Saggubiyyam Payasam ~ Sago Kheer

I love festivals, planning the menu for a festive feast and especially look forward to try sweet treats that I’m yet to blog. 

Sabudana Payasam Recipe

Cooking Time: 45 mts

Cuisine: Andhra

Serves 5-6 persons

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Ingredients:

3/4 cup sago/saggubiyyam/sabudana, cook in 2 cups water till soft

1 cup sugar

2 cups low fat milk

1/2 tsp cardamom pwd

8-10 cashew nuts

few raisins

1/2 tbsp ghee

1 Heat a pan, add ghee and toast the cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Remove from pan, keep aside.
2 In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the sugar water and let it cook for 7-8 mts on low flame.
3 Add the cooked and sago along with left over liquid and let it slowly simmer for 6-7 mts, stirring it once in a while.
4 Turn off heat. Add the low fat milk and combine. On low flame, allow the payasam to simmer for 4-5 mts. Add the cardamom pwd, toasted cashews and raisins. Serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. It tastes good both warm and chilled

Sabudana Khichdi (Shivaratri special)

This khichidi is prepared from sago which is tapioca starch or cassava starch white granules, available in three sizes – small, medium and large. Very light and easy to digest, and is said to be good for diabetic patients.

Sabudana khichidi, a vrat ka khana (fasting food) and popular breakfast food, purely because of its simplicity and flavor. Softened medium sized sago pearls (sabudana/saggubiyyam/saboonari/javarisi) are combined with coarsely powdered roasted peanuts and sugar and constantly tossed in a seasoning of curry leaves, green chillis and cumin on a low heat. Potatoes are also added to enhance the flavor. Simple hearty food at its best that is flavorful and filling! Mostly prepared for shivaratri.

Sabhudana Khichidi Recipe

Preparation: 20 mts, standing time to soften sago – overnight

Serves 3-4 persons

Cuisine: Maharastrian

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Ingredients:

1 cup sago (medium size pearls) wash, drain and let it stand overnight

1 potato (boiled cut into pieces)

1/2 cup coarsely pound roasted peanuts

1 tbsp sugar (adjust)

salt to taste

1 tsp oil

1 tbsp ghee

For poppu/tempering/tadka:

1 tsp cumin seeds

3-4 green chillis, finely chopped

10-12 fresh curry leaves

1 Wash the sago thoroughly, drain off the water and let it stand over night. Next day morning, run your fingers through the sago pearls and loosen the lumps if any. The sago should appear clear, translucent, swelled up and separate pearls.
2 Combine coarsely pounded roasted peanuts, sugar and salt to the sago and keep aside.
3 Heat both oil and ghee together and once hot, add cumin seeds and let them brown a bit. Add the chopped green chillis and curry leaves and toss for a few seconds till the flavors come out but don’t burn them.
4 Finally add the sago-peanut mixture and combine well with the seasoning on low heat and toss the sago mixture continously for 8-9 mts. Serve hot.

Note:

Check if the sago has softened by pressing between the thumb and forefinger. If you find that the centre (core) is still hard, sprinkle some water and let it stand for a little while before cooking. Don’t ever cover the vessel during the cooking process since you might end up with a rubbery thick mass of khichdi. Add grated coconut towards the end of cooking process or a dash of lime for variation. If using potatoes, chop them into small cubes, add them after the seasoning and fry for about 8-10 mts until almost cooked and then add the sago-peanut mixture.

Vegetable Manchurian(Wet & Gravy)

Many of you following my blog for sometime would know that I enjoy Indian Chinese food immensely. I haven’t posted any Indian Chinese recipes in a while and was going through the archives when I realized that I had not blogged a popular Indian Chinese appetizer, Vegetable Manchurian.

There are two versions of Vegetable Manchurian, wet and dry. Made with generous amount of garlic and ginger and flavored with soy sauce and vinegar, the wet Vegetable Manchurian (with gravy) complements steamed white rice and is best when drizzled on a serving of steaming hot rice, fried rice or noodles. The dry Vegetable Manchurian is best served as an appetizer and is a favorite in our home.

I do get a lot of requests to post snacks and appetizer recipes and I try my best to update the site with such recipes. Please be patient with me as I try to cater to your requests. For today, I am happy to post a favorite appetizer. Do make this popular appetizer at home and surprise your family.

Preparation of balls

Vegetable Manchurian Recipe

Prep & Cooking Time: 40 mts

Serves 4-5 persons

Cuisine: Indo-Chinese

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Ingredients:

2 cups finely chopped capsicum, cabbage, carrot, beans and spring onion whites (packed cups)

2 tbsps maida/all-purpose flour

2 tbsps cornflour

1/2 tbsp rice flour

1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli paste

1/4 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

warm water as required (less than 1/2 cup is needed)

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

For sauce:

1/4 cup spring onions, finely chopped

1 1/2 tbsps finely minced garlic

1/2 tbsp finely minced ginger

2 finely chopped green chillis

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri)

2 tsps soya sauce

1/2 tbsp chilli sauce

2 tsps vinegar

2 tbsps tomato sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

salt as required

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 – 2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves OR spring onion greens

1 Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel.
2 In a bowl, combine maida, cornflour, rice flour, salt, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, pepper pwd, soy sauce, salt and all the finely chopped vegetables. Sprinkle little water to make a thick mixture. Add water little by little and use only as much water as required to form small balls. You should be able to make small balls as shown in the picture above.
3 Carefully place each ball into the hot oil. Do not crowd the vessel. Reduce flame and deep fry the vegetable balls till cooked. Increase the flame towards the end of the cooking process and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove onto absorbent paper and keep aside.
4 Heat oil in a large wok and once the oil is piping hot, add the chopped garlic and stir fry for a few seconds. Add the green chillis and ginger and stir fry on high for a few seconds.
5 Add the whites of spring onions and stir fry on high for 2 mts, constantly tossing them.
6 Add the vegetable balls and stir fry for another 3 mts. They should retain their crunch. Reduce to medium heat and add the brown sugar, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar. Mix well and cook for 2 mts. Add 3-4 tbsps of water and cook for 2 mts.
7 Toss on high flame for 1-2 mts. Turn off heat. Garnish with the chopped spring onion greens and/or coriander leaves

Wet Vegetable Manchurian

For Wet Vegetarian Manchurian (with gravy) follow the steps below.

1 Mix a tbsp of cornflour in a little water. Keep aside.
2 After following step 5 above, add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and add the brown sugar, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar.
3 Add the cornflour water slowly and keep stirring till it takes a thick gravy like consistency. Cook for 1-2 mts. Turn off heat.
4 Add the balls to the gravy at the time of serving. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and/or coriander leaves

Murgh Musallam

Rich and creamy, Murgh Musallam, is a party fare that should be relished with family and friends. On Sunday, I cooked this special chicken dish along with phulkas and vegetable salad for a potluck. Everyone enjoyed the rich curry and wanted more helpings. No left overs. 
                      This recipe calls for some preparation work and you need to have some time on hand to prepare it. I wouldn’t advice any short cut method. Follow the recipe to the T and you have a truly Awadhi style chicken curry to relish. The next time you have a party at home, try this chicken dish with phulkas or any flavored rice and its sure to be a hit.

Murg Musallam Recipe

Recipe source: My recipe files

Prep: 30 mts, Cooking Time: 25-30 mts

Serves 5-6 persons

Cuisine: Mughalai

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Ingredients:

1 kg chicken, washed and cut into medium sized pieces

2 large onions, sliced

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 large tomatoes, pureed

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

fresh coriander leaves for garnish

salt to taste

10 almonds, soak in warm water, remove skin and make paste

2 1/2 tbsps oil

Dry roast on low flame for 3 mts:

1/2 tsp pepper corns

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsps coriander seeds

1″ cinnamon

4 cloves

2 elaichi/cardamom

For Marinade:

1 1/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp green chilli paste

3/4 cup curd/yogurt

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1 Marinate chicken with the ingredients called for ‘marinade’ for 1/2 hr. Meanwhile make other preparations.
2 Heat a tbsp of oil in a vessel, add garlic and sliced onions and saute for 6-7 mts till they turn brown. Remove and keep aside. Once cool, make a fine paste of the sauteed onions, garlic and dry roasted ingredients, by adding a little water (approx 4-5 tbsps). Keep aside.
3 Heat a tbsp of oil in the same cooking vessel, add the chicken pieces (keep aside the marinade) and roast them for 6-7 mts till they are lightly browned. Remove and keep aside.
4 In the same vessel, drizzle some oil, add the ground paste and saute for 3 mts. Add salt and red chilli pwd and combine. Add the tomato puree and cook for 4 mts.
5 Add the chicken pieces, marinade, almond paste and 1/2 cup water and combine well. Cook on low to medium flame till the chicken turns soft with a thick gravy.
6 Turn off heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with white rice, biryani or rotis.

Aloo Palak ~ Potato Spinach Curry

Cooking with fresh produce from the farmer’s market and feeding family with nature’s vegetarian goodness gives such joy to the heart. Simple everyday Indian khana, be it age old classics or contemporary/fusion – our delicate dals, spiced sabjis and vibrant curries bring color to the thali, flavor to the palate and nutrition to the body.

Aloo Palak is a North Indian vegetarian, iron-rich, vibrant green curry featuring pureed spinach and potatoes that are simmered in spices and flavored with dried fenugreek leaves and fresh cream. Makes for light, healthy and creamy textured curry and goes well with phulkas or parathas.

Aloo Palak Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 45 mts

Serves 5-6 persons

Cuisine: North Indian

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Ingredients:

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed, lightly sauteed in 1/2 tbsp of ghee/oil

2 bunches spinach – blanch in hot water for 2 mts, place in cold water for few secs and make coarse paste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 onions finely chopped

2 green chillis slit length wise

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

1 1/2 cups water (use the water in which spinach was blanched)

salt to taste

garam masala pwd (make a pwd of 2 cloves, 1 cardamom and 1” cinnamon stick)

1/2 tbsp malai (top of milk)

1/2 tsp kasoori methi

1 tbsp oil

1 Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and green chillis and sauté the onions till they turn transparent.
2 Add ginger garlic paste and fry further for 3-4 minutes. Add red chilli pwd and coriander pwd and combine well.
3 Add the spinach paste and let it cook for 4-5 mts. Add the fried potato cubes and combine. Cook on low heat for 7-8 mts.
4 Add the palak water and salt and cook on medium heat for 12-15 mts or till the potatoes are fork tender. Add malai, garam masala pwd and kasoori methi and combine.
5 Reduce flame, cover and cook for a mt. Turn off heat and serve hot with rotis or steamed rice.

Note:

You could also add boiled potato directly (without frying in ghee) to the cooked spinach. If using boiled potatoes, reduce the water added to cook the potatoes.

Lettuce Salad with Garlic Croutons

 After all that heavy calorie eating, its time to slow down and eat simple and healthy. I whipped up a very basic lettuce salad recipe that one can never go wrong. A refreshing change from the rich festive food. There are numerous vegetable salad recipes that are healthy with interesting salad dressings but I tend to go back to a simple lettuce salad. This salad has a fresh crunch due to the iceberg lettuce, garlic croutons and nuts. Easy to put together, clean flavors, healthy and works perfect for a picnic or potluck as it can be made ahead.

I used home made garlic flavored croutons. You can use store bought croutons or alternately, toast three days old bread cubes till crisp and use them. Do not omit the garlic croutons as they provide the necessary crunch and flavor to the salad.

Lettuce Salad with Garlic Croutons Recipe

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: min

Yield: 4

Main Ingredients: lettuce

Ingredients

• Iceberg Lettuce - 1 head, remove leaves, wash and place in ice cold water
• Green bell pepper - 1, finely sliced
• Tomato - wash, de-seed and slice
• Cucumber - 1, peeled and finely sliced
• Garlic Croutons - 1 1/2 cups
• Nuts - fistful, (almonds or pistachios or walnuts or peanuts), lightly toasted and chopped
• For Salad Dressing - whisk all the ingredients for a few seconds and refrigerate until use
• Vinegar - 1/2 tbsp
• Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsps
• Black pepper powder - freshly ground I used a little less than 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon powder - small pinch
• Roasted cumin powder - large pinch
• Date syrup - 1 tsp (or jaggery syrup or castor sugar)(optional)

Method

1. In a large bowl, place the sliced cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and garlic croutons. Tear the washed and drained lettuce leaves and place in the bowl. Toss all the ingredients using two large wooden forks. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge until serving time.
2. Just before serving, whisk the salad dressing and pour over the lettuce salad and toss to combine.
3. Garnish with nuts and serve.

Tips

• You can throw in some cooked and shredded chicken or paneer. If using paneer, lightly roast it in olive oil for 3 to 4 mts, cool and add to the salad

Cabbage Pakodi

Cabbage Pakodi

Have you relished cabbage in the form a crispy pakoda? If you haven’t and are fond of cabbage then you should try today’s recipe. To many, cabbage may not be the prettiest or tastiest of vegetables but it more than makes up in flavor in the garb of a besan coated, golden crisp pakodi. Cabbage needs to be sliced into thin strips along with onions before combining in chick pea flour, rice flour, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and green chillis and deep fried to a golden brown color. Serve warm with a hot cup of tea on a rainy day and you have a snack to provide comfort to your body and soul. 

Mixing Process

Cabbage Pakodi Recipe

Prep & Cooking Time: 30 mts

Cuisine: Andhra

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups besan/gram dal flour/chick pea flour

1/2 cup rice flour

2-3 green chillis, finely chopped

1/4 tsp red chilli pwd

1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 large onion, sliced

2 cups finely sliced cabbage

1 tbsp hot oil

few sprigs curry leaves

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

1 Combine both the flours with salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli pwd, green chillis, curry leaves, sliced onions and cabbage. Add oil and mix well with fingers.
2 Add few tablespoons of water and mix well that it forms a slightly hard batter. Don’t add too much water. The batter should just coat the cabbage strips and onion slices.
3 Heat enough oil in a deep frying vessel. Once the oil turns hot, reduce flame to medium. Use your fingers to drop the batter in the oil to form small fritters. Deep fry till they turn golden brown. Use a ladle to keep turning the fritters so that it cooks on all sides.
4 Once they turn golden brown, remove them on to absorbent paper. Store in air tight containers and serve as evening snacks over a hot cup of masala chai (spiced tea).

Vegetable Sandwich

This is Mumbai’s famous street food fare. Makes for a filling breakfast or brunch or evening snack. You can have it toasted or just plain without toasting.what could be the better breakfast on sunday than thz..

Butter two slices. Liberally apply green chutney on the unbuttered sides of both the bread slices. On one of the slices, start layering with boiled potato slices, cucumber slices, tomato slices, onion slices and capsicum rounds. Sprinkle chaat masala pwd and black pepper pwd on top. Layer with a cheese slice (optional). Top with the bread slice and toast till golden brown. Serve warm with tomato ketchup.

Green chutney recipe: Grind 1 cup chopped coriander leaves, few mint leaves, 1-2 green chilli, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt to a fine paste, adding little water.

Strawberry Recipes – Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Frosting (Valentine Special)

I had loads of fresh strawberries in my fridge and was looking at some strawberry recipes to try. I made a large batch of Strawberry compote and froze to make smoothies for my kid during the hot summer months. Today, I made Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream frosting. Sweet, aromatic and fruity where both the strawberry cupcake and frosting recipes incorporate fresh strawberries. While baking these cupcakes my kitchen was filled with an aroma that was amazing.

The strawberry flavor is just right and the next time I make them I will add some fresh chopped strawberries to the batter. With a pretty pale pink color, the cupcakes were moist, not overly sweet and with the right amount of tartness. I made a cream cheese frosting that included cooked strawberry puree. It was slightly runny and I kept the frosting in the fridge for a while and frosted the cupcakes.

If you want to make a special treat for Valentine’s Day, try these cupcakes and surprise your loved one. 

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Frosting Recipe

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 25 min

Yield: 12

Main Ingredients: strawberries flour

Ingredients

• Maida - 1 1/4 cup (all purpose flour)
• Baking powder - 1 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Butter - 1/4 cup, room temperature
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Egg - 1
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Strawberry essence - 1 tsp
• Strawberry puree - 2/3 cup (hull and blend strawberries to a puree)
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
• Whipping cream - 1/2 cup
• Strawberry sauce - 2 1/2 tbsps (cook 1/2 cup chopped strawberries in 2 to 3 tbsps sugar and a tbsp of lemon juice for 20 mts)
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 cups

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place cupcake liners in the cupcake pan. Keep aside.
2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and keep aside the dry ingredients.
3. In a bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar till smooth. Add the egg and beat well. Mix in the milk, vanilla essence, strawberry essence and strawberry puree and mix well.
4. With a wooden spoon, mix the the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to combine. Do not over mix. Just mix till there is no trace of flour.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners up to 2/3 full. Bake in a pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, approx 20-24 mts.
6. Cool completely before frosting with fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting.
7. To prepare frosting, sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Beat butter and whipping cream at medium speed until smooth. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor, don’t add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar. Taste the frosting and check for consistency. If you need a sweeter frosting and a thicker consistency, add a little more powdered sugar.