Yeh khana mujhe de de thakur!

The famous line from Sholay. Our food came from Sholay as well :-) Confused?! Don't be. We ordered food from the restaurant called Sholay!
Why?? you ask? I'm celebrating my fan base!! It has grown to a stupendous 3!!! Yaaaay!!!!

Not really.  My hubby was in a mood to eat something special and beans did not cut it (that is what I was planning on making - something with beans) so we ended up ordering out. I had wanted to try this place ever since I read a review of it in WOW (the magazine) so got the chance to do it today.
Got the Bharwan Aloo, Paneer Pasanda and Punjabi rajma with Veg Biryani. Have to say the food was good. Not oily and not too spicy.

Paneer pasanda, Rajma and Bharwan Aloo with Veg biryani

I think I might have eaten a tad too much... Time for some antacids.... And then get some zzz's.

See you all tomorrow!

De T(h)ali!

Terribly excited today! Well, unfortunately the excitement is not about the India cricket match. I actually found swimwear that I was comfortable in, covered enough and yet does not look like a grandma's suit!!
Tough feat but I think I have it (well two of them!!). For as long as I can remember, I have never been able to pick just 'one' outfit when I go clothes shopping! I feel a sort of kinship with Sophie Kinsella's heroine - Betty Bloomwood.I don't go overboard like her in terms of budget but I swear I do hear the clothes begging me to take them home!!!
Anyhooo, came back feeling euphoric and tired. So wanted to throw together my favorite comfort food of all times - Mooli Sambar, Tomato Rasam, Bhindi Fry and Appalam - Roasted not Fried(it is like those movie titles where it has a subtitle under the main one!!)

Tomato rasam, Radish sambar, Bhindi fry and Appalam

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomato Rasam

4 tomatoes chopped roughly

6-8 cloves of garlic

1/2 inch piece of ginger

2 tsps of cumin seeds

4-5 pepper corns

1 tsp coriander seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

A pinch of turmeric pd

Salt to taste

Few coriander leaves chopped for garnish

Take a little oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds to splutter, add the coriander seeds and whole pepper corns and fry for a sec till they are roasted. Grind this along with the tomatoes, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Heat this mixture in a pan with a cup of water (add according to your desired consistency) and cook till the tomatoes are well cooked. Add salt and turmeric pd and simmer for another 5 mins. Remove from fire and add a tempering of mustard seeds, dry red chillies (if required) and asafoetida pd. 

This is my version of tomato rasam with no tamarind and no daal. Pure unadulterated tomato rasam!!

For the Appalam - Roasted not Fried - just do what I do if you totally had the taste of dry roasted ones. Dip your finger in oil and rub it all over the appalam on one side. Place it in the microwave with the oiled side facing up and nuke it for a minute. You get roasted appalams that taste pretty close to the deep fried ones and yet have almost no oil!! Our little secret :-)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good night everyone! Sweet dreams!

Ghar ka khana bahar se!!

Today (rather yesterday) did not cook. This weekend saw an advert for "Ghar Ka Khana" so decided to try that out. It was pretty good. A good fall back for the days that I do not feel like cooking...

Moong daal, potato and peas curry, chole masala

Now I am off to bed. Just watched Inglorious Bastards. Pretty good movie..

Kar(ela)oge toh bharoge!

Had been to a friend's place for a mommies and kiddies pool and pizza party. It was my son's first time in a swimming pool and he was absolutely besotted! Just did not want to come out of the pool. Had a tough time getting him out of there. So as a result had no energy and will to do anything. And today I had decided to make the Stuffed Karelas. Bad choice! Now hardly have the energy to blog about it....

Stuffed karela and Brinjal rice

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stuffed Karela

Bitter gourd cut in half and slit 4 ways

1 cup ground nuts roasted

10 cloves of garlic

1 tsp chilli pd

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the karela pieces till they are cooked through and turn brown on the outside (you could sprinkle water and cover and cook in between to speed up the cooking process. Alternatively you could deep fry them) Remove and cool.

Grind the roasted ground nuts with garlic and salt and chilli pd to a coarse powder. Fill this mixture in to the cooked karelas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Word of caution: Only make this recipe when you have decided to spend some time in isolation or you have really strong mouth rinse at hand!!

See you all tomorrow.

Death by cheese!!!

I have died and gone to cheese heaven! And I think I am going be very happy there :-)
Have done Italian pastas and risottos plenty of times but wanted to try lasagna. Yesterday was the first time. I felt like Scarpetta (for those familiar with Patricia Cornwell) or Barefoot Contessa (for those familiar with Food Network) or any of those Italian cooks references where in they say "the whole house was enveloped in a smell of fresh herbs and Italian cooking" :-)

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spinach Lasagna

10 sheets of ready to cook lasagna sheets

2 cups chopped spinach leaves

4 tomatoes chopped

6-10 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

6 dry red chillies chopped finely

Oregano Seasoning

2 cups of grated parmesan + mozarella + cheddar cheese

Olive oil to cook

For the white sauce

White pepper

2 tbsp maida

1 tbsp butter

1 cup shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese

1 cup warm milk

In a pan warm the butter and after it has melted, add the maida and keep stirring till it is cooked. Then add the warm milk slowly and stir vigorously till the maida dissolves completely without any lumps. Let it simmer for a minute. Now add the cheese and salt and white pepper and stir till the cheese dissolves and forms a nice thick sauce. Reserve.

In a separate pan add enough water for the lasagna sheets to be covered in water and add salt and a tsp of oil. Cover and let it come to a boil. Add the sheets and cook them till they are done but are still firm and retain their shape. Drain and reserve.

In a separate pan add oil and saute the garlic and red chillies till they release their aromas. Now add the tomatoes and cook till soft. Add the spinach and cover and cook till done. Add the oregano seasoning and salt and saute for a minute. Reserve.

In a oven proof casserole layer the lasagna in the following order - Spinach mixture, lasagna sheets, white sauce and then the cheese mixture (reserve a little white sauce and cheese for the top of the dish). Keep going till you have exhausted all of the sheets. On top spread the last of the white sauce and sprinkle all of the remaining cheese. Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 mins till the top layer turns brown.

Buona appetito :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ciao! 

Dum maro dum.......

No I did not watch Dev Anand's flick or taken to smoking pot!! Made dum aloo for today's dinner :-) That's all.

Dum Aloo and chapatis

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dum Aloo

10 baby potatoes boiled and peeled

3 onions ground to a paste

4 tomatoes ground to a paste

1 tblsp ginger garlic paste

3 tbsps of khus paste (soak the poppy seeds in hot water 30 mins prior to grinding them to a fine paste)

1 tsp of shah jeera

1 tsp turmeric pd

1 tsp garam masala pd

Chilli pd, salt to taste

Coriander leaves chopped for garnish

Saute the boiled potatoes whole in a shallow pan with a little oil till they turn brown on all sides. Remove and keep. Heat oil in a pan, add the shah jeera and wait for them to splutter. Now add the ground onion paste and fry till it turns pink. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the mixture in the pan turns light brown. Now add the tomato paste and all the spice powders. Fry till the oil leaves the mixture. Add the khus paste and fry till the raw smell is no more. Now add the potatoes and a cup of water and cover and simmer for 5 mins. Garnish with coriander leaves.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sayonara! Till tomorrow.....

Kal ka khana aaj ki kabhar....

I could not post yesterday as I fell asleep. Well I did wake up at around 12 am and then did not sleep until 3 am but could not bring myself to get up and boot my laptop. I guess it is the summer heat - just saps you of all energy.
Had been to the metro cash and carry place yesterday (it is a wholesale warehouse store for those of you who did not know about it - akin to Sam's club or Costco) I go there almost every month to stock up on groceries, produce and other essentials. That is always a whole day assignment; well, almost. So cooking was a hurried affair. Made mushroom peas masala and lauki daal.

Mushroom peas masala and lauki daal

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mushroom Peas Masala

2 cups mushroom chopped

1 cup peas 

2 onions finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

Garam masala, chilli pd, amchur pd, turmeric pd, kitchen king masala, cumin pd and salt to taste.

Heat oil and add cumin seeds to splutter. Add the chopped onions and ginger garlic paste and a little salt. Fry till the onions change color. Now add the mushroom and peas and cover and cook till they are soft. Now add the masalas and saute till the spices lose their raw smell. Season with salt. 

Lauki Daal

1 cup chana daal soaked in water for about 30 mins

Lauki chopped into bi chunks - 1 cup

Few sprigs of curry leaves

3 green chillies

1 tomato roughly chopped

1 onion diced

1/2 tsp Asafoetida pd

Turmeric pd and salt to taste

1 tsp cumin and mustard seeds

Heat oil in a pan (I used the pressure cooker) and add the mustard seeds. After they have spluttered add the cumin seeds. Add the asafoetida pd and curry leaves and saute for a sec. Now add the onions and fry them till they turn pink. Now add the chopped tomatoes, lauki and green chillies. Saute till the tomatoes are soft. Add the turmeric pd and water and cover and cook for 3-4 whistles or till the daal is completely cooked and soft. Season with salt. Can be served with chapatis or rice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it for tonight or rather yesterday night. For those who are wondering what I had for dinner tonight - Pizza!!!
Not that I like pizza in India but Dominos is far better that Pizza hut. I got the "cheesy" mushroom stroganoff and I think the cheesy was just an adjective that they added to make the name sound authentic!! I could not even smell the cheese in it - forget tasting it!!
And their Mexican pizza tasted like my 2 yr old son had attempted to make a pizza!!!

Anyhooo, good night everyone......

One pot meal.

Had no vegetables today. Just the cabbage. So was looking for one dish recipes. Came across this on the internet. I am sure I have tried this recipe before. But anyway, that's what is for dinner tonight. Mum had sent some mixed veg pakodis for the afternoon snack, so used those as accompaniments.

Cabbage rice and mixed veg pakodis

Here is the recipe:

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2009/09/12/cabbage-rice/

From one aayi  to another one here is saying - Shubh Ratri.

Potato cutlets for dinner!

Yes! You heard right! That is what I had for dinner tonight. Had a craving for the yummy potato cutlets (aloo tikki) that I ate as a child almost every week when I was residing in Kanpur, U.P
So I made those and threw them into a gravy (few of the cutlets reached the inside of my tummy well before they made it to the gravy, of course!!)

Aloo Tikki in gravy and chapatis!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aloo Cutlets

Mash 3 boiled potatoes, 2 bread slices, a tsp of amchur powder, 1 tsp chilli sauce, 1 tsp Maggi sweet and hot sauce, 1 tsp jeera powder, salt to taste.

Shape into patties and shallow fry on a dosa pan.

Gravy

Grind 2 onions to a fine paste along with 5-6 cloves of garlic and and 1/2 inch piece of ginger. Heat a pan with oil and add shah jeera, cumin seeds and add this paste and fry till it turns brown. Now add 5-6 tomatoes and 3 green chillies ground to a paste to this and fry till the tomatoes are cooked. Add a tsp of kasuri methi and a little sprinkling of garam masala powder amd salt to taste and 1/2 cup of water and cover and cook till the water reduces by half. 

Now add the patties to this gravy and cook on simmer for 2 mins more. That's it!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's all folks..... Signing out for tonight......

Just bummed.....

I am just very disappointed at how the world works.. How people who do so little are appreciated so much and the ones that do so much are disregarded. I think it is very unfair and completely frustrating. It is therefore i think prudent to disassociate oneself from everything and everyone in this world. Just do what is expected of you and do not have too many hopes or desires or expectations from the other. That way you do not feel cheated or exploited or let down. Easier said than done....

Did not cook today so I am not posting any recipes today. For my dinner had chapatis with Plantain curry, Potato fry and Chana Daal.

Chana daal, potato fry and plantain curry

You should also probably not have any expectations from this blog... Will make it easier to deal with the disappointment if I decide to stop writing later....

Just kidding! See you all tomorrow.
Happy Holi everyone! Be safe and have fun!

Mundane cooking.....

I watched "The Japanese wife" by Aparna Sen yesterday. And cried bucketfuls towards the end of it. According to Konkona Sen Sharma's review - "if you have a heart you will love the movie" and I loved it loads so I guess I am all heart then!!!

Anyway, coming to the purpose of this blog. To narrate what I had for dinner tonight. Nothing spectacular, just Dhondakai Fry and some last minute daal preparation :-)

 

Dhondakai Fry and Chana Daal

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daal

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to splutter. Now add a chopped onion and fry till brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn mushy. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder to taste. (I had a boiled potato in the fridge that I chopped into chunks and threw in as well). Add this to the washed daal and pour in enough water. Pressure cook till the daal is cooked. Remove and add the tempering (mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chilli) and salt and mix well.That's it!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's all for tonight folks!!

Quick and easy Sambar anyone?!

You guys have to appreciate my dedication... The things I do for you guys.

I had dinner twice today just so that I could take a picture of today's meal and blog it for you guys. Well what happened was this.. Had the cleaning crew come in to clean the house (the monthly guys who come in to clean the bathrooms and get into the corners and make them all shiny and bright. Well, it does not actually look all that shiny and clean but will rant and rave about that later). So by the time they left it was 7:45 pm, well past my dinner time (for those of you who did not know, I have my dinner at 7pm. Yes, really!) So had to cook something quick. Plus had to feed my son his dinner and believe me that is no easy feat! So did what my mom suggested and made this jiffy sambar in the pressure cooker and made snake gourd fry to go along with it. Now coming to the 2 dinners... My sugar levels were dangerously teetering towards whacking my son or going away to Neverland. Then mum (yes, my savior :-)) suggested that I should just bite the bullet and eat the dinner at her place. So she brought me chapatis, Kofta curry and dhondakai fry. So after having that meal, I was able to see the world in a better light!
But wait a minute I still had to blog! I couldn't possibly leave it undone today after starting yesterday, now could I?! So I had another meal just 5 mins back! I am going to have to pop some antacids before going to bed.

But like I said, the things I do for you people!

Snake gourd fry and white pumpkin sambar with rice

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jiffy Sambar

Take a cup of washed tuvar daal in a vessel. In another vessel take the juice of a lemon sized tamarind ball, chunks of white pumpkin (250 gms), few curry leaves, 1 tomato chopped roughly, 1 small onion chopped into small chunks, 1 tsp of turmeric powder, salt to taste, 2 tbsps of sambar powder and put the two vessels in to the pressure cooker to cook (for about 4-5 whistles).

In another pan, add a little oil and add 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1 tsp of mustard seeds to splutter. Now add a pinch of methi seeds and 1 dry red chilli broken into pieces. Add the cooked daal and the tamarind mixture to this and add water if required for the right consistency. Adjust the salt and let it come to a boil for 5 mins. 

Voila! Sambar is ready!

Snakegourd Fry

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to splutter. Add the chopped snakegourd (about 2 cups - cut them in half lengthwise, clean the insides and then chop them into thin semicircles). Add 1 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste and 1/2 a cup of water. Cover and cook till the snake gourd pieces are cooked but yet firm. Now uncover and fry till they turn color and wilt. Add 1 tsp chilli powder and cook for another 2 minutes till the raw smell of the chilli powder is gone. That's it! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sambar came out so well and it took so little time and monitoring that I might just make it this way all the time going forward! Try it and let me know your comments.

Till tomorrow, Sayonara!

I'm back!

Okay folks, I'm back by popular demand!! (Well, okay it was one friend - okay the only friend who read my blog.. It was still a demand. - well, okay more like a query) Anyhooo, decided to write again. After the trying to log in fiasco yesterday, here is the meal from yesterday night.
To people who are wondering what happened to the initial purpose of this blog - to keep writing about all the fantastic food that I cook each night as per Julie and Julia... In my defense they did not have a 30 month old vying for attention every single minute of the day. (excuses, excuses... :-)

Chutney Beans Aloo, Khatta Meetha Capsicum

Without rambling on any further here is the recipe:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chutney Beans Aloo

 4 parboiled potatoes chopped into chunks

1 cup parboiled and chopped beans

1 onion minced 

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt, chilli powder to taste

For the Chutney

2 bunches coriander leaves

1 bunch pudina (mint) leaves

3 green chillies

5 cloves garlic

1 small onion chopped

salt to taste

juice of 3 lemons

Grind all the above to a fine paste and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to splutter. Now add the minced onions and fry till golden brown. Now add the salt and chilli powder and let them cook for a min. Add the potatoes and beans and the chutney and a little water and cover and cook till the water evaporates and the mixture coats the veggies nicely. That's it!

Khatta Meetha Capsicum (Sweet and Sour Capsicum)

4 Capsicum chopped into big chunks

2 Onions chopped 

5-10 curry leaves

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 dry red chillies

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp whole coriander seeds

2-3 whole peppercorns

3 tbsps of tamarind paste (you could grind the soaked tamarind to give you a nice thick paste, or do it the regular way and soak the tamarind in warm water and extract the juice - in which case use a cup of that juice)

1 lemon sized ball of jaggery

Saute the capsicum till they are almost cooked. (Alternatively you could roast them on an open flame to get the charred then remove the skin and then chop them into chunk and use them in this recipe.)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and the curry leaves and the dry red chillies. Cook for a minute and then add the onions. Add salt and cook till the onions become golden brown. Now cool and grind this mixture to a fine paste. Return this paste to the fire. Add a cup of water and the tamarind pulp and the jaggery and adjust the salt if required. Let it come to a boil. Now add the capsicum pieces and cover and cook for 2 mins. The gravy should take on a coating consistency without being too dry.  Serve with rice or chapatis.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adios muchachos! See you all tomorrow then........

Long lost blog......

Phew! Finally able to log in......

Thought I would start blogging again today but instead found out one thing about myself... Me memory is not what it used to be!!! Could not remember the password to log in to the account!
Believe me, the experience was near traumatic. Almost like losing your loved one at a crowded mall!! I was frantically trying all the passwords that I thought I had set up only to be redirected to the annoying page with distorted letters!!

Anyway, all's well that ends well... I am finally in but it is too late for the actual food post. I am too exhausted - emotionally and physically.....

So I am off to bed now.. Will catch up tomorrow.
Bonne Nuit!