Sprouted masoor curry

I came across this interesting masoor recipe @ http://sindhirasoi.com/2008/08/25/masoor-daal/I made some changes.I soaked whole masoor overnight.Next day ,I threw the water.I covered the masoor with a plate & let it sprout.The next day.,Masoor had sprouted roots.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup sprouted masoor, 1/4 tsp ajwain, 1/4 inch ginger,1 onion, 1 tomato, 1 green chilli, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1 tsp garam masala powder,1tbsp oil,1/2 tsp haldi ,1/4 tsp hing, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook sprouted masoor.Keep aside.

Chop tomato ,onion ,green chillies & ginger.Add curry leaves.Grind all the veggies -tomato ,onion,green chilly,ginger & curry leaves into  a paste in the mixer.

Take a kadhai.Add oil.Warm the oil.Add garam masala .Now add the ground paste of tomato onion,curry leaves,green chilyginger to the kadhai.Mix nicely.Now add haldi,hing & slat.Add the cooked sprouted masoor to the kadhai .Add ajwain & salt .Mix.Put off the gas.

Now take another vessel & pour this mixture in it.Pressure cook for two whistles.After the cooker has cooled,the masoor can be relished.

Cabbage beans kootu

My friend has been making kootu for quite some time.Almost once every week.I asked her for the recipe & made it myself one day.It was liked by all.I mixed tur & moong dal in equal ratio.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup moong dal ,1/4 cup tur dal, 1/2 cup chopped cabbage, 1/4 cup beans cut in 1/2 inch pieces,1-2 green chillies,1 spring of kadipatta( curry leaves ),1 tsp cumin or jeera,3-4 peppercorns,1/4 tsp haldi ,1/4 tsp hing,salt to taste

Method : Wash moong & tur dal & add the cabbage & beans to it.Add water,haldi & hing  to this mixture & pressure cook for two whistles.Then lower the flame & cook on slow gas for 5-10 minutes.Let the cooker cool.

In the mixer ,grind  coconut,green chillies,peppercorns,kadipatta & jeera till it becomes a coarse powder.One can opt to make it into fine powder.I prefer little coarse.Keep aside.

Take the dal mix with the veggies into another vessel & add the ground mixture to it.Add salt.Bring this whole mixture to a boil on the gas.The kootu is ready.It is good for rotis as also rice.

Optional : One can make seasoning of oil ,mustard seeds & red chillies to add to the kootu.I prefer kootu without seasoning as cumin,coconut & other spices are already part of the kootu.

Optional Tip : I added vagar of mustard seeds, urad dal & byadgi mirchi to the kootu though it tastes well without vagar.That is how , in the snap above, the byadgi mirchi seems to be peeping out from the kootu in the katori.

Doodhi halwa

I had brought doodhi last week & still had not used it.I also had cream in the freezer- home cream - I remove malai from milk & keep it in a box in the freezer for 9-10 days at a stretch.I thought of making doodhi halwa like gajar halwa.

I googled for the recipe &  was inspired by this recipe at vah re vah !

Ingredients : 1 cup peeled & grated doodhi( bottle gourd ),1/2 cup frozen malai, 1tsp ghee ( optional ),1/2 cup sugar,5-6 almonds -grated or finely chopped.

Method : Clean the doodhi & peel it.Grate the doodhi.Remove the malai from the freezer.Let it attain room temperature.

Take a kadhai & put  on gas.Gas must be on slow burner.Let it warm.Pour the malai on to the kadhai & now put the grated doodhi on to it.Mix both the malai & doodhi nicely.Cook the mix in the kadhai -covering the kadhai with a lid.After 5-6 minutes,uncover the kadhai & mix the contents with spoon.Cover with lid & let it cook again.Repeat this 3-4 times.By this time,doodhi & malai would have mixed nicely & got cooked.Now add sugar.Mix nicely.Cover with lid & let it cook.After 5-6 minutes,uncover the lid  & mix nicely.Repeat once more.By this time ,all water would have evaporated.Add a tsp ghee & mix nicely.It will give a nice aroma to the halwa. Put off the gas.

Serve the halwa garnished with grated almonds or finely chopped almonds.I garnish with almonds as my kid does not like any dry fruits in halwa.Alternately,one can fry dry fruits like chopped almonds,cashews in ghee & add them to the halwa.

Pasta

My kid loves this red tomato pasta my neighbour prepares for her kid.She knows that my daughter loves it & shares it most of the times.I tried it once & it was just edible.This time ,I tried harder & it turned out very good- more so, because I used Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive oil.

Ingredients : 1 cup  penne pasta,2 tbsp ready tomato   pasta sauce, 1 tbsp tomato ketchup,1tsp oregano flakes,, 1 tsp chilli flakes,2 tbsp Del monte Extra Virgin Oil, 1 Cube of Amul cheese, salt to taste.

Method : Take a vessel & boil some water in it.Add salt to taste. Put penne pasta & let it get cooked till the pasta gets soft.Put off the gas.Drain the water.Add 1 tbsp Del Monte Extra Virgin Oil to the cooked pasta & toss we;l.This will make the oil coat all the pasta.Keep aside.

In another vessel ,take the ready pasta sauce & cook it on slow flame.Add tomato ketchup & mix with the sauce getting cooked.After the mix has boiled,add the cooked pasta to it Mix nicely.Now grate the cube of cheese on to the pasta sauce mix.Mix.Add oregano & chilli flakes.Put off the gas & mix nicely.Now add 1 tbsp of Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the ready pasta & toss it well .

The pasta is ready to be savoured !

Be extremely careful while adding salt.I added salt only while pasta  was getting cooked.Later ,I avoided adding salt as ketchup has salt in it & even the cube cheese has salt in it.

This is my second entry for the Del Monte Blogger  Recipe Carnival on IndiBlogger.Please share your recipes too to win exciting prizes in this contest !

Colorful salad

I love salads as they are quick to make & highly healthy ! Making a salad does not require any cooking skill.

For the The Del Monte Blogger Recipe Carnival on IndiBlogger,I thought ,the Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive oil would be the perfect choice.And I was right !

Ingredients : 1 small beet root, 1 small potato,1 small carrot, 1 small cucumber,1/2 green capsicum,1/2 onion,1/2-1 tbsp Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive oil,1/4 tsp oregano ,salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook beet root ,carrot & potato in the pressure cooker.Put off the gas & let the cooker cool.Take out the potato,beetroot & carrot & peel them.Cut them into small chunks.Keep aside.

Wash cucumber ,capsicum & onion.Peel cucumber & cut into chunks.Chop capsicum & onion also into chunks.

Mix all the veggies in a glass bowl- the cooked as well as the raw ones.Add 1/2 to 1 tbsp Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive oil & mix so that the Del Monte  Extra Virgin Olive oil is coated on all the veggie chunks. Add 1/4 tsp oregano spice powder - it is like bits of leafy flakes.Add salt to taste & mix again so that salt & oregano coat all the veggies.

I ate the salad just like that - in fact ,if I had made more ,I could just have the salad for a meal ! The Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive Oil just adds the right amount of dressing to the salad.Even my daughter, who makes a face at many of the veggies loved the salad !

Capsicum sabzi with besan

This is a very dry sabzi  that can be made very quickly.And hence apt for dabbas to office, college, travel etal .It is very tasty as well ! This sabzi type is called pheet pherun bhaaji in Marathi  ( pheet meaning  atta ,pherun meaning mixed & bhaji meaning sabzi ).

Ingredients : 2 medium sized capsicums -finely chopped, 1 medium sized onion finely chopped, 1 tbsp besan,1 tbsp oil,1tsp jeera , 1/2 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder,salt to taste.

Method : Dry roast the besan in kadhai without any oil till it slightly changes colour. Keep aside by taking out the besan in a plate.

In the kadhai ,put oil & warm it on gas.Put jeera into the oil.When jeera pops up,add hing & haldi.Then add chopped onions & saute till the onions  turn transluscent.Now add chopped capsicum & saute .Cover kadhai with a lid Let it cook for five minutes .Add salt & mix well.Let it cook covered with lid for a minute.Next add red chilli powder & mix.Let it cook for another minute.Now add the besan & mix.Let it cook for 1-2 minutes covered with a lid.

To add tanginess,a slice of lemon can be squeezed & mixed with the sabzi.

Then put off the gas.The sabzi is ready.Serve with chapatis.This sabzi can be made by using finely chopped bhindis or even finely chopped spring onion shoots in place of capsicum.

I can eat this sabzi just like that -I don't even need rotis !