CRISPY ALU STIR FRY

Cooking these days is a low key affair, coz of bad health. I make whatever comes handy is effortless. Therefore, tiffin today was alu, which has been stir fried till crisp, & seasoned well.

Ing -
5 medium sized potatoes
1/2 tspn - red chilli powder
1 tspn - lime juice
1/2 tspn - turmeric / haldi
1 tspn - garam masala
5 flakes - garlic
a bunch of corriander leaves
1/4 tspn - jeera / cumin seeds
1/4 tspn - ajwain / bishop seeds

Method -
Peel & dice the potatoes into cubes.
Soak them in some water, along with a pinch of salt till you make the other preparations.
In a kadai heat some mustard oil - smoke it well
Add the jeera, ajwain & the minced garlic
When the garlic is turning brown, add the potatoe pcs.
Add some salt.
Cover the lid, n keep stirring in between till the pcs turn brown n crisp
Add the rest of the masala & the limejuice.
Cover the lid once more & let the masalas fry for about 2 mins.
Serve garnished with corriander.

Goes well with chappatis / parathas.

ALLERGY & RESHMI KEBAB

Hi there all of you. I know I have been away for a long time, with sporadic blogging. Blame it on my home connection conking off, n the MTNL guys (sarkari) never being able to come & repair it, n the datacard being too painfully slow & now I am ill. I feel really terrible wiht the season switching to winters, n me getting the allergy attack!! N to top it off, I have been tooo tooo lazy to go visit my Homeo Doc, who can cure me quickly, but just cant bring myself to go sit there....I guess I will go today itself, coz I cant take it anymore!!

Meanwhile I am posting a wonderful recipe for Reshmi Kebabs. Lovely healthy snacks.

Ing -

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bit sized pcs.
2 tspn ginger-garlic-chilli paste (add about 4/5 green chillies into the grinder while putting ginger & garlic)
4 tbspn - thick curd
2 tbsp butter
6 tbsp besan / gramflour
Half cup cream- you can use any variety, but preferably the heavy one.
2 tsp pepper powdered
1 egg
4/5 flakes of cardamom powdered
1/2 cup cheesespread

Method
Use the fork to punch the chicken in a few places, so that the marinade goes well into the chicken.
Marinate the chicken with ginger/garlic/chilli paste, the curd & salt for 1 hour. If you dont want it to be spicy you can avoid putting the chilli during grinding.
Heat butter in a kadai (preferably non-stick)
Add besan and stir till the oil separates from the flour. You can add some haldi if you want to give the kebabs a nice yellow colour, if you want to let it remain whitish then omit the haldi.
Beat the cream till no lumps are there.
Remove from heat add cream , cheesespread, pepper powder, egg and cardamom powder . Mix till it forms a very smooth paste.
Now remove the marinated pcs of chicken from the ealier dish. Leave aside any water of any other residue from the earlier marination.
Add the new marinade & ensure that the pcs are coated very well.
Set aside for 2 hours.
You can either skewer the chicken and grill on charcoal
Or put the pcs on a cookie tray, grease it & bake it in a hot oven, turning the pcs till they are done & cooked well.
You can use the grill option if you have that in your oven.
Serve with green chutney

I really wish somebody would prepare this for me, & send it across. How I wish I had the energy.

Dont have a photo yet, will do so next time when cooked.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW

This is a reminder to all of us that we are living in a world full of sweet temptations to fall into the pit of evil, be it a wrong thought, a wrong deed, a envious glance, we all maybe very well aware, but still feel that it is harmless, n its o.k. sometimes. God is ever forgiving, but I think we should inculcate the habit of our heart nudging us everytime something wrong passes us ....that is the only way we can get rid of the seemingly harmless habit.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW - by Charlene Friesen

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2).

I've got a bird's eye view to a picture that is larger than life. My birdbath offers free access to the Wildlife and Learning Channel. It's a wild kingdom out there, for both the birds and me.

Hot days, of course, are a busy day at the bath. Chipper robins, gangster blue jays and nervous chickadees jostle in line, waiting their turn for a cool drink and a refreshing splash.

Although the birds differ in size, personality, and color, they have one thing in common: a deliberate course of action. No bird dares fly directly to the birdbath. They spend a good five minutes on the clematis arbor, head bobbing up and down, body shifting to and fro, making sure the area is secure. Preparing for a bath is serious business.

Once the coast is clear, one bold robin perches on the edge of the bath. Prancing about the perimeter, he carefully scans the neighboring plants and grass, even giving me the once over through the window.

He then steps into the middle of the bath, sinking up to his chest. "Aah!" he seems to say, hunkering down in the cool water, fluffing his entire body for a good soak. He may seem relaxed, but his head never stops moving, eyes always scanning for the unpredictable, the unknown.

After the soak it's time to scrub. Safety first, of course, as one final glance precedes a furious flapping of wings. Every inch is scrubbed, the vigorous cleansing splashing water onto my deck. Between scrubbings, he continues to look about, his keen eyes not missing a thing.

Bath time done, he chooses a perch and flies to the safety of a maple tree. Quite the ritual, but if robin redbreast wasn't cautious, he may never make it home for dinner.

Unlike the robin, a comforting soak may be our only time to relax and clear our head. But once we leave the steamy confines of the bathroom, we're fair game to inappropriate TV shows and music, unhealthy friendships and the like. Satan roams the earth like a lion, seeking to destroy those who are hungry for God. He is hungry for our character and for our hearts.

Approach life like the robin - head up, aware of the surroundings. Also take heed of the spiritual surroundings; our walk with Jesus Christ directly affects our walk on earth. Placing both feet on God's path heightens our awareness of unhealthy situations and the dastardly motives of Satan.

Like the robin, you'll never be able to avoid all of the pitfalls and dangers that lurk, but make every effort to be vigilant in life, by choosing to be deliberate in your faith.

DHANIYA PANEER

This is one simple recipe, but is loaded with flavorfull dhaniya / corriander leaves. It tastes absolutely yum.



Ing -250 gms - paneer
50 gms - corriander leaves
2 big onions - chopped finely
3/4 green chillies - chopped finely
1/2 tspn - garam masala
salt to taste

Method -
In a kadai add some oil. When hot, add the onions & fry till pink in colour.
Add the green chillies & mix well
Crumble the paneer & add into the kadai.
Mix well & let cook till any moisture evaporates
Sprinke the salt & garam masala & stir till mixed properly.
lastly add the finely chopped corrainder leaves & stir till everything is combined.

Serve with hot rotis.

CHANNA DAAL PULAO - SPLIT PEAS PULAO

I called my husband to ask him what he was having for dinner with friends (he was busy finishing a Project for college & would get late), n he said Daal-Chawal, n there was me all alone sitting at home n doing nothing for dinner. I didnt want to be left behind, & therefore decided to make myself a treat - simple but still a treat !!

What I made was - Chana Daal Pulao - the spicy masaledaar version!!!

Ing -
1 glass - basmati rice
1/4 glass - channa daal (split peas yellow)
3 big onions - thinly sliced
1 tomato - chopped finely
4 cardamoms - crushed
1 tspn - jeera / cumin seeds
1 tspn - garam masala
1 tspn - red chilli powder
1 tspn - haldi / turmeric powder
1 tspn butter
1-1/2 glass (the same glass) - water

Method -
Wash & soak the rice for about 10-15 minutes
Wash & soak the daal separately for about 20 minutes
I soaked both of them & meanwhile did the preparations
In a cooker, add some oil
Add the crushed cardamoms & jeera.
After they sputter, add the onions and fry till brown
Add the the tomatoes & fry till the oil separates
Now add the haldi, garam masala & the chilli powder. Fry well
Drain the rice & the daal & add into the cooker.
Fry well, after adding the butter.
Now add water.
Add the salt & put the lid of the cooker
Wait for a whistle & close the flame.
Wait for the steam to pass

Serve with raita & achaar & papad.

I also make this as a very simple Pulao without any masalas, which I will post some time later.

EGG CHILLA

First things first........breakfast today was Paneer Chilla - yummmmmmmm.

Alteration made to the remaining batter was. While on the tava an egg was broken on top of the chilla & sprinkled with some salt & black pepper & cooked on both sides.

The result ........

The verdict.........eggilicious !!!

I loved it, n I dont know about hubby coz there was just one made, n he didnt get to eat it !!!

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Owing to navratras, I am to avoid anything non-vegetarian at home. Does that deter me from my addiction of blogging & baking & cooking - nah - never !!!

This is what I came up with - EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE. The original recipe was from http://www.baawarchi.com/ but I did make some modifications. I will be posting the pic soon, but the recipe goes as follows.

Ing -
3/4 cup - maida/self raising flour
1-1/4 cup - atta /wheat flour
1 tspn - baking powder
3 tbspn - cocoa powder
1 cup - powdered sugar (I added about 3/4 cardamoms in the grinder when grinding the sugar to get a lovely cardamom sugar)
3/4 cup - butter / oil / ghee
1/2 tspn - baking soda
3/4 cup - beaten curd
3 tspn - vanilla essense
handful of walnuts - broken coarsely
handful of dried dates - cut coarsely
1/4 tspn - cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup - milk
4 tbspn - brown sugar

Method -
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Seive the flours, salt, baking powder & cocoa powder together. (the absent minded person I am, I even seived the powdered sugar along - & though the cake turned out fine, I would want you to go with the original recipe)
Add the baking soda into the curd & keep aside in a bigger container, coz the curd is going to rise.
Beat the sugar & the butter together till light.
Now in this sugar / butter mixture add the flour & the curd alternatively & mix well.
Ensure that there are no lumps left.
Add the vanilla essence - mix well
Add the cinnamon powder, the walnuts & the dates.
Mix well. If you feel the batter is quite thick add the milk to get the right consistency.
Grease a baking dish & pour the batter into the dish
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly on top
Bake at 180C for about 40 mins.

The cake was delicious, soft & moist. I loved the dried dates in it & the brown sugar gave a very crunchy crust!!!

GOD'S GLORY

SEE GOD'S GLORY - by Dr Bill Bright

Jesus saith unto her, 'Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?'" (John 11:40, KJV).How wonderful to behold the glory of God! And in varying degrees you and I have the capability and opportunity of doing that very thing!Jesus here, of course, is talking to Martha about her brother Lazarus, whom He was just about to raise form the dead. The message is plain: "Because you believed, Martha, you will see the glory of God in the raising of Lazarus."

Because you and I dare to believe God today, against all evidence and appearances to the contrary, He will let us see something of His glory. Just what is meant by that?Most scholars agree that the glory of God in this context at least, refers to the power and goodness displayed in the resurrection. That holds endless possibilities of fulfillment.Amazing, isn't it, that the simple matter of believing often is so difficult for the believer, as we are called? "Ye receive not, because ye ask not." "According to your faith be it unto you." "Ye receive not because ye ask amiss."

May our Lord increase our faith by driving us into His Word, since "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by His Word."

GINGER BREAD

This recipe is adapted from Nandita of SAFFRON TRAIL. I lacked a few ingredients & my laziness to drag myself out of the home, resulted in me making a few alterations, which further resulted in a less sweet but a healthy cake. After I saw the results, I went back to her blog & checked out the comments etc, & realized that adding 1/2 cup of oil would have made the cake more softer. The cake was good but if it would have had the right sweetness to it & probably the softness from the oil it would have been excellent. It looks fab, n another thing - it tastes better than it did yesterday :-)). You can check up Nandita's blog for the actual recipe

Ing -

1-1/2 cup - wheat flour

1/2 cup - semolina / rawa

6 tspn - Sugar - the original called for 3 tspn each of Sugar & Splenda (which I didnt have so I substituted it for 3 more tspn sugar) but I guess it should have been more I should have added at least 8-10 tbspn of sugar

3 tspn - brown sugar - the original recipe called for 3 tspn grated jaggery, which I didnt have
a handfulf dates

a handful of raisins

a handful of candied ginger

some walnuts crushed

2 cups - water

1 tspn - grated ginger

1 tspn - cinnamon powder

3/4 - cloves

a pinch of salt.

1/2 cup - oil

1 tspn - baking powder

1 tspn - baking soda

Method -

Take water in a pan & add the raisins, dates, candied ginger, grated ginger, cinnamon powder, cloves, salt & sugars. Bring it to a boil & on slow flame boil for about a minute

Let the mixture cool completely (she said this was very important)

In another bowl seive the flour, semolina, baking powder & baking soda together.

Into this add the mixture & also the oil (I didnt add the oil in my recipe, but I will do so when I bake this cake the next time, hence adding it here)

Preheat oven to 180 C & line a baking dish with foil.

Grease it & bake the cake for 30 minutes.

The greased foil enabled the cake to come out like a knife in butter !!!

STIR FRIED WHITE BAINGAN

I have never made white small oblong baingan in my life, but this week while doing my regular shopping for grocery, I saw them beckoning to me & I very quicking obliged by picking up a batch. While doing so, there was this lady next to me, who asked me how I made them coz she had never made them. ......now I cooked up a very recipe in my mind & told her so, but also added that I've never tried it. She gave me a wiered look & walked away without buying the eggplant. Here goes my recipe & it indeed was wonderful.

Ing -

250 gms - white baingan (small oblong ones)

1 onion - chopped finely

1/2 inch pc of ginger - grated

3/4 flakes - garlic grated

1/2 tspn - haldi

1/2 tspn - amchur

4/5 - green chillies (I made them really spicy)

Method -

Wash & dice the eggplants.

In a kadai, add some oil & add the garlic & ginger grated

When they turn brown, add the onions & stir for about 1/2 minute

Add the baingan, green chillies & some salt & close the lid.

Let the baingan cook thoroughly.

Now add all the masalas & cook for about 2 minutes with closed lid

Serve with chappatis.

AJWAIN ARVI - COLOCASIA WITH CAROM SEEDSD

Lunch at home after stuffing yourself with so much outside food was a major relief & the tummy was happy to get some rest.

The refigerator showed only some arvi (colocasia) & ghiya (bottle gourd). Decided on a Menu of ajwain- arvi, mutar-paneer gravy & chapatis.

Ingredients -

1/2 kg - arvi / colocasia

3/4 tbspn - ajwain / carom / bishop seeds

1 tspn - haldi

1/2 tspn - amchur

1 tspn - chilli powder

a pinch of hing

1/2 tspn - garam masala

1 big onion - finely sliced

Method -

When you are buyin arvi try and keep them of the same size as much as possible & avoid ones with small protrusions.

Scrape the arvi & cut them lenghtwise into 1/4 app. inch slices i.e., not wafer thin nor very thick.

Wash them & pat dry them well.

In a kadai heat a good amount of oil. Dont use too much oil, lest the rest needs to be reused, but take enough to fry a small batch of arvis.

Fry the arvis till golden brown. Dont worry the arvi will not soak up too much oil & you will see after all the arvis are done that not much oil has been consumed.

In another kadai, take very little oil just about 1 tspn (or even less if you're using a non-stick pan) & add the ajwain / carom seeds.

Add the hing & the onions & fry till pinkish brown.

Add the fried arvi, the haldi, amchur, red chilli powder & garam masala.

Close the lid & cook for another 2 minutes & serve with a dash of lemon

BACK FROM A BREAK

Agra was good. I never thought there would still be so many tourists flocking to the see the majestic Taj. N indeed, it rightly deserves to be one of the Wonders of the World. The sheer beauty of architecture is worth every effort. Breathtakingly beautiful - is the word. And let me tell you another thing - inspite of the humungous crowd there was a tranquility surround this amazing monument. You can be at peace with yourself, sitting by the sides of the Taj, watching the scantily flowing Yamuna river - even after being surrounded by masses of people. The experience really made me speechless. I just didnt want to leave the place.

We also visited Fatehpur Sikri, which was the Palace of Emperor Akbar. It was also beautifully done in Red Sandstone. The architecture was commendable.

Except for the vase with the flower & the good luck plant the rest of the curios were purchased from Fatehpur Sikri. The elephant is beautiful work of craftsmanship. It has two small elephants inside. I am amazed by the skills of those guys. The egg shaped cut work piece is a lamp. It glows beautifully when lit.

I have almost 200 pics which unfortunately wont be able to share on the blog. Wish there was some other way to show them to you.