SESAME CHILLY POTATOES

Its actually been a while since i last posted a recipe.........I can not think of any intros......I have typed and deleted atleast five times............finally I give up.

made this dish for an indian chinese dinner that I made on friday.

As I was making this dish,I remembered the A.W.E.D with theme chinese, hosted by Culinary Bazaar. It fit perfectly. I am sending it in.

I made this using a stir fry sauce that I had bought from Trader Joe's (a speciality store). it did the trick. I was amazed how good it tasted. Served it along with vegetable manchurian, fried rice and hakka noodles.

here is the recipe

You will need

• potatoes- 4
• onions (sliced)- 1
• bell peppers (sliced)- 1/2
• garlic (finally chopped)- 1 tsp
• sesame seeds- 1 tsp
• whole red chilly- 2-3
• stir fry sauce- 1 tbsp
• chilly sauce- 1 tsp
• soy sauce- 1/2 tsp
• tomato sauce- 1 tsp
• salt and pepper - to taste
• ajinomoto- a pinch (this is optional)
• oil

You have to

1. cut potatoes into long slices and fry them. drain excess oil.
2. to make the potatoes crisper, after frying I baked them in the oven for 10- 15 mins.
3. heat oil in a pan. add the sesame seeds, whole red chilly and garlic. saute.
4. add onions and fry them till soft. add the bell peppers. cook.
5. add soy sauce, chilly sauce and tomato sauce. along with salt, pepper, sugar and ajinomoto.
6. add the potatoes. mix everything.
7. add the stir fry sauce and cook.
8. add very littler water, to get all the sauces together and coat the potatoes.
9. dish out and garnish with spring onions.

enjoy.

ITS MY FIRST

It has been past overdue now.......I wanted to do this the day it happened. My first blog award!!!!!!!!!I was pleasantly surprised, when Uma, of Essence of Andhra passed on the yummy blog award to me.
thanks a lot Uma, it sure is encouraging.
"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos"

wowow, so my blog has the most yummy recipes / photos. that is great. well as per the rules I have to choose yummy-licious dessert(s) I have prepared or eaten. well my all time favourite would be TIRAMISU. though I have not yet tried making it myself, but I simply love it.

I started this blog, out of boredom. I came here to the US, from India after I got married. not able to work, I had to find a way to keep myself busy. and cooking was something I have always enjoyed. so the blog bug bit me and I ventured out. Initially I was not very regular and did not know much about the technicalities (which I still can't figure out, a few times). but now I am in the groove.
Now when I don't update my blog, or check out all the others, I feel I am missing out on all the fun. specially after knowing such wonderful people around the blog world.
It wont be fair to mention names, cause I will not be able to recollect all my blogger friends and I do not want to miss out on any. thanks guys for dropping by and leaving all your wonderful comments.

so that is that. I don't want to go on writing any more, knowing that I have not posted any recipes from the past three blog posts. after all, I have to live up to my award!!!!!!!

thanks Uma once again

I have to get cracking and send this award to four other bloggers. I would be doing that soon.Till then
happy eating.

COCOLA - FRENCH BAKERY

Anything which has the word cocoa or chocolate in it, makes me want it. I dont know how, but I have not seen or heard any one who doesn't like chocolate. so this chocolate sweet tooth of mine, often guides me to check out pastry shops, bakerys and dessert cafes where ever I go.

This time it was in SANTANA ROW, a place in san jose.

We were visiting san jose and fremont over the weekend for a grad party. the party got over sunday evening and we decided to take it easy the rest of the evening. so we went to this amazing area called SANTAANA ROW. An upscale place, with lots of nice eating joints, expensive shopping and good looking people.

strolling along the street, we spotted COCOLA a french bakery. And offcourse the mention of cocoa and bakery..........oh ya, we sure went right inside.

the huge crowd, both indside and outside, with a huge line to order and no seats to sit, told us that this place is indeed a famous with locals as well as tourists.

huge selection of macaroons, pastries, cakes......it all looked so delicious. Rows of breads, danish, crossiants looked fresh and straight from the oven.

we tried the banana crunch and the tiramisu. The banana crunch was pretty good. But the tiramisu did not make me go carzy over it. We tried the crossiant, which was, I should say very flaky and fresh.

Overall a nice place to chill with friends and feed your sweet tooth. They had variety of sandwiches too. Probably the next time I would try them out.

I liked the place and its chilled out ambeince. A good discovery I would say.

for more details check out http://www.santanarow.com/dining/?id=23

MENU TIME

So this weekend came and went by so qucikly, that it felt as if we skipped it altogether. Even more so, because we got up really eary on both saturday and sunday. thanks to a graduating party we attended up in san fransisco.
my husbands uncle stays in fremont and it was his daughters high school graduation party. it was good fun. we came back to san diego, monday morning (we had to board at six thirty in the morning...............!!!!!!!!!!!!).
as soon as we reached home, i realised that i had to cook tiffin for two people. I was tired, there was nothing much that was there in the fridge and all I wanted to do is sleep. my husband left for work, and I simply hit the bed. a nap for a couple of hours rejuvenated me and I began to plan the menu. Nothing fancy,simple indian food.
Hence no pictures were taken. but none the less recipe request are more than welcome.
as per the norm, here is m y menu.

Mon : aloo gobi with chana ki dal

tue: pattagobi mutter with moog masur ki dal

wed: gujarati pulao with tomato kadi

thu: aloo parantha with mixed raita

fri : lobiya curry (black eyed peas) with onions and bell pepper fry

enjoy
more to come.

SWEET BELL PEPPER PULAO

I made this for the Thursday menu. I got this recipe from a book (the name of which i do not remember). Now when I think about it, this could have been an entry for the bell pepper event that was hosted by pooja.
but that's ok.
the original recipe was that of a biryani, but I altered it to a pulao. I feel the flavours would get more enhanced, if the rice was mixed with the masala, rather than being layered. but you'll can try it both ways.

here is the recipe
You will need

• rice (cooked)- 1 cup
• bell peppers (cut into thin strips)- 2-3 (all of different colours)
• tomato (cut length wise)- 1
• onion (sliced)- 1
• ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
• green chillies- 1/2 tsp

for the dry masala

• cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• whole red chillies- 1
• bay leaves (tej patta)- 2
• red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• biryani masala (any brand, I used everest)- 1 tbsp
• salt- to taste
• oil and ghee- 1- 1, 1/2 tbsp

You have to

1. heat the oil and ghee together in a pan.
2. add the cumin seeds along with the red chilly and tej patta.
3. add the ginger garlic paste along with the green chillies.
4. saute. now add the sliced onion. cook till onions turn transparent.
5. add the tomatoes, and cook.
6. now add the bell peppers. add salt and red chilly powder.
7. cook till bell peppers become tender.
8. add half of the biryani masala. mix everything up.
9. add the cooked rice and nicely mix it with the masala.
10. add the rest of the biryani masala. mix well
11. turn down the heat, and cover and cook for 5 mins.
12. turn the heat off, and leave it covered for sometime.
13. serve hot with raita, or any curried vegetable.

if you want to make it as a biryani. then follow the steps below

1. after adding the bell peppers, add all the biryani masala.
2. mix everything up.
3. take a oven proof dish. grease it with butter, ghee or oil.
4. spoon a little of the bell pepper mixture at the bottom, then add rice.
5. sprinkle a little saffron soaked in milk.
6. repeat the layers ending with rice on top.
7. cover with foil and let it cook, in a preheated oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, for 20-30 mins.
8. serve.

happy eating.

PANEER TIKKA MASALA

This recipe is from the first day of my menu. My husband loves paneer, so each time I make a different variety of it. Back in India, the choices for paneer dishes are endless, but the "tikka", or grilled paneer, takes the cake. specially in north India, where the paneer is barbecued, on skewers, inside hot tandoors. the charred flavour, along with all the spices, simply makes the whole dish irresistible, (even for a lot of non-vegetarians).

we don't have a grill, or a barbecue at home, so I sometimes make it in the oven, but it just doesn't taste the same. this time however, all my basic preparation was same, the only change was, that I sauteed it all in a pan.

It tastes really yummy. we had it with regular chapatis, but one can have it with flavoured naans, or make it a stuffing for khattis rolls etc.

This recipe will be my entry to Eat healthy- protein rich contest, hosted by sangeeth of art of cooking indian food.

here is the recipe.

you will need

for the marinade

• curd- 1 cup
• cream- 1/2 cup
• ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
• green chillies chopped- 1 tsp
• red chilly power- 1/2 tsp
• haldi powder- 1/2 tsp
• sugar- 1/4th tsp
• amchoor powder (dry mango powder)- 1/4th tsp
• garam masala powder- 1 tsp
• shahi paneer masala (optional)- 1 tsp.
• dry kasoori meethi- 1 tbsp
• salt - to taste
• paneer (cut into squares)- 500 gms
• green bell peppers (cut into squares)- 2
• onions (cut into squares)- 1 big
• tomato (cut into squares)- 2
• oil
• cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

You have to

1. in a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the marinade. check for salt. adjust seasoning.
2. add all the cut vegetables along with the paneer to the marinade.
3. cover and refrigerate. this can be done overnight too. give it at least 3 hours to marinade.
4. heat oil in a pan.
5. add the cumin seeds.
6. add the entire marinated paneer, along with the marinade to the pan.
7. cook covered for ten to fifteen mins,till bell peppers soften.
8. cook uncovered till the gravy begins to dry.
9. adjust seasoning.
10. empty out contents in a bowl.
11. serve hot with paranthas, naans, kulchas.

note: this made four servings of paneer,approximately one cup.

the approximate protein content of this dish, per serving would be close to 30 gms. (taking into consideration the use of curd and cream.) this is completely an approximate value.

if you have a grill or barbe que, skewer the paneer and the veggies, and grill them.

an excellent snack.

enjoy

MENU TIME

Yuhooo, its Tuesday. The day of the week where I post my new set of menus. This weeks menu is pretty interesting, it has a little of all. I tried to provide as much variety as possible. I even managed to take pictures, so I will be able to put up a few of the recipes.
The days that I have to pack three tiffins (for three of my husbands friends), I plan the menu in such a way, that I don't have to roll out many rotis. They take their food for five days together, so if I were to give them chapatis for all five days, (I give them three for one meal), I would end up making around fifteen chapatis per person, which is like nearly forty five, for the three of them. hence I really have to rack my brains, and plan the menu.

so that is that. here is my menu guys. will be posting a recipe tomorrow.
enjoy.

Mon: paneer tikka masala and aloo fry

Tues: rajhma curry

Wed: pao bhaji

Thu: sweet bell pepper pulao with raita

Fri: idli, sambhar and coconut chutney.

happy eating

CORN ON TOAST

I made this for Sunday brunch a couple of weeks back. Usually my husband and I get up late on Saturday's, and Sunday's, so its usually brunch, that we eat. I somehow feel lazy to cook on weekends. I guess the whole idea that its the weekend, makes me want to just laze around.

there was fresh french bread that I had bought the day before, and that needed to be used up, before it got stale. and just the craving of having something nice and warm, drove me to the kitchen.

here is the recipe.

You will need

• bread (any kind, I used french bread baguette)- 3-4 slices
• mayonnaise- 1 cup
• tinned corn- 1/2 a tin or around 1 cup
• grated mozzarella cheese
• green chillies or jalapenos pepper (finely chopped)- 1/2 tsp
• onion (finely chopped)- 1 tbsp
• tomato sauce- 1-2 tsp
• coriander- 1 tbsp
• salt- to taste
• pepper
• all purpose Italian seasoning(optional)- 1/4th tsp
• white sauce- 1 cup (recipe below)

for the white sauce

• all purpose flour or maida- 2 tbsp
• butter- 2 tbsp
• milk- 1/2 to 1 cup.
• oregano- a pinch
• salt- to taste
• pepper

for the white sauce

You have to

1. heat the butter in a pan.
2. add the flour and saute for 5- 10 mins.
3. beating with one hand, keep adding the milk little by little, mixing all the time, so that no lumps are formed.
4. keep stirring and cooking, till the mixture begins to thicken. add salt and pepper.
5. cook on low heat, stirring, till the sauce thickens up.add the oregano. turn off the heat.

for the toast

1. heat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
2. in a bowl, add the mayo, the corn, the onions, jalapenos, coriander, tomato sauce along with the seasonings. mix well.
3. add all this to the white sauce.
4. check for seasoning.
5. top each bread with the corn mixture. sprinkle shredded mozzarella. and bake till cheese melts, and the bread begins to brown.
6. serve hot

MENU TIME

Hello everyone, I am a day late in posting my menu for the week. Well yesterday my husband and me went across the border to Tijuana (Mexico) for our visa stamping. A process many Indians, living in the US are familiar with. Well I am not going into the details of that. (since that is not what my blog is all about)
This week was alright, as I just had to cook for two people.

here is the menu.

Mon: masala kichadi with mixed raita

Tue: chana masala with dry aloo mutter

Wed: bhindi fry with gujarati toohar dal

Thu: baigan bharta with green moong dal

Fri: vegetable macaroni with garlic bread.

again i must apologise for not taking pictures, but then recipe requests are still welcome.
enjoy
more to come.

KASHMIRI DUM ALOO

I am finally adding this recipe to my blog. I have made it so many times, but somehow it just doesn't get here.......

The first time I made this, was for a poker night dinner.served it with veg pulao.I would have used regular onions, for the gravy but I am glad I did not. I had a packet of fried onions and I used those instead. And trust me, that is what makes this dish simply mouthwatering. Serve it with poori, pulao, naan or just with bread. I always make a little extra, cause my husband enjoys it more the next day.Made it a couple of weeks back, and managed to take pictures.

so here is the recipe.

You will need

• baby potatoes- 10
• tomato puree- 1 cup
• tej patta (bay leaves)-2-3
• whole red chilly- 2
• red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• haldi- 1 tsp
• jeera dhania powder- 1 tsp
• garam masala- 1 tsp
• salt- to taste
• oil- 1 tbsp
• curd- 1/2 cup

grind to a paste

• fried onions-1 cup
• poppy seeds(khuskhus)- 1/2 tsp
• kasoori meethi- 1 tbsp
• ginger- 1/2
• garlic- 2-3 pod
• green chillies- 2

you have to

1. semi-boil the potatoes. cut into half.
2. heat oil in a pan.add tej patta and red chillies.
3. add the ground paste.
4. saute. add the tomato puree. saute for ten mins.
5. add all the spices ( red chilly powder, haldi, jeera dhania and salt).
6. cook the masala, till the oil begins to separate.
7. add the beaten curd little by little. mixing it into the masala.
8. add water. keep cooking.
9. now add the potatoes, and mix well. cover and cook on low till gravy begins to thicken.
10. add the garam masala. keep stirring every 5- 10 mins. cook till gravy begins to thicken.
11. serve garnished with corainder.

note: you can add water as per the requirement. if serving with pulao, you would need more gravy. and the gravy tends to thicken so, make the changes accordingly.

happy eating.

CLASSIC SHORTBREAD COOKIES

I made these a couple of weeks back but just did not get a chance to put them up. I love having biscuits or cookies, in the morning with my cup of tea. The entire feel, of the biscuit melting in your mouth......ummmmmm!!!!! just love it. specially a few of the vairties that you get in india, like bourbone, good day, and jim jam........I know i might be sounding silly, but thats the way it is. after coming here to the US, the variety of cookies that one gets to see at the groccerystore isles, are not even funny. my favourites would be the pepperidge farm cookies. they are sinfull. I dont even get them anymore, coz I know I will be the only one, gorging away on them.

So, this crazy cookie mania, often drives me to try to make a few at home, atleast they are homemade, and you can control what goes in them (to some extent). And now that I have a blog to all my cooking adventures, I can put them all up.

I followed a book called " old-fashioned cookie", for the recipe. Here it is

You need

• 1 cup butter softened (I used smart balance butter).
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour
• additional powdered sugar.

You have to

1. preheat oven to 350 degree. cream butter until light and fluffy.gradually add sugar and beat, after each addition, until sugar dissolves.
2. add flour little by little, beating well. chill the dough for an hour.
3. sprinkle surface with equal parts of flour and sugar, and turn a little dough out.
4. pat into 1/4th inch thickness. cut with cookie cutter.
5. place on ungreased cookie sheet. make design with fork.
6. bake for 15-20 mins, or until golden brown. when slightly cool, sprinkle some powdered sugar.

comes out really good.

enjoy

I AM BACK

The whole of last week that i spent at my brothers place in LA, was a good break from the routine stuff. I must agree though that my sister in law and me, did enjoy eating and cooking and lots of walking (as we were checking out the area around).

I would try to post some of the stuff we made. (as i managed to take a few pictures).....

it was routine from monday. I had to postpone my tiffin pick ups from mon to tuesday. hence the delay in posting my menu.

so here is what I made for the packed tiffins for this week.

Mon: black chana with boondi raita and masala naan

Tues: aloo vadi with palak ki subzi

Wed: gobi aloo masala with green moong dal curry

Thu: tamarind rice with sambhar

made srivalli's version of the tamarind rice. from her blog post lunch box series: lbs # 33
thanks srivalli.

Fri: veg manchurian with chilly garlic noodles.

I have a few recipes (not from the menu), that I will be posting soon. if anyone would like to know any recipe from the menu above, please do let me know.

thanks

enjoy