Chilli Garlic Noodles

Here is a simple noodle dish that is easy to make and tastes delicious. This can be done in 15 minutes and can be served along with soy sauce based gravy or as a quick evening snack.

 

 

 

Recipe Source : The Vegetarian Kitchen By Linda Fraser

Ingredients

• 225 Grams / 8 oz Dried Egg Noodles
• 3 Tablespoon Sesame seed oil
• 4 Cloves of Garlic crushed and chopped finely
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Flakes
• 2 Spring Onion Greens , Cut lengthwise into shreds
• 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh cilantro leaves
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot bring 4 to 5 cups of water to boil. Add salt and 1 teaspoon oil. Then add the Chinese noodles and cook as per the instructions on the noodles packet. Cook noodles to al dente. I cooked my noodles for 2 minutes. Immediately drain water completely and toss 1/2 teaspoon oil in the cooked noodles. This will ensure they wont stick together

2. In a large pan, heat remaining oil. When the oil is hot, add chopped garlic and fry for few seconds

3. Then add  red chilli flakes, cilantro leaves , spring onion Greens and fry for a minute

4. Add noodles and toss gently

5. Add soy sauce and toss

6. Check for salt and add more if required

7. Serve hot

Vegetable Manchow Soup

Manchow Soup is a very popular street food in China sold in push carts. It is a spicy soup made with vegetables, soy sauce and sprinkled with crispy fried noodles and drizzled with tiny drops of chilli oil.

 

 

This recipe is for vegetable Manchow Soup. You can add carrots, green beans, cabbage, colourful bell peppers, cauliflower. Go ahead and add cooked chicken pieces along with vegetables for the chicken manchow soup.

Recipe Source : http://spusht.blogspot.in/2012/02/manchow-soup-indo-chinese-food.html

Recipe for 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Mixed Vegetables ( I used Shredded carrots, finely chopped green beans, green bell peppers)
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
• 2 Tablespoon Spring Onion whites chopped finely
• 1 Teaspoon Ginger Chopped Finely
• 2 Teaspoon Garlic crushed and chopped finely
• 1 Tablespoon Cilantro chopped finely
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Mint Leaves chopped finely
• 2 Tablespoon Tomatoes chopped finely
• 4 Cups Water
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Chilli Sauce
• 2 Tablespoon Corn Starch + 1/2 Cup water  - to thicken the soup
• 1 Teaspoon Vinegar 

 

For Garnish

• 2 Tablespoon Spring Onion greens chopped
• Chilli Oil ( Recipe follows)
• Crispy fried Noodles ( Recipe Follows) 

For the Chilli Oil

• 2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 3 Dry Red Chillies  

For the Crispy Fried Noodles

• 1 Packet of Chinese Noodles
• 1 and 1/2  Teaspoon of Oil
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• Oil for deep frying the noodles

Directions  

1. Prepare Chilli Oil : In a small sauce pan heat 2 tablespoon oil at high flame. Let the oil get heated till smoking point. Switch off the flame and add broken red chillies in the hot oil. Let the oil cool completely.  Strain the oil through a metal strainer and discard the dry red chillies. Chilli infused oil is ready for serving. Set aside

2. Prepare Crispy Fried Noodles : In a large pot bring 4 to 5 cups of water to boil. Add salt and 1 teaspoon oil. Then add the Chinese noodles and cook as per the instructions on the noodles packet. Cook noodles to al dente. I cooked my noodles for 2 minutes. Immediately drain water completely and toss 1/2 teaspoon oil in the cooked noodles. This will ensure they wont stick together. Transfer the noodles to a dry clean kitchen cloth and let them dry for 30 minutes. Heat oil for deep frying the noodles. When the oil is hot, add about 2 tablespoon of noodles in hot oil. Keep the flame high and fry until they are crispy and golden. Make sure you dry the noodles, otherwise they will splutter the moment you add them to the hot oil. Stay away from oil when you drop noodles. Fry the noodles in batches and drain them on paper towel. I would suggest preparing the fried noodles the day before and store them in airtight container
                                  

                                  

3. Prepare Soup : In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot , add spring onion whites, ginger, garlic, mint and cilantro leaves. Fry until the garlic turns light golden

                                  

                                   


4. Add chopped vegetables and fry on high flame for 2 minutes

            

5. Add tomatoes and fry quickly for few seconds

                                 


6. Then add soy sauce, chilli sauce and stir everything. Add water, salt , pepper to taste

                                


7. Bring it to boil and let the vegetables get cooked for 3 to 4 minutes. Soup tastes good if the vegetables are crunchy
8. In a small bowl add corn starch and 1/2 cup water and stir

                              


9. Now, add this corn starch mixture to the soup as a steady slow stream and mix continuously while you are adding the corn starch to the soup. This is done to avoid lumps

                              


10. Give it a nice stir and add vinegar and stir

11. Let the soup come to boil. Switch off the flame

12. For Serving : Serve hot ; Transfer soup to the serving soup bowl. Add few drops on chilli oil over the soup. Sprinkle crispy fried noodles over the soup. Sprinkle chopped spring onion greens over the soup and serve hot

 

Mango Lassi / Fresh Mango and Yogurt Smoothie

Mango Lassi is a variation to normal lassi and it is made during summer when sweet mangoes are in season. It is sweet and rich and is made with fresh sweet ripe mangoes, yogurt, milk, sugar and cardamom. Delicious way to beat the heat in summer.

 

Ingredients 

• 1/2 portion of fresh ripe sweet mango chopped roughly ( about 1 cup chopped mangoes)
• 1/3 Cup thick Chilled plain Yogurt / Curd
• 1/2 Cup Chilled Milk ( I used full cream milk )
• 2 big pinches of cardamom powder
• 2 tablespoon granulated Sugar 

Directions 

1. Wash mango and peel remove skin. Ripe / over ripe mangoes makes the best tasting lassi. Home made curd with full cream milk makes the best lassi

                                 

                                    



2. Chop the peeled mango roughly and add it to a blender

                                   

3. Add granulated sugar and cardamom powder to the mango pieces and blend nicely to a fine puree


                                  

4. Add yogurt and full cream milk and combine everything using a spoon. Then blend the mixture together to a smooth mixture

                                  

5. I like my lassi thick. If you like it thin, you can add more milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar extra                          

6. You can refrigerate the lassi for 30 minutes and serve

7. Before serving , give it a stir using a spoon



 

Keema Aloo Matar / Ground meat with Green Peas

Keema Matar is a delicious dish made with minced mutton / ground meat and green peas. It is mildly spiced, very rich and pairs well with roti and Raita. Minced meat and Green peas are cooked with spices and condiments. It is the most easiest preparation of mutton / goat meat. It cooks relatively fast when compared to the chopped mutton gravy/ masala.

                                        

Ingredients

• 250 Grams Muttom Keema / Ground Meat / Minced Mutton + 1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
• 1/2 Cup Green Peas ( if frozen, thaw it )
• 1 Small sized potato ( optional )
• 2 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
• 2 Cloves
• 1/2 Inch long Cinnamon Stick
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fennel seeds
• 1 Medium Onion Chopped finely
• 1 Medium ripe tomato pureed
• 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 Teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

 

 

 

1. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add minced mutton/ ground meat and sauté on high flame along with 1/4 teaspoon salt for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep stirring frequently. Remove the ground meat from the pan and set aside
2. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add cinnamon and cloves. When they splutter , add fennel seeds
3. Immediately add chopped onions and fry until they are light golden
4. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell of the paste goes
5. Add tomato puree and sauté nicely until oil separates from the mixture
6. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and sauté for 2 minutes
7. Now add the ground meat we previously sautéed at step number one to the pan and mix the meat with masala
8. Add potatoes and 1/2 cup water, salt to taste and let the ground meat cook for 20 minutes
9. Add green peas , freshly ground black pepper and garam masala and if required add 1/4 cup water. Let it cook for 5 minutes
10. Check if the ground meat is cooked through. Add fresh lemon juice and cilantro leaves. Stir everything together and switch off the flame
11. Close the pan with a lid for 10 minutes
12. I like Keema Matar with nice char on it. Hence I spread the prepared keema matar in a cookie sheet and put it in the oven at grill mode for 5 minutes
13. If you do not have grill mode option, put it on broil mode for 2 minutes. This gives a nice crusty feel the mutton and it make it little bit crispy. This step is optional and you can skip this step
14. Serve hot with roti / bread of your choice
 

Mutton Masala / Mutton Sukka Varuval

Mutton Sukka Varuval / Masala is a dry preparation with mutton / lamb meat. This is the first time ever I prepared mutton varuval at home. This dish is my favourite to order whenever we visit South Indian restaurants. There are two restaurants where this dish is exceptionally good compared to other restaurants. Number one is 'Madurai Konar mess'  and the second one is 'Ambur Star Briyani'. Perfectly cooked mutton pieces are coated with this spicy masala and it pairs well with rice & rasam, dosai or biryani.

I was hunting on the internet for the sukka varuval recipe. Unfortunately could not find the one I was looking for. One recipe which is named as 'mutton chettinadu sukka varuval'  is using 'sakhthi mutton masala' and the other recipe is using just onions and red chilli powder for the sukka masala.  :) I feel there are not much recipes for authentic non vegetarian south Indian Dishes. So called authentic recipes are not authentic...Once, I was looking for recipe for Schezwan fried rice recipe, and in one of the recipe blogs, the author has used 'Ching's secret Schezwan fried rice powder' :)  Seriously ? 

After searching for 10 more minutes, I reached my sister for the recipe. And here is her version of mutton sukka varuval  ( Madurai Style )

Ingredients

For Marinating the Mutton Pieces ( 1 Hour)

• 500 Grams Mutton pieces with bone Chopped into cubes
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

For the Masala

• 3 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Bayleaf
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Whole black pepper corns
• 2 Sprigs of Curry Leaves
• 10 Shallots (peeled and washed )
• 1 Medium onion Sliced thinly
• 1 Medium ripe tomato chopped roughly
• 2 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Cilantro Leaves

Directions

1. Marinate mutton pieces along with the items listed under Marinate for 1 hour. You can marinate it overnight in the refrigerator.  Pressure cook the marinated mutton along with 1/2 cup water on low flame for 10 whistles. I like mutton completely cooked, if you like it rare then pressure cook for 5 whistles and if you like it medium pressure cook it for 7 to 8 whistles on low flame

2. In a food processor add 10 shallots and 1 sprig of curry leaves and grind it into fine paste. If required add 1 tablespoon water for grinding. Set aside

3. Next add the tomatoes and grind it in the food processor to fine puree. Set aside

4. In a pan, heat oil for preparing the mutton masala. When the oil is hot, add cloves, bay leaf, fennel seeds, whole pepper corns and curry leaves. When they splutter, add sliced onions and 1/2 Teaspoon salt and sauté it on low flame until the onions are slightly golden ( do not brown onions)

5. Now add the paste of shallots and curry leaves we prepared at step number 2 and sauté nicely until the oil separates from the mixture

6. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell of the paste goes

7. Add the tomato puree we prepared at step number 3 and fry until the mixture comes together and the oil starts leaving from the mixture

8. Add coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder along with 1 tablespoon of water and fry for 2 minutes

9. Now add the stock from the pressure cooked mutton pieces to the above mixture in the pan 1 tablespoon at a time. Once you add the stock to the masala, stir nicely and wait for the stock to get absorbed. Once the stock is completely absorbed and the masala becomes dry , add next tablespoon of stock. Keep adding stock until all the stock is used over and the masala is thick, oily and there is not water in the masala mixture. At this stage the masala should look thick with no water

10. Check salt and adjust. Now add the cooked mutton pieces to the pan and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes

11. Keep stirring it often since there is no water in the masala mixture it might get burnt easily

12. Once the mutton pieces are coated well with the masala , sprinkle cilantro leaves and switch off the flame

13. Close the pan with a lid for 10 to 15 minutes the flavours to develop

14. Serve hot with rice / roti / dosa as a side

 

Beetroot Stir Fry

Beetroot stir fry is a easy to make , colourful and delicious side. With just few ingredients you can make this side in no time. This stir fry is seasoned with freshly grated coconut and curry leaves. I used vegetable oil for the stir fry, however this stir fry tastes best if you use coconut oil.

Ingredients 

• 2 Cups beetroots chopped into tiny cubes
• 1 Small sized onion chopped finely
• 1 Teaspoon Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Urad Dal
• 1/2 Teaspoon Channa Dal
• 1 Sprig of curry leaves
• 2 Tablespoon Shredded fresh coconut
• 1 Teaspoon Cilantro leaves for Garnish
• Salt to taste
• Black Pepper to taste 

Directions 

1. In a pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add urad dal, cumin seeds, channa dal and fry until the dal is light golden. Add curry leaves and fry until they are crispy

2. Then add onions and fry for a minute

3. Add chopped beetroot cubes , salt to taste along with 1 cup water

4. Cook on high flame for 15 to 20 minutes until the beetroot is cooked through and water gets evaporates completely

5. Add shredded coconut, cilantro leaves , black pepper and mix. Switch off the flame

6. Serve warm with steamed rice and curry

Samosa

Samosa is a popular street food in India. It is a fried savoury dish with potato filling and a crispy outer fried pastry covering. Making perfect crispy samosa with no air bubbles on the pastry is an art , I would say. It requires perfect dough and right temperature to fry the filled samosa.

                                   

For the filling I used only potatoes. However you can add green peas along with potatoes for authentic samosas. I reduced the spice levels for the filling since my kids don't eat spicy food. You can increase red chilli powder if you like spicy filling. Also, I added cashew nuts and raisins for texture and sweet taste. You can skip adding them if you do not like. 

 

   

 

Ingredients

For the Outer Pastry Dough

• 2 Cups of All purpose Flour / Maida
• 6 Tablespoon Ghee
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Carom Seeds
• 11 Tablespoons water
• Oil for deep frying

For the filling

• 3 Small sized potatoes + 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder + 1/2 Teaspoon Salt ( Pressure cook)
• 2 Teaspoon Vegetable oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fennel Powder
• a pinch of Hing / Asafoetida
• a pinch of amchur powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Cashew nuts and 1 tablespoon raisins (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare the samosa dough : In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, salt , carom seeds and mix. Add ghee and mix with your hand to crumbly dough. Then sprinkle water one tablespoon at a time and start kneading the dough with hands. I used 11 tablespoons of water for 2 cups of All purpose flour. You should never add entire water at once. Just keep adding 1 tablespoon at a time and knead until the dough comes together as a ball. It should be a thick dough

                               

2. Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and set aside for 45 minutes
3. Meanwhile prepare the filling : Pressure cook potatoes with 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt for 4 whistles on low. You can alternatively cook the potatoes in salted water until they are cooked through. You should be able to easily mash the potatoes with hands / potato masher
4.  Once cooled, peel remove potato skins and mash them roughly
5. In a pan, heat 2 teaspoon oil. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds. If you are using cashew nuts and raisins add them now and fry until cashews are light golden and raisins plum up. Switch off the flame and add coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, fennel powder, hing and give it a stir. Switch on the flame and add mashed potatoes
6. Mix everything together and add salt to taste and add chopped cilantro leaves. Potato filling is ready. Set aside to cool completely

                                 


7. Shape the samosa : After 45 minutes, knead the dough once and divide them into equal sized balls about a large lemon size. Roll each ball into a large thin circle. The rolled pastry should not be very thick and nor thin. If it is thick, it will not fried through and will be raw inside. If it is too thin, the filling might burst out while you deep fry

                            


8. Using a pizza cutter, cut through the center of the rolled samosa pastry

                           

                          

9. Work with one cut portion. On the straight edge of the pastry apply tap water with your fingertips. This is done to seal the dough. Now Hold the two edges of the watered side with your hands and bring them together to form a cone. Press gently through the watered edge to seal the cone

                        


10. Now you will a have cone to work with. Keep the cone in the rolling board and using a spoon fill the cone with  1 and 1/2 tablespoon of the potato filling we made at step number 6

                               

                              

                             


11. We need to seal the mouth of this cone. For that , apply water around the circumference of the open cone mouth and press it gently to seal. Set aside

                               


                               

12. Follow the instructions and make samosa with the rest of the dough balls

                              


13. Once the samosas are done cover them with wet cloth , otherwise they might dry

14. Once you are done shaping all the samosas, you can start frying them

15. In a small sauce pan , heat about 300 ml of vegetable oil for deep frying

16. Check if the oil is hot -> add a pinch of samosa pastry dough in the hot oil. It should pop up to the oil surface immediately you add. This indicates that the oil is hot enough to fry

17. Add 2 samosas into the hot oil one after another and reduce the flame to low

18. Fry samosas on low flame until they are golden. Flip sides once or twice to get them cooked evenly

19. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel




20. Serve hot with evening tea. Samosa is served along with coriander chutney and saunth chutney. However we just had plain samosa with our evening tea. You can serve it along with tomato ketchup and kids would love that combo


 

Potato and Tomato Curry

Potato and Tomato curry is a perfect accompaniment to poori, roti, dosa. It is a variation to the basic poori potato masala. This curry is spicy, it is not very thick, it is tangy.

Ingredients

• 2 Large Potatoes
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Poweder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

For the curry

• 2 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
• 1 Medium Onion sliced thinly
• 1 small ripe tomato ( add it to a food processor and puree)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• a pinch of Ajwain / Carom Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Urad dal
• 1/2 Teaspoon Channa dal
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 Green Chilli slit in the middle
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 Tablespoon cilantro leaves chopped

Directions

1. Pressure cook potatoes along with 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup water for 5 whistles. Alternatively , you can cook them in a pot with salted water until they are completely cooked through and you should be able to mash them easily
2. Once they are cooled a bit and you can handle with them hand, peel remove skin and mash them gently into big chunks..like approximately 1/2 inch cubes. You can also cut them using a knife into cubes. Out if this cubes, take 1/4 cup potato cubes and mash them completely to smooth paste. set aside
3. In a pan, heat oil. Keep the flame at low. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain. When they splutter, add urad dal, channa dal. When they turn golden, add curry leaves and let them get crispy
4. Then add sliced onions and fry until onions are light golden
5. Add tomato puree and sauté until oil separates from the mixture
6. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and fry for a minute
7. Add mashed potatoes and sprinkle 2 tablespoon water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until water evaporates
8. Add 1 cup water, salt to taste. Increase the flame to high and bring the mixture to boil
9. Simmer and add the 1/4 potatoes we mashed completely to smooth paste at step number 2 into the curry. Let the curry cook for 5 mins , the curry will get thickened eventually
10. Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves
11. Serve hot with poori / roti / chapathi / dosa

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy to make cookies and you do not need any special equipment. Perfect cookie to bake with your kids. After long time I baked cookies with Ryan. It was totally fun and feeling good that he liked them very much. He was constantly in the kitchen while they were in the oven.. and He kept saying "OMG, they smell awesome..  can we eat it now" and he was looking into the oven every two minutes. Once they were out from the oven , he could not wait anymore. When I said they need to be cooled little bit, he said 'lets keep them in the refrigerator and eat fast' :)

Baking with kids is always fun and Kids feel accomplished. This recipe is from Foodnetwork website. Original recipe does not need any hand mixer. However I used a hand mixer because it will be easy for Ryan to mix and it will be done quickly too. You can just whisk with your hands as per the original recipe

 

 

 

Yield : 32 Cookies

Recipe Source : http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe4.html

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/4 Cups of All Purpose Flour / maida
• 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4  Cup Unsalted Butter at room temperature
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Granulated white Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs at room temperature
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Chocolate Chips or chunks

Directions

 

                                

 

1. In a bowl add all purpose flour, baking soda and salt and mix them together /whisk. Set aside

2. In a large bowl, add butter, granulated white sugar and brown sugar and beat with a electric hand mixer until it is creamy. Original recipe does not require hand mixer, you can whisk using hands

3. Then add one egg at a time and beat until the mixture is smooth
4. Stir in vanilla extract

5. Now add the dry ingredients we prepared at step number 1 in this wet ingredient we prepared at step number two. Add 2 tablespoon at a time. Mix using the hand mixer each time you add flour

6. When you are done adding dry ingredients into wet ingredients, add chocolate chips  into the cookie batter and using a spatula gently fold/ stir  them in the batter

7. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour

8. Preheat the oven to 180 C

9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper / butter paper

10. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of chilled cookie batter

11. Using slightly wet hands, roll the batter into balls

12. Flatten them a little bit and arrange it on the lined cookie sheet

13. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, because they spread while baking

14. Bake it in the oven at 180 C for 16 to 18 minutes. Keep watching the cookies after 15 minutes. Bake until the edges are crispy and golden

15. If you have a bigger oven, you can place 2 cookies sheets at the same time and bake. Since I have a smaller convection oven I baked multiple times. Each time I returned the cookie batter to refrigerator while previous batch of the cookies are getting baked

16. Once out of the oven cool the cookies completely and serve.

17. Store it in airtight container and they stay fresh for few days

Please note: Use a different parchment paper for the next set of cookies to bake

Tindora Stir Fry / Kovakkai Stir Fry

Tindora stir fry is simple, quick and easy to make stir fry and it tastes amazingly good. Steamed rice with rasam and masala aloo is my all time comfort food. Next to aloo, tindora pairs well with rasam and rice. This one is jhatpat recipe without onions, garlic and tomatoes. Only thing you need to chop is tindora.

 

Ingredients

• 250 Grams Tindora ( cut lengthwise)
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chili powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1/4 Teaspoon Aamchur / raw mango powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black pepper powder
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. when the splutter, add cumin seeds and wait for them to splutter
2. Switch off the flame and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to get cooled a little bit
3. Add coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin powder and mix everything together in oil. Add salt to taste
4. Add the tindora in the pan and give it a nice stir. Now switch on the flame and keep it in medium
5. Add 1/4 Cup water and let it cook for 15 minutes or until they are cooked through
6. After all water evaporates, Sprinkle black pepper powder and amchur powder. Turn the flame to low and leave the tindora in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. This is done to make them crispy on the outside

7. Serve hot with steamed rice and rasam / as a side with roti

Spicy Vermicelli Upma

I recently posted a recipe for Kids version of vermicelli with potatoes and green peas. A close friend of mine requested me to post a recipe for spicy version. Here is a recipe for spicy version of Vermicelli upma. This is easy to make breakfast recipe and it is loaded with veggies. Super healthy !

You can serve it for breakfast or as a evening snack with tea. I added carrots and green beans in this version. You can vegetables of your choice

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Roasted Vermicelli
• 1  and 1/4 Cup Water
• 1/4 Cup Thinly chopped green beans
• 1 Carrot finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/4 Teaspoon Urad dal
• 1/4 Teaspoon Gram Dal / Channa dal
• 1 Small onion chopped finely
• 1 Medium ripe tomato (grind it in a food processor to a smooth puree)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Chopped cilantro leaves

Directions :

1. In a microwave safe bowl, add chopped carrots, green beans , 2 pinches of salt and 1/4 cup water and microwave on High for 2 minutes. Drain water completely from the veggies and set aside

2. In a pan heat oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Then add urad and channa dal and fry on low flame until the dal is light golden

3. Then add chopped onions and fry until they are soft

4. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until there is no raw smell of the paste

5. Reduce the flame to low and Add tomato puree and fry nicely until oil separates from the mixture

6. Next add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala along with 1 teaspoon of water and fry for 2 minutes      
        
7. Now add parboiled carrots , green beans along with 1 and 1/4  cup water , salt to taste. Increase the flame to high and bring it to boil

8. When the water starts boiling, reduce the flame to the lowest setting and add vermicelli               

9. Using a spoon, stir it gently and cover with a lid and let it cook for about 5 minutes

10. Cook until the water is evaporated completely and vermicelli is cooked to the correct consistency, a little more than al dente

11. Switch off flame and add lemon juice and chopped cilantro leaves and mix gently. Cover the pan with lid and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes

12. Serve hot