Peanut-Pudina chutney

I am die hard fan of spicy food. There is no day I can do without chutneys and Pachadi's. This one  made for dosas. Ofcourse it can be eaten with rice and chapathis too.

INGREDIENTS :-
Peanuts :- 1 cup (roasted and peel removed)
Pudina leaves :- taken from bunches.
Kothimeera/Corainder:- a bunch (chopped finely)
Tamarind :- lemon sized ball (soaked in water)
Urad Dal:- 1 tea spoon
Jeera :- 1 teaspoon
Aavalu/Mustard seeds :- 1 teaspoon
Green chillies ;- 4-5 (Adjust)
Salt :- adjust acc to taste
Chana Dal :- 1 teaspoon
Oil :- 1 tablespoon
For Tempering/seasoning :-
Urad Dal :- 1/2 teaspoon
chana dal:- 1/2 teaspoon
jeera :- 1/2 teaspoon
aavalu/mustard seeds :- 1/2 teaspoon
Dry Chillies :- 2-3
METHOD :-

1. Take dash of oil and add green chillies and pudina , coriander leaves in a pan ,add salt to it and cover with a lid and allow to cook till pudina leaves loose their rawness.
2. In a separate pan take 1/2 of remaining oil add urad dal,chana dal, jeera, mustard into it ans allow them to splutter.
3. Now squeeze the tamarind . Add cooked pudina, peanuts, green chillies, coriander, tamarind and urad dal-chana dal mixture into grinder  and grind to smooth mixture. Adjust salt.
4. Now in the tadka pan add remaining oil and add seasoning mixture along with dry chillies and allow it to splutter.
5. Add this seasoning to the chutney.

Peanut Butter

The first thing that comes to my mind when i hear peanut butter is "mmmmmm !!!!! Wowwww". A good salad dressing, a toast, sandwich anything and everything can use peanut butter. I always bought the one from the store. It was expensive though . 150 rs  a bottle , and top of that it gets completed in less than a week.So I thought "why not make it at home" . It came out reallllllllyyyyy good. Here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS :-
Peanuts :-1/2 kilo
Oil :- preferably peanut oil/ground nut oil .This gives extra zing.
But even if its not there in your kitchen now, that's okay . Vegetable oil, refined oil can also be used.
1 1/2 tablespoons 
Icing sugar :- a pinch
METHOD:-

1. Dry roast peanuts till the rawness is gone. 
2. Twist the roasted peanuts with your hand so as to remove the  outer layer of the peanuts.
3. Now add peanuts, oil, a pinch of icing sugar in a grinder and grind it till it becomes very smooth paste.
4. Store in a container and place it in the fridge. 

Garlic flavored curd

Adi is fan of this curd. May be he likes the garlic flavor in it. :-) . It is his favorite salad dressing and a snack item too(Yes !! he eats it as a snack when he is hungry)

INGREDIENTS:-
Garlic flakes :- 10-12
Curd:- 1 cup
Salt:- adjust
Olive oil :- 2 spoons (  not table spoons, just spoons)
METHOD :-

1. Take olive oil into tadka pan, add garlic into it (you can add jeera too along with garlic).
2. Add chopped garlic flakes and fry until garlic is golden brown.
3. Add this into curd and mix salt according to taste.
4. This can be used as salad dressing , and can be eaten with phulkas too :)

Bhindo Do Pyaza

I heard it from a television channel that the gravy do pyaza has onions 2 times , one in tomato-onion gravy that we make and the other onion pieces added to the curry. I like bhindi with phulkas. Reminds me of the college canteen where I used to eat bhindi ki sabzi with roti and onion salad. Here is the recipe

INGREDIENTS :-
Bhindi :- chopped into 1 inch pieces( 2cups)
Onions :- 4 large
Ripen tomatoes :- 4 large choppes to pieces
Ginger :- finely chopped
Garlic :- finely choppes
Cumin seeds :- 1 spoon
Cumin Powder:- 1 spoon
Coriander Powder:- 1 spoon
Coriander leaves:- chopped (for decoration)
Garam masala :- 1 spoon
Mirchi powder:- 1 1/2 spoons (Adjust)
Salt:- acc to taste
Oil :- 1 1/2 tablespoons
Curd:- 1 tablespoon
METHOD:-

1. Fry bhindi separately in a table spoon oil . Stir fry would do. Take them into container.
2. In the remaining oil add chopped ginger,garlic half of onions .
3. Cook them until onions turn golden brown.
4. Add tomatoes and cook until thee juices come out.
5. Take everything into grinder and make it a paste. Alternatively you can use a blender too.
6. Instead if you are using a microwave. Take chopped ginger,garlic, tomatoes and onions into microwave add dash of oil and microwave it for 6:30 min at 80% power.Make a paste after that.
7. Now take remaining oil , add jeera and remaining onions and fry till onions are golden brown.
8. Add sir-fried bhindi pieces and tomato-onion paste, cumin powder, mirch powder,salt, jeera powder, garam masala .
9. Close it with lid and allow to cook till bhindi absorbs all the juices.
10. Now simmer it for 10 minutes removing lid till all extra water evaporates and thick gravy with bhindi is left.
11. Add curd and have it with roti/rice/phulka/nan .

Strawberry Apple medley

Had a great V-Day with hubby. Me being stay-at-home-mom currently, helped me create something nice for dinner(candle light dinner to be precise). Hold on !! It wasn't that easy considering my 7th month old son. He cried now and then stopping my activities. So I was able to manage somehow and prepare a menu of fruit juice-soda (strawberry apple medley) ,Bhindi do pyaza, paneer bhurji and phulkas with garlic flavored curd. This is recipe for strawberry apple medley.

INGREDIENTS :-
Strawberries :- 10-12 (remove the green leaves around it)
Apple :- 1 (cut into pieces)
Mixed Fruit Jam :- 2 scoops
Vanilla Ice cream :- 1 (10 rs cup)
Sugar :- adjust acc to taste
Ice cubes :- 1 tray is more than sufficient
Soda :- 1 bottle (this is optional.But it tastes good with soda. I got 1 kingfisher 14 rs bottle)
METHOD :-

1. Grind together apple pieces,strawberries,ice cream,jam with sufficient water to make it a smooth paste.
2. Actually you need not filter the juice ,grind it to that consistency.
3. Take a juice glass,wine glass and pour the juice into it. 
4. Store it in fridge for an hour or so. take out after an hour
5. Pour a little soda so that froth comes out. (Do not add soda and keep it in fridge. The zing of soda is lost. Add soda just before you drink)
6. Decorate the glass with mint leaves or strawberries.
7. Add ice cubes. Drink it chilled :-).

Quick Tomato Pasta

I am great fan of pasta. When i was pregnant this was top most in the craving  list. I always craved for pizzahut style pasta. One fine day Hubby was late from office and he could not get it. So out of frustration I tried it and it came out just wowww !!!

INGREDIENTS :-
Pasta :- whole wheat preferable( a cup)
Tomatoes :- Fully ripen (4 big)
Garlic :- 10 flakes chopped finely
Olive oil :- a tablespoon
Salt :- as required
Butter :- a spoon
Mirchi powder/karam :- adjust acc to taste
Pasta Seasoning :- you can use oregano,or keya pasta seasoning or left over packets from dominos
Olives Black :- 4-5
METHOD :-

1. Take pasta into a big vessel, pour enough water, ass a spoon of olive oil and little salt and allow to boil.
2. In another vessel take the ripen tomatoes and boil them (do not cut into pieces). If you have a microwave cut into pieces and microwane in 80% for 6:30 minutes.
3. Grind tomatoes into smooth paste.
4. Take a pan add some butter/olive oil and saute garlic flakes in it till you get nice aroma.
5. Add ripen tomato paste into it. Add salt , mirchi powder according to taste.
6. Take boiled pasta out and drain extra water.
7. Now add boiled pasta and allow it to cook with open lid until extra water vapors out.
8. Add seasoning and black olives and eat it hot :)

Malai Kofta Curry

Was damn hungry. Down with fever !! My sweet SIL got me malai kofta curry. What a relief. I ate with hot rice and ghee. It was awesome. Here is the recipes
INGREDIENTS :--
Aalo :- 1 Big
Onions :-1 Big
Bottle gourd/Sorakaya :- 3 cups (grated)
Green chillies :- 3 (Adjust acc to taste)
Salt :- as required
Jeera :- 1 tablespoon
Coriander :- for seasoning
Curry leaves :-
Garam Masala :- 1 tablespoon
Corn flour :- as per required
Besan  :- as per required
For Gravy :
Onions :- 2 chopped finely
Tomatoes :- 2 chopped
Ginger-Garlic Paste :- 3 spoons
Oil :- 3 tablespoons
Milk Cream :- 1 packet
Kaju :- a few

METHOD:
For kofta

1. Boil aalo and onions.
2. Mix bottle gourd and boiled aalo and onion ,coriander, garam masala, a bit of ginger garlic paste, jeera and required amount of salt along with corn flour and besan till it becomes soft dough like ball. 
3. Deep fry them till they attain crispy brown colour.
4. Keep them a side on news paper till they loose oil.

For Gravy

1. Make a paste of chopped onions and tomatoes.
2. Take oil in a heating pan and add mustard seeds, jeera ,curry leaves ,kaju and allow them to splutter.
3. Add ginger-Garlic paste. 
4. Fry it until it releases aroma.
5. Add tomato-onion paste and some water and allow to boil till the rawness of tomatoes goes away.
6. Add salt,mirchi powder,garam masala, coriander leaves.
7. Now take kofats into gravy and just simmer for 3 minutes and add cream to tighten the gravy and serve hot with nan,poori,Rice.

Pineapple Curry

This curry taste awesome especially who love food to be tangy,sweet . Yeah it can be made spicy by adding good amount of green chillies and red chillies.

INGREDIENTS :-

Pineapple :- half (cut into small cubes)

Onions :- 3 sliced

Kothimeera/Coriander:- a bunch

Green chillies :- 4-5

Garlic pods:- 6-7

Tamarind :- a lemon sized ball (soaked in water)

Sal : as required

For Tadka/Seasoning :-

mustard seeds :- a spoon

jeera :- a spoon

Bengal gram :- a spoon

Urad dal : a spoon

Oil :- a tablespoon

Red chillies :- 1 cut into small pieces

METHOD :-

1. Grind together green chillies,coriander and garlic and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in pan and add all the seasoning and allow them to splutter.
3. Add onions to the seasoning and fry until they are slightly brown.
4. Add garlic-coriander-greenchillies mixture and fry for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add pineapple pieces, salt ,turmeric and tamarind .Add little water to it (just 100-150 ml)
6. Allow pineapple pieces to cook until they are soft and till atleast half of water evaporates.
7. Have it with roti/rice :)

Dalia-Pineapple halwa

This is the first time I tried halwa. It came out well. Aadi complimented saying superrrrr!!!! . I wanted to make use of pineapple somehow. My first preference was to bake a cake. But I didnt have baking powder in my kitchen. So thought of making halwa. To make it different I used cracked wheat too. So this is cracked wheat pineapple halwa

INGREDIENTS :-

Dalia/Cracked wheat :- 1 cup

Pineapple :- half

Sugar:- 150-200 gms

Elaichi/Vanilla essence/Pineapple essence :- few drops

Milk :- 250 ml

Ghee: 5 spoons

Turmeric (for color)

Cashews ,Badam (for dressing)

METHOD :-

1. Heat ghee in a deep frying pan till it melts.
2. If you are using Elaichi ,add Elaichi now itself. If you are using vanilla/pineapple essence you can wait for some more time to add it
3. Add cracked wheat and fry it for 3-4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile grind all pineapple pieces to make it a pulp.
5. Add this pineapple pulp to the cracked wheat , add half of the milk and add water if necessary
6. Add vanilla essence and allow the wheat to boil completely.
7. After wheat is bolied add sugar, remaining milk and turmeric and keep stirring until sugar melts.
8. Leave it on medium flame for 10-15 minutes until wheat-pineaple mixture gets thicker.
9. Decorate it with badam and cashwes and serve it warm :)

Garlic Roti

This is modified version of garlic naan. I somehow cant digest maida. I dont know why !!. This is good alternative for all those who think maida is not good for health

INGREDIENTS :-

Wheat Flour :- 3 cups

Garlic (finely chopped):- 4 teaspoons

Garam Masala ;- 1/2 teaspoon

Green chillies :- 3-4

Salt :- as required

Milk :- 1 cup

water :- as required

Coriander :- 1 cup

METHOD :-

Grind together coriander and green chillies .

Mix it with finely chopped garlic .

There are two methods of doing it. Anything is fine.

Type 1 :

1. Take wheat flour , add milk,water, salt, garam masala and mix into a dough.
2. Allow it to stand for 1 hour.
3. Now make them as small balls and roll each ball into round chapathi
4. Take a teaspoon of garlic-chilly-coriander mixture and place it in chapathi
5. Place two chapathis together one on top of the other after placing the mixture.
6. Carefully roll into chapathis again.
7. Roast on tawa with butter or ghee.

Type 2:-

1. Mix with wheat flour , milk, water , salt, garam masala along with garlic-coriander-green chilly mixture.
2. Allow it to stand for 30 min .
3. Roll them into chapathis and heat it on tawa with butter or ghee.

Eat them HOT !!!! .