Naan

                                                          Naan

         Naan was a long-time contender in my to-do list.  Recently I tried out making naan, which was an instant success. Earlier, when I used to make naan, I added curd to the dough, which gave a sour taste to the naan and became rubber-like on cooling. So I replaced curd with yeast in this recipe.
 
Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 3 hours
Cooking Time: 5 minutes per Naan

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour or Maida:  2 cups
Salt to taste
Sugar: 1/2 teaspoon
Dried Active Yeast: 1/4 teaspoon
Water as needed

Method:
1. Take maida in a bowl, add sugar, salt and mix well.
2. Put the yeast crystals in a tumbler, add half cup warm water and leave it for 3 to 5 minutes. The yeast completely dissolves, now stir well the liquid and add this to the flour.
3. Add some more water to the flour and knead well to a soft dough.
4. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep it aside. Let it rest for 2 to 3 hours.
5. The yeast would have fermented and the dough will have raised (ie, it will be more in volume). 
6. Now knead the dough and make into roundels.
7. Roll the roundels flat into large discs (about a hand span) of even thickness.
8. Place a tawa on the stove over medium flame.
9. When it is hot, put the prepared naan and cook it over high flame, flipping it occasionally till golden brown spots form. 
10. Smear oil on both sides of naan and take it out of the tawa.
11. Similarly make all the naans and serve it hot with subzi of your choice.

Note:
1. Adding yeast gives a soft texture to the naan.
 

Salem Thattu Vada Set

                                           Salem Thattu Vada Set

            Few months back I happened to taste Thattu vada set at Thattu Kadai, in K.K.Nagar, Chennai near Amman Koil. It was very different, crunchy, tangy, juicy and simply tasty.  Thattu vada set is a sandwich of thattu vada, a generous heap of veggies, like carrot, beetroot, onions is kept in - between 2 thattu vada.
            In my last year Deepavali post, I have given the recipe of Thattu Vadai. So moving on to the recipe of Thattu Vada Set. 

Cuisine: South Indian Fusion 
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Thattu vadai or Nippet: 20 nos ( Preferably small ones)
Grated Carrot: 1 no
Grated Beetroot: 1 no
Thinly sliced onion : 1 no
Thinly sliced tomato: 1 no (Optional)
Finely chopped green chillies: 1no
Chilli powder: A pinch
Lemon Juice: One Whole Lemon or 1/2 depending on its sourness and juice
Pepper powder: A pinch
Green chutney and Tomato chutney ( Recipes are in the note)

Method:
1. Grate carrots and Beetroot, thinly slice the other veggies and finely chop green chillies.
2. Take all the vegetables in a bowl and mix it well, adding chilli powder, pepper powder, lemon juice and adjust salt as per your taste..
3. Now arranging the thattu vada set, place a thattu on a plate and smear green chutney over the thattu vada, place a generous heap of the prepared vegetables over the thattu, take another thattu and smear red chutney over it. Now place this thattu over the vegetables with red chutney downwards resembling a sandwich.
4. Similarly arrange all thattu vadai like sandwich which is called as Thattu Vada Set. 

Note:
Green Chutney:
Ingredients:
Pudina: 1/2 cup tightly packed
Coriander: 1/2 cup loosely packed
Green Chilli: 2 nos
Onion: 1/2 no
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Grind the above ingredients in a mixie jar using little water to a smooth paste. Now Green Chutney is ready. 

Red Chutney or Tomato Chutney:
Ingredients:
Tomato: 2 nos
Onion: 1/2 no 
Bydagi Chilli: 2 to 3 nos (as it is less spicy, but gives bright red colour)
Garlic: 2 to 3 pods (Optional)
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Grind the above ingredients in a mixie jar into a fine smooth paste as raw or you can saute it in a pan before grinding.

  

Macaroni in White Sauce

                                          Macaroni in White Sauce

     Elbow macaroni is a variant of pasta, which my son likes. He feels it is very soft and easy to eat. So I make pasta dishes out of this variety.

Cuisine: Indo Italian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Elbow macaroni: 1 cup
Sliced Onion: 1/2 no
Sliced Capsicum: 1/2 no
Sliced Tomato: 1/2 no
Italian Herbs: 1/2 teaspoon
Milk: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste 
Oil as needed
Fresh Cream: 1 table spoon
Slit Green Chillies: 2 nos

Method:
1. Boil 1/2 litre of water in a pan, add macaroni to it and 1/2 teaspoon of oil.
2. Let it boil for 20 minutes, till the macaroni becomes soft.
3. Drain the water and rinse the macaroni in cold water well. Keep it aside.
4. Place another pan on the stove top and add oil to it.
5. When the oil is hot add slit green chillies, onions, tomatoes and capsicum. Sauté it well for a few minutes.
6. Add milk to the pan into it and add in the macaroni. Mix well.
7. Add salt to taste and Italian spices. Mix thoroughly.
8. Add fresh cream and reduce the flame. Close the pan with a lid.
9. After 5 minutes put off the flame and transfer it to serving bowl.
10. Now the creamy pasta is ready to eat.

 
 

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.