VEGETABLE BIRYANI, BEETROOT VADA, SEMIYA PAYASAM| COOKING FOR GUESTS 26

Last week i got a surprise call from my a very good friend of mine, that she is visiting Singapore. We planned to meet one day and i am so excited to meet her almost after 10 years. We spent a whole day talking about our college days, family and friends. I cooked this lunch for her and quickly clicked before we start out lunch. The super hot vegetable biryani, beetroot vada, potato curry on a rainy day with lot of laughter with a best friend around, a day well spent i can say.

ATTE KA HALWA RECIPE | ATTE KA SHEERA | EASY SWEET RECIPES

Atte ka halwa or atta ka sheera is similar to our south indian kesari . Also called as Gehun ka halwa, it is sweet made with whole wheat flour . I have tasted this few times in my north indian friends house but never tried at home on my own. Traditionaly it is served in Gurudwaras,also called as Kada prasadh. Today i tried it home and it came out very perfect and tasty. I have adapted the recipe from here. Be it for navaratri or varalakshmi vratham, this sweet is perfect for  any festival at home. Check out my godhumai halwa and wheat flour ladoo recipe.

DUM PANEER KALI MIRCH RECIPE | PANEER RECIPES

Dum paneer kali mirch , i have tasted this in cream center restaurant in chennai. When i posted the corn cheese balls, this recipe is also in my to do list from their menu. I have bookmarked this recipe of paneer kali mirch from Sanjeev kapoor's recipe. This recipe doesn't include tomatoes. When i tried it for the first time today, it turned out so awesome and it was very creamy and flavourful. The recipe too is not so complicated too. Try this panner kali mirch at home and let me know how they turned out. Check out my shahi panner recipe  and other paneer recipes too.

SUKKU MALLI COFFEE | SUKKU KAAPI RECIPE

I was first introduced to this coffee(kapi, to be more precise in tamil) by our neighbour aunty. Sukku is dry ginger and malli means coriander seeds. I have told about her in this vadai post too. Almost every week aunty makes this and brings piping hot sukku kaapi in the evening for my mom and paati in a big vessel. Initially me and sister will not even taste this as we feel that it is not meant for us. But aunty and even their daughters who are of the same age always tell us to try this kaapi. This drink has medicinal values too. It relives headaches, aids in digestion and keeps you energitic. This can be made with simple ingredients available at home. Slowly me and my sister started liking this and after that forgot about that. After so many years i made this today. It was raining heavily for tha past 3 days and thought this will be perfect one to enjoy this weather. When i had the first sip, it gave me lot of nostalgic memories of our childhood in our Madurai house.

NUTELLA FRUIT SANDWICH RECIPE| KIDS FRIENDLY RECIPES

Nutella is always popular among kids. My kids are a great fan of nutella. Though i don't give it to them very often once in a while, i spread it for them in bread and give for breakfast or pack for snacks. Last month when my sister was here she was telling me to add some fruits to sandwich and told me an idea to make jam sandwich. Instead of jam i chose nutella and added strawberry and banana and grilled the sandwich. It was a super hit among kids. Since strawberry oozes out water, it is not ideal to pack for them, but if only nutella and banana is added, you can pack it for them. But i can say, this sandwich is tastes best when it is served hot. You can add any fruit of your choice. Check out my chocolate cheese grilled sandwich. 

DHABA STYLE DAL TADKA RECIPE| DAL TADKA

Dal tadka, though it is simple but many of our homes dal is a staple item. Especially for vegetarians, dal is the great source of protein. The way they make dal tadka in road side dhabas are always awesome. I still remember our travel to Haridwar from Delhi by road. It was some 12 years back and we told the driver that we want to eat food only in dhaba and not in any restaurants. Still when i think about the food the taste will come to my mind. The piping hot tandoori rotis, dal and subzis will be awesome and the tall glass of malai lassi is the highlight. I wanted to recreate the smae taste at home, but somehow, this masoor dal tadka was bit close but i won't say it was dhaba style. Last week when i was casually browsing for someother recipe, glued on this recipe of dal tadka here. I didn't alter anything and just followed the same recipe. It was exactly the same style of dhaba wale dal tadka. The smoky flavour gives the exact flavour of the dhaba style. Try this at home and i am sure your family will enjoy it.

SOYA CHUNKS PEPPER FRY | SOYA CHUNKS RECIPES

Soya chunks is a rare item in my kitchen. When i was cleaning my freezer today, found this soya chunks and  wanted to make soya chunks cutlet . As the bread crumbs was out of stock , i thought i will make a pepper fry . It turned out so yum and i just enjoyed with simple garlic rasam. I will post the soya chunks cutlet recipe next week. Check out my soya chunks biryani. 

RAJMA PULAO RECIPE | EASY LUNCH BOX RECIPES

Rajma chawal

Making interesting items for lunch box is a challenging task for most of the moms. Thankfully both my kids love chole, rajma and other legumes. The channa pulao is always a super hit in their lunch box . I always make rajma masala seperately and make basmati rice and mix both and pack for box. Recently when one of my friend was telling casually in a chat, she made rajma rice for lunch box and mentioned she made it as a one pot meal. She made it the same way as my channa pulao. I slightly tweaked the recipe according to my taste and it was a super hit with kids. 

 I made this again for me today for me and enjoyed spicy rajma pulao with boondi raitha.

Rajma pulao

  Preparation Time : 10 mins+ 8 hours soaking| Cooking Time : 20 Mins |Serves: 1-2

     Rajma     1/4 cup
     Basmati rice    1/2 cup
     Onion   1
     Tomato  1
     Ginger garlic paste   1/4 tsp
     Red chili powder    1/2 tsp
     Coriander powder   1/4 tsp
     Cumin powder   1/4 tsp
     Green chili   1
     Oil    3 tsp
     Garam masala | rajma masala   1/2 tsp
     Bay leaf           1
     Cardamom         1
     Mint leaves     few
     Coriander leaves     few 

Method:

• Soak rajma for 8 hours or over night.
• Cook the rajma till 4-5 whistles. Add 1/2 cup of water while cooking the rajma. Add little salt too.

• Soak basmati rice in 1/4 cup of water. The water we have used in cooking the rajma will be used for the pulao too. So 1/4 cup of water is enough.
• Finely chop the onions and tomatoes. 
• In a pressure cooker add oil and throw in the cardamom, bay leaf,clove and ginger garlic paste.
• Saute it for few minutes in a low flame and add the chopped onions. Cook for few minutes.

• Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes in a low flame. Add in the red chili powder, green chili, cumin powder, coriander powder, rajma masala (garam masala). Add in finely chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. Add salt. Remember that we added salt while cooking rajma too. So add accordingly.
• Add the cooked rajma. Do not discard the water. Measure the water and keep 1/4 cup for cooking the pulao. Already we added 1/4 cup to the rice.

• Add the rice and water. Mix well and cover it. Cook till one whistle and put in a lowest flame for 7 minutes.
• Let the pressure subside on its own. 

• Fluff the rice with a fork. You can either pack it for lunch or serve it hot for lunch too.

Notes:

1. Ensure that the rajma is well cooked before you put for the pulao
2. You can grind the onion, tomato, corinade leaves, mint leaves too.
3. Adding a tsp of butter while cooking enhances the flavour.

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EGGLESS RAGI CHOCOLATE CAKE| MILLET RECIPES

ragi chocolate cake with nutella glaze

Making cake with millet flour, is the one i always love. I have already baked a thinai cake and the recipe of which is in my recent cookbook. I wanted to make a cup cake with ragi|finger millet flour. Finally i made this vegan ragi chocolate cake and it was a super hit among kids. The recipe was slightly adapted from here . I packed this for their snacks and they really enjoyed it very much. I just topped the cake with a nutella galze. Since i had 1 tblsp of nutella lying in  the box, after trying a sandwich with nutella (recipe coming soon). I felt very satisfied for giving a home baked millet cake for kids to school.  Even if you do not have oven, you can try the same cake in pressure cooker too. Check out my pressure cooker cake for more details and instructions.

Ragi chocolate cake

  Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 35 Mins |Serves: 16 square pieces

     Ragi flour   1 cup
     Whole wheat flour   1/2 cup
     Sugar    1/2 cup
     Cocoa powder  1/4 cup
     Baking soda   1/2 tsp
     Oil      5 tblsp
     Lemon juice   1 tblsp
    Vanilla essence     1 tsp
    Water    1 and 1/4 cup         
   For nutella glaze
   Nutella   1 tblsp
   Butter   1 tsp
   Milk    2 tblsp

Method:

• In a wide bowl, sift the ragi flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and cocoa powder.
• Powder the sugar and in a bowl add the sugar, oil,lemon juice, vanilla essence and water.

• Now slowly mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together and whisk it gently without any lumps.

• Grease a cake tin with oil and dust it with little flour.
• Pour in the batter to this and genlty tap it to get rid of the air bubbles.

• Bake this for 30 -35 minutes in a oven at 160 degrees. Insert a toothpick in the center and if comes out clean then it is done. Mine took 30 minutes . Timing varies from oven to oven. 
• Allow this to cool completely. Cut them into sqares after pouring the nutella glaze.

• To make the glaze, in a pan add nutella, milk and butter together.
• Keep in a low flame and stir it. Let this get combined together. Once the butter is melted switch off the flame. It took 2-3 minutes for me to make this glaze.

• when the cake is completely cool, pour the glaze over the cake and spread it evenly and genlty with a butter knife.

• Then cut this into squares. 

Notes:

1. You can replace whole wheat flour with maida too.
2. You can skip the nutella glaze and serve it plain also.
3. The cake was bit dense but was very tasty and kids friendly too.
4. You can add finely chopped nuts while mixing the flour.
5. Chocolate chips can also be added.

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RAGDA PATTIES BHEL PURI, PAPDI CHAAT| COOKING FOR GUESTS SERIES 24

chaat recipes

As promised in my previous post, i made a chaat platter,and presenting you the same. Chaat is always a welcoming one in my house. Whenever we go to Kailash parbat restaurant here in Singapore, chaat platter is a must one in our order list. Some times we just have the chaat platter and a glass of lassi and finish our meal and come back home. I have a few chaat recipes in my website, and i have chosen 3 popular chaat recipes, ragda patties, papdi chaat and bhel poori. If the chutneys are ready, making chaat is more simple. Make this chaat platter this weekend and make your weekend more special .