Channa masala

My brother always tells me his friend's mom is a great cook, she cooks so many varieties for hs friend and packs for lunch. My bro said tat guy s too proud of his mom n makes others envy for her cooking. So i decided to get her number n talk to her. She was also showing off initially..but I got my job done. She gave me this idea of making gravies in cooker as its time saving , uses less oil and tasty too. From then i follow her recipe for cooking in the mornings. Channa can be replaced by vegetables, paneer, peas / cauliflower. Here goes the recipe:
Ingredients:
To Grind:
Onion - 4
Tomato - 2
Cashewnuts - 5
Fresh Ginger - 2/3 pieces
Fresh Garlic - 5
Cloves(optional) - 2
Cardamom(optional) - 1
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1
Red Chilli - 1
Kasoori methi(optional,mandatory ingredient for panneer butter masala) - few leaves


Powders:
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (according to taste)
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tsp
Channa - 1 cup(Boiled)
Coriander leaves(for garnishing)


Method:
* Grind all the items under To Grind section nicely.
* Heat oil in a pressure pan.
* Add turmeric powder.
* After 2 min, add the mixture, thereby adding the powders except turmeric.
* Add channa to the gravy and close the cooker.
* Let 3 whistles after placing weight.
* Open the pan and garnish with coriander leaves.
* Channa masala is ready.

Cabbage-Peas Pulao

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice/Long grain rice - 1 Cup(Boiled)(Rice:Water - 1:11/2, when rice soaked for half an hour, otherwise ,1:2)
Cabbage - Half, finely chopped
Onion - 2 (finely chopped)
Peas - 1 cup(Boiled)
Green chilli - 2(sliced across vertically)
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1"
Cardamom - 2
Cashewnuts - 7/8
Coriander - few leaves
Ghee - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat ghee in a kadai.
2. Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon & green chilli and saute for 2 min.
3. Add onions and saute till golden brown.
4. Add chopped cabbage and sprinkle some water, and add salt to taste.
5. Saute till the cabbage is soft and add bolied peas to the mixture.
6. Add this mixture to the boiled basmathi rice.
7. Heat little ghee , fry the cashews till golden brown and add to the rice.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Cabbage peas pulao is ready.
10. Serve hot with some gravies like channa masala / vegetable kuruma.(Believe me, it tastes like star restaurant's dish)


Sending this to EC's Mixed Rice Varieties event

Stuffed Bhindi

Vendakai/Okra is my favourite vegetable. My mom says it is very good for brain and eventually prepares it during my maths exams. Actually,it's high in vitamin B6, fiber, calcium, and folic acid, which helps prevent neural tube defects in developing fetuses. I love it in all forms. So I chose this for spicy andhra's RCI-Rajasthan.
Ingredients:
Ladies Finger/Bhindi/Vendakai/Okra - 1/2 kg
Bengal Gram Flour - 1 cup
Oil (for blending and frying)
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Powders:
Chilli powder - 4 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Amhcur(dry mango) powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash the ladies fingers and wipe them thoroughly.
Cut them into pieces of 3 inches with a vertical slit in each piece.
Mix all the powders, add 2 tsp oil, salt and mix well.
Stuff this masala into the ladies fingers.
Heat 4 tsp of oil, add jeera/cumin seeds and let it splutter.
Add the stuffed bhindi and stir fry for ten minutes adding 2/3 tsp of oil in between.
Fry in medium heat till thery are crisp.
Serve hot.

Main Course - Vegan Mexican Rice

When I hear of mexican food, I can only think of one of my favorite eateries, "The New Yorker".. we get almost all kinds of food - indian, mexican, italian, chinese.. I have had enchiladas there which is a popular mexican snack.. I wanted to make something for the main course to put it easier. Sometime back in the newspaper "The Hindu" , i read how to make mexican rice, salad, enchiladas...etc.. So, dusted my rack, found those bits which i had collected and tried the mexican rice .. It came out very nicely.. It was not typically tasting of pulao or biriyani.. Let me share the recipe here.. Try it and share its taste.. What inspired me to try out this recipe.. Ofcourse, our culinary bazaar event.

Ingredients:
Basmathi/long grain rice - 1 Cup(Boiled)
Onion - 3(chopped)
Tomato - 2(chopped)
Capsicum - 1(chopped)
Carrot - 2(grated)
Minced Garlic - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 1/4 tsp
Soya sauce - 1/4 tsp
Rajma/Kidney bean - 1 Cup(Boiled with salt)
Oil - 3 tsp

Powders
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste


Method:
1. Heat oil in a kadai.
2. Add minced garlic, fry for 2 minutes, then add onions.
3. Add tomatoes once the onions turn golden colour.
4. Add the powders, carrots, capsicum and boiled rajma along with little water (preferably the beans-cooked water), vinegar and soya sauce.
5. Saute for 10 minutes till the gravy thickens.
6. Mix the gravy thoroughly with rice without breaking it.
7. Voila, Mexican rice.

Oats Halwa - Healthy snack for sweet lovers

I use the microwave to make papads, reheating, masala groundnuts, vegetables, cakes n cookies. For this Microwave Food event, i decided to do something different. I am very much fond of Oats as it does a great deal for weight management and thats the reason it became my breakfast item. I love trying out dishes in oats. And my choice is Oats halwa for this event. Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
Oats - 3/4 Cup(When powdered, becomes one cup)
Sugar - 1/4 Cup
Water - 1 Cup
Almonds - 4
Cashew nuts - 4
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:
Finely Powder the oats.
Powder the sugar and mix it with water till it dissolves and keep aside.
Roast the oats in a microwave safe bowl/glass bowl at microwave high for 2 minutes.
Add the sugar syrup and micro wave high for 3 minutes, stirring once in between.
Check whether it has turned into halwa-like consistency.
Heat Ghee and add almonds n cashews for 1 min.
Add the nuts to the Halwa.
Oats Halwa is ready.

Lemon-Mint Magic(serves 2) - Beat the Heat..

This goes as an entry to the 'Fun n Sun Event'.

Nothing can be more refreshing than mint. Mint leaves have been enjoyed for its wonderful aroma, its great taste, and its healing power. Mint is well known for its ability to sooth the digestive tract and reduce the severity and length of stomach aches. Lemon is one of the fruits that would strengthen your immune system. If you have flu or colds, try drinking lemon juice. It will relieve the symptoms as well as halt the progress of most infection because of its antibacterial and antiviral properties. Lemon acts as a blood purifier and improves the body’s ability to get rid of toxins.

So, having said all about the benefits of mint and lemon, lets get into a quick magic to beat the heat..

Ingredients:
Lemon - 1
Mint Leaves - 10-12 leaves
Ice cubes/crushed ice - 5
Sugar - 4 tsp
Salt(to taste)/ 1 tsp
Water(to taste)/4 Cups

Method:
Blend together all the ingredients in a mixer and serve with a lovely fizz on the top.

Vegetarian Black Forest

This is my entry to srivalli's MEC:Cakes.. I have great fun making cakes n pastries.. Generally I prefer vannilla/fresh cream.. but this time i wanted to try something different.. so I tried chocolate flavour.. I would say this one is a treat for chocolate lovers... My lesson on making cakes is to always use a blender or mixer to beat it.. once i did it manually.. and i had a sprain in my ankle which remained for months.. so never try even if u add lotta eggs.. I would also prefer to have a measuring cup..as our skilled hand measurement does not work for cakes..atleast for me,..
Ingredients:
All Purpose flour(Maida) - 120 gms
Cocoa powder - 20 gms
Butter - 40 gms
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Milk Maid - 130 gms
Milk - 1/4 cup
Soda - 1/4 tsp

Method:
1. Sieve the flour, Cocoa powder, baking powder and soda in a bowl. Do it twice or thrice till they mix well.
2. Beat butter and milk maid mix well.
3. Add flour and beat well.
4. Add milk and beat well.
5. Grease the baking bowl with butter paper and pour the cake batter into it.
6. Set the microwave in the convection mode(those who have convection models) at 170 degees celsius for 30 minutes. Those who don't have convection, simply cook in micro wave at 200 degree celsius for 20-30 minutes.
7. Times vary according to different ovens. So keep an eye on the cake from 20 min onwards.
8. Prick it with a toothpick till the base to check whether its done.
9. Once its done, garnish with roasted almonds.
10. Yummy cake is ready.