Clicking Spring Mint and Garlic Chives, Egg Jalfrezi, Brown Rice and Besan Uttappa

My Spring Mint and Garlic Chives, goes to Bee and Jai's "Click-Spring/Autumn" event.

Egg Jalfrezi, goes to Sudeshna's "Eggs" event who is celebrating her first blog anniversary.

Brown Rice, Besan/Chickpea flour and Carrot Uttappa, goes to Trupti who is guest hosting "Cooking for Kids-Rice" event, which is started by Sharmi.

Thanks to all of you ladies, enjoy my 150th post at Aroma! :)

Spring Mint and Garlic Chives from my backyard!

Camera: Sony Cyber-Shot 8.1pxl in Macro mode.

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Beautiful Spring Tulips which I clicked without the home owner's permission while driving to the next city! I saw these Tulips in their front yard, one of my favorite flowers of all, stopped the car, took the photo and ran back to the car with a lightening speed!! :D

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About Jalfrezi:
Wikipedia says "The jalfrezi dates from the times of the British Raj when it was created as a way of using leftover meat; the chillies helped to disguise any disagreeable taste. The name comes indirectly from Bengali jhāl, spicy food, and Urdu parhezī, suitable for a diet"

Egg Jalfrezi:
Jalfrezi is a tasty sweet and spicy concoction of Bell Peppers, Tomato and Onion. You can add any vegetable of your choice or mixed veggies, meat or hard boiled Eggs into this thickish gravy.
There are many ways to make the Jalfrezi, here is my milder version since my kids like milder and sweeter sauce than spicy. You can add green chillies if you like, gives it a nice heat. I added red bell peppers for sweetness and color.

How to make Egg Jalfrezi my way!
Hard boil 6 eggs in water for 15mins, take off the heat, pour out the hot water and add cold water. This makes the Egg shells peel easy after they are cold. Peel the shells, cut the eggs 1/2 way to the center but do not cut it thru' to split them into half.

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil + 2 tsp Butter, add 1tsp Cumin seeds. When they turn reddish, add 1" grated fresh Ginger, saute for 2 mins.
2. Add 2 medium sized thinly sliced onions, saute for 3 mins, until they are soft. Add 2 large red Bell peppers, sliced into the sauce, stir fry for 3 mins, until they wilt a bit and soften.
2. Now, add 2-3 Plum Tomatoes, sliced to the pan, stir again and let it cook and oil shows on top a little, sauce leaves the sides of the pan.
3. Now, add enough salt, 1/4 or more tsp Chilli pd or Paprika (you can add green chillies too), 1/2 tsp Sugar, 1 1/2 tsp Coriander powder, 1/2 tsp good quality Garam masala pd, homemade is better. Mix well and add 3/4 cup water and 1 tbsp cream or full cream milk (optional). Simmer for 5 mins.
4. Take off the heat, adjust the salt and chilli pd. Sprinkle 3 tbsp chopped Cilantro.

Serve with Lemon slices and cooked Basmati rice.

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Uttappa:
In Karnataka or in Kannada, we call Uttappam as Uttappa, although method of making these is always the same. You use the usual Dosa or Idli batter, soured overnight to use the next day and adding onion, Tomato, chillies etc on top to make Uttappa like this recipe I posted long time ago at my Foodie's Hope blog. They are usually served with chutney or Sambhar, a thick dal dip.

For this event which we are cooking for kids, I came up with these trying to make it little healthier adding Brown rice, Carrots and Besan. Since we are mixing protein packed Besan which is Chickpea flour to finely ground rice, there is no need to ferment this Uttappa batter, go ahead and make them after few hrs of grinding rice.

Quick to make and kids love them too if you add Carrots and green peppers to make them colorful. Instead of chutney, added ghee and sprinkled my homemade Chutney pudi which is a coarsely ground mixed dal powder with spices. My chutney pudi is not very spicy but adds great color and nutrition to Uttappa. Here is my version of Uttappa, enjoy! :)

Brown Rice, Besan and Carrot masala Uttappa, topped with ghee and chutney pudi:
Looks like Pizza, isn't it? Great to serve to kids and adults alike. Brown rice has lot of fiber retained than the regular white rice and Besan and Carrots gives this pancake a pinkish hue which kids usually dig! :)

To make Uttappa:

1. Soak 1 1/2 cup Brown rice overnight or for at least for 3-4 hrs in water. Drain the water, add to a mixer. Grind it with 2 cups of water until it's smooth to touch or finely ground. Add 3 tbsp Besan to the rice batter, blend just until well mixed.
2. Take the batter in to a bowl, add enough salt, 1/2 cup finely grated Carrots, 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro, few chopped curry leaves, 1/2" grated Ginger, 1 tsp Cumin seeds powder, 1/4 tsp chilli pd or green chillies chopped (Skip both if your kids can't handle the heat), finely chopped 4 tbsp onion, mix well. Keep it aside for 15mins.
3. Heat a non-stick griddle, pour a ladleful of batter, drizzle few drops of oil on top. Let it cook until the bottom is golden, flip it to cook the other side.
4. As soon as you take the pancake or Uttappa on to plate, brush some ghee on top, sprinkle a tsp of Chutney pudi on top evenly and serve immediately.

There you are! Nutritious and tasty South Indian Pancake/Crepe/Uttappa! :)

Clicking Wooden Rice Mould/Mold, Roasted veg and Artichoke Pasta, Mac and Cheese Casserole with Italian sausage.

My Japanese wooden Rice Mold, goes to Jugalbadi's ever popular visual candy event "CLICK-WOOD".

Pasta with roasted Bell pepper, Artichoke hearts and Tomato, goes to Soma of "ecurry" who is guest hosting "Hay Hay, it's Donna's day #26" event. Roma has chosen Donna Hay's this recipe for us to try. This event's original host is Bron Marshall.

Mac and cheese with Italian sausage, goes to Srivalli of "Cooking for 4 all seasons", who is guest hosting "Monthly Mingle" this month with "Kids lunches" as a theme and Meeta started this MM event. Thanks to all hosts, enjoy! :)

Macaroni and cheese with Italian sausage casserole, also goes to Aquadaze of "Served with love", who is guest hosting this month's "Presto Pasta Nights #106", an event started by Ruth of "Once upon a feast".

Japanese Rice mould/mold:
Any kind of "mould" in India is called "Mold" here in USA, just like "colour" and "color" etc, just a little clarification about the spelling! :D

This beautiful Japanese rice mold is specially designed to pour and serve the sauce in the center. Spoon the cooked rice into the mold, press gently to fill the gaps, place on a serving plate and tap gently to release the rice. Pour any sauce into the middle of the rice and serve. I had made Egg butter masala, placed an egg in the center of the mold.

Another "clear" look:

Sony Cyber-Shot: 8.1pxl, Macro mode.

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Chicken and Capsicum Pasta recipe is the choice of Soma's who is hosting "Hay Hay, it's Donna's day" from Donna Hay's blog. Although I followed the original recipe mostly, I had to make this with Artichoke Hearts with lots of fresh herbs from my herb pots since I made Butter chicken for kids few days ago and ran out of Chicken! So here is my chicken less version;

Artichoke Hearts and roasted Bell Peppers Farfalle Pasta!

Another look:

Here is how I made it:
1. Cooked Butterfly/Farfalle Pasta al-Dente, drained and added to a bowl.
2. Roasted green and red Bell peppers, few Tomato slices, drained canned Artichoke Hearts, cooled them for 10mins.
3. Mixed Pasta, roasted veggies, 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, few slices of bottled Vinegary Jalapenos, 2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs like Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Parsley along with Donna's dressing and VOILA!!
Beautiful Pasta is ready to dig in. Enjoy! :)

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Everybody's favorite food, Macaroni and cheese with sweet Italian Sausage:
My kids always like to have Mac and cheese whenever my husband doesn't come home for dinner and I don't feel like cooking! Usually kids like to add add chopped up Hot dogs for a quick version, I had some Italian sausage this time to add to this Nac and Cheese. You can make plain Mac and cheese without adding anything or may be some veggies to make it healthier. I made a Casserole of Mac and cheese with crunchy Panko breadcrumbs on top!

Macaroni and Cheese with Italian sausage Casserole:

Here is how to make Mac and cheese Casserole:

Preheat the oven at 350F to bake this casserole for 30-40mins.

Pasta:
Boil water, add 2 cups of dry Elbow Macaroni with some salt and 1 tsp oil until almost done, drain and pour it in a casserole dish.
Sausage:
Cut up Hot dog if you using those or take out and crumble Italian sausage links out of it's skin and saute the sausage for a while in a pan until light brown and set aside to add this to the sauce later)
For cheese sauce:
1. Heat a non-stick pan, add 2tbsp olive oil or butter, add 2 tbsp plain flour, stir fry until slightly golden or until flour is cooked. Now pour in about 2 1/4 cups of milk, gently heat.
2. When sauce is hot, grate a Nutmeg to add few pinches, sausage and take the sauce off of the heat. Add 1 tsp yellow ground Mustard, 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese and stir gently and quickly until cheese dissolves. Add some pepper and salt if needed. I added 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp each of mixed spices and herbs.
3. Pour this sauce over the Macaroni, sprinkle some Parmesan and 1/4 cup seasoned Panko (or Italian) breadcrumbs on top and bake for 30 to 40mins until sauce is thickish.
Sauce thickens as the caserrole cools, so don't bake until Pasta and sauce is very dry. To get some color on the breadcrumbs, I broiled/grilled for 5 mins or just until crumbs get golden. DO NOT burn the crumbs!
You can Microwave this dish too to make it faster, bread crumbs will be whitish but it's quite tasty to eat anyway.

Enjoy, see you next time! :)

Vegetable Gratin, MW Savory Vegetable Pudding, Clicked!

Vegetable Gratin, topped with savory breadcrumbs, dripping with delicious Bechamel sauce and Parmesan cheese is my contribution to Bee of Jugalbandi's "CLICK-The photo event-Cheese/Tofu" event this month. Thanks Jugs!




Well..I am supposed to say something about the photo I am posting here for the event. All I can say is, Bee threatened me that she would break all North Carolina Panthers' legs so they can never play football (or win the Super Bowl) ever again if I didn't send her a photo for her event. So, a selfless self- sacrificing woman that I am, sending this photo to her event so I can save NC Panthers' many many many pairs of those strong handsome manly legs!!!
Sigh...the things I have to do for my people of NC!! Bee, you win!!! Please spare them their legs......!!!! Waaaah...!!!!

Vegetable Gratin:
Baked mixed vegetable Gratin, topped with Bechamel sauce, savory bread crumbs and sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese.

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Gratin with mixed vegetables and Bechamel sauce is my second dish for DK of "Culinary Bazaar"'s event "A.W.E.D.- France" this month. My first entry to her is savory "Pain Perdu", a French toast. Thank you DK, have fun in France!

Mixed vegetable Gratin:
"Gratin is a widely-used culinary technique of food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using bread crumbs and butter. Gratins are also frequently sprinkled with grated cheese. Gratin originated in French cuisine and is prepared using a casserole. A gratin is baked or broiled to form a golden crust on top and served in it's oval shaped baking dish.The etymology of gratin is from the French language in which the word "gratter" meaning to "to scrape" as of the "scrapings" of bread or cheese, and gratiné, from the transitive verb form of the word for crust. Gratin dish refers to the shallow oven-proof container used to prepare gratins." Info from WIKIPEDIA.

While making the savory Pudding (see below) for Sunday lunch, I saved half a bag of frozen veggies just to make this Gratin to show you here. Kids loved this dish more than the savory veg and bread pudding! :)

To make Gratin, you need:
1. I used 1/2 a bag frozen mixed veggies; Cauliflower, Broccoli, Water Chestnuts, Endamame, carrots etc. Put all these into a dish with a tsp of butter and pinch of salt and pepper, microwave for 10 mins until cooked or saute in butter until golden.
2. Add these veggies to a bakeable Gratin dish and keep aside.
3. Take about half a cup of garlic Croutons and coarsely powder it, keep aside.
4. Now, pour the prepared Bechamel sauce (recipe below) over the veggies, sprinkle bread crumbs to cover the sauce.
5. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 mins, since veggies are already cooked, it doesn't take much time to bake or if you use a microwavable Gratin dish, you can microwave this in a jiffy too!
6. Lastly, as soon as you take out the dish out of the oven, sprinkle grated fresh Parmesan cheese on top. If you add cheese and bake in the oven, cheese might burn sometimes and tastes bitter, so I add it at the end. You can bake 5 mins more after you add the Parmesan cheese if you like.
To make Béchamel sauce:
Bechamel is basic white sauce and it becomes "Mornay" sauce if you add cheese to the sauce.

1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp plain flour, pinch of salt and pepper. Stir for a while or until slightly golden, turn down the heat and add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of half and half or milk, simmer. (Optionally, you add 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese and whisk well).
2. Keep whisking to avoid the lumps. After few mins, Bechamel sauce thickens slightly. Then, grate 1/8 tsp of fresh Nutmeg pd over it, mix and take the pan off the heat. Pour it on the veggies when it cools a bit and bake the gratin.

Delicious Gratin is ready, it smells so good! :)

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"Cauliflower" is the choice for JFI, which is being hosted by Mythreyee of "Paajaka" blog, an event which is started by Indira of "Mahanandi" blog. My mixed vegetable including Cauliflower, savory Pudding goes to Mythreyee for her event.

Jayasree of "experiments in Kailas kitchen" blog is guest hosting "MEC-Microwaved Puddings" this month. MEC event is originally Srivalli of "cooking for all seasons" idea. I cooked this savory vegetable pudding in the microwave, so this is for you too, Jaya.
Thanks to all of you girls, enjoy! :))

Microwaved mixed vegetable including Cauliflower savory Pudding:
Puddings usually have egg and milk mixture poured into and baked with vegetables and bread pieces. Since both of event entries need to be strictly vegetarian, I have replaced eggs with cornstarch and baked in the microwave.
If eggs are okay with you, add 2-3 eggs to milk along with herbs to get fluffy, spongy pudding. I had baked a sweet Persimmon pudding few weeks ago, so I went for savory pudding this time, can't handle too much sweet again. Hope you like it! :))

Microwaved savory mixed vegetable and bread pudding:
"Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but can also be a savory dish. The word pudding probably comes from the French boudin, originally from the Latin botellus, meaning "small sausage," referring to encased meats used in Medieval European puddings. In the United Kingdom and in some countries, pudding is a common term for any dessert". Info from WIKIPEDIA.

To make the savory pudding: Click on the collage to see the ingredients.
I used 2 1/2 small bags frozen mixed vegetables including Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Endamame, Water chestnuts, peas etc.
10 oz pack of all natural chunky and savory garlic and herb Croutons. You can use bread slices too but ready herbed garlic croutons are better.
For the sauce: take 2-3 cups of milk, (enough to drown the bread and veggies!), 2 tsp Cornstarch, 1 tsp dry herbs, 1/2 tsp Garlic pd, 1/2 tsp onion powder, salt, red chilli flakes and pepper to taste. Mix all these well.
(If adding eggs which is used in making traditional pudding, add 2 eggs and beat this mixture)

To bake or microwave:
1. If you are baking this pudding in the oven, you can saute all the veggies in 1 tbsp butter until halfway cooked and golden.
Since I microwaved it, I added 1 tbsp butter to a dish with frozen vegetables, few pinches of salt, covered and microwaved it for 10-15mins on high or until veggies are fork tender.
2. Drain any water remaining, let the veggies cool a bit. Mix the sauce again and keep it ready.
3. In a microwaveable dish, add half of the Croutons on the bottom, spread all the veggies on top and cover with Croutons again.
4. Slowly pour the liquid sauce on the bread and veggies. Then press the top gently until Croutons are wet and soaked.
If you are baking this, bake at 350F for 30 mins or so, until crust is golden.
5. Now, put this dish in the Microwave, heat this on 100% power for 10 to 20 mins ot until you don't see liquid anymore on the bottom. Cornstarch and soaked bread makes the sauce thick and pudding is scoopbale once it's done.
Do not add too much milk which can overflow in the MW, pause the MW if you see the liquid come up and start again. Serve the pudding while it's warm with a salad.

Enjoy all the yummy vegetable dishes, see you all on Friday here again! :)

CLICKing Fresh Yellow Turmeric and One Hot Chavli Amti!

I am Clicking a Yellow Fresh Turmeric for a very special fund raising edition of "Yellow for Briana" today for my entry to Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog this month. Thank you to all the judges and Bee for organizing and hosting this event!
In Jugalbandi's own words "Yellow signifies hope and enlightenment. Though the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, color Yellow has also come to signify the fight against cancer. Bri of Figs With Bri is one of the 5% of women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 30. That was two and a half years ago but her cancer returned. In addition to traditional medicine, she would like to try holistic alternatives for which her health insurance has turned down. Could we help her raise that amount?"
Please click on the link above to get all the details of how you can help. This fundraising also includes Raffle prizes and a PayPal "Chip In" convenience for donating the funds directly to Briana. Hope you will give as much as you can to help her. Thank you! :)

Fresh Turmeric Shoots:
I was fortunate to find some fresh Turmeric (Amba Haldi in Hindi) in Nashville at a Indian store when we were vacationing there last June and it was my first time tasting these too. Fresh turmeric is pleasantly mild and does not have a sharp bite of fresh ginger. It has a very bright deep Yellow-Orange color and a brownish skin. When used in dishes and pickles, it imparts a bright and beautiful yellow color!


Dried and powdered Turmeric is used routinely in most Indian dishes and used in traditional Indian Festivals, in Indian Ayurvedic Medicine and Indian weddings.

Camera: Canon SD300

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Chavli Amti/Black eyed peas curry from Nupur's blog is my contribution to "Tried and Tasted" , a event which is started by Zlamushka from "Zlamushka's spicy kitchen" blog. This month we are scouting Nupur of "One Hot Stove" blog looking for and cooking one of her recipes to appreciate her blog. Thanks for hosting Z, it's a fun event. Thanks to you too Nupur, loved the traditional dish and taste of Chavli Amti! :)

Chavli Amti:
I was planning to make this dish and link at FH next week anyway and then saw Z's choice of blog to cook from and was too happy to oblige! I haven't changed any of the masala ingredients in this dish except added half an Eggplant, a small cubed Potato with 1 can of Black eyed peas. Please click on the link above to go to the original site for the recipe. Enjoy!


Have a great week, see Y'all good people later!:)

PEAR TOMATOES & MW ORANGE STREUSEL CAKE

Pear Tomatoes in all it's natural glory is my entry to "Click-Au Naturel" which Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog are hosting this month. Thanks to you both and all the judges too!:)




First, let me say that it feels great to be back after 5 weeks' long hiatus. I still have lots of work to do, so I will be blogging and visiting you all just 3 days a week from now on (Mon., Wed., Fri.) and will be participating in very few events if I can, as there are so many events going on these days. Right now, I am glad I have managed to post these, my last minute entries! :)

Pear Tomatoes:
I grew few Pear Tomato plants last Summer, loved and enjoyed each and every fruit of these beautiful tomatoes.They were not only gorgeous to look at, very sweet and juicy to eat too, excellent to make Summer salads. Hopefully, they are few seeds still scattered in my garden patch waiting to sprout up for this Summer's bounty, keeping my fingers crossed! :)



Camera I used: Sony Cyber-Shot 8.1 Mega Pixels

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Microwaved Orange Streusel cake is my entry to "Microwave Easy cooking", which is hosted by Srivalli of "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "cakes" this month. Thanks for hosting Sri!:)


I am giving you a fabulous tasting and a very fragrant Orange cake with Streusel topping, baked in a microwave!! Can you believe it? Of course, microwave cakes will never be as soft and fluffy as the oven baked cakes but look like quick breads, not bad at all for a cake made within 10 mins, instead of 1 1/2 hrs for a cake baked in the oven when the craving hits you!! :D
This recipe came from an old yellowing microwave cookbook I bought long time ago. Orange cake is really delcious and quick to make in 6-7 mins after the initial prep of the batter. It will taste like a quick bread but lot more delcious than a bread. Read the whole recipe before you start on the cake please, hope you try!:)

Microwave Orange Streusel cake:



A slice for you! :)



Step by step photos, click to enlarge:

Bowl: Prepare the microwavable ceramic bowl about 8" in diameter. Spray no-stick oil or butter inside. Cut a round wax paper to fit into the bottom of the bowl inside and spray again on it to make the cake come out of the bowl easily after cooking.

For Streusel topping, you need:
1/4 cup plain flour,
1 tsp Cinnamon powder,
1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa pd,
(I used Ghirardelli Cocoa,Hershey Cocoa will do too)
1/4 cup chilled Butter,cut into pieces,
1/4 cup fine brown sugar,
Mix all these with your fingers until it has a texture like coarse bread crumbs,chill in the fridge until needed.
Or you can use the commercial chocolate frosting on top instead of Streusel for topping.

For Microwaving the cake, you need:
To cream:
1/4 cup Butter, softened,
2/3 cup fine textured white sugar,
1 large Egg.
Liquid mix:
5 tbsps Orange Juice,
6 tbsps whole/2%Milk or half and half,
1 tsp Orange flower essence,
1 tsp grated Orange rind or zest.
Dry mix:
1 1/2 cup Plain flour,
2 tsp Baking powder,
1/8 tsp salt.

How to:
1. Make Streusel topping first, chill it until needed.
2. In a stand mixer or processor, beat butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy on high speed. Stop and add 1 egg, beat gently until creamy.
3. Add liquid mix to it, mix on low speed. Add dry mix to it slowly until everything comes together to a thickish batter. Do not over mix.
4.Pour into the prepared bowl, tap the bottom of the pan gently on the counter top to make the top even and to take the bubbles out.
5. Cook it in the microwave for 3 mins. Take it out, sprinkle the Streusel topping, press it gently on top and microwave it again for 2 more mins.
6. Insert a wooden skewer or knitting needle in the middle to test the doneness. If it comes out somewhat clean, it's done. If very wet, microwave for just one more minute, but not more than that.
7. Take it out, loosen the sides with a knife, shake the bowl gently to loosen the bottom. Invert it on a plate very carefully as to not crush the Streusel (or try to take it out from the bottom i you can), invert again on a cooling rack to cool. Store in a air tight plastic bag or cake stand.
8. Serve a slice with cream if you like and dust with cocoa powder.

Note: Don't worry if you feel that it's still a little moist in the middle of the cake, it will cook as it cools. If you feel that it's not completely cooked, you can always microwave for 1/2 to 1 minute but DO NOT OVER COOK it or else it will be become dry and crumbly.
If that happens ie if it's very dry, prick the top with skewer, drizzle a tbsp of cream or Orange juice in the holes to make it moist again. Each Microwave differs in power, so use your judgment regarding the time for cooking after the first 5 minutes. Enjoy!:))

TURKISH IBRIK, MASOOR DAL KHICHDI

Turkish Ibrik is my "Show us your Metal" entry to Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog's "Click" event with the theme of "Metal" this February. My thanks to all the judges this month and JaiBee too!:)


About Ibrik:
Ibrik is long handled Turkish coffee pot which is traditionally used to brew coffee in Turkey. It was originally used to make coffee on hot desert sand but can be used on stove top too. It comes in different sizes, from 1 cup like this pot to large capacity as well. Ibriks are made of copper, brass and stainless steel. This particular genuine Ibrik from Istanbul is a gift from somebody. I tried making coffee once in this pot and now it sits pretty on my fireplace mantle! You can buy the modern Ibriks here and how to make Turkish coffee in Ibrik is here.

Turkish Ibrik, my entry to "Click" Metal:


Camera used:
Cannon PowerShot SD 600
Digital ELPH

Another look:



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Masoor dal Khichdi, cooked in the Microwave is my entry to "Microwave easy cooking" which is hosted by Srivalli of "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "Rice dishes" this month. Thanks for hosting Sri!:))



About Khichdi:
WIKI says "Khichdi literally means mish-mash or hodge-podge mixture, is an Indian dish that contains a combination of rice,one or more lentils and spices. Khichdi is commonly considered to be a North, East, West India's comfort food served with Kadhi and was the inspiration for the Anglo-Indian dish called kedgeree".
In southern part of India, we make a somewhat similar dish called BisiBele Bhath or Sambhar Rice which has even more and different ingredients than this dish and is our own style comfort "Khichdi" of the south! :)

Microwave Masoor dal Khichdi:
Khichdi is a mixture of rice and various dals cooked with flavorful spices, usually it's thinner and wetter than the usual Pulao or Biryani. Cooking Khichdi in MW is relatively easy since it's a one pot dish. Every MW is of different power strength, so you will have to make that judgment for how long to cook and how much water to add to the rice and dal mix, so it cooks evenly until soft.Adjust the spices to your taste. This is how I made it.


To make the Khichdi in the Microwave:
You need:
1 cup long grain rice, 1/2 cup Masoor dal (red lentils) washed and drained, 1/2 cup 1/2" cubed Carrots, salt, 2 cups or more water and 1/4 cup Tomato sauce or 2 tbsp Tomato puree, more or less according to your liking.
(You may soak rice in 2 cups of water for 15 mins before adding this to the MW bowl if you like)
Season:
1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 2 tsp finely grated or ground ginger.
Spice powders:
1 tbsp Coriander seeds pd, 1 tsp Cumin seeds pd, 1/2 tsp Garam masala, 1/2 tsp or more Kashmiri chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
Garnish:
1 tbsp chopped Cilantro, 1 tsp Ghee, cucumber slices or cucumber Raita.
How to make:
1. Take a glass bowl, big enough to hold 4 cups of liquid. Add oil, microwave for 1 min on high.
2. Now, add all the seasoning ingredients, cover and heat for 30 seconds or more until ginger gets reddish color. Open and add spice powders, mix well.
3. Add rice, lentils, Carrots, water and cook without covering the bowl for 6-8 mins on high/100% power. Make sure rice and lentils are almost cooked before adding tomato. Cook for few more mins if not done, adding more water if necessary.
4. Pour in the tomato sauce, salt, mix well. Cover the bowl with the plate this time and cook at 50% power for 4 or more mins until everything is completely cooked and still little wet in texture, not very dry.
5. Take the bowl out, adjust the salt and heat. Add in cilantro, mix the Khichdi well.
Serve with Cucumber slices or Raita and a tsp of ghee added on top. You can serve this with Pickle, papad, or plain yogurt too. Tastes better after few hrs but tends to get a bit drier as it cools. Enjoy!:)

Arusuvai next!:)

HERB SWIRL BREAD AND KODUBALES FOR THE ROAD!

Herb swirl bread is my "Show us your Flour" entry to Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog's "Click" event with the theme of "Flour" this February. My thanks all the judges and JaiBee!:)


Herb Swirl Bread:



Camera: Cannon PowerShot SD600 Digital ELPH

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Kodubale, a popular Karnataka snack, is my contribution to Easy Crafts from "Simple India Food" blog. Her new event "Travel Food Festival" is asks us to make something vegetarian to carry when you are traveling. Enjoy EC!:)



Kodu+Bale literally means "Bangles with Horns" in Kannada, which is referred to their bangle shape with two upturned ends which looks like a Bull's horn!!!
These Kodubales are made of flour and spices and rolled into rings and deer fried, a very popular snacks in Karnataka, India. They keep well in a airtight container for atleast 10 days ie if you can resist them that long!:D
You can bake that Swirl bread too to take it on the road, makes a great lunch as well! Enjoy both of them, why don't you? :)

Kodubale:

Kodubales are great to take to your friends for a party or a potluck as appetizers or take a bag of these when you travel or excellent snacks to munch on with a cup of hot coffee.There are many recipes to make these Kodubales. You can see the others here and here for Plain flour Kodubales. Hope you make them!:)

To make them, you need:

You can cut down the recipe to half if you just want to try a few first. Adjust the salt and chillies according to your taste and adjust the size of the circles to your liking.
2 cups Rice flour,
1 cup fine grained Semolina/Cream of Wheat/Rava,
1 cup Wheat flour/Atta,
3 tbsp smoking hot oil,
Salt.
Grind these to a slightly coarse paste or powder:
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut or dry coconut,
4 Red dry chillies,
1 tbsp Cumin seeds,
1 tbsp Sesame seeds.

To make them:
1. Grind the ingredients for paste or powder and set aside.
2. Mix all the flours, salt. Heat 3 tbsp oil until very hot and add to the flours.
3. Add in the ground paste and mix well with enough just until they look like thick dough. Do not add too much water. Knead well, cover and let it rest for 15mins.
4. Heat oil to 370F to deep fry. Take a small ball out of the dough, roll it with your palm on your kitchen counter top to a 1/2" thick rope.
5. Cut the rope into 6" long and join the ends, press to seal to make a circle. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover them with clean towel so they don't dry out.
6. Deep fry them until reddish and crunchy. Cool and store in a air tight jar.

Enjoy!:)

HOT COCOA AND PAPAYA-PECAN SCONES

Hot Cocoa with cream and Cinnamon, my own liquid comfort is my entry to Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog's "Click" event with a theme of "Liquid Comfort" this month. Enjoy and thanks for hosting JaiBee!:)

Hot Cocoa topped with Cream and Cinnamon:



Camera: Sony Cybershot with 8.1 mega pixels in Macro mode.

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Papaya scones are my contribution to "A Fruit A Month", which is the brainchild of Maheswari of "Beyond the Usual" blog. Nags of "For the cook in me" is guest hosting this month for AFAM and her fruit of choice is "Papaya". Thanks for hosting Nags!:)


Finally!!! After all the running around the town here for Papaya, we visited a Vietnamese store in the next town last weekend and got 2 cans of Papaya! Canned Papayas taste nowhere near like the real ripe Papaya we used to gobble up in India regularly but I feel lucky to have these cans than nothing at all, beggars can't be choosers!!:D

Canned Papayas!
Fresh Papayas are low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Potassium and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Folate. But watch out for the high content of sugar!!! More info at WIKI.


Here they are, my Papaya scones. They are flavorful, not very sweet and makes a perfect breakfast warm or cold with any jam or just sprinkled with powdered sugar. Nuts are optional,gives it a little crunch. I can only imagine how wonderful and aromatic it would be to use the real fresh ripe Papayas in these scones! Use fresh if you can. I don't like any of my desserts too sweet, so these are perfect for me to have on their own with a cup of coffee!:)

Papaya-Pecan Scones:
Recipe for Scones is mostly adapted by Betty Crocker's baking book with my own addition and elimination, makes about 10 scones. You can any kind of chopped fruits and nuts of your choice for variation.



You need:
1 3/4 cup Plain flour,
1/3 cup packed brown sugar,
2 tsp Baking powder,
1/4 tsp salt,

1/3 cup firm unsalted butter or Margarine,(I used the butter),

1 Egg,
1/2 cup Half and half or cream,
1 cup chopped ripe Papaya,
1/4 cup finely chopped Pecans or Walnuts or any nuts.

To bake Scones:
Preheat oven to 400F.
1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking pd. Add cut up butter and mix with your fingers until they look like bread crumbs.
2. Add egg and cream beaten together and mix with a wooden spoon just until combined.
3. Stir in Papaya and nuts and mix gently until combined.
4. On a ungreased baking sheets, scoop 1/3 cup of mix and drop them 3" apart from each other. Put it in the oven and bake for 18 mins or until golden brown on top.Do not over bake.
5. Slide them on to a cooling rack gently and immediately and store in a air tight container when cooled for breakfast or light snack. Serve warm or at room temperature with jam or powdered sugar.

Enjoy!:))

NUTS!!! 100th POST WITH BROWNIE COOKIES!!

Hurray!! This is my 100th post here at Aroma which I started on January 2006 just to cook and post for events! It reached 100th post a tad bit faster that Foodies Hope which took exactly a whole year to reach that century! It has been a wonderful journey so far and will plan to keep it up in 2008 as well.

My thanks to all my readers/friends who come here to comment and to LOT of readers who don't comment as well!! Enjoy, cook, blog and EAT!! :))

Now, back to business...

Alrighty Ms.Bee and Mr.Jai, here are your Nuts!! Oops, my Nuts!!;D
There are loads and loads of all kinds of nuts on display for Christmas now, thought instead of cooking with these, why not click them in all their glory!
Here is my entry to JaiBee of "Jugalbandi" blog's "Click" event with a theme of "Nuts" this month. Enjoy and thanks for hosting Bee and Jai or Jai and Bee!

Cornucopia of nuts!!



Camera used: Canon PowerShot SD600

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Bindiya of "in love with food" blog started a new event called "These are a few of my favorite things" this month with a theme of "Chocolate". Although I am not very fond of Chocolates, I do like to have a few dark Belgian Chocolates with 60% Cocoa occasionally. I definitely enjoyed baking these cookies. Thanks for hosting Bindiya!:))



I am also sending these to "JFI-Chocolate" this month since I am running out of time to enter my dishes for events. This month's host is Deepa from "LETZ COOK" blog. Thanks for hosting Deepa!:)


Story behind these Brownies!
My daughter's friend Jessica had her birthday at her high school and she sent a message to me thru' Trisha asking me to bake some cookies for her. She didn't want any store bought cookies or anything else as gift!
Trisha wanted me to bake chocolate cookies for all her 22 friends/members in her Anime(Japanese art) club (which Trisha leads as president) for Christmas party and some for her friend Jessica too while I was at it.
I looked around the internet and found the recipe for Brownie cookies which sounded great. Since some kids are allergic to nuts, I skipped nuts and mint flavor from the recipe to keep it simple.I also doubled the recipe and made about 84 mini cookies by using smaller scoops, so the kids can have 2 to 3 cookies each and rest goes to Jessica to take home. I baked the cookies just until soft, not crisp and they tasted like Brownies but looked like cookies! I was not going to blog these, but then I saw Bindiya's and Deepa's theme which fitted these cookies perfectly, I said Hurray and here they are!! Enjoy!

Recipe for these delicious brownie cookies came from here with my own little changes. I skipped the mint extract, nuts and used dark brown sugar and a tsp of molasses to keep them purely dark and chocolatey!!:)

Brownie drop cookies!!


To make about 88 mini brownie cookies you need:
(Make sure you cut the recipe into half or 1/4th of this amount if you need less cookies!)
3 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate bits, divide these into half to melt, keep half aside as whole bits to mix.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup good quality Cocoa powder,
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or Margarine(for chewy cookies), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp dark molasses (optional)
4 large eggs

To bake:

Preheat the oven at 350F.
1. Melt half of the morsels in small, heavy saucepan over low heat. When they begin to melt, remove from heat, stir until smooth. (You can melt in the microwave too, but be very careful not to burn the chocolate bits.) Cool to room temperature.
2. Now mix flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl, keep aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large blender bowl until creamy.
3. Add eggs one by one, beating well after each egg. Add in melted and cooled chocolate, mix well.
4. Slowly add in flour mix. When well mixed, stir in remaining chocolate bits. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto 2 ungreased baking sheets, 2" apart.
5. You may have to use more sheets if you are making the above quantity.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes. I bake for 8 mins and then keep checking the sides, since I like softer cookies. About 9 mins works for me perfectly. Take the sheet out, let it stand for 2 mins and then take the cookies out onto the cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.

Enjoy!:))

WALNUT PESTO FETTUCCINE AND A MeMe!

Walnut Pesto Fettuccine is my entry to Bee of "Jugalbandi"'s event "Click!". We are the clicking all kinds of "Noodles" this November. Thanks Bee!:))

And I clicked.....

Walnut Pesto Fettuccine sprinkled with grated Parmesan and garnished with a sprig of Fennel!
I made this quick Pasta for lunch on Saturday! Then I saw Bee's announcement of "Noodles" for this month! What a coincidence! Here it is!!:)




A delicious plate of pasta without any "special" effects!:)




A spoonful of Walnut Pesto!



To make Pesto at home:
This recipe makes a cup or so of Pesto. Use as much as you need for Pasta like two tbsps or more at a time.

Pulse 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup fresh Parsley (optional), 1/4 cup each grated Parmesan, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1/3 cup walnuts slightly roasted, Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste in a blender until coarse, mix once. Then start pouring 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil thru' the spout with the blender on low until you get a smooth paste. Scoop it into a glass jar and store in the fridge.

Variations: Skip Walnuts and add Pine nuts for a beautiful green pesto or add soaked and chopped Sun-dried Tomato with Basil for a gorgeous red Pesto!!

To make Pasta:
Cook 1 lb pack of Fettuccine or any pasta you like until almost cooked. Drain the water and mix with 2 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive oil so they don't stick to each other. Add a big spoon of Walnut Pesto to the pasta and mix well. Adjust the salt and pepper. Serve on a plate, add grated or shaved Parmesan cheese and garnish with Fennel leaves!! You can add vegetables or meat to this Pasta to make it more nutritious!

Enjoy!!:))

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My one and the only “Nightmare in the Kitchen”! How appropriate for Halloween!!:D

Lakshmi of "The YUM blog" has started a new MeMe called "Nightmare in the Kitchen". She started with her own disaster story and hilarious one too here, while baking a "Warm Walnut Brownie Pudding!!" Still wondering how that brownie pudding got on to her kitchen ceiling. Hmmm..!!;D

Anyhoo, she tagged me for this MeMe and here I am with one! Usually, a messed recipe in my kitchen is mostly fixable and edible except this particular Fried Ice Cream fiasco! I had already posted this at FH, I have to repost the same here again because this is the only nightmarish story I have to tell ya! Thanks for the tag Lakshmi.Can't wait to read other's "work of art" too!:))

My miserably failed attempt to make Mexican fried Ice Cream!!!


Well..I thought I will try making fried Ice Cream at home after I read the recipe in a book and tried the delicious dessert in the restaurant quite a few times.
I took 2 scoops of Ice Cream, rolled them in the Graham cracker crumbs powdered, and put them in the freezer for an hour.
I heated the fresh clean oil, brought the Ice Creams out and immediately added to oil. They did fry well at first ,I got happy at the thought of feasting on fried Ice Cream!!
And then the disaster happened!!! They split and started to melt right in the oil! Heartbroken(:D), I scooped them out quickly before they start splattering all over my kitchen and threw them all out along with the oil!!:P

Final "product" was not even worth clicking because there was nothing solid left in the pan! Hahaha!!

What might have gone wrong? I should have frozen the coated scoops overnight and heated the oil hotter, fry quickly less the minute and take them out! Shame on me!!:D

Well...that's my only disaster so far. Would I try to do this again? Sure! I don't give up on anything but will wait until next Summer and keep my fingers crossed!!:D

I tag:
Kribha, Raaga, Latha N and Siri. Have fun girls!

Happy Monday to all of you!:))