Quick recipes - for busy days

I've been so behind in participating in any cooking-events lately. The moment I see an event announcement, I get all geared up and enthusiastic about participating, but my energy plunges down like a torn balloon as days go by. And by the time I realize, its already too late to contribute. This has become my habit in the last several months. I'm sure I missed quite a few interesting events that I could have contributed. So, now I'm into this resolution mood of participating in all cooking events, ok - atleast as much as I can, from now on. Don't know how long this energy will last, but atleast wanted to try.

So, after browsing through some of the great events hosted by some great bloggers, I started sorting by the end date and I noticed Mahimaa's 15 min cooking event is nearing its deadline. Ever since I saw her announcement, I've been thinking about participating in her event, because quick-meals are my preferred meals! So this was a perfect come back for me! But as usual I was delaying for no reason. Finally I'm all set to join the event! Thanks Mahimaa, for hosting this event! Here are some of the easy recipes that can be put together in a few minutes.

Purple Shake!

A perfect summer time shake with vibrant grape flavours and frozen yogurt. Long back I tasted Grape Milk Shake in a restaurant and fell for it right away. I thought the combination was quite unique and best of all, I loved the color. Since then, I've been making it at home. But the recipe has undergone some evolution and has now become a low-calorie version, but still offers the same great taste!

Ingredients (for 2 glasses):

• Grape Concentrate (Frozen/Undiluted) - 3 tbsp
• Vanilla Frozen Yogurt (non-fat) - 1 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Low fat milk - 1 cup
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

Procedure:

• Run all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until they form a nice frozen mixture. Serve immediately in glasses, topped with a scoop of frozen yogurt.

Corriander leaves with Gram flour - A different side dish!

Fresh herbs are a wonder to cook with! Nothing can beat the fresh smelling corriander leaves and their nice zingy color! Given a chance, I would add them to anything I cook. This dish is a dish that contains corriander leaves as the main vegetable iteslf! Quite an interesting recipe that I learnt from my friend, and have been a fan of this dish ever since I tasted it for the first time from her lunch box! After trying a few times I think I'm getting better in matching her taste. The key is to add the right amount of gram flour (besan). A very simple, yet tasty dish.

Ingredients:

• Chopped corriander leaves - 2 cups
• Garlic - 2 small pods
• Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Gram Flour - 1/2 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Procedure:

• Chop the corriander leaves and garlic finely. I run both of them together in a food processor for a few mins.
• Heat oil in a pan, season with cumin seeds. Once they pop, add chilli powder and salt in the oil. After a few seconds, add the corriander leaves and garlic and mix well.
• Add salt, cover and cook for 2-3 mins. Do not add water.
• Increase the heat, and add gram flour in batches until the mixture becomes without moisture. Don't add too much flour, or it may spoil the taste. I hope the picture gives an idea on the consistency.

Serve hot with Rice / Rotis.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Curry

Another of those quick and easy ones that I learnt from my same friend! Again, my first encounter with this dish was from her lunch-box and I've now made it quite a few times. I love pumpkin especially in a sweet form. This is a little different and I love the combination of Sweet and Spicy flavors.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 2 cups (cut into cubes)
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Jaggery - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Heat oil in a pan, season with mustard and fenugreek seeds.
• Add the pumpkin cubes, chilli powder, garam masala and salt.
• Cover and cook for 5 - 7 mins. Pumpkins usually cook faster and release lots of moisture. So, don't add water.
• Add the jaggery and cover for a couple more mins. Increase the heat and stir periodically until the water completely evaporates and pumpkins are soft and tender.

I enjoy this with Rice and Sambar.

Spicy Green Buttermilk

Its summer time and I can't ignore buttermilk! I made this over the weekend after a tiring day. If you are a spice lover, this buttermilk version is for you. Ofcourse, you can also make a less spicy version of the same recipe, by altering the spices. I enjoy it as medium spicy.

Ingredients:

• Curd / Yogurt - 1 cup
• Water - 3 cups
• Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 pinches
• Ginger - 1 inch
• G.chillies - 2 small
• Curry leaves - 3
• Corriander leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped)
• Salt - as required.

Procedure:

• Grind everything together in a blender except the curd. You can add some water to make it a smooth paste.
• Then add the curd, remaining water and blend for a few mins.
• Serve chilled, garnished with curry leaves.
  

All these entries go to Mahimaa's 15 min cooking event and EC's WYF - Quick Meal event.