Banana appe

Appés are small round fritters that are deep fried in a special tawa. This tawa has small depressions in it in which you can fry individual appés, this is what gives it their characteristic shape. I bought the appé tawa which I was coveting since a long time, just never got around to actually buying it. Finally the day I made it, they were all gone in just a couple of minutes.

Not just are they lusciously soft, but they carry that distinctly different sweetness of jaggery and banana. They taste best when eaten hot.

If you don't have the appé tawa, do not fret. Just deep fry it in the regular manner, just like you would do for bhajiyas.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup maida
• 1 banana
• 3/4th cup grated jaggery
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• oil for frying.

 Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in sufficient quantity of water for two hours. After two hours drain the water completely.

Grind the rice with banana, jaggery and cardamom powder. Use very little water, but grind it as fine as possible.

To the ground mixture, add the maida and mix well. Pour a little oil in each well of the appé tawa. Spoon out the mixture into each well. Fill up only 3/4th of the well. (If you are using a regular wok, you don't have to worry about this. Just spoon out a portion into the oil)

Fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve hot!

Happy Cooking!

Channa daal vada

I made this recipe some time ago, whilst in my search for new and healthy (and may I add, quick) breakfast recipes. Unfortunately I didn't click any pictures.

Ingredients

• 1 cup channa dal 
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 3 to 4 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• a pinch of  asafoetida (hing)
• salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Soak the chana daal for two hours. Grind the chana daal along with all the other ingredients and very little water. Do not grind to a fine paste, leave it a little gritty.

Heat the oil in a deep wok, and once it is sufficiently hot, add the ground mixture a little at a time. Fry till they turn evenly golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

Happy Cooking!

Rawa Methi Idli

It is Saee's Sharing & Caring Day in school. Once every month they hold this day as a means to promote sharing among kids. I, however, call it a kids' Dabba Party. The instructions are clear and specific. There has to be something homemade and healthy in the dabba. Store bought food is not allowed. Not that I intended to ever do that. This morning I thought I might make some chillas. But then what about PIC? So I decided to make something that I had never made before. Rawa Idli. Seemed to be a challenge when I have failed so many times in making a regular idli from scratch.

However, it was so easy to make this recipe! The idlis turned out to be really soft and pillowy. You will see the pictures (Thanks to Jeejaji who brought the camera down from Indore, and to my husband, whom I woke up from deep slumber at 10 a.m. to click the pictures)

There are many different recipes on the net. However I did some things differently. You'll know. Read on.

Ingredients

• 1 cup wheat (sooji) rawa
• 1 cup curd (dahi)
• 1/4 tsp eno fruit salt
• 1/4 tsp soda bicarb (khane ka soda)
• 3 to 4 tbsp water
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/4th tsp mustard seeds
• 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
• 2 tbsp cashewnuts
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (if you are making this for kids. Add more if you want)
• Salt to taste

 Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the mustard seeds and once they crackle, add the cashewnuts and asafoetida. Allow the cashews to become a little brown.

Now add the sooji rawa and roast well till it turns slightly brown. This takes about five minutes. Remove the above mixture into a bowl. Add the curd to the rawa. Put three to four tablespoonfuls of water in the kadhai and pour the water in the mixture (the water becomes slightly warm this way and the idlis become lusciously soft)

Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Now add the carrots, methi, salt, and red chilli powder and mix well.

Pour water in a steamer and bring it to a boil. Grease the idli moulds well with a little oil and keep them aside.

Finally, at the last minute, add the eno fruit salt and soda bicarb. Mix only in one direction and do not overmix. A few large sweeping strokes should be enough. Spoon out the batter into the idli moulds.

Place the idli moulds in the steamer. Cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the idlis to cool a little and remove and serve them with tomato onion chutney. (Recipe follows)

Happy Cooking!

Kid-friendly Quick Egg Frankies

It's Sunday morning, and that day of the week when all of us want that much needed break. Sadly, for mommies, there are some things that never end. One of them is cooking food. If you do like cooking, then it's as much fun as pursuing any hobby on your day off.

Yet, on a Sunday, you want to make something that's quick and still doesn't compromise on the taste. Novel, yet has to go down the tummy of rebellious little taste buds. Here is one which doesn't go wrong with my daughter, ever!

Plus if you have left over chapatis, this is a perfect way to use them without sounding like a leftover. Instead of chapatis you can even use paranthas, or tortillas. If you are a vegetarian, skip the eggs. Of course, then you can't call it an egg frankie, you can simply called a veg frankie.

Ingredients

Can you see them in there?

• 3 eggs
• 3 leftover chapatis/ tortillas
• 2 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup finely julienned green capsicum
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• any other vegetables of your choice (carrots, jalapenos if you have them)
• chat masala
• green chutney
• barbeque sauce
• 1 tsp oil
• 3 tsp butter
• salt
• pepper

 Prepare the veggies first. Heat one tsp olive oil in a wok and flash fry the veggies individually for about ten seconds each. Not more, as you still want to retain their crunch. By flash frying I mean saute them on the highest heat. The cabbage remains slightly raw, but gets a burnt brown edge, the taste of which is simply indescribable. Season each vegetable with a little salt, and season the cabbage with a little pepper as well. Don't overdo this, you want the children to eat it.

 Now heat a skillet. Add a teaspoon of butter and watch it melt. Now beat an egg in a bowl with a little salt and pepper. Pour the beaten egg onto the skillet. Place the chapati on top of the egg. Fry till the egg turns golden brown and flip the egg and chapati, so that the chapati is now on the skillet with the egg on top. Fry for a few seconds and remove on a plate.

Place each veggie on top of the egg side, as per your child's taste, add the chat masala, barbecue sauce and mint chutney. Roll the chapati  and cover with a tissue paper (trust me, it gets messy while eating!)

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Happy Sunday Cooking!

Healthy Carrot and Raisin Muffins

Might I say these taste really good, and you absolutely must must try them on your own. It is just so satisfying to bite into a spongy, soft and sinfully moist muffin, that is a healthier version as compared to most other muffins available in the market. I made these from wheat flour and plain flour combined and they turned out really good. Happily I watched my kid bite into her second cake and love, absolutely love the raisin when they made their mushy sweet appearance in her mouth.

Ingredients

• 100 g sugar (you can have 120 g for a sweeter version or 80 g for a less sweet alternative)
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 tsp butter
• 130 ml buttermilk
• 1 egg (if you are a vegetarian, substitute with 1/2 cup condensed milk)
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 large pinches cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 75 g plain flour
• 100 g whole wheat flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 1/2 level tsp soda bicarbonate
• 1/2 tsp salt (it brings out the rest of the flavors so well)

In a large mixing bowl, whip the sugar, oil, butter, buttermilk, egg (or condensed milk), vanilla and cinnamon powder. Once they are well blended and the sugar has dissolved, add the carrots and raisins and give them a good mix.

Sieve together the flour, wheat flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and salt directly into the above mixture. With a rubber or wooden spatula, carefully mix the batter. DO NOT OVERMIX. About five large mixing strokes in a figure of eight motion (give or take one or two more strokes) should suffice. You mix the batter too much, and your muffins will go rock hard. It doesn't matter if a little dry flour remains here or there.

Spoon it out into prepared muffin tins. Fill the muffin tin about 3/4th full. If you fill the cup to its full capacity the muffins will have a flat top.

Place in the oven and bake for about ten to fifteen minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin emerges clean.

(As an alternative, I also made chocolate puffins. Dip the back of your spoon into melted butter and make a well in the center of the batter. Fill this well with chocolate syrup or a jam of your choice. Place in the oven and bake as usual.)

Good to eat freshly made in the morning with tea!

Happy Cooking!

Falafel

There are some who ask me how I find the time to do all these things. Then there are those who say that they should learn time management. I myself, have not a single clue how or why am I able to do a lot more than others (if that truly is the case). I don't think much about it honestly çause I grew up with a superwoman in my house, my mother. The amount of work she fit in her day... is an unimaginable humongous task for me.

As for the falafels, they really are quick and easy to make. No fancy preparation. Just a little thinking ahead of time. If you want to make them for breakfast, soak the chickpeas overnight, the night before. That's it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
• 1 bunch coriander
• 1 green chilli
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

Pressure cook the chickpeas for fifteen minutes or till they are completely soft. Allow the cooked chickpeas to cool.

Blend the chickpeas to a thick paste with coriander, cumin powder, green chilli powder, and salt. Add very little water if required. The paste has to be very thick.

Remove the paste in a container. Add the plain flour and soda bicarbonate.

Heat oil in a wok. Make sure the oil is atleast two inches deep. Shape the falafels with the help of two spoons dipped in oil. Slide the shaped falafel on one spoon into the oil, with the help of the second spoon.

Fry till they are dark golden brown on both sides. Remove them from the oil and drain them on kitchen towels.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Happy Cooking!

Corn Panki

It's been some time since I last posted. I can't get my husband to rectify the error that is occurring on blogger on my home computer, and things have been busy in clinic this last week, so I couldn't get any time to post at all.

I tried to post this from the home computer but I couldn't. As you all could very well see. So here I am, posting this recipe again.

Can't post any pictures but I do have them all and will post them as soon as possible.

Coming to the recipe, this is not a stuffed panki or panolya as we call it. Neither is it sweet, but rather a savory filling way to start your day.

Ingredients

• 2 corn on the cobs
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4th tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/4th tsp soda bicarb
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp semolina (rava)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 6 turmeric leaves

Grease the turmeric leaves with a little oil and keep them aside.

Grate the corn on the cob,  and add all the other ingredients except the oil. Mix well and spoon out onto the turmeric leaves.

Fold the turmeric leaves, and place them in a steamer. Steam for about ten minutes.

Heat oil on a skillet, and place the pankis (with the leaves) on it. Fry well till brown spots appear on both sides.

Remove the turmeric leaves and serve hot with green chutney.

Happy Cooking!

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

After a lot of deliberation, consultation and agony over what should be my hundredth recipe, I finally zeroed in on this fantastic but easy Italian appetizer called 'Bruschetta'. Pronounced as brusketta it is made of a French Baguette bread which is toasted and a little garlic is rubbed on to its surface and is topped with a variety of ingredients.

Of course this was not a difficult recipe. Then why did I choose this to be my hundredth recipe? It is meant to be a tribute to the one movie or should I say two people  who started it all in the first place.. Yup, you got it. Julie and Julia. Now this is not a French recipe. But this is a recipe Julie Powell is eating just as she decides that she is going to write her own blog. I fell in love with the look of the recipe as she was making it. I dreamed of being able to make something as beautiful someday.

This is what I made. Take a look at it for yourself and tell me if it appealed to you too.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French Baguette loaf
• about 1/2 stick butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 6 large tomatoes
• 6 to 7 cloves of garlic
• 5 basil leaves
• 1 tsp dry red chilli powder (the original recipe called for pepper, but I added dry red chilli for that extra zing)
• salt to taste

Slice the baguette diagonally to make elongated slices of about 1/2 an inch each. Toast them in the oven or over a griddle and keep them aside.

Place a pot of water over heat and bring it to a boil. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and turn off the heat. Let the tomatoes remain in the water for about a minute. Remove the tomatoes and peel the skins. Chop them roughly and keep them aside.

Chop the garlic into fine pieces. Now heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wok and add the garlic to it. Throw in the tomatoes and basil, salt and dry red chilli powder to taste.

Heat the butter on a griddle and pour one tablespoon of olive oil in it. Now place the toasted bread slices in it and fry well on both sides. Remove them onto a serving plate, and spoon out a portion of the tomato basil mixture on it. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve hot!

Happy Cooking!

Deviled Eggs

What a lovely breakfast I had this morning! Except, it was too less. I wish I could have made more. I found the recipe for eggs on the internet. Deviled eggs is a recipe where you stuff the yolk in the egg. :-P

Haha. I know, the yolk is stuffed in the egg as it is. But you hard boil the eggs, remove the yolks, add some wonderfully aromatic things to it, and re-stuff it in the eggs. And the result? A creamy, smooth and buttery mixture stuffed in a boiled egg white which provides the base flavor.

The tanginess of the mustard is offset by the earthiness of the yolks. I made a very basic recipe, but you can add a lot more to it to add more definition and variety.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp mustard sauce (preferable Dijon mustard)
• 2 tsp butter
• salt (just a hint)
• 1/2 tsp tobasco sauce (or as per your taste)
• a few flakes of paprika (to garnish)
• 1/2 tsp oregano powder

Place the eggs in a deep vessel and cover them with water to about an inch above the eggs. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then turn down the heat and simmer them for around ten to fifteen minutes.

Once this is done, drain all the hot water and cool the eggs under tap water. Crack the eggs gently and roll them to and fro with feather touch under your palms. This will make the shells to peel off easily.

With a sharp non-serrated knife, cut the egg lengthwise from the base to the tip in just one easy motion. If you move your knife back and forth, you will end up mincing the egg. Just one long deep gash is enough to make a clean cut. Now hold the egg half yolk side down over a bowl and tap on the white lightly over the point of the egg yolk. The yolk will fall into the bowl without breaking the white.

Remove all the yolks in this manner. Put the mayonnaise, butter, mustard sauce, tobasco sauce and salt in this and mix well. I squeezed the yolk mixture through the sieve to remove lumps.

You can just spoon out the yolk mixture into the cavity in the egg white, or do what I did. I poured the mixture in my icing bag and used a star nozzle to squeeze out the yolk mixture onto the whites. This makes for a great presentation.

All that remains to be done is to sprinkle the oregano on top and garnish with paprika flakes. Serve chilled!

Happy Cooking!

Wheat Pancakes

In a good mood today. Saee's first day at school went well. Touchwood. I hope that the rest of the year goes just as well as the first day. That took some (or rather most) of my anxiety away.

This morning I made wheat pancakes. They were soft in the center and crispy outside. Just the right hint of sour and spicy. The onions made for a good texture in it. They weren't there in the original recipe. But one pancake is filling enough for a single person. The measures I have used in this recipe makes about ten pancakes. Calculate how much you would need for your household and then make them.

Ingredients

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup yoghurt or buttermilk
• 2 small onions finely chopped
• water as needed
• salt to taste
• 3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1/4th tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

For the tempering

• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 4 to 5 curry leaves

Mix the ingredients for the batter to make a smooth batter of dropping consistency. Heat the oil for the tempering and add the mustard, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour this over the batter and mix well.

Now heat a non-stick skillet and spray some cooking oil on it. Pour a ladle of batter on the skillet and spread it to make a thin pancake. Place a cover on the skillet and fry for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the cover and turn the pancake over. Fry for a few more minutes on a low flame.

Agreed that this method takes a longer time to make a single pancake, but it also makes it very very crispy and yummy. You can fry for less time and  eat it soft if you prefer it that way.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Happy Cooking!

Vanilla cupcakes

This morning my family woke up to the most amazingly soft cupcakes with the world's most horribly-gone-wrong buttercream icing. I don't know what went wrong. First of all, it didn't peak. The margarine turned lumpy and clumpy. I added more sugar, but it kept going runny! Please someone, anyone, if you know how to make a good butter cream icing and know how to get it exactly right, please please guide me.

Nonetheless, I'll post the cupcake recipe. They turned out quite fantastic actually.

Ingredients

• 160 g flour
• 120 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Sieve the flour with the baking powder and keep it aside.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Beat the butter with the sugar till soft. Now add the egg and the vanilla extract and beat some more. Add one fourth the flour mixture and beat again. Now add one third the buttermilk and beat again. Keep alternating between the flour and buttermilk, ending with the flour.

Line a cupcake tin with individual cupcake liners. Spoon out the cake batter into each till they are about three-fourth filled with the mixture. Push the baking tray into the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes before icing them. (If you get the icing right)

Serve with tea, or eat them just like that.

Happy (sob) Cooking!

Garlic Bread Rolls

My best friend Shweta is in town and I am going to meet her. For this special occasion I thought I'd make something (edible) and take them to her. Bread rolls immediately came to my mind. So I scoured the internet for some good recipes, and stumbled upon this site called The Purple foodie. A blog by Ms. Shaheen Peerbhai. Not only is the lady in question extremely talented, she also helpfully pointed out a few hints as to where I can find the ingredients in Mumbai.

But before I write this recipe, I must MUST thank a few people who have made all the difference into making me what I am today.
1.) First and foremost A BIG THANKS AND LOTS OF LOVE AND KISSES TO MY MOM for  making me who I am today. You are my true inspiration. Love you, Mom!

2.) MY DEAREST HUSBAND SHRIKANT Thanks for eating all the crap called practice, in the way of making what I made today. Thanks for always being supportive even when I am being a giant pain in the ass.

3.) THANKS SAHANA, ANITA AND ANUSHREE the oven that you guys gifted me for my wedding, has unfailingly served me all these years and will continue to be my most favorite kitchen appliance of all times. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

4.) THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO READ MY RECIPES even though sometimes they are downright crappy! Special thanks to Jayanti, Rhythm, and Laxmi, please keep commenting so I know you are reading the recipes. :-)

Now that all the thanks have been said, let's go on to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 and 3/4th tsp sugar
• 210 g milk 
• about 9 g instant yeast (about 1/2 tbsp)
•  1/2 egg (to mix in the dough)
• 1/2 egg (for the glaze)
• 45 g butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup garlic minced
• 2 tsp mixed dried Italian herbs
• 2 tsp paprika
• salt to taste

Plan your day. If you are making these for the breakfast, and say, you want your breakfast ready by 9, start the process at 5.30 a.m. That's right, I started the whole thing at 5.30 a.m. at a time when a yellow colored bowl, to me, appeared as pink! But luckily I got the recipe right. Practice they say, makes a man (and a woman) purrfect!

Measure all the ingredients first. Warm the milk to lukewarm. (This is when a drop of milk put on the inside of your wrist does not feel so hot.) Do not heat it too much. Put the yeast in the milk and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile add the salt,  sugar, half the beaten egg and butter to the flour and mix it with your fingers till it resembles bread crumbs. Now pile up the flour to form a mountain. Make a deep well in the center of the mountain and pour a little bit of the milk with the yeast in this well. Start by mixing only a portion of the well keeping the walls intact. It should look like a sludge or a porridge. When it starts getting dry, add some more milk to the sludge, and take in more flour from the sides of the well. Keep doing this till all the milk and all the flour has been used up. Knead well for about 4 to 5 minutes, slapping, punching and hitting the dough with all your might. Think about the person you would like to do that to, and imagine that the dough is your chance to lash out. Your anger will make the dough soft and satiny (kidding :-P)

Now place the dough in a greased bowl and cover the bowl with cling film. Let the dough rest for two hours in which time you should let it prove itself. Pun intended. It does 'prove' itself to double its volume. (Proofing a dough means letting a dough with yeast rise in volume)

You have two hours, you can catnap for one and half hour if you are still feeling groggy. After that, you can make the garlic mixture. Mix the garlic, dried herbs, paprika and salt in the olive oil and keep it aside. That's it.

After the two hours are up, remove the cling film and punch the dough for thirty seconds to remove all the extra air. (It seems like such a shame! I hate doing this!)

Now roll the dough in a rectangle 1/4th of an inch thick. Spread the garlic mixture on to the upper surface. Slice the dough into strips (make cuts parallel to the shorter side of the rectangle). Knot or roll this strip in any way you like. As you can see from the picture I have let my imagination run wild and made many shapes out of the dough. (Which also gave me a great idea for breakfast on Saee's birthday which is coming up!)

Place the dough knots on your baking tray keeping space between them to allow for rising. Cover them with cling film and allow them to rise (or proof) for thirty more minutes. After the thirty minutes are up, brush some of the beaten egg on top of the knots. This gives an amazing shine to your bread rolls.

Preheat your oven to 400 F and place the dough knots into it. Bake for about fifteen to twenty minutes till the topmost part appears nice and evenly browned. Remove and cool them on a rack for about 10 minutes or do what I always do. Serve them hot! Yummy garlic bread rolls are ready for the taking.

Comments from my family
Mom in law: Wow, these look so professional. They taste yummy too. Good job.
Saee: Mummy, they look good!
Hubby: Hmpf!

(Nah, kidding!) Hubby said they looked really great and that he is proud of me! What the hell, I am proud of me too! :-P

Here are the pictures.

Happy Cooking!

Peas Parantha

Finally heralding the onset of monsoons, it rained here for the first time in months yesterday. Everything was so parched for the first sign of a drizzle, everything seemed happy. That included my daughter Saee, as she soaked pleasurably in the rains, danced and splashed water everywhere.

This morning too, getting up to go to the gym seemed like a crime. But get up I did, and I was rewarded, as the scale showed me three kilos less than when I started one week ago. It may seem sudden, but trust me, it was all hard work. The first being giving up on all things sweet. Except for that one cup of tea in the morning with sugar, I have given up all the other kinds of sweets. Chocolates, cakes, and Indian desserts included. Coming to think of it, I don't miss them much. I used to think that I loved sweets and confectionery, but I am not so sure now.

I do miss the junk food. Especially pani puri. But then I do have one plate of pani puri occasionally, I haven't completely given that up. Neither will I. But other than that, all the fried foods are on the hit list too. There was a chance yesterday. I was attending a dental conference where they were serving tea and potato vada for snacks. I could have had that potato vada. That I didn't, got reflected well on the scale today, and I am proud of it. I just hope to keep it up for the months to come and make that target I have set for myself.

The recipe I made this time, called for a lot of oil. I made it with less oil, and for myself, I made a parantha without any oil.

Ingredients

• 1 cup peas
• 1 inch ginger grated
• 4 green chillies chopped
• 1 cup freshly chopped coriander
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (roasted)
• 1 tsp sesame seeds (roasted)
• 2 tbsp gram flour (roasted)
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp honey

For the parantha

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• water to knead

Boil the peas till cooked, and immediately put them in ice cold water to refresh them. This reserves the green color of the peas. Grind the peas together with the rest of the ingredients except gram flour till they become well blended but are still somewhat coarse. Do not add water, but if you must, just a teaspoon or two of water should be enough.

Remove the mixture from the blender and add gram flour. Mix it well.

Knead the ingredients for the dough with enough water to make a soft and smooth dough. Divide it into 10 equal portions and roll them into balls. Make a depression in the center and spoon out one to 1 and half teaspoon of the peas mixture into it. Pull up the edges of the dough and pinch them shut. Roll the ball in dry flour till the dry flour coats it well. Now make it flat with the help of a rolling pin. But do this slowly to avoid the peas mixture from spilling out. Roll it out into a 4 to 5 inch diameter parantha.

Now heat a skillet and pour 1/2 tsp oil on it. Place the parantha on this and fry on this side for only about 30 seconds. Put some oil on the top of the parantha and flip it over. Fry this side till brown spots appear and the parantha puffs up in blisters. Now flip the parantha over once again and fry again till brown spots appear on the other side as well.

Remove it on a plate and serve hot with a dollop of butter (if you can afford the calories!)

Happy Cooking!

Sunshine Breakfast

You will know why I am calling it my sunshine breakfast when you see the image. Pancakes, scrambled eggs and mixed fruit juice. Perfect way to begin your day, don't you think. I think it is entirely comfort food.

I need comforting right now, too. My daughter and my ma-in-law have gone to Pune for two days *sobs. I couldn't go because of my new job. Not that I particularly wanted to, but I am going to miss my little daughter for two days. I hope she doesn't trouble her grandma too much.

Ma in law likes eggs, but not made in this manner. She wants them spicy. I prefer my eggs to be as uncluttered as possible. I do not like throwing a whole spice garden into my eggs. They taste best simple. Like most things in life.

For the pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk

For the scrambled eggs

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• a dash of mixed herbs (optional) 

For the pancakes

Sieve the flour with the baking powder and keep it aside. Separate the yolks from the whites and beat each separately (just like for the sponge cake) I know that you needn't beat them separately when made traditionally. But I do like my pancakes to be as soft and spongy as sponge cakes.

Beat the yolks with a tsp of sugar and keep them aside. Wash all the whipping instruments and dry them completely (thanks Jayu for the tip!) and beat the whites separately with the remaining sugar till stiff. With a rubber spatula, fold in the yolks, the flour, the butter and the milk. Gently stir it all up.

Heat a griddle and add butter. Now spoon out a little batter on it and fry on both sides till it is slightly brown on each side.

For the scrambled eggs

Break the eggs into a bowl. Add the butter and the milk and whip well. Add salt, pepper and mixed herbs and beat some more. Heat a saucepan. Add butter into the saucepan. When it melts completely, pour in the egg mixture. Wait for some time till the lowest layer has set a little. Now push away one side of the eggs from the edge towards the center and let the liquid egg run into the empty space created. Keep doing this till all the liquid egg mixture has been used up. Scramble a little with a spatula and turn off the heat. You don't want your scrambled eggs to go completely hard.

Serve the pancakes with your favorite syrup and the scrambled eggs. Pour a glassful of juice. Your sunshine breakfast is ready!

Happy Cooking! 

Corn, Peas and Potato Sandwich

There is nothing great about making a sandwich. Or, that is what I used to think. Until I had a taste of my friend Sucheta's sandwich. Sucheta is a great cook (albeit vegetarian) and makes wonderful recipes on Sundays for her family. I was lucky to be a part of few of those and taste her awesome sandwiches. Not to mention, my kid loved the sandwiches. What a great way to get some veggies into her tummy!

This morning, I made  sandwiches with corn, peas, cottage cheese and potatoes. Also, I always use brown bread instead of white bread unless absolutely necessary. Switching to brown bread means switching to health.

The best part is, Saee gave me a thumbs up! I got my reward already :-)

Ingredients

• 10 slices of brown bread
• 2 medium potatoes boiled and peeled
• 1/2 cup peas, boiled
• 1/2 cup corn, boiled
• 1/2 cup grated cottage cheese (I make mine at home)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp barbeque sauce
• 1 tsp mixed dry herbs
• 2 tsp olive oil
• butter
• salt to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a wok. Stir in the chopped onion and saute till the onion becomes translucent. Add the corn and the peas and toss around a little bit. Now add the mashed boiled potatoes and give it a good stir in the wok. Lower from the heat.

Now add the grated cottage cheese, turmeric, red chilli powder, mixed herbs, dark soy sauce and barbeque sauce. Add a little salt to taste. Mix it up well with hands.

Now butter both sides of the bread, and spread a little of the above mixture on one slice. Place the other slice above the spread and toast the sandwich till it browns on both sides.

Cut into triangles and serve with green chutney or tomato ketchup. A healthy breakfast is ready!

Happy Cooking!

Papad Parantha

The simplest breakfast ever! I remember seeing the recipe once on a cookery show on TV. This parantha is a specialty of a paranthawala in Delhi where he concocts all sorts of recipes for his paranthas and they are a huge hit. Of course, he makes this recipe with dollops of ghee which I very thoughtfully omitted. You may use the ghee if you like.

Ingredients

• 6 papads
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil for kneading the flour
• 1/2 cup oil for frying the papads and then for the paranthas

I generally use papads which have different spices in them already, so you needn't season it anymore. Deep fry the papads and drain them on kitchen towels. Crush them into fine pieces.

Take the flour in a large dish. Make a well in the center and add the salt and 2 tbsp oil. Mix it well till it resembles bread crumbs. Now add the water slowly and knead well to form a firm dough.

Take a portion of the dough and make a ball from it. Make a deep depression in the center using thumbs and index fingers of both hands. Spoon out a portion of the papad mixture into the depression and seal the edges of the dough shut. Dip it in dry flour and roll out using a rolling pin. You can't make this parantha too thin as it has a tendency to tear.

Now heat a griddle and spoon out a tsp of oil on it. Place the parantha on the griddle and fry well on both sides till it becomes nice golden brown colored. Serve hot with chutney, ketchup or pickle!

Happy Cooking!

Layered Omlette

Ever since I could cook, I remember making strange recipes. Strange because no one had heard of them. I didn't know at that time that you could concoct recipes on your own. I thought you always followed age-old recipes. It may still be the method de regueur, but I love experimenting every now and then.

Nothing fancy, food you can cook easily within five to ten minutes and is still tasty. This is one of those recipes. I didn't know what to call it. It serves as an excellent breakfast or a mid meal snack. Try it and do tell me if you like the taste.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs (for 1 person)
• 3 mushrooms, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 sun-dried tomatoes chopped
• 1/2 tsp mixed herbs
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• salt to taste
• 3 tsp olive oil

Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and keep them aside.

Now heat the oil in a wok and add the mushrooms. Add salt and seasoning and saute for two minutes. Add the jalapenos and sun-dried tomatoes. Add just half a teaspoon of soy sauce and the tomato ketchup. Remove in a separate bowl.

Heat a tsp of oil in a non-stick pan. Add half the beaten egg and allow it to fry for a minute. Now add the mushroom mixture and spread  it over the egg layer. Now pour the remaining egg on top of the mushroom mixture and flip the whole assembly over. Fry again for a minute.

Remove in a plate and serve hot!

I agree, the picture is bad. Sorry :-)

Happy Cooking!

Moong Daal ke Chille

I am going to Vasai today. I had to cook breakfast and lunch quickly. So I made this recipe. It is quick, and very very tasty. Besides being that, it is also very nutritious and healthy. Saee ate one whole chilla all by herself. That speaks volumes for the chilla.

Ideally the moong dal should be soaked for two hours. I didn't have that much time, so I soaked the moong dal for only half and hour in warm water. The batter therefore became slightly rough textured, but the result was an awesome crispy chilla.

You can soak it for two hours if you wish.

Ingredients

• 2 cups moong dal soaked in warm water for half an hour to 45 minutes
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 3 to 4 green chillies 
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

Grind the soaked moong dal, coriander,  ginger, green chillies, red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt with a little water. The batter should be slightly thick.

Heat a frying pan, and spoon out a ladle of the batter on the center of the pan. With the back of the spoon, spread it in circles starting from the center and moving outward so it looks like a thin pancake. Pour a few drops of oil all around the pancake.

Fry it on this side till it is brown and crisp. Now with the help of a spatula, raise the edges of the chilla. Pick up the chilla with the spatula and flip it over. Fry again for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot with cold yogurt for a super healthy and tasty breakfast.

Happy Cooking!