Gobi Matar

Gobi Matar

Gobi Matar is a side dish which I often make these days for roti. Its winter time and you can start your innovations with the seasonal veggies. Gobi or the cauli flower is rich in nutrients, anti-oxidants and is low in calorie. The very tiny vegetable, green peas is also rich in vitamins, nutrients, folic acid and anti-oxidants. The goodness of both of these are combined together to form a very healthy dish.

Basic info abt the recipe

Cuisine                                                    - North Indian

Serves                                                     - 2-3 people.

Ingredients

1.  Cauli flower                                     - 400 gms

2.  Green peas                                     - 100 gms

3.  Onion                                               - 1 large

4.  Tomato                                            - 1 large

5.  Ginger-garlic paste                          - 1 tsp

6.  Turmeric powder                             - ¼ tsp

7.  Red chilli powder                             - 1 tsp

8.  Coriander powder                            - 1-1.5 tsp

9.  Hing                                                 - a pinch

10.              Jeera powder                          - ¼ tsp

11.              Salt                                          - to taste

12.              Oil                                            - 3 tsp

13.              Coriander leaves                     - 5-6 sprigs

Method: clean, wash and dip the florets of gobi to boiled water with a pinch of salt added to it for 5-7mts.

Heat 2 tsps of oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic paste and onion and fry till golden brown.

Add tomato and fry till done. Add all the powders and fry till the oil separates.

Add cauli flower and green peas and mix together. Cover with a lid till it cooks. Stir in between.

Open the lid add coriander leaves and the remaining oil and fry till the moisture dries up.

Gobi matar is now ready to serve.

Note: you can use fresh/frozen peas.

You can also add garam masala along with the coriander leaves.

Mirch Pakoda

Mirch pakoda is called mulaku bhajji in Kerala. It is a popular street food. I am a big fan of mirch pakoda. Imagine, it is raining outside and you are having hot hot mirch pakodas. Wow!

Ingredients:

1.  Big Size chilli                           - 10nos

2.  Besan                                      - 2 cups

3.  Turmeric powder                     - 1 tsp

4.  Salt                                          - to taste

5.  Coriander powder                    - 4-5 tsp

6.  Oil                                            - for frying

7.  Hing                                         - a pinch

8.  Water                                       - as required.

Method: Slit one side of the chilli till the middle with a knife in order to deseed them. Take out the seeds carefully with the knife without tearing them.

Take ½ tsp of turmeric powder, salt and coriander powder and make a paste adding water. Fill this mixture to the deseeded portion of the chillies and keep aside for 10 mts.

Make a thick dosa-like batter with besan, turmeric powder, salt and hing.

Dip the chillies in this batter and drop them to the hot oil.

Flip all the sides so as to cook evenly. Transfer to a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil and serve hot.

Microwave Bread Cake

Bread Cake

Different varieties of cakes are available in market nowadays. Whether it is a birthday party, a New Year party or an anniversary, cake is a must. Imagine a home-made delicious healthy cake on any of these occasions just to make it a little more special. I am talking about a very easy to make microwave bread cake. In today’s health conscious world if you can bake a cake without maida and butter, that’s really wonderful. You have your own options in selecting your kind of bread.

Ingredients 

Brown bread                                            - 7 pcs

Baking powder                                        - 1 tsp

Vanilla essence                                       - 5-6 drops

Eggs                                                        - 2 nos

Milk                                                          - 1 tbsp

Oil                                                            - 5-6 tsp

Ghee                                                       - 2 tsp

Castor sugar                                            - 1 cup

Method:- grind the bread pieces to a fine powder. Add baking powder, mix well and keep aside.

In a bowl, microwave the ghee and oil together for a minute. Add castor sugar and beat thoroughly. Add eggs and repeat the process.If you have a hand mixer, you can use it. Otherwise, you can mix with a spoon, whisk or spatula. Add vanilla essence to this. Add the bread to this mixture and mix well. To make it a cake consistency, add milk and mix well again. 

Transfer the cake batter to a greased microwave bowl. You can grease the bowl with oil, butter or ghee. Once filled, lightly tap them on the counter to prevent air bubbles from making holes in the baked cake.

 

Microwave on high for 7-8 mts and your cake is ready. Allow the cake to rest for about 10mts after removing from microwave.

Notes: instead of oil and ghee, you can use 100gms of butter.

You can use any kind of bread, a normal white bread, atta bread, brown bread or multigrain.

You can add dry fruits to the cake.

Capsicum Corn Masala

Lot of experiments can be made with capsicum. Capsicum corn masala is one such recipe. It can be prepared in two ways. One is a semi-thick gravy adding cashew nut paste, cream etc which is the restaurant style, and the other is a simple dry dish that we make at home on a daily basis. The dry one is low in calories and is a healthier option. It goes well with roti.

Basic info about the recipe

Cuisine                                                                        - North Indian

Serves                                                                         - 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

1.   Green capsicum                                       - 3 large

2.   Sweet corn                                               - 1 cup

3.   Onion                                                        - 1 large

4.   Tomato                                                     - 2 medium

5.   Ginger-garlic paste                                 - 1 tsp

6.   Cumin seeds                                           - ½ tsp

7.   Oil                                                             - 2 tsp

8.   Turmeric powder                                     - ½ tsp

9.   Red chilli powder                                     - 1 tsp

10.                       Coriander powder                          - 2 tsp

11.                       Veg masala                                    - 1 tsp

12.                       Salt                                                 - to taste

Method: boil sweet corn, drain the excess water and keep aside.

Clean, wash , de-seed and cut the capsicum into cubes.

Chop the onion and tomatoes.

Heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds. Add onion and fry till golden brown.

Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till it becomes tender.

Now, add all the powders and fry till the raw smell disappears.

Add the capsicums and cook till done.

Add salt and boiled corn and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid for a minute so that all the flavors combine together.

Open the lid, stir and serve hot.

Coconut Chutney

Chutneys are great accompaniment with almost all breakfast items and snacks. Different varieties of chutneys can be made. Coconut chutney goes well with idli, dosa, upma and vada.     

Ingredients

          1.Coconut(grated/scraped)   - ½

          2. Ginger                                - a small piece

          3. green chillies                      - 2

          4. Salt                                     - to taste

          5.Water                                   - for grinding

          6. Coconut oil                        - 2 tsp

          7. Curry leaves                      - 6-7

          8. Dry red chilli                       - 1

          9. Mustard seeds                            - ½ tsp

Method: Grind together  coconut , ginger( cut into small cubes) , green chillies and salt with sufficient water and transfer the contents to a bowl.

 Keep a pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add  mustard seeds and wait to splutter. Then add curry leaves and dry chilli and pour over the chutney.

Mix well. Chutney is now ready to be served.

           

           

Semiya Egg Pulao

Semiya was used in the past only for making payasam or kheer. Now a days, we use it for making upma, biriyani, pulao or even as an outside coating for some deep fried stuff. This pulao is best when you are interested in having a light meal.

Basic info about the recipe

Cuisine                                                     - South Indian

Serves                                                      - 2 people

Ingredients:

1.   Roasted semiya                            - 1 cup

2.   Oil                                          - 3 tsp

3.   Water                                     - 2 cups

4.   Salt                                        - to taste

5.   Egg                                        - 3 nos

6.   Onion                                    - 1 medium

7.   Tomato                                  - 1 medium

8.   Green chilli                            - 2 nos

9.   Ginger-garlic paste              - 1 tsp

10.                       Garam masala       - 1 tsp

Method:  boil the roasted semiya adding water, salt and a tsp of oil. Drain the excess water when cooked and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add onion, tomato, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and fry till golden brown.

Add the eggs  and salt and mix well to make a scramble.

Add the cooked semiya and mix well. Sprinkle some garam masala on top and serve.

Note: Alternatively, after step 2 you can add water and bring to a boil. Add the roasted vermicelli and mix well. Add eggs and cook till the semiya and

eggs are cooked and the dish is completely dry.

Coriander Coconut Sandwich

Sandwiches need no introduction. Be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or travel, sandwich is the best option. Different varieties of sandwiches can be made depending upon your creativity. Here is a simple sandwich with coriander and coconut. I have been eating this since my school days. It is a healthy option as there is no usage of ghee or oil.

Basic info about the recipe

Cuisine                                                               - South Indian

Serves                                                               - 2 people.

Ingredients:

1.   Bread slices                                   - 4 nos

2.   Coconut                                          - half a coconut.

3.   Coriander leaves                           - few sprigs

4.   Green chilli                                     - 2 nos

5.   Tomato                                           - 1 large

6.   Cucumber                                       - 1 no:

7.   Salt                                                  - to taste

8.   Pepper powder                              - a pinch

Method:  grind together the grated coconut, coriander leaves, green chilli and salt( adding water) to make a chutney.

Cut the tomato and cucumber and sprinkle some salt and pepper powder on it.

Cut the edges of the bread slices and apply the coriander coconut chutney to the bread. Top it with the sliced tomato and cucumber and cover with another slice of bread spread with the chutney.

Cut it diagonally and serve.