Avacado and Spinach Salad

Eating healthy is very important. In the present day scenario, everyone is leading a very busy and a fast life. It has become a burden for many to cook, go to work and manage home well. Salads come in handy in similar situations. Chop a couple of fresh veggies, empty a pack of store bought greens and toss it well with a few other ingredients from the pantry. Trust me, you will end up with a delicious and a wholesome dish that will satisfy your appetite.

Avacadoes are one of my favorite fruit and I live to have it as a milkshake and enjoy eating it with salads. The fruit is very buttery and smooth. The fruit can turn brown on exposure to air due to oxidation. To prevent this just coat with with lime juice and I will stay fresh. It has a lot of health benefits associated with it and considered to be very healthy (though it is high in its fat content).

Here is the recipe to a healthy and a delicious salad.

Ingredients: 
(Serves 2)
Avacado - 1 Ripe
Baby spinach - Cleaned,washed and chopped - 2 cups
Spring onions - 4 stalks
Red onion - Medium sized -1
Ripe tomatoes - medium sized - 2
Salt - To taste
Lime/Lemon juice - from 1large lime/lemon
Chat masala - 1/4th of a tsp
Ground black Pepper - 1/4th of a tsp

Method:

• In a large bowl add the chopped spinach, red onions, tomatoes and spring onions.

• Then add ground black pepper, chat masala, salt and lime juice.

• Toss the salad and serve it with avacadoes.

• Enjoy the salad.

Notes:

• You can use cherry tomatoes if you like.
• You can use spring mix, arugula or watercress instead of spinach or with spinach.
• You can prefer to add or skip chat masala.
• Use raw veggies of your choice to make the salad more interesting.

Paal Khova

Paal khova is also called as Doodh Peda in Hindi. I am from Bangalore and I am absolutely in love with Nandini Paal Khova that we get there. Since I live very far from home, occasional cravings to eat the sweet crops up in my mind and makes my mouth water. One day while talking to my cousin brother, he mentioned to me about how he tried to recreate the paal khova. After a lot of trials with measurements of the ingredients, I finally found the right way to make it. It tastes absolutely fabulous and just melts in your mouth. This is how I made it.

Ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can (14oz)

Milk - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl.
• Microwave it for approximately 5-7 minutes in 30 sec intervals.
• Stir it well each time a 30 sec microwave cooking is done.
• It will start to get solid and small granules of khova starts forming.
• The Paal Khova is done and ready to be served.
• A tbsp of this yummy dessert goes a long way!!
• Try this and enjoy..And yes, let me know how it was.
  
  
  
  
  

Notes:

• Different microwaves come with different powers. So use your judgement to keep it for 5 mins or more or even less.
• Always remember to NOT microwave for more than 30 sec.

Capsicum and Potato curry with curry powder

Just last week I had posted a Homemade curry powder recipe. This capsicum and potato curry is made using the same curry powder and it tastes yummilicious..It goes very well with rasam rice or mor kuzhambu which are authentic brahmin style lunch menu for the weekends or even during festivals and special occasions..

This is how I made the curry..

Ingredients:

Potato - One large sized
Capsicum - One large sized
Homemade curry powder - 3-4 tbsp
 Salt - To taste

For Tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - A pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4th of a tsp
Curry leaves - 7-8

 Method:

•  Peel the potatoes and dice it into one inch cubes. Dice the capsicum into same sized pieces as the potatoes.
• Boil the potatoes for about 3 minutes in the microwave.
• In a pan heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and let it pop up. Then add the hing and add the veggies (capsicum and potato).

• Then add the turmeric powder, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the veggies are cooked.

• Now add the Homemade curry powder and mix well. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

• Serve hot with Rasam rice or Sambar rice. Enjoy!!

 Serving Suggestions:

• You can mix this curry  with hot rice and ghee and enjoy.
• You can also stuff this in dosas. It tastes delicious.
• You can also serve this with chapathi and raita.

Notes:

• You can use veggies of your choice and be creative in trying. Some veggies that I love to use this with apart from potato and capsicum are Green beans, Taro,  eggplant,  tindora, and bittergourd.
• You can adjust the spice level to your choice. I did not add additional red chilli powder but you can add it if you want.

Homemade curry powder

I was on a cleaning spree and cleaned up my pantry and fridge. I saw that there was a loner in the fridge, a big green capsicum. I then quickly made this sabzi with homemade curry powder/ podi potta kaai which tastes yummy and delicious. You can make the powder and store it for a few days (approx.15 days) in the fridge. The method to make this delicious curry powder is very simple and is as follows.

Ingredients:

Corriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Black pepper - 10 count
Dry Red chillies - 5-6
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds / Khus Khus- 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 1/2tbsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Cloves - 2 

Dry coconut/ Copra - 3 tbsp

Fenugreek / Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 7-8

Method:

• Dry roast all these ingredients until a nice aroma comes out.
• Cool them and grind them to a medium coarse powder.
• Add it to vegetables like capsicum, potato, brinjal/ eggplant and serve with Rasam rice.
• Enjoy!!!

Kesari Baath

Hello all..

Happy Republic Day!!

 Welcoming fellow bloggers and all lovely readers with my first recipe post of the year. A sweet post. I made Kesari Baath, DH's favorite sweet.  It had been a while since I had prepared anything good for DH. A sudden wave of sympathy for him and Lo and Behold..Came out this yummy Kesari Baath..A very simple recipe and easy quick steps. The final product, I promise, will be a yummy, mouth melting Kesari Baath.

Ingredients:

Sooji/Semolina/Rava - 1 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Ghee/ Clarified Butter - 1and1/4th cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Cashews - 7-8
Golden Raisins - 7-8
Orange Food color - 1 drop

Method:

• In a shallow fry pan, add 2 tbsp of ghee and roast the cashews and raisins, drain out the ghee from them and set it aside.
• In the same pan and with the same ghee, add the sooji / rava and roast it till a nice aroma comes out of it and set it aside.

• Heat milk in a sauce pan and allow it to boil. Once the milk boils, gradually add the sooji and keep stirring it well ensuring no lumps form and a creamy consistency is reached.
• Also add the cup of ghee right after this step and blend all the ingredients well to make a smooth and a creamy  mixture.

• Keep stirring the mixture gently for about 5-6 minutes to avoid burning of the mixture at the bottom of the pan.
• Once the sooji is cooked, add the sugar, food color and the roasted cashews and raisins.

• Mix all the ingredients well and serve hot.
• Hot, yummy and delicious Kesari Baath is ready to melt in your mouth.

Serving Tip:

• Before serving, warm the Kesari Baath (if cold) and add a tsp or two of ghee on top and garnish with silvered almonds.

Notes:

• You can add any food color of your choice.
• You can adjust the level of sugar according to your sweetness level.
• You can also choose to NOT add food color and make it a white sheera.
• You can add small pineapple pieces or banana pieces to have a different variety of Kesari Baath (add it before adding the food color).
• The quantity of Ghee can be altered but the taste may not be as good as the one with the required quantity of ghee specified here.
• Best to serve it hot with an additional tsp of ghee.