Stuffed Tomato

Hello All,

As it is Winter time and the right season for Ripe and Red Tomatoes, I often prepare this recipe - Stuffed Tomato at home. It is liked by one and all back home and hence thought of sharing with you all as well.
So lets get started...

Ingredients:

1 Kg Tomatoes - they should be on the harder side so that you can scoop them from inside.
2-3 Potato
4-5 Onions
Freshly cut Coriander
Freshly chopped Garlic
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
½ teaspoon Asafoetida Powder
½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
½ teaspoon Jeera seeds (Cumin Seeds)
2 teaspoons Dhaniya powder (A blend of Cumin and Coriander seeds)
3 teaspoons Til (Sesame Seeds)
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt to taste.

Oil - For Tadka

Ghee - For Tadka

Butter - For Tadka

Method :

Wash potatoes. Peel them and cut them into very small pieces. Peel Onions and cut them also into very small pieces.

Take a pan, add ghee, oil and butter in equal proportion for tadka. Once it comes to heat, add asafoetida powder, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garlic to it. Stir it for 20-30 seconds and add potatoes and onion to it. Cook them without covering the lid till the potato is tender. Add dhaniya powder, sesame seeds, freshly cut coriander, salt and sugar to it. Stir it and cook it for some 3-4 mins till the entire mix has all the spices blended properly. Once done, remove from heat and put it aside.

Take tomatoes, wash them thoroughly. Cut them in a horizontal way from the top portion leaving some 0.5 to 1 cm top portion such that you have a cap kinda thing which can be used to cover the tomatoes in upright position.
With the help of a knife scoop out the seeds and pulp of tomatoes leaving its edges as they are. They should be thick enough to hold the filling which we just made.
Once the tomatoes are scooped out, filll them with the mixture of Potato and Onion which was prepared.
Cover them with their cap and put it in upright position in a nonstick pan.

You may put the remaining mixture of onion and potato next to filled tomatoes. It gives an added flavor to the tomatoes. :)
Cook them for 10-15 mins on low flame with intermediate stirring done carefully such that the tomatoes are not messed up.

Note: Add little more salt then normal so as to balance for the pulp removed tomatoes which are with no spices.

Gajar Halwa

Hello All,

Today I will share with everyone the recipe for Gajar ka Halwa. Popular all over India, especially in Bollywood and also in TV serials, this recipe needs no introduction. So without wasting much time let me get started with the ingredients needed to prepare yummy Gajar ka Halwa or Gajar No Halwa as it is referred in Gujarati.

Ingredients:

1 Kg Carrot

2 Litres Milk

150 gms Sugar

8 pieces of Cardamom

15 gms Ghee

¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

Dry Fruits like Raisin, Cashew and Almonds

Method:

Wash Carrots properly with water. Dry them with a hand napkin or cloth. Peel its skin and grate them with a hand grater.

Take a non-stick pan. Add ghee to it and heat it. Once heated add grated carrot to it. Cook it for 10-15 mins on low flame with regular stirring. Do not cover the lid of the pan. 

Once the color of the cooked carrot changes and you can see that its juice is no more there, add boiled milk to it. Cook it for 30 mins with regularly stirring in between so that it does not stick to the edges of the pan.

Add dry fruits, nutmeg, sugar and cardamom to it. Cook for 15 more mins till you can see that there is no milk in the Halwa and you can easily stir it in a way that it does not stick to the edges. 

Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with Dry fruits. Gajar ka halwa is ready to eat. :-)

Note : If you are not able to get fresh and seasonal juicy carrots, add 500 ml more milk while cooking Halwa.

Have a Gr8 time ahead!

Maalpuda

Hello All,

Maalpuda or Maalpua as it is called in some parts of India is a very easy to make sweet dish. It can be had alone and also tastes great with ice-cream.

So here is the recipe for Maalpuda.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Wheat Flour    
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
1 Portion Oil (For Frying)
1 Portion Ghee (For Frying)
Poppy Seeds/Khus khus to garnish

Method:


Take wheat flour, sugar and water. Mix well using a blender till you get a smooth paste with no lumps.
Take Oil and ghee in equal portion a frying pan. Heat it.
Pour batter in Pan to make Puri sized Maal Puda.
Fry it till its golden colored. Remove from Pan.
Sprinkle Poppy seeds/Khus Khus on it.

Can be served with Kheer or Ice cream as well.

Upma

Hello Reader,

Upma is one of the easiest and a healthy breakfast had in many parts of the country. It is a favorite in my family and thought of sharing it with all.

Ingredients: 

200 Gms Sooji (Rava)
1 medium Potato
1 medium Tomato
1 small Capsicum
1 Onion
½ Carrot
8-10 Curry Patta
¼ teaspoon Asafoetida Powder
1 teaspoon Udad Daal
¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
½ teaspoon Coconut Powder
½ teaspoon Sesame Seeds (Til)
3 Cloves
8 whole Black Pepper
2 Green Chilies
Coriander leaves
1 tablespoon Oil
Some Cashew and Raisins
Salt to taste



Method :


Clean Sooji and microwave it for 3 mins on full power.
Take oil in a pan. Once it comes to heat add mustard seeds, asafetida powder, cumin seeds, udad daal, cloves, black pepper, curry patta and chilies to it.
Stir  it. Add potato, onion, carrot and capsicum to it. Stir it and cook for 5 mins.
Add Sooji to it. Cook for few more mins.

Take 400 ml water in a bowl and microwave it for 3 mins or till it is boiling hot.
Add all the cooked mix of Sooji and vegetables to it. Add cut tomatoes to it. Mix well. Add sesame seeds (til), coconut powder, coriander and salt to taste.
Mix well. Microwave on full power for 3 mins. Stir.
Again microwave on medium power for 5 mins. You may check if it is cooked properly or not by pressing a potato. If not cooked well, give it a standing time of 2 mins and again cook on medium power for 3 mins.

Your delicious, nutritious Upma is ready to eat with Dahi.

Decorative Cake

Apart from cooking I also like to do some art work. Recently it was my daughter's bday and I decided to gift her a chocolate cake. Yes, a chocolate cake.. but wait that is no art work... right???

A bouquet of chocolates is what we all might have seen, this is some what different. Have a look :)

Pick a Chocolate!!!

Apple Pear Raita

Hello Reader,

Vegetable Raita is what normally everyone has but some fruits added to it can give it some really good taste. One such combination which I tried was with Apple and Pear. Sharing  the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

1 Apple

1 Pear

1 Tomato

1 Onion

1 Cucumber (Kakdi and not kheera)

200 gms Curd

1 Teaspoon Sugar

¼ Teaspoon Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Powder

¼ Teaspoon Asafoetida Powder

¼ Teaspoon Ghee

Curry Patta

Salt to taste

Aloo Bhujia to garnish.

Method:

Wash and cut Onion, Tomato, Cucumber and Apple into small pieces. Wash and remove peel of Pear, cut into small pieces.

In a bowl, take 200 gms of curd. Add sugar to it. Mix well. Add salt to taste, black pepper powder and all cut vegetables and fruits to it.

Mix well.

For tadka, heat ghee. Add washed curry patta, asafetida powder and jeera (cumin seeds) to it. Mix well. Once it comes to heat add it to the bowl with all vegetables, fruits and curd. Mix well.

Garnish with Aloo bhujia.

Your Apple Pear Vegetable Raita is ready to eat with Roti/ Paratha. 

Gujarati Daal

Hello All,

Daal is a part of everyone's staple diet in India. However every region/state in India has its own of making it and hence today I am sharing with you all how to make Gujarati Daal.

Ingredients which you will need are :

100 gms Tuvar/Toor daal
200 ml Water
½ Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
½ Teaspoon Dhaniya powder (A blend of Cumin and Coriander seeds)
Salt to Taste

1 Teaspoon Jaggery
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Chopped Coriander Leaves

For Tadka :

Oil
Mustard Seeds     
Fenugreek Seeds
Cumin Seeds 
Turmeric Powder
Red Chilli Powder
A pinch of Asafoetida Powder

Method :

Wash Tuvar/Toor Daal in water and soak it in water for 2 hours. Microwave on high for 5 mins. Remove and check if it is cooked properly. If not add some more water and microwave it again for 5 more mins. Once cooked, churn it well with a hand blender. Add Salt to taste, Jaggery, Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Dhaniya Powder and Lemon Juice to it.

For tadka, take oil  and once it comes to heat add a pinch of Asafoetida, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and red chilli powder to it. Once all these come to heat add it to the churned Daal with other spices already added to it.  Mix well and cook it for 10 mins on medium flame on cooking gas.
Garnish with Coriander leaves.