Lamb Vermicelli Biryani

Ingredients:

Lamb - 200 g

Vermicelli - 200g

Onion – 1 large

Oil - 3 Tbsp

Ghee - 2 Tbsp

Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp

Garam masala – ¼ Tsp

Red chili powder – 1 Tbsp

Coriander powder – 1Tbsp

Yoghurt – ½ cup

Tomato – 1 medium

Green chilis - 3

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Mint leaves - 1/4 cup

Lemon juice – 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Fried cashew nuts to garnish

Preparation:

·         Wash the mutton and drain water.

·         In a pan dry fry the Vermicelli until it turns red and keep it aside.

·         Cut the onion and tomato into thin slices and chop the mint and coriander leaves finely.

·         In a pressure cooker heat ghee, oil. Add the onion and fry until they turn golden brown. Now add the ginger paste, garlic paste, garam masala and cook for about 2 min, until the raw smell is gone.

·         Now add coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chili, tomato, coriander and chili powders and cook until oil separates from the mixture. Add salt to taste.

·         Now add the yoghurt and meat, mix well,cover and cook for 3 whistle or until it is cooked.

·         Add the vermicelli and about half cup of water, mix well and simmer until done.

·         Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve hot with raitha or/and lemon & onion.

Oats Pongal

For all those oats fans over there, here’s one more recipe which is equally Indian and eternally delicious….Oats Pongal…and needless to say, it's healthy too...

Ingredients:

Rolled oats – 1 cup

Yellow Mung dal – ½ cup

Ginger – 1 inch finely chopped

Green chilies - 1 finely chopped

Whole Black pepper – 1 Tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Ghee / vegetable oil – 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and cook the mung dal till done but still intact and  keep aside.

Heat ghee/oil in a  thick bottom vessel, add pepper corns, cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger and fry for a min.

Add about 2 ½ cups of water to the pan and bring it to boil. Add salt to taste and add the oats, stir and cook till done.

Add in the cooked dal and mix well and cook for a minute or two.

Serve hot. 

Stir-fried Broccoli with Soy Nuggets

Try making this simple meatless recipe of Broccoli with Soy Nuggets. I bet this has a subtle yet addictive sauce which makes you prepare this often. So…Get..Set..Go!!!

Ingredients:

Brown rice – 1 cup

Broccoli – 1 medium

Soy sauce – 2 Tbsp

Sesame oil – 2 Tbsp

Chili sauce – 2 Tbsp

Rice vinegar – 2 Tbsp

Cornstarch – 2 Tbsp

Vegetable oil – 2 Tbsp

Soy Nuggets – 1 cup

Garlic cloves – 3 - 4

Vegetable stock - 1 cup

Preparation

·        Cook the rice according to the package directions.

·        While the rice cooks, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk and set aside.

·       Wash the soy nuggets and add to a pan of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain off the water immediately and squeeze out the excess water from the nuggets. Set aside.

·        Wash and cut the Broccoli into bite size florets.

·       Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add broccoli and garlic to pan and toss for about a min. Add the vegetable stock to the broccoli, cover and cook  for about 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

·        Add soy sauce mixture and the cooked soy nuggets to the pan, mixing gently, and cook for about 2 minutes. Mix in the cornstarch to about ¼ cup of water and add it to the broccoli mixture and cook till the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Serve the broccoli mixture over rice.

Aloo Podi Koora (Potato Fry)

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 3 Medium

Onion - 1 Medium

Oil – 2 Tbsp

Urad Dal – 1 Tbsp

Chana Dal – 1 Tbsp

Mustard Seeds – 1Tsp

Jeera - 1 Tsp

Turmeric Powder - ¼ Tsp

Green chillies – 6-8 no.

Curry Leaves – 2 springs

Salt to Taste.

Preparation:

• Wash, boil, peel and mash the potatoes.
• Cut the onions into thin slices lengthwise. Also slit the green chillies lengthwise.
• Heat oil in a frying pan, once hot add mustard, jeera, urad dal, chana dal.
• Once they start to splutter add curry leaves, onions, green chillies, turmeric and fry till the onions are translucent.
• Add the mashed potatoes, salt, mix well and fry for about 2min and then remove from heat.
• Serve hot with rice, poori or Chapathi.
• This can be also used as filling for many other dishes such as Aloo Bonda, Masala Dosa and Vegetable puffs.

Sinful Dark chocolate Fudge cake

This is my first cake recipe in my blog and I took the privilege to bake my own cake for my Birthday...I know it sounds strange but I didn’t want to miss the chance to bake the first one for the blog. And I feel happy for not missing it as this is such a wonderful, moist and fudgy chocolate cake recipe, which is needs to be shared with you all. click here for the original cake recipe. I just substituted white sugar in the original recipe with brown sugar, just to make it a little healthier.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cups

Brown sugar - 2 cups

Unsweetened cocoa powder - 3/4 cups

Baking soda - 2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Buttermilk - 1 cup

Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Eggs - 2 Nos

Vanilla sugar – 1 Tbsp

Coffee – 1 Cup

For the icing:

Fresh heavy cream – 150ml

Eggs – 1

Softened Butter – 100 g

Icing sugar – 1 cup

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Unsweetened cocoa powder – ¾ cup

Preparation:

Baking the Cake:

·         Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.

·         Butter the cake pan and dust with flour.

·         Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

·         In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk rigorously till combined

·         Beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until nicely combined and then slowly incorporate the fresh coffee (at room temperature) into batter.

·         Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick / knife inserted comes out clean.

·         Remove the cake from the oven and cool it completely and proceed to the next step of icing. (After cooling the cake to room temperature, I chilled it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours)

Dark Chocolate Icing:

·         Whisk the egg in a sauce pan and cook on the steam over boiling water in another saucepan, whisking continuously and take care that the pan do not touch the surface of boiling water(otherwise you may end up having scrambled eggs), till the egg turns creamy. Remove from heat and cool it by placing the saucepan in a ice bath.

·         In a saucepan, heat the cream until bubbles are formed but not boiling. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature and combine with the egg.

·         In a bowl, bring in the softened butter, icing sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla extract and beat with an electrical beater or hand whisk until nice and fluffy.

·         Now bring in the egg and cream mixture and beat till nice and fluffy.

·         Chill the icing for about an hour in the fridge and then spread it evenly over the cake and decorate it accordingly. You can also put the icing in a piping bag and decorate.

Grilled Zucchini and Tomato Salad with Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

Zucchini                1 medium

Tomatoes              1 medium

Oil                        2-3 Tbsp

Salt                      to taste

Egg                      1 large

Fresh ground black pepper

A few sprigs fresh parsley

Preparation:

·         Pre-heat your grill to 180°C.
Wash the zucchini and trim off the ends.

·         Slice the zucchini lengthwise in thin slices, using a mandolin or vegetable peeler. 

·         Lightly grease the zucchini with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper to taste.

·         Grill the zucchini ribbons until lightly wilted, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and put on a platter and let cool slightly.

·         In a pan, make the scrambled eggs with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Cut the tomatoes in large chunks, season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange on the platter with zucchini and garnish with scrambled eggs and chopped parsley leaves.

Crispy Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients:

Zucchini           1 medium cut into sticks

Egg whites        2 large

Bread crumbs   1/3 cup

Oil                    For deep frying

Garlic powder   1/4 tsp

Salt                  to taste

Fresh pepper    to taste

Preparation:

·         In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper.

·         Mix well the breadcrumbs and garlic powder.

·         Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumbs mixture, a few at a time and coat them properly.

·         Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the zucchini sticks till golden brown.

·         Alternatively, you can bake the zucchini sticks in an oven at 180°C for about 20-25 min., drizzling with some oil.

·         Serve hot with any sauce of your choice.