Masala Macaroni.

We all are familiar with the kids extreme fondness of Mac and cheese... keeping this in mind and trying to make it more fun and nutritious ended up trying this masala macaroni!!!!
Thanks to my kids and their friends for trying it the first time I made this recipe, they really liked it.






Ingredients:
Macaroni pasta- 2 cups.( cooked to andante)
1 small onion.
1 large tomato.
1 small cup of frozen mixed veggies of corn,carrots, and peas.
1 tsp tomato paste.
1 tsp chili flakes.
1 tsp Italian seasoning.
1 large green chilli(optional).
Salt.
Oil.

Method:
Start by preparing all the veggies-chop onion and tomato and slit the chilli into two.
Cook the macaroni pasta to aldante(in salted water).
In a large pan, heat oil and once the oil is hot, add chilli flakes followed by onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.
Add the chopped tomatoes and frozen veggies and continue frying till the veggies turn soft, lastly add tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Fry till the mixture looks like a gravy.
Finally add the cooked macaroni and mix well, adjust the salt and serve hot.
Good to eat on a cold day.

Beets(Beetroot) Biryani!

            I had very few recipes to try with beets, generally made a dry curry or kootu. Beets are rich in their nutritive value and it is good to use them frequently in our diets. This recipe really comes in handy, and it tastes good. I have tried this recipe a couple of times. Do try it.

Ingredients:
Beets- 2( medium size beets).

Onion- 1 medium.

Tomatoes - 1 large.

Cilantro- 1 cup, finely chopped.

Mint- 1 cup, finely chopped.

Green chili- 2 nos.

Chilli powder- 1 tsp.

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp.

Peas- 1 cup.

2-3 pieces of the following spices- Cinnamon,Clove, bay
/Pulao leaves.

1 spoon each of cumin, somp and coriander seeds.

Cardamom- 1.

Curd- 1/2 cup.

Rice- 2 cups.

Oil- 5-6 tbsp.

Salt.

Water.

 

Method:          

Prep the vegetables.

First of all chop the beets into 1 inch cubes and keep aside. Rough Chop the mint and cilantro leaves. Slice the onion and chop the tomatoes. Slit the chillies into two.

To cook use a pressure cooker.

Heat oil in a cooker, and add all the dry masalas one after the other, be careful as they may pop.
 

Next add onions and fry them, followed by beets, tomatoes, and peas.

Continue to fry by adding the ginger garlic paste, followed by mint and cilantro. 

Add the chilli powder and finally the curd. Mix well.

To make the rice really fluffy soak the rice in water for 10-20 minutes before cooking.

I have used sona masoori rice, you can also try the basmati rice. Add the rice to the cooker  and stir so that all the    ingredients coat the rice well.  

Add 2 cups of water( or less if you want it fluffy) and cook for 2-3 whistles. 

Allow the cooker to cool down completely.  Beets Biryani is ready to serve with Raita. 

Note:
Adjust the chilli powder according to your taste.
Pressure cookers have different cooking time to make the rice fluffy so cook accordingly.

Cashew Burfi.

Happy Dassara to all my readers! Festive season means, lot of yummy dishes and many get-togethers with family and friends. It is a tradition during Dassara to make prasadam and offer it to God and distribute it to everyone who visits us that day. One such recipe was this Cashew Burfi.
It is a quick n easy dessert which requires very less time, and minimum ingredients.

Ingredients:
Cashew nuts: 1 cup.
Sugar: 1 cup.
Ghee:1-2 spoons.
Saffron threads: 2-4.
Parchment paper.

Method:
Take a cup of cashews, and grind it into a fine powder, take care not to over grind the cashews as it may turn oily and sticky.
In a heavy bottom pan, dissolve sugar and make it into a syrup.(does not have to get any string consistency).
Once the sugar is dissolved, add the cashew powder and mix well.
Allow the mixture to cook and get thick, make sure to keep stirring so it does not burn at the base. Now its time to add the saffron threads.
 After a few minutes the mixture would slowly get thicker and start leaving the sides of the pan. At this point, add ghee and transfer onto the parchment paper. Allow the mixture to cool for few minutes. Cover the mixture completely with parchment and press using a rolling pin to make a thin sheet.
Cut the sheet into desired shape, and decorate it with edible silver foil or cashew bits.
Cashew Burfi is ready to serve.

Crispy, Spicy Nipattu/ Thattai.

Weather and food always go hand in hand, our food habits change as seasons change. After all the cold salads, smoothies and ice creams for the summer months, we are slowly moving to Fall. The days are short followed by long cold nights. I would love to have a crispy Nipattu with a cup of hot coffee for the evening snack....

To make these nipattus, we need:

 

 Ingredients:
Rice flour: 1 cup
Peanut: 1/2 cup (coarsly ground)
Fried Bengal gram: 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Salt
Hot oil: 1 tbsp
Oil to fry
Water as required

Method:
To begin, take 1/2 cup of fried Bengal gram and grind it into a fine powder. In the same mixer add the peanuts and just give a pulse so that the peanuts are ground into a chunky powder.

Heat oil to deep fry.

In a mixing bowl, take 1 cup of rice flour, the ground mixture, chilli powder, salt and mix well.
To this add 1 table spoon of hot oil, mix well with the flour mixture.

Add required quantity of water to make a stiff dough. The dough should not be too hard or watery, it should not stick to the fingers. Once the dough is mixed add more oil to the surface to keep it moist.

Take a sheet of plastic or a banana leaf and grease it well. Take a lemon size ball of dough and spread the dough using the fingers into small discs, make a hole in the centre and carefully drop them into hot oil, deep fry till golden brown on a medim flame.
Crispy nipattus are ready. These nipattus can be stored for a few weeks in an air tight container and enjoyed.

Krishnajayanthi special! Aval laddu.

Advance Happy Krishna jayanthi to all!
This weekend we will be celebrating the birthday of lord Krishna.  Krishna jayanthi is synonym with making a lot of sweet and savory dishes and offering it to Krishna.
 Aval/poha being his favorite, this receipe is even special. Aval laddu is very easy to make and requires few ingredients. 
It can be made in 20 minutes from start to finish. 
Try this laddu and make your celebration even more fun.

Ingredients:
Thick Aval/Poha-3/4 cup.
Roasted Bengal gram-1/4 cup.
Sugar- 1/3 cup.
Cardamom powder-1 pinch.
Cashew- 5(broken into small pieces).
Raisin- 10.
Ghee-1/4 cup( melted).

Method:
Clean the aval by removing any dirt and lightly roast on a low flame for 5 minutes till you smell the aroma of Aval.
Then dry roast the Bengal gram for 2 minutes.
Grind aval, bengal gram into a fine powder separately.
Grind sugar into a fine powder.
Using a spoon of ghee, fry the cashews and raisins.
In a mixing bowl, take ground aval, bengalgram powder, cardamom powder, sugar and fried cashew and raisin( mix well).
Heat ghee and add it to the bowl and make the mixture into round balls.
Aval laddu is ready!

Hot or Cold Paneer Payasam.

During my visit to India, I came across the recipe for Paneer Payasam/ came back home, took my own sweet time and finally got the opportunity to try this recipe. The good thing about this recipe is that, it can be made easily and served hot or cold.

Ingredients:
Whole milk: 1 Litre.
Condensed milk: 1 Cup.
Dry nuts: cashew, pista and badam( chopped).
Paneer grated: 1 cup.
Saffron: few threads.
Cardamom powder.
Ghee: Few TSp to fry.

Method:
Take milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil/ simmer until it reduces in half by stirring in between.
Soak the saffron threads in milk( few spoons).
Once the milk is reduced add the condensed milk, saffron soaked milk and cardamom powder and mix well.
Finally add the grated paneer, and simmer it for few minutes.
At last fry the nuts in ghee and add the fried nuts to the milk mixture.
Serve it hot or chill it in the fridge and serve cold.

Chocolate avocado mousse!

Today, I was watching a cooking show and this recipe caught my attention. This mousse is just simple, elegant, and healthy. I happened to have all the ingredients or the closest ones and tried to make it. It turned out great. Do try.

Ingredients:
Ripe avocados- 2 no.
Chocolate chips-1/2 cup.
Coco powder- tbsp.
Vanilla extract- 1-2 teaspoon.
Almond milk/ regular milk- 4-5 tbsp/ as required.
Honey/ agave- 1/4 cup.
Salt- a small pinch.

Method:
First bring a pot of water to boil and into this pot place another pan with chocolate chips in it, so that the chips melt from the heat of the hot water. Take care not to let any water enter the chocolate. The chocolate chips will melt in few minutes.
Once the chips melt let them cool.
Cut the ripe avocado and remove the inside flesh. Take the avocado, melted chocolate chips, coco powder, honey, vanilla extract and milk into a food processor and process till smooth paste. Add milk as required to get a mousse consistency.
Pour the mousse into a bowl or into individual ramikens and chill them in the fridge for 1 hr and serve them cold.

Note:
I have used honey instead of agave and regular milk instead of almond milk.
But still the taste was good. So do try the other ingredients if you like.