I had never tried a microwave cake before. Recently  my dear friend Deepali Paul's son Ishaan Paul gave me this recipe. Tried it and is such an easy recipe that have already made it 3 times in the last 3 months. Its an extremely gooey cake (almost a brownie) and tastes really good with vanilla icecream.



Method

1. Microwave 120 gms of butter and 100 gms of dark chocolate for 1 min in a bowl and let it cool.
2. Stir in 250 gm powdered sugar in the bowl and mix well
3. Add 2 eggs one by one beating it all the time with a spoon. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla essence
4. Stir in 80 gms of maida (flour) . Add 1/4 tsp baking soda and fold them both in the chocolate mixture.
5. Stir in 50 gms of chopped walnuts. Leave some for garnishing on top.
6. Line a baking glass tray with butter and spread the mixture. Garnish with walnuts
7. Microwave for 4 mins and 30 secs. Take the cake out and let it stand for 2 mins before you cut it into pieces

Wanted to cook a good vegetarian side dish for a party the other day. Wanted to try out some recipe with bell peppers and hence decided to cook this one. The spice mix in the recipe gives it a unique rustic taste. 

Method

1. Heat a pan. Dry roast 9- 10 pepper corns, 5-6 dried red chillies, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds  till the kitchen is full of the aroma from the spice mix. Add a pinch of  fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi) and saute for a few secs and then let the spice mix cool down. Grind it to a coarse powder. Keep 2 tsp aside for garnishing.
2. Heat 2 tsp of butter in a pan. When the butter melts, add half of the above powder mix and fry well.
3. Add 1 onion cut into cubes into the pan. Fry it for some time and add 1/2 a red bell pepper and 1/2 yellow pepper. Fry well. 
4. Blanch 2 tomatoes and then puree them and add it to the pan and cook till the raw smell of tomatoes goes off.
5. Then add 1 tsp chilly powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, salt to taste, pinch of sugar, and mix well.
6. Add 250 gms of paneer cubes and mix well. Sprinkle 2 tsp kadai masala and add pinch of crushed kasuri methi and mix well.
7. You can add cream and coriander leaves too but I skipped it.
8.  Serve with roti

Felt like cooking a simple lunch today. Did not want to spend too much time in the kitchen and yet wanted to eat something tasty. 
Here is my quick and easy recipe which doesnt take more than 15 mins of cooking time.



Method

1. Clean and pat dry 2 chicken breasts. Cut them into 2 layers horizontally if too thick
2. Take 1 tbsp of olive oil, add some pepper powder and 1 tsp lemon juice. Adjust the salt and marinate the chicken for 30 mins.
3. Take a pan and add 2 tbsp of butter into it. When the butter starts frothing, add 2 pods of crushed garlic. Add the chicken breasts to the hot pan and let it cook on each side for 2 mins on a medium flame. 
4. Add some water (you can add chicken stock for added taste) to the pan to get a good buttery sauce.
5. Add freshly chopped basil to the pan and cook the chicken for another 2 mins each side.
6. Serve chicken with the sauce poured over the top.

A simple baked starter for parties. Easy to cook and full of flavor.



Method
1. Clean and par boil baby potatoes in salty water till they are about 50% cooked. Remember to take care that the potato skin should not shrivel. Strain the potatoes and keep aside to cool
2. Make a mixture of 2 tbsp olive oil with 5-6 pods of crushed garlic, rosemary, pepper, sea salt and chilli flakes.
3. Preheat an oven for 15 mins at 160 degress Celsius. 
4. Add the potatoes to a baking dish. Add the marinade on top and then bake it in the oven for around 30 mins. Midway through stir/rotate the potatoes so that they are evenly cooked. Check with a fork at the around 20 mins and adjust the timings of the oven accordingly.
5. Remove the potatoes from the oven when golden in colour and tender


A very good step by step approach is given here 

Wanted to try out different fruit cake recipes and decided to try this orange and chocolate cake recipe that I saw on Nigella's website. I have modified it heavily though the inspiration is from this page.

Here is my recipe with liberal chocolate gratings which is not part of the original recipe. The moistness in this cake makes it yumm!

Method

1. Preheat the over at 160 degrees Celsius for 20 mins.
2. In the meantime, add  250 gms flour, 200 gms powdered sugar,  100 gms butter, 2 eggs,  and 50 gms of Hung curd and mix well. 
3. Add around 2 tsp of powdered orange rind, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ,100 ml orange juice (I used canned juice but fresh orange juice will taste better), 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda into the mixture  bowl and mix well.
4. Mix till you get a a smooth, thick batter. In case the batter is very thick you can add some milk to get it to the right consistency.
5. Prepare a baking tin with butter and sprinkle flour on it.
6. Add the cake mixture in one thin 1 cm layer in the baking tin. Grate some chocolate on the batter and then spread the next layer of orange batter.Grate some more chocolate on the cake and put it into the oven.
7. Bake it in the oven for 40 mins, but start checking at 30 mins.You can check the centre of the cake with a tester. The cake is ready when the tester comes out clean.
8. Remove the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin
9. As the cake is baking, boil 100 ml of orange juice with 2 tsps sugar till the juice thickens. Keeps aside to cool. 
10. When the cake is out, prick it with a toothpick in multiple places and then pour the orange juice. The juice will soak up immediately to give you the moist orange cake.The orange juice mixture gives the cake a good glazing.

Your delicious orange cake is ready to be devoured!

Have always been a fan of the Maharashtrian misal. Today we tried cooking the matki misal. The sweet and sour taste of this dish is balanced well by the chilli to give a healthy lentil soup. Ideal for breakfast or evening snacks. This can also be eaten with a pav to make it more filling.




Method
1. For matki sprouts,  Soak 100 gms of matki(moth beans) in water overnight. Drain the water the next morning and tie this in a fine muslin cloth so that it starts sprouting,
2. Soak some 2 small marble sized  tamarind in water and then squeeze it well to make 2 tbsp of tamarind water and keep aside
3. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil . When hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter add handful of curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. To this add 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder and a pinch of haldi and saute for a few minutes on a low flame.
4.  Add the matki sprouts and water to get a gravy with very thin consistency, Add 1 small marble sized ball of jaggery (or according to taste) and the tamarind water. Add salt according to taste. Bring it to a good boil and then turn of the flame.
5. Serve with farsan and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Tried this awesome Chicken with dried red chillies in Singapore and decided to recreate it.This is my own version which is a mish mash of a few recipes I found online.



Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of chicken with bones with 2 tsp soya sauce, 3 garlic cloves peeled and grated, 1 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp pepper powder 1 tsp honey and salt and keep aside for an hour.
2. Take 2 tsbp olive oil in a pan and heat it. When hot, deep fry 10 dried red chillies and keep aside. In the same oil deep fry 1 inch ginger which is cut into long thin slices and keep aside. Fry handful of peanuts and keep aside
3. In the same oil, sear the chicken in batches along with the marinade till they are almost cooked. 
4. Make a mixture of 1 tsp soya sauce, 1/2 tsp red chilli sauce, pepper, 1/2 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp vinegar or according to your taste, add 1 tsp of cornflour and keep it aside. 
5. Add back the chillies, ginger and peanuts and the above marinade. Mix well and stir fry for 5 more minutes. Garnish with spring onions cut into long thin slices.

Never get tired of paneer dishes. Was looking for something new to cook today when I came across this dish on VahreVah.com...Simple to cook and goes well with rotis.

Method

1. Take 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. When hot, add 2 finely chopped onions and saute it till light pink. To this add 2 finely chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp chilly powder, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder. Mix it well put the lid on and let it cook for 15 mins in a slow flame (2-3 whistles) till cooked well. This paste can be used as a base for your gravies. You can store this in the fridge for future use.
2.  Heat 2 tsp butter in a pan. When hot, add 1 tsp of nicely crushed kasoori methi. Saute it for a minute. Add 1 cup bell peppers (red , yellow) and 1/4 kg paneer cut into cubes.
3. Add onion florets to this mixture and saute well in the butter till the capsicum is cooked. 
4. Now add 2 tbsp of the above onion gravy and saute well. Add some water and put the lid on and cook till the gravy reaches a boil.
5. Add 1 tbsp cream to the gravy and mix well.Cook for a few mins and then turn off the flame.
6. Garnish with coriander and Serve with hot rotis.

Though Yash and me are both GSBs, I am amazed at how recipes and the food we eat differ so significantly even though the distance between our hometowns must be less than 200 kms. 
Puli Koddel is one such dish which we had never cooked at our home but is a delicacy for Yash's family. So I decided to learn this one and cooked it the other day. Turned out pretty much like it is cooked at Yash's home in Dakshin Kanara.

Method

1. Roast 3 tsp coriander seeds, 3 tsp till seeds,  2 tsps black gram dal, 2 tsps bengal gram dal, pinch of turmeric, pinch of asafoetida (hing), 1 tsp raw rice, 3 tbsp grated cocounut, 8 dried  red chillies with a little oil till brown.
2. Grind all ingredients with 1 marble sized tamarind to a coarse paste
3. In a vessel, boil deskinned ash gourd(I used about 1/4 of an ash gourd)  cut into 1 inch pieces with sufficient water. Add 1 lime sized jaggery while boiling.
4. Now when the ash gourd is sufficiently soft, add the ground masala. Adjust the salt and bring it to boil.
5. Remove from flame.
6. In a small pan, give tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add it to the koddel and cover for the flavors to assimilate in the curry.
7. Eat with hot rice.

Just realised how life becomes easy thanks to technology...earlier I used to click photos with my camera and then download them, enhance them on my laptop and then write posts. the whole process was such a time taker that posting  became a cumbersome affair. Now with my new Nexus 5, I can click pics, enhance them and then blog from the comfort of my phone or also laptop...much easier..
Yes the quality of the pics may go down a bit but then it you need to give some to get some...





Method

1. Take 3 cups of maida and 1 tbsp of rawa. To this add 2 tbsp grated coconut, salt, 2 very finely chopped green chillies and mix 2 cups of water.
2. Take a tempering pan, add coconut oil and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and 1 sprig of curry leaves. Add this to the maida batter.
3. Adjust the water to get a watery consistency
4. Place tawa on flame. Smear with oil and spread the batter thinly  when the pan is hot. Once a side looks cooked (you can figure this out when the edges turn brownish), flip the dosa and cook the other side.
The rawa gives an added crispiness to this dosa. The seasoning is so good that you dont need chutney with this dosa. 

It is difficult to get fresh seafish here in Hyderabad. However got some really good pomfret the other day at Matsya darshini which is on Road no 10, Bajara Hills. Cooked a variation of the normal Konkani fish fry with slightly added south indian flavors from Kadipatta and garlic. 
We liked this variation over my normal fish fry...

Method

1. Crush handful of curry leaves and 3-4 garlic pods using a mortar and pestle. Add pinch of turmeric, 1/2 tsp of jeera powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder,1 tsp tamarind extract and salt according to taste. I applied this paste to approximately 1 kg(before cleaning) of fish.
2. Marinate thinly cut slices of black pomfret with this paste.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Mix 2 tbsp of Rawa (sooji) and 1 -2 tsp rice powder in a  plate. Roll the fish pieces in this powder and then deep fry till crispy brown.
4. Serve hot!

Decided to cook some boneless chicken for dinner...thought that I should cook something low fat. Decided to use Dahi for the gravy and came up with this dish. 
Pretty simple dish to cook - The flavors of the dahi, capsicum and kasoori methi go very well in making this a very tasty dish.



Method

1. Take 2 cups of dahi. Mix 2 green chillies slit finely. Add 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1-2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, pinch of haldi, a pinch of kasoori methi and salt.
2. Mix 500 gms of boneless chicken in this marinade and set aside for atleast 30 mins.
3. In a hot pan, add 2 tsp oil. When its hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add 2 finely chopped onions. Fry well. Add 2-3 finely chopped garlic cloves.
4. When onion is translucent, add 2 finely chopped tomatoes. 
5. When the tomatoes are soft, add the above marinade with the chicken. 
6. Cover and cook on a slow flame till the chicken is cooked. When chicken is 80% done, add finely cubed capsicum. Cover and cook for a few more minutes.
7. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy according to your taste. You can open the lid and let all gravy cook till its dry if you want less gravy. I added a pinch of sugar to balance the tanginess.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and kasoori methi and serve with chapatis or rice.

As usual I love my one pot dishes for Sunday cooking - something that is easy to cook and tastes good too. Wanted to try something different today and came up with this recipe. Its my own creation and the combination of spices and vegetables my own too. Needless to say, yummy it was ;) - total comfort food for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Method

1. Soak 1 cup of chickpeas overnight and pressure cook it in the morning for 3-4 whistles.
2. Wash and soak 1 cup of Basmati rice in water for at least 10 minutes.
3. Make a powder of 1 tsp aniseed, 3-4 cloves, 2 inch of cinammon and keep aside.
4. Heat 2 tsp butter and 2 tsp ghee in a pressure cooker. When hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds. When the start crackling add the aniseed powder mentioned above. Add grated 1 inch ginger and 3-4 pods of garlic. Add 2 finely sliced green chilies and mix well
5. While sauteing, add 2 finely sliced onions and continue sauteing. Add some salt and saute till pink in color
6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup of blanched spinach and cook for 2 mins. 
7. Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder and mix well.
8. Let it cook for 2 mins, till the raw taste of the masalas is gone.
9. Add rice and chick peas and add 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. After 2 whistles, let the pressure cooker cool before you open it.
10. Sprinkle some  chaat masala while serving.
11. I served this with Cucumber Mint raita, the recipe for which follows.

Cucumber Mint Raita

1. Grate 1 cucumber; place it into a sieve and drain out the excess water
2. Add 1 handful of finely chopped mint. Add 1 finely chopped spring onion(both whites and greens). Add 2 small green chillies finely chopped. 
3. Now add 1 cup curd, salt, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp chat powder and 1/2 tsp rock salt. Add normal salt while adjust for salt and mix well.
4. Refrigerate before serving

Recently we grew our own mushrooms thanks to Yash's uncle (Here is his website http://swethamushroom.wordpress.com/) who gave us a mushroom kit. All we had to do was sprinkle some water every day to the pre- prepared kit that he had made and in 3 weeks we had these awesome mushrooms. This variety is called Milky mushrooms and tastes much better than the normal button mushrooms which I was used to buying. 




 

  






































Here is the recipe of the sauteed mushrooms which we cooked with these mushrooms.


Method

1. Shred the mushroom into thin strips. This gives a much better texture to the dish than cutting it with a knife...almost like the texture of chicken
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a pan. 
3. Add finely minced garlic (7-8 flakes) and fry it. When soft, add the mushrooms and stir
4. You need to cook this on high flame as the mushroom tends to release water
5. Saute for 5- 10 mins till the mushroom is well coated and looks cooked. Add salt according to taste.
6. You can garnish it with red chilli flakes and some dried herbs like rosemary. You can dribble some extra virgin olive oil too, to add to the flavor.

Have been experimenting with different salad dressings recently. Here is one I made today which was extremely tasty. The flavors linger on far after you have devoured the salad :)





Method

1. Cut baby tomatoes, onion, cucumber into thin slices. Shred iceburg lettuce leaves  and mix them all well. Add bean sprouts - all proportions according to your tastes and likes.
2. Now make a dressing in another bowl. For this take a mortar and pestle and grind 4 garlic pods and 2 chillies. Add this to the bowl. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsp honey, juice of 1 lemon and salt. 
3. Mix them well and pour them on the salad. Serve with coarsely ground peanuts
4. I added some  some pepper and ground chilli flakes for additional taste.

I was not a fan of hummus until we went to UK. I ate some store bought ready to eat hummus for breakfast and started developing a taste for it. Cook it often  these days as a starter or even as an evening snack. Like to eat it for breakfast too.

Here is my recipe ...

Method

1. Soak 1 cup of chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook in 3 cups of water for 3 whistles. Cool it and keep aside
2. Take 2 tsp til (sesame seeds) in a grinder. Add 4 pods of garlic, 2 tsp curd and the boiled chickpeas and grind to a coarse paste.
3. Remove from the grinder and adjust the salt, Add juice of half a lemon, 2-3 tsp olive oil 
4. Sprinkle ground red chilli flakes and serve with Pita bread.

I also like to eat it as a spread with whole wheat bread for breakfast. This also tastes as a good dip to eat with freshly cut cucumbers and carrots.

I love bhindi !! Though I have cooked this recipe many times, I realised I had never put it on the blog. So her goes.


Method

1. Wash and dry 1/2 kg okra and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Trim the ends and cut them into 1 inch pieces and keep aside.
2. Wash and pat dry 2 medium sized potatoes, peel off the skin and again cut into cube sized pieces.
3.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the okras and the potatoes till almost cooked. Add some salt while sauteing.Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. Remove the okra and the potatoes and keep aside
4. In the same pan, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida. Add some grated ginger and fry for a minute. Now add 2 onions chopped into thin longish slices and sweat them till they are nice and pink. Add a pinch of salt while doing this. Now add 1 tsp till seeds. Add 1 tsp chilli powder, pinch of haldi, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp amchur powder and 1 tsp garam masala and mix well and fry for 2 mins. Now add the okra and potatoes. I also threw in 1 onion chopped into  4 pieces with the florets separated. Now mix well, cover partially and allow to cook for 10 mins on a slow flame.
5. Adjust the salt and serve with chapatis. 

Try this healthy pulao recipe which is yummy too - dont get mislead by the spinach in the recipe :)


Method
Wash 2 cups of rice and soak it in water for about 20 mins. After 20 mins, drain the water and keep aside
Blanch 2 cups of spinach (palak) in hot water, drain and keep aside. Mix it in a mixer to a fine paste with 5 pods of garlic, 1 inch ginger and 2 green chillies and keep aside
In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp ghee. When it is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp shahi jeera seeds. Add  2 finely chopped onions and saute well till it is brown. Add pinch of salt while sauteing the onions. Once the onions are brown, add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and saute.
Add the spinach puree and 1/2 cup of frozen peas, 2 carrots chopped into 1 inch cubes. 
To this mixture add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala and saute well. To this add the rice and mix well. Now add 5 cups of water. Adjust the salt and then close the lid on the pressure cooker. After 2 whistles, cook for 5 mins on a slow flame and then switch off the gas. Keep the cooker closed for 10-15 mins before opening the lid to allow the rice to firm up.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with raita.

I like Onions with my chicken and hence decided to cook this Murgh Do Pyazza today. This dish is so called because you add a lot of onions to the gravy. The gravy is very rich and goes perfectly with both Roti and Rice.



Method

1. Clean and cut 500 gms chicken into pieces and marinate with freshly grated 1 inch ginger and 3-4 pods of garlic, some salt and 1 tsp red chilli powder.
2. Finely chop 1 large onion and cut another large onion into cubes. Separate the onion layers and keep aside. Blend 2 tomatoes in the mixer to a fine puree.
3. Heat 1 tbsp ghee or oil in a pan. I added ghee for extra taste. Add 1 tsp ginger paste and 1 tsp garlic paste (I again grated ginger and garlic into a pan directly.
4. When it turns brown, add finely chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt and cook till it turns brown. Now add tomato puree and saute for 5 mins.
5. Meanwhile, take 2 tbsp yoghurt in a bowl, add pinch of turmeric and 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder and mix well. Add this to the pan and saute well till the smell of raw spices is gone.
6. Add the chicken pieces,and the cubed onions and mix well, add water according to the consistency you like. I added 1 cup of water and mix well.
7. Cover and cook for 20 mins on a small flame.

The chicken do pyaza is ready to eat. You can garnish it with kasoori methi leaves and coriander leaves before serving.

This is my first chocolate cake. Wanted to cook it the other day - as usual searched online for Nigella Lawson recipe and this is what I found. Was a pretty easy cake to make. The best part was that this turned out to be chocolatey, moist and almost like a mud cake.
Here is my version of the recipe with some variations.



Method

1. Preheat the over at 160 degrees Celsius for 15 mins.
2. In the meantime, add  200 gms flour, 200 gms powdered sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, 50 gms cocoa powder, 200 gms butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract , and 100 gms of Hung curd (Nigella uses Sour cream) into a  bowl and mix well. I generally mix with a wooden spatula but you could use a cake mixer.
3. Mix till you get a a smooth, thick batter. In case the batter is very thick you can add some milk to get it to the right consistency.
4. Prepare a baking tin with butter and sprinkle flour on it.
5. Add the cake mixture - spread it out evenly and out it into the oven
6. Bake it in the oven for 40 mins, but start checking at 30 mins.You can check the centre of the cake with a tester. The cake is ready when the tester comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin
8. To make the frosting, melt 100 gms of dark chocolate and 100 gms butter in a bowl in a microwave for 2 mins. I grated the slab of chocolate so that it melts easily. Add 100 gms powdered sugar and keep mixed well so that there are no lumps. You can add 1 tsp cornflour so that the mixture thickens. Add some 2 tsp hung curd and mix well. Make it so that the consistency is right to coat the cake. Dont bother if it is runny as it will harden over the cake eventually.
9. Spread it evenly over the cake. Let it cool.
10. Sprinkle some grated chocolate on top and the cake is ready to eat.