Purple Cabbage, Radish & Carrot Salad

This is a very healthy, colourful and tasty salad. Now-a-days, salad has become an integral part of our diet in most homes and my home is no exception to this.

Salads when eaten raw is highly beneficial but during the monsoon season it is advisable to refrain from eating them raw instead stir-frying them on a high flame is a better option as it destroys the bacteria that maybe present and at the same time retains its texture and freshness.

The preparation of salad is quite an art. I am learning this by watching various food shows on TV.  Cutting of vegetables is of utmost important especially those like radish, carrots, beetroots etc.

So here is a quick stir-fry salad with the Indian touch to it. In the original recipe, it required a dressing which was poured over the thinly cut raw vegetables.

Purple Cabbage, Radish & Carrot Salad

Vegetables sliced and ready for Stir-Frying

Ingredients:

Red Cabbage	1/8 pc
Radish (Mooli)	1
Carrot	1
Capsicum	¼ pc
Onion	1 small
Red chilly flakes	1-2 tsps ( or as per taste)
Fresh curry leaves	1 sprig ( you can add more)
Salt	To taste
Olive oil	2 tsps
Lime juice	1 tsp
Corriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp

Method:

Peeling the carrot into ribbon shape

1. Wash all the vegetables and peel the skins of the radish, carrot and onion. Deseed the capsicum.
2. Slice the onion and the cabbage thinly. Cut the capsicum into thin strips.
3. With the help of the peeler, peel the carrot and radish (just as you peeled the skin) so that you get thin peels of ribbon and continue doing so till you get the desired quantity.
4. Heat olive oil (you can use any other cooking oil too) in a wok/kadai. Keep the flame high.
5. Add the sliced onions, curry leaves and red chilly flakes. Stir constantly till the onions are translucent.
6. Add capsicum and red cabbage. Give it a good stir for a minute or two.
7. Then add the thin peels of radish and carrot. Mix well. Add salt and give it another quick stir and remove from flame.
8. Finally garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and lime juice.

Cooking time : 5-7 mins

Serves: 2

Note:

• You can substitute ginger or garlic for onions. OR  you can  use all three i.e. onion, ginger and garlic. The choice is yours.
• This salad goes well with chapattis.
• For yet another purple cabbage salad, see here

Bendekayi Gojju (Okra curry)

This is a typical Banglorean dish and a very tasty one too. In kannada language, "bendekayi" means lady's finger or okra as it is also called and "gojju" means curry.

I got this recipe from TOI (Times Of India) some months ago and tried this with a few alterations. Since its  a hit in our family, I do this quite often. Appearance wise, this dish looks like our regular Konkani "Sagle" which all the "Amchis" relish and are familiar with! The similarity however ends here. Tastewise, it differs though both are equally good.  I will leave it to you to try it out and judge for yourself!

Another easy and tasty recipe made form lady's finger is the "Stuffed Okra", which you can see here.

Ingredients:

Okra	250 gms
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Grated coconut	1 cup
Tamarind	A marble sized ball
Jaggery powder	1 tsp
Sambhar powder	2 heaped tsp
Coriander leaves	A small bunch
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning ingredients
Oil	4 tsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Hing/asafetida	A pinch

Method:

Okras being Stir-Fried

Ground Masala

1. Wash the okras and pat them dry with a kitchen towel and after cutting off the edges, cut them into 2”-3” in length and keep aside.
2. Heat half the oil in a pan (preferably non-stick or a heavy bottomed one) and fry the chopped onions till golden brown in colour. Remove and allow it to cool.
3. Combine grated coconut, the fried and cooled onions, jaggery, sambhar powder, tamarind and coriander leaves (washed and chopped) in a blender and grind it into a smooth paste.
4. Heat the same pan (where onions were fried) on medium flame, add the remaining oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing. Once it stops spluttering, add the cut okras and fry them till they are almost cooked. Sprinkle a little water if necessary so that the okras do not stick to the pan.
5. Add salt and stir fry till they are cooked.
6. Now add the ground masala. Mix well. Add a little water if necessary. Allow the masala to be absorbed for a few minutes and then remove from flame.
7. Serve hot.

Serves: 3

Note:

• If the okras or lady's finger are small in size, you can keep them whole (after chopping the ends) and making a slit lengthwise (to check for any worms). I am a little paranoid about this.
• Stir-Frying the okras is necessary to prevent them from letting out a glue like substance.
• Instead of the regular tamarind, you can also use the tamarind extract whch is now easily available in the super market - in which case you can use about 1/2 - 3/4 tsp of the tamarind extract.
• This dish tastes good with rice and dal or rice and curd or even with chapatis.

Mergole - Sweet Potato Paaysu

“Mergole” is the Konkani name for this sweet dish made from the tuber Kananga (Konkani), Ratallu (Marathi) or Sweet Potato (English). This is typically a Manglorean or coastal Karnataka dish.  I wanted to make this simple long forgotten paayasu and hence I had kept a small piece aside (after preparing the “Kananga Daaddau”), so that I can share this simple and tasty and easy to prepare dish.

I have used here the coconut milk pack (less work for the lazy me!) instead of the usual coconut gratings wherein you need to grind it with a little water and then strain the juice to make coconut milk. I do admit though that the fresh coconut milk does make a difference to the taste of the dish especially if one is of the “Jibbe Ruchi”  type of person (generally all Amchis are !).

Ingredients

Sweet Potato (small)	1
Coconut milk	150 ml (11/2 cup)
Jaggery (molasses) powder	3 tbsps  or as per taste
Salt	A pinch
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Cashews (halved & roasted in ghee)-optional	6 (whole)
Raisins (roasted in ghee) - optional	8-10

Method:

1. Wash and skin the sweet potato. Cut it onto small cubes.
2. Steam the cubed bits in a steamer or boil them in a little water till soft. This should take about 20 mins.
3. Add salt, jaggery powder and the coconut milk to the boiled sweet potato bits and bring it to a boil.
4. Finally add the roasted cashews, raisins and cardamom powder. Mix well and remove from flame.
5. Serve hot.

Serves: 2

Sweet Potato - Raw

Sweet Potato - cut into cubes

    

         Note:

• This dish can be served hot or cold. The choice is yours.
• Traditionally the sweet potato is cut into cubes (you may grate it if you wish) and the skin is not removed. Here, I removed it as the skin had lot of blemishes.
• It is advisable to dissolve the powdered jaggery in water and strain it so as to remove any insoluble impurities.

Broken Wheat Pulav

I was recently watching a TV food show wherein, middle-eastern cuisine using “Bulgar Wheat” was being showcased. She used “Bulgar Wheat” and other spices familiar to their country.  I followed the same procedure using instead broken wheat and other ingredients used in our daily Indain cooking. Bulgar wheat is similar to our broken wheat or cracked wheat as it is also called. However pricewise, broken wheat is easier on the pocket !   This is a very tasty, healthy dish and easy to prepare too.

This is a meal by itself and good substitute for rice especially for people with diabetes. This dish is also similar to Broken Wheat Khichadi

 Broken wheat pulav garnished with tomato and coriander leaves

Stir Frying mixed vegetables and broken wheat with onion and tomato mix

Pulav ready for garnishing

Ingredients:

Broken Wheat	1 cup
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Tomato	2 large
Chopped mixed vegetables	1 cup
Green chilies (slit)	1
Water	2 cups
Oil /Ghee	About 3 tsps
Salt	As per taste
For Garnishing:
Corriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp
Lemon juice	2 tsps

Method:

Broken Wheat

1. Wash the broken wheat and then soak it in water for an hour. Then drain and keep it aside.
2. Chop 1 ½ tomatoes and slice the remaining tomato for garnishing. This is optional.
3. Heat a pan or kadai on a medium flame.  In it add the chopped onions. When the onions become translucent, add slit green chilies and the chopped tomatoes. Stir it and cover it for a while (on a low flame) until the tomatoes have turned soft.
4. Now to this add the drained broken wheat and the chopped mixed vegetables. Mix well. Fry it for few minutes. Than add 2 cups of water and salt. At this point increase the flame and cover it with a lid. Once the water starts to boil lower the flame and let it cook (with the lid covered) for about 20 mins.
5. Check to see that the broken wheat is cooked. Once it is cooked, remove from flame.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves, lemon juice and tomato slices. Serve Hot.

Serves : 2


Note:

• This is a very plain basic pulav.  Any raita is a good accompaniment to this dish.
• For mixed vegetables, I used cauliflower, potato, carrot, capsicum, and frozen green peas and corn. You can use any vegetables of your choice.
• Variations can be made by adding different masalas – you can add ginger-garlic paste and whole garam masala (cinnamon, cloves, tejpatta, and cardamom). Or you can use the garam masala powder.
• Another variation is by using sambhar powder.

‘Kanangaa Daadau” Sweet Potato Snack

“Kanangaa” means Sweet Potato in Konkani language.  This humble tuber is available throughout the year and is also easy to prepare and is healthy too.  Recent research recommends sweet potato instead of the regular potato to diabetic patients.

My late sister-in-law had introduced me to this simple and tasty dish. The actual recipe is prepared by boiling the sweet potato and then mashing them to a pulp. And the final “tadka” or seasoning  given on top. It’s as simple as that.

I have made a slight change in the recipe i.e. instead of mashing them I have cut them into cubes as I feel it is more appealing. It is generally said that “you eat with your eyes first”! But, when I am in a hurry, I simply mash it as I know for sure that the taste remains the same (either in cubed or mashed form) !

Kanangaa Daadau

Steamed Sweet Potato

Steamed and cubed Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

Sweet potato (boiled or steamed)	1 large
Salt	As per taste
For seasoning
Oil	3 tsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Green chilies (chopped)	1
Asafetida	A pinch
For Garnish
Corriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp
Grated coconut (optional)	1 tbsp
Lime juice	1 tsp

Method:

1. Cut the boiled or steamed Sweet potato when cooled into cubes and keep aside.
2. Heat a non-stick pan or kadai.  Add oil and mustard seeds and salt. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering, lower the heat and add the chopped (or slit)green chilies, curry leaves and asafetida.
3. Now add the boiled and cubed sweet potatoes (keeping the flame low) and mix it gently (so as to prevent the sweet potatoes from getting mashed) for a minute or two.
4. Remove from flame and garnish with lime juice, coriander leaves and grated coconut.
5. Serve hot.

Serves: 2

Note:

This is a very tasty and healthy evening snack for children as well as adults alike.

Pudina Roti/Phulka (Mint Phulkas)

Roti or chapatti or phulka are the terms used for Indian flat bread. These are eaten in Indian (asian) homes either for lunch or dinner or even for breakfast. Different varieties of rotis can be made with various types of flours such as wheat, jowar, bajra, ragi etc or with a combination of all of them.

Rotis / chapatis are either fried (on a tawa/griddle) dry or with a little oil. But phulkas are dry fried first on the tawa and then fried directly over  the flame (over the gas burner). Ghee is smeared on it later (while it is still hot) and it is optional. Since no oil is used either in the dough or while frying, this is a healthier version. Besides, the phulkas generally turn out very soft and tasty as they puff out, separating the two layers.

Addition of pudina (mint) in the dough  gives it an aromatic flavour and if you like mint, then you will find this very tasteful. Making of phulkas may seem a little complicated as you have to do some balancing act but once you get the hang of it and with a little practice, I feel it is worth the trouble.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour	4 cups
Mint	1 big bunch
Green chilies	3 or as per taste
Water	For kneading
Turmeric	½ tsp
Salt	As per taste
Ghee (clarified butter)	For smearing the phulkas

Method:

Pudina Roti dough

1.  Wash the mint thoroughly in water. Drain and pick the leaves from the   stems and discard the woody   stems.
2.  Roughly grind mint leaves, green chilies with little water and keep aside.
3.  In a large mixing bowl, add wheat flour, salt & turmeric and mix well.
4. To this mixture and the ground mint leaves.
5.  Add sufficient water to this mixture and knead it into soft pliable dough.
6.  Place the dough in a container and cover it with a lid.
7. After an hour or two make small balls (desired size and quantity) and flatten each ball with a rolling pin into chapattis/rotis (not very thin) with the help of little dry wheat flour .
8. Heat a tawa or griddle. Once the tawa is hot, lower the flame and place a chapatti on the hot griddle and fry it first on one side and turn it and fry the same way on the other side till tiny light brown spots appear on the surface of the chapatti.
9. Remove it from the tawa/ griddle and place it on a plate.
10. The above procedure to be followed for all the chapattis/rotis. For making of Phulkas - see below:

Makes : 15 Rotis or Phulkas (depending upon the size of the balls)

            

Phulka in the making

How to make phulkas :

• Same procedure as above but once the tiny light brown spots appear, hold the chapatti with tongs in your right hand and remove it from the griddle and at the same time, with your left hand, remove the griddle from the fire. Now place the chapatti (held with the tongs) directly on the fire as shown (flame should be high). The chapatti will immediately puff up. Now turn the puffed chapatti on the other side. This side too will puff up instantly. Your Phulka is now ready.
• Remove it quickly and place it on a plate.
• Smear a little ghee with a teaspoon onto the phulka while it is still hot (you will use less ghee)
  
• Follow the same procedure for all the chapattis/rotis.
  

Note:

•     For making phulkas, use a tawa/griddle preferably with a handle.
•     Phulkas puff out well if hte dough is well kneaded.
  
•     The same dough can be used for making parathas too.

Radish-Top ( Radish leaves) Soup

Radish or “Mooli” or “Moolangi” as it is known in India is not liked by many because of  its slightly pungent taste. Moreover, the leaves of the radish are generally discarded which I feel is a waste of fresh greens.
I have also observed that the radishes sold in  the markets are generally without its leaves (at least in the southern part of India). Since I make soup out of it, I actually go hunting for it. Everybody in my family simply loves this healthy soup. Its very refreshing during the hot summers or even during the cold season.

This reminds me of an incident in Bangalore sometime back (before the super market days). I used to buy vegetables from the local cart vendor who comes regularly. One fine day, I noticed that he had fresh radishes but without its top (leaves). When I told him that I need the radish leaves too, he said he will bring it the next day.

So, early next morning, he gave a loud call as usual and signaled frantically. So I went down to have a look and he happily showed me a gunny bag full of radish leaves!! I told him that I need only a little for making soup & “subji” (curry).  He looked shocked to hear that I actually eat this! He told me that I can take the whole bag and he will not charge me a penny!! Now it was my turn to get shocked! Imagine carrying a gunny bag full of radish leaves !! Apparently he gives it away to feed the “Bakris” (goats) and “Gayis” (cows) as he put it. I took a small bunch from the lot.  This goes to show how popular the radish leaves are in this part of the world !

This soup is crunchy and tastes good with just a few ingredients (onions, butter and pepper) but I have added a few spices to make it spicier. Ofcourse, you can try your own version.

Ingredients:

Radish-Top (Fresh green leaves & stems only)	2 (leaves from 2 radishes)
Onions (chopped)	1 medium
Butter or ghee (clarified butter)	1-2 tsps
Pepper	1 tsp
Salt	As per taste
Cumin (jeera) powder	1 tsp
Tomato puree	1 tbsp
White vinegar or lime juice	1-2 tsps
Water	3 cups
Croutons	½ a cup

Method:

1. Wash the radish tops (leaves and stems) in water. Chop them finely and keep aside.
2. Heat a saucepan with ghee or butter. Add to it the chopped onions. Fry till they are translucent.
3. Add the chopped radish tops and fry till they are wilted. Add salt, pepper, jeera powder, vinegar and tomato puree. Stir well for a few minutes.
4. Add water and allow it to boil and cook for about 5-7 minutes or till done. Remove from flame.
5. Serve hot with croutons.

Serves: 2

For the Croutons: Take one or two slices of bread. Apply butter on each slice. Cut them into cubes and spread it on a greased baking tray and bake in a hot oven (250 degrees C) for 5 mins or till they turn golden brown.

This is a healthier way of making croutons than deep frying them. If these croutons are to be used later, then store it in an air-tight container

Note:

• For the cold season a spicier version can be made by adding cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and a little more pepper.
• Tomato ketchup can be used instead of tomato puree.

"Sambharbali Paan" (Oregano leaves) chutney

I am told that this chutney is quite common and known to the local people of Mangalore, Udupi & coastal areas of Karnataka. However, I was not aware of this chutney until my sister-in-law gave this recipe to me (sometime back) when she saw the "Sambharbali" plant in my balcony garden and ever since I have been preparing this simple,delicious and healthy chutney.

Generally, when my stock of coriander leaves (in the fridge) get exhausted, I pluck a few sambharbali Paan (oregano leaves) from my (balcony) garden and prepare this chutney as all the other ingredients necessary are generally available at home at any given time.

Ingredients:

Sambharbali paan (oregano leaves)	8-10 medium size leaves
Jeera (cumin)	2 tsps
Coconut gratings	¾ cup
Green chillies	2 or as per taste
Tamarind	a marble sized lump
Ghee (clarified butter)	1 tsp
Salt	As per taste

Method:

1. Wash the sambharbali paan (oregano leaves) thoroughly with water and pat dry them with a kitchen towel.
2. Heat ghee in a pan. Add to it jeera and the sambharbali paan. Fry it on a low flame till jeera has turned light brown and the sambharbali leaves have wilted. Remove from the flame and allow it to cool..
3. Grind all the ingredients (coconut gratings, fried and cooled jeera and sambharbalipaan, green chilies, tamarind, and salt) to a fine paste.

A variation: This chutney also tastes good when mixed with ½ a cup of curds (yoghurt) and can be served as raita.

                     

Note:

This chutney goes well with idli, dosas, or chapattis or pakodas and can be used  as a sandwich spread too.

Raw Banana Peel curry

You have read it right and it is not a typing error. The dish made from the peels of raw banana turns out so   tasty and crunchy that after trying it out once, you will never ever throw away the peels !

So whenever you buy raw bananas, after washing it thoroughly, remove the peels (slightly thick) with the knife (not with the peeler). 

And, if you are not preparing this curry immediately, then place all the peels in a bowl containing little water, cover it and refrigerate it.  It will remain fresh & crisp (without turning black) for at least 3-4 days. You can prepare it later when you are ready.

Believe me, with this vegetable you can have two different curries – one made from the vegetable itself and the other made from its peels. Two for the price of one! Besides, its healthy too – full of fibre !
 

  Raw Banana Peel curry

 Raw Banana Peels in water

 Raw Banana Peels chopped finely & soaked in water

Ingredients:

Peels of Raw Banana	from 3 bananas
Split Green gram (Moong Dal)	½ cup
Green chilies	3-4
Onion	1 medium
Garlic cloves	4-5
Curry leaves	3-4 sprigs
Fresh coconut gratings	½ cup
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tbsp
Water	about a cup for soaking

Method:

1. Wash and cook the green gram dal in very little water and keep aside.
2. Wash the bananas. Remove the peels (slighltly thick) using a knife as shown above.
3. Chop the peels finely (using a knife and not a food processor) and soak them in a bowl of water to retain its crispiness and also to prevent it from turning black.
4. Chop onions and curry leaves (discard the stems) finely and keep aside.
5. Grind coconut gratings, chopped onions (use half of it), garlic, green chilies & salt to a chutney or paste. To this chutney add the chopped curry leaves.
6. Add the paste with the curry leaves to the chopped peels in the bowl. Remove the excess water (if any). Mix it well and let the chopped peels marinate in the paste for about 15 mins.
7. Then combine this mixture with the cooked green gram dal (moong dal) and keep aside.
8. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the remaining chopped onions to it and sauté till it turns golden brown.
9. Finally add the dal and peel mixture into the pan on a low flame and let it simmer for only 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove from flame.
10. Serve hot.

Note:

• This dish tastes good with chapattis.  It also goes well with rice and rasam or any “kadhis”.
• The crunchy texture of the finely chopped peels gives it a unique taste.

P.S. I shall be taking a short break (about fifteen days) from blogging and will be back 
rejuvenated with more healthy and tasty  recipes.

.

Tasty Cutlets made from left over rice

As promised in my last post, here is another tasty snack from left over rice. This can be quickly prepared as all the ingredients are generally available at home at any given time. Moreover, its very tasty and the left-over rice is very well camouflaged ! This snack was an instant hit at home.

 Cutlets shallow fried plain (without rolling in semolina or breadcrumbs)

 Cutlets rolled in fine semolina(sooji) and shallow fried

Ingredients:

Left over rice	1 cup
Potato (boiled & mashed)	1 large
Mixed vegetables (cut into cubes & boiled)	1 cup
Bread slices	2
Onion (chopped)	1
Green chilies	2-3
Coriander leaves (chopped)	2 tbsps
Salt	To taste
Fine semolina (sooji) or bread crumbs	½ cup
Oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. Soak the bread slices in a little water for about 2-3 minutes and then squeeze out excess water.
2. Mix all the ingredients (except oil and semolina/breadcrumbs) and the bread slices in a bowl and form cutlets into desired shapes.
3. Roll each cutlet in fine semolina or breadcrumbs and keep aside.
4. Shallow fry these cutlets in hot oil until golden brown on both the sides.
5. Serve hot with chutney or tomato ketchup.

Makes: 10 cutlets (depending upon the size)

Note:

These cutlets can also be shallow fried without rolling them in semolina or breadcrumbs.

To make it more spicy, you can add chilly powder, garam masala powder and a dash of lime juice.

Spicy Rice Parathas from left-over rice

Every housewife at sometime or the other faces the problem of left-over cooked items and is always in a dilemma as to how best to either avoid the situation or camouflage the same into a culinary delight!

If the left over cooked item is rice, then generally I use it to make lemon rice, puliyogare, or fried rice etc.  Believe me they really taste good.

But this spicy rice parathas made from the leftover rice beats all of them and is worth trying out. You will not regret it.

 Spicy rice parathas with salad

Ingredients:

Left over rice	1 cup
Wheat flour	1 cup
Gram flour (Besan)	½ cup
Yoghurt /curds	¼ cup
Ginger chopped & crushed	1 inch piece
Green chilies chopped & crushed	4-5 (or as per taste)
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Red chilly powder	½ tsp
Chopped coriander leaves	3-4 tbsps
Salt	To taste
Oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. Put all the above ingredients (except oil) into a bowl and knead it into smooth dough. If you have a food processor, this can be done in a jiffy.
2. Divide the dough into 14 balls and roll each ball into flat discs or parathas using a little flour.
3. Fry these parathas on a hot tawa (griddle or frying pan) using little oil. Fry them on both the sides till brown spots appear. Remove from the pan or tawa.
4. Follow the same procedure for the rest of the dough.

Makes : 14 parathas depending upon the size of balls

Note:

• This goes well with plain curds, or salads or with any curries.
• If the dough is not being used immediately, it can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
• Chopped mint leaves or kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) can also be used.
• Freshly cooked rice too can be used in this recipe.

P.S. Watch out for another tasty snack from left-over rice in my next post.

Turnip curry

This root vegetable is known in Hindi as “Shalgum” and of course “Turnip” in English. However, I have yet to find its Konkani name. If anybody knows its name in Konkani please do let me know.

Turnips are available in plenty during this season. This vegetable is generally not liked by a lot of people and that includes me too! Besides, it is said that all seasonal vegetables are available to us for a purpose. So, I thought of trying this out as it was quite economical and easy on my purse too. Believe me, to my surprise, it turned out quite delicious. So I thought of sharing this with you all. I am now planning to buy them again!

Turnips are a good low calorie source of vitamin C & fibre.

Ingredients:

Turnips	4
Onion (sliced)	1 large
Garlic (chopped)	6-8 cloves
Tomatoes (sliced)	2
Green or red chillies (slit)	3
Oil	2-3 tsps
Turmeric	½ tsp
Garam Masala	1 tsp
Coriander leaves chopped)	1 tbsp
Salt	To taste

Method:

1. Wash and peel the turnips and cut them into medium size pieces. And parboil them.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add to it the chopped garlic and sauté.
3. Next add the sliced onions and slit green (or red or both) chilies. Stir it till the onions are translucent.
4. Add sliced tomatoes and sauté till the tomatoes turn soft and a thick gravy is formed.
5. Add turmeric and give it a good stir. Add water and allow it to boil (on a low flame).
6. Next add the parboiled turnips pieces and salt. Let it cook for a few minutes.
7. Add garam masala and mix well. Remove from flame.
8. Finally garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Note:

This dish goes well with chapattis as well as with “rice and dal” too.
For more info on this root vegetable see here:
http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/p/turnips.htm

Naan-Katai (Indian cookies)

This is my first post after Diwali, you will notice that my blog has got a face-lift. The feed back that I got from time to time from some of you has compelled me to make these changes. My son-in-law was kind enough to help me with these changes. I have changed the colour of the background; I have added a search box wherein you can type the title of any of my recipes to find them quickly and finally buttons for easy and quick sharing on facebook and twitter. Looking forward to more constructive criticism and feed back from you all.

And now that Diwali is over, I am sure all of you have had your fill of Diwali sweets. But as they say, if one has a sweet tooth, one just needs an excuse to have them more! Diwali or no Diwali ! So here is my first Diwali sweet recipe. This one is very easy to prepare and very tasty too. You will just love it. Try it out and see for yourself.

Ingredients:

1 cup - Sifted maida (all purpose flour) or self raising flour
1 tsp -  Baking powder
½ cup - Sifted gram four
½ cup - powdered sugar
½ cup - Ghee (clarified butter)
2tsps - Cardamom powder (freshly ground)
½ tsp - Cinnamon powder (freshly ground)

Garnish:
1tsp - Cardamom powder
1tbsp - Powdered Pistachio nuts


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Centigrade.
2. Combine all the above ingredients (except garnish) in a bowl and knead it well with your hand for 10 minutes.
3. Then divide this into 32 small balls. Roll each ball between two palms till they are smooth (no cracks should appear) and slightly flatten them with your thumb in the cente. Place them on the greased baking tray with an inch space between each.
4. Press a little garnish on top of each flattened ball. Bake on middle rack for 20 minutes.
5. Cool on wire rack.
6. When cooled, store it in an air-tight container.

Preparation time: 20 mins

Baking time       : 20 mins

Note:

• If self-raising flour is used, then omit baking powder.
• It is advisable to sift both the flours together with baking powder (if added) before combining with all the other ingredients.
• Will last for a month if stored in an air-tight container.