Capsicum with Besan [Gram flour]

Presenting an interesting combo of capsicum with besan [gram flour] ! It is the best taste ever and here are a few steps to cook it easy and quick! Capsicum is also known in many countries as green peppers.

Ingredients:

Capsicum - 2 large, finely chopped

Besan - One cup

Onion - 1 medium, finely sliced/chopped
Salt - to taste
Jeera - 1 tspn

First, you have to sieve the besan to get rid of any lumps. Next, dry roast it on a very low flame so that the raw smell disappears. This has to be done very carefully so that the besan does not burn. This should take around 10 minutes.

In a medium sized wok, add a bit of oil and add zeera. When it begins to brown, add the sliced onions and saute.

Add the chopped capsicum pieces and add the masalas as you normally would. I added salt, turmeric, a bit of garam masala powder and a bit of coriander powder and chilli powder. Sprinkle some water, cover the wok and let the vegetable cook. The problem with this vegetable in specific is that it tends to overcook easily. To avoid that, open the lid after 5-8 minutes and give it a good toss up and make sure it is cooked, yet crispy.

Stir in the roasted besan and it's done, ready to serve !! Although I didn't use a garnish, you could sprinkle chopped coriander leaves for added flavour :) Enjoy!

Desi Style Veg Fried Rice

My first post in this blog !! I've always been a foodie just like my sis Sandhya but I'm quite lazy to cook up a storm, unlike her :D Having been on my own here in Abu Dhabi for the past 3 years, I have had the time to experiment and try out different recipes. I must admit though, that I still stick to the ones that don't take too much of time to prepare ;-) So if there's one thing that will be common in my recipes here, it's the fact that they're all done in a jiffy and with minimum ingredients.

Here's my recipe for desi-style fried rice ! Do try and let me know how you liked it !

First, I got the veggies all chopped and ready. I added frozen peas and corn to this too at the time of cooking. You can add anything of your choice, i.e baby corn, mushrooms, paneer etc. More the merrier !

I also separately cooked the rice and set it aside. The rice needs to be al dente, but don't worry if it becomes a little mushy. It will separate out nicely when it is getting fried.

The cooking begins !! Take two woks, in one add a bit of cooking oil and start to saute the spring onions.

In the other wok, add a bit of oil and toss in the rice. Keep it on a medium flame and allow it to brown. You can add a dab of butter over it for flavour. Keep stirring it to let the grains separate well and start to get browned.

The veggies are busy getting cooked. My husband likes his food a little in the desi style, so to the vegetables I added salt, a little white pepper and a hint of ginger-garlic paste. I also added tomato paste, a little of spaghetti sauce and a couple of teaspoons of evaporated milk.

At this stage, if you want to retain the white-ivory colour of your fried rice dish, you can make a white sauce and saute your veggies in that - it will work well !!

Ready to be mixed !

I tossed both the rice and the veggies together and garnished with fried cashewnuts. My SIL is very fond of that garnish and it tastes really nice!

Quick Tomato Rice..

Every morning I have to come up with yummy lunch options for my husband dearest who takes a lunch box to work.. Most of the time its our traditional South Indian food, but sometimes I'd like to serve up something that different and quick. This dish is my favorite for one of those busy mornings.

Ingredients ( serves 4):

- 7 Ripe tomatoes- Finely Chopped

-Chopped green chillies - 2 nos ( or according to taste)

- Cooking oil : 2 tblspn

-Mustard seeds : 1 tsp

-Jeera seeds: 1 Tsp

- Urad dal : 2 tsps

- Dhaniya ( corriander) pwd : 1 tsp*

-Pav bhaji masala pwd : 1 tsp*

- Kitchen king masala : 1 tsp*

- a pinch of sambar pwd *

- Tamarind pulp : 2 tblspn

-Uncooked rice : 1 1/2 glasses

- Chopped Coriander leaves - 4 tblspn

- Salt to taste.

Method :

1. Cook the rice on the stove or pressure cooker and keep aside to cool. 

2.In a kadhai, add oil and then add mustard seeds. When it starts sputtering , add the jeera ,urad dal , green chillies and stir for 3 -4 mins on medium heat, till  the urad dal is slightly golden brown. 

3. Now add the chopped tomatoes, salt, tamarind paste and all the powders *.

4. Stir it all in , add a little water to cook the tomatoes. Close the lid and allow the mixture to cook till the tomatoes are soft ,mushy and pulpy...

5. When the tomatoes are cooked, add in the cooked rice . Check for salt ,spice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Serve Hot!

Homemade Quick Sreekhand...

My husband and I have this huge sweet tooth and there is usually something sweet in the fridge to bite on after dinner or lunch.. This dessert is Vinod's favorite and every time I make it he licks the bowl clean! It takes 10 minutes to assemble the ingredients and make the dish.. but you need to prepare the curd overnight to get thick cheese like hung curd.

I hope you enjoy the recipe....

Ingredients ( serves 2) :

-2 cups [400 gms] of set curd ( I used nestle set curd)
-2 Pinches of saffron
- Castor sugar ( according to taste)
- Chopped peanuts and almonds
- 3 tablespoons of warm milk.
-2 Tsp of nutmeg


Method:
1. Hang the curd overnight in a muslin cloth.. and let the water in the curd drain out so, that you are left with thick cheese like curd.

2. Throw away the drained water .Put the thick curd in a bowl & add the Castor sugar, Nutmeg,Chopped nuts,milk and saffron.

3. Whisk all the ingredients together and put it in the fridge for about 2 hours. 

4. Serve Chilled... Its yum! 

Dosa

Ingredients for the batter:

-Parboiled rice (ukda chawal) : 2 3/4 cups

-Rice raw rice :   1/4 cup

-Split black gram skinless  (urad dal) : 1 cup

-Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds ) :   1 tspn

-Salt  (to taste)  & Oil as required...

Method to make Batter :

Wash and soak both the rice for atleast four hours. Wash and soak the urad dal also for atleast four hours. Drain and mix. Grind to a fine batter adding water as required. Transfer the batter in a deep vessel, cover with a tight fitting lid and keep it in a dark and warm place overnight to ferment. Since its the winters these days in Bangalore, I keep the batter under the gas stove and that keeps it warm. 

So i make the batter in the morning and then through the day, with all the cooking that takes place on the gas, the batter is kept warm.

Just before making the dosas, add salt to taste and mix lightly

Method to make Dosa:

Heat a tawa. Drizzle a little oil and wipe with a wet cloth so that the tawa is at the right temperature. Drop a ladle full of batter on the tawa and spread it in a circular motion as thin as possible. Drizzle a little oil all around and let the dosa cook on medium heat. When ready the edges will begin to separate from the tawa. Gently run an imaginary line in the middle and close the dosa to make a half circle and serve hot with Dosai chutney podi , chutney and sambhar.

Dosai milagaipodi ( Chutney pwd)

Kesar Badam Homemade Ice Cream

Ingredients :

100 gms almonds
1 1/2 litres milk
1/2 tin condensed milk
1 1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp cornflour
8-9 tbsps sugar
10 strands of saffron

Method:

      -Soak the almonds overnight and grind it to paste.

-Dip the saffron in a little milk and keep aside.

-Simmer milk on low flame and add the condensed milk.

-Keep stirring, till the mixture becomes thick and decreases to almost half the quantity.

-Dissolve the sugar in few tbsps milk and add cornflour and saffron.

-Mix well till mixture is creamy and there are no lumps.

-Add this to the condensed milk mixture and heat again.

-Put in the paste of ground almonds in the mixture, stirring constantly.

-After the mixture thickens allow it to cool.

-Add the cream, mix well and refrigerate until half set.

-Take out from the refrigerator, blend well and re-freeze.

    ~ Dish up , garnished with almonds and a few strands of saffron.~