Corn Lefafa Paratha

It's Magic Mingle time... And this month we got a very interesting combo.. Whole Wheat & Corn..

I am sure like me..  lot of us have to put our grey cells to work to create  tasty output :) .. kudos to Kalyani for that.. she is surely bringing out the "innovative" us.. Had it not been for this combo, I would have never thought of making a CORN LEFAFA PARATHA... and they came out just perfect & yum that I made it 2 consecutive days...


Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) - 2 cups
Ajwain - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Red Chili Powder - to taste
Oil - 2 teaspoon
Water - to kneed the dough
Corn (boiled) - 1 cup
Chili Flakes
Oil/ Ghee for frying

Cooking
1. Mix Atta, Ajwain, Salt, Red Chili Powder in a flat- bottomed bowl. Pour 2 teaspoons of Oil and rub the mixture with both hands. Finally, kneed the dough by adding enough Water.

2. Take 2 small balls from the dough and roll out 2 round chapatiz. Spread boiled Corn over a chapati and sprinkle Salt & Chili Flakes evenly over the corn. Place the second chapati over the corn (Its like Corn sandwiched between 2 chapatiz.
Seal the ends by pressing the 2 chapatiz with soft hands ensuring that corn doesnt fall out.

3. Heat the tawa (flat frying pan) and cook the paratha with ghee/oil.  Once cooked, cut the paratha into 4 parts and serve hot ...

Indian Cooking Challenge : Vennai Puttu

It's the Indian Cooking Challenge time. This month's challenge was truly a challenging one for me... It isnt easy to make Indian sweets perfectly and this month I had to make a Tamilian sweet... PHEW.. tufff...  But I wanna thank Srivalli for this month's choice as it pushed my out of my comfort zone and surprisingly I managed it well :))


This month's recipe is VENNAI PUTTU .. contributed my one of fav bloggers... Priya... It is her grandmom's recipe..  traditional and healthy..


We would need
Rice - 1/2 cup
Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Chana Dal - 2 Tablespoons
Cardamom Powder - a pinch
Fresh Coconut Pieces - 1 tbsp (I used grated coconut)
Ghee - 1 tsp
Ghee for greasing.


Preparation
1. Soak Rice for 3 hours. Then, grind the soaked rice with 1/2 cup water into a paste.
2. Pressure cook Chana Dal till soft (3-4 whistles approx)
3. Prepare Jaggery Syrup by boiling 3/4 cup water and grated Jaggery together.


Cooking

In a heavy bottom pan, boil 2 cups of water. Add the rice paste to boiling water and stir and stir and stir... till the paste mixes well with the water and cooks well. (this may take around 15 minutes.. please DO NOT stop stirring)

Next, add the Jaggery syrup, cooked Chana Dal & Cardamom powder to the rice and stir well.

Keep stirring till the mixture thickens and gets off the from the vessel. Remove from fire and finally add Ghee & grated Coconut. Transfer the mixture to a greased bowl/ tray and let it cool.

We could slice it and serve or just take a spoon and enjoy it :))

Quick Tomato Salsa

Mexican is one of my fav cuisines.. but alas, I havent explored cooking this cuisine much.. Thus, when I came across this recipe.. I so wanted to try it..

I had tried making Salsa once or twice before but owing to the tedious recipe I followed, I ended up messing it here or there.. But this month thanks for Radhika's Blog Hop Wednesday and my pairing with Rajani of 'My Kitchen Trails' .. I made this simple SALSA and just loved it... Now I can make it anytime and pamper myself :))

All we need is:
Tomato - 1 medium
Onion - 1/2
Green Chili - 1
Coriander Leaves - Handful
Salt - a pinch
Lemon Juice - 1 teaspoon

Pulse the Onions, Green Chili and Coriander in a food processor. Next, add the Tomatoes and pulse again to make a paste. (we need to ensure that Tomato isn't completely pulped.. it should be chunky)

Transfer to a bowl. Add Salt and a dash of Lemon.. Done !!

It tastes perfect with Nachoes, Tortillas or Tacos...

A big THANKS to Rajani for this wonderful recipe :))

Chocolate Cake

Technology has made us so dependant on it.. And I realised it when I changed my phone and lost all my reminders..

Feb is like the wedding season in India.. So most of my frendz have their anniversary in the month .. and thus, I require remindersssss...  This CHOCOLATE CAKE was for a dear frend on her anniversary (which I almost forgot.."almost" ..we were at her place with the cake just before it struck 12 :D )

I tried icing for the first time.. and I was very happy with the outcome.. did CHOCOLATE FROSTING and it enhanced the taste manyfold..

For Cake
Butter - 1 cup
Cocoa powder - 4 Tablespoons
Water - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Flour - 2 cups
Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
Eggs - 2

 

For Frosting
Butter - 2 Tablespoons
Cocoa powder - 4 Tablespoons
Milk - 6 Tablespoons
Walnuts (chopped)
Icing Sugar - 2/3 of a cup

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.

2. Melt Butter with Cocoa and Water in a pan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and add the Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda and Eggs. Mix well (Either use a beater or beat with hand either clockwise or anti-clockwise... It is important to follow 1 direction only)

3. Pour into a greased cake tin. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.Insert a skewer to check (it should come out clean). Let it cool before demoulding it.

4. For the frosting, boil Milk along with Butter, Cocoa and Nuts together in a saucepan.

5. Remove from heat and add Icing Sugar. 

6. Once cool, cut the cake into half horizontally. Sandwich the two layers with frosting, then garnish with frosting and strawberries. Spinkle Icing Sugar on top for garnish.

The cake is simple yet yummy :) Wish you a very happy aniv Sunaina :) .. this one is for you..

Linking to: Chocolate Lover, Teenz Yummy Delights' Valentine Event, Chocolate Mela, Sweet Luv, Lets Cook - Sweet Somethings, Lets cook for Valentines, Valentines Day @Annz Cafe

Spinach Rice

2012 seems to be a bad start for me.. an accident.. thn dealing with a crazy doc and now a skin allergy.. hope my quota of falling sick in 2012 gets over in this month itself .. fingers crossed.. Now with this state I just don feel like cooking.. and thus, try making a singular dish that would suffice a meal :) ... not that I aint lazy but this is truely out of compulsion (believe me ;)) ..

I had had this dish at a frendz sometime ago and so wanted to replicate it.. SPINACH RICE .. and I think I did a good job.. Arunesh & I ate it up all... and loved it !!

Ingredients 

Rice - 2 cups

Spinach - 1 bunch (blanched)

Onions - 2 (finely chopped)

Green Chili - 3 (you could reduce the chili as per taste)

Bay Leaf - 1

Black Peppercorn - 2

Cloves - 2-3

Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Salt

Water

Oil - 2 Tablespoons

Lemon Juice - 2 teaspoons

Cooking

Wash rice, drain water & keep aside.

Grind blanched Spinach & Chili together into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a cooker. Add Bay Leaf, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Cloves & Peppercorns.

As Mustard Seeds start to crackle, add Onions & fry for about 5 mins. Next, add the Spinach-Chili paste & cook for 2 mins.

Finally add the Rice, Salt & 4 cups of water.

Cover the cooker & cook till 2 wistles.

Spinach Rice are ready.. Incase you find the rice still watery, cook uncovered for about 2-3 mins to dry the excess water.

Squeeze some Lemon Juice and serve hot.

Sending this entry to Nupur's New Year, New Dish event.

Baked - Spagetti with Baked Beans & Veggies

This dish has become a recent fav of mine.. It's easy.. tasty.. and quick.. and I bet everyone will love this one.. kids specially..



Sorry ... the pic of the complete dish got corrupt :(

 Spagetti - 250 grams
Tomatoes - 2 (large)
Onions - 1 (thinly sliced)
Capsicum - 1 (thinly sliced)
Carrots - 1 (chopped into small cubes)
Optional Vegetables - Baby Corn, Mushroom, Brocolli (chopped into small cubes)
Garlic - 2 flakes (finely chopped)
Baked Beans - 1 Can
Cheese - 1 Cup (grated)
Salt - to taste
Black Pepper - to taste
Chilli Sauce - to taste
Tomato Ketchup - 2 Tablespoons
Olive Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Water


Preparation
1. Boil Spagetti with water, salt and a drop of oil in a large pan. Once cooked, drain and excess water and keep aside in a sieve. (Do not over-boil..Al Dante would be best)
2. Blanch Tomatoes - Soak tomatoes in hot water for about 20 minutes or till the skin starts cracking. Remove from water and de-skin. Chop the tomato in small cubes. (Tomato will be very watery, make sure you don drain the gooey part - retain that along with the cubes)


Cooking
3. Preheat the oven at 350 F.

4. Heat Oil in a Non-Stick and saute garlic for about 2 minutes. Add Onions. Once Onions turn pink, add Carrots, Capsicum and the other veggies. (If you are using mushrooms, add them in the end)

5. After sauting the veggies, add the blanched-chopped Tomatoes and Salt. Cover with lid and cook for 10 mins on slow flame.

6. Add Baked Beans and the Seasonings (pepper, chili sauce, etc). Mix well and add the cooked Spagetti and 3/4 cup Cheese. Taste the mixture to adjust salt and spices level.

7. Transfer the mixture to a glass baking dish  - sprinkle Oregano and finally garmish with Cheese. Baked for about 10-15 minutes or til the cheese melts.

Our BAKED SPAGETTI is ready... :))

Sending the recipe to Bake Fest hosted by Pumpkin Farm 
.. and to New U by Zesty Palette

Spicy Garlic Mozzarella Muffins

Radhika's Blog Hop is not a new concept to many of us.. And I am glad to be a part of the same.. This month I am paired with Sangee of Sangeethaskitchen ... She is a long time blogger and I had a plethora of recipes to choose from.. was a tuff one honestly.. there are so manyyy that I wanna try..

My sister is over to stay with me and we decided on making the Spicy Garlic Mozzarella Muffins.. it just read so tempting and we wanted to try a non-sweet muffin..

Thanks Sangee .. it was a great recipe and we hogged on it.. The only lil modification I made was that I used Whole Meal Flour instead of All Purpose Flour...

Ingredients
Whole Meal Flour -   3/4 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup
Garlic -   2 cloves (finely chopped)
Parsley -    2 tbsp (I used fresh)
Green chilli -   3 (finely chopped)
Butter -  2 Tablespoon
Baking powder -   1/2 Tablespoon
Salt -  1/2 teaspoon
Milk -  1/2 cup
Egg -   1 (beaten)
Mozzarella Cheese -  1/2 cup(shredded)

Cooking

Preheat the oven at 375 F.

In a bowl, add flour,garlic, parsley, chilli, baking powder,salt and mix well.

In another bowl, mix milk, melted butter and beaten egg. Add this milk-butter-egg mixture to the flour and  mix well.

Line Muffin Cups in a baking tray and  fill 2/3 of each cup.

Bake it for 17-20 minutes or until top turns light golden brown.

Muffins are ready... You can have them with scrambled eggs or with soup or just like that... They just melt in the mouth...