Vermicelli upma is yet another variation with vermicelli(apart from the sweet version).This is nutritious too as it is full of veggies and it makes a good breakfast or snack item which takes very less preparation time :)
Ingredients - vermicelli onion(1 medium) green chillies(2-3) carrot green peas cauliflower asafoetida/hing mustard seeds cumin seeds/jeera curry leaves/kadipatta turmeric powder oil salt
Method - Cook the vermicelli in boiling water till they are half done. Drain the water out and rinse the vermicelli under cold water so that they don't become sticky. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add hing,mustard seeds.Once they splutter add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the chopped green chillies,onion and a pinch of turmeric powder. After a min add the finely chopped veggies. Add salt and cover and cook till the veggies are soft. Finally add the cooked vermicelli,add salt and mix. Serve hot vermicelli upma with tea :-)
Happy Gudi Padwa to all !! I made this sweet potato kheer on Gudi Padwa.It is known as Kanangachi kheer in konkani and Ratalyachi kheer in marathi.The distinguishing factor of this kheer is the coconut milk used..which makes it tasty and special :)
Method - Soak the sabudana in water for 5-6 hours. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them thin. Heat little water in a pan.Add the sliced potatoes so that they get boiled. Once done add the soaked sabudana. After 5 min add jaggery as per taste and then coconut milk. Add cardamom powder and a pinch of salt and turn off the flame. Cashew nuts may be added if required. Serve the sweet potato kheer warm :-)
This is a healthy variation to the typical plain parathas :)
Ingredients - spinach(3-4 leaves) cabbage(small piece) wheat flour(atta) gram flour(besan) oil salt carom seeds/ajwain(a pinch) turmeric powder green chillies(3-4) water for kneading
Method - Chop the spinach and cabbage finely. Slit and chop the green chillies. Mix together - atta,besan,spinach and cabbage leaves,salt,turmeric powder,green chillies,carom seeds and few drops of oil. Knead this dough with the help of water.It will be a soft dough.Make small balls out of it. With the help of a rolling pin roll out parathas out of the balls. Fry them on a tava with ghee or oil. Serve hot parathas with curd/pickle or sabzi of your choice :-)
Thukpa is a Tibetan noodle soup.It is popular in Tibet,Bhutan and Nepal.In India it is very famous in Sikkim and is traditionally served with steamed momos..We heard about thukpa from a friend who had it in Darjeeling.Out of curiosity we gave it a try and it turned out delicious :)
Ingredients - chicken stock maggi noodles(1 packet) carrot(1) bellpepper/capsicum(1) onion(1) garlic(3-4) ginger(1 small piece) green chillies(2-3) tomato(1 medium) turmeric powder red chilly powder blackpepper powder chilly oil(1-2tspns) salt oil
Method - To prepare the chicken stock - boil the chicken pieces in water with a few drops of oil,salt and chopped onion.Discard the froth appearing on the surface.Strain this and chicken stock is ready. Cook the noodles in boiling water until slightly undercooked.Typically rice noodles are used but I have used maggi noodles. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. Thinly slice the carrot and capsicum. Chop the remaining onion,tomato and mince/mash the garlic and ginger. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add onions and fry till light brown. Add green chillies,turmeric powder,minced ginger and garlic. Stir for a minute. Add the chopped carrots and capsicum. Add tomatoes,salt and red chilly powder. Cook till the veggies are tender. Add the chicken stock and cook for 5-10 min. Add black pepper and salt if required. Turn off the flame and add red chilly oil. Put the thukpa into a serving bowl and add the cooked noodles and serve immediately :-)
Eating grilled fish or grilled chicken is very healthy since it contains less oil. Apart from this reason needless to say it is a hot favourite of almost all of us :)
Ingredients - chicken drumsticks(4) pomfrets with slits(2) lemon juice(5-6 tspns) red chilly powder(3-4 tspns) salt curd(4 tspns) ginger-garlic paste turmeric powder fenugreek(methi) powder coriander powder cumin powder garam masala powder carom seeds/ajwain(1/2 tspn)
Method - Wash the chicken drumsticks and fish. Mix together lemon juice,red chilly powder and salt. Apply this to the drumsticks and fish. Now mix the following ingredients and apply to the fish and drumsticks : curd,ginger-garlic paste,turmeric powder,red chilly powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,methi powder,garam masala powder and salt. Sprinkle few carom seeds on the fish. Refrigerate the drumsticks and fish for 5-6 hours or overnite. Preheat the microwave to 180deg. Sprinkle some oil on the fish and chicken. Grease the grill stand with oil. Keep the fish and chicken on the stand. Set the grill option for 15min. Turn the fish and chicken on the other side,sprinkle oil and again grill for 15min. Serve the fish and chicken platter with onion rings and lemon wedges :-)
Vada pav is a very popular snack of Maharashtra.Pav stands for bread or bun.Batata stands for potato.Vada pav mainly consists of batata vada sandwiched inside pav.
Ingredients - pav(4) potatoes(2 big) green chillies(3-4) garlic cloves(4) asafoetida(hing) turmeric powder salt fresh coriander leaves gram flour(besan) red chilly powder water oil for deep frying
Vada Pav Chutney - garlic cloves(7-8) red chillies(3-4) freshly grated coconut(2-3 tbspns) red chilly powder salt oil
Method - Boil the potatoes and mash them. Make a paste of garlic cloves and green chillies. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add hing and garlic-chilly paste. Add the mashed potatoes.Put in salt and turmeric powder. Cook for 2 min and add fresh coriander leaves. Mix together besan,turmeric powder(a pinch),salt,red chilly powder and water to form a batter.The batter should be little thick and not watery. Make balls out of the potato mixture. Dip them in the besan batter and deep fry till crispy(golden-brown).
Chutney preparation- Heat 1 tspn oil in a pan. Add the coconut and garlic to it. Turn off the flame,let it cool and then grind this along with salt and red chilly. Add red chilly powder and mix well.
Take 1 pav and divide it into 2. Apply the chutney on one half.Place the vada over it and press with the other half. Serve vada pav hot with tea :-)
A very easy and tasty carrot burfi recipe worth giving it a try :) Ingredients - carrot(1) sugar freshly grated coconut(3-4 tbspns) ghee for greasing Method - Wash and peel the carrot. Boil it so that it becomes soft enough to mash.Grate it now. Mix together the grated carrot and coconut. Measure this mixture in a bowl.This is important because you need to take the measure of sugar from this. Take exactly th same quantity of sugar as the carrot-coconut mixture. Heat a pan,add the sugar and carrot-coconut mixture to it. Stir it continuously till the mixture gets hard. Grease a plate with ghee. When the mixture is done transfer it to the greased plate. Flatten it with a spatula and cut into desired shapes. Once the mixture hardens it is not possible to cut it hence cut it when hot. Once cooled store carrot burfis in an air-tight container :-)
Peanut cookies are distinguished from other cookies for having peanut butter as a principal ingredient.Apart from being yummy since this recipe also contains oats these cookies are very healthy too :)
Ingredients - 3/4th cup all purpose flour(maida) 1/2 tspn baking powder 1 tspn cinnamon powder(dalchini powder) 2 tbspn peanuts 1/2 cup quaker oats 1/2 cup peanut butter 3/4th cup caster sugar(powdered sugar) lemon peel
Method - Roast,peel and crush the peanuts. Mix together the maida,baking powder and cinnamon powder. Now add the oats,peanut butter,sugar,crushed peanuts and freshly grated lemon peel to the flour. Sprinkle few drops of water and knead this dough. Refrigerate the dough for 10-15 minutes or else if you are running short of time you can omit this step. Make cookies out of this dough and place them on a greased plate. Preheat the microwave at 180deg. Set the convection option for 20-25min and bake the cookies. Crunchy peanut oatmeal cookies are ready :-)
A very healthy soup consisting of spinach..goes well with bread toast :-)
Ingredients - spinach/palak(10-15 leaves) green peas/matar(1/2 cup) onion(1 medium) garlic cloves(3-4) green chillies(2-3) peppercorns/kalimirch (3-4) salt sugar vegetable stock/water milk
Method - Wash the spinach well and chop it roughly. Chop the onion,green chillies and garlic finely. Heat oil in a pan.Add the chopped onion and garlic. Add green chillies and peppercorns. Put in the chopped spinach and green peas. Cover and cook for a minute. Let it cool down and then grind the mixture with water or vegetable stock to a fine paste. Now add the paste to a pan.Add some vegetable stock or water and get it to a boil. Add salt as per taste and a pinch of sugar. Now add milk and stir. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes. Spinach peas soup is ready to serve :-)
