The all so famous Dosa!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dosa or rice pan cakes is a very light and hearty meal which can be served at the table in no time although it does require a little bit of preparation ahead of time as the dosa batter needs to ferment and that does require the rice to be soaked along with the lentils for 4-5 hours and it further needs to be blended and then fermented in a warmer place overnight. Though it requires a little preparation but the result of the batter turning into the " All so famous Dosa" is worth the effort and to add icing to the cake serve the dosa with sambar and cocunut chutney. Awesome!!!!!!!!


Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1/4 cup urad dal
1 tsp methi dana
1/2 cup poha (pressed rice)
Salt to taste
Water to blend

Method:

Soak the rice, poha, urad dal and methi dana in a bowl for atleast 4-5 hours. Drain the water completely and transfer the soaked rice and dal to the blender. Blend the rice and dal along with poha and methi dana adding water in small amount to the blender to form a thick batter of pourable consistency. Transfer the batter to a bowl and cover with a lid and keep it in a warm corner overnight or atleast for 8 hours. The batter will rise and ferment during this time.

Now add salt and enough water to the batter incase the batter is thick enough. Heat a non stick tava and add the laddle full of the batter and gently move starting from the center in circles across the pan till the batter is thiny distributed. Let it cook from one side. Roll the dosa and serve in a plate along with sambar and chutney.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Delicious Aloo Palak

Palak or Spinach as we all know is a rich source of iron and calcium and should be incorporated in our daily diet.We normally eat spinach in the form of palak paneer; here is a different recipe to make spinach with potatoes and it tastes awesome with boiled rice.
Saarson ka saag is another very famous dish from Punjab which incoporates spinach along with other vegetables like turnip and is served with Makki di roti (corn flour roti. It's a perfect meal during the winter season.

Delicious Aloo Palak as the name suggests will water your mouth with its unique flavor and can be made any time during the year!!!!!!

Ingredients:

1 bunch palak leaves
1 large potato or 2 medium sized potato ( diced into bite size pieces)
1 medium onion ( finely chopped)
2 tomatoes ( pureed in the blender)
2-3 green chilies
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
2 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 table spoon olive oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the palak (spinach) leaves thoroughly and transfer them to a pressure cooker. Also add the cabbaage leaves to the spinach along with the green chillies. Add some salt to the cooker with 1/2 cup water and pressure cook the spinach for 10 mins or till you get 2-3 whistles from the pressure cooker. Once the palak and cabbage has cooled down, transfer them to the blender and just pulse the spinach. We are not looking to puree the spinach completely and want the hearty thich texture of the spinach. Transfer the mixture into a separate bowl and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the diced potatoes and cook the potatoes for 5 mins. Add the chopped onions and saute for 2-3 mins as well. Now add the turmeric powder and red chilly powder to the onions and potatoes and mix well. Add the tomato puree to the pan and mix well. Now add the spinach and cabbage puree to the pan and stir so that the spinach is blended well with the other ingredients in the pan. Cover with the lid and let it simmer for 10 mins on a medium flame till the aloo palak is cooked completely. Serve with roti or boiled rice.


Tip: You can also blend the spinach puree and refrigerate in the fridge it. Whenever you plan to make this recipe; just prepare the onion and tomato mix and add in the pureed palak and the dish will be ready in no time.

You can also add paneer instead of potatoes if required and the same recipe could be turned into palak paneer.

Curry Pasta

Curry pasta as the name suggests is made with curry powder which embarks the yellow color to the pasta and adds a unique flavor to the recipe. Curry powder has the heat in it as well which makes the pasta slightly spicy as well, so if you are in the mood for having something spicy or you want to make a quick and easy dinner which has all the nutrition in it and yet tastes awesome this recipe is just right for you and it would be ready to served under 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled rotini pasta ( whole wheat)
1/2 cup corn ( fresh or frozen)
2 table spoons marinara sauce
1 tsp curry powder
3-4 basil leaves
1/2 cup green peas
Garlic Salt and pepper to taste
1 table spoon grated parmesan cheese (optional)


Method:

Boil and drain the pasta as per the instructions on the pasta box. Whole grain pasta takes roughly around 7-8 mins to cook till it is al dente. If you want it to be more cooked you can boil the pasta for another minute or so. Please season the water with enough salt before adding pasta to the boiling water as it helps in seasoning the pasta itself. Add corn and peas to the boiling water as well and drain along with the pasta.

Take the boiled pasta along with corn and peas in a bowl and add marinara sauce, curry powder, salt and pepper (to taste) to the bowl and mix all the ingredients well. Adjust the seasoning as required. Add basil leaves to the pasta, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese to the pasta if required and serve hot.

Yogurt Curry with Onions and Tomatoes

Yogurt curry with Onions and Tomatoes is qucik and easy dish which gets ready in less than 10 mins and is a so delicious to taste with the sweetness of the tomatoes and the tangy taste of the yogurt. My mom in law shared her secret with me and I am sharing this recipe with all of you. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did making and serving this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes thinly sliced
3-4 green chilies thinly sliced
1 cup yogurt ( whisked)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilly powder
Salt to taste
1 table spoon olive oil
1 table spoon chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced green chilies to the pan. Now add the sliced onions and tomatoes and sprinkle salt over them as it helps in removing the moisture from them. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add turmeric and red chilly powder to the pan and mix all the ingredients well. Adjust the seasoning by adding more salt as desired. Now remove the pan from the heat and add the whisked yogurt to the pan and mix the onions and tomatoes well. Add coriander leaves to the yogurt curry and serve hot with hot roti or steamed rice.

Tip:

Remember to keep the yogurt out from the refrigerator atleast 30 mins before making the recipe.

You can also prepare the onion and tomato mixture and keep ready. Just before serving, reheat the onion and tomato mixture and add yogurt to the mixture and serve.

Italian Panini with Indian Twist

Panini in italian means sandwich which is normally made from Cibatta bread which is cut horizontally , filled with the filling of ones choice and is sometimes served hot.

Panini can be made using typically any kind of bread and is a great last minute option for suppers and can be eaten in thye form of snack as well.

This sandwich or panini is made with the Italian flavors but is finished with the Indian touch.

Ingredients:

1 Cibatta bread
2-3 basil leaves
Mozarella Cheese 2 slices
1 tomato sliced
1 medium sozed onion sliced horizontally
2 table spoon green chutney
2 table spoon tomato ketchup
1 table spoon butter ( for grilling the panini)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Slit open the cibatta bread. Place sliced tomato, onion and mozarella cheese on one side of the bread. Apply green chutney and tomato ketchup on the other side of the bread. Place the basil leaves over the sliced mozarella cheese and sprinkle salt and pepper over the cheese. Place the other slice of the bread over the one holding the tomato, onions and mozarella cheese. Butter the cibatta bread from outside on both the sides of the bread. Heat the griller and place the panini on the griller and grill the panini till you have the grilled marks on both the sides of the sandwich.

Alternatively,if you dont have the griller, heat the tava or a gridle and place the buttered sandwich on the tava and place a heavy bottom pan over the panini, so that the weight of the pan presses the panini to the hot tava and we have a toasted panini sandwich with the Indian Twist ready to be served hot with some more green chutney and tomato ketchup. The Italian flavors of tomato, mozarella and basil blends pretty well with green chutney and tomato ketchup which adds the Indian twist to the sandwich.