Getting ready for school lunch box ordeal...Shabbbaaaahhh

Easy to make recipe...

Paneer-Bell pepper bhurji Kathi roll

Paneer Bhurji is a popular and delicious North Indian breakfast recipe made from crumbled paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese). This Paneer Bhurji Recipe is freestyle (my family-style...lol) and the way it is made in my home. I follow the same recipe for egg bhurji too (replace paneer with boiled egg). These Kathi rolls are perfect for lunch boxes, easy and less messy to eat and paneer is always a hit for all age groups.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Tsp cumin seeds
2. 1 Tsp salt
3. 1 Tsp turmeric powder
4. 1 Tsp Kashmiri chili powder
5. 1 Tsp garam masala
6. 2 Big finely chopped onion
7. 2 Big                 finely chopped Tomatoes
8. 2 Tbsp finely cilantro leaves
9. 1 Tbsp               kasoori methi
10. 1 Big finely green bell pepper chopped

Steps to make PANEER BHURJI

1. In a pan, add oil
2. Add cumin seeds and chopped onions.
3. Sauté it well, till onions become soft.
4. Add tomatoes and sauté well till it becomes soft.
5. Add turmeric powder, Kashmiri chili powder, and salt.
6. Sauté everything together well for few minutes.
7. Than add chopped bell pepper and sauté well.
8. Ensure it is lightly cooked well as bell pepper should not be boiled or made soft.
9. Once done, add grated or crumbled paneer to it and sauté well.
10. Ensure it is not kept on the stove beyond few minutes as it might become hard.
11. Add garam masala, kasoori methi, and garnish with cilantro leaves.
12. Ready to serve.

STEPS TO MAKE Kathi Roll

• Whole wheat flour
• Salt - as per taste
• Water - as per need
• Oil - 1 tsp

1. To make a dough, in a mixing bowl add flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. Mix well. Gradually add water and make a smooth and soft dough.
3. Knead well.
4. Apply oil. Cover it and let it rest for some time.
5. After some time, divide the dough into equal parts.
6. Dust the rolling board using dry flour and roll them into big tortillas.
7. Roast them on both sides on a hot pan.
8. Apply tomato ketchup on the tortilla. (optional)
9. Add a scoop of paneer bhurji and make a tight roll.
10. The same way... prepare all rolls and serve hot.

 

Yummy...Yummy...Thai

Scrumptious Lunch platter - 
Thai Veggie Hakka Noodles
Thai Style Sauteed Veggies 
Cooked Brown Rice
Grilled Spicy Tofu

Thai Style Sauteed Veggies:

 

• Vegetables: Broccoli, snap peas, zucchini, asparagus, french beans, portebella mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, and leeks

• Wash and cut the vegetables length-wise and not too thin 

• Saute the vegetables in vegetable oil

• Cook it 3/4th, not too soft to maintain the crispness

• Add salt, sesame oil, black pepper powder 

 

Brown Rice:

I cooked the conventional stove-top method of cooking the rice, this retains the aroma and the excess carb can be filtered after cooking. One cup with 3.5cups of water in a large vessel, cook in medium setting for 15mins, check if the rice is soft, switch off the stove and strain the excess water and wash the cooked rice with cold water to remove the excess carb and this adds better taste too. To get the creamy taste, you can always add a tsp of butter while cooking the rice.

Grilled Spicy Tofu:

• The desired quantity of extra firm (organic) Tofu

• Cut it into bigger cubes, marinate it for 15-20mins in vegetable oil, Thai chili sauce, salt, sugar (very little)

• Grill it on stove-top or oven. 

• On a pan - Stove-top - spray non-stick spray, arrange the tofu pieces evenly. Cook in medium heat for 8-10mins, then cook the other side similarly.

• Oven - spread the marinated tofu in an oven-safe pan or tray, spray the non-stick spray, and bake on 400degrees for 5mins, then broil for 2-3mins on both sides. 

Thai Veggie Hakka Noodles:

• Cook the noodles as per the package instructions.

• Saute the vegetables of your choice. I added baby bok choy, fresh Thai basil, green onions, broccoli.

• For taste, add salt, soy sauce, and chili sauce, mix well with the cooked noodles...and Serve Hot!

These are easy and quick to make recipes with loads of vegetables. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

 

CARROT-Coconut BURFI

Category: Dessert

Carrot-Coconut burfi is made with grated carrot, coconut, sugar as main ingredients, and sliced almonds to make it even better, of course, it's optional. A very easy and simple recipe without any fancy ingredient or method. 

RECIPE

Prep Time:  15 Mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins     |  Makes: 15 squares

Ingredients

• Carrot, grated – 1 cup

• Coconut, grated – 1 cup

• Sliced Almonds - 1/2 cup (optional)

• Sugar – 2 cups

• Cardamom – 1tsp

• Ghee – 2 tbsp

PREPARATION METHOD:

• In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat ghee, add coconut and carrot along with sliced almonds (optional) to it.  Saute well until the raw smell of the carrot goes away and becomes fragrant. Keep a greased tray ready.

• Add sugar and keep mixing. Once starts bubbling, keep the flame in medium always, and keep stirring.

• After some time, the mixture will start leaving the pan and thickens. Also, the ghee will start to leave the sides of the pan. Add powdered cardamom lastly.

• Pour in the greased tray. Let it become warm. Cut it to your desired shape and size.

TIPS:

• I grated carrots very finely.

• Cook it in medium flame. Otherwise, it may stick to the bottom and change color easily.

• Store in an airtight container and it can stay good for 3-4 days.

Sweet Puttu with jaggery

Sweet Puttu with jaggery & Red rice flour

Sweet Puttu is a traditional delicacy with a sweet flavor and taste. The mildly sweet Sweet Puttu is usually prepared during festive occasions like Navarathri. Sweet Puttu is delicately unique and tasty with cooked rice flour/ragi flour/wheat flour/red rice flour blended with jaggery or sugar as per your taste. Sweet Puttu requires very few ingredients and can be prepared very easily in a few minutes. You can explore a well detailed Sweet Puttu here.

INGREDIENTS

• Rice flour - 1 cup
• powdered Jaggery or sugar - 1 cup
• Cardamon powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Cashews - a few (optional)

How to...prepare?

1. For preparing Sweet Puttu, first, fry the flour of your choice - White rice, red rice, brown rice, ragi, wheat flour...here I used ragi & red rice (50/50)  till it turns color to light red.
2. Add salt to it along with a little warm water and mix well in the same way you make the usual puttu.
3. Make puttu with the above mixture in the usual way using traditional puttu maker, or steam it in the pressure cooker, just like idli. 
4. Once the puttu is steamed, spread it in a plate, add powdered jaggery, powdered cardamon, and shredded fresh coconut and mix well. Jaggery mixes well when the puttu is hot.
5. Heat ghee, add cashews, fry to a golden brown. Add it to the prepared puttu...Serve it warm.
6.  Sweet Puttu can be stored for around 3 - 4 weeks.

Baked Veggie Pasta

Easy baked pasta is loaded with vegetables, extra cheesy, and seriously irresistible.

Here are four reasons to love this recipe:

1. The recipe calls for seasonal vegetables and affordable pantry ingredients.
2. The pasta is hearty and ultra-satisfying. 
3. Baked pasta is the perfect make-ahead meal. Look for all my tips below.
4. It’s incredibly easy to make and can be adapted to be dairy-free/vegan 

Ingredients 

The ingredients for this easy pasta bake are simple. Here’s what you will need to make it:

• Pasta of choice — My choice is rigatoni.
• Vegetables — These are up to you. I used onion, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, artichoke, celery, black olives, spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno (for extra spicy...optional), broccoli, squash, and portabella mushrooms. 
• Marinara sauce & Basil pesto sauce  
• parsley, fresh basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme — A simple addition of spice and fresh herbs are what makes this pasta taste homemade and fresh.
• Ricotta and mozzarella cheese — The ricotta turns into pockets of creamy heaven and the mozzarella becomes melty and brown.

Recipe

I started by partially grilling my vegetables, if not comfortable with grilling... can be cooked partially in a skillet on the stove. 

Here are the basic steps:

• Cook sliced vegetables on the stove-top or grill.
• While the vegetables cook, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta, as per the instructions on the package. Then drain the water using a strainer. 
• In a baking tray, add the drained pasta, mixed with basil pesto sauce, then add the partially cooked veggies on top, top it with marinara sauce, spread the finely chopped herbs.
• Sneak spoonfuls of creamy ricotta cheese into the pasta and vegetables.
• Add shredded cheese to the top and bake until bubbly. (Approximately, for 15-18mins at 350degrees in a pre-heated oven.)

Hope you enjoy this zesty pasta

Vegetable Pulao or Pilaf

Vegetable Pulao or Pilaf

Pulao or pilaf, comfort food at its best and I make it usually when I have to cook something quick, easy and satisfying. This one-pot dish made with rice and vegetables has added spices and herbs, giving it a mild aromatic flavor. This is a convenient rice variety that goes with any rich gravy (paneer masala, kofta curry, etc.), Rajma, papad or with a simple raitha. 

Tips for the recipe:

• Spices: This recipe uses whole garam masala spices, rather than adding any pulao or biryani masala. Thus the aroma of the spices is distinctly felt in the dish.

• Rice: I generally like the texture of the rice to be a little soft in pulao, rather than being al dente, which is the way it is typically served in restaurants. So if you are like me, you will love this recipe. Read on below for tips on making the perfect rice for your pulao.

Type And Quality Of Rice:

• Basmati rice is usually used to make pulao. The basmati rice should be fragrant and long-grained to get good results. Aged basmati rice will give you the best results.
• You can also use other types of long-grained rice and short-grained Indian rice varieties like seeraga samba, sona masuri or ambe mohar. 
• In some parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala (Southern Indian states), seeraga samba rice is widely used to make pulao and biryani.
• Even parboiled basmati rice (Sella basmati) can be used to make this recipe.

Vegetable Pulao

Directions to make my kind of Pulao:

• Begin by rinsing 1.5 cups basmati rice in water until it runs clear of starch. Next, soak the rice in enough water for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes strain the rice of all the water and keep aside.
• While the rice is soaking, prep the veggies. Rinse and chop them. Make sure to chop the vegetables in small cubes. For cauliflower, chop them in medium-sized florets. Peel, rinse and slice 1 large onion thinly.
• Keep all the whole spices aside. From the below list of spices, you can skip black pepper, black cardamom, star anise, and mace.
• Add chopped ginger (1 to 1.5 inches), garlic (4 to 5 small to medium garlic cloves, peeled) and 1 to 2 green chilies (green peppers) in a mortar-pestle.
• Crush to a paste. You can also use a small grinder for crushing these. Add a bit of water if required while grinding in a small grinder or mixer.
• Frying spices and onions- Heat 3 tablespoons ghee or oil in a deep thick bottomed pot or pan. Once the ghee has melted and become hot, add all whole spices and fry for a few seconds until they become fragrant. The spices will also splutter while frying. The ghee should not smoke or become too hot. 
• Add 1 cup of thinly sliced onions.
• Mix the onions with the ghee and begin to sauté them.
• Sauté the onions on a low to medium-low flame. First, the onions will become light golden. Keep stirring often and continue to sauté.
• Sauté onions until golden.
• Once the onions become golden, add crushed ginger + garlic + green chili (chili pepper) paste.
• Stir and sauté for some seconds until the raw aroma of the ginger & garlic goes away.
• Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes (optional), and saute briefly.
• Now add all the chopped veggies. You will need about 1 to 1.5 cups of mixed chopped vegetables.
• Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro). At this step, you can also add 2 tablespoons of chopped mint leaves.
• Mix and sauté again for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame.
• Add the rice. Mix it gently with the rest of the ingredients.
• Add enough water, a 1/2 spoon lemon juice (optional), Salt for taste. Cover and let it cook...
• Serve pulao garnished with coriander leaves (cilantro), mint leaves or fried onions and fried cashews or fried raisins...Your Pulao is ready to Eat. Serve hot with your choice of side dish.