Tomato Rice by Hubby :D

Ohh.... I did I forget about this one. I had posted a very touching post about how my hubby had cooked for me when I was sick and promised that I will post the recipe soon and conviniently forgot about it.... hehehe:P here is the link to that post...

Well thanks to my lovely friend Meenakshi, who reminded me about this and asked me to post the recipe, I am going to complete this ode to my sweet hubby....) who took such good care of me... when I needed him the most...:) Love u Sweetheart !

So here goes the recipe.


Ingredients :

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Tomato Puree - 1 can or Fresh tomatoes - 5 medium finely chopped
Roasted salted Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Onions fiely chopped - 1
Jeera - 1 tsp
Ginger, finely chopped - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 5 slit lenghtwise
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Fresh corinader leaves
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lemon juice
Oil - 3 tsp

Method :

In a kadhai take oil. Once the oil is hot add the jeera, once that splutters add the green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and peanuts. Stir for a minute and add the onions and turmeric powder. Stir fry till the onions r transparent. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they r tender. Add the garam masala and coriander powder and stir fry. At this time u can go ahead and add the asafoetida, salt and pepper. Stir fry till all the water is almost gone.

Add the rice to this mixture and stir fry for sometime. If u feel the mixture is too tight add a spoonful of oil and mix again. see that the rice is roasted a bit..:) Keep stirring so that the rice doesnt burn. Now u can put 2 cups of water to this and close with a lid and let it cook on medium low flame orelse u can just empty all this into a rice cooker (if putting in the rice cooker add a tsp of lemon juice to this. The lemon juice helps the rice to remian seperate) and let it look. Hubby did the later as its much easier. U can do either.... both the ways it will taste good..:)

Once the rice is cook but yet not mashed up, remove from flame. garnish with fresh corinader leaves and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot with raita.:)

ENJOY!

Vegetable Lasagna rolls

We both love lasagna but I somehow never attemped to make it at home, maybe coz I somehow cant just have lasagna for my meal. hehehh Yeah I know its funny but thats the main reason. I have seen that lasagna is easy to make but yields a large quantity at a time. As I didnt wanna have just lasgna for dinner I was thinking how I can minimize the bulk quntity that a original lasagna recipe produces...:P. And Tada...! I landed up with this recipe...:D

I remember seeing some recipe like this in the new menu of Olive garden.We were almost tempted to order it and then we realised it has beef in it and stopped ourselves...:P It happens so often with vegetarians that u love the picture on the menu and r so tempted to try and then all ur desires r dampened by the waiter who informs u that all this time u were actually drolling or a chicken/ deef or any other meat dish... hmmmm. Thats what literally happened with us that day....:(

I thought y not try it out at home in our own vegetable version...:D So here we present to u - Vegetable Lasagna Rolls :P - Nothing non-veggie about it ;) hehehe ) . Hope u try it ad enjoy it as much we did....:) This makes a very very good appeatiser too and yet is so filling :D


Ingredients :

Lasagna sheets - 15
Spinach frozen - 2 cup (thawed and water squeezed out)
Shredded parmesan Cheese - 2 tbsp
Sweet corn kernels - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 4 finely chopped
Ricotta Cheese - 3/4 cup
Chopped mushroom - 1 cup
Dried / fresh oregano - 3 tsp
Dried / fresh Basil - 2 tsp
Mozerella cheese shredded or sheets - 1 cup
Salt & Pepper - according to taste
Store bought Prego sauce / marinara sauce - 4 cups


Method :

Preheat the oven to 450 degree F.

Boil the water in a big vessel. Add salt and oil to the water. Now add the lasgna sheets. See that u use fresh and good quality lasagna sheet as old sheets will break into pieces when ur trying to roll it.

Firstly make the filling as u have to work fast once the noodles is done. Orelse u can work simultaneously when the noodle is cooking.
In a big bowl add the ricotta cheese and cream it well. Add the thawed spinach, garlic,mushrooms, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and mix well. Finally add the parmesan cheese and corn kernels and mix well. Keep aside.

Cook the Noodles until its tender enough to roll yet firm to bite. Drain the water and arrange the noodles seperately on a foil sheet, so that it doesnt stick together.

Grease a 13X9 inch glass baking dish with olive oil. U can use any glass baking dish..but I prefer this one..:). Pour 1 cup of prego sauce and spread it evenly on the baking dish.

Work on 4 noodles at a time on a flat surface. Spread 3 tablespoon full of the cheese and spinach filling evenly on each lasagna sheet. Starting at one end roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Now lay the roll on the Baking dish, seam side down. Roll all the noodles this way and arrnage them in the baking dish. See that the rolls dont touch each other. Pour 2 cups of prego sauce evely on top of the rolls. Garnish with pepper, mozerella sauce and some oregano which is optional. Cover the dish tightly with an aluminium foil and bake for about 20 minutes until the sauce bubbles a bit.

Uncover the baking dish and bake again for 15 minutes or till the cheese on top becomes golden brown in colour. Off the oven and let the lasagna stay in for 10 minutes. Serve hot with the left over prego / marinara sauce.


Variation : I didnt use the mozarella cheese for the topping / garnish as I was trying to reduce the intake of cheese. Instead I topped each roll with a blob of feta cheese... which was okay in taste.:)




Hope u enjoy making these lasagna rolls as much as I did...:) Its a real confort food and I no more get overwhelmed buy this Lasagna...:P

ENJOY!!

Vermicelli Pasta or Semiya Upma

Vermicelli originates from Italy and means "Little worms" by literal meaning...:) It is a type of pasta...just like spaghetti but is much thinner than Spaghetti. This type of pasta was introduced in italian cooking in the 14th - Century.Thats the history of Vermicelli.

Its a long journey from Italy to India. In India vermicelli is known as Semiya or Sevaiya. Onother big difference in thos vermicelli pasta and the semiya that we get in india is the flour it is made of. Vermicelli pasta is made of durum wheat whereas Semiya is made of semolina.

Anyways the other day I get to our local grocery shop and got this weird looking string kinda thing...which did look like semiya but was in a coil shaped compared to the normal broken form of the semiya we get back in india. But anyways I bought it, and ended up making this pasta upma.....for this u need....

Ingredients:

Vermicelli Pasta - 1 pack

Onions - 1 finely chopped

Green chillies - 3 slit lenghtwise

Curry leaves - 2 twigs

Jeera - 1 tsp

Peanuts - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Oil

Ghee - 1 tsp

Lemon juice

Coriander leaves for Garnish

Method:

Cook the vermicelli pasta as directed in the package. drain and keep aside.

In a kadhai or a thick bottomed vessel add the oil and heat it. Now add the Jeera seeds and allow it to splutter. Add the green chillies, curry leaves and onions and saute well. Once the onions r transparent, add the peanuts and sauter for 5 mins.

Finally add the cooked vermicelli and mix well. Add salt and toss it once more.Remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice. Top it with a spoon of ghee for the ultimate taste. mix and serve hot :) If u wish u can skip the ghee too..:)

It makes a great brunch meal or evening tiffin...:) Its our lunch time favourite...:D

Enjoy!!

Herb Potato

Nowadays I have become very fond of these red potatoes.... I used to use golden or russet potatoes but now I like these red potatoes for my dailiy cooking. I got to know few facts about these red potatoes and I would be glad to share it with u all...:)

How do u select a good quality red Potato? : Good-quality red potatoes will be firm, smooth skinned and have a bright red color to it. They should have few eyes, and those few eyes should be shallow. I also found a nutrition chart for a Red potato. 1 medium sized potato has around 120 calories. It is fat free , Very low in Sodium, Cholestrol-free, Source of Fibre and High in Vitamin C.

This recipe is something I make whenever I have some fresh herb at home and I need to finish it off. I make a large quantity of these as both me and my husband love it. So here goes the recipe...

Ingredients :

Red Potato - 6 medium

Fresh herbs - whatever u have.... how much ever u have (I used thyme, rosemary, sage and majoram)

Dried basil - 2 tsp (optional)

salt to taste

Fresh mint / corinader - 2 tbsp

Pepper - 2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tsp

Method :

Par boil the red potatoes. See that u dont make them muchy. They should be cooked yet a bit crisp. let the potatoes cool.

Clean and finely chop all the fresh herb.

Prepare the dressing. In a big bowl add the lemon juice, salt, olive oil, black pepper and mix well. Add the chopped herbs to this and mix well. Keep aside.

Chop the potatoes in quarters and put them In an big serving bowl.

Add the dressing to it and toss well so that all the potatoes r coated with the dressing...:) . garnish with chopped mint or coriander. Serve cold...:)

Enjoy as a side salad....:)

Dahi Wale Aloo

I am a potato fan... whenever I am bored or stuck on what to make to go along with chapati the only vegetable (root) I can think of is Potato. Mainly coz its always there at home (I always keep it handy. Its like tissue rolls, refill as soon as its over..:P) and secondly coz anything u make with potato kind of tastes awesome and yet so simple to make...:)

Dahi wale aloo is a very simple and creamy potato gravy curry and it goes so well with phulkas..:) I make it very often at home.It can be made with just the potatoes... I have added tomato to the dish to make it more tangy but if u dont have tomato u can always skip it..:) So here goes the recipe...:)


Ingredients:

Potato - 3 (parboiled and cubed )

Tomato - 1 Chopped (optional)

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Dhania - Jeera Powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1 tsp

Hing (Asafoetida) - 1 or 2 pinches

Ginger - 2 tsp

Mint leaves - 3 tsp finely chopped (optional)

Green chillies - 1 tsp

Yogurt - 1 cup

Oil or Ghee - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves for Garnish

Method :

Firstly heat the ghee and when it gets hot enough, add the cumin seeds and a pinch of hing and let it splutter. Once the cumin is done add the finely chopped ginger and green chillies and saute it till it browns up a bit.

Now, reduce the flame and add the yogurt at intervals (divinde the yoghurt in 3 parts) and stir it well so that the yoghurt blends with the masala. See that there are no lunps. Stirring fast avoids lumps so do it..:)

Add all the other ingredients including the boiled potato and mix well. (dont add the mint and coriander leaves now...:)..keep it aside for garnish )

Stir well to see that everything is blended well nicely. Cook the potaoes on high heat until it fries a bit. Pour Aproximately1 cup water if u think the curry is too dry and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add the fresh mint leaves and cover with a lid so that the mint leaves wilt in the heat of the curry. Mix well and garnsih with coriander leaves. Serve hot along side of pickle and chapatis.

Serve hot with phulkas. Enjoy with awesome gravy bhaji.

I love your blog Award...:)

Just 2 days back one of my sweet blogger friend and alos a dear friend in orkut awarded me with this cute little award. I am just ovwerwhelmed to see it. Its been a long time I have posted any awards in my blog...Thanks Kavya for adding this to my shining award list...:) It really feels so nice when someone says they Love u right? And I know how my blog feels now...:D

As we do with all the awards I wud love to pass it to 5 bloggers whose blog I Love....

Cham of Spice -Club

Madhavi of Vegetarian Medley (glad I got a chance to taste her cooking in person...)

Ramya Bala of Ramya Cooks

Suma Rajesh of Suma's Cuisine

Uma of Essence of Andhra

Congrats Girls and I just simply love ur blogs... Keep cooking and keep sharing...:)

Nutty Banana Bread

Yummy yummy yummy... This is the first time I ever tried making banana bread and I am just loving it. One of my friends in orkut shared this amazing recipe with me...And as I had so many overripened bananas wts better than baking a banana bread? So here it goes.

I made this recipe using all purpose flour but i wud suggest u to use wheat flour as it enhances the taste.:)

Ingredients:

1 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter (U can even use oil instead of butter)

2 Eggs

11/2 cup All Purpose Flour (or wheat flour)

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

4tbsp Buttermilk

1tsp Baking Soda

3 Mashed Bananas

1 cup Chopped Nuts (walnut) U can add any other nuts u want...(I added prunes and chocolate chips to the bread batter)

1 pinch Salt

I made changes in this recipe when i made my next bread well anyways that a different recipe all together...:P

Method :

Pre-heat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit (175 degree Celsius).

Take a nice metal bread loaf pan...or u can even use the foil loaf pans that u get in market.

Grease and flour the cake pan. How to do this? Well just apply cold butter to the insides of ur pan. Put 1 tbsp of flour inside the pan. Now cover the pan with a cling wrap and then shake it well so that the flour coats on all sides of the pan. This is an easy and mess free way to do this.

Next, In small bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

Separate the egg whites and the yolks and keep aside.

Mash the bananas in a seperate bowl.Keep aside.

In a big mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together. Now add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat well.

Now mix in the mashed bananas. next add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Mix with light hand only to combine, and not too much. Stir in the nuts.( In my case the assorted nuts and the chocolate chips...:)...)

In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. See that u dont beat too.Fold the egg whites in the batter and mix well with light hands. Pour the batter into the greased pans. Decorate with banana slices or nuts...:)

Bake at 350-degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool it. Cut into slices and serve hot along with ur coffee and tea.

Amazing Isnt it?? Do try this recipe and let me know ur views...:D

Red Velvet cake - Happy Baby shower..!

Babies......Babies.......Babies Galore!

Booties and rattle, diapers and swing.....

"Here comes the Baby!" comeon lets Sing!...

Wow I just now discovered I am a poet hehhe... wrote that rhyme in a click. Hmm anyways babies r something that inspire u to do so many things...write poetrys, be responsible and even change ur whole lifestyle.

One of my good friends here in Los Angeles is pregnant and I am so so happy for her. She is the first friend I made in US... and its a friendship to cherish. Seeing her I can understand that babies r such a big big commitment. All the things they had to prepare for the arrival of the little one. Buying the stroller, car seat, crib and then other small small stuff and then setting it up too. It was such a wonder to see them being so passionate about these things...:) I guess the babies make us grow up,........... grow up from our young happy go lucky age to become more resposible and mature...:). This somehow reminds me how we used to set up the whole house and the aasan for lord Ganesha's arrival...? this is somewhat the same isnt it?? hehehe...Now as the time is near and the wait is almost over... we all wish she has a safe and easy delivery. She has already passed her due date and the baby is expected anytime...:) Friends do pray for my lovely friends. It is their first baby. Pray she has a safe delivery and the baby and mom both be healthy..:)



This cake is something I made for both of them. For wishing them luck..:) They had a baby shower at their place which was completely arranged by both of them with rituals and all.It was amazing and sooo beautiful arranged...:) As it was her baby shower and they both were the ones who were running around planning things.... I wanted to make something special for them and wish them luck for the arrival of the little on...

So here it is my first special cake from scratch...:) and this is also my almost first experience with icing and fondant...:) but I enjoyed it sooooo much and I am sure I will be doing it again. ofcourse my friend Hetal (Isha of Isha's kitchen ) did help me making this one...and also making the fondant deco... even thought being her first time even seeing fondant...:) Thank u Hetal... we do make a great pair...:D



Cute isnt it? My experience with fondant was good..:) I was kind of blank first about how to design the top of the cake... I have never done icing before this...(using the tip and buttercream and all....never done that) I have worked with fondant earlier....(Once I made a bow on top of the cake using fondant...:) and this is the second time I am working with it... It was so nice.. specially making the baby and the baby stuff...:) it felt so nice and so cute. I am sure u will agree with that Hetal...:) isnt it?

Making the baby was the most fun... the hair and the pacifier of the baby was fun too.. though I wasnt sure that looks like a pacifier hehhe. My DH helps me and guided me on the shapes of the baby stuff.Over all it was a great experience and I am sure I am gonna try this fondant work again.:)


Anyways now going to the recipe of this cake. I ate this cake once in CPK when we went for Valentine's day and wanted to try it. So when I saw this recipe in Joy of baking site... I jumped and wanted to try it immidiately. So here goes the recipe of this yummy delicious soft and creamy cake....I am sure you will love this one.. as much as we all do..:D To make this cake you need...

Ingredients :

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used hershey's)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure Vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp liquid red food coloring ( I also used the indian powdered food colour...:) alongside)
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

For the Cream Cheese Frosting: (this frosting is what give major flavour to this cake.)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (1 packs philadelphia creamcheese will do)
8 oz tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature (As i didnt get mascarpone cheese, I used Cream cheese here too..)
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar
2 cups dessicated sweetened coconut for garnishing

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

Grease two 9" round cake pan. I used the Witon Cake release and it worked like magic for me.You can even line them with parchment sheet for easy or no clean work. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together cake flour, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a bowl beat the butter, using a hand mixer till smooth for about 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating in between. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then go ahead and add the vanilla essence. Beat well until everything combines well.

In a measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and the red food colour. Adding buttemilk to the cake gives it a moist and tender crumb. Buttermilk has a nice thick creamy texture with a rich tangy buttery taste that makes baked goods tender and soft. While keeping the mixer on a low speed alternately keep adding the flour and the buttermilk mixture in 3 additions, begining and ending with the flour. Mix well.

In a small cup mix the baking soda with the vinegar. Allow the mixture to fizz and bit and then quickly fold it into the cake batter and mix well.

Now u have to be quick and divide the batter into the two greased pans. Smooth the tops of the batter with a spatula or spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for Aprroximately 25-30 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean..( mine cooked in approx 25 minutes.) See that u dont over cook the cake orelse the sides will burn and become hard. Once the cake is nicely baked...take it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan on the cake / wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake on the cake rack and let it cool till room temperature. Once its a bit cool place it in the freezer for atleast an hour or so (this is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

In the meantime prepare your cream cheese frosting for the cake. In a bowl, using a hand mixer process the cream cheese and the mascarpone cheese ( I used cream cheese instead and its didnt make any difference to the taste..) until smooth. Add the Vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar and beat well. (Be sure u use confectioner's sugar...I used granulated sugar by mistake and my frosting ended up being a bit drippy...:P I did manage to correct it... but please dont do that mistake and be careful..what sugar ur adding..)

In another bowl take some whipping cream and beat it well till stiff peaks are formed.Now quickly but gently fold in some of the whipped cream into the cream cheese to make it light.Beat gently.You can actually feel the cream cheese frosting becoming light and fluffy. Add the remaining whipped cream in 2 seperate additions ,beaten well in between. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover it and place it in the freezer for an hour or until it is thick enough to spread.

Now moving to the assembly of the cake...

To assemble cut each layer of the cake horizontally with the serrated knife. I used the levelling tool from wilton.Did made my job so much easier. Check their Cake levelling tutorial here.

You will now have 4 cake layers, top of the cake facing down on ur serving plate or cake circle.

Spread the bottom most layer with some frosting.Cover it completely. Place another layer of the cake on top of the frosting and continue covering it with more frosting. Do the same with the rest of the cake layers. Once all the layers r done. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Once u have put one coat of the frosting, keep the cake in the freezer again for 1/2 and hour. Now, take the cake out and frost it again with the left over frosting and then top it with some dessicated sweetened coconut. See that the coconut covers the top as well the sides of the cake. Now ur cake is ready to be eaten..:)

Or u can just go ahead and decorate it using fondant or icing...:) for a special occassion like the one I made this cake for...:)

Our dear and lovely friends...:)

When my friend saw this cake she was surprised and the look on her face was enough. it paid off all the effort we took to make this cake. Love u neha... hope u have a safe and easy delivery. just want to let u know that we all r eagerly waiting for the little one...:) as much u both are..:D god bless you.! Hope u all wish her the same...:)

God bless the mommy and Daddy-to-be...:)