Simple Dal Palak

This is a comfort food and am sure will be enjoyed by all.  This goes very well as a main component with rice or as an accompaniment with sambar rice.  Enjoyed by one and all as a side dish for rotis or chappathis.  It is good to have spinach daily to have healthy hemoglobin level.  There are many interesting recipes with spinach and the below mentioned is one of the tastiest.

Ingredients:

Spinach (Palak) 2 bunches
Tuvar dal - 1 cup cooked
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 1 big finely chopped
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies (whole) - 2 to 3
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch

REmove stems from palak and wash the leaves well under running water.  Once washed well, boil it with salt and turmeric powder.  Once cooked, mash it coarsely and keep aside.  In a small kadai, pour two tablespoon of oil, add mustard seeds.  When it splutters, add jeera, hing and the red chillies.  Now, add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook it till it leaves oil on the sides of the kadai. 

Add the cooked tuvar dal to the coarsely ground palak mix.  Mix well and place the vessel in low heat. Let it boil.  Once the heat is turned off, mix the tomato and stir.

Yummy dal palak is ready to devour.

Our very own favourite - the humble samosa

Nobody can ever say NO to the humble samosa.  Be it the simple potato  or the multiple veggies  or the non vegetarian filling, this has its own space in the cooking domain.  As such, there is no standard recipe or measurement for this filling. No two samosas tastes alike. A little tweak with the masalas or veggies bings about a new flavour and an altogethere new taste.

Here, I pen down my version of samosa which is always a hit with my family and friends.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour
Potatoes - 2 to 3 big
Carrots - 1 medium size
String beans - few
Peas
Green chillies - according to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves 1/4 cup finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Prepare a nice dough with all purpose flour adding  little salt to it. Keep it aside

Boil potatoes and mash well. Finely chop carrots, beans, peas and boil with some salt.  Now in a bowl, add the mashed potatoes, cooked carrots peas and beans. Add some salt to this mix, be careful while adding it as salt has also been added to the veggies while cooking.. In a small pan, heat a little oil and add turmeric, red chilly powder and coriander powder.  Ensure, the powders retain the original color. Once they are blended in oil, remove pan from fire and pour the contents to the mashed mix of potatoes and veggies. Now add the finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Check for taste.

Make small balls of the dough. Keep the filling and fold and make a  triangle shaped  pocket. My pics above would give  you an idea. Once the samosas are prepared, deep fry in oil and let it cook on all sides.  It is better to prepare samosas simultaneously and fry them immediately.

The end product goes well with ketchup, tomato sauce, chilly sauce, coriander chutney.

I can feel you drool after reading and visualisng this. Either rush into the kitchen to make some or off to the restaurant to buy some, I know you cannot resisit.

'My body is a temple where junk food goes to worship' - Unknown

LIFE - LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST IN ALL SMILES PLEASE

Here goes the saying ' Time and tide waits for no man' and indeed very true, time lost is never regained.  In the midst of all this, we find people fighting for very menial reasons, even going to the extent of killing.  We keep talking about our childhood days and how carefree we were.  It need not  only be a happy childhood but the further years too can be made happy by oneself if she or he wants.

Time is  a healer for most of our actions and consequences.  I used to think that I cannot live in this world without my mother, but then she is gone for almost 10 years now and I am still moving on with my life. How strange!!!!!!!!!!  With our biological family,  we enjoy a lifestyle sharing and caring.  After sometime, get married and move into another lifestyle.  Although difficult to cope up with, in the beginning, finally we get into the groove somehow.  Time does not wait for anyone.  It keeps telling that the faster one is in the track, better for her.  The first five years of marriage flies away in adjustments and learning new things.  The next twenty years, one is very very busy with the family, children and job (if the lady is working).  By the time one realises how far she has travelled during the years, almost half of one's life has disappeared. 

Now, creeps the eerie feeling of old age stepping in.  You suddenly pay more attention to exercises, food habits, low fat eats etc etc. Bhagwad Gita rightly points out that 'Whatever taken from here is for you to leave back, why fret and fume for earthly things which belongs to you today would eventually belong to someone tomorrow'.  If one realises the intensity of the above words, less would be enmity and greediness.  If the essence of Gita  is thoroughly understood, one would not become materialistically attached to worldly things,  which are just temporary.

Let us learn to enjoy each day in the same flow as it comes for each new day is a gift from God.

'Life is really simple,  but we insist on making it complicated' - Confucius

DIWALI WISHES TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILY

 

SHUBH DIWALI TO ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILY

 

 

Lip smacking tangy tasty GOBI MANCHURIAN

A big Hiiiiiiiiiiiii  to all my dear blogger friends.  Again, have returned back to the blogging world with a wonderful restaurant style "Gobi Manchurian" recipe.  As I was browsing for a good Manchurian recipe in Youtube, I got hooked on to Salonica of 'Ready, Steady Eat". This recipe is fool proof and a perfect replica of the finest restaurants who boasts of their special authentic Gobi Manchurian in their menu.  I have prepared this many times, the pics I share here are with a combo of Manchurian & Fried Rice and Manchurian & Hakka Noodles.   I loved both the combos and were instant hits among my family and friends. 
 

Thanks to Salonica and her wonderful recipe.
Here is the linkhttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HO9uwYK76tc if you want to watch her live, else please follow the recipe below :

 Ingredients (1)
Cauli flower florets
Ginger paste 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Salt
Chilly powder 1/2 tsp

Ingredients (2) Batter
Corn flour 1/4 cup
All Purpose flour 1/2 cup
Rice flour 1 tbsp
Pepper
Water 3/4 cup

Ingredients (3) Sauce
Oil 1 tbsp
Onion one finely chopped
Garlic one tsp minced
Adrak two tsp minced
Green chilly paste 1,tbsp
Tomato sauce 1/4 cup
Red Chilly or hot sauce 1/2 tsp
Soya sauce 2 tbsp
Vinegar 1/2 tsp
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Salt
Spring onion garnish

Ingredients (4) For gravy
Corn flour 1 tbsp
Water 1 cup
Spring onion garnish

Marinate cauliflower florets with ginger paste, garlic paste, chilly powder, salt and mix well. Now add florets, mix well  and let it sit for fifteen minutes.

Make batter with corn flour, all purpose flour and rice flour. Mix well. Now add pepper powder and little salt. Add water and bring the flour mix to a coating consistency without any lumps, not too watery.  Then, pour this mix to the marinated cauli florets. Mix well with hand that all the florets are coated well. Deep fry these in oil to golden color and drain. Keep aside.

In kadai, heat oil and add onions,  now add ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. Sauté till it changes color. Once it changes color, add tomato sauce and chilly sauce. Then add soya sauce, sugar and vinegar. Now put the cauliflorets and little salt.

To make it as gravy, mix the corn flour with one cup water and mix well without lumps. Mix the cauliflorets  and check for salt.

This dish goes well as a Starter and also a side dish.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!

Mother's Day wishes to all the mothers in the world, the pic says it all :):)

 

 

THE MESSAGE IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE WONDERFUL MOMS IN THE WORLD

 

 

Cricket, cricket and only cricket is all that I hear now

This post is a part of  Cricket just got better! Activity by starsports.com in association with BlogAdda.com.


Cricket season has begun, some may ask me "When did the season end?", that's true in view of the Indian Cricketing scene.  I think my craze for the sport begun when I was quite young with my older brothers and cousins fighting for tickets to go to Chepauk Stadium.  I did not quite know the intricacies of the game, but would put my foot forward to go to those matches where my siblings would decide to be a part of the crowd.  More than the cricket, the home made preparations of my mom used to lure me, the idlis doused with mulagapodi and sesame oil which keeps it soft for hours together, the tangy tasty puliyodharai accompanied with vadams (fries) and pappads. When we do not visit the grounds to watch live watches, we had the running commentary on the radio by eminent cricketers who would describe the scene of the ground to its minute details.

But, the scene is so different nowadays.  Being a resident of UAE, had the privilege to enjoy few matches here. Tickets online with courier to deliver these to your home.  No food or beverage allowed inside the ground. Food courts serving from chips to Burgers to Vada Pav :):) Big screens come alive for updates. 

For those, who are not so fortunate to be on the ground, there are channels  who does the live telecast.  But, nowadays, the advertisements are flooding the channel and one can view the programs being telecast in between the ads.  Here comes the Star Sports channel who has this wonderful live telecast with minimum ads, quick replays etc etc.  These channels are a boon to cricket enthusiasts who would not want to miss even a single action.

Hurray IPL and hurray all the teams and the players for providing us daily entertainment.

Kanna Chitchat, keep calm, the Flipkart vouchers are on the way :):)



 

MY IPL CRICKET EXPERIENCE WITH STAR SPORTS

This post is a part of  Cricket just got better! Activity by starsports.com in association with BlogAdda.com

Cricket, in particular IPL is packed with entertainment and most of us are  fully connected and enjoy the game, more so, when it becomes very competitive while CSK, (my team since the first IPL) is in action.

At home, there is never a  match when I would watch it alone.  We had a big group of either cousins dropping in or friends who would come with huge snack bags and my only kitchen work would be the preparation of 'tea' or serving them bottles of soft drinks.  Occasionally, I would stack my freezer with Cornettos too.

By and large, one of the best site to watch sports is the Star Sports channel, not judging by the fact that prizes for this contest is sponsored by them :):) It is true to the fact that the telecast is actually 'LIVE' as it happens.  The clarity of the telecast is to be appreciated.

A huge mind preparation begins at the dawn as to how to go about the day in terms of time management.  There are many instances which can be quoted about the crazy acts by me to watch the match, dodging commitments, but none can beat this.  It was this crucial Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals and I wanted to enjoy the match right from the toss. Was thinking hard how to go about the 'leave' business with my boss who had already scheduled two important meetings during the time of the match that day.  Finally, I went to office as usual, then at about 11 am, slowly began to complain about back pain/catch which was supposedly slowly increasing.  Several sincere advises followed from my colleagues and the office boy even offered to get me a Brufen from the nearby Pharmacy.  I chuckled inside and wanted to continue my agony comments complimented with sick facial expressions.  Time was ticking, hence had to hurry up with the act of increasing  pain. I reached peak at about 11.45 am and with a sobered look on my face, clutching my back, tried to push the door and entered my boss's room.  Seeing my condition, he compelled me to go home instantly and even offered to drive me home. Sheepishly but politely, I refused but had to take the invite from my friend who dropped me home. I was taken aback, when he parked his car and wanted to wait at home for me to get better. I wanted to tell him that I would be better off, left alone :):)instead told him that I would keep updating and he need not stay back disturbing his busy schedule.

Hurray, am at home just in time for the match.  Toss was on and voila, CSK won the toss and were going to bat first. Made myself comfortable in the couch with cushions stacked up along with hot lunch and all the remotes/phones at my reach.  Was thanking my stars and the match begins on an excellent note. Sixers and fours, CSK was cruising. Here, comes call after call to enquire about my back pain/catch.  Keeping my tone low, had to convince everyone that I am certainly feeling far better and proper rest for the remaining day, would certainly make me bounce back to work the next day.  Half hour passed and no calls, happy me.  Then my peace and enjoyment short-lived by the call from my boss requesting me in an apologetic tone,  if I can attend the meeting thro' video call. He must have felt bad about the request, hence made sure that I was lying on the couch and attending the meeting. Two solid hours passed with me on video conference and the whole office team listening to me and the sad part was I had to put up a sober face in front of them.  . Match was kept on mute, and occasional eye contact on the screen to update with the score was really giving me eye sore. It was very difficult to control not to smile when Dhoni hit six after six. I cursed myself for having lied about something not worth it.  I would have been able to enjoy the scene better at work. Finally, the meeting over and  coincided with the  finishing 20 overs of CSK.   By the time the RR started playing, stream of office friends dropping in to enquire about my back.  Finally, was able to enjoy the last five overs of RR and of course CSK won.  I was overcome with emotions and let out by clapping and dancing happily. Never,  I vouched would think of health issues to take leave from work.  Recalling the episode, finding it very hilarious now but not so at the moment.