Tomato-Lettuce Salad

The name says everything about the salad.I generally make salads every alternate day with various ingredients though most of the time i try including sprouts.Earlier my salads were traditional indian type like the way my mom prepares.Since then i started watching Nigella's show i have become a big fan of this English salads.I think there is no necessity for me to introduce her,OMG she is a real Domestic Kitchen Goddess with amazing cooking talent.Even though i m a strict vegetarian i never missed her show(though it contains lots of non-veggie recipes) because i love the innovative way of her cooking and especially i love her cakes,cookies,puddings,trifles(oh my god what not...) which she can prepare in a matter of minutes.I have already scribbled a complete book with the recipes of her's.This is a very simple salad which is mostly done according to her instructions and modified as usual to suit my palate.

Ingredients:
3 nicely diced ripen Tomatoes
4 to 5 big lettuce leaves( i used red and green leaf lettuce),teared into bite size pieces
1 small cucumber diced
1 small red onion finely chopped
8-10 green olives sliced

For the vinaigrette:
3 tbsp Olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp sugar(can be replaced with honey)
1/4 tsp green chili paste coarsely ground(or can replaced by black pepper powder)
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard(add if you like the mustard flavour)
salt(according to taste)

Method:
whisk lemon juice,sugar,salt to form a uniform mixture and whisk in the olive oil,coriander and green chili paste until olive oil is mixed well with the mixture.
Toss all the greens and vegetables chopped with the vinaigrette just before serving.

Serve anytime as a breakfast,salad in lunches or dinner,serve even in pita pockets.

Note:
The usage of vegetables is completely of your choice,So add anything which you like to have.You can use boiled corn,red and yellow bell peppers,green capsicum,blanched broccoli..
The dressing can be used for most of the salads.

The salad is full of red and green ingredients, so i am sending this to FIC: Green and Red event hosted by Neha, originated by Sunshinemom

and also for priya's event AFAM: Olives started by Maheswari of Beyond The Usual.

Microwave Chatpat masala Kaju(Cashewnuts)....

As i was getting late to catch up to the deadline for the event MEC-Nuts hosted by Mythreyee, in the evening i googled for some quick recipes and i came across of this recipe from here and here which originally called on for a stove-top method,i thought of making it in a microwave and then immediately attacked the kitchen to prepare this.I modified the original recipe slightly by adding additional spices and made it compatible to my taste buds.Believe me the whole process was just finished in 5-6 mins.It was very easy and one can prepare in jiffy.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Cashew nuts
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Amchur powder(do not add much)
1/4 tsp Chaat masala
1/4 tsp salt(adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp ghee

Method:
Heat ghee in a microwave safe bowl in microwave on high for 15-20 secs.
Drop in the cashew nuts and toss it until all the cashew nuts are coated well with the ghee and again microwave on high for 3-4 mins until it turns slight red in color.(Please stir in between and the time for roasting depends on the microwave power,so please check in between)
Meanwhile, mix all the dry masalas well in a small bowl.(Masala's can be adjusted according to your taste)
Sprinkle the masala over the roasted cashew nuts and toss it again until all the cashew nuts are well coated.spread it over a wide plate and cool it for a while.
Store in Airtight containers.

Note:

1. Cashew nuts can be replaced by Badam(Almonds) as well but need to fry for long time.
2. Use oil instead of ghee for a vegan version.

I am sending this to Mythreyee's MEC-Nuts event as this month's theme for Srivalli's Microwave Easy Cooking
and also for the event 15 Minute Cooking hosted by Mahimaa
and also to poornima's Let's go Nuts - Cashew Nuts event started by Aquadaze
.

Strawberry Lassi

This was a long pending post in my archives.Nothing special about this drink just another refreshing drink for this summers.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh strawberries
3/4 cup Fresh thick curds beaten
1/2 cup Milk(boiled and cooled)
2-3 tbsp Sugar(adjust according to taste)
1 tbsp strawberry syrup(optional)
Ice cubes

Method:
Blend everything(other than ice cubes) into a nice smooth liquid and add ice cubes at the end.
Serve it cold.

I am sending this to Refreshing Drink-RD for Summer Event at chandrabhaga.

Celebrating my 50th post with Chips 'n' Dips and Mango Kulfi...!!!

Ever since my MIL brought me those cute Tupperware Kulfi moulds I wanted to prepare Kulfi and finally I got the enthu to prepare it last friday.With Mumbai weather turning for the worst last week there couldn't have been a better dessert to prepare.Wonder when it starts raining here,otherwise this humidity will force me to prepare this again and again...he he..:)..Of course when the taste is so good one can't expect it to last long as we finished it off in just two days.

Yesterday I had prepared Olive and cashew dips as an accompaniment for the tortilla chips.What else does one want during weekends.. lazily watching tv ..and savoring those lovely chips with a cup of masala tea!!

Cashew Aioli:
This recipe I have scribbled sometime back from a tv show and modified it according to my taste by adding herbs to it.I liked the richness of the dip because of the liberal usage of cashew nuts.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Cashew nuts(soaked in water)
2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tsp Mixed dried herbs
2 jalapenos( I used pickled ones)
2-3 tbsp water from the pickled jalapenos
3 tbsp olive oil
sea salt(according to taste)

Method:

• Blend soaked cashew nuts,jalapenos,salt,olive oil,dried herbs and some water from (pickled)jalapenos to a slightly coarse paste(or even smooth paste).
• Mix in the chopped parsley nicely and slightly chill it.
• Serve it with Tortilla chips/Doritos/Nachos/any chips/matchstick sliced vegetables.

Note: 1.This can be used as a sauce for pasta. 2.This can be even stored in refrigerator up to 2-3 days.

Olive-Basil Dip:
Hubby liked this dip very much more than the above one.I added some finely chopped olives to the dip which made its appearance in each and every bite of the dip.
Ingredients
1/2 cup hung curd or sour cream
1 tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 cup olives(I used green,you can even use black ones)
7-8 basil leaves
1-2 small shallots
2 jalapenos
sea salt(as per taste)
some water from the pickled olives

Method:

• Blend everything into a fine smooth paste.
• Serve it with Tortilla chips/Doritos/Nachos/any chips/matchstick sliced vegetables.

Mango Kulfi(Low cal version):
Who says no to Kulfi.??especially if it is Mango Kulfi I would never deny to eat it.In Mumbai we get Alphonso mangoes in abundance and I am enjoying them during the season.Alphonso mangoes not only gave a nice color but also enhanced the taste of kulfi.Nuts add a special taste to kulfi and I have also used different nuts in different molds for the kulfi which made me to identify the unique taste of each nut in the kulfi.
Kulfi is one of the most richest Indian dessert I have made it bit low-calorie version by not adding whipped cream and I made it with cornflour which gave a creamy texture with less calories.Ingredients:
4 Alphonso Mangoes(or any other Mangoes)
1/2 tin Condensed milk(adjust according to the sweetness of mangoes)
1/4 cup milk(slightly less than that)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp elaichi powder
some saffron strands
2 tbsp finely chopped cashews
2 tbsp finely chopped pistachios
2 tbsp thinly sliced almonds
Method:

1. Mix cornflour in half the milk and stir it into the hot milk(on a low flame) and keep stirring till it forms a thick paste.Cool it down completely.
2. Blend alphonso mangoes into a smooth puree,add condensed milk(add it by adjusting the taste) and cornflour mixture and blend again.
3. Stir in the elaichi powder and saffron strands.
4. Take out some mixture into a small bowl and add any one type of chopped nuts into it and mix.Drop the same nuts at the bottom of the kulfi mold and pour the mixture over it and cover it.(you can mix the nuts and prepare also,but I wanted it with different nuts)
5. Repeat the same process for the other nuts.Refrigerate it for 12 hours(minimum or until set).It will be set properly by the next day.I have poured the left over mixture in the ice cube tray which i have tasted( and actually finished off)just after 2 hrs.
   
6. While removing it,dip the kulfi mold in the normal water for some time to remove it in exact shape.

Serve it cold.

I am sending Cashew Aioli for poornima's Let's go Nuts - Cashew Nuts event started by Aquadaze.

and Olive-Basil dip for priya's event AFAM: Olives started by Maheswari of Beyond The Usual.

and both the dips(olive-basil dip and cashew Aioli ) and kulfi to 15 Minute Cooking hosted by Mahimaa.and finally the Mango Kulfi for the My Favourite Things -FROZEN DESSERT event hosted by Aquadaze and which was originally started by Bindiya.

Water-Melon Cooler....another refreshing drink!!

This is a simple and quick refreshing drink for the summers.

Ingredients:
1 Cup chopped watermelon
8-10 mint leaves
1 tsp honey
a pinch of ground pepper
a pinch of kala namak(black salt)

Method:
Blend everything in the Blender to a nice smooth juice and chill it for sometime.
Serve it cold topped with some mint leaves.

I am sending this to Refreshing Drink-RD for Summer Event at chandrabhaga.

Bonda Juice...!!

confused by the name!!!

Yes you all read it correct,it is called Bonda juice as it is made up of tender coconut which is also called kobbari bondam(in telugu)/bonda(in tulu,mangalore local language)/elneeru(in kannada) in various regions(these are the only names i know,if you know any other name plz tell me).I had this only once so far but I still remember the taste of it.Almost three years back our entire family about 24 of us went for a vacation to several places in karnataka like Mangalore,Udipi,Hornadu and many others.My cousin who is a great food freak introduced us to various Mangalore delicacies like Mangalore special churmuri,neer dosa,mangalore buns n lots n lots of other breakfast dishes(i dont remember most of the names now) and also to this juice from his favorite small juice haunt in Mangalore.First time when we heard the name we all laughed but the taste was so good that did not realize the no of glasses we consumed. Imagine what 24 thirsty people must have potentially done to the stock of juice, the juice bar had. Yes!, we emptied the complete stock that they had.Believe me it was so good.

Now coming back to the juice,summer is extremely hot and humid here in Mumbai and to beat the heat we started drinking tender coconuts daily.I wanted to recreate the wonder which we had some years back,so assuming the ingredients in that juice I gave a try to make this juice where the outcome was equally good but some wonders are better not to be recreated the same.

These are the pics of tender coconut which i had two years back in singapore.I really liked the way they have carved the coconut..





Ingredients:
1 Tender coconut(select the one with thin malai)
tender Malai from the tender coconut(dont use it if it is hard)
2 tbsp sugar


Method:
Blend Malai,sugar and coconut water in a mixie.Do not blend for long,leave the bite size coconut pieces to remain in the juice and cool the juice completely before serving.

serve it cold.

Note: you can add finely chopped or crushed mint to it.

I am sending this to Refreshing Drink-RD for Summer Event at chandrabhaga


and 15 Minute Cooking hosted by Mahimaa.

Brownies....sinful delights!!!

Brownies was a pending post for me from such a long time.I have tried this fool proof brownies recipe long back from Nita Mehta's book,the outcome was very dark chocolaty and chewy brownie and this was a instant hit at my house.Hubby dear had carried some with him to the office and everything was finished with in a matter of seconds,that is the effect of these Brownies!!

As his friends were asking him to get these brownies , I again prepared them and have sent almost the complete batch(saving some 4 for us) with him and the verdict was again the same thing,hubby dear did not get to taste in office...hmm...After all Brownies are loved by everyone,no age barrier too!!

This is my entry to Poornima’s (@ Tasty Treats) “For the Love of Chocolate” event.

Ingredients:
150 gms(2/3 cup) white butter
400gms sugar
85gms Maida/regular flour
85gms Cocoa powder
3 Eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips( not in the original recipe,I added it for extra chocolaty taste)
3/4 cup walnuts-cut into small pieces or crushed roughly with a rolling pin

Method:

• Sift flour,baking powder and cocoa together.

• Melt butter in a deep pan on low heat.Add brown sugar and mix well with a wooden spoon on very low heat for about 5 mins till well blended.Remove from fire and cool completely.
• Add one egg to cooled butter-sugar mix and mix well with a wooden spoon.Add the other two eggs one by one and mix again.

• Add vanilla essence to it and mix again.
• Keeping aside 1/4 cup walnuts,mix the rest of the walnuts with the flour.
• Fold the flour mixture in the butter-egg mixture very gently with a spatula or spoon.

• Grease an 8" square tin , transfer the cake mixture in it to get 1" thick layer of the mixture.Sprinkle the remaining walnuts and bake for 25-30 mins at 180 degrees or till done.
• Cool completely and remove it from tin and cut it into squares.

Store it in a Air-tight container,Stays good for 2 days.If you want to keep it for longer time,refrigerate them and pop them up in microwave for 30 secs when required.

Serving suggestions:
Warm it up in Microwave and serve it hot with Vanilla Ice-cream and chocolate sauce over it.

I am sending this to the event Mithai Mela hosted by srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Serve it warm with Vanilla ice-cream on top with some chocolate sauce,it tastes heaven.

Chana Masala, Naan and Fruit salad

I wanted to make something different as I was tired of eating that boring stuff last week. I was in a mood of preparing a wholesome meal for us so came up with an idea of preparing Naan and Chana Masala.Since I had a lot of fruits lying in the fridge I thought of making fruit salad as well as it is very refreshing especially during summers. I ended up preparing a big bowl of fruit salad which lasted for unlimited servings continuously for two days.

Now coming to Chana Masala,my husband is a big fan of chana masala as he grew up in Delhi and developed a taste for such pulses hence it is prepared every other week.

Chana Masala:


Ingredients:
1 cup Kala Chana
2 medium alu diced
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dhaniya powder
1/2 tsp toasted jeera powder(fresh tastes better)
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp chana masala powder(optional)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1/2 lemon squeezed
1 green chili
1 Bay leaf/Tej patta
1/2" cinnamon stick
a pinch of hing
salt

To grind:
1 Big onion sliced
2 Tomatoes chopped
1" ginger chopped
4-5 garlic pods

Lemoned Onions:
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1/2 lemon squeezed
1/2 tsp vinegar
Mix everything well and leave it aside for sometime(until it turns pink)

Method:
Soak Chana Overnight(or for 6-7 hrs) with some salt and a pinch of garam masala.Pressure cook chana for 2 whistles and simmer it for 20-25 mins until soft.
Microwave diced alu for 3-4 mins.
Grind onion,tomato,ginger and garlic to a fine paste
Heat oil in a kadai add cinnamon stick,slit green chilli,bayleaf,hing and a pinch of garam masala and fry for a minute.Add ground onion-tomato mixture to it and fry till the gravy separates from the oil.Now add dhaniya powder,toasted jeera powder,chili powder,chana masala,amchur powder,garam masala and fry until all the masala's are well incorporated.Now add boiled alu,chana(slightly smash some chana to get gravy consistency) and fry till all the water is completely absorbed.
Add salt and enough water and cover it and cook for 7-8 mins.Add lemon juice and coriander and give a quick mix and serve.
Serve it hot with lemoned onions,stuffed mirch ka achaar and roti/paratha/Naan.

Note:
For Quicker version,Heat oil in a cooker and add cinnamon stick,slit green chili,bay leaf,hing and a pinch of garam masala and fry for a minute then add ground onion-tomato mixture to it along with all the masala's(dhaniya powder,toasted jeera powder,chili powder,chana masala,amchur powder,garam masala)and fry for 2 mins.Now add diced Alu and soaked Chana and fry for 3-4 mins,add salt and enough water and pressure cook it for 2 whistles and simmer for 25 mins.
Add coriander and lemon juice just before serving.

I feel that the quicker version is better as the chana is cooked in the masala's and the spices are well infused in the chana which makes it's taste better than when prepared in the traditional way.

Naan:


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain flour(Maida)
1 ladleful of beaten curds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Cups milk(to make the dough)




Method:
Sieve well flour with salt and baking powder.
Make a well in between and pour curds,sugar,oil and some milk and using your three fingers mix the dough turning the vessel to form a nice elastic dough by adding enough milk.Give a nice massage to the dough approximately for 10 mins.
Rest the dough in a greased vessel for 3-4 hrs in a warm place.
Make oblong shape Naans,add the toppings like chopped coriander,while sesame,Nigella seeds and roll it once again.prick it with a fork and apply butter over it and bake it in a preheated oven for a couple of minute until brown spots appear on it.
Serve hot with any curry/Dal.

Fruit salad with custard:

I am sure everybody knows how to prepare this delicious fruit salad with custard,keeping in mind about the beginners i am just explaining the process of preparing the fruit salad.


Ingredients:
3 tbsp custard powder(i used vanilla flavour)
3 cups cubed fruits(Mango,orange/mosambi,grapes,banana,apple,strawberries etc)
4 tbsp condensed milk
2 tbsp sugar
3-4 tbsp whipped cream(optional,i did not use it here)
500 ml milk
3 tbsp chopped dry fruits(cashewnuts,badam)
1 tsp raisins
2-3 drops of lemon juice(to retain the colours of fruits)
cherries for garnishing

Method:
Mix custard powder with 50 ml of milk properly and add this to the boiling milk stirring continuously or prepare custard as per the instruction on the pack.cool the custard completely.
Cut the fruits and add sugar and lemon juice to it and mix.
Mix the cooled custard with condensed milk and whipped cream, add fruits and all the dry fruits to it and give a good stir.Refrigerate it for 4-5 hrs.
Serve it cold with a cherry garnished on it.
You can either serve with Ice cream.

Note:
Chop the citrus fruits like orange/mosambi,grapes first and then chop banana and apple so that it does not loose the colour.

I am sending the chana masala for WYF-Side dishes by EC of Simple Indian Food,and this is my third entry for the event.

And the Kalonji-topped Naan to Think spice-Think Kalonji event hosted by Ammalu's Kitchen.

Hurray!!!...finally received my most awaited FIRST AWARD

Its celebration time for receiving my first award!!!!

pic source: google

First of all thanks to pavithra who has passed this lovely award to me and I thank all my blogging friends who have encouraged a blogger-beginner like me with their lovely comments.



Now for the rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (Only if you like).
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blog.

I have become more of a blogaddict these days and the first thing I do every day in the morning is to check my blog for any comments left by the fellow bloggers. Today to my surprise I found a comment with the award tagged to it by Pavithra. I was on cloud9 for receiving the first award. It was the same feeling when I received a comment for my one of the initial posts for the first time.

One thing i liked the most about this Blogging world is "It connects the people who are thousand miles away even though they would not have seen each other, isn't it interesting??" Being a regular blogger now I can understand the effort,time and interest one has to invest in writing their blogs with such interesting stuff and amazing photography.My blogroll is so big that it is very difficult to choose just seven of them from it.

With a happy experience of receiving my first award, I would like to pass this award this to the following Ladies who are some among those who inspired me indirectly to own a blog with their lovely blogs.

1.Lakshmi from Taste of Mysore:
Before I started my own blog, when i want to search for the authentic karnataka food,this was the site i always referred to just because I find similar way of cooking food in my mom's kitchen.

2.Sia of Monsoon spice:
This lady does not need any introduction as she has a stunning site with loads of mouthwatering dishes and breath taking food photographs.

3.Asha of Foodie's hope:
Do i need to say any reason why i choose this lady for the award?? She always comes up with nice and amazing thali's which are droolworthy for a hungry stomach to fill for one week.

4.Madhu of Madhusfoodjournal:
I get a feel that i am only cooking when i go through her post because of the step-by-step pictures in the post.

5.Deesha of vegetable platter
Deesha has a very nice space which her beautiful presentation and description.

6.Mahima of Indian Vegetarian Kitchen
she also has a very beautiful blog with colourful photography and amazing recipes.

7.priya of priya'seasyNtastyrecipes
she has already crossed the milestone of 500 recipes and seems like she has aimed for reaching 1000 recipe milestone and also she was the host of my first event that i participated.

8 Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen
I really love to read the Baking and other amazing vegetarian stuff that she has mentioned in her Blog.

And now coming to the Ladies who have regularly visited my blog and encouraged with their lovely comments, i would like to thank specially these buddies and share this award with them.

Uma of Essence of Andhra

Ashwini of NannaAdige

priyasriram of priya's sourashtrian recipes

simran of BombayFoodie

Lubna of KitchenFlavours

EC of simple indian food

Divya of Dil-se

Varunavi of My Kitchen's Aroma

Shama of Easy2Cook recipes

Pooja of saikitchen

Gita of Gita'sKitchen

Ramya of passionforcooking

Lavanya of welcometovividharuchulu

Raaga of TheSingingChef

vibhaas of Delectable vegetarian recipes

cham of spiceclub

vrinda of sankeerthanam

Deepa of simplehomecooking

LE of HeartfulConcoctions

vishali of foodlovers

varsha of will-o-wisp

and i am sorry if i had missed mentioning anyone's name.Please accept this and i again thank you all for your wonderful support.

Chikkudukaaya Curry (Broadbeans Curry)

As my Husband is on business trip this entire week, I am not cooking anything elaborate these days and so I am preparing simple and easy dishes for me and clearing off the vegetables that I have in fridge.Believe me I am not spending more than half an hour in the kitchen for the entire day.Bread,Dosa(batter I prepared in a huge vessel),simple rice and sabzi,Maggi have become my daily food these days.I am sharing you one such simple chikkudukaaya sabzi that I have prepared recently.Even though it is bit time consuming,it does not require constant attention from us.

This is second entry to WYF-Side dishes by EC of Simple Indian Food.


Ingredients:
250 gms chikkudukaaya/broad beans chopped thin
1 Big onion chopped
2 Tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dhaniya powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt

For tempering:
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds



Method:
Heat Oil in a kadai,crackle mustard seeds and jeera and add chana dal,urad dal,curry leaves and fry until they turn red.
Add chopped onions and fry until golden brown,add chopped tomatoes and fry until it is slight mushy.
Add chopped broad beans/chikkudukaaya and give a good stir and cover it with a plate and pour water over it.keep it in low flame and cook for 15-20 mins giving a stir occasionally(It should be cooked completely with the steam produced by this process,eventhough it is time consuming it adds better taste to the curry).
Add red chilli powder,dhaniya powder,jeera powder,turmeric,salt and mix properly.

serve it hot with rice/roti.