Namkeen Shavinge

I love seviyan as breakfast -the salty ones.In the market ,there are wheat seviyan available as also rice ones.Generally,on the vermicilli packet,instructions would be given regarding proportion of water to be used for the quantity of vermicilli.It is usually 1cup vermicilli to 2 cups water.

I have used wheat vermicilli in this dish - roasted ones.Even plain ones ( unroasted ones ) are available.If unroasted ones are being used,it is preferable to roast them in kadhai till they change colour & become little brown in colour.These roasted ones can be used for this recipe.

Ingredients : 3/4 cup roasted vermicill,1-5 cups water,1 tbsp boiled peanuts ( optional ),1 small onion ,1/2 capsicum,1 small carrot,1 green chilli,1 sprig  of curry leaves,1/4" piece ginger,1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1/4 tsp urad dal,1 tbsp oil,1/4 tsp  haldi,1/4 tsp hing,salt to taste,1/4 piece of lemon.

Method : Cut all veggies finely - onions,capsicum & carrot.I cut the green chilli in the middle longitudinally so that I can avoid eating it. I prefer to peel & then grate the carrot.I grate the ginger.Chop the curry leaves as well so that one can eat them even if the curry leaves are not crunchy.

Heat oil in a kadhai.Add mustard seeds.After they splutter add urad dal.Let the urad dal turn golden brown.Now add onions,green chilli & ginger..Once onions turn translucent,add capsicum & carrots & shallow fry all veggies.Add haldi & hing.Mix with all veggies.Now add the vermicilli & the bolied peanuts.Mix so that vermicilli & veggies are nicely combined.Add salt to taste.Mix again so that salt is distributed .Now add water & mix thoroughly.Cook by covering with lid for 5-10 minutes on high flame.Open the lid & see if all water has escaped.If it has,vermicilli is cooked.If little water is still there ,cook for 1-2 minutes more.Check & now vermicilli will be cooked.Put off the gas.Let the lid cover the kadhai.After five minutes,squeeze a piece of lemon on the seviyan.Mix the lemon juice nicely with the prepared dish & serve.

Pundi palya chutni

I love pundi playa chutni.Pundi palya is Kannada  for Gonghura or Ambadi leaves.It is said that Ambadi & Alu leaves are the freshest in monsoons & must be consumed in monsoons.Whenever this chutni or dal with gonghura leaves is made ,I eat till my tummy is ready to burst.I can eat chappatis & rice with this chutni or dal.I can eat it just like that .In other words, I tend to overeat whenever this pundi palya is cooked either as chutni or in dal form.I love it so much.

Gongura or sorrel leaves are rich in iron & folic acid which helps in absorption of iron by the human body. So for anemics, Gongura leave are a good source of iron. And consuming this in any form like chutni or gongura dal will help in improving iron deficiency.

Ingredients : 1 bunch of Ambadi leaves ( it is available as a bunch -tied by a jute string ) ,1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 tbsp oil,1/4 -1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 5-6 green chillies, 1-2 tsp red chilli powder ( optional ),1/2 tsp hing,1/2 tsp haldi,1/3-1/2 cup jaggery shavings  or jggery bits, salt to taste.

Method : Remove the leaves from the stems & clean them in water as any leafy vegetable.The leaves can be chopped roughly or the leaves can be used as such after washing .I used whole leaves.I did not cut them.

Take oil in a kadhai & heat it.Add mustard seeds followed by methi seeds.When they splutter ,add chopped green chillies,hing & haldi.Mix all .Now add the leaves .Mix the leaves with green chillies,haldi hing mixture.Cover the kadhai with a lid & let it cook.After 5-6 minutes,remove the lid & the leaves will have contracted into a grennish brown mass.If some leaves are still green ,mix again & cover with lid.Remove lid & if the whole mass is greenish brown ,add jaggery or gur & mix again.Cover with lid & cook.After five minutes,remove lid.Check with spoon  for any chunks of gur remaining in the veggie mass.If all gur has melted,add slat & mix again.Allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes till it becomes little dry.Remove from gas.

If chunks of gur are still there,cook till all jaggery has melted & then add salt.

I tasted the chutni thus made & found that it was very sour.I added 1-2 tsp red chilli powder & mixed again .Then the taste was somewhat less sour.

The amount of red chilli powder or green chillies ,gur & salt depends on how sour the ghungaroo leaves are.Many times ,one may have to add more chillies or jaggery or salt or all three to make the chutni less sour or lessen the tanginess !

This dish is very rich in iron as it has jaggery as well. Jaggery is a rich source of iron as well.So this chutni has twin benefits of sorrel leaves & jaggery , both rich sources of iron .So this chutni has twin advantages of iron!

This is my #livogenironchef entry for the Iron Chef contest on IndiBlogger.

Mango lapsi sheera

My neighbour makes lapsi sheera with gur.Even my mom makes lapsi sweet - kheer consistency with sugar & jaggery mixture in equal parts.I checked out some recipes on net about mixing mango & lapsi & jaggery.I failed to get any such recipe.So I made up my own.I tried this earlier with different amounts of the ingredients & mango taste was unnoticeable.Hence ,in this second attempt ,I changed the quantities & was quite satisfied with the dish.

Ingredients : 1/2 cup thin lapsi rava,2.5-3 cups water, 1tbsp malai ( optional ),1 tbsp ghee,1/3 to 1/2 cup jaggery,1/3 cup mango puree ( I used Langda variety of Mango ),1 clove & 2 cardamoms ( peeled ),grated or thinly sliced 5-6 almonds for garnish.

Method : Roast lapsi rava on  a low flame in a kadhai  for 5 minutes.Add ghee & roast again.On another gas burner, keep water for boiling.Add malai, if using, into this water, so that it will get broken up ( I hate malai -so try to use it in dishes where I cannot make out taste of malai).

Now add jaggery & boling water to the lapsi rava & mix nicely .Cook it with a lid covering the kadhai..Keep removing the lid & mixing the contens in the kadhai every 2-3 minutes.Add powdered spice mixture ( 1 clove & 2 cardamom )to the kadhai .As the sheera thickens add ,the mango puree & mix.Cook it covered with lid.After 2-3 minutes,if it is done -mango puree has been absorbed,put off the gas.

Garnish with sliced almonds & serve.

The sweetness was just right.I was able to make out that mango had been added.If more sweetness is needed,one can use more jaggery or more of mango puree.

Pav bhaji cutlets

Yesterday , I made pav bhaji as my kid loves it.This is a good method to make fussy kids like my daughter consume all veggies which go into making pav bhaji.The pav bhaji turned out to be quite spicy.My kid ate sparingly.She added loads of Amul butter to the bhaji & consumed it.Still, a lot of bhaji was left.

I am going to eat it today as well.I had some pav buns-2 & some bread slice sides & corners in the refrigerator.I crumbled the bread slice corners & the 2 pav buns in the mixer & got it all powdered.Mixed this with left over pav bhaji & added some haldi etc & made cutlets.I ate them for nashta & gave them to my maids as well.They liked it.

Ingredients : 1 boiled potato,3-4 tbsp leftover pav bhaji,a few bread slice sides & corners -approximately half a cup,2 pav buns,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,1 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp grated ginger,1/2 tsp flax seed powder ( optional ) ,salt to taste.

Method : Crumble the bread slice sides &  corners & pav buns in mixer -grinder to get fine moist powder.Mash the boiled potato after peeling it .Add the mashed potato. Add the left over pav bhaji - I added 3 tbsps.Add haldi ,hing & salt.If you want to make it more healthy ,add 1/2 tsp falx seed powder as it is good fat.Add grated ginger & mix nicely.Keep aside.

Grease palms with a little oil & take a little of the pav bhaji -bun mixture kept aside & shape into flat circle.Similarly make more falt circles from the mixture.

Take a tawa & spread some oil on it.Put on the gas.Gently drop the flat patties on the tawa.After some time ( 2-3 minutes) ,turn the patties  upside down.They may have browned on the side they faced the tawa.After another 2-3 minutes,take them off the tawa.Serve with green chutni or tomato ketchup.

I ate my cutlets without any accompaniment as I felt ,they had all tastes in them.I got 9 cutlets-one was quite big.So approximately 10 small cutlets can be made with the amount of ingredients listed by me.Snap is taken after my binging of the cutlets-hence only 6 can be seen.

I did not add any red chilly powder or green chillies to my cutlet mix as my pav bhaji was quite spicy.If you love spicy food ,you may add as per your wish.

Surti Locha

I had been posted in Surat for quite some time & therein I ate dhoklas,khaman,locha etc.Locha is crumbled dhokla garnished with chopped raw onions,thin sev ,chutni etal It is like dhokla bhel .

I love dhoklas.I have made dhoklas before ( recipe @ http://vasusanchayah.blogspot.in/2011/08/dhoklas.html).Today ,I made them & they did not rise.They were just like solid steamed batter cakes.So I decided to make them into locha.

Ingredients : 2 plates of dhoklas( which have not risen & hence are not fluffy ) ,1tbsp oil,1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 green chilli -finely chopped,,a few curry leaves-chopped,1/4 tsp hing ,1/4 tsp haldi.

Garnish : Finely chopped onions,thin sev.

Method : I found that my dhoklas were not breaking with my hands- they were soft -so I broke them into 1inch chunks & put them in the mixie.I powdered the chunks.

Take oil in kadhai.Put on the gas.Put mustard seeds in the oil.After they have spluttered ,add the chopped curry leaves & the green chilli.Add hing & haldi.Now put the powdered dhoklas into the kadhai & fry for some time so that the mustard,curryleaves & green chillies are all nicely mixed with the dhoklas.Put off the gas.

Serve the locha with raw chopped onions & sev.My friend says even chutni -green or sweet can be added.

After you taste the locha,you will pray for the dhoklas to get spolit now & again .Locha tastes better than dhoklas !After all ,as one of my ex-colleague used to remark -nothing can beat the partnership of oil & besan !

Aloo -gobhi in pressure cooker.

Well, there is a joke, about any such mixed veggie dish-if it is aloo gobhi ,it has more potaoes less of cauliflower & if it is gobhi aloo ,it has more cauliflower & less of aloos. !

My vegetable recipe has no such standard.I just added aloo,gobhi ,tomato & some spices & pressure cooked it.

Ingredients : 1/4 kg cauliflower -cleaned & cut into medium sized florets,2-3 aloos -peeled & diced into big chunks,1 tomato,1/4 inch ginger -grated,1 green chilli -chopped in two -three pieces,2 tsp oil,1 tsp all spice powder ( garam  masala ) or a mixture of pepper,dhania & jeera powder,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 hing,salt to taste.

Method : Take oil in a kadhai & put it on the gas for cooking.As the oil gets warmer ,toss aloo chunks,grated ginger & green chilli.Shallow fry for 2-3 minutes.Add haldi & hing & mix all to enable haldi & hing to nicely coat the aloo pieces.Now put in the cauliflower florets & mix all veggies once again.Lastly add tomatoes,all spice powder & salt & nicely mix.Put off the gas.

Take all this veggie mix & transfer it into a vessel which can be fitted into the cooker.Sprinkle little water & mix all together.Pressure cook for two to three whistles.Check for the veggie after the cooker has cooled down.It will have cooked well.Mine had cooked after 2 whsitles.If not ,it can be cooked outside cooker or pressure cooked for 1 whistle.This method uses little oil.Water is sprinkled on the veggie so that florets don't get overcooked & aloo pieces get cooked.

Mango peach salsa with a twist.

I came across this easy salsa @ http://anjali-cooklog.blogspot.in/2012/05/desi-chatpata-mango-salsa.html

As I had some peaches & mangoes at home,I decided to make my own version of  salsa inspired by the desi salsa of Anjali.

Ingredients : 1 small ripe mango ( I had Neelam mango -any sweet mango can be used ),1 peach,1 tomato ,2-3 spring onion bulbs ( since I had them -I used them -ordinary onions can also be used ),1/4 tsp pepper powder,1/4tsp jeera powder, 1 tbsp thin sev ( used to garnish bhel puri,sev puri etc ),salt  to taste.

Method :Peel the mango & peach.For peach ,put the peach in lukewarm water & let it remain in water for 10 minutes.This will help in peeling peach.

Cut the mango ,peach,tomato & onions into 1/2 inch pieces.Mix all the cut veggies.Sprinkle pepper & jeera powder.Add salt to taste & mix all together.Now garnish with sev & serve.

It tasted awesome ! I added lots of sev after I had taken this snap & devoured it ! I did not have any chips or papad handy to accompany the salsa.Hence, added sev generously & gobbled it up !

Tips : One can add boiled potatoes,boiled mung or chana as well.One can add cucumbers, radishes,carrots also.One can add red chilli powder or chilli flakes ,oregano etc.It was tangy enough for me -the peach being on the sour side.Mango provided the sweetness,pepper provided pungent flavours.Even lemon juice  can be added to make it more  tangy.Honey can be added for extra sweetness.The options are unlimited !

This is very healthy & full of fibre.What more can I ask for ? !

Mango Malai Kulfi

I started collecting malai off the milk on a daily basis n freezing it.My purpose was to make mango ice cream -better than my last attempt.I made it & served to my maid to learn about her opinion.She said that it tasted like kulfi.That's when I decided to put the ice cream into kulfi moulds presented by my bhabhi ( at last I used them ) . That's how I came to name this dish as Malai mango kulfi !

Ingredients : Frozen malai off ( removed )  from 15 days milk( I buy less fat milk -so hardly any malai is recoverable -every time I heat milk& cool it ,whatever malai comes ,I collect & freeze it ).This malai was approximately 1 cup,1/2 cup white granulated sugar,1/2 -1 cup mango puree from 1 kesar mango ( any mango can be used - Happus,dussehari etc ).

Method : Remove the frozen cream from the refrigerator .After it has achieved room temperature,pour the cream in mixie & run the mixie to get a smooth frothy milky liquid.Now add mango puree & sugar & again blend all into a smoothie.

Now pour this into a freezer box - any airtight box & freeze it.I did this in the night.Next morning ,I removed it & after it had melted,poured into mixer & blended it gain.Repeat freezing.Do this,de freezing ,blending & re freezing three to four times.

Then pour the blended smoothie into kulfi moulds & freeze again.After 4 hours ,remove from refrigeration.Let 5 minutes pass,then remove kulfi from mould & enjoy !

I read on Tarla Dalal's website that after removing kulfi moulds,five minutes must pass before the kulfi comes out on the kulfi stick.If we try this as soon as we remove the kulfis from the refrigerator,then ,only the kulfi sticks come out without kulfis.

My recipe is imperfect -one can notice that kulfis have started melting in the snap.I promise to better the recipe next time around.

Soya cutlets with peanuts powder.

I had some soya chunks & did not find any use for them.I chanced upon this recipe @http://www.sharmispassions.com/2012/01/soya-chunks-cutlet-recipe.html.I wanted to try this out.I tried & they turned out quite nicely.I rolled the cutlets on peanut powder & put them on non stick tawa.The peanut powder release oil & the cutlets got cooked !I had read about this peanut powder technique in an interview by a nutritionist ,Ms.Venkat.

Ingredients : 3/4 cup soya chunks,2 medium sized poataoes,1 small carrot ,1 green chilli,1 sprig of curry leaves,1/2 inch ginger,1/2 tsp dhana jeera powder,1/4 tsp red chilli powder,1/4 tsp hing,1/4 tsp haldi,1 tsp lemon juice,salt to taste,4-5 tbsp peanut powder,1-2 tsp oil for greasing hands to make cutlets.

Method : Pressure cook potatoes & peel them.Keep aside.Pressure cook soya chunks for 1 whistle with 1 cup water.After cooling them a bit outside the pressure cooker,squeeze the soya chunks to remove excess water.Grate carrot & ginger.Chop finely the green chilly & curry leaves.

Mash potatoes,soya chunks nicely & mix.Add haldi,hing, finely chopped green chilly, grated ginger,carrot & thoroughly mix them.Now add lemon juice,red chilli powder ,dhana jeera powder & mix nicely.It will become a unified mass.

Grease hands with little oil & take abll of the mass & pat it into flat shape - round or oval.Roll it in peanut powder such that it is coated on all sides with it.Put it on a non stick tawa & shallow fry it.After 2-3 minutes ,turn it upside down & shallow fry on the other side.

Repeat till all the mass of potatoes,soya mix gets over.I was able to make 15-20 small cutlets.I liked the taste.

After pressure cooking soya chunks ,please run water on soya chunks to get rid of soya taste as per Sharmi of Sharmis Passions.

Eggless Pear Upside down cake

I wanted to make this cake from the day I glanced at  gluten free version of pear cake on  "My diverse kitchen" .I finally brought one single pear & made this cake a week ago.It turned out too good to my surprise !

I was inspired by http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.in/2011/01/eggless-pear-oats-upside-down-cake.html

I changed the recipe a bit.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup jowar atta,1/4 cup raagi atta,1/4 cup oats,a little less than 1/4 cup maida & another little less than 1/4 cup corn flour,1/2 tsp baking soda,1/2 tsp baking powder,a pinch of salt,1/2-3/4 cup jaggery sugar ( I have given this amount as little more than 1/2 cup was enough for my taste),1/2 cup dahi or curds,1/2 cup boiled water,1/4 cup oil,2tsp vinegar ( I used simple colouless vinegar as I don't have apple cider vinegar).

Method : Mix all the dry flours together in a bowl.Add baking soda ,baking powder & salt to the flour mix & mix nicely with spoon or fork many times.Keep aside.

Mix curds,oil,vinegar & sugar in another bowl..Dissolve sugar so that no lumps of sugar remain.Make aeell in the flour mix & pour the liquid mix of oil,vinegar & curds.Mix nicely.Now add boiled water till no lumps remain & a drop down consistency batter is obtained.Keep aside.

Take a microwaveable vessel & line it with butter paper.Place thinly cut slices of pear on the butter paper in any pattern that you like.Pour the batter over the pear slices.Bake in microwave for 8-9 minutes.My cake came out perfect in 8.5 minutes.

Let it cool in microwave for 10 minutes.Then take out the cake & let it cool for 15 minutes.Then put the microwaveable vessel with cake upside down on to a plate.The cake will drop down on plate.Check if the cake has cooled. Then cut into desired pieces &  serve.

My cake was little crumbly -so next time around ,I will put only 1 tbsp of corn atta.