Mixed Vegetable Pickle

Mixed Vegetable Pickle

This recipe is courtesy of our dear family friend Mrs. Adgaonkar.

Here's how I make Mixed Vegetable Pickle:

1/4 cup cauliflower flowerets - mini size
1/4 cup carrots - chopped fine
1/4 cup peas - I use frozen, which I thaw and dry thoroughly with paper towel
1 tsp julienned ginger
1 clove garlic - chopped (optional)

Take these in a big glass bowl.
Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli pwd and 1/4 tsp asafoetida pwd.
Dry roast 1/4 tsp mustard seeds on medium heat for 3-5 mins, keep aside to cool.
Dry roast 1/8 tsp methi seeds for 2-3 mins, keep aside to cool.
Dry roast 1/2 tsp sesame seeds till lightly browned, keep aside to cool.
When cooled grind all 3 to fine pwd and add to veggies.
Heat 2 tbsp oil, cool completely and add that to the veggie + masala mix.
Lastly squeeze 1/2 lemon over the mix.

Mixed Vegetable Pickle is ready to eat.

I store this in a glass bottle in the fridge, it lasts for a month.

"Cup" cakes - eggless

"Cup" cakes - vanilla and chocolate

 These are literally cakes made in cups...in the microwave...in 1 minute! They come in handy when you have an immediate craving for something sweet and don't want to take a lot of trouble just for one person. Or if you find yourself hosting an impromptu get-together of kids (or adults for that matter) and want to impress everyone by giving them a choice of flavors for dessert.

Here's how I make these eggless "Cup" cakes"

Take 3 tbsp classic yellow cake mix (store bought) in a cup. Add 3 tbsp milk. Add flavor of choice - in the first set of pics below I made vanilla cake by adding 1/4 tsp vanilla essence. In the next set of

pics, I added 1 tsp cocoa pwd and few mini chocolate morsels for the chocolate cake. I also make mango flavor by blending about 1 tsp mango pulp or puree with the 3 tbsp milk; or pistachio flavor by blending pista essence with the milk.

Once you add the milk and flavor of choice, mix gently to incorporate. Make sure there are no lumps.

Microwave on high power for 1 mins. Set it on the counter to cool for 5 mins and enjoy!

This is so easy, you can involve kids and have them make their choice of these "Cup" cakes.

Pharasbi - Batatyachi Bhaji (Green Beans and Potato Stir Fry)

This is a simple, healthy and tasty stir fry of finely chopped green beans and red potatoes in Maharashtrian style, with a slight twist in the garnish.

Here's how I make Pharasbi - Batatyachi Bhaji:

Make tempering - In a kadai or heavy bottom pan, heat 2 tsp oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp udad dal, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric pwd and few torn up curry leaves. Stir for 1 min.

Add 1 heaped cup of finely chopped green beans and 1 small red potato, chopped thinly as for kachrya. Add 1 tsp salt or to taste, 1 tsp coriander pwd, 1 tsp cumin pwd, 1 tsp goda masala, 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste, 1 tsp gul (jaggery). Stir well. Add very little water, couple tbsps only. Cover and cook on medium heat. Stir occasionally. Add couple more tbsps water when needed to prevent burning. The veggies should get cooked in about 10 to 12 mins. Take off heat.

For the garnish - grind together about 3 to 4 tbsp shredded fresh coconut (I use frozen shredded coconut available in Indian grocery stores which I thaw either on the counter top or in microwave), handful of roughly chopped cilantro, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tsp lemon juice. Mix into the cooked bhaji. This garnish adds a nice kick to the bhaji.

Serve hot with polis. Goes well with varan - bhaath too.

This Pharasbi - Batatyachi Bhaji goes to the In My Veg Box - Green Beans event at Full Scoops. 
This event was started by Citrus Spice.

TriColor Mini Idlis

I had some leftover mini idlis the other day and decided to make this tricolor idli fry. Usually I use up leftover idlis by breaking them up into bite size pieces and tempering them to make phodnichi idli (idli fry). This tricolor idli recipe just takes them one step ahead and makes them party worthy - these make great appetizers for gatherings.

Here's how I made these TriColor Mini Idlis:

For the yellow color idlis - Heat 1 tsp oil in a non stick pan. Add pinch of mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add pinch of hing (asafoetida) and turmeric pwd. Drop in 4 to 5 mini idlis. Add little salt (abt 1/4 tsp or to taste) and pinch of sugar. If the idlis are bit hard (from refrigerating overnight like mine were), add 1 tsp water. Stir gently to coast the idli, cover and steam on low heat for 3 to 5 mins. This will soften the idlis again as they are being seasoned. Take off heat and if desired sprinkle little black pepper pwd and squeeze little lemon juice on them. That way they can be served as is, no need for chutney on the side.

For the green idlis - I have used my dry Curry Leaf Chutney for this. I heated 1/2 tsp ghee on low heat, added 1 tsp of this chutney and 1 tsp water. Then added about 4 to 5 mini idlis, tossed gently to coat the idlis with the chutney, covered and cooked on low heat for 3 to 5 mins.

For the red idlis - I have used my Lasun Tikhat (Dry Garlic Chutney) for this. Procedure is similar to above green idlis.

To serve as a party appetizer skewer them onto mini toothpicks and serve.

Fruit and Nut Kheer

Kheer is an Indian sweet dish with many, many variations. Here I've made kheer with a mix of fruits and nuts.

Here's how I made this Fruit and Nut Kheer:

In a heavy bottom pan, take 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk and 3/4 cup regular milk. Use full fat milk if possible for richer taste. Mix well and heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally. After the milk boils, keep stirring occasionally and heat another 15 mins until slightly thickened. Take off heat. Add 1/4 tsp cardamon pwd and pinch of saffron. Stir to mix.

Chill for 2 to 3 hours atleast. Add about 1 cup finely chopped fruits - I have used apple, pear, banana and pomegranates. Grapes, chickoo, mango would also be good choices. Also add handful of nuts - I have used chopped roasted pistachio and almonds.

Serve chilled.

Baked Bread Rolls

Made this for after-school snack yesterday. Really easy to make and you can sneak in as many veggies as you like :-)

Here's how I make Baked Bread Rolls:

For the filling -

1/2 cup mashed potatoes (I used 1/2 cup boxed potato flakes and added 1/2 cup water, mixed and microwaved for 1 min.); tomato, green onion and green bell pepper - all chopped fine; carrot and cabbage - shredded. All veggies also came to about 1/2 cup. You can vary per taste or availability.

Seasoning the filing - Add about 2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, pinch of sugar, 1/2 tsp black pepper pwd, pinch of paprika. Yesterday I also added 1/4 tsp Thai seasoning paste, this is optional. Sometimes instead of soysauce, I give it an Indian flavor with some coriander-cumin pwd, garam masala pwd or pav bhaji masala pwd. Mix well.

For the bread roll - I used 4 slices of whole wheat bread. Sprinkle few drops of water evenly on each slice. Lay it on a damp paper towel.

Cover with another damp paper towel and roll slightly with a rolling pin using gentle pressure.

Put 2 tbsp of the filling on the bread. 

Using the damp paper towel, roll the bread to form a roll. Seal edges with water. Lay seam side down on a baking tray.

Bake in a pre heated 400F oven for about 15 mins, turning them over once. Serve warm with tomato ketchup.

These Baked Bread Rolls are off to the 37th Bake Fest at Cooks Joy.

Couscous with Chickpea Curry

Couscous with Chickpea Curry

This is the first time I made this dish. I adapted from a recipe I had noted down a while back, but do not have the source reference for it. It turned out so well, hence thought of sharing it here. I will be making this often henceforth.

Here's how I made Couscous with Chickpea Curry:

To cook the couscous - Heat 1 tsp olive oil on medium heat, add 1 cup couscous and roast for about 7 mins stirring often. Then add 1 cup boiling water, about 1/4 tsp salt, cover and cook on low heat for 12 to 15 mins until all water is absorbed and couscous is cooked.

For the chickpea curry - Heat 2 tsp olive oil on medium heat. Fry 1/2 cup finely chopped onions in it for 5 mins till slightly softened. Add 1 tsp minced garlic and 1/2 cup diced bell peppers. Fry another 5 mins. Then add 1 cup vegetable broth, 1/2 cup tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd, 1 tsp cumin pwd, pinch of sugar and one can drained and rinsed chickpeas. Stir, cover and bring to a boil on gentle heat.

Then add the cooked couscous and mix in gently. Check seasonings and adjust as needed. Cover and heat thru for few mins. Take off heat and squeeze about 1 tsp lemon juice over it. Serve warm, garnished with shredded carrots, chopped cilantro.

Next time I will also use handful of nuts (pistachio/walnuts/pine nuts) to garnish.