Potato Mint Leaves Curry

Mint leaves gives you a feeling of freshness and is good for health. It is better to incorporate it into as many dishes as possible.It has a very specific and fresh flavour too. Try this recipe with potatoes. This is for for to five people.

Ingredients	Quantity
Boiled Potatoes	4
Fresh Mint Leaves	2½ cups
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tsp
Coriander Powder	1 tsp
Cumin Powder	1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder	1 tsp
Turmeric Powder	½ tsp
Garam Masala Powder	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	3 tbsps

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and dice them into cubes and keep them aside.


2. Chop the mint leaves corsely.Leave a few mint leaves for garnishing.


3. Take oil in a pan and heat it. Add the cumin seeds and fry.Add the ginger garlic paste and fry.


4. Add the chopped mint leaves and stir fry them.


5. Add salt,turmeric powder,chilly powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,garam masala powder and mix.


6. Add the potato cubes and fry all together so that the potatoes are brown in colour.


7. Serve this in a bowl garnished with a mint leaves with chappatis or hot rice.

Read more »

Mango Pappu

Come summer, and the mangoes are there! All over India,there is some dish or other made with raw or ripe mangoes every other day.It can be a dhal or mango rice or a cool and soothing drink or a chutney and the most supreme is the famous Indian mango pickle. In the South the pickle is made differently from the north or even he West or the East. Here I have given a typical Andhra recipe which is made with lentils or dhal and raw mango.It can be made spicy too! This recipe is for four or five people.

Ingredients	Quantity
Toor Dhal	½ cup
Raw mango Pieces	½ cup
Oil	½ tbsp
Green Chillies	2
Curry Leaves	a few
Garlic Cloves	10
Red Chillies	2
Turmeric	½ tsp
Red Chilly Powder	1 tsp
Black Gram Dhal (Urad Dhal)	1 tsp
Mustard Seeds	1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Seeds)	½ tsp
Asafoerida (Hing)	⅛ tsp or a pinch
Salt	to taste

Method

1. Cook the dhal with tumeric powder in a pressure cooker till it is soft.Cook the mango pieces also seperately. Mix the dhal, mango pieces and salt.


2. Take oil in a pan and add the seasonings like urad dhal, fenugreek seeds,mustard seeds,asfoetida and fry till the mustard seeds splutter. Then add the curry leaves and garlic cloves and fry till light brown. Turn off the heat .


3. In this hot oil add the chilly powder and do not let it burn and become black in colour.


4. Add the seasonings to the mixed dhal and mix well. It can be heated once again to make it hot.


5. Serve this dhal with hot rice and curd chillies.The red chilly powder is add to tone down the sourness of the mangoes and also to make it spicy. For children, the red chilly powder can be avoided.

Read more »

Curd Rice

Curd rice in summer is very welcoming because it cools you down.This is a traditional dish in South of India made during festivals and even on other days too.In Andhra it is called "dadhojanam" and in Tamil Nadu itis "tayir Sadam".It is a favourite prasadam served in most Balaji temples. There are many variations to the basic recipe. To make it more nutritious and colourful,vegetables like grated cucumber,ghrated carrots,boiled corn, sprouts, seedless grapes, pomegranate etc can be added.To make it more spicy,curd chillies and more green chillies can be added.This will be enough for three to four people.

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice	½ cup
Curds	2 cups
Milk	2 cups
Chopped Green Chillies	1 tbsp
Bengal Gram Dhal ( Channa Dal )	1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds	1 tsp
Red Chillies	1 or 2
Curry Leaves	a few
Chopped Coriander Leaves	2 tbsps
Grated Cucumber	&3189; cup
Grated Carrots	2 tbsps
Green Gram Sprouts	2 tbsps
Oil	1 tbsp
Salt	to taste
Curd Chillies (Perugu Mirapakayalu)	4 or 5

Method

1. Cook rice in a pressure cooker till it is soft.


2. Take the rice in a large bowl and cool it till it is luke warm.


3. Mash the rice a little with a potato masher so that you do use your hands.


4. Add salt,milk and curds and mix.If more milk is required it can be added.The consistency should be a litte running as the rice will absorb the liquid after some time.Also if you mix the rice when it is very hot it will absorb more liquid.


5. Add the cucumber,carrots,sprouts and a tablespoon of coriander leaves and mix.


6. Take a pan and heat the oil and add the seasonings like channa dhal,urad dhal,mustard seeds and red chillies.When the mustard leaves splutter, add the curry leaves and turn off the heat.


7. Add this seasoning to the mixed rice and mix again.


8. Fry the curd chillies seperately and keep it aside.


9. Since more milk has been added, the rice can be kept for ten to fifteen minutes outside and then kept in the refrigerator to cool.To eat it instantly only curds can be added. No need to add the milk then.


10. To serve, garnish the curd rice with chopped coriander leaves,curd chillies and grated carrots or pomegranate seeds.

NOTE
In case one does not have time to make it instantly and if you want to eat it the following day or in the evening, the same procedure can be followed but the rice will have to be mixed with only milk and only a teaspoon of curds so that it will set by the time you want it and will not get sour.Try it!

Read more »

Cool Kebab Chaat

One would like to eat hot spicy kebabs but in this hot summer--A big "No".But I have a recipe which will fulfill your wish! Eat kebabs the "Chaat Way" with cool curds.Our family friends on a summer evening enjoyed this dish very much!

Ingredients	Quantity
Medium Potatoes	3
Boiled Mashed Peas	½ cup
Chopped Green Chillies	1 tbsp
Chopped Cilantro (Coriander) Leaves	2 tbsps
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tsp
Bread Slices	3
Corn Flour	1½ tbsp
Garam Masala Powder	1 tsp
Black Pepper Powder	1 tsp
Chaat Masala Powder	1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder	1 tsp
Beaten Curds (Cold)	1½ cups
Green Gram Sprouts	½ cup
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying
Thin Sev	½ cup
Tamarind Date Chutney	4 tbsps
Green Chutney (Coriander and Mint)	4 tbsps

Method

1. Boil and mash the cleaned potatoes.


2. Take a bowl and mix mashed potatoes with corn flour,bread slices and salt. You may need very little water or no water.


3. Make small balls about twenty four of them and keep them aside.One can make bigger balls too.


4. Take a pan and heat a teaspoon of oil and add cumin seeds and fry.


5. Add ginger garlic paste,mashed peas,chopped green chillies, a little of coriander leaves,salt ,garam masala powder and chilly powder and mix them well till the raw smell of peas is gone.


6. Cool this mixture and take a teaspoon of this and fill each potato ball and flatten them out like kebabs.


7. Heat oil in a pan and fry these kebabs till golden brown in colour.


8. To serve, take two or three kebabs and place them in a serving plate and pour about two tablespoons of very cold beaten curds over them and sweet tamarind date chutney,green chutney and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves,sev and sprouts.More spices like chilly powder and chaat masala powder can be sprinkled if you want it more spicy.

Read more »

Fruit Custard Canapes

This recipe can be served as a dessert and is easy to prepare. The filling can have any fruit of your choice and availability. Here custard has been used but one can use any sweet filling of your choice.Children will love it!

Ingredients	Quantity
Canapes	6
Custard Powder	2 tbsps
Milk	1¾ cups
Sugar	2 tbsps
Chopped Apples	2 tbsps
Chopped Nuts	1 tbsp
Cherries	for decoration
Oil	for shallow frying

Method

1. Shallow fry the canapes and store them in an airtight jar till required.


2. To make the custard filling,take a pan and add about one and quarter cups of milk and boil.


3. Mix in half a cup of cold milk the custard powder and sugar well.


4. When the milk boils,lower the heat and add this custsrd milk mixture into it and
   stir till it becomes thick. Take it out from the heat and cool it.


5. Add the chopped apples or any other fruits and keep it in the refrigerator to cool.


6. Just before serving,fill the canapes with a tablespoon or more of the custard fruit mixture and decorate it with chopped nuts and cherries.This is a good dessert for summer.

Read more »

Potato Canapes

This recipe is a typical Indian recipe like you have in a samosa.Since this is a fried recipe watch out for the calories. But once in a while ou can binge on these instead of samosas,try them!

Ingredients	Quantity
Canapes	6
Boiled and Mashed Potatoes	¾ cup
Chopped Onions	1 tbsp
Peas	2 tbsps
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Chopped Coriander Leaves	2 tbsps
Ginger Garlic Paste	½ tsp
Red Chilly Powder	½ tsp
Turmeric Powder	¼ tsp
Garam Masala Powder	½ tsp
Gram Flour (Besan)	3 btsps
Salt	to taste
Water	to make batter
Oil	for deep frying

Method

1. Take a pan and add one teaspoon of oil and heat it.Add cumin seeds and fry them.


2. Add the onions and ginger garlic paste and fry till light brown in colour.


3. Add the peas, turmeric powder,salt, red chilly powder and garam masala powder and mix.


4. Then add the mashed potato and a tablespoon of coriander leaves and mix well.Save the rest of the coriander leaves for garnishing.


5. Cook for a few minutes till all the ingredients are mixed well.


6. Take it out from the heat and cool it slightly.


7. Make a thick batter with gram flour,water and salt.


8. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan.


9. Take each canape and fill it up with the potato mixture and seal it with a spoon or more of the gram flour batter over it so that the filling does not fall out.


10. When all the canapes are ready with the filling,put each canape into the hot oil carefully with the gram flour side down first and fry till golden brown. Turn the side fry the other side and remove from the oil and drain them on a paper towel to remove extra oil.


11. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot with green or tamarind chutney or even with tomato ketchup.

Read more »

Tomato Cheese Canapes

This is another recipe using canapes which have been described in my previous recipe.
This recipe has a filling which is nearly fat free, is fresh and best for a summer party.If basil is not available cilantro or coriander leaves can be used.

Ingredients	Quantity
Canapes	6
Finely Chopped Tomatoes	½ cup
Finely Chopped Onions	1 tbsp
Chopped Basil	1 tbsp
Mozzarella Cheese (Crumbled)	1½ tbsp
Cream	1½ tsp
Black Pepper Powdertd>	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	to shallow fry

Method

1. Shallow fry the canapes in oil and store them in an airtight jar till required.


2. Take a bowl and mix the chopped tomatoes,onions,chopped basil,mozzerella cheese,cream,blackpepper powder and salt.


3. Take a tablespoon or more of the mixture and fill each canape.


4. Place these filled up canapes on a preheated oven for a few minutes or till the cheese starts melting.


5. Serve these hot.

Read more »

Spicy Capsicum Canapes

Canapes are small square shaped shells made out of plain flour and other ingredients.These are readily available in the grocery store.These canapes can be used as shells and filled with a variety of fillings both sweet and savoury. Best results are obtained when these shells are shallow fried in oil first.The can be stored in an air tight jar for three or four days.See that they are filled with your favourite fillings just before serving.
This recipe is savoury filling and can be served as starters for an party in your house. It is easy to make it too!

Ingredients	Quantity
Canapes	6
Plain Flour (Maida)	4 tbsps
Butter	2 tbsps
Milk	2 tbsps
Finely Chopped Capsicum (Bell Pepper)	3 tbsps
Finely Chopped Green Chillies	1 tbsp
Black Pepper Powder	1 tsp
Chopped Coriander Leaves	1 tbsp
Grated Cheese	1 tbsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	to shallow fry

Method

1. Shallow fry the six canapes in a pan and store them in an airtight jar till use.


2. To make the filling,take a pan and add the butter and heat it


3. When the butter starts melting add the plain flour and fry till light brown.


4. Add salt,chopped capsicum,green chillies and pepper powder and mix.


5. Add the milk and mix well.


6. It should not have a running consistency, it should be a thick mass.


7. To serve, fill each canape with about one tablespoon or more of the filling and decorate it with grated cheese and chopped coriander leaves.


8. To melt the cheese , the filled canapes can be heated in the oven for a few minutes till the cheese melts.

Read more »

Cold Summer Soup

Summer has come and with it the heat. So we need something cool and refreshing. So I came up with this cold summer soup which is refreshing and easy to prepare. Try it and feel refreshed !

Ingredients	Quantity
Melon or Cantaloupe Pieces	1 ½ cups
Cold Buttermilk	1 cup
Orange Juice of One Orange	⅓ cup
Red Pepper Flakes	1 tsp
Mint Leaves	2 or 3
Salt	to taste

Method

1. Blend the melon pieces with the butter milk,salt, orange juice and a few chilly flakes in a blender to a smooth consistency.


2. Keep this in the refrigerator for cooling and serve this in a soup bowl or a tall glass garnished with red chilly flakes and mint leaves.

Read more »

Easy Tomato Soup

There are many who like tomato soup . For those and others, this recipe will go down well with them because it is easy to prepare and because of the other vegetables it is nutritious and of course tasty too! This recipe makes about three to four cups.

Ingredients	Quantity
Chopped Tomatoes	2 cups
Chopped Carrots	1 cup
Spring Onions	2 tbsps
Chopped Onions	¼ cup
Butter/Olive Oil	1 ½ tsps
Plain Flour/Maida	1 tbsp
Pepper Powder	1 tsp
Cream	½ cup or less
Salt	to taste
Fresh or Dried Basil Leaves	1 tsp

Method

1. Take butter or olive oil in a pan and add the carrots, spring onions,onions or any other vegetable and saute them.


2. Then add the plain flour and fry for a minute or two.


3. Add the chopped tomatoes ad basil and cook till the tomatoes are done.
   Cool and put it in a blender and blend into a smooth consistency.


4. Heat the soup till hot and add the cream.


5. Serve it hot in a soup bowl garnished with cream and basil leaves.

Read more »

Chakli or Janthikalu

Chakli or Janthikalu in Telugu is a very common crispy snack made in South and Western parts of India.Its made with rice flour and lentil or pulse flours in a variety of ways. Different combinations are used and spices are used according to one's taste.A special mettalic device with moulds is used to make these. Its called a chakli mould. One kind somewhat looks like an icing gun. Here I have used roasted bengal gram dhal or chutney dhal or putnala pappu powder with rice flour.

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice Flour	4 cups
Roasted Bengal Gram Dhal Powder	1 cup
Butter	1½ tbsps
Asafoetida (Hing - Optional)	a pinch
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Celery Seeds (Ajwain)	½ tsp
Red Chilly Powder	1½ tsps
Turmeric Powder	¼ tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	for deep frying
Water	to make dough

Method

1. Sieve the rice flour and roasted gram powder in a bowl.


2. Add to this mixture,salt, asofoetida,red chilly powder,cumin seeds,celery seeds,turmeric powder and mix them throughly.


3. Then add the butter(brought to room temperature) and mix.Add enough water to make a soft and pliable dough. Do not make it too soft. It will absorb more oil.


4. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan.Take the mould to make these chaklis and place a ball of this dough and press this down into the hot oil to make circles or just pieces and fry them till they are golden brown.


5. These can be stored for a long time in an airtight jar or tin. Children will love them!

Read more »

Baked Quinoa

Tis is another variation of making quinoa.Here also the grain is first cooked and then used.This is more of Italian because it is baked with toamato pizza sauce and plenty of cheese.Tomato sauce can be made at home or can be store bought.

For Tomato Sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
Blanched Tomatoes	2
Chopped Garlic	1 tbsp
Chopped Onions	1 tbsp
Bay Leaf	1
Chopped Capsicum	1 tbsp
Pepper Powder	1½ tsp
Tomato Ketchup	2 tbsp
Sugar	1 tsp
Dried Oregano	1 tsp
Tomato Puree (optional)	¼ cup
Salt	to taste
Olive Oil	1 tsp

Method

1. Blanch the tomatoes in hot water and remove the skins.Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.


2. Take a pan and add the oil and heat it.Add the bay leaf and onions, chopped garlic and capsicum and fry.


3. Add the tomato pieces,tomato puree,sugar,pepper powder and salt and cook till the quatity becomes less.


4. Lastly add the oregano and remove from the heat.


5. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce.Keep it aside until use.

For Baked Quinoa

Ingredients	Quantity
Quinoa	½ cup
Water	½ cup
Grated Cheddar Cheese	¾ cup
Grated Parmesan Cheese	1 tbsp
Tomato Sauce (as made above)	1½ cup

Method

1. Cook the quinoa either in the pressure cooker or outside in a pan with more water. and keep it aside.


2. Take a baking dish and spread evenly half of the tomato sauce at the bottom.


3. Next spread the cooked quinoa evenly and then the remaining tomato sauce.


4. On the top spread the grated cheddar cheese and sprinkle parmesan cheese over it and bake it in a preheated oven at 250 to 300degrees centigrade first covered with aluminium foil for 15mins and remove the foil and bake it till the cheese melts and turns light brown in colour.


5. Serve it hot with garlic bread and steamed vegetables.

Read more »

Quinoa Pulav

Quinoa (pronounced as ("keen-wah") is a grain used mostly in South American cuisine. It is not available in India. It is rich in protein unlike other grains. It's light and cooks fluffy and can be used as a main dish or in soups, stirfries or in breakfast, like rice with vegetables or meat. This recipe is especially for Indians who live in places where this grain is easily available. When I was in the U.S, I tried out these two recipes which were well received. The quantity used becomes nearly double when the quinoa is cooked. It is gluten free and good for kids, old people and pregnant women. Try it and enjoy it!

Ingredients	Quantity
Quinoa	1 cup
Water	1 cup
Sliced Bellpepper (Capsicum)	2 tbsps
Grated Carrot	3 tbsps
Sliced French Beans	2 tbsps
French Green Peas	3 tbsps
Chopped Onions	3 tbsps
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tsp
Chopped Cilantro (Coriander) Leaves	1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	¼ tsp
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Bay Leaf	1
Garam Masala Powder	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tbsp
Fried Cashewnuts	6

Method

1. Cook the quinoa with water in a pressure cooker till done like rice. If you do not want to use the cooker it can be cooked in a pan with more water. If you need it softer more water can be added.


2. Take oil in a pan and heat it. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf and fry.


3. Add the onions and ginger garlic paste and fry till light brown.


4. Add the finely chopped vegetables and stir fry till they are cooked.


5. Add the tumeric powder, garam masala powder and salt and mix.


6. Lastly add the cooked quinoa and mix it with the vegetables and cook it till it is hot.


7. Serve hot, decorated with fried cashewnuts and chopped cilantro.This can also be prepared like South Indian Upma too.

Read more »