Malai Bindi

This is a very old dish of mine, I guess this is one that I learned  even before my marriage. I don't know as to why I don't make it very often. I think I got the recipe from my cousin but I just can't recollect from whom or where.. It is very simple to make and it has a lot of flavors.

You need:-
Okra / ladies finger - cut into 1 inch pieces
Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Garam masala
Ginger garlic paste
Lemon juice - a few drops
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 2 nos finely chopped or pureed
Whipping cream - 1/4 cup (i use regular)
Salt to taste
Cooking oil - 2  to 3 tbsp

Method:-

1. Heat oil in a kadai add the chopped onion.
2. Fry until it turns pink now add the cut okra and maintain heat at low to medium and let the bindi cook completely
3. Keep stirring it regularly but carefully so as to avoid breaking of the okra and add a little salt
4. Once it gets cooked completely and the stickiness is gone add garam masala, ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
5. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder, lemon juice and fry for a couple of minutes.
6. Now pour in the tomato puree or chopped tomatoes and add a quarter cup of water and let it cook completely and add salt.
7. Once the oil separates and the gravy starts to thicken add the whipping cream and reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes
8. Switch off the stove, cover it and let is rest for a few minutes before serving.

Serve hot with rotis or poori

Mattar Panneer

An easy side dish to go with rotis and poori. I make it atleast once a month and I just love panneer. We get panner that is cut and fried here which makes it all the more easy to prepare. It is very easy to cook too.


You will need :

Big red onion - finely chopped or minced
Tomatoes - 3 nos finely chopped or pureed
Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp
Garam masala
Chili powder - 1 tsp (as per spice needed)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Vinegar or Lemon juice - a few drops
Peas - 1 cup
Fried panneer - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking 1 tbsp with 1 tsp of butter (for flavor, it is optional)
Water - 1/2 cup

Method:-
1. In a non-stick kadai pour the oil and once hot add the cumin seeds
2. Fry it for a couple of seconds and add the onion and fry until the raw smell is gone
3. Now add the garam masala and ginger garlic paste.
4. Once cooked add the chili powder, turmeric powder and vinegar and fry for a few seconds before adding the tomatoes
5. Add the water, salt and peas and let it boil.
6. Check if the peas is fully cooked and add the panneer and let it simmer for a few minutes so that panneer can absorb some flavor in. If needed add a little more water around 1/4 cup and let it simmer. You will still have gravy.
7.Switch off and garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Serve it along side with - chopped onions, finely chopped greenchilies and cilantro mixed with salt and lemon juice.

My Dearest's Birthday

Last week was my husband's birthday and it was fun making a few new dishes for him. He loved all the dishes. Over the weekend we went to our friend's place for lunch and we cut a birthday cake for him. On his birthday I did run in the morning to pick up his birthday gift and all the ingredients for dinner.

All the recipes that I tried were all first time attempts and they did turn out to be good.

Appetizers:-

Made three appetizers and the recipe for the first two are from Sig's LiveToEat blog. She has quite a lot of good recipes.

 

Spicy Pan Seared Scallops and I did marinate for a few hours and it was cooked perfectly too.

Spicy Pop Corn Chicken was also nice, needed a little more spice.

Grilled Shrimp:

I had around half a pound of fresh florida shrimp and I couldn't resist, so I marinated them in:-

Worcestershire Sauce

Paprika

Hot sauce - a few drops

Salt

Pepper

Lemon Juice

Covered and kept it in the fridge for a few hours. In a non stick skillet, a few drops of oil and when hot add the shrimp and cook for until opaque and fully cooked. Do not over cook it as it will become rough. I served it with the Chimmichuri sauce and it was good.

Entree:

Saffron Rice 

 

Curried Leg of Lamb

Both the above recipes are also from Sig's blog. She had made the saffron rice in the microwave but I made it in the rice cooker and I added a few fried cashewnuts too. The Lamb curry needed a little more heat, overall both these were a big hit with Vivek.

Dessert:

Made Hand Rolled Chocolate Truffles, and I took them on Sunday for our lunch with friends. The recipe was from FoodNetwork. It was a little on the strong side for us, maybe I will use less rum and less sugar next time.

Chili Chocolate Covered Strawberries, also from FoodNetwork. It needs more chili powder other than it was really nice.

Mousse au Chocolat from Tasty Treats by JZ. This was Vivek's favorite dessert. I would prefer to use semi-sweet chocolate along with the bitter sweet chocolates. I served it with white and semisweet chocolate shavings. This is the only dish that I didn't get a picture of. Next time I will surely take one and post it.

Turkey Melts

I started to eat burgers at Fuddruckers last year while I was pregnant and it was part of my cravings too. And now I am totally in love with them. For a while I had been wanting to make them at home, but wasn't very sure about how successful I could be with the attempt. Thought of making it with ground turkey and there it was a flavorful burger which all three of us enjoyed.


Ingredients:-


For the burger:
Ground turkey - 1 lb
Shallots - 1 big or two small finely chopped
Green chilies - 2 finely chopped
Paprika/cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp (as much as you need)
Salt to taste
Pepper powder - a little
Egg - 1
Oregano - i used dry oregano, its optional
Lemon juice - a few drops

Mix all the above together and put it back in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.
Make sure that the mix is at room temperature before you start making them.

Heat a skillet and just rub it with oil. In the mean time, preheat the oven at 400 degrees (broiler).
Divide the mix into equal portions and then place it on the hot skillet, after two minutes turn it and leave it for another two minutes.
Now place them on the bottom half of the bun and place it in a baking tray, followed by a slice of cheese on top and put in the oven for two to three minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes before you are ready to serve them. If you don't like them well done, you remove them once the cheese melts. Putting it in the broiler setting, will ensure that the burger doesn't become dry and stays juicy and tasty!


Hamburger buns
Lettuce leaf - seperate the leaves and put them in ice cold water with a few drops of vinegar (helps to maintain the crunch)
White onion - sliced in circles
Mustard
Tomato slices
Pepper jack cheese or any cheese that you like

For the sweet chili sauce:
Chili garlic paste - 4 tbspn
Hot sauce - a few drops
White vinegar a few drops
Ketchup - 3 tbsp
Honey - 2 tbsp

Mix it all together and set it aside. You can add more or less spicy as per your need.

To plate it - on top of the melted cheese spread the sweet chili sauce, then place a couple of lettuce leaves, a slice of onion, tomato, a little mustard (if you need) and place the top bun on top and serve.
A juicy and tasty burger is ready and you will wanna make it more often at home that go to a burger joint to have it

NeiPayasam

Kavitha Kishore of Kavitha-vin Kaivannam is a good friend of mine. I love her recipes and have tried a few too. This payasam is now more of a meal for my son.He likes to take it for lunch to school. He loves it very much and will keep eating every spoon by complementing me for it, well thanks to Kavitha for the recipe.
Most of the time I end up making it with left over rice. You can also say that its an excuse for me to make it. Its very simple and tasty too.
This is my version of it,
You need:
Cooked rice - 1 bowl
Jaggery syrup - 1/2 bowl
Ghee - 3 tbspns
Cashew broken
Golden Raisins
Cardamom powder
Grated or chopped coconut

Method:-
Break the jaggery into pieces and pour a little water in it and let it dilute completely. Then strain it and bring it to a boil and reduce the heat and let it simmer till it becomes a little thick.
Cook the rice as usual and let it cool, make sure there are no lumps.
In a non-stick vessel heat the ghee add the cashew nuts, coconut and raisins and fry it well
Add the cooked and cooled rice and fry it for 3-5 minutes and add the cardamom powder.
Now pour the jaggery syrup and mix it well. Reduce the heat and let it absorb the syrup and stir it regularly.
It should be almost dry out. Serve it warm.
Am sure it will be a hit with the kids and adults alike.

One pot biriyani with raita and kheer

Everytime I make biriyani, I will be working on it for more than an hour to say least. Couple of weeks back, I wanted to have biriyani but was in no mood to spend so much time making it. My dear friend Nisha saved my day by telling me that I could make it in the pan with ease. So here it goes.
photos

You will need:-
Chicken - i used boneless cut into cubes
Red Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Tomato - 1 sliced
Green chilies - finely chopped
Cilantro - chopped
Mint - chopped
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom
Bay leaf
Golden Raisins
Cashewnuts
Ginger Garlic paste
Turmeric Powder
Chili powder
Curd - little optional
Vinegar

Salt
Cooking oil
Ghee / Butter - optional
Basmati rice

Method:-
In a vessel boil the required amount of water. I used two cups of basmati rice so I boiled 4 and a half cups of water. Wash the rice and soak it in water and set aside.
Take a big non-stick vessel in which you can cook the rice also.Once warm add the cooking oil and ghee/butter
Once hot add the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, raisins, cashewnuts and saute for a few seconds before adding the sliced onions.
Maintain medium heat and saute till completely cooked and turns golden brown
Add the ginger garlic paste and garam masala and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add turmeric powder and the chicken pieces, mix well and add salt
Pour in a few drop of vinegar or lemon juice and once the chicken is 3/4 done add the chili powder, tomato and the chopped cilantro and mint and very little curd.
Once completely cooked add the soaked rice and fry for a few minutes and  then pour in the boiling water and reduce the heat to minimum and let it cook. Stir occasionally and if you need to add more water for the rice to cook add a little at a time. But make sure that you only add boiling water.
As soon as the rice reaches the consistency of almost done, swtitch off the stove and cover the vessel and leave it alone for a while. That heat will be sufficient enough to completely cook it without over cooking.

Serve hot with raita, egg and any spicy sides you wish.......


Vermicilli kheer:

I had store bought almond milk and I was thinking on what to make with it. Since my son had been asking me for payasam for a while now, I decided to make it.

Vermicilli
Cashewnuts
Raisins
Cardamom powder
Almond milk
Sugar
Ghee

In a non-stick vessel, heat the ghee and add the chopped cashewnuts and raisins and fry well. Now add the vermicilli and fry it unti it turns golden in color.Now add warm almond milk and sugar and mix well. Stir it continuously to avoid burning. Once fully cooked add the cardamom powder and serve warm or chilled.
It was very easy and ready in a few minutes.

Cucumber raita:-

Cucumber - skin removed and chopped fine
Onion - finely chopped
Green chilly - finely chopped
Cilantro - finely chopped
Curd - as much as needed
Salt

Mix all together and let it set for atleast half an hour before serving. All the three dishes were done within an hour's time

Mixed fruits for the baby

The look of being satisfied with what she was being fed, I was all pumped up to prepare her fruit mix too.
Cranberries dried
Raisins
Apple
Pear
Banana

Boil the cranberries and raisins in boiling water for 5mins and let it soak it all up. Skin and chop the apple, pear and banana and steam cook them together till they are well done.Add a couple of drops of fresh lemon juice on top of the fruits to avoid discoloration of the fruits. In the food processor first mince the cranberry and raisin mixture till smooth. Now add the cooked fruits and puree everything together.The whole house is smelling of fruits now.........