A NEW MENU, AND THE MAGIC LAMP

wowow, its already Thursday, well actually its fri (considering the fact that its one at night). Was not getting sleep, so I thought that let me update my blog with a few notes.
first things first, my menu for the week is still pending so here is what I made for my last tiffins.

MON: pao bahji

TUE: ragda pattise

WED: bhindi masala with moong masoor ki dal

THU: kala chana with veg masala pulao

FRI: palak aloo with kheera raita

Now on a more playfull note.......Usha of veg inspiration tagged me. the rules are

"At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog".Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers."-

1.What was I doing ten years ago?

joined college to pursue my career in food and nutrition.

2. Five things on Today's "To do" list

right now,
sleep
sleep
sleep
sleep
sleep

3.I am addicted to

am i addicted to something.....nope. but i do enjoy walking, blogging, and googling.

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire

travel a lot. and may be open up a restaurant with a unique theme.

5. Places i have lived

kolkatta, new delhi, san diego

I was even sent the Magic lamp of luck by Usha.




The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere.

We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!* Start Copy Here*1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-FunFierceFabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-Kai Kriye 184-Easycrafts 185- My creations 186- My Kraft 187- Cooking Station 188- Creative saga 189- Recipe Center 190 - Veg Inspirations 191-Foodie by nature. 192-you


now its my turn to pass of the good luck and tag a few of my blog friends.

I am tagging notyet100, divya, uma, sowmay and shweta and passing on the magic lamp to them.


enjoy.

NEW MENU

There are days when I simply feel lazy to get up and cook. yesterday was just one of those days. But I still had to cook, or else my husbands friends who come to take their weekly tiffins would have had to make different arrangements.

So I ended up making pretty simple, no fuss "desi" food. this is what I made

Mon: capsicum aloo payaz masala with lobiya curry (black eye pea curry)

Tue: cabbage fry with gujrati toohar dal

Wed: chana dal with aloo chokha

Thu: rajhma masala

Fri: peas onion masala rice with boondi raita.

enjoy

finally I decided whom I should pass on the yummy blog award, that was passed on to me by Uma.

and the award goes to

Sri from cooking 4 all seasons.

Sunita from sunita's world

Sia from monsoon spice.

Lisa from lisa's vegetarian kitchen

enjoy

more later.

MENU TIME

The day went by so soon, that I did not even realise that I have not updated my blog with my new set of menu.
keeping it short and sweet here is the menu.

Mon: chana bhathura

Tue: muth and gujarati kadi

Wed: undhiyu with meethi thepla

Thu: aloo mutter masala with boondi raita

Fri: lemon rice with mixed veggies and tomato rasam

enjoy

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.

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

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.

NEW MENU

Right now, I am at my brother's place. He stays in the san fernando valley in tarzana. My husband is travelling for nearly a week, so I decided to take a week off too. Don't know how regular I will be updating my blog, for a week, but as practise, I am posting my menu.
Though this week, I will not cook too much on my own, but I would still try. My main aim however is too actually enjoy the eating scene in the valley, as there are loads of places to check out. So hopefully I would be able to update my blog with all the eating endeveours I take on during this week. Meanwhile here is my menu for the week.

Mon: moong (gujarati style) with aloo payaz ki subzi (potato and onions vegetable)

Tue: carrot peas and aloo masala with yellow dal tadka

Wed: chana dal parantha

Thu: dal palak

Fri: peas pulao and tomato kadi

enjoy

MENU TIME

Its time to put up my menu for the week. Took pictures of a few dishes whose recipes follow the menu.


Mon: rajhma masala

Tue: cabbage, carrot and peas with gujrati dal

Wed: kasoori meethi aloo with yellow tadka dal

Thu: chilly garlic egg fried rice with vegetable manchurian

Fri: gobi parantha with kheera raita.

I would be more than happy to fulfill any recipe request, apart from the ones I am posting.

The first recipe that I would want to post is "KASOORI MEETHI ALOO". This is a pretty versatile dish. Can be served as a cocktail snack, or along with a lentil with roti, or as a chaat.

KASOORI MEETHI ALOO

You will need

• potato- 5-6 cut into pieces.
• dry kasoori meethi- 1-2 tbs
• oil - for frying the potatoes
• cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• asefotida (hing)- 1/4th tsp
• red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• amchoor powder- 1/2 tsp
• tandoori masala (optional)- 1/2 tsp
• salt- to taste

You have to

1. fry the potatoes, till golden brown. drain on paper towel.
2. heat 1 tbsp of the same oil, in a pan.
3. add all the spices to the oil, along with the kasoori meethi. saute.
4. add the fried potatoes. toss evrything up.
5. add very little water, to get the masala to stick to potato.
6. taste for seasoning, adjust the spices accordingly.

This can be served as a cocktail snack, or along with a lentil with roti, or as a chaat.

GOBI PARANTHA


This recipe was added to the menu, simply because I wanted to send it for the "roti mela"event by srivalli http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com/2008/04/announcing-event-to-celebrate-indian.html
A very famous form of stuffed parantha, it specially tastes good, if the parantha is nicely stuffed with the cauliflower mixture. enjoy it straight from the griddle, with ghee or butter.

You will need

for the stuffing

• grated cauliflower- 1- 1 1/2 cup
• ginger (finely chopped)- 1 tsp
• green chillies (finely chopped)- 1/2 - 1 tsp
• cilantro (finely chopped)- 1 tsp
• ajwain seeds- 1/4th tsp
• red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• salt- to taste
• ghee- for smearing it on the parantha

for the dough

I do not measure the amount of wheat flour and water. So this is an approximation.

• whole wheat flour- 3 cups
• water- 1- 1 1/2 cup.

You will have to

1. knead the dough and keep it in the fridge for half an hour.
2. in a bowl mix together the grated cauliflower along with all the other ingredients except the ghee.
3. take the dough and let it sit for five to ten min at room temperature.
4. roll out the dough to a small circle.
5. fill a spoonfull or a little more of the cauliflower mixture.
6. fold the dough over into a ball. dust with dry flour. roll out into round chapatis.
7. heat a griddle, place the rolled chapatis on the griddle. smear a little ghee on top, flip over. smear little more ghee, and cook till both sides are a golden brown.
8. Serve hot with butter, achar, curd.

enjoy

THIS WEEK'S MENU

Woww!!!!!!! it feels I have been away for quite sometime. Well that could be because I spent my weekend in LAS VEGAS. Its as though I have been gone forever.......Haven't still caught up on my lost sleep. But I did manage to provide my Monday tiffins and as per my practice, I am posting the menu.

A few recipes from the last weeks menu, still have to be posted, (which I will do shortly).
more to come later.
enjoy

Mon: pao bhaji

Tues: idli + sambhar + coconut chutney

Wed: veg pulao + chana masala

Thu: kadai paneer

Fri: Dal makhani + boondi raita

THIS WEEK'S MENU

Yes, its that day of the week when I sit down and update my blog with the tiffin menus. After I started putting down my menus, it has actually helped me to keep a track of what I cook, and even avoid any repetetions. Wonder why I did not think about this earlier...hummmmm, I guess its better late than never.
Anyways, here is the menu. Will be posting the recipes of a few items.
enjoy.

Mon: Panchkuti dal + jeera masala rice

Tue: Paushtik missi roti + mixed raita

Wed: Blackeye pea curry + coconut beans

Thu: Moong dal + carrot and cabbage bhurji

Fri: Kassori meethi aloo mutter masala.

THIS WEEK'S MENU

It took me quite sometime to think about the title of my blog.....what should I call it this time, "Monday tiffins", "Monday mania", "menu details".........frankly, I was at a loss of titles.....
so i simply put it as, "this weeks menu". I realised that this is going to be an ongoing affair, so thinking of different blog titles doesn't make much sense. Therefore from today, all my Monday menus will be simply titled " this weeks menu". What say you'll? isn't that a good idea?

so without further intros, here is what I made for tiffins yesterday

MON: Ghiya aur chana dal

TUE: Aloo baigan tawa fry with black chana

WED: Tomato rice with mixed raita

THU: Malai moong dal and gobi aloo mutter.

FRI: Hakka noodles with sweet and sour veggies.

I would be putting up the recipes for sweet and sour veggies, any other recipe requests are welcome.
enjoy.

MONDAY MENU

Yesterday was not all that hectic as I had to prepare tiffins for only two people. It was all simple, Indian food. no fuss,no fancy kinda stuff.

here is what I made yesterday

Mon: bhindi (okra masala) + kali dal

Tue: beans aloo + gujarati dal

Wed: undhiyo + thepla

Thu: veg biryani + kheera raita

Fri: vegetable kofta curry.

I will be putting up the recipe for kali dal, however if anyone wants any recipe from the menu above, do put in a comment and i will post it.

enjoy
happy eating.

ITS MONDAY.........TIFFIN TIME!!!!

Its monday again.

The day,that is spent cooking, packed lunches for four of our friends,who come after work to collect thier tiffins, or "dabbas"(meaning boxes)

I give them wholesome, healthy, home cooked Indian meals for five days and all they do is freeze it and heat it whenever they want to eat. All set for a week.

The planning offcourse starts three days in advance. The major part of the planning is "what should I make?"..............once that is figured out, the rest is easy. And really speaking its just a day of cooking, and my husbands and my meals are also taken care off.

I am often asked by my friends and my mom, what do u make? everyone is in a dilemma, scratching their heads, thinking about what should be served at the dinner table......so i thought why not put my every monday tiffin menus, on my blog. This way those who read can get a few menu ideas and even share a few ideas.

I try to give as much of variety as possible, coz or else I will get tired of cooking the same thing over and over again. More over, most of the stuff I cook, is easy to freeze and the taste doesn't alter once reheated. So that is that.

I do not want to waste more time giving silly intros, here is the menu, that i made this mon.

TIFFIN MENU

MON: fettuccinie in mushroom alfredo sauce + garlic bread

TUE: aloo parantha + curd

WED: rajhma masala + jeera rice

THU: cabbage peas vegetable + yellow lentils (moong masuur ki dal)

FRI: paneer butter masala

chapatis

will be posting a few recipes of some of the stuff I cooked.
happy eating.