Peas and Tomato Curry

I had to miss the blog hop for the month of January.I didn't know which was more depressing not having my laptop or blogging :) This month I have been paired with Vidhya, this peas curry wasn;t my first choice.I so wanted to make her red velvet bites but I don't want to go near sweets or bakes now(blame the weather!).

One really simple yet tasty dish I found at Vidhya's Sugar "N Spice  on a day when I was in no mood to cook anything.

 Preparation time : 10 minutes

You need

Peas 1 cup
Onion 1 large sliced finely
Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Tomato 2 medium diced into cubes
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Green chilli 1
Oil 1 tablespoon
Garam masala 1 tsp
Coriander powder/dhaniya powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water as required

Use coconut milk or coconut paste (Coconut scrapped 1 tablespoon and Dry red chillies 1/2)

• Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin and let it splutter.
• Now add the onions and fry till soft.
• Add the green chillies and ginger garlic paste
• Next add the tomatoes and let it fry till soft.
• Once the tomatoes are soft(not too soft they need to be chunky)
• Add the masala powders and let them fry until the raw smell goes away and it mixes well with the tomatoes.
• Lastly add the peas and enough water(the amount of gravy you need) and cover and cook.Add salt to taste.

• Just before turning off the stove add the ground coconut paste/coconut milk.
• Serve hot with chapatis.

Linking this to Blog Hop Wednesdays @Tickling Tastebuds and Show me your hits@SpicyTreats





Winter vegetables@Recipe Junction


sending this to Murari Anniversary Event@Hema's space

Peas and Tomato Curry

I had to miss the blog hop for the month of January.I didn't know which was more depressing not having my laptop or blogging :) This month I have been paired with Vidhya, this peas curry wasn;t my first choice.I so wanted to make her red velvet bites but I don't want to go near sweets or bakes now(blame the weather!).

Broken wheat upma

Upma is the last thing i'd  have when given an option and the first thing i want to make if i do not have any breakfast options :) (sounds mean) but its so easy to make if nothing else is available.My DH a lover of all vegetables,loves his upma with mixed vegetables, alas, if only i could get one spoon ful into my LM's mouth nope she's totally against vegetables!

I have picked this recipe for the blog hop wednesday i missed in january due to several reasons.I had to hop Madhavi's blog and picked this healthy and easy recipe.

For a long time, my upma used to be as hard as a rock now i know the reason for that.I used the incorrect quantity of water.

To make this easy upma you need,

Broken wheat 1 cup(/normal sooji/rawa)
Water 3 cups
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Baby onions 5-6 chopped finely
Green chillies 1 chopped finely
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Chana dal 1 tsp
Urad dal/black lentils 1 tsp
Oil/ghee to temper 1 tablespoon
Mixed vegetables (beans,carrot,peas) 1 cup (or much as you like)(add any vegetable of your choice)
Coriander/cilantro leaves to garnish

• Dry roast the broken wheat/big brown rawa in a pan until it turns a bit brown(its already reddish brown in color)
• Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds let it pop, then add the onions,green chillies and curry leaves.
• Next add the chana dal and urad dals and fry well.
• Add the vegetables and let them cook until soft.
• Now add chilli powder and salt to taste and fry this for a few seconds.
• Next add the water required for the rawa and start stirring slowly and add the fried rawa into this.
• Check for salt and cover this and let it cook.
• Upma is ready when all the water is soaked up and the rawa swells up well.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

• Serve hot with chutney or yogurt.

Sending this to BHW@Tickling palates

Broken wheat upma

Upma is the last thing i'd  have when given an option and the first thing i want to make if i do not have any breakfast options :) (sounds mean) but its so easy to make if nothing else is available.My DH a lover of all vegetables,loves his upma with mixed vegetables, alas, if only i could get one spoon ful into my LM's mouth nope she's totally against vegetables!

Green moong pancakes/Pesaratu

I heard about these dosas a few weeks back from my close friend.I was eager to try and this week for blog hop wednesday, i have been partnered with Priya from Bon Appetit.I had a varied choice on her blog.I decided to make the pesarattu as i had already heard accolades from my friend.

Pesarattu is associated to the Telugu cuisine.Its a dosa/crepe like bread made primarily of rice and green moong beans.

This is how i made it:

Raw rice 1 cup
Green moong beans 3/4 cup
Urad dal/Black lentils a handful (optional..i didn't add it)
Green chillies 1 or 2 as per your spice levels.
Ginger 1" piece
Salt to taste
Onions chopped finely 1 cup to sprinkle

• Soak the rice and dals for a few hours (5-6 hrs) or over night.Drain excess water and grind to a thick batter.
• Mix the salt and let the batter sit for a while
• Heat the pan/tawa to make the pesarattu/dosa.
• Pour laddle fulls of batter, sprinkle chopped onions on top and drizzle the ends with sesame oil or vegetable oil.

• Cook on both sides until light brown in color.
• Serve with onion chutney like i did or any spicy tangy chutney.

• Tasty healthy pesarattus are ready for breakfast!

Linking this to                                            BHW @ tickling palates.

Green moong pancakes/Pesaratu

I heard about these dosas a few weeks back from my close friend.I was eager to try and this week for blog hop wednesday, i have been partnered with Priya from Bon Appetit.I had a varied choice on her blog.I decided to make the pesarattu as i had already heard accolades from my friend.

Banana Pancakes

We are at our next blog hopping session.I have been paired with Nayna of Simply.Food this week.She has a number of delicacies and so i was spoilt for choice.
But since i'm a big fan of pancakes so i chose to re-create her banana chocolate pancakes.

I just need an excuse to make pancakes.I love them and love serving them too.I had 2 or more reasons to make pancakes this time...first..for BHW and then just before the weekend my mixer broke!So I really didn't have anything much to make for breakfast.Except that its tad bit sweet, nothings wrong with having pancakes for breakfast.My DH was looking around something spicy after having these.

I did make some changes to suit our palates.

Here's how i made it...

All purpose flour 1.5 cup
Egg 1 beaten
Yogurt 1 tablespoon
Milk 1/2 cup (enough to make the batter to the right consistency)
Baking powder 3/4 tsp
Baking soda 3/4 tsp
Sugar 3/4th cup
Vanilla Essence 1tsp
Mashed banana 1
Salt a pinch
Oil/Butter 1 tsp

• Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and with a fork or wooden spoon mix into it the rest of dry ingredients.Mix in the powders and sugar and set aside.
• Beat the egg until frothy then add the yogurt and beat with it.Add the oil and mix them all until mixed well.
• Add the egg mix to the flour mix and mix well.Add enough milk to make it into a thick batter.(pancake batter has to be thick not too thick and not to thin)

• Allow to sit for a while.
• Heat a griddle/pan, grease it lightly and pour a ladle full of batter and cook on low flame until bubbles form on the sides of the pancakes.Flip it over and cook on the other side.
• Repeat for the rest of the batter.

• Serve pancakes hot with any fruit jam of your choice or honey and fruits.

Sending this to Blog HopWednesdays @ Tickling palates and Kids' delight @ Spice your life

Banana Pancakes

We are at our next blog hopping session.I have been paired with Nayna of Simply.Food this week.She has a number of delicacies and so i was spoilt for choice.
But since i'm a big fan of pancakes so i chose to re-create her banana chocolate pancakes.

Dal Makhani - Blog Hop Wednesdays

Its the third week of blog hopping for me and its been an ever so pleasing experience.To decide on a recipe to re-create from a fellow blogger,is really fun.This time I have decided to make Dal Makhani.
The Dal in this dish comprises of a mixture of rajma/red kidney beans, urad dal/Black lentils, and chick peas/chana or chana dal.

This time I have a versatile blogger Vatsala of Show and Tell as my partner and I loved going through her array of recipes.Since I had been planning on making Dal(Lentils) makhani (buttery/creamy), I jumped at the opportunity.I have followed this recipe from Vatsala and also this version which I had tried the first time I ever made this dish 3 years ago in Bangalore.

Here's how i made it :


Rajma (red kidney beans) 1/3 cup,
Black lentils(urad dal with skin which is black in color) 1cup
Black/white chick peas(kala chana) 1/3 cup(optional)
Green chillies 1 or 2
Ginger 1 inch piece grated
Garlic 3 pods grated
Salt to taste

To prepare the tadka

Ghee/Butter 1-2 tablespoons

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Garlic pods 2 crushed

Asoefetida/hing 1/4 tsp

Tomato puree of 2 medium tomatoes

To finish the dish

Cream 2 tablespoons(or less)

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Chilli powder 1tsp

• Soak the dals over night and pressure them with the ginger,garlic and green chillies with salt to taste. 
• When the cooker cools, open it and crush the lentils with a heavy ladle.
• Heat the ghee/butter in a pan, add the cumin seeds and garlic, allow garlic to change color slightly, add the asoefetida, now add the tomato puree and fry until the raw smell goes away.
• Add the cooked and smashed lentils.
• Let the lentils absorb the tomato puree and add enough salt to taste.
• Add a tablespoon of cream and mix well.Add enough water to reach the consistency you require.

• Turn off the heat, sprinkle garam masala powder and chilli powder on top and serve with a dollop of cream(optional).
• Serve hot with chapatis or steamed rice.

BHW is powered by Radhika @tickling palates.

and to MLLA @ Briciole and The well seasoned cook

Dal Makhani - Blog Hop Wednesdays

Its the third week of blog hopping for me and its been an ever so pleasing experience.To decide on a recipe to re-create from a fellow blogger,is really fun.This time I have decided to make Dal Makhani.
The Dal in this dish comprises of a mixture of rajma/red kidney beans, urad dal/Black lentils, and chick peas/chana or chana dal.

Matthis/Suhaali - For Blog Hop Wednesdays

Wednesdays have never been more exciting!The blog world's favorite day is Wednesday.I have started participating in BWW and this is my first time to Blog-Hop Wednesdays @ Radhika's Tickling Palates.I'm so glad to make friends with fellow bloggers and am amazed every time I visit a new blog, the efforts and talent that goes into each post is simply superb!

Blog-Hopping is the Radhika's brain child :) And its quite a popular event in the blogging world.I'm a newbie blogger (well comparatively) and came across this event a few weeks back.Immediately requested Radhika to squeeze me in somewhere :) which she very generously did.Thank you Radhika!

I got paired with Neetu@hobbychef on Blog Hop Wednesdays.Neetu has some interesting vegetarian dishes.I chose this spicy cracker/cookie as its nice and cold now in our ever hot city, these Matthis make a crunchy bite to go with a hot cup of tea!

my daughter helped me cut them into circles

Like Neetu said it does need a little expertise to make this.The first batch I made weren't too crispy then i guess I learnt the trick!

Preparation time : 30 minutes

You need 
All purpose flour 1 cup
Ajwain/Carrom seeds 1-2 tsp( i ran out of it and added cumin seeds)
Ghee 1 and half tablespoon
Salt to taste
Water less than half a cup
Oil to deep fry

• Add the flour to a mixing bowl, add the ajwain/cumin seeds and salt.
• Add the ghee to this and mix well into a crumbly mixture.(Tip : You need to make a ball shape out of this ghee-flour mix and if it holds the shape then the amount of ghee added is sufficient.)
• Add water little by little and make a dough (not too smooth like a chapati dough).The matthi's need to be a hard textured.So just add enough water to bring all the flour to a dough.(needn't knead the dough)
• Roll the dough into small thin circles.Prick these circles with a knife or fork(else they will go fluffy in the oil)

• Deep fry these pricked matthis on a low flame until golden brown.
• Store them in an air tight container.Keeps good for 2-3 days stored well.

• Crunchy crispy matthis ready to go with hot Tea!

This goes to Blog Hop Wednesdays@tickling palates.

Matthis/Suhaali - For Blog Hop Wednesdays

Wednesdays have never been more exciting!The blog world's favorite day is Wednesday.I have started participating in BWW and this is my first time to Blog-Hop Wednesdays @ Radhika's Tickling Palates.I'm so glad to make friends with fellow bloggers and am amazed every time I visit a new blog, the efforts and talent that goes into each post is simply superb!