Hi There

Hello Dear Friends....I know I haven't entered a single post since last november. I really miss the blogging world and am still not ready to come back yet. We are expecting our second baby this month and I am due in another three weeks (hoping the baby stays in for that long). Things had been very hectic here and it still is so am really sorry if I haven't commented on your blogs or not entered any event or even said a hi to you guys....
I am just hoping that I get back to my old self and routine by the end of the year atleast to start blogging again.... But I do promise to check out your blogs on a regular basis atleast.
Miss you all very much..........Will let you know the verdict very soon.
Happy Blogging Everyone and Have fun!

Its a shower again!

I feel so happy and appreciated when you my dear friends pass me awards which is very encouraging and thank you very much for remembering me.
I am passing this on to :-

Vidya of Vibaas and Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra have passed me the Perfect Blend of Friendship Award.










Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra has passed me quite a few awards too. Kreative Blogger Award, Great Buddy Award and 360 Foodie Award.

FIsh Cutlet

Mom used to make this in Chennai and when I had my friend Nisha over here, I made it. My mom would try out new dishes and she is really good too, I do miss her food. I am waiting for her to come next month and ask her to make some of her best dishes which I wanna learn and ofcourse share it with you guys. For a first attempt it was really yumm and dad said its perfect just like mom's, oohh what a relief. Its very easy to make and you can prepare and keep it 2 to 4 days earlier and only thing you will have to do is fry it before serving it.. So here it goes.

You will need :-
Tilapia - 1 lb (or any fish make sure there is no skin or bones in it)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - as per spice required
Onion - 1 big - chopped very fine
Green chilies - 4 chopped very fine
Ginger - chopped fine
Bread crumbs - as required
Eggs - 2 (only whites)
Method:-
1. Cut the fish into small pieces and place them in a non-stick kadai and add turmeric powder, salt and a little pepper powder with a little water. And let it cook completely. Make sure it is cooked fully and the water has to dry completely.
2. Let it cool a little and then smash it with a fork or hand and make sure there are no lumps.
3. Now mix it with the onions, green chilies, pepper powder, ginger and mix it really well.
4. Let is set for 10 -15 mins
5. In the meantime break the eggs and remove the whites and keep it separately in a wide bowl so that you can put your hand in easily and put some bread crumbs in another plate and keep it next to it.
6. Make small balls of size and shape of choice.Dip first it in the egg white and then roll it in the bread crumbs and keep it aside.Make sure the crumbs cover it fully.
7. Fry it just before serving and serve it hot with ketchup or sauce.

P.S.:-
1.) If you are gonna take it from the refrigirator , remember to bring it room temperature before
frying.
2.) If you dont like to bite ginger, peel it, put it in the freezer for 30mins then grate it and mix it, that way you wont even know its there.
3.)If you make it and keep it in the freezer it will stay for 2-3 weeks.

Pesaret & An Award

First let me wish all of you a belated Diwali and hope that all of you had a good time too. I am back on the blog after almost a month. Had been a little too busy, first with Diwali prep and the festival itself, then had friends over from Austin(great couple Somu & Pavi) and in between had been taking my son for his swimming classes which turned out to be a failure. He used to love the pool and now scared of it and he would do anything to stay away from it, poor thing. Even on his way bck from school he keeps telling me in the car, "Amma, pool poie venna" (Don't wanna go to the pool).

And it feels great to start again with an award from Vidhas of Appetizing Recipes. She is a wonderful blogger with amazing entries and she has passed me the Inspiration Award.Thanks a lot dear Vidhas for thinking of me. I would now love to pass it on to,
Mansi, Lothika,Deepa,Cham, Harini, JZ, Divya,Priti,Sra,Meeso and Ramya .

Coming back to the recipe for today, this is the first time I am making it. My mom-in-law is a wonderful cook and she makes a lot of south indian dishes which I am yet to learn from her and seriously I am a big fan of her food. The complement my husband gave me was that it tasted almost like hers which made me feel I was on top of the world....
Pesaret - a regular tiffin at my inlaws, is a favorite of mine. My mother-in-law taught me the recipe and it is one of the most easiest dishes that one can cook. Pesaret is nothing but dosa made with moong dhal / paasi paruppu and a very healthy and filling dish too..By using ginger in it, digestion is faster and dhal is full of protien so a healthy dinner or breakfast and my son eats it without making a fuss and now thats a relief...

Ingredients :-
Moong dhal - 2 cups
Idli rice - 3/4 cup
Ginger - 2inch piece
Green chilies - 4 or as per spice required
Curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste


Method:-
1. Soak the dhal and rice together for 2 to 3 hours
2. Grind it fine with all the above ingredients by adding water as required.
3. Make it into a thin batter a little thinner than for dosa.
4. Heat tava and when hot pour a ladle of the flour and make it just like dosa by adding a few drops of gingelly oil over it before turning it.
5. Serve hot with coconut chutney or pickle and curd.

Egg Puff

I love making snacks for weekends as thats when Vivek is also at home to have hot tea and of course even Arya loves puff.
Its an easy to make tiffin and the only thing that one has to buy is the pastry sheets. I also make peas puffs and vegetable puffs and the method for them is also the same as the egg puff, which I have added along with this recipe.
Kids will love it too..

You will need:-
Pastry sheets - 1 no (1 sheet makes 9 puffs)
Red onion - 1 big (chopped fine)
Green chilies - 2 crushed
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or as spice required)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Egg - hard boiled 4 nos cut in two
Raw egg - 1 (just beaten and set aside for egg wash)
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Method:-
1. In a kadai pour the oil and when hot add the fennel seeds and once it stops spluttering add the green chilies.






2. Fry it for a few seconds and then add the chopped onions







3. When fully cooked add the garam masala, chili powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and the ginger garlic paste and mix well.
4. If you wish you can add a less than quarter cup of water to cook the masala.



5. Once the raw smell is gone add salt and let it simmer for a minute or two and then add the boiled eggs.
6. Make sure the egg gets covered in masala fully and then reduce the heat to a little less than medium and let is set for 10 minutes.
7. Thaw the pastry sheets according to package instructions and then spread it on to a flat dry surface that has some flour on it. Roll it with a rolling pin just a little bit and then cut it into desired sizes. Pre-heat the over to 350degrees. I use Pepperridge farms pastry sheets and I cut one sheet into 9 pieces.
8. Now place one piece of egg with a little masala on one side of the cut pastry sheet.






9. Take the egg wash and rub it on the sides and then fold the sheet and make sure the sides stick together, use a fork to press it down.





10. Rub a few drops of egg wash on the top of the sheet, as that will give the puff a nice glaze color.
11. Follow the same procedure for all the other pastry sheets and then place then one by one leaving a little place between them.




12. Place them in the oven for 12-14 minutes, depending on the oven or until golden brown on the top.
13. Serve hot with ketchup or any sauce.





For peas puff :- It is the same ingredients as teh above instead of egg add 1/2 a cup of peas and you can also add more onions if you like.

For veg puff :- Add 1/4 cup of peas, 1/4 cup of finely cut french peans, 1/4 cup of grated/finely chopped carrot.

P.S. - If you do not eat egg then just use water to stick the sides of the pastry sheets and you can use a fork to press down the sides.

Jeera rice

When my friend Nisha and her husband Sujit came over I had made jeera rice and they loved it, it was my second attempt and it and it was really good. Seriously,its Bindiya's recipe what would I do without her! She just had her second baby, blessed with a boy again, we both have been considerably busy these past days and I am yet to speak to her.....


Here it is:-
Shallots - chopped fine 1/2 cup
Green chilies - chopped fine 3 nos
Bay leaf - 2
Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cooking oil - 1tbsp
Basmati rice - 1.5 cups (washed and soaked for 15mins and then drained)
Salt to taste
Water - 2 and 3/4 cups for cooking the rice
Cashew - Optional (1 tbsp)

Method:-
In a non stick kadai pour the ghee and oil and once hot add the green chilies, shallots and bay leaf.
Once the onions are well done add the cumin seeds and fry it for a few seconds and then add the basmati rice and salt.
Fry it till the aroma arises and then add the whole thing in the rice cooker and pour the water and cook it till done.
Serve hot with any favorite curry of choice.

P.S. - If you don't like to add shallots its alright, just avoid it!

Spicy Chicken Curry

I had chicken drumsticks in the fridge and I was too lazy to cut them into smaller pieces, so I kept thinking of a way to make it easy. Then it struck me that I could shred them up. And that's how I came up with this curry, and now I kinda like to make it like that as it is easy and I can get rid of a little fat too, isn't that something?
So this is how the curry came about:

You need:-
Chicken drumsticks - 4 nos
Onion - 1 medium crushed
Green chilies -2 slit lengthwise
Tomatoes - 1 8oz can of tomato paste
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Coconut - ground 1/4 cup

you can change the quantity as per your requirement..

Method:-
1. In a non-stick pan or vessel pour 3/4 cup of water add a little salt and add the chicken drumsticks to it. Cover and let it cook on medium flame until fully cooked.Throw the whole thing into a colander and keep a vessel under it to drain all the fat and water.Once it becomes a bit warm shred it up nicely and set it aside.


2. In the meantime pour oil in a kadai and when hot add the green chilies and the chopped onions.






3. Once well done add the ginger garlic paste and garam masala.








4. Fry until the raw smell goes and add the chili powder and turmeric powder.






5. A little later add the cumin powder and allow the masala to cook for a while.






6. Now add the tomato paste and a little water







7. Add salt and the shredded chicken and let it simmer for 5 minutes.






8. Pour in the ground coconut and let it cook for another 5 minutes.






9. Add chopped cilantro and switch it off and let it set for a few minutes before pouring it into the serving bowl.





Serve hot with rice, rotis, dosa or anything you like...