My entries to WYF: Teatime snack event

The following are my entries to the WYF: Teatime Snack Event.
Please click on the pictures to view the recipes.

Spicy Corn:



Spicy Teatime cookies:

Upkari / Palya (stir fried beans, carrots and potatoes)

Upkari in Konkani means vegetables stir-fried in minimum oil and garnished with fresh coconut. In most konkani households, dinner is usually paij (rice soup) with an upkari. A konkani blog without a recipe for upkari is like a North Indian restaurant that does not serve Naan/Roti.
Upkari can be made with different kinds of vegetables. Most popular being alsande upkari(long beans), tendli upkari( ivy gourd), bhenda upkari( with okra). A small potato can usually be added with alsande or tendli upkari. The most popular upkari is bibbe upkari, which combines tendli (ivy gourd) with cashewnuts. Bibbe in konkani means cashews and god...they are so good!! I cannot find the bibbe here in montreal, I will post the recipe when I find them.
Usually after I make kolmbo(sambar) or pulao during the week, I find that I have a few beans, carrots and potatoes left. So I combine them together and make this "flag" upkari. I like to call this the flag upkari because it has orange, white and green colors representing the Indian flag :)
If you are watching your diet, you can reduce the oil to just 1 tsp and cook it in a non-stick pan and also bring down the amount of coconut.
Enjoy this recipe...

What you will need:

• Green Beans - 5 to 6
• Carrots - 1 or 2 small
• Potato - 1
• Red chillies - 2
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Warm water - 1/4 cup
• Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare:

Wash the vegetables thoroughly and cut them into small pieces about the size shown in the picture above.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the red chillies. Saute for about 30 seconds and then add the vegetables. Saute for another minute. Add salt and warm water. Lower the flame and cook the vegetables on a low flame. Check in between to see that the vegetables are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. If all the water has been dried up, you can sprinkle some more water. Cover and cook until the vegetables are done. Turn the heat off and garnish with freshly shredded coconut.

Serve the upkari with rice and dalitoy(dal) or with rice and rasam / tomato saru.

Related Posts:

• Mooga Upkari (Moong sprouts preparation)
• Batate Bhaji ( Aloo bhaji / Potatoes with spices)
• Aloo Bhaji with onions (Potato onion with spices)

Sambar (Kolombo)

Sambar is a vegetable made with tamarind juice and toor dal(yellow lentils), and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India. It is called Kolombo/Kolmbo in konkani

Sambar is a regular in my kitchen and I make it atleast once every week. But using different vegetables everytime, makes it taste completely different. Rice with sambar is a complete meal as we get to eat the veggies, the rice has the carbs and the lentils are rich in protein. Now this is something that is healthy and delicious...perfect!!

I have a cousin who loves Sambar so much that he has to have it everyday, we call him Sambar Krishna. Whenever my aunt does not make sambar, he buys it from a hotel nearby for 5 rupees.

There are so many variations of sambar and it tastes completely different depending on the vegetables used in the preparation. For breakfast, with idly I usually make sambar with small whole onions. When I prepare sambar with rice for lunch or dinner, I do not add onions. You can make sambar with just okra(bhindi or ladies finger) or with brinjal/eggplant(badanekayi) or radish( moolangi sambar) or with a combination of different vegetables like green beans, potatoes, carrots, drumstick, ivy gourd (tonde kayi or tendli) etc.

I had never tried moolangi (radish) sambar before until I moved to bangalore. My roommate from Mysore was an expert at making moolangi sambar. She uses a lot of coriander leaves (almost the whole bunch) and boils the sambar with the leaves and believe me, the taste is so different. For someone like me who does not like radish at all due to its smell, even I loved this sambar.

I am sure a lot of us are pressed for time and would rather use the store bought sambar powder than to grind the masala for Sambar. So here goes the recipe for sambar using sambar powder...

What you will need:

• Tool dal - 1/2 cup
• Green chillies - 2 to 3
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Vegetables of your choice - 2 small cups
• Coriander leaves - a small bunch
• * Tamarind - size of a lemon soaked in water
• Sambar powder - 2 tsp
• Oil
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 2
• Curry leaves - 4 to 5 strands
• Salt to taste

* If you do not have tamarind, you can use 2 small tomatoes instead and cook it with the vegetables.

How to prepare
Cook the toor dal with turmeric powder and 2 drops of oil. Cook the vegetables separately with some salt and slit green chillies. This way the vegetables are not bland when cooked.
Mash the cooked dal(lentils) well, you can use an egg beater for the same. Add the water from the cooked vegetables to the dal to change the consistency to your liking.
Strain the remaining water from the vegetables and add it to the dal. Adjust the salt. Mix the sambar powder in the tamarind juice to form a thin paste.
Put the dal and vegetables on the stove on a medium flame and allow it to come to a boi. Now add the sambar powder mixed with the tamarind juice. Add the chopped coriander leaves. Cook the mixture on a low flame for about 10 minutes. Turn the flame off. Keep it covered.
Heat oil in a separate container. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the sambar and cover it.
Serve hot with rice or sambar :)

Tip: When making sambar with okra/bhindi, never cook the okra in water. Fry the okra in oil and cook on a low flame until it is done and later add it to the cooked lentils.

When making sambar with eggplant, never cook the eggplant in a pressure cooker, or even if you do make sure you turn the cooker off before the first whistle as you do not want the eggplant to get mashed up and disappear in the preparation.
When cooking different vegetables together, it is always better to cook them in water adding the vegetables that require more time to cook first and then after they are slightly done, add the vegetables like cauliflower or eggplant that do not require as much time as other vegetables to cook.

Related Posts:

• Tingalavare Kolmbo (Sambar with beans)
• Daal Rasam ( Lentil sauce in rasam style)

Shrimp Coconut Rice (Prawns and rice in coconut)

What you will need:

• Shrimps (Prawns) - 12 - 15, deveined
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Rice - 2 cups
• Onions, sliced - 2 medium
• Coconut - 1 cup
• Coriander leaves - 4 to 5 strands
• Mint leaves - 4 to 5 strands(optional)
• Green chillies, slit - 4 to 5
• Ginger, chopped - 1 tsp
• Garlic, chopped - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Bay leaves - 1 or 2
• Cloves - 4 to 6
• Star anise - 2
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare

• Marinate the shrimps in mixture of lemon juice and salt.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they splutter whole garam masala (bay leaves, cloves, star anise). Sauté until the aroma of the garam masala arises.
• Add the sliced onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions turn light brown in color. Add the slit green chillies, ginger and garlic.
• Add the rice and fry for a minute or two. Add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Add the coconut milk, 2 and a half cups of warm water and salt. Cover and let the rice cook.
• In a separate pan, heat a tsp of oil. Add the shrimps along with the marinade. Cook for about 5 minutes until the shrimps are done.
• When the rice is almost done, add the cooked shrimp and mix well. When the rice is cooked, transfer it into a serving dish and serve hot.

Ghee Rice

This is a simple and easy to make rice that can be served with some spicy vegetable or chicken gravy.



What you will need:

• Rice - 2 cups (preferably basmati rice)
• Ghee - 4 tbsp
• Onions - 3 medium, sliced
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Whole garam masala - cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves
• Salt to taste

 

How to prepare
Heat ghee in a pan. Add whole garam masala. Then add sliced onions and saute until they turn brown. Heat another pan and add sugar. Add washed rice and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add 4 cups of water to the pan.
Heat sugar in another pan and caramalize it. When the sugar turns brown,add 4 tbsp of water and then turn the heat off. Add this to the cooking rice. Add salt to taste and cover and cook until the rice is done.
Serve hot with any spicy gravy.

Chole (Chana Masala)

What you will need:

• Chickpeas - 1 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Potato - 1 small (optional)
• Tomato - 2 small or 1 large (you can instead use store bought tomato paste - use 3 tbsp)
• Green chillies - 2 or 3
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves (Cilantro) - a few strands
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 

How to prepare
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Instead you can also soak it in hot water for atleast 3 hours. Cook it until soft. If you are cooking them in a pressure cooker, cook for 3 to 4 whistles and then simmer for another 10 minutes.
If adding potato, cook, peel and mash it well. This is just to make the gravy thicker.
Blend the tomato, green chillies and ginger into a coarse paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the tomato paste. Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
Cook until the oil separates. Add the mashed potatoes and chickpeas and cook on a low flame for another 5 minutes. Add the garam masala. Turn the heat off and garnish with coriander leaves.

 

White Bread

What you will need:

• All purpose flour/Maida - 3 cups
• Sugar - 1/3rd cup
• Warm water - 1 cup
• Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 3/4th tsp

 How to prepare

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of warm water. The water should not be too hot nor cold. Wait until the yeast forms a creamy foam. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.

Add the salt. Now add the flour one cup at a time. Knead the dough. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow the dough to rise for an hour. It will be doubled in volume.
Punch the dough down and knead for a few minutes. Shape the dough into loaves and place in well oiled 9x5 invh loaf pan. Again keep aside for 30 mins and let the dough rise in the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Vermicelli kheer (Vermicelli payasa)

What you will need:

• Vermicelli - 1 cup
• Milk - 3 cups
• Sugar - 3/4 cups
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Dry fruits - raisins, cashews, chopped almonds and pistachios

How to prepare

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the cashews, chopped almonds and pistachios and fry. Add vermicelli and fry it on a medium flame until it starts to turn slightly brown. Add milk and cook the vermicelli. After the vermicelli is completely cooked, add the sugar and raisins. After the sugar dissolves completely, turn the heat off and add cardamom powder.

 

 

Aloo Paratha/Indian bread stuffed with potatoes

What you will need:

• Potatoes - 3 boiled and peeled
• Wheat flour - 3 cups
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp, slightly crushed
• Coriander leaves - a few strands
• Green chillies - 4 to 5, finely chopped
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Warm water to knead the dough
• Salt to taste

 How to prepare

Mix flour, salt. Slowly add water a little at a time to form the dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes to make it smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside for atleast 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash the boiled potatoes with salt, green chillies, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste. Make lemon sized balls from the potato mixture. Make same sized balls with the dough.
Roll out the dough into around 3" and place the potato ball on the dough. Bring all the edges together and seal the the centre. Flatten the stuffed dough. Dust with extra wheat flour and roll the dough into 7 - 8" parathas.
Heat the griddle and put a parantha on it. Fry on one side and the apply some ghee/oil and flip over. Fry the other side. Serve hot.

Tomato Rice

What you will need:

• Cooked rice - 2 cups
• Tomato - 2 medium, finely chopped
• Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Red chillies - 2 to 3
• Green chillies - 2 split
• Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
• Ginger - chopped, 1" piece
• Chana dal (bengal gram/split chickpeas) - 1 tsp
• Urad dal (split black gram) - 1 tsp
• Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp (optional)
• Coriander leaves - a few
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add cumin seeds, red chillies, urad dal, channa dal and cashewnuts. When they change color, add the chopped ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Now add the chopped onions and fry until the onions are light brown in color. Add the finely chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook until the tomatoes form a paste. Keep stirring until much of the water evaporates. Now add the cooked rice and salt and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Grilled Chicken Kabab

What you will need:

• Chicken - about 4 to 5 pieces
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Lemon juice - 4 tsp
• Thick yogurt - 1 tbsp, drain all the water
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Butter/Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Mix all the ingredients except the butter/oil. Make a paste and marinate the chicken pieces in the paste for about 1-2 hours. Apply butter/oil to the grill and grill the chicken pieces until they are done. Serve hot.

Quick egg masala rice

What you will need:

• Cooked Rice - 1.5 cups
• Onion - 1 sliced
• Tomato - 1 finely chopped
• Eggs - 4, beaten
• Green chillies - 5
• Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
• Coriander leaves - a few
• Oil - 2tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat oil in a pan. Add green chillies. Add onions and fry them until they turn slightly brown in color. Add the turmeric powder. Now add the tomato and cook them until they are soft. Now add the eggs and let it set for a minute on a low flame. Stir the eggs now to scramble them. Add the cooked rice and salt. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat off and garnish with coriander leaves.

Naan

Naan is the most popular Indian bread and is served at all Indian restaurants across the world. I recently started making Naan at home and I was really surprised that its so easy to prepare and actually tastes so much better than the store bought versions. The following recipe makes about 5 to 6 Naans.

 

What you will need:

• Maida / all purpose flour - 2 cups
• Lukewarm water - 3/4 cup
• Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
• Yogurt - 2.5 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp

 How to prepare

Add 1 tsp of active dry yeast to 3/4 cup of lukewarm water. Make sure the water is neither too hot nor cold.  Leave it for 10 mins for the yeast to activate.

Mix the flour with sugar, salt and yogurt. Add the yeast, water mixture and mix well. Finally add 1 tbsp of oil.

Cover with a plastic wrap for about 3 to 4 hours. The dough rises and doubles up in volume.

Make balls out of the dough, dust them with some flour and roll them. Do not roll them too thin as it gets hard when cooked. I roll them as thick as stuffed paranthas.

Preheat oven to 500F and set it to broil mode. Place the rolled naans(2 or 3 at a time) on an aluminium foil and place them in the oven. They puff up in about 5 minutes and the top surface gets brown spots.

Apply butter on top and serve hot with vegetable or chicken curry.

 

Garlic fried cauliflower

Very easy to  make, yet very delicious. I don't remember when was the first time I made this dish or who I learnt it from, but now its a regular dish in my kitchen. The cauliflower when fried with chillies and garlic tastes really gooooooooood !!! Make sure the cauliflower florets are washed in hot water and all the water is drained out after the cauliflower florets are washed.


What you will need:

• Cauliflower, cut into small florets - 3 cups
• Garlic pods, sliced - 10 to 12
• Red chillies - 3 to 4
• Green chillies - 1 or 2
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 How to prepare

Heat oil in a non-stick heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, add the slit green chillies, turmeric powder and red chillies. Then add the sliced garlic. Fry the garlic and add the cauliflower florets. Add salt and mix well. Lower the flame and cover and cook. Do not add any water. If the cauliflower starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, just sprinkle some water. Cook until the cauliflower are done. Enjoy !!

Chocolate chip cookies

What you will need:

• Butter - 1/2 cup
• White /Sugar - 3/4 cup ( instead use 1/4 cup white sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar)
• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
• Egg - 1
• All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 1/4 cup
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Chocolate chips - 1 cup ( instead use 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped pecans/walnut/almond)

How to prepare
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the vanilla essence and then the egg. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt and add it to the sugar mixture.
Finally, mix the chocolate chips and/or nuts.
Grease the cookie sheets and place spoonfuls of the mixture.
Preheat the oven at 375F and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.


If you like them crispy, leave for another 2 minutes. Cool and store.

Narayan Kataar ( NanKhatai / Butter Cookies)

What you will need:
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Ghee/Clarified butter - 3/4 cup
Green Cardamom - 8 ,Skin removed and the seeds crushed
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

How to prepare
Mix the flour, baking soda and sugar together in a bowl. Add the crushed cardamom and mix well. Melt the ghee. Add a little at a time, while mixing and kneading the dough it reaches the consistency of chapati dough.
Cover and keep the dough aside for 4 to 6 hours.
Make small balls out of the dough, around the size of a small lemon and slightly flatten them between your palms and place them on a greased baking sheet. Maintain some gap between the cookies.
Preheat the oven at 200°C. Bake them for about 15 minutes or until u see small cracks on top. Take the tray out of the oven and wait until the cookies cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.

Spicy Cookies / Tea time cookies

What you will need:

• Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp
• Ghee/Clarified butter - 1/2 cup
• Green chillies - 4 to 6
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp, slightly crushed
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
  
  How to prepare
  Mix all the ingredients together except the ghee. Add melted ghee little at a time and knead the dough. Set it aside for about an hour.
  Roll the dough into big rounds just like you would roll the chapatis. Using a cookie cutter cut out pieces out of the rounds. Grease an aluminium foil and place the pieces on them. Preheat the oven to 300F and bake until done.Do not place the baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven as you do not want to burn the bottom of the cookies. After baking, cool the tray and store the cookies in an air tight container. Can be served with tea or as snacks.

Jhalke Fry (Fried Fish seasoned with garlic)

I had been to US to visit my husband's cousin. That is where I first had this fish preparation. It was nice and spicy. I have been wanting to try preparing this at home for a long time. Finally, I prepared this fish last night and the whole house smelled of fish and garlic. The combination of curry leaves, asafoetida, fish and garlic brings out a great flavour.

What you will need:
Fish (Mackrel) - 6 to 8 pieces
Red chilli powder - 3 tsp

Rice flour - 3 tsp

Gram flour (besan) - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - dissolved in water

Garlic - 8 to 10 pods, finely chopped

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Mix the red chilli powder with rice flour, salt and gram flour. Add the asafoetida dissolved in water to make a paste. Apply this paste to the fish and leave it to marinate for 2 to 3 hours. I usually leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat oil in a wide pan. Add curry leaves. Place the fish pieces in the oil one by one. Cover and cook until the first side is cooked. Now carefully flip the fish pieces.

Sprinkle the chopped garlic on the fish. Cover and cook the other side.

Turn the heat off and keep the pan covered for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Mooga upkari / Moong sprouts palya

What you will need:
Moong sprouts - 1 cup

Dried red chillies - 2

Green chillies - 2

Fresh shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Asafoetida, dissolved in water - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves and red chillies. Now add the moong sprouts, salt and green chillies. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook until the moong is almost cooked. Now add the shredded coconut. Cook until the moong is done and is not mashed up. Turn the heat off and add the asafoetida dissolved in water.

Masoora Randayi (Lentils in spicy sauce)

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. Everyone back home loves this dish. It is also very easy to prepare. It can be served with pan polo /Neer dosa , poori , chapati or parantha.

What you will need:
Whole masoor (Black lentils) - 1 cup ( you can even use any other beans)
Potato - 1 small
Onion - 2 small
Garlic - 4-5 pods
Ginger - 1" piece
Coconut - shredded - 3/4 cup
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Black peppercorns - 3 to 4
Green chillies - 5 to 6
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the masoor and potato in a pressure cooker until soft. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Grind together onion, garlic, ginger, coconut, cinnamon, peppercorns and green chillies into a fine paste.
Heat a pan. Add the cooked masoor, potatoes, salt and the paste. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Heat oil. Add mustards seeds and when they crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the tempering over the dal.

Chicken Sukka

What you will need:

• Chicken - 12 pieces, cut into small cubes
• Whole dry red chillies - 12 to 15 (or less if you do not like it too hot)
• Onions - 2 medium, finely chopped
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coconut grated - 1.5 cups
• Clarified butter / Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Tamarind - lemon sized, exctract a thick juice
• Garlic - 12 - 15, finely chopped (Use 6 - 8, if using american garlic)
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
• Black peppercorns - 6 to 8
• Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) - 1 teaspoon
• Green cardamoms - 2 to 3
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Dry roast poppy seeds, black peppercorns, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, green cardamoms, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Cool and grind with coconut and 12 red chillies to a coarse paste, adding the tamarind juice. Add the cumin seeds and grind coarsely. The coconut mixture should be dry and coarse.
Heat half of the ghee in a pan. Add chopped garlic and 2 whole dry red chillies. Add salt and turmeric powder. Now add the chicken pieces and cook until the chicken is almost cooked on a low flame without adding water. Add the coconut and spice mixture and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken is completely done.
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. Add the curry leaves, stir-fry briefly and then add the chopped onion. Fry the onion until golden brown and pour it over the cooked chicken. Serve hot.

Spicy Corn

What you will need:
Corn - 1 cup, canned or frozen
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Fresh garlic - 1 tsp crushed
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chillies - 2
Butter - 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 4 dried
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Wash the corn in water. If frozen, thaw the frozen corn.
Grind the onion, green chillies, garlic, cumin and coriander powder with salt.
Heat the butter in a skillet. Add crushed red chillies and stir.
Add the onion and spice mixture and fry for around 5 minutes or until the raw smell of the onion goes off. Add the corn and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the corn mixture to a serving dish. Sprinkle lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

This recipe is my entry to 15 minute cooking @ Spices etc

Tinglavare Kolombo / Sambar

What you will need:
Tingalavaro - 1/2 cup
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Vegetables - 1 cup (potato, beans, carrots etc)
Tamarind - lime sized, soaked in water
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 2 tsps
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the beans, toor dal and vegetables with some salt, jaggery and green chillies.
Squeeze the juice out of the tamarind soaked in water. Mix the sambar powder with the tamarind juice and add to the beans and vegetables. Bring it to a boil and turn the heat off.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the sambar.
Serve with rice, idly or dosa.

Vaingana song (Eggplant / Brinjal in a spicy tangy sauce)

What you will need:
Onions - 5 small, sliced
Tomato - 1 medium, roughly chopped
Eggplant/Brinjal - 1 medium sized, cut into small cubes
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind - lime sized, soaked in water
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Squeeze the juice out of the soaked tamarind and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry until the onion is slightly brown in color.
Now add the chopped tomato, salt, red chilli powder and tamarind juice. Add 1/4 cup of water if you dont like it very dry.
Cook until the tomato is completely cooked and is completely mashed. Now add the eggplant and cover and cook.
When the eggplants are cooked, turn the heat off.
Serve hot with chapati or naan.
Also, if you make it a little watery, you can even mix it with rice and eat it.

Tandoori Chicken drumsticks

 

 

Chicken drumsticks made in tandoori style by baking in an oven is a very healthy way to cook chicken. Also it is a must-have if you are having a party at your place because you can marinate it ahead of time and then just put in the oven when the guest arrive and serve it nice and hot from the oven.

 

What you will need:

• Chicken drumsticks - 4 pieces, skin removed
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Olive oil - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare

Hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth to remove all the water. Mix the yogurt with ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, tumeric powder, lemon juice, coriander and cumin powders and salt.

Leave it to marinate for atleast an hour. If leaving it for longer, put it in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven at 400F. Place the chicken drumsticks on the baking tray and pour some olive oil over the drumsticks. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn them over. Bake for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Butter Fried Chicken

What you will need:
Chicken - 1lb (pound), boneless, cut into pieces

Chilli powder - 3 tsp

Tamarind juice - 1/2 tsp, thick

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Butter - 2 tbsp, melted

Fresh curry leaves - 2 strands

Salt to taste

How to prepare

In a bowl, take 1 tbsp of butter and mix it with chilli powder, salt, coriander powder, ginger garlic paste and tamarind juice. Poke the chicken pieces with a fork so that it can absorb the marination well. Apply the paste to the chicken pieces and leave it to marinate in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours or overnight.
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of butter in a pan. Add the curry leaves. Now add the chicken pieces with all the paste. Cook until the chicken is done.

I did not make too much masala , but if you want more gravy, just increase the amounts of all the powders to 1.5 times.

Green Peas Pulav / Mutter Pulao ( Rice cooked with peas and onions)

Green peas pulao is very easy to cook and is ready within 20 minutes. The secret ingredient here is the milk. It adds a very rich taste to the pulao. I usually do not use basmati rice for this as it tastes equally good with the normal white rice. Here in Canada, I made it with 'jasmine' rice which has a very nice aroma when cooked. If you are using a rice cooker, you can follow the same procedure given below, and in the end transfer everything to the rice cooker and then add the water.

What you will need:
Rice - 2 cups, washed
Green peas - 1 cup
Onions - 3 medium, sliced
Ghee / Oil - 1 tbsp
Cashews - 10 - 12 (optional)
Whole garam masala (1" cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom , mace blades)
Green chillies - 5 to 6
Ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped
Garlic - 4 to 5 pods, finely chopped
Water - 3.5 cups
Milk - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - finely chopped, a bunch
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat ghee/oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala, green chillies and cashews. Fry them all together. Add the chopped ginger and garlic and then add the sliced onions. Fry the onions until they turn brown in color. Now add the rice and fry it for atleast 5 to 10 minutes. Add the green peas, 3.5 cups of water and 1/2 cup of milk. Cover and let the mixture boil. Now add the coriander powder, cumin powder and coriander leaves. Mix well. Cover and cook until the rice is done.
Instead of a pan, you can also use a pressure cooker. Serve hot.

Mooga upkari / Moong sprouts palya

What you will need:
Moong sprouts - 1 cup

Dried red chillies - 2

Green chillies - 2

Fresh shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Asafoetida, dissolved in water - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves and red chillies. Now add the moong sprouts, salt and green chillies. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook until the moong is almost cooked. Now add the shredded coconut. Cook until the moong is done and is not mashed up. Turn the heat off and add the asafoetida dissolved in water.

Masala Mandakki / Charmuri upkari (Puffed rice with onions)

What you will need:
Puffed rice - 2 cups

Onion - 1 chopped

Coriander leaves - 5 strands, finely chopped

Coconut oil - 2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Fresh shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Lime juice - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

In a large bowl, add onion, coriander leaves, red chilli powder and salt. To that add the shredded coconut. Now mix the puffed rice and coconut oil. Garnish with coriander leaves. Squeeze the lime juice and serve.

This is best eaten fresh as the puffed rice gets soft after a while.

Mooga ambat (Moong sprouts with cashews in coconut sauce)

What you will need:
Whole moong sprouts - 1/2 cup
Cashews - 10 - 12
Coconut shredded, fresh or frozen - 1 cup
Dried whole red chillies - 6 - 8
Tamarind - size of a chickpea
Onion - chopped 1 cup
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands

How to prepare

Grind the coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste.
Boil water in a pan and cook the moong sprouts together with the onion and cashews. Cook until the moong is almost cooked, but is still firm and not mashed up.
Remove the excess water from the moong. Add the ground masala to the cooked moong. Add salt and bring the mixture to a boil and turn off heat.
In a pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the curry leaves and pour the seasoning over the mooga ambat. Serve hot with rice.

Cauliflower butti (Cauliflower with onions and coconut)

What you will need:

2 cups cauliflower florets

1 cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen

2 medium onions

8 fried red chillies

2 tsp coriander seeds

small piece of tamarind(or 1 tsp tamarind paste)

6 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

How to prepare:

Cook the cauliflower florets with a little salt and set aside. Cut the onions into thin slices and keep aside. Grind coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a paste. The paste does not have to be very smooth. Then add the coriander seeds and grind again. Head oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to cracke, add the sliced onions and saute for a minute. After the raw smell of the onion goes away, add the ground masala and some salt and fry for a minute. Now add the cooked cauliflower. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice.

Whole Masoor Masala (Lentils in spicy sauce)

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. Everyone back home loves this dish. It is also very easy to prepare. It can be served with pan polo /Neer dosa , poori , chapati or parantha.

What you will need:
Whole masoor (Black lentils) - 1 cup ( you can even use any other beans)
Potato - 1 small
Onion - 2 small
Garlic - 4-5 pods
Ginger - 1" piece
Coconut - shredded - 3/4 cup
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Black peppercorns - 3 to 4
Green chillies - 5 to 6
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the masoor and potato in a pressure cooker until soft. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Grind together onion, garlic, ginger, coconut, cinnamon, peppercorns and green chillies into a fine paste.
Heat a pan. Add the cooked masoor, potatoes, salt and the paste. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Heat oil. Add mustards seeds and when they crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the tempering over the dal.

Stuffed Bhindi (Stuffed Okra)

What you will need:
Bhindi - 15

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Besan (Gram flour) - 1/2 cup

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Put a gash on the okra without cutting it into 2 pieces. Apply salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.

In a bowl mix besan, salt, chilli powder, asafoetida powder, coriander powder and lemon juice.

Stuff this mixture into the bhindi.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the bhindi and the remaining powder. Mix well. Cover and cook on a low flame. Cook until the bhindi is fried and cooked completely.

Baked Fish (Salmon) in green masala

What you will need:
Salmon fillet - 1
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Garlic pods - 6 to 8
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Crush or grind coarsely the garlic and coriander leaves.
Mix olive oil with chilli powder, coriander powder, lemon juice, salt and the green paste. Apply this mixture to the fish and keep aside for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake the fish for 20 minutes. Sprinkle lemon juice on the fish and serve.

Kadai Bhindi / Bhendi ( Okra with capsicum, onion and tomatoes)

I went to my grocery store last Saturday and saw the bell peppers in different colors...red, orange, yellow, green and I could not stop myself from buying them. Then I really did not know what to prepare using these. When I was looking through my recipe book, I found this recipe for kadhai bhindi.
What you will need:
2 cups of okra cut into 1" pieces
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup of capsicum/peppers cut into squares(yellow, green, orange and red)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 - 4 green chillies
1 cup chopped onion
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp coarsely ground coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste

How to prepare:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the okra and fry in an open pan until slightly cooked. This is to remove the stickyness of the okra. Remove the okra and set aside.
In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the chopped onions. Add a little salt and let the onions cook for some time. Add the turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and the green chillies. Cook for a minute and then add the chopped tomatoes. Add the coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and chilli powder. Cook until the tomatoes are soft. Now add the capsicum. Mix everything well. Add more salt if needed. Add the okra and cook until the okra is done. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Vegetable Upma / Uppittu / Rulavu

What you will need:
Rava / Sooji - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 2 medium sized, chopped
Vegetables - 1 cup (beans, carrot, peas etc , this is optional)
Coriander leaves - few, finely chopped
Shredded coconut,fresh - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 4 to 5
Warm water - 2 1/2 cups
Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the vegetables with a little salt. Drain all the water and keep aside.
Heat oil/ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, add urad dal, green chillies, curry leaves and onions.
Fry until the onions turn golden brown. Now add the rava. Fry the rava until a nice aroma comes out. Now add the sugar, salt and cooked vegetables and stir.
Pour the warm water into the pan and mix it well with the rava. Cover and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Add the coconut and coriander leaves and mix well. Cook until all the water is absorbed by the rava. Serve hot.

Mushroom Masala

What you will need:
Mushrooms - 12-15 big, sliced
Onion - 2 medium sized, sliced
Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, finely chopped
Coriander leaves - few finely chopped
Cream - 2 tbsp (or use 1/4 cup milk instead)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onions and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, red chilli and coriander powder. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are cooked and mashed.
Add the mushrooms and salt. Cover and cook. When the mushrooms are half done, add the cream/milk. When mushrooms are almost done, add the coriander leaves and garam masala powder. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.

Potato onion bhaji / Aloo bhaji

What you will need:
Potatoes - 3 medium sized

Onions - 2 medium sized, sliced

Green chillies - 6 finely chopped

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves - few finely chopped

Oil - 5 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare

Cut the potatoes into small cubes.

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they crackle, add chopped green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder and sliced onions. When the onion turns slightly brown, add the cubed potatoes and salt. Cover and cook. Add little water if required. When the potatoes are done, add the lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Vegetable Korma

What you will need:
Vegetables - 2 cups ( beans, carrot, peas, potato, cauliflower and beetroot)

Green chillies - 4

Coriander leaves chopped - 1/2 cup

Coconut - shredded fresh/frozen - 1/2 cup

Cinnamon stick - 1" piece

Garlic pods - 4

Pepper corns - 6

Oil - 3 tsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Cook the vegetables with half teaspoon of salt. Keep aside.

Heat the oil and then fry the cinnamon, garlic, green chillies, coconut and then the coriander leaves. Grind them all with peppercorns into a smooth paste.

Add this paste to the cooked vegetables. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Serve with puri/chapati.

Phova upkari / Sweet and spicy poha

What you will need:
Thin Poha - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 3 tsp (you can also use a small amount of jaggery)
Freshly grated coconut - 3 tbsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Oil - 2 tsp

How to prepare
In a bowl mix coconut with sugar, salt and sambar powder. Now add the poha to it and mix well.
If the poha is too dry, you can sprinkle some water.
Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add curry leaves. Allow this to cool for a couple of minutes.
Now add to the poha and its ready to be served.

Optional: You can also add one finely chopped onion to the poha.

Spicy pepper chicken

What you will need:
Boneless chicken - 1/2 pound ( or 250gms)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Curd/ yogurt - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cut the boneless chicken into cubes. Mix the lemon juice with red chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste and yogurt and rub it to the chicken pieces and leave it to marinate for atleast 2 hours.
The longer you marinate, the better the flavor of the chicken. I sometimes marinate it and leave it overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat oil in a pan. Add curry leaves. Now add the chicken pieces and the pepper powder. Cover and cook. Make sure the chicken does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a little water if required. Cook until the chicken is cooked.
Sprinkle some pepper powder on top and serve hot.

Donne mirsang bajo / Capsicum bajji (Green pepper fritters)

What you will need:
1 capsicum (green pepper) - cut into 1" cubes
Besan / gram flour - 1/2 cup
Asafoetida - 1 small piece
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Soak the asafoetida in water until it dissolves completely.
In a bowl, mix the besan, red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt.
Add asafoetida dissolved in water. Add more water if required to make a thick paste. The consistency should be such that when you dip a capsicum piece in the paste, it should be well coated. Now dip the capsicum in the paste and deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot.

Rava dosa

What you will need:

Riceflour-1 cup
Rava or sooji- 1/2 cup ( or 3/4 cup for more crispy dosas)
Maida- 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillie-1 chopped finely
Curry leaves- a few
Ginger- a small piece finely chopped
Coriander leaves- a few finely chopped
Onion- 1 cup finely chopped
Oil / ghee - 2 tsp
Butter - 2 tsp

How to prepare:

Mix the rice flour, maida and rava. Add salt, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger and coriander leaves. Add water or buttermilk and make sure that the batter is of a very watery consistency . Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and mustard seeds, when it splutters add curry leaves and then the onion.Fry the onion until it turns transparent. Allow it to cool for a couple of minutes and then pour it over the batter.
Heat the griddle and grease it with oil/ghee. Take one ladleful of batter and pour it on the tawa. This dosa cannot be spread like normal dosas. Put some butter on top. Cover and cook. After the first side is cooked and is golden brown in color, fold the dosa and remove it from the griddle. This dosa is only fried on one side.
Serve hot with coriander chutney or hing chutney.

Poori / Puri (Fried South Asian unleavened bread)

Poori is deep fried Indian bread made with wheat flour. I have always loved poori bhaji for breakfast. My brother and I always used to compete against each other on who can eat more pooris. Even to this day I can eat 10-15 pooris easily. When I started making puris, they would never puff up. But with a little practice I can say that I can make pretty good puris. In the picture I have served poori with aloo bhaji and vegetable korma. I will post the recipe for vegetable korma soon.


What you will need:
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oil/ghee
2 cups wheat flour

How to prepare:
In a bowl add the salt and ghee. To this add 1 cup of warm water. Now add the wheat flour. Mix everything and knead the dough.
Add a little more wheat flour if the dough is too soft. The dough should be a little harder than the chapati/roti dough.
Make lemon sized balls with the dough. Flatten each ball in your palms and dust with some wheat flour so that it does not stick when rolling. Roll the puris and keep them covered.

Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry one poori at a time. Slightly press the pooris and they will puff up.

Serve hot with vegetable korma or aloo(potato) bhaji.