Palak kofta- side dish for rotis and naan

       Another side dish for chapatis as I had promised in my last post. I usually do not spend lot of time in the kitchen everyday. I would love to cook the whole dinner and finish all the chores in an  hour. But there are some days like this day, when I made this palak koftas which took  a huge amount of my time. So maybe you can try this during weekend where you can spare some good time in your kitchen. The recipe is quite simple and the major portion of your time is consumed only making the koftas, the rest of the process is fast . So I promise, this is a an easy and delicious recipe and you will love it so and is certainly worth the efforts.

Koftas

Ingredients-
For the Koftas
Potatoes- 4 big ones
Paneer- Around 100gms
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- 1 small bunch chopped fine
Maida- 1tbsp
Oil for deep frying

For the palak gravy
Spinach- 1 big bunch
onion- 1big chopped
Almonds-1/2 cup blanched and skin removed
Garlic cloves-2
Salt to taste
Oil-1tsp
Coriander powder- 1tsp
Garam masala- 1tsp

 From the inside

Method-
For the Koftas
  Boil and mash the potatoes to a very smooth and dry paste. Crumble the paneer and add salt and chopped coriander leaves. Roll some mashed potato into a ball. Flatten it into a disc and place some crumbled paneer in it. Seal it into a ball by cupping it gently with your palms. This process is a bit messy and tricky too. But dont worry ,takes some time and you will manage it. Repeat the same with rest of the potato and crumbled paneer. Now roll this ball over some maida or besan. Deep fry in hot oil till they turn a deep golden brown.

For the gravy
    Blanch the spinach till it turns tender. Grind it into a smooth paste. Combine the onions,garlic and blanched almonds and grind it into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add the onion paste and saute for around 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the spinach puree along with coriander powder, garam masala and salt and saute till the spinach is well cooked. Add some water to make it less thicker.

To Serve
       Add the koftas to the gravy just few minutes before serving to retain its crispiness. They turn very soggy if you add them too early. Serve hot with rotis /naan.

Palak Kofta

Paneer, bell pepper and mushroom curry- colourful vegetable medley

         As I mentioned in my last post, there were this last few days when I did not feel like cooking and experimenting something new. But I did try a few delicious side dishes for rotis during dinner , this being one of them. This is a very simple and easy side dish for chapati with a assortment of vegetables I had at hand. But you could try add some cauliflower or broccoli or some carrots if you wish. The cream gives a nice rich taste to the dish. Just skip cream and add some milk if you prefer that way.

Ingredients-

Paneer Cubes- 1 small cup

Red bell pepper- 1 chopped in small pieces

Yellow bell pepper- 1 chopped into small pieces

Mushroom- 4-5 chopped into small pieces

Peas- 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp

Red chilly powder- 1tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander powder- 1tsp

Garam masala- 1tsp

Kasoori methi- 1tsp

Cream- 1/4 cup

Oil- 1tsp

Jeera/cumin seeds- 1tsp

Onion- 1 sliced

Method-

  Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. Add the onions . Saute till they turn brown. Now add the chopped vegetables folowed by turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala, kasoori methi and salt. Mix well. Sprinkle some water. Close the lid and cook till soft. Then add some cream and cook for 4-5 more minutes. Serve hot with rotis.

How to make Dahi baingan- Brinjal recipes

     I haven't cooked anything great lately , neither experimented on any new dishes nor baked anything interesting except a dates cake for a get together and a cherry cake with some fresh cherries I bought recently which did not turn out that perfect to find a place in this blog. But of course , I have been cooking some interesting side dishes for rotis and so don't be surprised to find a series of side dishes coming up in my future posts.Coming back to the topic, there are a few culinary experiments like the cake I mentioned above and a hummingbird cake I baked for my birthday which tasted good, but did not look that great to fit into the blog. The same was the case with today's recipe dahi baingan. I was not sure,everyone would like eggplants cooked this way along with yogurt. I did not have any idea of posting it,it did not look very appealing to me. I did take the pictures though with disinterest. But when my hubby appreciated it and even my son liked it, I thought, why not? I guess many would love this one. As I always say, try it , taste it, love it!!!

Ingredients-
Eggplants/brinjal/aubergines- Any variety - I used the long one and cut them into round slices
Turmeric powder-1tsp
Salt- to taste
Yogurt/curd- 1 cup
Coriander powder- 1tsp
Red chilly powder- 1tsp
Chaat masala- 1/2tsp
Cumin powder- 1/2tsp
Garam masala- 1/2tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil- 1tbsp or more

Method-
   Marinade the sliced eggplats with some salt and turmeric powder. Place them on a pan and shallow fry them by pouring some oil on the sides of the slices. The slices should be cooked well and appear a light brown in colour.
    Beat the curd well. Add some coriander powder, red chilly powder, chaat masala,cumin powder and garam masala .(Add some salt if required). Mix well. Add the slices in the curd and mix well. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
     You can have this as a side dish for chapati or as a raita for rice varieties.

Optional- I also added some kasuri methi to the curd along with the other spices.

CSN giveaway winner is........

       Thanks a lot CSN who gave an opportunity to host an giveaway. Thanks  to everyone who have participated in the giveaway by commenting on  this post. I Sincerely thank all of them who have given suggestions on blog improvement. It would be really nice if everyone got a chance to win. But there can be only one winner here.So I used the random.org to select the winner. And the winner is Ambika.
       Congratulations Ambika, please mail me at creativesaga@gmail.com ASAP to claim your prize.

Spicy bittergourd dry curry

      I have cooked bittergourd in a number of ways and it has always been our favourite. Its the best side dish for chapatis. Infact, we tend to have few more rotis whenever I cook the bitter bittergourd!! Not many would rave about this bittergourd like me!! Isn't it? But thats the truth.
     Though the spicy recipe with gravy or the stuffed ones continues to be our favourite, the dry version also makes its way to our platter once in a while.
      The other day, when I was going through Raaga's recipe of bittergourd, I was actually reminded of my recipe which I hadn't made for a very long time. I took the idea of steaming the bittergourd from her blog, which otherwise, I would have added a little more oil and cooked the bittergourd that way as I usually do. But it takes a little more of my time. Thanks Raaga.
       This recipe is easy and quick to make when compared to the other recipes, tastes great too!!

Ingredients-
Bittergourd- 2 big ones or 5-6 small ones
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Salt-1tsp
Onion- 1 sliced
Garlic- 2 cloves crushed
Red chilly powder- 1tsp
Crushed peanuts- 1/2cup
Tamarind pulp- 1tbsp
Jaggery- a small lump
Oil- 2tsp
Mustard seeds-1tsp
Cumin seeds- 1tsp
Coriander powder- 1tsp
Garam masala-1tsp
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Grated coconut- 1tbsp(optional)

Method
     Slice the bittergourd into thin round pieces. Add some turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Keep it aside for atleast 30 minutes. Now squeeze out the water completely. This is to reduce the bitter taste of the bittergourd. Now steam the bittergourd in a cooker (without the weight) or in microwave for 6 minutes.
      Heat oil in  pan. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After it crackles, add the sliced onions and crushed garlic. Saute well till it turns brown. Now add the steamed bittergourd pieces along with coriander powder, red chilly powder, garam masala and tamarind paste. Add salt accordingly. Mix well. Add the jaggery. Cook for around 5 more minutes. Now sprinkle some powdered peanuts. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes-1. You can also add grated coconut which is totally optional.
            2. For the peanuts,dry  roast them for 5 minutes. Deskin them and powder them in a mixer coarsely.

How to make Beans paruppu usili - Sidedish recipes

     Paruppu usili, that is a combination of crumbled lentils or parappu with some vegetable such as french beans, cluster beans etc is a hot favourite in most of the Tamilian homes. Its a traditional dish which is usually prepared as a side dish with morkuzhumbu. But I am not too particular about this perfect combinations and love it with simple rasam or sambar too. Few days back I even tried this with vaizhaipoo i.e banana flowers and it just tasted awesome. My mom used to make this slightly differently by frying the crumbled lentils in oil. But I follow a process given by my sis- in law which involves steaming the lentils.
Both the methods works fine. I will try to post the other method too very soon. As for the lentils, some use tuvar dal alone or with a combination of channa dal. Here I have used only tuvar dal.

Ingredients-
French beans- Chopped into very small pieces
Tuvar dal - 3/4 cup
Dried red chillies- 5 to 6
Curry leaves- 5-6 leaves (tear them to small pieces)
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Salt to taste
Asafoetida- a small pinch
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Oil- 2tsp

Method
   Soak the tuvar dal in water for about an hour. Grind the dal with some dried red chillies and a pinch of salt. Add some curry leaves. Mix with the ground paste. Make small balls with the paste as shown in the picture below. Steam them for around 10 minutes. Crumble the steamed balls of lentil. Keep this aside.
    Now steam the beans in a cooker(without keeping the weight) or microwave them for 8 to 10 minutes till its cooked.

   Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds along with some asafoetida. Add the cooked beans along with some turmeric powder and some salt accrordingly. Add the crumbled lentil. Stir well for 5 minutes till everything mixes properly into a dry curry.
        Serve hot as a side dish for sambar rice.

How to make Avacado Salad- Avacado recipes

           Avacados has been a rare occurance at my place. I have bought them before and I use to make chapatis by mixing it in the dough promptly. I really did not explore into other possibilities of making them.
This was until I visited Bintan last month when we did not have enough vegetarian options. We decide to try with whatever vegetarian food was available. Its a little difficult to get vegetarian food when visiting the neighbouring South east asian countries but I dont really mind trying out from whatever the minimum options are. It has always been a good change from the regular food we have everyday. So then coming back, we got to try a delicious and creamy  avacado salad  there.
Since then , I always wanted to try it at home.
          I bought some good avacados recently and browsed the net for a recipe which could be quite similar to the one we had there. It was a delicious salad and I was happy to venture into other possible ways of consuming the avacados.

Recipe source - Click Recipezaar.
Ingredients-
Avacados- 2 nos chopped into small pieces
Cabbage- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Tomato- 1 big chopped fine
Coriander- 1 small bunch chopped fine
          Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Salad Dressing
Mayonnaise- 1/2 cup
Olive oil- 1/2 cup
Salt- 1 tsp
Sugar- 1tsp
Pepper (ground)-1tsp
Cumin powder- 1tsp
         Combine all the ingredients under dressing in a bowl and mix well.
Add the dressing to the above chopped vegetables. Mix well. You can serve chilled or immediately.

Chocolate rava kesari - Kesari recipes

  Kesari/sooji halwa/sheera is the simplest and most delicious among all the Indian desserts. You can make so many variations of this sweet by adding different colours,or different fruits, nuts, pineapple and whatever you could probably think of. You can even check out my two versions where I have used a mixture of fruits in one and just pineapple in the other.
   One of my friends makes this for her kids and carries it with her for outings or during picnics. It sometimes makes a filling meal for kids if they don't eat anything else. Since then I have been doing that for my kid too. So I try out different versions everytime so that its interesting for the kid too.
   I had seen the chocolate version in Maahima's blog where she has used bournvita instead of cocoa powder. I loved the idea and made it during one of our picnics. It was delicious and everyone loved it. Thanks for the idea Maahima.

Ingredients-
Semolina-1 cup
Sugar- 3/4cup
Bournvita- 2tbsp
Milk- 1cup
water- 1/4 cup
Ghee- 1tbsp+1tbsp
Cashews and almonds (broken)- few(optional)( I did not add as I was in a hurry)

Method-
  Boil the milk along with water.
  Heat ghee in a pan. Add the semolina. Roast it for 5 minutes till it gives away a nice aroma.
  Add the sugar and mix well. (You can also add cardamom powder if you want)
  Add the bournvita and mix well.
  Now pour the boiled milk over the mixture stirring it simulataneously. Take care no lumps are formed.
  Keep stirring to form a thick mass.
  Roast the nuts in some ghee till brown and add it to the kesari and mix well.
  Add the remaining ghee and mix well.
  You can have as it is.
  I usually spread it on a plate and cut them into pieces. Its easy to carry when you are going out and even more easier to feed your kids this way.

CSN stores 90 dollar gift certificate giveaway

    I am sure many of you are eagerly waiting for the most awaited giveaway, Courtesy of CSN stores.
This time, the winner will win a 90 dollar gift certificate. As you know, the shipping is possible only for US and Canada. But people living outside US and canada can gift it for their friends and relatives living there.

How to enter the giveaway-
Its very simple.
1. Just leave a comment below this post and any suggestion on blog improvement are welcome.

Extra chances of winning the giveaway-
2. Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a link in another comment.
3. Post about this giveaway in your blog.Leave a link in another comment.

Last date to enter the giveaway is 19th of july. I will announce the winner on 21st of july.
 Please include a valid email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

Giveaway item is a courtesy of CSN Stores. No monetary or any other form of compensation is received by me.

How to make Misal Pav - maharashtrian breakfast recipes

    It was the first time when I was having misal pav in a restaurant rather a small eatery at my place in India and I was not sure how it would taste . No sooner , I had my first spoon, I knew it. It was so hot and spicy. I wouldn't be exaggerating when I say that , I haven't eaten anything as spicy as this. But yet, it was so tasty that I polished off my plate in no time with my eyes and nose watering all along. That is how its supposed to be, everyone say. Its a kolhapuri dish and kolhapuri dishes are known to be hot and spicy. I did have this a couple of times after that and enjoyed it to my hearts content.
    But now I have got used to less spicy food, and am sure to end up with a upset stomach if I indulge on these spicy delicacies. So I went on to make this at home to suit my taste, browsed a few sites added some twists of my own and it was a nice delicious meal we had that day. I would say, this is not the authentic way of making misal pav, though its almost very close to it. The moth beans/matki/ usal is cooked seperately with lot of spices and then a gravy or rassa or kat is poured over it along with the garnishings. A popular masala/spice called "goda masala" is widely used for its preperation.
   But we made it our own way and really enjoyed it. Try it sometime. You will love it.

Ingredients-

Moth beans- 1 cup sprouted( see notes below)

Onion- 2 finely chopped

Tomato-1 big chopped

Garlic - 1-2 cloves

Ginger- 1'

Green chillies- 3-4

Cinnamon- 1 small piece

Whole pepper- 1tsp

Cloves- 1-2

Dessicated coconut- 1tsp

Red chilly powder- 1tsp

Coriander powder- 1tsp

Cumin seed powder- 1tsp

Garam masala powder- 1tsp

Oil- 1tbsp

Salt to taste

Pav buns according to requirement

farsaan/Chiwda/ Mixture- 1 cup

Coriander for garnishing

Method-

Cook the sprouted moth beans in a pressure cooker.

Add a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Roast the cinnmon, cloves, whole pepper, ginger , garlic, dessicated coconut along with a portion the chopped onion. (reserve some onions )

Gring the mixture to a fine paste.

Now add the remaining oil in the pan. Add some finely chopped onions. Saute for sometime and then add the tomatoes. Cook it well. Now add the ground paste. Add garam masala, coriander powder, cumin seed powder, red chilly powder and salt. Add around a glass of water. Cook well for around 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the cooked moth beans. Cook for another 5 minutes.

How to serve-

 Add the above cooked gravy in a cup. Add some farsaan/chiwda on the top followed by some chopped onion and coriander. I also cooked  some chopped potato pieces in the microwave . Then added them on the top and sprinkled some red chilly powder and salt. This is served with some pav.

You can also serve this with some curd.

 Notes-
 To make moth sprouts.
Soak a cup of moth in water for about 6 hours or overnight. Drain the water completely. Wrap this in a piece of cloth and leave it for sometime(around 4 to 6 hours) You will see them sprouting. Refrigerate till use.

How to make soft Pav buns or Dinner rolls at home

    I always wanted to try this dinner rolls especially when I make pav bhaji. But because of lack of time and also due to some apprehensions, I never managed to make them. But lately after trying out a variety of stuffed breads, I was quite sure that it would come out good. Then I wanted it to be really soft and perfect with the bhaji, so was looking for a good recipe when I found it in Sanyukta blog .She has used yogurt for the softness and has also given some really useful tips. I followed her recipe to the core and was very satisfied. This time, I did not want to risk adding whole wheat flour and cause any difference to the texture and taste of the rolls. But next time, I am surely going to try it. They were as good as the store bought ones, but making it at home gave me immense satisfaction. Thanks a lot Sanyukta.

Ingredients-
All purpose flour- 4 cups and more for dusting
Yeast - 11/2 tbsp
Honey- 3tbsp
Warm water- 1 cup
Yogurt- 3/4 cup
Egg- 1
Melted butter- 2tbsp
Salt- 1 1/2tsp

Method-
 1. Combine half a cup of flour, yeast/ honey and warm water. Let it rest for 10 minutes till the mixture froths.
 2.Now stir in the yogurt, melted butter , salt and a cup of flour at a time.
 3. Add the flour and keep stirring so that the dough  sticks together and pulls from the sides of the bowl.
 4. Now place this on a floured surface. Knead the dough to form a non sticky and elastic dough.
 5. Place the dough in a greased bowl .
 6. Wrap a cling film on the bowl.
 7. Allow it to rise for 2 hours or untill it doubles in volume.

8. Preheat the oven at 180c. Line the baking tray with a baking sheet or spray some non sticky spray on it.

9. Gently place the risen dough on a floured surface. Deflate it and shape it into a rectangle.

10. Divide them into equal sized pieces with a knife.

11. Roll each of them into a ball with a drop of water, and cup them to get a smooth upper surface.

12. Place each ball on the baking sheet a inch away from each other. Gently flatten them.

13. Allow it to rise for another 30 minutes.

14. Brush some melted butter on the surface of each ball.

15. Bake this in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. The upper surface should be golden brown. When you tap the surface, it sounds a little hollow.

Heres to show how soft they were.

Cut them to individual pieces.

  Serve with some home made strawberry jam. Tastes awesome. You can toast them a little if you prefer that way.

Go ahead and make some pav bhaji. What I made is a different saga. Will tell you about it soon. So keep watching!!!!