Sev/ Omapodi

Sev-A very versatile snack and garnish in Indian cooking.Any chaat/street food will have a generous sprinkle of this sev.Its so easy to be done at home that it would be a sin to buy it from the shops.

You can just chop some onions, tomatoes and cucumbers and add some sev,lime juice and chopped cilantro to go with it for a simple snack!

I have used sev as a garnish in some of my previous chaats here and here.

You need

Chick pea flour/besan 2 cups
Rice flour 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Chilli powder 1 tsp
Asoefetida a pinch
Water required to make a nice dough
Oil to deep fry

You would also need the press to make the sev use the smallest holes your press has.

• Make a nice soft (not too dry dough because then it will be super hard to press out).
• Heat the oil in a pan to deep fry, fill the dough and press the dough in circular motion directly into the oil.
• Fry until golden brown.
• Drain on a kitchen towel.

• Store sev in a air tight container and this will remain fresh for more than a week.
• Enjoy crunchy sev with tea or on your chaats and snacks.

Sending this to Fun Fair food

Sev/ Omapodi

Sev-A very versatile snack and garnish in Indian cooking.Any chaat/street food will have a generous sprinkle of this sev.Its so easy to be done at home that it would be a sin to buy it from the shops.

Semiya Kesari / Vermicelli Pudding

I thought i'd share this simple sweet dish.I make it whenever i have sweet cravings as this is something you can whip up in just a few minutes and no fancy stuff needed to make it.

I won my second gift -Rajasthani cooking by Tarla Dalal.Thanks to Gayathri for choosing me winner.Thanks to all my lovely friends for supporting me and this tiny little blog of mine!

This dish only substitutes rawa/semolina in the usual kesari.But tastes just as good as the usual kesari.

You need
Vermicelli 1 cup
Water 1 and half cups
Sugar about 3/4th a cup
Yellow food color/saffron soaked in milk
Salt a pinch
Ghee 1 tablespoon
Dry fruits - cashews and raisins
Crushed cardamom seeds of 2 cardamoms

• Roast the vermicelli with a little ghee in a pan until translucent and set aside.In the same pan, roast the dry fruits and set aside.
• Heat the pan, add the remaining ghee add the crushed cardamom seeds, now add the water and let this come to a boil.
• Add the sugar, a pinch of salt and let it dissolve completely before adding the roasted nuts and raisins and the vermicelli.Cook this until all the water is absorbed by the vermicelli.

• Fluff the vermicelli with a fork and serve cool or hot.

Sending this to South Indian cooking event , Jashn-e-Azadi, Virtual Eid potluck

Semiya Kesari / Vermicelli Pudding

I thought i'd share this simple sweet dish.I make it whenever i have sweet cravings as this is something you can whip up in just a few minutes and no fancy stuff needed to make it.

I won my second gift -Rajasthani cooking by Tarla Dalal.Thanks to Gayathri for choosing me winner.Thanks to all my lovely friends for supporting me and this tiny little blog of mine!

Ghee Rice/Nei choru

I love this rice especially with some easy non vegetarian curry, it tastes superb and makes a magnificent treat for guests coming over!The only tedious part about this recipe would be extracting the coconut milk but we have alternatives now- tinned/canned coconut milk for the lazy ones :)
Wishing all my friends around the world - Eid Mubarak :)

I don't know why they call this ghee rice/nei choru because the coconut milk in it is so dominantly taking over all the flavours.In our home, we all prefer this to biryani as biryani is a little heavier but this ghee rice is flavourful and light as well.

 I just added the normal whole spices to this but you can make it as lavish as you want with dry fruits and even more ghee! I just like the simple coconut milk flavoured rice and the way it complements a simple coconut basede gravy ----- heavenly!

 

You need
Basmati rice 2 cups (soaked for half hour and drained)
Coconut milk(thick) 1 cup
Water 2 cups

To season the rice
Ghee 1 tablespoon + Oil 1-2 tsp
Whole spices - cardamom,cloves - 3-4 each ,star anise & cinnamon - 1-2 pieces each
Baby onions/sambar onions 10 nos sliced finely
Green chillies 2 nos slit length wise
Curry leaves 2-3 sprigs
Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric power 1/2 tsp

•  Heat a nonstick vessel, add the ghee and oil and once hot, add the whole spices, baby onions, curry leaves, green chillies and saute well, take care to not burn the onions i feel it spoils the appearance of the rice.
• Add the basmati rice and saute it well until translucent in the oils.
• Now add the coconut milk and water required for the rice to cook.
• Add the turmeric and salt to taste and mix well.
• Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes until the rice puffs up.

• Serve hot with any spicy coconut based vegetarian gravy or chicken curry and raita.

Sending this to Show me your HITS -Rice , 30 minute meal mela, South Indian Cooking and Bachelor,s feast

Ghee Rice/Nei choru

I love this rice especially with some easy non vegetarian curry, it tastes superb and makes a magnificent treat for guests coming over!The only tedious part about this recipe would be extracting the coconut milk but we have alternatives now- tinned/canned coconut milk for the lazy ones :)
Wishing all my friends around the world - Eid Mubarak :)

Super soft Butter milk pancakes

Have you woken up on a Saturday itching your head about what to make for breakfast??This saturday morning i woke up exactly like that.And I thought let me make some pancakes.Now my LM won't even touch pancakes but even she had these with what turns out to be her favourite topping...take a wild guess??...condensed milk!!!

I used to be always fascinated by none other than Nigella Lawson making these little beauties on tv.At one time i was so obsessed with these I used to make them every weekend.Then i got a little too conscious about all the flour its got.But its a good breakfast for kids.These should be good enough with whole wheat flour but this time i stuck to all purpose flour.

Any fresh fruit crush or jam should taste beautiful with these fluffy pancakes.I had black currant jam in hand and DH enjoyed it with some honey, butter, jam and the winner for both dad and daughter was condensed milk!

Preparation time: 30 minutes (including cooking time)

You need 

All purpose flour 1 cup
Cold Milk 1 cup + lemon juice from a wedge of small lemon
Egg 1 large
Curd 2 tsp
Pinch of salt
Baking powder 1/4 tsp
Baking soda 1/4 tsp
Sugar 2-3 tsp
Vanilla essence 1 and half tsp
Vegetable oil/butter 2-3 tsp

•  Whisk an egg in a wide mouthed bowl, until pale yellow.Add milk and lime mixture with curd and mix well.
• Add the oil and vanilla essence and mix well.
• Now add the flour, salt,sugar, baking powder and soda and mix all until well combined.
• Heat the pan/griddle and pour ladle-fulls of the mix, when tiny bubbles appear on the edges/throughout the top of the pancake, its ready to be flipped over.
• Repeat until you finish off all the batter.

almost gone!

• Serve the pancakes hot with any favourite toppings of your choice - jam,honey,butter,chocolate sauce or even condensed milk and don't forget to grab your hot cup of coffee to go along!

Tips :

• All purpose flour can very well be replaced with whole wheat flour, check out my whole wheat flour pancakes here.
• If you're planning to use some super sweet topping like condensed milk or even honey you can reduce or totally cut down on the sugar in the pancake mix.

Sending this to Kid's delight - warm foods, Serve it - griddled, Fun-fair foods, 30 minute Meal mela, Love lock series - Breads

Super soft Butter milk pancakes

Have you woken up on a Saturday itching your head about what to make for breakfast??This saturday morning i woke up exactly like that.And I thought let me make some pancakes.Now my LM won't even touch pancakes but even she had these with what turns out to be her favourite topping...take a wild guess??...condensed milk!!!

Lachha Parathas and a simple snack - Chilli chapati

I make these parathas at home for my LM often but wasn;t aware of the name until I stumbled upon it at Pallavi's space.These parathas are better than the kerala parotas we love at our home for obvious reasons : they are whole wheat parathas and also consume lesser oil in their making.So now whenever LM asks for parotas this is what she gets  - chapati parota (we renamed it!) and she;s happy!I gave this quick make over to the humble chapatis and it was a super duper hit!

Lachcha parathas are layered chapatis they are not tedious to make and easy to work on.You can see the layers in concentric circles once they are cooked too.Thanks to Blog hop wednesdays for introducing us to new partners' and their spaces.BHW has turned 1 and congrats to Radhika for coming with such a wonderful idea.I have met so many wonderful blogger friends through BHW.Check out Pallavi's version here

You can make chilli chapatis if you have left over chapatis sitting in the refrigerator which are stiff as wood.This dish will vanish in seconds along with the leftover chapatis.

 You need

Wheat flour as needed
Water as needed to make a nice soft dough
Salt to taste

• Knead the above into a soft dough as for chapatis.Let it rest for about an hour in a zip lock bag.
• The lachcha parathas are layered and i have a step wise picture below showing how to make the layers.You have to roll out the dough into a normal chapati then apply oil/ghee on the chapati and sprinkle a little bit of flour onto this.Now make pleats/folds on the chapati and roll into a ball,flatten this ball with your hand and roll it out into a paratha. 

• Cook this parathas on a hot griddle or pan with oil or ghee.Serve hot with any side dish of your choice.

To make the chilli chapatis


You need

Chapati/lachcha parathas 1 torn into bits

Onions 1 small chopped finely

Tomato 1 small

Cucumber cubes 2 tablespoons
Cilantro/coriander leaves 2 sprigs
Tomato sauce 1 tablespoon
Soya sauce 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Oil 1 tsp

Additional garnish : Sev/mixture, lime juice

• Heat oil in a pan, add the onions, tomatoes and fry well until soft.Then add the sauces and fry well.Now add the chapati bits and mix well in the sauces.
• Serve this hot with cucumber , cilantro and sev sprinkled and lime juice sprinkled over it.

• Enjoy chilli chapatis with hot tea :) 

Tips:

- If you're a newbie at making chapatis and incase the dough becomes too loose or sticky, leave the dough covered in a ziplock bag for about an hour and then roll it out cold it would be harder and much easier to manage.

Sending this to BHW @ Tickling palates , Love Lock series - Breads, Lets cook - Appetizers/Starters, Kids delight , Serve it - Griddled , Ramadan friendly recipes, Tell me your kitchen secret , Desi-Videsi Food festival

Lachha Parathas and a simple snack - Chilli chapati

I make these parathas at home for my LM often but wasn;t aware of the name until I stumbled upon it at Pallavi's space.These parathas are better than the kerala parotas we love at our home for obvious reasons : they are whole wheat parathas and also consume lesser oil in their making.So now whenever LM asks for parotas this is what she gets  - chapati parota (we renamed it!) and she;s happy!I gave this quick make over to the humble chapatis and it was a super duper hit!

Gooseberry Ginger lemonade

Amlas/Indian wild gooseberries are really healthy, if you can get to eat them that is.I find it too bittery sour that I can't even nibble a bite of it!!So my mum gave me this idea of making gooseberry juice and i added a little spice to it :) The results were refreshingly cool!

The simple technique to enjoy some amla is by chewing it and then gulping down some water, which makes your mouth taste really sweet (after all that bitterness) :)

I thought of pickles and relishes before this easy lemonade came by...I felt this was the best alternative to pickles.Healthy, cooling and refreshing too.Not to forget its loaded with Vit C to fight some cold and Iron which most women are deficient off.

You need
Gooseberries/amla as much as you need
Lemon as per need
Sugar/honey as per your need
Ginger an inch sized piece
Water as required.

• Chop off the flesh of the amlas and ginger and blend them in a mixer with a little water.Squeeze off the juices using a strainer.Store this concentrate in the refrigerator.

• To make the juice:
• In a glass add about 2 3 tablespoons of amla juice concentrate and a tsp of lemon juice.Mix in sugar or honey to make the juice as sweet as you like.Add enough water.

• Serve chilled or as it is :) Enjoy your spiced amla lemonade :))

Note:

- The amla juice concentrate has been sitting in my fridge for the past week and its doing good.I haven't added any preservatives.

Gooseberry Ginger lemonade

Amlas/Indian wild gooseberries are really healthy, if you can get to eat them that is.I find it too bittery sour that I can't even nibble a bite of it!!So my mum gave me this idea of making gooseberry juice and i added a little spice to it :) The results were refreshingly cool!