Pav Bhaji

Cracker sandwich

Bored of the high calorie snacks and the cracker sandwich could be a smart alternative to our list of junks

Ingredients:

 To the chopped Onion, tomato, avacado, cheese, add salt and pepper according to your taste and add a tbsp of vinegar and 1 tsp of lime juice. Garnish it with Cilantro leaves.

PS: Add the ingredients of your interest to the salad. Adding pineapple instead of avacado will enhance the taste..

A good tea time snack which will definitely kindle the taste buds:)

Brinjal thokku

My husband hates brinjal and I love it! It is so true that "opposite poles always attract"!

Anyway prepared this thokku for today's breakfast as a sidedish for Dosa..The brinjal blended well that he couldnt even make it. A sour spicy sidedish recipe!

Brinjal - 1 cup(cut medium sized cubes)

onion-1/4 cup

Green chillies-4 slit longitudinally

Tomato- chopped 1/2 cup

Jeera/ cumin seeds-1 tsp

Tamarind paste -1/2 tsp

Salt-1 tbsp

Turmeric powder -a pinch

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

oil-1 tbsp

Fry cumin seeds, onion and green chillies in  oil. Once the onion turns golden brown, add the chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric poserd and red chilli powder, now add the chopped brinjal and fry till it is mushy. Add oil in between if required, now add the tamarind paste, some water. Till it is completely mushy. You can add a pinch of jaggery to enhance the taste. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Yumm side dish for dosa and rotis ;) 

Paneer peas curry

1. Cut the paneer into small cubes, add a pinch of turmeric, little salt and a tsp of chilli powder and fry it in oil.Drop the fried cubes in hot water 

2. Microwave peas for a minute and keep it aside. I used frozen peas

3. Fry onions, black pepper (8-10), small cinnamon stick, 1 clove and 1 tbsp of Garam masala and grind it to a smooth paste.

4. Fry onions, tomato, ginger garlic paste and add the ground puree and let it cook for some time(10 mins approx) till the raw smell goes

5. Add the paneer cubes and green peas in the curry and let it cook for 10 mins in a medium flame.

Veggie cutlets

Mushroom Chettinad

Fry 1 medium sized onion, grind it to a smooth puree with small cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 5 red chillies, 8 black pepper and 3 tablespoon of shredded coconut. In a pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee, fry 1 medium chopped onion, 1 big tomato, add ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric and salt. Add the ground puree, some water and let it boil.Meanwhile wash and chop the mushrooms. I removed the black portion inside the mushrooms, drop it inside the gravy. Let it cook for 10mins in medium flame. Garnish with cashews roasted in ghee and coriander leaves.
Really mouthwatering side dish for rotis :)

Black Urad dal rice and sesame chutney- Women's special

Black urad dal is supposed to strengthen the back bones of women. Hence this is cooked often in our house because of its nutritional value.  This is an authentic recipe followed in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India.

Rice : 1 cup
Black urad dhal:1/2 cup
garlic pods(medium)- 5-6pods
fenugreek-1 tsp
salt -2 tsp
coconut shredded - 1 tablespoon

Pressure cook rice, black urad dhal, garlic pods, fenugreek and salt for 15 mins/ for 3 whistles. Garnish it with shredded coconut.

The rice tastes well with sesame chutney and papad. A healthy must have dish for all menstruating women.