Red Bell pepper, Tomato and mint chutney

Its been a long time I posted a chutney....not that I don't make them often...but just that they are eaten without being photographed for my blog!
Fresh ground chutneys are quite popular in my house....they are done in couple of sittings of lunch or dinner. They are also not served in small dollops but in very large tablespoons...:) that's how much we like chutneys! :)

This is kind of a 'call for help chutney'..that is when there aren't enough ingredients at home for any one chutney, mix all the halves and make one full chutney! clever huh! :)
Well that's what I do when we need chuntey and when I don't have enough ingredients :) This chutney has the flavors of mint, a tangyness of a tomato and sweetness of red bell pepper....

Well I guess that best anyone can do...right....and when it comes of tasting yum....what else do you need!!....
This chutney tastes just as good and goes well with rice, idlis or dosas....

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
bunch of mint / pudina leaves
5-6 green chillies
5 garlic cloves
Salt to taste

1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
3-4 dry red chillies
1/2 tbsp channa dal
1/2 tbsp urad dal
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tbsp of oil
few curry leaves

Method:

Heat the oil in a kadai.

Add the garlic cloves and saute till they turn color.

Add the channa dal, urad dal and red chillies. Saute for a few seconds.

Add the chopped bell pepper, tomato, mint, tamarind and green chillies. Add salt and let it cook until soft.

Remove into a blender and grind when cooled.

In the same Kadai, add few more drops of oil and saute the mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves. You can turn off the heat

Add the ground chutney to this tempering and mix well.

Serve as a side dish with idlis or dosas or even upma. Goes well with plain white rice with some ghee...

Enjoy!!!

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Pesar pappu Payasam / Moong Dal Payasam / Sweetened Split Mung Bean with Jaggery

Happy Dasera to everyone! May Goddess Durga shower you with prosperity and strength to overcome all and any obstacles which come in your life.
Be happy always and enjoy lots!

This recipe is a little different from all the payasams which we encounter. It is also made with a variety of ingredients, that is with a mix of other dals. In my house, we make it only with Pesar pappu or Moong Daal.

I have also known people to add a bit of gasagasalu or white poppy seeds to this, which I didn't.
Making it with jaggery or belam, give this payasam and well defined taste which along with pesar pappu, tastes very good and yummy.

Its very easy to make and by pressure cooking it it can be made in very less time. But if you want to control how much soft the moong daal gets cooked to, it better to do it on stovetop, even tho it takes a little longer time! I prefer this method to pressure cooking it, so that there is some texture left in the payasam and it doesn't get totally soft!


Ingredients:

3/4 cup pesar pappu or split yellow moong bean / dal + 3 times the water to cook it to soft

1 1/4 cup jaggery or belam (more or less)

1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen can be used)

2 tbsp of cashew nuts + golden raisins

2 tbsp ghee or neyyi

about 1 cup of milk (more or less, depending on the consistency you prefer)

Pinch of elaichi or cardamom powder

pinch of kesar or Saffron strands or kesar food color



Method:

Cook the pesar pappu with the water in a pressure cooker until soft. This can also be done on the stovetop, but it will take little longer time. But by this way, you can control how soft they are cooked to.

After the moong daal gets cooked, add milk, mix well and let it come to a boil on a low flame.

Add the grated coconut and Jaggery and mix well.

In another small pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden in color.
Add this to the Payasam.

Add Elaichi powder.

If it gets too thick, add milk or water.

Add a pinch of saffron strands or kesar or food color.

Serve as Naivedhyam. Serve warm....Enjoy!!!

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Oats Upma - Quick and Easy

Well here comes October or should I say came....gosh where are the months going??...how fast is the year passing by??....Can someone stop it for a moment?..
I wish!!!...wouldn't it have been nice....or much nicer if I had couple more hands...seriously!!! Wouldn't that be out of this world!!!

Here is a quick and healthy upma, which can be made in a jiffy with items which are already in your pantry. Only things you will need are the different veggies.
I would have love to add a little potato and cauliflower too, but I didn't add as I didn't have it.
If you have some frozen veggies, you can add them instead and make this in record time!

I have eaten it before where half and half of oats and sooji are added...or even broken wheat even....I made it with only plain oats and that too quick cooking oats. You can use rolled oats, but make sure to adjust water as required!

Since its quick cooking oats...you have to be careful that it doesn't become mushy...unless you like it all soft....
I do like sooji upma all softy, but this I prefer, not soft but on the drier side. So added the water carefully and sauteed it more to make it dry.
It very easy to make it to your taste..so go ahead and have fun!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Oats (quick cooking oats)
1 cup water (and more, if you like it mushy)
3/4 cup mixed veggies (carrots, peas, beans)(and any other veggie you like)
1 tbsp cashews or peanuts (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 green chilies, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp channa dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
few curry leaves
2 dry red chilies. broken
1 tbsp grated ginger
salt to taste
pinch of turmeric
chopped coriander leaves
Lemon juice (optional)


Method:

Heat oil in a Kadai or Pan.

Saute channa dal, urad dal till brown.

Add mustard seeds, jeera and let them splutter.

Add red chilies,curry leaves and ginger and saute.

If adding cashews or peanuts, add now and saute till brown.

Add onions, green chilies and saute for couple of minutes.

Add the veggies, turmeric and salt. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender.

Add the quick cooking oats and water. Mix well.

Cover and let cook until oats are completely cooked through.

Add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of lemon juice if you like.

Enjoy!!!

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'Healing Food - Berries' Round Up and the 2 winners are....

Hi guys!.....Well I am back again with my laptop fixed and everything back to normal (atleast thats what I think :)))
I hope to be regular with my blogging from now on and keep up with blog hopping (which I am sorry to have missed the most!)....

Anyways coming back to this post....here is the round up for the 'Healing Food - Berries'....I am so glad to have been able to host this event and for Siri from Cooking with Siri as to why I have been so late in posting this round up! :)

All the recipes are unique and delectable in their own way...they are surely yummy and I would love to get on hands on them!!
Thanks guys for sending them to me!!

I posted them in the order I have recieved them and each individual entry is numbered 1,2,3,...

Well here it is....

1. Alpana from Smart Snacks sent me a refreshing Strawberry Basil Ginger Koolaid.

Ramya from Ramya's Recipes sent me 3 yummilicious dishes...

2. Buttermilk Berry Muffins

3. Strawberry Cake

4. Strawberry Milkshake

5. Vardhini from Zesty Palette sent me a soothing and comforting Blueberry Shrikhand.

6. Sadhana of Sensible Veg sent a new twist on strawberry Ice cream - Sugar free Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream.

7. Sreevalli from Ammaji Recipes sent me one of my favorites desserts -  Fat Free Yogurt Strawberry Parfait.

8. Deepika Anand from Yummy In The Tummy - My Experiment With Food sent me  summery Smoothie which surely tastes 'Berry Good'.

9. Reva from Kaarasaaram sent a very kid friendly dish - Fruit Kebabs with Yogurt and Honey.

10. Kalyani Mom Chef from Sizzling Tastebuds sent me a pickle with your not so usual berry - Gooseberry ... Nelli Pachadi (Gooseberry or Amla Chutney).

11. Gita Venugopal of Tri Stars - Connoisseur of Foodies sent me another yummy Gooseberry Chutney.....I can never have enough! :)

Saraswathi Iyer of Simply Sara sent me 2 delicious recipes for

12. Nellikai Sadam

13. Strawberry Milkshake

14. Nupur of UK-Rasoi sent some heavenly pancakes...yumm...Blueberry Coconut Pancakes.

15. Meenakshi from Random Ponderings of a Working Mom sent surprise smoothie, a Berry Surprise Smoothie.

16. Vardhini of Zesty Palette sent and delicious Strawberry Preserve.

17. HGourmet_Foodie of Healthy Gourmet Food,Cooking and Tips sent a scrumptious Blackberry Cobbler, another of my favorites.

18. Ashwini Deshpande from Indulge-ashscorner sent me what every brekky should have - Strawberry Jam.

19. Soujanya of Soujishome sent a delectable Blueberry multipurpose jam.

20. Priya of Now Serving sent an amazing dessert - Raspberry Coulis.

Now comes the interesting part....to select 2 winners by random selection.
I am using Random.org to pick the winners, so here goes....2 numbers between 1 and 20....
 
 
Winner # 1

Winner # 2

 
The winners are Ashwini Deshpande from Indulge-ashscorner and Alpana from Smart Snacks.
 
Congrats to you guys. You both will be receiving either of the two books sponsored by Siri of Cooking With Siri which are -

Cooking At Home With Pedatha - Andhra recipes (Amazon Link)

Awarded Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the World 2006, this book features traditional recipes by documenting the culinary legacy of an illustrious Indian grandmother.


OR


Sukham Ayu - Easy & Healthy Recipes (Amazon Link)

Winner of Best Health & Nutrition Book in the World 2009 – Second Place, this Indian cookbook is a guide to healthy eating & has been researched at Kerala Ayurveda & Yoga retreat near Pune.


Ashwini and Alpana please email me you address details which I will forward to Siri. Thanks and Congrats once again!

I enjoyed very much in hosting the event and am happy to be back!!

Here are my 2 berry dishes which I posted during the event time --

Blueberry Pound Cake

Very Berry Crunchy parfait

Enjoy!!!





 

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Very Berry crunchy parfait

Another 2 more days guys...send in your berry dishes to win either of the two Books in the giveaway selected randomly! Check out the details here.

Again keeping with the theme of the event....I made this Berryful berried yogurt parfait with some crunchy goodness and awesomeness. It surely has all the healthy benefits from the berries, yogurt and oats granola with nuts. Can it get any better??
Well give this a try and I am sure you will love it. it makes for a great after school snack or even to snack on anytime.

I used Greek yogurt for my requirement here....but if you like it juicy and not too thick like Greek yogurt can be, use regular yogurt, use non-fat and make much more better and healthy!

I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Well its a parfait as long as it has fruits and yogurt with some little added crunch!

Ingredients:

A mix of berries like strawberries, raspberries,blueberries
plain or vanilla flavored non-fat Greek yogurt
crunchy granola with or without nuts

Method:

Chop strawberries if required.

Add a dollop of yogurt on the bottom of the glass you are going to use.

Add a mix of berries and top of with some granola.

Add more yogurt and more berries with granola in layers.

Serve chilled. Enjoy!!!

Sending this to Archana from Mad Scientist's Kitchen, who is guest hosting 'Fast Food not Fat food', event started by Priya of Now Serving.

And to Srivalli's 'Kid's Delight' Party event on her blog.

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Blueberry pound cake

Guys....Let me first remind you of the event going on here which will end this Friday! Don't forget, there are 2 lovely fabulous books to be won by random picking.
So what are you waiting for ...send in your yummy berry dishes to Healing Foods - Berries event at my blog....only 4 more days to go!!!

Life does really come to a stand still...that is when i cannot access a  computer or a laptop as freely and whenever I want!! and let me tell you it really frustrating to me!!!....that is when I cannot blog or check out other blogs...hmph!!
Tho there are so many computers in the house, I was at a loss when all my pictures and my 'creativity' was on my computer which stopped charging!!
Well now I have it back, but looks like it still has the problem and will have to go back to the shop yet again!!
I am getting it work somehow today and decided that its the best time to write a blog post today and get my other posts ready for the next couple of days! Dunno when I will get to blog again!

So keeping in theme with the event here on my blog....I made this yummy Blueberry Pound cake, which turns out delicious at every try and so easy to make that you can never go wrong. The crust comes out crunchy and the soft melt away texture with the tangy and sweet berries is one of the best I have ever ate.

I followed the recipe from Allrecipes.com, but didn't want to make a very large one, so tweaked it a bit to make just a loaf. But to my surprise, the first loaf disappeared with in a few hours and I had to bake another one the next day!

So I promise you, as long as you stick to the recipe.....this recipe is a keeper!!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
2 eggs ( at room temp)

1/2 cup butter (at room temp)
1 cup all purpose flour or maida + 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp
1/2 tsp baking powder


1 to 2 tbsp apf to coat the blueberries
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract

A 9in loaf pan coated with butter
about 1 tbsp brown sugar to coat the loaf pan (white granulated sugar can be used instead)
Oven at 325 degrees F for about 40-50 min.


Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 Degrees.

Wash and lay out the berries to dry on a paper towel.

Butter the pan and sprinkle the brown sugar around the pan.

Beat the Butter and sugar at medium speed until totally incorporated using a stand mixer or hand mixer.

Mix the All purpose flour and baking powder together.

When the sugar and butter are mixed, add in the eggs , one by one and beat till they are mixed in.

Next add the APF slowly little by little, so that its totally incorporated and no lumps form. Add the vanilla extract. Beat for about 2-3 minutes.

Coat the blue berries with the APF.

Using a Spatula, fold in the most of the berries, leaving a few to the top the batter.

Put the batter into the pan coated with brown sugar.

Top it with the remaining blueberries.

Bake it for about 40-50 minutes. Its Done when the top is brown and a when a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold....but it was really good when it was warm :)

Enjoy!!!

Sending this to Srivalli's 'Kid's Delight Party' event on her blog.

Also to Rak's Kitchen who is guest hosting Celebrating Sweets - Fruits and Veggies, event by Nivedita of Nivedita's Kitchen.

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Announcing Event - "Healing Foods - Berries" and 'Pritya Books' Giveaway!!

Hi Guys...How is everyone holding up after Ganesh Chathurthi festivities?...How much did you eat and how much weight did you gain?...lol just kidding!!

Well Summer is almost coming to an end and I am sure everyone has taken full advantage of all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables that are available to you during this time. If not, then there is still some time left.....Go on and enjoy!!....and whip up some delightful recipes and send to them to my event here.....lol selfish me!!:)

I am happy to announce "Healing Food - Berries"  - an beautiful and interesting series started by Siri of Cooking with Siri. I am actually late...sorry...but you guys still have a month!

I am sure everyone already knows the important benifits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Getting them into our diet in any form is quite important.

Berries are rich in many vitamins and also anti-oxidants which has everyone is raving about, very important to our diet. They also keep our skin healthy and shining too.

They actually taste very good when added to any and many recipes in our day to day life...and are also yummy enough to eat with some yogurt topping or just plain.

My Kids cannot get enough of strawberries and blueberries! They just disappear in my fridge!

I found a very interesting website which shows the pictures and also explains how each berry can be used...check it out!

Berries 1, Berries 2

So what are you waiting for!!...Whip up some exciting dishes and send them by email!

Here are the rules and guidelines you goto follow :))

1. Whip up any dish with berries as one of the main ingredient. The berries used can be of any stage of ripe or raw. It can be a main course, appetizer, side dish or a dessert or a snack or anything you think of! 

2. Please link to this page and Siri's Healing Foods event announcement page.

3. Send in as many entries as you wish. I will also accept old entries as long as they are reposted and  linked back here and Siri's page.

4. Use of logo is appreciated

5. Ends on Sept 30th 2011

6. Send an email to Smitha(dot)Joga(@)gmail(dot)com with the following details:

Name:

Blog Name:

Recipe Name:

Recipe URL:

Picture (resized to 400 px)

7. Non-bloggers can also participate. Send in your recipe with a picture to the above email id.

Coming to the interesting part of this event....There is a Giveaway yaaaaayy!!!

Two randamly selected LUCKY WINNERS will win EITHER of the two beautiful and interesting cookbooks by Jigaysa and Pratibha of Pritya Books. I would surely love to own these books. Two really good Books - Check them out below!

Cooking At Home With Pedatha - Andhra recipes (Amazon Link)

Awarded Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the World 2006, this book features traditional recipes by documenting the culinary legacy of an illustrious Indian grandmother.

Sukham Ayu - Easy & Healthy Recipes (Amazon Link)

Winner of Best Health & Nutrition Book in the World 2009 – Second Place, this Indian cookbook is a guide to healthy eating & has been researched at Kerala Ayurveda & Yoga retreat near Pune.

You donot have to be in India or in USA to win these books....They will be shipped to anywhere in the world!
If you have any questions, drop me an email and it will be answered the same day or the next.

Have fun cooking with berries in the next few weeks....Enjoy!!!

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