cookbypassion

Stay tuned for an exciting month of Pulao / Biryani and Kichidi dishes. As you might already know me along with other bloggers are a part of Srivalli's Blogging Marathon. Its because of this group I am able to cook and post so many dishes. Thank you so much one and all. April and September being a month of Mega Marathon, I have always thought I would not be able to get the time to cook , as its non stop cooking and posting. But this month's theme was so tempting that I could not stop myself to participate and  try at least once. So here I am with  26 varieties of Pulao / Biryani and Kichidi recipes with Grains which I will be posting all April except Sundays.  This theme is announced almost 6 months ago, as I haven't decided to participate until mid of March. It  was bit difficult for me to prepare the list and start cooking. But researching on for this theme, I have learnt that may be the dish has the same  name but the preparation varies from region to region. I am just d

Today's recipe is my kids all time favorite snack. It has been on my to do list for a quite some time now. Found this simple recipe on Food Network Magazine last week. Believe me its very simple to make with just few ingredients. I have used store bought pizza dough along with some minced garlic, parsley, butter and olive oil.  Perfect snack for kids to have after school. This recipe  goes to day 3 of BM 98 under Kids Delight- School Closer - Bites / Snacks. Here goes the recipe.......   Ingredients: Pizza dough 1 lb Butter 3 tbsp Olive oil 2 tbsp Garlic cloves 3 minced Parsley minced 3 tbsp Red chili flakes 1/4 spoon Salt to taste Preparation: Cut pizza dough into 4 equal portions. Now flatten each pieces into 4 inch squares.  Cut each square into 4 strips and tie each strip  into a knot. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet and transfer the knots onto it. Brush the knots with olive oil and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Set them aside to rise for 1 hour. Remove

Egg Muffins are low carb and easy to make ahead of time snack. Healthy and perfect breakfast dish or for evening snack / after school snack. Just crack the eggs and add lots of  your favorite sauteed   veggies along with some  cheese if you and your kids  like it. Add the mixture to muffins trays and bake, delicious and healthy dish is ready in just few minutes. These muffins can be made and refrigerated or freeze it  for later you. When you are ready to serve just heat  them up in  a  microwave for about a minute or two.  This dish will be going to day 2 of BM 98 for week 3 under Kids Delight- School Closer Snacks or Bites. Ingredients: Eggs 5 Chopped Spinach 2 cups Chopped bell pepper 1 cup ( any color ) Chopped mushrooms 1 cup Chopped tomato ( de seeded )1/2 cup Chopped yellow onion 1 cup Garlic paste  / minced 1 spoon Olive oil 2 spoons Salt to taste Black pepper powder 1/2 spoon Preparation: Preheat oven on 350 Degree F. Heat a non stick pan and add olive oil. Also add onions and

Broccoli is an excellent source of  Vitamin K , C, E and B 6. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, magnesium, protein, calcium, omega 3 fatty acids and iron. On the other hand Potato is also rich in Vitamin B 6 and C.  My family loves potato and  broccoli has been in our diet since few years now. My daughter who is a picky eater removes broccoli aside from the dish. I started adding some grated broccoli in potato paratha. For some extent I was successful in feeding her broccoli. Yesterday I had some potato and broccoli paratha stuffing left out. Instead of making parathas again, I have added some bread crumbs to it and make tikkis / cutlets with them. Believe me my kids didn't even know there was broccoli in it. It would make a great after school snack for kids.  This recipe goes to week 3, day 1 of Blogging Marathon 98 under the theme " Kids Delight - School Closure - Snacks / Bites". Here goes the recipe.......... Ingredients: Boiled potatoes 3 Broccoli Florets 2

Turkish Delight or Lokam is a popular Soft and jelly kind of  candy originating from Turkey. It is made of sugar and corn starch.The original recipes calls for sugar, corn starch and rose water for color and as a flavoring agent . Hazel nuts, almonds, Pistachio may also be added to the preparation. In Greece, Turkish Delight also known as Loukoumi has been very popular delicacy since 19 century.  This delicious treat or candy goes to the  final day of week 1, Blogging Marathon 98, under the theme "Candies come in different shapes". The sugar syrup consistency and the quantity of corn flour has to be exact so has to get the nice texture. Once cooking process is done its need at least 7 hours to set. If you see my picture I haven't got the perfect texture as I have coated them with sugar powder in just 4 hours, not giving proper time to set. Lesson learnt hahaha...... So make sure you give it sometime to get perfect texture. Check out the ingredients and procedure for the d

Today's recipe is one of the simplest candy recipe  I must say. Again you can take your kids help to make them, they will love to do so. With just 2 main ingredients you can create an amazing candy. These are simple, rich and delicious soft candies. They  just melt in your mouth. I have given them vanilla flavor, if you have or like any other flavor like cherry, strawberry, peppermint or any other flavor go ahead and use it.  Cream cheese candies go to the Week 1, Day 2 of Blogging Marathon 98 under the theme " Candies come in different shapes". Ingredients: Cream Cheese 4 oz Confectioner sugar 2 1/4 cup Vanilla Extract 1 spoon Food color of your choice Piping bags 2 Nozzles 2 Sprinkles  Preparation: Cream cheese has to be at room temperature, nice and soft. In a large and deep mixing bowl add cream cheese and sugar. Using hand mixer blend both the ingredients to nice and smooth paste. Add vanilla extract and beat the mixture for another 3-4 minutes on high speed. Transfe

As the name says today's post is all about chocolate. As my friend Srivalli said, candies comes in different shapes and flavors. My kids love chocolates am sure they would love what am making for them today. I have made a simple yet delicious chocolate covered cherries using white and dark chocolate. Take your kids help to make these chocolates, promise me they would to do it. Today we are starting with a new edition of Blogging Marathon-98. My theme for the week is " Candies come in different shapes".  Ingredients: Maraschino Cherries 10 - 15 White chocolate chips 1 cup Dark chocolate chips 1 cup Heavy cream 4 spoons Pink Sprinkles as needed Preparation: Drain the cherry juice  and place the cherries on a kitchen towel so that the excess juice gets socked up. Add 2 cups water in a sauce pan and bring it to boil. Now place a glass bowl  ( bigger than the sauce pan) on the sauce pan and add white chocolate chips along with 2 spoons heavy cream. Once the chocolate chips are