Rajma Chaat/Salad - Kidney Bean Salad

This is another lazy quick fix :) Makes a great snack or salad,healthy and no worries of accumulating calories too.I tried this out with some left over Rajma and it turned out to be real filling and yummy ! Every time I make a post I tell myself that I should make another post in 2 or 3 days but it never seems to be happen. I've been happily clicking a lot of pics but I'm too lazy to sit and make a post. I honestly respect all you consistent bloggers,I wonder what actually drives you to post regularly :)So off to the post....

You'll  Need:
Boiled Rajma -  1 - 1.5 cups
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Tomato - 1 small(chopped)
Cucumber - 1/4th of a big one (chopped into cubes)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (chopped)
Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - a pinch - or more
Pepper Powder - 1/8 tsp
Salt as needed
Lemon Juice -  2 tbsp
Carrot - 1 small one(grated) - optional

Method:
-Boil the Rajma and separate the boiled water and Rajma. You can use the boiled Rajma water in curries.
-Chop the onion,tomato,cucumber and coriander leaves.
-In a bowl add all the ingredients except lemon juice and salt.Toss real well.
-Add the lemon juice and mix well.Add salt as needed and mix well !Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

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Gemüserösti

  This is a simple German dish ,it makes a great meal and is relatively easy to prepare.One of those dishes that I tried out just because I loved it's name :) You can actually call it a vegetable omelette. Many a times I end up trying out dishes because they have fancy names,some of them turn out well...let's not talk about the others:P.Found this recipe in a recipe book for kids.This does tempt a picky Kid to eat and it's pretty healthy too.It's usually served with fish and a mild dip...

   I'm not satisfied with the pic though,I still haven't figured out how to take great night shots,they always turn out a little less appealing than the day shots. We are slowly moving into winter and I wish I could crack the code to night shots before Mr.Sun stops visiting us.If you have any tips please do let me know :).So off to the dish.....

You'll Need:
Serves 2 - 3
Potatoes - 2 big
Carrot - 1 big
Zucchini -1/2 a big one
Eggs - 3
Thick Yogurt - 100 g
Curry Powder - 1/2 tsp(or as you wish)
Pepper & salt to taste
oil - 3 - 4 tsp
For the Dip:
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Yogurt - 50 g
Mint leaves - 1 -2 tsp(chopped)

Method:
-Clean the Potatoes and peel them,then grate them finely.
-Clean the zucchini and carrot and grate them finely.
-Beat the eggs slightly with a fork.Add the gated vegetables and salt and mix.
-Mix 3/4 th of the curd and mix well.Add the remaining little by little until you get a good consistency,similar to a pancake batter.Add more if needed.Add the curry powder and pepper and mix well.Check for salt.
-In a pan heat 1 tsp of oil and add 1/3 of the mixture and spread it just like how you make omelettes.Drizzle some oil on the sides and cook on both the sides .Repeat the same process for the rest of the batter.Done !
For the sauce:
-Beat the yogurt well with a fork.
-Mix the yogurt and the Lemon juice well.Add the mint leaves and mix well !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

Curd Rice - Thayir Sadham

I simply love curd rice.Up till when I was in my 10th standard,this was the only thing that filled my lunch box.My poor mother gave up trying to make me eat spicy curries and settled on this comforting food :) I  used to wonder why people would take the pain to make a dish out of it,when all it actually needed was just mixing rice with some salt and curd.But then once I started preparing this, adding all my favorite ingredients as the tempering it became a favourite at home.My dad used to always add ripe mango pieces,grapes and dates to curd rice when we were kids.I once had a chance to chat with the chef at a famous hotel .He told me that when they have dignitaries as special guests they make curd rice which had more than 50 tempering ingredients :) 50 tempering ingredients ?? Honestly I doubt if I would be able to name 50 ingredients :P

So off to the curd Rice !

You'll Need:
Serves 1 - 2
Cooked Rice - 4 cups (from about 50 g/1/3 cup of raw rice)
Thick Curd - 1 cup
Milk or Cream - 1/2 cup
Warm Water - as needed
Salt as needed
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp(finely chopped)
Green Grapes(seedless) - 7 - 8 (halved)
Tempering:
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Whole Red Chilli - 1 small
Green Chilli - 1 small
Grated Ginger - 1/4 tsp
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Hing - a pinch
oil -1 - 2 tsp

Method:
-Cook the Rice until it is well cooked and a little on the mushy side.
-To a pan add the oil and when it heats up splutter the cumin seeds,whole red chilli,urad dal and mustard seeds.
-Add the Hing and ginger and saute it for a minute or two.
-Add the chopped green chilli and saute for a few seconds.
-Add the raisins and just saute until they are well puffed off.
-Add the curd,milk or cream and mix well for a few seconds and take it off the stove.
-To the cooked rice add the tempering,coriander leaves and salt and mix well.Add warm water or dilute curd to get the desired consistency.
-Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.Garnish with the cut grapes just before serving.Done !

 Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

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Chocolate Cake Loaf

    Off late my blogging consistency has gone from bad to worse ;)Little Girl's Kindergarten has reopened after a nice vacation and I'm attending Kindergarten again for 6 hours a day :).But things have shaped out so much better than I expected.Today is in fact one of the happiest days of my life.Today for the first time since her birth little girl stayed without me for 5 hours, and surprisingly she neither cried nor made a fuss.She's so attached to me that the teachers thought it would be impossible to separate the both of us.Guess God steps in when we lose all hope.Reminded me of one of my favorite quotes 'God can turn a mess into a miracle'.So I just thought I'll celebrate this with little girl's favorite chocolate cake. 
    I know that there are so many recipes for chocolate cake.But this one is adapted from Nigella Lawson's Chocolate cake recipe,she calls it foolproof and it sure doesn't disappoint you.What I love about it is its ease at preparing .And it has my favorite ingredient 'Condensed Milk'.There are three things that you'll always find my kitchen stocked with - Tuna,Corn and Condensed milk :) So off to the cake....

You'll Need:
For the Cake
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 225 g - 2 and 1/4 cups
Baking Powder - 1 leveled tablespoon
Cocoa - 30 g - 2 tbsp
Fine Sugar - 200 g - 1 cup
Butter(unsalted) - 100 g
Condensed Milk - 200 g
Dark Chocolate - 100 g(broken into small pieces)
Eggs - 2 (slightly beaten with a fork)

For the Ganache:
Chocolate - 250 g(broken into small pieces)
Double Cream - 250 ml

Method:
For the Cake:
-Preheat the oven to 180° C.
-Line the base of the loaf pan with parchment,butter the sides and dust with flour.
-Sieve the flour,baking powder and cocoa in a large bowl.
-Add the sugar,butter,condensed milk,chocolate pieces and 100 ml boiling water to a pan and heat until everything melts and turns into a smooth mixture,stirring occasionally.
-Add the melted mixture to the flour mixture and with a wooden spoon mix until everything is well mixed .Make sure that you don't over mix.
-Add the beaten eggs to this and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.
-Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 35 -45 minutes.
-Let it cool for 10 minutes and remove it from the pan.

For the Ganache:
-In a double boiler over simmering water,melt the cream and the chocolate together until the chocolate melts.Then remove from the stove and stir until well mixed.
-Beat with a beater until it turns a little thicker and glossy.

Assembly:
-Split the cake into half horizontally and pour some of the ganache over the bottom piece,such that it covers the whole piece.
-Place the top piece over the bottom piece,when the ganache sets it acts like glue and sticks both the pieces together :)
-Now pour the remaining ganache over the whole cake,using a spatula to make sure that the whole cake is covered with ganache.
-Let the cake sit for 3 - 4 hours until the ganache is set and hard.Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Caking !

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Chicken Curry

This is a very simple and amazing curry.I guess I should call this a post in a hurry,so off to the recipe :)

You'll Need:

Serves 4 -5

Chicken - 400g

Onions -2 medium(finely chopped)

Tomato - 2 medium(finely chopped or pureed)

Coriander leaves - 2 sprigs

Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1" stick

Cloves -3

Green Cardamom - 2

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp (from Garlic - 7 -8 cloves and ginger - 1 -2" piece)

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt as needed

Method:

-Clean the chicken and cut into medium size pieces.

-Add oil to a pan and when it heats up,splutter the cinnamon,cloves and cardamom and stir for a minute.

-Add the onions with a little salt and saute until they turn translucent.Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the whole mixture is well browned,about 4 -5 minutes.

-Add the tomatoes and stir well.Add the turmeric powder,coriander powder,chilli powder and cumin powder.Mix well.Cover and simmer for 3 -4 minutes or until the mixture oozes out oil.

-Add the chicken pieces and salt and saute for 5  minutes.Add 1 cup of water and mix well.

-Cook on a medium flame until the chicken is well cooked.Sprinkle the coriander leaves and garam masala powder.Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

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