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.
  
  

Paneer - Malai Kofta _ quick & easy to make recipe

Paneer-Malai Kofta 

(For vegans, paneer can be replaced with Tofu)

This is yet another classic vegetarian recipe of North Indian cuisine. This paneer recipe has two separate parts, first, make kofta with paneer and then make tomato-based gravy. Whether you are looking for a paneer kofta recipe to serve it as a snack or as a curry with gravy for a sumptuous meal, this easy recipe will satisfy your needs and excite your palate. 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients For Kofta:

200 gm Paneer, grated

2 medium Potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated

1 Green Chilli, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon grated Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice

2 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves

1½ tablespoons Corn Flour

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Ingredients For Gravy:

3 medium Tomatoes

2 tablespoons Cashew nuts, soaked in water for 20 minutes and 1/4 cup malai (fresh cream)

2 teaspoons crushed Garlic-Ginger

1 Green Chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 medium Onion, finely chopped or grated

1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

2 Cloves

1/2 inch piece of Cinnamon Stick

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder

1½ teaspoons Coriander Powder

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

2 tablespoons Oil

3/4 cup Water

Salt to taste

Directions for Making the Kofta with Paneer or Tofu:

• Take grated paneer, grated potatoes, cornflour, green chili, ginger, lemon juice, coriander leaves and salt in a large bowl.
• Mix them and make a smooth mixture.
• Grease your palms with oil and divide mixture into 6-8 equal portions (as per the desired size). Give each portion shape of ball. Prepare remaining stuffed kofta balls in a similar way.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium flame. When it is medium hot, slide in 3-4 stuffed balls from the edge of the frying pan and deep-fry over medium flame until golden brown and crisp. Make sure that oil is hot enough otherwise it may break and split open in the oil. Drain them and transfer them to a plate. Deep fry remaining stuffed balls.

Directions for Making the Gravy:

• Boil the tomatoes, drain the water. This is Blanched tomatoes, good to make the tomato puree.
• Saute cut onions, till transparent
• Grind the blanched tomatoes, sauteed onions with soaked cashew nuts with little water and make a paste.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium flame.  Add cloves and cinnamon. Sauté for approx. 30 seconds. Add crushed garlic-ginger and sauté for 10-20 seconds.
• Add the ground paste.
• Sauté until oil starts to separate, 3-4 minutes approximately. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, sugar, and salt.
• Stir and cook for a minute.
• Add Kasuri methi and 1/2 cup water. Cook the gravy for 4-5 minutes. Add malai (cream) for added flavor.
• Add prepared stuffed balls, mix well and turn off the flame.
• Transfer paneer kofta curry to a serving bowl and garnish with a teaspoon of fresh malai and coriander leaves (optional).

Veggie Pot Pie - Make it... to taste it

Veggie Pot Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen, store-bought puff pastry, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 cup potato, diced
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard seed
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Bring a large pot of cold, salted water to boil and cook potatoes for 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside..
3. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute carrots and onion until tender. 8-10 minutes.
4. During the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, add drained potatoes and garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, thyme and oregano.
5. Transfer vegetables to a separate bowl.
6. Melt butter in the Dutch oven and stir in flour to create a roux. Whisk continuously to remove lumps and cook for 2 minutes to cook flour.
7. Once smooth, whisk in vegetable broth and heavy cream and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture thickens.
8. Season with salt and pepper and ground mustard seed.
9. Return vegetables to Dutch oven and stir to make sure everything is evenly coated.
10. Take thawed puff pastry sheet, unfold it and gently press it into a large baking dish, making sure it comes up at least a little on all sides.
11. Pour vegetables into puff pastry crust, place baking dish in oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until set and bubbly.
12. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Quick fix appetizers - Mysore Bonda

Mysore bondas are fried dumplings made with flour, yogurt, and spices. They are crispy outside and fluffy inside. They make a delightful treat for any party or snack for tea time.

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
The recipe will serve 6.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour, maida)
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 cup yogurt (curd) sour yogurt works the best
• 3/4 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon green chili finely chopped. Adjust to taste
• 2 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
• Oil to fry

Method

1. To make the batter, mix all the dry ingredients together, all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt, baking soda, and cumin seeds. Add yogurt mix it well, add the water to make a thick batter. Add remaining ingredients ginger, green chili, and cilantro. Set aside for about 15-20 minutes. The batter will be light and fluffy.
2. Heat the oil on medium heat. The frying pan should have about 1 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put a little batter in oil. The batter should sizzle and come up but not change color right away. If oil is very hot bondas will not cook through and will not be crispy.
3. Place about 2 tablespoons of batter into the oil with your fingers. Fry bondas in small batches. Fry them until golden-brown all around. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
4. Mysore Bonda should be crispy from outside and should be soft inside.
5. Serve them with coconut chutney.

Yummy Malai Ladoo

Malai Ladoo

• Servings: 10-12
• Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
• ½ cup Condensed milk
• 2 tsp Elaichi powder (Cardamom powder)
• 1 Tbsp milk
• Pinch of Kesar (Saffron)
• Pistachio or garnish

Method:

• Mash the paneer as much as you can, using a wooden spoon or hands.
• Add condensed milk to it and mix well till it blends.
• Take a heavy bottom pan and put the paneer mixture in it. On low flame keep stirring the mixture.
• Make sure it does not stick or burn. Try breaking all lumps and mixing it.
• Cook it till the mixture starts leaving the sides and comes together.
• Remove from flame and add Elaichi powder mix and leave it to cool down
• Meanwhile heat some milk and add kesar to it and mix well.
• Once the mixture has cooled down form small balls.
• Then cut pistachio in thin flakes and push them lightly on the top.
• Using a teaspoon put few drops of milk on each ladoo and just for the presentation sake I have let one kesar strand sit on each ladoo. Feel free to make as you wish.
• And your yummy malai ladoo is ready!!

Tip:

• If you think you are unable to give ladoos proper shape as they are little runny, keep the mixture in the refrigerator for half and hour and then try giving them shape.
• Always make sure ladoos are at room temperature before you serve.