Happy 101 Award!!!

Today I am very excited, overwhelmed and happy to receive "Happy 101 Award" from Spicie Foodie
Her blog is full of wonderful,delicious international recipes. I love most of her mexican and thai recipes, especially thai green curry paste and her food photography are just amazing and fantabulous.  Thanks for passing me Happy award.

 

After receving this award, I can't list all 101things that makes me happy and don't want to make anyone bored here but to keep up the rule will  list 10 things that makes me happy and pass the award on to 10 bloggers that makes me happy.
1. My family
2. My new Canon camera/Photography
3. Cooking
4. Food obviously why I am here now.
5. Shopping eco-friendly home decors
6. Sweets/ chocolates/Ice cream
7. Candle lights
8. Reading interiors magazines(mostly photographs)
9. Flowers all around me
10. Travelling (going on Vacation)

Now comes my fellow happy bloggers:

•  Cilantro
• Collaborative Curry
• Nanidni's Food page
• Pan Gravy kadai curry
• Priya Easy n Tasty recipes
• Pedhakka recipes
• Samayal Corner
• Tiffin Carrier Antiques
• Veg Bowl
• Esamayal kuripugal

 You all have a great weekend ahead!

Fruits Salad (Fruits in Mango Pulp and Condensed milk)

A weekend treat simple and quick dessert Fruit salad. There are various method of doing it based on one's preference and taste. You can make as simple as by adding honey to the chopped fruits,If you aren't calories conscious add powdered sugar or may be with scoop of ice cream. Here is my way of doing quick and simple salad.

Ingredients:
2 cups of your favourite fruits chopped
4 tbsp condensed milk
5 tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup mango pulp
few saffron strings
few raisins
few Cashew nuts
few Hazelnuts

In a bowl,mix mango pulp, condensed milk and sugar.
Add fruits, nuts and saffron strings. Mix well and keep in refrigerator for an hour and serve cold.

Sending off to 'Serve me Some…Salads’ event hosted by Madhuri from Cook-curry Nook.

                                                                 

                                      

Rajma in Tomato Gravy

Ingredients:
1 cup Rajma soaked for 8 hours
1 big Onion finely chopped
2 Tomatoes finely chopped
2 medium size Garlic cloves(make a paste)
1 small inch Ginger (make a paste)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 Green chilies chopped
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Coriender powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 Garam masala powder
Red chili powder(depending on your taste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp Sugar
Cilantro for garnish

Wash the rajma and pressure cook. Drain the excess water and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy saucepan, add onions and saute it. when onions turns light golden add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies and saute for a min.
Add all the powders, and saute well for min or two.Now, add chopped tomatoes,salt and sugar mix well and cover the lid of the pan.  When toamtoes are well cooked add tomato paste and cooked rajma.
Combine well and cook for 3-4 mins or until done.

Almond Banana Smoothie

Happy Friday!

Ingredients:
½ cup Yogurt
1 banana, peeled and sliced
½ cup milk
1 tbsp ground almonds
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp sugar

 

Place all ingredients in blender and blend on medium speed until well combined. Garnish it with finely chopped almonds on top.
Serve immediately.

Bitter Gourd Pitlay

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Toor dal
Lemon sized Tamarind pulp
3-4 Bittergourds chopped
1 big Tomato chopped
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Sambar powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Jaggery
7-8 Cashewnuts
Paste:
Oil
6 Red chilies
1 tbsp Coriender seeds
1/2 tsp Black peppercorns
1 tsp Bengal gram
1 tsp Black gram
1/2 tsp Asafoetida powder
1/2 cup Fresh coconut grated
Tempering:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Few curry leaves

Pressure cook the dal with water and add 1 tsp oil. Meanwhile, In a medium pan, roast all ingredients from the Paste list above and grind to fine paste by adding water and keep aside.
(To remove the bitterness of bittergourd,add salt to chopped bittergourd and keep it for 30 mins and squeeze the juice out of it and then use it)
Soak the tamrind for 15 mins and extract the juice.
Heat a heavy sauce pan, add the tamrind juice,salt, jaggery,turmeric,sambar powder and finely chopped bitter gourd. On a medium flame cook the bittergourd.
Once the bittergourd is well cooked, add chopped tomato cooked dal and ground paste. lower the flame and bring it to boil(add water if required)
Lastly, Heat a 2 tsp oil add, mustard seeds and chopped cashews, when it splutters add curryleaves saute it and mix it to pitlay.
Relish it with white rice.

Happy New Year and Happy Baisakhi!

Ma recipes wishes all, A very Happy New year and Happy Baisakhi! May peace and happiness fill all around.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Other day I was watching Paula deen's 'Honey it's ready' episode on Food network and episode is all about the honey. She shared this breakfast-snack recipe 'Sweet Potato Biscuits'. 
This was my first time baking biscuits from scratch and was bit worrried but believe me it tasted so nice sweet and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
2 to 4 tablespoons milk (depending on the moisture of the potatoes)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a another medium bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter.
Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. (If required add tablespoon of  milk).
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes. (Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature)

Avacado-Onion Paratha

Ingredients:
Filing:
2 Avocado smashed
1 small Onion finely chopped
small piece Ginger (make paste)
1/4 Red chili powder
1/4 Garam masala powder
1/2 Cumin powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Dough:
1 1/2 Cup wheat flour
Water
Oil

In a mix bowl, add wheat flour and make a dough by adding water as required and knead well, apply oil and keep aside.
In another bowl, mix avacado, onion,ginger paste, salt, red chili powder,cumin,garam masala powder and lemon juice.
Divide dough and avacado and onion mixture into portions. Using a little dry flour, roll out the dough ball into a small portion

Place one portion of the avacado mixture in the middle of the dough.
Pull up sides of the dough around the mixture. Pinch the dough at the top to seal the ball. Flatten the stuffed dough and dip into dry flour to coat all sides
Roll out into a larger disc - continuing to dip into dry flour to prevent sticking. Place paratha on a hot tava/skillet and cook until both sides turns light golden. Serve with yogurt and pickle.

Beetroot Basmati Rice

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup Basmati rice
2 Beetroots Chopped Long slice
1 Onion Chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2-3 Green chilies
small inch of Cinnamon
3-4 Cloves
2 Green Cardamom
4-5 Black peppercorns
1/4 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Black Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin-Coriender powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/4 tsp Red chili powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Heat a 4-5 tbsp oil in a pressure pan, add whole cinnamom,cardamom,cloves,black cumin seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns and saute it.
Add Onions,green chilies and ginger-garlic paste saute it until golden. Now, add turmeric, red chili,cumin-coriender, garam masala powder and mix well. let masala blend together. Add beetroot,rice and water(For 2 1/2 cups of rice to 4 1/2 cups of water) bring it to boil on medium-high flame for 5 mins and close the lid of pressure pan and cook for 7-10 mins in low flame.
Serve with any raita/yogurt.

Besan Bhindi /Okra Stir Fry with gram flour

Ingredients:
1 pound small Okra/Ladies finger
1/4 cup Gram flour (besan)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Garam masala powder
1 1/2 tsp Roasted cumin powder
1 tsp Amchur powder
1 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds (saunf), crushed
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tbsp Coriander powder
Oil
1/2 tsp Onion seeds (kalonji)
8- 10 Shallots

Cut the Okras/lady fingers top and bottom and make a slit on one side without cutting through.
In a bowl, mix salt, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, roasted cumin powder, amchur, fennel seeds, red chilli powder and coriander powder.
Fill this mixture into the slits. Sprinkle the remaining mixture (if any) over the okras/lady fingers and add a tablespoon of oil.
Heat the remaining oil in a sauce pan, add onion seeds and sauté it. Add shallots and sauté for one minute. Add gram flour and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add the stuffed Okras/lady fingers and mix, cover the lid and cook in a low flame,stirring occasionally, till the okras/lady fingers get cooked and turn crisp.
Serve with chapathis

Taro Root Kootu

Ingredients:
4 tbsp Toor dal
4 tbsp Bengal gram
lemon sized Tamarind soaked and extract juice
4-5 Taroroot peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Paste:
1 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns
2 tsp Blackgram dal
1 tbsp Bengal gram
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp coriender seeds
1 red chili
4 tbsp coconut grated

Tempering
Oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1 red chili
few curry leaves

Pressure cook the lentils/dals and keep aside.
Heat a oil in pan, add all ingredients from paste list and roast except coconut until light golden and grind along with coconut to fine paste.
In a heavy saucepan. add mustard seeds, rew peanuts,red chili and few curry leaves.When mustard seeds splutters add chopped taro root, salt,turmeric powder and tamarind juice. Cook until the taroroot is tender.
Now, add the cooked lentils/dals cook for 2-3  mins until it's thoroughly blend. Lastly, add the ground paste and cook for a few more mins.
Serve with rice.

Set of Awards!

I am really overwhelmed with the set of awards I have been receiving from past 2 weeks.It's truly encouraging! Here are the 2 awards!
I would like to thank Aruna for passing me her favourite picture under the "TAG Award".Blissed to see the Innocence of child's sleep.

The Rule of Tag award is
1)I should post a favourite picture/pictures
2)I should pass it on to 7 friends.
Here comes my favourite picture of recent. Relaxing Bench under the Tree and like to pass this to

Taken @ Washington Arboretum

Padma
Namitha and Sunitha
Priya
Padhu
Pedhakka
Sarah Naveen
?
Lastly, long pending thanks to Jyothi for sharing a Sunshine Award.

Yellow Dal/Lentils Curry

A simple dal/curry is a must in Indian food platter without which meal is not complete.  This curry can be served with hot rice, chapathis.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Green gram
1/4 cup Toor dal
1 onion chopped
2 Tomatoes chopped
2-3 green chilies
1 small piece of ginger - make a paste
1 garlic cloves - make a paste
small or1 inch cinnamon
3-4 cloves
2-3 peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Jaggery/Sugar
Salt to taste
Oil
Cilantro for granish.

Dal Curry powder:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriender seeds
3-4 red chilies
3-4 black pepper
1 brown cardamom
2 green cardamom
Few dried Dill leaves
Roast above ingredients expect dried dill leaves and grind to fine powder.

Pressure cook the lentils and keep aside.
In a heavy sauce pan, Heat a 2 tbsp oil add cinnamon,cloves, peppercorns and cumin seeds when splutters add ginger-garlic paste,chopped green chilies,onions and suate it for a min.
When onions turns light golden, add turmeric powder and dal curry powder and saute for 1 min.
Add chopped tomatoes, jaggery/sugar and salt mix it well and close the lid and cook until the tomatoes are cooked and smashed.
Now, add the cooked lentils, mix well and bring it to boil. Lastly granish with Chopped cilantro.

Mango Sweet Curry

Ingredients:
1 Green Mango peeled and Cut into cubes
4 tbsp Jaggery
Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
Dry Powder:
1 1/2 tbsp Black gram
1 tsp seseame seeds
Masala paste:
1 tbsp coriender seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Bengal gram
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp raw white rice
5-6 red chilies
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
5 tbsp grated fresh coconut
Note: If you want to store for more days add dry coconut instead of fresh one.
Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 red chilies
few curry leaves

In a Medium pan, Boil 1 cup of water add the turmeric and cut mango cubes. Let it cook in medium flame until mangoes are soft.
Meanwhile, Heat a small pan and roast the black gram and sesame seeds to light golden and grind to fine powder(no water).keep aside.
In a same small pan, roast all ingredients from masala paste  except fresh coconut. let it cool and  grind along with coconut to fine paste by adding water.Keep aside.
Once the mangoes are cooked, add jaggery and salt bring to boil.
Add Masala paste and mix well. cook for 4-5 mins or until the raw smell goes.Now, add the dry powder make sure there is no lumps mix well. In low flame cook for 2-3 mins.
Lastly, Heat a 2 tbsp oil add mustard seeds when splutters add red chilies and curry leaves saute it and mix it with mango curry.
serve with hot white rice.