Sambhar

Sambhar is one of the essential key element in most of the South Indian snacks or breakfast items. You can make it in a lot and keep it in fridge for a day or two.

Its also great with Rice. I tried it once and liked it very much.
Here goes the recipe.....

Ingredients:-

1 cup Tuur dal(arahar or Yellow lentil)
Vegetables ( Brinjal, carrot, Beans, Potato, peas, capsicum) diced
2 tbsp Sambhar masala
3 tbsp Tamarind juice (Thick)
1 tbsp Red chilly powder
1-2 dried red chilly
1/2 tsp kasturi Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1 tsp mustard seeds
some curry leaves
Salt as per your taste

Soak your dal for 30 minutes in cold water. Now cut(dice) all your vegetables and keep aside.
In a pressure add these vegetables and add dal also. Measure the quantity of dal you have added and add double the quantity of water to it. Start the pressure cooker with its weight at high flame and let it whistle twice and turn off the heat. Do not remove the steam from pressure cooker. Let the cooker cool down by itself. Open when it is cooled if the dal is cooked(vegetables will be). If not, start the flame on high and let it whistle one more time.
Now heat a pan in medium flame, add 1 tbsp oil to it. When the oil is hot, add red chilly and mustard seeds. Let mustard seeds crackle. Now add the curry leaves and kasturi methi to this.
Fry for 1/2 minute. Put this mixture in to the pressure cooker. Now start the flame for the pressure cooker on medium. Now add the 3tbsp tamarind juice, mix well. Now add the red chilly powder and the sambhar masala. Mix properly. Add the water to maintain the consistency. Add salt in the last and let it boil for 2 minutes.
Your sambhar is ready. In Kerala we do not put coriander leaves in it, but you can put as it looks good.
Enjoy the sambhar with all the variety of dishes...

Coconut chutney and How to open coconut.

The coconut chutney is used with all kinds of Dosa, Uttappam, Idli, Vadas etc. And it surely enhances the flavor of these dishes. Coconut chutney is easy to make, but remember not to keep it in fridge for more than a day... It tastes bad when chutney is more than a day old. Most of the people donot recognize the taste difference but the taste do change...

Now the big question is how to open that damn coconut... hmm.... Its easy and yet difficult too...

With a screw driver make a hole in one of the eye of the coconut and empty up the coconut. The coconut water is very delicious and healthy. SO do not waste it. :)

After empting coconut water, start beating it with a hammer (u can take out all ur inner anger on that coconut.... Hehehehe). Tip : Beat coconut at different locations so as to loose the inner soft part from the hard shell.

Try to smack the coconut as much as at the centre (equator line), in the end. So that ur coconut will be cut into 2 parts. To remove the soft part, use a fork( try avoiding knife ).

I am also giving a link from "youtube" on How to open a coconut. It might be useful. (copy paste this link in ur browser.. I am not able to give hyperlink here...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-gJC2mcebs

P.S. --- Never try the oven method as your meat of the coconut is cooked and it doesn't taste the same.

As we get the coconut meat, now here is the reciepe for coconut chutney :-

Ingredients:-
Fresh coconut sliced
2-3 green chillies ( in accordance with the amount of coconut used)
1 tbsp chana dal( Yellow lentil)
3tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp sugar
salt as per taste

Dry roast the chana dal in a pan for 2-3 minutes. Do not burn the dal. Now put coconut pieces, dal, and green chillies in the blender and make a paste of it. Remove the paste in a big vessel and add the yoghurt, sugar and salt. Mix it well and serve with whatever you have that time... Idli ,Dosa , Vada ....

Paneer Methi matar Malai

Yesterday was thinking to make a nice warm dinner, as it was raining the whole day - the chilly days starting again...
Hot hot chapati with malai sabji .... gr8 combination... isn't it ???

So here we go ....

Ingredients:-
1 large Onion
1/4 cup Kasturi Methi ( Dried fenugreek leaves) - If u have fresh methi , double the quantity and double the sugar quantity also.
250 gm paneer( Cottage cheese)
1/2 cup Matar(Peas)
2 pods Garlic
1" ginger piece
4 Green chillies - ( as the dish is bit sweet and we do not use red chilly powder , add more green chillies according to ur taste)
3 tbsp Yoghurt
Handful of Cashews , soaked in water and ground to paste
3 tbsp Heavy cream
Salt and pepper according to your taste
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Garam masala (Optional)
1 tbsp Butter

Make a fine paste of Onion, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Heat little Oil in a pan , add onion paste and saute for enough time as to remove the raw smell of the onion. Do not brown the paste as our gravy is white in color. Remove the pan from flame and add the yoghurt. Back on flame till the water from yoghurt dries off. Now add the kasturi methi, salt, pepper, sugar, peas and a cup of water. Cover and cook till peas are done( usually for frozen peas , it hardly takes 1 minute - but we need to cook the methi, so keep it on flame for some more time). Now add the Cashew Paste and the paneer, mix well. Then add the butter and garam masala and the cream , cook till nice boil comes and Your delicious paneer methi matar malai is ready to serve.

P.S. You can have this with Hot fried rice (fried rice only with nuts)also ....

Bundi Raita

This is the great side dish for Biryani's and Fried rice...
The Gravy-less dishes.....

Ingredients:-
Bundi - 1/2 cup
Yoghurt - 1-1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Green chillies - 1 no ( Optional )
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - finely chopped

Mix cumin powder, salt and sugar, and finely chopped green chillies to yoghurt and add the already made bundi to it. Leave it in fridge for 10-20 min. Sprinkle chilly powder and serve with chopped fresh coriander leaves. You can also add chopped tomatoes also to this raita.....

If you cannot get the ready made bundi in store, no need to worry.. You can make it easily at your home and can store them for about a month or mebbe more...

Ingredients for making Bundi -
Bengal gram or chickpea flour (Besan) - 1 cup
Salt - little
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Luke warm water
Oil - for deep frying
Steel slotted spoon with small round holes in it - IMP

Heat up Oil at high flame in a deep pan. Make a watery paste of chickpea flour. Add salt and chilly powder to it. Now pour this paste in to the spoon, so tat the small circular bundi's fell directly in to the hot Oil. Fry till golden brown, it just takes 1 min to do so. Drain the excess oil. Let it cool and Store in tight container...

You can make your Dahi bundi any time now..... Enjoy eating!!!

Easy to go Paneer Butter Masala

I always dream to cook the Butter masala which tastes as good as restaurants, and guess what I found the way.

This recipe is easy and is ready in a fraction of time. Once made I was not able to resist making it again and again.


Paneer is a common treat for Vegetarians. Its also called as Cottage cheese in most part of the world. Its readily available but if it is not You can make it without trouble at your house. As it is made of milk which is available in every corner of the world.

I am now telling you the way to make PANEER(Cottage Cheese). Take a big pan and boil 2 liters of Milk(with Fat). When it is boiling add 4 tbsps of rice vinegar or lemon juice to it and lower the flame. It will take time for Entire milk to curdle. Keep stirring on low flame till all the milk is curdle and to verify this is tat You will see clear liquid beneath the thick curdled milk. Now off the flame and let it cool down. Then take a Cloth and filter off the liquid part and retain the thick paneer. Now squeeze all the excess water present by pressing the cloth. Now keep flatten the paneer or cheese in the same cloth and place a weight on this paneer and keep this for a nite,this is done to remove the excess water and harden the paneer made.


In the morning you are ready to make ur butter masala. Enjoy cooking !!!!


Ingredients to make the paste:
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Chilly powder ¼ tsp
Kastoori methi powder ¼ tsp
Tomato ketchup 1 tsp
Tomatos puree 2-1/2 tsp
Garam masala ¼ tsp
Milk 5 tbsp

Get a bowl and mix all the above things and keep it aside. You can also add tomato color.

Now in a pan, add butter and add the GG(Ginger Garlic) paste 1 tsp. Now add little fried onions 1 tbsp. Now add the above mixture and cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Now when the butter is oozing out from the mixture, the gravy is ready. Now add the Milk(300ml) little by little and mix immediately so tat the milk won’t curdle. And this avoids the use of cream.If you want to use cream then add 200ml. Now add the Paneer made from 2 liter milk( approx 600-700 gms)and let it cook for a boil. The dish is ready and is served with Naan or Chapatti.

My husband loved this even though he prefers Non-Veg. So I feel accomplished.

Fast n Delicous Macaroni

I find this recipe damn good, as it is quick and easy to make. I am a lazy cook so most of my recipes will be quick to make.

It is easy for office goers and is stomach filling.
So lets begin !!!


In a large pan heat 4 cups water and let it boil. When it is boiled add little salt and 1tsp Oil and the 2 cups macaroni. It might take 20 minutes depending on the size of macaroni. I use small size. When the macaroni is cooked properly, turn off the heat and drain the water and keep aside.You can store the cooked macaroni in a tight container for at least a week in your fridge. So that you can use it later also .... Tats the reason why this dish is so quick :)

In another pan heat 1 tbsp oil and add 1big onion chopped finely. Fry for some time. Then add 1 cup tomato puree and 1/4 tsp chilly powder,1/4 tsp sugar and salt n pepper as per your taste. Now let it cooks for a minute, then add the cooked macaroni. Mix it well. Now add 3 tbsp cream(Heavy 30-40%fat) to it and cook for one more minute. Your quickie quick macaroni is ready to go!!!


This is the basic recipe, you can add chopped spring onions and other vegetables to enhance the flavor but i like it this way :)