Corn Tofu Rice

Background: Always looking at healthier rice dishes as when i dont have time, i try to make 1 dish meals. This was a hit as my 3 year old ate it without any hassle!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked basmati rice
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup cubed tofu
• 1/2 cup frozen sweet corn
• 1.3 cup of frozen peas
• soy sauce (to taste)
• chilli sauce( to taste)
• salt (to taste) Tip: add salt at the end as soy sauce +chillie sauce have salt
• 2 tblsps oil

Procedure:

• Take a yok, add 2 tblsps of oil, fry onions till done
• Add the sweet corn, peas and fry till done
• add the cubed tofu, stir fry for 5 minutes. Tofu is soft , so make sure when strring it doesnt break
• add soy, chillie sauce, salt
• mix the rice and fry for few minutes till all the ingredients are mixed up.
• Healthy tofu rice ready!

Cabbage Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups of purple shredded cabbage
• 1 medium onion sliced thin
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon of sessame powder
• whole garam masala - bayleaf, elaichi, dalchini

Procedure:

• Add 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan.
• Add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies, onions
• Now add the shredded cabbage and fry till it shrinks.
• Add the masala , chili powder salt and mix well.
• Stir for few minutes until the raw smell disappears.
• Add the rice and mix well.
• add sessame powder and mix well
• Check for salt.
• Server hot with Aloo Kurma & Raita!

Beerakaya Thokku Pachadi

Story: I ate this first time when i was a very small girl. it was at Bhimavaram , my dad's friends place. i loved it the moment i tasted it. From then on , i used to ask my mom to make it. The same taste never happened again, but i keep trying....

Ingredients:

1. Skin of 2 large ridge gourds, wash and peel the skin


2. 1/2 cup ridge gourd pieces


3. 2 green chillis


4. 1-2 dry red chillis


5. 1 tbsp minappa pappu


6. 1 tsp cumin seeds


7. very small lemon sized tamarind


8. 1 small piece of bellam [jaggery]


9. 2 tsps oil


10. For poppu
    1/2 tsp mustard seeds
    1-2 dry red chillis
    big pinch hing
    1/2 tsp oil

Procedure:

1. Heat a tsp of oil in a cooking vessel, add mina pappu, cumin seeds and red chillis and stir fry for a few seconds till the dal turns red.


2. Remove and keep aside.


3. In the same vessel, add another tsp of oil and add the green chillis and saute for a mt.


4. Add the ridge gourd peels (chop them into small pieces) and fry on medium heat for 4-5 mts. Add Ridge Gourd pieces. Fry till its cooked.


5. Add the tamarind to it


6. Once cool, grind the daal, cumin, redchillies first till coarsely ground, add the rest of the sauteed ingredients along with tamarind and salt and grind to a slightly coarse paste.


7. Heat half a tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop, add dry red chillis followed by hing and stir fry for a few seconds.


8. Pour the seasoning over the ground pachadi and serve with hot rice & Ghee.

Pink Roti

Background :

As with all girls, my daughter Nidhi loves pink & purple... she asked me amma can you make pink roti for me and the only thing i could think of was Beetroot and fortunately she loved the roti's.

Ingredients

Beetroot - 1/4 cup

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

salt to taste

chili powder-1/4 tsp

zeera

Procedure :

1. Place one cup of wheat flour in a mixing bowl.
   
2. Add half-teaspoon of salt and (optionally) a quarter teaspoon of chili powder, zeera and mix thoroughly.
   
3. Add one tablespoon of heated cooking oil
   
4. Add grated beetroot
   
5. Add sufficient water and knead to a dough
   
6. Make balls and flatten it to make a roti
   
7. In a frying pan , put the flattened roti and add oil/ghee
   
8. Fry on both sides
9. Serve with chutney or for kids roll it with an omlet ..

Tasty pink roti ready!

Oats Upma

Ingredients

Rolled Oats - 1 cup

onion - 1/2 chopped

green chillies - 2 chopped

mustard, zerra, sengapappu for poppu

oil - 3-4 tbsps

salt to taste

Tip: add vegetables

Procedure

Saok Oats in water for 5 min

heat a pan , add oil, poppu ingredenits, when mustard splutters add the onions

fry the onions, greenshillies till cooked

Squeeze the water from the oats and add it to the pan

add salt to taste

cover and cook for 5 more minutes.

Healthy Oats Upma ready!!

Tip: Dont saok the oats for a long time, this will make the upma sticky.

Capsicum blackbean curry

Ingredients :

1. black beans - 1 cup


2. chopped capscium - 2 cups


3. chopped onions -1


4. ginger -garlic paste - 2 tsps


5. chilli powder - 1spoon


6. salt


7. oil - 2 -3 tbsps

Procedure:

1. Soak black beans overnight, pressure cook with salt and water. Tip: you can use canned beans if you are in a rush


2. Take oil in a frying pan, add jeera, onions, ginger/garlic paste and fry till golden brown


3. Add tomatoes, cook till the raw smell goes away


4. Add capsicum.Add salt, chilli powder, black beans and cook till done


5. Add water to get some consistency


6. Healthy , tasty blackbeans curry ready. tastes good with roti.

Atukulu (poha) Vada

Ingredients:

1. Atukulu - 1 cup


2. Rice flour - 5 spoons


3. Besan - 1/4 cup


4. baking soda - 1 tsp


5. Chooped green chillies - 3


6. Chopped Ginger


7. onions - 1/2 cup chopped


8. oil - 3 cups

Procedure:

1. Soak atukulu for 10 min,Drain


2. Mix all the flours and atukulu to a consistent mixture adding very little water


3. Add onions, ginger and green chillies,salt, baking soda


4. In a frying pan add oil, when hot ,make small balls of the atukulu mixture ,flatten and drop in the oil.


5. fry both sides


6. Server hot with allam chutney!

Rolled Oats Dosa

Ingredients:

1. Oats - 1 cup


2. rice flour - 3-4 spoons


3. Sooji - 3-4 spoons


4. yogurt- 5 spoons

Procedure:

1. Soak oats for 10 min


2. Grind the oats to a coasrse paste


3. Mix rice flour, sooji and yogurt and grid to a smooth paste


4. add salt to taste


5. Heat the griddle, add 1 spoon of the mixture, spread it like regular dosa. Tip: if the dosa doesnt spread like regular dosa, add a little bit of water and make it more like rava dosa.


6. Roast on both sides and crispy, tasty dosa ready!!

Badam Burfi

Ingredients

1. 1 cup almonds, finely ground
2. 3/4 cup sugar
3. 4-5 spoons whole milk
4. 5 tablespoon ghee
5. raisins

Procedure:

Mix the finely ground almonds, sugar and milk
Add it to a frying pan , cook on low flame
keep adding ghee, continue stirring till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan.
Prepare a plate with a little ghee
Remove the almond burfi from flame and pour it into the prepared greased pan; smoothen surface of the mixture if necessary.
After it partially cools down, cut into 1 inch squares using a knife
Garnish with raisins





Yummy Badam Burfi ready! Nutricious, healthy and tasty!!

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients

finely chopped onion

Garlic - thinly sliced -3

4 tablespoons oil

1 spoon soy sauce

Sliced carrots,sweet peppers,brocolli

10 pieces of cube Tofu - sauted

2 cups cold cooked rice

2 eggs

Directions

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in wok; add chopped onions and stir-fry until onions turn a nice brown color


2. Add veggies and let them cook, make sure they are crisp not over cooked


3. In a seperate wok , stir fry the tofu in 1 spoon of oil, make eggs in the same wok. Mix it with the veggies


4. Add rice to the veggies. Add soy suace, chilli sauce and Salt to taste. Serve HOT!!!!

Multi color Uttampam

Ingredients:

1 Cup urad dal
2 Cups idli rava
3 Small onions (chopped)
1 carrot (grated)
1 bellpepper (chopped)
2-3 Chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
Cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Wash urad dal . Soak in water for 3 hours. grind it.
2. Soak the idli rava , mix it with the urad dal batter. leave it for a night outside to ferment
3. Mix the batter well next morning till it is sufficiently thick.
4. Mix the green chillies, onion,grated carrot and bell peppers in a bowl.
5. Heat a flat griddle and rub some oil on it.
6. Pour some batter on it with a ladle and spread it to a thick circle.
7. Sprinkle the veggie mixture on the top side and overturn the Uttapam.
8. Cook it on the other side.
9. Repeat the process
10. Serve hot with coconut chutney!

Quick Bhel Puri

Ingredients:

1 cup Puffed Rice

1/4 cup chopped Tomato

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/4 cup chopped Onion

4 chopped Green Chilli

Mint Chutney1/2 cup [not a must have]

potato chips

peanuts - 1 handful

1tsp red chilli powder

2 tblsp Lime or Lemon (Nimbu) Juice

2 tsps - maggie sauce

Procedure:

1. Chop all the veggies, mix the puffed rice, peanuts, add the mint chutney,lemon juice, maggie sauce & chilli powder.
2. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves & chips.
3. Serve immediately

Methi Aloo Palak Curry

Ingredients :

Spinach 1 bunch

Methi - 5 spoons of frozen
2 potatoes : cut like circles

1 Onion cut into small pieces
3-4 garlic pods
Small piece of ginger
3-4 green chilies
½ tsp red chili powder
1tsp of coriander powder, cumin powder
1tsp of garam masala
1tsp of cumin and turmeric
Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. In a pan, add the garlic, ginger,cumin seeds, green chilies, onions with tsp of oil and sauté them.


2. Add the spinach, Methi and cook them.


3. Add the cut potatoes


4. Add turmeric, salt, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder


5. Add water only if it is needed. Cook for 5-10 mins covered until the potato absorbs the flavor.


6. Serve it with whole wheat Roti

Beetroot & Coconut rice

Ingredients:

1 small beetroot (peeled and diced)

1.5 cups of cooked basmati rice

1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bay leaf

3 cloves

1 inch cinnamon

2 cardamam

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 small onion (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 tsp grated ginger

1-2 green chilly (serrano)

few curry leaves

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook the rice with coconut milk


2. Heat oil in a vessel, add the whole spices (bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamam, cumin seeds) and curry leaves. After few seconds, add the onions, ginger, garlic and green chilly, saute them until the onions are transparent.


3. Add the diced beets and turmeric powder, saute for sometime. Season with salt.


4. Add the cooked rice and saute till all ingredients mix well. garnish with some cashwes

Yummy Red rice ready!!!

Veggie Noddles

Ingredients

Noodles - 1 packets [I used the thick variety in this, but the thin ones are OK too]
Eggs – 2/3

Broccoli – 10 florets
Snap peas - few

Carrots - 5 to 6

Red Capsicum - 2 medium size

Onion- sliced

Garlic- 4-5
Soya sauce - 3 tbsp

Maggi tomato chilli sauce - 3 tbsp

Salt and oil

Procedure:

1. Boil enough water with two teaspoon of oil & one tbsp salt in a big vessel. Add noodles into boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Drain, add some more oil, salt, soya sauce & tomato sauce & keep it aside.

3. Take a flat bottomed pan, pour little oil into it, add garlic, onion, capsicum, carrot, broccoli and snap peas and shallow fry them.

4. In a separate pan, fry the 2-3 eggs with 2 tsp of oil. Cook till the eggs are well done

5. Add noodles to the veggies, let it blend with the veggies, add eggs in the end and mix it all well.

Tasty,spicy ,yummy noodles ready! eat them while they are hot!

Chintapandu Pulihara

Background Story : I love making pulihara as its simple and delicious. I made this for "Vanabhojanam" [Vanabhojanam is a garden party where people of a community shares their happiness] and all my friends enjoyed it. Nidhi [my duaghter] loved it as i added lots of nuts and pappulu for her.

Ingredients

Any rice - 1 1/2 cups [I prefer sona masoori for Pulihara]
Tamarind paste – lemon sized ball
Oil - 1- 2 tbsp
Green chilies - 8 -10 nos
Red chilies - 5 nos
Ground nuts –
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Bengal gram - 5 tbsp
Black gram - 2 1/2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 2-3 pinches [I tend to add lots for flavor]
Curry leaves - 2 stems


Procedure:

1) Soak a 2 tsp of Bengal gram Daal for 15 min,
2) Cook rice +Bengal gram daal by adding a little oil so that it doesn’t become sticky.
3) Heat oil in a pan.
4) Add red chilies, Bengal gram, black gram, mustard seeds, groundnuts
5) When the mustard seeds splutter, add asafetida, curry leaves and slit green chilies
6) Add tamarind paste (make the tamarind paste by soaking tamarind in hot water for few min ) and turmeric powder.
7) When the tamarind paste cooks and starts to leave oil, turn off the stove

8) Add this mixture to the already cooked rice, along with salt

Delicious, spicy pulihara ready!

Veggie Burger - Desi Style

Ingredients:
Boiled potatoes
Chopped onions
Finely grated carrot
Green peas
1/2 tsp Turmeric (for an indian touch, optional)
a sprinkle of red chili powder or a green chili chopped
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
Cheese
Onions - sliced like rounds
Tomatoes, sliced red bell pepper
Avocado

Procedure:
1. boil the potatoes, peel and leave aside.
2. in a pan, sauté the onions to a light brown, mash up the potatoes in large bowl and add the onions, carrots, and peas to the mixture.
4. Add the turmeric, salt, and chili powder
5. Make small rounds and make it flat like cutlets
6. Heat some oil on a non-stick frying pan. Once the oil is hot, place the cutlets on it. Cook till brown on both sides; keep turning them over to check if both sides are cooking right. put 1 slice of cheese on the cutlet so that it melts
7. Toast the burger buns on the non stick pan, add tomatoes, onions, avocado slices,pudina chutney and some ketchup..

yum yum Desi Burger ready!

Jantikalu/Murukulu

Background Story : I made this as a snack for my daughter but me and my husband ended up eating more of it then her:) yum yum...

Ingredients:

Besan (senega pindi) 1 cup

Rice flour 2 cups

Cumin 2 tsp

Vaamu 1 tsp

nuvvulu - 1-2 tstp

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Butter (or hot oil) 1/2 stick (or 1/2 cup)

Procedure:

In bowl mix all ingredients,salt to taste, melted butter/oil . Knead it into a dough. Take muruku maker and make them into desired shape and deep fry them in oil until they turn golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Can be stored upto a month in a cool dry place.

Crispy murukullu/jantikalu ready!

Spinach Bajji

This recipe got created by accident and my family loved it.

Background Story: Soaked urad daal for idlis and i was out of idli rava, so i grinderd the daal and was thinking what can be done with these other than vada's and my daughter likes vada's but i never get vada shape without messing it up. so the answer was "Spinach Bajji". Spinach because it is nutricious and my daughter doesnt like it if i give her in the form of curry....

Ingredients
1 cup of urad dall
4-5 spoons of rice flour
chopped spinach: as much as you want
2 chopped onions
oil (for frying, about 2-inch deep in a wok)
Seasonings
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon amchur
1 teaspoon red chili powder
green chillies: optional : add if you need more spice
salt: as per taste
pinch of Baking soda


Procedure:
Soak urad daal [minnapappu] for 4 hours
grind it to a thick batter with little water
Mix all the ingredients (except oil)
Sprinkle little water if needed.
Mix in salt when ready to cook.
Heat the oil in a deep skillet or wok on medium to high heat.
Make a small ball of the batter and drop it in the skillet
Serve hot with any chutney or tomato ketchup .

Easy Tomato Rice

My Daughter used to eat dry rice dishes when she was 2 years old. I had to think of new rice items evryday:) I always used to make tomato rice the original way with spices which always was time consuming. This recipe is easy t o make and gets cooked in less that 15 min. My daughter loves it... and so do i. Try it out...

rice: 1/2 cup
small Grape Tomatoes: 10
onions : 1/3 cup
garlic - 3-4 pods
sambhar powder - 1/2 tea spoon
salt: per taste
oil - 3 spoons
cashews: few for garnish

Procedure:

Cook rice with 1 cup of water in rice cooker
take a frying pan
add oil
add sliced garlic
add chopped onion
once onions reach golden brown color add chopped tomatoes and salt
fry for 5 min
add sambar powder
fry for 2-3 min
mix the cooked rice

Yummy Tomato Rice ready!!!!

EnjoY