Capsicum-Mushroom Rice

I have so fallen in love with mushrooms!!Oyster mushrooms are my favorite!! I have always used mushrooms to make dry curries and used it as toppings on pizzas. I just tried using it along with capsicum, peas and carrots and made a spicy rice. It tasted Awesome!! This is a very easy recipe to make and gets done in a jiffy!

Ingredients:

Mushrooms - 2 Cups (You can use any kind of mushrooms)
Capsicum - 1 medium sized - Diced
Green Peas and Carrots - 1 cup (I used frozen)
Cooked Rice - 3 cups
Butter - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - According to taste


Method:

• In a pan, melt the butter and add the cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to sizzle, add the capsicum and saute it for a few minutes.

• Once the capsicum is cooked halfway through, add the sliced mushrooms and mix well.

• Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt.

• Mushrooms release a lot of water and get soft as they are being cooked.

• Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the frozen peas and carrots and mix all the veggies well.

• Once all the veggies are cooked, add the Garam Masala powder and mix well and turn off the flame.

• Mix the veggie masala with the cooked rice.

• Serve hot with Raita and enjoy your quick fix meal!!

Homemade Lemonade

Lemonade is a refreshing drink at any time of the day. It is the favorite drink of my DH. Homemade lemonade has its own unique taste and is heavenly to taste. I usually make a lot of concentrated lemonade and then dilute it whenever needed. You can make a lot of variations to the taste by adding fresh basil or mint leaves or any fresh herb to the lemonade and give it a variety of flavors too.

Ingredients:

Lemon/ Lime - 5-6 (About 1/2 cup of lemon juice)
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 3 cups

Method:

• We start by making a simple syrup for the lemonade. Add the 3 cups of water in a vessel and add sugar to it. 

• Bring it to a boil until all the sugar dissolves completely in the water. Let the simple syrup cool down completely.

• Meanwhile, squeeze the juice out of the lemons and keep it aside. We should be able to get about 1 cup of lemon juice from 6 lemon.

• Once the simple syrup has cooled completely, add the lemon juice into it.

• Mix it well and bottle it. You can store this in the refrigerator for bout 2-3 weeks. 

• Take quarter cup of concentrated lemonade and dilute it with 2/3rd cup of water. Chop a few mint leaves and add it to the lemonade. Serve chilled and Enjoy!!

Spinach Rice

Spinach Rice is a very easy dish to make and requires no much prior preparation. A quick fix solution for those who cannot wait for long to eat good food. I usually make this after I am back from a tired day of work. I have provided a very simple and step-by-step procedure to make the Spinach Rice

Required Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 3 cups

Baby spinach - 2 cups

Oil/Butter - 2tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1  1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 4-5

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat a pan and add the butter (or oil). Then add the cumin seeds, red chillies and asafoetida.

• Once the cumin seeds start to crackle, add the chopped spinach to the seasoning . Add salt according to taste and mix well.

• Cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame. The spinach will wilt and reduce in quantity.

• Spinach takes very less time to cook. Once the spinach curry is done, add the cooked rice. Mix the rice and the curry well. 

• Let the cooked rice cool for a while before adding to the spinach rice. Otherwise the rice may get lumpy and mushy.

• Hot spinach rice is ready to serve.

• Spinach rice can be enjoyed best alone. There is no side-dish required. Raita can be used as an accompaniment if needed. Enjoy your spinach rice!

Notes : 

• Usually red chillies are added while cooking greens due to the fact that people who do not want to eat chillies can easily separate red chillies from the green curry as opposed to finding Green Chillies in Greens!

Cabbage Stir-Fry

Cabbage is one such veggie that is green, leafy and very rich in fiber content. It is a very versatile vegetable. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Since it is rich in fiber content it is a very good veggie that cleanses the intestinal system of the body. I usually make stir-fry, Dal and Kootu with cabbage and it is the most liked veggie in my home. This stir-fry is very easy to make and can be eaten with Rice, Roti or can be munched upon just like that.

Ingredients:

Small cabbage - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - About 1/8 th of a tsp
Green chillies - 4-5
Cilantro - A few sprigs
Salt - To taste

Method:

• Shred the cabbage into small pieces. Wash and drain and set it aside.

• In a pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, chana dal and urad dal.

• Once the mustard seeds splutter and the dal turns golden brown, add the green chillies.

• Now add the drained cabbage, salt and turmeric powder. Mix all the seasoning well with the cabbage.Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

• Keep stirring once in between. Once the cabbage has turned translucent it is cooked. Let the cabbage be a little crunchy. It tastes better that way.

• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

• Enjoy the stir-fry the best with Rasam rice!!

Notes:

• You can also use red chillies instead of green chillies..It will be a contrast to the green color of the cabbage.
• You can add shredded coconut about 2-3 minutes before turning off the flame. It is a variation from the normal cabbage curry.
• Using turmeric powder is optional. You may choose to skip its use.

Tomato Gojju / Thakkali Gothsu

Tomato Gojju is a very popular side dish for Chapathi's, Dosas and some Rice varieties. Tomato Gojju is called so in Karnataka and Thakkali Gothsu is the name for the dish in Tamil. The same Gojju can be mixed with white rice to make Tomato Rice / Baath. This forms the base for Tomato Rice/Tomato Baath. It tastes delicious when served as a side dish with Venn Pongal/ Khara Pongal. This is one of the exclusive recipes from my Mother's kitchen and an all time favorite at my Mom's place.This is how you make it.

Ingredients:

3 medium sized tomatoes (Finely chopped)

2 medium sized onions (Finely chopped)

3-4 green chillies (Finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (Minced or chopped)

1 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of red chili powder (optional)

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, Urad Dal and Chana Dal

Salt to taste

Oil for seasoning (About a table spoon)

Method:

For the Gojju Powder:

• In a small fry pan, roast the Cumin seeds and the Fenugreek seeds together until the aroma from both the spices are released. 
• Grind it into a slightly coarse powder and keep it aside.

For the Gojju :

• Take a deep pan and add about a tablespoon of oil.
• Once the oil is hot add Mustard seeds, Urad Dal, Chana Dal and curry leaves.
• After the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped onions and green chillies.

• Then add the garlic and mix well. Garlic is added after onions and green chillies to prevent it from burning.

• Sauté them until translucent.Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix well.

• Now add the turmeric powder, salt and red chili powder. Along with all these add the ground Fenugreek and Cumin powder. 

• Mix all the ingredients well. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

• Mix the contents in between and cook for an additional 5-10minutes.

• Garnish with cilantro.Tomato Gojju is ready to serve.

Enjoy eating and I will be back with a new recipe soon!!

Notes:

• Red Chilli powder is for the extra red color. It can be adjusted to taste and is optional since we already added green chillies.

Eggless Banana Raisin Cake

Today as I walked past my dining table, I noticed 2 ripe bananas. When I went into the kitchen, the cake box was empty. Now you can guess what stuck my mind. Quickly checked my pantry for the availability of the ingredients to bake a cake. Then piled up the counter-top with all the items. Put them all in order and I was all set to bake. This eggless Banana Raisin cake was just a trial method and trust me, the end result was a super moist and perfectly sweetened cake.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Flaxseed powder - 2 tsp
Brown Sugar - Packed - 1/2 cup
Nutmeg powder - about 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Ripe Bananas - 2
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Melted Butter - 3 tbsp
Canola oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

• Peel the bananas and mash them in a bowl and keep them aside.

• In another bowl, add whole wheat flour.

• To this add all purpose flour.

• Then add baking soda and baking powder.

• Add cocoa powder and flaxseed powder.

• Add the packed brown sugar.

• Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of nutmeg powder.

• Whisk all the dry ingredients.

• To this add the Raisins and mix well.

• Now add the vanilla extract and the mashed bananas.

• Mix all the ingredients well.

• Then add the melted butter and oil. 

• Combine all the ingredients well and make a smooth batter.

• In a cake pan greased with butter, pour the batter and tap the cake pan well to eliminate the air bubbles.

• Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Place the cake tray in the oven at 350⁰F for about 20 minutes (approx.).

• Once the cake is done, remove from the baking pan by inverting it onto a cooling rack or a foil and allow it to cool.

• Make slices of the cake and serve it either warm or cold.

• Enjoy the eggless banana-raisin cake with your morning coffee or evening tea!!

Notes:

To check if the cake is done, insert a toothpick or a fork in the center of the cake while its in the final baking stage(about 15 minutes into the baking cycle). The cake is not done until the toothpick or the fork comes out clean.


Sending this to my first ever participating event - Cooking with Seeds - Flax seeds