Spiced Capsicum rice

My favorite and easiest rice dishes of all time. Looks complex but can be prepared in just matter of minutes and most important of all, tastes delicious. 

Ingredients:

Dried red chilies - 5

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 2 tbsp

Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Curry leaves - bunch

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Butter - 1.5 tbsp

Capsicum (chopped) - 2 cups 

Salt - to taste

Cooked rice - 3 to 4 cups

Chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Procedure:

1. Heat a pan and dry roast the spices. (dried red chilies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, urad dal, peanuts and curry leaves)
2. Melt butter in a pan and add chopped capsicum. Add salt and cook for 5 to 10 mins. 
3. Add garam masala and ground spice powder from step-1 and mix well. 
4. Add cooked rice and mix well. 
5. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix

Enjoy while it is hot with some raitha on the side!

Note: Capsicum tastes much better when its only 80% cooked. Do not over cook it. 

Cabbage Pakodas

A perfect snack to much on rainy days. It does need some patience to fry them. But, the final outcome is totally worth it. Cabbage pakoda is not a very common Indian dish, its just an experiment and a good one according to the one's who tasted it. 

Ingredients:

Cabbage (shredded) - 4 cups

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Green Chilli - 2

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - to taste

Gram flour - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1/2 cup

Oil - for frying

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Water - as needed

Procedure:

1. Shred cabbage as shown in the picture
   
2. In a separate large bowl add shredded Cabbage, chopped green chillies, salt, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and mix well. 
   
3. Add in gram flour (chickpea flour), rice flour and baking powder to the above and mix
4. Heat the oil in a wide pan for frying. Divide the mixture from step-2 in to small portions (as shown in the picture) and carefully drop in to the hot oil for frying
   
5. Fry evenly on both sides for a couple of minutes, till they turn golden brown. 
6. Remove from oil and serve!!

Enjoy while they are hot with some ketchup or green chutney on the side!!

Note: Be very careful while dropping the mixture in to oil. Also, add gram flour and rice flour to get your desired consistency for the batter (just make sure you maintain 2:1 ratio)

Schezwan Sauce

One of my favorite and spiciest recipes of all time. Any dish you cook using this sauce will be gone in no time. So, I strongly recommend you cook larger portions. Here's the recipe with out further delay!!

Ingredients:

Dried red chillies - 60

Garlic cloves - 45

Ginger - 5 tbsp

Tomato ketchup - 6 tbsp

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 4 tsp

Oil - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Water - 1.5 cups

Procedure:

1. Cut open the dried chillies and remove all the seeds. Boil these (seedless) chillies in about 1.5 cups of water for about 5 to 9 mins. 
2. Drain the water and blend the cooked chillies in to a fine paste
3. Heat oil in a separate sauce pan. Add in crushed garlic and ginger and saute till they turn golden color.
4. Add the pureed chilli paste from Step-3 and mix well. 
5. Add tomato ketchup, Soy sauce, Sugar, Salt and Pepper and mix well. Cook for about 5 more minutes and remove from heat. 
6. Let it cool and store it in a glass jar. 

Enjoy!!

Note: There are several Rice, Noodle & snack dishes that can be prepared with this sauce. Make sure that there are no seeds left in the chillies, as it is already super spice as is. 

Bottle Gourd & Toor dal curry

I recently went to an Asian shop and saw Bottle Gourd. I immediately bought it, but was very confused later, as I was completely clueless about what to cook with it. I immediately called up mom and she gave me a healthy recipe. I was very easy to prepare and I am sure several variation of the same are already available out there.

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd - 3 cups

Yellow moong dal - 1 cup

Dried coconut powder - 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies - 3 

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 spring

Hing - 1 pinch

Salt - to taste

Chilli powder - to taste

Water - as needed (1.5 to 2 cups)

Procedure:

1. Grind Coconut powder, red chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and rice flour in to a fine paste. 
2. Add chopped bottle-gourd, moong dal, salt and water in a cooking pot. Cook for about 15 to 20 mins till the dal and Bottle-gourd are cooked well.
   
3. Add in the paste from step-1 and bring it to boil. 
4. In a separate pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add urad dal, curry leaves, hing and mix well. 
5. Add this tempering to the curry from step-3 and mix well. Let it cook for few seconds and serve. 

Enjoy with some hot rice or hot chapathis!!

Note: If you could get fresh coconut, its better use that.

Carrot cupcakes

I recently started baking cakes and cupcakes and I realized that love everything about it(baking). Well, in the beginning it is normal to burn your fingers, hands etc but the end result is totally worth it. Simple rule of baking (which always gives great results) is to just follow the recipe. You can always experiment, once you get hold of the basics. Here comes my first successful recipe.

Ingredients:

Carrots (finely grated) - 2 cups

All-purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp 

Vegetable oil - 2/3 cup

Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Ground nutmeg - 1/4 tsp

Eggs - 2

Sugar - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 1/3 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Walnuts & Raisins - 1 cup (Optional)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. 
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and milk until light and thick.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients from step-2 to the above wet mixture and keep mixing continuously. Stir in grated carrots, vanilla, walnuts and raisins until well blended.
5. Grease a muffin tray, using an ice-cream scoop fill each muffin cup (only 2/3 full). Bake until golden brown. Insert a tooth pick in the middle of a muffin, if it comes out clean - its a sign that the cupcakes are done. 
6. Mine took about 20 to 22 mins to bake completely. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool. 

Enjoy with some cream cheese frosting on the top!!

Note: Every oven is different, so make sure to check on the cupcake every 5 to 7 minutes. 

Crispy Homemade - Potato chips (Microwave)

Who doesn't like Potato chips. I love them and I eat them almost every day. Well, here is a non-fat version of the recipe. It doesn't taste the same, but at the end of the day, we don't have to feel guilty and we can eat as many as we like. I made these chips using Microwave instead of the convection oven or fryer.

Ingredients:

Potato (Large) - 1
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 to 2 tsp (for greasing)

Procedure:

1. Slice a large potato in to very thin (almost transparent) chips as shown in the picture. Drop the pieces in to salted water. (this removes the excess starch)
   
2. Dry the pieces using a paper towel. Coat the chips with some oil and salt. You can also add any flavoring of your choice at this point. 
   
3. Grease a microwave safe plate and arrange the chips individually on this plate. 
4. Microwave on high for 1.5 to 2 minutes. (Every oven is different, so keep an eye)
5. Remove and turn the chips to the other side and Microwave again for 2 minutes. 
6. Repeat this process till the chips turn crispy. (I had to do repeat it for 3 more times)

Enjoy !! 

Note: It's a bit time taking procedure, than directly frying in the oil. But, you can eat as many chips as you like, guilt free :). 

Guacamole

I probably made this several hundreds of times. Every time, different version of it. No matter, how spicy or sour or creamy I make it, it is still our favorite snack dip. This is the basic version of Guacamole and of course best with Tortilla chips. 

Ingredients: 

Avocados - 3

Lime - 1/2

Tomatoes - 2

Red Onion - 1/2

Fresh coriander leaves - few leaves

Green chilli (non-spicy) - 1

Olive oil - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Procedure:

1. Separate the skin and the seed from the Avocados. Mash them up with a fork in a clean bowl.
2. Add lime juice and mix well.
3. Thinly dice onion, tomatoes, green chilli and fresh coriander leaves. Add them to the above mixture and mix well. 
4. Add Olive oil, pepper and salt and mix well. At this point adjust the seasoning to your taste.  

Enjoy with some Tortilla chip!!

Note: I just used a blender and it makes your life much more easier. Make sure to slowly blend the mixture. If we use high speeds, its just a mush, and the texture is completely lost.

Peach Crumble with Blueberries

This is the first recipe I tried, which is completely out of my comfort zone. Usually, I like food which is either very spicy or very sweet. But, this recipe is different, in this dessert we can actually taste the fruits. It can be made sweet though :P. But, I stuck to the recipe and it was good. 

Ingredients:

Flour - 200 gms

Salt - pinch

Brown sugar - 100 gms

Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla sugar - 2 pkts

Vegan Margarine - 100 gms

Peaches - 3

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Blueberries - 150 gms

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Honey - 2 tbsp 

Powder sugar - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Add salt, brown sugar, cinnamon powder, vanilla sugar and Margarine to the flour. Mix everything together and using the tip of your fingers knead the dough gently till you get a crumbly texture. Refrigerate this mixture for about 30 mins.
2. Take fresh peaches and chop them in to small pieces. Add lemon juice to the pieces and mix well. 
3. Add Blueberries, vanilla essence and honey to the above mixture and mix well.
   
4. Preheat the oven to about 175 C.
5. Take about 4 to 5 clean ramekins and grease them with margarine. 
6. Divide the crumble mixture from step-1 in to two parts. 
7. First portion of the crumble mixture is layered on the surface of the ramekins. Then add the fruit mixture from step-3.
   
8. The above is topped again with a second layer of the crumble mixture as shown in the pic.
   
9. Place the ramekins in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 mins, till the crumbles turn golden brown. 
10. Remove from the oven, let them cool down a bit and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on the top.

Enjoy with family and friends.

Note: Agave syrup can be used instead of honey. This gives it a bit more sweetness. 

Chicken with Cashew nuts

One of the easiest chicken recipes ever. Can be prepared in matter of minutes, once we have all the ingredients. There are several variations of this recipe available. I made mine a bit more sweet and spicy. So, watch out if you want less spicy. 

Ingredients:

Chicken - 300 gms

Peppers - 1 (Red)

Onion (medium) - 1

Cashew nuts - 20

Red chilli - 2

Ginger - 1 inch 

Garlic cloves - 4

Tomato - 1

Spring onion - 2 to 3

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Corn starch - 1 tbsp

Ketchup - 1 tbsp

Rice Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Hot chili sauce - 1 tbsp (Sambal oelek)

Brown sugar - 1.5 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup

Procedure:

1. Fry chicken in a 1/5 tbsp oil shown in the picture. 
   
2. Cut this chicken in to bite size pieces and sprinkle salt and pepper.
   
3. In a bowl take 1 cup of water. Add corn starch, ketchup, rice vinegar, hot chilli sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and mix well. Keep this aside. 
4. In a separate pan heat 1.5 tbsp oil and fry chopped red chillies. Then add chopped Ginger & garlic and let them fry for few seconds.
5. Add Cashew nuts and let them fry. Add chopped chunks of Onions, Tomatoes, Peppers and let them cook for a couple of mins.
   
6. Add chicken pieces from step-2 and cook for a minute.
7. Add the sauce from step-3 and keep mixing. The sauce start to thicken. Adjust the thickness of the sauce at this point by adding more water if required. Cook for about 3 to 5 mins.
8. Adjust the seasoning at this point and keep mixing.
   
9. Add chopped spring onions and mix well and serve. 

Enjoy with some hot rice!!

Note: Add more salt and pepper in step-8 only after tasting. I added more water as I wanted more gravy. 

Sooji Halwa

Here you go again, another sweet recipe in my blog. Very easy to prepare and tastes good too. 

Ingredients:

Sooji (Rava) - 1 Cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Butter - 1/2 cup

Cream - 1/2 cup

Water (or Milk) - 2 Cups

Food color (optional) - 1 pinch

Salt - 1 pinch

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup

Procedure:

1. Melt Butter in a non-stick pan. Add Sooji and mix well. 
2. Fry Sooji till it slightly changes the color. Add sugar, salt and mix well.
3. Mix food color in the milk and keep adding it slowly to the above mixture. Keep mixing continuously to avoid formation of lumps.
4. Add cardomom powder to the cream and add it slowly to the above mixture while mixing it continuously.
5. Cook on medium heat and keep mixing till the butter starts leaving the halwa.
6. Grease a nonstick pan and add the above halwa mixture and spread it evenly. 
7. Once cooled, the Halwa becomes a bit hard. Cut it in to desired shape. 
8. Fry cashew nuts in ghee till they turn golden brown and place them on a paper towel to remove extra ghee. 
9. Place the fried cashew on the Halwa pieces and press them gently so that they stick to the sweet.

Enjoy with a group of friends and family

Note: Food color and Cashew nuts are optional. Make sure you cook that Halwa till it starts leaving ghee. 

Jalebi - traditional stype

My favourite recipe of all times. Must have tried several version of it. But, of all this is the best. It was with out a doubt super hit and was gone in no time. Make sure to make more of it. 

Ingredients:

Flour - 1 Cup 

Yogurt - 2/3 Cup

Cornflour - 1/3 Cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Saffron - 1 pinch 

Sugar - 1 cup

lemon juice - 1/2 tsp 

Procedure:

1. Mix flour, yogurt, corn flour, baking powder and Saffron in a large bowl. Add enough water and get it to the consistency of Dosa batter or pancake batter.
2. Let this batter ferment over night at room temperature 
3. Dissolve sugar in water and let it boil till we get single thread consistency. Add lemon juice to avoid crystallization and mix well.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Take the fermented Jelabi batter in to a piping bag. Once the oil is hot enough, gently pipe the Jelabi batter in to hot oil. 
5. As the Jelabis get fried on both sides, remove from hot oil and drop them gently in to sugar syrup.
6. After soaking for about one minute, remove and serve. 

Enjoy while they are hot!!

Onion Pakoda (with a twist)

Well here comes another experimental recipe. This is almost similar to how we make the traditional Pakodas but with a small twist. Traditionally Pakodas are vegetarian, but for this recipe I used an egg. Its just an experiment which turned out to be good, so decided to post the recipe. It is very simple but the end result looks much better and appetizing. 

Ingredients:

Basin powder (gram flour) - 1 cup 

Rice flour (or you can use all purpose flour) - 1 tbs 

Salt - to taste

Egg - 1

baking powder - 1 tsp

Oil - (for frying)   

Onions - 1 large

Chat masala - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

1. Mix the gram flour, rice flour, 1/2 tsp salt, backing powder together. Add egg, some water and mix it in to a thick paste like consistency. (make sure that it is not too liquidy, because if the batter is too loose it will absorb more oil.) 
2. Chop onion in to thin Slices. Add it to the above batter and mix well till the onion is completely coated with the batter. 
3. Heat oil. Drop a little amount of batter in to the hot oil to make sure it is ready. 
4. When the oil is hot enough then the batter will immediately float to the top of the oil.
5. Drop portions of the batter in to the (medium hot) oil and fry till golden brown as shown in the picture. 
6. Once done remove it on to a paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed. Repeat the procedure till the batter is finished.  

Sprinkle some chat masala and Enjoy while they are hot!!! 

Note: It is very important to have the Pakodas when they are hot. Also be careful when adding the batter in to the hot oil.

Onion & Tomato Curry Base

Most of the Indian curries have a gravy base. Its different for different curries and also tastes different. But, there are some common and important ingredients that can be used for many curries. This is an easy recipe can be made in big quantities and frozen. It is a bit time consuming, but saves a lot of time later. 

Ingredients:

Onions - 6 (Medium, chopped)

Tomatoes - 5 (Medium, chopped)

Ginger Garlic paste - 4 to 5 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Oil - 1/4 cup

Cumin powder - 3 tsp

Coriander powder - 2.5 tbsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Chilli powder - to taste

Ingredients:

1. Finely chop Onions & Tomatoes and keep them aside.
2. Heat Oil in a thick bottom pan. Add mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add cumin seed and ginger garlic paste. Fry for few seconds. Add chopped onions and cook for 5 to 6 mins. Add 1 tsp salt at this point.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 20 mins. Keep stirring in between and make sure it doesn't burn at the bottom. 
4. Add Cumin powder, coriander powder, Garam masala & Chilli powder and mix. 
5. Keep cooking for another 10 to 15 mins till the oil starts separating out. At this point, adjust the seasoning (Salt & chilli powder) to your taste. 
6. 1 cup should be good enough for 2 persons. Remaining can be cooled, frozen and used when required. 

Enjoy with some hot rice or Bread!!

Note: This recipe can be had as it is and still tastes great. I often spread a bit of it on sandwich bread and top it up with some cheese, bake it for few mins and there you have a very tasty sandwich.

It can be used for all types of curries including vegetarian. 

Gobhi 65 (Cauliflower)

Very delicious, healthy and simple appetizer for gatherings. Will be gone in just seconds after we start serving, so do make sure to cook enough. 

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 (Medium)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Red chilli powder - to taste

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp

Tandoori Masala - 1.5 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 1 cup

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

1. Take yogurt in to a big bowl. Add Salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, tandoori masala, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, oil and lemon juice and mix well till it becomes a thick paste. 
2. Cut the Cauliflower in to medium sized florets and microwave them for 3 to 5 minutes. Add some water if required. 
3. Add the above florets to the masala yogurt base from step 1. 
4. Mix gently till all the florets are coated well with the spices and leave aside for 30 mins
5. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a baking sheet with oil and place the masala coated florets on it. 
6. Bake the florets for 5 to 10 mins. keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning. Brush some oil in between to make sure they are crispy. 

Note: Enjoy while they are hot with some Ketchup or green chutney on the side.