Baingan Ka Bharta

Baingan ka bharta..  a very popular punjabi cuisine.. As the main source of my cooking is my mommy, I've never heard about the recipe for baingan ka bharta from her.. She used to say "I'll prepare this one day,"  but she has not tried this so far.. And I was dying to prepare this authentic punjabi cuisine. One day, I was browsing through food blogs and came across Deesha's Vegetable Platter. She had a simple recipe for Baingan ka bharta.. Voila! there it is "Bookmarked".. And this recipe was served the same night for dinner...

The recipe is adapted from Vegetable Platter.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
2 red onions - finely chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 chopped green chilli
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp mustard oil
A handful of chopped cilantro

Method:

Make tiny slits around the eggplant, coat with mustard oil & roast the eggplant on the stove top, until the eggplant gets charred on all the sides.

Once the eggplant is roasted, allow it to cool. Later, peel off the skin & mash the eggplant with the back of a spatula. Add salt & lime juice, mix well & set it aside.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, Add cumin seeds, once the seeds pop & splutter, add green chillies & ginger garlic paste & saute

Add chopped onions & saute until they turn transparent. Add chopped tomatoes, add red chilli powder & saute till the tomatoes are cooked & oil separates

To this, add mashed eggplant. Mix well & cook for a while on low heat.

Add salt as per taste. Add garam masala & kitchen king masala, mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with roti or rice.

This recipe goes to Priya's Bookmarked Recipes Every Tuesday event.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Fried Noodles with Purple Cabbage and Tofu Manchurian

Hello my dear fellow bloggers... Its been long time... I'm so sorry guys I was busy with my studies.. I missed u all so much.. But, now I'm back................ Yippie!! I will try to post regularly..
So I'm going to resume blogging with one of my new experiments, "Fried Noodles with Purple Cabbage and Tofu Manchurian."

Whenever it comes to noodles, it means I'm running out of time and I'm looking for easy, quick to make and delicious as well.. And "Fried Noodles" top the list.. Also, I've never tried with manchurian because I had an impression that it's time-taking and requires lots of patience, and I was ignoring it for a long time...

But, now I'm into it.. Noodles in any shape or form are my weakness. Stir-fried noodles are one of my favorite dishes because it's delicious and a cinch to make. Just throw some ingredients together, and it comes out so good every time that I can almost eat the whole pan myself.

This dish can be made with wheat or egg noodles. I have used egg noodles because they have a chewier texture and have a pleasant yellow color. This dish is very flexible, you can add whatever protein and veggies you wish to include. I would love to add carrots, cabbage, snow pea pods, celery, red bell pepper, sprouts, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms.. 

Ingredients (Fried Noodles with Purple Cabbage):

A package of egg noodles / wheat noodles
1 cup of purple cabbage, finely sliced
 Large handful fresh cilantro
½ onion, finely sliced
3 - 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 slices ginger
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons rice vinegar 
1 Tbsp soy sauce
4 green onions, chopped

Method:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions. Stop cooking the noodles when there's still a good chew. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil over high heat in a wok or skillet. First add the ginger slices and then garlic slices, stir fry until raw smell is gone. Now add onions and saute until onion turns translucent. Add purple cabbage, season with a little salt, and stir fry until the cabbage is cooked but still crisp/crunchy and definitely not mushy. Remove to a bowl and set aside.  

In another skillet heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and add your noodles. Toss them around, get them well coated in the oil, and break up any clumps. If it's too sticky and clumpy, go ahead and add more oil.

Pan fry the noodles, stirring and flipping them frequently until some of the noodles get a nice a crunchy golden brown exterior.  Season with soya sauce, toss the noodles freuqntly and make sure everything is evenly coated with the sauce. Taste and see if it needs additional seasoning. 

Add fried cabbage into the noodles and toss well until everything is mixed well.

Ingredients (Tofu Manchurian): 

1 package low-fat Tofu, cubed

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn flour/corn starch
salt to taste
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato paste or ketchup
1.5 inch fresh young ginger, peeled and very finely grated
1 tablespoon garlic paste
water to make a thick batter
green onions, chopped, to garnish
oil to deep fry + 3 tbsp oil for making sauce
 
Method:
In a bowl, combine all purpose, cornflour, salt, ginger, garlic, red chilli powder, soy sauce and  just enough water to make a thick paste. Add tofu cubes into the paste and mix well so that tofu is evenly coated with the paste. Keep it aside for an hour.

Heat oil in a wok to deep fry tofu. Add tofu pieces into the oil and deep fry them. Remove and drain them on tissue paper and keep aside.

In a bowl, combine the tomato paste/ketchup, soy sauce, and salt with about 1 cup of water and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wide base pan. Add the minced garlic and the grated ginger and stir fry on high heat for about 4 minutes. Add the chopped onions and green chili peppers.

Saute everything together for about 3-5 minutes till the onions turn clear. Add the paste/ketchup, soy sauce that you combined in a bowl earlier. Simmer for about 3 minutes. 

Mix the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water add it to the pan and simmer for another minute.

Now add the fried tofu in the sauce and cook them at high heat while tossing them frequently till all the sauce coats all the tofu pieces. Switch off the heat a minute after you start hearing a sizzle.


Garnish with the chopped green onions.  Serve immediately with fried noodles.. Utterly delicious!!!

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Palak Pakora / Spinach Fritters

Ah!! should I say "I'm back from a long break.." Well I say this everytime I blog with a hope that it's true... As you guys know I'm doing my Masters and for past two months I was held up with projects, reports and exams.. I believe I'm going to blog regularly... Yippie!!
I'm having an ongoing event in my blog.. Lemme tell you, I've received lots n lots of delicious and healthy entries.. I thank everyone for this active participation.. Love u all..

So, here is my entry for this event.. Palak pakora, one of our favourite tea-time snacks!!!

Ingredients:

Spinach (Palak), finely chopped - 2 cups
Onion, finely chopped - 1
Green Chillies, finely chopped - 2
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Gram flour (Besan) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric Pwd - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Pwd - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as per taste

For deep frying
Oil

Method:

Mix all the ingredients. If required add few tsps of water. Avoid adding excess water as the batter should be thick.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Take small amount of batter and drop them in oil in the form of small fritters.

Deep fry the pakoras until golden brown and crispy. Drain out excess oil and place them on a tissue paper.

Serve hot with ketchup or green chutney.

Enjoy!!

Sending this as an entry to  Veggie / Fruit A Month - Spinach event hosted by me and started by Priya.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Announcement : Guest Hosting Veggie/Fruit A Month - Spinach

Hello Everyone,

After a long break, I'm back with a wonderful event - a brainchild of my dear friend Priya Mitharwal. I would like to thank her for giving me this oppurtunity to host this event for the Month of May. She is such an enthusiastic blogger with all those creative thoughts..

When I saw this event hosted by couple of fellow bloggers, I felt that I should be a part of this monthly event; and then I jumped on to Priya's event page and found she has an available slot for May.. Yippie!! there I go.. Well I didn't get much time to think about the veggie for this event, but I remember Spinach - "My Mom's Favourite" and now Spinach has to be the star ingredient when I'm going to host this event. :D

Spinach is among the world's healthiest vegetables. The bright and vibrant color of the spinach leaves is not only pleasing to our eyes but very nourishing as well. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection. This leafy vegetable is a shield against inflammatory problems, oxidative stress-related problems, cardiovascular problems, bone problems, and cancers at the same time.

So guys, start working with our star ingredient for the month - "Spinach" and share your creative ideas with rest of the blogsphere..

Few Simple Rules:

1) Make recipes with Spinach as the main ingredient.It can be used in Salads, Soups, Stews, Curries, Gravies etc.

2) Recipe has to be vegetarian. (Eggs are allowed)

3) Link to this Announcement Page and Priya's Event Page.

4) You must make new recipes and post them in your blog.No archived entries please.

Please send in your entries with the subject of "Vegetable A Month – Spinach” , before/by May 31st, 2011 to reshrite@gmail.com with the following details:
 
Your Name :

Blog Name :
Recipe Name :
Recipe URL :
Recipe Photo :

Non bloggers can email me your name, recipe and picture at reshrite@gmail.com with the subject of "Vegetable A Month - Spinach" before/by May 31st, 2011.

Hope to see loads of creative and delicious recipes............ I'm Waiting!!!!!!!

 Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Guest Post for "Celebrate Sweets: Ice Cream" : Chocolate Chip Ice Cream by Diksha

Hello everyone,

Couple of days back, I got an email by this cute girl Diksha.. It was so fun to read her thoughts.. She is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and an Accounting major student. She loves to cook and often, helps her mother in kitchen. She likes Thai and Continental food; and likes Indian spicy food too..

So, this was a brief introduction about Diksha and now I'll leave this post to her...

Diksha - In her own words..

I'm not a blogger but I love to blog.. Blogging is my main source of knowledge about cooking.. I'm not good with cookbooks but I enjoy reading blogs where bloggers include their personal thoughts along with those wonderful recipes... I remeber, my first recipe was Thai Fried Rice and the rice got overcooked.. But thanks to my family, they still enjoyed the dish.. love u mama!! I believe may be not now but by the time I reach my mid 20s I'll be a good cook.. Just like my mama...

While I was blogging, I came across this event and its main theme is "Ice Cream".. How can I resist from participating when the star is my favourite ice cream.. I saw lots of amazing recipes linked to this event and thought giving my contribution too.. This is my third attempt of preparing ice cream.. The first attempt was "plain vanilla ice cream". I prepared it last summer and it was big flop.. I cried a lot but my mama said "Even though it doesn't look like an ice cream but it tastes great".. I love that comment and this gave me the courage not lose the battle.. Few months back, mama bought a new ice cream maker and now my job got very easy.. Last month, I've prepared chocolate ice cream and it was good.. my BF liked it!! And now I've chocolate chip ice cream and I loved the texture.. My mama liked it.. :D

Recipe:

Heavy Cream - 2 cups
2 cups half and half cream
1 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
 3/4 cup good quality dark chocolate chips or shavings

Procedure:

Whisk the cream, half and half, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it reaches 170F to 175F. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into the bowl and refrigerate overnight. This procedure is to kill the bacteria.

Next day, pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and do according to manufacturer's direction, adding the chocolate chips or shaving about halfway through.

Transfer ice cream to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap such that it touches the surface of ice cream. Freeze for 4-5 hours.

Serve with chocolate sauce drizzled over it and few strawberries..

I hope you liked my recipe and as I'm not good at taking pictures so please!!!!!!!! :D

Sending this to Reshmi's "Celebrate Sweets: Ice Cream" event which was started by Nivedita.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Guest Post for Maitri: "Murrukku" by Raji

Hello everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend and why not, this weekend was too special.. "Our Indian cricket team won the World Cup!!" Few minutes before framing this post, I was watching the final shot by Mahendra Singh Dhoni that created the history... Believe me guys, when the camera focused Dhoni's expression I got goosebumps.. What a moment!!! Terrific... WOWOOWOW!!

And in my previous post "World Cup is Ours", my blogger friend, Sojo has asked to prepare some yummy sweets to celebrate this occassion.. Done sweetie!! This is due and I'll make it soon... Well I had prepared almond pudding on Saturday but before I can take pics, it was all over.. No.. not me... Sree is the culprit.. :D So for Sojo and for Team India, I'll prepare something sweet and post it at the earliest.. ;)

Okay!! So now moving on to the post of the day... Here we have Murrukku and it is prepared by Raji, our non-blogger friend. Raji was introduced to me by Priya Mitharwal. I was matched with Raji, along with Priya, for Maitri. At first, I was planning to send her the same ingredient that I've sent to Priya but then I thought as Priya is a friend of Raji, I mustn't send the same ingredient to both of them... But anyways, Raji was smart enough to identify the mystery ingredient sent by me...

So, girls please welcome Raji..!!

Raji, in her own words...............

Well, it all started when my good friend Priya told me about "Maitri"and also asked whether I will be interested .ofcourse, I said YES!

Then, I got matched with Reshmi who sent me an email asking about my address in order to send me the mystery ingredient.I was very excited and curious to know what it could be? I got the package on monday and when i opened to see what was inside it, guess what i found? I could immediately tell it was" ajwain" by the smell of it. Conicidentally, i was going to make murukku for my daughter who loves it so much. So, i used the ajwain(mystery ingredient) to the make murrukku.Thats abt the mystery ingredient.Wait a minute! let me tell u abt the best and sweetest part remaining in the package, which is this beautiful plate and lovely greeting card awaiting just for me sent by Reshmi as a token of friendship.I was immensely overwhlemed by her guesture.Thanks! Reshmi for this wonderful gift. What a great thought..I will always remember you.Thank you for being my friend.

Now for the recipe for Murukku:

Ingredients:
rice flour- 4 cups

urad flour -1 cup

butter softened 2-3 tbsps

ajwain(mystery ingredient) powdered- 1 tbsp

red chili pwd- 1 tbsp

salt -as per taste.

Procedure:

Mix all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl by adding water little by little.Knead the dough until it becomes soft( it shouldn't stick to the hand).

Now with the help of murukku press make the desired shaped on a plate and keep them ready.

Once the oil gets hot, gently slide these murukkus in the oil and fry them until it turns golden yellow.

Crispy golden yellow murrukkus are ready to eat.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Reminder: "Celebrate Sweets - Ice Cream"

Three more days to go... Come on friends!! I know in this era of "Weight Watchers", everyone is quite concerned about their diet.. But I believe "Summer is incomplete without Ice-creams" And I'm pretty sure that each one of us has their favourite delicious and yummilicious recipe that has ice cream in it.. So guys, make it a go... share your favourite recipe and make it a hit in every blogger's kitchen for this summer..

We have had some excellent entries from both blogger and non-blogger friends. Thank you all so much for your participation. But I'll encourage to participate more and make this event a big success.

This post is just a reminder that this event will end on April 6th, 2011. Also, there is an ongoing $25 CSN giveaway along with this event. So, if you haven't had a chance to link your entries yet, please do participate. For more information, visit "Celebrate Sweets - Ice Cream" event page.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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