Palak Coriander Pulav

A spicy "chutney pulao" for Sunday lunch.. You can replace palak with mint, as a variation..


Ingredients:
Basmati rice 1 cup
Palak(Spinach) 1/2 cup
Corinder leaves 1/2 cup
Green chillies 4
Ginger 1″ piece
Garlic 4-5
Lemon juice 2 tbl spns
Sugar 1 tea spn
Coconut 2 tbl spns
Garam masala 1/2 tea spn
Bay leaves 2
Cloves 3
Cinnamon 1″ stick
Cardamom 2Ghee/oil 1 tbl spn
Onion 1 big
Vegetables(Green beans, carrot, peas, cauliflower) 1 cup
Salt

Method:

Grind together palak, coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, coconut, sugar and garam masala without adding much water (If required, only a little water can be added).

Heat ghee, add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, garlic. Fry for a minute. Add onion and fry till they turn slightly brown in color.

Add vegetables and the paste, fry for 5min. Add rice, toss and add one cup of water, salt and close the lid. Let it cook till one whistle.

Can be served with Onion raita.

Kariveppilai Milagu Kuzhambu

My favourite Kariveppilai Milagu Kuzhambu.. Nothing to beat this combination with hot rice, lots of ghee and pappadam!

Ingredients :

Kariveppilai – 2 cups ( leaves to be discarded from stems)
Red Chillies (Long) – 5
Pepper – 2 tsp
Jeera – 2 tsp
Gingelly Oil – 4 tblsp
Tamarind – 1 small ball
Garlic Pods – 2 /3
Salt
Sugar
Perungayam
Roasted Pepper – Jeera Powder – 1-2 tsp

Heat 2 tbsp of gingelly oil, add the red chillies, pepper, Jeera, fry well and then add Karuveppilai leaves.

Add tamarind ball, little salt, perungayam, garlic pods and sprinkle some water. Cook covered on a low flame for about 3-4 mins, till the leaves become soft.

When Cool, grind this mixture nicely adding little water. Once again, heat oil, splutter mustard and jeera and add this ground mixture. On a medium flame, cook this covered until the oil separates from the mixture. Check for salt, add sugar, a little perungayam and then finally add the roasted pepper – jeera powder.

The mixture would be more or less like chutney and can be bottled and stored in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Chole Nawabi

This receipe is adapted from an old magazine and been perfected and fine tuned...Just follow the measures and you'll breeze through.. You'll have the best and yummiest chole, cooked nice and soft with the right amount of masalas coated.. Try this and you will never go wrong with the pressure cooked Chole Nawabi..

Ingredients :

1/4 kg of Kabuli Channa (pre-soaked in water for 6-7 hours)

Onions (big) - 2 (finely chopped)

Tomatoes (big) - 3 (chopped)

2 tbsp corainder leaves, 6-7 mint leaves

1 tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp ghee

1.5 cup of water, salt to taste

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp - red chilli powder

lemon juice - 1 tsp

Masala : (to be pounded coarsely)

Ginger piece - 2 " piece

Garlic - 3

Green chilli - 1

3 bay leaves

3 cloves

1 tsp garam masala

Method :

1. Heat the pressure cooker pan. Add the oil and ghee.

2. Add the cumin seeds, fry till they splutter and then add the coarsely pounded masala.

2. Add the diced onions, fry till light brown. Add the tomatoes and saute for a minute.

3. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.

4. Add the kabuli channa, water and close the pressure cooker.

5. Put the pressure cooker weight on and leave to cook till about 15 whistles. Reduce the flame after 6-7 whistles.

6. After it is done, check whether the coating is thick enough.. if its a little watery, then pressure cook for some more time (Its worth the effort, you see!)

7. Once its done, transfer the chole nawabi in to a serving bowl, garnish with coriander and mint leaves, onion rings and lemon pieces. (alternatively add lemon juice)..

Your finger licking chole nawabi is ready to be served with puris or bhatura!

Strawberry-Muesli Power Drink

No No, its not Complan or Boost! My version of power drink! Made out of Muesli - the breakfast cereal with oats and dry fruits and nuts, Strawberry preserve, chilled milk and honey, for extra
sweetness..


Ingredients :

Muesli
Strawberry Preserve - 2 table spoon
(I used Karen Anand's preserves (available at Nuts and Spices).. yummy!)
Chilled milk
Honey

Method: In a blender just run through all these ingredients just for 2-3 rounds.

Your breakfast is ready!

Crispy Baby Corn Fritters

Yummy baby corn crispies, goes well with fried rice! This was last weekend's creative output!

I was too lazy to make the original sweet chilli dip to go with the fritters. So I just took out the Schezuan ready made stir fry, sauteed in a hot oil (about 1 tsp of oil) for less than a minute, and mixed 2 tsp of sweet chilli sauce and my lip smacking dip was ready!

For the coating batter for baby corn, instead of maida, you could also try out with corn flour.. but make sure its served hot!


Baby Corn - 1 cup (sliced lengthwise)
1 tablespoon maida
Ajinomoto - A Pinch
1 tablespoons, garlic finely chopped
1 tsp, fresh red chillies, finely chopped
Green chilli paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Lemoneez - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Add little water to maida and add all the rest of the ingredients.
2. The coating should not be too thick (Nor too thin)
3. In a pan, heat the oil, fry the baby corn fritters.
4. Serve hot immediately with a sweet chilli dip (Schezuan Sauce Stir Fry + Sweet chilli sauce)