My best of 2012

This blog has been the center of my life for sometime now. It helped me experiment with things I was unfamiliar with.

First recipe – Dahi Tikkas

First cake- Eggless zebra cake

First Bread- Pistachio Bread

First Fresh Bread Rolls- Spring onion and cheese spring rolls

First Gujarati Dish- Kobi Dungri nu shaaq

First Original Dish- Maggi Stuffed bun

First post that had our picture- The Gujju Bahu

First Blog Hope post- Aalu Posto

First Restaurant Review- Leb-Mex

The toughest Gujarati Dish I learnt to make- Handvo

First left over food reuse post- Quick Mango Cake

Most stunning cooking I made but forgot to note the recipe- Choco-Vanilla Clouds cookies

Most adored menu for a party at home- Brunch at home

Most loved dish by the extended family- Lasagna Rolls

Sauce that always impresses- Basic Tomato Sauce

Friendships day cake- Devils cake

My First Edible gift- Housewarming gift

My First blog event- Fun Fair Food event and Round up

My Birthday Cake- Peach Chocolate mousse cake

Gujarati Thali at home

Most colorful cake I made- Checkerboard cake

First Ashtami puja at home- Ashtami Puja

My first prize from a blog event- Kid’s delight

First Interview on my Blog- Beyond the URL: Nandita

Cake I made for friend’s wedding- Dark Chocolate orange cake

First pie that I made- Bulgar Empanada Galella

Pati’s Birthday cake- 7 layer Neapolitan cake

Post straight from the heart- 28 things I wish I had learnt sooner

Post for our Anniversary- Our Story

Karva chauth

Most loved Indian sweet- Gulab Jamun

Most stunning picture post- Almond peanut cake

Hope you like them too 🙂

Cheers

 

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 32,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 7 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Parwal Bataka Nu Shaaq

Parwal is also known as Point Gourd and looks like this

Source:Google

We generally peel the outer skin of this vegetable. Take a knife and keep it perpendicular to the vegetable. Peel it in long strokes lightly.

You shall need: [Feeds 2]

7-8 … Parwals [Remove seeds if they are very hard. Cut length wise]

1… medium size potato [peeled, washed and cut length wise just like the parwal]

1 tbsp … oil

1/2 tsp… Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp… Mustard Seeds

a pinch of heeng

1/4 tsp… Turmeric powder

2…green chillies

Salt

1/2 tsp… Red Chilly powder

1 tbsp… Jaggery

1/2 tsp… Dhaniya powder

1/4 tsp…Jeera powder

Water

Method:

• In a pan, add oil and once it is heated, add cumin and mustard seeds.
• Add green chillies, turmeric powder, salt and red chilly powder.
• Add the veggies and stir.
• Add 1/4 cup water and stir.
• Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat.
• Add water if it evaporates and the veggies are not cooked.
• Once they are almost done, add the jaggery and cook without the lid.
• Serve warm with bhakri or chapati.

Cheers

Medu Vada

For this month’s SNC challenge the North team was given a challenge to make Medu vada. This soft, fluffy yet crunchy delight comes from Kuk’s Kitchen.

I made it this morning and had it for breakfast. It was fabulous.

You shall need: [makes 12 small or 8 big ones]

1 cup…. Urad dal [Washed and soaked overnight]

2-3…green chillies

1/2 tsp…Pepper Powder

A pinch of heeng [Asafoteda]

1/2 .. Medium size onion [Finely chopped]

Salt and water

Oil to deep fry

Method:

• Coarsely grind the rinsed dal [Remove all water from it] with green chillies.
• Add very little water if required.
• Put oil to be heated for deep frying
• Take it out in a bowl, add the pepper, salt, heeng, onion and mix well.

• We the palm of your hands and take a ping pong size ball of the mixture in your hand.
• Give it a proper shape and make a hole in it.

• Drop it in the oil carefully.
• Serve warm with sambhar and chutney

Points to remember:

• My dal batter was little loose, so the maid suggested that I should add some rice flour. This shall make the dough more pliable but the vada will not be as soft as you would want it to be.
• Be very careful while putting the vada in the oil, I burnt the tip of my finger as it was too close to the oil.

I shall definitely make more of this soon. I belong to the north team.

Thanks for the opportunity Divya.

Cheers

Review: Cheesy Boloroni Pizza

Well we did try this one 🙂 In mexican Green Wave.

The promise:

The Cheesy Boloroni Pizza has been loaded with tasty unique stuffing to make it a special treat. It has a unique mix of veg Bolognese sauce and Macaroni, topped with a layer of a new Barbeque flavored Liquid Cheese, and finished with Mozzarella cheese and toppings.

What we got-

Even though we could not see distinct layers, the flavor was there. It was heavy compared to the original pizza. Definitely try worthy again 🙂

Cheers,

Dal Saag

Oh this heart warming dish comes from my Bua’s house. Lots of greens, radish and lentils. It is a prefect dish to be eaten bowl-fuls by itself or with rice or chapati. 🙂

You shall need: [Serves 2 hungry people]

300 gms… Spinach [Blanched in salt water]

fist ful of Methi leaves [Cut and washed]

2…Medium Radish [Cut in small pieces and washed]

10 ….Radish greens [I used the baby leaves]

1/2 cup…. Split moong dal [Wash and soak for 15 min]

Salt

2… green chillies [Finely chopped]

1 tbsp… Oil

1/2 tsp… Jeera

1/2 tsp… Ginger garlic paste

1… Medium onion [chopped]

1…small tomato [chopped]

1.5 cup…water

Red chilly powder

Pinch of Haldi

Method:

• In a cooker, add oil.
• Put in the green chillies and jeera.
• Add onion and cook until translucent.
• Add the tomato and cook until it is done.
• Add radish, red chilly powder, salt and a pinch of haldi.
• Add the spinach, methi and radish leaves.
• Add dal and and water.
• Give 3 whistles on full flame and 1 on medium.
• Let the steam escape.
• Mix it well and serve with steam rice or chapati

Cheers,

Sending this to:

 

Spicy Potato Peanut tikki roll

After a night out at the “Den” the pati wanted something spicy, some roll, some crunch…. I seized the opportunity to innovate. While browsing through the ingredients at hand I found I had dhaniya seeds, peanuts, wheat flour dough, tomato puree, tomato, onion, whole green and red chillies, bread crumbs and the usual suspects,,,Salt, pepper, red chilly powder and sugar.

Here goes. You shall need [Makes 2 rolls]

For the tikkis:

3… medium size potatoes [Boiled and mashed]

1…small onion [Peeled, washed and quartered]

1.. small tomato [Washed and quartered]

1/2 tbsp… Poppy seeds [Soaked in warm water]

2… red chillies [Soaked in warm water]

1…green chilly

1/2 tsp.. Ginger garlic paste

1/4 cup.. Peanuts [Roasted and peels off]

1/2 tbsp… Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp… Roaster cumin powder

2 tbsp.. Oil

4-5 tbsp… Bread crumbs

Skewers and oil to shallow fry

Method:

• In a blender add peanuts, onion, ginger garlic paste, coriander seeds, cumin powder, Poppy seeds,  red chillies, green chillies and 2 tbsp water.
• Once a slightly coarse paste is made, take it out.
• In a wok, heat oil and put this masala to cook for a few min.
• Add the mashed potatoes and salt.
• Once it is all mixed well, take out in a bowl and let it cool a bit.
• Add the bread crumbs.
• Soak the skewers in some water for sometime.
• Make flat tikkis on it and shallow fry in a pan until they are nice and crisp.

For the base sauce:

1/2 cup… Tomato puree

pepper to taste

1/8th tsp…Salt

1/4th tsp… Sugar

1/2 tsp…Oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the tomato puree.
• Let it cook until the fat comes up.
• Add the pepper, salt and sugar.
• We are aiming at hot and sweet flavour from the sauce. Adjust the seasoning.

Assembly:

Wheat Chapati

Cheese spread

Lettuce leaves [Optional] I didnt have them 😦

Tikkis

tomato sauce that we made earlier

Butter

• Make a big chapati from the wheat dough and keep aside

• Now spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce on the chapati.
• Add a few blobs of the cheese spread and spread it evenly.
• Now add one tikki at a time and fold.
• Put some butter on the roll and heat on the griddle until nice and crisp.
• Serve hot with love.

Cheers

Sending this to:

Serve it at Kirthi’s kitchen

By Sara

Review: Gourmet Pizza Dominos

Have you recently ordered a regular/small pizza that serves 1 from Dominos? Well I did recently and was so so so disappointed.

The promise:

Gourmet

This spicy vegetarian delight is topped with golden corn, loaded with extra cheese and packes quite a punch with its spread of black olives and jalapeno

Price: Regular- 175 plus taxes

What I got:

Really…where is the “Gourmet” topping? I could count the corn in it.

Dear Dominos, you really need to work on the stuff you have been delivering lately. You are a comfort food for the woman of the house when the masses arrive to dinner unexpected, loved dinner for weekend poker players. We expect more from you.

Cheers,

Review: Taco indiana veg

Remember the new Advert for taco Indiana? Well this is how it is supposed to look

Taco Indiana Veg

Dig into its oregano sprinkled crispy crust to discover a cheesy layer over spicy veg stuffings.

Price: 89/-

The way I got it.

There were 2 tikkis in it against the promise of cheesy layer over crispy veg. Crispy yes. Lots of herb yes. Lots of butter yes but not really needed.  It was heavy.

To me it was like veg tikkis wrapped in a Kerala parotta and grilled well.

Will I try it again. No. Tooo buttery for my taste.

 

Methi na Dhebra

We all know what theplas are. Well dhebras are healthier second name for the same thing. Why do I call it healthier is because it uses Black Millet Flour or Bajra Flour.

Image source: Google

• Bajra is high in proteins with a good amount of amino acids
• It is a good source of iron, which helps formation of hemoglobin in blood thus preventing anaemia.
• It is a moderate source of vitamin B1, which is required for a healthy nervous system.

How do we make this Dhebra?

You shall need:

1 portion…Wheat flour

1 portion… Methi leaves [Washed and chopped]

1.5 portions…. Bajra Flour

1-2 …green chilly [finely chopped]

1/2 tsp… Ajwain [carom seeds]

Salt to taste

2 tbsp… Oil

water to knead

Wheat flour to roll

Oil

Method:

• Mix all the ingreidients except 1 tbsp oil.
• Add water little at a time else the dough shall become really sticky.
• Be very careful while kneading it.
• We need it to be semi-soft. bajra flour does not hold a chapati shape well if the dough is very soft.
• After you are done, apply oil on the dough and keep in the fridge for 15 min.
• Make small balls out of the dough and apply wheat flour generously to make the dhebra/chapati.
• Heat a gridle, cook it off like a bhakri or paratha with oil.
• Enjoy with pickle of your choice.

Cheers