tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68165700165332574752024-03-08T14:39:42.268-05:00Goddess Of SpiceLive, Eat, Explore...Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-8920937448139129102016-04-16T22:56:00.000-04:002016-04-16T22:58:15.424-04:00Rama Navami Neivedhyam - Paanagam, Neer Mor & Vada Paruppu<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>"श्री राम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे<br />सहस्र नाम ततुल्लयं राम नाम वरानने" </i></b></div>
<br />
During one of our summer trips to India, we happened to be in Bombay (in my head it is still Bombay, not Mumbai!) for Janmashtami. We have a tradition of fasting till evening and offering neivedhyam to baby Krishna after reciting the Vishnu Sahasranamam. That year, my father - in - law explained the meaning of a few lines from the shloka. Goddess Parvati asked the Lord if there is any easier/shorter way of gaining the benefits of chanting the Sahasranama as it may be difficult to recite the whole thing everyday. To this, the Lord replies with the aforementioned lines. The essence of this shloka is that chanting "Rama" just thrice is equivalent to reciting the thousand names of Vishnu. Such is the power of Rama. <br />
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<br />
This has been a week of celebrations and festivities on consecutive days - first was hubby's birthday - so I baked cupcakes, the next day was Tamil New Year followed by Vishu Kani, so pigged out on vadai & paayasam! Yesterday was Rama Navami, but guess what, the neivedhyam for this occassion is pretty tummy friendly!<br />
<br />
I made paanagam - which is a cool and refreshing thirst quenching drink - sweet and sour - perfect for the rise in temperature, neer mor - which is seasoned buttermilk, again chilled but a tad spicy and finally vadaparuppu - which I guess can be called a protein rich salad ;)<br />
<br />
Usually, neivedhyams are rich in ghee and oil - sweets and fried stuff! This is one of those rare occasions when the neivedhyam has health benefits!<br />
<br />
Paanagam is as good as an ORS solution - move over Gatorade and electrolyte, we have our own home made version!! In fact, when consumed along with vada paruppu, it supposedly aids in digestion. For that matter, so does neer moru - it is a South Indian version of the salty lassi and is often prepared on a regular basis and served at the end of dinner. It also helps with acidity. And hey guys - its yogurt (read PROBIOTICS) - need I say more?<br />
<br />
So, without further ado, here are the three recipes.<br />
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Soaking Time: 30 minutes Preparation: 15 minutes Serves:4<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<i><b>For Paanagam:</b></i><br />
<br />
Jaggery (Gur/vellam) - 1/4<sup>th</sup>
cup, grated<br />
Chilled water - 4 cups<br />
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Dry Ginger Powder (Saunth/Sukku podi) - 1/4<sup>th </sup>teaspoon</div>
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Cardamom pods (Elaichi/Elakai) - 4</div>
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Holy Basil Leaves (Thulsi/Tulasi) - 4</div>
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Lemon - 1, juiced</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><b>For Vada Paruppu:</b></i></div>
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Moong Dal (Split Green Gram) - 1 cup</div>
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Green Chillie - 1, small, chopped fine</div>
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Raw Mango - 2 tablespoons, chopped fine</div>
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Cucumber - 2 tablespoons, chopped fine </div>
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Ginger - 1/4<sup>th</sup>inch, chopped fine</div>
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Coconut - 1 tablespoon, grated</div>
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Cilantro - for garnish, finely chopped </div>
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Lemon - ½, juiced</div>
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Asafoetida (Heeng/Perunkayam) - a pinch</div>
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Salt - to taste</div>
<i><b><br /></b></i>
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<i><b>For Neer Mor:</b></i></div>
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Yogurt - 1 cup</div>
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Chilled Water - 2 cups </div>
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Green Chillies - 1, small</div>
Ginger - 1/4<sup>th</sup>inch<br />
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Roasted Cumin Powder (Jeera Powder) - ½ teaspoon</div>
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Salt - to taste </div>
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Cilantro - for garnish, finely chopped </div>
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<i><b>For Tempering: </b></i></div>
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Oil - ½ teaspoon </div>
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Mustard Seeds - ½ teaspoon</div>
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Curry Leaves - a few </div>
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Asafoetida (Heeng/Perunkayam) - a pinch</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<i><b>For Paanagam:</b></i><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Take the jaggery in a bowl and add the chilled water to it. Stir till all the jaggery dissolves and then filter out the impurities from the jaggery.</li>
<li>Add in the dry ginger powder, cardamom pods and lemon juice, mix well and refrigerate.</li>
</ol>
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<ol>
</ol>
<i><b>For Vada Paruppu:</b></i><i><b></b></i><br />
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<ol>
<li>Rinse and soak the moong dal for about 30 minutes.</li>
<li>Add in all the other ingredients (raw mango, cucumber, chillies, ginger, coconut, cilantro, asafoetida, salt and lemon juice) and mix well.</li>
</ol>
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<ol>
</ol>
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<i><b>For </b></i><i><b><i><b>Neer Mor</b></i>:</b></i><br />
<ol>
<li>Take yogurt, green chillies and ginger in a blender and give it a good swirl till the yogurt is well beaten.The chillies and ginger will also be coarsely ground by then.</li>
<li>Add in water, roasted cumin powder, salt and cilantro leaves and give a quick whisk once more.</li>
<li>Heat a little oil and add in the mustard seeds.</li>
<li>Once the muster seeds crackle, add in the curry leaves and asafoetida and pour this tempering into the yogurt mixture.</li>
<li>Mix well and refrigerate.</li>
</ol>
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<br />
<ol>
</ol>
Offer neivedhyam and enjoy the prasadam...<br />
<br />
<i><b>Tips:</b></i><br />
<br />
You can add a bit of pachai karpooram to the paanagam if you desire.<br />
For the neer mor, you can just blend in the yogurt and water with a hand whisk, slit a green chillie and skip the roasted cumin powder if you wish.Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-77495832806730805742016-04-06T22:24:00.004-04:002016-04-16T22:16:56.433-04:00Rice Crispie Treats<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Spring break is over, kids are back at school and moms
everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief at finally having their homes back to
themselves!! Now, if only the weather Gods show some mercy – looks like they
did not get the memo that officially, it is spring!! April showers bring May
flowers they say – but what does snow in April bring??</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the meantime, life in routine goes on… </div>
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<br /></div>
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My son is a part of his school’s newspaper club and today was
a publishing party, to celebrate the end of the newspaper club for the current
school year, and parents were invited. I went of course – but the word
“publishing” brought a thought to my mind – oh yes – I used to write a blog
that has been sitting waiting too long. Once the thought came, I just had to
act on it, so here I am putting up a post after a really loooooooooooong time!</div>
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Well this one here is a recipe for rice crispie treats –
nothing too fancy, a recipe right off the back of the cereal box!</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
You could ask me why? Why bother making these treats when
you could just as easily pick it off the shelf of your grocery store? And I
could say, I am a big fan of DIYs, no really, I am! But the reason for my
preferring to make these is because, the store bought ones have regular
marshmallows in them, which contains gelatin. We are vegetarians. So, no
gelatin for us.</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Kiddo loves rice crispie treats and marshmallows, and I have
used store bought one’s in a pinch, how fussy can one be! But I do avoid it if
possible. So, I buy multiple packs of vegan marshmallows wherever I find them -
was difficult once, just one organic store in Hoboken carries them to my
knowledge, but now we have Amazon Prime! Yay!! Don’t you just love the ease of
online ordering??</div>
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<br /></div>
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Once you have vegan marshmallows, making these treats is a
quick fun project for the little ones :)</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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BTW, these can be made in the microwave but we used the
stove top and by “we” I mean me and the junior – yep, this was one of the
things we did during the spring break.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And for those out there raising your eyebrows over letting
my kid cook over a stove top – relax!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was right next to him the whole time and the flame was at the lowest setting.
But if you are frowning over this, use the microwave by all means. It would
probably be quicker too, but my microwave is fixed on top of the cooking range
and I use a stool to reach it! How on earth is my son supposed to reach it? And
if I am the one putting it in and out of the microwave all the time, how is he
going to boast about making those yummy rice crispie treats ALL BY HIMSELF?
Come on, how could I take that away from him?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Psssst… I did pour the contents of the hot pan into a baking
tray before letting him smoothen it all out with a spatula – but that’s just
between you and me ;)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>Preparation, cooking & cooling time: 20 minutes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Makes: 12-15 pieces<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
Ingredients:</h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unsalted butter – 3 tablespoons</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vegan mini marshmallows – 4 cups</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rice Crispies Cereal – 6 cups</div>
<br />
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
Method:</h4>
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<ol>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Melt the butter in a sauce pan.</li>
<li>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Add the marshmallows and keep stirring over a
low flame till all the marshmallows melt into the butter.</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Now add in the rice crispies and give your arms
a good workout – go ahead and mix all the ingredients together.</li>
<li>Remove the gooey mixture from the stove top and
pour into a greased pan. Smoothen with a spatula.</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Let it set – takes about 10 minutes or so.</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Cut into desired size using a butter knife.</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Dig right in!!</li>
</ol>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-46562937688283894312014-03-22T19:25:00.002-04:002014-03-26T18:09:40.189-04:00I ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Consciousness</div>
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Oh yes I am aware,</div>
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Of my strengths, my capabilities, my abilities</div>
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I smile, let it go, choose to turn my other cheek</div>
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Don’t mistake my passiveness for weakness</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>My silence for ignorance!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Realization</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am what I am</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My thoughts are my own</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My actions are my own</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so I choose to be </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
WHO I AM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
WHAT I AM</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
HOW I AM!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Life, you think you can break me, crush me?</div>
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Oh you may chip away at my resilience - </div>
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Bit by tiny bit,</div>
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You are persistent, I give you that!</div>
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<br /></div>
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But there it ends – your control over me!</div>
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My spirit – it’s a fighter!</div>
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It refuses to be bound by shackles! </div>
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My mind – it soars beyond your grasp!</div>
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You think you got me don’t you?</div>
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Think again! Look again!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Shower me with pain, </div>
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Assail me with doubts,</div>
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Play on my fears,</div>
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Badger me with all you got,</div>
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Bring it on, I say!</div>
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For my spirit is my own – it chooses to rise like a phoenix!</div>
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My mind is a sword – it chooses to fight back!</div>
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Nothing you say can take away that from me</div>
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<br /></div>
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And so I live.</div>
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I live to face another day,</div>
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I live to face another fight,</div>
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I choose to live, I choose to hope… </div>
</div>
Priya Sahasranamanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586985426903031157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-66429628298205240492013-08-29T01:01:00.001-04:002013-12-09T21:26:36.060-05:00Uppu Cheedai<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"हाथी घोडा पालकी <br />जय कन्हैया लाल की "</b></i></span></span></div>
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Today being the auspicious occasion of Janmastami/Gokulashtami, I thought what better day to "get back" to my blog than this :)</div>
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My earliest memories of this festival are of my sister and me getting dressed as "gopikas" (much against our wishes I might add) and sitting at the local park which would be decorated and crowded with the local kiddie gang dressed up in whatever the occasion called for and depicting scenes from Lord Krishna's life! I am sure we must have found it fun the first time or so, but I tell you, it got boring (and embarrassing) real fast! That was when we lived in the northern part of India</div>
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Another memory is of amma making the "Krishnar kaal" kolam - rice flour foot prints representing baby Krishna walking in from the entrance right upto the place of worship. This is a tradition I follow. When my little one was still in his baby/toddler days, I would use his feet to make the prints, later I used my hands ofcourse! </div>
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The years spent in Mumbai hold memories of "Dahi handi" - it always amazes me to see the human pyramids formed by all these Govindas while they are splashed by water, not just by the monsoon Gods, but also by the human spectators. It sure is a thrill to see them reach out into the skies, so high, oh so high, to break the matki and collect their prize!</div>
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And then there is all the stuff we get to eat! Thats one good thing about us Hindus - I mean we have got tons of festivals to celebrate and each comes with its own set of munchies to be prepared. Our deities sure were foodies. Take Lord Krishna - he loved milk products. His affinity for butter earned him the name of "Maakhan Chor" literally translated to "Butter Thief"!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rEaucCM-UXs/Uh7TSdwgMOI/AAAAAAAACMA/B7Zs7rJ8FHs/s1600/IMG_5588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rEaucCM-UXs/Uh7TSdwgMOI/AAAAAAAACMA/B7Zs7rJ8FHs/s400/IMG_5588.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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My mom used to make a lot of yummy goodies for neivedyam. Typically butter, poha, milk, sugar, fruits, appam, uppu and vella cheedai, paayasam, ribbon etc are offered. This year, I skipped the ribbon and paayasam.</div>
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So, here I am with the recipe of one of the things made on this festival - atleast by us Tam Brams - Uppu Cheedai. Well, I usually write recipes of sweets associated with a festival, this time, for a change, I thought, why not pick a savory item.</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes Makes: 40-45 </b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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Rice Flour - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1</span> cup<br />
Urad Dal (Black Gram) Powder - 2 tablespoons<br />
Hing/Asafoetida - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon<br />
Sesame Seeds (White) - 1 teaspoon<br />
Shredded Coconut - 1 tablespoon<br />
Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons (melted)<br />
Water - to make dough<br />
Salt - To taste<br />
Coconut Oil - 1 teaspoon (for kneading)<br />
Oil - For deep frying <b><br /></b><br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dry roast the rice flour for a minute or so, don't let it change color.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dry roast the urad dal powder till it turns a reddish tinge.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Sieve the flours and knead it into a dough after adding everything except the oil for deep frying.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Roll the dough into tiny balls, set them aside for 10 minutes, then fry them to a golden brown.</li>
</ol>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4927fNJ9bNI/Uh7SoxHesMI/AAAAAAAACLw/wDaFrtHTO3w/s1600/2013-08-28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4927fNJ9bNI/Uh7SoxHesMI/AAAAAAAACLw/wDaFrtHTO3w/s320/2013-08-28.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Drain them out on absorbent paper and eat - no wait, it was for neivedaym right? Offer it to Lord Krishna and then enjoy! Store the cheedais in an air tight container after they have cooled down.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0XELG96Mnhw/Uh7Ul_nAEmI/AAAAAAAACMM/TcT9dBlpFbw/s1600/IMG_5579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0XELG96Mnhw/Uh7Ul_nAEmI/AAAAAAAACMM/TcT9dBlpFbw/s320/IMG_5579.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Handy Tip:</b></i><br />
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Set aside the rolled cheedais for a few minutes before frying. I do this so as to prevent the oil from bursting. Uppu cheedais are notorious for spluttering hot oil everywhere, so I always keep a distance while frying them! </div>
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<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-72456584892055419492013-04-10T23:01:00.000-04:002013-12-09T22:28:38.942-05:00Tofu Bhurji<div style="text-align: justify;">
Its been one of those crazy days following an equally crazy busy spring break! To tell you the truth, when the spring break started, was kind of dreading it and wondering what I am going to do with my little one for 10 whole days. But the days just whizzed past full of activities and fun, get-togethers, picnics, a visit to the Barclay's Center to watch a basket ball match, a day devoted to exploring and learning science at the Liberty Science Center and so on and so forth!</div>
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Once the break was over and everything was back to routine, I thought things would begin to calm down, but no! Something or the other has been keeping me on my toes. Add to that a whole lot of pigging out and no exercise for all this time, followed by an attempt at being regular at the gym is leaving me sore and tired every night. Hopefully things will get better by next week...</div>
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Today kind of topped it all - a major grocery trip took up most of my morning. Add to that the usual chores and workout as well as kiddo's school and extra curricular activities - all in a day's work. But the cherry on the top - some problem with the water supply left us with no water to cook! The repair was done by evening, but the day was beautiful. I mean, after all these months cooped up due to the cold weather, no way was I giving up the chance to let myself and the little one soak up some much needed Vitamin - D with the unusually warm temperature. Finally, was left with 30 minutes to prepare dinner - 30 minutes when I was already tired, hungry - exhausted!</div>
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The pressure cooker took care of rice and a simple dal tadka. Fortunately, I had prepared sufficient chapathi dough for the night when I packed my son's lunch in the morning. For the side dish, I opted for Tofu Bhurji.</div>
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Wait - don't react to the name. Just try it once - I assure you, it is as good as egg bhurji and paneer bhurji. Infact, if you don't like the smell of egg, this is perfect. No egg smell, yet the wonderful bhurji taste! The best part? Bare minimal vegetable cutting and a quick fix dish!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes Serves: 2-3</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Tofu - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1</span> 14 oz package<br />
Scallions - 4-5, green and white parts sliced seperately <br />
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Tomatoes - 2, diced fine<br />
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Capsicum - 1 small, diced<br />
Coriander/Dhania Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Cumin/Jeera Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon <br />
Red Chilli Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon<br />
Sabzi Masala - 1 teaspoon<br />
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Ginger Garlic Paste -1 teaspoon<br />
Turmeric/Haldi Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Oil - tablespoon <br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Heat oil and add the cumin seeds.</li>
<li>When the cumin seeds start crackling, add the white part of the scallions along with the ginger garlic paste.</li>
<li>When the scallions turn a golden brown, add in the tomatoes, capsicum, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder.</li>
<li>Let these cook for about 5 minutes. Now break the tofu and add it.</li>
<li>Add the sabzi masala and cook stirring constantly till all the moisture from the tofu evaporates about 4-5 minutes.</li>
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Garnish with the green parts of the scallion and serve hot with phulkas. <br />
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Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-20689548052137293282013-03-29T23:36:00.001-04:002013-12-09T22:28:08.943-05:00Rava Laddoo<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hello everybody! Am still in "Holi" mode! While part of me misses all the fun and revelry associated with this festival in India, another part says "come on, you get to celebrate multiple times, so what if its on a smaller scale"!</div>
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The thing is, Holi fell on 27th March which was a working day. So hubby & kiddo went to work and school respectively. But then the little one had a half day and then we got to go for the Easter Egg Hunt along with a photo op with the Easter Bunny in our community. This was followed by a "mini" holi celebration of sorts with a few friends. Oh wait, there was also and accident involving a pointed pencil, an Easter egg and a rushed visit to the pediatrician to get a tiny hand bandaged (don't get me started on that!), but that was forgotten in the over all excitement of the day!</div>
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And tomorrow is another get together for some more color play followed by a potluck dinner - more masti, more magic!</div>
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Now, ghujia is a staple as far as holi is concerned for me. But since I had planned on making some for the weekend celebration, I wanted to make something else on the actual festival. The time constraint led me to think of making rava laddoos. To give it a "holi" feel, I added some food color and made tiny colorful laddoos! My little one got a real kick out of popping these small balls into his mouth :)</div>
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Generally I make these bigger, without food color. I also add some coconut and cashew nuts. But I was out of coconut and had no time to run a grocery errand. Also, couldn't add the nuts as my son is allergic to them and I had neither the time nor the patience to make two separate batches, one with and one without nuts, which is what I normally do. By all means, feel free to omit the food color and include the coconut and nuts, though to be honest, I did not really miss the coconut or the cashews!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes (excluding 30 minutes cooling) Makes: 30 approx.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1 cup<br />
Sugar - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½ </span>cup <br />
Water - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Saffron Essence - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> teaspoon<br />
Cardamom/Elaichi Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> teaspoon<br />
Maida/All Purpose Flour - 1 tablespoon <br />
Ghee - 1 tablespoon<br />
Food Color - As many as you want - a pinch of each <br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Roast semolina with ghee till it turns slightly golden brown and gives off a nice aroma.</li>
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<li>Boil sugar, water and saffron essence till the sugar dissolves completely then add in the cardamom powder.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Gradually add in the semolina and the maida, stirring constantly till all the sugar syrup is absorbed, making sure there are no lumps. Switch off the flame, close and keep aside for about half an hour till the mixture is cooled and is relatively thicker and easier to shape into balls.</li>
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<li>Separate the mixture into equal portions for the different colors, add a pinch of food color to each portion, knead and roll into smooth balls.</li>
</ol>
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Voila! Colorful laddoos for a colorful festival!!</div>
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Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-21226314423291056342013-03-20T23:36:00.000-04:002013-12-09T22:27:40.980-05:00My Very First Blogging Recognition - The Liebster Award<div style="text-align: justify;">
My birthday, a hectic week and a general sense of lethargy - all added up to my not visiting my blog for a whole week. Imagine my surprise then when I came across this comment on on of my posts - "Hii,Happy to pass my Liebster award to you :)".</div>
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Now, for someone who just started blogging for a lark, has no idea where she stands on this wide platform, not to forget, someone who hasn't won anything in her blogger avatar, the words "award" and " you" were enough to bring a wide smile to my face! So, Preeti Jaipal of "<a href="http://kitchendelicacies.blogspot.com/">Kitchen Delicacies</a>", I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the pleasure of winning my first ever recognition!</div>
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OK, once the initial euphoria settled down, I wanted to find out what exactly this award was. Visiting Kitchen Delicacies gave me a rough idea as to what this was all about. Then I googled "Liebster Awards". There were a lot of different versions going on. The rules varied from passing the award to 5 bloggers to 15 bloggers! The number of followers ranged from 200 to 3000! Anyways, after reading the numerous google search results, here is what I concluded (or should I say, here is the gist of what I understood;) )-</div>
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The term "Liebster" is German, meaning "dear" or "beloved". This is an award given to up and coming bloggers to encourage them and show them your love and support. If you choose to accept it, you must:</div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Mention 11 random facts about yourself.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Answer the 11 questions the tagger has set for you.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Choose 11 new bloggers, having less than 200 followers, and pass on the award to them, linking them on your post.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Leave a comment on their blog, telling them about the award.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">No back tagging!</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Frame 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.</li>
</ol>
Simple!<br />
<br />
So, you see, this may not count as a major achievement to many people - I mean there is no website acknowledging you receiving the award, no judge/jury - just fellow bloggers recognizing and appreciating the work you put in. For me, that is reward enough :)<br />
<br />
<b>11 Random Facts About Me:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>I am an avid reader - prefer fiction, but won't hesitate to read pretty much anything and everything I can lay my hands on!</li>
<li>I have an enormous sweet tooth - just can't resist anything sweet!</li>
<li>I love the fresh smell of wet mud after the first rains.</li>
<li>Knitting and crocheting relax me.</li>
<li>I love listening to music - language no bar, genre no bar. </li>
<li>I have a shoe fetish - seriously! My closet is filled with slippers & shoes, some of which I haven't worn more than once or twice!</li>
<li>I love dancing. It is my stress buster, my mood elevator :)</li>
<li>I am a cleanliness freak. Infact my tendency to fuss about cleaning and my love for cooking have earned me the moniker "Monica" - you know Monica Geller from Friends!</li>
<li> Regardless of whether I have a list or not, when I go shopping, I always go overboard!</li>
<li>I am terrified of water - as in I have a fear of drowning.</li>
<li>I don't watch TV regularly, but whenever I do, I do marathon shows - 3 hours of Bones or 4 hours of Top Chef or a whole day of Law & Order - you name it I have done it!</li>
</ol>
<b>11 Questions For Me:</b><br />
<br />
1. What’s the best thing you
ever ate?<br />
I can't seem to pick one thing! Be it my mom's Vengaaya Sambaar with Potato Curry, or the Schezuan Ravioli at Confucius or the the steaming hot Idiappam & Stew eaten on a houseboat in Alleppey on my honeymoon - I love them all!<br />
<br />
2. What is your favorite
place for holidaying?<br />
Kerala, India<br />
<br />
3. Do you watch TV
shows? If so, which is your
favorite?<br />
Off and on... The current craze is The Big Bang Theory<br />
<br />
4. What beauty product you cannot
live without?<br />
I use my fair share of cosmetics, but something that I cannot live without - my moisturizer!<br />
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5. What you always aspired to
be? Are your aspirations met?<br />
I always aspired to make a name for myself as a Bharatanatyam dancer. No, kind of left those dreams behind...<br />
<br />
6. How do you spend your free
time?<br />
I read, knit/crochet and listen to music when I have leisure time on hand.<br />
<br />
7. What is the most exciting
thing you’ve ever done?<br />
The most exciting this I have done so far is river rafting.<br />
<br />
8. Which is your favorite
recipe from your blog?<br />
My favorite recipe on the blog is surprising not a sweet dish! It is the apple thokku!<br />
<br />
9. What’s your favorite thing
to have for dessert?<br />
I love rasagullas! Perfect dessert!<br />
<br />
10. Your favorite shopping
destination?<br />
No, its not Dubai or Honk Kong or New York - it is my good old Delhi! Specially in the company of my sister!<br />
<br />
11. Sports or academics, your pick?<br />
Definitely academics - Much to the disappointment of my hubby, I do not possess a single athletic bone!<br />
<br />
<b>11 Questions From Me:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>What is the craziest thing you ever did?</li>
<li>If not a food blog, what?</li>
<li>Where do you get your inspirations for cooking?</li>
<li>Which chef influences your cooking the most?</li>
<li>Who is your best critic?</li>
<li>What would be the first thing on your bucket list?</li>
<li>If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?</li>
<li>Name your favorite author or book?</li>
<li>Which is your favorite place to hang out with friends?</li>
<li>Are you a morning person or a night owl?</li>
<li>Which cuisine is your culinary strong point?</li>
</ol>
I am passing on this Liebster award to:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://amateurscookingdiary.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">http://amateurscookingdiary.blogspot.in/</a><br />
<a href="http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.in/ </a><br />
<a href="http://foody-buddy.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">http://foody-buddy.blogspot.in/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com</a><br />
<a href="http://easycooknbake.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://easycooknbake.blogspot.com </a><br />
<a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sirisfood.com/" target="_blank">http://www.sirisfood.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://dishingwithdivya.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://dishingwithdivya.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com </a><br />
<a href="http://manjusfoodbites.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">http://manjusfoodbites.blogspot.in/</a><br />
<a href="http://spicyfoood.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">http://spicyfoood.blogspot.in/</a><br />
<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-14396062253492139642013-03-13T23:04:00.000-04:002013-12-09T22:27:13.906-05:00Vegetable Upma<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was one of those days when none of us were in a mood to eat a full fledged meal. All I got when I asked what do you want for dinner was "Make something light".</div>
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My standard resort on such occasions is poha or sabudana khichdi or idli/dosa - you get the drif! Along the same lines, this time I made vegetable rava upma - a standard breakfast item at weddings and such along with the usual idli/vada/pongal!</div>
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It was only very recently that I came to know that in Tamil Nadu, this dish is actually called "khichdi"! The discovery in itself was an amusing incident involving two of my friends - one from Madras (I still can't think of it as Chennai!), the other from Orissa and ofcourse me! When the latter fed her kids "khichdi", the former was puzzled that it looked more like dal rice with vegetables and there was no sign of rava in it! After much confusion and some arguing, we realized that while two of us called the rice and lentils cooked with vegetables "khichdi" (I think that's what most of the country calls it!) the other one was looking for vegetable rava upma! </div>
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As far as my husband and kid are concerned, when I say upma, it means vegetable rava upma. There is no way they are eating a plain upma! Also, one wants any and every vegetable, while the other is allergic to nuts and can't stand the sight of onions and capsicum in his. So, I end up making "customized" upma!</div>
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What I mean is that, I cook my vegetables (I used the frozen mix of peas, carrots, beans and corn and added diced potatoes to it) separately in the microwave but saute the onions and capsicum along with the tempering in another pan! You can prepare the tempering and cook all the vegetables directly in the saucepan that you are using to make the upma. I just find it handy and quick to do all these things separately and since its the dishwasher that cleans the dishes, I don't hesitate to use an additional pot/pan!</div>
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So, while the rava is being roasted, I boil water in the kettle, cook the veggies in the microwave and simultaneously prepare the tempering mix! Finally, I just add everything in parts, making sure to separate my son's share before adding the tempering. But by all means prepare the tempering, add in the rest of the vegetables, add water, bring it to a boil and mix in the roasted rava - all in the same vessel.</div>
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Whichever way you choose to cook it, whatever you choose to serve it with (I did not go to the trouble of making chutney or sambaar, a Lime Ginger pickle was enough to satisfy us!) - this is a simple, fulfilling yet "light" meal!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes Serves: 2-3</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Rava/Sooji/Cream Of Wheat - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1</span> cup <br />
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Green Chillies - 2, chopped fine<br />
Ginger - a small bit, minced<br />
Turmeric/Haldi Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (beans, carrots, peas, corn, potatoes)<br />
Potato - 1 small, diced <br />
Capsicum - 1 small, diced<br />
Onion - 1 small, choped fine<br />
Curry Leaves - a few<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Ghee - 1 tablespoon<br />
Water - 3 cups<br />
For Tempering: <br />
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tablespoon<br />
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon <br />
Urad Dal/Black Gram Dal - 1 teaspoon<br />
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon <br />
Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Cashews - 10-12, broken<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Microwave the vegetables for 5-7 minutes, till they are cooked.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or another vessel - this hastens the cooking process as we don't have to wait for the bottle to boil when we add it to the rava.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Heat the remaining ghee for tempering, add in mustard, jeera, urad dal and chana dal. When the mustard and cumin seeds splutter and the dals turn a golden brown, add in the curry leaves and cashews. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">When the cashews get a reddish tinge, add the onions. When the onions turn transluscent add the green chillies, ginger and capsicum and saute for a couple of minutes, then take off the flame.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Roast the rava with 1 tablespoon of ghee till it turns a reddish tinge and gives off a nice aroma. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Now, slowly pour in the hot water, stirring constantly so it doesn't form lumps. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Continue to stir and cook till the rava reaches a smooth consistent texture and has absorbed most of the water.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Now add the turmeric, salt, mixed vegetables and the prepared tempering.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Mix everything well and cook for another minute.</li>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xVp4zf_1MfM/UUE8y0WmKDI/AAAAAAAACJw/ll2qEiRabrg/s1600/2013-03-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xVp4zf_1MfM/UUE8y0WmKDI/AAAAAAAACJw/ll2qEiRabrg/s320/2013-03-07.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
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Serve hot with chutney/sambaar or plain old pickle - yummy!<br />
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<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-35869928174692166082013-03-08T20:58:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:26:42.984-05:00Tapioca Pudding<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whenever I order bubble tea, my son makes me filter out the tapioca pearls in there so he can eat them. He just loves them. I don't have easy access to those big tapioca pearls, so I thought why not buy the tiny ones and make some tapioca pudding for him.</div>
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Now, all the pudding recipes I looked at had eggs in them, but I wanted to make an eggless version. Whenever I look for eggless cake recipes, people usually use condensed milk to make them. So, I decided to do the same for this pudding as well. I just adjusted the quantity of milk used accordingly and completely did away with sugar as I used sweetened condensed milk.</div>
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As far as flavors go, I did add some cardamom powder as that is a standard spice used when making the similar Indian version of this pudding - Sabudana Kheer! I thought a little saffron would team up beautifully with the cardamom. But ofcourse I couldn't just stop myself there. I thought about what else I could add. All the standard pudding recipes had vanilla essence, so I added a bit of that as well. Then I remembered that I had some coconut pineapple ice cream in my freezer. Coconut would definitely blend in with all the other flavors and pineapple would add a nice touch - so thats it, I added a scoop of the ice cream as well!</div>
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The end result was this gooey delicious mouthful of flavors that I simply loved! Well, the little one whom I actually made it for decided he did not want to eat it. "Amma, I want the big brown chewy pearls - not this!" was his explanation for not trying it! All I said was, his loss, my gain. Of course I'll be hunting a chinese grocery store close by to buy his "big brown chewy pearls" but I sure am glad I made this and will probably make it again as dessert when I have guests over next.</div>
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The best thing about this was, I made it in the crockpot, so it did not require constant monitoring. I got done in about a couple of hours, the first hour of which was spent in getting my son back from school and running a couple of errands! Also, I did not soak the tapioca seeds before cooking, two hours in the crockpot got it perfectly cooked.</div>
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Feel free to experiment with other spices and flavors, but if you want a hassle free dessert - this one fits the bill!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 2 hours Serves: 3-4</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Small Pearl Tapioca Seeds - 3 tablespoons<br />
Milk - 2 cups<br />
Condensed Milk - 1 can <br />
Salt - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> teaspoon<br />
Cardamom (Elaichi) Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> teaspoon<br />
Saffron (Kesar) - a few strands<br />
Vanilla Essence - 1 teaspoon<br />
Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream - 1 scoop <br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>In the crock pot combine tapioca seeds, milk and salt and cook on high for 1 hour.</li>
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<li>Add in the condensed milk, cardamom powder, saffron strands and vanilla essence and cook for another 45 minutes.</li>
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<li>Finally mix in the scoop of ice cream, cook for another 15 minutes and switch off the crockpot. </li>
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Serve hot or chilled...<br />
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Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-40833826797346136352013-03-05T22:37:00.002-05:002013-12-09T22:26:14.628-05:00Lemon Rasam<div style="text-align: justify;">
How often, when asked about what we cooked for dinner, have we responded with -"Oh nothing, just some rasam"! Just think about it, even a simple dal gets a better mention when compared with this South Indian staple. What do we turn to when we are down with the sniffles, what do we resort to cooking when we are out of time and ideas, what do we make when we are thinking of home - as far as I am concerned, the answer to all these is Rasam.</div>
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Today's recipe is the humble Rasam - Lemon Rasam. For the uninitiated, there are a zillion different varieties of rasam, not the standard one prepared in the restaurants. Ditto for sambaars. But that is for another day and another post. For now, let us stick to the lemon rasam. Infact, I prepare lemon rasam also in two different ways. One is from the recipe book "Dakshin". The other, the one that I am posting today, is the way my mom prepares it.</div>
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Rasam is generally associated with a tamarind base, but for lemon rasam, you don't need any tamarind. The lemon provides the required tanginess. I have used homemade rasam powder - will soon be posting the recipe for the same. Feel free to use the store bought one thought. Serve rasam with rice and a curry on the side or drink it up hot and steaming as I do - yummy!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes Serves: 2-3</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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Toor Dal/Red Gram Dal - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup <br />
Tomato - 1<br />
Green Chillies - 2<br />
Ginger - a small bit<br />
Turmeric/Haldi Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> teaspoon<br />
Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch<br />
Rasam Powder - 1 teaspoon <br />
Water - 4 cups <br />
Lemon - 1<br />
Curry Leaves - a few<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Cilantro Leaves - for garnish <br />
For Tempering: <br />
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 2 teaspoons<br />
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon <br />
Whole Red Chillies - 2<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Cook the dal in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric and salt, till it is soft and mushy.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Grind together the tomato, ginger and green chillies into a smooth puree.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Combine the prepared puree, 4 cups of water, asafoetida, turmeric powder, rasam powder, curry leaves and salt in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once the liquid begins to froth over, mash the cooked dal with the back of a ladle and add it to the rasam. Let it cook for another minute.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBenUXKEmSiARbKD03ZiaWUbOc_gr6dOVQyYjuCQ6VD3DQGqJXHPtzGfCAhUF_CODRSopnZpgdeHwQbQczWrmzdxE5pNsSDUBJjqlAI6CIpXGx5hC9ElCBo7s51hvPP0Y8niJLWMapVc/s1600/2013-03-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBenUXKEmSiARbKD03ZiaWUbOc_gr6dOVQyYjuCQ6VD3DQGqJXHPtzGfCAhUF_CODRSopnZpgdeHwQbQczWrmzdxE5pNsSDUBJjqlAI6CIpXGx5hC9ElCBo7s51hvPP0Y8niJLWMapVc/s320/2013-03-04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Turn off the flame and add the the juice from one lemon. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and adding the mustard seeds and red chillies to it. When the must seeds splutter, add the tempering to the rasam. Garnish with cilantro leaves</li>
</ol>
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Serve hot with rice and side dish of choice.<br />
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Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-88498597894613496042013-02-27T22:30:00.003-05:002013-12-09T22:25:44.753-05:00Veggie Orzo Pockets<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am always breaking my head over what to pack for lunch for my little one. Doesn't matter that I try not to repeat the same thing very often, I still get the "amma, please give me something different" from him! I am sure most parents with school going kids would relate to this, or should I say most moms? Now I understand why my mom's daily bedtime lament used to be "naalaiku ennadi pack pannaradu lunchuku?" - meaning, what am I going to pack for your lunch tomorrow!</div>
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Idlis, dosas, chapathis, pooris, rice based dishes, soups, pasta , sandwiches and even maggi - you name it and I have packed it! His favorite is stuffed paraatha, because he finds it easier to hold the paraatha rolled in a foil and eat while yapping away with his friends. But there are only so many varieties of stuffing that I can prepare at 5 in the morning!</div>
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Anyways, I am always looking for ways to combine vegetables and some form of grain in an easy to handle compact form that would appeal to my fussy eater! While thinking along those lines, I hit upon this idea. Am sure its nothing unique and has been tried by someone or the other somewhere. But this is the first time I tried this, and it was a huge hit!</div>
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I always keep crescent roll dough tubes stocked up in my refrigerator as they come in very handy - specially during the weekends when we have friends over for "chai-nashta". Now I thought, why not make pizza pockets with the same. But I wanted to add something more filling to it. My son loves pasta in various shapes and sizes - so I settled on orzo as the grain. He loves marinara sauce. While I have made sauces from scratch, it is just too much to ask of me if you are expecting me to make a small amount of the sauce everytime I make pasta for my kid! Though I am not a big fan of ready to use products, there are certain instances where I make an exception - pasta sauce is one of them - to be specific, store bought bottled marinara sauce; I am not too brand specific, though my current favorite is Giada's Vegetable Marinara sauce. I added a bit of this. Now, how could I leave out the veggies - so I went ahead and added some carrots, zucchini and broccoli as well. Feel free to add any vegetable you like - infact I even thought of using radishes but dropped the idea the last minute as I felt it would be too pungent and wouldn't blend in with the rest of the flavors. Forgot to remove them before clicking the final picture though :p!! Finally comes the cheese - come on, its a baked product for my kidddo - obviously am going to add cheese - loads of it!</div>
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The end result was a surprisingly quick, delicious and filling meal that was easy to handle and well liked by my sweetie pie! After the way he asked "amma, can I have the same thing tomorrow?" - this one is a keeper!</div>
<br />
<b>Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes Serves: 3-4</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Mixed Vegetables (Sliced Carrots, Diced Zucchini and Broccoli Florets) - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span> cup<br />
Orzo - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span> cup, cooked tender<br />
<br />
Ready Made Marinara Pasta Sauce - 4 tablespoons<br />
Kraft Shredded Natural Italian Five Cheese Blend - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span> cup<br />
(Mozarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan)<br />
Parmesan Cheese - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span> cup, finely grated<br />
Fresh Cracked Pepper - to taste<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon<br />
Cooking Spray - to grease the baking sheet <br />
Pillsbury Crescent Roll - 1 tube<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Cook the orzo till tender. Drain and keep aside.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Saute the carrots and zucchini in olive oil till they soften. Then add
in the broccoli, and marinara sauce. Give it a good stir.</li>
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<li>Now add in the orzo, salt and pepper. Mix well.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Roll out the dough, keeping the rectangles intact. Smudge over the dotted edges of the triangles with your fingers so they smoothen out and don't break into triangles. Cut each rectangle into three smaller rectangles.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Place a small amount of the vegetable orzo on each cut piece and top it with the cheeses.</li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEzCitgxoLA/US7PA9doETI/AAAAAAAACG0/nExB3fP9QE0/s1600/IMG_4441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sEzCitgxoLA/US7PA9doETI/AAAAAAAACG0/nExB3fP9QE0/s320/IMG_4441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<li>Wrap the pockets over and seal the edges. Place them on baking sheets and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes till the top is nicely browned</li>
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Serve hot. Or cool down completely, wrap in a foil and pack them up in the lunch box for the little ones to enjoy at school!</div>
</ol>
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Sending this across to<br />
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<a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/bake-fest-hosting-schedule" target="_blank">Vardhini's Bake Fest # 16</a> guest hosted by <a href="http://bestofmykitchen.blogspot.in/2013/01/bake-fest-16-guest-hosting.html" target="_blank">Surabhi</a>.</div>
<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-70007470315243644932013-02-22T23:45:00.001-05:002013-12-09T22:25:03.274-05:00Quinoa Puliodarai<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love the luxury of online shopping - my favorite site being Amazon.com! But it has certainly spoilt me to the extent that I find it extremely frustrating when I cannot simply order something with a mouse click! While going to the store, picking, touching, smelling, trying and bargaining has its own charms (come on, you have to agree with me, specially if you are an Indian like me :) ), there are times when all I want to do is log in, browse and buy - specially if there is a fast shipping option!</div>
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The reason for my starting off on this point is, recently my friend spoke about her having tried quinoa puliodarai at her aunt's place and that set off a craving for it. But the main problem was, while I had all the necessary ingredients for making a pulikaachal, I did not have any quinoa on hand. Boy did I wish I could just order some online during the day and get it by evening - just on time for dinner! But alas, that was not to be, so I had to drive down to the local grocery store to get some. I know, I know, I could have just gone ahead and made it with rice, which is probably what any sensible person would do. But moi being moi - just had to go and buy the quinoa!</div>
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That is what prompted me to make my pulikaachal in a crock-pot instead of going the traditional gas top way. So, while I ran my grocery errand, the pulikaachal was cooking away in the crock-pot and got ready just around the time I finished cooking the quinoa - perfect timing!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, I have used quinoa for making "curd rice" with tempering and pulao, even khichdi. But never for puliodarai. I loved it, will definitely be making it again.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The spice level on this was through the roof - well we do have a high tolerance for heat, but if you prefer your food on the milder side, feel free to reduce the amount of red chillies used. The same goes for the tamarind - but this dish is an extremely tangy one.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The pulikaachal prepared can be refrigerated and used whenever required. The ingredients mentioned below make pulikaachal to serve 6-8 people. But I added a few tablespoons of it to 1 cup of cooked quinoa which was sufficient for me and my husband and stored the rest for future use. </div>
<br />
<b>Preparation & Cooking: 3 hours Serves: 6-8</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients: </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Qunioa - 1 cup <br />
Tamarind - big lemon sized<br />
Jaggery - 1 teaspoon, powdered (optional)<br />
Coriander Seeds/Dhania - 2 tablespoons<br />
Fenugreek Seeds/Methi - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>1 teaspoon<br />
Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch<br />
Red Chillies - 20-25<br />
Peanuts - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup <br />
Turmeric Powder/Haldi - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> teaspoon <br />
Salt - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">to taste</span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tempering:</span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mustard Seeds - 1 tablespoon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Black Gram/Urad Dal - 4 tablespoons </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bengal Gram/Chana Dal - 2 tablespoons</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fenugreek Seeds/Methi - 1 teaspoon </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Curry Leaves - a few</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sesame Oil - </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Soak the tamarind in hot water for a few minutes. I usually microwave the water and tamarind for a minute then set aside for 5 minutes. Then prepare a thick tamarind pulpy juice by squishing the tamarind. With the said amount of tamarind, you should be able to extract 1<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> to 2 cups of thick pulpy juice. Strain this and set aside.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dry roast the coriander seeds, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and grind it to a smooth powder.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Heat the sesame oil and all the ingredients for tempering. When the seeds crackle, add in the peanuts.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">When the peanuts turn a golden brown, add the red chillies and fry for a couple of minutes.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Now, at this stage, if you want to continue cooking on the stove top, add in the remaining ingredients (except the ground powder) and cook, stirring slowly. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame and simmer till the raw tamarind smell disappears and the mixture thickens considerably into a paste like consistency. Finally add in the ground powder. Some people add in the ground powder just when mixing with the rice.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">But on the other hand, if you are out of patience and kitchen standing time, as I was, then go ahead and take out that additional gadget that's resting somewhere in you kitchen - yes I am talking about the crock-pot!</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Add all the ingredients (except the ground powder) to the crock - pot, set it at high for cooking, cover it with a lid and go ahead finish of your chores in the next couple of hours!</li>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9MMCZ0vgJuE/UShH0Ef9zBI/AAAAAAAACD8/gtq19ITSG1I/s1600/IMG_4380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9MMCZ0vgJuE/UShH0Ef9zBI/AAAAAAAACD8/gtq19ITSG1I/s200/IMG_4380.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Oh yes, one more thing - cook the quinoa as per the package instructions. I usually rinse it thoroughly and cook it in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes in double the quantity of water, stirring once or twice in between. Then I cover and let it rest for a couple of minutes and finally fluff it up with a fork. Some people say you should soak it, but so far I have not bothered to do that.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Finally, mix in the ground powder, add the required quantity of pulikaachal to the quinoa and set aside for a few minutes before serving, that way the quinoa will absorb the flavors better. Usually for the amount of qinoa cooked 3-5 tablespoons should do the trick, depending on your taste buds. Add a little at a time and keep tasting till you get your desired taste.</li>
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</ol>
PS: If you have left overs, don't worry, puliodarai always taste's better the next day!<br />
Sending this across to <br />
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<a href="http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.sg/2012/12/dish-name-starts-with-q.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xw9VvpbkohA/USjh8qGUy3I/AAAAAAAACFY/uv_DxX5kQIY/s1600/Q.jpg" /></a></div>
as well as<br />
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<a href="http://www.spicychilly.com/2013/01/my-spicy-recipe-announcement-of.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4sPw59U8A70/UShIdvbssVI/AAAAAAAACEU/k21Le3IuUhU/s200/spicychillylogo-004.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-87243605897277233252013-02-20T23:09:00.003-05:002013-12-09T22:24:05.439-05:00Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cake<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last week was a very hectic and tiring one. There was so much to do throughout each day that by the time evening rolled in, I was ready to say good night! So, decided to stay away from the laptop as well as reading and other hobbies/activities that I usually indulge in before bed time. Now am much refreshed, thank you very much :). I guess sleeping in through the long weekend with no classes to chauffeur the little one to did the trick! Now am back and revving to go...</div>
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Another Valentine's Day came and went by. During the initial years of marriage I used to be pretty excited about "celebrating" V-Day - treating it at par with birthdays and our anniversary. As the years passed, it was just another day, though my husband never failed to get me flowers and/or chocolates, and of course we ate out. Then the little one came along, and at school, it certainly is a grand occasion. So, now I get a personalized hand made card from him :). As do his teachers and classmates!</div>
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Well, sticking to tradition, I gave myself a holiday from the kitchen as far as dinner preparations are concerned. But we ordered delivery as it was freezing outside and it felt like too much to get dressed to dine out, specially after DH returned home tired from office and DS was about ready to doze off! But I decided to make dessert at home. Made jelly for the little one, so was at liberty to try out something different for us.</div>
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Last year, on my trip to India, my cousin made this delicious molten lava cake that I absolutely loved. Have been meaning to try it out for sometime now. So took this opportunity to do the same. </div>
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I used the molten chocolate cake recipe from Martha Stewart's website, but modified it to suit what I had in mind! For one, I used a combination of Ghirardelli intense dark 86% chocolate and Hershey's bittersweet chocolate chips. Also, I served it with French Vanilla ice cream instead of whipped cream.</div>
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A few years back, I used to watch Chef Curtis Stone's show Take Home Chef. In the show, chef Stone would visit a grocery store, randomly pick one of the customers, shop for them, go home with them and cook them a wonderful meal. Am sure that show has prompted me on many an occasion to pay attention to what I was wearing before I went grocery shopping! How many times have I wished Curtis Stone would film his show on the east coast! Imagine, a meal cooked by a celebrity chef - that he is way too cute in the looks department and speaks with that Aussie accent of his doesn't hurt either ;) Not any more though - now I am a regular in my "mommy" clothes, rushing
along like a headless chicken trying to get all my chores done before
rushing off to pick up kiddo from school and take him to whatever extra
curricular activity is scheduled for the day!</div>
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OK, my reason for going off at a tangent like this is that, in one episode of the above mentioned show, chef Curtis added a bit of chilli powder to his chocolate cake and the couple who tasted it were raving about it! Fast forward all these years, I decided to go ahead and do the same to my molten lava cake. After all, how many chances was I going to get to try something risky in desserts when I am not cooking for my son!</div>
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OK, we have Martha Stewart and Curtis Stone. What about Priya? Oh I am there too - in a dash of Jamaican All Spice, a pinch of dry ginger powder and a few drops of Earl Grey tea!</div>
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All the flavors worked pretty well, but the cake is REALLY REALLY intense! You definitely need the ice cream (preferably vanilla, so that the flavors don't clash) to enjoy this dessert.</div>
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Another thing I'd like to mention is, bake the cake just before serving. If you leave it uneaten too long, it will deflate. Also, the inner molten layer will thicken. It just won't taste the way it is supposed to taste. The advantage with this recipe is, you can prepare everything, cover it with a cling wrap and refrigerate it, taking it out when you are ready to bake.</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes Serves:6</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoon plus some more to grease the baking cups<br />
Sugar - 1/3 cup <br />
Eggs - 3<br />
All Purpose Flour - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1/3</span> cup<br />
Bittersweet Chocolate Chips & Dark Chocolate - 8 oz<br />
Confectioner's Sugar - For Dusting<br />
Red Chilli Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon<br />
Earl Grey Tea - 1 tea bag<br />
Dry Ginger Powder - a pinch<br />
Jamaican Allspice - a pinch <br />
Salt - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Grease the baking cups with butter, dust with sugar and set them aside.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring well after every minute. It will take around 2-3 minutes to melt smoothly, without any lumps.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Cream the butter and sugar together till fluffy and add in the eggs one by one, beating well between additions</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Add in the flour, salt and spices and mix till well blended.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dip 1 bag of Earl Grey tea in a glass of hot water, add a few drops of this to the mix as well.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Finally, mix in the melted chocolate, divide batter among the baking
cups and bake for around 10 minutes, till the tops of the cakes do not
jiggle when shaken lightly. </li>
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<li>Remove from the oven, let it stand for 10 minutes. </li>
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Turn out the cakes bottom side up, dust with confectioner's sugar and serve immediately with your favorite ice cream.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtSH44yCJZkPPKObfGq82kvx84hHlZmB7uY1eHJncRXorwGmBMLr7kXH7dxDrPs-6wEkcoemxXTq2bgW1Sd7yVNL8T1DBYO02LXAbsuLVPj6G3EdrcAVKxWM121AAQtVoSGaCCzsAgVI/s1600/IMG_4401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtSH44yCJZkPPKObfGq82kvx84hHlZmB7uY1eHJncRXorwGmBMLr7kXH7dxDrPs-6wEkcoemxXTq2bgW1Sd7yVNL8T1DBYO02LXAbsuLVPj6G3EdrcAVKxWM121AAQtVoSGaCCzsAgVI/s320/IMG_4401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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PS: Don't forget to notice how the the inner chocolate layer simply oozes out when you make that first cut with your fork! I was too busy drooling over it, and by the time I finally managed to get around to clicking the picture, it was too late! So the picture does not do justice to the real thing!</div>
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Sending this across to</div>
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<a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/2013/02/bon-vivant-12-quixotic-fixes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FPDGii+%28Sumee%27s+Culinary+Bites%29" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfwhO0xhyphenhyphenjnLNRR5bWNBY5q5kSPnosU15nOafYTqzVKmF9JIlwtI7_U21ffO0UAeBIvePSzxaC5W0cXCj6LuirgUXm9y5OLCPeplH0P7nRpYBaqa6PhFdM_a7dlSt-2jFmWqou-S1ONI/s200/BonVivant_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
and <br />
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<a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2013/01/sweet-luv-2013-event-announcement-cj-4.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lkxg8xkBUag/URaJD70fT8I/AAAAAAAAB_4/u_s2bNnrAOA/s1600/SweetLuv-300.jpg" /></a></div>
as well as <a href="http://h4hemh4help.blogspot.com/2013/01/jan13-cwl-spouse.html" target="_blank">Cooking With Love - Spouse</a> event<br />
and the <a href="http://www.simplysensationalfood.com/2013/02/event-announcement-lets-cook-bake-for.html" target="_blank">"Lets Cook/Bake For Valentine" </a>event.<br />
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<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-77209509201951330762013-02-08T22:46:00.001-05:002013-12-09T22:23:07.763-05:00Sweet & Spicy Nuts<div style="text-align: justify;">
Irene, Sandy and now Nemo! Hurricanes, floods, blizzards - you name it, we've seen it in the past couple of years! Very soon, we'll be pros at natural disasters - definitely not something I would have voluntarily asked for my list of achievements! As I am writing this the blizzard's going pretty strong!</div>
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By the way, who came up with Nemo as the name. I mean I love Nemo but no way would I associate anything so harsh with something so sweet - not even a furious Nemo :)</div>
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Well, whatever the name, I just hope everyone stays safe and mother nature decides we have been subjected to enough of her ire!</div>
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Schools had an early closing today, so kiddo & I were safe home by 1 in the after noon, but DH reached home only after the drama started! He said the snow was stinging his face as he walked home from the station, what with the winds howling away!</div>
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With all this talk of lousy weather, I had to make something take my mind off it. Well, since everyone was home comparatively early, decided to make something for the evening munchies. My kiddo insisted that he wanted only cookies, so I thought why not make something else for us adults.</div>
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Amongst my earliest memories of this city that I call my home now is one of going out to NYC, just roaming the streets with my then new husband, in the blustery cold, munching on honey roasted nuts from the street vendors and absorbing the sights and sounds around me... I have often wondered if I could make those honey roasted nuts at home, but never tried it. Well, with this uneasy weather outside, I thought why not recreate the snack that reminds of something good that I enjoyed during the cold winters gone by.</div>
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The little one is allergic to nuts, and since he wasn't in a mood for anything but his "jam bikkis and milk" for evening snack, I decided to try my hand at this slow cooker sweet and spicy nuts recipe that I had come across a while back while browsing the net. I forget what website it was or what exactly they used to make it - but do remember the use of cinnamon and cayenne pepper along with honey and maple syrup.</div>
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I decided to tweak it to suit my taste. Sure is a keeper - not too much effort required, just dump everything in to the crock pot and stir every now and then! I used Kashmiri red chilli powder for that kick of spice and since I did not have any maple syrup on hand, I used some pancake syrup along with brown sugar. Now, for me, cinnamon always goes hand in hand with nutmeg and I also added a pinch of Jamaican All Spice.</div>
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The end result was something both hubby and me loved, but the next time, I am going to take my better half's suggestion and add a hint of dry ginger powder - it would just take things up a notch flavor wise...</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 2 hours Serves:2</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Almonds - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Pecans - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Cashews - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Walnuts - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Pumpkin Seeds - 2 tablespoons<br />
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - ½ teaspoon<br />
Cinnamon - ½ teaspoon<br />
Nutmeg - a pinch<br />
Jamaican Allspice - a pinch <br />
Brown Sugar - 2 tablespoons<br />
Honey - 2 teaspoons<br />
Pancake Syrup - 2 teaspoons <br />
Salt - a pinch<br />
Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon<br />
Cooking Spray<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Grease the crockpot with cooking spray.</li>
<li>Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, mix well so that all the nuts are coated evenly with the spices.</li>
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<li>Cover and cook on high for about an hour and a half, stirring every 15-20 minutes. </li>
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<li>Spread everything evenly on a parchment paper to cool down, about 20 minutes or so.</li>
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Serve with your favorite beverage.</div>
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</ol>
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</div>
Sending this across to<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/2013/02/bon-vivant-12-quixotic-fixes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FPDGii+%28Sumee%27s+Culinary+Bites%29" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfwhO0xhyphenhyphenjnLNRR5bWNBY5q5kSPnosU15nOafYTqzVKmF9JIlwtI7_U21ffO0UAeBIvePSzxaC5W0cXCj6LuirgUXm9y5OLCPeplH0P7nRpYBaqa6PhFdM_a7dlSt-2jFmWqou-S1ONI/s200/BonVivant_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
and <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2013/01/sweet-luv-2013-event-announcement-cj-4.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lkxg8xkBUag/URaJD70fT8I/AAAAAAAAB_4/u_s2bNnrAOA/s1600/SweetLuv-300.jpg" /></a></div>
as well as <a href="http://h4hemh4help.blogspot.com/2013/01/jan13-cwl-spouse.html" target="_blank">Cooking With Love - Spouse</a> event<br />
and the <a href="http://www.simplysensationalfood.com/2013/02/event-announcement-lets-cook-bake-for.html" target="_blank">"Lets Cook/Bake For Valentine" </a>event.<br />
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-32663534854175556832013-02-05T21:35:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:22:35.855-05:00Vegetable Medley In Sour Cream Sauce<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most of us Indians have a tendency to cook vegetables to the n<sup>th</sup>
degree and add plenty of masala in everything! And us Southies, in addition to the above two propensities, love adding fiery heat to the food - red chillies, green chillies, dry or fresh - you name it, we use it! While I do enjoy food prepared this way, I also like veggies cooked just till they have a little bite left in them. On occasion I also leave out the masalas, keep a light hand on the spices and let the the flavor of the vegetables do all the talking.</div>
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While such dishes are too bland to suit DH's tastes, my little one loves them. As far as my kid is concerned, just blanch, flash steam or saute vegetables till they are tender, sprinkle some salt and pepper and serve - he loves it! I used to initially think of it as "बीमारों का खाना " - sick bed food! But over a period of time, I have come to like such stuff.</div>
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Today's recipe is one such and for once, DH did not complain! Initially I thought of just mashing a couple of cloves of garlic and
adding it to the veggies, but then I would have had to fish it out later
as I did not want any chunky piece of garlic in my mouth. So I used my
micro-plane grater to directly grate the garlic into the pan. In addition to this, I used just a bare minimum of spices for the flavors. This helps bring out the flavor of the vegetables beautifully, while the sour cream helps enhance the taste.</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes Serves:3-4</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Onion - 1, sliced<br />
Carrots - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup, sliced<br />
Beans - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup, halved<br />
Cauliflower - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup, broken into florets<br />
Peas - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Garlic - 1 tablespoon, minced/grated<br />
Pepper - to taste, freshly cracked<br />
Nutmeg - a pinch<br />
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes - to taste<br />
Sour Cream - 1 tablespoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Heat olive oil in a pan, add the minced garlic to it and give it a stir,</li>
<li>Add the vegetables (except peas) and saute till they are tender but still retain a bit of bite.</li>
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<li>Mix in the peas, freshly cracked pepper, nutmeg, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.</li>
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<li>Finally add the sour cream and take it off the flame.</li>
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Serve hot with rice or rotis.</div>
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Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-56021176581699538492013-01-29T23:51:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:22:10.757-05:00Citrusy Fruit Cake<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yesterday was my little one's "star" or nakshatra birthday. Apart from his current favorite "poori-bhaaji" for dinner, I made some pineapple jello for desert. Just that simple meal was enough to send him into rapturous delight! I also wanted to bake a cake for him, but some unforeseen circumstances came up and I couldn't do it. So, today I decided to make up for it by baking a cake.</div>
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Now, the problem with baking a nice rich moist creamy cake (drool drool) with a satiny layer of frosting (ooh I can almost taste it!) is, I am horrible at icing and my frosting is just about average. Not that it has ever stopped me from trying my hand at it! But this was a day later, so no point in "cutting the cake". Just not worth the effort for a mental promise! If I had told him about it, I would have gone the whole nine yards, but as luck would have it, he had no idea I was planning any such thing. Also, hubby and kiddo would just take one serving, who do you think would finish off the rest? But of course, yours truly. No thank you!</div>
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So I compromised and decided to make a fruit cake. I used condensed milk instead of sugar, so the taste is a tad on the mild side sweetness wise. But this works perfectly as an accompaniment to the evening tea/coffee. Hubby dearest loved it and ate a slice without any prodding where normally I would have to get all pouty and emotionally blackmail him to try it! And of course the chief guest - my "not so little anymore" boy liked it too. Infact he has made it very clear that's what he plans to carry for his snack to school tomorrow! </div>
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The mention of fruit cake brings back fond memories of Christmas back home in India. We had a lot of Christian friends. So in the days leading up to Christmas eve, we would have carolers coming over and singing at our house before moving on to other houses in the neighborhood. And on the day of Christmas our friends would bring over these absolutely delicious fruit cakes and plum cakes as well as home made wine.</div>
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I have used imitation rum essence to capture the delicious flavors of those cakes from my childhood. No where near perfect, but will have to do for now :)</div>
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I have not used any nuts as my kid is allergic, but am sure some chopped pecans, walnuts and/or almonds would add to the taste.</div>
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My fruit cake has currants, cranberries and tutti fruitti. You could use raisins or any other dry fruits. Also, I have used chickoo essence and lemon extract apart from the imitation rum essence and the standard vanilla essence as I wanted to get a fruity flavor. The orange zest and cinnamon applesauce also add to the citrusy fruity taste. Feel free to change the essence to suit your taste and omit the zest as well as applesauce. But if you decide to leave out the applesauce, increase the butter by another tablespoon.</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 1 hour and 15 minutes </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Eggs - 4<br />
Butter - 3 tablespoons<br />
Condensed Milk - 1 can (14 oz) <br />
All Purpose Flour (Maida) - 1 cup (sifted) + a little for dusting the cake pan<br />
Baking Powder - 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Salt - a pinch<br />
Cinnamon Apple Sauce - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Vanilla Essence - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Chickoo Essence - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon <br />
Lemon Extract - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon<br />
Imitation Rum Essence - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼ </span>teaspoon <br />
Currants - 2 tablespoons<br />
Cranberries - 1 tablespoon<br />
Tutti Fruitti - 2 tablespoons<br />
Zest from one orange <br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 175 degrees Celsius.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Grease a bundt cake pan with some butter and dust it lightly with some flour.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Beat together the eggs, butter, flour, condensed milk, baking powder, salt, vanilla essence, lemon extract, chickoo essence, imitation rum essence and cinnamon applesauce.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Now fold in the currants, cranberries, tutti fruitti and orange zest, pour into the bundt cake pan.</li>
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<li>Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 175 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.</li>
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<li>Let the cake cool, then gently turn it over and tap to unmould the cake. </li>
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Yummy fruit cake is ready. Slice them up and nibble away with your choice of beverage!</div>
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Sending this across to <a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/bake-fest-hosting-schedule" target="_blank">Vardhini's </a><br />
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<a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/2012/12/bake-fest-15-guest-hosting.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rk98lbVAj3o/UPd4f8lykBI/AAAAAAAAB2U/6Fi0cLklpt8/s1600/BakeFest_15.jpg" /></a></div>
guest hosted by <a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sumee's Culinary Bites</a><br />
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-29929953609123605122013-01-25T21:36:00.002-05:002013-12-09T22:21:25.940-05:00Doodhi Chana Dal<div style="text-align: justify;">
Started gymming this week after a gap of two months - two months which included the holiday season, two months of gorging on cookies, cakes, fried stuff and anything sugary, two months of lazing around and blaming the cold weather for the general inertia! The pounds have added on - I can literally see all the junk food deposits - love handles and all - ugghhh!</div>
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Now that I have started with the workouts though, I am hoping that I will exercise control over my palate as well! Abstinence is a word non-existent in my dictionary. What I hope to do though is make "Everything in moderation" my new mantra!</div>
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Anyone who has done something physically exerting after being a couch potato for a long time will understand what I am experiencing after hitting the gym for 4 consecutive days after the long break. Every part of my body is hurting - even those I didn't know existed! Yesterday's session was particularly brutal and it took a lot of will power for me to step into the cardio room today! Must say I am proud of myself. Don't ask me how I am rewarding myself for that :p !!</div>
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But once I got back from my "punishment" session today I just did not have the energy to cook anything elaborate. I wanted to make something quick, yet filling and healthy. So I opted for doodhi chana dal. It has chana dal that takes care of the protein part and doodhi is one of those vegetables that has so many health benefits associated with it that it makes me wonder why it is not categorized as a medicine instead of a vegetable! I am serious - just google it. Doodhi/lauki/bottle gourd/ opo squash/sorakai - whatever you call it in your language - has so many traditionally healing properties associated with it that it should be on the "must have" list of every home. It is low in calories and fat, good for diabetics, good for digestion, has a cooling effect with high water content, balances liver function, helps treat blood pressure and heart diseases etc etc etc.</div>
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Well - exercise and doodhi chana dal - I think I have reached my "healthy quota" for the week - what say you??<br />
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<b>Soaking Time: 1 hour Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes Serves: 3-4</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Chana Dal (Bengal Gram Lentil) - 1 cup<br />
Doodhi/Bottle Gourd - 1, diced <br />
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon<br />
Asafoetida (Hing) Powder - a pinch<br />
Dried Red Chillies - 2 <br />
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Ginger - 1 teaspoon, minced<br />
Turmeric (Haldi) Powder - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½ </span>teaspoon<br />
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Dried Mango (Amchur) Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Cilantro - chopped, for garnish<br />
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Oil - 1 tablespoons<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Rinse and soak the chana dal for an hour.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin
seeds and asafoetida powder. When the seeds crackle, add the dried red chillies and ginger. </li>
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<li>Now add in the dal, diced bottle gourd, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well. </li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Add enough water to cover the dal, close the pressure cooker and
cook the dal for 4-5 whistles. Once the steam is all let out, open the
cooker and add the garam masala and amchur powder and garnish with chopped cilantro.
</li>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0_unX31uFSo/UQNAjFF55PI/AAAAAAAAB6A/pXSkyJUX1TE/s1600/IMG_4124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0_unX31uFSo/UQNAjFF55PI/AAAAAAAAB6A/pXSkyJUX1TE/s200/IMG_4124.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Delicious Doodhi Chana Dal is ready. Goes well with both chapathis as well as rice.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIM6Y-OQIA0/UQNAsyiCxpI/AAAAAAAAB6I/O08H4jpBS9U/s1600/IMG_4128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIM6Y-OQIA0/UQNAsyiCxpI/AAAAAAAAB6I/O08H4jpBS9U/s320/IMG_4128.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
</ol>
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Sending this across to <a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2012/12/new-u-event-announcement.html" target="_blank">New "U" 2013 @ Zesty Palette</a>.<br />
<br />Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-13545194526457396412013-01-23T22:37:00.001-05:002013-12-09T22:20:49.240-05:00Paalak Masoor Dal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Was having another of those "I don't want to eat food made by me" days. Every now and then I'll go through this phase when I just get bored of tasting "my own haath ka khaana"! And on such days, the one thing that brings comfort is memories of food cooked by amma. Even better, making whatever I am craving, following her recipe to the T.</div>
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It is funny what we desire at times. One would think chaats and other snack items or sweets would trump simple day to day food when it comes to cravings! But it is my mom's paalak dal, khichdi, aaloo curry, kadhi, tomato rice and even lemon rasam - typical everyday food - that I miss the most!</div>
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Well, most recently I had a hankering for her paalak masoor dal. This is one of her "hit" items! Now, masoor dal (split red lentil), or pink dal as I used to call it, is not very common among south Indians (which is what I am) and Mumbaikars (where my entire clan hails from)! This I came to know much later (after I got married, to be precise, for that is when I stopped identifying dals by their colors - sure was surprised to know that there were so many different yellow dals!). Till then I never understood what was so special about this dal that had people wondering how my mother's paalak dal got that unique taste. That was because she was using masoor dal instead of the standard moong dal that most people we knew were using. Well my mother's culinary repertoire includes dishes from all over the country thanks to my dad's job which took him to a lot of different places. And she tends to capture the local flavors pretty well!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu9UEnRmBqw/UQClxGbcWyI/AAAAAAAAB4w/XW6g1us6nRk/s1600/IMG_4040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu9UEnRmBqw/UQClxGbcWyI/AAAAAAAAB4w/XW6g1us6nRk/s320/IMG_4040.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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So, for this dal, I stick to whatever she uses - thankfully I have made this enough times to no longer require a phone call to ask for the recipe! Though I do have friends calling me for the recipe once they have tasted it at my place ;)</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes Serves: 2-3</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Masoor Dal (Split Red Lentil) - 1 cup<br />
Spinach - 1 cup, chopped fine <br />
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon<br />
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon<br />
Asafoetida (Hing) Powder - a pinch <br />
Onion - 1 small, chopped<br />
Ginger - 1 teaspoon, minced<br />
Green Chillies - 2, chopped fine<br />
Tomato - 1 small, diced <br />
Turmeric (Haldi) Powder - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Coriander (Dhania) Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Cumin (Jeera) Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Cilantro - chopped, for garnish<br />
Butter - 1 tablespoon (optional) <br />
Oil - 2 tablespoons<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida powder. When the seeds crackle, add the onions, green chillies and ginger.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once the onions turn translucent, add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Saute for a couple of minutes.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Now add in the dal (make sure it is rinsed thoroughly), the chopped spinach and salt to taste. Give it a good stir.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Add enough water to cover the dal, close the pressure cooker and cook the dal for 2-3 whistles. Once the steam is all let out, open the cooker and add a tablespoon of butter and garnish with chopped cilantro. </li>
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Steaming hot palak masoor ki dal is ready. Teams perfectly with jeera fried rice!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wH4y5uZEOi0/UQClHhdEZ4I/AAAAAAAAB4o/xYhzj3CtptQ/s1600/IMG_4036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wH4y5uZEOi0/UQClHhdEZ4I/AAAAAAAAB4o/xYhzj3CtptQ/s320/IMG_4036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Handy Tip:</b></i> You could use ghee instead of oil for this recipe but I prefer oil as that is what my mom uses.</div>
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On the other hand, the extremely health conscious may omit the butter, but trust me, the creamy taste when butter is added is just too good to be missed!</div>
</ol>
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Sending this across to<br />
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Zesty South Indian Kitchen's <a href="http://www.zestysouthindiankitchen.com/2013/01/favorite-recipes-event-lentil.html" target="_blank">Favorite Recipes: Lentil, Legume, Beans Recipes</a></div>
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Gayatri's Cook Spot's <a href="http://gayathriscookspot.blogspot.in/2013/01/walk-through-memory-lane-december.html" target="_blank">Walk Through Memory Lane - January</a></div>
and <a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2012/12/new-u-event-announcement.html" target="_blank">New "U" 2013 @ Zesty Palette.</a><a href="http://www.zestysouthindiankitchen.com/" target="_blank"></a><br />
<br />
</div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-1318613267515481952013-01-16T23:13:00.001-05:002013-12-09T22:20:07.039-05:00Cake Pops<div style="text-align: justify;">
WooHooo!! We are one! No no - this is not some "United We Stand" saga! What I mean is that today marks the first anniversary of my blogging "experiment" as I like to think of it. Exactly one year ago to the day, I wrote my first post.</div>
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What began as a lark on somewhat shaky grounds a year ago has successfully continued for a whole year. 1 year and 99 posts! Yes dear friends, coincidentally, today also happens to be my 100th post!</div>
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Thank you friends and fellow bloggers for helping my reach this milestone. Comments, critiques and positive feed backs - it is your valuable inputs that have kept me motivated.</div>
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George Siemens says "Blogging is best learned by blogging...and by reading other bloggers."</div>
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I hope that I have learnt something in my journey through the past year - be it through what I read or through what I post.</div>
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And on that note, let me mark this double celebration with a recipe for cake pops.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1Kku83IRws/UPd3y0nXhGI/AAAAAAAAB2M/PLg4xoDJR30/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1Kku83IRws/UPd3y0nXhGI/AAAAAAAAB2M/PLg4xoDJR30/s320/IMG_4077.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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The last time I made cake pops was using my friend's cake pop maker. This time I wanted to try making it without the cake pop maker. After googling and reading various sites, I decided to try my hand at it. Must say its pretty simple. I used a few tips from the following websites:</div>
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<a href="http://www.welovecakepops.com/how-to-cake-pops/" target="_blank">We Love Cake Pops</a></div>
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and</div>
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<a href="http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2012/03/05/5-tips-to-make-cake-pops-more-easily/" target="_blank">52 Kitchen Adventures</a></div>
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Also, I had some Gingerbread Cup Cake/Whoopie Pie Mix left over from some past experiment! So I used that to bake my base cake instead of baking my own cake from scratch. The kit came with its own frosting mix, which was an added bonus!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 2 hours (includes cake baking and cooling time) Makes: 15 Cake Pops</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Gingerbread Whoopie Pie Mix with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting - 1 box<br />
Unsalted Butter - 2 sticks (one for the cake and one for the frosting)<br />
Egg - 1 <br />
Confectioner's Sugar - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Candy melts - different colors (I used cocoa, white and color burst bright)<br />
Assorted Sprinkles - for decorating<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Follow the instructions on the box - beat together the egg and butter until smooth, then add in the cake mix and blend it well. Bake the cake in a 9" round cake pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 15 minutes.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">In the mean while cream the sugar and butter (room temperature) together into a smooth paste, then blend in the frosting mix.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Let the cake cool down completely then crumble it. Now, you may knead the cake and the frosting into a smooth dough using you hands or in a food processor. I used the latter. The cake will still be a little crumbly, but the frosting will make the mix moist enough to hold a ball shape.</li>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sU6rkC80mpg/UPd2wwYoy6I/AAAAAAAAB1k/FBh6jnR4uHg/s1600/IMG_4055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sU6rkC80mpg/UPd2wwYoy6I/AAAAAAAAB1k/FBh6jnR4uHg/s200/IMG_4055.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<li>Now, using an ice cream scoop or cake ball or meat baller, shape the cake and frosting mix into smooth balls.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn92tl2BOE26d-vpqqGkRtQSjPmceoMgZKQj8-iQtO6jOUu3sqAjNlIicvx1aSnCIGiYZg0rsKzifa5aItISYZ2UbuANJBIXhBEvaoSBl3-0W03kTr2CVbs_7F-xHvnhM_JO1Fm6BG7q4/s1600/IMG_4106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<li>Melt a little of the white candy melts in the microwave, dip the lollypop sticks in it and insert it halfway into the cake balls.</li>
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<li>Keep these in the freezer for about 20 minutes. </li>
<li>Now melt the remaining candy melts as per your color choice. </li>
<li>Take out the cake pops from the freezer, dip them in the melted candy, decorate them as you wish and insert them into Styrofoam blocks for setting or use an overturned colander as I did.</li>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LjmSGJffbYs/UPd3XH5A0sI/AAAAAAAAB18/5FOcEKn68uA/s1600/2013-01-121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LjmSGJffbYs/UPd3XH5A0sI/AAAAAAAAB18/5FOcEKn68uA/s200/2013-01-121.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Delicious cake pops are ready to be eaten.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Vppp6VGL5Q/UPd3kUXyYKI/AAAAAAAAB2E/ueEFsIPXfbk/s1600/IMG_4075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Vppp6VGL5Q/UPd3kUXyYKI/AAAAAAAAB2E/ueEFsIPXfbk/s320/IMG_4075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Handy Tips:</b></i><br />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">While adding the frosting, take care and add a little at a time. You won't be needing more than 3-4 tablespoons. Too much frosting would turn it into a soggy mess and your cake pops won't have the desired texture.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">After coating the cake pops with the melted candy, immediately decorate them with the sprinkles as the candy sets pretty fast and the sprinkles won't stick once it sets.</li>
</ul>
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Sending this across to <a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/bake-fest-hosting-schedule" target="_blank">Vardhini's </a><br />
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<a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/2012/12/bake-fest-15-guest-hosting.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rk98lbVAj3o/UPd4f8lykBI/AAAAAAAAB2U/6Fi0cLklpt8/s1600/BakeFest_15.jpg" /></a></div>
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guest hosted by <a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sumee's Culinary Bites</a><br />
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-87769416100239150062013-01-15T21:38:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:19:28.115-05:00Venn Pongal<div style="text-align: justify;">
And its Pongal again - have come a full circle! My first ever post was a Pongal post - Chakkara Pongal. How could I not post something this Pongal? So, this time, I have opted to post the recipe for Venn Pongal. Of course I made the Chakkara Pongal as well for neivedyam. </div>
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Venn Pongal literally translates to "White Pongal"!</div>
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Before I got married, I used to not like eating pongal. Infact at weddings I never understood the fascination with idli, upma, pongal and vadai for breakfast! Both, my sister and I, would drag our feet when called for the wedding breakfast feast - the only think we liked eating on that menu was the vadai!</div>
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Another memory associated with pongal is the bets that my parents would have on Sunday nights - appa, amma, sis and me would play some card game or carrom or some other board game like ludo or snakes and ladders. One parent and one sibling teamed against the other pair. We were young enough not to care about anything other than who won and who lost, my parents on the other hand had the same running bet. If my mom won, she got to pick what we had for dinner, but if dad won, it would either be pongal or khichdi for dinner - that's how much he loved both these dishes while the rest of us had them on our least favored list!</div>
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All these years later, post marriage and one kid, I have gained an appreciation for this dish though! It is a quick, one pot meal that has rescued me on many a weekends when I am in absolutely no mood to cook. The fact that hubby loves it is an added benefit! What I team it with depends on my level of laziness and how much time I have spent yapping on the phone with my parents and sis! When I have time on hand and don't mind a few additional minutes in the kitchen, I will serve it with a quick tomato gothsu (using canned diced tomatoes ofcourse ;) ), at other times I'll prepare a quick coconut or almond chutney (as was the case today), while on the laziest of days, we'll make do with some pickle!</div>
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What ever be the choice of accompaniment, this simple dish is one of my "go to" dishes on most weekends. I just take out a small portion and temper it without the pepper and cashews for my little one - pepper because he can't take the heat, and cashews because he is allergic to nuts.</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes Serves: 2-3</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Rice - 2 cups<br />
Water - 6 cups<br />
Milk - 1 cup<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
<i>For Tempering:</i><br />
Ghee - 3-4 tablespoons<br />
Cashews - 10-15, broken<br />
Ginger - 1 teaspoon, minced<br />
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 4 teaspoons<br />
Peppercorns - 10-15<br />
Curry Leaves - a few<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li>Roast the moong dal for a few seconds till it gives off a nice aroma, don't let it brown.</li>
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<li>Wash the rice and add it to the dal. Add in the rice, salt, water and milk and pressure cook it till it turns soft and mushy.</li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">In the mean time, grind the cumins seeds and pepper corns into a coarse mixture or crush them using a mortar and pestle.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and adding the cashews.
When the cashews turn a golden brown, add in the ginger, curry leaves
and the ground cumin and pepper mixture, give it a stir and take off the
flame.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn92tl2BOE26d-vpqqGkRtQSjPmceoMgZKQj8-iQtO6jOUu3sqAjNlIicvx1aSnCIGiYZg0rsKzifa5aItISYZ2UbuANJBIXhBEvaoSBl3-0W03kTr2CVbs_7F-xHvnhM_JO1Fm6BG7q4/s1600/IMG_4106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn92tl2BOE26d-vpqqGkRtQSjPmceoMgZKQj8-iQtO6jOUu3sqAjNlIicvx1aSnCIGiYZg0rsKzifa5aItISYZ2UbuANJBIXhBEvaoSBl3-0W03kTr2CVbs_7F-xHvnhM_JO1Fm6BG7q4/s200/IMG_4106.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Once the pressure cooker has let off steam, open it and add in the tempering and mix well.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtfLqo6Evr_zYscqvaYqnbLi1Uc9khyphenhyphenmjXLFbGumHk3x3omfkpnF9_2BN93YKuEnimBezT-y_me0V8dJl6e3Ro7fLtLsagxk3nR7EWVloHShkR1wbHA4Uikj92Tib6lKIH8t1znw445I/s1600/IMG_4111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtfLqo6Evr_zYscqvaYqnbLi1Uc9khyphenhyphenmjXLFbGumHk3x3omfkpnF9_2BN93YKuEnimBezT-y_me0V8dJl6e3Ro7fLtLsagxk3nR7EWVloHShkR1wbHA4Uikj92Tib6lKIH8t1znw445I/s320/IMG_4111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Steaming hot Venn Pongal is ready to be served.</div>
</ol>
<br />
Sending this across to<br />
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<a href="http://www.sarasyummybites.com/2013/01/dish-in-30-minutes-rice-recipes-and.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-clWW11K8KNI/UPYLp6SkCtI/AAAAAAAABzM/F0jH4GZqtbI/s1600/Jan+event+Logo.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
hosted by <a href="http://www.sarasyummybites.com/" target="_blank">Sara's Kitchen.</a>Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-10432247119585396682013-01-09T22:18:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:18:51.415-05:00Spinach Potato Cauliflower Casserole<div style="text-align: justify;">
This New Year's Eve, we had a potluck lunch planned with some friends. Throw in an allergy induced visit to the ER with the little one, followed by dinner, drinks and movie with another friend ending with an impromptu midnight dance performance by the kiddos with a resounding "Happy New Year" - I'd had just about more than enough of a roller coaster ride of emotions to last me through the new year!</div>
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The day started of harmlessly enough though! My contribution for the potluck was a spinach potato and cauliflower casserole.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
What I had in mind initially was a simple spinach casserole. I wanted to use some grain to go with it - a perusal of the pantry produced some Orzo and I thought, why not - spinach casserole with some orzo.</div>
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When I got down to getting the casserole ready, I realized there was not enough orzo and spinach for all of us. That's when I added the cauliflower. Finally, the dried potato flakes just made perfect sense and brought it all together!</div>
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<br /></div>
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When it came to the sauce, I wanted something that would be thick and gooey! So I just opened the refrigerator and took out EVERY kind of cheese that I had! To balance the salty flavors of the cheese, I added a bit of sour cream and Greek Yogurt. I did console myself with the fact that, wherever available, I used non-fat or part-skim versions and the portion size was very small!</div>
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One special mention is the deli style sliced pepper jack cheese that I used. The habanero and jalapeno peppers pop out with a burst of heat, but in tune with the rest of the ingredients, are not overpoweringly spicy. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I did not want to add too much spice as the kids were also going to eat
it. I just used some nutmeg and fresh cracked pepper. I also topped the
casserole with some red chilli flakes (I figured I could always remove
the top layer before serving the kids) and dusted a bit of cocoa powder over it. </div>
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The end result was this rich creamy and flavorful casserole that was a tad on the heavy side, but go easy on the portion size and it spells absolute comfort food!</div>
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<b>Preparation & Cooking: 40 minutes Serves: 8-10</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Spinach - 1 bunch, finely chopped<br />
Onion - 1 large, finely chopped<br />
Cauliflower - 1 cup, broken into small florets<br />
Dried Potato Flakes - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup + 1 tablespoon<br />
Ready Made Marinara Pasta Sauce - 2 tables spoons<br />
Orzo - 1 cup <br />
Nutmeg - a pinch<br />
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 teaspoon<br />
Fresh Cracked Pepper - to taste<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Kraft Fine Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
(Cheddar, Montery Jack, Asadero and Queso Blanco) <br />
Kraft Shredded Natural Italian Five Cheese Blend - 4 tablespoon<br />
(Mozarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan)<br />
Sargento Deli Style Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese - 4 slices<br />
Ricotta Cheese - 2 tablespoons<br />
Sour Cream - 2 tablespoons <br />
Greek Yogurt - 2 tablespoons<br />
Cocoa Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon<br />
Cooking Spray - to grease the casserole dish <br />
Pillsbury Crescent Roll - 1 tube<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Cook the orzo al dente. Drain and keep aside.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Saute the onions in olive oil till they turn translucent. Then add
in the spinach, cauliflower and marinara sauce. Cook for a couple of
minutes. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Now add in the potato flakes (set aside1 tablespoon for the topping), orzo, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let everything mix well.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Finally add all the cheeses (except the Mexican blend), sour cream and Greek yogurt and let them melt and blend in.</li>
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<li>Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the vegetable
and cheese mixture. Now cover this with the crescent roll dough. </li>
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<li>Top this with the Mexican blend of cheese, making sure to cover the
entire surface. Finally, sprinkle the red chilli flakes, freshly cracked
pepper and potato flakes and dust the cocoa powder on top. </li>
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<li>Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes till the top is nicely browned.</li>
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<li>Serve hot. </li>
</ol>
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Sending this across to<br />
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<a href="http://cooksjoy.com/blog/bake-fest-hosting-schedule" target="_blank">Vardhini's Bake Fest # 15</a> guest hosted by <a href="http://sumeesculinary.blogspot.com/2012/12/bake-fest-15-guest-hosting.html" target="_blank">Sumee's Culinary Bites</a>.</div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-18566380969341901832013-01-07T22:20:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:18:02.308-05:00Gulab Jamun<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the new year! One of my resolutions this year is to be regular with posts on my blog! Something that I have been seriously lacking at the last few months. The other of course is to lose weight - I mean come on, do I even have to mention it?</div>
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But, first hurricane Sandy (gym closed for repairs), then the holiday season (hulloooo - Christmas Holidays and dieting??) and now the weather (temperature inversely proportional to amount of food consumed) have made it extremely difficult to keep the pounds off. Well, that's enough of the depressing talk - lets get into a more cheerful frame of mind - sweets always do the trick! </div>
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The year has just begun - plenty of time to work on the second resolution! As for the first one, the first dish to grace the blog in the new year should definitely be a sweet one!</div>
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Well, DH has been mentioning gulab jamuns for quite sometime now. He is very picky as far as sweet dishes are concerned, not a big fan of desserts. So when he asked for this dish, I just couldn't put it off!!</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Gulab Jamun is made using khoa (or khoya, whichever you prefer :) ), which is a milk product. It is very similar to ricotta cheese, but with lesser moisture content.</div>
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I had some ready made store bought khoa handy (I usually keep some in the freezer), so I used that. But it is pretty easy to make khoa at home as well - will post that recipe sometime. Feel free to use either. </div>
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Freezing cold weather and piping hot gulab jamuns - perrrrrfect! Better yet, hot gulab jamun served with cold vanilla ice cream, try it, trust me, its an awesome combination...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Xzd0GEJmX4/UOuOVA7eP6I/AAAAAAAABvI/vAe68YypYUM/s1600/IMG_4008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Xzd0GEJmX4/UOuOVA7eP6I/AAAAAAAABvI/vAe68YypYUM/s320/IMG_4008.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<b>Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes Makes: 25-30</b><br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
All Purpose Flour (Maida) - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> cup<br />
Khoa - 1 cup<br />
Baking Soda - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Milk - 4 tablespoons<br />
Oil - for deep frying <br />
<i><b>For the Sugar Syrup:</b></i><br />
Sugar - 2 cups<br />
Water - 2 cups<br />
Cardamom Powder - 1 teaspoon<br />
Rose Water - 2 teaspoons<br />
Saffron Essence - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½ </span>teaspoon <br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Combine the sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Once the sugar dissolves completely, add the rose water, saffron essence and cardamom powder and switch off the flame. Make sure the sugar syrup is warm when you add the fried dough balls to it. It should not be too hot. </li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Mix the khoa, maida, baking soda and milk to make a firm dough. Depending on the moisture content of the khoa, you might need a little more or less milk to make a smooth dough. Cover this with a wet cloth or kitchen towel and set aside so that it doesn't dry up. </li>
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<li>Heat the oil for deep frying. </li>
<li>Make small balls with the dough and keep these also covered with a wet cloth or kitchen towel till they are ready to be fried. </li>
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<li>When the oil is ready, fry the dough balls a few at a time till they are well cooked and nicely brown all around.</li>
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<li>Drain out of the oil with a slotted spoon and directly soak it in the warm sugar syrup.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Wait for the jamuns to nicely soak up the sugar syrup and increase in size (approximately half an hour should do the trick). </li>
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<li>Serve hot or cold (refrigerated) as desired. Personally, I prefer it hot with a dollop of ice cream on the side.</li>
</ol>
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<ol>
</ol>
<i><b>Handy Tips:</b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The dough balls should be small- they will soak up the sugar syrup and
increase in size. Bigger sized balls will result in bigger gulab jamuns.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Make sure the balls are smooth, if there are any cracks, the
balls could break up and disintegrate, either while frying, or later
when they are soaked in the sugar syrup.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You may garnish the gulab jamuns with chopped nuts or edible silver.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sending this across to <a href="http://uk-rasoi.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Just Cooking N Baking's "<a href="http://easycooknbake.blogspot.com/2012/12/event-announcement-hot-beverages-and.html" target="_blank">Hot Beverages and Desserts withing 45 minutes</a>".</div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-18134398717135370152012-11-26T21:37:00.002-05:002013-12-09T22:17:16.613-05:00Spinach And Carrot Layered Rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My son's homework for the long weekend was this sheet which had the
picture of a plate marked out into partitions. He was supposed to fill
out what he ate for thanksgiving feast. Our thanksgiving dinner was at
a Chinese restaurant, with friends of course, though I am sure that
filling out the restaurant menu was not what the teacher had in mind!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well,
the saving grace is that I did cook lunch for the family in the
morning, so what if the family is just the three of us - kiddo, hubby
& me! And I did bake something, so what if it was neither turkey nor
tofurkey!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9cAnG5mH_wQ/ULQl1QFpZtI/AAAAAAAABto/nDDX8GxzCL8/s1600/IMG_3756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9cAnG5mH_wQ/ULQl1QFpZtI/AAAAAAAABto/nDDX8GxzCL8/s320/IMG_3756.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, here ladies and gentlemen, is what I
prepared for our cozy thanksgiving meal - Spinach & Carrot Layered
Rice with Tomato Avocado Raita. Oh yes, there was pineapple jelly for
dessert! Don't you dare scoff at the menu, after all, didn't Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Sr. (US writer & physician) once say -</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The true essentials of a feast are only fun and feed."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And let me assure you, both the essentials were present at our dining table :)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This
recipe is adapted from a Tarla Dalal recipe book that I have. The
original recipe does not use any of the spices. I thought it would taste
rather bland, so I added the whole spices to the rice and nutmeg to the
spinach. Also, the original recipe called for curry powder to be used
for cooking the carrots, I did not have any handy, so I ended up using
Sambar powder instead... </div>
<br />
<b>Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes Serves: 3-4</b><br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
Parmesan Cheese - for garnish <br />
Oil/Cooking Spray - to grease oven proof dish<br />
<b>For the rice:</b><br />
Basmati Rice - 1 & <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> cup<br />
Cardamom Pods (Elaichi) - 4<br />
Cloves (Laung) - 4<br />
Star Anise - 2<br />
Cinnamon Sticks - 2<br />
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon<br />
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1 tablespoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
<b>For the spinach layer:</b><br />
Spinach - 2 cups, chopped<br />
Peas - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Onion -1 small, chopped<br />
Green chillies - 1, chopped fine <br />
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Oil - 2 teaspoons <br />
<b>For the carrot layer:</b><br />
Carrot - 1 cup, grated<br />
Turmeric Powder (Haldi) - <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½ </span>teaspoon<br />
Sambar Powder - 2 teaspoons<br />
Oil - 2 teaspoons<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Cook
the basmati rice with the whole spices, salt and ghee. I microwaved it,
took about 10 minutes. Spread it on a tray to cook so that the grains
don't stick to each other.</li>
<li>Cook the spinach and peas in the
microwave with the salt and nutmeg for about 4 minutes. In the mean
time, heat oil and add cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add onions
and green chillies and saute them till the onions turn translucent. Now
add in the cooked spinach and peas and give it a good stir. Set aside</li>
<li>Cook the grated carrots in the microwave for about 5 minutes. In another pan, heat oil and add the remaining cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the grated carrots, salt, sambar powder and turmeric powder. Cook for a minute and switch off the gas. </li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ztn9HnC0pv4/ULQmG0Kf7oI/AAAAAAAABtw/N_qMLsRG-rY/s1600/2012-11-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ztn9HnC0pv4/ULQmG0Kf7oI/AAAAAAAABtw/N_qMLsRG-rY/s200/2012-11-22.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Grease an oven proof dish.
First cover the bottom with a layer of rice. Next spread a layer of
spinach and peas. Once again layer the rice on top of the spinach and
peas. Finally spread the carrrot curry over the rice layer. Top this off
with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBwuCGIqASo/ULQmWu0efGI/AAAAAAAABt4/O1iGj4i6d64/s1600/2012-11-221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBwuCGIqASo/ULQmWu0efGI/AAAAAAAABt4/O1iGj4i6d64/s200/2012-11-221.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.</li>
</ol>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f0OvF0yQT9g/ULQmmMvhfaI/AAAAAAAABuA/JGupUSpQX_4/s1600/IMG_3755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f0OvF0yQT9g/ULQmmMvhfaI/AAAAAAAABuA/JGupUSpQX_4/s200/IMG_3755.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Nutritious, colorful layered rice is ready.</div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-4561915538079191402012-11-20T21:05:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:16:49.669-05:00Idli Manchurian<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just before the euphoria of Deepawali, we were hit by hurricane Sandy, causing major devastation along the east coast. Our area was pretty badly hit too. We live a couple of blocks from the waterfront of the Hudson river, right across NYC. Once the water started rising, the streets started flooding at an alarming rate. Within a matter of minutes, the streets in front of our buildings were flooded and street parked cars were submerged. Within moments, most of the area lost power. It was disconcerting - you have to live in or across NYC to experience that sudden loss of electricity when the whole city is plunged into darkness, and all you can see in the darkness, is this monstrous rush of water! Don't get me wrong, growing up in the NCR region of India, I have seen my fair share of power cuts. But somehow, experiencing this in the city that never sleeps was something else entirely! The winds were howling like crazy and the building swayed a bit! We even saw a few swift boats from our window!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By God's grace, things quickly got back to normal,or as close to normal as can be expected under the circumstances. Finally the adults are at work and the kids are in school, the stores are stocked and the gas stations don't have lines snaking around the block!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dxGFqKb8XX0/UKwINuOMlXI/AAAAAAAABqg/9UjwIG0C_kU/s1600/IMG_3531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dxGFqKb8XX0/UKwINuOMlXI/AAAAAAAABqg/9UjwIG0C_kU/s320/IMG_3531.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I know, I know, you must be wondering what any of this has to do with Idli Manchurian! Believe me, if it weren't for the hurricane, I doubt I would have come across this yummy dish! We were well stocked with non-perishables and water in expectation of the storm. Just to be on the safe side, I prepared some idli batter and enough idlis to last me a couple of days, just in case we had no electricity and water. Though most of the buildings in our area suffered loss of power and water supply for days together, we were the few lucky ones to scrape through unscathed. But what that did was, I was left with so many idlis that I did not know what to do with them. I mean, there are only so many idlis you can eat with chutney/gun powder. Another option was idli upma. But after that, I had mutiny on my hands. Even I was fed up. That's when I remembered my cousin mention that he had eaten idli manchurian at his aunt's place and had loved it. So, I decided to try out this dish. After all, anything is better than eating plain idlis for all your meals 2 days in a row! Boy am I glad I did make this dish! It was a big hit with all of us :)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I used left over mini idlis. By all means make fresh ones if you don't have left overs :). Also, if using regular idlis instead of the mini ones, just cut each one into 4-5 pieces.</div>
<br />
<b>Preparation & Cooking: 20 minutes (excluding idli preparation) Serves: 3-4</b><br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Mini Idlis - 12-15<br />
All Purpose Flour/Maida - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Corn Flour - 2 tablespoons<br />
Pepper - 1 teaspoon<br />
Green Chilli Paste - 3 teaspoons<br />
Soy Sauce - 2 teaspoons<br />
Siracha Sauce - 3 teaspoons<br />
Rice Vinegar - 1 teaspoon<br />
Scallions - 1 small bunch, sliced thin<br />
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 teaspoons<br />
Water - to prepare batter <br />
Sesame Oil - 2 tablespoons<br />
Peanut/Sunflower Oil - for deep frying<br />
Salt - to taste<br />
Sugar - a pinch <br />
<br />
<b>Method:
</b><br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Prepare a batter of slightly thick consistency using all purpose flour, corn flour, pepper, salt, 1 teaspoon green chilli paste, 1 teaspoon siracha sauce, 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and a little water.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Dip the idlis in this batter and deep fry them till they turn golden in color, remove with slotted spoon and set aside on absorbent paper.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t2_OG4yULWo/UKwzFuArQcI/AAAAAAAABsM/WeTyQdbR-UQ/s1600/Oct-Nov+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t2_OG4yULWo/UKwzFuArQcI/AAAAAAAABsM/WeTyQdbR-UQ/s200/Oct-Nov+2012.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Saute the white part of the scallions along with the ginger garlic paste in the sesame oil.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D9EfK9VVR2I/UKw1RIvsOqI/AAAAAAAABsU/yeuLi-rChdg/s1600/IMG_3515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D9EfK9VVR2I/UKw1RIvsOqI/AAAAAAAABsU/yeuLi-rChdg/s200/IMG_3515.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li style="text-align: justify;">When the onions turn golden brown, add the remaining sauces, a little water, sugar and a little bit of salt. Be careful while adding salt as soy sauce is already added to it. </li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HPHrF2wd34Y/UKw1uZdlj3I/AAAAAAAABsc/DseaKAZdn0Y/s1600/IMG_3516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HPHrF2wd34Y/UKw1uZdlj3I/AAAAAAAABsc/DseaKAZdn0Y/s200/IMG_3516.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once the gravy thickens, switch off the flame and add the fried idlis to it. Garnish with the green part of scallions.</li>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BKE6goyHiX0/UKw2LE0oCII/AAAAAAAABsk/bywVMzZCw10/s1600/IMG_3529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BKE6goyHiX0/UKw2LE0oCII/AAAAAAAABsk/bywVMzZCw10/s320/IMG_3529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yummy idli manchurians are ready. You could eat them as an appetizer, or increase the gravy and eat it with some hakka noodles or rice. </div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6816570016533257475.post-66637239645488606662012-11-17T01:18:00.002-05:002013-12-09T22:16:01.247-05:00Vanilla Mint Chocolate Fudge<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last year for Diwali I had made this milk chocolate double layer barfi, the recipe for which I got from "Show Me The Curry". It was a big hit. Everyone loved it. Infact, I had sent out some sweets and savories to the teachers at my kid's school and they liked it so much that they requested me to get them some more of the same!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzOM6X01ejs/UKcsDNFup7I/AAAAAAAABos/_vZ728TzPbw/s1600/IMG_3701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzOM6X01ejs/UKcsDNFup7I/AAAAAAAABos/_vZ728TzPbw/s320/IMG_3701.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, this year I was leaning towards making the same sweet again. Then I hit a snag. The original recipe calls for the use of heavy cream. It was 2'o clock at night and I was out of heavy cream. The next day was Diwali - it was too late to go to the store and it was also too late to start off on another track altogether. I was extremely tired and at my wits end. Then I thought, let me skip the heavy cream altogether along with the sugar. I replaced these two ingredients with condensed milk. Now that I had started giving the dish my own twist, I thought, why not go the whole nine yards. I replaced the chocolate chips with mint chocolate chips. I also added some vanilla essence to the plain layer of the fudge. The end result was a refreshingly different sweet dish.</div>
<br />
Preparation & Cooking: 15 minutes plus 3-4 hours for setting Makes: 2 dozens<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<br />
Condensed Milk - 1 can<br />
Non-Fat Milk Powder - 1 packet<br />
Cocoa Powder - 1 tablespoon<br />
Semi-sweet Mint Chocolate Chips - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">¼</span> cup<br />
Unsalted Butter - <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">½</span> stick plus a little extra to grease the tray <br />
<br />
Method:<br />
<ol>
<li>Grease a rectangular tray/container in which you would like to set the sweet. </li>
<li>Take the condensed milk, nonfat milk powder, unsalted butter and vanilla essence in a microwave safe deep dish bowl.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Jycaoeq_fI/UKcoJ0jQ8wI/AAAAAAAABn4/-sENBf1ipOM/s1600/IMG_3632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Jycaoeq_fI/UKcoJ0jQ8wI/AAAAAAAABn4/-sENBf1ipOM/s200/IMG_3632.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Microwave it for 8 minutes, stopping and stirring after every couple of minutes.</li>
<li>Spread out half of this mixture on the greased tray and make it smooth.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dAgVA5Ta1_Y/UKcpVN-5x2I/AAAAAAAABoA/wi_Ww6hxAps/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dAgVA5Ta1_Y/UKcpVN-5x2I/AAAAAAAABoA/wi_Ww6hxAps/s200/IMG_3635.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>In the remaining half of the mixture added the cocoa powder and the mint chocolate chips. Microwave it for another 5 minutes, stopping and stirring after every two minutes.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fB83b9SP3Ps/UKcpnBHgfvI/AAAAAAAABoI/5JWMIHR3frE/s1600/IMG_3633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fB83b9SP3Ps/UKcpnBHgfvI/AAAAAAAABoI/5JWMIHR3frE/s200/IMG_3633.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>By now the plain Vanilla layer would have cooled and become a bit firm to touch. Pour in the chocolate mix on top of the vanilla layer, make a smooth layer and let it set for 3-4 hours.</li>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RP_rdnF5PmM/UKcqCFm_wqI/AAAAAAAABoQ/6VIZw15bb9g/s1600/IMG_3636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RP_rdnF5PmM/UKcqCFm_wqI/AAAAAAAABoQ/6VIZw15bb9g/s200/IMG_3636.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<li>Once the fudge has set properly, cut out into diamonds or squares.</li>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCR0fc2A5V8/UKcqkU5DNnI/AAAAAAAABoc/R2G5b8Qsd2g/s1600/IMG_3694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCR0fc2A5V8/UKcqkU5DNnI/AAAAAAAABoc/R2G5b8Qsd2g/s200/IMG_3694.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A simple yet delicious dessert that is ready in a jiffy.<br />
<br />
Sending this across to <a href="http://anuzhealthykitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/jalebi-fried-sweet-petzel-and-diwali.html" target="_blank">Diwali Food Fest</a> at <a href="http://anuzhealthykitchen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Anu's Healthy Kitchen</a><br />
<a href="http://uk-rasoi.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Nupur's </a><br />
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<a href="http://uk-rasoi.blogspot.com/2012/10/come-celebrate-indian-sweets.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-25N2xfq55Nk/UKYff62IrVI/AAAAAAAABnA/8UnZevwidsA/s1600/Untitled.jpg" /></a></div>
Goddess Of Spicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01930682429423240761noreply@blogger.com0