Vegetable Rice Sevai/ vegetable rice noodles

Ingredients
rice noodle packet 1      onion 1 big ( optional)       peas 1 tbsp      beans  10            carrot 1
cauliflower florets some ( optional)            turmeric pdr 1/2 tsp         salt to taste        green chilies 3-4
curry leaves         ginger 1"        garlic 2 ( optional)          oil 2 tsp           mustard seeds 1 tsp
udad dal 2 tsp                chana dal 2 tsp             coriander leaves        asafetida/ hing little   Lime juice

Method
1) wash & chop carrot, beans, cauliflower, onion, chilies, ginger, garlic fine along with curry leaves
2) In the mean time, boil  roughly 1 1/2 l. of water along with turmeric pdr & little salt.
3) When the water boils, add rice noodles, cover it for 3-4 minutes. Then drain it in a fine colander & keep it aside.
4) In a heavy pan/ kadai, heat oil, add mustard seeds, dals, fry till golden & mustard seeds crackle.
5) Now add the chopped vegetables along with chilies, ginger, garlic & 1/4 tsp of salt, mix well, cover it & cook till vegetables are done.
6) Now add the cooked sevai/ noodles, mix well, check for salt & add if necessary, along with some fresh coriander leaves.
7) Those who aren't high in potassium, may add lime juice to taste.

This can be eaten plain or with coconut chutney. This makes a good & healthy breakfast dish or for evening snack. It is healthy, as you hardly add any oil, also more vegetables you add, better it is. But it can be cooked without vegetables also, just after noodles are cooked & strained, you may season it with mustard seeds & dal with chilies & curry leaves & have with chutney also, if you're in a hurry! or hungry!

Carrot and Strawberry cake

Ingredients
carrot 2 medium washed, peeled & grated fine          strawberries 12-15          sugar/ substitute 2 tbsp
maida/ all purpose flr 1 1/2 cup            eggs 2         butter 1 tbsp           baking pdr 1 tsp
curd 2 tbsp         milk 1/4-1/2 cup           cinnamon pdr 1/4 tsp or vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
raisins 15 or more    
 you can use nuts of your choice chopped fine, I've not used, as my hubby can't eat nuts

Method
1) grate carrots fine & keep aside ( can be done in the morning & store in the fridge till you bake.
2) chop 10 strawberries into small pieces
3) Preheat oven to 150 Deg. C ( you must sieve flr well along with baking pdr & keep it ready)
4) In a big bowl, break eggs, beat along with sugar/ sugar substitute & butter well.
5) Add little flr, beat well, add curd, beat well.
6) Now add some more flr., beat, then add some milk mix well.
7) Add the remaining flr. if any, beat well & add milk to get the dropping consistency like for any cake
8) Mix in cinnamon pdr/ vanilla essence, strawberries, raisins & nuts if you're using. Mix well.
9) grease a baking tin well with butter, you may dust it with some flr evenly all around.
10) pour the batter, level it & bake for 20-25 minutes till the knife that you insert comes out clean.
11) decorate with some chopped strawberries & serve hot/ cold. You may use some cream or serve with ice-cream.

I love eating cake hot, just like my son ! I wish he was here to have tasted it today, as it came out really soft & tasted good. Only then, we'd have fought for more pieces !
unlike normal cakes, there is very less fat in this, less sugar too, so healthier !
To be frank, I never measure when I bake/ cook, ingredients are put as I feel it is fine !

to shape papads to serve

At times, to serve guests, the simple papad, you can roll it, or fold into a triangle. this is possible, when you roast it over flame, like on the gas, as soon as it is roasted, it is soft, so can be shaped as you like !
Also, when you've to pack in lunch boxes, it is easy this way.

Big green chilies pakoras

Ingredients
big green chilies 10    
for stuffing
big potatoes boiled          salt to taste       chana masala 2 tsp  ajwain 1/2 tsp
tamarind pdr 2 tsp or you may use amchur pdr ( dry mango pdr)         coriander leaves 2 tbsp chopped    
for batter
besan/ chick pea flr 3 tbsp           rice flr 2 tbsp        corn flr 1/2 tbsp       salt 1 tsp    ajwain 1/2 tsp
hing/asafetida 1/4 tsp         oil for frying

Method
1) slit green chilies as shown in first picture, taking care that you don't break it into half, carefully remove the seeds.
2) peel & smash potatoes, add all the ingredients for stuffing, mix well.
3) stuff the chilies with potato mixture
4) mix the ingredients for batter with enough water, if you like a thick covering, then the batter should be thicker than the idli batter, or else, it can be thinner like dosa batter
5)  heat oil in a kadai/ pan, when it is hot, dip the stuffed chilies in the batter, to coat it well, then fry it carefully in hot oil, you can slightly reduce the heat while it is getting golden brown on both sides. You may fry 2-3 at a time.
6) drain it on paper/ colander, serve it hot with ketchup, chutney or can be eaten plain.

ps- green chilies are a good source of Vit. C. to make this recipe healthy, instead of potatoes, you can use soya granules, soaked, drained or you may use chana dal ground coarse with ginger, chilies, garlic to taste. The choice is yours.

chole in microwave

Ingredients
kabuli chana/ chick peas 1 cup       onion 2 big         tomatoes 3 big          chana masala 2 tsp
coriander pdr 2 tsp      turmeric pdr 1/2 tsp      green chilies 3        ginger 2"               garlic pearls 4
coriander leaves 2 tbsp       oil 2 tsp      cumin seeds 1 tsp        chili pdr 1/2- 1 tsp ( as per taste)
salt to taste

Method
1)  wash & soak chana over night
2) pressure cook chana well for 4-5 whistles in the same water in which you've soaked it or till soft & keep aside till you can remove the pressure.
3) chop onions, tomatoes, green chilies, garlic & ginger fine.
4) in a microwave safe dish, add oil & cumin seeds, micro high for 1 minute
5) add the chopped vegetables along with little salt, mix well, micro high for 4 minutes covered
6) mix well, keep again for another 4 minutes adding now all the dry masalas.
7) by now, the masala should be dry, with that wee bit of oil coming out.
8) add the cooked chana, along with some of the water, don't throw the excess water, as if you want it a bit watery, then add all the water or else as per your desire. Add salt, mix well, micro high for 4 minutes.
9) mix well & see if you want it to be thickened or fine, or you may keep for another 3-4 minutes.
10) garnish with some fresh coriander leaves chopped fine.

ps- chick peas are good even for diabetic patients, as it contains fibre, rich in proteins.
This can be eaten with any form of Indian bread- roti, paranthas, batura, puris or with bread too.

white pumpkin halwa

Ingredients
White pumpkin washed, peeled & pressure cooked 2 cups
milk powder 2 tbsp         sugar 1 1/2 tbsp          ghee/ clarified butter 2 tsp
nuts & raisins to garnish

Method
1) I pressure cooked pumpkin as being old, I find it difficult to grate pumpkin or even carrots  ! so those who are young & want to burn out more calories, can wash, peel & grate pumpkin fine, or pressure cook the pieces, the easy way as I did.
2) heat a thick pan/ non-stick pan with ghee, add the grated / cooked pumpkin. In case you're using grated pumpkin, then may be, you'll need a bit more ghee to fry the pumpkin well till cooked.
3) Once pumpkin is cooked & smashed, add milk powder cook for another 2 minutes, then add sugar or sugar substitute to taste, cook till sugar dissolves completely, stir till dry.
4 ) Remove & garnish with nuts & raisins.

For one thing, it maybe 2 cups of pumpkin cooked, but you'll only get a small ' katori' of halwa. So, if you want more, add accordingly more quantity. I think, one should be able to do this in microwave also, in the same way. But, as I had the ghee kadai, I used the same to make it  on the gas !

carrot, tomato salad

carrots 2 small cut fine           tomatoes 2 cut fine        salt & pepper to taste
few raisins & walnuts
Just toss & mix it all up, this tastes good, crunchy with nuts, walnuts are good for health.
I love to eat this when I'm hungry plain.

Healthy cutlet

Ingredients

chick peas/ kabuli chana soaked over night & cooked 1 cup smashed well

broken wheat/ dalia cooked 1 cup

onion 2 big cut fine

green chilies 5-6 or to taste

salt to taste

carrots 2 finely grated

rice flour 1-2 tbsp

hing/ asafetida little       oil to shallow fry

Method
1) smash well chick peas ( I used what was left over from the chundal )
2) add dalia, finely chopped onion, salt, chilies, rice flr, chili pdr if needed, mix well along with hing
3) heat a non-stick pan, or heavy kadai
4) make small cutlets of the shape you prefer
5) with few drops sprinkled on it, put the oiled part down on the tava/ kadai & put few drops of oil on top
6) turn it over once the bottom is well cooked
7) once both sides are brown/ golden, remove & serve hot with ketchup/ chutney of your choice.

ps- it is healthy, as one, it has very less oil, I made about 12 small cutlets with about 3 tsp of oil !
2) as chick peas have fibre, they're good for diabetic patients also
3) daliya or broken is also fibrous ( in case you've some left over dailya upma, you may use that, that is what I did !)

spicy potato, onion parantha

I had my parantha with pickle mixed with curd.

Ingredients
potatoes 2 boiled peeled & smashed          onion 1 big chopped very fine      
coriander leaves 2 tbsp cut fine      salt 1 tsp    green chilies 4 slit & chopped fine/ red chili pdr 1 tsp or
you may add some ' avakkai pickle'  gravy        ajwain 1 tsp    wheat flr 2 - 2 1/2 cups         ghee

Method
1) smash potatoes well with pickle, onion, coriander leaves, salt, ajwain, red chili pdr/ pickle
2) add flr to the potato mixture little by little, keep kneading to a soft dough without adding any water.
3) once the dough is ready like the chapati dough, cover & keep it aside for 30 minutes.
4) Heat a heavy tava or non-stick pan, roll out the dough into small round paranthas, as thin as possible
5) let it cook on one side, turn over, let brown spots come, then smear few drops of ghee/ clarified butter on top & let it get cooked some more.
6) serve this hot with tomato chutney/ pulikachal/ curd with pickle/ salad & curd.

This parantha will remain soft for long, can be eaten plain also, as it is spicy.
With the above quantity you'll get 5 paranthas easily.

Quick paneer/ cottage cheese snack/ starters- microwave

 Ready to eat with bread.

marinated paneer pieces.

cooked panner , ready to eat.

Ingredients
paneer 250 gm      salt 1/2 tsp       turmeric pdr 1/4 tsp      chili pdr 1/2 tsp          chat masal pdr 1/2 tsp
oil 1 tsp

Method
1) Cut paneer into small pieces
2) sprinkle oil all over it carefully , then add salt, chili pdr, chat masal 1/4 tsp mix well.
3) Marinate this mixture for 15 minutes.
4) In a micro safe plate, place this mixture, or best to save trouble of washing, one can mix all ing. in the same plate
5) Micro high for 2 minutes
6) Remove, sprinkle remaining chat masala on top & serve hot with tooth prick as starters or you can have it with bread/ roti.

Vegetable Semia Upma

Roasted semia   & vegetables cut can be seen here. Ingredients
1)Roasted semia if possible, or roast semia with wee bit of oil to a golden color about 1 cup is good enough for 2 people for breakfast.  
 2)  Onion 2 medium size cut fine                      
3) carrots 1 big cut fine ( optional)
4) green chilies 3-4 cut fine
4) ginger 1" cut fine
5) garlic pearls 2-3 optional
6) peas little ( optional)
7) cauliflower florets little ( optional)
8) salt , oil, coriander leaves, lime juice.
For seasoning- 3 tsp oil,     1 tsp mustard seeds    2 tsp chana dal           2 tsp udad dal  
asafetida/ hing little  curry leaves

Method
1) cut vegetables fine along with ginger, garlic, curry leaves.
2) heat oil in a thick kadai/ heavy pan, add oil & mustard seeds, let it crackle
3) add dals, let it get golden
4) add cut vegetables along with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, wee bit of salt. mix well
5) let the vegetables get cooked, in the mean time boil around 3 cups of water in another pan.
6) Add semia, salt to taste, add roughly 2 cups of water, mix well, let it get cooked on low flame, keep stirring from time to time.
7) check if semia is cooked, this you'll come to know, if it is soft to touch, of not add some more water, if all the water is absorbed & let it get cooked.
8) remove, garnish with  coriander leaves & add lime juice to taste before serving.

This makes a healthy breakfast, as it has many vegetables, so you get Vitamins & proteins from dal & peas & carbs from semia. So best add as many seasonal vegetables you like, even potatoes can be added.

This is the cooked upma & ready to eat .

 Here, upma is getting cooked with water.

Yam/ cheenai kilangu/ jaminkhand curry

Cut & ready to be cooked.

 cooked yam, ready to eat !

This is how yam looks.

Ingredients

Yam ½ kg         salt       turmeric pdr ½ tsp           oil 4 tsp       mustard seeds 1 tsp         chili pdr 1 tsp        hing/ asafetida a little

Method

1)      peel, wash & cut yam into small pieces, immerse in water.

2)      Add turmeric pdr, salt & boil yam till tender

3)      Drain the vegetable once cooked soft, but not over cooked

4)      Heat a thick kadai,  with oil, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing, chili pdr, add cooked yam stir well.

5)      Lower the flame, let yam cook till crisp, for that you may need more oil.

6)      Check for salt, as when we cook & drain vegetables, we need to add some more salt later.

Yam is a good source of calcium. It goes well with sambar, rasam, vathak kulambu etc.

Banana stem ( vallai thandu) curry

 This shows the stem after the outer skin is peeled.

 This shows the stem cut into rounds & in small pieces, ready to be immersed in water to which curd has been added

Ingredients

Banana stem 1 small       2 tbsp moong dal       salt

Turmeric pdr ¼ tsp        mustard seeds 1 tsp       udad dal 2 tsp

Red chili 1       oil 1 tsp       grated coconut 2 tbsp

Method

1)      peel the thick part of banana stem, cut into rounds, as you cut, strings may come out, roll them in your pointing/ index finger.

2)      Cut them the rounds into small pieces & put in water to which 1 tbsp of curd/ buttermilk is added, this is to prevent the stem turning color.

3)      Add moong dal to the cut stem, wash well & pressure cook for 2-3 whistles, wish just enough water to cook them with turmeric pdr.

4)      If there is excess water, drain it & use it in your sambar/ rasam.

5)       Heat a kadai, add oil, once hot, add mustard seeds, as it crackles, add udad dal & red chili slit, sauté till dal turns golden.

6)      Add the cooked stem & dal, add salt mix well, adding grated coconut ( which can also be avoided) if one has high potassium.

This goes well, when you make onion vathak kulambu.

Banana stem is rich in fibre, it is good for kidney stones, as it is said regular use of it helps to remove kidney stones.

 This shows the cooked stem after seasoning. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

What You Need:12 large strawberries

6 ounces package semi sweet chocolate chips 

How to Make It:

1. Rinse and thoroughly drain strawberries. Chill for 20 minutes. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Meanwhile, transfer chocolate chips to a zippered sandwich bag and place in a bowl of very hot water until chips have melted.
2. Dry bag carefully and set into a small bowl. Spread open top of bag. Hold leaves and stem and dip strawberries, one at a time, into chocolate to coat to within about ¼-inch of leaves.
3. Allow any excess chocolate to drain back into bag, then place strawberry on baking sheet. Any remaining chocolate may be refrigerated in the same bag for another use.
4. For best appearance, set berries aside in a cool place until chocolate is firm and serve immediately. Refrigerate for longer storage, but this may cause condensation to form on chocolate.

crochet bird

This isn't my own design, saw one, changed it as I felt like, hope it is nice. Wonder who wants it, my daughter-in-law/ grand daughter? it can be hanged, there is a little loop on its head !

"verum arisi adai" it means adai made from boiled rice

Ingredients
boiled rice  2 cups      pepper corns 8-10          salt to taste

Method
1) wash well & soak rice in enough water for 3-4 hours.
2) grind it with pepper with the water in which you had soaked rice, but don't add too much water to grind, as the batter should be coarse & thick.
3) Mix salt & keep it aside for over night or 5-6 hours.
4) heat a thick tava, smear oil, make adai like usual or like uttapam, put a tsp of oil on top, once it bubbles on top, turn & cook on the other side.
5) serve it hot with ' milagai podi' or chutney.

TIPS-  boiled rice is healthy.
whenever, you've to grind for idli, dosai, adai, don't throw or waste the water in which you soak rice/ dal, as it contains water soluble vitamins which are wasted. So, always soak in just sufficient water.
for milagai podi, see the recipe posted earlier.

crochet head band with flower, buttons

This is for my grand daughter.

Quick & spicy mushrooms

Quick & spicy mushrooms

Ingredients

Mushroom 200 gm        onion 1 big          tomatoes 2     turmeric pdr ¼ tsp

Salt & chili pdr to taste         oil 2 tsp

Method

1)      wash/wipe & chop mushrooms into small pieces

2)      finely chop onion

3)      heat oil, add onion & a pinch of salt for onion to fry quickly

4)      as onion is getting fried, chop tomatoes fine & add to onion

5)      Along with tomatoes, add turmeric & chili pdr & wee bit of salt, as this helps tomatoes to cook fast.

6)      Once tomatoes are slightly cooked, add chopped mushrooms, along with salt ( be careful to add slightly less, as you’ve added with onion & tomatoes), mix well

7)      You can cover it for 2 minutes, no need to add water, as mushrooms itself gives out water.

8)      Toss well, check to see if done, now keep it uncovered & cook for another 2-3 minutes.

9)      Remove, serve hot with rice, roti, parantha, bread.

Mushrooms are a good source of protein, they’re considered vegetable, so vegans can safely eat it.

Spicy cauliflower

Spicy cauliflower

Ingredients

Small cauliflower 1        onion 1 big     salt & chili pdr to taste      oil 2 tsp

Turmeric pdr ¼ tsp           jeera/cumin 1 tsp

Method

1)      wash well & cut cauliflower into small florets/

2)      chop onion fine

3)      in a thick pan, heat oil, add cumin, once it crackles

4)      add onion, fry with a pinch of salt lightly

5)      add cauliflower, turmeric, salt & chili pdr

6)      mix well, add about 2 tbsp of water, keep the gas in sim

7)       cover & cook for about 4 minutes, toss & see if it needs to be cooked more

8)      This depends on how small/ big ,you’ve cut cauliflower into florets

9)      Once cooked, remove, garnish if desired with some fresh coriander leaves.

This goes well with roti, paranthas & bread too. You can cook this in microwave too, where you’ll need a minute to fry onion, then add florets & rest of the ingredients, sprinkle some water & cover & cook for 3-4 minutes.

Mini crochet purse

This crochet purse is my own design to hold my small purse, my specs & keys !

Paneer/ cottage cheese masala with mint chutney

 Ingredients
200 gm paneer/ cottage cheese cut into small pieces   curd 2 tbsp        mint chutney 1 tbsp     chili pdr 1/2 tsp
salt 1/4 tsp ( as there will be salt in mint chutney)       ghee/ clarified butter 1 tsp

method
1) marinate paneer pieces in curd, mixed with mint chutney, chili pdr & salt for 30 minutes.
2) Heat a non-stick pan, add ghee, once it melts, add marinated paneer pieces, let it cook on low flame till          dry.
3) Serve hot with roti/ bread.

ps- the 1st picture shows marinated paneer pieces. the 2nd one shows, panner masala served with parantha & the 3rd shows cooked paneer pieces.

To make mint/ pudina chutney

Ingredients
mint leaves 1 cup          coriander leaves 2 cups        green chilies 2-3      onion small 1       lime juice1 tbsp
salt

method
1) Remove mint leaves from stalks, wash well, drain & keep aside.
2) Wash well coriander leaves with stalks, chop coarse & keep aside.
3) roughly chop onion & chilies.
4) Put all the ingredients in a mixer, grind with lime juice to a fine paste.( normally no need to add water, as you're adding lime juice & onion also gives out water when mixed with salt & ground)
5) Store this chutney in a clean & dry container in the fridge, it stays for 7-10 days.
6) this chutney goes well with roti, bread, pakoras & or you can mix with rice & eat !

Spicy Pineapple chutney

Spicy Pineapple chutney

Ingredients

Pineapple finely cut 1 cup     oil 1 tbsp         red  chili pdr ½ tsp    salt  mustard seeds ½ tsp

To powder

Coriander seeds 2 tsp      chana dal 2 tsp      udad dal 2 tsp   red chilies 3-4         gur/ jaggery 2 tbsp

Method

1)      roast all except jaggery in ½ tsp oil, cool & powder along with jaggery finely.

2)      In a thick pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add pineapple pieces, sauté for 2 minutes.

3)      Add some water, chili pdr, let it cook till pineapple is soft.

4)      Add the powder, salt, let it boil well for 2-3 minutes.

Serve this with any rice that you like, or as a spread on roti/ bread.

Broccoli & coriander rice

Broccoli  & coriander rice

Ingredients

Cooked rice 1 big cup        broccoli florets small cup blanched & chopped fine

Onion 1 big chopped fine        coriander leaves 4 tbsp or more washed & chopped rough

Chana dal 1 tsp       udad dal 1 tsp    mustard seeds ½ tsp        hing/asafetida ¼ tsp     salt

Oil 1 tbsp

To powder

Coriander seeds 2 tbsp       chana dal 2 tsp        udad dal 2 tsp       red chilies 3-4

Tamarind a little.

Method

1)      in ½ tsp oil, roast all the ing. for powder, except tamarind. Remove, add tamarind.

2)      Cool it & power it fine, then add chopped coriander leaves & grind to a smooth paste.

3)      In a thick pan, add oil fry mustard seeds, dal, once golden & mustard seeds crackles, add onion & fry well.

4)      Add broccoli florets, sauté till it changes color, add the powder, roast for a few minutes on a low flame, adding salt to taste.

5)      Once well mixed & broccoli is soft, add cooked rice, check for seasoning.

6)      Serve hot garnished with some fresh coriander leaves/ tomato rings.

Broccoli & lemon risotto

Broccoli & lemon risotto

Ingredients

Risotto/ Arborio rice 100 gm        broccoli florets 100gm        olive oil 20 ml

Onion chopped 30 gm     vegetable stock/ water 350 ml         parmesan cheese 40 gm        salt      butter 30 gm           dill leaves 10 gm      lemon juice 15 ml

Method

1)      blanch broccoli florets is salted boiling water & drain. Make a fine puree.

2)       For the risotto, heat some olive oil in a pan & sauté the rice till all the grains are coated evenly.

3)      Mix in the chopped onion & add the vegetable stock.

4)      Stir constantly to obtain a creamy consistency.

5)       Cook toll firm to bite ( al dente)

6)       Remove the risotto from the flame & mix in the broccoli puree, cheese, butter, lemon juice & dill leaves.

7)      Mix well & check for seasoning.

8)      Serve hot garnished with cheese flakes & dill sprigs.

ps- broccoli is a good source of anti-oxidants, i.e., when eaten regularly helps to prevent some forms of cancer.

Quick gravy with left overs!

 Ingredients

Tomatoes 2-3 big chopped fine     gram flr/ besan 1 tbsp     red chili pdr ½- 1 tsp     salt

Oil 1 tsp        jeera/ cumin 1tsp       hing/ asafetida ¼ tsp        turmeric pdr ½ tsp

Left over vege/ green moong gravy/ any other kootu also     2 small boiled, peeled potatoes ( optional)

Fresh coriander leaves

Method

1) In microwave heat oil & jeera/cumin for 1 min

2) add asafetida, tomatoes, mix well & micro high for 3 minutes

3) Add besan, turmeric pdr, chili pdr, mix well, add ½ glass water, micro high 3 minutes

4) stir well, micro high another 2 minutes

5) add left overs, some finely chopped coriander leaves, mix well, add salt as needed, micro high for 3 minutes, add more water as per your desire !

6) garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

This goes well with roti, bread, dosai, paranthas & even with rice.

the left over green moong gravy, little cabbage curry, 2 small potatoes is what I added with tomatoes to make the gravy today ! It did taste good with roti.


ps- you may make this with only tomatoes & besan, if you're in a hurry & have with bread, roti or can add peas or any vege of your choice.