Instant Uttapam

Although  there are lots of Instant dosa and Uttapam packets available in store these days. But you can also make the Uttampam like dish without the instant material or pre-soaked and pre-fermented batter. In above preparation I have mixed semolina and sour curd with a pinch of baking powder. I generally use lot of spring onions in my quick snacks as they are fast to cook.

Bhel Puri

Bhel  Puri is one of my favorite mid night snack and is highly associated with my hostel life. Whenever I make Bhelpuri , I could not stop myself going in a flashback of memories filled with my teen-hood  friends and hostel  life. I have spent eight years of my life in hostel and so my school-college friends are like family to me as we have spent so many years together. Hostel Life has a charm of its own. I have also heard from few people who didn’t had a good experience of hostel but  my Bansathali Vidyapidth was just a second home for me. We have done every thing from small mischiefs to big blunders. I could not stop myself smiling whenever I remember those naughty days  painting face of the sleeping girls, ringing the hostel bell in mid night, stealing the food from mess and so called “kanjoosh” friend to the big gang wars. Beside all the fun, hostel  had also taught us some of the important lessons of social life and been a place where I have found the best of friends .

Besan Ka Chilla

Besan  ka  Chilla is another one thing that is quick to make and it is  perfect for a rainy eve.  With a good non-stick pan or tava you  need only few  drops of oil to make this.

My Little devil and his Tiffin

Preparing tiffin for the kids is really a challenging job for all mothers and especially when the kids are lot fussy in eating. My six year little devil really gives me hard time when it comes to eating. When he is at home, I can make him eat anything because he is busy watching TV and I am busy putting all greens and healthy stuff into his stomach.  Although  he starts complaining of all that green things and red things  whenever he gets chance to see in the plate but  generally he get few chances of seeing all the healthy stuff because that’s hidden either beneath the chappati or rice. I have also heard in lot of gyan sessions that letting kids watch TV with food is not a good idea. But my idea is based on the priority, so my first priority is to make sure that all the healthy stuff goes inside his body and second priority will be restrict him from watching too much TV.  I also think that its true with everyone that if you let kids eat their meal by themselves, they will only eat their favorite part and that is definitely minus all the green things.

But it’s also true that moms can win their battle only at home and when it comes to tiffin time, we have to surrender and have to go per the kids choices. So here I will pour some of my easy and kids favorite recipes.  I myself don’t always try these recipes with my son because he is super fussy and  his  first choice is always Maggie and aloo ka paranthas.

Bread Chat

Many times it happens that people visit us at a very short notice or a five minute visit from friend or relative turns into a nice get together. I am bought up in a family where mere biscuits and Namkeen served with tea are not regarded that welcoming especially when your visitor is not coming from a walk able distance. One doesn’t have to be formal with the friends and relatives living around you because very often you meet with them. But when people comes specially to visit you with a long drive then definitely they need some warm or welcoming snacks with tea. So here I will be putting some 10 minute recipes or ideas that I and my mom have been practicing. All most all of  my blog visitor’s hail from the culture where “Atithi Devo Bhava” is incorporated in a person from childhood. So let’s start adoring our guests with these quick recipes.

Generally we have bread available in our refrigerator week long. Bread Chat is the quickest way to add something warm with tea. Her in bread chat I have fried onions, capsicum and have added bread pieces to it.

Mushroom with Palak

Mushroom and Spinach, both are my favorite vegetables and I love doing experiments with all my known vegetables so why not my favorite vegetables mixed together.

Idli Chat

Recently one of our family friends was visiting us so I prepared the idlis in advance for dinner. But as usual after a heavy and late lunch no one seemed ready for the dinner. A big box of idlis was waiting for its turn to go on table in my refrigerator and so came the idea for the  idli chat. In this idli chat I have mixed the prepared idlis with fried Onion and Capsicum.

Badi with Squash

This was a time of mixing one American vegetable with one Indian vegetable so I chose Squash to mix with my desi Badi's. You can also try the Badi's with Bottle Guard and Zucchini.

Potato-less Pav Bhajji

Again Bhajji is one another dish that everyone makes with different ingredients. I generally make my

Bhajji with Bottle Guard or Pumpkins mixed with other vegetables. People like me, who want to avoid potato, can use Bottle guard, pumpkin and variety of squash to give that starch like texture in bhajji.

I also don't use butter and white bread can also be replaced with the variety of other healthy breads.

With my job, I use to prepare Bhajji almost every week as sometimes brown bread is boring to eat but with bhajji it always tastes good.

Papad Ka Jhol

This gravy is very easy to cook for the people who know this but I have also seen some people bit shocked with the name of “Papad ki Sabji” and I have often heard them saying "Is there a sabji of Papad as well". I generally go for this gravy when I don’t have any fresh vegetables in my refrigerator. So here is the simple and plain “Papad ka jhol”.  Jhol is a Rajasthani  word and it means gravy.

Ingredients: Papad 2-3,  Onion 1 medium size, Tomato 1 medium size, turmeric Powder 1 tsp, Coriander Powder, Cumin seeds 1 tsp, Red  Chili Powder per taste, Salt per taste, Oil 1 tbsp.

Method: Dry Roast the papads directly on flame and break into big pieces. In a pan heat oil and splutter the cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and when the onions are translucent, add all the dry masala powders. When the masala starts leaving the oil, add the chopped tomato. Once the tomato is  little tender, add 2 cups water and bring the gravy to boil. Add the papad pieces and let the gravy simmer for next five minutes on low heat.  Garnish the papad  jhol  with coriander leaves and enjoy with chapattis.

Penne Pasta with Chinese Flavour

Making Chow-Mein in large quantity is bit tough, so sometimes I use Penne Pasta instead of noodles for my parties, potlucks and picnics. Also this is a quick recipe to add something Chinese on your table.

Chow-Mein

Recipe for Chow-Mein is quite simple and is very clear from the picture. Moreover Chow-Mein is very common Chinese dish and almost everyone have their own style of cooking it. So here instead of recipe I will share some of my fond memories related with Chinese food. Chinese Food is one of my old-time favorite and experimenting on Chinese food was my first venture into the kitchen. One of my aunts used to live in Northern-eastern states of India. During the vacations she used to bring all the varieties of noodles and Chinese seasonings and hence the Indo-Chinese cuisine was incorporated in our household . It was in the 1980’s and Chinese food was not that easily available in our town so I always used to look forward for my aunt’s visits and all kind of Chow-Chow and Wai-Wai packets. Manchurian used to be my only dish for my lunch and dinners whenever we used to go to any Chinese restaurant. It was after one of my trips to a Chinese restaurant that I asked my mom if she could make unlimited supply of Manchurian for me. But my mom was bit clueless about the ingredients so during my next few trips to Chinese restaurant , I dissected the Manchurian from every angle . Thus began my never ending experiments with Chinese ingredients. In the last I would like to thanks all the people in my life who became victims of my first few miserable experiments including my family, my relatives , my college friends and the most important my hubby dear, who always tolerate my all experiments without any complains.

Mangodi ki Sabji

Ingredients: Mangodi ½ cup, Green peas 1 cup, onion paste ¼ cup, tomato paste ½ cup, finely minced ginger 1 tbsp, red chilli powder per taste, turmeric powder ½ tsp, coriander powder1 tsp, Garam masala powder ½ tsp, salt per taste, cumin seeds 1 tsp.

Method: Dry roast the mangodis on medium flame for 5 minutes. In a Cooker heat oil, splutter the cumin seeds. Now add the onion paste and fry it on medium heat. After 2-3 minutes add all the dry masala and stir it properly. When the onion paste starts leaving oil add the tomato paste. When the tomato paste is cooked add the mangodis , peas and 3 cups of water. Put the lid of the cooker and set it on high flame for one whistle. After one whistle leave the cooker on low flame for another 3-4 minutes. Enjoy Mangodi with chapatti. You can also cook mangodi with Potato instead of peas.

Stuffed Capcicum

Stuffed Capsicum is another thing that I always go with when I am running short of time and have some guests at short notice. It’s very easy to stuff the capsicum with a filling of boiled and mashed potatoes. This saves lot of chopping time and it can be cooked with a very little oil. This recipe can be made in an oven as well along with stuffed tomatoes. Best idea is to take small capsicums for stuffing but one can go with the big one’s as well if small are not available.

Stuffed Platter

One day a family friend was visiting us. With other two main entrees on table, I was trying to put the third one with a little different taste other than the shahi creams. From the vegetable basket I saw some vegetables peeping at me each in a very small quantity and so came the idea for a stuffed platter with mushrooms, parwal and tomato.

Gobhi Ki Bhujji

If you are tired of making Aloo-Gobhi and want to try something different with Gobhi/Cauliflower, try this simple bhujji which is made of grated gobhi.

Stuffed Karela and Bhujji from the peel

Generally People throw away the peel of karela/bitter guard but people like me, who are very fond of karela and want make the optimum use can make bhujji out of the peels.

Kundroo-Potato Fingers

Want to add something green to your kid’s plate, try making kundroo-potato with vertical shapes like kids favorite French fries.

Shahi Gatte

Ingredients: 1 Cup gram flour/besan, 2 tbsp vegetable oil , 1 tsp aijwain seeds , 1 dried whole red chilli, salt per taste, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp coriander powder , 1/2 garam masala powder, red chilli powder per taste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp dry mango powder, 2 tbsp cashew powder or paste , 7-8 raisins, 2 tbsp heavy cream, 1 tbsp whole garam masala, ¼ cup onion paste, ¼ cup tomato paste.

Method: Mix besan, pinch of turmeric powder, aijwain seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds, salt per taste, 1tbsp oil and make a tight dough. Press the dough into cylindrical shape with hand and cut them in circles like coins with a thickness of ½ inches. Boil 4-5 cups of water and put the besan gatte in boiling water so that they don’t stick to each other. Boil the besan gate in water on medium for 10 minutes. Drain the gate pieces aside. In a pan take 1 tbsp oil, splutter the whole garam masala including dry chilli and ½ tsp cumin seeds. Add the onion paste into the oil. When the onion paste is well cooked add all the dry masala powders. When the masala starts leaving oil add tomato puree, cashew paste,cream, raisins and mix it well. Cook for another 2 minutes and add 2 cups water. When water starts boiling add the besan gate and cook for another 10 minutes. Enjoy the Shahi gatte with Parantha/Chapatti.

Palak ki Kadhi

Ingredients: ½ Cup gram flour/besan, 2 cup curd, 4 cup water ,1 tbsp mustard or vegetable oil , 2 cup chopped spinach, 1 small onion finely chopped, 3-4 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp aijwain seeds , ½ tsp methi seeds, 1 dried whole red chilli, salt per taste, 1tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp coriander powder , red chilli powder per taste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of astofedia.

Method: Whisk together besan, turmeric powder, salt, curd ,water and make sure no lump of besan remains. Keep the prepared mixture aside for 30 minutes-1 hour. Mixing the curd with besan 1 hour prior to cooking gives smooth consistency to kadhi. Meanwhile wash and chop the spinach finely. Keep the chopped spinach in a strainer so that water is properly drained. In a big pot heat 1 tbsp oil on high and splutter whole chilli, astofedia,methi seeds, aijwain seeds, cumin seeds, crushed garlic in a serial order and immediately add chopped onions. When the onions are translucent add the coriander powder,chilli powder. After 2 minutes add the curd-besan mixture and stir it continuously. When kadhi mixture starts boiling reduce the flames to medium but continue stirring occasionally for another 10 minutes. Again lot of stirring in beginning gives a smooth consistency to kadhi otherwise curd-besan doesn’t mix well with water. After 10 minutes there is no need of stirring the kadhi and you can leave it on medium heat for another 20 minutes. Add the chopped spinach leaves during the last 10 minutes of cooking so that the spinach is not over cooked. Enjoy the palak kadhi with rice or chappatis.

Aloo-methi

Ingredients: 1 Cup dried kasoori methi or fresh methi leaves, 3 boiled potato, 3 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tbsp mustard oil,1-2 dried whole red chilli, salt per taste, red chilli powder per taste, pinch of astofedia, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp dry mango powder.

Method: Wash the kasoori methi in warm water properly and soak it for 10 minutes. If you are using fresh methi then wash the methi leaves before chopping to retain the aroma. Peel the boiled potato and cut into big pieces . In a pan heat the oil on high. Put the cumin seeds, whole chilli in the hot oil. Now add the astofedia, crushed garlic. When the garlic is little brown add the methi leaves and fry them for 4-5 minutes on medium heat so that water is evaporated. Add chilli powder, salt and boiled potato to the pan and stir well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. At the last add the dry mango powder.

Enjoy the Aloo-methi with Parantha/Chapatti. This one is one of my favorites veg and I simply enjoy it with a bowl full of plain curd.

Tava Fry Barwan Mirch

Ingredients: 4-5 Long and big peppers in any color, ½ tbsp oil, 2 boiled and mashed potato,chilli powder per taste ,1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder,1/2 tsp garam masala powder, salt per taste,

Method: Mix together mashed potato and all the dry masala. Slit the peppers from middle and stuff them with the prepared filling. Now roast the stuffed peppers on hot tava for 5 -8 minutes and make sure to flip them in between. These peppers can be cooked in a pan as well but I have always seen my mom roasting the stuffed peppers as well as plain peppers on tava once she was done with chappatis.

Dieting made Colorful

Sprouts and Salads have been my favorite since my childhood. The only difference is that earlier I use to eat my sprouts with lot of potato and now I try to avoid potatoes in most of my food. Generally I have heard from People that dieting is very boring and tough. But I believe if diet food is made little colorful and tasty, dieting can become interesting as well. So here I am with few of my favorite diet foods that I generally practice in my daily life.

Sprouts

While I was working, I generally used to carry sprouts for lunch. I also used to see people little bit amazed with the idea of having only sprouts as lunch or breakfast. Traditionally people used to think sprouts as some medicine taken as 10-20 in numbers with an empty stomach and some people still believe that. So here are some colorful ways of using sprouts.

Vegetable Sprout Chat/Mix made of green whole mung beans/Daal,Onion, tomato, Cucumber, green chilli, corriander leaves, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, roasted cumin powder and chat masala. For making  Sprouts little tasty, steamed  the sprouts for 4-5 minutes before adding other ingredients.

Fruits sprouts chaat/mix made of whole moth daal/small red beans, apple, pear,banana, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, roasted cumin powder and chat masala. For a little tasty texture I have also added half boiled and diced potato. For making Sprouts little tasty, steamed the sprouts for 4-5 minutes before adding other ingredients.

Vegetable Sprout Chat/Mix made of black/brown whole chickpeas/Chana Daal,Onion, tomato, Cucumber, green chilli, corriander leaves, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, roasted cumin powder and chat masala.For a little tasty texture I have also added half boiled and diced potato. I also half boil the sprouted beans before adding the salad.                                                                                                            

Salads

To me salad means all the vegetables that can be eaten in raw form or half cooked. I have often seen and heard people getting bored of salads after few days. And yes any food can become boring if repeated over a long period with no variations. Also for some people salad is only a summer food. Generally I love eating half cooked vegetables like Broccoli, mushroom, cabbage, carrots, spinach etc. In winters I switch to the warm version of the salads made with half cookable vegetables . So here are few hot salads from my kitchen for the winter season.

Rainbow Salad made of various color half cooked capsicums and paneer pieces. A little sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, black pepper powder and chat masala gives it a taste of  paneer tikka.

Cabbage Salad made of various color half cooked capsicums, cabbage and finished with a  little sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, black pepper powder , chat masala.

Mushroom and pepper sauted in olive oil for little tenderness and finished with a sprinkle of chinese seasoning. This salad is a mild version of chinese dish Mushroom-Chilli.

Adore the Fiber

Fiber is beneficial to the body in many ways. Getting enough fiber helps protecting from many diseases like cancer, increase level of Cholesterol, diabetes etc. Besides preventing the diseases fiber plays important role in controlling weight gain. Dietary fiber includes all parts of plant foods that your body can't digest or absorb. Unlike other food components such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates — which your body breaks down and absorbs — fiber isn't digested by your body. Therefore, it passes relatively intact through your stomach, small intestine, colon and out of your body. Thus fiber adds little to your calories and is good for satisfying hunger during dieting. Fiber can sometimes slow the onset of hunger. High-fiber foods generally require more chewing time, which gives your body time to register when you're no longer hungry, so you're less likely to overeat. Also, a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal feel larger and linger longer, so you stay full for a greater amount of time. Always try to take fiber in the natural form. Whole Grains, Vegetables, Fruits , Nuts and seeds are some good sources of fiber. But when Fiber is overcooked, it loses some of its benefits. Refined or processed foods — such as canned fruits and vegetables and pulp-free juice, white bread and pasta, and non-whole-grain cereals — are lower in fiber content. The grain-refining process removes the outer coat (bran) from the grain, which lowers its fiber content. Similarly, removing the skin from fruits and vegetables decreases their fiber content. Here I have some ideas for incorporating fiber in daily diet as a whole and without overcooking.

Rolls stuffed with Fiber

Vegetables like spinach, Bottleguard, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cabbage ,green peas tastes good even if half cooked and can be used as filling for various wraps and rolls. These vegetables can be finely chopped and half cooked with little oil and seasoning.

Curd/Yogurt mixed with Fiber

Another way of adding whole fiber in your diet is by mixing Curd/Yogurt mixed with vegetables.Vegetables like spinach, Bottleguard, Zucchini, Cabbage ,green peas can be added to curd/yogurt. Best way is by finely chopping the above mentioned vegetables and steaming them for a while.

Weight Loss Basics

Losing weight isn't some mysterious process but it is also not very easy for few people. People who lose their weight easily don’t have need for visiting any websites or reading any articles like this. This part of my blog is for the people, who have done some major changes in their lifestyle but have not achieved the desired results for their body. Faith is one of the key factors in staying motivated because towards your journey to weight loss you will find many people who will discourage you with their weird remarks. But keep a positive attitude and set some desired goal for yourself. I won’t be putting any “Before and after” weight lost pictures here but believe me these simple facts help and I have experienced them myself. During my mission of shedding those extra pounds, I gathered a vast knowledge about weight loss from various useful and useless websites. Finally I thought, why not to benefit others and share with people, who might need it. So let's get started!

1. First of all identify the problem area. Analyze your daily activities to see the cause of that stubborn weight. For example few people despite of regular workout are not able to reduce the weight because either they are eating less than the required calories with the tough workout or ends up eating more as a result of increased appetite due to workouts.

2. Setting some goal for weight loss always helps. Without a fix goal putting efforts towards weight loss is just like driving your car without any destination. With the fix goal small changes like a difference of pound and half will also give you immense pleasure and will keep you motivated.

3. Make a diet plan and workout schedule for yourself as with some formal written plan it’s easy to stick to it. Hang this plan to such a place where it’s hard to ignore. For example hang your diet plan on your refrigerator. Keep your gym schedule somewhere near your TV or laptop.

4. Keep the depression away as depression is the biggest killer of a good body and mind. Few people despite of regular gym and controlled diet still face the problem of weight gain. Just sit for 10 minutes and meditate if there is something in your lifestyle that’s keeping you tensed.

5. Water retention is another factor that sometimes people fails to take notice of and this cause is not easily identifiable as well. I think water retention alone can't be the main cause of gaining weight but weight gains are very often a combination of fat stores and water retention. To rule out this probability just take notice of your total sodium intake as sometime people while dieting start consuming lot of salt through seasonings for making the diet food little bit tasty.

6. Slow metabolism rate can be another factor that’s stopping you from losing weight. Sometimes there is major change in metabolism of a body with the age and hormonal changes.

7. Weight loss can be such a struggle that we start thinking we have to do something drastic to see results like diets, pills or those weird fitness gadgets on infomercials that promise instant success. The true secret to weight loss is this: Make small changes each and every day and you'll slowly but surely lose those extra pounds. The key is to forget about instant results and settle in for the long run.

Some Craft from India