Tomato Rice

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 4 medium

Basmati Rice - 1 Cup

Onion – 1 large

Green Chiliies – 3 to 4

Ginger& Garlic Paste – 1Tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Cumin seeds – 1Tsp

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Cloves- 2

Cardamom – 2

Bay leaves - 1

Chilli Powder- 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Jeera Powder - 1 tsp

Tumeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Mint leaves – ½ cup

Fresh Coriander leaves- For Garnishing 

Preparation: 
Wash and soak the rice and keep it aside for about 30 minutes.Cut the tomatoes into small cubes, onions into thin slices and chillies lengthwise.
Heat the Oil in the Pan & add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cumin and Fennel seeds and fry till the aroma comes out.
When it starts spluttering add green chillies & Onions , fry till onions turn translucent.
Add ginger-garlic paste, mint leaves and fry till the raw flavor of ginger is gone. Add mint leaves ,tomatoes , salt,tumeric & keep stirring.
When Everything is mixed together add all the dry
masala powders and cook on a medium heat till the tomatoes are mushy.Keep stirring frequently.
When the tomatoes are cooked add the soaked Rice and fry for a minute. Add about 1 ½ cups of water to the rice and stir well. Adjust salt if needed. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat and cook the rice closed till done.
Garnish with Fresh Coriander leaves & serve hot with raitha.

Chilagada Dumpa-Mirapakaya Pulusu (Sweet potato sour stew with Jalopeno Peppers)

Here is one more dish, which I am trying it for the first time. As I am not really a fan of sweet potato, I don’t cook it often. I had leftover sweet potato, which we got for our friend’s daughter, Rishika’s baby food. In order not to waste it, I wanted to prepare something with the root. I was browsing for some of its recipes and also its nutritional values and found some really interesting stuff in the internet. Besides simple starches, sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene (a vitamin A equivalent nutrient), vitamin C, and vitamin B_6.  I used some Jalopeno peppers along with the sweet potato in the dish to make it little more spicier. After tasting it, I was totally surprised by its taste. Just loved it !!!

Ingredients:

Sweet potato – 1/2 large

Jalopenos – 6-7

Onion – 1 large

Tomato – 1 large

Green chillies – 3 to 4

Tamarind pulp – 3 tbsp

Chilli powder – 2 Tsp

Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 2 strands

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Oil – 2 Tsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1 inch cubes and keep aside. Cut the jalopeno peppers into bite size pieces. Soak the tamarind and squeeze out the pulp. Now heat oil in a saucepan and once it is hot, add the cumin & mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, now add the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves and fry for few seconds and now add the onions  and green chillies, cut lengthwise and let them fry till the onions are transparent. Add the sweet potato cubes and sauté for 5 minutes on a medium heat. Now add the tomato puree (I have blanched the tomatoes in water for 5 min, peeled them and pureed them so as to have a thick sauce or else the regular canned tomato puree can be used). Add the turmeric, chilli powder, Jalopeno peppers, salt and the tamarind pulp and little water and close the lid and let it cook on  a low flame till the oil oozes out of the sauce. To have an extra flavour, add some fresh curry leaves and close the lid and cook for 5 more min. so that the all the flavours are absorbed by the sweet potatoes. Add some sesame powder at this point to the pulusu to give it a very nice added flavour and thick consistency for the sauce. Serve hot with rice and some chips or rice fritters.

Oats upma

A steaming bowl of fresh cooked oatmeal is the perfect way to start off a day. Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fiber known as beta-glucan, which helps in reducing the cholesterol levels significantly. Studies also show that beta-glucan has beneficial effects in diabetes as well. They contain more soluble fiber than any other grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended sensation of fullness. Well…if I go on like this to say the health benefits of oats, it’s gonna take long time. So, let me share this amazing upma recipe, which I made with oats and fresh vegetables. Give this a try when you are in the mood for some quick and healthy dish and all you need is some chutney of your choice to enjoy the moment.

Ingredients:

Oats – 1cup

Water – 1 ¼ cups

Onion – ½ medium finely chopped

Mixed vegetables - 1/4 cup (peas, carrot, beans, capsicum)

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Chana dal - 1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts – 2tbsp

green chillies – 2-3

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Dry roast the oats for 2-3 minutes till crisp and keep it aside.

In a frying pan,  add2 tsp oil.

Add mustard, urad dal, channa dal, cashew nuts and green chillies and fry till the dals turn brown.

Add chopped onion, curry leaves and vegetables and fry till the onion becomes soft.

Add one and quarter cup of water and enough salt.

When the water starts boiling, add the oats and stir well.

Lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid allowing it to cook completely and all the water is absorbed.

Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Kobbari/ Coconut Laddu

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut - 3 cups

Grated Jaggery - 1 ½ cups

Ground elaichi powder -  ½  tsp

Ghee – 5-6 tbsp

Cashew nuts: ¼ cup

Preparation:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the remaining ghee, grated jaggery and grated coconut and cook on a medium heat stirring continuously.

As it gets heated up, jiggery starts melting. Stir continuously and make sure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the vessel.

After sometime, the mixure becomes thick and comes together. At this point, stir in the elaichi powder and fried cashewnuts. Mix well  and remove the mixture from heat and let it cool.

When it is still warm, grease hands with ghee and make into small balls. Cool the laddus to room temperature and store in a dry, closed container. The shelf life of these laddus is about two weeks at room temperature.

Neer Dosa

It has been long time since I’ve posted a breakfast recipe here. Here we go with the white and lacy thin pancake recipe, Neer Dosa. Neer Dosa is a traditional dosa variety from Karnataka, prepared with rice. The name comes from the very thin consistency the batter has, very similar to water. It’s a very simple recipe and does not demand the time-consuming fermentation of the batter.

Ingredients:

2 Cups rice

Salt to taste

Oil

Preparation:

Wash and soak the rice for 4-5 hours.

Grind soaked rice to a smooth paste in a mixer/blender or food processor.
Add salt &, enough water to make a very thin batter.
Keep aside for an hour or two.
Heat the dosa griddle, pour 1 ladle full of mixture in centre and tilt the griddle in all directions to allow batter to spread thinly to make a pancake.
Drizzle a little oil, cook on one side till done. Cook the dosa on only one side and take care to see that it does not turn brown
Fold into half and then into quarter.
Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Aloo Matar/ Potato-Green Peas Curry

Here is one more delicious dish, which is easy to prepare.This can be prepared easily for any number of people and it goes well with Chapathi/Roti, Parathas, and also as a side dish for plain rice .

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 4 medium
Onions -1 large (Chopped finely)
Tomatoes - 2 medium( Chopped finely)

Green chillies – 4

Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Oil -  2-3 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Green peas – ½ cup

Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into one inch cubes and boil them till the y are cooked but still crunchy (not too soft) .

Remove  them from hot water and let them cool.

If you are using Fresh Green peas, then soak them for 2 hrs and cook them for atleast 1 or 2 whistles in a pressure cooker till done. If  you are using forzen or cooked peas, you can use them directly.

In a pan, add oil, then add the cumin seeds,  chopped green chillies, onions and fry till golden brown.

Add the ginger-garlic paste & turmeric powder and fry till the  raw flavor  is gone.

Then add the tomatoes and fry till they are cooked and mushy.

Add in the  chilly powder, coriander powder and salt and fry well

Then add the cooked potatoes to the pan and mix well together

Sprinkle or add very little water and mix carefully so that the potatoes are not mashed.

Cook for few mins and add the green peas. Mix well and cook for about 5 min. on low heat.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or rice. Bon Appetite!!!

Sunnundalu/ Urid dal Laddoo

Sunnundalu is a traditional Andhra sweet made from Urid dal, sugar and ghee. It is a simple recipe with simple ingredients and tastes heavenly. This is my brother’s favorite sweet and my mom prepares every other week for him. Even, Siva loves these too and now I have a reason to prepare them for him. Here we go with the recipe....

Ingredients:

Urid dal – 2 cups

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee – ¾ cup

Method:

In a pan, roast the urid dal till golden brown on a low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and keep aside and let it cool to room temperature.

In a food processor/mixer, grind the roasted urid dal and sugar separately  to a smooth powder  and keep aside.

Melt the ghee and cool to room temperature.

Mix in the urid dal and sugar powder thoroughly and slowly add in the melted ghee, mix and make into round laddoos..