LEMON RICE

Hello everyone

South Indian flavours are my all time favorite. That's why I often used to prepare South Indian delicacies at my home and everyone loves it a lot. Today I was not in mood of cooking but some thing must be needed for our dinner. Then idea strikes to make lemon rice as I had lots of cooked rice from lunch and these will be perfect for preparing lemon rice in no time. As everyone have their own way of preparing the same dish, so here is mine version of lemon rice which never let me down in flavours. I can relish on these lemonish beauty any time.
Recipe is given below, hope you all will love to try it.

LEMON RICE

Serves: 3-4
Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients

3- 4 cups cooked rice
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafetida ( heeng)
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1/4 cup peanuts ( optional)
2-3 springs curry leaves
3-4 dry red chilies
2-3 green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder ( completely optional, I added to spice up)
1-2 tbsp lemon juice ( adjust as per taste)
Salt to taste
Oil


Method:

Heat oil in a wok, add asafetida and mustard seeds. Let it crackle then add peanuts and fry for 2-3 mins. Then add Chana dal and fry till light golden . Add urad dal and saute for few seconds, till light golden. Now add both chilies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute then add turmeric powder. Just stir for a second and lemon juice followed by rice, black pepper and salt. Mix everything well and saute for 2-3 minutes to incorporate all the flavours in rice. Serve hot with any raita or as it is. It needs nothing to accompany as is full of aroma and flavour.

** Always try to add pre cooked rice ,  cooked atleast 3-4 hrs earlier. This will give nice fluffy rice.

* Don't add both dal together to fry as urad dal burns quickly. So follow the steps religiously.

* After adding lemon juice, immediately add rice as cooking of lemon juice may turn it little bitter.

* Adjust chilies and lemon juice as per taste.

Enjoy this super easy rice dish and satisfy your hunger in a yummy way. This will be best for lunch, dinner, breakfast or even for tiffin too.

Do try this simplest recipe and let me know your experience. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

SEMOLINA PUDDING ( SOOJI KA HALWA OR RAWA KESHARI)

Hello everyone

Semolina pudding or sooji ka halwa is a very simple yet super Delicious dessert you can prepare in minimum time and enjoy any time. It is also called rawa keshari with little orange ( keshari) colour in it.

The ideal proportion for this pudding is 1:1:2:4 :: semolina:ghee:sugar:water

But being a calorie conscious mom I used to balance ingredients according to necessity only . Even then the end product was nothing less than ghee and sugar laden authentic rawa keshari.

In addition I added lots of almonds and few walnuts too for making it much more nutritious to my fussy eater.

This is one of the important dish from Navratri bhog also. So this navratri prepare it and offer to Goddess Durga .

Sharing mine version of sooji ka halwa. Hope you all will enjoy this healthy cum yummy delight.

Recipe is given below. Couldn't  take stepwise pictures as prepared for kids tiffin in hurry but will explain to my knowledge best. Do try and share your experience with me.

SEMOLINA PUDDING ( SOOJI KA HALWA OR RAWA KESHARI)

Serves:3-4

Time: 20-25 mins

Ingredients

3/4 cup coarse semolina ( sooji / rawa)

Ghee as per need

3/4 +cup sugar ( as per taste)

3cup +Water ( as per need)

Handful almonds and few walnuts, ground to fine powder along with 2-4 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp green cardamom powder

Few drops edible orange colour ( optional)

METHOD:

Heat 2-3 tbsp of ghee in a wok and add semolina. Saute stirring constantly on medium flame till golden brown  and nice aroma starts to come . If going to add colour then saute till just golden .

Now add water with few drops of colour ( if using)and let it cook till semolina is nicely swollen. Now add dryfruits powder and sugar. Mix well and add some ghee , little at a time, till halwa starts leaving edges of the wok. Finally add cardamom powder and mix well. Switch off the flame and serve with some dryfruits garnishing.

* Amount of water added is on your choice of halwa consistency. If want nice fluffy halwa then add less water but for porridge consistency use more water.

* As My Lil one don't like any dryfruits that's why I added powdered one. You can add any dryfruits of your choice and chopped too.

* You can also use some milk to make it rich.

This is one of the simplest dessert you can prepare in jiffy and satisfy your sweet craving. Either prepare for kids tiffin or as an offering to god. Either in breakfast or as a dessert for guests . In every way you will be satisfied to the core.

Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS OATS AND JAGGERY CHOCO CHIPS COOKIES

Hello everyone

Today I have a very delicious yet healthy cookies recipe to share with you all. My this recipe is inspired by Nishchita Thejas's oatmeal raisin cookies with eggs. It was so delicious but I thought to give it my own twist as I generally make eggless ones and with some healthy ingredients to add on some more nutrients for my kids. That's why replaced little butter with peanut butter to give my cookies a nutty flavour and some health too. I tried four different texture of the same cookies by adjusting baking time and added some chocolate wheat flakes in my last batch of cookies to add some extra crunch. Basically these are chewy at center and crisp at edges.
My this mix and match of ingredients to main recipe turned out really delicious and for this I would like to thank nishchita for giving her recipe.
Stepwise recipe is given below. Hope you all will love and definitely give it a try.

EGGLESS OATS AND JAGGERY CHOCO CHIPS COOKIES

Time: 30-40mins
Yield: 16-18 medium size cookies

Ingredients 

1 cup instant oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour ( I used chapatti flour)
1/2 cup - 2 tsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp peanut butter ( completely optional, but then use whole 1/2 cup butter)
1/2 cup grated jaggery ( used grainy texture golden jaggery not sticky ones)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder ( completely optional)
1/4 cup thick yogurt
1/2 tbsp corn syrup ( can be replaced with honey)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup semi sweet choco chips ( you can use any)


Method:

First of all preheat your oven at 180 degree C.
Add flour, baking soda, salt and cofffee powder. Mix well and keep aside for later use.

Take butter and peanut butter in a big bowl and beat with a hand whisker or electric mixer till nice creamy. Now add grated jaggery and sugar and again whisk till fluffy. Add yogurt and again whisk till nicely incorporated.

Now add corn syrup and vanilla essence, mix well.
Add prepared flour mixture to it and mix well.

Now add oats followed by choco chips and fold to get nice lumpless sticky scoopable mixture.

Take a baking mat or baking pan lined with parchment paper. Scoop dough ( as per your choice of size preference) by icecream scoop or any spoon and place on baking sheet at reasonable distance ( as cookie will spread while baking). Now press each dough a little and give nice clean round shape with hand. 

Bake for 14- 20 minutes or till you get nice golden colour on edges of cookies.
Remove from oven and wait for 3-4 mins so that they will become easy to handle. Then transfer to wire rack and let them cool completely before storing in an air tight jar.

**Baking time will depend on your preference of texture of cookies.

* If you like chewy , then bake for 14-16 mins.
* If you love crispy crunchy , then bake for more time till you get your desired texture ( approx 18-20 mins)
* For crispier cookies, spread the dough thinner while pressing to give shape.


*** Note: The cookies will be still little soft when touched immediately after removing them from oven. They will get firm on cooling.  take care of this while baking so that not to burn them in making crisp.

** You can also freeze its dough and bake fresh cookies whenever you want.

I made four different texture from this same dough mixture :

1. Spreaded scooped dough thick and baked for 16-17 mins. It gave nice chewy and thicker cookies.

2. Spreaded scooped dough thin and baked for 15-16 mins. It gave nice crisp edges and chewy center.

3. Spreaded thin and baked for 18-20 mins. It gave overall crisp cookies.

4. Added 2 tbsp of choco wheat flakes to my final batch and spreaded as much I could. Baked for 18mins. It gave super crunchy cookies.

*** Baking time may vary oven to oven , so keep an eye on your cookies while baking.

Try whichever suits your taste buds and enjoy.

These can be stored at room temp for a week and for  a month in refrigerator. You can also freeze them to increase their self life .

These cookies are so delicious and healthy that you can munch any time to satisfy your sweet craving in a healthy way as well as for small hunger sprangs. Ideal for kids tiffin and travel snacks.
So enjoy these eggless delicious beauties as you like .  It's best accompaniment with  chilled milk .

Hope you all will love this yummy cookie recipe and will definitely going to give it a try. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.
Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS CHOCO VANILLA ZEBRA CAKE WITH COLORFUL PATTERN

Hello everyone

Yesterday I got a note I my kids diary that next day they have to bring some food item for sharing with their classmates. As their 9 days long vacations are going to start from this weekends. Suddenly baking a cake idea stuck to my mind but thought why not to bake some different than usual but attractive cake for kids so that they will like it even more. My kid like chocolate and vanilla flavour most. So to use it , tried my old tried and tasted recipe of zebra cake but with some more colours to make it even more presentable and eye catching and it turned out so soft, moist and yummy that no one can resist eating another serving. My kids loved it a lot and finished nearly 1/3rd of cake at home only😀.Best part of it is , that it's eggless too. Easiest recipe with handful of ingredients and result is awesome delicious beautiful stripped cake.

Stepwise recipe is given below. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.

EGGLESS  CHOCO VANILLA ZEBRA CAKE WITH COLORFUL PATTERN

Serves: 10-15 ( depend on serving size)

Time: 50-55 mins

Ingredients 

3 3/4 cup all purpose flour/ chapatti flour ( I made big cake , you can make it half or 1/3 easily)

2 1/2 cup yogurt ( curd), beaten 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla Essence 

1 1/2 cup sugar ( you can add more as per taste, I kept mild)

3/4 cup oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Few drops of orange and blue edible colours

Method:

First preheat the oven at 180°c.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside for later use.

Add baking soda to beaten yogurt and give a quick stir and keep it aside for 8-10 mins or till it become nice frothy.

Now mix  vanilla essence, sugar and oil together till sugar dissolves and mixture become smooth and fluffy. Don't over mix otherwise all the bubbles will sink.

Mix dry and wet mixtures together and fold to get lumpless smooth batter . 

*** Batter should neither too thin nor too thick. If needed add some milk/water , little at a time to get proper consistency.

Now divide the batter in four equal parts ,add cocoa powder to one , orange and blue colour to other two and leave fourth one as it is. Mix well but don't over do.

*Add some milk/water in Cocoa batter to get same consistency of all the batters. 

In a greased baking pan , lined with butter paper , pour one big spoon of one batter and tap the pan to spread .then pour  one big spoon of other batter over it and again tap the pan and do it alternatively till batter finished. 

**Now using a knife or skewer make 6-8 lines on cake starting from center of cake towards edge, at equal distance and cleaning knife/skewer every time. 

Now again makes lines, in between these lines but in reverse direction, from edge of cake towards center. This will give a nice pattern on the cake. This step is completely optional, you can skip it without getting any change in final product.

Then bake it for 50-55 mins. But keep an eye after 40 mins on it as baking time may vary oven to oven.
I baked on convection mode for 55 mins.

Check it with knife or skewer by inserting in middle of cake ,for doneness. If knife/skewer comes out clean then cake Is done otherwise bake for some more minutes.

Let it sit for 5-10 mins then invert on wire rack and let it cool completely.

Its so soft and moist cake that you cannot have just one piece.

*You can also use half or 1/3 the quantity as I made bigger cake for kids sharing day.

Enjoy this scrumptious Cake and do share your experience with me. Your valuable comments and suggestions are always welcomed, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

CHHENA KHEER OR PUDDING

Hello everyone

Though festive season is on and it calls for lots and lots of festive dishes too. Few days back we had our fast of teej , so I made this dessert for my sargi , early in the morning. It is so easy to prepare and require only few ingredients and quick too, that any amateur can also make it perfectly.

If you are craving for ras malai and don't have courage to try at your own then give this a try. It's taste is much more alike ras malai . That's why my lil fussy eater, who is big fan of ras malai , also loved it.

Now a days ganpati Mahotsav is going on with all celebrations and offerings. So you can prepare this too for your ganpati as bhog. Recipe adopted from food food Chanel .

Stepwise recipe is given below, hope you all will love to give it a try.

CHHENA KHEER OR PUDDING

Serves: 4-5

Time: 20 -25 mins ( leaving chilling time)

Ingredients

2 cup milk

2 cup soft cottage cheese ( paneer), crumbled

3/4 cup sugar ( you can use as per taste)

5-6 green cardamom

1 pinch saffron ( kesar), soaked in 2 tbsp milk

Sliced pistachio and cherry for garnishing

Method:

First of all grind cardamom and sugar together to fine powder. Keep aside for later use.

Now put the milk in a thick bottom pan to boil. Let it boil for 5-6 mins then add powdered sugar with cardamom and mix well. Now add saffron milk and again stir.

Add crumbled paneer and mix well. Let it simmer for 4-5 mins and switch off the flame. 

Let it come to room temperature and then keep in fridge to chill for atleast 3-4 hrs or overnight.

Now serve in individual dishes and garnish with pistachio and cherry.

Your super easy tempting dessert is ready to win hearts.

** You can also serve warm but chilled one tastes best.

**** Never overcook paneer after adding to milk otherwise it will become chewy.

*** Always use soft paneer for best result.

** Grinding cardamom with sugar is just for ease of grinding cardamom. You can also use cardamom powder and sugar separately without grinding.

***You can prepare this dessert on fasting day too as it's pure falahar and not containing any grain.

** If you wish to add dry fruits to it , just go for it.

Hope you all will prepare it at your home and do remember me too. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions ,they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

LOW FAT EGGLESS TOMATO, CHILI GARLICKY MAYONNAISE

Hello everyone 

Now a days, not only kids but elders too gone mad over burgers, sandwich,pizza etc loaded with high calorie , high fat mayonnaise. But by health point of view these are not good at all. So I thought why not try some low fat, low calorie version of mayonnaise to go with these traditional fast food items  to avoid some extra calories without punishing our taste buds. This can be also used on simple whole meal or brown bread as spread, if you are health conscious fellow but can't leave the love of having yummy finger licking mayonnaise. I came across this recipe accidentally, as I was trying to make some different dip for my snacks and to my surprise it came out as super smooth silky shiny mayonnaise.

Recipe is given below, hope you all will definitely love to try it.

LOW CALORIE EGGLESS TOMATO, CHILI GARLICKY MAYONNAISE

Yield : Approx 1 cup

Time: 10 mins ( maximum)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup soft paneer

1/2+ cup milk ( as per need)

2 tsp tomato paste 

1 tsp red chilli hot sauce

1 tsp corn flour

1 tsp garlic powder ( you can also use fresh garlic pods)

1/4 + tsp black pepper powder ( as per taste)

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp chilli flakes ( optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Add all the above ingredients in a mixer jar except chili flakes & oregano and blend till it become creamy batter like.

** It must be nice smooth and pouring consistency batter, neither too thick nor too runny. So if needed add some more milk to get right consistency.

Then put it in a microwave safe bowl and add oregano & chilli flakes, mix it well.

Now cook in microwave for 2-3 min stirring every 30 sec to avoid lump formation and even texture till it acquire the consistency of mayonnaise. 

Mine took exact 3 mins.

Your silky smooth eggless mayonnaise is ready to serve with your choice of snacks.

** If you find it little thinner then don't worry it will thicken after cooling.

**Always use soft cheese otherwise you will get grainy texture.

It's so quick and easy recipe that you can make daily and enjoy different flavours without any guilt.

** It can be kept in airtight covered jar for 1 week to 10 days in refrigerator .

* It goes well with any snacks as dip or use in burgers, sandwich etc.

** You can adjust ingredients as per your taste.

** If you want to make as gas stove then preferably use non stick pan and cook the blended mixture at low flame and stirring constantly to get lumpless smooth mayonnaise . Cook it till you get desired consistency.

Hope you all will like this simplest and easiest recipe ever with handy ingredients. So please give it a try and pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.