cookbypassion

                              Wishing Everyone A Very Happy And Prosperous New Year 2014  

Holiday season is here and kids are home all the time running here and there. They keep asking for snacks all the time. I thought why not give them some thing different and healthy today. For day 3, of BM 35, I made Corn salad.  Simple and quick recipe. Light food and perfect for evening snack. Or as a healthy starter just before the meal. Here goes the recipe....... We need: Corn kennels 2 cups Medium tomato 1 Small onion 1 Chopped cilantro 1/4 cup Lime juice 5 spoons Chaat masala 1sp Green chili 1 Salt to taste Method: I have used frozen corn here. So let corn kennels come to room temperature then microwave it for a minute, or you can use as it is. Chop onion and tomato to small pieces and add to corn. Also add chopped cilantro and mix well. To make it little spicy add chopped green chili. You can also add boiled potato  cubed and chopped cucumber for extra taste. You can skip chili of kids are having it. Add salt to taste, chaat masala and mix well. Finally before serving squeeze so

For day 2, I made yummy Corn Pulao. Which was big hit in my family. Simple to make with very  few ingredients. Here goes the recipe.......   We need: Corn Kennels 1 cup Green peas 1/4 cup Cashew nuts 10 Onion 1 small sliced Green chili 1 chopped Cinnamon 1 inch stick Cardamom 2 Bay leaf 1 Cloves 3 Salt to taste Oil 3 spoons Cooked Rice  2 cups Garam masala 1 sp Fried onions 1/4 cup. Method: In a cooking pan heat oil and add whole garam masala and saute for a  minute. Now add sliced onions, green chili and cashew nuts. Fry till onions turn light brown. Now add  cooked rice and mix well. I have used frozen corn and peas here. Let the corn and peas come to room temperature, then microwave it for a minute. Now add peas and corn to rice and mix well. Also add garam masala and salt. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes on medium flame. Before switching off the stove add fried onions and mix. Serve hot with any spicy gravy curry. I had this rice with left over coconut chutney, it tasted aw

Today we are starting with 4th  and final week of BM 35. For this week I choose to cook recipes with Corn.  Maize or Corn is a large grain plant. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain the grain, which are seeds called  ketnels. Maize kernels are often used in cooking as a starch.  Corn is used in many ways in various  cuisines. Baby corn or young corn is a cereal grain taken from corn ( maize) harvested early while the ears are very small and immature. Baby corn is eaten both raw and cooked. Baby corn is most common in Asian Cuisine.  For day 1, I made a yummy  snack which is perfect for this cold weather. Simple yet delicious. Here goes the recipe..... We need: Baby corn  12 Maida / All purpose flour 2spoons Corn flour  2 spoons Rice flour 2 spoons Chili powder 1/2sp Chaat masala 1/2 sp Haldi / Turmeric 1/2sp Salt to taste Eno fruit salt 1/4spoon Oil for deep frying. Method: I have used canned baby corn here. If you are using fresh baby corn, cook baby corn in boiling water for

Even after staying in Mumbai for more than an year I haven't learnt much about Maharastrian food. But my neighbour and good friend always used to tell me about masala bhaat. I was not soo passionated about food and cooking at that time. Its been 8 yrs now and I vaguely remember the recipe. When Valli announced about cooking Regional recipes with course specific, I was thinking of many regions but as I never cooked anything from Maharashtra till now, I choose this state for trying the new dishes. Masala bhaat is one of Maharastrian delicacy which is a must in weddings. A maharastrian wedding is never complete with Masala bhaat, jilebi and mattha as a combination. This rice dish has some amazing flavors of spices. We use different kind of veggies to this dish. It totally depends on your choice what veggies you want to use. But the most important thing to add to this recipe is Goda masala which can be replaced by garam masala. And masala paste made of roasted cumin, coriander,

Kothimbir Vadi is coriander (Cilantro) mixed with chick pea flour or besan with some spices There are plenty of variants of this dishes some deep fried, some stir fried and some steamed. This snack item is very popular in Maharashtra. I made this vadi from Madhura's blog. For day 2,  I made  Kothimbir vadi, a snack item under the theme - Any Regional with course specific. We need: Coriander / Cilantro 2 bunches Green chili 5 Garlic cloves 4 Cumin seeds 1 spoon Dhaniya powder / coriander powder 1 sp Haldi 1/2 spoon Salt to taste Besan / Gram flour 1 1/2 cup Method : Remove the leaves from the coriander stems. Wash thoroughly and let them dry for 30 minutes on paper napkins. Make a rough paste with green chili, garlic and cumin seeds.  You can add more or less  chilies according to your taste. Now add besan, chili paste and salt to coriander leaves. Also add haldi, dhaniya powder and mix well. Add water accordingly to make a stiff dough. You can apply little oil  so that the dough

Sago  or sabudana is often produced commercially in the form of "pearls". Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet sago pudding.  Sago pearls are similar in appearance to  tapioca  pearls and the two may be used interchangeably in some dishes. Many recipes can be prepared with Sago, like kichidi, vada, pudding, kheer, upma.  For the second week of BM 35 I choose to cook Regional recipes. And for this I choose Maharashtra. Maharashtra  is a state in the western region of  India. Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from being mild to very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar,  vegetables, lentils and fruit form important components of Maharashtrian diet. Popular dishes include puran poli, modak and batata wada.  Sabudana Khichadi is a sauted    dish commonly eaten on days of religious fasting . A large number of Marathi Hindu people hold fast on days like Ekadashi  in honour of Lord Vishnu, Chaturthi   in honour of ganesh , Mondays in honour ofShiva ,

Today's recipe  is my son's favorite dessert " Pudding". This is made with condensed milk, evaporated milk and eggs. I should say this is one of the simple and yummy dessert, which can be made in under 30minutes. It tastes some what similar to" Junnu" which is made with cows lactating milk. We need: Condensed milk 1 can Evaporated milk 2 can Eggs 4 Vanilla essence 1/2 spoon Method: Mix evaporated and condensed milk together. Beat eggs in a separate bowl and add to milk I am not using sugar here as we  have added whole can of sweetened condensed milk. Also add essence. Now mix well so that beaten eggs won't float on the top. Put the idly cooker on stove and switch on the flame and add some water as u do to make idly. Now put the bowl in the cooker and close with lid. Steam for 25 to 30 minutes. You can use regular presser cooker also. Cool it for 30 minutes and serve. This pudding can  also be served with fruits . For best taste serve chilled. Click

For day 2, am here with another popular  and true classic dish "Sheer Khurma". Sheer means milk and khurma means dates. This is a  Vermicelli Pudding prepared by Muslims on  Eid. It is a traditional  dessert for celebrations. . This dish is made from dried dates, milk, sugar, other dry fruits and vermicelli. We need: Vermicelli 1cup Milk 4 cups Sugar 2 cups (as per ur taste) Elachi powder 1/2 sp Dried dates 1/4 cup Cahsew nuts and raisins 1/4 cup Chiroli 2sps Any other dry fruits as per ur taste Ghee 1/4cup Method: Soak the dry dates in water for 3 to 4 hrs. Then cut them into long thing slices. Take a large pan and boil milk. Mean while in a small pan heat ghee and add all dry fruits. Fry them till golden brown and remove. If u dont have the roasted vermicelli, then roast the vermicelli too in the ghee after removing the dry fruits. When milk is half boiled add sugar and elachi powder and mix well. Now add roasted vermicelli and all dry fruits. Mix well and let it come to bo

 Today we are starting with 1st week of BM 35. For this week I choose to cook Dessert, which can be served warm or chilled.  Hyderabad is popular for its  Dum Biryani with Mirchi Ka Salan and  to end the meal with yummy dessert "Double ka Meetha". Double Ka Meetha is Dessert made with fried bread soaked in hot milk and sugar syrup with some dry fruits. This dessert is popular in Hyderabadi Cuisine, usually served during weddings or during Festive month of Ramadan and Eid. This rich and delicious dessert is good to serve after a spicy meal. Instead of soaking the bread in hot milk, I made rabri to to top the fried bread. Here goes the recipe.... We need: Bread slices 6 Milk 2 cups Sugar 1 cup Water 1 cup Elachi powder 1/4 sp Ghee for deep frying Dry fruits of  your choice 1/4 cup Method: Add water to sugar in  a pan to make a syrup. In a non stick pan boil 2 cups milk on medium flame to make rabri. Keep string milk in between so that it won't stick or burn. Cut the edges o