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Thứ Năm, 28 tháng 6, 2012

Cookie dough ice pops!


he world famous Florida sunshine is at its best right now, temperatures soaring every day, school closed for summer and an overactive hyper kiddo with an attention span of not more than 7 minutes. Enough things to keep me sweating, no pun intended. These days I am always on the look out for some fun project for her to get busy with. Today was the day to make these pops and FIFI the monster sock puppet! LOL.
She just turned five, a very curious, sensitive and observant girl all geared to start her kindergarten very soon. She questions everything, tries to find a reason behind anything that happens or does not happen around her. She doesn't like to be told what to do (yes she is our drama queen) and believe it or not already has developed a great sense of humor. Like this one time she asked me "mommy what kind of car does Mickey mouse's wife drive?".. "a cute pink car", I said. "No! A mini van" she screamed giggling :)) She is learning to write cursive and she LOVES math (much to my relief lol)
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Thứ Bảy, 23 tháng 6, 2012

Tirunelveli Halwa (My Way)

My all time favourite halwa to prepare and share. mostly during rainy and really cold days I crave for the most loved halwa on earth...lets face it to prepare this halwa we need a lot of time and these days each and everyone of us run out of it easily....No Time....this is my simplified version of the halwa with just 1/2 the time consumption...everyone at home are still amazed with the halwa recipe I came up with...just kidding...:P  
  • 1 Cup Wheat Flour
  • 2 Cups Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Corn Flour
  • 1 Tsp Cardamom Powder
  • 1/2 Cup Ghee
  • 4 Tbsp Coconut oil
  • 1 Pinch Salt
please view the demo video and follow the steps...:)

Method:
  • In a mixing bowl add wheat flour pinch of salt mix well add water and knead to a smooth chapathi dough consistency.
  • Add water to the dough and allow the dough to soak for 2 to 3 hours.
  • Once the dough has soaked for 3 hours mix the and strain remove the gluten from the dough we will only use the wheat which is dissolved completely.
  • Place a heat bottom wok or pot on the stove add the wheat mixture to the pot constantly keep stirring.
  • Add the sugar and cardamom powder keep stirring the process will take 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Mix the corn starch and add to the boiling mixture keep stirring till it has thickened.
  • Add the ghee and coconut oil and keep stirring the colour in the halwa will change and will start to leave sides of the pan keep stirring constantly once the ghee starts to separate from the halwa transfer in a plate decorate with cashew and serve hot or cold...enjoy...:) 
 Try using a heavy bottom pan or wok for this recipe preferably use a nonstick pan.

Thứ Năm, 21 tháng 6, 2012

Japanese Paniyaram (Takoyaki)

Takoyaki is normally prepared with seafood I did my own fusion version of this recipe and the results were awesome everyone at home liked this spicy soft and yummy lite spongy balls oh my they were to good...the first time I tried them it turned out a bit hard then added yogurt and soda it was lite as air do try my version on japanese paniyaram...:)
Finely Chopped 3 Green Chilly, 1/2 Onion and 2-3 Spring Onion
3 Chicken Sausage  Finely Chopped
1/2 Tsp Grated Ginger
2 Shredded Carrots
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Yogurt
1 Cup Maida/All purpose flour
1 Pinch Cooking Soda
1/2 Cup Water
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Its a must to have a takoyaki pan at home we call it paniyaram Chatti or pan

Do watch my video demo for the recipe ...Enjoy...:)

  • In a large mixing bowl add maida, egg, yogurt, cooking soda, salt and mix till there is no lumps. add grated ginger and chilly mix well and dilute the batter by adding extra water set aside for 10minutes.
  • In a mixing bowl add the chicken sausage, onion, spring onion, carrots and salt mix and set aside.
  • Heat the paniyaram Chatti on medium flame add enough oil ladle the batter in and fill the centre with the sausage mixture allow to fry a bit. gently turn the paniyaram and allow to fry till turn golden brown to all sides drain on a paper towel and garnish with chilly sauce mayo and finely chopped spring onion serve hot...Enjoy...:)

Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 6, 2012

Mango Lime Cooler


ot sure if its the summer doing it or its just me but lately I have been enjoying making different kinds of lemonades and summer coolers. Takes few ingredients, minimum effort and the result is a tasty drink that everyone enjoys and you get to additionally enjoy the compliments as they come back from school or work and feel the need to cool down. This is one such in the series that I made lately. With the fabulous taste and sweetness from the ripe mangoes and the fresh citrusy lime flavor, it has a feel of a sophisticated mocktail with a tropical twist. Something you would want to sit sipping on the beach on a hot summer afternoon (yes you can put an umbrella in your glass :) A refreshing taste that you will remember and will want to come back often to.
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Thứ Hai, 18 tháng 6, 2012

Mungfali Pakoda/Spicy Crispy Peanut Fritters


here are some ready-to-eat foods that we are used to seeing around us growing up. Foods that you feel like grabbing when you crave a snack, foods that mom always kept a stock of in the pantry, foods that the pharmacy store around the corner carried that it had no business selling. Then you grow up and move out. If you are like me, you move out to a place where there is neither mom's pantry nor the corner pharmacy that sold the snack. Well yeah Walgreens pretty much sells everything... but its not the same. Then mom comes for a visit and shares her cooking secrets with he beloved daughter :) This is one such recipe. A very common spicy snack in India, is sold in little snack packets in practically every store that sells snacks, but if you ever tried making these yourself, you would know these are really tricky. But if you follow the recipe closely, you will be glad you tried. You pop a couple in your mouth and you get the crunch of the crispy outer covering and by the time you get to the soft yet chewy peanut inside, the spices in the coating kick begin to make their music. Let me know if you could resist reaching out for seconds.

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Thứ Tư, 13 tháng 6, 2012

Pink Lemonade Bar


ay for me! This is something I have wanted to try for a while now. Ever since the advent of spring this year and with red ripe strawberries showing up everywhere, pictures of various strawberry based recipes including some perfect gorgeous strawberry lemonade bars all over the web. After extensive research on the internet bookmarking a lot of recipes and cooking them through in my head (or 'soft-cooking' as I like to call it), I eventually came up with my very own version of these beauties. I like to call them Pink Lemonade bars. Love the reddish purple-pink color. They are really easy too. During the soft-cooking process in my head however, they seemed a lot tricky - getting the right texture, tartness, sweetness and then cutting them into the perfect squares. They are in fact a breeze to make, gorgeous to look at and taste amazing! Hubs described it perfectly when he said it tasted like an exotic and complex sweet dish, tart and fruity balanced just right with sweet and creamy with the crust adding a playful texture. Delightful!

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Chủ Nhật, 10 tháng 6, 2012

Pasta in Roasted Mushroom Garlic sauce with Green Peas


have a met a lot of pasta lovers and very few haters - as far as I am concerned I am neutral - I don't hate it neither is it one of my most favorite. My daughter on the other hand (who is fussiest eater around) is notorious for her love of pasta. Even her preschool teacher complains she doesn't eat anything but pasta. She even went on to suggest we change her menu plan to pasta everyday at school! Hubby well- he is not fond of pasta- so the scene at home is I make pasta mac'n cheese to be precise almost every single day at home for the kiddo but never really make pasta for ourselves. That probably is the reason why I have only a couple of pasta dishes on the site. We don't even order a pasta dish when we go out to eat. Last Sunday evening I was in no mood to cook two separate meals for us so I tried to make hubby like the pasta by making this dish with lots of earthy mushroom and garlicky flavor - hubby loved it and even the kiddo enjoyed it.
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Thứ Sáu, 8 tháng 6, 2012

Condensed milk orange pound cake

ou would probably agree with me that oftentimes we crave for simple treats. No bells and whistles, just simple yet full of flavor. Don't get me wrong, bells and whistles are good and I am all for them but then there is always that morning that you want a simple breakfast, that evening that you want something nice and simple with your hot tea or coffee or that something that you can leave on the kitchen counter that hubby in his usual nonchalant self, lost in his own thoughts, picks up a piece and stops, looks around, gives you a complement on how flavorful it is and goes back to being himself. For me, this orange cake with a burst of citrus comes very close to that description. Light and fluffy,  sweet and refreshing pure spring-summer time treat! It could even be a mood lifter when you are feeling a little blue. 
I go for a light breakfast especially on weekdays. Be it a bowl of cereal or oatmeal or a quick sliced bread sandwich with some fruits and veggies. To keep things interesting, I always find myself looking for ways to come up with interesting but light and yet 'breakfasty' recipes. Interestingly enough this cake has worked many-a-times for me as a light breakfast cake. Then of course there is the possibility of dressing this cake up with frosting and it becomes a dessert. Take you pick.
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Thứ Năm, 7 tháng 6, 2012

Japanese Vegetable Dosai (Okonomiyaki)

I love Japanese food the recipes which i will be posting are some of my favorites though we cant find most of the ingredients I've managed to compare and adjust the ingredients locally found and prepared it as per my taste...:)
1 Medium Shredded Carrot
1/2 Onion (finely chopped)
1/2 Cup Cabbage (finely chopped)
5-6 Spring Onion (finely chopped)
3-4 Green Chilly (finely chopped)
1 Inch Grated Ginger
1 Cup Maida/All purpose flour
1 Egg
2 1/2 Cups Yogurt
Salt
Oil
For Sauce:
3 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1 Tsp Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp Sweet n Sour Chilly Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Green Chilly Sauce
1 Pinch Piece Chicken Stock Cube

Do watch the video demo in english...enjoy...:)
Method:
  • Add all the above measured sauces in a sauce pan place on medium flame allow till well combined...do not allow to boil..once the sauces have heated and combined well remove from flame allow to cool.
  • In a mixing bowl add all the vegetables mix well add the flour,salt, yogurt and egg mix and combine till batter consistency has formed if the batter is too thick add extra yogurt and combine till batter has formed to dropping consistency cover and allow to rest for 10minutes.
  • Heat a pan on medium flame ladle the batter spread a bit add 2 sp oil cover and allow to roast well once it has roasted to one side flip it to the other side and allow to fry till well done.
  • Serve the dosa on a serving plate apply the sauce on the dosa garnish with finely chopped spring onion and mayonnaise...serve hot enjoy...:)

Thứ Hai, 4 tháng 6, 2012

Masale wali Palak Puri/Spicy Puffed Spinach Bread

ndian food is never complete without the wonderful breads which are of vast and varied variety. Some of the ever popular ones are Naan, Paratha, Tandoori roti and of course the fluffy deep fried Puris.
We Indians have a special place in our heart for these cuties. Who doesn't love fried bread- sinful, but worth every little bite :) Weekend breakfasts, indulgent evening snack, lunch, dinner, picnics and lunch boxes, festivals and special occasions from birthdays to weddings, train journeys, famous street foods- all consist of one common thing - Puris.
Here's a confession- I am a puriholic. It has been my favorite bread since I was very little. These days I am not much into deep frying. In fact I try to avoid it at all cost but when it comes to puris I sometimes do go weak in my knees and indulges once every so often. For me, I don't even need a side - just some Indian pickle and I am all set.
This puri recipe here is how traditional puris are made in India but with a little twist. It is the same old puri but packed with the goodness of Spinach. This again is my mom's recipe as many others that you will find on USMasala. Serve with any kind of curry and creamy yogurt  srikhand or halwa or even some homemade pickle for am amazing breakfast or brunch.
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Chủ Nhật, 3 tháng 6, 2012

Maraschino Cherry Lemonade

Dad got me a big box full of fresh maraschino cherries so confused what to do with them then after some surfing on google saw a recipe for lemonade it was okay but the recipe they'd posted called for canned cherries gave this recipe my twist and it was pure....awesomeness....
people who cant find these cherries you can try the same recipe out of ooty apple which is totally in season now...:)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Maraschino cherries
4 Tbsp Glucose powder
4-5 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Cup Water + Cold water and ice cubes 

Do watch my video demo ...thank you...:)
Method:
  • In a heavy bottom pot add water and allow to boil add sugar and cherries and allow the sugar to melt and the cherries to cook in 10 minutes this process should be done. remove from flame allow to cool.
  • Once the mixture has cooled just by squeezing the cherry the seeds should pop out remove the all the seeds reserve.
  • In a blender add the cherries along with the sugar syrup lime juice and glucose blend well.
  • Strain the cheery mixture and add cold water  adjust as per your taste serve in a tall tumbler with loads of ice lime rings and cherry...enjoy...:)