Peanut Sauce

A long time to do item on my list. This finally saw the day of light when I had some leftover roasted peanut powder when we made sabudana khichdi last week. Ohh did I miss posting it, will catch up again later

A simple recipe for the peanut sauce if you have the coconut milk handy.

Ingredients

½ cup roasted peanuts crushed

1 medium onion chopped finely

1 tspn garlic finely chopped

1 tspn lemon grass crushed/paste

1 inch ginger/ galangal

1 tspn lime juice

1 tspn soya sauce

1 tspn sugar

1 tspn butter

1 tspn red chilli powder

½ cup coconut milk (thick)

Salt to taste (soya sauce has some ,so taste before you add)

Method

1) Heat a pan, add some butter and let it melt.

2)  Add the chopped onions, garlic; ginger paste and sauté till the onions are cooked.

3) Add the lemon grass, sugar, soya sauce, red chilly and sauté further.

4) Add the coconut milk and peanut powder let it reduce to a sauce consistency.

5) Add salt to taste and take off the heat. Add lime juice and let it cool.

6)  Pack in a jar and use it as required.

Stays well for a couple of weeks if refrigerated.

Baked bread roll

Baking bread rolls is not a very good idea especially if you have a palette which is trained to dig into an oily crust and then hit something soft inside. The canteen bread rolls which is a popular snack in all schools and colleges will have that sort of texture.

The one I am about to make is the baked version which I promise is full of taste but do not approach it with the any prejudice as my version simply shares the name with the one you are used to.

I did consider naming it something different but then dropped it for lack of creativity.

Ingredients

White bread slices – 10 (Cut the corners if they are too thick).

4-5 medium size potatoes – boiled and mashed

Parmesan cheese grated

2 tspn Ginger garlic paste

2-3green chillies finely chopped

1 tspn lemon juice

1 tspn garam masala

Salt to taste

Oil / Butter for brushing

Method

1)      In bowl mix together all the ingredients except the bread and oil.

2)      Take one slice of bread and dip it in water, and then take it on your palms quickly squeezing out the excess water. Don’t worry if the bread deforms as you can cover it by maneuvering your palms to form a cover later on.

3)      Put the filling in the centre and try covering it from all sides. Move your fingers such that the open sides are over each other and press gently towards the corners.

4) Make some more.

5) Line a baking sheet, with some butter or parchment paper.

6) Preheat your oven for 5 min at 180 degrees.

7) Place the bread rolls on the tray and tip it in the oven for 15 min. Turn them after 8-10 min. Brush with some oil if they are taking longer to change color.

8) Serve with ketchup or chutney.

Jalapeno dip

I had a pack of Nestle yogurt lying in the refrigerator when my cook brought another pack. So I had to quickly use up the older slightly sour tasting yogurt. These days, dear hubby has been insisting on fresh made snacks in the evening right before the dinner is served. We eat out dinner very very early (8:30 PM is late dinner). So I decided to make some quick finger food.

Last week, we had picked a lot of crisps and crackers from nature’s basket. So all I had to make was a quick dip.

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt

1 tspn chopped jalapenos (I had them , you can use regular green chillies if you like)

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Salt to taste

Method

1)      I used my unused tea strainer, to hang my curd. I just let the curd sit in the strainer for 30 minutes). Trust me I got a nice texture for the dip. It could be because of the brand I used. Nestle’s yogurt is tad less watery then others.

2)      Next take the hung curd in bowl and added the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

3)      Serve with crackers (use Monaco biscuits if you don’t get crackers)

Masala Corn Rice

I had made this first time around when I had lots of corn kernels left with me. I experimented with all the things available on hand. This time when I had corn with me I was not able to recollect all the ingredients that I had originally used. Nevertheless, I made them which was almost the same taste as first time around. I realized what I missed adding when I ate it though, so you guys will get the actual recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup long grained rice (washed and set aside)

1 medium onion sliced

1 tomato thinly sliced (discard seeds if possible)

1 capsicum thinly sliced

2 tspn pav bhaji masala – Yes you are reading it right

1 tspn red chilly powder

1 tspn turmeric

1 tbsp Oil/ Butter

1 cup of corn kernels

Salt to taste

Method

1)      In a deep dish pan, add oil and let it become hot. Now add onions and sauté it.

2)      Add the tomatoes and sauté until they are cooked.

3)      Now add the capsicums and corns and stir for 2-3 minutes.

4)      Add the pav bhaji masala, chilly powder and turmeric.

5)      Now add the rice and carefully stir it.

6)      Add 2 cups of water and let it simmer. Add salt and then cover the lid .

7) When the rice is cooked, add a spoon of butter and serve immediately.

Alu wadi

Alu wadi

I do not have any special recipe for my alu wadi and am also aware that many of you are already aware of this. However, I have mastered a technique to make nice and simple aluwadis which is why we make it quiet often at home. Also, keeping up my promise for posting some typical maharashtrian snacks.

I must tell you though that I usually make the aluwadis for special occasions such Ganesh chaturthi. Other days it is my ever smiling cook who does the job for me.

Now that shravan is round the corner I am expecting a lot of it to be made in the coming days.

Ingredients

1 bunch of Alu chi paana (Colacasia leaves)

1 cup of Bengal gram flour (besan) – I use jada besan for special occasions – it adds a nice crunch

1 tbsp soaked tamarind

1 tspn red chili powder

1 tspn turmeric

A pinch of goda masala/ garam masala

1 tspn salt

1 tbsp jaggery (optional) I use it rarely

Oil for frying

Method

1)      Make a paste of all the ingredients except the colacasia leaves with little water. The consistency of the batter should be paste like which can be easily spread on the leaves.

2)      Now take the leaves, chop off the stems and flatten the leaves using a rolling pin. This will crush the veins on the leaves and allow better rolling later on.

3)      Now Place the leaves the larger side towards you on a flat surface. Now start applying the gram flour paste. Do not make a thick layer but also don’t make a very thin layer

4)      Place another leave on top now with the smaller side towards you. Repeat alternately until yu have 3-4 layers.

5)      Now to roll the leaves, start by bring in the extra surfaces inside so that you have a well closed roll at the end.

6)      Start rolling in the leave tightly but do the process very gently.

7)      Seal the open ends by stuffing the leaves inwards.

8)      Steam the roll using boiling water for 15-20 minutes. The gram paste should be fully cooked.

9)      Remove the rolls and let it cool. Cut pin wheels using a knife about ½ inch in width.

10)  Deep fry the wadis until they are crisp and brown. You can also eat it directly without deep frying but shallow frying and tempering with sesame seeds.

Yummy and easy. I usually make them upto step 8 couple of days ahead of time and then stash them in the refrigerator. Fry them as you go.

Pumpkin Soup with Basil pesto and sundried tomato

Tunuk Tunuk Bhopla (a rhyme in marathi) comes to my mind whenever I come across the huge Pumpkin in the market. Average weight of an entire pumpkin would be around 5-9 Kg but I heard the largest grown pumpkin is of 34 Kgs.
Imagine the amount of people that could be fed with one pumkin. In our traditional cooking I never saw major variations in the style of cooking a pumpkin vegetable. It was always the simplest vegetable with minimal ingredients to make an apetizing meal.

Over the years I came across many interesting ways of cooking it.

Pumpkin Soup
This was created especially keeping in mind my toddlers growing demands but surprisingly it turned out to be a very special rich soup with creamy texture.
Ingredients
1/4 kg pumkin peeled, cored and chopped (deseeded - dont discard the seeds ever!)

1/4 kg Sweet potato/potato

3 cups of vegetable stock / water

2-3 cloves of crushed garlic

1/2 tspn cumin powder

1/2 tspn coriander powder

1/2 tspn chilly powder

1 tspn sour cream / hung yogurt

1/2 tspn lemon juice

1 tspn Basil Pesto

salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method

1) Boil/steam pumpkin and sweet potato cubes until they are well cooked. Mash them to form a smooth pulp.

2) In a saucepan, heat some oil. Add the pumpkin mixture along with stock, salt and all other dry spice powders.

3) Add the crushed garlic and let it simmer until the flavors come together.

4) Add the sour cream and stir well.

5) Take it off the heat and add some lemon juice (skip this for kids). Garnish with corainder and serve with toast. I serve it at this stage to my son.

6) Now add the basil pesto and stir well.

7) Garnish with sundried tomato.

 You can also add the roasted pumpkin seeds for garinishing

I garnished my soup for DH with sundried tomato .

Linking the recipe to Herbs and Flowers- Basil event hosted at this blog

Sending this to Vardhini's Halloween Fiesta. 
Sending this to Srivalli's Soups and Salad Mela

Masoor bhath

I believe this was invented by mom or maybe her mom. Coz, no one who eats the red lentils is aware of this recipe in my know how. At my home, this was as popular as biryanis. For all major occasions I remember mum making this delicious rice dish.

My father and his ancestors basically hail from Belgaum which is very popular for its small and extremely flavorful masoor dal. Trust me the belgaum masoor dal is very tasty as compared to the one we find in local markets.

We usually make any dish of masoor only when I have the belgaum breed available.

So coming back to the masoor bhath recipe, it is pretty simple to make.

Ingredients

1 cup long grained rice (washed and set aside)

¾ cup red lentils (soaked in water for 4 hours)

1 onion chopped

1 tspn ginger garlic paste

1 tspn red chilly powder

1 tspn turmeric powder

1 tspn biryani masala/ garam masala

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method

1)      In a deep dish pan, add oil and let it become hot. Now add onions and sauté it.

2)      Now add the soaked red lentils and stir for 2-3 minutes.

3)      Add the chilly powder,turmeric and stir

4)      Now add the rice and carefully stir it.

5)      Add 3 ½  cups of water and let it simmer. Add salt and then cover the lid .

6)      When the rice is cooked, add a spoon of desi ghee and serve immediately.

7)      You can also garnish with fresh coconut and coriander.

Kolhapur hangover

Back from an exciting trip to Kolhapur (largely), Miraj, Sangli and many more. What an experience!

I have been to Kolhapur a million times before but only for the second time with DH and for the first with dear son. So this was almost like taking them to a place I have grown up during my summer vacation and giving them the experience.

We started our day 1 which apparently was a sunday with a visit to the Mahalaxmi temple. The temple was fortunately not crowded at all and the weather GOD was also very kind. In about 20 minutes we were out of the temple after the customary rituals. Once out my eyes were hunting for the prasad to carry back. We bought our pack of goodies the Ambabai devi's pedha.

Next we hopped back to our hotel with both me and my sister (yes she came along too!) eager to try some authentic Kolhapuri food. DH ordered for a Kolhapuri Vegetarian Thali. I opted for a mutton thali and sister asked for all tandoor starters.

The food was amazing with the variety of things we managed to finish only half of the quantity. Vegetarian thali had Paneer Kolhapuri, Usal, Dal fry, Batata bhaji, Chapati, Jeera rice, salad, papad.

Now for the mutton thali, it had mutton kheema, mutton suka, pandhara rassa, tambda rassa, egg masala, lachcha parathas, jeera rice, dahi kanda(raita/salad) uff yes, all of this.

This was delicious. A tad bit oily which is the reason why we could not eat all of what was served.

After a heavy meal we went into a slumber for hours and woke up to visit the Rankala (river side). At the rankala we had the famous Kolhapuri bhel which is different from the regular mumbai bhel that we normally have. It was a little sweet for our pallete which is surprising considering that we were warned about the hotness.

Back at hotel we ordered light food ,dal and chawal and called it a day.

Next day we visited the kanheri math, about which I can write pages,. It was a welcome change in the interiors of maharashtra to have a tourist spot. Basically a trust that has re-created the old world charm of caves and small villages. At a meagre charge of 40 INR per head for adults you can spend more than couple of hours observing the stoneage.

Outside the math we ate the jhunka bhakri with kharda/thecha. It set our taste buds rolling and asking for more. Our next stop was at Shahu Palace museum which is still inhabitated by the 5th generation of Chhatrapathi Shahu Maharaj (Of Shivaji clan). The museum on the ground floor was as expected.

The food outside the palace sreved at the museum canteen was wonderfully light and tasty. A simple vegetarian meal of 2 vegetables, one lentil broth , warm chapathi's and rice all for 50 INR.

Over the days, we tasted a lot of food,especially the akhkha masoor which was a culinary delight for most of travellers like us.

I have carried back with me some kolhapuri jaggery (gul), Hindustan bakery cookies (mango and dry fruits) and lots of fond memories.

There is so much more to explore and taste that I know already that I am visiting you again some time soon.

Baked fries

It was raining outside, not the regular Mumbai style rains but was good enough reason for me to make something special.

I decided to make baked potato fries. Actually, since the time I bought my new crinkle cutter I was itching to use it. So I quickly chopped my potatoes to make these fries.

Ingredients (for 2 people)

3 medium potatoes (peeled and chopped)

1 tbsp Olive Oil/ butter

Salt to taste

Crushed garlic

Herbs (Italian)- Optional

1spn crushed pepper / chilly flakes

Method

1)      Parboil the potatoes for about 5-10 minutes in boiling water

2)      In a bowl mix the potatoes with oil or butter and tip it in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

3)      Remove from the oven and toss in all the herbs, garlic etc except salt and put it in oven for 10 minutes.

4)      Remove and add salt and serve hot.

It was so yummy that I was asked to make another batch immediately. So to cater to the demand, I used microwave cooking.

Microwave version.

1)      Instead of parboiling the potatoes, just coat it with oil/ butter and put it in microwave.

2)      I used Microwave + convection option and cooked at 200 degrees for 3 minutes first.

3)      Then remove and add all the other ingredients including salt and cook for another 2 minutes.

4)      Cover the bowl with a lid to avoid having dry potatoes.

Kothimbir wadi

All my crunchy dishes for Kids when narrated to mom, her reaction was - disengaged. She says all that I claim to be child hood memories are really the adulthood days food which were basically food on demand. Those one off cooked meals that mothers make to please their fussy eaters.
She said what she really made for us were things that are authentic maharashtrain snacks. I will cover a detailed list in one of future blogs. For now, I decided to make one to please her. The simple to make and delicious to taste kothimbir wadi, which is basically Coriander Cutlet(for the lack of good word).

Crunchy pepper caramel popcorns

Please dont think I am throwing a short cut option here. My son really loves the popcorn and I just want to keep his interest alive in the easy to make popcorns for long. S I keep playing with the flavors of popcorn.
I personally love caramel popcorn especially in the freezing cold multiplex theatres. DH hates them equally, he feels it kills the crunchiness of the popcorn. I agree with him coz, after a while the moisture from the sugar syrup does seep into the crunchy popcorns and kills the flavors eventually.
Thus, I thought of making the baked popcorns primarily for my son but eagerly looking for my DH's approval.

Ingredients
1 cup Corn kernels dried

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp Brown sugar

1 tspn black pepper powder

salt to taste

1 tspn lemon juice

Method

1) In a small pan, melt the butter and add the sugar with little water and let it caramelize.

2) Take it off the heat and let it stand.Also add the lime juice to it.

3) Pop the corn kernels using a pressure cooker or microwave.(Ask me if you need help)

4) Add some salt and pepper and mix well.

5) On a baking dish, spread the popcorn and pour the sugar syrup mixture and mix well.

6) Bake it for 15 min at 180 degrees. Keep a watch. Else microwave (+convection) for 3 min on high.

7) Let it stand. Break apart to form seperate corns.

Serve and watch it disappear.

Catch all the action on Blogging Marathon live in action.
Also sending the entry to Kid's Delight event hosted at Gayathri's blog, started by Srivalli

Nutella Toast

For Day 5, I have decided to make a simple fritter pakoda combination. Simple and tasty.

Ingredients
Bread Slices (wheat/ white)
Nutella (Chocolate paste/ sauce)
Banana slit in circular pieces (use any other fruit of your choice)
2 tbsp All purpose flour
pinch of salt
Method
1) Make a batter of pancake consistency using the flour and water. Add a pinch of salt.
2)Coat the bread slices with the nutella paste.
3)Place the banana slices on it and cover it with another slice (Add the paste to this slice if you like). I did it.
4) Cut diagonally to make 4 triangles.
5) Dip each triangular sandwich in the flour batter and drop in hot oil.
6) Cook until the outside turns crispy (5-6 min).
7) Cut in the centre to release heat and serve to your loved one.
This is a take off on the standard nutelll french toast, but I wanted an eggless option for which I went for the maida batter. You can also use whole wheat batter to make it healthy.

Catch the blogging event live in action at - Blogging Marathon

Also sending the entry to Kid's Delight event hosted at Gayathri's blog, started by Srivalli

Noodle Pakoda

So dear hubby asked ,5 years back when I first made it, why would someone make a pakoda out of noodles (instant noodles-Maggi types)
Ans1- When you have leftover maggi noodles. DH says that never happens in real world
Ans2- When you are bored of plain instant noodles. DH says you dont have to cook them if you are bored of eating it (if at all)
Ans3- When you want something instant. DH says the noodles are instant anyway, y delay eating them any further when they are cooked.

I stopped answering and made these delicious pakodas. He has since then never complained or asked me the reason to make these.

For day 4 , BM#7, I am making these instant pakodas.
Ingredients
1 packet instant noodles (I made them with all kinds but always prefer Maggi)
1 medium onion
Oil for frying

Method (Yes, thats all)

1) Make instant noodles as per the directions on the packet

2) Let it cool down completely and then add the finely chopped onion.

3) Heat oil in a pan until it is very hot, then reduce the flame.

4) Form small pakodas of the noodle mixture(wet hand if they are not getting formed).

5) Drop them in the oil and let it cook completely on one side and then flip over. Dont rush else they may get detangled.

6) Serve with tomato ketchup.

You can add more seasoning as per taste (salt and red chilly) if you like.

Also, tell me why you made these pakodas when you do make them. I promise that you wont complain once you make them.

Catch the blogging event live in action at - Blogging Marathon
Also sending the entry to Kid's Delight event hosted at Gayathri's blog, started by Srivalli

Mushroom Onion pinwheel

For day 3 of BM#7, I am making baked pinwheels. I like baking crunchy snacks for 2 reasons, 1 they are healthy and 2 they save time when making in large batches.

Mushroom and onion form a very interesting combination. I think they are made for each other ingredients. I like the combination in any form, pasta, Chinese stir fry, stuffed mushrooms anything.

Ingredients

1 recipe of rough puff pastry1 packet button mushrooms chopped finely

2 medium onions sliced thinly

3-4 garlic cloves

1 tspn of cream (thicker the better)

1 tbsp grated cheese

Crushed pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method

1)  Heat a pan and add oil and add crushed garlic,onions and chopped mushrooms.

2)  Add salt, pepper and sauté for a minute

3)  Add cream and let it simmer. The mixture should be dry and not gravy like.

4)  Roll out the puff pastry dough thinly, and cut in rectangular strips (1 inch width).

5)  Place one such layer on the work top.

6)  Put some cheese(I used paneer since I had some)

7)      On the next layer place the mushroom mixture.

8)      Now roll the two layers tightly to form a pin wheel.

9)      Make more such pin wheels.

10)      Line a baking sheet with greased paper and put the pin wheels on it. Pop this in a preheated oven at 220 degree for 10 min first.

8)      Remove, and brush it with milk and put it back for  10 min more at lower temperature around 160-180 degrees.

9)      Yummy mushroom and onion pinwheels are ready.

Because of the pastry dough, the cover becomes very crunchy, biscuit like.

Catch the blogging event live in action at - Blogging Marathon

I am sending these for the mushroom onion event on Vardhini's Dish it out which is guest hosted by Kalyani  and thus have avoided adding any further ingredients. But for variety feel free to add spinach, cheese or anything else of your choice. (Tell me what you added J)

Just realized, this recipe also qualifies for Harini's Only Baked event which is Pari's brainchild.

Also sending the entry to Kid's Delight event hosted at Gayathri's blog, started by Srivalli

Basic rough pastry dough

It is always useful to have handy some kind of basic pastry dough if you bake often. Vice-versa when you have something like this handy you'd bake often :-)

I normally struggle to find ready made pastry dough in Mumbai except for the online stuff.

I decided to mock the puff pastry to the best of my ability.

Ingredients

2 cups of All purpose flour (apprx 150 gms)

30 gms of butter (very cold) + 15 gm

4-5 tbsp cold water(ice chilled)

Pinch of salt (Omit if you are using salted butter)

Method

1)      Chop or grate the butter (it should be very cold) in a bowl. Sift in the flour with the salt on top of the butter.

2)      Using a fork or pastry cutter mix the flour or butter to form sticky dough. Use water as required.

3)      The texture of the dough will be rough, which is fine. If the dough is very sticky to work with then pop it in fridge for 10 min and then proceed

4)      Using lot of free flour, roll the dough length wise. Try keeping the shape rectangular.

5)      Fold the dough from both sides towards the centre (see picture below).  Rotate to 90 degrees and roll out again. Refold and repeat couple of more times. Use the additional 15 gm of butter to rub when folding. You should not melt the butter just apply with a pallete knife as if you are buttering bread.

6)      If at point in step 5 you feel that the butter is melting then pop it in fridge and start again after 10 minutes.

7)      Your rough puff pastry is ready to use.

Use it for any kinf od pie, tart, or stuffed bakery. This will last for a month if frozen and for a week when refrigerated (Store in cling film to avoid discoloring)