when they start splattering add red chili and onion. When the onion turn transperant, add ginger garlic paste, turmeric and when the mixture leaves the raw smell. Add Spring onion and they will cook in 5min under medium flame., when they are done add red chili powder, salt and mix well. Finally add gram flour and mix well. cook for 2min under slow flame. Garnish with cilantro if you wish. Serve hot with roti or it goes well with rice too!
hope you like my recipe please leave your valuable commets!!!!

Moong Dal Halwa

Halwa is everyones favorite. Making of halwa is very simple process, these preprations make in almost all house holds during festivals in India. If you have a sudden guest in your home, this is the perfect dessert you can make in minutes and serve hot. I love all kinds of halwa, but gajar/carrot halwa is always my favorite. Moong dal halwa tastes wonderful, you can't have just one spoon. I made this yesterday and you all know that my hubby does not have sweet tooth, but he finished the entire bowl that I served in no time. He just liked it soo much. I love watching him, enjoying my recipes :D.

Ingredients
Moong dal/Pesara Pappu -2cups
Ghee-4tbsp
Jaggery grated-1 and 1/2 cups, if using sugar-2 cups...you can also add brown sugar if you like
Milk-3cups
cardamom powder-1/2tbsp
Nuts and dry fruits as per your taste (For garnishing)

Directions
Dry roast Moong dal and grind it in to a coarse powder when it is chill. In a deep, thick bottom non-stick pan boil milk, when the milk came to boil add moong dal powder and mix well. When the moong dal absorbs all milk and starts becoming thick add sugar/jaggery (Bellam)/ brown sugar and mix well. Also add ghee, cook under medium flame and keep stirring the mixture. Now when the ghee starts leaving the halwa from the sides of the pan, add cardamom powder and mix well. Take the mixture in to the serving bowl and garnish with nuts and dry fruits. You can serve it hot or cold.  Kids love chilled halwa. You can also make burfis out of this halwa, by pouring the halwa on a ghee greased plate and allow it to chill in a fridge, cut it in to bars  and serve. Hope you like my recipe. I just enjoyed it!!!!

Please post your comments and like me on facebook.
cheers,
DD

Methi Tomato Rice

Greens are always my favorite in my diet, even my hubby love to have geens every day. My mother used to make mixed geen leaf curry (Kalakura) form spinach(Palakura), sukka kura, methi(menthem kura), bacchal kura and tota kura. I love this curry, it tastes wonderful and good for health, we can rarelay find such type of combos that are made tasty and healthy! Oops I think I deviated from the topic,. So, today I made this wonderful methi rice, I never know that methi rice tastes this good, because I always thought methi is sour in taste so the rice also will taste the same, but to my wonder the rice was that awesome that I and my hubby finsihed it in no time. Try it you will make it again and again like me!!!
 Want to know about calories in Indian food CLICK HERE TO VIEW CALORIE CHART

Ingredients:

Cooked rice-4 cups(Measured with 160ml cup)

Tomato puree- 1 cup(160ml)

Onions finely chopped-1/2cup

Cumin seeds-1/2tbsp

Methi/fenu greek leaves-2cups

Ginger- finely grated-1/2tbsp

Garlic- finely grated-1 tbsp

Green chili-chopped-2 big(depending on the heat you require in the rice)

Salt to taste

pepper powder-1/2tbsp

Curry leaf-5 in number(optional)

Cilantro/coriander-10 springs chopped

Bay leaf-2

Cinnamon stick-1 inch

cardamom -2 cloves

Dhaniya powder/coriander powder-1/2tbsp

oil/butter-2tbsp(I prefer butter,because it gives good flavor)

turmeric-pinch

Directions:

First prepare a curry paste with tomatos+Chili by grinding them together. Take a pan and add 2ts of oil/butter and heat it, to the oil add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves. when all the spices get baked add onions, curry leaf, ginger,garlic,little turmeric, and green peas and fry until the onions are finely cooked. Now, add the first grinded paste, methi leaves and coriander powder and cook until the raw flavor of tomato vanishes. Add cooked rice and mix them. close the lid and cook in simmer for 2min. Finally garnish with cilantro and the delicious dish is ready.

Hope you like my recipe, please feel free to post your comments. They are very valuable for me, you can even subscribe by e-mail to my blog, the recipes will reach your inbox. ThanX for visiting my space. Please bookmark it to visit/ remember again.

Mushroom samosa

Whenever you remember samosa, I know you'll start drooling!!!Afterol it is favorite for everyone!! But suddenly you also remember calories, then you limit yourself to only one!!! Here is an interesting idea make your samosa in a healthy way, so that you can enjoy every bite of it and never worry about calories!! Yes, this mushroom samosa is yummy and low calorie compared to regular samosa!
Want to know about calories in Indian food CLICK HERE TO VIEW CALORIE CHART

Ingredients
Mushrooms chopped to large pieces-1cup
Boiled potato sliced-1cup
Green chili-3 and garlic cloves-2 crushed together
Salt to taste
Turmeric pinch
Amchur powder/ dry mango powder-1/2 tbsp
Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves-1/4 cup
Onion chopped-1/2cup
Jeera/cumin seeds-1/4 tbsp
Oil for deep fry and as required
Maida/ all purpose flour-2 cups( makes 6 samosa)
Voma/ vama/ajwain-1/2 tea spoon
Salt to taste

Method
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds when they splatter add onion and cook till they are tender. Add pinch of turmeric, salt, amchur powder, green chili-garlic paste and mix well. When the mixture is well cooked add potato and mix well. In another pan heat 1tbsp of oil and add mushroom slices and keep cooking them till they are well cooked, mushrooms will release water while cooking carefully remove all the water and keep frying them till they do not release any water, add this mushrooms to potato curry and finally add cilantro leaves mix well and keep it aside. You need not have to cook this mixture again.

To prepare dough for samosa take flour in a bowl and combine salt and ajwain/ vama seeds and mix well. Add 2 tbsp of oil and mix well, finally add water and mix it like a soft chapati/. Roti dough.
To make samosa roll out the maida into chapati/ roti, and keep the mixture in the middle and shape it like samosa. Fry it under medium flame and seeve hot!!
Hope you like my recipe.

Chickpeas burger Patties (Vegetarian Burger) in Indian style

These days I am kind of falling in love with the western food!!!! and I think this is because it is easy to make and I can modify to whatever taste I would like to. Today I made this yummy burger patties they are really delicious and I bet you will love it too!!! The main reason behind making this burgers is my hubby, he has been asking to make sandwiches for the lunchbox, but I felt only sandwich is not good enough for a lunch as he does a laborious work every day in the office. So, I wanted to make a highly proteinaceous and yummy recipe and that is how I came up with the idea of these delicious burgers and now I'm sharing with you!

Want to know about calories in Indian food CLICK HERE TO VIEW CALORIE CHART

Here is the recipe
Ingredients
Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans/ senagalu(white)- 2cups(When measured with 200ml cup)
Cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
Red chili powder-1/2tbsp
Salt to taste
wheat flour-2tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves/cilantro- 1/4cup
grated carrot-1/2cup
Onion finely chopped-1/4cup
Grated ginger-1/2tbsp
chopped garlic-1/2tbsp
Walnut-1/4cup

Method:
Take chickpeas in a medium size bowl and wash them. Soak the overnight in  a water and boil them. Do not cook them till they become mushy. Drain water and take them in a mixie/food processor then add all the above ingredients except carrot, cilantro and onion and grind it. Finally add remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste the mixture and adjust to your taste. If you want to make little Indanised version add chat masala/dry mango powder. Now take handful of mixture and roll it in to a sphere and flatten it. Finish it on all sides so that it remain smooth and there is no air inside it. Spread oil on all sides of the pattie and fry on a griddle. Yummy burger patties are ready!!!

Tip: Kindly note it please, these burgers are very tender, they break easily since there is a very little binding, if you do not mind having egg then I recommend you to add one egg along with onions and carrots and mix well. Egg acts as a super binding agent and also adds moisture and great texture to your patties. If you do not like adding egg then add more wheat flour, if your patties are tender.

For making burger I used 1tomato, 1slice of american cheese, 1tbsp of mayo, 1lettuce leaf and 1 onion ring with whole wheat bread. You can prepare it to your taste.

Apple Rice Pudding/ Kheer

Red delicious apples are one of my favorite apples. Now let me tell you the story about the birth of this kheer. Once up on a time I cooked the plain rice(I mean yesterday ;)), but we could not have them all so some rice was left. The next day I thought to make pudding with soy milk and almond milk. When I opened the refrigerator for milk, I saw an apple lying lonely and staring at me. Then I took it into my hands and said don't worry I will use you too and combined with rice!!!!! and that is how the yummilicious kheer was made. Isn't it interesting!!!!(I know its kinda boring)
Want to know about calories in Indian food CLICK HERE TO VIEW CALORIE CHAR

Ingredients:
Apple-1 large- grated with out pealing
Rice-1 cup(when measured with 200ml cup)
Almond milk-1/4cup(Optional, use regular/soy milk if you do not have it)
soy milk-1/4cup
Regular milk-1/2cup
Sugar-1/2cup
Cardamom powder-1/4tbsp
Nuts and raisins of your taste (I added finely chopped dates, cashew nuts, badam, walnut and yellow raisins)

Method:
Combine all milk and boil it till it reduces half, add rice to this milk and let it cook until it becomes mushy. You can use your spoon to mash rice, if your rice is taking too long to become mushy. In another non stick/thick bottom pan add grated apple and keep sauteing under medium flame till it turns light brown. When the apple is done add sugar and mix well. Cook till all the moisture evaporates. Now combine rice mixture to the apple mixture and mix well. Check for the taste add sugar if you need more. Cook this mixture in the medium heat by mixing it continuously till all the liquid in the mixture evaporates.

In the next step you can do the either way form these two methods
Method 1:
High calorie but delicious:
Heat 2tbsp of ghee(Clarified butter)/butter in a pan and add the nuts such as walnuts, cashew nuts, raisins, dates and saute till they are golden brown and add to the pudding and mix well. serve chill or hot it depends on how you like.

Method 2:
Add all your raisins and nuts directly to the pudding and mix well. This is also delicious but if you want to taste the traditional Indian flavor prefer method 1.(it is OK once in a while to have high calorie food!!!)

Oops I forgot to mention when you finish your dish turnoff the stove and add cardamom powder and mix well. (I bet your house will be filled with wonderful aroma and every one will start craving until you serve!!! I really enjoyed this recipe, hope you will love it too! please leave your valuable comment before leaving :))
 Sending this to the event "ABC series- Fruit Fiesta"

Yogurt and Heavy cream Rice (Daddojanam/curd rice)

What is more interesting in food than Daddojanam(Curd Rice). It is a simple yet delicious comforting food orginated in Southern parts of India. It is also served as a prasadam after offering to God in many Hindu temples. People like me will stand in queue of prasadam again and again for getting this delicious prasadam. I wonder how this prasad made in temples tastes wonderful. I will make this rice very often at my home for myself, my hubby do not like the smell of yogurt/curd and he developed a dislike for it from childhood. That is the reason why I prepare this rice for myself.
Addition of cream to this rice gives more lovely flavor and yummy taste.

Ingredients
Yogurt/curd-3cups
Heavy cream(Non-fat)-1/2cup
Cooked rice-2cups(cook rice by adding 1 and 1/2 cup of water for 1cup of rice)
Green chili-2 finely chopped
onion finely chopped-1/4cup
Salt to taste
Oil-2tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
curry leaf-1 rid(optional)
red chili-1

Method
Mix yogurt, cream, rice, onion, salt and green chili in a medium size bowl. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds when they splatter add curry leaf and red chili. Add this tempering to curd rice and mix well. Now the yummy Daddojanam is ready to serve. Hope you like my recipe.

Jeera Rice or cumin rice

Jeera is one of my favorite spices, especially when combined with rice it imparts a very unique and delicious flavor. My mother used to prepare this rice very often, we used to have it with curd or boondi. Yes, my favorite combo with jeera rice is curd and boondi. Try it once and you will enjoy it for sure!
In India many marriages  take place during the month of May, and you all know in this month Sun becomes our best friend and he will not leave us all day. Yes! that is the feeling I used to have from my childhood, the heat from the sun is that high during this month that is the reason why we feel as if we are walking with the Sun. So, in marriages I used to have this jeera rice with cool curd and boondi/mixture, this is a kind of a relief in a hot summer. Now coming to the recipe

Ingredients
Basmati rice/any rice- 3cups
Jeera/Cumin seeds-1tbsp
Pudina/Mint leaves-1 bunch
coriander/cilantro leaves-10 springs chopped
Salt to taste
carrot finely chopped-1/4cup(Optional, I added just for color)
Oil-2tbsp
cloves-3
cinnamon stick-1
cardamom-2
bay leaf-2
Finely chopped green chili-2
Gingere-1/2tbsp
garlic paste-1/2tbsp

Method:
Wash rice and add 6cups of water and salt to taste. Soak for 20min for better results or you can start cooking immediately.  I cooked in a rice cooker, if you are cooking out side you can do the following procedure in the vessel you are cooking rice.
Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin, cinnamon, cardamon, bay leaf and clove. Saute them for 1min under medium flame and add ginger, garlic paste, green chili, carrot and saute till carrot are half done. Then add pudina/ mint leaves and cilantro. When mint leaves are done turnoff the stove and add this mixture to the rice soaked and mix well. Turn on the rice cooker and cook like a normal rice.
When it is cooking your house will be filled with all mint and jeera flavors. If you do not have pudina/mint it is OK you can cook without it!!!

Hope you enjoy!!!
cheers,
DD

Puffed rice- Murmurala upma with celery and capsicum

Puffed rice( muramuralu) 6 cups
Green chili finely chopped 1/2 tbsp
Lemon juice 3 tbsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1-2 tbsp
Red chili 1
Onion 1 cup divided
Salt to taste
Cilantro/ coriander enough for garnishing optional
Curry leaf optional
Roasted chana dal powder-2tbsp
Celery 1 stalk finely chopped
capsicum-chopped 1/4cup



Method
Soak puffed rice in a vessel with 10 cups of water for about 5 min. Mean while heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and allow them to splatter. Then add cumin seeds & curry leaf and wait till they pop up. Now add 1/2 cup onions, green chili, capsicum &celery and sauté till they are well cooked. Add turmeric powder and sauté till raw flavor goes away. Add lemon juice and salt. Then squeeze out water from puffed rice and add it to the pan and mix well. Cook fow 3 min under medium flame sauting in regular intervals. Add remaining 1/2 cup onions and mix well. You can add 2 tbsp of roasted gram dal powder( putanala podi) which enhances the taste. You can garnish with coriander and serve if you wish. Hope you like my recipe.

Double ka meeta- Special Hyderabadi Dessert

Double ka meeta is one of the famous Hyderabadi dessert that makes you irresistible to eat. It tastes like soft gulab jamun's with lots of nuts. The bread when caramelised with milk and sugar syrup acquires an amazing taste and the dry nuts fried in ghee gives a crunchy effect.This dessert is named so because in Hyderabad bread is called as "double roti" , meeta means "Sweet" and hence the name. This sweet is served as a main dessert in many of Hyderabadi marriages and other celebrations. No Hyderabadi function is complete with out double ka meeta. I was having a packet full of bread and the expiry date was just today, so I used the entire packet to prepare this recipe(Kind of Saving!!!!hahaha :)).

Ingredients:
Serves 2
Ghee(Clarified Butter)-enough for deep fry of bread
Large Bread slices-6 (I used oat meal bread, it is optional you can use any bread you have)
Milk-30ml(I used almond milk, you can use any milk)
For syrup:
5tbsp of milk and 10tbsp of water boiled for 5min on high flame.

Method:
If you are calorie conscious and you do not want to fry your bread in large amount of ghee, here is the great idea. Take your bread piece, spread the ghee(at room temperature) on to the bread, heat a pan and add 1tbsp of ghee and spread all over. Now place the bread that is spread with ghee and fry it on both sides till it is brown. Repeat the process for all bread pieces.

Boil milk. Now take the bread dip it in the sugar syrup on both sides and again dip in milk and place it in a serving bowl. Repeat the process for all bread slices and stack them on top of each other(like a stack of coins or pan cakes) by sprinkling nuts in between. After you are done with all slices, cut them in to 4 parts and serve them after chilling in refrigerator or serve as it is!!!

Hope you like my recipe!!!!!btw I made this recipe for my hubby on valentines day, you can also try this yummy recipe and surprise your loved ones!!!!! :)

semiya spring rolls-Great idea with leftovers

Semiya is Indian Vermicelli made of durum wheat, it is free of egg. Like upma this serves as an easy making breakfast in the busy mornings. You can make this in several variations. I made with mushroom and tofu. Now a days people are taking lot of care on their diet, I am sure that you will also check for the nutrition label before you eat anything. Cultivating these food habits in your daily life is very important, make sure that what ever you eat you know the consequences of it on your health. So, friends eat healthy and stay fit. But I also suggest you not be so strict on your diet, sometimes it is OK to have kind of unhealthy fatty foods. I would like to have jilabi, any time. My all sensory neurons will stop working and only olfactory (Smell) neurons will work at that time, if I'm in front of Jilebi. Don't worry if you skip your strict diet on one day. After all you should enjoy all the pleasures to your life.

Now this recipe is made from leftover semiya upma, seasoned and modified. I already posted the recipe of upma on this blog you can click here to find it.

Ingredients:
Spring roll sheets-6
Mushrooms chopped-1cup
Onion finely chopped-1/4cup
Lemon juice-2tbsp
oil-2tbsp and for deep fry.
Mix 2tbsp of all purpose flour with 2tbsp of water.

Method:

Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add onions. When the onions are tender add mushrooms and keep sauteing them till they are well cooked. Then add leftover semiya/vermicelli. Mix well and turn off the stove. Now take the spring roll sheets, put one tbsp of semiyo on one corner and start rolling. stick the edge of the spring roll with maida/All purpose flour paste. Heat oil for deep fry in a pan and fry them under medium flame. Enjoy with tomato ketchup/green chutney.

Hope you like my recipe.