Khatta Meetha Kaddu/ Pumpkin

Khatta Meetha Kaddu/ Pumpkin

Ingredients

• Yellow pumpkin - 1/2 kg (  nicely chooped in 1 inch cube size)
• Oil -   2 tsp ( I used peanut oil , you can use any neutral vegetable oil)
• Rai - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin/Jeera - 1/4 tsp
• Fennel/ Saunf - 1/4 tsp
• Bay Leaf/ Tej patta - 1 leaf
• Cloves/ Laung - 2 
• Cinnamon/ Dal cheeni - 1/2 inch
• Coriander seeds/ Sabut dhaniya - 1/2 tsp
• Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Mango powder/Amchur  - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric /Haldi - 1/2 tsp
•  Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera powder -  1/2  tsp
• Sugar/ Jaggery - 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves / kadi patta - 5-6
•  Fresh coriander 
• Dried red chilli - 1 piece
• Chopped Tomato - 1 big
• Salt - as per taste

Steps :

• Heat oil in a kadhai.
• In hot oil add all sabut masala like : Rai, Jeera, Fennel, Bay leaf, Cloves, Cinnamon, Coriander seeds, methi seeds and Red Chilli. Let them cook for 1 min.
•  Add Chopped pumpkin, turmeric, salt. give it a nice mix . Cover and cook it on simmer for 7-10 mins until pumkin is little soft.
• Now add Mango powder, Jaggery, Red chilli powder, crushed curry leaves, chopped tomato.
• Cover and cook for 5-6 mins until pumkin is soft and cooked well.
• Garnish with chopped coriander.
• Server hot with Chapati, Poori.

Tips:

• You can add chopped onion if you like along with  sabut masala and fry it until translucent.
• I removed the skin of the pumkin as B chopped them for me, but you can keep the green skin and cook it along. This tastes yum.
• Increase / decrease jaggery/ chilli as per your taste.
• You can add hing ( asafetida) as well if you like and get nice fragrance, but for me sabut masala's were enough.
•  In north people cook this during Kanya poojan on ashtami  day along with halwa, kala chana and poori.
• Do not add hing, onion if you are making satvik/ vrat ka khana

Dukimaar Bhutta / Sweet Corn Curry

Dubkimaar Bhutta or SweetCorn Curry

Trying to write after a number of years.  Time flies and now the little dragon is six years old, which translates to that now I have some time in hand to do what I love the most. Also, this lockdown situation is making me pursuing all the things which I was forgetting or postponing in the name of no time.

Time is tough and staying at home the entire day during lockdown is also draining. I am badly missing going out for work, walk, food, travel that used to make me a happy child every time I was out of the door. I know my son is just like me in these things. 

So, to make things easier in daily routine and to cherish this time instead of being grumpy and stuck. I decided to pursue different things at home with the stuff available. I am sure this will take my creativity to another level and will teach me how to stay calm and slow down during these tough times.

"Toughest is the one who survives the tough times"

I saw this recipe long back on "chef at large"  Facebook community. I am sorry I do not remember the name of the lady who shared it, but it was an Indian who lives overseas. If you know the name please share it with me. So, that due credit can be given to her.

I do not have that recipe written but the cooking style was similar, so it stuck with me and is an all-time favorite.  How to enjoy this curry is very interesting, dunk the corn in the gravy and eat corn kernels and suck the gravy.



Ingredients - server 2 hungry souls :)

1. Sweet Corn - 1 piece cut in small discs 
2. Onion - 2 
3. Tomato- 4 
4. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
5. Salt  as per taste
6. Dhaniya powder - 1stp
7. Amchoor - 1/2 tsp
8. Garam masala - 1tsp
9. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
11. Fresh coriander for garnish
12. Water -  3 cups
13. Oil - 3 tsp

Recipe:

1. Cut Sweet corn in small circular discs, one-inch size if possible.
2. Make onion and tomato puree
3. Pressure cook sweet corn with turmeric and salt for 4-5 whistles. until corn kernels are soft yet retain their shape.
4. Heat oil in kadhai , add cumin seeds, let them sputter.  Now, add onion and tomato puree.
5. Add all the masala except garam masala. Let it get cooked on a slow flame for 10 mins. Wait till the masala starts leaving oil.
6. Add boiled sweet corn along with the water in which it was boiled.
7. Add garam masala and cook it on slow-medium flame for another 10 mins until the gravy is little thickened.
8.  Garnish with fresh coriander.
9. Serve with freshly steamed jeera rice or chapati.


 I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 To enjoy this curry the most, make sure after eating kernels you dunk the corn in gravy and then suck the juices. It's yummy and satisfying!

Do share the outcome if you try this recipe!

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Eggless Semolina/ Rava/Sooji Cake

I never thought or I should say tried making a cake using Rava / Sooji. I have got this recipe from a friend who owns LG microwave and was happy to share this recipe from her LG cookbook. My MIL loved this cake.

Recipe is as it is from LG cookbook along with little changes made by me.

Recipe:

• 1 cup Semolina(sooji/suji). I use chiroti rava.
• 1/2 up whole wheat flour (atta)
• 1/2 cup plain flour (maida)
• 1/2 cup yogurt (dahi)
• 1/4 tsp saffron(kesar) or pinch of yellow color
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2  tbsp milk approx.. I added 2 tbsp extra as batter was very thick.
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp cashews or pine nuts or raisins (kishmish)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160 degree Centigrade. Grease a 8-9" baking pan.
• Sift together rava, maida, wheat flour, soda and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a big bowl combine yogurt, oil and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Add semolina mixture, saffron, green cardamom and milk to get a soft dropping consistency. Beat with an electric beater at medium speed for 5 minutes.
• Pour batter into the prepared baking tin. sprinkle cashews and raisins on top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cake was soft and yummy. MIL loved it as it was egg less and no maida. Family Happy I am Happy!.

Vegetable Pasta

I love Pasta, nothing new right..every one loves pasta :) During my childhood my naani and mom used to make home made semiya during summer season( I want to learn how to make them). Once sun dried mom used to prepare either milk based semiyan or vegetable semiya. After growing up and coming to a cosmopolitan city I found  Pasta in grocery shop shelves and this reminded how everything was once handmade and is now so much commercialized. Long chat for some other time.

My son loves Pasta but only boiled pasta with just salt, little oil n minimal spices. He is not a vegetable lover and I am struggling to include veggies in his diet. But B and me both loves veggies, so it was Vegetable pasta for dinner tonight. Personally I love white sauce creamy pasta ,but that becomes too heavy on tummy. And to keep my weight under check I have gradually switched to simple pasta just with veggies and some Italian spices. This one has mushroom, carrots,onion,green bell pepper,spinach,garlic, which got filtered into my plate as little hero doesn't like them.

Recipe

• 1 cup boiled pasta
• 1 medium carrot chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 cup chopped bell peppers
• 1 cup spinach.. do not chop
• 1 cup chopped mushroom
• 2 tsp oil
• Garlic powder or use fresh garlic
• Pepper powder
• Salt as per taste

Steps :

1. Heat oil in pan.
2. saute onion and mushroom. Let mushroom water gets dried up
3. Add spinach and carrot and again saute for sometime. Spinach will leave water , so let it get dried up
4. Add bell peppers, salt ,garlic powder and pepper powder and saute for 3-5 mins. We liek chunky Capsicum.

5.Add Italian Spice, dried basil, Oregano, Chilly flakes, salt, pepper, garlic powder and mix well.
5. Add boiled pasta and mix well.
6.add grated cheese if you like.
7. Serve hot

Hope you like it as much B and I did.

Quinoa salad

New super food which is vegan and full of antioxidants is Quinoa.This time when B went to U.S, I requested him to bring a small pack of quinoa assuming it will be cheaper there, but to my surprise it is expensive everywhere!

Qunioa is very versatile food and can be used in different ways.

How to cook quinoa

Soak 1/2 cup  in water for 30 minutes and then cook them in a deep vessel with 1cup water and salt until fluffy and soft. This will look like rice grain.

Ingredients

Iceberg lettuce
Firm English Tomatoes
Radish
English cucumber
Boiled eggs

How to assemble salad

• Take a chilled glass bowl and arrange first layer of lettuce.
• Now another layer of round cut cucumber and radish.
• Add Layer of cooked quinoa
• Add layer of lengthwise cut tomatoes
• Add qyinoa
• Add some nuts like walnuts or other seeds like pumpkin or sunflower you have.
• Add salt,pepper and lime juice
• Give it a light mix
• Decorate with boiled egg.
• Keep in fridge for 30 minute and your protein rich salad is ready.

Enjoy!

Eggless Chocolate Walnut Brownie

I Love non fancy simple cakes or naked cakes over fancy cakes. I am part of home bakers guild on FB on came across this wonderful eggless brownie recipe which was shared by one of the fellow member during some baking challenge running on the page. On rainy days I want to have a big slice of hot brownie with a nice strong cup of coffee and my window sil. This is perfect for me.

This is tried and tested recipe by a number friends and it works as a charm, you get nice soft moist yummy chocolaty brownie.

Recipe as shared by Khushboo Gugle

Ingredients

• 1cup maida or all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup +2Tbsp of powdered sugar
• 1tsp baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1/3cup of vegetable oil
• 1cup milk
• 1tsp of vinegar
• 1tsp of instant coffee powder (I used Nescafé)
• 1tsp of vanilla extract
• Chopped walnuts
• 3Tbsp chick chips

Recipe

• Preheat oven to 180 C
• Mix milk at room temperature with vinegar and keep it aside
• Sift flour ,soda,cocoa powder,coffee powder and salt
• Mix powdered sugar to this
• Mix the oil and vanilla extract to the milk and vinegar mixture kept aside
• Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, add choco chips and and gently fold until there are no more streaks of flour left
• Transfer to a greased 8x8 pan and add walnuts on top
• Bake for 25-30 mins or until skewer comes clean.
• Cool and cut square of brownie

I added 1tsp of orange zest and 2Tbsp of orange juice to get extra sinful flavour.

Enjoy!!

Cooking Stories Series:1 Cow

My sunshine, my little bundle of joy came in our life and every thing changed. I had never imagined that I can cook random stories, but seems my LO is developing these qualities in me.

Yesterday night while putting him to sleep, I cooked one story for him.There is no logic or reasoning behind these stories, these were random thoughts coming in my mind one by one and I started imagining with him and our story was ready! 

This is how our Cow story goes...

Pic Source : ww.123rf.com

Once upon a time there was a cow. she was very hungry and was looking for food. But she could not find any food which was healthy and clean. So, she went to GOD and explained her problem.

GOD said, I will create  green grass, plants, tree, shrubs, fruits for you to eat and clean lake, river, fountains to drink water. This solved cow's problem and she went home happily.

Now, cow started eating grass, fruits, plants and drank fresh water. But with so much eating she was becoming fat. Due to so much over eating she gained  huge weight. Now she found it very difficult to walk around and became very lazy. 

One day she fall sick and requested GOD that you have given me every thing to eat but this has made me lazy and fat, due to which I am falling sick. Please help me in solving this problem.

GOD, said there is only one way we can solve this problem. You can produce milk and give it to children and other needy people around you every day. This way what ever you eat and drink will get digested and your body will also be healthy. Since then cow started giving milk to us, which is full of nutrition. She is no longer fat and lazy. 

God has solution for every problem, you just tell him once and he will fix it for you, just the way he did it for Cow.

My LO pronounces COW and "Cau"

Pic Source : ww.123rf.com