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WYF: Side dish event announcement

Many a times due to our busy schedule and our desire to cook various new dishes for the blog, we miss out on our favourite dishes. The main objective behind the What's Your Favourite event series is to give you an opportunity to cook all that which drives you crazy...This month's theme for the What's Your Favourite event is "Side dish"...it could be dry side dish or gravies..something that you always crave for in spite of making it several times..so cook up your favourite side dish atleast once during April and satisfy your tastebuds

Please note that

1) After posting your recipe on your blog, please link it back to this announcement and add the logo if possible. In case you wish to send some dish that you have posted earlier, please repost it with the link to the event and the logo. Please restrict the number of entries to three.


2) Please post only vegetarian recipes for the event since this is a 100% Vegetarian blog. No eggs please. If you are a non-blogger, mail me the recipe and the picture.


3) Mail me the following details - Subject: WYF:Side dish, your name, dish name and link to the post to easycrafts@gmail.com by 30th April '09. I will pick up the picture from your blog...you neednt send it. The roundup would be published during the first week of May.


Looking forward to your participation in the event.

Pudina Aloo


Ingredients

2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp ginger paste
Salt to taste
Bit of amchur powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup mint leaves(roasted in 1/2 tsp oil and pureed)
2 cups boiled potatoes (cut into cubes)

Heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add mint leaves paste and all the other ingredients except lemon juice and potatoes. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and mix well to coat the pudina paste over the potato pieces. Finally add lemon juice and serve with rotis/puris/pulav.

A small reminder that the WYF:Cuisine event ends tommorrow, so please rush in your entries..
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Spicy raita


Recipe source: Vanamala from Nalapaka blog

Ingredients

1 cup thick curd
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Few curry leaves
2 dry red chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp grated coconut
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Dry roast the red chillies and coriander seeds. Grind it along with grated coconut with minimal water. Heat oil, add mustard seeds and when it splutters add curry leaves and turmeric powder. Immediately transfer it to the cup of thick curds and add salt and masala paste. Mix well.

Chill and serve.
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Veg Seekh kabab


Ingredients

1 cup cooked mixed vegetables (carrot, peas, cabbage, beans)
2 boiled and mashed potatoes
1/2 cup gram flour
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp ginger paste
Few mint leaves finely chopped
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Oil to cook

Mix all the ingredients except oil. Use skewers and spread the mixture all over. I didnt have them so just shaped with hands.

Cook on hot tava with oil/ghee on low flame and keep turning them till brown spots appears on all sides.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.
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Poha Ladoo


Recipe source: Priya from Priya's Easy and Tasty recipes blog.

Ingredients

1 cup poha/aval(beaten rice)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
Roasted cashews and raisins
Ghee as required

Roast the poha in 1 tsp ghee till it starts changing colour. Cool. Grind the sugar first to fine powder and then grind the poha along with it to coarse powder. Add cashews, cardamom powder and raisins to it and mix well. Keep adding ghee little by little and make small balls of the mixture.

Quick and delicious poha ladoo ready for any occasion.

Happy Ugadi and Gudi Padwa to all.

If you are looking for Ugadi and Gudi Padwa special food recipes, please follow the links below

Aval Payasam
Bisibela bhath
Medhu vada
More Kuzhambu
Obattu (Groundnut filling)
Obattu (Coconut filling)
Puran poli (Dal filling)
Puliyodare
Chikki
Shankarpale

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Shahi Paneer


Ingredients

2 tsp oil
Paste of 1 onion
150 grams panner
1/2 tsp ginger paste
Paste of 5-6 cashews (soak in warm water for 1/2 hr and grind)
1 tsp green chilli paste
Puree from 1 big tomato
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil and add the onion paste. Fry till raw smell goes off. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Now add ginger paste, green chilli paste, garam masala powder, salt and cashew paste. Add little water for gravy and cook till it starts boiling. Add the paneer pieces to it and mix well.

Finally garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis/puris/pulav.
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Hariyali tikki


This is a very healthy form of tikki with greens in it.

Ingredients

1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
1/2 cup palak paste (sprinkle some water and cook palak for five minutes, cool and grind)
2 slices of bread
1/2 cup cooked mixed vegetables (beans, carrot, peas, cabbage)
1/2 cup gram flour
2 tsp oil + more for cooking on tava
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Bread crumbs

Squeeze out all the water from mixed vegetables. Mix all the ingredients except oil for cooking and bread crumbs. Make medium sized balls of it and flatten them as for tikkis. Roll them in bread crumbs

Cook on hot tava in low flame with little oil till brown spots appear on both sides.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.
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Eggless masala toast


Recipe source: Rekha's version from Plantain leaf blog..One more eggless french toast variety here ..

Ingredients

Bread slices
2-3 tbsp gram flour(besan)
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
1 finely chopped onion
2 tbsp oil

Make a batter of all ingredients except bread and oil. Dip the bread pieces in it and cook on a tava with little oil. Cook on both sides till brown spots appear.

Serve hot with ketchup for a quick and healthy breakfast.

Sending it over to Srivalli for her Monthly Mingle 31-Kids Lunch event started by Meeta.
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Akkaravadisal


Ingredients

2/3 cup rice
1/ 3 cup greengram dal
4 tbsp bengalgram dal
1 cup jaggery
1 tsp cardamom powder
A bit of orange red colour
A bit of pachai karpooram (edible camphor)
Few roasted cashews and raisins
1 cup milk

Pressure cook rice and dals with 2 and 1/2 cups of water.

In a seperate vessel, add little water to the jaggery and heat till it starts boiling. Add cardamom powder to it and cooked rice and dal. Mix well. Add the food colour, edible camphor and mix well. Cook for five minutes. Add milk and mix well for 2 minutes.

Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins.

*You can even add some ghee to it.
**Sometimes the rice and dal is dry roasted and cooked in milk instead of water.

This is my favourite South Indian sweet during festivals and my contribution to the WYF:Cuisine event ..Just a week more for the event to end..Please rush in your entries


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Cabbage raita


Ingredients

1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Few curry leaves
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Bit of asafoetida
Salt to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped/grated cabbage
1 cup thick curds

Heat oil, add mustard seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves and then cabbage. Cook on low flame till raw smell goes off and cabbage is soft. Sprinkle some water if required. Transfer it to a cup of curd and add salt, asafoetida and mix well.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. A quick and easy alternative to the usual cucumber or tomato raita.
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Palak Chole


Recipe source: Varsha's version at Will-O'-the Wisp with slight changes...

Ingredients

1 cup soaked and cooked chickpeas
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
1 medium tomato
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tbsp tamarind paste
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters add the chopped spinach to it and sprinkle some water and let it get soft. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, ginger paste, green chilli paste, chopped tomato and tamarind paste. Mix well and add some water to it. Let it cook till tomatoes are soft. Add a few mashed chickpeas to it and finally the cooked chickpeas. Mix well and add salt as per taste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

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Keerai Kuzhambu (Palak sambar)


Ingredients

1 medium bunch of greens (I have used spinach)
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Lemon size ball of tamarind (soaked in water)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp sambar powder
Bit of asafoetida
1/2 cup cooked redgram dal

Heat oil, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add tamarind extract and chopped greens. Cook till the greens are soft. Add turmeric powder, salt, asafoetida, sambar powder and let it come to a boil. Finally add the cooked dal and mix well for 2-3 minutes.

Serve with rice.
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Besan Ladoo


Ingredients

1 cup gram flour (besan)
3/4 cup sugar (powdered)
3-4 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cardamom powder
Few roasted nuts, raisins

Heat the ghee and roast the gram flour on low heat till nice aroma comes and the colour starts changing. Mix the rest of the ingredients with it well and make ladoos of desired size. If it breaks and is difficult to make ladoos, add a little more ghee to bind it together.

A quick dessert ready in 10 minutes.
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Sending these delicious ladoos to SWC:Meals on Wheels event hosted by LG and RCI:Lucknow cusine hosted by Lavi
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Affiliate of

Cabbage chutney


Ingredients

1 cup finely chopped cabbage
2 tbsp red gram dal
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp blackgram dal
Bit of ginger
Bit of coriander leaves

Fry the cabbage in a drop of oil till the raw smell goes off. Dry roast the redgram dal also seperately. Cool and grind both cabbage and dal with salt, coriander leaves and ginger.

Temper with mustard seeds and blackgram dal.
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Alu sabzi




Ingredients

3 boiled potatoes
1 chopped onion
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When it splutters, add the onions and cook for a minute. Add turmeric powder and chopped potatoes. Mix well and add red chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt. Cook a 5-10 minutes till the masala blends well with potatoes.

Garnish with coriander leaves. Goes well with rice as well rotis/pooris.

Thanks Vibaas for this award



Elections in India - Opinion Poll

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Carrot Peas masala rice


Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp bengalgram dal
1/2 tsp blackgram dal
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup cooked carrot and peas
3 tsp vangi bhath powder
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and dals. When it splutters, add turmeric powder and vangi bhath powder. Mix well and add cooked carrot, peas and rice. Add salt and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with raita of your choice.
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Tomato dosa



This recipe is adapted from Lavanya's version at Cookery corner with slight changes

Ingredients

2 cups raw rice (soaked for 2-3 hours)
Salt to taste
1 big tomato
1 red chilli
2 tsp grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ginger paste
Oil

Grind the raw rice with all ingredients except oil till it is a smooth batter.

Heat tava and pour a ladle full of this batter in the centre and spread it into a round. Pour a little oil in the sides and cook well. Turn and cook on other side as well.

Serve hot with chutney/sambar of your choice.
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Bhindi do pyaza


Ingredients

2 big onions chopped lengthwise
Okra
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 small green chillies slit
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 tbsp thick curds

Heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add the onions to it and fry for a minute. Add turmeric powder, green chillies and ginger paste. Mix well and add the okra pieces to it. Cook on low flame till okra is soft. Add salt and finally thick curds to it. Mix well till the curd dries up.

Serve hot with rotis/pulkhas/puri
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Arachi vitta kuzhambu (sambar)


Ingredients

1 cup cooked redgram dal
1/2 cup tamarind extract
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight and cooked)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp sambar powder
Bit of asafoetida
1 small tomato
2 tbsp grated coconut
Salt to taste
Few curry leaves

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves and chopped tomato. Cook for a minute and add tamarind juice, salt, turmeric powder and cooked chickpeas. Grind coconut and sambar powder together. Add this paste also the boiling sambar. Finally add the cooked and mashed redgram dal to it and mix well. If the sambar is thin, add a paste of rice flour and water.

Serve with plain rice or a side dish for idli, dosa, upma.
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Onion Cashew pakoda



Ingredients

2 cups chopped onions (chopped lengthwise)
1/2 cup broken cashews (a handful)
1/2 cup gram flour(a handful)
2 tbsp rice flour
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder (as per taste)
Oil

Mix all ingredients except oil with little water to get everything together. Heat oil and pour about 2 tbsp of hot oil to it and mix well.

Put small pieces of the mix into hot oil and deep fry till golden brown and crispy.

Serve as snacks with tea/coffee.

Sending it over to RFRU:Picnic eats event started by Ramki and guest hosted by Trupti.
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Paruppu urundai rasam



Ingredients

1 cup redgram dal (soaked in water for 1 hr)
2 red chillies
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Few curry leaves
Bit of asafoetida
salt to taste
Small ball of tamarind (soaked in water and juice extracted)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp rasam powder
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Drain out the water in the dal and grind it a coarse paste with red chillies. Heat oil and add this paste. Cook till raw smell goes and colour changes.Cool and make small balls of it.

In a vessel, add tamarind juice, salt, turmeric powder, rasam powder, asafoetida, curry leaves and allow it to boil. Slowly add the balls one by one and cook for five minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and temper with mustard seeds.

Serve with rice.
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Oats Paniyaram



Ingredients

1 cup oats
1/2 cup rice flour
2 tbsp roasted rava
1/4 cup curds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp green chilli sauce
Finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tsp oil

Make a batter (consistency that of dosa batter) of all the ingredients except oil and keep covered for 10 minutes.

Add a drop of oil in each hole of the paniyaram pan and pour the batter in it. Cook till it is crisp and done. Turn and cook on other side as well with a drop of oil.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.
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Onion raita


Ingredients

2 finely chopped onions
1 big cup of thick curds
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Bit of asafoetida

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add it to the curds. Add onions, coriander leaves, salt and asafoetida to the curd and mix well.

Chill and serve with any mixed rice variety or pulav.
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Punjabi Aloo



This recipe is adapted from Suganya's version at Tasty Palettes..

Ingredients

2 boiled potatoes (cooked in lightly salt water) chopped into big pieces
2 small tomatoes chopped
1 small onion (fried in a drop of oil and ground to paste)
1/4 cup cooked green peas
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
1/4 cup beaten curd
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp coriander seeds powder
Salt to taste

Heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add the onion paste, green chillies paste and ginger paste. Then add tomato pieces, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and mix well. Add the potatoes to the mixture and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Once the gravy is absorbed, add beaten curd and peas to it and cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve with hot pulkhas/pooris/plain rice.

Sending over this tasty potato sidedish to two events-

T&T event started by Zlamushka and guest hosted by Curry leaf and CFK:Potato event hosted by Deepa and orginally started by Sharmi.
Priya of Easyntasty recipes has passed me the friendship awards..thanks a lot


Veg pulav




Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice (soaked for 1/2 hr in 2 cups water)
1 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion (chopped lengthwise)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped vegetables (carrots, beans and peas)
Small piece of cinnamon
2 cloves
Few roasted cashews

Heat oil, add cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon. When it splutters add onions and cook for a minute. Add the soaked rice after draining the water to a different vessel (not to be thrown). Fry for 2 minutes and then transfer it to a vessel for pressure cooking. Add the water that was used for soaking the rice and vegetables. Add salt and pressure cook for one or two whistles.

Mix well without breaking the cooked rice and garnish with roasted cashews. Serve hot with any spicy gravy of your choice or as it is for kids.

Sending over Milagu kuzhambu (pepper sambar) to Think Spice: Think Pepper event started by Sunita and guest hosted by Divya Vikram


Cucumber raita goes to AFAM:Cucumber event started by Maheswari and guest hosted by Neha


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Beet raita


Ingredients

1 cup thick curds
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp oil
1 small beetroot (chopped finely or grated)

Heat oil, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the beets and sprinkle some water for it to cook well. Once done, add it to the curds and add salt to it. Mix well. Refrigerate and serve with mixed rice/pulav

The earlier you make it, the darker would be colour of the raita.

Sending this over to FIC Pink event started by Sunshinemom and guest hosted by Priya of Easyntasty recipes
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Alu Palak



Ingredients

2 boiled potatoes (cut into small cubes)
1 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup chopped spinach
1 medium tomato
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp ginger paste

Sprinkle little water on the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cool and grind along with tomato and green chillies to smooth paste.

Heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add the spinach paste, salt, turmeric powder, ginger paste and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes and add chopped potatoes. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with rotis/pulav
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Tomato Chutney



Ingredients

2 big tomatoes
1 onion
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Bit of asafoetida
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp blackgram dal
1-2 Red chillies to temper

Grind the tomato and onions to a paste. Heat 1/2 tsp oil and add the paste to it..cook till raw smell goes off. Add salt, red chilli powder and asafoetida to it. Mix well.

Temper with mustard seeds, red chillies and bengalgram dal.

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RCI: Haryana Roundup

Thanks all of you for participating in the RCI:Haryana event. The entries are in the order I received them.

Smitha of Kadumanga: Aloo Parathas


WYF:Cuisine Event announcement

WYF event is back with the theme for the month being Cuisine..Cuisine includes various Indian cuisines as well as International cuisines, some of them being South Indian cuisine, North Indian cuisines, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Continental. It can also be the cuisine of a particular state in India like Maharastrian, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Kerala, Andhra, Bihari, Bengali, Punjabi and so on..Although the theme is not challenging, the purpose is to remind you of your favourite food and revive good memories associated with it.

Please note that

1) After posting your recipe on your blog, please link it back to this announcement and add the logo if possible. In case you wish to send some dish that you have posted earlier, please repost it with the link to the event and the logo. Please restrict the number of entries to three.



2) Please post only vegetarian recipes for the event since this is a 100% Vegetarian blog. No eggs please. If you are a non-blogger, mail me the recipe and the picture.


3) Mail me the following details - Subject: WYF- Cuisine, your name, dish name and link to the post to easycrafts@gmail.com by 31st March '09. I will pick up the picture from your blog...you neednt send it. The roundup would be published during the first week of April.


Looking forward to your participation in the event.