Paniaram/Savory pan cakes

Paniaram is a simple, healthy yet tasty dish. Here's the recipe for it. I used a non-stick paniram pan that I got from India. Apparently, such pans(known by different names!!) are also available in the US in stores such as Bed,Bath and Beyond, Walmart etc. You may want to check this out if you are in US.

Ingredients:

Left over Idli or dosa batter

some finely chopped onions

a few green chillies/jalapenos, chopped

a few curry leaves, chopped

a few springs of corriander leaves/cilantro, chopped

mustard seeds, 1/2 a spoon

asafoetida, a pinch

buttermilk,as needed to thin the batter

Cooking oil/Butter

Add some salt to the batter if not added until this point. Throw in the cilantro leaves.

Next get the seasoning ready. In a small skillet, add 2-3 spoons of cooking oil. Add mustard seeds and wait for the seeds to splutter. Then add in the asaofoetida, green chillies and curry leaves. Wait for 15-20 seconds and add the onions. After 30 seconds switch of the stove.

Turn on the stove with the mould on it and add a few drops of oil(or as much as you want) into each depression of the mould. Mix in this seasoning to the batter as shown in the picture and pour it into the mould. Add buttermilk if you want a thinner consistency. This mould does not come with a lid, so it cooks open.

Allow it cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip it to the other side(take care while doing this) and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes.

Paniaram is ready! Ideally had with spicy tomato chutney. But, I had it with chutney powder mixed in with clarified butter/ghee...ummmm , it was heavenly. enjoy as a break fast option or a snack. A good idea to pack for road trips too. Stays good for a couple of days without the refrigerator.

Strawberry Jam

In a sale at my local grocery store, I bought a box of strawberries. I love strawberries so was definitely excited to bring home a pound of fresh strawberries. Knowing that strawberries tend to rot within a week or so , I looked up some recipes with strawberry as the main ingredient. As I thought, most were smoothie recipes but , hey, no smoothies for a  temperature in the 30's (degrees F). Finally, I stumbled upon this strawberry recipe from the food network channel. I never knew that it was so easy to make jam until I made it myself. This is the recipe that I used and strawberry jam came out really well. Try this with warm toast for a breakfast. Yummmmm

Generally, the bottles in which we store jam need to be sterilized. But, I made a very small batch using 1 Lb of strawberries  which I planned to consume within a week or two so I did not need to sterilize the bottle.
I used rough quantities in the recipe. We don't need to be exact as we would in a bake recipe.

Vegetable Pickle and my gift

Tired out of store-bought Pickles, I wanted to make something at the comfort of my home. I searched many websites and blogs for a recipe but could not find something that I would be able to make. Finally, I decided to try something on my own, after all I did get a good idea after reading so many blogs/articles on making Vegetable Pickle.

Here is a picture of the Vegetable Pickle :


Vegetable Pickle

Ingedients to make the Pickle:

The measurements in this list are approximate, a little more or a little less of anything is no harm!
2 cups vegetable such as Carrot,Cauliflower,Peas,Beans,Beet Root ( Use atleast 2 or 3)
1/2 Cup Pickle Masala - I bought this at the Indian Store in my area. You may even choose to make this powder.
1/4 Cup - 1/2 cup Salt
1 Cup Vinegar
1/2 cup Lime Juice/Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Cooking Oil + 2 spoons, I used Canola Oil

Wash the vegetables ans julien(Cut into long pieces) them into 1-2 inch long pieces. Blanch these cut pieces so that they are retain their shape when used in the pickle. Then, allow the vegetables to cool. You may skip this blanching step and directly saute the vegetables after cutting them. (However, blanching will help retain the shape.)
Now,heat 2 spoons cooking oil in a pan and add all the chopped vegetables and saute. After 4-5 mins, add the pickle masala and salt , also check the spice/salt level at this point. Adjust the pickle masala and salt quantity to your preference. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and switch of the flame. Add Lime juice. Once this has cooled, transfer this 'pickle' into a clean and dry jar. Add Vinegar.

Vegetable Pickle is ready to use. You can use it right away but I found that it tasted better from the next day, but, its up to you.

On a separate note, I was the lucky winner in the give-away organized Divya at her blog. My gift arrived yesterday. Thank You, Divya. Divya was prompt in sending my gift and here is the picture of it. I am extremely excited to receive this gift because it is my first prize in a Blog ever and also because I loved this cute set of salt and Pepper shakers (something that I do not own as yet!).

Curry Leaves Thuvaiyal/Chutney/Dip



Curry leaves Thuvaiyal

I am a big fan of dips/chutneys but I'm too lazy to get myself to make them on a regular basis. Here's a simple recipe that I tried today. The main ingredient is Curry leaves.

Ingredients:
Curry Leaves - about 2 cups(1 Cup is any regular cup)
Urad Dal - 2 Spoons or to taste
Channa Dal - 2 Spoons or to taste
Red Chillies - to taste or 4-5
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup,Optional
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Tamarind paste - 1/4 spoon
Cooking Oil - 2 spoons

Heat the cooking oil in a skillet/pan and add the asafoetida. Use a medium-low flame. Next, throw in the Channa Dal and follow it with Urad Dal. Let this cook for about 2 mins. Add the curry leaves and saute again for a minute. Turn off the stove. Add the grated coconut(optional). Let it cool.Once it cools, add tamarind and salt, and blend it to a smooth paste. You may require about 1-2 tablespoons of water for blending it. Enjoy as a side to Rice along with some gravy dish like Sambhar,Rasam or dal.



Blueberry Milkshake

This is the creamiest home-made milkshake that I have ever had. There are no special ingredients added, its the blueberries that gives the milkshake this texture. Not to mention,the nutrients in Blueberries. They are an excellent sourse of anti-oxidants, iron, and other vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:

1 scoop ice - cream

1 cup blue berries(Fresh or frozen)
4 spoons sugar, adjust this to your taste level
1/2 cup milk, I used whole milk

Blend all together and serve.

I am sending this recipe to Torview's event here

Bluberries

Show me your refrigerator

This is my entry to this event hosted by Divya.

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of my favorite dishes and I'm sure many of you reading this would already be drooling over it. It is an eternal Indian dish that is liked by many all over the world.

Ingedients

1 small bunch of chopped Spinach(frozen or fresh)

10-12 pieces of 1" paneer cubes

Milk or Cream, as needed(I used 1/2 cup milk)

1 small Onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

3-4 green chillies/jaalpenos

1 spoon,Garam masala/all spice powder

1 Spoon,Corriander powder/dhania masala

Chilli Powder - as needed for taste

Boil spinach(frozen of fresh) in little water for about 5 minutes. Alternatively, microwave it. Use as little water as possible so that you don't need to discard the water that has the nutrients. Let it cool.

In the meanwhile, take a medium sized pan and add oil followed by onions. After 3-4 minutes, add tomatoes. Let it cook well for about 5 minutes. Now, add the spice powders. At this point, take care that the dish is not burnt. Add a little water if it helps to keep the dish from burning. After a couple of minutes, switch off the stove and let the masala cool.

Now, come back to the spinach and add it to a blender jar WITH the chillies (Do not forget the green chillies) and coarsely grind. Just 1-2 pulses should do. Keep it aside. Once the onion and tomato paste has cooled, blend it finely in the same blender jar(or a different one). You will not need any additional water.

Again,add 1 spoon of oil in the same skillet and add this onion-tomato paste to it. Let it cook for a few minutes. Add spinach paste and salt and mix well. Allow it to come to a boil. Add, milk or cream. If you are not concerned about the calories, you can go ahead and add cream. It is cream that is used in the original recipes of Palak Paneer and the one served in restaurants. If not cream, add plain milk. Water can also be used instead of cram or milk but the dish does not turn out creamy. Add as much as needed to make the dish to a consistency that you want. Next, stir in paneer pieces without breaking it and cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix well. Check the taste for salt and switch off the stove.

Serve with rotis,parathas or rice. I served it with steamed rice.

Methi/Fenu greek leaves Rice

I had some methi leaves with me and did not want to make the usual methi parathas(that I always make). I thought I"ll use the internet to search recipes for methi pulao or methi rice and I land up with so many recipes and each one is different. WOW, that speaks volumes on how tasty and flavored this dish could be. Not to mention, the different varieties in cooking it. Finally, I closed my browser and decided that I would be trying my own recipe because I did not have some ingrdients from some recipes or some other. Here is my recipe.Trust me, this is a very simple recipe. No roasted powders and no grinding. It is a fast fix recipe. Pack it in your lunch box and you are good for lunch. Or have it for dinner too. The smell of methi leaves as you cook the dish will fill your kitchen.

Here's what you will need:

Cooked rice - about 2 cups

1 small bunch of methi leaves, washed well and chopped

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 medium tomato, chopped

Cooking oil - 3-4 tablespoons(this is not a super healthy dish - the flavor comes from the excess oil used for methi leaves)

1/2 spoon mustard seeds

a few curry leaves

Lemon juice for garnish

Salt to taste

In a skillet/pan, heat all of the oil and once hot, add mustard seeds,asofoetida and curry leaves. Now add onions. Allow them to get cooked for 3-4 minutes;follow by tomatoes. After a couple of minutes, add the chopped fenugreek leaves and mix well. Allow it to cook till it wilts. This will take just a minute. Now, add salt and turn off the stove. Add the cooked rice and lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot or warm.. This can be eaten with pickle/yoghurt.

Dhaniya chutney - sandwich style

This is a different flavor to the usual Corriander chutney/Cilantro dip. This was the version that my mom used to make for sandwiches and I loved them as it gave a completely different taste to sandwiches.
We are planning a road trip for the Independence day week end and I thought it would be a good idea to pack a few sandwiches for the drive(being vegetarians we hardly find anything to eat on travel)




Here's the list of ingredients:
Cilantro - 1 medium bunch
Onion - 1 small,chopped
Bell peppers - 1/2 medium,chopped(Optional)
Green chillies/jalapeno peppers - to taste
ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
sugar - 1 spoon(Yes,sugar!!!)
Lemon juice - to taste/1 Tbsp
Salt - to taste
Cooking oil - 1 spoon

There are two ways to make this chutney: One is by sauteeing the onion and bell peppers in a spoon of oil and then, on coolong,blending it together with the other ingredients; the other is to add all the ingredients in the blender. I used the first method.

In a skillet, add cooking oil for the saute and add onion pieces followed by bell peppers. Give it couple of minutes and switch off. allow it to cool.
In a blender jar, add all the ingredients along with the onion and bell peppers and grind to a smooth consistency.

This recipe will make about 6-8 sandwiches and stays good for about a week in the refrigerator.

To make sandwiches:
Slice Sandwich rolls or use bread loaves. Apply this dip to one side and stuff the rolls with veggies of your choice. I add grated carrots, sliced cucumbers,sliced tomatoes, few pieces of olives. Yum! I'm already drooling . You could also add mustard sauce/tomato ketchup/mayonnaise or pickle to other other side of the sandwich.

Cauliflower Stir-fry

This is a typical cauliflower stir-fry recipe and is a very common one too.

Here is the ingredient list:

1 medium cauliflower head,chopped

1 small onion,finely chopped

Green Chillies/jalapenos - to taste

1 spoon,kitchen king masala

ginger-garlic paste- 1 spoon(I used store bought)

cooking oil,for the saute

Cilantro leaves for garnishing

Ingredients for tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves - few
asafoetida- a pinch(optional)

Soak the chopped cauliflower florets for 10-15 minutes in water to which turmeric powder has been added. This ensures faster cooking of the florets and also removes any germs that might be present.

Heat cooking oil(I used 2 tbsp) in a pan and add the temepring ingredients one after the other. Next add chillies/jalapenos followed by onions. Saute for a couple of minutes till onion is partially cooked. In the meanwhile,drain the water from the cauliflower peices. Add the pieces to the pan.Let it cook for about 10 minutes. Now add salt,kitchen king masala and mix well. the florets tend to give out water while cooking, hence wait till all the water has been absorbed.Switch off the stove. Serve as a side to rice/dal or rotis.

Paneer recipes

This dish is my own and tried out in my kitchen. It did come out pretty well and does taste similar to paneer makhani(or is it paneer makhani???!!! :) ). I love paneer and I am a little lazy to sometimes chop other vegetables for paneer dishes like Kadai paneer or Palak paneer. This dish of mine just needs onion and tomatoes. I am yet to name this dish. May be, one of you reading this recipe could suggest a name :)

Here is the list of ingredients:

2 cups paneer,diced into small cubes

1 medium onion,chopped

2 medium tomatoes,chopped

About 1 cup,milk or water

Chilli powder,to taste

1 spoon,Corriander powder

Salt to taste

1 spoon,Cumin seeds

cooking oil

cilantro leaves,for the garnish

In a skillet,heat 1 spoon oil and saute the chopped onions and tomatoes. Allow it cool and blend it to a smooth paste in a blender without any water.

Next, add 1-2 spoons oil in the same skillet. Once hot,add cumin seeds followed by the onion and tomato paste. Let it cook for about 4-5 mins. Next, add salt,chilli powder,corriander powder and mix well. Let it cook for a couple of minutes(This paste tends to burn if left unattended).

Now, add milk or water. Once it comes to a boil, add the chopped paneer pieces and give it one final mix taking care that the paneer pieces do not break. I do not generally fry paneer. But, if you wish then you can fry paneer in a teaspoon of oil in a separate pan and add it to the dish. Switch off the stove. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve hot with rotis,parathas or rice.

I served this with methi parathas.

Strawberry Smoothie

This is a strawberry smoothie that I just tried and am now blogging it. I wanted to have some refreshing fruit juice or smoothie and with strawberries lying in my refrigerator I made a strawberry smoothie. I faintly recollect reading somewhere that orange juice gives a nice zesty taste when added to fruits like strawberry. I wanted to verify this too :)

Toss in 3-4 medium sized chopped strawberries, a little orange juice and a couple of spoons of yogurt with sugar in a blender jar. Blend till smooth. Enjoy chilled.

                                                   I am sending this entry to this event

Also, I am sending this recipe to Divya for the event hosted at Dil Se here

Corn rice

I had a packet of frozen corn lying in my refrigerator for a long time. I was in no mood to preapre soup as it is already peak of summer. I did not know any other dish either. Finally, I discovered a recipe! Here is the link to the original recipe . I was delighted to find this. I have altered the recipe a little to suit the spices and ingredients that were available with me. To my pleasant surprise it turned out good. This is a simple dish and can be even cooked in the morning to pack up a quick lunch. Thanks to Divya

You will need:

1.5-2 cups cooked rice

1 cup corn, frozen or fresh

1/2 medium onion ,chopped lengthwise

2 spoons pulao masala(Store-bought)

1/2 cup,Grated Cheese

cooking oil for saute

In a skillet, add oil and then add the pulao masala. The pulao masala has a tendency to burn and we need to be quick to keep stirring it into the oil. In the next 2 minutes, add the onions, followed by corn. All the ingredients to get flavored in the oil with the pulao masala,about 3-4 minutes.Switch off the flame. Add the rice and grated cheese. The cheese will melt in the heat and give a wonderful taste to the dish.

Serve with pickle and/or raita.

Watermelon milkshake

This drink is extremely refreshing in hot summers. It makes us feel completely recharged after having it. Apart from this it has many health benefits as well. Watermelons are a good source of anti oxidants and many vitamins. This is a fat-free fruit full of energy.
This smoothie recipe is a very simple one and needs just watermelon,milk and sugar.

Watermelon - 2 cups
Milk - 1 cup
ice cubes - 1
sugar - 2 spoons
Mint leaves - 3 or 4,optional
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Serve Chilled.

I am sending this recipe to this event hosted at Dil se
and
sizzling summer contest. Here is the link to this event .

Red Capsicum chutney/Red Bell Pepper dip

2 medium sized bell peppers ,chopped
1/2 medium onion,chopped
4-5 red chillies
3 spoons cooking oil
1/2 spoon mustard seeds
1/2 spoon urad dal


In a skillet,add oil and then add the chopped vegetables and red chillies. Cook on oil till the vegetables get soft. This will take about 5 minutes. Once cooked, allow it cool.
Grind it in a blender without water(you will most likely not need any water).
now,make the tempering ready. Heat 1 spoon oil and add mustard seeds. Allow it to splutter and add urad dal. Add this to the ground chutney.Ready to serve!!! It tastes best with dosas. But, can also be had with rice or rotis.

Capsicum Chutney/Thuvaiyal

I just tried this chutney recipe that I got from my mom. It turned out yummy. It is pretty simple and straight forward.

You will need:
1 medium to large green capsicum(Bell pepper),chopped roughly
3 spoons urad dal
3-4 red chillies
Cooking oil
salt to taste

For tempering,
Oil - 1 spoon
mustard seeds -1/2 spoon
a few curry leaves

In a skillet, heat oil and add urad dal. After 2 minutes add the red chillies followed by chopped bell peppers and salt. Saute untill bell peppers are almost cooked. Take care not to over-do it.
Let this cool. Grind this into a smooth paste in a blender/food processor.

Now, make the tempering ready. Again,heat oil and add mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Add curry leaves and switch off the stove. This tempering is added to the paste.

I love to have this chutney with dosas. But, it tastes great as a side to any Indian dish.

Snake Gourd

Snake gourd is a very mild vegetable without much flavor in it. Here is the wiki link to this vegetable,for those who have not heard of it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichosanthes_cucumerina

I like to to prepare snake gourd with coocnut so that the bland taste of the vegetable gets compensated. There are some other ways to cook this vegetable too like kootu(with lentils) http://myrecipesnmore.blogspot.com/2010/05/chayote.html or add it in avial. Recipe for Avial http://myrecipesnmore.blogspot.com/2010/04/avial.html .

Snake Gourd - cut to small cubic pieces - I used about 2 snake gourds

Grated coconut(fresh or frozen) - for garnish

Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon

Curry leaves - a few

Cooking oil - 1-2 spoons

Chilli powder - to taste

Salt - to taste

In a skillet, heat oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves once hot. Next, add the chopped snake gourd pieces and give it a good stir. Let it cook on a medium flame uncovered, stir ocassionally. The snake gourd will start to wilt. Allow it to cook completely(wilt completely). This will take about 10 minutes on medium flame. Once, it has cooked add salt and chilli powder. Mix well and switch off the stove. Add the coconut and serve. I had this with rice and dal. Goes well with rotis too.

Chayote

Chayote is a mild tasting Squash variety. This is the same family as Cucumbers.

Here is link from Wikipaedia that gives more information about Chayote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote

I used Chayote today to make a tamil(South Indian) dish called Chow-Chow kootu. Chow chow is the Indian word for Chayote. This dish is made of chayote and lentils and coconut gives a rich flavor.
Here is the Ingredient list:

1 Chayote,chopped
2-3 spoons,shredded coconut
2-3 Red chillies
Moong Dal,1 cup(Split Green bean)
1/2 small onion,chopped finely
Curry leaves,few
1/2 spoon, mustard seeds
1/4 spooon,jeera
Turmeric powder,1/8 spoon
Asafoetida, a pinch
Salt,to taste and Cooking oil for the seasoning
Corriander leaves/Cilantro,garnishing

Boil the lentils in water till it is cooked well. I used a pressure cooker and swtiched it off after 2 whistles. In a separate pan, boil chayote pieces for about 3-4 minutes in water or milk. I used milk as it gives a unique richness to this dish. Keep aside. In the meanwhile, coarsely grind coconut with red chillies and jeera. Again, take a pan and add the dal(lentils) and the chayote. Let it come to a boil. Add the ground coconut paste. Again,let it boil so that the coconut paste mixes well into the dish. Now,in a skillet, add cooking oil,about 1 spoon and when it is hot add the seasoning ingredients: mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafoetida and curry leaves.Finally, add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. This seasoning is to be added to the boiling chayote gravy. Switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro/corriander leaves.

I served this with Spinach parathas and raita. Dinner is complete.

Vegetable Upma

Vegetable upma is a very healthy and easy to prepare recipe. This dish is great for break fast but I know quite a few people who have it for dinner too. If not a meal, you could make it in a jiffy and enjoy as a snack.

Ingredients
2 cups, semolina/rava/sooji
4 cups water
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 cup ,chopped,carrots and peas(optional)
Lime juice for garnish(optional)
Cilantro/corriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1/2 spoon,mustard seeds
4-5 green chillies,slit vertically
turmeric powder, a pinch
a few curry leaves
2 spoons,cooking oil

Heat 1 spoon of cooking oil in a skillet and add semolina to it. Mix well so that semolina gets a little cooked and it coated with oil too. This will take about 2 minutes. Switch off the stove and keep the roasted semolina separately. Again, heat the remaining 1 spoon oil in the same skillet and once the oil is hot add the tempering ingredients followed my chopped onions. After about 3 minutes the onions would have cooked ,now add the other vegetables(if using) and saute for a couple of minutes more. Next,add water and let it start to boil. Add salt.At this point, also,add the roasted semolina slowly mixing it well as you keep adding it. Mis well till semoina gets absorbed well into the water. Cook on a low flame for some time(I cook for about 2 minutes) and switch off the stove. Add lemon juice and cilantro. Serve hot or warm. Upma can be enjoyed with any dip like chutney,sauce or with sugar,pickle etc.

Tomato Rasam #2

I have already posted a recipe for tomato rasam. Here is another variation to the taste and preparation. Again, the main ingredient is tomato.

2-3 cups,dal Water
1/4 spoon,tamarind paste or 1 cup tamarind water
1 medium tomato,chopped
a few curry leaves
1 spoon,Rasam powder
salt to taste
cilantro for garnishing

For the tempering,
1/2 spoon mustard seeds
1/4 spoon turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 spoon,cooking oil
3-4 green chillies,slit or chopped finely


The trick to preparing this rasam is using Dal water. Dal water is the extra water that is available when dal is cooked. Boil dal in a pressure cooker or any vessel and use the water. Decant this water and this is what is used in Rasam.
Note.:This Dal water can be prepared earlier in the day or the previous day too. But, using dal water more than 1 day old would make the rasam lose a lot of flavor.

Take a pan and add dal water and salt. Add in tomatoes and curry leaves. Once it starts to boil add the tamarind paste,rasam powder and some more water,if needed.

In the meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet and all the tempering ingredients.

After 4-5 minutes, add the tempered ingredients to the boiling rasam and switch off the stove. Add cilantro and Serve hot with rice and your vegetable side.