South Indian Sambar

Sambar:

Ingredients:

Sambar Powder(store bought) or make at home,
Turmeric, imli, salt, asafoetida, veggies, toor dhal (if u dont have u can substitute with moong dhal too, but toor dhal tastes classic),

Method:

Cut vegetables like radish, carrot, capsicum, onion , etc, whatever you have in hand tastes good, cut into even round shapes, then fry the onion in a pan with lil oil,, till it is golden brown, then add the other veggies slowly, add turmeric pdr-1 spoon, salt - 1 to 1 and half spoon, then sambar pdr-2 spoons, then roast the veggies slowly for 5 to 7 mins till the sambar pdr smells really good, then soak 1 small lime sized ball of imli in hot water for 5 mins, now squeeze this imli water into the roasted veggies, pour enough water till the veggies are in the water, then cook on medium high for 10 to 20 mins till the veggies are cooked properly and then raw smell of imli goes... now cook 1 cup toor dhal in the pressure cooker with enough water for 4 to 5 whistles,, after the veggies are cooked, add the cooked dhal slowly and adjust the seasoning now, like add salt if needed , add lil water according to your choice of consistency,, sambar is ready,, it goes very well with idli, dosa, upma..

Enjoy..

Madras Mixture:

Time taken to make it: 45 mins,
Ingredients :
Gram flour-2 cups,Riceflour-2 tbsps, Rice flakes-1 to 1 1/2 cups,groundnuts-2 small handfuls, putana dhal(pottukadalai in tamil, dalia in hindi)-2 handfuls, curryleaves- 1 small bunch, cashews-1 handful, turmeric, asafoetida, salt, chillipdr- these are all according to taste..

Method:

Sieve the Gramflour , riceflour, lil turmeric and salt, then add lil water and make a paste like dosa batter.. Batter shud not be too watery, it shud be thick like a cake batter.. Then heat oil in a pan, take the sieve which is used to make the boondi. the sieve is specially made for boondi, with big wholes,,, take the batter, then press it with the cup on the sieve, shown it on the hot oil,, you will see small balls of batter falling in the oil,, cook it for a couple of mins till it turns crispy, drain it in a paper towel.. Now when you are done making the whole batch of boondi, transfer the boondi to a big newspaper, so that it absorbs excess oil.. Next fry the cashews till brown, then drain it in the same way, mix with boondi.. next deepfry the riceflakes.. ofcourse it absorbs more oil, but it turns crispy faster, so be careful not to burn it, then drain it and mix with the boondi,, now deepfry putana dhal, curry leaves one by one,, take extreme care when you add curryleaves since it has lil wetness, chances of oil getting splattered on your face are more.... then add the groundnuts, deepfry them too, and add this to the boondi mixture.. finally add turmeric pdr, to the mixture , add asafoetida-lots, salt, chillipdr, sugar-1 spoon to balance the flavor, and mix it with hand evenly so all the spices are evenly mixed.. Mixture is ready !!!!!

You can store it in an airtight container for upto 15 days to 3 weeks..Homemade mixture has a fresh smell, and it takes less oil too..Enjoy... Pls post your comments after trying this recipe

STIR Vegetables

If you feel you need to have snacks and you are left with some green and leafy vegetables you can try this. Cut small pieces of Broccoli, Cabbage, Capsicum, cauliflower. Boil water in a pan. Put all the cut vegetables for 2 minutes max and remove them. Fry them in a pan with Olive oil, add salt, pepper (chilli powder). This is quick to make.

Other interesting food blogs

1. http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/
2. http://vegconcoctions.wordpress.com/category/ingredients/milk-and-milk-products/paneer/
3. http://www.chooseindia.com/RECIPe/sweet/c87.htm

Appetizerr

cheese and veggies filled in mushrooms:

Button Mushrooms- 10 -12 depends on your liking.. if you love more add more,,,
For the filling:

Mushroom stalks, celery-1 or 2 pieces, shallots or onions-1 finely chopped, carrots- 1 grated, potato- 1(boiled and smashed), bread crumbs- 1 small cup, garlic- 1 clove, oregano-1 spoon

method:
Take a tava, add lil oil, add the chopped garlic, shallots, fry them well, then add chopped mushroom stalks, grated carrots, oregano- 1 spoon , then fry them till raw smell goes, now add the smashed potatoes, then parsley if you have, then add salt, chillipdr, for your taste, then let the mixture cool,,


Preheat the oven to 350degrees , and spray the baking dish with pam sray.
wipe the mushrooms with damp towel for taking off any dirt. Carefully cut the stems and scoop out the inside of the mushroom lil bit for the filling, without breaking the caps,, then add some olive oil to the caps , sprinkle some salt and pepper on all the mushroom caps, now stuff the filling inside the caps , then add some cheese(parmesan works best, but it is ok if you have any kinda grated cheese),then arrange the caps with filling side facing up to you, then bake for 10 mins approximately till the cheese melts,,,

it is ready to be served hot with sauce, but this appetiser has to be warm , so you can make ahead and heat it in the oven for 5 mins before serving

Hot Sandwiches

Hi Everybody,

Hopefully you all enjoyed my earlier recipes...

Here is my new recipe for HOT SANDWICHES:

If you guys want to enjoy Hot or warm sandwiches on chilly evenings..

Ingredients:

Bread-1 loaf,
tons of veggies like

julienned (thinly shredded or sliced )carrots-1 cup,
cabbage(any color, but green tastes good)-shredded -1 cup,
spring onions- 1 cup shredded,
shallots or onions-shredded -1 cup,
capsicum-thinly shredded -1 cup,
garlic- minced-1 tbsp,
cauliflower-grated-1 cup,
mushrooms -chopped finely-1 cup

In a pan, take 2 spoons oil, then add shallots, garlic, then once it is roasted and crispy, then add cabbage, spring onions ,mushrooms, fry till they turn crisp, then add capsicum last since it leaves lil water and makes the veggies soggy,, then add salt only after the veggies are cooked properly, since salt will leave moisture and the veggies will not turn crisp if you add it first,, then add pepper powder,, for adults who like it spicy you can add jalepenos or for a twist try the garam masala pwdr one pinch and chilli pdr.. keep the cooked veggies aside,,

take a cast iron pan if you have or normal flat base pan (used for dosa), put the bread slice-2 of them parallely, then add some butter on it(optional ), put the veggie mixture on the bread and add lots of cheese on top and cover with the other bread,,, toast it till the cheese melts and serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney,,,

yummy sandwiches for kids too , who dont love veggies will surely relish these,,, without even knowing,,,

Enjoy.... comment on it , so i can improve further if required,, i love to see comments

dessert and rice varieties

I love to cook different varieties of veggie foods.. I tried a recipe recently .. i am posting it and would like to see the comments after you try it,,,

Spinach Rice

Ingredients:

Spinach - half a bag of spinaach, ginger-1"piece, green chillies -3 or more according to your taste, rice- 1 glass , soaked in water for 20 mins before cooking,raw garam masala like tej patta, elaichi-1,cinnamon stick-1 ",onion-1 big sliced lengthwise, garlic-2 pods finely chopped , cabbage - cut into thin strips( one small bowl full)( this is optional), pinenuts- 1 handfull( this is also optional) only add if you like the crunch of the nuts in the rice)

method:

Take the spinach in a vessel , cook it with lil water, green chillies and salt,, then once it is cooked(approximately till the spinach is wilted)for 8 mins,, then put this spinach mix in the blender and make into a paste,, cook the rice till done and seperate(like for fried rice), then cool it when it is cooked in a big vessel,,, In a Tava you can add lil butter, then add all the garam masala's , then you can add the onions, garlic, till they are transparent, then add the cabbage and add salt, and then keep it aside, now add the spinach paste to the cooked cabbage tava and mix well, then slowly incorporate the rice without smashing it, adjust the seasoning (check for salt ), then add the roasted pinenuts(which has to be roasted separately with lil oil)in the last for a crunch..

Voila! Spinach rice is ready ..

this can be served with onion raita, or papad,, or steamed beans ..

I tried another dessert recipe using peaches,

Peaches- 1 for each person, slice it and core the pits,
Brownsugar-1 cup,
butter-1 tbsp,
apple juice or mango juice- 1 cup

Take a pan,measure one cup of the apple juice in it, then add one cup packed brownsugar, then add butter, whisk it well and heat all this till the browsugar and the butter melts,,, once it is warm, take a baking dish, then add the sliced peaches and this liquid into the dish and baked at preheated oven at 425 degrees for 25 mins,,, till peaches are fork tender,, serve it warm with vanilla icecream , and a cherry on top,, and if you have hazelnuts, toast them, then crush it with rolling pin and add on top of the icecream,,, fantastic dessert is ready..

i would like to hear more about this if there is any other suggestions