J's thoughts

Milk Peda I saw my friends Instagram post on Diwali and then realisation dawned that pedas can be made at home too :). A search on the internet and stumbled upon this easy recipe from Sharmispassions . She has very clearly written down the step by step instructions and also pics to guide the cooking process. My pedas were a tiny bit sticky but tasted good...as good as store bought ones. Ah well, it was the first time for me. This is definitely a keeper recipe.

Recipe courtesy: Mrs. Lakshmi Nair's cookery show Ingredients: 1. Beetroot - 1 2. Coconut (grated) - 1.5 cup     Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp     green chillies -3 3. Curd - 1.5 cups 4. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp 5. Dry red chilli - 2 6. Curry leaves -  a sprig 7. Oil - 3 tbsp Method: Boil the beetroot in lots of water and grate it. Make a paste of items in 2. Combine the beetroot and the coconut paste in a bowl.  Add salt to taste. To this add 1.5 cups of curd and mix well. In a small pan, add oil, splutter the mustard seeds,add red chilli and curry leaves.  Pour this over the beetroot-coconut-curd mixture.

Ingredients: 1. Beetroot(grated) - 1 cup 2. Yoghurt - 1.5 cups 3. Shallots - 5 4. Green chilli - 3 5. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp 6. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp 7. Coconut oil (preferably) - 3 tbsp 8. Curry leaves - a sprig 9. Salt - as required Method: In a deep pan, add the oil and when it is warm add the mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the cumin seeds, then the green chilli and the curry leaves. Give a stir and add the shallots. When the shallots turn translucent, add the beetroot and saute it till its 90% cooked. Allow the whole mixture to cool down and add the yoghurt and salt and mix well.

Corn and paneer chaat This is a colorful chaat. A bit sweet, a bit tangy but tastes good nonetheless.  This can be a mid-morning snack or an evening snack.  It is easy to prepare and healthy as well. Ingredients: 1. Corn - 2 cups 2. Paneer-15 cubes  3. Red onion - 1  4. Tomato - 1 5. Salt- as per taste 6. Pepper - as per taste 7. Lemon juice - 1/2 of a lime  8. Chaat masala - as per taste Method: Steam the corn. Pan fry the paneer Chop the onion and tomato Mix everything together. Add the salt, pepper, lime juice and chaat masala. Toss well.  Enjoy. Recipe adapted from indian healthy recipes

Annies Kitchen is a cookery cum chat show that airs on Amtita TV and is hosted by actress Annie. There is a simplicity and cuteness in her presentation which makes it worth a watch. But sadly one has to listen and write down the ingredients and method. I wish the producers of the show could list it out in the description section of the video. By the way, all her shows are available on Youtube. Now this is the first recipe that I tried. And my verdict - I have never before tasted such lipsmacking, flavorful, aromatic and tasty chicken biriyani. Oh the aroma that fills up the room...mmmmm.... One might feel that the quantity of garam masala that she dumps into the chicken biriyani is way tooo much but oh boy...the end result is simply awesome. This is a very rich dish which uses a lot of ghee, but what say , you can indulge once in a while na. So here I am taking the liberty to write down the recipe on my blog. :) Click here for the link to the video. CHICKEN BIRIYANI (A...

Well, I like to try out different recipes. And l ent time is when my recipe search intensifies for want of variety in dishes.  Now this is one such recipe. I use cashew nuts for garnishing, or as a paste in some recipes or simply eat it. You could make a korma or curry out of it was news to me.  The recipe is adapted from here . The korma was thick, creamy, delicious and rich.  Definitely not a weight watcher's delight. lol It is one of those curries which can be had once in a while. 

Upma is a breakfast item in south Indian households and it is one dish which can be prepared in no time if you have all the ingredients ready beforehand, You can use semolina,or wheat rava or oats to make upma. I  tried quite a few recipes till i found a method that works for me. So here goes my tried and tested version for soft fluffy upma. Ingredients: 1. Upma (semolina)  - 2 cups 2. Shallots - 8 - 10 3. Ginger (minced) - 1 - 11/2 tsp 4. Green chilli - 2 5. Cashews - 10  (optional) 6. Raisins - 1/4 cup (optional) 7. Water (hot) - 2 cups 8. Oil - 1 tbsp     Ghee - 2 tbsp 9. Urad dal - 1/2 tsp (optional) 10. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp 11. Curry leaves - a sprig (optional) 12. Salt - to taste Method: In a wok, heat the oil and ghee. Add the mustard seeds to this. When it starts spluttering add the urad dal(if using).  Then add the chopped green chillies, give it a stir and add the minced ginger.  Fry these for about 30 seco...