Nedrapazham with Neiyya (ghee) Tawa Fry

This is one of my favorite snack prepared by my mom. I rarely find them here in US. But recently I spotted them in Sprouts.

Ingredients:
Nendrapazham/ Yellow banana : 1
Ghee : 1 tsp

Procedure :
1. Heat the tawa and cut the slices and apply ghee.
2. When one side turns brown flip and cook the other side too.

Serve hot and hot only.

Eggless Choco Coffee Mug Cake in 5 min

5 min cake??? I have never been excited more. I can have a midnight cake at 12. And you can too. With this simple recipe. And this includes basic baking ingredients.

Ingredients :
Maida : 3 tbsp
Cocoa Powder : 1.5 tbsp
Powdered Sugar : 2.5 tbsp
Salt : a pinch
Oil : 3 tbsp
Milk : 3 tbsp
Vanilla essence : 1/4 tsp
Baking powder : 1/8 tsp
Instant coffee powder : 1/2 tsp
Nuts : chopped (I used walnuts, Almonds and Cashew's)

Procedure :
Mix all the ingredients and microwave for 2 minutes.  Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

Asafoetida Flavoured Spicy Idli / Hinga Idli

Asafoetida Idli??? Must be wondering how it is made? Well there is another thing about this idli. It's a no fermentation idli. Isn't it wonderful?  The one other thing about this is that you can add slightly spoilt coconut as the odor would be  covered by Asafoetida.

Ingredients:
Rice : 1 cup
Shredded Coconut : 1/2 cup
Red chilli : 15 - 16
Tamarind : gooseberry sized
Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Salt according to taste

Procedure:

1. Grind all the ingredients to get a coarse texture.
2. Pour the batter in an idli stand and steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve hot with chutney. Spicy Idli's are ready.

Saffron Rice

Doesn't the smell of Saffron make your taste buds drip saliva. It enhances the taste of the dish. So today I tried making Saffron Rice and I was very happy with the results.

Ingredients :
Basmati Rice : 1 cup
Saffron : 1/2 tsp
Milk : 1/2 cup
Ghee/ Butter : 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Cloves : 2
Cardamom : 2
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Bay leaf : 2
Star Anise : 2
Cashew : 10-15
Salt according to taste

Procedure :
1. Wash and soak the Basmati rice for half an hour.
2. In a rice cooker add ghee followed by cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom,  cinnamon, bay leaf and Cashews.
3. Warm the milk and add the crushed saffron.
4. Add this milk to the rice and 1 cup water.
5. Cook the rice and in the end fluff it up and serve it hot.

Asparagus and Mushroom Stir Fry

Asparagus is one of the most succulent and tender veggie I have ever eaten. There is no single thing that you can't cook with this veggie. Soups, stir fry and even dal.

Ingredients :
Asparagus : 10 to 15
Mushrooms : 10 to 15
Tomato : 1
Garlic : 10 to 15 pods (smashed and cut into tiny pieces)
Pepper Powder : 1 tsp
Olive oil : 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds : 1 tsp
Salt according to taste

Procedure :
1. Cut the asparagus into pieces of 1 inch each.
2. Heat oil in a pan add fennel seeds followed by smashed and cut pieces of garlic.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes cook till they turn mushy.
4. Add chopped mushrooms and cook. They release water as they are cooked.
5. Add coarse pepper powder and cook till only 1/4th of the water released by mushroom is left.
6. Add chopped Asparagus and salt.
7. Cook for just 2 min as the Asparagus should be firm.

Kiss of Love

The protest against moral policing led to the development of "Kiss of Love campaign". Dozens of youth kissed and hugged each other in public and there were various articles written about it.

A TV channel had telecast footage taken by a hidden camera of a group of youngsters kissing and hugging at a cafe. Later a group of people vandalized the cafe. We have seen similar cases where a group of men attack women outside pubs and even during Valentine's day. Basically its nothing but imposing a set of rules on people collectively called as "preserving our culture".

I have been in US for over a year now and I have never seen people kissing in public at all times. Have seen a peck on the cheek here and there, but never anyone making out in public. Actually I have seen more of it in India. And I think maybe its just because of all this hype created in the society.

The Liberal's who support this campaign give retorts like " What about the sculptures on our temples depicting sexual postures?". There are so many other sculptures depicting  education, war, animals which basically depicts the way of life people used to lead their life.

People also have another argument where they say that you can Piss in Public and not Kiss in Public. A large population in the Mumbai slums defecate in public. It is a daily sight for people who travel by local trains in Mumbai. So can we do the same in public. We can again retort by saying that this will have an impact on hygiene.

So am I completely against the concept of Kiss of Love? Not completely I would say.  A mother kissing her son/daughter is a form of pure love which is not hyped when done in public. For me as a person I love public display of affection. But that is to the extent of holding hands. The concept of love has evolved from movies and novels. The depictions on these platforms has influenced our thoughts and concept of love.

But after all these arguments people are in love and dying to express their love in public. After all everybody is free to imitate.

Chocolate Diya's with Yogurt and Fruit filling

I had seen this art in Pinterest. I had to try it one day and I felt today would be the best day to try it.

Ingredients :
Dark Chocolate : 1 cup
Yogurt : 3/4 cup
Sugar : 1 tbsp
Honey : 1 tsp
Fruits to Garnish

Procedure :
1. Melt the chocolate using the double broiler method or by keeping them in microwave.
2. In muffin cups using a brush or spoon spread the chocolate on the base and on the sides.
3. Keep the mould in the muffin pan so that everything is of equal size and keep in the freezer.
4. After 10 minutes take them out and remove the muffin cups.
5. In a bowl beat the yogurt, sugar and honey in a frothy cream and pour them in the chocolate moulds.
6. Garnish with the fruits you desire.

Notes: I just wanted to make them healthy so used dark chocolate.
You can substitute yogurt with whipped cream, fruit smoothies or ice cream.

Pomegranate and Cucumber Salad

It is time to make salad. I recently bought a bunch of really huge pomegranates from Costco which were just 2$ each.  The only problem I find with this fruit is peeling them.

Ingredients :
Pomegranate : 1 cup (peeled and deseeded)
Cucumber : 1 cut into cubes
Coconut : 1 tbsp frozen or fresh scraped
Chat Masala : 1 tsp
Green Chilli : 2
Pudina : 10 stems (finely chopped, optional)
Salt according to taste

Procedure :
Mix all the ingredients together and serve.

Things that make me Happy

Today I sat and illustrated a group of facts that makes me happy in General. And I was very happy seeing the end results.

Poached eggs in Microwave

Sunday ho ya Monday, Roz khao ande :)

Everyone likes poached eggs. You can poach your eggs in 1 min in microwave.  The only risk is of them bursting inside the oven. But if precautions are taken things can be neatly done.

Ingredients :
Egg : 2
Salt according to taste
Coarse Pepper Powder or any other seasoning as you please :)

Procedure :
1. In an microwave safe bowl add water and salt (it prevents bursting of eggs)
2. Break the egg and drop the inside of the egg into the bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe plate as a precaution in case the egg burts
4.Microwave it for 1 and half minute.
5. Topple with seasoning and enjoy.

Mushroom Pepper

I love and live spicy food. There is never a day complete without some spicy and hot flaming hot dish.

Ingredients :
Mushroom : 20 no's ( cleaned and chopped)
Onion : 2 chopped into vertical thin slices
Garlic : 6-7 peeled and chopped
Green Chilli : 4-5 juvenile
Pepper Powder : 1 tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves : 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Oil : 1 tsp
Salt according to taste.

Procedure :
1. In a pan heat oil add curry leaves followed by chopped green chilli.
2. Add the garlic and cook till they turn slightly brown in color.
3. Add chopped onions, lower the flame and cook till they turn slightly pink or brown in color.
4. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook on a medium flame.
5. There is no need to add water as the mushroom releases water by itself.
6. Add salt at this stage as the mushroom shrinks and the quantity reduces drastically.
7. Add coriander powder, coarse pepper powder and turmeric powder.
8. Cook for 5 min and garnish with coriander leaves.