A Killer Combo: Potato cream cheese methi parathas and Palak Paneer and some random concerns.

So where did i get this 'Killer' thing from, watched Bachna Ae Haseeno last weekend and there Ranbir Kapoor keeps going... iam killer types. So therefrom it comes, the movie was ok and funny at the same time, ranbir kapoor is still ok, but deepika padikone just doesnt know how to act.. she appears so unnatural, sad but true. For more of my ranting on this movie you have the BachnaArHaseeno Review. It was not just this, i watched The Last Lear and Mumbai Meri Jaan. So i had one movieic weekend last weekend. Whats up this weekend, i went to the DVD guy and he didnt have any new movie, Strangers doesnt appear in the online booking, horrible, thank god i have a dinner treat in the evening and some blog hopping for the day.



So people how are you doing.. a few things disturbed me and felt that ranting it infront of you guys will ease me off a little bit, just yesterday i spoke to a fren who lost a near one, a 14 yr old young boy in an inexplicaplable accident, he fell off from a public bus, no clue how, the bus was about to stop, he was not trying to get down before the bus stopped, it had almost halted, just that it was raining that day, maybe some water spilled on the stairs, and definitely the unruly travelers behind him, what troubles me is that such petty things which the common man doesnt care for, they crib about it, they crib about the administration but never think of the circumstances. Even i crib about the administration , i dont deny that, but theres one thing i dont know is, what to do, how to contribute my little something to avoid such things. Who is to be blamed for such things.
In this particular case, what i can think of is, the public transport becoming more responsible and stringent in their rules. If today we have a stern conductor on board who would instantly get those guys down from the bus who do not follow rules, maintain a decorum that people be safely seated in their seats till their stop arrives, and a strict no to the ones standing on the stairs. Just a mutual concern for such things, and fear of the consequences, not just for oneself but for their fellow individuals too. Life would be much simpler and safer. But dont know how can this be implemented.
I myself lost somebody in a small accident like this, at times we feel 'jo likha hota hai woh to hota hi hai' but the same time why dont we try to take care that we need to take some precautions, ok we take the precautions, even the pilion driver wears a helmet, we drive carefully, maybe because of one such careless driver, you never know how many lives can be at stake, not necessary that it has to be Fatal, even a small accident which leaves some scratches, leaves some fear, few weeks of uncomfort and other losses. Why, can there not be some mutual understanding among each other to take of oneself and others around you, has indias population gone so high that inbibing such small concerns in our minds has become next to impossible.
I was waitnig in a traffic signal, and there was this considerably big peice of brick in the middle of the road, and i wanted to remove it from there, coz i have always fund this horrible, it might be a small thing on the road for a truck driver, but it can easily disbalance a person on a 2 wheeler and skid his vehicle, and he might come under a bigger vehicle, whos to be held responsible for that, nobody, but this one precaution on the first go could have been of help, then why didnt i get down and do it, why all this gyan now, well i have tried this once before, but you know what happened to me, many fellow drivers started shouting at me as if i had lost senses, and why because they had to break the traffic signal, horrible, since then i have not took that effort again. That day a few even jumped the signal, a traffic guy standing in one corner as though he is blind, and shook the hell out of me since he crossed the signal so so close to me, i could have got a nice hit, just missed by a few inches. Then wont i be scared of it, to do it again, but the funniest thing was within seconds a truck ran over it, the mud settled, and voila, it would rain, the mud would settle and that part of the road will no longer be a smooth road :). I know iam talking complete ****.. but seriously it all happened in those 30 secs and was too funny and i had to rant it out somewhere.


Back to my Killer combo. When Siri announced her MBP Cheese event, i kept thinking what is that i cook from other blogs, and are cheese based. Well theres this saying na, 'ghar ki murgi daal barabar'... yeah there are two killer :D recipes that have become a part of my daily cooking, totally from two of my favorite blogs... Well The Potato Cream Cheese Methi PAratha from Sunitas world, and Palak Paneer from none other than Sia's Monsoon Spice.

Am an ardent fan of these two ladies. both of this blogging for almost 2 years, unbeatable write ups, mind blowing pictures, most innovative recipes. The beauty of their recipes is that you dont need to worry at all, you can blindly follow their recipes, and MBP, the beauty of MBP is that you dont need to write the recipes. Just cook, click and post. Wow!



The only changes i made to this were: for the Palak Paneer, Sia had prepared palak tofu, but we are paneer fans, so be it, and we prefer paneer without frying it, so to keep it soft, just before adding it to the palak, soak it in warm water with a pinch of salt for 5 mins, once the paneer gets tender, add it to the palak gravy.



For the cheese potato methi paratha i used asli pepper cheese spread (3 tbsp) and some cream(1tsp), and curd(2 tbsp). And a paste of 2 fried onions, 2 cloves of garlic and 1inch ginger. Just cant help it, being the onion fan, i had to add onions to this simple recipe.


So here you go, relish this amazing combination.

So i send these two recipes to Siris MBP Cheese Event.

The palak paneer is a direct entry to Zlamushka's Tried n Tasted. The great Sia being celebrated:), yes yes iam in !!

Also the Potato Cheese Methi parathas to The O Food Event. Do read through and participate to spread the awareness.

'September' is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (via FirstGiving.org)

and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:

1. Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;

OR

2. If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

AND

3. Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you've made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.

We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.

Prizes:

• 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
• 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

• Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
• The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
• The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
• In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
• When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

What i picked as the ingredient is PotatO. Once again you ought to try this paratha. And do visit sunita some more innovations like this.

Read more...

Savvy's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala, My childhood fren Gannu maharaj, and a newly found Lullaby!!

Hush Lil baby, dont you cry,
mums gonna sing you a lullaby...

Yes, Iam sure many of you would be nostalgic about your favorite childhood lullabies... well i do get nostalgic at times, and the irony is that all i can do is just remember them, God can be cruel at time, reason... i don't know.. well i have just heard 'hush lil baby... ' in books and heard it on television... my lullaby was always just one song... Aarari ra ra ro.. (kanne kallaimaane...).. amma used to hum for me to put me off to sleep... dont know if you would believe it.. i have even asked her to sing it for me till the time i was in 12th standard... yes my last years of school were full of fun, me growing up, anna out for studies, and summer afternoons just me and amma, me running off to get amul kulfi for both of us from a not so distant shop.. and then closing all the windows and doors, making the room cozy and cool, and have a good afternoon nap... wow.. it was bliss....
...ummm those kulfis used to have a taste of ecstasy(as in madhur jaffereys novel, climbing the mango trees).. yes... reminding me of those afternoons...
ok am sorry iam wandering here and there with no direction... there are so many things these petty instances remind me of that i just cannot help it... so aarariraro was sung for her highness swati.. whenever she wished for, by the best mommy in the world, ranjani raman.. and i used to sleep in seconds... and thats the reason i remember only a few words of this lovely lullaby... :) if somebody has it handy please please plase share.. another thing i would love to mention... my aunt jai.. yes i have mentioned her here before, she has only one lullaby to offer to her 2 sons.. hanuman chalisa, this lady is amazing, she has sung hanuman chalisa for sriram umpteen number of times.. and even today after 11 years she is singing it for raghav on demand... and the best part is yet to come... supposedly she sings this lullaby for them, but finally who falls asleep would be her and only her... hahaha... and its been a record that its always her falling asleep first than the kiddo...
OK, so where did this lullaby katha come into picture from, well i have a newly found lullaby... without which i cannot sleep, i wait for 10:00 pm to arrive so that i can have an hour long dose of this lullaby and then doze off to sleep.. and this is none other than Big Boss Season 2.. yes i religiously watch it and if i miss it, i make sure i catch up with the missed episodes... and then me and hubby dear religiously discuss the drama and nautanki on the show for another 10-15 minutes and then doze off to sleep. So had to share this latest fact about me with my blogger frens... :) you can catch hold of my Big Boss Gossip here at CafeTalkies.

On that note CafeTalkies has a lot new in store for you...

All of you who have watched Maan gaye mughle aazam, loved it, hated it, want to read about it, want to crib about it.. here you go....

If you have already seen Rock On, and become an ardent fan of farhan akhtar, hope you all know that most of his songs are sung by him, and the dialogues for the movie were written by him, i have become a biggg fan of him ... so go go go ... read about rock on... and its music review, and if you havent got the chance yet, this will be a biggggg motivator...

A Wednesday... i dont know how many of you have heard of it, this was a low budget movie that released last week, but with a brilliant storyline and some applaudable performance by naseeruddin shah and anupam kher... so heres a humble review for you...

And the Big Boss Gossip of course :D

So this was about my lullaby... now comes my very first Ganesh Chaturthi celebration...


Yes i did it, with full kozhyakattai(sweet and sovoury rice dumplings with cocunut and urad dal fillings...), payasam, and halwa.. wow wow wow... but before that a swati special tadka for this story... :) it was a holiday that day so i had all plans of making all this early in the morning, the alarm rang at 6 in the morning, i wake up look at the time, curse myself that why did i keep an alarm so early on a holiday and dozed off again.. hehe.. i remembered that i had a holiday but ganapati bappa... he would kill me for this... but we r childhood frens so i know its ok with him.. i remember as a child i didnt have any holy inclinations, guru brahma and gajananam were the only two sosthras i knew, and that too it used to come out like .... 'gajananam boothi ganati sevitham, kavithha jambu palasaar pakshidam, guru brahma guru vishni guru devoh maheshwarah.. guru sakshaat parabrahma.. tastsmai shri guruveh namah...' done were my prayers, and this was in a hurry becoause i used to eat vibhuti after the prayers... haha one funny creature i was.... so then if somebody used to ask a stupid question like which god do you guys worship .. i used to answer very confidently Ganesha, (down beneath my reason to that was he was the only deity i found to be freindly, i was scared of others as they seemed very seriuos... so i wanted to maintain a distance with them ..:)).. and then there was a liking for hanuman ji.. well that was heriditery... a belief that anything and everythnig can be soled by his mercy... :) today when i believe in all deities, still there remains a silent partiality for ganesh ji (aka Gannu maharaj) and hanumanji...


So Ganesh Chaturthi had to be special, and why not, it was the first time i was getting a chance to make kozhyakattais all by my own... i made both sweet and uppu(salt) ones and some kara urandei(spiced rice balls), and payasam(indian rice pudding) and some sooji banana sheera... (will post about this one soon...)..


And my latest experiment in kitchen... Women's Era's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala..
which was first doscovered by sudha(aka savitri aka savvy) my aunt.. yes yes the chowmein and chilli paneer wali ... the super chef of our family... yes she does the most interesting experiments in the family and i can blindly follow her recipes... so this august when i had been home... Garg going there for the first time after marriage was pampered big time after marriage... mouthwatering biryani by jai... and some scrumptious paneer butter masala and dahi bhindi and blah blah by sudha... so for me... the attraction for the day was the so so different dahi bhindi... the method of preperation was different, and the ingredients also were different.. so i just had to try my hands on it once i got back and i did.... so called her one fine day, took the whole recipe and finally did it... and garg loved it.... (well garg didnt have the bhindi as he was too busy with the paneer, so this was another reason for me to try it without any delay)
.. and he loved it... infact i have made it twice since then.. passed on some to anna too and its a hitt... so here we go, so for me it is :

Savvy's(not Women's Era's) Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala:


Ingredients:

1/2 kg Bhindi(washed, dried, and cut into small 1/2 inches)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal(for tempering)
2-3 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp ginger very finely chopped
4-5 curry leaves
3 medium sized onions filely chopped
2 small tomaotes, peeled and finely chopped
10-15 cashews soaked in milk for 10 minutes
1-2 tsp dessicated/fresh coconut
1/2 tsp amchur
1 cup yogurth/curd/dahi
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1-2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala/kitchen king

Method:

Sprinkle some salt over the small peices of okra/bhindi/ladies finger, and keep it aside for 1/2 hr. Believe me its worth the wait.
(Thanks to Sia, i missed the most important step...), After half an hour deep fry or atleast shallow fry the bhindi till crispy in generous quantity of oil, i used 3 tbsp)
In the meanwhile get your ingredients for the masala ready.
Heat some oil in a wok, add the mustard seeds to this when it is hot enough, let it splutter, now add the urad dal, dry red chillies(break into peices), curry leaves and jeera, fry till the urad dal is turning red and immedietely add the finely chopped onions.
Fry well till the onions have turned brown, to this add the dry spices(turmeric, salt, coriander, kitchen king, chilli powder) and fry well.
In the meanwhile grind the cashew and coconut together into a fine paste, use the milk in which the cashews were soaked for consistency, and keep it aside.
Once the spices are roasted well, add to this the finely chopped tomatoes, and fry till all are well mixed.
Now add the cashew coconut paste and stir for another minute, add the yogurth, and mix, if you find it very thinch you can add some water or some milk to make it to a consistency of your choice, just balance the salt accordingly.
Add the okra just before you want to serve it and heat it for 5 minutes, this keeps the okra crisp and yummy.
Relish this Hyderabadi delight, we have made it thrice since then and enjoy it d same every time.



This goes as my entry to a very interesting even hosted by one of my favorite bloggers Nags, the Saas bahu aur sensex contest. Seriously frens i like the concept of this movie and the day i see this movie it will definitely come on cafe talkies. I just hope it comes up to out expectations, iam a bit sceptical about this movie as theres this sub plot with tanushree dutta, and somehow iam not too fond of her. I hope this sub plot doesnt screw up the movie.
I enter this recipe as my entry to this event as this has been passed on to me by my chef aunt, and shes one gourmet queen you an blindly follow as far as food goes...
well its quick or not, umm for me it is, the day i tried it i gave her a call at 9 at night and seh was like make it some other day, it will take time, but i wanted to make it becoz i wanted to have bhindi(read it was the only veggie i had ;)) and i didnt want to go for a bhindi fry and a dal with it, i fonud it too lengthy, this was quick definitely compared to that combo and i take it as a shortcut whenever i want to avoid one sookha and one geela veggie and do away with one side dish :) ... for those day when you are back from office at 8 45, want to go off to bed by 10 and want to have your favorite bhindi... but not sookha :)



My deary deary fren Divya of DilSe is hosting her first self created even and am too excited for her, hats off buddy, dont know if i will ever have interesting ideas like this, i think 35 times a month that i should diet, not by cutting down on food but having the right food, i lack ideas and i let the idea go... so Divs deary has an amazing idea... a Diet food event... churn up a diet food, low on carbs, high on protien etc ... and go go .. submit it... :) am eagerly waiting for the roundup divyaa..

Read more...

Savvy's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala, My childhood fren Gannu maharaj, and a newly found Lullaby!!

Hush Lil baby, dont you cry,
mums gonna sing you a lullaby...

Yes, Iam sure many of you would be nostalgic about your favorite childhood lullabies... well i do get nostalgic at times, and the irony is that all i can do is just remember them, God can be cruel at time, reason... i don't know.. well i have just heard 'hush lil baby... ' in books and heard it on television... my lullaby was always just one song... Aarari ra ra ro.. (kanne kallaimaane...).. amma used to hum for me to put me off to sleep... dont know if you would believe it.. i have even asked her to sing it for me till the time i was in 12th standard... yes my last years of school were full of fun, me growing up, anna out for studies, and summer afternoons just me and amma, me running off to get amul kulfi for both of us from a not so distant shop.. and then closing all the windows and doors, making the room cozy and cool, and have a good afternoon nap... wow.. it was bliss....
...ummm those kulfis used to have a taste of ecstasy(as in madhur jaffereys novel, climbing the mango trees).. yes... reminding me of those afternoons...
ok am sorry iam wandering here and there with no direction... there are so many things these petty instances remind me of that i just cannot help it... so aarariraro was sung for her highness swati.. whenever she wished for, by the best mommy in the world, ranjani raman.. and i used to sleep in seconds... and thats the reason i remember only a few words of this lovely lullaby... :) if somebody has it handy please please plase share.. another thing i would love to mention... my aunt jai.. yes i have mentioned her here before, she has only one lullaby to offer to her 2 sons.. hanuman chalisa, this lady is amazing, she has sung hanuman chalisa for sriram umpteen number of times.. and even today after 11 years she is singing it for raghav on demand... and the best part is yet to come... supposedly she sings this lullaby for them, but finally who falls asleep would be her and only her... hahaha... and its been a record that its always her falling asleep first than the kiddo...
OK, so where did this lullaby katha come into picture from, well i have a newly found lullaby... without which i cannot sleep, i wait for 10:00 pm to arrive so that i can have an hour long dose of this lullaby and then doze off to sleep.. and this is none other than Big Boss Season 2.. yes i religiously watch it and if i miss it, i make sure i catch up with the missed episodes... and then me and hubby dear religiously discuss the drama and nautanki on the show for another 10-15 minutes and then doze off to sleep. So had to share this latest fact about me with my blogger frens... :) you can catch hold of my Big Boss Gossip here at CafeTalkies.

On that note CafeTalkies has a lot new in store for you...

All of you who have watched Maan gaye mughle aazam, loved it, hated it, want to read about it, want to crib about it.. here you go....

If you have already seen Rock On, and become an ardent fan of farhan akhtar, hope you all know that most of his songs are sung by him, and the dialogues for the movie were written by him, i have become a biggg fan of him ... so go go go ... read about rock on... and its music review, and if you havent got the chance yet, this will be a biggggg motivator...

A Wednesday... i dont know how many of you have heard of it, this was a low budget movie that released last week, but with a brilliant storyline and some applaudable performance by naseeruddin shah and anupam kher... so heres a humble review for you...

And the Big Boss Gossip of course :D

So this was about my lullaby... now comes my very first Ganesh Chaturthi celebration...


Yes i did it, with full kozhyakattai(sweet and sovoury rice dumplings with cocunut and urad dal fillings...), payasam, and halwa.. wow wow wow... but before that a swati special tadka for this story... :) it was a holiday that day so i had all plans of making all this early in the morning, the alarm rang at 6 in the morning, i wake up look at the time, curse myself that why did i keep an alarm so early on a holiday and dozed off again.. hehe.. i remembered that i had a holiday but ganapati bappa... he would kill me for this... but we r childhood frens so i know its ok with him.. i remember as a child i didnt have any holy inclinations, guru brahma and gajananam were the only two sosthras i knew, and that too it used to come out like .... 'gajananam boothi ganati sevitham, kavithha jambu palasaar pakshidam, guru brahma guru vishni guru devoh maheshwarah.. guru sakshaat parabrahma.. tastsmai shri guruveh namah...' done were my prayers, and this was in a hurry becoause i used to eat vibhuti after the prayers... haha one funny creature i was.... so then if somebody used to ask a stupid question like which god do you guys worship .. i used to answer very confidently Ganesha, (down beneath my reason to that was he was the only deity i found to be freindly, i was scared of others as they seemed very seriuos... so i wanted to maintain a distance with them ..:)).. and then there was a liking for hanuman ji.. well that was heriditery... a belief that anything and everythnig can be soled by his mercy... :) today when i believe in all deities, still there remains a silent partiality for ganesh ji (aka Gannu maharaj) and hanumanji...


So Ganesh Chaturthi had to be special, and why not, it was the first time i was getting a chance to make kozhyakattais all by my own... i made both sweet and uppu(salt) ones and some kara urandei(spiced rice balls), and payasam(indian rice pudding) and some sooji banana sheera... (will post about this one soon...)..


And my latest experiment in kitchen... Women's Era's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala..
which was first doscovered by sudha(aka savitri aka savvy) my aunt.. yes yes the chowmein and chilli paneer wali ... the super chef of our family... yes she does the most interesting experiments in the family and i can blindly follow her recipes... so this august when i had been home... Garg going there for the first time after marriage was pampered big time after marriage... mouthwatering biryani by jai... and some scrumptious paneer butter masala and dahi bhindi and blah blah by sudha... so for me... the attraction for the day was the so so different dahi bhindi... the method of preperation was different, and the ingredients also were different.. so i just had to try my hands on it once i got back and i did.... so called her one fine day, took the whole recipe and finally did it... and garg loved it.... (well garg didnt have the bhindi as he was too busy with the paneer, so this was another reason for me to try it without any delay)
.. and he loved it... infact i have made it twice since then.. passed on some to anna too and its a hitt... so here we go, so for me it is :

Savvy's(not Women's Era's) Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala:


Ingredients:

1/2 kg Bhindi(washed, dried, and cut into small 1/2 inches)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal(for tempering)
2-3 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp ginger very finely chopped
4-5 curry leaves
3 medium sized onions filely chopped
2 small tomaotes, peeled and finely chopped
10-15 cashews soaked in milk for 10 minutes
1-2 tsp dessicated/fresh coconut
1/2 tsp amchur
1 cup yogurth/curd/dahi
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1-2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala/kitchen king

Method:

Sprinkle some salt over the small peices of okra/bhindi/ladies finger, and keep it aside for 1/2 hr. Believe me its worth the wait.
(Thanks to Sia, i missed the most important step...), After half an hour deep fry or atleast shallow fry the bhindi till crispy in generous quantity of oil, i used 3 tbsp)
In the meanwhile get your ingredients for the masala ready.
Heat some oil in a wok, add the mustard seeds to this when it is hot enough, let it splutter, now add the urad dal, dry red chillies(break into peices), curry leaves and jeera, fry till the urad dal is turning red and immedietely add the finely chopped onions.
Fry well till the onions have turned brown, to this add the dry spices(turmeric, salt, coriander, kitchen king, chilli powder) and fry well.
In the meanwhile grind the cashew and coconut together into a fine paste, use the milk in which the cashews were soaked for consistency, and keep it aside.
Once the spices are roasted well, add to this the finely chopped tomatoes, and fry till all are well mixed.
Now add the cashew coconut paste and stir for another minute, add the yogurth, and mix, if you find it very thinch you can add some water or some milk to make it to a consistency of your choice, just balance the salt accordingly.
Add the okra just before you want to serve it and heat it for 5 minutes, this keeps the okra crisp and yummy.
Relish this Hyderabadi delight, we have made it thrice since then and enjoy it d same every time.



This goes as my entry to a very interesting even hosted by one of my favorite bloggers Nags, the Saas bahu aur sensex contest. Seriously frens i like the concept of this movie and the day i see this movie it will definitely come on cafe talkies. I just hope it comes up to out expectations, iam a bit sceptical about this movie as theres this sub plot with tanushree dutta, and somehow iam not too fond of her. I hope this sub plot doesnt screw up the movie.
I enter this recipe as my entry to this event as this has been passed on to me by my chef aunt, and shes one gourmet queen you an blindly follow as far as food goes...
well its quick or not, umm for me it is, the day i tried it i gave her a call at 9 at night and seh was like make it some other day, it will take time, but i wanted to make it becoz i wanted to have bhindi(read it was the only veggie i had ;)) and i didnt want to go for a bhindi fry and a dal with it, i fonud it too lengthy, this was quick definitely compared to that combo and i take it as a shortcut whenever i want to avoid one sookha and one geela veggie and do away with one side dish :) ... for those day when you are back from office at 8 45, want to go off to bed by 10 and want to have your favorite bhindi... but not sookha :)



My deary deary fren Divya of DilSe is hosting her first self created even and am too excited for her, hats off buddy, dont know if i will ever have interesting ideas like this, i think 35 times a month that i should diet, not by cutting down on food but having the right food, i lack ideas and i let the idea go... so Divs deary has an amazing idea... a Diet food event... churn up a diet food, low on carbs, high on protien etc ... and go go .. submit it... :) am eagerly waiting for the roundup divyaa..

Read more...

Introducing Cafe Talkies : All about entertaintment

Some 6 months back i started my journey of blogging, knew i will not be as wonderful as all you multitasking ladies, but couldnt resist from taking a plunge into this selfless community of enthusiastic people, and get the feel of it. And i must tell you that i have enjoyed every bit of it, i miss bloggong if i havent blogged for a week, miss interacting with you guys and get amazed at the fact that i have linked up so welll with all of you.

Would love to introduce all you guys with a very close fren of mine from college, A.
A is one bindaaas gurl like all of us and is waiting to get pals with all of you. Almost a month back we found out that both of us had a hidden wish to start something all about entertainment and share anything and everything that fascinates us with a wider range of people, and involve them in this. We have come up with baby steps in that direction: CT, Cafe Talkies, a blog about, movies, masti and how can i miss out on the foodies zone... so look forward for movies, restaurants, pubs, books, local dhabas, street food stalls, and any trivia thats buzzing around.
Presenting Cafe Talkies for you.
Looking forward to your valueable suggestions, feedbacks, what would you looks for from CT, etc etc...and for a lot of gup shup of course.

Latest what you can look for in CT:

• Singh Is Kinng!! : Movie Review
• Kismat Konnection : DISCONNECTED for sure!!
• JALSA - a Mughal/North Indian Restaurant : Celebrating Food and Love
• HANCOCK : Not your average Superhero!
• BUZZ The Lounge Bar : Go BUZZerk !
  
• Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

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Rajma Methi paneer ke parathe, My Arusuvai Gifts, and Vegetable Maggie noodles

Hello hello people, hows is everybody doing, me doing good have lots of stuff for you guys today, a nice n different paratha for WHB, a long awaited post about my arusuvai gift, and my saviour quick meal these days, and and and, and brand new, interesting on a new track blog from me and a good fren of mine. So lets start in order.



My goody goody fren Divya of Dil Se hosted her first event, and i just didnt want to miss her WHB, but me the late lateef, and no other reasons, and and divya the super fast.... she came up with the round up so so so fast. So basically i missed it, but deary this was totally for you.... so i had to post it. This is one my most interesting and yummy creations in parathas, ( i intended to talk of fenugreek leaves, methi as my ingredient but no use now..)had never heard of it, just tried it in my cooking from left over series and made me glad gladder gladest. Would love to make it pretty often.




Remember the spaghetti with bean balls , yess i made paratha with the bean balls and it was yummy. Just make sure you dont cook the rajma too much that it gets too soggy, and grate the paneer well, mash all the ingredients pretty well and it comes out to be one of the most melt in the mouth kinda paratha.


Now coming to my long awaited to post Arusuvai package, Arundathi sent me one o the best gift parcels i have ever get from a fren, some long interactions on Recipe Marathon, then many a mails exchanged and these 9 gurls have become an inevitable part of my life. And we decided that i will get a package from Anu, and such a darling she is ... heres the bigggg box i got as a parcel, am sure you all can guess how excited i was... The package consisted of a nice pair of perfumed candles(garg lit them for my budday, they were so relaxing), then was a nice set of 6 short glasses(for the drinks i mix .. hehe).. she was too sweet to send some homemade wadams made by her aunty.


This doesnt end here, i requested her to send gopuram manja podi, (turmeric powder), and yeah i got it.... the most interesting are yet to come, she had made her chocolate chip cookies then, and i begged for the last two and that too was granted ... people.... they were heavenly.. and some chocolates, and a small cute box of peppercorns, and in all this excitement i seriously forgot about the secret ingredient... to be very frank i knew the smell, the taste but couldnt guess the ingredient on the first go.... did some cheating and finally found out that the ingredient was Nutmeg Powder, in all this ho hullah... i couldnt prepare for think spice with this... but something very special is coming up with this.... Thanks a ton Anu ... i hope you know how special all this was... and will be, i cherish the candle, glasses will remain forever... and the cookies in our memory... love you da... thanks....


Now my savious quick meal, be it breakfast or at times a quick lunch, Maggi noodles
with lots of veggies, iam sure many of you prepare maggie like this, but its my favorite, and it got to be present in my blog...

Ingredients:

1 Maggi Double Pack(old, masala maida maggi)
1 cup each of vegetables of your choice(i use capsicum, onions, carrot, beans)
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
2 tsp cumin seeds
oil for tempering
Water to boil the noodles

Method:

Boil the Maggi noodles seperately, drop them in boiling water, with a few drops of
oil, and remove it half cooked from heat, let it stay like this for a while, drain all the water and wash it with cold water immedietely. This makes the maggi come out non sticky.
In the meanwhile in a pan, heat some oil, add the cumin seeds and let it spluter, once done add thr green chillies and then the onions. When light brown add all the
vegetables.
Let it cook for sometime, add salt sufficient for the vegetables, when all the veggies are cooked, add the maggi masala, and mix well.
Add the cooked noodles to this gently and serve hot. Dont they look tempting....

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Healthy Comfort food : Medhaa's CHILRO/ BESAN CHEELA for Taste n Create

Hello buddies, how is everybody doing, apologies for not blog hopping as frequently an avidly i used to do earlier but i promise promise to get back my pace and multitask as many of you amazing ladies have been doing without any complaints, yes i will not complain because iam loving this hulchul in my life, something i have been longing for more than 6 months.

I have never been used to sitting idle, hence came this blog, and then this job, you know theres something i wouls love to share with you guys, i have this great crush on two of my seniors in my job, hehe.. iam so happy nobody knows about this blog, and iam enjoying this crush season after ages it seems, else i used to get this feeling that i have become an old lady. On a serious note, the work environment is good, and iam getting to learn a lot, and the best part is me n hubby dear have new variety and interesting stuffs to discuss post job hours.

Now coming to Taste & Create, its been such a pleasure to be a part of it for the second time and i hope i participate regularly as long as possible., for those who dont know about this one, its an event where Nicole deligently pairs up two bloggers and each one of them has to cook up something from the others blog, the best thing i like about this event is that it makes you explore the most of your partners blog which otherwise you would never do, well i might get lazy that ways, this time i was paired with a logger fren Medhaa, yeah the sweet n simple medha with an extra A, yes the Medhaa who cooks with love, the one stop blog for sindhi cooking, and healthy and different yummyy cuisines, i love her sindhi creations, but because of time constraint i had to choose something simple, and what can be better than the simplest comfort food, and healthy of course, chilro in sindhi, cheela in hindi, gram flour pancakes for the rest.


Cheela have been my favorite since college days when a fren from UP had tought me how to make these and how do they eat them, otherwise i never knew what are these, this seemed something similar to our southindian adais but was a pleasant change. Since then i have been a fan of cheela, have had many variations and loved it even more every time.




So here i go i tried Medhaas Chilro, 'the quick n simple, healthy comfort food' my only variation was i added some vegetables to it, like grated carrot, red and green capsicums finely chopped, spring onions and some chat masala and pickel oil for that tang, enjoy this quick cheela as breakfast, lunch or dinner, with some pickel and curd as accompaniants.

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Apologies, another Dil Dance Maare Moment & Yo China! - Hakka Noodles with Chilly Paneer

First of all my apologies for not keeping up with my promise, of blogging everyday this month, and not blog hopping all these days, kaan pakadke sorry people, but i do have a reason to it, and am very sure all you loving frens of mine will forgive me for this one. I suddenly got busy with some continuous interviews in d process of my job hunting and had to join a job immedietely this Monday.


Yeah i have finally started with work, completely enjoying a hectic schedule after a long time, juggling between job and home, cooking, tiffins, dinner, etc etc etc, all of a sudden i have become more responsible and active, and touch wood. Hope i continue this way. People no exxageration, i was yearning to get back to blogging, check out the roundups for some interesting events i would have loved to participate in, and check out whats happening in d lives of a my good n close frens i have made in this food blogging community. How are you people, did u miss me :), i missed you all...

Yeah yeah this calls for a dil dance maare jhatka, well the first dance maare moment of that week was me winning the Open Sesame 2, what a moment of glory it was, hehe, seriously probably it is the first contest i have ever won, and i was so happy about it, and it came as a surprise to me when i had completely forgotten about it in the midst of all this. Hats off to you ladies, you rock with the riddles, the ideas, you make a great pair and i will always aprreciate your frenship.

In the meanwhile i was gifted some beautiful awards from some of my frens:

indranee, Uma- The Yum Yum Blog Award
Ranji, Sireesha and Skrible - Freindship award
Simran, Ranji, Rachel - Giant Beer Hug
Rachel Yummy Blog award
Medhaa - Blogging with purpose and Nice matters award.

Thanks Thanks Thanks people, it feels so great that even if i dont blog hop u guys think of me, i used to wonder when i read in other peoples blogs, that do people really care if somebody vanishes from the blogosphere all of a sudden, well they do, ur comments, mails and scraps made me feel so good and wanted, off i go to check out each of the posts i have missed in these days i promise, never knew blog hopping could be such a therapeutic to me at such times. I would like to pass on the most cheerful award i have ever seen, Giant Beer Hug to all my loving frens, this jadu ki jhappi really works for me, hope it does for all.


Now something i prepared for my dear DK and her innovative AWED Chinese event, i prepared this long back just after she announced the event, something that was the definition to the word 'chinese food' to me since childhood. Yes when somebody used to ask me would you like to have chinese, i would reply back Hakka noodles and chilli paneer na?, then it became hakka noodles with veg manchurian. I wanted to try out something new, some nice soup, some good gravy etc etc, but my partial self towards these two stuck me with them, my all time favorites, hakka noodles with chilli paneer.


This chilli paneer is special to me in one way, when we were kids and didnt know much about outside food, chilli paneer was what my super cool vivacious super chef aunt Sudha cooked, she is the only one in our family who taught us that treading into other cuisines is actually fine, so in some way she is an inspiration for my love for various styles of cooking. Her baby corn manchurian and chilli paneer cannot be replicated by any one, nobody can make it so accurately tempting for the indian palletes. So here goes her style of chilli paneer with the simple but my all time favorite veh hakka noodles( i like scrambled egg with this, but this is plain veg hakka noodles).


Ingredients:

For Hakka Noodles:

1 packet Chings Hakka Noodles
1 cup sliced onions
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced capsicum(all green, red and yellow as per your choice)
3/4 cup chopped spring onions
salt to taste
chillli sauce to taste
tomato ketchup to taste
chilli garlic sauce (optional)
soya sauce to taste


For Chilli Paneer:

2 cups each of capsicum, onions, and paneer cut in similar sizes of your choice(rectangular preferred)
1 tso ginger minced well.
1 tsp garlic finely chopped.
2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2-3 tbsp soya sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornflour
1 cup water
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
2 pinches ajinomoto


Method:

For Hakka Noodles:

Cook the noodles exactly the way it is mentioned in the pack, wash it in cold water immedietely after removing from heat and let it cool on a flat container and sprinkle some oil over it.
Heat some oil in a wide pan, add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and cook for a min, now add the onions and let it saute till translucent.
Now add all the vegetables and the salt and let it half cook(i like vegetables in noodles crunchy, if you dont like it this way let it cook completely.)
Once the vegetables are cooked add all the sauces, and mix well till the raw smell disappears. Now add the noodles to it and adjust the sauces to your taste. Remove from heat and garnish with spring onion rings. relish with chilli paneer or veg manchurian.

For Chilli Paneer:


Heat some oil in a pan and add the mince ginger and finely chopped garlic and saute for a min.
Now add the onions and saute for another 2 mins and let it remain a little crunchy.
At this moment immedietely add the capsicums and cooks it till a little crunchy. Add the ajino moto to this.
Now add the soya sauce and tomato ketchup, please be careful with soya sauce as many dont like it in excess.
Add the paneer cubes to thid mixture.
Mix 1 tsp of cornflour with i cup of water and mix it well to a consistent texture, add thid paste to the paneer in the pan, if you want it to be a little more thich mix the remaining cornflour with some water and add it.
Let it come to a boil or heat for a minute and switch off the heat, otherwise the gravy become very thick.

Off this goes to my dear fren DK for her AWED Chinese. She has already posted the round up, but this one is only for her.

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How do you like your STRAWBERRIES ?

My love for strawberries started when i was in mumbai and the mahabaleshwar strawberries were easily available, raw, shake, ice cream, anything is always a delight. How many of you are a fan of Mc Donalds Strawberry shake, well iam, and please if anybody knows the exact recipe to replicate it at home, please let me know.


I love to have strawberry lassi or shake once in a while. So heres a simple strawberry shake I make.



Method:

Blend 4-5 strawberries cut into peices, 1 tsp icing sugar(depending how sweet your strawberries are), 1 tbsp of whipped cream, and 1 scoop of strawberry ice cream, 1/2 cup milk, and blend till your strawberries are well blended.
Now add a cup of milk and blend for another 30 secs.
Serve with some strawberry and vanilla ice cream and garnish with a strawberry.
Perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast.

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BIHARI PALAK KHICHDI aur uske chaar yaar : The Indian Comfort Food.

"Jahan Chaar Yaar Mil Jaayen Wahin Raat Ho Gulzar .."

Yeah, the minute i have khichdi it reminds me of this song, i always wonder who would have coined this terminology, "khichdi aur uske chaar yaar", yes this is the term used for khichdi, which literally means 'hodge podge' or mish mash, accompanied by its chaar yaar, four friends, "raita, achar, papad, ghee" which makes for a complete one-pot meal, and is the proud leading candidate in the comfort food zone.


For me khichdi has been my savious in many lazy but craving days when i want to have something good and interesting but in no mood of outside food and elaborate preparations. There are times when iam super lazy i go for my simple moong dal khichdi, otherwise when theres still some love for veggies left i go for a veggie style khichdi, the bihari style with a combination of 2 dals and some veggies. As i had mentioned in this post the moong dal khichdi was taught to me by prachi which was never made at our house, as we southies were used to the traditional venpongal, with the yellow moong, ever since i have discovered this kind of khichdi once a staple diet in college, explored more, experimented more, and this has been an all time favorite comfort food for me.There were days when i would tell prachi .. aaj kuch halka khane ka mann kar raha hai prachi ... and she would instantly respond.. seedhe bol na .. khichdi khani hai ... and how can i forget her most
interesting tadka, well i guess this is enough motivation for all you guys who havent had the different types of khichdi to go fetch your cooker and stir up some delcious khichdi for youself.

This one is a nice blend of lentils, veggies, soy granules, and some spices, go ahead and try it if you havent had it this way.

This hardly take 15-20 mins to prepare apart from the pressure cooking time. And serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Masoor dal
1/2 cup Moong dal(split green lentil),
1 cup Basmati or ,any long grained rice.
1 cup finey chopped vegetables of your choice(i used onions, palak and capsicum, s that was all i had)
1 cup cooked soy granules
1 Cardamom, seeded
2 cloves
1 Black Cardamom seeded
1" Cinnamon stick
1 tsp chilli pwd
1 tsp Cumin seeds,
1 tsp cumin wd
2 tsp Coriander pwd
1 tsp garam masala,
1/2 tsp turmeric



Method:

Heat some ghee(clarified butter) in a pressure cooker, and fry the spices, like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves
for 1 or two minutes, now add the cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add the onions and saute for another minute to let it turl golden
brown, now add all the veggies and the pwder spices and fry it or another minute, add the soy granules, the lentils and the rice, fry it for another minute and
then add 4 cups of water.when the pressure releases, open and add the tadka
if you like.


Serve with the chaar yaars. i didnt have papad, but its a perfect pairing for a khichdi. And i served it with carrot onion raita, ghee and achar.


Disclaimer: Thid is an extension to the traditional bihari khichdi, to make it more veggie oriented and more healthy.

Recipe Flash:

Srivalli has the gala roti mela roundup ready, go check it out.

This goes as my entry to Archanas One Dish Meal Event

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Chatakdaar Chutney STUFFED TINDORAS/ Stuffed Kundroo for JFI

JFI-Tamarind hosted by super cool Sig is one event which i wanted to participate last month, and wanted to prepare my favorite stuffed tindoras for it, coz thats the only thing where my tamarinds are used other than the regular sambhar and kootus.


Tindora or dondakaya or ivy gourd is one of my favorite veggies since childhood, its stir fry by amma was one of my favorites with dal and rice, oh what days it were, amma would add a pinch of sugar to my dal that day and would ask me to guess whats special in the meal today, and i would be all happy because i would know it is the sugar she is asking about, hehe, dont know if such simple and beautiful days would ever return.
Now my tragedy, i made this especially for JFI, clicked so called cool pictures, of the stuffing chutney etc etc and i dont know where they are, and am in no mood of doing it all over again, so please bear with me, sig please haan. Infact i thought i would not participate coz i didnt have pics of the chutney seperately, but when i saw you extending the deadline wohoo, i could not resist. But believe me guys, this is one tangy side dish everybody would relish.

Ingredients:

250-500 gm ivy gourd
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tsp urad dal
2 dry red chilli
1 green chilli
1 tsp fresh ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp coriander powder
2 tbsp dessicated coconut(may use fresh grated coconut as well)
1 tbsp grated jaggery
1 cinnamon stick
1 cloves
1 lemon sized tamarind
salt to taste
1/2 tsp chat masala
2-3 tbsp oil


Method:

1. Heat a tsp of oil in a frying pan and add the coriander pwd, cloves, cinnamon and fry on medium heat without burning the coriander powder, do this till you get a nice aroma and let it cool. Similarly fry the urad dal and keep separately
2. Now add a tbsp of oil and add the onions, one red chillies, green chillis, and ginger garlic paste and saute for 4-5 mts. Please adjust the green and red chillies according to your taste. Finally add the dry coconut and stir for a few seconds. Remove from heat and let it cool.
3. Now make a paste of the above spices and urad dal along with ginger-garlic paste, jaggery, tamarind juice, sauted onions and salt.

This chutney can be had with dosa idli etc, we have had it and i keep making it now and then. This is one tangy one, Uma i keep remembering you whenever i make some chutneys.
4. Slit the kundroos by maknig a plus sign on one side of it so that you can stuff it. Take a tbsp of this chutney and stuff each of the slit kundroos.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add some curry leaves, dry red chillis and stir fry for 5-6 seconds. To this add halk a finely slit onion and saute for a minute, also add to it if some of the chutney is remaining.Place the stuffed tindoras in the pan and let it cook covered on medium heat.
6. Keep turning the pieces now and then so that they cook all over.
7. Cover and cook on low heat till the tindoras are cooked well and become soft.


Perfect with chapatis or rice.

Recipe Flash:

Bhags has a sultry blueberry yogurth ice cream, you have got to check out.
If you want to try out some tortilla chips, divya has them made at home.

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