The ever eternal Pav Bhaji

This is the recipe one never gets tired of and it can never go wrong in any kitchen.  I personally feel that the small nuances enhances the taste of any particular dish.  And especially, this bhaji is incomplete without cauliflower, carrots,beans, capsicum and peas to name a few.  These veggies have to be present and cannot be substituted with anything else.  Again, the pav, if freshly baked, does wonders.

During my young days, we had different sources of acquiring butter. One was the traditional method where my mom used to accumulate cream and once a week, butter was churned in a mixer. There used to be a 'Nambisan butter' which used to top up the deficit of the home made. And special occasions like Pav bhaji calls for only Amul butter. Till today, for Pav to be toasted, I prefer Amul butter (although I get Danish Lurpak) and the slight crispiness and the brown crunchy taste is mind blowing. I prefer to make the bhaji simple and not very 'Masaladhar'.

Here goes my version
Ingredients:

Potatoes - 6 nos
Tomatoes - 2 big finely chopped
Carrots - 2 nos chopped
Onion - 1 big finely chopped
Capsicum - 1/2 cup chopped
Beans - 1/2 cup chopped
Peas - 1/4 cup
Cauliflower- 1/2 cauliflower into florets
Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp finely chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped
Jeera - 1 tsp
Pav bhaji masala - 3 tsp (I used MDH Pav bhaji masala)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 3/4 tsp
Lemon - 2 nos.
Amul Butter

Boil potatoes, peel and keep it aside.  Cook carrots, beans, cauliflower,capsicum and keep aside.  Boil peas separately.

In a kadai, add one tablespoon butter, add jeera and the finely chopped onions. Saute it well and then add finely chopped ginger, Pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and stir well till the masalas are blended and then add the finely chopped tomatoes and allow it to cook well.  Now, add the cooked potatoes,beans,carrots capsicum and cauliflower. Add salt and mash the veggies well.  Once it is mashed, add water to bring it to bhaji consistency.  Now add the boiled peas and mix well.  If the peas is boiled alongwith other veggies, it will be mashed and will not be visible.

Now garnish with very finely chopped coriander leaves and the bhaji is all set to hold hands with the mighty pav.  Squeeze the juice of two lemons or as per taste before serving.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and  a wife who can't cook and will. ~Robert Frost

Do you take personal time for yourself or do u ever have a 'lazy day"??????

Have you ever taken time to yourself? Think hard and I am sure that only few of us would have even thought of doing so. For most of us 'self' comes last. We are so busy with our household and family and just that, we do not think of us alone as an entity. 

Try to take a few minutes  just to yourself and see the wonder it creates. When one of my friend used to go on a short drive all by her own, I used to ponder what makes her  wander alone without her husband and children. Mused by her action, when questioned her , she just told me to take time off and see the difference in my moods and spirits. And indeed, it worked.  This need not be a weekend or a few days out from the family, only a few hours will do the wonder.  One need not always think of spending this leisure time outside but can be qualitatively spent elsewhere too.

Everyone needs a 'breather' sometime during the day when they would love to have some moments on their own. This 'breather' moment is a relaxing and rejuvenating one which would boost up their energy level. Even a perfectionist would love to have a break from the traditional routine.

I am sure everyone would love to have a  'lazy day' too.  Many would consider their weekends ' lazy days' as they wake up late and would be too happy not to follow any particular routine on that day. Some would prefer to just chill out over a burger and starbucks coffee or just 'window shopping'.

For some, the weather plays an important role in their 'cheer up'. Especially, if it is raining 'cats and dogs', one would prefer to have 'garam garam pakode and masala chai' to pep up the mood and then relax just enjoying the rainfall.  

Some of my friends are totally in relaxed mood when they visit their parents for a break.  A casual atmosphere always exists there and one gets a  total break from the needs of the children and of course the kitchen, courtesy our moms.  But, have you ever thought of giving a break to your mother??Please do, she deserves it very badly.

My version of 'lazy day' is,  when I finish my daily chores much ahead of the schedule and have the rest of the day only to myself. I love to browse, laze around with a hot cup of masala chai. How about you???? I thoroughly enjoy my 'gym' hours too.

Please enjoy  'few lazy hours' in your daily life and rejuvenate yourself.

'The real problem of leisure time is how to keep away others from using yours' - Arthur Lacey

The lingering taste of Vegetable Biryani

Vegetable Biryanis are wholesome meals filled with goodness of the veggies as well the rich masalas that go with it.  The flavour is unique and would definitely give an invitation to your neighbour.  Biryani must have all the necessary ingredients  to make it the authentic dish.  This is a dish which can be tried out on weekends as it involves time.  Biryani cannot be done in a hurry, it has to be cooked slowly with lot of patience to achieve the perfect taste.  Raita and pappad are the perfect accompaniments and be sure to make enough Biryani as it is going to fast disappear from the bowl like it did in my household.  Thanks to vahrehvah.com for the basic recipe and I made changes according to my family's taste. 

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Carrots, - 1/4 cup
Potatoes - 1/4 cup
Beans - 1/4 cup
Cauliflower -1/4 cup
Green peas - 1/4 cup
Panneer - 1/2 cup (cubed)
Green chillies - 2 nos
Jeera - 1 tsp
Garam masala (whole) - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Biryani masala - 4 tbsp (I used MDH Biryani masala)
Curds - 3/4 cup
Nuts -your choice
Mint
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil
A few strands of Saffron

Chop onions finely and fry it till it turns brown. Keep it aside.

After soaking the rice for an hour, cook it till it is half done, strain the water and keep this aside.

Chop the potatoes,beans and carrots into 1" pieces and small florets of the cauliflower.

In a pan, add oil, then add jeera . When jeera begins to splutter, add whole garam masala, then add ginger garlic paste and let it get cooked well till the oil leaves out. Now add the cut vegetables, peas, slit green chillies and salt. Mix well and let it cook. Once they are half cooked, add finely chopped mint and coriander leaves, four tablespoons of biryani masala and half cup of curd. Mix well. Now add panneer cubes and leave it aside.

Take a wide mouth pan and add half of the cooked vegetables and spread it well in the pan. Add curds, nuts, fried onions and now add half the portion of rice and spread it well over the vegetable mix. Repeat this process till both the veggies and rice is done. Cover it well and cook in a very slow flame till the rice gets cooked fully.  Mix  a few strands of Saffron in two tablespoons of hot water and sprinkle over the rice for the beautiful color.

Garnish with nuts and croutons.
 

An awesome veggie biryani is ready to serve.

Dedication to my father and father-in-law

As the whole world is celebrating Father's Day today, as I was reading some of the posts which my friends have posted about their Dad's, I was reeling back the quality time spent with my dad.

It is almost 25 years since he passed away, but his presence is felt everwhere and in all the chores I do.  I can recall each and every joke we shared, the undoubted support he gave in times when my ideas were opposed by my mom, the scooter rides to the school and later to the college bus stand etc etc.

He was a man of few words and my mom says that he spoke the most only with me.  My neighbours still recall the day when my father distributed Laddoos on the day I was born.  He was always proud of me in whatever I do, immaterial whether the act was a failure or success, such was the blind love.  His quiet and gentle nature is recalled even now by my relatives and friends.

The day of marriage, he just hugged me saying 'Silence is golden' and those words carried a million meanings within it.  Later, in my life after marriage, it was my father-in-law who played the role of my father and he used to take pride when someone asks him if I was his daughter.  Such was the relationship and we could talk for hours together, almost all the topics.  It was an easy-breezy relationship without any expectations or egos.  I am proud to quote that he had registered for my post graduation and B.Ed and encouraged me to complete them. 

Both of them are no more with me, but their sweet memories lingers which guides me even now in all my thoughts and actions.

A true dedication to both, appa, I love you!!!!!!!

"No matter how old you are, you still miss your Daddy" - Anonymous

Gorgeous Vanilla cup cakes-Jungle theme

If you are in and around New York, one would not have missed the 'Magnolia' cup cakes. They are too soft and the taste is beyond description. Being an ardent fan of cup cakes, tried for their recipe online and to my surprise found it here. My four year old daughter has been requesting me to make cup cakes with jungle theme for her birthday. With the excitement of the recipe in hand, thought would create this for her birthday and no doubt, it was a grand success. The above click was taken after arranging them to take to her school.

You might be wondering why I call them 'gorgeous'. Here is the proof and this is an awesome recipe which cannot go wrong at any count. Here, goes the recipe as followed from the original. The recipe calls for eggs and butter at room temperature to acquire the perfect sponginess and taste of 'Magnolia'.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour -1 1/4 cups
Self-raising flour - 1 1/2 cups
Eggs - 4 (at room temperature)
Unsalted butter - 2 sticks (at room temperature)
Sugar - 2 cups
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Milk - 1 cup

For the icing:

Unsalted butter - 1 stick
Confectioners Sugar - 2 cups
Milk - 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Assorted food colors -I used Mc Cormick brand

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg.

Line muffin pan with cup cake liners.

In a bowl, combine the flours and set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until soft and fluffy. Now, keep adding eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Now, add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with milk. Do not overbeat. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Once the ingredients are blended, carefully spoon about 3/4th of the cup cake liners. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool the cup cakes well before starting the icing process. Even if a little heat is there, the icing would not set and will begin to melt. Hence, complete cooling of the cake is necessary.

For the icing:
Mix the butter, sugar,milk and the vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Now, depending on the character on ur cake, one needs to decide upon the mix of colors. I used an array of colours like dark orange (mixture of red and yellow), light orange, black, brown (acquired by adding an equal amount of red,blue and yellow).

I successfully recreated the tiger and monkey. For the tiger effect, with the help of spatula, spread the deep orange icing evenly and a shade of light at the centre and M & M's were used for the ears and eyes. For the monkey, with dark and light brown icing again M & M's were used for the ears and eyes. Not a very difficult task for a novice.

This is my first attempt at creating jungle animals and the verdict from my 4 year old and her friends were ' awesome'. Phew, I passed the test :):)

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

'Cup cakes are dangerous, you cannot just stop with one !!!!!!! '- Unknown