TODAYS LUNCH BOX: MUSHROOM PULAO

My younger daughter loves mushrooms in any form. When I prepare any mushroom dish, she sees to it that she eats first, that too picking out almost all the mushrooms from the dish. This one is for you baby...

MUSHROOM PULAO:

Ingredients:
Mushroom 200 gms, cleaned and quartered
Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Ginger - 1" pc.

Garlic - 7-8 flakes                                    
Green chillies - 2
Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
Cloves - 2
Elaichi - 1
Cinnamon - 1" pc , 2 nos.
Garam Masala - 1 tsp ( I used home made garam masala)
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil / ghee - 2 -3 tbsp
Cirander leaves - 1tbsp chopped
Pudina Leaves - 1 tbsp chopped
Water - 11/2 cups

Method:
1. Wash and soak rice.
2. Make a paste of garlic, ginger and green chillies.
3. Heat oil / ghee in a cooker
4. Add cloves, cinnamon and elaichi
5. Add chopped onion and fry till light brown.
6. Add the paste, saute for a minute, add tomatoes, coriander leaves and pudina leaves.
7. Add haldi, chilli powder and garam masala powder and mix well. Fry till tomatoes turn soft.
8. Add mushrooms and saute for 1-2 mts. Add  drained rice and salt and saute for a minute.
9. Add water ( if you are not using basmathi rice, then use 2 cups), mix well
10. Take out 2 whistle.

 Wait till cooker cools down to enjoy the super pulao.
  Serve with raitha of your choice!

Tip to clean mushrooms : Sprinkle 2 tbsp of rice flour on the mushrooms. Toss and keep aside for a minute or so. Then wash under the running water.

Sunday Morning Special - Masala Dosa

Sunday mornings it has to be either Masala Dosa or Sevia. My girls love this dosa so much that they don't have masala dosa anywhere. So here's the recipe ( I have posted only the dosa recipe, assuming you all know the aaloo sabji recipe)

MASALA DOSA:

Ingredients:

Dosa Rice - 3 cups
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion (medium size) - 1/2
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak Rice in a bowl, urad dal and moongdal in separate bowl for about 2 hours.
2. Grind the dals first for 5-10 minutes, then add rice to the groud dal and grind for about 20 minutes.
3. Grind the onion in a mixer grinder and mix it with the batter. Ferment for about 6-8 hours. I usually grind it at 11 a.m. and refrigerate at 8 p.m., during cold season 10 p.m.
4. In a bowl make a thin paste of rice flour, maida and water, keep aside for 3 hours or overnight.
6. Throw the clear water on top from the flour mix and add the paste to the dosa batter, add salt and mix well.
7. Prepare thin dosas with the batter, using ghee for added taste.

yummmmmmmmmmmmm... lovely crispy dosas .............. 

Fav Comfy Food - BAJRA KICHDI

Saturday Nights are usually boring for me, specially on those days when you have lunch outside and have to cook only dinner. This Saturday was one of such days. At 8 p.m. my daughter Disha called me and said, Mom plz prepare Bajra Kichdi for dinner. So I asked her to get some bajra and moongdal, while coming home. She promptly got 2 kgs of bajra and 2 kgs of whole moong. Now I do not know what to do with so much of bajra and  instead of moongdal I have Moong with me. After searching for 15 minutes in the pantry I got hold of a lil quantity of moongdal. Thank God for small mercies!

BAJRA KICHDI:

Ingredients:

Bajra - 1 cup

Moongdal - 2 cups

Salt to taste

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Shah jeera - 1 tbsp

Hing - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Powder bajra coarsely.

2. Wash Moongdal, put in a cooker along with bajra powder and salt.

3. Add water and put it on gas. Take out 2 whistles. Switch off gas. At this point, your kitchen counter will be splashed with bajra water, be prepared to clean it afterwards.

4. Once the cooker cools , heat ghee in a pan, add shahjeera and hing and pour it on the kichdi.

Serve hot with pickles.

Today I Prepared Baingan Ka Bhurtha ( Bhartha) for Dinner

My girls hate baingan, but that does not apply to baingan ka bhartha! When I was young, I used gobble up baingan ka bhartha just like that. Mom used to get tired preparing the same dish again and again. You see its in the genes- love for baingan ka bhartha!

Baingan Ka Bhartha:

Ingredients :
2 big baingans - roasted on open flame.
1 onion - chopped finely
3 flakes garlics - chopped fine
1 tomato - chopped fine
3 green chillies - chopped fine
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp - red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi
salt to taste
finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Hold the roasted baingan under the running water and remove the charred skin
2. Put it in a bowl and mash
3. Heat oil in a kadai, add onion, saute
4. Add garlic, tomato and all the masala powders one by one
5. Cook till tomato turns soft and oil starts oozing out from all the sides
6. Add mashed baingan and salt
7. Keep stirring for 3-5 mts.
8. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves

Serve hot with freshly made phulkas.

I also made Divya Kudua's Instant Oats Idlis. It was yummy. I incorporated independence day theme into the idlis. You can find the recipe here.divyascookbook.blogspot.com/

I used wheat rawa as I had it in stock. They turned out to be simply delicious. Thanks Divya for  wonderful recipes !

My mom can prepare these for my dad, bro pass this recipe to mom plz. It's my brother and bhabhi's wedding anniversary today. Many many happy returns of the day to both of you!

Nagara Panchami

Yesterday I had a hectic day. It being Nagara Panchami, I had to prepare - Pathrado, Cheppi Kheeri and Patholi. Morning after sending my girls to college, I prepared Pooja Thali for my hubby dear for the Naga Abhisheka. After that prepared breakfast for him and sent him to office. Then started the actual marathon. First I prepared pathrodo, but the pic got deleted by mistake. Sorry about that. Then I prepared the kheeri, lastly it was Patholi.

Pathrado ( My Mother-in-law ishtyle):

Ingredients:
Arbi leaves - 15
Roasted Red Chillies 12-15
Coconut gratings 1 cup
Tamarind - lemon size
Pepper corns - 3-4 ( to take out the itchiness of the arbi leaves)
Hing - 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the arbi leaves well and trim the veins and midrib of the leaves.
2. Meanwhile, soak whole green gram.
3. Grind coconut, red chilles, tamarind and pepper corns.
4. When smooth add soaked green gram and grind, using as little water as possible.
5. Take out the masala in a bowl, add salt and hing.
6. Now comes the tricky part, keep the biggest leaf first, backside facing up and apply masala.
7. Place two more leaves on the first one, side by side and apply masala.
8. Similarly finish up 6-8 leaves.
9. Now fold the sides, inwards,  say 2" on each side and apply masala.
10. Now roll up like a swiss roll.
11. Cut into 3-4 peices and steam in the steamer.
12. While serving, pour a little coconut oil on top.


Cheppi Kheeri ::

Ingredients:
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Thick Coconut Milk - 1/2 cup
Thin Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Turmeric Leaves -  1-2 ( Haldi Paan)

Method:
1. Add thin coconut milk and turmeric leaves to rice and cook till rice becomes soft.
2. Now add thick coconut milk and cook for three minutes.
3. Kheeri is ready to serve.
4. Serve either with salt or with sugar.

Today's Lunch Box Dish

Mornings are as usual a bit tiresome, demanding and what not. Yesterday I did not make any preparations for today's lunch. As soon as I got up, my first thought was OMG what to pack for my daughters? Yesterday's left over idlis saved my day. We Konkani's usually fry the left over idlis or make udli usli (upma) with it. My girls want a new dish a day. So, here goes Konkani-Tamil fusion - Idly fry with a twist!

1. Make slit in the center of the idlis, taking care not to separate the idlis.
2. Put some Idly Podi (liberally) or any chutney powder and put some oil too. I used coconut oil.
3. Fry on both the sides on a hot dosa tawa, using oil.
4. Voila! Lunch Box is ready!

My First Post

Hey Friends,

This is Pooja from Bangalore, blessed with darling husband dhinesh and 2 lovely daughters. This collection of my recipes is dedicated to my daughters, hence the name.

I will be posting the day to day cooking here. Hope you enjoy and try out some of the recipes posted here and relish.

Thank you!