Thotakura Fry/Amaranth Leaves Stir Fry

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them. ~John Shirley

Above two quotes suites as best as they could be……more or less life is same during weekdays and on weekends…..with my cute little one demanding time and squeezing energy…..weekends are same like weekdays…..cook, eat and sleep whenever possible….Cooking is the first thing attacked when you are off the track….most of the times it’s very simple menu like dal, chawal, papad or any fry or else roti and sabi…..don’t ask me of breakfast… L …it’s always bread with honey/maggi (all time saver)…..it’s not my laziness that’s keeping me away from kitchen…it’s only my sleepless nights….that make me dizzy all through the day…I know you are gonna say it’s all for a short period of time……I too know it….so is why enjoying it…..by keeping elaborated menu’s at side….

Coming to today’s recipe…..it’s simple, its yum and its indulging…..perfect to kick start and boost your energy…….along with pampering your taste buds. A dollop of ghee in white steamed rice mixed with amaranth leaves stir fry with a pinch of red chili pickle (Andhra style) and lots of boondi is completely gratifying…..

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of Amaranth leaves *
• 1 medium sized Onion, sliced finely
• 1 Green chili, slit length wise and deseeded
• 2-3 cloves of Garlic, peeled
• 1 tbsp Red chili powder
• ¼ tbsp Turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil

PREPERATION:

• Crush garlic and red chili powder and set aside.
• Add oil to heavy bottom cooking vessel and to this add chopped amaranth leaves, onion, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well. Cook on slow flame till the leaves are soft and completely cooked.
• Now add crushed garlic and red chili mixture and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes or till the raw smell of garlic disappears.
• Serve with white steamed rice, pickle and papad.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

*Note: Discard thick stems and chop tender ones along with leaves.

Simple things in life are always wonderful....so is this recipe....and hence is a bite loaded with rice, ghee, fry and pickle.....missing you mom...wish you were here or i was there to get that heavenly touch of you in every morsel.....so this morsel is for all the people who are right now missing there home food and mom's touch.....the above picture is going to participate in Treat To Eyes: Series 2 event, by Rumana of Spice Ur Senses.

Tomato Dal

Days back when I raised a question in facebook, what’s difficult? Planning a menu, cooking, serving or eating? Majority of the people said, planning is difficult…..after that came the answer cleaning before and after cooking or serving…….Sometimes planning a three course meal or just breakfast, lunch and dinner with evening snacks becomes very difficult….and what becomes worse is when you run out of vegetables or any grocery item…or anything which you plan to cook for the day….Cooking isn’t rocket science says Manju Mahli….but for me planning is more tough than rocket science…..sometimes it’s very easy although recipes may be very complicated or elaborated but yet times thinking of a simple menu can be a tedious job.

When I was going through Tamalapaku blog, I came to know of this Design A Menu event. The event calls for three course vegetarian meal. So get ready and plan your menu….if you are running out of ideas then do drop in at her place to check the round up for delectable menu’s. As from the list of the ingredients they mentioned to be used in making a menu……here come my Menu...

Starter/Appetizer: Oats Soup or Dahi-Chawal Ki Tikki
Mani Course: Roti + Bhendi Ka Salan/ Palak Poori + Aloo Curry
Plain white rice + Ghee + Tomato dal / Dalcha + Papad
Dessert: Custard with Apple(s) and Banana(s)

This dal is also going to participate in My Legume Love Affair - 33 hosted by Ammalu's Kitchen and event by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Tuvar Dal
• 2 big Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 2-3 tbsp thick Tamarind juice
• 1 Green chili, slit length wise
• 1 tbsp Red chili powder
• ½ tbsp Turmeric powder
• Salt

TADKA/TEMPERING:

• 1 tbsp Mustard seeds
• 1tbsp Cumin/Jeers
• 2 cloves Garlic, pressed slightly
• 1 dry Red chili
• 10 fresh Curry leaves
• Oil

PREPERATION:

• Pressure cook dal with tomato pieces, sliced onion, green chili, red chili powder, turmeric powder with a drop of oil and a cup of water. Cook until dal is soft.
• With a wooden ladle, smash the pressure cooked dal with salt. When the dal turns soft and thick, add tamarind juice and a cup of water. Bring it to boil. Boil till the smell of tamarind disappears. Turn off the flame and set aside.
• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel, heat up oil and add the ingredients one by one listed under ‘tempering’. When curry leaves start to change color, add this tempering to the dal.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

NOTE: I add MTR samabar powder before bringing in dal to boil. This enhances the flavor of the tomato dal.

For some yummy full course meal recipes click here….

Meeting Foodies and Mixed Vegetable's Sabzi

When my soup came alive in my kitchen flavours surround Hamaree Rasoi…..it may not rhythm but, it is all what happened in the past few months…..When I was at mom’s place I had a chance to meet Sra of When my soup came alive….Being new to the foodie world, everything about blog world fascinated me…sometimes it could be food photography, sometimes writing style, sometimes templates, backgrounds, widgets and sometimes the blog name itself….when I came across this Sra’s blog, I was bowled by her sense of humor posts, ethnic style of writing and more the blog name, When my soup came alive…..so lively name and perfectly apt for the blog….It was a real pleasure meeting the people behind the blog’s and that to people who share same native place. Sra being warm captivates everyone with her smile…..When blog foodies meet….it is food, food, food…but when u meet someone like Sra it is more than food…..loved that short talk between us that day Sra…hope we meet again…….Ha Ha I mentioned about Hamaree Rasoi, which means I met her too….to everyone’s surprise and much to my surprise….we share same locality and we two of us stay in near by lines. It was my pleasure to meet Deepa of Hamree Rasoi….her blog features authentic to simple to indulge recipes….and having someone nearby…a foodie blogger friend is like a treasure nearby…..So it is always sweet to meet new people, who share same thoughts and same liking with a common word food……

Now coming to today’s recipe…it is a medley of mixed vegetables with spices to tickle your taste buds and aroma to pamper your senses…..food is best when it is complicated and even best when it is simple…that is how I feel about food…..Simple ingredients and less amount of spices sometimes make a delectable dish….this is one of them….so scroll down for the recipe…….

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium sized Potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 Brinjals, slit length wise and cut into half
• 1 Carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
• 1 medium sized Onion, peeled and sliced
• ½ floret of Cauliflower, cut and boiled in hot water
• 2 Tomatoes, chopped into pieces
• 5-6 French beans, trim of edges and cut into pieces
• 2 Green chills, slight length wise
• 2-3 sprig of Coriander leaves, chopped
• 2-3 Mint leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Red chili powder
• ½ tbsp Turmeric powder
• Salt
• 1 1’inch stick of Cinnamon
• 2 Cardamom’s
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Bay leaf
• Oil

PREPARATION:

• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel, add oil.
• When oil gets heated up add, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and bay leaf. When these spices start to leave their aroma, add sliced onions and fry until translucent. Now add chopped tomatoes and fry until tomatoes are half done. Add green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and cook for 2 min stirring lightly.
• Once the tomatoes are soft, add potatoes, brinjals, carrot, cauliflower, french beans and mix gently. Fry the ingredients for 1 minute and then add little water and cover the vessel. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
• Add coriander and mint leaves and turn of the flame. Serve hot with rice or rice or bread.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

PRESSURE COOK METHOD:

To ease the work, sometimes, I fry spices and onions in pressure cooker and then add all the vegetables along with salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder with little water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles or until vegetables are soft. Dry the excess water by keeping the cooker on the flame and stirring gently. Garnish with mint and coriander leaves.

TIPS:

Par boiling the vegetables in microwave or pressure cooker can even ease your work.

CHOICE OF VEGETABLES AND VARIATIONS:

You can even add peas, baby corn, fresh methi leaves, paneer, bell peppers (red/ yellow/ green). More vegetables, more flavours…..You can even add fresh cream or butter to make the recipe sinfull…..

A spicy and creamy version of the above recipe is posted by Prathibha of The Chef and Her Kitchen today…..you can see her recipe here……

Ramblings With A Fruity Indulgence - Guava

Quite sometime back when I was at my mom’s place refreshing, relishing, rejoicing and rejuvenating my new lead role in life i.e. being mom…..It was quite a routine for me to pick up or sometimes drop my lil sweet sister at her college. Being the months of November and December…..the weather in the morning is quite and bracing. I can see the people waking little late and still feeling lazy to start there daily chores….There is something magical about winters which I always liked since the time I was a kid…..When the sun smiles lightly and cool breeze swish through your face giving tickling sensation and making your cheeks blush……that’s what is called a perfect winter…….

When I go to pick my lil sister from her college, one thing which fascinates me the most is the group and groups of girls coming out of the college. It’s like rainbow on earth…..girl carefree, unaware of the future huddles, mumbling, chit chatting, tapping on each other’s shoulders, making faces, smiling, giggling and sometimes laughing on not so funny joke unaware of the surroundings……By seeing this I always miss my college days and my college buddies….life was so wonderful with them…..

Daily a man with a basket full of fresh guava’s tied to his bicycle use to stand in front of the college gate and girls after coming out use to buy handpicked fresh guava’s, which that man use to cut into pieces and sprinkle some red chili powder and salt…. The sight of the girls relishing on the guava’s always use to tempt me….

I always like ripe guavas without skin and seeds….diced and sprinkled with pepper powder and salt. It’s a pure indulgence….

More on Guava’s can be found here and here.