Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi is a very simple and satisfying dish, with the combination of potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (Gobi).

The same dish can differ in cooking process and the spices used, the taste varies according to that. I have had different varities of aloo gopi, each one was different in taste. 

You can fry the potato and cauliflower pieces before cooking to make it a dry dish. But here I skipped the frying part and instead pressure cooked the potatoes. So the look is very much different from the traditional Aloo Gobi. This is the way we cook at home - Aloo Gobi with a new taste. :). 

Ingredients 

Potato - 2
Cauliflower - 1 small
Onion -1 finely chopped
Tomato- 1
ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil

Method

Cut cauliflower into florets and put them into warm salt water and keep for a while.
Cut potatoes in size matching to the cauliflower. Cook the potatoes.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and onions, stir cook until the onions become translucent, add green chilies, ginger garlic and tomato and mix thoroughly. Cook till everything get mushy and soft,   Add the cauliflower and the cooked potatoes,  add turmeric powder and garam masala, mix gently cover and cook in low flame for 5-6 min,  uncover and cook in high flame for 1-2 min. Remove from stove.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatti.

Pachadies

Last week was 'Vishu, a Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu it marks the Tamil New year.  Vishu is also a day of feasting. The foods consist of equal proportions of salt, sweet, sour and bitter items. Any Festival… you celebrate it with special food.
Sadya is a major part of all Kerala festivals and pachadi is inevitable part of sadya.  So I decided to share 3 different varities of pachadi today.  pachadi is a side-dish curry similar to the north Indian Raita,  Pachadi is commonly eaten with rice. Curd/yogurt based pachadi can be made of any vegetable.

Beetroot Pachadi 

The first one is the beet root pachadi, or the “Pink pachadi”  that’s how my kids name it. The lovely pink color makes the sadya look attractive and colorful.  This is simple to make and delicious, which goes well with rice. This may not be the traditional way of pachadi…  but my way of making it simple.

Perfect combination of look and taste… infact color and taste. :) 

Ingredients
Beetroot- 1 medium size, grated
Onion- 1 medium size
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Yoghurt- 1 ½ cups
Green chili- 3

Method 

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds, add curry leaves, green chillies and the chopped onions, when the onions becomes translucent, add the grated beetroots , cook it for 5-6  min with occasional stirring . Allow to cool and add the yogurt and mix well. Beetroot pachadi is ready.

Banana Pachadi

Next item on the list is the banana pachadi (ethapazham pachadi) , this is made out of ripe banana. The dish is Hot and sweet.  The sweetness of banana and the hot taste of green chillies.. , another perfect combo, perfect place for this pachadi is in the sadya. 

Ingredients
Ripe Banana (Etha Pazham/Nenthra Pazham) – 1 big cut into small pieces
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
Curd/Yogurt – 1 cup
Salt

For Grinding
Coconut Grated – 1 Cup
Green Chilies – 3 or 4
Cumin (Jeera) – ¼  tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼  tsp
Mustard Seeds – ¾ tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp
Water – 1/2 cup

Method

Grind coconut, greenchillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ginger to make a smooth paste.
Cook banana, along with turmeric powder, redchilli powder, salt and water, until soft. Mix the grounded paste to the cooked banana, and cook for another 4-5 min, reduce the flame and add the curd and mix well. Don’t boil after adding curd. Remove from stove.
Heat coconut oil a pan, splutter mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. Pour over the pachadi.

Potato Pachadi

And the third one  is Potato pachadi , the other two was common , but pachadi with potato is not so common…. I got this idea from one of  my tamilian friend…  this goes well with the flavored rice, than in the sadya , the perfect partner is either tomato rice, or lemon rice.  Goes well as an item for sadya also.

Ingredients:-

Potato -1 medium

Curd – ½ cup

Mustard seed – ½ tsp

Urad dal – ½ tsp

Salt

Oil

Method

Boil potatoes and mash them into pieces,

Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add urad daal, green chilies, curry leaves, and fry it; Add potatoes and fry for some time. Add curd and salt and mix well.. remove from stove. Serve with rice.

Chili Chicken

After a few days break, back in the blog with a new dish… this time it’s the Chili chicken. I doubt if I can call this as chilli chiken… this is my version of chilli chiken customized for the taste buds of my kids.  

Kids have a special liking towards the chicken dishes, Chicken and Chili complement each other incredibly well, But here I replaced the chilies with not so hot green chilies and I reduced the amount of the chili sauce also.. so there’s no way that I can call this a 'chili' chiken.

Chili chicken is the most popular dish in the Indo – Chinese cusine.  This tastes its best with Fried rice or noodles.  I served it to the kids with the Indian Chapathi.  “Yumm… more more more… :)” … reaction  made me a Happy mom! 

Ingredients

Chicken - 400gm
1 onion, cut into cubes
1/2 of a green capsicum  cut into cubes
4 green chillies, slit
3 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon green chilli sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Make a smooth paste of 1 tbsp corn flour + 3tbsp water
Sugar – ½ tea spoon

Preparation

Marinate the chicken with soya sauce, 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste, chili powder and salt, (add pepper powder also if u want to make it more spicy) keep this for 30min to 1 hr.
Add 3-4 tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken pieces, turning them over when the cooked sides are brown. Drain and set aside.
 In the same pan, add chopped onions, green chillies, and capsicum. Cook until the onions turn transparent - add the remaining soya sauce, chili sauce, ginger garlic paste, sugar and tomato sauce. Stir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended. reduce the flame
Add the fried chicken  and the corn flour-water paste. add salt, Stir and cook for another 3-4 mins until the sauce comes around and thickens due to the corn flour.
Serve hot.

Chocolate Cake

I try to provide recipes that have been tested thoroughly in my kitchen.  Here’s another one …..  Chocolate Cake!

Baking with kids is a fun way to spend time together, As much fun to make as they are to eat.  and if  it’s a chocolate cake the happiness is double!  

About the mess… :)  hmmm …. I guess, it’s worth the fun. :)) 

Ingredients:-
 
1 ½ cup self raising flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dark)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour cake pan.
In a bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder with a wire whisk.
Add milk, oil and eggs and beat it to make it a smooth paste. You can beat by hand or using an electric beater at low speed.
Transfer to the cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
After the cake has cooled slice it into pieces.
Store cakes loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. To loosely cover, place aluminum foil, plastic wrap or waxed paper over the cake without sealing the edges so air can circulate.