Tag Archives: Recipe

Recipe: Semiya/Vermicelli Payasam (Dessert)

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IMG_6073This sweet is the favourite of everyone at home, especially the children and is my go-to recipe when I need to whip up a sweet for any festival. GG & BB love it so much that I have to hide some for S, otherwise, he won’t get any when he comes home from work! This is a very easy recipe but takes a little bit of time stirring if you want to get the rich taste.

IMG_6072Semiya/Vermicelli Payasam

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup vermicelli
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1-litre milk (full cream is the best for taste)
  • 10-12 pieces cashew nuts (chopped into half)
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • ½ tsp cardamom powder
  • 2 tbsp ghee

Method:

  • In a deep bottom pan, heat the ghee and when it warms, fry the raisins till they plump up and keep aside in a kitchen towel.
  • In the same pan, fry the cashew nuts until they turn brown and crisp and remove into the same kitchen towel.
  • With the remaining ghee, fry the vermicelli till it becomes brown and starts to develop an aroma.
  • At this point, pour 1/3 to half a litre of milk and let it come to a rolling boil. Reduce the flame and let the milk and vermicelli boil until the vermicelli is completely cooked. This will take between 15-20 minutes. If at any point, the milk reduces, add some more milk to cover the vermicelli.
  • When the vermicelli is completely cooked, add the remaining milk and let it come to a nice rolling boil.
  • Now add the sugar and let it boil for a while until the sweet has thickened.
  • Add the sugar, cardamom, saffron and the nuts and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the flame and let it cool before serving.
  • This sweet is very tasty both hot or cold, but we prefer to drink it cold. A few hours in the fridge really improves the taste dramatically.

Tips:

  • If you want to increase the proportions, just remember to put the sugar and vermicelli in a ratio of 1:1.
  • I prefer to use a pestle and mortar to grind my cardamom on an ‘as I need it‘ basis. I feel that grinding a whole bunch of cinnamon at the same time makes the smell of the spice go away after a while. You will need the pods from 5-6 cardamoms to make up ¼ tsp of the powder.

Recipe: Vegetable Pulao

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IMG_6049An easy one-pot meal, this pulao can be put together when you are in a hurry. This is the perfect meal for a bachelor to make as it does not need many utensils as well as a lot of skills to make it.

This also makes a perfect school or work packed lunch. You can also prep this the night before and if you are using a rice cooker, keep it in the cooker to cook overnight. Then in the morning, you have fresh pulao all ready for you before you leave for school or work!

Vegetable Pulao

IMG_6047Ingredients:

  • 1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 15 minutes
  • 1 cup chopped mixed vegetables (I used potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green peas and sweet corn)
  • 2-3 tablespoons frozen paneer refreshed in hot water for 10 minutes
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4-5 cloves of cardamom
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1-star anise
  • 10-15 cashew nuts, chopped
  • 2 tsp golden raisins
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1-inch piece of ginger julienned
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp ghee

Method:

  • Wash the rice well and remove all the water and keep aside.
  • Heat a pan and when it is warm, add the ghee. When the ghee liquefied, add the cumin seeds and when the seeds pop, add the bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and star anise. Stir each for a few seconds before adding the next ingredient.
  • Add the green chillies and ginger and stir well.
  • Add the cashew nuts and the raisins and stir for a few seconds.
  • Next add the onions and stir, letting it become translucent.
  • Next, add the chopped vegetables and stir well. Add the washed and drained rice next along with the salt and stir well, letting the salt coat the rice grains and vegetables.
  • Remove from the flame and put this mixture into a rice cooker and add the water (normally I add ¾ cup water to 1 cup of Basmati rice, but you can play with it depending on the rice you use)
  • When the rice is done, fluff with a fork and serve with any gravy or a raita.

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Recipe: Cucumber and Okra (Ladies Finger) Raita

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IMG_6051A couple of days each week, I need to send BB & GG to school with a packed lunch as they have to stay back in school for either CCA or supplementary lessons.

Most days it’s either some sort of stuffed paratha or some sort of rice. So making appropriate accompaniments with that then becomes important.

I made a vegetable pulao recently and was thinking of something to accompany that when I thought of marrying two kinds of raitas to come up with this raita. The Okra or Ladies Finger Raita is a traditional south Indian raita (called pachadi) and we make the Cucumber raita quite often at home. It was surprisingly good and goes very well with any kind of rice or roti.

Cucumber and Okra (Ladies Finger) Raita

IMG_6052Ingredients:

  • 2 large cucumbers
  • 10-15 okra or ladies finger washed and dried thoroughly
  • 2 cups yoghurt, beaten well
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1-inch piece ginger
  • 3-4 tbsps oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Peel and grate the cucumber and salt it lightly and keep aside for a while.
  • Slice the ladies finger as thin as you can and keep aside.
  • Slice the green chillies and ginger finely and keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a pan and when warm, fry the chillies and ginger till they are crisp. Remove and keep on some kitchen paper to remove all excess oil.
  • In the same oil, fry the okra till it becomes brown and crisp.
  • Remove from the pan and put on the kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
  • In a large serving bowl, beat the yoghurt and add salt to taste.
  • Squeeze the grated cucumber with the palms of your hands to remove all excess water and add to the beaten yoghurt.
  • When the fried okra, chilli and ginger are cool, add to the yoghurt cucumber mixture.
  • Heat another dry pan, and add the cumin seeds and let them pop. When the cumin seeds are crisp, add them to the yoghurt mixture.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve cold.

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Recipe: Chawli aka Black-eyed Beans Masala

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Black eye peas, Chawli in Marathi or Lobia in Hindi is a small bean which is used in cooking almost in every part of the country. This is made differently in various parts, but the way I make it, is very similar to how I make Rajma.

Chawli Masala

IMG_5908Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried black-eyed peas,  soaked in water overnight
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 1-inch piece ginger
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala masala
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the black-eyed peas thoroughly and cook it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles till it becomes soft. You can also cook it without pressure, in a pan, but it will take quite long.
  • Chop the onions and tomatoes and peel the garlic and ginger and chop them into pieces.
  • Heat oil in a pan and when warm put in the cumin seeds. When it starts popping, add the garlic, ginger and stir for a few minutes. Then add the onions and stir and cook till they turn translucent.
  • Add the tomatoes next and a tsp of salt to help the tomatoes start watering. Let the tomatoes cook till they are mushy and well cooked.
  • Switch off the gas and let it cool completely. When cool, blend it till it becomes a smooth puree.
  • In the same pan, pour this puree and let it boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the cooked black-eyed beans, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Check for salt and add more if needed.
  • Let this cook well and once the whole mixture is nice and thick, switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves
  • Enjoy piping hot Chawli with Cumin (Jeera) rice, Rotis or Nan.

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Recipe: Snake Gourd Dal

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IMG_5918Indian vegetables are a staple in my house, especially when we have done shopping in the Little India district. And Snake Gourd somehow makes it home every time this happens. Normally I make a stir-fry with this vegetable and honestly, even I was bored with that every single time. I decided to search and see if anything else can be made and found people had experimented with dal with this vegetable. So I also decided to make a dal and did a very simple dal with hardly any seasoning. The result was a delicious dal which would go  very well with both rice as well as rotis and flatbreads.

trichosanthes_cucumerina_aka_snake_gourdThis is a common vegetable in India and because it’s long and slim (like a snake, it is called Snake Gourd). The vegetable has many health benefits too, including  its ability to improve the strength of the immune system, reduce fevers, detoxify the body, improve the digestive processes of the body, increase hydration in the body, treat diabetes, boost the strength and quality of the hair, and aid in weight loss. More information on this vegetable on Wikipedia and this site.

Snake Gourd Dal

IMG_5919Ingredients:

  • 2 snake gourds, peeled and chopped into pieces
  • 1 cup chana dal (yellow split chick peas)
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1 tsp jaggery (or sugar, brown sugar)

For the seasoning:

  • 1 tsp ghee or oil
  • 1.5 tsps cumin seed powder
  • 2 whole red chillies,
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1 inch stick cinnamon
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the dal and let it soak in warm water for 15-20 minutes. Wash the snake
  • In a pressure cooker, add the dal, snake gourd, turmeric powder, a safoetida powder and 2 cups of water and cooker for 3 whistles.
  • If you do not have a pressure cooker, cook this in a large bottom pan on the stove and keep an eye on the water. Keep adding water when it evaporates. The end result should be a mushy dal with the snake gourd completely cooked.
  • Let the pressure subside and when the pressure is fully released, open the cooker and mash the mixture well.
  • In a separate, smaller pan, heat the ghee or oil and add the cumin seeds.
  • When the cumin seeds pop, add in the cloves, cinnamon and red chillies and let it pop. When the red chillies start to brown, remove from the flame and pour over the dal.
  • Close the lid of the dal tightly for 10 minutes to let the dal get infused with the seasoning.
  • Open the lid and check for salt. Add lemon juice, jaggary and garnish with coriander leaves.

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