Mouth Watering Sizzler

i am very fond of making sizzlers at home and it is the easiest way to make my son eat almost anything. all i need to do is get a little creative and serve the most humble stuff on a sizzler plate. sizzler plate suddenly acts like a throne and gives an aura of exoticness to the regular meal. not that i do not make the 'authentic' sizzlers. but come to think of it, a sizzler is actually a meal served on a hot tava so that the food remains hot throughout. and a tray underneath makes it convenient. whoever thought of it thought well:)
i make sizzlers with almost everything. the most important ingredient is the 'sizzler plate!' usually i place a combination of cutlets, pasta, french fries, tossed tofu and veggies. but many a times i even serve the simple dal-chawal on a sizzler plate. jeera rice, dal tadka and seasonal vegetable all arranged beautifully on the plate with french fries and onion shavings take no time to vanish. sizzling bhaji and pav with loads of butter is Nakshat's favourite. hakka noodles with manchurian and some veggies and tofu makes a very pretty sizzler. sometimes my sizzler plate also serves as the serving plate on which i serve the full family meal: noodles, cutlets and veggies; a combination that we love to eat with toast. actually anything served on the hot platter and topped with butter & vinegar to make that tempting noise is a sizzler with me!

Khandvi

this is a quick and healthy recipe when you have unannounced guests or kids wanting to eat something different between meals. it is really quick provided you have all ingredients ready. i pack it in Nakshat's tiffin quite often since it is so easy & quick to make. takes 1 minute of preparation, 5 minutes of cooking and 2 minutes of final arrangement. that's all!

mix 1/2 cup besan, 1&1/2 cup of buttermilk(curd and water in equal proportion), haldi powder and salt. ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring twice in between after 1 and a half minute each. it starts cooking from the sides first so don't worry. while the mixture is cooking, clean your slab or keep big steel plates ready(no need to grease). now take out the cooked mixture, mix it well again so there are no lumps and pour on the slab or back of steel plates. quickly spread with a big table spoon like a dosa, as thin as possible. allow it to cool for a minute and prepare the tampering; heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and sesame seeds. can also add chilli powder if you like them sharp. now cut the spread out mixture in 1/2 inch long strips and roll each one separately like a cylinder. it is a pleasure rolling these strips and feeling the velvety texture of cooked besan under your fingers. arrange all in a serving plate. pour the tampering and decorate with fresh green coriander and grated fresh coconut. yum!

Date and Walnut Cake

this one is for all my friends at '3rd avyudaya festival of learning' who showed keen interest in my cake recipes and reading my blog.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour & milk: 1 cup each
Sugar, oil, chopped dates, chopped walnuts: 1/2 cup each
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Vanilla essence: 5 drops
Cocoa powder: optional...can add as per taste or how dark a colour you prefer. i add almost 2 tbsps.

soak chopped dates in warm milk for minimum 10 minutes, it may be more and that is ok. take wheat flour in a dry bowl. add chopped walnuts, baking soda, cocoa powder and sugar. mix well. pour in the dates mixture and vanilla essence and again mix well. in case you find the mixture too thick add more warm milk. now very slowly pour in the oil or melted butter and keep mixing. or you can pour in a little oil, mix well and then pour in a little more and mix and so on till all the oil has been used up. grease your baking tin and pour in the mixture well. preheat the oven at 200 degree celsius, reduce it to 180 when you place the cake mixture and bake for almost 45 to 60 minutes. towards the end you can again increase the temperature to 200 to get a hard crust. do check with a sharp knife if the cake is ready before removing it from oven. pierce the knife in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean your cake is ready. let it cool before serving. it goes extremely well with vanilla icecream. my mouth is watering. and let me know how it came out.

Quick Microwave Aloo

this is one of my favourite and most treasured recipes. whenever i cannot decide what to make, i make this aloo. it goes very well with toast, parantha or as a side dish. i specially like to eat with a vegetable sandwich and replace french fries with this in my sizzler. takes only 4 minutes to cook and relished by everyone.

peel and cut 2 medium size potatoes in french fries shape. put them in a microwave glass bowl (i find corelle the best for this). add salt, haldi, dhania powder, jeera, a tsp of oil and 2 tsps of water. mix well and microwave on high for 2 minutes. mix again and microwave on high for another 2 minutes. garnish with coriander leaves and it is ready to serve! please note that as you increase the quantity of potatoes you will need to microwave longer. also when using this recipe with continental meal replace haldi and dhaniya powder with black pepper powder.

Multipurpose corn & spinach mixture

this is one recipe you can get very creative with. it is VERY healthy and so simple to make and kids love it. you can add or delete few ingredients and use it for variety of dishes the whole week round. use it to make pizza for a special saturday evening dinner. serve it with crackers on sunday at 11 while watching TV. roll it in a parantha to make a wrap on monday for lunch box. fill up tacos shell and top with loads of cheese for tuesday lunch. spread it on nachos and serve with tea on wednesday evening. it will be a yummy sandwich filling for thursday breakfast. on friday.....well nobody will be willing to eat it by now so just leave it ;) 6 days were enough! but by the way can you think of some more ideas?

puree 1/2 kg tomatoes with as much ginger as you like, i add lots. heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pressure cooker and add mixed dried herbs(oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, parsley, bay leaf, pepper). if you like garlic please do add. pour in tomato puree and allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes. add 1 cup of american corn and 2 cups of finely chopped spinach. pressure cook for 2 whistles. once the steam is out on its own add salt and a tbsp cornflour and cook on low heat till all water evaporates. you can also add crumbled paneer. your multipurpose mixture is ready!

Guide to Calorie Burning

While I am cooking and putting on more and more calories, I also need to do something to burn them. wanted to try something different. picked this up from the 'Chicken soup for the soul cookbook.' I am going to try this now...who knows it may work ;)

Beating around the bush................75

Jumping to conclusions.................100

Climbing on the walls.....................150

Swallowing your pride...................50

Passing the buck.............................25

Throwing your weight around.....300(I like it the best!)

Making mountains out of molehills..500(not bad eh)

Hitting the nail on the head..........50

Jumping on the bandwagon..........200

Running around in circles............350

Tooting your own horn.................25

Adding fuel to fire.........................150

Wrapping it up at the day's end.....12

Fresh Vegetable Treasure

We spend every saturday at wagholi ashram where in the evening we do kriya with some of the kriyabans and then we spend the night. the morning is so beautiful with fresh air, greenery and a rising sun even visible from the room. and most of all i love growing vegetables there. this morning i picked up 9 different kinds of vegetables from the garden: methi, palak, karadi, bhindi, french beans, gawar, lauki, torai and sepu. and not to forget kadhi patta, kali tulsi & tej patta. what luxury! the quantity of the vegetables is not much...can make a mixed vegetable or sambhar at most...but that is ok. home grown fresh vegetables...a treasure indeed!

Stirfried French Beans

I love french beans. specially these days when they are plucked when tender and available in plenty. i generally make them with potatoes or use generously in my sizzlers. this time i decided to make them very simple and served with plain curd and salad.

finely cut french beans. heat a tsp of olive oil and toss the beans. allow it to be on sim fire for 4-5 minutes stirring in between. do not cover. add salt, pepper powder and amchur powder and serve. very healthy!

Raw Papaya Parantha

In Panchkula we used to have papaya trees at home and raw papaya parantha was a regular fare. its been ages since i had one last time. yesterday i had a strong craving for the parantha and asked Nived to get a raw papaya on his way back home. it tastes super-delicious and very different from regular stuffed parantha and has a very slight tangy-sweet taste to it. you have to eat it to know what i am talking about. must try.

peel and grate raw papaya. squeeze to remove excess juice and wait! don't throw away this juice, it is excellent for your skin...apply some on your face and drink the rest of it..it does wonders to your liver too. add turmeric, chilli powder, ajwain, garam masala, salt and hara dhaniya and your stuffing is ready. knead your regular dough and use this stuffing to make super nutritious-delicious papaya paranthas. for extra taste use pure desi ghee to roast and serve hot with white butter, lime-pickle and fresh curd. i also love to sip 'extra-milk, extra-sweet' ginger tea with this. complete satisfaction guaranteed.

Kadhi-rice and Gawar

This I have learnt from my mother. whenever there is kadhi in menu that means she has churned out fresh butter and paneer and that left over 'paneer ka paani' is combined with sour curds to make that delicious kadhi. it tastes just awesome. and paneer ka pani is very nutritious and makes excellent curries. infact i must have it for my lauki kofta, the curry does not come out so good with plain water. last evening i found my poor fridge stuffed with loads of tumblers of milk and so decided to make paneer. there was sour curd too so immediately i decided to make kadhi for dinner.

just combine 4 tbsp of besan, 1/2 tsp of haldi and salt to taste with 2 bowls of curd. Heat oil in a big kadhai and add methidana(fenugreek seeds), sarson(mustard seeds), heeng(asofoetida) and dry red chillies. Pour the curd mixture in the kadhai along with required paneer ka pani(use depending on the thickness of kadhi you prefer). boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. once it is about to reach the required thickness add besan boondi(that is so much quicker than making pakodas though no comparison). switch off gas. before serving prepare a tempering of oil and red chilli powder and pour over kadhi.

there was fresh gawar from the farm house which goes well with kadhi-rice so quickly stirfried some with salt, haldi powder, amchoor and dhaniya powder. it was so fresh i did not have to cover and it was ready in 4 minutes. you can also add chilli powder to make it more tangy.

Dal Makhani, Shahi Paneer & Butter Naans

When we were on our way back from Kass yesterday Nakshat was very keen to eat out and wanted to have paneer and naan. I was wanting to hit home and my cosy bed fast so promised to make this for him for dinner today. I also added dal makhani as a bonus since he agreed to wait! My recipe for dal makhani is very simple and it makes delicious dal. I am not so much of a garlic fan so have not used any. You can replace heeng with garlic. Just try it once and let me know..

Dal makhani ingredients:
Saboot urad dal: 1 bowl
Tomatoes: 1/4 kg
Ginger: 25 gms
Heeng: 2 pinches
Kasoori methi: 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Fresh cream/butter: 1/2 bowl
Pure ghee: 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Clean dal to remove any stones or wodden sticks. Wash well and soak overnight. You can add a handful of rajmah if you like. Nakshat does not like so I do not use. In the morning add more water if required, add salt and a tbsp of ghee and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Allow the steam to settle and then simmer over slow fire. Puree the tomatoes and ginger together. Add to simmering dal (yes without tempering; so simple na) and simmer for another 45-60 minutes. Keep stirring in between so that dal does not stick to the cooker. If it gets too thick before at least 45 minutes are over, add little water. Once you find that the texture is creamy and thick, remove from gas. Check salt. Heat the rest of ghee, add heeng, kasoori methi and chilli powder and pour over hot dal. top with fresh cream or butter and serve hot. If you are calorie conscious(like me, even though it does not show) eat it without butter, tastes equally good..to me at least :) Poor Nived too gets to eat it without butter.
Shahi Paneer
150 gms. paneer (cottage cheese)
2 tbsp. ghee or butter
2 onions chopped into strips
1/2" piece ginger chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine

1 tbsp curd
1/4tsp. red chilli powder
1/4tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
1/2 cup cream
1 tbsp. chopped coriander to garnish
Chop the paneer into 2" fingers. Heat half the ghee. Add onion and ginger. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.Add curd and cook for another 5 minutes. Blend in a mixie till smooth. Heat remaining ghee, add gravy and other ingredients except cream and paneer. Boil to get a very thick gravy. Just before serving, heat gravy, add cream, garam masala and paneer fingers and boil for 1-2 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander. I did not have any at home today so could not garnish :(

Naan
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour(I do not use maida): 1 cup
Curd: 1/2 cup
Baking soda: 1/4tsp (very unhealthy but makes delicious naans...for once in a while)
Sugar: 1/4 tsp

Oil: 1 tsp

For topping: Kalaunji, khas khas and finely chopped coriander

Mix all the ingredients to make a nice soft dough and leave for 2hrs. Roll out naans, heat your tava turned upside down, smear one side of naan with water and place it on hot tava with watery side down. Smear little water on top too and quickly sprinkle toppings. Once you see (in about 20 seconds or so) big bubbles forming up in the naan, carefully turn the tava so that top side is directly on fire. Gently remove from tava and top with butter.

Nakshat loved the dinner today and ate 3 naans, full bowl of dal and almost half of paneer. What satisfaction for a mom!

Jhunka Bhakri at Vamnoli(also known as mini Kashmir)

After a year of waiting I finally got to visit Kass(valley of flowers of Maharashtra) yesterday. Unfortunately we went a little early because flowers start blooming in first week of September but very fortunately we went at the best time because other than us there was nobody over there!(probably because of swine flu scare, ganpati or ramjan) Only us and the entire valley ours! Himmanshu, Richa, Nived, Nakshat & I and the mountains and the valley. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. For almost 20 kms of stretch there were these lush green mountains with clouds hanging over and untouched valleys waiting to be discovered. The best part was that the road was wide and there were many plane stretches where we could park, eat, play and enjoy the scenery. We also soaked under a water fall, played cricket and frisbee and ran on the roads. The view at some spots was completely breathtaking. My camera could not do justice so I did not venture into taking pictures. Its a place to be experienced and savoured.

In the heart of Vamnoli we found a few dhabas. They did not have any ready stuff and we had to place an order and wait. We ordered jhunka-bhakri and it was quite good. I don't make it at home so no recipe :(

On the way later we had hot ginger tea and kande pohe in the balcony of someone's bungalow who serve once in a while visitors. The view overlooks the valley and I plan to be there for a weekend very soon.

Mud Pie & Assorted Cookies

It was Nived's B'day and Nakshat decided to cook. Then we discovered an amazing book of 'recipes for children' with Gauri and the menu was set. Gauri joined in and both the children baked assorted cookies and mud pie. They had a blast of time and the result was finger licking!

Recipe for Mud Pie

Crushed biscuits of your choice: 1 cup
Butter: 1/2 cup
Castor sugar: 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder: 1 tbsp
Finely cut mixed nuts(almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds, watwer melon seeds, walnuts etc): 1 cup
Plain chocolate bar: 100gms

Mix biscuits, butter, sugar, cocoa powder and half cup of nuts together. Take a flat glass bowl, spread a foil sheet and evenly spread the prepared mixture. Cover and refrigerate it for 2 hrs. Just before serving, melt the chocolate bar(boil some water in a bowl and keep another bowl inside it with the chocolate bar and cover) and spoon over the biscuit mixture. Decorate with the rest of nuts and serve.

Assorted Cookies Recipe

All purpose flour: 1 cup
Castor sugar: 1/2 cup
Baking powder: 1 pinch
Butter/Ghee: To knead (almost 1/2 cup)

For decoration:
Colourful icing(Mix little water in castor sugar and add colour of your choice), gems,nuts

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder together and knead with butter. Give the dough to kids to come out with any shapes they want to. Nakshat came up with rat, snail, snake etc(boyz!!)and Gauri made circles and triangles. For decoration nuts have to added at this stage. Arrange nicely on baking dish and bake at 200 degree celsius for 12-15 minutes(depends on the thickness of cookies) Once they are cool let kids decorate them further with icing.

Veggie Delight Sandwiches

One thing i love to munch when i am travelling is the veg delight subway. it is light, crispy, tasty and very healthy. this time when i was grocery shopping i picked up most ingredients to make it at home and the effort was worth it. they are a yummy and delightful option when you don't want to cook and family is delighted too.Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

Multigrain Bread: 1 loaf
Mustard Sauce
Dip of your choice(I blend soft cottage cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper and mustard powder together.)
Fresh crunchy vegetables sliced finely: use peppers, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, cabbage
Few canned olives
Pickled jalapenos
Salt, pepper powder & butter

Arrange all things on the table and let each person make his/her own sandwich using vegetables and dips of their choice. You can make the meal richer by adding a drink and a packet of wafers.

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

After ages I am here to spend a day with Shivi. And what do we do? We gossip and drink lemon tea sitting in her balcony, it’s a beautiful view and we can see almost half of Pune from here. And then we decide to have creamy cheesy pasta for lunch and Shivi makes the best pasta in the whole world and it is so simple to make. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: Pasta of your choice: 1 cup
Mushrooms sliced: ½ cup
Baby corn sliced: ½ cup
Baby onions: ½ cup
Fresh cream: ½ cup
Cheese grated: 1 cup
Butter: 1 stick
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta in lots of water with little salt. Once it is done drain water and keep aside. Heat butter in a pan and fry onions till they turn pink. Add the rest of veggies, salt and pepper to taste and cook on low flame for about 5 minutes. Do not cover. Remove from fire.

Now take a flat glass bowl. Spread the veggies, cover with grated cheese, add a layer of pasta and top with fresh cream. Now mix nicely and bake in the oven till it browns from the top. Enjoy it with butter toast and a glass of orange juice. Yum!