..... HAPPY NEW YEAR ......

virginia satsang '08

This is a picture from satsang held in Virginia on dec 27th....divine ....isn't it??

Veg Manchuria

Whenever i think of veg Manchurian i remember the hot ,spicy Manchurian we used to eat at Mayuri restaurant in Dallas. I love the Indo Chinese food very much that the very thought of it makes me hungry.So let's dig into the recipie.I made this recipe this weekend and got very good comments from my friends.




Ingredients:

1/2 medium cabbage grated,

2 bell pepper/capsicum,
2 carrots grated,
2tbs maida or all purpose flour
salt to taste
oil for frying

for the gravy:

2 small onions, finely chopped,
1 bell pepper diced,
4-5 green onions chopped,
4 green chillies,
2tsp green chili sauce,
2tbs soy sauce,
1/2 inch ginger finely minced,
2 cloves garlic minced,
1/2 tsp pepper powder,
1 tbs corn starch (if u don't want it to be very dry)

recipe:

1. Mix the grated cabbage, carrot , bell pepper ,maida /flour, salt,little red chili powder(optional) to make a sticky paste.
   
2. Make small balls and deep fry in oil.
   
3. In a kadai add 2 tbs of oil add minced garlic ,ginger and add the chopped green chillies.
   
4. Add onions,bell pepper to it and and let it cook till the onions become translucent.
   
5. add green chilly sauce,pepper,soy sauce.
   
6. Mix the corn starch with a cup of water and add it .
   
7. Add the Manchurian and cook for about 2-5 mins.
   
8. Garnish with coriander.

To make my recipe more easier i found Manchurian sauce mix in Indian grocery store .After step 4 i will add the sauce mix and about 2 cups of water and follow the instructions and viola ..you will have your Manchurian ready in no time.

So wether it is fully home made or semi-homemade you can enjoy delicious Manchurian.......

Our first chirstmas tree

Mysore pak

I got this recipe from a friend and when i was noting down the recipe i was like"2 cups of ghee!!! that's a lot of fat!!". But sometimes cravings take over the thinking...and the result is "i made this sweet".After i got very good feedback from the friends who tasted it..i thought okay why not share it.....

Ingredients:

1 cup besan

2 cups ghee(clarified butter)

13/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1or 2 cardamon

recipe:

• roast beasn in little ghee till it becomes golden ( till the raw flavour of besan goes ) and keep aside.


• In a sauce pan add the sugar and 1/4 th cup water .


• make the sugar syrup to about 2 thread consistency.


• Add powdered cardamon.


• Add besan little by little making sure it does not form the lumps.


• Add ghee little by little and keep stirring making sure it does not stick to bottom.


• When the starts separating turn off the stove.


• Pour this mixture into greased pan.


• Once it is set cut into pieces and enjoy.

Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji...the very name makes me nostalgic.... .If someone asks you what is pav bhaji you can just say "it's a kind of Indian mixed vegetable curry served with dinner rolls" or you can say"It's delicious ,aromatic, flavourful,spicy,mouth watering ,addictive dish made from vegetables". If you ask me I would go with the second description. Not just tasty...it's also healthy with loads of veggies .

My friend would make her son eat this dish by saying 'power bhaji' instead of pav bhaji( boys..all the power stuff works very well with them).Anyways this recipe justifies it's nick name as power bhaji with lots of carbs,vitamins and minerals ,fiber from veggies....So i think it's time to actually make the recipe and enjoy it instead of drooling( the very thought of it makes me drool).

Ingredients:
6 Burger buns or pavs
1 medium onion
3 medium potatoes
2 cups of cauliflower florets
1 big bell pepper/capsicum
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup peas
2 medium tomatoes
1 cup Green beans
2-3 tsps ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
red chilly powder(depends on your spice level)
oil/butter

Recipe:

• Boil potatoes ,peel , and mash them.


• Boil the vegetables and mash them.


• In a heavy bottomed pan heat oil/butter (i use both about 1/4 th stick butter) and add Green chillies and diced onions.


• Add ginger garlic paste and pav bhaji masala when the onions are translucent.


• Add diced tomatoes and cook for a while.


• Add red chilly powder,salt and add mashed vegetables and potatoes(at this point you can add little water )


• Cook this on a medium flame till you get the desired consistency.


• Garnish with diced onions and lemon juice.


• Heat a skillet and add little ghee(clarified butter)/butter/oil to it.


• Place the buns/pavs on the skillet and toast them a little.

enjoy hot pav bhaji with toasted buns....

Minestone soup

Mmmmm......minestrone soup one of my favourites at olive garden.Hot steaming soup , a perfect company for a cold winter day.Minestrone soup is loaded with lots of fresh veggies ...so you can sip without guilt.This soup is so versatile that you can experiment with different veggies on hand,different consistencies..and so on.Here is my version......

1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
2 medium tomatoes diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green beans
2 cups kidney beans and green beans (soaked overnight,1 cup un soaked )
(I use mixture of 16 beans easily found in grocery section)
2 table spoons Italian seasoning(you can use fresh herbs if available)
1/2 cup pasta (elbows,shells etc)
3-4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

-Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add garlic , onion ,and Italian seasoning to the oil.
cook them stirring occasionally till the onions are translucent.
-Add the veggies ,salt and beans and let them cook for a while covered(you can pre cook the beans or use canned beans if desired).
-Once the beans are cooked add the vegetable broth.
-Bring it to a boil and simmer it.
-Add cooked pasta to it and let it simmer.
-season with pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro/parsley/cheese.

Methi paratha

I tasted Methi paratha for the first time at my friend's house.It was cool outside and she served me hot methi paratha with mint chutney and it tasted so yummy.It's that moment i decided to try out methi paratha......from then on it is one of our family favorites. It's yummy and healthy at the same time.


Ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup methi leaves(fenugreek leaves) finely chopped

salt to taste

1 tbs plain yogurt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1tsp chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin powder

2tbs oil

Recipe:

• Mix wheat flour,salt,turmeric,cumin powder,meethi leaves,tbs oil .



• Add water to the mixture and make a dough.



• Leave it for sometime(about 1/2 hour).



• Tale the dough and roll it into little balls(about lime size).



• Roll the dough into a circle(they should not be very thin).



• Heat the griddle and place the rolled paratha on the griddle.



• Flip the paratha and coat the surface with little oil.



• Flip it over and add oil to the other surface as well.



• Flip it again and roast it



• Serve hot with curry of your choice or chutney of your choice(my daughter likes it with ketchup).

Healthy junk.....

The other day my daughter was asking me a question."mom why can't all the junk food be healthy and you never have to say no to junk food ?"...( Her favorite foods are potato chips,corn chips and if feels to eat healthy food then vegetable chips). I smiled and said "if it is junk food it can't be healthy and if it's healthy it can't be junk". she is like "awwwww you are confusing me".That's how i got the idea of healthy junk and i got a recipe that qualifies for the title.The recipe is vegetable pakora. Mmmmm...enough with my chatter and let's dive into the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cup chick pea flour/besan
• 2tsp garam masala
• 1tsp red chilly powder or according to spice level
• 1 cup cabbage diced(like you do for noodles)
• 1 medium size onion
• 1 bell pepper diced(big size,any color)
• 2 carrots diced into thin and long (1 inch) pieces
• 4 green chillies(optional)
• oil for frying

Recipe:

• Dice all the vegetables uniformly, add salt and mix thoroughly
  
• Keep them aside for 5-10 min so the water oozes out from the veggies.
  
• Add garam masala,chilli powder t the besan/flour and mix.
  
• Now add the flour to the veggies little by little and mix thoroughly.
  
• You can add water at this point to mix the flour and veggies.
  
• The batter should not be too loose.
  
• In a kadai/pan heat oil for frying .
  
• Once the oil is hot take the pakora mixture and add little by little to the oil.
  
• Fry till they are golden brown and remove.
  
• Serve hot with ketchup or your favourite sauce.

**You can add any of your favorite veggies to this recipe.I also add some rice flour or corn flour to besan to make the pakoras crispy.

They make a great snack especially on a cold winter day........have fun!!

Bagara Baingan (stuffed eggplant curry)

I can't even imagine posting this recipie for my first post. Actually i used to

hate eggplant as a kid but later on i developed soft corner for guttivankaya koora alias stuffed egg plant.I always make this espicially when i need to make vegi special ( it's always hard for me to make special vegetable dishes).

Ingredients:

• Indian eggplant -- 10 (medium sized)



• onions --- 2 medium



• tomatoes -- 2 medium sized(boiled and pureed)



• green chillies -- 4



• oil ---as needed



• ginger garlic paste -- 2 table spoons



• turmeric--1/2 teaspoon



• chilli powder--1to 2 tea spoons(according to your spice level)
  

for the masala paste:

• groundnuts -- 4 table spoons (roasted)



• coriander seeds--3 tablespoons



• cumin seeds -- 2 tablespoons



• fenugreek seeds--2 tea spoons



• sesame seeds -- 1 table spoon



• kaskas/poppy seeds -- 1 table spoon



• coconut -- 2 table spoons(grated)

This is how i make it

1. Slit the egg plant/baingan length wise into 4 sections without cutting off the green part



2. first roast the groundnuts/pea nuts and let them cool



3. Roast coriander seeds,fenugreek seeds ,cumin seeds,sesame seeds,kas kas one after other to avoid burning



4. Now add grated coconut to the roasted seeds and grind them adding little water.you can first powder the groundnuts separately and then grind all of them to make a fine paste.



5. In a heavy bottomed pan add oil and shallow fry the egg plants.keep turning them so that they are cooked evenly on all sides.



6. Remove the eggplants and keep aside.



7. Add green chillies ,onions to the oil (at this point you may add li'l bit more oil if you need)



8. Once the onions become translucent add ginger garlic paste,tomato paste and cook for few minutes.



9. Add red chili powder to it and add 2 teaspoons garam masala powder.



10. Now add the grinded masala paste and let it cook.Add a cup of water to it and carefully place the roasted eggplants in the pan.



11. Cook the whole thing on medium flame for few minutes checking occasionally.



12. Once it is done garnish with coriander and serve
    

Goes well with veg pulav or rotis