Shallow Fried Colocasia ( Shavigadde, Arbi )

Colocasia is referred to with different names like Shavigadde, Cheemdumpa, Arbi, Arvi, Taro etc.
It is widely used vegetable in Asia and is also a staple food of Japan.

There are a variety of ways of cooking colocasia. I have shallow fried them. A very simple and tasty recipe.

Ingredients:

Colocasia - 250 gms
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Roasted gram powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Bengal Gram -  1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Cook the Colocasia in a pressure cooker for two whistles. Peel the skin and keep it aside.

Take a pan and add oil to it. Once the oil is heated, add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Add urad dal and bengal gram. Add the turmeric.

Now add the colocasia pieces and start frying them on med flame for around 20 - 25 mins. Once they are done, add salt, chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder and roasted gram powder. Mix it well. Serve it with rice.

Tricolour Parathas

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 6 cups
Beetroot - 1 med size
Carrot - 1 large size
Spinach Leaves - 12 to 15
Green chillies - 1
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tsp
Tomato Ketchup (for serving)

For the Raita:

Thick curd - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small
Chilli powder  - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander Leaves

Method:

Make three doughs separately to get the three colours.

1st dough - Blend the beetroot to fine paste and add it to twp cups of flour. Add salt, oil, chilli powder and make dough.

2nd dough - Blend the carrot with chilli powder and salt. Add this to 2 cups of flour.Add 1/2 tsp oil and make dough.

3rd dough - Repeat the same process with spinach leaves, 1 green chilli, salt, flour and oil.

I have used green chilli to spinach and chilli powder to carrot and beetroot to retain the colours.

The doughs would look like below.

Roll the doughs into three length wise. Now attach one corner of all the doughs and put a plait with them as in the picture.

Now roll the three doughs together again. This would evenly distribute the three colours in a single dough. Cut these into small pieces. Make rotis with them.

Cut the onions into small pieces and add the other raita ingredients to it. Mix it well. Raita is ready.

Serve the healthy and  rich in vegetables tricolour parathas with Raita and Tomato Ketchup. 

Vanilla Cup Cakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 cup

Curd - 1/2 cup

Icing sugar - 3/4 cup

Butter - 3/4 cup

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp

Tutti fruity - 1/4 cup

Chocolate Frosting:

Choco Powder - 1 tsp

Butter - 2 tsp

Icing Sugar - 2 tsp

Cherries for decorating.

Method:

Sieve Maida, Baking Soda and Baking Powder together and keep aside. 

Get the butter to room temperature (soft in texture) and add icing sugar (sieved). Add curd and whisk well to get an even mixture. 

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix. Also add Vanilla essence and tutti fruity to it. Mix it well to get a fine paste.

Fill the cup cake moulds with 3/4 of this batter. This is because the cupcakes raise when they are baked. Bake in the microwave for about 12 to 14 mins. You can see the brown colour appearing on the cakes which is a indication that it is done. Allow the cakes to cool down.

Mix all the frosting ingredients and whisk well. Dip the cakes (on the upper side) in the frosting. 

Decorate it with Cherries.

Cool it for around 2 hours in the refrigerator and serve.

Bread and Green Gram

There's a lot of thinking that goes into preparing Breakfast. It should be stomach filling, healthy and light enough to keep you active for the day.

Bread Toast and Green Gram Sabzi is filled with nutrition. A little bread-spread and jam makes its even more appealing.

Try this simple recipe. Bread tastes great with Green Gram.

Ingredients:

Bread Slices
Green gram - 1 cup
Jam
Bread-spread
Chilly powder
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Leaves.

Method:

Soak Green Gram in water overnight. Pressure cook it for two whistles and keep aside.

Take a pan and add oil it to. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Now add the cooked green gram and saute it for 2 to 3 mins. Add salt and chilli powder. Garnish it with Coriander.

Make Bread toast and serve it with the cooked Green gram, Jam and Bread-spread.

Note: You can also make sandwiches with the cooked green gram and serve.

Capsicum Peas Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 500 gms
Capsicum - 1 large
Fresh Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Garlic Cloves - 2
Desiccated coconut dry - 1/2 cup
Roasted Gram Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to Taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Coriander Leaves chopped

Method:

Cook the rice and keep aside. Cut the capsicum into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and add Cumin Seeds. Crush the garlic cloves and add. Fry till the garlic turns to golden brown colour.

Now add the capsicum pieces. Add little water enough for the capsicum to get cooked. Cover with lid and cook on med flame till the capsicum is done.

Add green peas to it and cook for 2 mins. Add salt, Garam Masala and Roasted gram powder. Mix well. Add the coconut to the mix.

Add cooked rice to the pan and mix it. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Some Tips and Tricks:

1. Add the green peas at the end to avoid the peas from being overcooked and breaking.

2. Roasted gram powder is added so that the masala binds well with the rice.

Seemebadanekayi Palya

Ingredients:

Chayote Squash (Seemebadanekayi) - 2
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Bengal Gram - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves
Roasted Gram powder - 2 tsp

Method:

Peel the skin of the Squash and cut it into small cubes. Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds, Bengal Gram, and Turmeric. Now add the Squash pieces to the pan. Add sufficient water for the squash to cook.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on med flame. After the Squash is cooked, add salt, chilli powder and Roasted gram powder to it.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Rice or Chapathi.

Simple Radish Curry

This is a simple everyday recipe which I love to cook. I really like the radish flavor that gets absorbed into the Curry along with the other core ingredients.

Ingredients:

Radish (medium size) - 3 to 4
Toor dal - 1/2 cup (approx 100 gms)
Sambar Masala - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Jaggery (optional) - 1 small cube
Coriander leaves
Curry Leaves
Tamarind Paste - 2 tsp
Rice Flour - 1 tsp

For Tempering:

Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Haldi (Turmeric) - 1/4 tsp
Hing (Asafoetida) - 1 pinch

Method:

Wash and peel the skin of Radish. Cut them into slices. Wash the toor dal and cook it along with radish pieces about three whistles in a cooker.

Take a pan and heat oil in it. Temper it with Mustard seeds, turmeric and asfoetida. Now add Currly leaves to it. For the tamarind pulp, mix rice flour nicely and see that there are no lumps formed. Add this to the pan. Now add the radish and the cooked dal.

Add the rest of the ingredients Salt, Jaggery and Sambar powder. Let it cook for 10 to 15 mins on med flame.

Garnish it with coriander and serve hot with rice.

Some Tips and Tricks:

1. Always when making Sambar, cook the vegetables like Radish, Drumstick, Potato along with the Dal as these vegetable take longer time to cook.

2. Cooking the Vegetables with Dal also gives the Curry a good taste as the Dal has already absorbed the taste of the Veggies when they are being cooked.

3. Adding rice flour to the Sambar gives you the desired thickness. Rice flour mixes well in Tamarind pulp without easily forming lumps.

Pudina Peas Pulao

 Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 250 gms

Pudina (Mint) Leaves - 1/2 bowl

Coriander Leaves - 1/4 bowl

Fresh Green Peas - 1/4 bowl

Green Chillies - 2 to 3

Dessicated Fresh Coconut - 1/4 bowl

Ginger - 1" piece

Garlic  - 2 to 3 cloves

Cinnamon - 1/2" piece

Cardamom - 1

Cloves - 3 to 4

Salt to Taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Bengal Gram - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts -  10 - 12

Method:

Grind Mint, Coriander, Green chillies, Ginger and Garlic to a coarse paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, bengal gram and Urad dal. Fry till they become golden brown.

Add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom now.

Now add the ground paste to the mix. Also add cashew and green peas. Add little water ( about 1/2 cup ) to the pan and allow the it to cook.

After the water evaporates completely cook the paste for 2 more mins on high flame.

Mix it with the cooked rice and serve.

Some Tips and Tricks:

1. Mix the rice based on the masala consistency that you require.

2. Grind the mixture to coarse paste. This would enhance the taste and you would be able to feel the taste of different ingredients.

Tasty Veggie Noodles

Today, I decided to cook some Veg Noodles as this is my sis's favorite. I added more vegetables to make it  a healthier one.

Ingredients:

Noodles - 1 packet
Soya Sauce - 4 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 5tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Spring Onions

Vegetables:

Carrots - 1 cup
Capsicum - 1 cup
Beans - 1 cup
Cabbage - 1 cup
Spring onions - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large

Vegetables

Method:

Cut the vegetables (Carrot, capsicum ) into long stripes. Cut Cabbage and onions into small pieces. Cut the beans by dividing it into half length wise and then cut into long stripes.

Take a large pan and add enough water in it for the noodles to be soaked properly. Add some salt and oil to the water.When the water starts to boil, add the noodles to it.

The noodles take around 5 to 10 mins to be cooked. When the noodles are cooked take them in a pan and wash them with cold water. This will help the noodles from being over cooked.

Take oil in a large pan and keep it on a high flame. When the oil is heated, add the onions and saute till they turn into golden brown.

Now add the rest of the vegetables. Shallow fry the vegetables till they become soft. Add the cooked noodles to the pan.

Now add soya sauce, salt, chilli powder and mix well. Cook for another 2 mins.

Veggie noodles are ready to be gulped. Serve it with Tomato Ketchup.

Some Tips and Tricks:

1. Do not forget to add oil to the water when cooking noodles. The noodles do not stick to each other.
2. Do not cook the noodles and keep it for long time. They get dried up.
3. Always cook the vegetables and noodles on high flame. This helps them to restore their nutrition value.

Moong dal and Rava Huggi

Huggi is a little variant of the most popular dish in South India i.e Pongal (not the sweet one). It is widely prepared in most of the Kannada Brahmin houses. Moong dal and Rava Huggi along with Tamarind Sauce is a wholesome meal and healthier too. I generally cook this when I am really bored of cooking  rice.

Its a healthy recipe and useful enough to reduce body heat.

Ingredients:

Moong Dal - 2 cups
Rava - 1 cup
Desiccated coconut (dry) - 1/4 cup
Groundnuts - 1/4 cup
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya Powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to Taste

For Tempering:

Oil - 2 tsp
Red Chillies - 4 to 5
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10

For Tamarind Sauce:

Tamarind Pulp - 1 bowl
Powdered Jaggery - 1 bowl
Cornflour - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp


Method:

Huggi:

Shallow fry the rava till it turns golder brown and keep aside.

Take a pan, add 4 to 5 cups water to it. Once the water starts to boil add the moong dal. The moon dal takes less time to cook.

Once the moon dal is cooked, start adding the rava. Make sure that no lumps are formed. Add coconut and other ingredients.

Cook till the rava is done. The dish must not be too thick since is solidifies in due time.

For tempering: Take oil in a pan. Once its heated, add all the ingredients.Garnish Huggi with the tempered ingredients.

Tamarind Sauce:

Mix cornflour and Tamarind pulp. There shouldn't be any lumps. Add jaggery to this mix. Start cooking it on a low flame. Add salt and chilli powder.

Remove from flame after 2 to 3 mins. Temper it with oil and mustard seeds.

Tamarind Sauce

Huggi with Tamarind Sauce (Gojju) is ready to be served.

Note: The dish is at its best when served hot. Enjoy it.... :)

Yummy eggless microwave Chocolate Cookies

I always wanted to try Chocolate Cookies as they are my favorite.  I tried these in my new microwave and they turned out to be crispier and delicious.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 cup
Butter - 3/4 cup
Castor Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Choco Powder - 1 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1 pinch
Milk - 2 tbsp

Method:

Get the butter to room temperature. Add sugar to it and whisk it till it becomes creamy in texture. Sieve Maida, Baking powder and choco powder together and add baking soda to this mixture. Now add this mixture to the butter sugar mix. Add milk to it. Mix all the ingredients to make a soft dough.

Now press the dough to flatten it. The thickness of the dough must be about 1 cm. If the dough is too much flattened, the cookies might break when baked. Grease the baking pan with butter or oil. I prefer oil as it spreads out easily. Cut the cookies into desired shapes and place them on the baking pan with a distance of 5cms between them.

 Pre heat the microwave oven to 180° c. Place the baking tray in the microwave and bake it for around 15 - 20 mins till the cookies are nicely done.

Sending this recipe to Foodelicious Chocolate event.

Healthy Chutney using crown part of Okra

Okra (Ladies finger) is a rich source of dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. Its high in anti oxidants and very beneficial to health.

Generally when cooking Okra, the crown and the tip of the okra are not used. We can store this Okra crown parts and use it to make tasty chutney. Whenever Okra is prepared at home, the crowns can be stored and later used to make chutney.

Ingredients:

Okra crown parts:  25
Bengal gram(Chana Dal) -  2 to 3 tbsp
Tamarind - 1 inch piece
Jaggery - 1 small piece
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Fresh Coconut piecee - 10 to 12
Oil - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves
Green Chillies - 2 to 3

Method:

Cut the Okra crown parts into half and keep aside. Take a pan and heat oil in it. Shallow fry Okra pieces till they become soft and cooked. Shallow fry the other ingredients like mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, chillies and  bengal gram.

Add the rest of the ingredients and grind. The Okra chutney is ready to eat. You can garnish it with coriander and mustard seeds tadka (tempering).

Note: Add very little or no water when grinding the chutney.