Give me Some Sunshine

Tags

blogging, Friday Feast, new venture, sin-a-mon

After the clouds and the rains we saw yesterday its time for some sunshine now… but not here on the new blog 🙂

So ladies and gentlemen, dear blog readers… presenting to u my all new food blog

Sin-A-Mon

I know I know what are u all thinking, this was supposed to be the name of the catering venture I was supposed to start, well which I did start but not in a full-fledged way… I did deliver about 5-6 orders and mostly people were happy with what I delivered.. especially the snacks and the quality of the cakes. I got excellent feedback about the same. But while I was at it last few months I also realised a couple of things…

First and foremost a business like this means being very busy in the weekends which is something that I am not sure I wanna do

Though I did deliver 5-6 orders but the orders were not flowing as I expected them too… and also its not easy to cook up 5 dishes for 25 people all by yourself…

Why am I am telling u all this? because my dear readers u have been extremely supportive of me all through… and I think I should let u know that I have failed… should I call it failed not sure… but I am not too sad… I tried what I wanted to and in the process learnt a lot… baking skills have surely gone up so much and I am might proud of that. Yes what I tried didn’t work as well as I wanted to… could be multiple reasons… may be I wasnt as good as I thought I was, may be I didn’t put in full effort (I think I did) but if u ask me the one thing why I didn’t succeed is one thing – I don’t think I have an entrepreneur in me… Yes I admit it… I find it strange to go about telling people to give me orders.. infact I feel embarresed…

So folks the catering idea is an idea which is more or less dead in my mind… though Sin-a-mon tales is something still close to my heart and hence I decided why not start a food blog with that name, anyways the amount of recipes I want to post these days it surely does deserve a blog in itself…

So presenting to u my food blog… Go subscribe to it, add it to ur reader and continue to show me your love 🙂

And when u have a blog u have to have a fan page too right…

so follow the blog

And like the FB page

Brownie Cheesecake Marble

Tags

baked, baking, brownie, cake, cheese, cheese cake, chocolate, dessert, Friday Feast, marble cake, recipe

I love marble cakes…. There is something about the pattern which takes my heart away… And hence when I saw this at nupur’s blog it was an instant love. and what is not there to love… there is a bake cheese cake, there is a brownie and they are marbled together… totak win situatio. So I had bookmarked this dish and waiting for something to happen so that I can bake it and than came Diwali when I decided to make the giveaway basket myself… It was one of the most treasured items of the basket for me… the texture brilliant and the brownie and the cheesecake perfectly complimenting each other. We loved this one and I am sure will make it again

What I used

For the cheesecake

• 170gms cream cheese – I actually used hung curd, hang curd in a musling cloth or put it in a sieve overnight so that all the whey can go away. Remember to keep this whole thing in fridge else the curd will turn sour
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the brownie

• 7 tbsp. melted butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

How I made it

• In a bowl mix together all the cream cheese ingredients till blended
• In a another bowl beat all the brownie ingredients well.
• And now starts the layering… In a greased and dusted baking pan pour most of the brownie mixture, I poured about 2/3rds of the whole
• Pour the cream cheese portion on top of it
• Now pour some dollops of the brownie mixture on top of cream cheese and swril a knife or toothpick to get a nice pattern
• Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for about 30 mins till done

Serve hot and wait for it to get over in a jiffy… its abs yummmm

Mandy I know this leave with depressed but darling much love passed your away, I hoping that this will motivate you to buy a oven and we can see Baking Buddies back in action

and this is off to a event hosted at Nupur’s blog… off to Blog Bites : The Holiday Buffet

A Mothers Delight

Tags

apple, baking, carrot, cocunut, dessert, egg, flax seeds, Friday Feast, fruit, muffins, recipe, walnuts

When I first saw this recipe at Meeta’s amazing blog I felt that the recipe has too much going around with it, too many flavours that may clash with each other but than I sat and looked hard at the recipe and as she mentions, the recipe is every mother’s delight… it has vegetables, fruits and nuts all rolled into one. I decided to give it a try and was very very pleasently surprised at the results. The flavours blend with each other so well that its hard to imagine that their are so many ingredients that went into it.

I did make some modifications to meeta’s recipe though… the major one being I used whole wheat flour instead of maida and yes I added a tsp of flax seeds powder to it

What I used

• 280g whole wheat flour
• 200g sugar
• 50g walnuts – toasted and coarsely chopped
• 270g carrots – grated
• 1 large apple – grated
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup desicated coconut
• 3 large eggs
• 180 ml vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp flax seed – roasted and grounded to a powder

How I made it

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Toast the walnuts till slightly brown, I roast them in the oven itself when it is getting heated
• Mix all the dry ingredients together i.e. flour, sugar, baking powder. salt and cinnamon, Add walnuts and coconut to it and mix a little
• In a large bowl whisk the eggs a little, add oil and vanilla essence
• Fold in the grated carrots and apple.
• Add this mixture to the dry mixture, stirring until the dough is moist.Dont overmix it which I think is the key to make good muffins
• Pour in greased and lined muffin moulds and bake for about 20 mins

Cool and bite into them, as I said before they were yummy… the carrots and apples keeping it moist, eggs adding softnes and walnuts and flax seeds adding the crunch… and very nutritous 🙂

Where we twist a little

Tags

breakfast, Friday Feast, idly, indian, oats, recipe, sandwich, snacks, uthapam

recipes that is 🙂 I love to experiment in my kitchen and regular readers know it by mostly… So when I read this post by Roop, which says that she finds desi cooking boring. This is what she has to say

No matter what cookbook I read, it’s the same recipe one after another. A combination of various spices to be tempered, onions to be browned, garlic/ginger to be added if liked, and the rest. True, you can add in new flavors, play with ingredients – example, adding chickpeas to your standard fare of baingan ka bhartha – but really, the base of all cooking remains similar. How much can one ignore the mundane?

Well I for one couldnt disagree more 🙂 I started to type a looooooong comment to her and than thoought of giving a couple of recipes to prove otherwise 😀 😀 roop I hope these are good enough to make it intersting for u 😛

Uttapam Sandwich

Yes you heard it right, I had first read about it long long ago in a magazine somewhere and since than I have been making it at home regularly and I can’t tell you what a hit it is at home… I make it with various stuffings and turns out well with every one of them… this one is my favourite though, something about combining the chinese and the indian flavours

What I used

• Dosa batter
• Mix vegetables I used yellow and red peppers, onions and carrots
• Soya sauce – 2 tsp
• Vinegar – 1 tsp
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive Oil for stir frying

How I made it

• Heat oil in a pan, add onions and fry till pink
• Add the cut and grated veggies and stir fry on high flame till just about tender
• Add salt, pepper and sauces fry for another 1 minute
• Keep it away to cool down

• Now heat the dosa tawa/pan and spread the batter on it a little thick to make a utthapam
• Flip when cooked and cook the other side
• Cut from the center and spread the veggies on one half

• Cover with second half and grill it, I use the sandwich maker and griller that I have at home

And gulp them down 🙂

Oats Idly

There is no limit to what can we done with the humble idly, the variations that I make with idlies are so many that when I wanted to choose one for here I was totally confused, I make pumpkin idly, cucumber idly, spinach and cheese idly and ofcourse the good old rava idly… What is my favorite here is the oats idly… I have said that on the blog before that I love oats and a cereal but unfortunately no one in my house eats it… hence I keep discovering recipes that contains oats in forms other than porridge and that is when I chanced upon oats idlies and trust me they are worth the try… totally nutritous and give the regular idly such a nice facelift

What I used

• Oats – 1 1/2 cups
• Semolina/Rawa – 1/2cup
• Mix veggies – 1 cup (I used grated carrots, capsicum, chopped onions and boiled peas)
• Sour Curds – 2 cup
• Green chilli – 2 chopped
• Corainder leaves – a handful
• Curry leaves – 6-7
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Chana dal – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Eno Fruit Salt – 1 tsp

How I made it

• Mix oats, rawa and curds and keep aside for 30 minutes
• Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds
• when they crack add curry leaves, channa dal and urad dal
• fry till it turns light brown in color
• Add the tempering to the oats mixture.
• Add the veggies and salt to taste and mix well
• Grease the idly mould and keep them ready
• Add the eno fruit salt and pour in moulds immediately
• Steam for about 15 minutes and your idlies and ready to be demolished

Dunk in a bowl of sambhar and relish

or if u like my little one who just wants to touch sambhar and eat, ur loss 😉

So roop does this excite u enough 🙂

Power ingredients in a parantha

Tags

besan, breads, breakfast, fengureek, Friday Feast, gram flour, indian, methi, palak, ragi, recipe, soya, soya flour, spinach, whole wheat

I absolutely heart one pot or rather one dish meals… yes I love cooking and there are times when I have made a 5-course meal for many people but there are times when I dont want to do anything and make one item which will be a complete balance meal… pulaos, khichdis, pastas are the usual that come to mind when we talk about one dish meal but what about paranthas? There are so many things we can do to a parantha and come up with a yummy and fully balanced meal in itself.

Couple of weeks back in such a frame of mind… I made this…. it tasted absolutely divine and with a bowl of curd and some salad.. a meal in itself couldnt have been healthier

What I used

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup ragi flour
• 1/2 soya flour
• 1/2 gram flour
• 1 bunch methi leaves pureed
• 1 bunch spinach leaves chopped finely
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 1 tsp oil for kneading
• 1/2 tsp ajwain
• 1/2 cup curd (sigh how i missed it when i typed it first)
• salt and chilli powder (u can also use green chillies, I avoided because of ojas)

How I made

• Mix together all ingredients and knead to make a soft chapati dough
• Take a ball to make paranthas… roll into a chapathi size and then spread oil on top and roll in it a spiral
• Roll again and u will get enough lachas in the parantha 🙂 u can ofcourse make paranthas as u choose 🙂 and enjoy a power packed meal

Wheat and ragi provide the cereals, gram flour and soya the pulses and hence the protien… methi and spinach the veggies and that too green veggies… some curd added to the doufh and then a little curd to eat along for dairy products and its as balanced as it can get.

Ok swaram promise this is the last one and then in the weekend I will be quiet no posts 😉

Palak chutney

Tags

chutney, cocunut, complete my thali event, dosa, Friday Feast, idly, indian, palak, recipe, roasted gram

I love various forms of chutneys with dosas, idli and even paranthas 🙂 so I am always in search of good recipes plus due to the fact that I am dieting (atleast trying to eat sensible) and mil has high cholestrol, the standard cocunut and peanut chutneys are made very rarely in our house…

So when I chanced upon Palak chutney recipe in Sanjeev Kapoor’s Rice, Bread & Pickles, I was almost jumping with joy, the fact that I love spinach was just an added advantange 🙂

I did make a minor modification to the recipe though… The original recipe used grated cocunut and due to the reasons stated above I replaced the cocunut with roasted channa dal…

I also seasonsed the final chutney with little mustard seeds which was not mentioned in the original recipe somehow a chutney without that tempering seems incomplete for me specially if I am going to eat it with idly/dosa

So here is the final recipe, if u want to stick to the original recipe just replace the roasted gram with cocunut and skip the seasoning in the end and bingo…

What I used

• 1 tbsp skinless split black gram (urad dal)
• 1 tbsp spli bengal gram (channa dal)
• 4 dried red chilli (reduce it if u dont want it fiery)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 1 green chilli chopped
• 1 tbsp roasted gram
• 1 tsp tamarind pulp
• 1 bunch (roughly 250gm) spinach or palak, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp oil
• salt to taste

for the tempring/seasoning

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

How I made it

• Heat oil in a pan, add the burad dal and channa dal and roast to golden brown, take care not to burn it though
• Add the red chillies and onion. Fry for 2 mins
• Add the tomatoes and green chilli and saute for 5 mins
• Add the palak, roasted channa, tamarind pulp and salt  and mix well.
• Remove from heat and cool
• Grind to a fine paste
• Season with mustard seeds cracked in hot oil

We eat these with crisp dosas this morning and the taste is still lingering in my mouth

This is off to Complete my Thali – chutney event hosted at Joy Of Cooking

PS:I may post somemore chutneys as this event sounds very intersting and there is no limit on the no of entries so stay tuned and dont run away from the scare of getting drowned in chutneys 😉

Apple Pie With a Twist

Tags

apple pie, apples, baking, dessert, Friday Feast, friday feast on monday :), pie, puff pastry dough, recipe, yeast

I love Apple pie actually I love all baked fruit desserts and specially baked apples… a fruit which I really don’t enjoy eating too much just like that but bake it and bingo a brilliant dessert…

I usually make apple pie with the standard pie/tart base but sometime back I tasted an apple pie with a puff pastry base and it was yummmm so I decided to backtrack the ingredients in my head and give it a try and I am so glad I tried because the result was really really good and the whole thing got over in less than half a day 😀 😀

And now that u are probably tempted enough to take a bite into it, here is how to make it 🙂

What I used

For the base

• Flour – 250 gm
• Water – 150 ml
• Yeast – fresh 5 gm. dry 2.5 gm
• Salt – 5 gm
• Sugar – 10 gm
• Milk Powder – 2.5 gm
• Butter/Margarine – 10 gm
• Margarine for laminating – 85 gm

For the filling

• Apple – 2 big sized, I used granny smith, u can use any but I personally like granny smith the most in dessert it balances the sweetness with adding a twist of sourness
• Sugar – 40 gm
• Cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
• Raisin – 50 gm
• Cake crumbs – 40 gm (if u dont have cake crumbs at home, u can use oats or cornflakes also)
• Cornflour – 10 gm
• Water – 15 ml

How I made it

• Mix maida, milk powder, butter, yeast  and water to make smooth dough. Knead well for about 5-10 minutes
• Leave covered with a damp cloth for rising for about 30 mins
• Roll the dough into a thin rectangular sheet
• Divide the margarine into two parts – fom the first part take out a little and keep aside and spread the rest evenly on the sheet. Remember to spread it evenly and not tear the sheet.
• Make four markings on the sheet make four folds. The corner two ¼ folding inside making it look like an open book and then finally keep one on top of another.
• Spread the margarine that u kept aside on the top again. Take extreme care as the chances of tearing are very high when u are reapplying
  Fold it in the same method again.
• Wrap in a dusted butter paper and keep in fridge for 30-45 mins
• Repeat the above process of lamination i.e. sheet spread the second half of the margarine and fold
• Wrap in a dusted butter paper and keep in fridge for 30-45 mins
• Grease and dust the pie mould
• Keeping aside about 1/4 of the dough, roll out the remaining dough into a circle of ur pie mould size and then place it in ur pie mould covering all sides well. Use a knife to cut the extra dough from the top
• Poke the base of the pie with a fork a little
• Keep aside in the fridge for about 10 minutes till u get the filling ready
• Dice the apples in small cubes, the smaller the better as u will be able to put more filling in the pie then
• Mix all the other filling ingredients and mix well
• Dissolve the cornflour and water mixture and mix with the filling
• Spread the filling evenly in the pie mould.
• With the dough that u kept seperately make some shapes or simple simple striped and cover the top of the pie.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for about 15-20 mins
• Serve warm… yummm

PS: I typed it on Friday and thought I have posted it but now when I came to write another post it was right here in the drafts sigh

Rosemary Potatoes

Tags

baby potatoes, Friday Feast, main course, potato, recipe, rosemary

Who doesn’t love the humble vegetable potato and I absolutely adore it in its baby form (though I try hard very very hard to stay away from it). So when I chanced upon this while some online browsing, I knew this was a dish which had to be made ASAP 🙂 and I was glad I did make it because it was a absolutely yummmm

We had it with hot phulkas (I skipped them to balance on carbs), salad and a raita for a full satisfying meal

What I used

• Baby Potatoes – about 15
• Spring Onions – finely chopped about 10
• Fresh Rosemary – a handful chopped
• Dried Rosemary – 1/2 tsp
• Olive Oil – 1tbsp
• Cherry Tomatoes – about 15
• Salt – to tastes
• Chilli Powder – to taste

How I made it

• Wash and scrub the potatoes well, keep the skin (Tip : I keep a fresh separate scrotch bite to clean my potatoes, it works like magic)
• Boil them till 3/4 till done
• Heat olive oil in a pan and add potatoes, toss on high heat till they turn golden brown in color and are fully cooked.
• Add salt, fresh and dry rosemary and stir fry for another 2 minutes
• Add cherry tomatoes (I cut them into 2), chilli powder and spring onions. Fry for 2-3 minutes
• Serve hot

It was such a hit at home that I had to make it again after a week, the next time I made it I didn’t have fresh rosemary so I used a little more of dried and that too worked.

I am posting a recipe after so long, it feels good… It was almost like I have forgotten Friday Feast 😉

So whats cooking in your kitchen?

PS: Original recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor

Meal in a box

Tags

cheese, Friday Feast, kiddie delight, kids eats, main course, pasta, recipe, veggies

Ojas is a very picky eater, very choosy about what he eats and even if he likes something he eats it very less… but one thing that works mostly with him is Pasta (a big kala tikka and touchwood here)

So I try and make pasta very often and also try and make it as healthy as possible… this one is one of my own creations that comes out very very yummy and is highly nutritious

Ingredients

For the sauce

Part 1 ingredients

• 1/2 cup yellow moong dal
• 10 ripe and red tomatoes
• 1/2 capsicum chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 bunch spinach

Part 2 ingredients

• 1 large onion chopped finely
• 1/2 capsicum chopped finely
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 corn
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1/2 – 1 cup grated cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp oregano or any other dried spice
• Salt to taste

• 200 gm whole wheat boiled pasta (any shape but ojas loves fusilli or penne… I use Fab India pasta and its really fab)

Method

• Wash and boil the moong dal in a cooker well. Mash it a bit
• Blanch the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes in boiling water
• Remove the skin and keep aside
• Par-boil rest of the Part 1 vegetables and then grind all the part 1 ingredients to make a smooth paste
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and then add onions to it
• Fry for 4-5 minutes till they start changing color
• Add the carrots, capsicum, peas and corn and stir fry for 5 minutes or so (U can also choose to parboil these veggies)
• Add salt, pepper and oregano (U can also add some chilli flakes if u want it spicy)
• Add the sauce prepared above and let it cook in medium flame for about 10 mins
• Add the shredded cheese and boiled pasta to it…. Mix well and serve hot

Grilled Arbi

Tags

arbi, Friday Feast, grill, grilled, healthy, indian cooking, indian main course, main course, recipe

I love arbi but used to stay away from it because

1. its full of carbs

2. its good when its made with lots of oil 😦

3. I cant just peeled it without having to itch my hands for the whole day afterwards

But all this atleast the last 2 parts were till sometime back when I discovered that we can grill this vegetable beautifully…. I used to boil it and then grill but then I read at some blog about steaming and grilling which seemed like an even healthier option

So now I have a much healthier version of arbi which satisfies health freak as well as the taste buds…. Iya the fellow arbi fan and Goofy as u had asked for it… this post is for both of u…. enjoy the arbi

Ingredients

• Arbi(Colocasia) 500gms
• Onion 1 medium sliced
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp corrainder powder
• 1 tsp tava fry masala
• 1 tsp aamchor powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste as fiery as u want)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp oil + oil to grease the baking tray

Method

• Wash and roughly scrub the arbi (I have kept a scrotch brite seperately in the house for scrubbing potatoes and arbi etc)
• Steam for about 6-8 minutes till a tender.  I have this microwave steamer at home which is so handy and convienent to steam stuff, its my all time fav cookware. U can use any steaming method u like
• Let it cool and peel of the thick skin using a knife (surprinsgly doesnt itch so much after steaming)
• Chop the bigger ones into 2 pieces and leave the smaller ones as it is.
• Mix all the dry masalas,onions with arbi
• Grease a tray and put the masalsa arbi in it
• Grill at 200C for about 10 minutes or so, stirring once inbetween
• In a small pan take 1 tsp of oil and add mustard seeds and fry till they start spluttering.
• Pour over grilled arbi and mix well.
• Garnish with chopped corainder leaves and serve with hot paranthas or phulkas…