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.

BUTTER CHICKEN

Without my usual ramblings, today's post is just going to be an appreciation post for the Blogger-aid team who are doing an awesome job. They came up with a fund-raising effort of publishing a cookbook with recipe contributions from we all bloggers! How thoughtful! Kudos to those three ladies who came up with this idea. The funds raised from this will be donated to School Meals, a programme of World Food Programme (WFP). Ever since I read this announcement, I've been waiting to contribute to blogger aid. But as usual I had other distractions and I almost missed the deadline. Fairly late in the game, last week I was going through a myriad of recipes from my very own recipe treasure to figure out what to submit. It was tough to pick a original recipe that I have not posted on my blog yet. Well, I finally decided on this Butter Chicken Recipe that mom used to make often. I almost forgot this recipe in the recent years, and it was a pleasant surprise when I saw it in my cookbook.

It was not until I made it today that I remembered how much I had loved it while growing up. Whenever this dish was made there were no leftovers. A vibrant chicken dish with an awesome blend of spices! I thought this may be an ideal dish to contribute for the cookbook. And the interesting part is not to reveal the recipe in my post! I have just posted a couple of pictures of the dish and will leave it to you on guessing the ingredients and recipe :) To see the recipe, you have to purchase the cookbook that will be on sale on Amazon around Nov-Dec 2009 timeframe. I've seen a lot of delicious recipes already been contributed by my blogger friends to Blogger-aid and I can't wait to buy the cookbook!

See you all in my next post with my usual chit-chats and ramblings :)

Kothamalli Adai

Hope you all are having a wonderful Navarathiri weekend! It was a pleasure this weekend to visit all my friends' house and see their cute and beautiful Golu bommais. Navarathiri is one of my favorite traditions in our culture as I feel that it gives lots of opportunities to be creative and artistic! And, this is one festival that the kids can also actively participate and show their imaginative skills.

My favorite season fall has officially begun. To me, Spring is the season of a new beginning while Autumn is the season of transition. Eventhough it daunts me that summer is gone, Autumn is still my favorite time of the year for several reasons. Makes me feel excited that its time to celebrate Navarathiri and Diwali with friends and family. I love the warmth tinged with the chill. I love pumpkins... Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Soup - everything pumpkin. I love photography in fall when I capture those lovely colors. I love striding on the carpets of those brown and crispy leaves. To me, fall is about wearing cozy & comfy clothes, but yet not freezing in the wintery bitter cold. I welcome Autumn as it is...

Nowadays, first thing in the morning, I enjoy my coffee in our patio while breathing that cool fresh air. This keeps me fresh enough for the rest of the day. This morning, after nursing my coffee for about 30 mins, I was all geared up to make a good breakfast. I've been thinking about making adai for the past several days, but as usual kept postponing it because of time constraints. Adai is one of my favorites as it can be made instantly. No waiting required for fermenting the batter. I soak it overnight and I grind it just before breakfast. Kothamalli Adai is a recipe that I learnt from a cookbook, its pretty much the same as regular adai except a few ingredients.

This recipe and my Corriander Rice recipe goes to Siri's Herb Mania - Corriander Event.

Ingredients

• Tuvar Dal - 1/4 cup
• Raw Rice - 1/4 cup
• Idli rice (par boiled) - 3/4 cup
• Red Chillies - 3 or 4
• Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Garlic - 2 pods
• Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
• Cloves - 2
• Corriander leaaves - 1 cup (chopped)
• Onions - 1/2 cup (chopped)
• Curry Leaves - a few

Procedure

• Soak the dal and rice overnight. Grind with Red chillies, fennel seeds, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, corriander leaves and salt. Need not be too fine.
• Transfer to a bowl and mix it with water to a dosa batter consistency.
• Add finely chopped onions and curry leaves.
• Pour the batter in a circular shape on a hot pan. Pour a little oil around and turn it over when crisp. Transfer to a plate.

Serve hot with Tomato chutney.

Rava Pongal

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments and wishes you had left in my previous post. I'm doing fine. Yet, I know I'm late for my next post :) But, it was not because of mere laziness or procrastination, but actually I had to travel out of town for official reasons and my kitchen was "officially" closed last week. Though I had some marvelous food during that time, I sure was missing home food and I'm so glad to be back home and enjoy my favorite comfort food.

There's nothing like having the time to sit down and have a good breakfast. I wish I had the time to have a relaxed breakfast every morning. But so far its been just a big daydream for me. My mornings are typically - "take a bite, do this; take another bite, do that" type of mornings. I actually sometimes skip breakfast to avoid morning rush. I hope someday I'll get into the routine of calm and relaxed mornings, may be a BIG hope! But to recompense this, I prefer to have a relaxed breakfast atleast in the weekends. I mostly prepare a proper traditional breakfast atleast for one morning in the weekend, and also often we go out for breakfast too. My day starts fresh when I chit-chat with a cup of coffee and good breakfast.

This weekend we enjoyed our favorite breakfast - Pongal with chutney and sambar. To me, one of the intimidating tasks of getting married is making the food your spouse grew up with. Mom cooks pongal for a little extra time so that the rice and dal are blended well, but my mother-in-law makes a version that's similar to pulav consistency. I like both versions, but prefer mom's way of making pongal, may be because thats the one I loved and grew up with. And my hubby prefers his mom's version, probably for the same reason. I learnt making his mom's version in a hard way. I still remember a day after we landed in the US, and while I was still almost zero in cooking, my hubby once wanted me to cook his mom's version of pongal. He had no idea of what he was getting into :) I made it and it was a disaster. It came out too stiff and no where close to pongal. I managed by adding more water and re-cooking it, but still the consistency was messed up. Well, after a lot of practice I can now say that I'm far better in making pongal, both versions.

Rava pongal is a totally new version of pongal to me. The recipe for this is from a booklet that came with a rava packet! Its interesting to me when these tiny pamphlets have some really delicious recipes and also very unique recipes that are not popular in other cookbooks. I made this the first time this weekend and just loved it. It came out pretty good and I'm sure I will try this often from now on. Goes well with chutney/sambar.

This entry goes for Aparna's WBB:Grains in my breakfast Event.

Ingredients:

• Rava - 1 cup
• Moong dal (pasi paruppu) - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Cashew nuts - 10
• Pepper corns -1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Ginger - 1 inch (minced)
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - a few

Procedure:

• Pressure cook the dal, strain and save the stock and set aside the dal.
• Roast the rava in a tsp of ghee and set aside.
• In the same pan, add the remaining ghee and oil and season with pepper corns and cumin seeds.
• Then add the cashews, ginger and curry leaves and fry until cashews turn golden brown.
• Add two and half cups of the following mixture - water, milk, the strained water from dal.
• Add salt and let the mixture boil. Then add the roasted rava and stir in medium heat until the rava is well cooked and reaches a semi solid consistency.
• Now add the cooked dal, mix and cover in low heat for 5 mins.
• Add some ghee on the top and mix well.

Serve hot with coconut chutney, sambar.

Italian cheese bread

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Right after I posted my previous entry, I came down with a nasty cold and cough. Perhaps it was the sudden drop in temperature in our area and obviously a flu season too. Everyone in our family took turns to share their cold with each other. I was glued to the tissues for quite a few days and then passed it on to my daughter as well. Its been an exhausting two weeks. Apologies for not visiting all of your blogs, I'm sure I missed some great recipes. Hoping to catchup slowly in the next few days.

With no energy left, the last thing I wanted to do was cooking, so nothing to post as well. We've been pretty much managing with some simple home-made food and by doing take-outs. Finally, since last weekend I am slowly into my normal routine. This is a quick snack that I made last weekend. Its my daughter's favorite and she loves the cheese in it. I learnt this recipe from an Italian cookbook and I've heard a lot of good comments about this dish whenever I make it for a potluck party as an appetizer. It uses authentic and simple italian ingredients, and doesn't require any visit to a speciality store. I make it often as a tea-time snack for the weekends especially when we are in that "munching" mood.

This entry goes for Meeta's La Cuciana Italiana event , Hima's Sunday Snack Event, Sangeeth's Eat Healthy-Calcium Rich Event as well as EC's WYF - Salad/Starter/Soup event.

Ingredients:

• Bread loaf - 1 (I use the italian herbs loaf that also has some poppy seeds on it)
• Butter - 2 tsp
• Italian herb seasoning - 1 tsp
• Mozarella cheese (shredded) - 1 cup
• Salt and pepper - as required
• Garlic - 3 large cloves minced
• Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp (Optional)

Procedure:

• Microwave the butter and minced garlic for a min.
• Cut the bread loaf into 1 inch slices.
• On each slice, first apply the garlic/butter mixture, then sprinkle some salt and pepper above.
• Then spread the shredded cheese and finally garnish with the italian herb seasoning. Bake the slices for 5-10 mins in a 350 degrees temp or until you see the top portion turned golden brown.
• Serve hot after sprinkling with some crushed red peppers (optional).

Hyderabadi Dalcha

Whenever I decide to go on diet, something comes and blocks me and makes it impossible to carry on. After feasting heavily for 2 weeks in the cruise, I was determined to diet for the next few weeks. I had all that fresh and energetic enthu going on for the first 2 weeks. If you are a regular reader of my blog, I mentioned that I even began planning my menu for the week ahead. Well, I should say I am still sticking on to my menu plans for most of the part, but dieting "vow" had disappeared long back! This dish is the proof :)

It all started when I happened to taste a mutton fry dish in a restaurant recently and I somehow wasn't that impressed. The spices weren't blending well with the meat. I could smell the raw flavour and plenty of hard-to-bite chunks. I had a feeling that I make a better version of the same dish! Don't get me wrong about my pride, but I believe that making a meat dish is an art by itself. It requires adding the right amount of spices to suppress the raw meat flavor, but at the same time not letting the spices overtake the vibrant meat taste. Balance is the key, and apparently that restaurant dish didn't have that balance. Since then, for some reason, the thought of preparing my favorite mutton dish at home was whirling in my head. May be perhaps I just wanted to get-rid of that restaurant taste that was still lingering in me and replace with any of my favorite dish :) , although I kept postponing it because of my 'dieting' aspiration.

But last week, the moment I spotted some fresh goat meat in the grocery, I knew I was in trouble. Its hard to resist when I see those freshly cut goat meat with nice stewy bones. Moreover the after-effect of my restaurant experience insisted me to buy it right away and there ends my dieting drama!

Alright, moving to the recipe.. I have to admit that I didn't have high hopes when I saw this recipe in a cook-book long before. My first instinct was - Meat and Dal? Really? Then I went on convincing myself - Come on, its a popular dish and its been tasted and approved by many, so it has to be good. And, I was not wrong. I love the unique flavor of lentils and meat and enjoy it more with plain rice than briyani. I've made it quite a few times so far and it gets better everytime! The secret is adding the right amount of dal.

This entry goes for Mona's RCI - Authentic Hyderabadi Cuisine.


Ingredients:

• Goat meat - 1/2 lb (with bones)
• Chana dal - 3 tbsp
• Tuvar dal - 3 tbsp
• G.chillies - 4
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger/Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Corriander powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 2 tsp
• Corriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Curry leaves - a few
• Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom - a few each

Procedure:

• Chop the goat meat and remove just the bone pieces separate. Pressure cook the bone pieces with a little ginger/garlic paste, turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp black pepper powder.
• Soak the dals for atleast 15 mins and pressure cook them together with some turmeric powder, curry leaves and half of the corriander leaves.
• Heat oil in a wide pan, season with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Once they pop, add chopped onions, g.chillies, ginger/garlic paste and fry for a few mins.
• Add the remaining corriander leaves and curry leaves and fry for a couple more mins.
• Add all the remaining powders along with tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes lose shape.
• Add the remaining mutton pieces (raw), salt and fry for 5 mins.
• Now add the stock from the cooked bones and let it boil for a few mins.
• Finally add the cooked dal and pressure cook the mixture together until the mutton gets cooked completely (time depends on the pressure cooker).
• Open the pressure cooker and add the tamarind paste and the cooked bone pieces, some water as required and let it boil for a few mins.
• Garnish with chopped corriander leaves.

Serve hot with plain rice or briyani.

Rava Laddus and a Click

Its friday.. My mind always gets a little lazy at this time of the week no matter how busy I am. Just the thought of friday makes me feel lethargic and sluggish. So, just in an effort to increase my productivity I decided to manage a few hours in the kitchen today. I knew I had plans to participate in quite a few events and its only a couple of days left but I've no idea what to make. I was glancing through various cookbooks from my shelf and found quite a few interesting recipes. But most of them required ingredients that I don't usually stock in my pantry. It required a mini visit to the grocery store. That was a good reason for me to postpone those dishes for some other time.

Finally after a lot of reasearch and thinking, I decided to close my cookbook and make my own favorite Rava Laddus. It was a good decision:) Laddus came out phenomenal! Sweet and soft with those yummy flavors. I have a liking for laddus since childhood and that liking still continues. Our Deepavali wasn't complete without rava laddus. Grandma used to make it delicious and I've managed to follow her traditional recipe many times. About a few months before, I tasted these laddus from a friend and it had a slightly different flavor, I just loved it! The secret ingredient was coconut! Adding just a little bit of coconut gave it a different twist and I fell for it right away. Since then I've been modifying my grandma's recipe just by adding a little coconut to it. I like all kinds of laddus, but rava laddus are the only ones that I have tried making at home. May be beacuse of the simple ingredients and the straight-forward method.

This recipe goes for Mythreyees's Sweet Series: Chikki and Laddu event.

Ingredients

• Rava - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Cardamom pods - 5
• Cashews - 10
• Shredded Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Milk - 3 tbsp

Procedure

• Heat the pan and dry roast the rava until nice aroma comes. Set aside.
• Remove the skins from cardamom and take just the seeds out. Grind them together with sugar to a fine powder. Mix them with the rava.
• Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan and roast the cashews. Add this to the rava mixture.
• In the same pan, add another tsp of ghee and fry the coconut until they become golden brown. Add to rava mixture.
• Mix together well and start making the laddus by adding a little ghee and warm milk to each laddu while making it so that the ball holds on tight.

I also managed to make Honey Lemonade, a refreshing and healthy drink for summer. I often make this at home as my daughter just loves honey! The recipe is quite simple. Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup honey in a pan. Heat until the honey dissolves fully. Cool and then add 4 cups of cold water, a few ice cubes and a pinch of salt. Mix well and serve chilled.

This entry goes for EC's AFAM:Lemon as well as Jai and Bee's CLICK event.

Honey Lemonade

Pista Kulfi

We were at home this past weekend catching up with our friends over phone and emails after our vacation. Also finished my groceries and loaded up my fridge for the upcoming week and actually I had some time to cook a traditional lunch after a few weeks! Surprisingly, I also got into this mood of planning the dinner menu for all five working days next week. I normally won't do it, and even if I do, I don't end up maintaining it :) But perhaps, may be my 2 week break is giving me all this enthusiasm! Don't know how long my enthu will last.. But, so far so good! I've been going as per plan for the past 2 days and it helps indeed. Atleast, it lets me drive back home peacefully listening to my favorite music, instead of debating myself about the dinner menu.

This year, for some reason August is cooler than it should be. Don't know why. I know that theoritically there are a few more summer weeks left before all my short sleeve blouses and skirts get replaced with my sweaters and pants in my closet. But oddly I had to sleep with my big blanket last night. I liked it, but mentally not fully ready for fall and winter yet. So still maintaining to cook some thing summery in my kitchen often, just to maintain my summer gusto. Coincidentally, Srilekha's Ice-Creams and Milkshakes event came up at the right time giving me another opportunity to make a summer favorite!

Pista Kulfi has been my family favorite for a long time. Back in my childhood, I remember enjoying kulfi only in "Aavin", a popular dairy store in my place. But about a few years ago I learnt this awesome recipe from one of my friends - actually this recipe is a combination from my sister and my friend. Both had slightly different versions and I combined them to make it my own way. Its been coming out delicious every time and we all thoroughly enjoy it. If you have the right ingredients, its super easy! If you do have those freezer pops, you can make it with ice-cream sticks.. but we just enjoy it in a bowl as well..

Ingredients

• Evaporated Milk - 1 cup
• Sweetened Condensed mik - 1 cup
• Half and Half - 1/2 cup
• Cool whip - 1/2 cup (you will find this in the freezer section)
• Green food color - 2 drops (optional)
• Crushed Cardamom pods - 5
• Pista, Walnuts - 1/4 cup

Procedure

• Combine and whip all of the above ingredients except nuts in a big bowl for a few mins. Bring the cool whip to room temperature before mixing.
• Freeze it for an hour. Remove and now garnish with the nuts. Freeze again overnight.
• Leave it outside for 5 mins before serving.

Thai Basil Curry with Tofu... and a short break

Wow, I can't believe its August already! Just a few more summer weeks left! Ever had that experience of waiting and waiting for the July 4th weekend, and after that everything just works so fast and time just flies by?! It happens to me every year. To me, summer starts only from July 4th holiday weekend. Until then, the weather is so unpredictable in my region that we can't have any major plans outdoors. Then, after the July holiday weekend, everything just clicks together and time flies off! And here we are in August already.

Well, one good thing thats coming up in August is my long waited vacation! This will be my last post before my 2 week vacation starting tomorrow. We will be sailing on a cruise ship for the next two weeks to Carribean islands. Before I go on vacation, I wanted to post a recipe from many of my blogging friends' favorite cuisine - Thai! I thank you all so much who took time to participate in my poll that was going on for a couple of months in my blog. The poll was to figure out your favorite cuisine other than Indian. Once again, fabulous response from you all and I was overwhelmed to see more than 75 votes recorded in just a few weeks! Its exhilarating to see the interest and enthusiasm expressed in many such ways by you all. Thanks again!

Here are the results from the poll, starting from top to bottom - Thai, Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican. I was extra thrilled to watch my favorite cuisine continuously stay on top for all 8 weeks :) Yes, Thai is my favorite food next to Indian and I am so glad to know its a favorite to many of you as well. There's such an exuberance in Thai food that offers those unique vibrant flavors. I love the special aroma from those basil leaves and peanut sauce! Yummmm.. Being a south Indian, I do have a special liking for coconuts and no wonder the zest of coconut milk in Thai food brings that dribble in me :)

I made this Thai Red curry with Tofu and basil leaves today. It came out scrumptious and we enjoyed with fried rice as well as plain rice. The best part is, its startlingly simple to make! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Yellow Pepper - 1 (small sized)
• Red Pepper - 1 (small sized)
• Tofu - 12 - 15 cubes (your choice)
• Thai Red curry paste - 2 tbsp (You will find it in all grocery stores)
• Basil leaves - 10 - 12
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Coconut milk - 1 can ( or 2 cups)

Procedure:

• Chop the peppers in 2 inch long stripes and set aside.
• Chop the basil leaves and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a pan, and add the peppers. Stir fry for 3 - 5 mins.
• Add the curry paste and fry on medium heat for 5 - 8 mins so that the peppers are almost cooked.
• Add chopped basil leaves and fry for a min.
• Add salt, coconut milk and 1 cup of water and bring it to boil (you can adjust water according to your required consistency).
• When it begins to boil, add tofu cubes and let it boil for 3 - 5 mins.

Yummy Thai red curry is ready! Serve hot with Fried rice or Plain rice.

I am sending this recipe for:

Ammalu's "Herb Mania - Basil " ,

Sri's "Curry Mela",

Sia's "JFI-Soya",

Sunshinemom's "Food in color" which is RED this month and

EC's "WYF - Color in Food" which is also RED this month.

I also want to write a few lines about my awards that are long waiting to be posted and shared. I thank my good new friend Rashmi for passing me the "Blogging Friends Forever" award. Thanks so much for remembering me, Rashmi!

The following rules apply to this award:
1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I would like to pass this on to my dear friends:

Cham

JZ

Ramya

Sireesha

Pallavi (newest visitor to my blog)

I also want to thank Sukanya for passing me the rocking gal award! Thank you so much Sukanya! Its very exciting to recieve this :) Sorry but I am so late in posting this award.. I'll soon pass this award.

Next I want to thank my sweet friend JZ for passing me little luck through the Magic lamp! Thanks JZ ! I would like to pass the luck to Laavanya, Ramya, Cham and Suma.

Enjoy the awards friends!

Baby Corn Pakoras with Ginger coffee

I love lunch time. To me it's more than just about food. I usually skip breakfast in working days and tend to take an early lunch... and so, I always wait for lunch hour. Also its a great excuse for me to take an extended break from work and chit-chat with friends, while getting recharged with some great food. In summer it gets extra special for me as I take a leisure walk around my office building enjoying some fresh air right after my lunch. It greatly refreshes me to handle the rest of the day. So, I never skip lunch hours even if I'm extremely busy at work. While getting the work done is important, I feel that certainly there should be some break time to just refuel myself, so that I am more productive for the rest of the day. While writing this, I remember a friend of mine who used to work with me in my previous office. During lunch time he would grab his lunch box and drive to the airport which is about 10 mins drive from our office. He then finds a spot outside the airport from where he can watch the planes take-off and land while having lunch! It used to be his favorite time of the day! He wouldn't miss it no matter how busy he is at work. He said he enjoys that a lot as his own private time. I used to admire his habit and was quite impressed the way he was creating a "mini-vacation" time everyday just for himself.

Things were different in India though. Back in India, my favorite time used to be coffee break instead of lunch time! May be perhaps, I used to have home-made breakfast before leaving to work, so I wouldn't starve until lunch. Mine would be a quick lunch most of the time. I worked in India for a few years before moving to the U.S, and we all friends at office used to enjoy going out for a short coffee break! There were plenty of snack shops/coffee shops around our office, and we used to enjoy hot and fresh onion pakoras, samosas, veg. puffs etc with coffee. To me that was a good fun time with friends. I miss those good old days.

Well, about this recipe now.. I made this over the weekend while we were mostly in a mood to munch. A very quick snack if you happen to have some baby corns in your fridge. It came out great and was a perfect snack for the evening. We enjoyed the pakoras with "Sukku Malli Coffee" - coffee spiced with ginger and corriander. I love this coffee and I used to have in India on road-side coffee shops. A very healthy drink made of dried ginger powder, corriander seeds powder and jaggery. Its known to help digestion.

The recipe goes for the Rushina's Pakora Event and this picture of Sukku Malli Coffee goes for Jai & Bee's Click Event.

Ingredients

• Baby Corns - 20
• Ginger/garlic paste - 2 tsp
• G.chillies - 1 (optional)
• Maida/All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
• Corn flour - 1 tbsp
• Besan - 1 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt

Procedure

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl by sprinkling water little by little. Mixture should be thick and stiff. Should NOT be watery like bajji batter.
• Deep fry in oil.

Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.

Cornflakes Kheer - Kids favorite

Whenever we're not having friends over the weekend, our weekends usually turn out to be lethargic.. rolling out from bed late, late breakfast or brunch, a few movies enjoyed with some mini treats etc. This weekend was once such kind - a calm and relaxed weekend. With nothing much to do, we were glued to our couches watching a few of our long pending movies, munching some snacks now and then, and stayed away from the kitchen for most of the part. Well, I did prepare a mini meal for my daughter for lunch, but nothing elaborate. In the evening we went out for dinner and did some shopping for our vacation that's coming up next week. It was indeed relaxing. Sometimes I do need this kind of time once in a while, just for me and my family. Sure it does feel good.

But don't know why, I often do get into a mood for making desserts during this kind of a weekend :) May be when we are idle, we are in a mood for munching more often and my dessert bells start to ring suddenly! I'm not a big snack lover, but I do love desserts and I can have them during any time of the day. For some odd reason, I consistently seem to have some space in my tummy reserved for dessert, even after feasting occassionally on a heavy dinner. I had made some baby corn pakoras for snack time today (will soon post the recipe), but I felt like having a dessert right after that and my taste-buds were all ready to taste something sweet! Obviously we were taking it easy this weekend, so didn't want to spend more time in the kitchen. Therefore I decided to make a quick and easy kheer and moreover I haven't made kheer in a looong time too. This is a kheer I learnt from a cookbook long back and it's my daughter's favorite.

This entry goes for Mythreyee's Cool Sweet Series.

Ingredients

• Plain Cornflakes - 1 cup
• Whole milk - 3 cups
• Sugar - 1.5 cups (or your choice, depending on how sweet you need)
• Cardamom pods - 3
• Cashews - a hand full
• Ghee - 2 tsps

Procedure

• Roast the cornflakes in a tsp of ghee and set aside. Let it cool for sometime then grind it to a coarse powder (not too fine).
• Heat milk and sugar in a pan and bring to boil. Add the cornflakes powder, crushed cardamoms and simmer for 15 mins. Adjust sugar to your taste. You can also add a pinch of salt to enhance the sweet flavor.
• Heat 1 tsp ghee in a separate pan, roast the cashews and add it to the kheer. Mix and remove from heat after 2 mins.

Serve chilled.

Chilli Paneer

With my sister's family visiting us the past weekend, last few days were busy, but fun! It was great to take off from work and relax for a couple of days by rambling outside, eating in restaurants and enjoying with her 9 month old adorable baby. But the most difficult question of the day is always "What do you want to have for dinner?". I really love to have home-made food atleast once a day even though we're outside most of the time. Simple food is what we all wanted, but just coming up with what to cook is always hard. Sometimes we start talking about it right after we have coffee in the morning, and the discussion continues throughout the day. Its like that tricky topic that no one wants to decide :) Then I came to know that my sister's mother-in-law (who had also visited us this time), makes this awesome paneer recipe that becomes anyone's favorite right at the first time. I knew right away that I wanted to learn the recipe for sure because I really enjoy all kinds of indo-chinese food and then again I do love anything made with paneer too. So this is a 2-in-1 jackpot for me!

I've slowly started realizing the fact that fusion food does work indeed, even though you have a feeling of losing the authenticity. Its all about the demand and the liking of food by people. This recipe is no exception. In this recipe, paneer sounded like a substitute for tofu and the term indo-chinese made literal sense to me. I've tasted this recipe back in India, but never tried it on my own. Its really fabulous to have a chance to help and watch the step-by-step preparation for any new dish, instead of reading and trying to follow the instructions from a book. The dish came out so flavorful and spicy and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. Aunty, if you are reading this.. thanks!

Paneer is a classic ingredient that many of us are familiar with and enjoy eating! When I heard about Vandana's Paneer event, I was all geared up to make quite a few of my favorite paneer dishes for the event. Well, apparently I hadn't kept up to my plans until yesterday and don't know if I would be making any more paneer dishes in the next week too. Somehow I managed to atleast watch and learn this awesome paneer dish yesterday. So, here goes my entry for the event.

Ingredients:

• Paneer cubes - 25
• Capsicum - 1 medium
• Onions - 1 medium
• G.chilly - 2
• Ginger - 2 inches
• Garlic - 6 pods
• Chopped Spring Onions - 1 cup
• Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup
• Chilli Sauce, Tomato Ketchup, Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp each
• Corn Flour - 1 tbsp
• Red Chilli flakes - 2 tsp
• Vinegar - 2 tsp

Procedure:

• Shallow fry the paneer cubes on all sides in 2 tsp oil and place it on a paper towel. (You can also use the store bought fried cubed paneer).
• Chop the capsicum into 1 inch long strips and set aside.
• Chop the onions, ginger, garlic very finely. Set aside.
• Chop the g.chillies in round shapes and set aside.
• Save 2 tsps of onions, capsicums and spring onions for later use.
• In a large wide wok, heat oil and first add the chopped ginger and garlic and fry for a min.
• Next add the onions and fry for a few mins. Then add capsicums and fry for a few more mins.
• Add the chopped green onions and fry for a few mins.
• Now add the corn flour, all the sauces one by one, along with vinegar and chilli flakes and fry well.
• Finally add the paneer and mix well. Fry for a few more mins.
• Garnish with the remaining onions, spring onions, capsicums and corriander leaves.

Serve hot with Fried rice or Noodles

YRR - Eggplant Stir Fry

Its that time of the week again, and I can't be more happier. Every thursday is Farmer's market day in our town! To me, summer just wouldn't be summer without visiting farmers market and gazing at those fresh colorful vegetables and fruits. Moreover, I just love to have that freshly squeezed lemonade prepared right in front of me! Even if I don't end up buying vegetables sometimes, I make sure I enjoy the lemonade everytime :) I get fascinated by the way its made by squeezing fresh lemon juice and shaking it together with ice-cubes, water and sugar in a stainless steel shaker jar! Mmm, it tastes divine in that hot sunny afternoon.

On my way back from work today, I stopped at the farmers market as usual and was pleasantly surprised to see fresh Indian eggplants this time. I've never seen Indian eggplants in the farmers market before. Fresh from the yard and cheaper than the regular grocery stores - who wouldn't want to buy there?! I don't know where I got my fascination for eggplants, but lately eggplants and me are best friends! I love them anyway they are made - any traditional Indian way or just even plain roasted eggplants. I'd just had roasted eggplants for lunch during a training session at my office today, but I was perfectly fine to have it for dinner too.

This time I wanted to try one of the eggplant recipes that I had bookmarked a long back. All of them looked utterly delicious and most importantly they are simple to make! I just couldn't make up my mind over which one I want to cook :) I was going back and forth and finally settled on this delicious recipe from Sailu's Kitchen. I keep seeing loads of people leaving great remarks about Sailu's recipes, but this is the first time I am trying her dish. I knew it would come out just perfect and I was not wrong. It was yummy and very flavorful! I would like to send this for Your Recipe Rocks event hosted by Madhuram. You can find the original recipe here. Thanks Sailu for sharing this great recipe! Your recipe really rocks!

I want to also thank my sweet friends JZ and Uma for passing me the Friendship Award! This is very exciting and I feel so good to receive it from you both. You are such good friends and I always love reading your sweet and encouraging comments. Thanks JZ and Uma!

Fish Rice Cakes

Apparently, we all socialize. Especially, after moving away from home, socializing becomes part of life. We meet people, hang out with friends, attend parties, mingle with people from different culture, which gives so much exposure about many things. Food is definitely one of them. I recently read this saying somewhere: Food is not about impressing people, Its about making them feel comfortable. How true! To me, the flavor and taste is what makes me comfortable. Obviously the presentation is what draws our attention towards it, but ultimately taste is what makes it a winner. Ofcourse there are people who are experts in both presentation and cooking as well. In fact, I do know someone like that in my close knit friends circle. I just admire her passion for cooking and also her presentation skills. You give her even a burnt Roti, she will give it an artistic look on the table. I wish I had those skills. Its still a dream for me and I'm hoping one day I'll become better in both! A big hope!

As part of our weekend socializing, I had a couple come in for a tea party today, and I had planned to offer them a few appetizers. Fish rice cake has been in my to-try list for a while. This is yet another recipe that I got from my sister! But this time its from my other sister who lives in India. I've been lately hearing a lot about her awesome fish recipes those she's been mastering for a while. Mom was praising about her fish cutlets and fish fingers that she had made when she recently visited my sister's place. Since then I was tempted to give it a shot and was all set after discussing the recipe with my sis over phone. Recipe sounded too enticing and I couldn't wait to try.

So, when I had invited a couple for a tea party, this fish cakes sounded like a perfect match for an evening tea. Not too heavy, yet not too light either. I had already tried this recipe last week in smaller quantities as I just wanted to get the hang of it and I didn't want to mess up in front of the guests. To be honest, Cutlets are very tricky for me. I have messed them up sometimes, well.. many times :) Somehow, they disintegrate or collapse when I fry them and I was almost about to give up making them. Then after reading a few cookbooks, I learnt that the binding ingredient has to be exactly in the right proportion, and that's the tricky part. Sometimes a complex thing sounds so simple after its explained! This recipe uses rice as the binding agent and I was very cautious in its proportion, and it came out perfectly fine during my trial version as well as during the actual party. Yummy and thanks dear sis for this great recipe, my friends just loved it!

This entry also goes for Eat healthy - Protein Rich hosted by Sangeeth.

Ingredients

• Tuna/Sardines in Oil - 2 cans (you get it in all grocery stores, the cans are flat and rectangled). Or you can also just steam cook a tuna steak (or any fish) and mince them finely. Make sure it comes to about a cup after mincing.
• Onions - minced - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1.5 inches
• Garlic - 2 medium cloves
• G.Chilly- 1
• Fresh dill leaves - minced - 1 tbsp
• Chilli powder, corriander powder, cumin powder - 1 tsp each
• Turmeric and Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp each
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Cooked left over rice - 1 cup

Procedure

• If you have a food processor, toss in the onions, garlic, ginger and g.chilly and give it a run. This will perfectly mince the ingredients as required. Otherwise, you can chop all these ingredients very finely.
• Mash the cooked rice so that they are out of shape. I actually ran this also in food processor separately.
• Heat oil in a pan, add the minced ingredients and fry until onions turn golden brown.
• Add dill leaves and fry for a min. You will get a nice aroma. Now add all the spice powders along with salt and fry in medium heat for 4-5 mins.
• Then add the fish, some oil from the can and fry it in medium heat for 3 mins.
• Transfer the contents to a wide bowl. Add the rice and lemon juice and mix it well to a dough consistency. Add and adjust salt.
• Make your desired shapes for cutlets and shallow fry on a pan with oil.

Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.

Mango Fruit Punch

It's so much fun when I discover a new recipe to add to my blog. When my sister told me about this recipe over phone, it sounded delicious and I had the sense of the taste pretty much. One of the great things we all sisters possess in common, is the passion for sharing recipes! If we happen to try out a new recipe and if the end result is impressive, we can't wait to share with each other! Its an enjoyable moment. Its even more enjoyable to share the secrets of doing little twists and tweaks to the original recipe and make it even more delicious! After we all sisters came away from our home, the curiosity for learning new recipes has grown in each one of us. Obviously, the more you get involved in cooking, the more the curiosity for learning grows! Also, each one of us are happening to meet so many friends, attend parties, read magazines, which are sources for countless new recipes. Sharing recipes has always been fun! And honestly, that has been one of the key motivating factors for me to start on this blog venture. What a way to share and learn recipes! I originally thought my blog would atleast be useful to share recipes among our sisters and immediate family members, which can avoid explaining over phone and writing them down everytime. I never ever thought this would grow beyond what I imagined! Just the feel of it is so exciting!

Alright, about this recipe... As I said, this is a recipe that I learnt from my sister. She told that she made this once for a potluck party. I tried this yesterday and we just loved it! She is absolutely right, this is a great potluck dish. So simple to make, and you can either serve it for a drink or for a dessert. Mango being my favorite fruit, I was happy to see Mango Mania started by Meeta. I see mangoes everywhere these days! It calls upon my forgotten passion for mangoes. This is one good dessert that makes me indulge into that passion!

Ingredients

• Mangoes - 2
• Mango Pulp - 1 can (850 gm)
• Diced mixed fruits like apple, pineapple, grapes (avoid bananas as it will become too soggy) - 1 cup
• Milk - 2 cups
• Sprite - 1/2 litre

Procedure:

• If you do not wish to use canned mango pulp, you can make pulp from about 4 fresh mangoes, by blending them to a puree. You can add 1 cup of water while blending.
• Peel and dice the mangoes, set aside.
• Mix the mango puree, diced mangoes and diced mixed fruits with milk in a large bowl. Soak this overnight in fridge well covered.
• Add sprite, ice cubes before serving.

YRR - Mango Pulisseri

Morkozhambu (kadi) is one of those traditional "passed thru generations" type of dishes in my place. No tamilian festival day is complete without morkuzhambu for lunch.. I can't forget the times like Tamil Varusha pirappu, Adi perukku, Vijayadhasami etc. when there's a special menu in our house. Strictly vegetarian dishes are enforced on festival days and there has to be a main kuzhambu (gravy), atleast a couple of vegetable side dishes, with rasam, appalam, vadai and payasam. On special days we have lunch on banana leaf and I used to love those days where we all sisters sit in a circle and enjoy the elaborate south indian feast!

There are a bunch of reasons why I like Morkuzhambu.. First, it uses very simple ingredients that are always available at home.. No fatty ingredients like butter, ghee or deep fry etc. And lastly, its made of Yogurt.. a healthy ingredient and I just love the flavor of yogurt mixed with spices. Many versions of this dish exist among the tamilians and I've learnt a few different ways to make morkuzhambu with slight variations. One such interesting recipe I came across was this fabulous Mambazha Pulisseri from Mishmash's blog! The first time I saw it, I wondered what do mangoes have to do with Morkuzhambu :) I had never heard of this combination before and was eager to give it a shot sometime. Since last week, with a box of marathon mangoes sitting on my kitchen counter, I was all prepared to make this for the first time.. I exactly made it as mentioned in her blog and it came out just awesome! My hubby loved it and we had a blast for dinner! Thanks shn, for sharing this nice recipe! This will sure be a treat for all morkuzhambu/kadi lovers.

As this dish could be enjoyed with Rotis too I would like to send this to Your Recipe Rocks started by Madhuram and... Yogurt being a key ingredient in this dish, I'm also sending this to Yogurt event hosted by Siri. Also, I would like to thank all of you who voted for my poll that was going on for a few months in my blog. That was really helpful and it was amazing to see that there were equal votes for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians continuously for the whole 5 months! Also, there's another one I've just started today. Please feel free to vote and thanks in advance :)

And last but not least, I would like to pass my Yummy blog award to the following friends who post yummy recipes in their blog. In fact, there are lots of my favorite blogs that post yummy mouthwatering recipes and my bookmarks are growing day by day, so it was tough to choose only 4 :

Jeena- She has lots of interesting Indian recipes and I love her step-by-step yummy photos!

Mrs.Srilekha- Recently I stumbled upon her blog and I was excited to see that has very authentic tamilian home-made recipes!

Anusha - I love her fabulous photographs and unique yummy recipes.

Solai - I discovered her blog just a couple of days before and I was pleasantly surprised to see a blog completely specializing on my favorite Chettinad cuisine! All recipes are fabulous and yummy and I can't wait to try some of them!

Congrats, friends!

Tomato Uthappam and another award...

Wow, I haven't posted anything for a week! Am I becoming lazy? I hope not... With weather being so good for the past few days, its becoming a habit for me to stay outside in the evenings for a prolonged time which makes me tired after dinner. Summer is for such a short time in my place and I want to exploit it as much as possible. I absolutely cook, but just no time to post them. I do have a lot of recipes to post and will surely catch up in the next few days..

After nursing my coffee for about 45 mins this morning, I thought of doing a simple express breakfast and then followed by an elaborated lunch! When we're not having friends over for lunch or dinner, my cooking turns out to be a relaxed one as I don't have to multi-task and rush in my cooking. Sometimes I think that the best way to relax in a weekend is to hook-up my I-pod and engross in the kitchen for a few hours! During those times I am in my own world enjoying both my favorites - Music and Cooking! In fact, I've had some of my best outcomes while cooking this way..

While pondering my refregirator today, I saw lots of tomatoes waiting for some attention.. I bought a bulk of them last week in farmer's market thinking of making some tomato thokku (pickle), but as usual kept postponing it.. So, before they get ruined I had to make something good with tomatoes... and I found this fabulous breakfast dish from my recipe book that mom had written for me 10 years ago. I had forgotten about this delight altogether, and after seeing it , I remembered how much I used to love it as a child and I realized that I had not eaten it for almost 8 years! This is an awesome dish that can be made instantly with simple ingredients. I hope you love it as much as I do. I am sending this to Raaga's WBB - Express Breakfasts Event .

Before I post the recipe, I want to thank my good friend Uma, who is been so nice in passing me the "Yummy Blog Award". Thanks Uma, for thinking about me and this means a lot to me!

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos”

As a rule for the receiver of this award, I have to quote my favorite yummy-licious dessert(s) that I have ever prepared/eaten! So, here is my list :)

1. CoconutMilk Caramel Pudding - I tasted this in a potluck and I just loved it! I have no idea about the recipe, and still in the lookout for the recipe, So if someone is familiar about this dish, please do post the recipe :)

2. Paruppu Payasam (My all time favorite dessert)

3. Rava Thengaipal Kesari

4. Cashew Pista Halwa

I will soon pass this award to my dear fellow bloggers.. Stay tuned :)

Alright, here is the recipe for Tomato Uthappam:

Ingredients:

• Tomato Juice - 1 cup (I make it fresh)
• Gram Flour (Kadalai Mavu/Besan) - 1/2 cup
• Rava - 1/2 cup
• Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• G.Chillies - 2
• Onions (Minced finely) - 1/4 cup
• Corriander leaves (chopped finely) - a handful

Procedure:

• Mix all of them fully until you reach a uthappam batter consistency. You can add water if required, but shouldn't be too watery.
• Rub oil in a hot pan, pour 3 tbsp of batter and spread it gently to a small circle.
• Add oil on top and around the uthappam. Let it cook fully on one side on medium heat (usually takes 3 - 4 mins).
• Turn to the other side and cook for 2 more mins. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve hot with Chutney.

Spinach Chicken and a Meme..

Dear friend Sukanya had tagged me for a Meme and here I am with my answers:

1. Last movie u saw in a theater?
Dasavatharam

2. What book are u reading?
Just finished reading a lot of books for my certification. Taking a break from books for next few weeks ;)

3. Favorite board game?
Carrom, Chess.

4. Favorite magazine?
Readers’ Digest and Online Tamil magazines.

5. Favorite smells?
The fresh smell of Jasmine , the Seasoning aroma from my kitchen!

6. Favorite sounds?
My daughter’s voice over the phone.

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Seeing loved ones seriously sick.

8. What is the first thing you think of when u wake?
An excuse to sleep for a few more mins :)

9. Favorite fast food place?
McDonalds – Not only for food, but brings back some good memories.

10. Future child's name?
Will start thinking when I get one :)

11. Finish this statement—'If I had a lot of money I’d....’
...like to do two things:
1. Take a break from work and visit the beautiful places all around the world.
2. Visit the International Space Station and watch the earth spinning!

12. Do u drive fast?
I do, sometimes on the highway that I take to work everyday! But only when:
There’s no traffic and..
I’m in a good mood and..
My favorite song is playing in my car!
But trust me, I am a safe driver..

13. Do u sleep with a stuffed animal?
No! :)

14. Storms–cool or scary?
Storms are very scary for me, but also make me admire Mother Nature.

15. What was your first car?
The first car I started driving is BMW 325i

16. Favorite drink?
Jigarthanda, Kalkandu pal (both of these are street drinks in my hometown)

17. Finish this statement - If I had the time I would…
Catch up with all my good old friends..

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yes, I love them especially in Chinese fried rice.

19. If you could dye your hair any other color, what would be your choice?
I would not dye my hair, I’m very happy with my healthy black hair :)

20. Name all the different cities/towns u have lived in?
Madurai, Surat, Trichy, Raleigh(NC), Dalton(MA), Seattle(WA), Schaumburg(IL).

21. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket, Tennis, Pool.

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Sukanya is a sweet friend whom I have known through blogging. She has a lovely blog and I enjoy reading all her great posts and recipes.

23. Whats under your bed?
My daughter’s hair clips.

24. Would u like to be born as yourself again?
If at all re-birth happens I want to be born only as myself. Known devil is better than unknown angel ;-)

25. Morning person or night owl?
Me, morning person?? No way!

26. Over easy or sunny side up?
Over easy.

27. Favorite place to relax?
There are many. But my best experience has been in Gimmelwald, Switzerland. All that was around our cottage was nothing but country side with snow-capped mountains and beautiful green landscapes! What a place to relax!

28. Favorite pie?
Apple pie.

29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
All flavors except Cherry.

30. Of all the people u have tagged, who is the most likely to respond first?
Don’t know! I’m sure everyone will be willing to respond, but it all depends on their schedule and time :)
Thanks for taking the time to read about me.... To know more about some of my friends I would like to tag:

Meeso - For the love of food
Anitha - Cakes By Anitha
Cham - Spice Club
Sireesha - Mom's Recipes

Have fun!

Now, the recipe.. This is one of those creative recipes that I learnt from mom. I can eat Spinach any way, and Spinach with Chicken is one interesting and healthy combination that I thoroughly enjoy. Ever since I tasted this chicken dish made by mom, its been in my "try and learn" list. This is the first time I'm making it, and came out yummy! I am also sending this for Vandana's Chicken - My favorite event.

Ingredients:

• Spinach - 1 cup
• Corrinader leaves - 1/2 cup
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 3
• Chicken - 2 lbs
• Tomato - 3
• Ginger- chopped - 1tbsp
• Onion - 1
• G.chillies - 6
• Fennel powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Corrinader powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

• Heat oil. Season with Cinnamon and Cloves.
• Once they pop-up, add ginger, g.chillies and fry for a min.
• Then add and fry onions for 2-3 mins.
• Add chicken pieces (cut into 2 inch pieces) and fry for a few mins until they loose the pink color.
• Add corrinader leaves, Spinach (washed and drained) and fry for 5 mins.
• Add chopped tomatoes, all spice powders and salt and fry for a few more mins.
• Cover and cook cook until the chicken is soft.
• When the chicken is fully cooked, increase the heat and fry gently by continously scraping until the chicken turns into dark red or brown color.

Goes well with Rice/Rotis.

Kothu Parottas - A street-smart food!

The memory of those days is still bright in my mind. Madurai, a beautiful evening with orange sky, birds chirping way back to their nests, chime bells from the temple echoing from a distance, and myself in the city center, shopping with my family - This is a very familiar evening for me while growing up. When I am already tired after some extensive walking on the crowded roads, the sight of these road-side eateries tickle my appetite tempting me to munch something immediately. The aroma of the roasted peanuts, fried milagai bajji (Chilli Pakoras), Masala vada, and the ghee smell emerging from hot halwas... hmm, simply sensational! I'm missing them as I write this. Along with these wonderful flavors, my temptation grows when I hear the sound of mincing the parottas on the cast-iron griddles with steel ladles. They do it with a rhythm that catches anyone's attention:) I enjoy both the music and the spicy non-veg flavor when I pass-by them.

Madurai thrives on street-food, and is famous for kothu parottas. They are served in a push-cart or a mini restaurant on the road-side called "Kai endhi bhavans" - the close translation is "a restaurant where you eat holding the plates in your hand". You can't expect padded-seats with glass tables or air-conditioned room here. You may find a couple of benches with some loud film music playing and the food comes served in a plate with banana-leaf on the top. The waiter mostly dressed up in a lungi will come and serve the hot and spicy tomato chutney, followed by coconut chutney and finally the main course of idlis, vadas or pongal. Those thick coconut chutneys are so delicious and the taste still loiters in my mouth.

My favorite time for a street-food used to be after a late night movie on our way home. I've had many dinners like that starting with Kothu parottas and Chalna, sometimes Mutton Chukka for the side and ending with a warm Masala milk! There's something so special in the taste that I can't seem to duplicate no matter what. I miss those good days, but I do make sure that I enjoy this thoroughly whenever I visit my hometown until now. We all sisters go together with our families and give it a blast everytime amidst lots of teasing, chatting, giggling etc. If I am given a choice of eating a Pizza/burger on a fast-food place hanging around with friends and chit-chatting OR to go to an upscale restaurant to have a few bites of fine cuisine in a dim light and a quiet ambiance, I would prefer the first one! I'm not telling that I hate fine cuisine, I love to try different cuisines and in fact, we've already finished exploring all kinds of cuisine in our neighborhood. But still the relaxed atmosphere, the sense of freedom and ofcourse the authentic home-made taste is the speciality and that's what attracts many people to street food.

I knew I can't stop writing about it :) Anyways.. When I first saw the title MBP:Street Food hosted by Sia, I couldn't control my excitement.. What an exhilarating theme! I knew I was going to participate for sure and decided on the recipe right away.. My favorite Kothu Parottas! You all may have come across this recipe online many times, but because this dish is so near and dear to my heart, I couldn't think of picking anything else.. I have seen many versions of this recipes as well, but the version posted at Kribha's (thanks Kribha!) site sounded very authentic and enticing. My dear sister recently made the same version at her home and sent me this mouth-watering picture... Sis, if you are reading this... thanks again!

Ingredients:

• Parathas - 3 (I use the readymade layered parathas, also called kerala parathas)
• Eggs - 3
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Garlic - 2 medium pods
• G.Chillies - 1
• Onions - 1 medium
• Tomatoes - 2 medium
• Any Chicken/mutton masala - 2 tsp (you can substitute with chilli, corriander and cumin powders in equal ratio along with 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder)
• Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chicken stock - 1/2 cup (Optional)

Procedure:

• Warm the parathas in microwave and shred them finely. I usually tear them in big pieces and give it a quick run in my food-processor. Comes out perfectly.
• Grind the ginger, garlic, fennel seeds powder and Black Pepper powder together and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large wide pan and fry the onions, g.chillies.
• When onions are fried, add the ground paste and fry for 2-3 mins in medium heat.
• Once you feel the nice aroma, add chopped tomatoes, Chicken masala powder and fry for a few mins. If you are using chicken stock, now is the time to add it.
• Before the paste becomes completely dry, add the eggs, a little salt and fry the mixture gently.
• When the eggs are half fried, add the shredded parathas, salt and fry until the eggs are cooked fully and the parathas are well mixed in the egg spice.
• Finally add a few corriander leaves and mix well.

Serve hot with Chicken/Mutton Chalna.