Methi dal

Remember the methi sprouts that LG & I planted that made an appearance in this post? Well, the methi has grown splendidly and with some of it, I made this dal for lunch.

What you need:
Moong dal - 3/4 cup
Methi leaves - 1 cup, washed and finely chopped
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Green chilli - 2 or 3, minced
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Tomato - 2 large juicy ones, chopped
Ghee - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Add two cups of water to the moong dal. Add methi leaves, salt and turmeric powder. Cook in the pressure cooker till one whistle, reduce the flame and cook for another five minutes.
In a pan, heat the oil and ghee. Add cumin seeds When the seeds sputter, add the chopped garlic, green chillies and onions. Fry on a low flame until they start to brown. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till soft and mushy. Pour the cooked dal over this. Add some water if needed and let it boil for 5-8 minutes.
Serve with rice or roti.

Dulce De Leche

I just made dulce de leche(pronounced duel-say-day-lay-che)......and ate quite a few spoonfuls before sitting down to do this post. I can't believe that something that tastes so good is so easy to make. When I saw Divya's post on Dulce de leche, I knew that this is something I would try out. Only thing is, her statement about the possible danger of can burst had me scared. So I did some googling and found that the principles of physics say that there is absolutely no way for an air tight can to burst under pressure. Armed with this knowledge, I ventured to make this.

What you need:
Condensed milk - 1 tin (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
Pressure cooker
Water - enough to cover the condensed milk tin and then some more

This is so simple, I feel silly typing out a recipe. Just immerse the can in plenty of water. Close the pressure cooker. When you see steam escaping from the vent, put on the weight. Wait till one whistle. Then turn the heat to low and let it cook for 30-35 minutes. Switch off heat. Once the steam has escaped, remove the tin from the cooker. It will still be very, very hot.....so be careful. Now comes the T.O.U.G.H.E.S.T part......you have to wait until it cools down to room temperature and that is a lo..........ng wait.

Once it cools down, open the can.....and enjoy by the spoonfuls.

Gujarati dal from Sukham Ayu

This month's Indian Cooking Challenge is to make Gujarati dal from Sukham Ayu - an award winning Ayurvedic cook book written by the talented duo - Pratiba & Jigyasa.

What you need:
Tuar dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Yam - 8-10 small(1") sized pieces
Drumstick - 2, cut into pieces
Groundnuts - a handful
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Tamarind - a gooseberry sized piece soaked in water
Dates - 4, pitted and halved
Jaggery - a small piece
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Green chilli - 1, slit into two
Corriander leaves - for garnishing
Salt

For tempering:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - a few

Soak dal in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes. Cook it in a pressure cooker until soft. Mash it well and transfer to a thick bottomed kadai. Add all the other ingredients except garam masala and corriander. Add a cup of water and mix well. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. By this time, both the yam and drumsticks will be well cooked.
Heat ghee in a kadai. Add all the tempering ingredients. When the mustard seeds pop, pour this over the dal and let it simmer for five minutes. Switch off the heat. Sprinkle garam masala and corriander leaves on top.

What I think of the dish:
This is a very simple, yet flavorful dish. Despite using familiar ingredients, the taste of this dal is something that was quite new to me. The dal tends to thicken as it cooks and later as it cools. So do keep this in mind and add sufficient water in the initial stages.

Tomato soup

I started this blogging marathon with a soup and today, on the last day of the marathon, I have another bowl of soup to serve.
My daughter, like many other kids her age, often gets cold and cough. When she falls ill, she refuses to eat rice. At these times, soup comes to the rescue. Lentils, vegetables, even a little bit of rice.....all these can be added to make a healthy soup. The soup that I have made today is a basic one that includes some vegetables. The vegetables can be changed according to your choice.

What you need:
1 large, juicy tomato
1 small carrot
Cabbage - a few large pieces
Pepper corns - to taste
Salt

Microwave the tomato, carrot and cabbage for 5 minutes or until well cooked. Let it cool. Add peppercorns and salt. Blend till smooth. I usually do not strain my soups or remove the skin of the tomatoes. You can do that if you choose to. Also, the soup I serve for my daughter is thicker in consistency than what I would make for myself because I feel that it is easier for her to drink and less messy.
Warm the soup up and serve topped with some butter or a dollop of cream.

Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Onion tomato sandwich

The good thing about a sandwich is that it is so easy to put together....it gets done within a matter of minutes, and you can be as creative as you want to be with the filling. Most kids don't seem to mind eating veggies as long as they are sandwiched between two slices of bread, slathered with butter and drizzled with ketchup.
This is a very simple sandwich that makes use of ingredients which are commonly available in an Indian kitchen.

What you need:
Bread - 12 slices
Onion - 2, finely chopped
Tomato - 3 large juicy ones, chopped fine
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped fine
Salt
Sugar - a little
Red chilli powder/sambar powder - to taste
Corriander leaves - chopped, a handful
Oil/butter - 3 tsp
Butter - for spreading on bread
Heat oil in a pan. Add the onion and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until they start to brown. Add ginger, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt, sugar, chilli/sambar powder. Mix well. Cover and let it cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove the lid and heat till all the moisture evaporates.
To prepare the sandwich:
Spread butter on the bread slices. Spread some filling between two slices of bread and toast it in a sandwich maker.
Serve with ketchup on the side.
Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Thoppi dosa/Cap dosa/Cone dosa

Very often when we make variations in the shape or the colour of a dish that is normally served, children show an interest in eating it. This dosa is one such variation. Have you noticed how, in some restaurants, hot, crispy dosas are brought to the table, shaped like a cone? As a child, the cone used to remind me of a cap, and I have always called it thoppi(cap) dosa. Yesterday, I tried replicating the shape at home, and found that it is quite easy to do.

What you need:
Dosa batter
A non stick dosa griddle
Two wooden spatulas

How to make it:
Pour a ladle of batter on the hot griddle. Spread it into a thin circle. Let this cook on low heat until well browned and crisp. Do not turn over.

Holding down the dosa with one spatula, use the other one to make a cut from the center of the dosa to one end.

Fold this as shown in the pic below.

Now roll the other side over this to form a cone. Place the crisp cone on a plate and serve it hot with chutney/sambar/molaga podi.

Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Fun weekend activity with kids

I love gardening. I think I get this trait from my father, who in turn seems to have got it from both his parents. This doesn't mean that I have a thriving garden....I only have a few plants in my balcony and I try and do my best with those plants. That, however, doesn't stop me from wanting more plants or admiring people who are avid gardeners. I am trying to inculcate this love for plants in my daughter. Two days back, I told her that she could grow some plants all by herself. She soaked a handful of methi seeds in enough water to cover them and left them like that for a day. The next day, with a little help from me, she drained the water and emptied the seeds into a wet cloth. We left it loosely covered overnight. This morning, she opened it and was very excited to see that the seeds had sprouted.

After popping a few into her mouth, she was ready to plant them. We dug the soil and my daughter was thrilled to discover earthworms in the soil. It is only a few days back that I read her a story which explains how important earthworms are to make the soil fertile. She was very happy we had plenty of earthworms in the mud and that they would make the soil good enough for her seeds.
She did all the planting herself - she sprinkled the sprouts on the freshly dug soil, covered it up with some more soil and then sprinkled some water over the seeds.

Now she is eagerly waiting to see the first few leaves and also to see what will be cooked with the leaves.
Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Ragi kanji

Ragi(finger millet) is a rich source of iron and something that should be included in the diet of not only children, but also adults. I usually add a handful of ragi flour while kneading the dough for chapati. I also frequently make this kanji as a breakfast drink. The hint of cardamom and the sweetness make it a favourite with kids.

What you need:
Ragi flour - 1 tsp, heaped
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1.5 tsp(can be substituted with jaggery)
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Milk - 1 cup

Take the ragi flour in a vessel. Add sugar, cardamom powder and water. Mix well so there are no lumps. Keep this on low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. Switch off heat and still stirring, add the milk little by little until well mixed.
Serve warm.
The measurements given above are enough to make one tall mug of ragi kanji.
On a different note, can someone give me tips on how to take reasonably good pics of liquids? Every time I click liquids, I end up with pics that look blah!!!
Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Vegetable macaroni

There are very few kids who do not like noodles or pasta. Adding veggies to the pasta makes it healthy, gives parents the satisfaction of giving their kids something good to eat and the kids are happy because they get to eat pasta. This is a very tasty, pasta treat with vegetables added to it.
What you need:
Macaroni - 1 cup
Tomato - 2, pureed
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Ginger - a fairly large piece, julienned
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Carrot - 1, chopped into small pieces
Potato - 1, chopped into small pieces
Paneer - a few cubes
Salt
Kashmiri red chilli powder - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1.5 cups
Butter/ghee - 4 tsp
Corriander - chopped, for garnishing.


Heat ghee in the pressure cooker. Add ginger, garlic, onion and fry on low heat until the onions start to brown. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tomato puree. Mix well and let it boil until the raw smell goes away. Add the chopped vegetables,paneer, salt, a little sugar and mix well. Now add 1.5 cups of water and the macaroni. Stir well. Close the pressure cooker, but do not put on the weight. When you see steam starting to come out of the vent in full force, wait for two minutes and then turn the heat to low. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes. Switch off heat, open the lid and sprinkle finely chopped corriander leaves over the pasta. Mix well and serve hot.
Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Another blogging marathon

This year, I finally seem to have kicked off my tendency to let the blog take lo.....ng breaks. January started off with a blogging marathon, where I posted every day, and this month, me and some other blogger friends are doing a 7 day marathon. This time, the marathon is theme based and I have chosen to make Kid friendly recipes. The first dish that I will be sharing with you is a soup that kids will love for its colour and slight sweetness - Beetroot Soup.
This is also a great way to get veggies into a child's diet.

What you need:
Beetroot - 1 small
Onion - 1, chopped into large pieces
Ghee/butter - 1 tsp
Black pepper corns - 5 or 6
Salt

Heat ghee in a pan. Add the pepper corns and chopped onions to it and fry till the onions start to brown. Microwave the beet with skin for 7-8 minutes. Let it cool and then peel off the skin and dice it into large chunks. Transfer all the ingredients to a blender and blend till smooth.
Pour it back into the pan with a cup of water and let it boil.
Note: If you are serving this to adults, you might want to add some more spice in the form of more pepper corns or chillies.
Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena