Vegetable Fried Rice

This is the Indo-Chinese version of vegetable fried rice which is pretty simple to make. This tastes well with some indo-chinese side dish like manchurian or even just ketchup.So here goes the recipe...
Ingredients:
Basmati rice- 1 cup
Vegetables- Green onions, Carrot, beans, cabbage,
green pepper, cauliflower- 2 cups- finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Green chilly-2 slit lengthwise
Salt & pepper to taste
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Method:
Cook the basmati rice such that the grains are separate and cool it in a plate. In a wok, heat some oil and when hot add ginger garlic paste, saute for a min, then add the green chilly and chopped bulb of green onion(spring onion). Now add all the chopped veggies except for the green pepper & cabbage. Sprinkle some salt and cook the vegetables lightly....they should be crisp and not mushy.Finally add the soy sauce, pepper, cabbage and green pepper & saute for another min. Now add the rice, salt to taste,mix well & cook for another min. Finally add the leaves of chopped green onions and serve hot.

Pongal & Vadai- Go hand in hand!

This is one combo which is a big favorite for a lot of people in South India, especially in Tamilnadu. Most of us make just the vadai or pongal but the combo of these two, served with some sambar & chutney will give you a feeling as though you are eating in one of the restaurants in India. And once in a while when nostalgic of home, it definitely would be nice to make these things as weekend brunch and enjoy them.
I have always wanted to know how to make pongal that is close to temple style pongal. And the best pongal I have had so far is my sis Karthika's pongal. So, I got the recipe from her and made pongal which tasted very much like temple pongal. So here goes the recipe for Pongal & Vadai.
Pongal:
Ingredients:
1.Rice- 1 cup
2.Moong dhal- 3/4 cup
3.Water- 5 cups (for rice ratio is 1:3.5, for dhal 1:2)
4.Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
5.Asafoetida- a pinch
6.cumin seeds- 1 tsp
7.Black Pepper-1 tsp
8.Ginger- small piece- chopped
9. pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
For tempering:
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Cashewsnuts- 10
Curry leaves- few
Black pepper- 1tsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Method:
Wash rice and moong dhal nicely. Pressure cook ingredients 1 thro 10 for 4-5 whistels. When pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and mash the pongal slightly with the back of a ladle. (Note: If the pongal is too thick, add some (boiled) hot water to adjust the consistency. especially when the pongal cools down, it can get thick). Temper the ingredients listed above in ghee and add to the pongal and mix well.
Vadai:
Ingredients:
Urad dhal(whole)- 1 cup
Green chilly-4
Salt to taste
Onion- chopped - 1 (optional)
curry leaves - few
Asafoetida- a pinch
oil for deep frying
Method:
Soak the dhal for about an hour and then grind it with green chilly, very little water & salt. (Sprinkle water as needed, if more water is added you wont be able to get the vadai shape). If u have a grinder, use that instead of mixie but mixie can be used too. And remember to add the salt at the end while grinding the batter for vadai. In the meantime heat some oil in a deep frying pan. To the batter, add curry leaves, hing and onion(optional) & mix it well. When oil is hot, take some batter and place it on a banana leaf or ziploc plastic sheet, flatten it with slightly wet hands, make a hole in the centre and take it from the sheet & slowly drop it in the oil. cook on both sides in medium flame until crisp & light brown. drain in a paper towel and serve hot.

This is my entry for Asvadha's Made for Each Other event.

Mango Kootan(Kuzhambu)

Maam pazham(Mango) kootan is my hubby's all time favorite and a Kerala dish which I learned from my MIL. It is very simple to make and tastes kind of close to morkozhambu only that this is a bit more sweet. It is not common to find good ripe mangoes here in the US, so I just try to get the best I can and then add a pinch of jaggery for the sweetness. So, here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
Mango- 1 big ripe
Coconut- 1 cup
fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
red chilly- 2or 3
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
jaggery- a small piece
Buttermilk- 1.5 cups (little more if needed)
For Tempering:
coconut oil- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
curry leaves- few
Fenugreek- 1/2 tsp(optional)
Method:
Cut the mango into big chunks and boil with some water, jaggery, turmeric & salt until the pieces are cooked. In the meantime, saute fenugreek seeds(1tsp) with red chilly in a tsp of oil and then grind this with a cup of coconut. Add this coconut paste to the cooked mango chunks and cook for another 3-4 mins. Then finally add 1.5 cups buttermilk( you could add a little more if needed) and then within a min switch off the flame.Then temper mustard seeds, curry leaves in coconut oil and add to the Kootan. Serve hot with rice and papad.

Sombu(Fennel seeds) chutney

This is a unique chutney that I learned from my friend Kavi from MI. Though the base is the usual onion & tomato, it gets its name bcos of the flavor of fennel seeds. This is very simple to make and tastes excellent with Dosa or idly. As you all probably know, Fennel aids in digestion and has a lot of medicinal value.
Ingredients:
Fennel seeds- 2 tbsp
Onion- 1 big
Tomato-2
Urad dhal- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Red chilly -3 or 4
Salt
Asafoetida- a pinch
curry leaves- few (optional)
coconut- 1 tbsp
oil
Method:
Heat oil in a skillet and temper with Fennel seeds, Urad dhal, mustard seeds, red chilly and curry leaves. when the mustard crackles, add the chopped onion and saute nicely and then add the tomato and saute until it turns mushy.Sprinkle salt to taste, a pinch of asafoetida and a tbsp of coconut powder at the end.let this cool nicely and then grind it in a mixer. Serve with Dosa or Idly.

Cereal Mixture

I was inspired by Mahimaa's Chivda , made some modifications to it and ended up with this Cereal Mixture. This is a very healthy snack which can be prepared at home in no time. I just used the cereals I had at home...you can modify it per ur taste...Also this can be stored easily upto 2-3 weeks in an air tight container..soo here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
Cereal- 4 cups (based on how much u want to make at one time)
I used a mixture of honey bunches of oats, cheerios & rice krispies.
Nuts- cashews, peanuts, raisins, almonds, etc (per ur choice)
Curry leaves- 2 strings
Asafoetida- 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
chilly powder & salt to taste
oil- 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat oil in a wok, and temper with mustard seeds. Then add the curry leaves, asafoetida, salt, chilly powder & the nuts and roast the nuts slightly. Now add the cereals and mix it thoroughly until it gets coated with the spices. Adjust the salt, Chilly powder & asafoetida per ur taste.( I added more asafoetida in mine to get the south indian mixture taste)....let it cool down and then store it in an airtight container. A quick healthy snack is ready....enjoy!

Methi Matar Masala

I came across the delicious recipe for Methi Matar Malai at Mahimaa's blog. I made few changes to it by adding tomatoes, using cinnamon stick, cloves for tempering and I didn't have half & half so just added 2% milk instead. Since I didn't add any cream, I just wanted to drop the 'malai' part from the name and just called it Methi Matar Masala. Thanks a lot Mahimaa for the wonderful recipe.
It tasted sooo good with chapathis and definitely is a great way to eat Methi.
Ingredients:
Methi- 1 bunch (1 cup)
Frozen green peas- 1 cup
Grated ginger & garlic- 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
Green chilly- 1
Onion- chopped-1
Tomato- 1
Salt to taste
yogurt- 1 tbsp
2% milk -1/2 cup
Kasoori methi (Dried Fenugreek) leaves- 1 tsp
For tempering:
Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves- 2
Oil
Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add the tempering items. When the cumin seeds begin to crackle add the chopped onions, green chilly & ginger garlic paste and saute till onion turns light golden brown. Now add the methi leaves and saute well. Then add the frozen green peas, salt,turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder & garam masala powder. Saute for 1-2 mins and then add the 1tbsp of yogurt. Add some water and cook for a min. Now add the 1/2 cup 2% milk and slow cook for 5 more mins. You will get a creamy gravy at this stage. In the end add some crushed Kasoori methi and serve hot with chapathis.

Vegetable Soup

This is one of the easiest soups to make and can be prepared with any vegetables that u have readily available at home. I just made a quick sandwich by using left over cauliflower & peas sabji that I had made for dinner the previous night to serve with the soup. This soup has garlic, onion, veggies & legumes which makes it a wholesome meal. I used MTR rasam powder to make the soup in Indian style but this can be substituted with some Italian seasoning too. And I used 1/2 can of diced tomatoes and water for the broth and this can be substituted with any other broth too.So here goes the recipe for simple vegetable soup.
Ingredients:
Onion- 1
Garlic- 2 chopped finely
Tomato-2 chopped or 1/2 can of diced tomatoes
Vegetables- 2 cups-carrots, beans, celery, zucchini, spinach, spring onion, cabbage(any of these)
Kidney Beans or Chick peas or any kind of Bean- 1/2 cup
Oil-1 tsp (just enough to saute onion & garlic)
MTR rasam powder- 1 tbsp
salt & pepper - to taste
Water- as required
Method:
Take a pressure cooker or stock pot. Add just a teaspoon of oil and saute onion & garlic for a quick min. Sprinkle some water if needed. Add all the veggies, kidney beans and saute for another min .Now add the can of diced tomatoes & required water. Add the MTR rasam powder, salt & pepper and slow cook for 15 mins in the stock pot or for 3 whistles in the pressure cooker.
Serve hot with a sandwich or a slice of garlic bread. Although I made this soup in a jiffy it tasted heavenly in the cold weather and really different with the MTR rasam powder as seasoning.