Sweet Pear Fritters

I never tried any recipe with pears before as we usually eat them whole as a fruit. Finally I found a recipe here that suits our taste. I made some changes to the original recipe though.

Ingredients I used:

• 2 Pears of any kind (I used Chinese Pears)
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 Egg
• Oil to deep-fry

Preparation:

In a bowl, whisk together milk, egg, sugar and cinnamon. Add the flour to this and mix well into a smooth batter. Set aside.

Peel the skin of pears and core out the seeds. Then slice into rings, thickness doesn’t matter.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet. Then dip the pear rings in the batter prepared above just to coat and drop them carefully into the hot oil. Fry till they become golden brown in color. Then remove them and spread on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve them hot or cold. These sweet Pear Fritters tasted so delicious. These can be topped with Vanilla Ice Cream or drizzled with Maple Syrup, if desired.

The original recipe can be found here.

These delicious Sweet Pear Fritters goes to Raaga of The Singing Chef, who has been hosting a wonderful event, “AFAM March – Pears”, as a continuation of “A Fruit A Month”, an event started by Maheswari of Beyond the Usual.

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Wheat - Spinach Dosa

I used four fantastic ingredients for the balanced breakfast like whole-wheat flour, spinach, carrots and non-fat yogurt, which are very good in nutritional values. And for the sidekick, I used the mango juice again very rich in vitamins. Now, don’t you agree that this is a balanced breakfast? Let me jot down a little about the nutritional values of my ingredients.

• Whole Wheat Flour: Wheat on the whole is a great host of so many nutrients. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, manganese and magnesium. Moreover, it helps in maintaining a healthy body weight.
• Spinach: This is rich in Vitamins C and A and provides twice as much fiber as other greens. Spinach also helps in fighting heart disease and cancer.
• Carrots: Carrots are an excellent source of Vitamin A. They are also rich in antioxidant compounds that help in protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision.
• Yogurt: Yogurt is very rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin and Vitamin B12 and Iodine.
• Mango Juice: We all know that Mango is really a comfort food. They are not only delicious, but also rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Moreover, mangoes contain an enzyme that helps in good digestion. They are full of fiber. To say, mango is 'the king of fruit'.

O.K., O.K., enough with the health benefits! Let’s see the recipe.

Ingredients: 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 2 cups Spinach ½ cup Carrot, cut into tiny pieces Non-fat Yogurt (sour), beaten lightly 1 tsp red Chili Powder Salt as required Preparation: In a bowl mix all the above ingredients with enough yogurt or buttermilk into a batter.  The consistency of the batter should be neither too thick nor too thin, but medium. Heat a non-stick pan and drop a ladleful of the batter. Then spread it into a round shape and pour very little oil around it. Cover and leave it for some time. Then remove the lid and flip over the crepe so that the other side also will cook well.  Cover it again and leave it for some time more on a medium flame. When the pancake appears cooked, remove it from the pan and transfer into a serving plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter. Serve hot with any chutney (peanut chutney or ginger chutney) you may like along with the king I mean Mango Juice (or any juice you like).

This pancake or crepe with four fantastic ingredients and a royal sidekick goes to “Balanced Breakfast Meals”, the theme for WBB#20 being hosted by Mansi Desai of Fun and Food. WBB, short for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, was started by Nandita of Saffron Trail almost a year ago and now hosted by Mansi Desai.

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Idli Fritters

I had some leftover idlis, which I wanted to use differently. Usually I make upma out of it, but got bored of it. So I tried this variation. I made idli fritters for the evening snack and they were a hit at our home.

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Lights, Camera, Click…

I have been thinking so much about my contribution for the CLICK Metal event being hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi. I have made several attempts to click one, but got discouraged every time I saw the wonderful clicks from other blog friends. Since the deadline for the event is approaching, I made a commitment to myself like “OK, let me click something just to participate in the event”. And here was the final outcome!

Coffee Anyone?

I have an Italian Moka Express (coffee maker), which we had bought long back when we were in Hong Kong. We love it so much as it is so easy to operate and moreover it is stovetop coffee maker. It is made of Aluminum.

I also have so many steel glasses that I have bought in India. So I made use of all these metal items for my click.

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Mango Lassi for MBP Mixed Drinks

I made this mango lassi for the MBP - Mixed Drinks as a part of the Monthly Blog Patrol started by Coffee of The Spice Cafe and now being hosted by Sig of Live to Eat.

According to Sig, a mixed drink is a type of beverage in which two or more different ingredients are mixed together to create a different drink and it can be cocktails, mocktails, punches, smoothies anything your heart desires, only criteria is that the recipe must be from another food blog.

I have chosen “Mango Lassi” posted by Meera of Enjoy Indian Food as my entry to the above event.

I have made minor changes to the original recipe. As I don’t have the mango pulp as suggested in the original recipe, I replaced it with mango juice. I didn’t use the saffron threads too. I followed everything else mentioned in the original recipe of Meera. So here is the outcome. It tasted so delicious, refreshing and cool.

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Ginger Chutney

Ginger is so aromatic, pungent and spicy and adds a special flavor and zest to any dish. Ginger is proved to reduce all symptoms associated with motion sickness including dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

I use ginger in many forms like: as a spice ingredient in many recipes, in tea and chutney. Here is my version of Ginger Chutney.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups Ginger
• ¼ cup Curry Leaves
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Bengal Gram
• 1 tsp Black Gram
• ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 5 dry Red Chilies
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
• 2 tsp oil
• Salt as required

Preparation:

Peel the ginger’s skin, wash well and wipe it with a paper towel. Then cut it into small pieces.

In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and add the cumin seeds, Bengal and Black grams and fry well. Then add the curry leaves and the red chilies and fry well. Later transfer them to a plate and keep aside.

In the same pan, heat rest of the oil and add the ginger pieces and turmeric powder and fry well until the ginger turns golden brown in color. Then take it away from the flame and let it cool for some time.

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste along with the tamarind pulp, sugar and salt.

Serve with rice, dosas, idlis or just about any snack as a dip. Yummy!

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Capsicum Rice with Multi-Colored Peppers

I used to prepare capsicum rice only with green bell peppers. Later I added all the colors of bell peppers, as I wanted to add more color to this rice item. It really tasted yummy and looked so picturesque.

Here is the recipe to prepare the multi-colored capsicum rice.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Basmati Rice
• 1 small Onion
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Tomato
• 2 or 3 cloves of Garlic
• ¼ cup Green Peas
• 1 small Potato
• 2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
• ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 4 ½ cups Water
• Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the rice well and soak in water for 30 minutes. Cut all the peppers and the onion length wise into thin strips. Peel the skin of potato and cut into cubes. Finely chop the tomato and the garlic.

In a microwave-safe bowl, add the oil along with all the chopped veggies and cumin seeds and green peas and sprinkle a little water.

Then cover the bowl and run the microwave for 10 minutes or until the vegetables appear cooked and all the water is absorbed.

Transfer these vegetables to a microwave rice cooker (available in stores) and add the soaked rice after draining all the water. Finally add the black pepper powder and mix well.

Add the required water and then add the salt to taste. Cook the rice till done (for 20 minutes or depending on individual microwaves.

Serve hot with raitha or plain yogurt and some potato chips, if desired.

This multi-colored capsicum rice goes to Srivalli, who has been hosting the wonderful event, “MEC: Rice”.

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Fenugreek Buttermilk

In Telugu, we call it “Menthi Majjiga”. This kind of buttermilk with the fenugreeks seeds is very good for indigestion. When the raw fenugreek seeds were eaten with curd, it was proven to cure the upset stomach. According to the recent studies, these fenugreek seeds were found to help in balancing the blood sugar in diabetes too.

This is a frequent visitor to our home, as we all like it very much. It is so simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
• ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 or 3 dry Red Chilies, broken
• ¼ tsp Asafetida
• Some Curry Leaves
• 1 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix the buttermilk with turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside.

In a small pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin, curry leaves, asafetida, red chilies and finally the fenugreek seeds. Fry them till they are light brown in color.

Add the above seasoning to the prepared buttermilk mix well. Leave the buttermilk for some time until the essence of the fenugreek seeds settles in. The buttermilk can be put on the flame to warm it just a little. If it were boiled, the buttermilk would break apart and won’t taste good.

This Fenugreek Buttermilk can be eaten with rice.

This is my contribution to "Eat Healthy - During Pregnancy” event hosted by Sangeeth.

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Potato Fusion

Wondering about the name? I just named this gravy that way as this is a mixture of so many vegetables and spices along with lots of potatoes. There is one more specialty for this gravy! I used the pickle masala again in another form that was sent by Meera of Enjoy Indian Food as a part of Arasuvai Friendship Chain. The masala has given a unique flavor and taste to this gravy. Thanks again for introducing me a new kind of masala, Meera! I am going to keep this masala in stock always in my pantry.

The recipe goes like this:

Ingredients:

• 5 medium potatoes
• 1 cup cut Green Beans
• 1 cup cut Cauliflower florets
• 1 can of Black Eye Peas
• ½ medium Onion
• 2 medium Tomatoes
• 1 orange Bell Pepper
• 1 red Bell Pepper
• Some curry leaves
• 3 tsp Pickle Masala
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp Cardamom Seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 3 flakes of Garlic
• 2 tsp Rice Flour (to thicken the gravy)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp Oil
• Water as required

Preparation:

Peel the potatoes, wash and cut into small cubes. Chop the onion, tomatoes, garlic and the bell peppers into medium pieces. In a pressure pan (a deep bottomed pan also can be used) add all the ingredients except rice flour and pressure cook for 3 whistles. If the normal non-stick pan is being used, follow the same method above and cover the pan with a lid and cook on a medium flame. Just add enough water to cook, not more or not less.

To make the gravy little thicker: Mix the rice flour with very little water and pour it into the cooked gravy or curry and mix well.

Let the gravy stand for 5 minutes and then serve hot with Chapathis or even rice.

Hint: If the curry is too spicy add some plain yogurt to the gravy just before eating.

As this gravy or curry has lots of potatoes, this goes to Sia of Monsoon Spice who is hosting a wonderful event of “Ode to Potato”.

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Arasuvai Friendship Chain - Chick Pea Cutlets

The Arusuvai friendship chain was the brainchild of Latha and Lakshmi of the Yum blog. This chain has become so popular in India. Now Latha of Masala Magic started the chain in USA. It’s really a pleasure to be a part of this friendship chain where we can send some surprise ingredient to two or more of our blogger friends and they can use that ingredient in their recipes and again pass it on to some other blogger friends. It’s fun doing this. Thanks for inventing such a wonderful concept.

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Radish Chutney

Radishes are rich in Vitamins C and A. They are also contain cancer-protective properties and help to maintain a healthy gallbladder and liver, and improve in digestion.

Radishes can be used in many ways. They can be used in the soups, curry etc. Even the leaves possess lot of health benefits and can be used to make yummy dal, like I did “Radish Leaves Dal”. I wanted to try a different way to cook the radish roots or bulbs. As we like the pickles so much, I thought of making Radish Chutney. So I did it.

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Exquisite Eggplant!!

Eggplant is really exquisite. It has a unique taste and spongy texture and praised by everyone. Moreover, they are available throughout the year. It is available in many colors like lavender, jade green, orange, yellow-white and purple. It’s even available in different sizes and shapes. It has different names in different places like aubergine, eggplant, brinjal etc.

Eggplants are rich in Vitamin C and Potassium. They are also proved to contain some anti-bacterial and cancer fighting anti-oxidants. Apart from that, they are low in calories.

Picture Courtesy: The Cook’s Thesaurus

Now coming to the recipe, I have made a sambar like (not a sambar actually) curry with sambar qualities (I call it CURRY SOUP) with eggplant. It is so simple to prepare and tastes great. Let’s dig into the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 Japanese Eggplants or 1 American Eggplant (I used Japanese Eggplants)
• 1 medium Onion
• 2 small Tomatoes
• 5 or 6 small Green Chilies (Yes, it is spicy)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Tamarind paste or pulp
• 1 tsp Rice Flour
• Some Coriander Leaves
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt as required

For Seasoning:

• 1 tsp Oil
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp Asafetida

Preparation:

Wash and cut the eggplant, onion, tomatoes and the green chilies into medium pieces.

In a deep pan or bowl, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin seeds and the asafetida and fry for a while.

Add the chopped vegetables and the coriander leaves to the pan with a little water enough to cook them.

When they become somewhat cooked add turmeric, tamarind pulp, sugar and salt and mix well and add more water as required to cook them. Cover with a lid and leave for some time.

Meanwhile, mix the rice flour with a little water and keep aside.

When the vegetables appear cooked add the rice flour mixture prepared above to the soup and mix well so that the consistency of the curry soup would be thick like gravy. Leave the curry soup for some time on medium flame. Later transfer the curry soup into a serving bowl.

This Curry Soup can be eaten with rice and ghee or Chapathis.

Variations: The same kind of Curry Soup can be prepared using the bottle gourd (Sorakaya or Dudhi) also.

This is my entry to Pooja’s “Vegetable Of the Week – Brinjal” event.

Here is one more variety of eggplant published by me long back: Gutti Vankaya Koora (Stuffed Eggplant Curry)

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Water…Water Everywhere!!

Water…water everywhere
We’re gonna get wet

Ha ha ha! Not really! I just remembered that song, as I wanted to post some pictures of water (I mean lakes, waterfalls, ocean etc.,)

To start with, here is the picture taken at an Indian village (Bitragunta, AP). In the picture, a small pond can be seen behind the trees.

Then next picture is taken at the Folsom Lake, CA




The above picture is taken at Lagoon Valley Park, CA and the next one is the Clear Lake, CA.


Last but not the least, the pictures below were taken at the Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

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Asparagus Chutney

Asparagus is rich in Vitamin C and E, dietary fiber and potassium. It is also fat free and cholesterol free. It is a natural diuretic and laxative with a beneficial effect on the kidneys, liver and bowel.

Recently when I visited our local grocery store, I came across fresh, appealing asparagus. I immediately grabbed them, but I didn’t know any recipes with them. So I gave it a long thought and finally came up with this chutney. It tasted really great.

Ingredients:

• 8 Asparagus Spears
• ½ Green Bell Pepper
• ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Black Gram Dal (Urad Dal) (Minappappu)
• 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
• ¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
• 6 small Green Chilies (or According to individual taste)
• ½ tsp Tamarind Paste
• ¼ tsp Asafetida
• 1 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and cut the asparagus, green bell pepper and green chilies into medium pieces.

In a pan heat half of the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin seeds and fry for a while. Then add the urad dal, the coriander seeds and the fenugreek seeds and fry till they turn brown. Remove them from the pan and transfer to a plate.

Then add the remaining oil along with the asparagus, green bell pepper and fry for some time. Later add the green chilies and the asafetida and fry for some more time. When the vegetables look little cooked, stop the flame and transfer into a different plate. Let all the contents cool for some time.

Then grind all the contents together into a fine paste by adding the tamarind paste, salt and water as required. Don’t add too much water, as the chutney would look good when thick.

This chutney can be eaten alone with hot rice and ghee or as a dip in idlis or dosas. It even tastes great with chapathis if mixed with yogurt just before eating.

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Itsy Bitsy Potato

I know that potato is the most favorite vegetable for many people, including me! This simple and easy potato curry is a hit in our family.

I am sending this to Sia of Monsoon Spice as my entry to the “Ode to Potato” event, being hosted by her.

Ingredients:

• 4 small red Potatoes
• 1 small Onion
• 1 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder
• ½ tsp Red Chili Powder (or according to individual taste)
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt as required

For Seasoning:

• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• Some Curry leaves
• ½ tsp Black Gram
• ½ tsp Bengal Gram
• 1 tbsp Oil

Preparation:

Peel the potatoes and cut into very fine pieces along with the onion as in the picture.

In a non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When the began to splutter, add the cumin, Bengal and Black grams and fry until the dals turn golden brown. Then add the curry leaves and fry for a while.

Later add the chopped potato and onion pieces and fry well.

Then add the turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and set the flame to medium. Let it cook for some time. Later remove the lid and mix the curry and check if it is done. If it is not cooked, leave the curry for some more time on the flame, but don’t cover.

If you want the curry to be soft, then remove the pan after you feel like the curry was done. If you want crunchier curry, leave it on the flame for some more time.

Serve this yummy Potato curry with hot rice and ghee (optional). Goes well with chapathis too.

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I am So Elated!!

I am so jubilated! No words to explain my happiness. My dear friend Meera of Enjoy Indian Food has honored me with this lovely award of excellence. Thank you for having me in your mind while passing this award, Meera!

I want to thank you all of my blog friends who have been encouraging me constantly with your valuable comments. This award should go to all of you. It’s so hard to pick some among you to pass this award. Any way, I would like to pass this to some of the very talented and friendly bloggers. Here goes the list.

Divya Vikram
Jayasree
Laavanya
Mythreyee
Vanamala

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