Chunky vegetarian delight

      With cloudy day today, we need to take an preferable break from summer-delights, isn't it?   Well, these tikkis are made from chunky vegetables, spinach, cheese and are baked.  Out of the oven, these were completely gorgeous with an cheese burst surface and full of flavours.  All loved it and my little daughter showed her  not-so-bumpy biceps and said, 'mommy, I am getting lot of strength now'  :)  :)    These cute, cheesy and iron-rich tikki's are best served hot with tomato & fig flavoured sauce.

Though these tikkis are made of finely chopped vegetables, baking them  released not only their flavour, but also chunkyness is reduced to mushy, soft, grainy texture and paalak is like dissolving in your mouth.  This delightful tikki not only kids-friendly, sure to appeal adults too.  You must cool tikkis completely before peeling them from butter paper, as they might disintegrate when they are removed hot.  

Cheesy sambhar cake

This is an savoury cake, sandwiched between an layer of cheese and an layer of potato, seasoned with sambhar spices.   The taste was heavenly, and for an savoury-lover like me, every bite was mesmerizing.  Hubby, being an sambhar-aholic, thumbs uped this one.

This is, like, one crazy experiment which turned an best shot.   Yes, though, I wanted to bake buns with aloo masala filling, I settled for this one.  One advantage is that you can add any filling you want.  I made two fillings with the yeast-raised dough.  First one was cheese and second was potato.  I could'nt forsake this vegetable as this had its closest proximity with sambhar.  So making an sambhar flavoured potato was an better idea and sandwiching them between cheesy layers got the taste right.  

Meal maker tikki with makhni sauce

 Going out of vegetable stock?.... Refrigerator under repair?....  nor do you have an surprise guest visit?.... Do not fear, if tiny, chocolate brown soya chunks or meal maker is there, this would be, perhaps, an blessing in disguise :)  Just make sure you stock them up from your nearest supermarket and they may never fail your expectations.... Yes ranging from pulao, curry, noodles this meal makers can be mixmatched in our regular cooking, here is one such sample.... meal maker tikki.  To top them more delecious for Potluck party, I have accompanied them with my version of makhni sauce.  Both were godly and  pleased all...

I have combined meal maker with few of vegetables, but other half of combo is completely left to you.... you can add anything that is stocked up at your home ranging from left-over rice, poha, murmura, crumbled paneer etc

BHAJJI KI MINI PIE

  Well, what can I say about this cheesy n soft (vegetable) bhaji stuffed pies??  They are a divine fusion of Indian chaat with England-based dessert.  Since bhaji goes excellent with pav, their combo with buttery pie crust was good too :)  I made them when I desperately needed a savory snack. I am always a savory lover...  so when this 'fusion' idea struck me, I no longer resisted myself to bake :)   Yes, I don't know why baking is very mesmerizing and these days I am getting bakeaholic :D  :D

When it came for filling, I needed them a bit cheesy with  a different seasoning.  So, I went for oregano with mozzarella combination.  You can use any dry herbs seasoning (or replace them with a couple of fresh herbs and chili flakes you have).  If you want a classic 'cheesy' look, you can replace quarter cup of cheese to almost 1 cup.  (Trust this one, you will get a 'classic temptation')  These pies are better had straight from the oven, piping hot.  :D  :D So, with freezing climate here, they were a 'pleasure to intake' :D  :D

I got a lot of credits when I shared this pie with my neighbor :D :D  She especially appreciated the filling.  This has given me a lot of confidence, yes I am going to try this filling with more of savory types.  On the other hand, I had to admit that making these pies were a bit time-consuming.  It is best to prepare the dough before a  day and refrigerate them if you are in short of time. 

Hiruva masala shaak / Green masala curry - POTLUCK PARTY, CYBER STYLE Dec 10

   It's party-time!!! :D  yes, back to potluck party, cyber style hosted by Jagruti mam where several bloggers meet with their party dishes online and share treat virtually  :D.  They, also pair up and prepare the other partner's dish and cherish them as well.  Isn't it interesting??   But, travelling frequently for past two months, I was not able to make up.  This time, I do proudly present the authentic curry preparation, made by my Mother-in-law - Hiruva masala shaak or Green masala curry.

 

As the name suggests, green masala curry is  very hot (Caution to spice-tolerant guys!), they differ from Nilgiri/green coloured curry because it is not the  (green) colour that matters here.  Hiruva masala shaak has many green chillies (8-10), sauted and pureed, this masala is added to regular curry-base, unlike other curries where  pureeing mint/coriander leaves is done to attain characteristic green colour.   

Hot dog- wraps

     Making wraps/rolls are always in my pending list.  Finally made them this weekday,  must say that this hot dog styled wraps were awesome.  Selected vegetables were mashed, shaped like hot dogs and  were grilled.  This was wrapped in roti with prepared green mayonnaise sauce along with thinly sliced vegetables.  Altogether this wrap was an heavenly combination.

 

Kids would love to grab them, so did Varsha :D  If you are willing, you can also dash in barbeque sauce, mustard sauce and can serve like 'subway' type.  Most importantly, these wraps are healthy and goes heavy on your stomach.  You can prepare the hot dogs the day before and can refrigerate overnight, if you felt them time-consuming.  I prepared them mildly, so that my kid could consume, you could also prepare them spicy as you wish.  So, why wait to experiment :D :P  Just do it :)

Hot & Sour Corn balls

   Not long before, I watched hot and sour mutton balls cooked on a TV show.  I wanted to make them too!  Using mutton at my home is like once in a month, so I just skipped the idea of making them with mutton, instead came up with this vegetarian idea.

This dish came out very delecious and went great with roti/dosa/all sorts of bread, do try and let me know.

Avial

      Hi guys, hope you all had an amazing weekend!!  Here I have my parent-in-laws (finally got releived from babysitting for sometime) for an vacation visit.  Had an awesome time with them :) So, as I had told you in my previous posts, am an active member of Jagruti mam's Cyber partystyle cooking (You can view more details here) For this month's challenge I had prepared handvo, and as we have party over here, I prepared Sini's Avial.  Sini had prepared excellant avial and gave handy tips to acheive great taste too!!  I really appreciate her doing this, and that gave me very ease to prepare the same.
 

   


    I  prepared avial along with hot rice and vathakulambu.  Avial was excellant with such an combo.  Avial, itself can be had with hot rice.  It was very tasty and the aroma filled my entire home :)  And yes, Sini's preparation technique and methodology was simple to acheive great product.  Finally, my husband luved it and appreciated me for making lunch much healthier.  After all this,  I did felt bad, 'why didn't I prepare this before?? What took me so longggg? '   So,  guys, this avial is gonna top my regular food timetable  :)

So, let us move to avial making

Kadaai vegetables - Hyderabadi styled

Ingredients required

• 4 tsp oil
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies broken
• 4 tsp finely chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 cup pureed onions (which are boiled in hot water)
• 1 cup  tomato puree
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp dhanya powder
• Salt, as per taste
• 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup each of chopped beans, potato, capsicum, carrot
• 100ml of fresh cream

Mili-juli subzi

Mili-juli subzi is an combination of seasonal vegetables & Paneer cooked on milk, creamy onion-tomato gravy

Ingredients required

• One cup of quartered onions
• 2-inch ginger piece
• 6 pods of garlic
• 11/2 cup tomato puree (made from three tomatos)
• 2 tsp dry kasoori methi 
• 2 cups of mixed chopped vegetables like carrot, green peas, capsicum, Beans, baby corn, cauliflower
• 1/2 cup of boiled, de-skinned potatos, quartered
• 1/2 cup of paneer, cut into thick slices
• 1/4 cup milk/ cream
• 4 tsp butter

Tawa cooked Potato roast

This special potato roast is prepared in tawa, can be done in minutes.  Just because of the fact that base of tawa is huge, potatos get evenly spread, thereby aiding in fast cooking unlike kadaai, where potato pieces line in one above another resulting in very sluggish preparation.  But one should be careful while tempering, just try to stay away as far as u can ;)

Ingredients required

For temper

• 3 tsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp rai/mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp chana dal
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• Few curry leaves and one dry red chilly finely chopped

Others

• 1 tsp idly milaga podi/idly kara podi
• 1/2 tsp hing/perungayam
• 1/2 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Salt, as per taste
• 1/2 cup of parboiled potatos, cut into cubes

Method

Heat oil in tawa, add ingredients for temper one by one.  Careful while doing this step

After adding tempering, sprinkle idly milaga podi, and add potato pieces

Mix them well and cook them on moderate flame

Add in other powders, adjust salt.

Cook till done and serve hot

Hmm... it went super delecious with sambhar saadham... Do give this simple dish an quick try!!!

Vegetable taka tak

What is taka tak??  Taka tak is the name derived from the Lahorean dish 'mutton taka tak'  This entire dish was made from large tawas and using metal spatulas, which on cooking made the sound familiar to 'taka tak' and hence the name.  Here i substituted Mutton mince with vegetable mince(pressure cooked set of vegetables and mashed to form mince-like structure) and regular spices and dish came out quite well... So friends,,, are u ready for a taka-tak?? ;)  ;)

Ingredients required

• 4 tsp finely chopped onions
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 green chilly, finely chopped
• 2 tsp of mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped, deskinned tomatos (Boil tomatos in hot water for five minutes and remove skin)
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables like potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower etc
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chilly powder
• 1 tsp dhanya powder
• 2 tsp hung yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 4-5 tsp of butter
• Few onion rings, to garnish

Method

In a large tawa, place onions, green peas, green chilly and mint leaves.  Cook for sometime.

Then add tomato pieces, ginger-garlic paste and salt

After ten minutes on simmer flame, add pressure cooked vegetable mince and using two metal spoons crush them to integrate with pre-added ingredients.. so there goes takaaaaaaatak

Furthur add remaining spices like garam masala, chilly powder, yoghurt, dhanya powder and coriander leaves.  

Finally add butter and close lid... cook on a simmer flame

Garnish with onion rings and serve hot with paranthas/roti

Spicy and creamy too!!!

Tandoori stuffed potato

Ingredients required

for the filling

• 4 tsp crumbled tofu/paneer
• 4-5 raisins
• 2 tsp broken nuts like cashew, badam etc
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp mashed potato

other

• 250 gm potato, pressure cooked for one whistle

for marination

• 1 tsp gram flour/besan
• 2 tsp hung curd
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp dhanya powder
• 1 tsp tandoori masala
• 1/4 tsp amchoor powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Peel the skin off the potato and cut in top portion.  Now scoop out potato pulp such that potato now resembles like a vessel.  Reserve the pulp for filling

Now mix all ingredients under filling and fill in empty potatos, now marinate them in batter of gram flour, corn flour and curd, all spices for six hours.  Pre heat the oven for 200 degree celsius and bake these potatos for twenty to thirty minutes, occasionally turning them.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup

Enjoy!!!

Mangalorean curry

Mangalorean curry is a spicy curry that has a strong coconut base with tamarind flavour along with other spices.  This curry is prepared usually with chicken or with  vegetables

Ingredients required

For the masala paste

• Half cup of sauted onions
• One cup of grated coconut(Which is later sauted along with garlic pods)
• 6-7 garlic pods
• 4-5 tiny pieces of tamarind
• 5-6 dry chilly
• 1 tsp of whole dhanya
• 1 tsp of whole jeera
• 1/2 tsp of peppercorn
• Half tsp of methi seeds/venthayam

To temper

• 3 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp rai/ mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp jeera
• 1/4 tsp methi/venthayam
• 1/4 tsp peppercorn
• 1/4 tsp dhanya
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise

Other

• 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions
• 1/2 cup of mixed vegetables like carrot, cauliflower, potato, green peas
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of boiled double beans (optional)

Method

As given in pic below, first dry roast coconut with garlic.  Then,  onions  (sauted alone).  Also all dry spices , cool them separately, blend them together.  This forms the basic masala for mangalorean curry, keep them aside

In a kadaai, heat oil and add ingredients for temper one by one.  Later, add chopped onions.

Now, throw in salt and vegetables, double beans.  

Add in blended masala, cook till vegetables are done.  Serve hot with rice

Soya aur tarkari ki masala

This gravy is cooked with soya balls with other vegetables

Ingredients required

For gravy base

• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped tomatos
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
• Handful of mint leaves
• 2 tsp khoya
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Pinch of haldi/turmeric
• 1 tsp Everest Kitchen King masala
• 1/2 tsp salt

Other

• 1/4 cup soya balls cooked with one cup of water and half tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup mixed boiled vegetables like cauliflower, potato, carrot and beans

Method

Combine all ingredients under gravy base and saute over medium flame for 20 minutes.  Cool and grind into paste

In another kadaai, heat oil and shallow fry cooked soya balls, add other veggies also

Add blended paste and 1/4 cup milk.  Cook for 5 minutes simmer flame and serve hot with rotis

Hyderabadi vegetable sandwich

Ingredients required

For temper

• 3 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp jeera
• 1 tsp chopped green chillies

Other ingredients

• 4 tsp finely chopped onions
• 2 tsp curd
• pinch of haldi/turmeric
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp dhanya powder
• 1/2 cup of tomato puree
• 1 cup of boiled mixed vegetables like cauliflower, potato, carrot, beans
• 3 tsp of grated cheese
• Milk bread- four slices

Method

Heat oil and add temper

Add finely chopped by onions followed by spices, curd.

Gently mix in tomato puree and veggies

Cook till done.  Note that mixture should be dry, otherwise continue sauting till u get an dry one.  If it is wet, sandwich will become soggy and it will spoil its very appearence.

In a tawa, toast bread slices and spread filling on one bread slice quite evenly

Throw in cheese gratings and cover with another bread slice.  Toast well, cut into slice and serve

Hmm..... yummyyyyy