Mix Veggie Pasta

Last day of the 16th Blogging Marathon, here comes an easy breezy pasta preparation which can fill the hunger pangs of you kids any time of the day. Kids will finish that bowl of pasta in no time. It also a good way to sneak in veggies in their diet

Ingredients:

Wheat Pasta - 1 cup

Carrot - 1/2 cup

Beans - 1/2 cup

Corn Kernel - 1/2 cup

Onions - 1/2 cup

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oregano - a pinch

Method :

Boil the pasta to al dente and set aside 

Cut all the veggies into thin julienne 

Boil Carrot and Beans together till it is done 

Boil the corn kernels separately 

In a wide skillet add Olive Oil

When the oil a little hot , add the onions and saute.well

To this add the boiled veggies and corn kernels.

Add the tomato sauce and adjust salt

Mix the boiled pasta to it and stir well

Remove from fire and sprinkle oregano on the pasta

Serve hot with some garlic bread

Check what my fellow bloggers are cooking today 

Sending this to Kids Delight at Smitha 's place

Curry Leaves Podi - The most aromatic condiment

Day 6 of the blogging marathon, I present to you yet another Podi, that finds its place in almost all the households. It comes in handy when you are lazy to make an elaborate meal or at times when you run out of idea to cook something. Btw, has anyone run out of ideas for cooking at times, It happens to me during weekends, when I am not interested to do the daily hurry cooking but an elaborate one. 

Ingredients :

Curry leaves - 2 cups

Red chili - 20 

Urad Dal - 1/2 cup

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Hing - as required

   

Method: 

Dry roast the curry leaves and set aside

In the same pan add some oil and roast all the other ingredients separately

Let them all cool

Take them in a dry blender and grind into a coarse powder 

Adjust salt as per your taste

Serve with hot rice and a dash of gingely oil

Check what is cooking in my fellow marathoners kitchen

Jeera Rice

As mentioned in my earlier, post kids of today like to eat more out of the bowl rather than have sambhar or rasam like us . Jeera Rice, is a mildly flavored which is loved by kids. This is from my personal experience, my nieces loved it so much , that they had finished it of till the last morsel.




Ingredients:


Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Salt to taste
Onions - 1 cup ( sliced into thin pieces )
Oil as required

Method :


Boil the basmati rice, till done and set it aside.
In a wide pan, add a little oil
When the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and let it sputter
The aroma of cumin seeds roasting is very nice
Add the sliced onions and saute for a minute or so
Adjust salt and add the boiled basmati rice
Mix well and serve hot with Rajma Masala.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking today 

South Indian Thali - 2

Presenting to you another South Indian Thali, that I had prepared  to surprise my parents when they were returning from a long journey. It had

• Mulangi Sambhar
• Potato Curry
• Pudalangai Kootu
• Milagu Rasam
• Fruit Salad

The complete Thali

Mulangi Sambhar

Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1 cup

Red Chilli powder - 3 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Raddish ( Mulangi ) - 1 cup

Tamarind Pulp - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste 

Curry leaves and Coriander leaves

Onion - 1/2 cut into thin slices

Oil and mustard seeds for tempering 

Hing - a pinch

Method :

Pressure cook the Toor Dal with Curry leaves, Coriander leaves and a pinch of Turmeric Powder

Slice the Radish into thin pieces and boil them separately

Soak tamarind in half cup of water

In a heavy bottomed kadai, take some oil and heat it 

When it is hot enough add the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves

After mustard seeds have sputtered add the sliced onions and saute well

Add the tamarind pulp, boiled radish, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt 

Mix well and let this mixture boil well till the raw flavor of red chili powder is gone

After about 15 minutes, add the boiled Toor Dal and adjust salt

At this stage add hing for flavoring. Be careful not to add more

Let the sambhar boil well, you will now be able to get the flavor of sambhar.

Went it is done, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Potato Curry

Pudalangai Kootu

Milagu Rasam

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking today

Brown channa sundal .

One of the themes for this Marathon is "Cooking with Colors". I chose brown color, for the ever healthy and tasty Brown Channa Dal Sundal. This Sundal is rich in proteins and very good for people of all ages. 

Ingredients:

Brown Channa dal - 2 cups

Coconut scrappings - 1/2 cup

Salt - as required

Olive oil - 2 tsp

Curry leaves and Mustard seeds - for seasoning

Method:

Soak the Brown Channa Dal the previous night

Wash well and steam cook it till done 

You can use a pressure cooker to cook the Channa Dal 

Drain the water and keep it aside.

This water will be rich in protein, you can add some salt and pepper to it and drink it just like that

In a wide skillet, add olive oil.

Add mustard seeds , as they sputter add the curry leaves

Add the boiled Channa Dal 

Mix well and adjust salt

Remove the Sundal from the fire and then add fresh coconut scrapping to it 

Mix well till the Channa Dal and coconut blends well

Check what my fellow bloggers are creating for today 

South Indian Thali

When Srivalli had announced her Thali Mela ,I was in full josh to send in my entries for it. But as I got to saw the wonderful creations of my fellow bloggers, I some how felt that I could not match with their talent. But this is my humble South Indian Thali that goes to Srivalli's Thali Mela

This time around Tamil New Year s day was not a big affair at home with my maternal uncle being hospitalized. Mom and me had made this simple lunch for the day . It had 

• Avarakkai Sambhar
• Avial
• Mangai Pachadi
• Curd
• Appalam

I will be giving the recipe for each of the dish in separate posts and link it back to this post. As of today,

 I will share the recipe for Avial.

Avarakkai Sambhar

Mangai Pachadi

Avial

Ingredients

Carrot - 1/2 cup 

Beans - 1/2 cup

Brinjal - 1/2 cup

Drumstick - 1 cut into 1 inch pieces

Onion - 1 cup

Broad Beans -1/2 cup

Cluster beans - 1/4 cup

Yam - 1/4 cup

Raw Banana - 1/2

Curd - 1/2 

Coconut oil- 1tsp

Mustard seeds and Curry leaves for seasoning

Salt to taste

For gravy

Scrapped coconut - 1 cup

Green chilies - 4 - 5

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Method

Cut all the vegetable into thin long pieces ( I feel this adds beauty to the dish)

Steam or boil , carrot, beans, broad beans, cluster beans separately

Boil drumstick and Brinjal separately

Boil yam and raw banana separately

The reason for boiling or steaming each vegetable separately is, each has its own time to cook

Each vegetable needs to be cooked well but not mashed, hence it is always better to cook them separately

In a blender take the ingredients for gravy and make a fine paste, add very little water

In a heavy bottomed wok or kadai add a little oil.

When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and allow them to sputter

Add the cut onions to it and saute till done

Add the boiled vegetables to the wok and mix well

Add the coconut paste to this and add salt.

Let this mixture boil well and reduce to form a thick gravy consistency

Check for salt and add the curry leaves to the Avial

Remove from fire and let the Avial cool.

Now add curd and coconut oil when the Avial is cool. 

This adds an authentic flavor of Kerala to the dish

Avial is always an integral part of any auspicious function at home and is a specialty dish of both my grandmothers. 

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking today. 

This South Indian Thali is being served at Valli's Thali Mela

Parupu Podi - Condiment from Andhra

Paruppu Podi is the very first dish that you get to served in Andhra people s functions or in Andhra hotels.It is a timeless delicacy when had with hot rice, a dollop of ghee and papadam Who would not like it.. I love it. This is my first entry to second week of Blogging Marathon #16 under Shelf Friendly dishes

Very easy and quick to make, this is a mildly flavored Podi which has an amazing taste and will last in the shelf for about 5 days.

Ingredients:

Thuvaram Paruppu  - 2 cups

Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
Perungayam - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves  - 10 nos

Black Pepper - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method :

Dry roast all the ingredients with a little oil

Let is cool down 

In a blender, pulse all the ingredients together to make a coarse powder

Store this Paruppu Podi in a air tight container

Mix two spoons of Paruppu Podi with a dollop of ghee in steaming rice and enjoy the flavors mix. 

Masala Vadai - A wonderful evening snack

I would love to have something to munch on during evening tea especially during weekends. Masala vadais with tea or coffee is an awesome combination. As I kid whenever such things were made at home I used to run up and down the house, grabbing a vadais now and then and eating it non stop. This will usually be the scene at home when we cousins are together for summer vacation. Masala vadais brings back nostalgic memories of Summer Vacation.

Ingredients :

Kadalai Paruppu / Channa Dal - 2 cups 

Onion - cut into small pieces -1 cup 

Green chilies - 1 

Ginger - 1 small piece

A bunch of curry leaves finely chopped 

A small bunch of coriander and mint leaves finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil for deep fry

Method:

Wash and Soak the Channa Dal for about 2 hours
In a blender take the soaked Channa Dal, along with green chili , ginger and salt.
Grind it to make a coarse paste.
To this add the finely chopped onions, curry leaves, coriander and mint.
Mix together to form a coarse paste.
Make flat patties out of the paste and deep fry them
Remove the vadais on a kitchen towel and serve hot with chutney along with tea

Today is the last day for Week 1 of Blogging Marathon #16. Check what my fellow bloggers are cooking for today

Tomato Macroni with Cheese

Who does not like cheese ? hands up please. I can see no hands up.. I love cheese but keep away from it due to my weight reasons. Today s recipe is a quickly whipped up Tomato Macroni with Cheese. It tasted out of the world with cheese melting in your mouth. There are certain dishes that require to be eaten when it is hot. Pasta, pizza, Macroni all fall under this category. We can make them for our kids only when are in vacation not when they are rushing to schools or classes. 

Ingredients:

Macroni - 1 cup 

Tomato - cut into small pieces 1/2 cup

Onion - finely chopped 1/2 cup

Capsicum - finely chopped 1/2 cup

Tomato sauce - 2- 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

                                  
Method:

Boil Macroni to al dente and keep aside
In a heavy bottomed wok heat olive oil
Saute the cut tomato and onion in it.
When it is half done , add the capsicum and saute for a minute
Add tomato sauce and adjust salt to the mixture
To this add the boiled Macroni and mix well
Just before you serve, shred some cheese over the pasta, heat in a microwave for about 1 minute
Serve hot to your kids and watch them finish till the last morsel.

Vegetable Pulao

These days I feel its better that I do not enter the kitchen during the day time. Man its so hot. One pot meals provide relief at such times. Kids these days like to have variety rice and easy meals in their tiffin boxes rather than the traditional sambhar or rasam rice that we used to carry during our school days. Vegetable Pulao is a mildly spiced rice with loads of veggies in it. I always feel that for these days kids you need to sneak in veggies in some form or the other. else you are not gonna get them to eat veggies.

The recipe for today is Vegetable Pulao, which is a mildly spiced one, and a party pleaser. Do try and let me know of your feedback.



I had taken the recipe from Divya's Easycooking

It cam out very well and was liked by all. You need not prepare a separate curry to accompany this Pulao, a simple raitha would do.

Do check out what my fellow foodie friends are cooking here

Vegetable Spaghetti

This is one dish I know that kids love any day. I have made this dish for my nieces, nephews,friend's kids, everyone has just loved it. I ensure that a whole lot of veggies are sneaked into this dish, as it will be a treat for the eyes as well as fulfill the requirement of feeding the kids with veggies.

Ingredients:

Wheat Spaghetti - 1 cup

Capsicum - cut into long stripes 1 cup

Carrot - cut into long stripes - 1 cup

Onion - cut into long stripes - 1/2 cup

Tomato Sauce - 2 tbsp

Salt for taste

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Boil spaghetti to al dente and keep aside 

In a heavy bottomed wok heat two tbsp of Olive oil

Add the onions, carrot and capsicum in the wok and saute well 

Add tomato sauce and adjust salt to the mixture

When the veggies are done, add the boiled spaghetti to it and mix well

Serve hot for kids when they crave for food in evenings

Check what my fellow bloggers are cooking today here

Pineapple Yogurt

Summer and Yogurt making go hand in hand. One cannot make yogurt int he morning and have the same till night, as it tends to become very sour due to the heat in the summer. When we make curd for every meal at home, we get really good creamy and Yogurt that is not sour. Kids usually love flavored yogurt. I feel it is a very easy way to make them eat yogurt by flavoring it. Today I bring to you my favorite flavored yogurt. Pineapple Yogurt.



Ingredients:

Freshly prepared Yogurt - 1 cup
Thick pineapple juice - 1/2 cup
Sugar - to taste
Raisins and Almond flakes - for decoration

Method:

Take the freshly prepared curd in a bowl
Add the pineapple juice to it spoon by spoon till you are satisfied with the flavor
You can add sugar to it if required.
Chill this and serve it garnished with raisins and almond flakes

Kids will love this when they come back from their play in the hot sun.Check out my fellow marathoners creations here

Kulfi - Kids Summer Special

Come summers , we encounter power cuts now and then , and especially at nights. When I had summer holidays, we frequented power cuts at night and would spend the a major portion of the night on the roads so that we could get some breeze. At such times, the kulfiwala would come in with his vehicle and will have a busy day selling off his kulfi  to us . It would be a relief from the heat of summer time that too when you are feeling sleepy. Kulfi is a summer cooler which is liked by people from all ages, be it a kid or a old uncle. This 

is one dish that is approved by my nieces as well. 

Ingredients :

\

Full Fat Milk - 1 litre

Badam, Pista - 1/2 cup

Condensed Milk - 1/2 tin

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - as required 

Method :

In a heavy bottomed wok take the milk and bring it to boil

Soak Badam and Pista. Blend it to make a smooth paste

When the milk is cool add the condensed milk, sugar and cardamom powder to it and mix well

Add the Badam and Pista paste to the milk and mix well

Now place this mixture on the stove and bring it to a boil till the mixture becomes a little thick 

Taste the mixture to check for sugar levels

Adjust sugar levels if required and take it off the stove

Let it cool and then pour them into moulds and freeze for 2 -3 hours

Hold the moulds under running water to remove the Kulfi.

Enjoy it and beat the summer hear

 Check what my fellow bloggers are cooking for this marathon.

Colorful Fruit Salad

Today marks the beginning of the last edition of Blogging Marathon in the current format. I guess from next month we will be having a different format. At this juncture , I would definitely wanna mention about Srivalli who is the brain behind this Blogging Marathon . She is a person who has infectious enthusiasm and is an inspiration for lazy bones like me to start blogging regularly. Kudos to you Valli. Check out who else is running with me in this Marathon I will be doing both the weeks of this marathon. First week I have chosen what kids love in summer. The dishes that I have made are the likes of my friends little daughter A. I got into a conversation with her and got to know what she will prefer to have during summer. Fruit Salad, was one of her favorite dish as she loves fruits.

So am starting the marathon with this wonderful and colorful Fruit Salad.

Ingredients:

Apple - 1 

Pineapple - 3 huge slices

Green Grapes - 1 cup ( preferably seedless)

Pomegranate - 1 cup

Honey - 2 tbsp

Method:

Cut the fruits into small pieces and refrigerate them.

Before you serve , take the fruits in a large bowl and add the honey

Gently toss the fruits so that they are coated with honey.

You can also use powdered sugar in place of honey 

Serve in individual portions with or without ice-cream