Khaman Dhokla (ICC)

Hi, this is the recipe for the Indian cooking challenge, which is hosted by srivalli of spicyingyourlife I had such a wonderful time preparing this today morning and except for the rising time it was so quick to make with no fuss, and the end product was absolutely gorgeous, and all my friends out their you must try this recipe.

My daughter enjoyed it thoroughly only thing was I had to make a sweet chutney for her !!, Valli thanks so much for the recipe you selected and it just turned so fluffy and soft. Here goes the recipe.....

KHAMAN DHOKLA

For Batter

Bengal Gram Flour 250 gms ( 1 & 1/2 cup)

Curd 1/2 cup (not very sour)

Water 1/2 cup

Cooking Soda 1/2 tsp

Seasoning

to be mixed to the batter which is to be added just before cooking

Oil 1 tbsp

Turmeric a pinch

Green chilli paste 1-2 tsp

Sugar 1tsp heap

Citric acid 1/4 tsp ( if not use Lemon Juice)

salt to taste

Eno 1 packet (5 gms- 1 tsp) for tempering (Green colour Fruit Lime)

For Tempering

Sesame Seeds

mustard seeds

cumin seeds

coriander leaves

Grated coconut

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients under the batter heading without any lumps like an Idli batter it should be in dropping consistency, Not too thick not too thin, Add soda and Keep it aside for an hour.

to rise.

Once the batter is raised to the batter add Citric acid (I added Lemon Juice) oil, salt, sugar, chilli paste (which i omitted) & turmeric powder which should be done right before pouring it to the plate

Now mix Eno to the batter

Dust or Sprinkle Eno to the plate, Then immediately pour the batter to the plate.

And allow it to steam in the pressure cooker just like Idlis for 5 to 7 minutes. Leave it for few minutes, Remove the lid check with a tooth pick if it is cooked, so it comes out clean,

In a bowl mix 3 tsp of water and a tsp of oil mix well, and pour it over the dhokla. Then in a wok heat a tbsp of oil and temper it with all the ingredients in the tempering list and pour it over the dhokla Now you cut it into cubes or however you choose and serve it with Green chutney or sweet chutney

Whole meal pizza

Hi, This is the first time I tried with a whole meal flour, I took this from a book called Bread by sarah lewis, actual recipe uses strong white flour, I have substituted it with strong whole meal flour, I really had a tough time kneading this dough, My hands were really paining,This makes four 8 inch pizzas, again I did this in the night my photos are really gorgeous!!! :), hahaha, I know I always keep on moaning about my photos, and my ugly looking blog!!, I am scared somebody might write to me to say stop it!!, Well, coming back to my pizza, I did not have a round pizza tray and had a square one I did it on this, my kids just loved it and enjoyed, aparna's baking has inspired me so much, I have become so passionate about baking, she wrote to me and said that I have to take it slowly and do it.., thanks aparna for your lovely suggestions, Here is the recipe for this pizza, actually I baked this last month and wanted to send it to madhu's baking event but never posted it on time!!

WHOLE MEAL PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 400 gms (13 oz, 3 & 2/3cups) strong whole meal flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 & 1/4 tsp fast action dried yeast
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2oo ml (7 fl. oz, 1 cup water) ( I used 1 & 1/2 cup water)

For the topping

• I just used vegetables like green & red peppers sliced, Tomatoes sliced, few spinach leaves,
• mozzarella cheese grated ( to completely cover the pizza - grated 300 to 400 gms)
• 2 to 3 tbsp of Italian herbs
• 1 tbsp of salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Few sprigs of Basil leaves

METHOD

1. Put the flour into a large bowl then stir in the salt, sugar & yeast. Add the oil then gradually mix in enough warm water to make a soft dough
2. Knead the dough well on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. ( i kneaded more than 10 minutes and did the nupur's method of checking if I have kneaded well by the window method !!). Put the dough back into the bowl, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead well then cut into 4 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a roughly shaped circle about 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter and transfer to 2 large greased baking sheets.
4. Spread the tops with the topping ingredients mentioned above, and oil and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes or until the dough is risen around the edges.
5. Bake in a preheated oven 220 degrees (425 d F) Gas Mark 7, for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and the edges of the pizza are browned. Transfer to plate and serve immediately

I changed the toppings from what they she had mentioned, the toppings my daughter did as she wanted, she was acting like a big cook and spreading all the ingredients in it!!.

Toppings and flour from the Original recipe:

2oog canned chopped tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves chopped, 50g baby spinach leaves, 400g mozzarella cheese, 50g sun-dried tomatoes(in oil thinly sliced), 100g pancetta diced, 2tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper.

The Original recipe had Strong white flour used.

Kids just loved it and ate the whole pizza I just had a small marble-sized bite!!, So you would know now how they would have enjoyed it!! I enjoyed making it..

Cucumber Pachadi

Of course everybody knows how to make this pachadi, I make it in two ways, I made this method on Thiruvaadipooram, with rava kesari, lemon rice, Aloo curry, my children loved it all!  This is a very simple learnt it from mom, and is our all time favourite, when I started making it in my in-laws house my Brother-in-laws used to say, you could just give it in a cup it is delicious  to eat just like that !

CUCUMBER PACHADI

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 2 to 3 sprigs of coriander leaves
• a pinch of asafoetida
• salt as required
• 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut
  
• 2 flakes of Tamarind
• 2 tbsp of Roasted gram or chutney dal/daria dal
• 1 tbsp of Black Til seeds
• Piece of Jaggery
• 4 to 5 green chillies
• 1 & 1/2 to 2 cups of Plain curds or Yogurt

Seasoning :

• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

METHOD

1. Peel the skin ( if you don't mind having the skin then it is fine too) cut both the ends rub each piece against each end (I will tell you why in my notes)
   
2. Wash both the ends and now it is ready to cut,  chop them into thin pieces just you make for Kosambaris, and keep it aside
3. In a wok fry til seeds, till they start like popping up, then allow it to cool
4. with a tongs hold the tamarind flakes directly on to the fire and just roast it a little bit (i will tell you why in my notes)
5. In a mixer add all the ingredients , the Til seeds, washed Coriander leaves, Roasted gram dal, Tamarind flakes, green chillies, grated coconut, grind all these into a smooth paste in the last round add jaggery too.
6. Take this ground paste and mix it with plain curds or yogurt with a pinch of asafoetida and salt as  required.
7. Heat oil in a wok, add mustard seeds, once they start spluttering add sprig of curry leaves saute for a minute and add it to the pacchadi

CUCUMBER PACHADI II

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber 
• 3 to 4 green chillies
• salt as required
• pinch of asafoetida
• sprig of curry leaves
• 3 to 4 sprig of coriander leaves

METHOD

The method is almost the same only thing is I will not use all the ingredients in the above said method and here I do not chop cucuber into thin pieces but either I grate them or grind the whole cucumber with all the above said ingredients and mix it with curds or plain yogurt and then serve it with seasonings just as in the above method, If you want you can even add 1 tsp of chenna dal & urad dal in the seasoning.

Notes

1. Some cucumbers have a bitterness in them, so we need to take this out, that is why you have to cut both the ends, and rub each piece against the cut portion, then you would notice a white foam like thingy coming out from them, once both the ends are done wash them off and then peel and use the cucumber, these days the skin of cucumber is not peeled just to retain the goodness or the nutritive value or that it is edible too!!.
2. Long back when I was in India I saw in a TV programme that as Tamarind is not very good if used excessively, the alternate method what you can do is if you are using them like this as in chutneys, pacchadi directly, what you can do is hold the flakes to the flame heat them slightly on both the sides and use them in your dishes.  Like wise when I use them making powders and chutneys where I involve frying of the ingredients I fry Tamarind also in the wok.
3. Spiciness, salt, tamarind, jaggery, yogurt depends on how big your vegetable is!!, think how much you need according to that and use, as it may vary.

Mango-papaya rava kesari - Thiruvaadipooram

Today is Thiruvaadipooram, this is the day Aandal (Godai) was born, As Aandal was found in the earth she was called Godai, just like Seetha, she was an Ayonije,  They say that she was not a imaginative character but they have found that she truly lived and like meera she thought vishnu was her husband and married him ! She was born in Srivalliputur in Ramanathapuram District of Tamilnadu, The place still has the Tulasivana (garden) and the temple both father periyalvaar and Godai where they prayed God Vatapatrashai (sri krishna), these all still exist their and depicts that she lived.  Aandal  with her love towards sriranganathar gets married to him, the temple where she gets married to him is in Thiruchanapalli. She was also called Neeladevi as they say that she was Mahalakshmi's avatara, She was also called Shudikudutta Naachiyaar as she always made a garland for him and use to wear it on her head and see herself in the mirror and then she used to send it to the temple.

Then she did a vratha which is in the song form, of how she prayed him to attain him and it is called Thirupaavai, and it is in 30 stanzas or paasharas, These songs are sung one each day in the month December which is called Dhanurmaasam in Tamil, The temples in south of India, like the vishnu temples get closed very early these 30 days, and song is sung everyday.., these songs tell how she did her vratha each day and how she prayed sriranga, even today lot of girls do this vrata to get a good husband & their married life live long, some of them sing this to attain the grace of moksha, and to fulfill lot of their wishes.

MANGO-PAPAYA RAVA KESARI

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Chiroti Rava ( fine Semolina)
• 1/4 cup Mango pieces 
• 1/4 cup Papaya pieces 
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Ghee (as required)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 to 1/2 cup water
• Kesar colour (optional & I did not use it )
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of Paccha Karpooram (edible Camphor)
• 1 tbsp of dry grapes ( ona drakshi)
• 1 tbsp of cahewnut pieces

METHOD:

1. Take a wok, add a tsp of ghee and fry semolina until it smells good and then take it out and keep aside.
2. In the same wok add water and allow it boil, meanwhile take the chopped fruits in a bowl and just cook it for a few minutes in the microwave, just that they become soft and mash them. So that they are completely mashed but you could little pieces in it, so when you are eating you could bite into some pieces of the fruit.
3. In the boiling water add this mashed up fruit and sugar and allow it boil, so that the sugar dissolves
4.  Then add the cardamom powder, nutmeg, edible camphor ( I have not used here as I did not have it in stock!)
5. Then add roasted rava to it and mix well so that their are no lumps in it, and close it with a lid, keep the fire in a very low flame, and allow it cook for few minutes
6. Then take out the lid and add Ghee, as much as it takes, Rava keeps on absorbing ghee so much you might need 1 to 1/4 cup, as I do not eat so much ghee I use little quantity of ghee and when giving it to my kids I pour 3 to 4 tbsp of ghee on the hot kesari and give them!
7. Take a small wok heat a tbsp of ghee and when it is hot add grapes & cashews and fry them, keep  the flame low, when doing this so that the cashews do not become too roasted, or fry them separately.
8. Now Garnish the rawa kesari with it and serve hot or cold. 

Oh! it was absolutely delicious as we used to get pieces of fruits too in it, Actually I thought I will do poli (obattu) but changed my mind,  Actually I was as usual rummaging my fridge, I found these 2 half pieces of fruits I thought of first indulging them myself as always whenever I see a fruit !, then I suddenly thought let me try out something with it, Seeing this Mango Mania and srivalli's Mango Round-up ! Hope you all like and try it out too...

It was quite amazing that it had a keshar colour (orange) too..., but it did give a orange coloured finish.

Beetroot - Baby corn pakoras

Wow, Lovely colour though, ain't it ?, You must be wondering what is this I have made, Of course my Kids said to me, mom, looks like chicken !, Oh!, but no, I was planning to do something last weekend, my kids wanted potato Bajji, I didn't want to use the same vegetable in a row, I thought  let me do onion pakoras, then again I changed my mind as I  have already done them let me try something new, so I started going through my fridge and I found some 6 to 7 baby corns and  medium sized Beetroots ! and that's it Here is my fiery Red Pakoras.

BABY CORN-BEETROOT PAKORAS


Ingredients:

• 4 small sized onions
• 2 medium sized beetroot
• 6 baby corns
• 1 sprig curry leaves chopped
• 4 to 5 sprigs of coriander leaves chopped
• 3 to 4 green chillies 
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• salt as required
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup roasted dehusked peanut powder
• 1/4 cup roasted gram or dharia or chutney dal powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• few cashewnuts (optional)

METHOD:

1. First of all I would like to tell you all the above said ingredients were suitable according to my veggies so, just use ingredients according to your taste 
2. Second thing is as I said in my onion pakoras I had equal quantity of  the flour  dal powders mixed and ready and used it only as needed accordingly to the veggies so, just keep the mixed powder ready and use it accordingly and store the left over for another session!
3. First of all chop onions into thin slices just like the pakora style, then grate baby corns and grate Beetroot after peeling the skin, 
4. Then add salt, mix well and leave it for sometime
5. Meanwhile chop curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, a little piece of ginger grated
6. After 15 to 20 minutes if you check the bowl with the veggies it would have given out some water on its own.
7. Now mix all the spices powder and garnishes mix well
8. Now add the 3 powder and mix well, use only required quantity of water to bind the ingredients not too much so the water which is given by the veggies help them to bind with the powders, just like how you make the pakoras
9. Heat oil in a kadai, when the oil is quite hot drop the pakoras and fry them until they are done, I can not say to golden brown in this one !
10. Until the pakoras are well fried and looks quite reddish ( Oh! you would know when to take it out)
11. Now it is ready, serve it with nice green-coconut-mint chutney or just with rasams 0r sambhars or as a tea time snack 

I am not reposting this, but just linking this to Priya of Mharo Rajasthan who is hosting Siri's Healing food event, which this month is Beetroots, I know of course this is not a healthy dish, just a change in everyday cooking.
Back again to link this recipe with Torviewtoronto's Food Palette Red event , I hope she likes it....

Cauliflower-broccoli cheese

This is another of my favourites, When I came to UK, I learnt this from one of my British friends, it is a very simple one and absolutely tasty, when I came here first I used to eat it lot of times, then I stopped eating it, as I had to consume lot of cheese which was not good for my cholesterol ! , I keep making this often because my kids & hubby like it very much, But Of course, I don't eat it much, But I nick broccoli's & cauliflower in it!,

CAULIFLOWER-BROCCOLI CHEESE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cauliflower
• 1 cup of broccoli
  
• white sauce
• cheese
• salt as required
• pepper

To Make white Sauce:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp plain flour (maida)
• 1 tbsp Butter
• salt or sugar as required (optional)

METHOD:

1. Cook both the vegetables, drain out all the water and keep it aside
2. Make the white sauce now, using the ingredients under white sauce, Heat butter in a pan in a reduced flame, when it completely melts
3. Add the plain flour (maida) to it 1 or 2 tbsps and fry it without browning it
4. Remove it from fire and cold milk gradually and sir constantly so that no lumps are formed
5. Put it back on a low flame and sir constantly till the sauce becomes thick & creamy
6. I increase the quantity of milk if I want to make it more or until the raw smell of maida disappears.
7. Add salt & sugar accordingly
8. Once the sauce is ready in a oven dish arrange the vegetables, pour the sauce over it
9. sprinkle little salt & pepper
10. Then sprinkle grated cheese on it so that it completely covers the veggies
11. And put the oven tray in the oven and bake it on gas mark 4 , The cheese melts and turns into golden in colour
12. Take it out and it is now ready to serve.

Note: When using maida it should be cooked properly otherwise the raw taste of maida will spoil the sauce, And always remember to make this sauce in a reduced flame constantly stirring.

Variation: You can use sliced potatoes cooked and arranged neatly on the baking sheet and then continue with the same process.

Sabudana Khichadi

This is lovely dish which I like very much, This dish I learnt from my sister who lives in pune, she does a lot of north Indian dishes, as I had already told you, she has numerous dishes which I will be trying now & then, This she learnt from a marati friend, who said during the upvaas they do this, I suppose it is that saabudana cools down your body (thampu maaduthe) that is why they might be using it during upvaas.  From then on every sankashta chaturthi, we make this and eat !, But I always tell my sis that she makes it best than us, Even my sister's son says so, nobody can make sabudana like vani chitti!, I couldn't take a best photograph, as I had already packed it in a lunch box.

It is very important to choose a good sago/sabhudana/Tapioca as the very small ones gets dissolved, the medium sized ones they look like pearls are good, But, my suggestion as my sister says try them in little quantities and then you would know which one to buy !, I bought 3 to 4 packets from pune !!, as I was scared to try something else.  

One more thing you should remember is not to soak sabhudana in large quantity of water, and not to add water anytime during the process of making this dish

SABUDANA KHICHADI

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Sabudana (little bigger ones)
• 1/4 cup Roasted dehusked peanuts 
• 1 tbsp Jeera
• 4 to 5 sprigs of coriander leaves
• 3 to 4 tbsp oil
• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 5 to 6 green chillies
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• salt as required
• Lemon juice as required 
• 2 to 3 tbsp of fresh grated coconut 

METHOD:

1. I usually feel it is very important to choose a good sabhudana, then wash sabhudana 2 to 3 times mixing slowly so the very fine powder just washes away
2. Then soak the sago in just enough water that is just sabhudana is immersed in it.
3. Leave it overnight if you are making it in the morning or vice versa if you are making it in the evening or that it needs to be soaked for 7 to 8 hours
4. So, before making the khichadi, boil the potatoes peel the skin and cut into cubes and keep it ready
5. Next day drain out all the water and then add the ground roasted peanuts and required quantity of salt
6. Mix them all very slowly so that they don't get mashed up, Here the powdered peanut helps in keeping the sago pearls separately ( that is what my sis says ), get it ready like this and leave it
7. Take a wok heat oil (use more oil than usual, just you use for upma), then add cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves and then add the cubed potatoes and fry for few minutes just they are roasted
8. Keep the stove in a low flame, then add the chopped coriander leaves and the peanut ready sabhudana,  mix well and carefully so that they don't get mashed.
9. Add the freshly grated coconut 
10. Cover the wok and leave it in a low flame for 5 to 10 minutes depending on your kadai
11. Open the cover and You can see the pearls are transparent and that means it is ready to be served
12. serve with lemon juice squeezed

mmm.., absolutely ravishing, that is how I feel, I love this dish, it keeps you so full..., may be that is why they make it on a ekaadasi !

Goli baje(Mangalore cuisine)

Hi, This recipe I got it from shilpa's, Aayisrecipe, well it may not be looking good, but it tasted very well, My FIL used to eat this in darshini's, and he used to always come home and say I ate, Mangalore bajji, with curds and boondi on top of it, I think that is the way I remember and sometimes would say I ate it with sambhar or chutney, and I always wondered what was so nice about it, So once I tried it, I thought it was kind of tasty because it has sour taste with chillies spice in it!, Now he is here with me and I thought for sia's RCI event udupi & mangalorean cuisine i will post this.  Actually I made udupi rasam today night with my idlis, I am sorry I am able to post it, before I could think of taking photos, The sambhar was left so little for me!!!, I knew it looks very funny if I take it now, but sia, we all enjoyed the sambhar but I made it minus drumstick !!, next time may be I will try with it too...,

GOLI BAJE

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 Cup Maida
• 1 tsp Gram flour (Besan flour)
• 3/4 Cup Curds (Plain Yogurt)
• 3 to 4 finely chopped Green Chillies
• 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• Pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• salt as required
• 1 tsp sugar
• oil

METHOD:

1. Mix all the above said ingredients except for oil and leave it for an half an hour, without any lumps in it.
2. The mixed ingredient should be just like an Idli batter not very thin not very thick
3. Heat oil in a deep pan for frying and scoop out lime sized balls and deep fry them to a golden brown colour.
4. Take them out and serve it with any combination you like and enjoy it!!! 

This recipe goes to sia of Monsoonspice who is hosting RCI-Regional cuisine of India, RCI- Udupi & Mangalore, of this month started by lakshmi of veggie cuisine, I am happy to participate in this, This is the second time I am participating, I was quite worried if I would be able to post these recipes as my computer is giving me problems. I would like to thank shilpa for this wonderful recipe, Of course I saw this recipe in sia's blog too, as it all led back to her blog I felt like thanking her.

Dalithe Sagel (manglorean)

This dish I got it from a book, it's been quite a long time since I did this recipe, as I had said earlier, I have been collecting some recipes from my 10th standard and writing them in a book, so I don't even remember where I got some of the authentic recipes, and now as I told earlier, my sister also keeps writing some of these authentic dishes of her travelling widely and meeting new friends in different places, gives a wider and new out look to your cooking style.

As a school girl I had been to Mangalore, which is the most memorable thing I have in my mind, I was in these scouts and guide and we had to attend one of the meetings in mangalore, and it was in Mangala Stadium, I think that is name of that stadium as I remember, I enjoyed my 5 day stay with my friends and it was simply superb going through the streets of mangalore and do some shopping., I remembering buying cashewnuts. mm.., I think that is all I remember nothing else seems to come to my mind.., Ok then, let me get back to my recipe !!, and of course as you all know I am great with photography, and as I always cook in the night my photos are all a scrap, This I tried to take in different lights and my N95 could only give me this as the best picture I took :). I do not what the name means if somebody knows what it is please pass on the information & thank you.

DALITHE SAGEL

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Kg Tinda/thondekaayi/Dhondanga
• 4 tbsp of grated coconut
• 3 to 4 flakes of Tamarind
• 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 4-4 Red chillies (Guntur-Badgi)

METHOD

1. Wash & cook tinda/tondekaayi and pressure cook in enough water
2. In a wok fry fenugreek seeds, chillies, coriander seeds and keep aside to cool.
3. Once they are cooled grind them with freshly grated coconut & Tamarind flakes into a coarse paste, do not make it very fine paste. 
4. Take this coarsely ground paste and add it to the cooked vegetable and mix well.
5. Put this on the stove to boil for few minutes, so that the masala paste gets mixed well with the vegetables, add required quantity of salt and curry leaves
6. In a wok heat oil and splutter mustard seeds in it, once they are done add the pinch of asafoetida and pour this seasoning on to the dish. 
7. Serve it with rice or chapati, It was absolutely delicious

This dish also goes to sia of Monsoon spice who is hosting this month's RCI- Regional cuisine of India. which was first stated by Lakshmi of veggie cuisine.., for further recipes on RCI check-out in Lakshmi's blog

Date & Prune Brownies

I got this recipe from a vegan book by Tony weston & yvonne Bishop, But i did some change in it, But I should tell you it really tasted well, and I would certainly say a very high protein brownie, and I was so happy that it turned out so well, only thing is I was not able to take good photos (the best I can muster up I mean!, not like you girls, J started moaning again about her photos ) because as I always cook or bake only during night, my photos are always a flop !!. Ok, enough of my moaning , here is the recipe for these brownies.

DATE & PRUNE BROWNIES

Ingredients:

• 125 gm Quinoa flour
• 125 gm plain flour
• 250 ml luke warm water
• 50 ml soya milk
• 50 ml rapeseed oil
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 250 g demerara sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 125 g ready to eat dried prunes, stoned
• 100g dates stoned
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp ground almonds

METHOD

1. preheat the oven to 180 degrees (350 F) Gas mark 4
2. Place 2 heaped tablespoons of the flour in a sauce pan and mix in the water. ( I had mixed both the flour together with the help of a sieve, so that they are combined well together and then used this flour for mixing.)
3. Cook stirring constantly, over a medium heat until thick. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Combine the soya milk, oil, cocoa in a bowl and stir until smooth.
5. Transfer the cooled flour mixture to a food processor or liquidizer, (as I do not have both of them I used my mixie to do so! ) add the sugar, salt, vanilla, prunes & dates (chopped them into fine pieces scared my mixie might get spoiled if I put them just like that!) and blend until smooth.
6. Add the cocoa mixture and blend again
7. Mix the remaining flour with the baking powder and ground almonds, mix well and then add the prune mixture and blend well (actually in the recipe it says blend them all again in the processor as I don't have one I used a spatula and blend them with my hand)
8. Line a baking tin with a baking parchment and oil lightly.
9. Pour this mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until well baked, insert a knife and check if they are done, that is until firm to touch
10. cut into slices and serve

Actually the real recipe called for 250g (8 oz ) wholemeal flour, and could use 250ml rice milk or water, 1tbsp carob powder ( i omitted as I did not have it !), 250 g of dark brown sugar (I used demerara sugar as I had no brown sugar in stock), and also the original recipe called for just 50 g dates, I used 100 g as I have so much dates in the house :), well anyways my kids enjoyed it and me too., so many good things in it, next time I will try with the original recipe, I just wanted to see how quinoa flour works. I am so happy as it actually turned out well.

The best thing in this was my kids loved it and I could eat it too

Tomato-watremelon gravy with an award

Of course everybody knows in India, summer means you can see melons everywhere, which we call in kannada as Karbooza, The water melon is absolutely gorgeous to eat, We eat it with a sprinkle of salt & pepper as my daddy always says, it helps you not getting cough or cold, I do not know how true it is !, But i know that some people suffer with cough, cold & end up with fever when they eat it, like my hubby gets it that is why he never eats water melon!, I always think that he doesn't know what he is missing!, I was going through usha's blog the other day and saw that she has posted curry with watermelon, I just told her i had one with me in my draft and i have not posted it yet!!, My time constriction is so much i end up with only photos and drafts and never publish them in time.., and I am also ending up with so many Bookmarked recipes as Nupur was saying, i must start trying one by one like her bookmarked project.., After usha's posting I have realised that you can use the whole fruit and that is awesome, Like pumpkin, the whole vegetable is so useful, I cannot post something like the skin of the pumpkin can be turned into a vatral by drying it out in the sun, which i learnt from my aunt when I was a little girl and they go so well with moresaadam/curdrice, as it has salt in it.

TOMATO-WATERMELON GRAVY

Ingredients:

• 6 to 7 Tomatoes (medium sized)
• 2 onions
• 3 pods of garlic
• 1 cup white rind of water melon
• 1' ginger
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp of Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• a bit of jaggery
• a sprig of curry leaves
• 1/4 bunch of coriander leaves
• 2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies
• 1 tbsp of tamarind juice
• 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut
• 1 tbsp of chutney dal (roasted gram dal)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds

METHOD

1. After eating the red portion of the fruit which is quite yummy, you can see the white portion of the fruit between the red and the green thick skin of the fruit, take this white portion of the fruit and leave out the green thick skin and chop the white portion into pieces.
2. chop the tomatoes and onions
3. Take a wok, heat oil, add mustard seeds once they splutter, add the finely chopped green chillies and then add the chopped onions and fry well, until they are transparent
4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and the chopped melon pieces with a cup of water and close the lid and allow them to cook
5. Meanwhile, In a mixie grind together the masala powders, coconut, chutney dal, garlic pods, ginger, & the tamarind juice
6. Once the tomatoes and melons are cooked add this ground mixture into the wok with enough water so it gets a gravy consistency and allow it cook for some more time until the flavours get mixed well & add salt as per taste
7. Then add the bit of jaggery and finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish and allow it to simmer for few more minutes
8. Now it ready to be served with anything of your choice, rice, naan, chapatis etc.,

Here is my award which was given by Raji of RaksKitchen who has a lovely blog, with lovely explanations, and amazing photos too.., thank you raji for passing

this award to me. This award is called the Kreative Blog award and has got some rules in it, The rules for the kreative blogger award are

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award
2. Copy the logo & place it in your blog
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
5. Nominate 7 other kreativ bloggers
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate
7. leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

1. Cooking is my passion, I love to try every dish I see, it may be blogs, books or my own creation, I like to try all the spices and powders I come across.
2. I love to try all the vegetables & fruits I see and try them on my way of cooking
3. I love entertaining people, which I am short of after I came here, I miss that opportunity of cooking lot of food for various occasions.
4. My new passion is baking, I take this opportunity to thank Aparna, who has been so kind enough to mail me about eggless baking & encouraging words of how I must take to baking, I would like to take this opportunity to all the bloggers who always write to me & give me suggestions, and lovely comments, and help me in how to improve my photos & blog.
5. I love reading books, all sorts particularly crime, watch any detective,crime stories, movies and any movies which are totally biased on comedy!! & hate to watch any soaps.
6. Love listening to songs, particularly hymns which are my favourite, love browsing on the net, particularly anything about food!!
7. I like drawing, sketching and gardening and above all my kids are my world, I try my best to do anything for them, and doesn't enjoy anything without them.

Browsing through the Blogs I have come to know lot of you have already been showered by this award and I thought I will pass on this award to people who have not got this..., but it is seeming to be a hard work but then I would like pass this award to

lata Raja, super-chef, sushma, ashwini, archy , sumi.

I hope all these blogs have not received this award i am sending this kreative blogger award to all you, hoping all of you would enjoy it as I did, and I would like to tell all the other bloggers i follow have beautiful blogs but i am not able to pass on this as they have already been awarded.

Tomato-Beetroot rice

Hi, I am trying to post all the recipes which are in pending, I do not even remember when I did this may  be 15 to 20 days back !, I don't even remember that, I just remember that last month I went to the Indian store, Oh! no, I just remember now, but not the exact date, I went to a mall, which had a farmer's market out side we were just wondering what 's in the market, I noticed these Beetroots in bunches, both of us that is my friend and me we bought them, a few days back when I was rummaging through my fridge I saw them and thought let me give it a moksha, poor thing it is lying their from some time !, I did have good load of Tomatoes too, So that's it I made this rice, I had a doubt if my kids and my FIL would like it , Sometimes I never tell anybody what I had put in my dishes, once they eat I tell them what I cooked !, because some of them have this notion of not trying anything new at all , they are completely stuck to their old recipes and do not like it to be changed !!, Here is my recipe.

TOMATO-BEETROOT LEAVES RICE





INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/2 Cup Rice
2 to 3 medium sized tomatoes
1 Bunch of beetroot leaves (about 1 cup nicely pressed)
2 to 3 Green chillies

4 to 5 sprigs of coriander leaves
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Garam masala powder
1 tbp Red chilli powder
2 Green chillies
Salt as required

Seasonings:
4 to 5 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of Chenna dal
1 tbsp of Urad dal
1 tsp Mustard seeds
METHOD

1. First of all wash the tomatoes and cut them into pieces, then from the bunch of Beetroots take the leaves which are quite big, a little bit of the stem just 2 to 3'' below the leaves, I didn't use the complete length of the stem as they were quite hard. wash and chop them finely
2. In a pressure cooker or which ever method you cook the rice, cook the rice and keep it separately, spread it so the grains are not sticky anymore and are nice ready to make a Rice bath.
3. Take a wok, heat oil, add mustard seeds, after they splutter add the Dals and other seasonings and the curry leaves
4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and wash the leaves of the beet root drain and mix well and allow them to cook, no need to add water, unless it is too dry just sprinkle a little bit of water, but the juice of the tomatoes help them cook well, 
5. Once they get cooked add all the masala ingredients and mix well and allow it to cook for some more time, until they become quite dry, rather than soggy, 
6. Then add the required quantity of salt and finely chopped coriander leaves mix well.
7. Then add the cooked rice and mix well and leave it for some time on the stove in a very low flame
8. The rice absorbs all the flavours and is now ready to be served with any kind of raitha or papads. 

I am not reposting, but linking this to Siri who started Healing food event started by her and this month hosted by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's who has selected Beetroots as this month Healing food.

sprouted green gram salad

It's a real lush to see green gram in this form isn't it ? you can eat it just like that which is of course as you all know is highly nutritious, I always told my friends and cousins when ever they conceived to make & eat this salad daily at least once in a day, as we know pulses and lentils are rich in proteins, I do make this quite often but never thought of posting it, sometimes mind goes blank, my daughter took these photos and urged me to post it in my blog !, eating sprouted dals is so good for health, at least must try to eat them once in a week.

This can be done in two ways if you like eating it just like that without cooking it is also fine or you can cook it for a very few minutes in a microwave or in a pressure cooker and put it off within 5 minutes or like i do, Take a wok and fill it with a glass or two of water then take a wide mouthed vessel place it in the wok sprinkle little water to the sprouted green grams and close the lid and cook it in a slow flame within few minutes it cooks well, The thing is if you cook them for too long it gets mashed up, so you should be careful when cooking just how you cook green gram dal when making sundal.

SPROUTED GREEN GRAM SALAD















Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sprouted green gram
• 1 medium sized carrot
• 1 big onion
• 1/2 white radish (mooli)
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber
• salt as required
• 3 to 4 green chillies
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

METHOD:

1. Soak green gram for 8 to 12 hours or over night then drain out the water and tie it in a thin muslin cloth or if you have a sprout maker you can use it and get the sprouts as I have done, it was convenient and easy.
2. Wash & sieve the skin of carrots, radish & cucumber.
3. Grate carrots & radish
4. Chop cucumber into thin pieces like you do it for Kosumbari
5. Take a wok heat oil & add mustard seeds after it splutters add green chillies and fry them for a minute then add the cooked sprouted green gram mix well and put off the stove
6. Then mix all the other ingredients together with required amount of salt and garnish with coriander leaves and serve
7. You can add some mixture to it like Bhel and you can serve like this

ALTERNATIVE METHOD:
Just mix the sprouted green gram uncooked with all the other ingredients with required quantity of salt and a little bit 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of pepper powder according to taste, garnish with coriander leaves and serve it.
You can mix fresh grated coconut to it which makes it much nice

1. You can add chili powder instead of pepper powder mixed with little oil
2. It is totally your own imagination serve it however you like!

I would like to repost this and send it to My Event Annoucement by Radhika & cook like a Bong by sudeshna for the Food for 7 stages of Life. You can make this salad and eat them everyday minus the mixture stuff everyday.

chickpea dal / Kabooli channa Dal / White Garbanzo beans Dal

It was one of the Saturdays, only my kids & me were at home, then my FIL had also not come down here, my hubby was away for his work, I got up so late and was thinking what am I going to cook super fast, and then my eyes fell on the long forgotten tinned chickpeas, God only knows when, why, who had bought it ? !!!, So that's it..., I made this chick pea Dal and we ate it just like that in the plate with lot of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and onion to go with the pulkas, all the four of us had a hearty brunch (breakfast + lunch) and I had a cup of nice strong tea and kids had an orange juice and enjoyed a movie which my kids wanted me to watch it was called pink panther !!, well, it was a nice entertaining movie.

But, now & then they keep watching the same movie saying all the time, mummy likes it !!, she enjoyed it, shall we watch again, I feel like crying now..., Once or twice is ok not the same thing again & again.., these kids have  got a list of movies which they never get bored to watch, like the King Kong, Godzilla, Jurassic park series, Pink Panther I & II, Iron man, James Bond series.. etc., I sometimes scream, when it goes on & on again.

Sorry for bugging, let me come back to the recipe, this is a very simple recipe...and here it goes...

CHICK PEA DAL

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pre-soaked chick peas (I used tinned)
• 2 medium sized tomato
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 to 3 pods of garlic
• 1'' ginger
• 4 to 5 green chillies
• 1/4 cup green gram dal
• 1 medium sized potato
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 5 to 6 sprigs of coriander leaves
• salt as required
• 5 to 6 tbsp of oil

METHOD:

1. I used already cooked chick peas in a tinned can but you can use pre-soaked chick peas, soak chick-peas previous day or 6 to 7 hours with a bit of Baking soda (optional) helps the peas to cook very soft.
2. cook the green gram dal with  turmeric and potato with enough water so that the dal cooks well and mash the dals & potato nicely . (Don't forget to peel the skin of the potato).
3. chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic pods, Take a wok pour a tsp of oil add the chopped green chillies fry, then add chopped garlic and onion fry until they turn transparent and fry the chopped tomatoes until it is cooked well grind them into a smooth paste with ginger and keep aside.
4. Take a wok heat 3 to 4 tbsp of oil and a tsp of mustard seeds when it splutters add the ground paste and fry nicely until the oil separates out.
5. Then add all the masala powders and fry for 2 to 3 minutes then add the cooked chick peas and the cooked dal and mix well
6. Allow it to cook well together so the masala powders are well absorbed by the chick peas & dal.  Add the required amount of salt
7. Just remember if you have used salt when cooking the chick peas be careful when adding salt.
8. Add water if necessary as you would have used water of the chick peas too.
9. Make it into a  gravy .
10. Then garnish with washed finely chopped fresh coriander leaves 
11. Serve it with a touch of lime juice which is optional with pulkas or chapatis or nans 

PS: Here I would like to share a little tip,  as I do not like to use too much of oil, I always fry the ingredients which I use to grind before hand so the water in them is evaporated and when I make the gravy I would not be needing too much oil.  As we know if we add the smooth paste of the raw ingredients and then fry until the oil separates out it requires more of oil and also too much time consuming, but it  makes the dish more tastier just like you eat in the restaurants.

Vegetable Kofta curry

This was a wonderful dish which we all loved it, I started with something and ended with something!, My children wanted me to do chapati and some nice subji, So I browsed through my fridge and saw I had little beans, carrots and methi/fenugreek leaves and little spinach, Of course i have always a stock of green peas in the freezer,etc., So, I started of my subji this way...

VEGETABLE KOFTA CURRY

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Kg Beans
• 2 Carrots
• 1 cup Green peas
• 1 Bunch of methi/fenugreek leaves
• 1 Green pepper
• 1 Red pepper
• 1/4 Bunch coriander leaves
• 200ml single cream
• 2 tbsp of grated coconut
• 5 to 6 whole cashew-nuts
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 '' Ginger
• 3 to 4 pods of Garlic
• 2 medium sized onions
• 2 to 3 Green chillies
• salt as required

FOR KOFTAS

• 1 bunch of spinach leaves
• 3 medium sized potatoes
• 3 to 4 tbsp of Besan (gram or chickpea flour)
• salt as required
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp amchur powder
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tbsp of garam masala powder
• oil for frying

METHOD

1. Wash all the veggies required, peel the skin of carrot, chop all the vegetables and keep aside
2. pressure cook spinach & potatoes, Once they are well cooked, drain the water completely in a sieve so that all the water is gone from them, mash them well together and keep aside
3. Take a wok, heat a bit of oil fry the chopped green chillies, onions & garlic in it, until they are transparent, then take them aside.
4. Once it is cool grind it into a smooth paste with coconut and cashews
5. Take a wok, heat 4 to 5 tbsp of oil, then add the ground paste and fry for few minutes then add all the chopped vegetables & washed, finely chopped methi leaves & mix well, add a tsp of salt and cover the lid, bring it to a low flame, within few minutes they all get well cooked
6. mash all the vegetables well with the help of masher and add a cup of water
7. Then add all the masala powder into them except for the garlic powder mix well and allow it to boil for some time in a low flame , cover a lid over it so that the masala powders mix well with all the veggies

Now to make the Koftas

1. Take the cooked spinach & potatoes drain all the water completely you can even squeeze the water out of the spinach
2. In a bowl mash spinach & potatoes nicely, then to this add the masala powders mentioned under the koftas ingredients mix well
3. Then add Besan flour according to the requirement, that is the koftas should form into a firm ball ( There must be no water content felt when you are making it into a ball that is it should not be soggy)
4. If it is soggy then when frying them it takes too much oil so, be careful
5. make lime sized balls and fry them in the oil and drain them out on a kitchen paper and keep them aside.

Coming back to the recipe when it is boiling nicely and is turning into a gravy add the garlic powder, I always have a bottle of this powder with me and use it when ever I want it. (below I have mentioned how to make this powder).

Then add the deep fried koftas slowly, mix them well and allow it cook for further few minutes in a low flame then add the single cream slowly mix well so that the koftas don't get mashed and leave it on the stove for a few seconds, garnish with the fresh coriander leaves and it is now ready to serve.

How to make Garlic powder:

15 garlic pods + 6 Guntur red chillies + 4 Badgi chillies + 1 fistful of Roasted peanuts

Method: Dry roast the peanuts and remove the husk fry chillies with it and grind them with the garlic pods, into a coarse powder if you add a little bit of salt you can even mix it with rice & eat.

OMG! I got so tired by the end. As I started of with something simple and kept on changing the recipe and ended doing this, I was completely flat, my hubby & kids just loved it !! They said it tasted like a restaurant made dish !!

I thought it was all worth the trouble taken....,