The story of preparing rajma masala goes a log way.I remember the last time I had prepared Rajma I was not that big into cooking and I think I made a rajma that was not edible. Very embarrassed with the preparation, I decided to stay away from it. I have always looked at all posts that mentions rajma masala over the years and at last got an idea as to how this beans needed to treated. This recipe is my own understanding of rajma masala which I prepared for dinner last week. This time it got very good reviews and I decided to document for my reference. 

Gadgets:

Pressure Cooker

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Cutting Board

Knife

Blender

Bowl

Ingredients:

Kashmiri Rajma - 2 cups soaked in water overnight

Onions - 2

Cherry Tomato - puree 2 cups

Garlic - 5 pods

Ginger - 2 inches

Cilantro - 1/2 cup chopped

Kasturi Methi - 2 tbsp crushed

Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Rajma Masla Powder - 3 Spoons

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Bay Leaves - 2

Black Cardamom - 4

Salt to Taste

Onion Slices - For Garnish

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook on medium heat, the soaked rajma with 4 cups of water, salt and 2 tsp rajma masala unto 3 whistles. When the pressure is released transfer the contents into a bowl. 

3. Reheat the the pressure cook with 1 tbsp of oil. Add bay leaves and black cardamom in them and after 30 seconds add diced onions and cook until they turn golden brown. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a few more minutes. 

4. Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well. Add cumin, coriander, rajma, chilli, gram masala powders to the tomato  puree mix, cover and cook on low heat for 5-8 minutes until the raw smell leaves. 

5. Add the rajma and the liquid and mix well. Add salt as per requirement and pressure cook on medium low for 2 whistles. 

6. When the pressure is released, mix well and mush some of the rajma to get it to the right consistency. Add kasturi methi and cilantro. Mix well. 

7. Garnish with onion rings and serve them hot.

A year or so ago, I had a request for some broccoli and oats based recipe from one of my blog readers. I was able to post one last year, but then I totally forgot about that request and though I make this recipe often I had not stopped to document it to post. Last week I got the opportunity to do just that. It was very delicious with rice and roti that I served for dinner . The whole trick in this recipe was to keep the color of broccoli green, so that the dish when served looks appetizing and colorful.

Gadgets:

Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Colander
Cutting Board
Knife
Bowl

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1 pound
Onions - 1 sliced
Tomato - 2 roughly chopped
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp ( add more for spice)
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup Plus extra for boiling broccoli
Oil - 1 tbsp
Kasturi Methi - 1 heaped tbsp crushes
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Preparation:

1. Heat the sauce pan with enough water. When it gets to a rolling boil, add the cut broccoli and allow it to cook until it gets half down.

2. Remove 1/2 cup of this water set aside and drain and add it to a bowl of cold water.

3. Heat the sauté pan with some oil. Add cumin seeds as soon as the oil is heated.

4. Add onions and cook them until they are transparent, add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the powders( turmeric, chilli powder, gram masala, cumin, coriander) and cook until all the masalas are fully incorporated

5. Add the reserved 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook the spices for a few minutes.

6. Add the drained broccoli, salt and mix it well with the broccoli. Cover and cook for a few minutes and garnish with kasturi methi and cilantro and serve them hot.

Manga inji resembles a ginger but tastes like a raw mango. Pickles are mainly prepared with this inji and sometimes served at weddings. It pairs very well with curd rice. I stumbled upon mango inji at the local Indian store and wanted to prepare the pickle. I like to make the pickle with the skin  on the manga inji because I was once told by a wise person that ginger's skin has great medicinal properties. For dinner I enjoyed some curd rice with manga inji. Here is how I prepared it.

Gadgets:

Seasoning Ladle
Measuring Spoon and Cups
Mandolin
Bowl
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Manga Ingi/ Ginger - 3 cups sliced
Lemon Juice - from 3 lemons
Salt to taste
Green Chilies - 4 thinly sliced
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Wash the manga inji and place a mandolin in a bowl and thinly slice the manga inji.

2. Squeeze some lemon juice and add salt to it.

3. Heat the seasoning ladle with oil. Add mustard seeds ( allow it to pop), asafoetida powder and green chilies and pour it over the manga ingi.

4. Mix and store in the fridge for a few days.

A month ago I had borrowed this very colorful cook book titled Ripe from our local library. I was so impressed with the idea of suggesting recipes based on the color of the produce. The pictures were so colorful and captivating that it made me want to try almost every recipe. Every year on Valentines day when most people take the loved ones to dinner, we always make dinner at home and enjoy. This year I decided to make the fennel orange salad, simply because I had all the ingredients and it was very simple to prepare the salad. What stunned me the most was the combination of ingredients. It tasted so awesome and fresh. I just could not have enough of it. The flavor of fennel in the salad blew me.

Gadgets:

A sharp knife

Mandoline

Plates

Colander

Cutting Board

Ingredients:

Oranges - 2

Fennel Bulb - 1

Red Onion - 1/2 

Capers - 2 tbsp drained

Olive Oil - a small drizzle

Arugula - a hand full ( my own addition)

Walnuts - a few ( my addition for garnish)

Salt

Pepper

Preparation:

1. Using a very sharp knife, remove the skin along with the white pith of the oranges. Using a mandolin set to medium thickness slice the oranges and place them on a plate filled with a layer of arugula.

2. Set the mandolin to thin setting and slice the fennel bulb and onions. place them over the onions. Add the capers over the assembled salad, drizzle some oil and sprinkle the pepper and very little salt. Garnish with some walnuts (optional).

Among the various vegetables nature had provided us, bitter gourd is very unique because it has a bitter after taste. Not a popular one and is mostly associated as a medicinal vegetable. It might not be most sought after, but the whole plant has many uses. Adding it to our daily diet can help us fight diabetes and all issues associated with it. Common recipes with bitter gourd are chips, poriyal, in sambar or vathal. This pickle recipe is unique. It is delicious and one cannot find any bitterness in taste.This recipe was given by Pujashri Mathioli Saraswathi, affectionately referred to as Sri Amma. Having a small serving of this in your diet can do you a lot of good. It is almost like the raw mango pickle, only here the mango is replaced with karela. Yesterday for lunch had this pickle as a filling in my bagel and it tasted awesome.

Gadgets:

Cutting Board

Knife

Bowl

Measuring Spoons

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd - 2 

Ginger - 2 inches

Green Chillies - 2 

Lemon - 1/2 lemon

Salt

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:

1. Cut the bitter gourd into half lengthwise and remove the seeds. 

2. Cut the bitter gourd  and ginger into small pieces ( like mango pickle).

3. Add lemon juice and salt. 

4. Heat oil in the seasoning spoon, add mustard seeds and asafetida and chillies. When the mustard pops add it to the bitter gourd mixture. 

5. Can be refrigerated upto 3 days. 

It is that time of the year when most people start to cough with flu like symptoms and sometimes this persistent cough does not seem to leave us alone. If no cough syrup helps, what does one do to get some relief from it. Poha/ Beaten rice or Avil is the remedy. This was a very important information that Pujashri Mathioli Saraswathi or Sri Akka as we refer to her, shared in her speech last year and I am very thankful to her for this little home remedy. Usually, I have a tough time when I catch a cold or cough. It takes forever for me to get rid of it. This time, I felt truly blessed that I was able to get quick relief having Avil. Every time I start to cough I had some avil and slowly chewed on it and soon the cough disappeared. I see a lot of people visiting my website for cough remedies and I thought it would be good for me to share this awesome home remedy on this blog.

Ingredients:

Poha/ Beaten Rice/ Avil - 1 tsp. 

Please 1/2 tsp at a time of this poha on your tongue and slowly chew on it. Can repeat as its just rice. 

Note: I found that the thin variety works much better than the thick one. 

Its that time of the year when I have to bake more than a birthday cake. This time is for my niece and it was a very special birthday. On her request for vanilla based cake, I decided to try Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss recipe. It had great reviews and seemed very easy to prepare. This recipe helped me bake the best sponge cake ever. Great texture and taste, no wonder he is the cake boss. I am so excited to add this cake recipe to my blog for future reference. Please give this recipe a try and you will know what I am talking about. Here are some pictures that I was able to click on my cell phone.

Gadgets:

2 x 9 inch circle pan

Stand Mixer

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Spatula

Whisk

Parchment Paper

Ingredients:

Eggs - 4 large at room temp

Sugar - 2 cups

Vanilla - 1 tsp

Organic Whole Milk - 1 cup

Butter - 1/4 

APF - 2 cups
Baking Powder -2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream Cheese - 8 ounces
Powdered Sugar- 2 cups
Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Set the oven to 325  degree F.

2. In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment  beat the  eggs for 4 minutes.  Do not skip this step because this makes the cake get the texture.

2. Add sugar, and continue mixing for another 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and stir on low until just combined.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.  Add to eggs and sugar on low speed until just combined.

4. In a saucepan, heat milk and butter on low heat just until butter is melted.  Add to batter, beat just until combined.

5. Pour into two greased and floured 8" round cake pans lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake until the middle springs back when touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in pans for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto wire cooling racks and cool completely.

7. Place the big mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Add whipped cream, sugar and blend it together until stiff peaks forms.

8.Flip the cake so that the flat bottom will be on the top. With a pastry brush, spread some sugar water over the cake. Then take 1/2 cup of the frosting and spread, sprinkle some sliced strawberries. 

9. Brush some sugar water over the top of the next cake and place it in such a way so that the bottom flat part will be on the top. Add the rest of the frosting and spread the icing over the whole cake. 

10. Arrange the sliced strawberries to resemble a flower. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before slicing into it. 

I know I am posting a lot of sugary junky treats, but they were very fun to make and enjoy. The thing that prompted me to blog is due to the great reviews it received from the little guests at the birthday party. They thought it was the coolest thing they had seen and looked at me as if I was Mr. Wonka from the "Charlie and the chocolate factory". With a little help the skewers were done in minutes. They also looked cool, like a bunch of gummy flowers in a vase. A great thing to do for a party, sleep overs (only that sleep can get delayed due to all the sugar) or play dates. You will become considered a cool mom for sure.

Gadgets:

Skewers
Plates
Vase

Ingredients:

Gummy bears, rings, worms, colas, fishes etc - as per requirements

Preparation:

1. Take a skewer, and start skewering the gummies and place them in the vase.

For my daughters "pop star" birthday party, we made these cute looking treats. To go with the theme, we made pops with marshmallows which was a super hit. All I remember was placing the tray filled with marshmallow pops and they disappeared. I know its not the most healthy treat, but as my daughter puts it " we need to enjoy things we don't during normal days". It is such a breeze to make them. It took us less than 10 minutes to make some but they needed fridge time before they could be served. Here is an awesome treat to serve any time. Normally I would like to make them with chocolate instead of the candy melts, but my daughter insisted that she wanted it to be blue. So we let the birthday girl have her way.

Gadgets:

Bowl

Plates

Popsicle Sticks 

Ingredients:

Jumbo Marshmallows - 1 packet

Wiltons Candy Melts - 1 Packet ( blue)

Multi Colored Sprinkles - as required

Preparation:

1. Melt the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl as per instructions.

2. Take each jumbo marshmallow and dunk them partially so that half of the marshmallow is covered with the candy. 

3. Add the sprinkles over the candy melts, place them back on the plate and keep them in the fridge until the candy melts set well.

4. Take the popsicle and insert it in the marshmallow and place them in a tray serve.

Around Valentine's day, the elementary school which my daughter attends always has a bake sale. As always we wanted to bake something special for the event. I suggested that we use the cookie dough that we had stored in the freezer and she wanted something with chocolate. Quickly we agreed to bake a bar that uses both the brownie mix and cookie dough. In a jiffy we layered the cookie dough and brownie mix and baked. The end result was simply delicious cookie brownie bars that also looked cool.   We enjoyed it so much that we promised to make a batch for ourselves.

Gadgets:

Mixing Bowl

Spatula

Rectangle baking pan

Parchment paper

Measuring Cup

Ingredients:

Sugar Cookie Dough - 1 recipe
Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix - 1 ( required eggs, oil and water for making the brownie)

Preparation:

1. Layer the parchment paper with foil or parchment paper.

2. Roll out the cookie dough reserving 1/4 portion for adding as topping. Place the cookie dough on the pan. This will form one layer of the bar.

3. Add the brownie dough prepared as per packet instructions and spread it over the cookie dough.

4. Roughly add bits of the dough on top of the cookie brownie mix.

5. Bake at 350 degree F for 30 - 35 Minutes or until the brownie is baked.

6. Remove allow to cool before removing the foil pr parchment paper from the pan. Cut the bars into 2 inch squares after they are cooled. But they taste divine warm.