Mushroom Fried Rice

                                             Mushroom Fried Rice

    I had some mushroom left over after making the soup, so I decided to use it to make fried rice. Mushroom fried rice is not a common fried rice variant, only a few restaurants serve it. Moving on to the recipe.

Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Cooked Basmati Rice: 1 cup
Finely Chopped Capsicum: 1 
Finely Chopped Cabbage: 2 table spoons
Green Chilli Sauce: 2 tea spoons
Mushroom finely chopped or Thinly chopped: 6 to 7 nos 
Finely chopped carrot: 2 table spoons
Finely chopped Spring onions: 3 tea spoons
Finely ground pepper powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Refined oil as needed
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Pressure cook basmati rice for 3 whistles and when pressure settles down, take the rice and spread it on a plate and allow it to cool down completely.
2. Chop all the vegetables and the mushrooms.
3. Place a heavy bottomed pan on the stove and heat it.
4. Add to the pan, 2 tea spoons of oil, the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Keep stirring it for a minute.
5. Mushrooms will release its water contents, when all the water gets evaporated, add 1 teaspoon of oil.
6. Then add the vegetables one by one and put capsicum and spring onion in the end.
7. Add salt, pepper and chilli sauce and saute well.
8. Add the rice and mix well thoroughly without breaking the rice grains.
9. Finally add spring onions and toss it for 3 to 5 minutes.
10. Transfer it to a serving bowl and serve it hot with any Chinese gravy of your choice or ketchup.

 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

                             Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cuisine: Universal (World) but adapted to Indian taste buds.
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:                                                           Yields: 3 cups of soup
Button Mushroom: 4 to 5 Nos
All purpose flour/Maida: 1 Table spoon
Butter: 1 Tea spoon
Onion: 1/2  Finely Chopped
Water as needed or 2 and 3/4 Cups
Fresh Cream: 1 Table spoon
Mayonnaise (Egg less): 1 table spoon (Optional) but I used it to give a tangy twist
Pepper: 1/2 tea spoon
Salt as per taste

Method:
1. Wash the mushrooms well, tap it dry using a clean cloth.
2. Dice the mushrooms and keep it aside.
3. Finely chopp the onions.
4. Place a sauce pan on the stove top over medium flame.
5. Add the butter and wait till it melts.
6. When butter gets melted, add onions and mushrooms, stir well for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add maida and fry for 2 minutes.
8. Now add 3 cups of water and stir well without any lumps.
9. Add salt and pepper and let it boil.
10. Add fresh cream and put off the flame.
11. Serve it piping hot.

Note:
1. A added mayonnaise while adding maida, you can add if you want tangy taste or otherwise skip it.
2. You can also add milk while adding maida, it make the soup creamier.


 

Parotta (Kerala Style)

                                               Parotta (Kerala Style)

            Parotta is very much South Indian recipe. People may confuse it with North Indian Paratha. This recipe is quit different, in south India parotta is made using maida or all purpose flour, but in north India, paratha it is made using wheat flour.
            This parotta is layered and flaky, crispy outside and soft inside. Usually people think it is very tedious to do this parotta at home. Some hacks are there to make it easy  at home and enjoy.
            Let me come to the recipe 

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Resting Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 4 to 5 minutes per parotta

Yields = 1 Cup Flour-5 Parotta

Ingredients: 
Maida: 1cups
Oil: 2 table spoon
Salt as needed
Water as needed

Method:
1. Take maida in a wide bowl and add salt and a table spoon of oil and mix well.
2. Add water little by little and make into soft dough and knead well.
3. Smear 1 tea spoon of oil and close the bowl with lid. Keep it aside.
4. Let the dough rest for 3 hours.
5. Take the dough and knead well and divide it into 10 equal sized balls and smear oil over it.
6. Take a ball and roll out into thin chapathi.
7. Using a knife cut into stripes. Take all the stripes in your hand, hold it vertically and gently press the edges, (ie, on top and bottom) and then in circular motion gather and make it into spiral discs, smear oil and keep it aside.
8. Similarly make  the remaining dough discs.
9. Now take a disc smear oil on your palms and flatten it using palms and make it into parotta.
10. Heat a tawa on the gas top and when it is hot, put this parotta, sprinkle little oil over it and cook it on both sides over medium flame, turning it now and then.
11. Take it out when is turn golden brown with layers visible.
12. Similarly make all the paraottas.
13. Serve hot with vegetable kurma or vegetable salna.

Note:
1. To make the parottas soft and flaky, after making parottas stack it one above the other, while it is still hot and gently push with both hands using your palms from the sides towards the centre.

Rice Corn Nuggets or Rolls

                             
                                             Rice Corn Nuggets or Rolls

              Using cooked rice instead of boiled potatoes, was a nice option, as I had no stock of potatoes. I made this snack as after school- eat to my son. Usually cutlets made using boiled potatoes and bread crumbs, but since I had no potatoes, I used left over cooked rice as a healthier option.
            
               For making this, I used little panner and cooked corn, cooked rice and few green chilies, ginger.  Coming to the recipe

Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Leftover Cooked Rice: 2 table spoons
Freshly boiled sweet corn: 1& 1/2 table spoons
Green Chilli: 2 nos
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece
Salt to taste
Panner: 50 gms
Oil for shallow frying

Method:
1. Take the cooked rice in a bowl, smash it with your finger into smooth dough- like.
2. Finely chop green chillies and ginger, add salt to this dough.
3. Now add boiled sweet corn, salt and mix well, add crumbled panner and knead into soft dough.
4. The dough may be slightly sticky, so smear some oil on your palms and shape it as per your preference.
5. Shallow fry this in hot oil till golden brown.
6. Drain excess oil and serve with ketchup or mayonnaise.

Note:
1. This may not turn brown while frying, because of cooked rice but was very crunchy.

Onion Pakoda

            
                                                     Onion Pakoda

      During rainy evenings, munching hot crispy, crunchy onion pakoda, will be a wish for anyone. I could not resist the desire to eat pakoda. The thought of onion pakodas tickled my taste buds, so I decided to make and share the recipe.
      Onion pakoda went well with my evening coffee. Coming to this recipe.

Cuisine; South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Big onion: 1 no
Green Chilli: 2 nos 
Ginger: 1/2 tea spoon finely chopped
Besan Flour: 1& 1/2 table spoons
Rice Flour: 2 &1/2 table spoons 
Asofotedia: 1/2 tea spoon
Saunf: 1/2 tea spoon (Optional) 
Salt as needed
Hot Oil: 2 tea spoon ( for mixing dough)
Oil for frying
Curry Leaves: A few no
Water as needed

Method:
1. Finely slice the onions and  green chilies.
2. Take a wide bowl, add rice and besan flour mix well, add asofotedia, salt and mix thoroughly.
3. Now add the finely sliced onions, green chillies and ginger, saunf.
4. Add hot oil and knead well, the water in the onions will be enough to make it into dough. If it is dry, sprinkle little water. It should be a tight dough. Leave it for 10 minutes.
5. Heat oil in a kadai over medium flame.
6. When the oil is hot, deep fry the pakodas till golden brown and crispy.
7. Drain the excess oil and take it out, place it on a tissue, to remove oil  if any.
8. Serve and enjoy pakodas.

Burger

                                                         Burger

       I heard about burger long back in 1997, when my cousin's used to say that they relished this dish. It was like Greek and Latin to me. One day my Geetha Pinni ( My Mom's younger Sister) took me to a restaurant in Anna Nagar "Chariot" near the famous 14 shops.
       I joined my cousins who were waiting for me to have their brunch. They ordered burgers and hot dogs, some french fries and milkshakes for all of us. My cousin (Prashanthi's) explained me what a burger is and how it is made etc.
       Never in my dream, I thought I would do one. My son is a fan of burger, he likes it more Indianised with fresh vegetables and a veggie Pattie. Coming to this recipe.

Cuisine: Fusion Food
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes ( Pressure Cook + Frying)

Ingredients:
Burger Buns: 2 nos ( Available in the Supermarkets)
Boiled potatoes: 2 nos
Onions finely chopped: 2 nos
Carrot finely chopped: 1 no
Beans finely chopped: 4 to 5
Cabbage or Lettuce leaves: 2 nos ( I used purple cabbage)
Mayonnaise: 2 tea spoon
Sliced tomatoes: 1no
Sliced Cucumber: 1/2 no ( 4 to 5 slices)
Bread crumbs: 2 tea spoon
Maida Paste: 2 tea spoon

Method:
1. Pressure cook Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Beans to 6 to 7 whistles to a mashy consistency.
2. Slice Cucumber, Tomatoes and chopp the onions finely and keep it aside.
3. Take the vegetables, which has been pressure cooked and mash it well and make balls of medium    size ( size for Chapati) 
4. Take maida and make a thick paste of dosa batter consistency.
5. Dip the potato balls into the batter and roll it over the bread crumbs, so that bread crumbs is coated all over and flatten it.
6. Place this prepared patties in the refrigeration for 10 minutes. Take it out and shallow fry it in tawa or deep fry it.
7. Now arrange the burger, cut the burger bun into 2 halves. Place the patties, lettuce or cabbage apply mayonnaise and place sliced cucumber, tomatoes over it and close it with the other half of the bun.
8. Now your burger is ready.

Note:
1. Apply mayonnaise over the lettuce or cabbage leaf, otherwise  because of hot pattie it may becomes greezy.

Kaju Katli (Veggie Delights)

         
                                            Kaju Katli (Veggie Delights)

             You may wonder kaju katli, but how veggie delights, yes kaju katli in the shape of vegetables. During my childhood days, my mother used to get this from Buhari Sweets occasionally. It was shaped like tiny carrots, tomatoes and even apples.
             I wanted to try  these kaju veggies for a long time but was hesitant to use food colors. But I convinced myself saying Being First Anniversary of my blog yes!!. It has been a year since I started blogging. To celebrate it I made this kaju veggies.
             Coming to the recipe, you need to be little creative, everyone of us might have played with clay, making odd things. So likewise using this kaju dough make veggies.

Cuisine: Indian Sweet
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Whole Cashews: 1/2 cup
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Milk Powder: 1/2 cup
Water as needed
Ghee: 2 tea spoon ( For smearing in hands)
Food color: Orange and Green ( 1/2 a pinch each)

Method:
1. Dry roast the cashews and cool it down completely and pulse it in a mixie jar to a coarse powder.
2. In  a pan add sugar and water till it immerses and put it on a medium flame and stir it continuously till it reaches 1 string consistency.
3. Put off the flame and add the powdered cashews and mix it well, add the milk powder and knead it well. It comes to chapati dough consistency.
4. Before it cools completely, divide it into 3 portion, add orange food color to 1 portion and green to another portion and have the remaining as white.
5. Make or shape it into tiny carrots, raddish and cauliflower, smearing little ghee on your palms.
6. Now it is ready to serve.

Note:
1. I stays well for a week under refrigeration.
2. It is optional to add cardamom, if you wish you can do so. I did not use it.