Friday, May 30, 2008

PONNASA UPKARI

I told u on my earlier blog PONNASA means jackfruit and UPKARI refers sidedish. Thus u readers can learn few konkani words. Here comes my next simple recipe on my left over raw jackfruit. It tastes fabulous and goes well as a sidedish.
INGREDIENTS.

1/4 kg Jackfruit.

1 tsp Mustard seeds.

2 tsp chilli powder.

1 tsp Coconut oil.

2 tbs Water.

Salt to taste.

METHOD.

Pressure cook jackfruit till tender (I took 2 whistle). Some jackfruit takes long time to cook therefore its better to pressure cook, rather than cooking the whole process on a kadai.
and it saves time too. Set aside and let it cool. Later chop them into pieces and keep it a side.

In a pan heat oil and mustard seeds , chilli powder and then the jackfruit piece with salt with a 2 tbs of water so that the mixture does not stick at the bottom. Cover and let it cook for 3 min under low flame.

Serve hot with rice.


Wednesday, May 28, 2008

JEEVE PONNASA GHASSI

U all might be wondering whts this name is? Let me explain u. The word JEEV means Raw , PONNASA means Jackfruit and the word Ghassi means Curry with coconut gravy. Now its clear to all of u what my recipe is? Yes thats ' RAW JACKFRUIT COCONUT GRAVY '. When i think of comfort food,the thing that struck my mind is this recipe which is traditional konkani dish depending on vegetables or pulses. It is must in all konkani's function.




INGREDIENTS.

1 cup Raw jackfruit.

2 dry Red chillies.

5 Peppercorns.

2 tbs Coriander seeds.

1/2 cup Coconut.

1 tsp Tamarind extract.

Turmeric powder a pinch.

Salt to taste.

SEASONING.

2 tbs Oil.

Curry leaves few.



METHOD.

Pressure cook raw jackfruit pieces with salt until they are tender. (I took 2 whistles) Make sure the pieces does not overcook. Keep aside after its done. Dry roast coconut , dry red chilli , coriander seeds , peppercorns with a pinch of turmeric powder.Roast until it gets brown. Set to cool for a while.



Then grind the mixture into fine past along with tamarind extract. U can see later that the paste starts becoming oily and its smells too good. This is called 'Masol'. (U can keep this mixture almost for 2 months. And the taste remains the same).

Heat a pan and add the cooked jackfruit along with its water. Add finally the grounded thick paste and bring up to boil.

In other pan, heat oil and add curry leaves and pour it over the gravy.


This recipe can be prepared with Bread fruit or Potatoes instead of raw jackfruit.

Serve hot with rice.

Monday, May 26, 2008

SHRIMPS IN APPLE GRAVY

One of the most popular ingredients under seafood dishes are shrimps and prawns that are enjoyed in many countries of the world. I love shrimps under different kinds of cuisine. Once we have been visited to Chinese hotel where we had shrimps cooked in pineapple gravy. It was a bit sweet and spicy too. One day I thought of preparing the same recipe with apple instead of pineapple. I am sure whoever like the taste of sour and sweet along with mild spiciness in recipe would love this.


INGREDIENTS.

10 Medium Size Shrimps

1 Apple.

1 Diced red onion.

1 tsp Tomato ketchup.

1 tsp Chilli sause.(optional)

1 tbsp Soya sause.

1 tbsp Lime juice.

1 Green chilly.

3 tsp Chopped ginger.

1 tsp Chopped garlic.

1 tsp oil.

Salt and papper to taste.

Chopped scallions for garnish.

METHOD.

Marinate shrimps and diced apple with salt and lime juice for 15 to 20 min. Apple can be diced along with skin, but here I have removed the apples skin and cut in to small pieces. Meanwhile in a pan heat oil and add ginger and garlic. Fry them till the raw smell is off. Later add diced onions and fry them half cooked. Add chopped chilies, soya sauce and tomato ketchup in the mix and stir it for a while. Finally add the marinated apple and shrimp mixture with half cup of water. Add salt and pepper according to taste. Close the lid and cook for 10 min. Garnish with chopped scallions.


Serve hot with 2 min maggi noodles. Njoy friends.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

MY FIRST AWARDS

I was really excited and surprised when I saw Ranji has presented me 3 gorgeous awards though I just started my blog 2 weeks back. Shez very talented and all her recipe rock us. Thank u so much Ranji for remembering me and u just made my day very special and overjoyed that I shared with my hubby, 2 years old Smera and now with u all. I am flattered. And the 3 awards that I have received from Ranji are,

MY FIRST AWARD ''YOU MAKE MY DAY AWARD''

As this award says “you make my day”, its true, Ranji has made my day special. Thanks dear. I would like to pass on this to


MY SECOND AWARD ''NICE MATTERS AWARD''



This award I would like to pass onto all my blogger friends who have left me always with positive feedbacks. But there is one person who has been sooo nice to me before my entry towards here and who always encouraged me to start my own food blog and this goes to


MY THIRD AWARD ''YUMMY BLOG AWARD''


This award is started by Roopa and i really appreciate her for this. Special thanks to u roopa.

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

As per rules i have to mention 4 of my favourite desserts

Rasmalai.
Rasgullas.
Fruit salad with icecream.
Yellow coloured jilebies.

I would like to present this award to 4 persons as per rules. They are


MY FOURTH AWARD ''ROCKING GIRL BLOGGERS''


This award is given by my dear friend Divya vikram. I am glad that u find my blog yumm. Thanks a ton divya for this special pinky award. I pass on this to


Congrates all and enjoy...

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

PINEAPPLE RAVA JAMUNS

Well friends, am not a great fan of sweets. But my hubby loves making sweets at home whenever he is free from his office works and it tastes great. I had always used making Gulab Jamun with readymade mix but one day my hubby tried making homemade Jamuns using rava and leftover pineapple. Hope you guys will love it.




INGREDIENTS.

1 cup Rava.
1 cup Milk.
1 cup Sugar.
2 cup Water.
1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple.
Oil for deep frying.

FOR MAKING SUGAR SYRUP.

1 cup Sugar.
1/2 cup Water.
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder.
1 tsp Lemon juice.

METHOD.

In a pan cook chopped pineapple with 2 cups of water till tender. Later add milk and let it come to boil at which point rava is added gradually. Keep stirring and take care not to form any lumps. Simmer and let it cook for 5 min. Once rava is cooked, add the sugar and mix it well till sugar dissolves. After that set the mixture to cool.


For the sugar syrup, drop sugar and water in a pan and cook to make syrup. Add lemon juice to clarify syrup. Remove the scum. Add cardamom powder. Boil till the sugar turns to one threaded consistency. Transfer the syrup into serving dish.

Later knead the pineapple rava mixture into soft dough. Divide the dough into small balls.



Deep fry these in hot oil on low heat. When jamuns are golden brown, drain them and add to the hot syrup.


Serve as it is or along with ice cream.

Friday, May 16, 2008

PALAK - CORIANDER SUKKE

In konkani 'SUKKE' means dry sidedish cooked with grated coconut and indian spice. This recipe is slightly different from dal palak. Palak cooked with fried garlic and moong dal is unique. It is also the good source of iron rich and healthy. I crave this atleast once a week and is a comforting dish.

Ingredients.

1 cup Chopped palak.

1/2 cup Chopped coriander leaves.

1/2 cup Moong dal.

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds.

1/2 tsp chilli powder.

1/2 tsp Urad dal.

1/4 tsp turmeric powder.

2 pods Garlic(optional).

1 tbsp Grated coconut.

1 tsp oil.

Salt to taste.

Method.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and urad dal. Fry till the urad dal colour turns slight brown

Add garlic and moong dal with enough water. Cook over a low heat till dal is cooked.


Then add palak and coriander leaves with salt and cover for few minutes.

Lastly when all the greens are semi cooked add grated coconut, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Stir over medium heat till greens starts drying up a bit.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

CHICKEN CHEDDAR

This is my first non veg recipe in this blog. I have actually tasted chicken once or twice during my school days. After my marriage when I visited USA for first time, I started having and preparing non veg dishes (chicken and fish). First it took some days to touch the raw meat but lastly I made it. I got this recipe from BAREFOOT CONTESSA on food network. This item is very easy to make and is moist on inside and crunchy on the outside. This can be served with mashed potatoes.



Ingredients.

1 Boneless chicken breast piece.

1 Egg.

1 cup Bread crumbs.

1 tbs Chopped parsley.

1 tbs Oil.

1/2 cup all purpose flour.

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Method.

Cut the chicken breast into thinly slice long. It should be 1/4 inch thick. Add salt and pepper on the pieces and keep aside for few minutes.
In a bowl break egg and whisk it. It should be enough to dip the marinated chicken. On a plate combine flour, salt and pepper.
On another plate mix bread crumbs, chopped parsley, shredded cheddar, salt and pepper.
Coat the breast pieces with flour mixture on both the sides. Then dip into egg mixture and finally to the bread crumbs mixture, pressing lightly on both the sides.
Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan and place the chicken gently. On a low heat cook chicken on both the sides until brown.

Monday, May 12, 2008

MUSHROOM SOUP

My daughter Smera is a mushroom lover so as me and my hubby. Mushroom is very easy to saute and nutrients to just about anything. There are many types of mushrooms, out of which I like button mushrooms the best and can be enjoyed in so many different types of recipes. I love mushroom soup which I hope u guys are also gonna luv it.





Ingredients.

2 cups chopped mushrooms.
1 cup milk or cream.
2 tsp unsalted butter.
1/2 chopped onion.
3 pods of garlic.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish.

Few chopped mushroom.
Coriander leaves.

Method.

Heat 1 tsp of unsalted butter. Add garlic, chopped onion, mushroom and salt one at a time and saute till mushrooms are cooked. Allow to cool.
Grind the mixture along with milk.
Heat remaining unsalted butter and fry the rest of the chopped mushroom for few sec. Put the grounded mixture to the fried mushroom. Bring to boil. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
Garnish with coriander and serve hot.



Friday, May 9, 2008

PINEAPPLE PACHADI

Pineapple pachadi is an exotic dish from Kerala cuisine which is the combo of pineapple with coconut and are seasoned with the coconut oil. This is actually prepared at the time of onam or vishu which I tried for the first time during vishu. It was so delicious that I thought of presenting here.

Ingredients.

2 cups chopped pineapple.

1 cup grated coconut.

2 dried red chilies.

½ cup water.

½ tsp turmeric powder.

Salt to taste.

For seasoning.

1 tsp mustard seeds.

2 nos dry red chilly.

1 tbs coconut oil.

Few curry leaves.

Method.

Boil chopped pineapple with a pinch of turmeric and water. Cook until the pieces are tender


Meanwhile grind coconut with dry chilies to a fine paste.

In pan heat oil, add curry leaves and then the coconut paste. Saute for a while.

When pineapple is fully cooked, add the coconut mixture. Make sure the gravy must be thick.

Lastly heat oil in a pan and season with mustard seed and dried red chili.

Then transfer those seasoning in the pineapple gravy.



(If the pineapple is not sweet enough, you can add little sugar in order to balance the sweet flavor)

Enjoy....

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS.

Here comes my next simple baked bell pepper's recipe. There are many stuffing which make out of veggies or rice or stuffed potatoes etc etc. Here i taught of making simple Italian version style of stuffed bell peppers. You can also try this same type of recipe with big green chillies instead of bell peppers or capsicum.It can be served as a snack.




Ingredient

2 Bell peppers.

1 Egg.

1 Chopped onion.

5 Chopped button mushroom.

2tsp Minced garlic.

2tsp Mixed Italian herbs.

2tsp Chopped coriander leaves.

2tsp Bread crumbs

1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.

1/2 cup Shredded mozarella.

Freshly crushed black pepper.

Salt to taste.




Method.

Cut the bell peppers into halves or just remove the cap of bell pepper.Deseed them.Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and grease oil on all sides. Keep it aside.

Mix rest of the ingredient except cheese and stuff the mixture inside each piece of bell peppers.(mixture should be dry enough to fill inside)

Finally add cheese onthe top.Bake them in preheated oven to 350 for 15 to 20 min until the cheese turns brown.Let it rest for 5 min before taking it out.Garnish with sliced onion and corinder leaves.

Another option is shallow fry on a pan with oil till bell peppers becomes tender.Enjoy...

Monday, May 5, 2008

SHRIKHAND

Shrikhand is the traditional gujarati dessert served chilled in most of the gujarati thali. It is actually served with garama garam puries. One day v had a visit to our friend's place where v tasted shrikhand and from that day it has become our favorite dish. My hubby often does this at home. So enjoy chilled shrikhand and try it by your own.



Ingredients:


200ml yogurt.

220gm powdered sugar.

1tsp saffron strands.

1/2tsp cardamom powder.


For garnish:

Dry fruits as per ur choice. (If Badam is used, it is always better to soak into water for few min)


Method:


Tie yogurt in a clean muslin cloth overnight. Discard the whey.

Soak saffron in the milk approximately for 15 min or until it dissolves.

Place the yogurt in bowl and add sugar and beat until blended. Add saffron too.

Last but not the least add cardamom powder and garnish with ur favorite shredded dry fruits.