Lady’s finger in cheese

What do you do with curdled milk? The best option would be to separate the whey from the solids. Add sugar to the solids and heat it till becomes hard. I think differently. So, I have used the milk solids to make a tasty side dish.  It also has lady’s finger and select spices. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Homemade cottage cheese – 1cup
Lady’s finger – 200gm
Garlic – few pods
Turmeric powder -1tsp
Chopped tomato -1cup
Chopped onion -1cup
Chilli powder -1tsp
Chopped coriander leaves – 2tsps
Salt and oil –as required

Method:
Cut the lady’s finger into half inch length. Shallow fry them in little oil. Keep it aside. In the same pan stir fry the onion, when it becomes translucent add the garlic and tomato. Stir fry for few seconds. Cool and grind them to a smooth paste. In a frying pan add the curry powder and ground paste. Stir fry for few seconds over high heat. Stir in the cottage cheese and the fried lady’s finger. Sauté till is blended well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Stir fried veggie

This stir fried vegetable is very low in calories. Stuff  this veggie in cheese spread and make cheese rolls while serving to kids.

Ingredients:
Carrot- 2
Capsicum- 1
Chayote-1
Tomato-1
Onion-1
Cumin seeds -1/2tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp
Sambhar powder- 1/2tsp
Garam masala powder- 1/2tsp
Salt and oil -as required
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
Cut all the vegetables into square pieces. Heat little oil in a frying pan and fry the cumin seeds. Then add the onion and fry. When it turns transparent, add all the powders and salt. Sauté for few seconds. Add the carrot, chayote and one cup of water. Close and cook. When the vegetables are half cooked add the tomato and capsicum. Stir cook for few seconds. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Note: Other vegetables that can be used instead of chayote and carrot are potato, bottle gourd, pumpkin and ridge gourd.

Sooji Halwa/Rava kesari

This is a very easy to make sweet that even beginners in cooking can try. Further, it requires very little time in its preparation.  

 
Ingredients;

Roasted Semolina/rava -1 cup
Sugar -11/2 cup
Water -21/2 cup
Clarified butter/ghee -3/4 cup
Cashew nuts -25 gm
Raisins -25 gm
Cardamom powder -1 tsp
Food colour -1 pinch (optional)

Method:

Heat the semolina with two teaspoons of clarified butter. Heat the water to which food colour has been added. When it begins to boil (around 99 degrees Celsius) lower the flame and add the semolina/rava. Cook it till becomes like a pudding. Add the sugar. It will become liquid. Continue cooking till becomes firm and solid. At this stage add the balance clarified butter. Cook stirring continuously till it leaves the sides of the pan.  Add cardamom powder.  Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in little clarified butter. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins.  

 

 

  

Bread toast twist

There were few sachets of chilli flakes, oregano and tomato sauce lying idle in my kitchen. These items came along with the veg pizza that I had ordered for guests last week. There was also few slices of wheat bread lying in the refrigerator. I used them all to make a quick meal for breakfast. The outcome was indeed very nice.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat bread - 4 slices
Chopped onion - 1/2 cup
Chilli flakes - 2tsps
Oregano - 2tsps
Tomato sauce - 4tsps
Finely chopped capsicum - 3tsps
Salt and oil - as required
Chopped coriander leaves - 1tsp

Method:
Apply little oil on both sides of the bread slices and toast over a griddle till it becomes crispy. Cut it into small square pieces. Keep it aside.
Fry the onion in little oil till it becomes transparent. Add the bread pieces, capsicum, chilli flakes and oregano. Stir for few seconds. Add the tomato sauce and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

   

Lunch book

Cooking alone and cooking along with a partner makes a lot of difference. I think the latter is better as it shortens the cooking time and helps you to get on the spot assistance. Two heads can make a decision on the amount of salt, pungency, taste and consistency. Cooking with a book is also like that. It shortens the time as one can set the ingredients beforehand and keep a tab on the measurements. However, I must admit here that taste is subjective.

So, here is a book on South Indian vegetarian lunch that has 66 recipes sans onion and garlic spread over chapters like payasam, poriyal and kootu, sambhar, rasam, pickles and miscellaneous items. It has lunch ideas for everyday cooking and for feasts. Cooking instructions are simple. Measurements are around one or two cups that can serve for one or two people. Each recipe has a photo showing the real colour and consistency. 

This book is available in two formats.

Follow the links below for paper back and kindle format respectively.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1499761546

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRX8APC

Happy reading and happy cooking.

Self portrait

 This is my self-portrait painting done in oil on canvas. In fact, to see your own painting develop on a plain canvas is really interesting. I saw to that all the asymmetrical features of my face were included. This was difficult. It is easier to paint a more symmetrical face, as the outcome looks more beautiful.

Next is the use of colour. This was not that difficult as it is true like me. Anyway, I am satisfied that I could bring some life to such paintings. This was evident when I received some good compliments from most of the people at home. Some even suggested that I use it as my profile picture in many places including the books I write.

Jack fruit seed fry

The seed of the jack fruit is encased in the jack fruit flesh and it is edible. It has a nutty flavour and tastes like potato. This stir fried recipe is known as chakka kurru Mezhukuperrati in Kerala.

                                                         Jackfruit seed with the covering

Ingredients:
Jack fruit seeds - 1cup
Turmeric powder -1/2tsp
Brown sugar - 2tsps
Coconut oil - 2tsps
Salt to taste

Method:
Remove the outer covering of the jack fruit seed and cut into small pieces. (Alternatively you can the cut the jack fruit seeds and then remove the outer plastic like covering).
Wash and cook in two cups of water along with salt and turmeric powder. Once it is cooked drain the water and place it in a frying pan. Add the brown sugar and oil. Stir fry over a low flame for few minutes till everything is blended.