Dum aloo!!

I recently happened to purchase these very beautiful looking baby potatoes. I decided to try making dum aloo with it. It is a very quick and easy recipe and goes best with rotis.

You will need:

Baby potatoes boiled and pealed
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fennel powder
A pinch of ginger powder
A pinch of turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp whole spice mix(cinnamon, cardamom and clove powder)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil

Method:

Take a bowl and mix coriander powder, chilli powder, salt,fennel powder and small amount of water and make into a smooth paste.

Heat oil in pan and add the whole spice powder and stir well. This this add cumin seeds and mix. Add chopped garlic and fry it. Then add the smooth paste mixture and stir well. To this add turmeric powder and finally add the yogurt and mix well. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. At the end add the boiled baby potatoes and mix well.

Dum aloo is ready to be relished!!!

Eggless chocolate cup cakes!!!

It is a great challenge for me to bake eggless cakes. This time for thanksgiving (Nov 2011) I had a bunch of friends who were vegetarians. I decided to try baking eggless cup cakes (Cup cakes I thought would be easier especially since they might hold together easier than the regular round cakes). I searched some online websites for ideas and compiled many ideas and succeeded in baking my first ever eggless cup cakes. I think my friends who tried it can vouch for it:)

You will need:

1.5 cups Pillsbury Unbleached All purpose flour
3 tbsp Baking cocoa (powder)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp white vinegar

Method:

Preheat the oven at 350 F

Mix the all the above ingredients in a container. Beat it well till it forms a smooth paste without any lumps.

Pour slowly into muffin tray and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool it before decorating it with frosting/icing.

Eggless cup cakes are ready to relish!!

Peach Cobbler!

Peach cobbler is one of the oldest American dessert recipes I think. Summer/Fall happens to be a time where you get the best peaches and I made this last fall (2011) for a small potluck get together with friends where the theme was American Cuisine. I got the recipe from one of my American friend. It was a great dessert and people loved it. It went so well with vanilla ice cream. I made it as less fat free as I probably could.

You will need:

4 cups of pealed sliced peaches
2 cups sugar
1/4 stick butter
1.5 cups of self raising flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
All spice mix (optional

Method:

First add in the sliced peaches, water and 1 cup sugar in a pan, bring it to boil and simmer it for 5 minutes, remove from heat and keep it aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a container, mix the self raising flour, milk and 1 cup sugar and stir it slowly and make sure there are no clumps.

Melt the butter in baking dish and spread it across the dish.

Pour the flour mixture slowly onto the melted butter. Make sure not to stir. Slowly with the help of spoon place the cooked peaches with sugar syrup on top of the flour mixture. Sprinkle small amount of all spice mixture on top if needed.

Bake it for 45 to 50 minutes.

Peach cobbler is ready to be relished. Scoop the peach cobbler with a spatula and serve it with vanilla ice cream. :)

Yummy spinach dip!!!

My friend made this dip as a part of a surprise lunch party for me. It was so delicious that I borrowed the recipe from her and tried it out. I must say it is a very easy and tasty option if you want to include spinach in your diet.

You will need:

1 packet frozen spinach
2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
1 tbsp mayonnaise

Method:

Thaw the frozen spinach under warm water and then squeeze the water completely from it. To this add the sour cream and mayonnaise and keep it in the refregerator for about 3 hours to marinate.

After 3 hours take it out of the refregerator and relish the spinach dip. It serves as a great side dish too.!!!!

Quick colourful pasta salad!!!!

For those of you who love pasta this is a very healthy and a quick recipe. I had exhausted all the veggies from my refregirator when I relaized I had some pasta and could make delicious salad with it.

You will need:

1 cup of tri color spiral pasta
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes (I used the regular roma tomatoes)
Some chopped basil
Some chopped parsley
pepper
1 tsp italian salad dressing

Method:

Boil 3 cups water. Add the pasta and cook for about 1o minues until it is done. Drain the water and keep aside

Take the cooked pasta in a bowl and add cherry tomatoes, olives, basil, parsley and italian dressing and toss it well. Add pepper to taste.

The simple colorful pasta salad is ready to be relished!!!

Zucchini and cherry tomatoes stir fry!!!!

Zucchini is my current favortie vegetable. It needs a little bit of sauteing and it tastes heavenly. I found this recipe in one of the calenders and tried it. It came out really tasty. It can be served as a side dish.

You will need:
1 tsp olive oil
2 medium sliced zucchini
2 clove garlic /finely chopped
3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a pan. To this add the sliced zucchini and cook until lightly browned. Add the chopped garlic and mix well. Now add the cut cherry tomatoes and stir until softened for a minute or so.To this add the dried basil, salt and pepper to taste.

The Zucchini and Cherry tomatoes stir fry is ready to be relished!!!!!

Sabu Dana (Sago Grain ) Kichdi!!!

This is a very easy and quick recipe from Sago grains. In India it is mostly eaten during the days people do fasting for religious reasons. However it is a wonderful evening snack too. I used to love my grandmom's sago grains kichdi while growing up.

You will need:

1 cup sago grains( sabu dana)
3 cups water
1 sliced green chilli
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 chopped medium sized potato
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup crushed peanuts
salt to taste

Method:

Soak the sago grains in water for a minimun of three hours. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice while soaking.

Drain the water from sago grains after 3 hours and keep it aside.

Take a pan and add 2 tsp olive oil and heat it. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds, green chilli, chopped potatoes and salt and cook till the potatoes get tender ( soft and cooked).Add the crushed peanuts and roast for about a minute. To this add the soaked sago grains and mix well. Add salt if needed.

Sago grain kichdi is ready to be relished!!!!