Roshni's Kitchen: June 2012

Friday, 29 June 2012

Methi Mutter Butter Masala

Methi Malai Mutter is the most popular dish in my blog. We are big fans of Methi in our house. So I wanted to try a new recipe with Methi.

I will make a dish with Methi every week. But I can't for 2 reasons. One, I do not get it unless I go to the Indian store :-) Other reason is the time required to pluck the leaves from the stem. I hate that step. I was working on my bunches today and half way thru I realized I had been putting the stem in my bowl and plucked leaves on the kitchen counter. I was less sad about loosing the plucked leaves and more because I have to clean my bowl of all the stems...

Anyways, all that was worth it as we enjoyed an amazing dish today. We enjoyed it with some Jeera Pulao.

Ingredients

Onion 3
Garlic 5 pods
Tomatoes 4 big
Methi Leaves 2.5 cups
Green Peas 1 cup
Cashews 10
Cumin/Jeera 1 tsp

Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp

Oil, butter and salt

Method of Preparation

1. Pluck all the leaves of Methi from the stem. Wash and keep ready. Some people soak in salt water and drain to avoid the bitter taste. We love that taste and I do not do anything to take that away from Methi

2. Heat some oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a pan. Add cashews. When it starts to brown, add the cumin.

3. When is sizzles add the onions and garlic. Saute till it browns.

4. Add the tomatoes. Saute till it is cooked well.

5. Let it cool and then grind into a fine paste.

6. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil and add the methi leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes.

7. Add the ground paste and green peas. I used frozen peas. I microwaved the peas before adding to the curry.

8. Simmer for a few minutes. Add a little water if required. I added 1/4 cup of water. You can add milk or cream as well.

Serve with Rice or Roti.

Check out other Methi dishes in my blog. Guess I do love Methi :-) Hope you all will enjoy these!!

Methi Malai Mutter
Methi Aloo Banarasi
Aloo Methi Tuk
Methi Roti
Methi Khakra

Linking this to EP - Herbs and spices - Fenugreek Leaves and Green Chilli Event by Julie, hosted by Kaveri

Thursday, 28 June 2012

Aloo Bhindi

I opened my fridge with a plan to make an okra dish. I realized that I did not have enough okra to make a dish for all of us. So switched to this dish... Though it sounds just like a normal dish, it really tasted out of the world. Would highly recommend you trying this. The key is not to add any water. I used to mess up many dishes before by the addition of water where it should not be added. This is definitely one such dish.

Ingredients

Okra/Bhindi/Vendakka 25 cut
Onions 3 sliced
Tomato 3
Potatoes 3 boiled
Curry leaves
Cumin/Jeera 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp (increase for spicy dish)
Coriander Powder 2 tsp
Cumin Powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the okra into 2 or 3 pieces depending on the size of the okra. Heat a little oil in a pan and add the okra and saute till it is cooked. It just takes a few minutes. Keep aside.

2. In the mean while slice the onions. In the same pan, add some more oil. Add cumin and curry leaves. When it sizzles, add the onions. Saute till it starts to brown.

3. Cut the tomatoes into big chunks and add to the onions. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes are done.

4. Cube the boiled potatoes. Add the potatoes and cooked okra and stir gently taking care not to break the potatoes or the okra.

5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with roti.

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Very Berry Milkshake

Made this Berry drink for breakfast. It is a not a regular milkshake as in it does not have any icecream. This is just plain goodness. Blueberries and Strawberries are filled with so much nutrition and the calcium from the milk make it a perfect guilt free drink.

Ingredients

Blueberry 1/2 cup
Strawberry 4
Milk 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation

1. In a mixie/blender, run the blueberries and strawberries. I like them chunky. So I just pulsed it a little bit.

2. Add in the milk and pulse one more time.

Transfer to a glass and enjoy. You can optionally add some sugar as well.

Linking this to Lets Cook - Kids Special

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Eggless Mango Cake with Shrikhand and Mango topping

I did it!!! I did it!!! I did it!!! For anyone wondering what I really did do, it is just that I baked a cake :-) You might wonder what's the big deal. It is a big deal to me cause this is my first cake.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life, my darling, my husband!

A special thanks to the lovely ladies who passed on the recipe to me. I had narrowed down on a Vanilla Sponge Cake for this occasion. I thought that will be the best thing to make as that is the simplest cake and should have been the first cake I tried before all my failed attempts. That was when fate intervened.

My son said he felt like eating mangoes. We were out of mangoes at home. So though I did not plan a trip, we drove to the Indian store and got a box of Mangoes. Sangeetha blogged about a microwave mug mango cake the next day. From her page, I went to the source of her recipe at Shoba's blog. I felt that this is the cake I need to make. Gave it a shot and made a perfect cake. We all loved it.

I first thought of making a butter cream frosting. I did not want to do too many things at the first go. But I did not want it to be served plain as well. That is when the idea struck me. I served it with some Shrikhand. It paired well with the mango and cardamom flavour in the cake.

Now off to the recipe

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour 1 1/4 cup
Baking Powder 1 tsp
Baking Soda 1/2 tsp
Salt a pinch

Mango Pulp 1 cup. I used 2 small alphonso mangoes
Sugar 3/4 cup. I used powdered sugar
Milk 1/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp
Oil 1/4 cup
Cardamom 3/4 tsp

Chopped Almonds 1 tbsp (I would recommend 2 tbsp)

Method of preparation

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 175C. Greese a 7 inch round baking pan and keep ready.

3. In a bowl mix together mango pulp, powdered sugar, milk, oil and cardamon. I used a handheld electric whisk for a minute or 2.

4. Add the flour mix little at a time and blend in slowly. Add the chopped nuts and mix.

5. Pour the mix to the baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes till a cake tester comes out clean.

Serve it topped with some Shrikhand and mangoes.

Recipe for Shrikhand

Ingredients

Curd/Yougurt 500 gm (Made about 1.5 cups of Hung curd)
Sugar 1/2 cup powdered
Cardamom powder 3/4 tsp
Pista 1 tbsp chopped
Almonds 1 tbsp chopped

Method of Preparation

1. Make hung curd from the curd by hanging it from a muslin cloth to remove excess water. I used Greek Yogurt to get a nice thick curd.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to curd and mix well.

3. Refrigerate and serve.

It would have been good if I made Mango Shrikhand. I did not have enough mangoes. Do check out the recipe for Mango Shrikhand in my precious post.

Linking this to I love Baking
Linking this to Lets Cook - Kids Special
Linking this to EP - Herbs and spices - Basil and Cardamom Event by Julie, hosted by Prathibha

Friday, 22 June 2012

Spiced up Peanut Butter Fruit Salad

Yes, you read it right... Spiced up... I am crazy about mangoes (everyone in our house is). When we buy it I rarely get a chance to make anything with it as there is so much demand to eat it as is. I grew up in Kerala and the mangoes are not so great there. So we used to look forward to our summer holidays in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) where my mom grew up and my grandparents lived. Mangoes were the highlight....

Though mangoes are not available in abundance here, a trip to the Indian store will get me some decent mangoes during the season. The Alphonsos they sell are usually very pathetic looking. So I always go for other mangoes. This time I found some which looked quite fresh. When I ate it, I was amazed by how sweet they were. I had almost forgotten how they tasted. But the downside, I am not used to so much sugar in my mango and after a day or two I found it too sweet.

That is when I decided to spice it up. I really liked this salad. You can use any fruit of your choice. Apples and bananas make a great pair with peanut butter.

You can skip the chilli powder if serving for kids. The cardamom and peanut butter will add nice flavour. But this is only very mildly spiced. My little one liked it.

Ingredients
Mango 1
Apple 1
Raisins 1/4 cup
Peanut Butter 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1/8 tsp
Cardamom 1/8 tsp
Salt a pinch

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the fruits into small bits and add to a bowl. Add in the raisins as well

2. In a microwave safe bowl, add the peanut butter and heat for 30 seconds till it is melted.

3. Add the chilli powder, cardamom and salt. Mix well.

4. Add this mix to the fruit bowl. Mix everything well.

Linking this to Lets Cook - Kids Special

Thursday, 21 June 2012

Kerala Green Moong Dal Curry

I saw looking for recipes for side dish with moong dal. I looked at the roundup of Moong Dal in Priya's blog. I saw this recipe in Sangeetha's blog. I really liked it. It was very similar to the Kerala Tomato Curry recipe. Loved it.

Ingredients

Sprouted Moong 2 cups
Onions 2
Tomato 4
Garlic 5 pods
Curry Leaves 2 sprigs
Green Chilli 4
Cumin/Jeera 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder 1/2 tsp

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Cook the sprouted moong in a cooker for 1 whistle. I cooked so that the moong still had its shape. You can cook well till it is all mushed up as well.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the Cumin along with chopped garlic, slit green chilli and curry leaves.

3. When it sizzles, add slit onions. Let it cook till it starts to brown.

4. Add tomatoes (finely chopped) and mix and cook till it is well cooked.

5. Add the chilli powder and coriander powder along with some salt. Mix well.

6. Add the cooked green moong dal along with 2 cups of water. I did not have any water left in the cook moong. Reduce if you have.

7. Simmer for some time and garnish with coriander leaves.

Linking this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Julie

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Oven Roasted Chunky Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce

I found a new blog recently. I forget how I got to her blog. Anda has some amazing recipes. I cannot stop just looking at all the photos. When I was there, I saw the recipe for a tomato soup. I am not a tomato soup fan. But when I looked her soup, I realized that I will love her soup.

I decided I am going to use that recipe to make tomato sauce for my pasta. I did change a few bits here and there, but stuck to the main theme of the dish. I think I will never buy a bottle of tomato sauce. I had some tomatoes I had bought to make pickle. But now that will have to wait.

I also bought a small basil plant instead of the packed basil. Given my luck with plants, not sure if this will last. But this is not gardening, its just a small pot sitting on your kitchen window. I think I can survive that.

The inspiration for this was when we were in Wales a couple of weekends ago. We were driving thru a small village in the middle of no where. It had a small restaurant. We took seats outside on the patio after ordering pasta with tomato sauce (the menu was meagre. the only vegetarian option was this). It was such a simple dish. But we finished every little bit of the plate. It was so comforting.

Ingredients

Tomatos 11
Basil 20 leaves (more to serve)
Dried Italian Herbs 1 tbsp
Oil 3 + 1 tbsp
Garlic 3 cloves
Green Peas (optional) 1 cup
Pepper Powder 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat an oven to 175C. In the mean while cut the tomatoes into half. Arrange them in a pan with the cut side facing up.

2. Mix the oil, dry herbs and salt in a small bowl. Brush this mixture on the top of the tomatoes.

3. Bake them for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the skin from the tomatoes. Look how lovely they look with all the juices....

4. Make a paste of garlic. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the garlic and let is sizzle for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes along with all the juices.

5. Mash all of it together with the back of the spatula. You can also run it thru a blender before adding if you want a smooth sauce. I was looking the chunky tomatoes.

6. Add the basil leaves (chop it a little before adding). Mix well.

7. You can add some fresh or frozen peas as well. Depends what you are doing with the sauce. I will skip it if I were using for Pizza or Eggplant parmigiana. As I was making Pasta, I decided to add peas.

8. Simmer for a few minutes and switch off. Serve topped with more basil leaves.

Linking this to EP - Herbs and spices - Basil and Cardamom Event by Julie, hosted by Prathibha
Linking this to I Love Baking - Event by Radhika

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Oven Roasted Chickpeas with Indian Spices

I had soaked some Chick Peas (Channa) to make Chole. Forgot that my husband was travelling last week. So I decided not to make Chole and instead try this roasted chickpeas. I have seen recipes for this a long time ago and had it in my to do list. What better chance than this to try this... I am glad I did. I will be experimenting with flavours in the future. Will post recipes of other combinations that I try.

Ingredients
Cooked Chickpeas 4 cups (about 1.5 cups dried chickpeas)

Seasoning I used

Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Soak Chick peas overnight. Cook in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Make sure you do not mush the peas. That was my biggest scare when I put it in the cooker. Alternatively, you can use canned chickpeas as well. If you canned, drain water and wash well.

2. Once cooked, drain the water. Dry them.

3. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Toss the chickpeas with oil and all the spices that you are using. I was making a very mild snack so that my little one can enjoy. You can add spices to suit your taste. If I were making for myself, I would have added 2 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp of coriander and 1 tsp of cumin powder.

4. Layer on a baking tray and cook for 30-40 minutes tossing every 10 minutes. Keep an eye for readiness.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy this super healthy, nut free snack. You can feel happy about giving your child this snack.

For me, nothing better than lazing in the sofa with a book, tea and a healthy snack

Linking this to I love Baking
Linking this to Lets Cook - Kids Special

Monday, 18 June 2012

Beetroot Kichadi

Have you seen my post for Vendakka Kichadi. Beetroot recipe is very similar. Kichadi is a dish made in Kerala that is nothing but a kind of raita. This has been sitting in my draft for some time. Never got to posting it. But when I saw the event Show me your HITS was themed Beets and Carrots, I knew there is no better time to post this recipe than now :-) So here you go.

Ingredients

Beetroot 1/2 cup

Coconut 1/4 cup

Green Chilli 1

Curry Leaves few

Jeera 1/2 tsp

Yogurt/Curd 1 cup

Mustard 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves few

Red Chilli 1

Oil and salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Grate the beetroot in small size grater.

2. Heat a little oil in a pan and add the mustard.

3. When it sputters, add the curry leaves and red chilli.

4. When it sizzles, add the grated beetroot and saute for a couple of minutes.

5. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool.

6. In the meanwhile, grind coconut, curry leaves, green chilli and jeera into a fine paste adding enough water.

7. Pour this into the cooled beetroot.

8. Add some salt and yogurt and mix well.

Beetroot Kichadi (Beetroot raita) is ready to be served.

Linking this to Show me your Hits - Carrots and Beets. Sangee Event hosted by Anusha
Linking this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Julie

Sunday, 17 June 2012

Microwave Palkova - happy father's day!

Palkova is a very popular milk sweet. It is my dad's favourite sweet. My husband loves it too. So I thought what better to make for Father's day than Palkova. I wish my dad were here with us to share this.... Next time he comes to stay with us, I am definitely making it.

Palgova involves stirring milk for a long time till it thickens into a solid. It takes an hour or so usually and involves continuous stirring. When I saw the recipe for Microwave Palkova in Vardini's site, I knew I had to try it. Check her site for step by step illustrations. Super easy recipes with just 3 ingredients

The background is a tie made by my son for my husband!

Ingredients

Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 can (i had a 400gm can)
Curd/Yogurt 2 tsp
Ghee 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Take all the above ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. I used a big pyrex bowl .The bowl should be deep as the milk will keep boiling over.

2. Heat for 2 minutes. Keep an eye on it all the time. If it rises, take out and stir and continue with the minute.

3. Do it again for 1 minute. Stir and put it back in. Keep doing this till your palgova attains a grainy texture and is not watery.

4. Microwave times will vary. Vardhini in her post mentions 5 minutes. It took me 8 minutes. Keep in mind that it hardens when it starts to cool. So you want it to be a little bit guey when you stop stirring.

Karela Massalam

I made this based on a recipe by tarla dalal. It called for deep frying the Karela. I did not do that. I am sure it would have tasted good. But I just steamed it in the microwave. I love the bitterness of the Karela and this preserved it.

Ingredients

Onion 2
Karela (Bitter Gourd) 4 (around 4 cups)
Tomato 5
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic 4 pods
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Coriander Powder 4 tsp
Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin/Jeera 1 tsp
Cream or yogurt 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the Karela into small pieces and steam them. You can fry them if you choose

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera. Slice the onions and saute it till it is browned.

3. Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Add to the onions along with coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric and saute. Add 2 cups of water and simmer for 5-6 minutes.

4. Make a puree of the tomatoes and add. Simmer till the tomatoes are cooked well.

5. Add some cream to this. I did not have any. So I just added some yogurt. Add some salt as well.

6. Add the steamed or fried Karela to this and simmer for sometime. Switch off. Serve with some warm roti

Saturday, 16 June 2012

Event Roundup : Healthy Diet - Healthy Breakfast

Priya started a new series in her blog 'Healthy Diet' this new year. What better time for the event when every one is full with all the goodies of the festival season and have taken a New Year Resolution to do something about it. I was happy to host the Healthy Breakfast event. Got a lot of yummy recipes.