Cucumber Dip with Papad.

Cucumber is finely chopped along with onion and tomato. Chaat masala and red chile powder is used to spice up the chopped cucumber and it is tempered with cumin seeds and green chiles. Immediately serve the prepared cucumber with papad.
Makes: around 2 Servings of Cucumber Dip with Papad.

Ingredients:

• Cucumber 1/2 Small One
• Onion 1/2 Small
• Tomato 1
• Green Chile 1
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp
• Cilantro few Sprigs
• Peanuts 1 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
• Chaat Masala 1/2 tsp
• Red Chile Powder 1/4 tsp
• Black Pepper Papad 1 – 2
• Salt to taste
• Oil 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

Slightly peel, wash, remove ends and finely chop the cucumber.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Wash and finely chop the tomato.
Wash, remove leaves and finely chop the cilantro leaves.
Remove stem, wash and chop the green chiles.
Microwave each papad for 30 seconds and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix together chopped cucumber, onion, tomato, cilantro, lemon juice, red chile powder, chaat masala and salt.

Heat oil in a pan, add peanuts and roast them till they change color.
Then stir in cumin seeds and green chiles and remove from heat.
Cool to room temperature and add this to the mixing bowl.
Serve cucumber dip with papad immediately.
Notes: Make sure to chop the ingredients fine.

Suggestions: If the mixture is not spicy enough, adjust with red chile powder and chaat masala powder.
Variations: You can also add the chopped cucumber mixture to the hot oil after removing the tempering from heat to soften the cucumber little but don’t over do it.
Other Names: Cucumber Dip with Papad.

Ullipaya Karam tho Vankaya Bajjilu.

Raw onion is ground into coarse paste with red chile and cumin seeds. Indian baby eggplants are stuffed with the onion red chile mixture. They are then dipped in thick besan batter and deep fried in hot oil till insides is completely cooked and outside is golden in color.
Makes: 3 Deep Fried Eggplants.

Ingredients:

• Indian Eggplants 3
• Besan / Gram Flour 1 1/4 cups
• Soda bi carb a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

For Stuffing:

• Onion 1/2 Small
• Whole Dried Red Chile 1
• Cumin Seeds a Pinch
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Wash and pat dry eggplants.
Peel and roughly chop the onion.
Remove stem, and break red chile into pieces.
Grind chopped onion, red chiles, cumin seeds and salt together into coarse paste without adding any water.

Slit each eggplant vertically twice leaving its stem intact.
Stuff each eggplant with the a tbsp of prepared onion stuffing and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix together besan, soda bi carb, salt together with enough water into smooth tight batter.

Heat oil in a frying pan on low medium heat and let oil get hot.
Dip each stuffed eggplant into the besan mixture and slowly drop into hot oil.
Fry on both sides until eggplant turns into light golden color (around 10 minutes).
Remove onto absorbent paper and repeat the same with remaining eggplants.
Serve deep fried eggplant with pickle rice or as a snack.
Notes: Make sure to fry the eggplants on low heat for a long time.

Suggestions: If insides of the eggplant are not cooked properly, deep fry the remaining on medium low heat until done. If the besan batter is not thick enough, it doesn’t coat the eggplants properly. If the batter is too thick, then the eggplants take lot of time to cook.
Variations: Also add a tsp of thick tamarind extract to the onion mixture if you wish.
Other Names: Deep Fried Eggplant, Ullipaya Karam tho Vankaya Bajjilu.

Paruppu adai, most of us would have prepared atleast once in a while, this time i went for a healthy adai by adding barley along with quinoa and grated carrots to make out this gorgeous looking healthy paruppu adai, apart from this barley and quinoa addition i followed the same process as we usually go for making paruppu adai, also to make them more colourful and healthy i have added some grated carrots while grinding the soaked dals, barley and quinoa, this healthy adai takes marvellous along with spicy coconut chutney and its really nutritious to enjoy without any guilt, quite a beautiful and delicious adai and a better way to eat barley and quinoa together along with dals...This interesting paruppu adai goes directly to Kiran's CWF-Barley, Healing Foods-Carrots guest hosted by Suma, event by Siri..

Ingrredients:

• 1cup Barley
• 1/2cup Quinoa
• 1cup Channadal
• 1/2cup Toor dal
• 1/2cup Yellow split moongdal
• 1/2cup Urad dal
• 1/2cup Brown rice
• 4nos Dry red chillies
• 1tsp Fennel seeds
• 2cup Carrots (grated)
• Salt

Method:
Soak the barley,quinoa, brown rice along with all dals for atleast 4 hours..grind the soaked dals along with barley, quinoa and rice with dry red chillies & fennel seeds, grated carrots with enough water and salt as bit coarse paste...

Heat a nonstick pan...pour a ladle of this paruppu adai batter, drizzle the oil and cook on both sides until the adai get well cooked..Serve hot with spicy coconut chutney..

My passion for baking never stops me to try out many various bakes, when i saw last month's Sweet punch challenge with tiramisu cake, i was really sad, dunno how i missed that challenge and dont want to miss anymore those beautiful bakes and immediately i send a mail to the SP group, Divya was kind enough to accept my request and send me immediately this devil's food cupcakes recipe along with the revealing date, i prepared this marvellous, delicious cupcakes before few days ago, its completely a hard task for me to keep this cupcakes away from my family until i take some clicks, yeah they loved it much and they didnt even let me alone to take some clicks before they get vanished, my H had this beautiful cupcakes for lunch as dessert and for breakfast along with coffee, the same happened with my teddies too, they enjoyed each and every bite of the fabulous, droolworthy devil's food cupcakes..I was very happy and really enjoyed making this fantastic challenge, thank god i didnt missed this month's challenge..Coming to the filling, i found this vanilla cream filling very much interesting which is quite light, super delicious and not too fatty when compared to the whipped cream filling, this filling is definitely gonna be a keeper for me to try out with chocolate or any other flavour as filling while am gonna make some cupcakes or muffins next time..

Recipe Source: Baking Bites
For Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter( room temperature)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream (low fat or full) -can be substituted with yogurt or cream mixed with a tsp of yogurt (i used yogurt)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2-oz dark chocolate
• 1 cup water( boiling)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease two 12-cup muffin tins.In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by sour cream and vanilla extract..In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add half of flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla extract, followed by the addition of the rest of the flour mix. Stir well between each addition and mix until no streaks of flour remain.Stir the cocoa powder and the dark chocolate into the boiling water (easiest in a large measuring cup). Pour chocolate water into the rest of the batter and stir until uniform.
Evenly distribute batter into prepared baking cups. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. (It’s fine if you can’t fit both trays into the oven at the same time, just wait until one batch finishes before putting in the second pan)
Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling:

• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk (low fat)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Stir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until lightl. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electrick mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a thick, but not stiff, frosting that is easy to spread. Add additional milk, if necessary, to thin the frosting if it gets too thick.

To Assemble:
(A photo how-to of the assembly method can be found here.) Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

Take the cream filling and squeeze a tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling the hole up to the top with filling. Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.
Using a butter knife or a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a layer of chocolate buttercream frosting. Place a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake (on top of the cut out circle of cake) and spread from the center to the sides of the cupcake.

If you have leftover filling, transfer it to a fresh ziploc bag and cut a very small opening in one corner. Pipe a swirly line down the center of each cupcake.
Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

I baked 2 dozen of this cupcakes and i didnt change anything from the original recipe except the flour used in vanilla cream filling...This devil's food cupcakes were extremely moist, delicious and prefect for chocoholic peoples like me to enjoy anytime...

Marie Biscuit Choco Balls

We would relish these addictive marie biscuit chocolate wonders during our growing years. In recent past these impressive treats have re-appeared in my kitchen. For Nehal. They are incredibly sweet, making them an ideal dessert for kiddy parties. You can add nuts for some crunch or decorate with granulated sugar, sprinkles or coconut flakes or top with M&M’s/gems.

Marie Biscuits Choco Balls Recipe

Make a powder of 14-15 marie biscuits. Sieve and use the fine biscuit powder. Beat 1 1/2 tbsps butter till smooth. To this, add the biscuit powder, 2 tbsps cocoa pwd, 1 tbsp dessicated coconut pwd (optional), few drops of vanilla essence and 6-7 tbsps of condensed milk and combine well to form a smooth dough. Grease your fingers and palm with melted butter or ghee and roll into small balls. Keep aside. Roll the balls in sprinkles or dessicated coconut and serve. You can eat them plain too, the way I like them. OR place a glazed cherry in the center and form a ball of the chocolate dough.

Spring Onion Pakoda

Spring onion Pakoda – A perfect monsoon snack! Its been pouring all day long and my palate has been craving for a deep-fried comforting snack. These pakodas have a soft texture as compared to the crispy ‘gatti pakodi’. Make for a wonderful savory tea time snack or appetizer.

Check out other versions of Pakodas, Ulli Pakodi (Onion Pakoras) and Ullikadala Pakodi (Onion stalk Pakodas).

Spring Onion Pakoda Recipe
Prep & Cooking Time: 25-30 mts
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups besan/gram dal flour/chickpea flour
• 2-3 tbsps rice flour
• 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
• pinch of cumin pwd
• pinch of garam masala pwd
• 8-10 spring onions whites, finely chopped
• spring onion greens, finely chopped
• few curry leaves, tear
• salt to taste
• pinch of baking soda
• water as required
• oil for deep frying

Method:

1 Combine both the flours with salt, soda, spring onion whites and greens, cumin pwd, garam masala pwd, chilli pwd, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Add enough water and mix well that it forms a thick batter, similar to idli batter.
2 Heat enough oil for deep frying in a deep frying vessel. It should be piping hot, reduce flame to medium and use your fingers to drop the batter in the oil to form small fritters. Deep fry till they turn golden brown. Use a ladle to keep turning the fritters so that it cooks on all sides.
3 Once they turn golden brown, remove them on to absorbent paper. Serve as evening snack over a hot cup of masala chai (spiced tea).

Brussels sprouts with Ginger.

Brussels sprouts are chopped into halves or quarters. Oil is tempered with typical South Indian spices and onion and ginger is briefly fried. Chopped brussels sprouts are added to the tempered oil and cooked on low flame till just soft.
Makes: around 4 Servings of Brussels sprouts with Ginger.

Ingredients:

• Brussels Sprouts 15 – 20
• Onion 1 Large
• Green Chiles 2 – 3
• Ginger 2 inch Piece
• Turmeric Powder a pinch
• Salt to taste

Talimpu:

• Chana Dal 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal 1/2 tsp
• Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds 1/2 tsp
• Broken Red Chiles 3
• Asafoetida a pinch
• Curry Leaves 4
• Oil 1 tbsp

Method of preparation:

Peel a layer off of the brussels sprouts and remove the hard ends.
Wash them thoroughly and halve them.
Alternatively, slice the brussels sprouts into quarters.

Peel and chop the onion.
Remove stems, wash and slice the green chiles.
Peel and mince the ginger.

Heat oil in a pan, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When urad dal changes color, add green chiles, ginger and onion
Once onion is translucent, stir in brussels sprouts and season with salt.
Cook covered on low flame till brussels spouts are soft but not mushy (around 15 – 20 minutes).
Sprinkle little water if the sprouts tend to stick to bottom of the pan and stir occasionally.
Uncover and stir fry on high flame for a minute to give it a little crunch and evaporate any excess moisture.
Serve brussels sprouts with ginger with steamed rice or with roti.
Notes: Make sure to cook the brussels sprouts right.

Suggestions: If the brussels sprouts are not cooked well, put it back on heat, add a splash of water and cook covered till done.
Variations: Also squeeze half a lemon at end or add little bit of tamarind extract while cooking the brussels sprouts.
Other Names: Brussels sprouts with Ginger.

I still remember how we discovered this amti. My whole family had gone to Shri Ashtavinayak tour. When we returned back to Mumbai, it was late and we hadn't dined yet. So we decided to eat out. There is this restaurant called "Trupti" right opposite Plaza cinema at Dadar, Mumbai. We went in and ordered a Maharashtrian Thali. Among many delectable items, we tasted this godya vaalachi amti for the first time. Now, we do use gode vaal in our cooking and my grandmother used to make a coconut based curry with it. But this one was simpler to make as it doesn't involve any grinding. The only requirement is a good quality Goda Masala.


Godya Vaalachi Amti
Beans Curry
Ingredients

• 3 cups gode vaal/suri vaal, cooked
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp jaggery
• 2-3 kokum
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

Tempering

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp goda masala

Garnish
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp fresh coconut, grated

Method
1. Pressure cook gode vaal and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafoetida & curry leaves. As they splutter, add goda masala. Stir fry for 1 minute without letting the masala burn.
3. Add cooked beans along with the cooking liquid, kokum, jaggery, chili powder and salt. Add more water to get a curry consistency. Bring to boil.
4. As the curry boils, switch the gas to low. Add coconut and cilantro. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Note -
1. The curry is sweetish and has thin consistency.
2. Please do not substitute any other spice mix for goda masala.
3. 3 cups gode vaal in the ingredient list are obtained by soaking about 1 cup dry gode/surti vaal.

Chappathis and puris are our family favourite except my hubby, i dont bother to make parathas or chappathis for us and make something else to him in case he dont want to have them mostly for our dinner..But for my surprise,he enjoyed this masala sprouted moong parathas for our dinner along with spicy coconut chutney..Needless to say that we thoroughly enjoyed having this nutritious and healthy soft parathas along with chutney..I prepared this masala paratha with sprouted whole green moongdal which i grinded as a smooth paste along with cumin powder, garam masala powder, green chillies,yogurt and coriander leaves, finally prepared a soft and stiff dough along with atta flour...I didnt add turmeric powder or chilli powder in this paratha to give them some colour, this paratha tastes too soft and delicious coz of the grounded paste i used for making out this paratha, personally i felt that this parathas are definitely a best and better way to sneak these moong sprouts..

Ingredients:

• 4cups Atta flour
• 1cup Sprouted green moong dal
• 3nos Green chillies
• 1tsp Cumin seeds
• 1tsp Garam masala powder
• 2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
• Salt
• 1cup Yogurt
• Few all purpose flour (for dusting)
• Oil

Method:
Grind the sprouted moong, green chillies, cumin seeds, garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves along with yogurt as fine paste, add this grounded paste,water, salt to the atta flour and slowly knead as soft and stiff dough..

Make small balls from the dough and roll them as medium sized disc, heat a griddle, gently drop the rolled parathas, drizzle few drops of oil and cook on both side until the brown spots appears..

Serve with any spicy chutneys..

While its too hot and humid, our mind always goes for something refreshing to drink, am here today with a beautiful green buttermilk which i prepared with some fresh and crunchy lettuce leaves along with buttermilk, spiced with pepper powder, salt and chaat masala..This buttermilk is definitely a thirsty quencher and its tastes very refreshing once this buttermilk served chilled...Since the name lettuce was quiet not familiar in making juices or shakes, the little ones at home were curious to taste this gorgeous green buttermilk and they loved it..Then only i wanted to post them in my space coz anything not accepted by my family wont never ever get posted in my space..Earlier i never posted whenever my family doesnt like them, but now most of my creative dishes are very much welcome in my family and am very happy...Coming to this lettuce buttermilk, u can either serve them with ice cubes with some lemon juice or either u arrange them in fridge for few hours and serve them chilled..

Ingredients:

• Few lettuce leaves
• 2cup Buttermilk
• Pepper powder
• Salt
• Chaat masala
• Lemon juice (per need)

Method:
Grind the lettuce leaves with few buttermilk as fine paste, now add the remaining buttermilk, pepper powder, salt, chaat masala and lemon juice and blend everything as smooth buttermilk, u can either strain the buttermilk, but i didnt strain them..Serve with ice cubes or chilled...

An apt one, for these sultry summer days. This creamy soup with slight hints of ginger works as a light meal for those 'not very hungry' moments.

Ingredients for 3 - 4 servings:

• 1 - 2 tsp oil (or butter)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots - diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 tsp grated / finely chopped ginger
• 1 & 1/2 cup milk (use fat free / whole milk / half & half)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Bread croutons for garnish

Method:
* Add oil and onion to a microwave safe bowl and cook for 2 -3 minutes.
* Then add the carrot cubes, ginger and about a cup of water / broth to the bowl. Cook for 6 -7 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
* Add milk to the carrot mixture and blend it into a puree using a blender.
* Season with salt and pepper.
* Cook until very hot with out bringing the soup to boil.
* Serve hot with croutons.

Another look at the soup.

This soup is on it's way to my Healing Foods - Carrots, an event originally started by Siri.

Weekend my H purchased seedless watermelon from the farmer's market and we enjoyed having those sweet chunks and as usual after having the sweet watermelon chunks, my H helped me to remove the white part of watermelon and conserved them in air tightened box, finally i used those white part of watermelon along with sprouted fenugreek seeds to make this delicious kootu, most of my blogger friends would have know that i used to add sprouts more in my dishes, sometimes i used to freeze them in a ziplock bags, earlier i have freezed these fenugreek sprouts and its quite handy to make out curries with them..I have added carrot chunks to mask the bitterness of fenugreek sprouts so that anyone at home wont notice these sprouted fenugreek in this dish..These kootu tastes marvellous along with hot steaming rice with papads and pickles, we enjoyed having for our lunch and this healthy kootu goes directly to Nithu's Best Out Of Waste & to Think Spice - Think Fenugreek guest hosted by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes, event by Sunita..

Ingredients:

• 2nos Carrots (chopped)
• 1/4cup Sprouted fenugreek seeds
• 1cup Watermelon (white part & chopped)
• 1/2cup Toor dal
• 1/4cup Moong dal
• 1no Onion (chopped)
• 1no Tomato (chopped)
• 1/4tsp Turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil
• 1tsp Mustard seeds, urad dal & cumin seeds
• 3nos Dry red chillies
• Few curry leaves
• 1/4tsp Asafoetida powder

To Grind:

• 1/4cup Grated coconut
• 3nos Green chillies
• 1tsp Cumin seeds
• 1tsp Peppercorns

Method:
Grind all the ingredients given under the list 'To Grind' as fine paste with some water, meanwhile wash and soak both dals for few minutes.. heat a tsp of oil, add the chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and saute for until the onions turns transculent, add the chopped watermelon pieces, sprouted fenugreek seeds and chopped carrot pieces, saute until the veggies get half cooked, now add the soaked dals with turmeric powder, salt to the cooking veggies, add enough water and pressure cook everything upto 3 hisses..heat enough oil, fry the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds along with asafoetida powder and curry leaves keep aside and once the pressure get released, add this tempered spices, grounded paste to the cooked veggies & dal..cook for few minutes and put off the stove..

Serve hot with rice and papads...