Peas Curry

Ingredients

1. Green Peas - 1 cup
2. Onions - 2 (minced)
3. Tomato - 1 (chopped)
4. Ginger Garlic paste - 2tsp
5. Green chillies - 2 (slit lengthwise)
6. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
7. Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
10. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
11. Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
12. Curry leaves- a sprig
13. Oil - for sauting onions
14. Salt - to taste

Method

Cook peas with just enough salted water. If there is more water, the gravy will become too watery.

While peas is getting cooked, heat oil in a pan and sauté onions until golden brown.
Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, curry leaves and the chopped tomatoes. Saute for few more minutes till tomatoes are cooked.

Turn the heat to low and add coriander powder, chilly powder, jeera powder and turmeric powder. Saute till the aroma comes. Be careful not to burn the powders, otherwise the curry will taste bitter.

Add the peas along with water in which it was cooked and combine. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until you see the oil separating and the gravy thickens.

Add the coconut milk and simmer for one more minute.

Your peas curry is ready! Serve with Chapatti, Appam or bread.

Vegetable Pulao

Here is an easy Vegetable Pulao recipe. You'll need at least 3 vegetables. I used carrots, Green peas, chick peas and beans. It doesn't take much effort or time.... plus doesnt create that much of a mess to clean up :P

Things you'll need are:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups (This would server 4+ ppl)
• Vegetables (I used 2 carrots, 4-5 Beans, half a cup cooked chick peas and half a cup cooked, frozen green peas) 
• Chopped Onions - 2 medium sized
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Garlic - 6 cloves
• Green chillies - 2
• Coriander leaves - a handful
• Cinnamon - 1 stick
• Cardamon - 3-4
• Cloves - 3-4
• Salt to taste
• Sunflower oil/ Butter - 4-5 tbsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder -1 tsp
• Garam masala - 1tsp

Direction to make:

• Chop all the vegetables and keep aside.
• Grind the garlic, ginger, green chillies and coriander leaves.. keep aside
• In a heavy bottom vessel (which has a tight lid), heat the butter/oil and add the cardamon, cloves, cinnamon sticks. Saute for a few minutes, lower flame and add the onions.
• When the onions start to turn brown add the ginger-garlic-coriander. Saute.
• Add the red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt
• Mix well. All these should be done on low flame so as not to burn them.
• Now we add the vegetable. Between the carrots and beans, the beans take longer time to cook, so I added that first. Let it cook for a minute then added the carrot. Let that also cook for a minute. Then I added the cooked chick peas and green peas.
• Now turn up the flames and add 4 cups of water. Use the same cup u used for measuring rice. If ur taking 2 cups rice, u need to take 4 cups water. The ratio is 1:2. 
• Add the lemon juice and  rice. Mix well. Check salt. Cover with lid. Lower flame.
• Check after 10-15 minutes. I didnt check the exact timings, so can't say if it took more than that to cook. Do check the rice and dont let it go mushy.

Serve with raita and pickles if u want. The rice would be spicy enough. We had it with raita :)

Try it out.. simple enough recipe...
Make and let me know how it turns out....

My Aunt's Keema Lasagna

A week or so ago my aunt had mailed me pics of the lasagna she had made. Take a look...

Mouth-watering uh? :)

Here's another one.... :P

And another... :D

She has given me the recipe... but she more or less put as much of an ingredient as she felt would go best. I'll try it out and put up the post with approximates.

Any lasagna lovers?? What fillings do you like in a Lasagna?

Fish Molly / Molee

Ingredients

1. Fish - ½ kg
2. Onion – 2 thinly sliced
3. Ginger –1 inch
4. Garlic –5 - 6 cloves
5. Green chilli – 3 – 4
6. Cloves – 6
7. Cinnamon – 2 stick
8. Cardamom – 5
9. Bay leaves - 2 
10. Tomato – 2-3
11. Coconut milk – 2 cups
12. Oil – enough to shallow fry fish
13. Mustard Seeds –1 tsp
14. Curry leaves – a hand full
15. Salt – to taste

For Marination

1. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
2. Pepper powder – 1 tsp
3. Lemon juice – ½ lemon (optional)
4. Salt - to taste

Method

1. Marinate the fish pieces with turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt & lemon juice and keep aside for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile prepare all the other ingredients. 
3. Shallow fry the marinated fish till they are half done.
4. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds.
5. Make sure that the heat is on medium and add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay-leaves and fry for few seconds.
6. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a min.
7. Now add onions and green chillies.
8. After few minutes add the tomatoes and saute for few more minutes.
9. Once the tomatoes becomes soft add coconut milk and salt. Let it boil.
10. Add the fried fish pieces and cook till they are done.
11. Serve hot with Palappam or bread.

Medu Vada

Friday morning I was searching the net for a nice easy recipe... something to make for Iftar. It had to be something simple... and by simple I mean: less mess to clean up after. I guess this is why I hate cooking to start with. All the dishes to do and the cleaning up...
I'm not so familiar with food names Indian or others... so even if I did come across something I've had, the name might make me think it as something new, until I go thru the ingredients. As a kid I wasn't much into any food. I'll eat if I was really hungry and mostly it was Indomie noodles or some sandwich or the potato+maccaroni + maggie cube+ milk thing I used to make... I liked that combination and used to make every time I felt I needed a snack....
I've had vada's made of urud daal but when my brother-in-law, Nafih, mentioned this soft, donut-shaped vada made of urud daal, I thought it must be something new. He said my mom-in-law makes real good vada's... and so that was it.. it intrigued me... if he'll like it then I'll try making it...
Getting the men to eat is not something easy. After having a baby, I love practically every and all kinds of food. But that is not the case with my husband... or his brother... Good thing my son takes up from me on eating habits :D

After blogging about food for more than half the year, I'm not only starting to love the way food looks, I also developed a more than healthy appetite for them. Searching for new recipes to try out, I've come across some really amazing food blogs. I love to read them coz they write with such passion about food... it's really inspiring :) . Steffy and I will be updating our Blogs v luv with the lovely blogs we come across. Some of the most recent being: Foodelicious, Kurryleaves and The Big Sweet Tooth... such charming ladies behind these blogs :) ... Do check them out... I'm sure you'll love them...

Coming back to the Vada's..... as i said i thought they were something new until I checked Google.... Google says its the same stuff u make for dahi vada excluding the dahi...
I really am no good at food and names... :)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 
- Urud daal - 1 cup
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- a few curry leaves, finely chopped
- chopped onions - 2 to 3 tbsp (optional)
- Ground Pepper - 1tsp
- Asafoetida - a pinch
- salt to taste
- Oil for frying

How to make:
Soak Urud daal for 6 hours or over night.
Blend it into a course, thick paste. When blending add as little water as possible.
Add the cumin seeds, chopped onions, curry leaves, pepper, asafoetida and salt. Mix well. Beat the batter with a spoon until its all fluffy....

Make into donut shape and deep fry... fry until they turn golden brown...

This chutney is my current favourite dip. There is tamarind, coriander and chillyyy!!! All my favourites mixed together to give a mouth-watering, spicy dip for vada's, cutlets, onion rings....

I was more in love with the dip than the vada's. Quite easy to make too.

Blend together 1/2 cup of chopped coriander leaves, 4 tbsp of thick tamarind paste, 2 green chillies and salt. Make it into a paste.... 

Enjoy!!  :)