Mexican Rice Casserole

This recipe is taken from Nupur's One Hot Stove Blog.I have made this recipe now atleast thrice and everytime i make it is loved by everyone.There is no doubt that it takes quite a lot of planning to make this Casserole but it is worth it.
Ingredients:-
Rice-3/4 Cup cooked in Vegetable Stock.
Peppers-I use the Sweet Bite Peppers which are available in my nearby Supermarket.
Black Beans- I used canned beans.
Vegetables-Onions/Carrots/Tomatoes/Squash.
Shredded Cheese
Method:-
I rubbed Peppers in oil and seasoned them with Salt and Pepper and broiled them for atleast 25 mts in oven.Vegetables were chopped coarsely and cooked with spices such as Red Chille Powder/Cumin Powder/Oregano.Sometimes i do buy Spice Blend available in Market for Mexican Cooking. Black Beans were mixed with 3-4 Tbsp of store bought Salsa.Then in a Oven proof Dish i layered Rice/Broiled Peppers/Black Beans/Vegetables and then Shredded Cheese.Baked it for almost half an hour and served with Yogurt mixed with Salsa.

Malbari Curry

This curry was made for Weekend Dinners on a Saturday night.This recipe is adopted from Tarla Dalal's book "Desi Khana".I prepared the recipe with whatever ingredients i had in my pantry and it turned out well.The original recipe called for extracting coconut milk out of grated coconut but since coconut milk is easily available in my local superstore i bought one instead of doing all the hard work.Also this is the first time i have used coconut milk.

Ingredients:-
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups of boiled vegetables ( I used Sainsbury's mixed vegetables)
2 Potatoes
1Onion
1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
1 Tomato chopped

For paste:-
25 gms desiccated coconut
1 Tbsp uncooked rice
6 cloves garlic
1stick cinnamon
3 cloves
4 black peppercorns
3 red chillies
2 green chillies

Method

1. Mix the desiccated coconut and rice and cook on a slow flame stirring continuously until the mixture is lighter pink.
2. Add the green chillies,garlic,cinnamon,cloves,peppercorns and red chillies and blend with a little water.
3. In a deep pan - heat a dash of oil ( not mentioned in the book)and add the coconut milk.Add the paste, all the vegetables (except the tomato),onion and turmeric powder and cook for 15-20 mts.or until the vegetables are soft.
4. Add the chopped tomato and cook for 2-3 mts.

The curry tasted a lot like Thai Green Curry which is my favourite but a lot less milder in taste. I think this curry could have been made spicier by adding a dash of chili powder.But overall the curry was excellent and went well with white boiled rice.

Sindhi Saibhaji

This recipe is taken from Sindhi Rasoi Food Blog.The reason i love this Curry because it contains a lot of veggies with minimum oil which makes it a very healthy dish.Ashish is not very fond of this but i love it and make it often to incorporate veggies in our diet.I made this dish with whatever vegetables i had it omitting few which is mentioned in the Sindhi Rasoi Blog.



Ingredients:-



Spinach- 1 big bunch

Onions -2 Medium sized

Aubergine - 1 Small

Okra- Handful

Potatoes - 2-3 Small

Tomatoes-4 medium sized

Green Chillies- 2-3

Ginger

Channa Daal- 1 Small Cup Soaked for 1/2 Hour.

Kasuri Methi - 1 Tsp

Coriander Powder- 1 Tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp

Salt/ Oil

Method :-

• Chop all the vegetables.Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add the veggies and cook until tender.


• Add Spinach and all Masala Powders. Add little water and close the lid. Wait for at least 7-8 whistles. Mash it well with the blender and adjust its consistency.

Daal Makhani

This one is an absolute favourite dish of Ashish.His way of gauging a Restaurant is how they prepare this Daal.Somehow this is not one of my favourite but i can have it only occasionally.I saw this recipe long time back on One Hot Stove Food blog and bookmarked it but never got around to cooking it.I have copied the recipe word to word from the blog. The Daal turned out excellent .. just like we eat outside.

Method:

• Soak 1/2 cup Rajma ,1/2 cup Black Urad Daal and 1/4 cup Chana Daal.I soaked then together overnight and pressure cooked them till they are done.
• Heat 2 Tsp of oil and add Cumin Seeds ,Asafoetida and 8-10 Fenugreek Seeds.Add 1 big Tsp Ginger Garlic paste.Add 2 cups thick Tomato Puree and cook for 5-7 mts.
• Add lentils,salt and bring to a boil.
• Add 1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1/4 cup cream and 1 Tbsp Butter.I added Whole Milk instead.Simmer for 5-10 mts
• Turn off the heat and stir in 1 Tsp Garam Masala.Add 1 Tbsp butter for a glossy finish.

Sweet Times

This past week we tried three desserts -and the best part was it was homemade.Firstly, Gits Gulabjamuns and Falooda made from ready made mix and served with Kesar Pista ice cream and Rasgullas.Unfortunately i could not take picture for Falooda but next time i will make sure i don't forget it.Under my mother's guidance i made Gulabjamuns for the first time and they turned out fabulous.We also made Rasgullas which turned out to be spongy and soft just like good market ones.

Baby Corn & Carrot Masala

I have tried this recipe thrice now - once in front of my mom who is wary of baby corn but she loved it too.This recipe is taken from Monsoon Spice - Sia's Food Blog.I have followed this recipe exactly the way Sia has mentioned in her blog.Thanks Sia for such a simple and tasty recipe.

Recipe:-

15-20 baby corn cut into fingers
10-12 Baby carrots/2-3 medium carrots
1 medium onion finely chopped
2-3 green chillies slit
1 Tsp Jeera
1/2 Tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 Tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tbsp oil

For Ground Masala :-

1 small onion quartered
3 large tomatoes /1 canned chopped tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic
Ginger paste
2-3 dry red chilli
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Kitchen King Masala
1/2 Tsp Amchur
1/2 Tsp Jeera
1 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tsp Sugar
10-12 cashews

Method :-

• Grind all the ingredients of Ground Masala without adding any water and keep it aside.



• Cook Baby Corn and Carrots with Turmeric powder and salt in water for 5-6 mts till they are fork tender.Drain and reserve the water.



• Heat oil and add jeera. When they start to sizzle add finely chopped onions and slit chillies and saute on medium heat till they are golden brown.



• Now add Kasuri Methi ,ground paste and saute it continuously for 2-3 mts on medium to low flame till raw smell of masala disappears.



• Mix cooked Baby Corn and carrots. Add reserved water as and when required to get gravy consistency.Saute for 10 mts and add chopped coriander leaves.

Pineapple Cucumber Salad

I always wanted to make a diary of my recipes which i have tried and tested from magazines/ cookbooks/ Food Blogs etc.. I have a Notebook of recipes too but i want pictures as well to remember how the recipe turned out. So from now on i will try and include recipes in this blog.

This is a Tarla Dalal salad which came in my email - Pineapple Cucumber Salad.I tweaked the recipe by adding sugar instead of honey and added mint leaves and omitted lettuce altogether as my mum is not very fond of that.

Recipe:-

1 Cup pineapple cut into small pieces

1 Cup cucumber cut into small pieces

6 Cherry tomatoes halved

2 Tbsp Chopped coriander

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp roasted Chana Dal -Coarsely powdered

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method :-

• In a bowl combine the lemon juice ,honey,chana dal powder ,salt and pepper and mix well.


• Add the rest of the ingredients and toss lightly.


• Serve immediately.