Chivda

Today I'm doing my first post for Blogging Marathon.I opted for traditional recipes & for this day I made " Chivda " as my recipe.

Ingredients: 

1 Cup thick poha

2 Tbs Peanuts 

2 Tbs fried channa dal ( Veyinchina senaga pappu)

1 Tsp Mustard 

Few curry leaves 

Pinch of turmeric

2 Tbs ghee 

1 Tsp Mixed chilli powder (Chilli+Fennel+Coriander seeds)

1 Tsp sugar

Salt

Heat a pan with oil and add mustard & curry leaves.Once the mustard starts jumping then add peanuts & fried channa dal.

Keep stirring them for 3mins.Then add the poha to pan & stir fry them till they are crisp. To that add turmeric,salt, chilli power & sugar. mix them well for 2 mins and switch of heat.

Quick & Easy Recipes

As the name says I'm hosting an event for "Quick & Easy Recipes". I have couple of reasons on hosting this event in that the first one is " somedays I just want to kick back & relax my day with less work on my head" & the second is  

"about all the women who are busy with household work & professional life".So I came up with this event to make a collection of all possible easy recipes here at my blog & make all our life a little easier.

Here are the simple rules for the event :

• Vegetarian dishes only.
• Post it in your blog and link back the recipe to my event.
• Use of logo is appreciated.
• Can send in multiple entries.
• Event starts from 26th of Nov 2012 & ends on 26th Dec 2012.
• For any questions you can mail me to ammaji.recipes@gmail.com or you can just leave a comment to my Facebook page Ammaji Recipes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomato Noo Perugu Pachadi | Tomato Sesame Curd Chutney

I'm sharing a easy breezy recipe for people with busy life style.A familier chutney for many of us still I wanted to make a post of it in my blog. 

Ingredients: 
2 Tomatoes sliced
2 Cups of curd
2 Tbs of grounded sesame powder (Nuvvula podi)
1 Tsp oil
Pinch of turmeric
Salt 
Seasoning 
1 Tbs oil 
1 Tsp channa dal 
1 Tsp urad dal 
1 Tsp mustard 
1 Tsp jeera
3 Green chilli's (Slit them in middle)
Few curry leaves
Pinch of hing

Heat a pan with oil and add tomatoes to it. Sprinkle turmeric & salt to pan.Cook tomatoes in a low heat. When tomatoes turn soft switch off heat & allow tomatoes to cool.
Now add curd & sesame powder to tomatoes.
Seasoning 
Heat a pan with oil add channa dal, urad dal to pan fry them for few sec's. Then add mustard,jeera & Green chili.Once the mustard starts jumping add hing & curry leaves to pan. Switch off heat & add the seasoning to chutney.  

Note: 
1.  You can replace sesame power with mustard powder or you can just serve simple without the powders. 
2. Replace tomatoes with any water based vegetable. 

Serve it with rice & njoy it. 

Berries

Sending this to Susan's BWW event which was passed to Cindystar & being hosted @ Akheela of Torviewtoronto 

Beans

Sending this to Susan's BWW event which was passed to Cindystar & been hosted @ Lail of With A Spin  

Moong Dal Sundal

We had a splendid Navratri this year.Performed all the rituals which are supposed to be done on these days, attended pooja 's at temple & last but not the least had a nice time @ "Festival of lights " celebrated in San Diego. So after a busy 9 days now I'm just waiting for Diwali to roll on.

On Navratri days we offer goddess durga prashad made of moongdal or channa dal on all 9days. I mostly make "Pulagam" which we cook rice with little of moong dal & offer it along with ghee & jaggery. For one of 9days I made moong dal sundal as prashad to offer. 

Prep Time - 1hr +5mins {Soak time + prep time}
Cook Time - 15mins
Serves - 3 to 4 people
Ingredients 
1Cup moong dal
2Cups water
1/2Cup grated coconut {Adjust as needed}
Salt to taste
Seasoning
1Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard seeds
1Tsp jeera
2Red chili's
Directions 
- Soak moong dal in water for at least an hour. After 1hr strain water & keep aside.
- In a vessel take 2Cups water & bring it to boil. To that add the strained moong dal. 
- Cook on low to medium heat for at least 10mins. Stir in once in a while. 
- Take few dal using a spoon or laddle. Check if it is cooked by pressing dal. If it is, switch off heat & if not, then cook for some more time.
- Heat a pan with oil. To that add mustard, jeera & red chili's. 
- Once mustard starts jumping add moong dal to pan along with salt.
- Mix them well. Cook till left over water evaporates. - Add coconut & switch off heat
- Serve it as it is or with rice.
Note 
- Pressure cook moong dal for 1 whistle. (We don't want the dal to be mushy). Allow it to cool for sometime & follow the sets in making it.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest", "Instagram" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Snacks

• Masala Peanuts
• Paneer Kabab
• Draniki | Potato Pancake
• Asparagus Fry
• Black Chickpea Sundal
• Onion Pakora / Ullipaya Pakodi / Onion Fritters
• Pesarapappu Atlu | Mung Bean Kimchi Pancakes | Moong Dal Pancakes
• Kothimbir Vadi / Kothimeera vadalu
• Dhokla
• Aloo Tikki
• Guacamole Puffs
• Mexican Corn on the Cob
• Chivda
• Moong Dal Sundal
• Gobi Manchuria
• Sev Puri
• Spicy Corn Cakes
• Oats Khara Sundal
• No Yeast Bread Sticks along with Tomato Hummas
• Baked Semolina/ Sooji Cakes
• Poha
• Khasta Kachori / Moong Dal Kachori
• Chegodilu for ICC
• Jantikalu or Muruku for ICC

Time for Dessert...

 Sending this to Susan's BWW event which was passed to Cindystar & been hosted @ Cafe Lynnylu 

Chamadumpa Vepudu | Seppankizhangu Fry | Taro Root Fry | Arbi Sabji

Some dishes taste so good that you make them the same way 'n' number of times & still enjoy that as your first time.My mom makes this dish & I copied it from her. This is a easy & healthy style of enjoying this recipe.
Few days back I received a mail for this dish.

Ingredient
9 Big taro root
4 Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard 
2 Tbs besan ( Senaga pindi)
2 Tsp chilli ( Adjust acc. to your taste)
Few curry leaves
Salt 

To start off cook the taro roots using a pressure cooker.If not you can boil them in a big vessel with water & can check with a knife if they are cooked or not.
Once cooked allow them to cool down & peel the skin off. Cut them in equal size thin pieces.

Heat a pan with 1tbs of oil then add mustard & curry leaves to it. Once the mustard starts jumping add the cut taro pieces to pan.Sprinkle besan on them while mixing carefully.

Cook it in a medium heat for 5mins.Then add 1tbs oil & mix it.

After 10mins the fry looks similar to this. Then sprinkle salt & chilli powder along with 1tbs oil.Mix them well.Fry them on low heat for another 10mins to get a crispy texture.

Beerakaya Pachadi | Peechinga Thogayal | Ridge Gourd Chutney

Ridge gourd chutney is one of my favorite dish & it is also my mom's recipe. I loved the balanced taste of tanginess & sweet in it.I used a whole ridge gourd without peeling it. The skin of ridge gourd gives a beautiful texture to the chutney & won't make the it gooey. 

I'm linking this chutney to my event "Pickles & chutneys" which ended on Oct4th. I want to take a moment & thank one and all who  participated in my event. Click on the above link to explore the delicious dishes posted by fellow bloggers. 

Ingredients
1 Big ridge gourd
6 Green chili's
2 Garlic pods
1 Tbs tamarind
1 Tbs grated jaggery 
salt
For Seasoning
1 Tsp mustard seeds 
1 Tsp Jeera 
1 Tsp coriander seeds
1 Tsp seasame 
6 Red chili's
Few methi seeds
1 Tbs oil

Heat a pant with 1tbs oil. Then add the seasoning ingredients to pan and fry them for 2 mins. Check carefully that seasoning won't burn.Allow it to cool & transfer it to mixie/Grinder.In the same pan add the chopped ridge gourd & garlic. Fry them for 1 min & then close them with a lid.Allow them to cook & switch off heat.
First grind the seasoning then add the cooked ridge gourd, tamarind,green chili's, jaggery last comes the salt. Grind them coarsely & check if the the taste is balancing. 

Serve chutney with rice & a dollop of ghee.

Black and White Wednesday

Sending this to Black and White Wednesday event hosted @ Cindy star blog

BWW

Sending Susan's B&W wednesdays... 

Rava Ladoo

These days as mentioned in my previous post I'm just killing time without knowing what to do. Then there came a thought of making ravva ladoo's which are our favorite. So here they are as virtual treats to you all.

Ravva ladoo is a very easy to make recipe. It is one of my favorites & always in a must have list.I had a pooja coconut sitting on my counter for last one month & I was confused what to do with it. Then yesterday I came in agreeing my thoughts & made these yummy ladoo's.

But before that I arranged this deco & which I wanted to share with you all. I used the nirmalya flowers (Flowers used for before days pooja) in this deco.

Ingredients:
2 Cups sooji/ bombai rava
1 Cup sugar
1&1/2 Cups grated coconut
3 Tbs ghee or butter
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
1Tsp elachi powder
4 Tbs milk 

In a small pan take 1tbs ghee along with chopped walnuts.Fry them for 2mins & switch off heat.
Now heat a wide pan with 2tbs ghee.Add sooji to pan & fry it till you get a nice aromatic smell. Now in process you might even burn sooji too.So to avoid it keep sautéing the pan for 3&1/2 to 4mins.Switch off heat & transfer it carefully to a heat resistant bowl. To that add grated coconut, sugar, walnuts & elachi powder.Add milk to the mixture & form them in to ladoo's. Be carful as the mixture will be a little hot.

Allow them to cool for 15mins so that they will become a little firmer & will be easy to handle. Store them in a air tight container & enjoy them.

Note:

1. Store them in a airtight container. 

2. shelf life is for 3 to 4 days. 

Scrambled Tofu Curry

Some days it's very hard for the day to pass on & I'm in a getting bored phase these days. Hubby being busy at office with work & him not even coming for lunch makes me a lone person whole day with doing nothing.

Coming to this curry I have to say it's a replacement to egg burji for vegetarians & vegans too.As you all know tofu is filled with protein so it won't be a bad idea to include it in our daily diet.

Ingredients
2 Cups of scrambled tofu
1 Cup chopped onions
2 Green chili's
1/4 Cup green peas
1 Tomato 
1 Tsp red chili powder
1 Tsp coriander cumin powder
Salt 
Cilantro for garnish
For seasoning 
1 Tsp mustard
1 Tsp jeera
1 Tbs oil

Making scrambled tofu:
Generally tofu is stored in water.In order to make it edible first we have to remove excess water out of it. So I generally cover tofu in a cheese cloth & place mortar on it or something heavy. Leave it for 20 mins so the excess water will be squeezed out. Later remove tofu from cheese cloth & scramble it. 

Heat a pan with oil to that add mustard & jeera.Add onion to pan when the mustard starts jumping. Fry them translucent and then add green chili's,peas & diced tomato to pan.Add salt to them & close pan with a lid. Allow it cook for 5mins & then add scrambled tofu to pan.

Saute it for 10mins till then tofu comes out spongy by loosing all the water to heat.Sprinkle some red chili & coriander cumin powder to pan & saute them for 3 more mins.Switch off heat & garnish it with cilantro. 

Note: 
1. Add some garlic for much more flavor. 
2. I used both green chili's & chili powder but you can avoid any of them to lessen the spiciness in curry. 

Vanilla cake with butter cream frosting

I made a vanilla cake with butter cream frosting on the occasion of my hubby's b'day. The cake came out super duper delicious & finger licking. 

Frankly I'm not a good cake baker. I make them once in a blue moon & then too I fail twice before I get a perfect cake.So to avoid all this headache I got this fool proof recipe from food network as once suggested by my cousin. Coming to recipe I made the cake from scratch but I used a store brought cream frosting. 

Ingredients 

For Vanilla cake

1&1/2 Cups cake flour

1 Tsp baking soda

1/2 Tsp salt

1 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup hot water

1 Tsp vanilla extract

1/2 Cup curd

1 Large egg or 2 small ones

1/2 Cup olive oil

For Filling 

1/2 Cup non-fat whip cream

2 Tbs strawberry Jam 

Frosting

1 Can butter cream frosting

Grated chocolate & chocolate pieces for garnish

Making cake : 
Preheat oven @ 350 degrees. Butter up a bowl for baking 7 keep aside.Sift all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl add the wet ingredients other then hot water & beat them together. Now mix the wet with dry ingredients & last add the hot water to it & beat them smoothly. 
Now pour the batter in to buttered bowl & bake it @ 350 degrees for 20 to 25 mins. Take a tooth pick and insert in to cake. If it comes out clean switch off heat & remove cake from oven.Allow it to cool on table top for 1hr to 2hrs.

Filling & Frosting:
In a bowl mix the whip cream & strawberry jam together. Now take the cake & horizontally cut the cake in to 2 halves. On the down layer spread the filling smoothly & place the other half on it. 
Now take the butter cream and spread it smoothly around the cake & decorate it as you like. 

We just loved the outcome of the cake. The layers were moist with the sweet filling & the butter cream was all buttery as my husband wanted. 

Note: 
To make a chocolate cake just add 1/2 cup of coco powder to the mix. 

Sending this recipe to :
1. Bake Fest event hosted by Archana of  The Mad Scientist's Kitchen
2. Virtual Birthday Party event hosted by Cook-Eat-Burrrp
3. Romantic Candle Lit Dinner Event hosted by Roha