Gobi Paratha/Cauliflower Stuffed Paratha

I just realized I don't have many Roti or Naan recipe on the blog even though I make them almost everyday. I am not sure as to why I did not. Anyway, lets start with Gobi Paratha as Cauliflower is available in abundance in Chennai now.

Ingredients
For Filling
Cauliflower - 2 Cups (Washed,Cleaned and Grated)
Onion - 1 (Medium, finely Chopped)
Green Chillies - 4 (Finely Chopped)
Garlic - 10-12 (Finely Chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 Inc (Finely Chopped)
Cumin Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Garam Masala - 1/4 Teaspoon
Red Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Corinader Leaves - Few Sprigs
Salt and Oil

For the outer Layer (Roti/Paratha)
Wheat Flour - 2 Cups
Salt and Oil

Method

Roti/Paratha

In a mixing bowl, place the Wheat Flour and Salt and add enough amount of water to make a smooth pilable dough to make the Roti/Paratha.Divide them into equally sized balls. Keep this aside covered with a Damp kitchen towel.

Filling (First Method)
In a mixing Bowl, add all the ingredients except oil and mix them well. Divide this into equally sized balls.
You can use this recipe if you don't have too much of time in hand.

Filling (Second Method)
In a pan, add a tablespoon and once the oil is heated add Onions and cook till they are done. Then in the time interval of 30 seconds add the other ingredients in the Filling list one by one. Saute them at regular intervals. Saute till the Raw flavor of the masala is gone.Keep this aside.

Once this mixture is in the room temperature, divide them into equally sized Ball.

Now, Lets make the Parathas

Take the rolling board and rolling pin. Dust them with Wheat Flour and place the Wheat ball on the rolling board and using the rolling pin make the rotis. Now place the Cauliflower filling in the centre. Now pull the corners of the Roti and cover it. Now using your hands, flatten it by dusting it as required.

Now place this on the rolling board and make the Roti and cook them on the Tawa till it is done.

Smear it with Ghee or Butter. (Optional)

Kabuli Channa- Broccoli Tikki

If you have noticed off late I am making Tikkis very weekend. I have already shared the recipes for Rajma Tikki, Vegetable Tikki and Bottlegourd Tikki.

This Tikki is nice combination of Kabuli Channa and Broccoli. While preparing this Tikki I was not sure of how it would taste. I gave the Tikki to my mom to taste and she had a bite and said WOW!!!.

Everyone in the house liked the taste a lot and have asked me to make more next time.

Ingredients

Kabuli Channa - 1 Cup ( Soaked overnight)
Onion - 1 (Medium, roughly Chopped)
Broccoli - 1/2 Cup (Grated, You can use the stalk too)
Green Chillies - 1
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 Teaspoon
Garam Masala - A pinch
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Besan or Gram Flour - 1 or 2 Tablespoon (Optional)
Coriander Leaves - Few Sprigs
Salt and Oil.

Method

In a Mixer add Kabuli Channa,Onion, Green Chillies, Ginger Garlic paste,Garam Masala, Red Chilly powder, Coriander Powder, Coriander leaves, Salt and grind into a coarse paste.

To this Coarse paste, add the grated Broccoli, Besan (If required) and roll into Tikkis.

Heat a pan and add some oil. Once the Oil is warm place the prepared tikkis on the Tava and cook on each till it is done. It will make about 5-7 minutes to cook this Tikkis on a low flame.

Cook them on a low flame as he need to get the Channa also cooked. Remember we have added uncooked Channa.

Poondu Kuzhambhu/Garlic Gravy

Being a south Indian, Rice is a must at least once in a day in our house. However, The Gravy options I usually make is either Dal or Sambhar. Alok is not a huge favorite fan of Rasam with Rice, he enjoys having it like a Soup. So Karakuzhambhu in some form sneaks into my kitchen at least once in a week.

This Karakumzhambhu is made with Garlic and so is a good break from Dal. This is Tangy and is fabtastic with Cabbage Poriyal or Kootu.

Ingredients
Garlic - 12-15 Pods
Onion - 1 (Medium, chopped)
Tomato - 1 (Meidum, chopped)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 Teaspoon
Jaggery - 1/4 Teaspoon
Red Chilly Powder - 1.5 Tablespoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Tablespoon
Pepper Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Tamarind Juice - Extracted from a Gooseberry Sized Soaked in 2 Cups of water
Salt - As per taste
Gingelly Oil - 2 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves - Few

Method

In a pan, add Gingelly oil and once the oil is hot, splutter Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds and Fenugreek seeds and then add the Onion, Garlic and Curry leaves. Saute them till the onion is cooked.

Then add the Tomato and cook till the tomato is cooked. Then add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, Turmeric powder and salt and Saute.

After 2 minutes, add the Tamarind water and cook it till the Raw flavour of Masala and Tamarind is gone. This may take anywhere between 6-8 minutes.

Before switching off the flame, add the black pepper powder and Jaggery.

Margazhi Puja

Chennai is my favorite place on the Earth. It becomes more favourite during December - January. The Weather becomes so pleasant and it brings in so much calmness in you when you wake up at 0500 and look out.

Margazhi is also famous for Bhajans and Vennpongal. Every Margazhi in our house, we do poojas and Bhajans. We recite Thirupavai and Thiruvampavai on that.

 The month of Dhanur Maasa or name Margazhi (Dec 14th to Jan 14th), derives from the star Mrigashirsha and is considered very auspicious month for religious services. During this month the sun transits through Sagittarius sign, the house of Jupiter and ends with the Makara Sankranti.

One-and-half hours before sunrise is called Brahma Muhurta, an auspicious time best suited for worshipping Lord Vishnu as it would yield good results. Even the celestials do not fail to perform special prayers to Vishnu. This time starts with Mrigashirsha Shukla Ekadasi and ends at Dakshinaayana.

The birth of the great Margazhi month is the time when the holy star Mrigashirsha combines with Poornima thithi. It is sacred from all aspects and renders in attaining prosperity and blessings to the god himself.

The Neivedhyam for this year's Margazhi Pooja:

Venn Pongal

Medu Vada

Eggplant Kotsu

Kesari

Sundal

Seedai (I made this specially for Lord Krishna)

Fruit Cake

It is Christmas time and time for the yummilicious Fruit Cake. They are so many recipes available on this online: With Rum, Non Alcohol, With Caramel Sauce, with Brown Sugar etc.

This recipe I am sharing is easy and pretty simple. We need equal amount of Butter,sugar,Maida and Egg to whip this cake.

This cake will be fluffy inside and crispy outside.

Ingredients

Maida /AFP - 1 Cup
Butter - 1 Cup (AT room temperature)
Egg - 1 Cup
Sugar - 1 Cup
Baking powder - 1 Teaspoon
Vanilla Essence - Few Drops
Mixed Fruits and Nuts - 1 Cup (See notes below)

Method

Pre Heat the Oven at 180C. Take a Baking pan and grease it with butter and dust it with Maida.

Sieve the Maida and Baking Powder together. Sieving them together will ensure that they mixed well together uniformly. If you are a beginner you can sieve it may be 2-3 times.

Take the fruit and Nuts you want and add a tablespoon of Maida to it and mix it. The mixing of Mida will ensure that the Fruit and Nuts don't sink and is spread all over the cake.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. To this add the Vanilla essence and eggs and mix well.

Now add the sieved Maida + Baking powder to the Butter-Sugar-egg mixture and fold it.

Dont beat the batter as it will make the cake so hard. So gently fold the Maida in the wet ingredients. Folding is done to ensure that they is aeration which will make the cake fluffy inside and Crispy outside.

To this add the prepared Fruits and Nuts and gently mix this.

Now pour this prepared Batter into the prepared Baking tin and Bake it for 20-25 Minutes at 180C.

Once it is done, cool it completely and slice them and Serve.

Merry Christmas. 

Note:

The choice of Fruits and Nuts is completely up to you. I have used Cashews,Cranberris,Tutti Frutti,Badam,Walnuts,Fig,Dates,Candied Orange peel, Cake Seeds and Pista.

You can add whatever you want and how much ever you want.

Melting Moments Cookies

I love cookies. It is been quite some time I made cookies. If my memory is right the last time I made cookies was the Scottish Cookies. So I decided to bake some Cookies for this weekend.

So picked this recipe from my most Favorite website of VahChef. This website is my Go To website for all recipes. This is the website where I search for any of my recipes and the recipes given by Vahchef is 100% fool Proof. You can Half the recipe if you want. This recipe gave me about 2 Dozens of cookies.

Ingredients

Maida/AFP - 200 Grams
Butter - 100 Grams (At room Temperature)
Sugar - 120 Grams
Vanilla Essence - Few Drops
Egg - 1

Milk - 2 Tablespoon  2 Tablespoon
CornFlakes - 3-4 Tablespoons

Method

In a Mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. To this add egg and milk and mix it well.

To this add the maida and mix. Don't knead too much. This mixture will be little sticky and that's how we want this mixture to be.

Crush the cornflakes using your fingertips and keep it aside. In another small bowl keep 2 tablespoon of milk.

Now dust you hands with maida and take a marble size ball of the mixture and dip it in the milk and then roll it in crushed cornflakes.

Arrange this in the Baking tray lined with aluminium Foil.

Bake the cookies at 180C for 20-25 minutes. (Each oven is different so keep a close eye after 15 minutes).

The Cornflakes helps in retaining the shape of the cookies and also makes the cookies super crunchy.

Sunday Brunch - Jeera Pulao, Dal Tadka and Vegetable Cutlet

I have been missing the blogging pace for quite some time as work and preparations for Holidays was keeping me busy.

As a come back recipe I thought I will give a Brunch menu.

This week, I am making a Jeera Pulav, Dal Tadka and Vegetable Cutlet.

Click here for the Recipes:

Dal Tadka   

Jeera Pulav

 Vegetable Cutlet 

Vegetable Cutlet

Cutlets/Tikkis is something I always I love to have on Weekends. So I made this Cutlet as a part of this week's weekend Brunch.

It is easy to make and you can had any vegetables you want. I did not add any Maida or Cornflour to make this cutlet.

I also added Cheese so this was too soft and was melt in the mouth.

Ingredients

Potato - 2 (Medium, Boiled,peeled and Mashed)
Mixed Vegetables - 1/ 2 Cup (I used Boiled Beans,Peas)
Paneer - 1/2 Cup (Shredded)
Cheddar Cheese - 1/4 Cup (Shredded)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 Teaspoon
Green Chillies - 3 (Finely Chopped)
Garam Masala - 1/4 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder  1/2 Teaspoon
Chat Masala - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mint Leaves - 1/4 Cup (Finely Chopped)
Sooji/Rava - 1 tablespoon
Salt and Oil - As required

Method

In a bowl, add all ingredients except oil and Rava and mix it well. Then take a Golf sized ball of this mixture and shape it into desired shape.

Coat the Cutlets made with the Rava and make them ready.

Heat a Tawa, and smear oil on it. Once the Tawa is hot, place the cutlets and cook them on each side for 5 minutes or till it is crispy and done.

Jeera Pulao

This is Alok's favorite Rice Recipe. It is easy and simple to make. It tastes delicious with a SImple Dal Tadka too. So my hubby's favorite combo Jeera Pulao and Dal Tadka.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 Cup (Washed and Soaked for 30 minutes in 1.5 Cups of Water)
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tablespoon
Onion -  (Big, Sliced)
Mint Leaves - 1 Handful
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt and Oil - As required

Method

In a Pan, heat some oil, once the oil is ho, add the Cumin Seeds and immediately add the sliced onions. Once the onions are half done, add the Mint Leaves and the Ginger Garlic paste and saute till the Onion is cooked completely.

To this add the water in which the Rice was soaked. Once the water starts boiling add the Rice and required amount of Salt.

Stir just once and cover the pan and cook it till he rice is well done. It may take about 10-15 minutes.

Open and check while the rice is getting cooked and stir may be once or twice. Over-stirring the rice will break them.

Our Tasty , simple Jeera Pulao is ready to be served.

Rajma Tikki

I have already posted recipe on Rajma Masala and Rajma Sundal. One thing I have learned with Rajma is that that if we buy it in bulk and store it, it becomes too dried up after few months and it gets very difficult to cook the Rajma.

I made that mistake of stocking lots of Rajma at home and it got dried up and it was difficult to make a masala. However, I had so much that I did not want to throw it away.

So I was squeezing my brain on how to use, that's when my hubby suggested that I can make Tikkis with them. So I came up with this recipe and it tasted good. you can save a lot of time, as we only have to half boil the Rajma say for about 5 whistles and make the Tikkis.

I made the tikkis and also did Tikki Masala. I will post the recipe of Rajma Tikki Masala soon.

Ingredients

Rajma - 1 Cup (Soaked for 12 hours and cooked for 5 whistles)
Onion - 1 (Medium, roughly chopped)
Green Chillies - 2 (Roughly Chopped)
Red Chilly Powder - 1 Tablespoon
Garam Masala - 1/2 Teaspoon
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 4 Pods

Gram Flour - 1 Tablespoon (Optional)
Asafoetida - 1 Generous Pinch
Salt
Oil

Method

Drain the water from the Rajma. Don't throw this water, you can use it to make Rasam, Sambhar or to knead Atta.  In a blender, add all the ingredients except Gram Flour and Oil and grind it coarsely. If required add the Gram Flour, to help you make the Tikki.

Make Tikkis with the prepared mixture.

Heat a Tawa with some oil and place the made Tikki on it and cook till they are done on both sides.

Besan Chila

Alok has said a complete No no to Idly/Dosa in the breakfast as he is so bored with them. So I thought of making Besan Dosa. When he had it, he said this is called as Chila and is a Gujarati Dish.

It was quick to make and very tasty too. First time, when I made this I added vegetables like Grated Carrot, shredded Cabbage, green peas etc. This post I made simple Besan Chila. Both of them tasted awesome.

I also added ENO to this recipe to make it fluffy, you can make it without ENO also and it just turns out great.

Another thing about this recipe is that you don't need any chutney as an accompaniment. It tastes great as a dish. This is certified by my Mom and Alok who needs Chutney or Dish for any dish in the world LOL.

Ingredients

Besan / Gram Flour - 1 Cup
Onion - 1 (Medium, finely Chopped)
Water - 1/2-3/4 Cup
Green Chillies - 3 )Finely Chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 inch (Finely Chopped)
Grated Vegetables - 1/2 Cup (Optional)
Asafoetida - 1 Generous Pinch
ENO - 1 Teaspoon (Optional)
Salt and oil.

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except oil and ENO and make a batter of Dosa batter consistency. Let it sit for 10 minutes.Add ENO to the batter just before making the Dosa/Chila.

Meanwhile, heat a Tawa and smear some cooking oil on it. Take the prepared batter and pour small portions of batter in the tawa and cook till both sides are done and crispy.

Pepper Curry - Instant Relief from Cold

It is time for Vegan Thursday, an event initiated by Priya. So got this recipe from my Mom's cookbook. Whenever anyone has Cold or fever mom will prepare this dish. Dont think that it will taste like medicine, it tastes FAB and it is pretty easy to make.

Take this Curry with hot rice and you will feel instant relief from headache,Cold and Sinus.

Ingredients
Gram Dal  - 1 Tablespoon
Thoor Dal - 1 Tablespoon
Fenugreek - 1/2 Teaspoon
Pepper - 2 Tablespoon
Coriander Seeds - 2 Tablespoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Dry Red Chilles - 10 Nos
Urad Dal - 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Tamarind - Gooseberry size soaked in 1 cup of warm water
Asafoetida - a Generous Pinch
Curry Leaves
Oil - 2 Tablespoon (Preferably Gingelly Oil)

Method

In a pan, add a teaspoon of oil and roast the ingredients in the given order: Corinader seeds,Dry Red Chillies,Thoor dal,Gram Dal,Urad Dal,pepper,fenugreek,cumin seed and Asafoetida. Give a gap of 30-45 seconds before adding each ingredient.Allow it to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare Tamarind juice with the Tamarind soaked in water.

Take the roasted ingredients in a blender and grind them. While grinding, instead of water use the tamarind water and grind it into a paste. Add turmeric powder to the paste.

The paste should not be too coarse or not too smooth. It needs to be little grainy and not a fine paste.

Now take a pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil season with Mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and add the paste and cook it for some time till the raw flavour is gone. It may take around 5- 8 minutes.

You can store it in refrigerator for 2-3 Days. In case you plan to store it do not use curry leaves.

Pasta with White Sauce

I love Pasta. I rarely make it with white sauce, I usually make Pasta - Fatafat style. But this time, I decided to make multiple layers with white sauce and bake it. So I made a bed of potatoes, then a bed of mushroom and Broccoli, then the pasta and the white sauce. SO I am going to write the recipes layer by layer.

Based on your taste and time, you can make all layers or just make couple of layers and enjoy. If you do not have a OTG, you need not bake it, you can just leave it on low flame on the stove top.

Ingredients

Pasta - 2 Cups (Pasta of your choice, cooked as per instructions in the packet till it is Al Dente)
Potatoes - 2 (Skin peeled and Sliced)
Broccoli - 1 (Large Floret)
Tomato Puree - 1/2 Cup
Garlic - 15 Pods
Button Mushroom - 10 Nos
Maida - 1/4 Cup
Unsalted Butter - 1/4 Cup
GarlicPowder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Milk - 1/2 Cup
Black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilly Flakes - 3 Tablespoon or to taste
Italian Seasoning Mix - 2 Tablespoon (Available readily in supermarket) or else use any dry herbs like Oregano,Thyme,Rosemary etc
Cheese - As per your choice (I used Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese)
Olive Oil and Salt

Method

First Layer - Potatoes
In a Pan, add some olive oil. Once it s warm, place the Potatoes slices on the pan. Cook till it is done and then flip it again. Season it with Red Chilli flakes, Italian herbs and Garlic powder.

Second Layer - Mushroom
In the pan, add some olive oil to this add about 4-5 crushed garlic, tomato puree and cook well. Then add some red chilli flakes,salt, Italian seasoning and saute. To this add the mushrooms and cook for 5- 8 minutes and keep it aside.

Third Layer - Broccoli
In a pan, add some olive oil and 2 crushed garlic and add the Broccoli and saute for 3-5 minutes or till it is cooked. Season it with chilli flakes, Italian seasoning and salt.

Final Layer - Basic White Sauce 

In a pan add the butter and once it starts to melt add the Maida and roast for 5-8 minutes or till the raw flavour of the maida leaves. Now, remove it from flame and allow it o cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, boil the milk.

Once the Maida - Butter mixture (it is called as Roux) is at room temperature, slowly add the warm milk and mix. Add the milk little by little to Roux and mix. I generally use whisk to make the mixture. Mix till it becomes a smooth mixture.

Now place this on the stove on a low to medium flame and cook it. We will know it is done when the mixture nicely coats the back of the wooden spoon. It will be of Dosa Batter consistency.

You can make this White Sauce in advance and store it in refrigerator.

To this add Black pepper powder, Chilli flakes, Italian Seasoning and salt.

Now take a baking tray and smear some olive oil on it. First place the potato slices, then add the

Mushroom layer and spread it nicely, then place the Broccoli on them , then add the cooked Pasta and finally pour the White sauce.On top of it spread some grated cheese.

I added grated cheese, Italian seasoning between each layer , this step is optional.

I baked this layered Pasta at 180C for 20 minutes , this step is completely optional. I did it to melt the cheese. If your ingredients are even slightly warm the cheese will melt.

Rava Idly

This is one breakfast recipe that sneaks into my kitchen at least once in a week. This is my Mom's favorite. I love this as it is easy, tasty and always is a HIT whenever I make it.

Usually people say to use sour curd,however I make curd the day before and use to make this recipe. In this way, I think the idly is soft, fresh and has the right amount of sourness.

Dont get demotivated by the long list of ingredients, you can pick and use whatever ingredients you have in your pantry.

Ingredients

Rava - 1 Cup
Curd - 1/2 - 3/4 Cup (Depends on the sourness of your curd)
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Cashewnuts - 2 Tablespoon (Optional)
Gram Dal - 1 Tablespoon
Urad Dal - 1/2 Tablespoon
Roasted Peanuts - 2 Tablespoon (Optional)
Green Chillies - 2 (Finely Chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 Inch (Finely grated)
Peas - 2 Tablespoon (Optional)
Carrot - 1 (Finely Grated,Optional)
Turmeric Powder and Hing - A pinch Each.
ENO - 1 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves and Coriander - As per choice
Oil and Salt.

Method

In a pan, add a tablespoon and once it is hot, add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.

Then add the Peanuts,Gram Dal and saute for 30 seconds and then add the cashewnuts and Urad dal and saute for 30 seconds. Then add the green chillies, curry leaves,Asafoetida and Turmeric Powder and saute.

Then add the Rava and roast till nice aroma comes, say for 5 minutes. Now remove it from the flame and keep it aside to come to room temperature.

Now whisk the curd nicely and to this add the Ginger,salt,vegetables and the roasted ingredients to make a thick batter. You can alter the quantity of water and curd as per your taste. As I use only fresh curd I make it fully with curd.

After mixing, keep it aside for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the Idly Plates ready.

Place the Idly Pot with 2 inches of water (as per the size of your pot) and switch on the stove so it comes to a boil.

Meanwhile, grease the idly plates with a coking oil generously.

We have to add ENO into the batter Just before pouring the batter into the Idly plates.

Once the water is boiling in the pot and all the plates are greased, add ENO to the prepared batter and give it a quick stir and add batter into the prepared idly plates and steam for 12-15 minutes or till it is done.

Apple Oats cake

I love apples and always have stock of apples in my pantry. So I also continuously search recipes using apple and found this recipe here. I have already made Apple Roulade with Apple. This is one more apple recipe.

Ingredients

Shredded Apple - 1 Cup
Maida - 1 Cup
Oats - 1 Cup
Buttermilk - 1/2 Cup
Baking powder - 2 Teaspoon
Butter - 1 Tablespoon
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon

Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon
Brown Sugar - 1/2 Cup

Method

In a mixing boil, mix the sugar,buttermilk and butter well. To this add the apples,Maida and Oats and mix well it is all mixed well. Now add salt,Cinnamon Powder, baking powder and mix till done.

Pre heat the Oven at 180 C. Pour the prepared batter into a greased tray and bake for 30 minutes or till it is done.

Cool it completely and cut into pieces. I baked it in the evening. My take on this cake is that it tasted great the next day for Breakfast rather than having it hot.

Back of the Bag Oatmeal Rolls 

It is been quite sometime that I did some baking. So I decided to bake something. I had got a new Bread loaf Mould so wanted to make a Bread. With the recipe I was able to bake a Big Loaf of Bread and 4 rolls. This recipe has loads of Oats too. I got his recipe from kingarthurflour.

Ingredients

Yeast - 2 teaspoon
Warm Milk - 11/4 Cup (Not hot, just warm)
Maida/All Purpose Flour - 3 Cups
Rolled Oats - 1 Cup
Unsalted Butter - 2 Tablespoon
Honey - 3 Tablespoon
Salt - 1 1/2 Teaspoon
Sugar - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oats - For Sprinkling on the top

Method

In a bow, add the warm milk,salt and sugar and mix well. To this add the Yeast and allow it to rest for 5 minutes or till the yeast rises.

To this add Honey, Butter,oats,Maida and knead into a soft dough. Let it rest for 1 hour or it is doubled.

Now, take it to a greased surface, punch the dough down and knead it.

Roll it into a log or ball and place it in a greased loaf mould or in Baking tray.

Allow it to rest for 1 hour or till it doubles.

Pre heat the oven at 180C in the bake mode.

Slightly brush the surface of the loaf or Bun with some milk or water. Add some oats on the top.

Bake it at 180 C 20 minutes.

If you are making Bread, cut the loaf into slices when the loaf has completely cooled down.

You can toast this or have it with Jam and Butter. 

Simple Dal Tadka

Dal is a staple food in any of our house. There are so mnay ways, in which we all make Dal. This Dal Tadka is a simple yet very tasty Dal.

It tastes great with Rice.Jeera Rice or Roti.

Ingredients

Thoor Dal - 1/2 Cup
Water - As required
Onion - 1 (Small,Chopped)
Green Chilly - 2 (Finely Chopped)
Garlic - 3 (Finely Chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 Inch (Finely Chopped)
Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil or Ghee - 1 Tablespoon
Asafoetida and Turmeric Powder - a Pinch each
Curry Leaves and Coriander Leaves - For Garnishing
Salt - As required

Method

Wash and soak the Dal for 30 minutes (Soaking Dal is optional, I do as it saves time)

Cook it in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Add Turmeric Powder and Hing while cooking the Dal in the cooker.

In a tadka pan, add some oil or Ghee and once it is warm, add the Cumin Seeds and once it crackles, add the onion and Saute well. Once the Onion is half done, add the Garlic,Green Chilies,Salt and Ginger and Saute well.

Transfer the Dal into the serving bowl, and add the Tadka on the Dal before serving and Garnish with Curry Leaves and Coriander Leaves.

Nei Appam - Karthigai Deepam Special

Nei Appam is a sweet which is usually made at our house during Karthigai Deepam. If you make it once at home, you will never buy it from outside and eat. With little planing this dish is such a delicacy.

It should traditionally be made of ghee, however, you can mix Ghee and Oil or just refined oil is also good enough.

Ingredients

Rice	1 Cup
Jaggery	3/4 Cup
Water	As Required
Salt	A Pinch
Ghee	As Required
Oil	As Required

Cooking Soda - A Pinch

Cashew/Coconut/Elachi - As required (Optional)

Method

Soak the rice for 3 - 4 Hours.

In a pan, add the jaggery with little water just required to melt the jaggery. Melt the jaggery and strain it for any impurities.

Grind the soaked rice with very little water. The batter should be thick.

To this batter add the Jaggery syrup, and cashew,coconut and salt and mix well.

In a appam Karal , pour the oil or ghee and once it is warm enough add the prepared Batter and cook for 2 minutes, then flip it and cook it for 2 miuntes or till it is golden brown.

If you don't have a appam karal, you can heat oil in a kadai and pour a ladle of batter and cook it,like I have done.


Note

If you have added more water by mistake in your Jaggery syrup or Batter, you can add some Wheat Flour to get the right consistency.

Red Velvet Cake - Egg-less and with Natural colour

I have heard so much about Red velvet cake and always wanted to try it. However, I am not a huge fan of using food colour so was wanting to use natural ingredients to get the colour.

So when I was browsing through I found some recipes where they had used Beetroot Puree to get the natural color. I was very skeptical about using beetroot, but believe me it was heavenly. Everyone at house loved it and I was asked to make it again.

I did not have a muffin mould so I baked it as a cake, if you have a muffin mould, you can see the color much better.When I ate it , I realized why it is called as the Velvet Cake. It is so soft and silky.

Ingredients

Brown Sugar - 3/4 Cup
Beetroot Puree - 1 Cup
Dark Chocolate - 60 grams
Maida /AFP - 1 Cup
Oil/Butter - 1/4 Cup
Baking Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Vanilla Essence - Few Drops

Method

Beetroot Puree: 

Peel the beetroot and add it in a cup of boiling water. Cook till it is completely done. Cool it room temperature. Then puree it in a blender to form a smooth puree with no lumps and use it.

Pre heat the oven at 180 Celsius.

Sieve Maida and baking powder together. Sieving will help in mixing the baking powder and Maida thoroughly.

In a mixing bowl, mix the oil and sugar till it is creamy. To this add the vanilla essence, Beet root puree and Melted Chocolate  (Melt chocolate using the double boiler method or microwave for 45 seconds) and mix well.

To this mix the sieved flour with baking powder. Do not beat it too much. Just mix it until the flour and the wet ingredients is combined.

Pour this into a greased and dusted cake pan and bake at 180 Celsius for 20 minutes. Each oven cooks differently so keep a close eye on the baking time.

Chocolate Maida Burfi/Maida Barfi

 This is one recipe which is made in my Granny house quite often. I am the only person who eats this sweet in my house.My mom and Bro are not a great fan of this sweet.

So for this diwali I wanted to make this by myself. So asked the recipe from mom and made it. It was quite easy to make. My youngest BIL liked it a lot.

This sweet has 2 layers. The first one is Maida and the second is the Chocolate layer.

Ingredients

For 1st Layer:
Maida - 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 1 Cup
Ghee - 1/4 Cup
Water - 1/2 Cup

For 2nd Layer:
Maida - 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 1 Cup
Ghee - 1/4 Cup
Cocoa Powder - 3/4 Tablespoon
Water - 1/2 Cup

Method

Grease a tray and keep it ready.

First Layer

In a pan, heat ghee till it is hot. Once the Ghee is hot, add the Maida and saute it quickly. Do it till the raw flaour of the maida is completely gone.

In another pan, add sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Boil until one string consistency is formed.Getting the sugar syrup right is key to this recipe.

One string consistency is when when you keep the sugar syrup between your fore finger and thumb a string will form. If you are not used to this, wet your fingers between you touch the sugar syrup. For me it takes about 8 - 10 minutes to get this single string consistency.

The next steps are to done off the flame.Now remove the sugar syrup from the heat and add the roasted maida to this and stir this continuously. Stir it till it becomes thick. Lets say Idli batter consistency. Pour the mixture into the greased tray. Leave it using a flat knife or spoon.

Second Layer

Now lets repeat the same process for the second layer.

Heat the Ghee, add maida and saute. Add the cocoa Powder once you remove the Maida from the heat.

In another pan, add sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Boil until one string consistency is formed.Getting the sugar syrup right is key to this recipe.

The next steps are to done off the flame.Now remove the sugar syrup from the heat and add the roasted maida to this and stir this continuously. Stir it till it becomes thick. Lets say Idli batter consistency. Pour this on top of the first layer. Leave it using a flat knife or spoon.

When the mixture is warm, make marking in the mixture and allow it to set.

Let it set for some time and cut into desired shape.

Pidi Kozhukattai

 I have already posted the recipe of Kara Kozhukattai and Sweet Kozhukattai. This kozhukattai is pretty easy to make. However this is still tasty.

Ingredients

Processed Rice Flour - 1 Cup
Water - 2 Cups
Salt and Oil
Mustard seeds - 1/4 Teaspoon
Gram Dhall - 1/2 Teaspoon
Green Chillies - 3
Hing/Asafoetida - A Big Pinch
Coconut - 3 Tablespoon (Cut into small pieces, you can add coconut as per your taste)

Method

In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil and add the Mustard seeds. Once it splutters add gram dhall and green chillies and saute for 30 second and then add the water,coconut  and salt.

let the water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice flour and stir it. Cook it till the rice flour is cooked and the water is completely absorbed.

Remove from the flame and allow it to become warm. Once the mixture is warm, grease your hands and take the mixture and make kozhukattai in desired shape.

Now steam the kozhukattai in a Idly pot or steamer for 10 minutes.

Hot, steamy easy kozhukattai is ready.

Tips
This kozhukattai can also be made with rice Rawa.

Thai Red Spicy Rice

I have already posted the Thai green Curry Recipe. I made Thai Red Rice to go along with this. 

I have already posted the recipe for the Thai Red Curry. This spicy rice is made with the Thai Red Curry.

I used Jasmine Rice to make this recipe, however, if you are not used to this then you can use Basmati rice or any regular long grain rice.

Ingredients
Rice - 2 Cups
Water - 4 Cups
Onion- 2
Baby Potato - 2 cups (Boiled,peeled and poked)
Dry Chillies - 8
Lemon Grass/Lemon Rind - Little
Garlic - 6
Galangal - 2 inches (You can use normal Ginger also)
Corinader seeds - 1 Tablespoon
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 2 teaspoon
Pepper corns - 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt and oil.

Method

Boil the Onion in water. Meanwhile in a dry kadai, dry roast Coriander seeds,Cumin seeds, peppercorns.
No Need to roast them too much, just roast them till the aroma comes.

Remove the onion from the water. In a blender, add the roasted ingredients,onion,ginger,dry chillies,Lemon Grass and grind it. This is the Thai Red Curry. You can store in freezer for up to 10 days.

Wash and soak the rice for atleast 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, take a kadhai and add a teaspoon of oil and toss the boiled,peeled and poked for couple of minutes with salt and keep it aside. 

In kadhai, add some oil, add the Thai Red Curry and cook till the raw smell goes off. then add the Potatoes,salt,coriander leaves and cook till everything comes together.

To this add the water from the rice and bring it to boil and then add the rice and salt and cook it covered.

Once it is cooked, garnish with steamed corn,basil leaves, groundnuts and sprouted moong and serve (As I packed this for lunch, I did not do the garnishing.  It tastes good without the garnishing too)

Nei Ladoo/Ghee Ladoo

Nei Ladoo is one of the favorite sweet in our house. During Diwali, this ladoo will surely make into our list of sweets

I remember whenever we used to have talk of what to make for Diwali, Nei ladoo is one sweet mom will usually start off with. I do not remember even one Diwali when my mom has not made this Nei Ladoo.

My father calls this as Paitham Ladoo as it is made with Yellow Moong Dal. It just needs 3 ingredients Yellow Moong Dal, Sugar and Ghee.

Ingedients

Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 Cup
Ghee - 1/2 Cup (I did not use the 1/2 cup completely, I was left with 3 Tablespoon)

Method

In a non stick kadai, dry roast the Moong dal till it is golden brown. Do this on low flame and stir it continuously to avoid uneven browning.

Cool this and grind this into a fine powder using a mixer. We used the flour mill to powder this so it is smooth and soft. Grinding it in the flour mill saves lot of energy and time.

If you dont find a mill near you, you can certainly use a Mixer Grinder. If you are grinding it at home, sieve the powder before making the ladoos.

Powder the sugar also in a mixer. Melt the ghee in a kadai.

In a mixing bowl, add the powdered Yellow moong dal, powdered sugar and melted ghee and mix well.

Once it is warm, start making ladoos. To make the ladoo, take a small portion of the mixture in your hands and press them. You will have this tasty ladoo.