Indian Round Gourd applied with garlic and coconut …Lasoon Khobra Lavoon Dhenashi

Hi friends!

Summer season offers a variety of gourds which are excellent source of water and minerals. Though many gourds are available, not many people like them as they can be quite bland and hence avoid eating them. At the same time, it’s always challenging to cook everyday meal as the food has to be tasty, healthy and not repetitive. I took a big challenge by using gourd and tried to make it tasty too.

The gourd I used is called Indian round gourd commonly called Tinda in Hindi and Dhenashi in Marathi. I used a standard Maharashtrian style of applying a mix of fresh coconut and garlic to the veggie and to my surprise the gourd turned out delicious. My fussy eater ate it eagerly and demanded more. What more can a Mom ask for!!!??

Ingredients

Oil for cooking

about 3cups Indian round gourd chopped

3-4 green chillies roughly chopped

about 1/2 cup fresh coconut

3 garlic pods

1/2tsp Marathi goda masala

1/4tsp turmeric

1/2tsp red chilli pwd

1-2tsp coriander pwd

salt to taste

1/2tsp mustard seeds

a pinch of good quality asafoetida

Method

Grind coconut and garlic to make a paste.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds followed by green chillies, asafoetida and turmeric. Do not let it burn and add the chopped vegetable, salt to taste and mix.

Cook covered, when half done add the coriander, chilli  powders.

Now add the coconut- garlic paste and goda masala. Cook for another minute or two.

Serve hot with chapati.

Gobhi Keema..Minced Spicy Cauliflower

Hi!

It’s been really long that I posted here, so here I’m with an interesting and tasty post today which is just apt for people who would like to enjoy the non-veg specialities the veggie way. This is a fuss free curry which I personally feel tastes best with paav or even naan.

Quick Microwave Cheese Sauce

This is  an extremely simple sauce which can be made in a matter of few minutes in the microwave. It can be a perfect dip or a sauce for starters and chips.

Ingredients

1/2 cup +3 tbsp milk

75gms grated processed cheese

1-1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp freshly crushed pepper

a large pinch garlic powder

salt to taste

Method

In a microwave safe bowl mix all ingredients except the three tbsp of milk.

HOW TO WORK WITH YEAST IN WINTER

Hi!

First of my apologies for not updating this blog for quite sometime. Today I am posting something very crucial for all the people who love working with yeast.

Yeast can be fun to work with in summer but it became a challenge for me. With the temperature dropping the yeast started taking a long time to rise and that’s when I started asking my friends what methods did they use during winter.

I got to know many options which even I was using but did not help me to my satisfaction, like keep the dough near the gas stove, preheating the oven etc. I then wrote to Katy of Food For Hungry Soul  stating my agony with yeast and she was kind enough to write back to me in great detail. Thanks so much Katy,I am copying the mail here for every one to read.

“The first thing is to turn the pilot light on in your oven, and set a steaming hot bowl of water in the bottom of your oven.  Put your covered bowl of dough on a rack over the bowl of water and close the oven door.  Enough warmth should be generated between the bowl of water (which may have to be changed a couple of times during rising time to keep it hot) to raise your dough.The dough may be a little moist on the bottom from using this method, but if it's the first rising, it should be okay as you can add more flour when you form it for the second rising.

The second method is to ever so gently warm your oven on the lowest possible heat setting and then immediately turn the oven off.  Put your covered dough into the oven and close the door.  This method can be a little tricky if you have let your oven heat too long, but generally works well if you are attentive.

The last method I use is a variation of the first method, especially for the second rise.  I set my prepared pan of bread dough over (but not in) a bowl of hot water on my stove top (or on my kitchen table in the direct sunlight), cover it so that the covering does not touch the dough (you may have to make a tent somehow.  I tend to use tall drinking glasses and a clean white dish towel). If your pan of prepared dough is too small to sit atop the pan of water, set a cooling rack over the pan of hot water and then your pan of prepared dough.”

I liked Katy’s idea of using warm water bath but since it required replacing the water again and again as it would cool down fast in winter and I am not a very patient person, so my hunt for my kind of method was still on.

A few days back I sat down to read the manual of my microwave oven. Now, I do have a good microwave oven which not only has convection but also has steaming, grilling and broiling facility too. While reading the manual I realized that the oven can be set in temperature range for a time period of your choice. I thought this should solve my problem and for trial  I set my oven in  a temperature range of 40C-50 C for half an hour and checked it’s temperature using a thermometer  after half an hour,  was extremely happy to see that it worked.

So today, I made sweet chelsea buns and after kneading the dough I kept it to rise in the oven which was set in the temperature range 40-50C for an hour and I got a raised dough in 35mins. This method is very safe and convenient as there is no chance that the oven will get overheated at the same time it does not need one to be constantly vigilant. Once you have kept the dough to rise and set the timer, one is free to complete other chores. It is a great method for people like me who do not have loads of patience.

I hope all the yeast lovers would find this method easy to try. At the same time if you have any further suggestions, please leave me a note in the comment box. Will surely update this post with more methods that I get to know.

Basic Eggless Sponge Cake

Hi!

Today I am sharing yet another basic recipe but this time of a cake. Sponge cake is used in making many desserts and thus has it’s own importance. Since I was planning to make an eggless dessert ( trifle) so made an eggless sponge cake using condensed milk.

As the name suggests the sponge cake is very spongy, when you press the crust it springs back. It’s spongy texture is utilized in making gateaus, pastries where the cake soaks the fruit juices and makes the dessert extremely soft to eat. The sponge texture is achieved by making the batter properly aerated which is achieved by beating but at the same time over beating  can also spoil the cake.

My cake did not become very spongy as I faced three power breaks while baking. As you know baking needs a continuous supply of energy else the end result gets affected. Nevertheless, I still baked the cake and got a decent sponge.

Ingredients

60 gms white butter

1-1/2 cups/125 gms APF

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 can condensed milk

3/4 tsp level soda bicarb

3/4 tsp baking pwd

100 ml soda water

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Sift the APF, soda bicarb and baking powder together.

Cream the butter and sugar.

Add the condensed milk and beat again.

 

Add the vanilla essence and mix.

Also add the soda water and beat.

 

 

Add the APF mix gradually and beat till all the flour gets completely incorporated.

Grease a 7” dish and pour the cake batter in it gently, precaution should be taken for minimum handling of the batter so that the air trapped in the batter does not escape.

. Bake for 35-40 mins or till the toothpick comes out clear in a preheated oven at 150C.

  I utilized this sponge cake in making coffee trifle.

Sending the sponge cake to my event  ‘Only’- Kids delight.

How To Make Frozen Peas At Home

Hi Friends.

Today I share another important technique used in the kitchen for storage, that's freezing. In this fast moving , hasty world we tend to use many frozen products as they come out handy. Freezing helps us store seasonal vegetables for a longer time and one of the most commonly used  frozen vegetable  is Peas. The peas made in this way can be stored in the freezer for an year. My mom used to make frozen peas  and now I follow the same trend and make them in winter when one gets peas at a cheaper rate (helps me save a few hundreds in the year).

The procedure is very simple..

Ingredients

Peas shelled

water for cooking

a large pan

Thick towel

zip lock bags

slotted ladle

Method

Take a pan and take enough water in that. Once the water starts boiling add the shelled peas (do this in batches, I made about 8kgs).

Once the peas are blanched you will see them moving to the top surface and floating there, remove them.

Once the entire batch is done, spread it on  a thick clean towel and allow them to cool.

Once cooled, fill them in washed and dried zip lock bags and place them in the freezer.

Once frozen they can be thawed and used.

Sending this to Jaya’s Back to Basics Event.

Masala Potato Upma

 

This is a traditional Upma from Karnataka that is made on festive occasions or in weddings. It is quite quick to make if you have the Palya Podi in hand. At my place I have my three podis in stock all the time Saaru/ Rasam podi, Palya and Sambhar podi.

Morning when I asked S what he would like to have for breakfast he demanded this Upma. He is very fond of this as it's quite flavorful and spicy. It tastes best with ghee on top and curds to go with it. A perfect wholesome breakfast.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 medium potatoes cut into small cubes

about 3/4 cup semolina

1 tbsp of urad-chana dal mix

1 sprig of curry leaves

3 tbsp Palya podi

3 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

cup and a half of boiled water

salt to taste

chopped cilantro

Method

Heat oil and the mustard. Add the dal mix. Once it turns golden in colour add the curry leaves. Put the chopped potatoes, salt to taste and the palya podi. Mix thoroughly.

Tip in the semolina and saute it with the entire mix thoroughly Keep the flame on low(to avoid splattering) and add the boiled water gradually and keep mixing simultaneously. Stop adding water the minute you see that the semolina has absorbed the water and doubled in volume.

Cover and steam cook for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle some chopped coriander and add a dash of ghee and serve it along with some curds.

Tip

While making Upma one must ensure that a right quantity of oil is being used else the Upma turns dry and hurts the throat while eating. If you feel that the Upma looks dry on completion, put a tablespoon of ghee and mix.