Blanching Almonds & Pistachios

This is a very simple and a quick process.You don't have to soak almonds overnight.I have given here the most easiest and quickest way of blanching almonds.

Steps

1. Take water in a pan and add the almonds to be blanched to the water.
2. Boil the water for about 2 mins.
3. Remove the pan from flame and strain the almonds from the hot water.
4. Wash almonds once again with cold water to cool them.
5. With your index and thumb finger,peel the almond skin and it comes off at ease:)

Note: The same above process is used for blanching pistachios as well.After blanching,pistachios are dark parrot green in color.

Curd Rice (Bagala Bath)

Needless to say,coming from a tambrahm family, we just can't live without this yogurt rice.My friends always tease me and wonder how I could be so crazy about curd rice. Leave me in an island with nothing but just curd rice, I would happily survive :). This will always be the finishing touch in any south Indian meal course.I always like to have curd rice in its virgin form with not much of add-on's. I have posted the recipe with simple and minimum tempering.Here is the recipe for yum yum curd rice:)

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Raw Rice - 1 cup
2. Milk -1.5 cup (Boiled and cooled)
3. Fresh Curd/yogurt - 1.5 cup

Tempering

1. Oil - 2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3. Urda Dhal-1 tsp
4. Green chili - 1-2(finely chopped)
5. Curry leaves - 3-4
6. Asafoetida - a pinch
7. Salt to taste

Garnishing

Grated carrot/pomegranates/green grapes/Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Pressure Cook rice with 1:5 ratio (Rice:Water) so that the rice is overcooked.

2. Smash the rice,add yogurt, salt,milk and mix nicely.

3. Heat some oil in a pan,add mustard seeds.Once the mustard crackles,add urad dhal,green chili,curry leaves and saute for a minute.

4. Pour the above temper mixture over curd rice and mix well.

5. Garnish the Curd rice with either small pieces of carrots,pomegranates,grapes or even small pieces of cashews.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. I always like curd rice in its virgin form, So I have used less ingredients for tempering and garnishing.
2. In case, the curd rice becomes hard, you can add some milk and salt and adjust accordingly.
3. Tastes best when served with mango pickle.

Tawa Top Paneer Tikka

This is a very special dish and very close to my heart.This was the first recipe I made for my husband and indeed gained all his appreciation.His most favorite dish among all is paneer tikka.My family says that this remains my signature dish till date.Well,I am really not an expert and all.As long as people love our dish and enjoy it.. All of us are super Chefs :)!!!! I have made this in a very simple way using non-stick tawa. I have also managed to click some pictures for better understanding.Do try out this and let me know ::)!!!

Yields: 12 small tikkas

Ingredients:

1. Panneer/Cottage Cheese-200 gms *I used milk mist panneer
2. Capsicum/Bell Pepper-1 (large size Green,Red or Yellow)
3. Tomato-2 (medium sized)
4. Onion-2(medium sized)

Marinade Ingredients

1. Fresh Thick yogurt-1.5 cups
2. Besan/Gram flour-1/4 cup
3. Butter-2 tbsp
4. Turmeric - 1.5 tsp
5. Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
6. Coriander Powde/Dhaniya - 2 tsp
7. Pani Puri Masala/ Chat Masala Powder - 2 tsp *Secret Ingredient*
8. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
9. Garam Masala-2 tsp
10. Kasuri Methi/dry fenugreek leaves - 2 tsp (Crushed)
11. Lemon extract/juice-2 tsp
12. Oil-2 tsp
13. salt to taste

Method

1. Cut the paneer into cubes as shown in the picture.Also, cut the capsicum,tomato and onion into medium sizes for skewing.

2. Roast the gram flour in butter until you get a nice nutty flavor on a medium flame.

3. Mix the roasted gram flour with all other ingredients mentioned under marinade into a smooth batter.

4. Coat the paneer and veggies with the prepared marinade.Keep it aside for 1/2 hour.

5. Heat oil in a non stick pan and place these marinated paneer and veggies on a medium flame.

6. Once they are fried on one side, flip them carefully and fry the other sides until they become nice golden brown.

7. Remove them from tawa/pan and skew it in a tooth pick.

8. Serve the paneer tikka hot with mint chutney or tomato sauce.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

Pani Puri powder is the secret ingredient that I use when I make paneer tikka. This gives a unique street food flavor that tastes magical.Alternatively, you can use a tsp of chat masala powder in the marinade.

Aloo Paratha

The king of parathas would definitely be Aloo paratha.Our tummy gets full just by having two masala parathas.This is a delicious recipe from Punjabi cuisine.This can be very easily made at home.I used to order aloo paratha every now and then from Hot Chips.However, After I learnt to make it, I never order it from hotels.The best time to have parathas is breakfast.Yes the ghee and aloo that goes into making these parathas needs to get digested na!!!:P However,often I make this only for dinner just to feast on delicious parathas when I return home with great hunger.

Serves:8 - 10 parathas

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients 

1. Wheat Flour/Atta-2 cups 
2. Turmeric Powder-1 tsp 
3. Red Chili Powder-1 tsp 
4. Warm water as needed for kneading 
5. Oil as needed for kneading 
6. Salt to taste 
7. Ghee/ Oil for roasting parathas

Masala Stuffing Ingredients

1. Potato-3 to 4 Medium sized(Boiled) 
2. cumin seeds/jeera - 2 tsp
3. Green Chili-1 big (finely chopped) 
4. Onion-1 medium sized(finely chopped) 
5. Coriander-Fistful(finely chopped) 
6. Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp 
7. Garam Masala Powder-1 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
9. Chat masala powder - 1 tsp
10. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
11. Oil-2-3 tsp 
12. Salt to taste

Method

1. Mix wheat flour and all the powder mentioned under dough ingredients along with salt well.

2. Knead the dough well using water and oil as needed.

3. Smash the boiled potatoes nicely. In a pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Once cumin crackles,add onions,green chili and ginger garlic paste. Saute until onions become transparent.

4. Add the smashed potatoes,needed salt, all the powders and mix nicely on a medium flame for 5 mins. Add some chopped coriander and give it a final mixing.The Aloo stuffing is now ready.Keep it aside and allow it to cool.

5. Make balls from the dough and roll it on a roller pin into flat round sheets.

6. Make balls out of the masala stuffing.Place it on the rolled wheat sheets.Cover the stuffing with the sheets as shown in the picture.

7. Dust little flour and roll it into medium size.

8. Heat some ghee on a pan, fry the rolled parathas in the pan using ghee. When one side of the paratha becomes golden brown, flip it and cook the other side.

9. Serve the parathas hot with raitha or Curd.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Make sure you don't stuff too much masala that you find it difficult to roll.The masala may squeeze out. So take a small ball of masala stuffing depending on how big you want the parathas to be.
2. Make sure, the dough is not too sticky and soft while kneading. It has to have a perfect brown no sticky texture.
3. Don't dust too much that your parathas become hard on the surface.Dust only as needed.

Masala Milk (Kesar Badam Pista Milk)

I remember having this masala milk for the very first time at hot chips. Masala milk or otherwise known as kesar badam pista milk will be served super hot at this restaurant.Here is a rich beverage that can be served as a dessert when you call someone for dinner.This can be served either hot or cold.This is very good for cough and cold when served hot.

serves: 2 big glasses

Ingredients

1. Milk- 1 litre
2. Sugar- 5 tbsp
3. Saffron-4-5 strands
4. Nutmeg powder-a pinch
5. Green Cardamom powder-1/4 tsp
6. Almonds-10-15 (Blanched and Coarsely ground)
7. Pistachios- 10-15 (Blanched and Coarsely ground)

Method

1. Heat the milk in a thick bottomed pan. Once it comes to boil, reduce the flame to low.

2. Stir the milk constantly in low flame till the milk thickens and volume reduces.

3. Add Sugar and stir continuously till the sugar dissolves.

4. Add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and saffron and mix well on low flame for 2-3 mins.

5. Add the ground almond and pistachio paste to the milk and mix well.

6. Serve the milk either hot or cold seasoned with few crushed almond and pistachio pieces.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

You can add a tsp of turmeric while serving hot.This is very good for cold,cough and phlegm.Also,it gives nice yellow color to the drink.

Onion & Carrot Raitha

This is a very simple raitha that can be prepared very easily.This almost goes well with all rice varieties,pulao and even parathas. Sometimes,If I am too bored to prepare a side dish, I make a quick raitha. Onion and carrot make a great combination.Both are very crispy in nature and hence they are great to munch on.Here is the recipe for Onion n Carrot raitha.

serves:2

Ingredients

1. Fresh thick yogurt-1.5 cups
2. Onions-1 medium sized (Chopped)
3. Carrot-1 Chopped (Chopped)
4. Coriander-Few for seasoning
5. Salt to taste
6. Roasted Cumin/Jeera Powder-1 tsp
7. Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method

1. Whisk curd with salt and cumin powder nicely to a creamy consistency.

2. Add chopped onions and carrot and mix well.

3. Season raitha with chopped coriander leaves and some chili powder sprinkled on top.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. In the above recipe,instead of onion, you can use chopped cucumber and it becomes cucumber raitha :)
2. Instead of carrot, you can also use capsicum(If you like capsicum :P).

Phulka

This is one of my most favorite Indian Breads.Very soft in texture and light in stomach.This is my everyday dinner.Yes,this is a great diet recipe as it does not consume any oil while cooking.Whenever I go to any restaurant, I order phulka with any rich side dish.Oh my god!! It tastes divine.This is definitely a guilt free dish that can be relished everyday.

Serves: 12 phulkas(as shown in pic)

Ingredients

1. Atta/Whole wheat flour-2 cups
2. Hot water-1 cup
3. Plain water-as needed
4. Oil as needed to knead the dough 
5. Salt to taste

Method

1. Mix the atta and salt together.

2. Add hot water to the flour and start kneading.

3. Use few drops of oil as needed to knead the dough well.

4. Knead well and beat hard so that it does not stick to the vessel and becomes soft like a clay.

5. Roll out these phulkas on a roller pin with mild dusting of flour.

6. Heat a non stick tawa on a high flame.

7. When the tawa is striking hot, reduce the flame to medium and place the rolled atta sheets on the tawa.

8. Keep flipping the phulka constantly for every 1/2 minute.

9. Brown spots start to appear. Once brown spots appear on both sides of phulka, remove it from the pan and place it directly on the flame. Keep the flame high.

10. The phulka puffs up. flip it to the other side and quickly remove it from flame and transfer to a hot pack. Apply some ghee over it and cover it.

11. Phulkas are now ready to be served with spicy accompaniments.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Hot water is used to make the dough soft so that the phulkas also come out very soft.
2. Kneading plays a very important role and hence ensure you knead the dough well enough.
3. Phulkas should be rolled out thin compared to normal rotis.
4. Don't dust the phulkas with flour too much while rolling as it can become flaky.
5. You can spread a tsp of ghee on the phulkas while serving.

Bhindi Masala Gravy

This is a rich and delicious dish from Punjabi Cuisine. I once had this at a dhaba near Bangalore. I never knew Bhindi or Okra would taste this good. I have not had much liking for Lady's finger, but this dish will make you go crazy.This can be paired up with rotis,nan and Phulkas. I once made this for dinner as we had lot of Bhindi left over and we really didn't know how best to use it.That's when I decided to make this Bhindi Masala Gravy and it was simply loved by all. The preparation is exactly similar to Aloo Capsicum Masala.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1. Bhindi/Okra/Lady's Finger - 7-10 (as shown in the picture)
2. Capsicum / Bell Pepper(Green/Yellow/Red) - 1 big or 2 small
3. Medium size tomatoes- 4
4. Almonds (Blanched)/ Cashews - 7
5. Big Onions -2 
6. Mustard Oil or any cooking oil - 3 tbsp
7. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
8. Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp
9. Red chili powder- 2 tsp + 2 tsp for frying bhindi
10. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
11. Coriander powder- 2 tsp + 2 tsp for frying Bhindi
12. Garam Masala powder- 2 tsp + 2 tsp frying for bhindi
13. Whisked thick Curd - 3 tbsp
14. Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp (Optional)
15. Cinnamon stick-1 piece
16. cloves-3
17. Bay Leaf - 1
18. Kasuri methi crushed- 1 tbsp
19. Coriander leaves - few for garnishing
20. Salt as needed

                            

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pan or kadai,saute the bhindi and capsicum with salt,garam masala and coriander powder. Saute until bhindi shrinks and is nice crispy dark in color. Keep it aside.

2. Grind onion and ginger garlic paste together. In a pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds,bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves and saute on a medium flame.

3. After cumin seeds crackle, add the onion + ginger garlic paste and saute well until the paste turns to golden brown color. The raw flavour of onion ginger garlic paste should completely go off. 

4. Grind the tomatoes and (almonds/cashews) together and add it to the above pan.

5. Add turmeric, red chili, coriander powder and needed salt to the above pan, mix well and cover the pan and cook for about 5 mins.

6. Now add the whisked curd and garam masala and mix gently. Add the cooked potatoes and fried capsicum to the above gravy mixture. Allow it to simmer on low flame for another 
5 mins.

8. Add some fresh cream and simmer for 2 mins.

9. Add crushed kasuri methi.

10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any Indian Breads.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. If you are using cashews, soak them in warm water for 15 mins before grinding it. This ensures a smooth paste is formed.
2. You can either use almond or cashew, this is added to enhance the flavor,richness and provide a creamy texture to the gravy.
3. Fresh cream is added to balance the tanginess of tomato and curd and also to give a creamy taste and thickness.

Paneer Pulao

Paneer Pulao is one of the most sought after dish in most of the veg. restaurants.If you are a lover of cottage cheese, this is something you would definitely opt for. It is very easy and simple to make. Hence, whenever you call a large number of guests to home and you want something quick and yet delicious and special, paneer pulao is something you should opt for. No head ache of cutting vegetables etc :P. Here goes the recipe for a simple paneer pulao.

serves:3

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Paneer cubes-200 gms(cut into small cubes)  *I used milky mist panneer.
3. Onion-2 medium sized (Cut length wise)
4. Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp
5. Green Chili-2 
6. Ghee-1 tbsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Salted Butter-2 tsp *I used amul salted butter

Masala Ingredients

1. Cloves-3
2. Cinnamon stick- 1
3. Bay leaf-1
4. Star anise-2
5. Green Cardamom-2
6. Black Cardamom-2
7. Cumin/Jeera seeds -1 tsp
8. Fennel Seeds-1 tsp
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Method

1. Rinse well and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes in water.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and add all masala ingredients and saute for 1 min on low flame.

3. Add onions, green chili and saute everything till the onions turn nice golden brown.

4. Now,add ginger garlic paste to the pan and saute the entire mixture till the raw flavor of garlic goes off.

5. Strain the soaked basmati rice and add it to the above pan.

6. Mix the rice along with the sauteed masala mixture.Ensure the rice is evenly mixed and covered with the masala mixture. 

7. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure cooking.

8. Add salt to rice and pressure cook as mentioned here.

10. Now,heat the butter in a pan a and saute the paneer cubes until it becomes slight golden brown on sides.

11. Add the sauteed paneer cubes to the cooked rice and mix gently.

12. The paneer pulao is now ready to be served with raitha or any other spicy accompaniments.

Corn and Capsicum White Penne Pasta

I love Cheese pasta and I have had it several times in Hotels and restaurants, especially when I go for buffet dinner. I still remember having this cheesy white pasta at a restaurant called "Mathsya" at T.Nagar. He made it then and there and served it super hot.I was just blown away by that creamy taste.Dominoes also serve this white pasta. Once, my good friend who has designed the title header for Griha Bhojanam had made this pasta on an occasion.Until then,I never even wondered that pasta was something that could be made easily at home.This recipe has been stolen from him :P Here is the simple, easy white sauce pasta recipe that could be made very easily at home.

serves:2-3

Ingredients

Cooking the pasta

1. Penne Pasta - 250 grams/ 1 cup
2. Olive Oil/Cooking Oil-2 tsp
3. Salt - 1 tsp
4. Water for Boiling

White sauce

1. Maida- 4 tbsp 
2. Butter - 2 tbsp 
3. Milk - 3 Cup (boiled and cooled)
4. Cheese Cubes -2 

Other Ingredients

1. Green Capsicum -1/2 (Cut into thin small lengthwise pieces)
2. American sweet corn kernels- 1/2 cup *I used frozen ones
3. Salt as required

Seasoning

1. Mixed Italian Herbs - 2 tsp
2. Grated Cheese - 3-4 tbsp *I used amul processed cheese
3. Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Method

1. Take a kadai/pan, add butter and maida to it. Roast the maida in butter.

2. Add milk and constantly keep stirring the milk and maida. Ensure no lumps are formed.

3. Add cheese cubes,herbs seasoning,pepper powder and constantly stir till you get a smooth saucy texture.

4. Add corn kernels to the above white sauce and mix well.

5. Saute capsicum in a tsp of oil for 2-3 mins in a separate pan and add it to the white sauce.

6. Cook pasta till Al Dente.

7. Now add the cooked pasta to the white sauce and gently mix. The pasta should blend well with the white sauce.

8. Ensure the cooked pasta is mixed well with the sauce.

9. Close the lid for 5 mins and allow the pasta to get blended with the white sauce.

10. Serve the hot cheesy creamy white pasta with grated cheese and some seasoning.

Poori

This is one of the most favorite and famous delicacy from South Indian cuisine.The moment I think of poori my mouth starts watering. Can there be anyone who hates this dish,This is kid's most favorite dish.When you go out for a dinner with your family, there is at least one kid in the family ordering this dish. There are many Indian breads that have entered the menu cards but nothing can beat Poori and Aloo Masal. They are a heavenly combination.:)

Serves: 25 Pooris (approx)

Ingredients

1. Wheat Flour/Atta-2 Cups
2. Rava/Semolina - 2 tbsp
3. Oil for deep frying
4. water-as required for kneading the dough
5. salt to taste

                           

Method

1. Mix the atta, rava and salt together and mix well. 

2. Add water and start kneading the dough. 

3. Divide the dough into equal small balls and start rolling each ball on a roller pin.

4. Deep fry the rolled sheets in hot oil. 

5. Puffed pooris are now ready to be served with aloo masal.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Poori puffs only on high flame. Make sure you quickly flip it and remove off the flame after it has puffed. If you don't remove quickly,then it might get burnt.
2. Poori's puffness also depends on how hard you beat the dough. Knead well and beat hard so that the dough remains soft and also puffs well.
3. Make sure the dough is not too sticky. 
4. Semolina helps the poori to stay puffed up for longer time and also gives a mild crispiness.
5. Make sure the rolled atta sheets are neither too thick nor too thin. 

Aloo Masal

This is one of the most delicious side dish from south India and the best pair of poori.I don't think there is anyone who hates poori masala.I used to love the poori masala that is being served at Hotel Saravan Bhavan.It is one of the major menu item in any south indian restaurant predominantly had for breakfast.It is a very easy recipe that can be made in a jiffy.Now lets see,how to prepare this yummy aloo masala that goes well with Poori.

Serves:3

Ingredients

1. Potato - 4 nos (Medium/Large sized)
2. Onion - 2 medium sized(chopped)
3. Green chillies - 2 nos(chopped)
4. Ginger – 1 inch piece (Chopped)
5. Lemon - 1/2
6. Asafoetida- generous pinch
7. Turmeric powder - generous pinch *This gives the nice yellow colour for the dish.
8. Gram flour – 2 tsp
9. Salt to taste
10. Water - as needed to boil
11. Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
12. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
13. Cumin seeds/Jeera-1 tsp
14. Urad dal - 1 tsp
15. Chana dal/Kadala paruppu - 1 tsp
16. Coriander leaves for garnishing
17. Curry leaves - 4

Method

1. Pressure cook the potatoes for 3-4 whistles so that it is cooked well.

2. Once the potatoes are cooked,remove the outer skin and smash the potatoes.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and cumin seeds. Once the mustard and jeera crackles, add urad dal,channa dal and asafoetida.

4. Add onions,ginger,curry leaves and chili and saute till the onions turn transparent.

5. Add about 1/2 cup water to allow the onions to be boiled nicely.

6. Now add the smashed potatoes to the above combo.

7. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix nicely.

8. Mix gram flour with 1/4 cup of water(This varies based on the consistency required) and pour it to the aloo mixture.

9. Please follow the above process on low flame.The aloo will slowly start to thicken. When the required consistency is reached,remove the aloo masal from flame.

10. Squeeze a tsp of lemon to it.

11. Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot with fluffy yummy  Pooris:)

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Don't smash the potato too much.Leave few small chunks of potato so that you can munch on it while eating. 
2. You can also use small pieces of carrot and green peas as add-on's. 
3. Goes well with Pooris.Check out GB's Poori recipe here.

Paneer Paratha

For all the Paneer/Cottage Cheese lovers out there,here is another variety of stuffed paratha where grated paneer is used as the stuffing.It is very simple and quick to make.Here is the recipe to make a simple,easy paneer paratha. Paneer/cottage cheese has no taste by itself. hence, it is very important that we add necessary seasonings and masala to spice it up so that the paratha tastes great. My initial attempt at making paneer paratha was a big failure. not sure what went wrong, but it was too rubbery with no taste. This time I had made the paratha using Paneer Burji. This has all the flavors and spices in it and can be used a great stuffing for parathas, Let's look at the preparation.

Serves:8 - 10 parathas

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients 

1. Wheat Flour/Atta-2 cups 
2. Turmeric Powder-1 tsp 
3. Red Chili Powder-1 tsp 
4. Warm water as needed for kneading 
5. Oil as needed for kneading 
6. Salt to taste 
7. Ghee/Oil for roasting parathas

Paneer Stuffing Ingredients

Refer Paneer Burji recipe which will be used as stuffing here.

Add all ingredients to the flour with warm water

Knead to a soft dough

Cover with moist cloth and rest for 2 hours

Stuff paneer burji balls inside and roll them flat

Roast them on tawa with oil

Method

1. Mix wheat flour and all the powder mentioned under dough ingredients along with salt well.

2. Knead the dough well using water and oil as needed.

3. Make balls from the dough and roll it on a roller pin into flat round sheets.

5. Make balls out of the paneer burji stuffing.Place it on the center of the rolled dough sheet.Cover the paneer ball from all the sides with the dough.

6. Dust little flour and roll it into medium size.

7. Heat some ghee on a pan, roast the rolled parathas in the pan using ghee. When one side of the paratha becomes golden brown, flip it and cook the other side.

8. Serve the parathas hot with raitha or Curd.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Make sure you don't stuff too much that you find it difficult to roll.The stuffing may squeeze out. So take a small ball of stuffing depending on how big you want the parathas to be.
2. Make sure, the dough is not too sticky and soft while kneading. It has to have a perfect brown no sticky texture.
3. Don't dust too much that your parathas become hard on the surface.Dust only as needed.

Cream of Tomato

This is a standard soup that you find in all the restaurants.However,the color and taste varies from restaurant to restaurant.This tastes best when served with bread croutons or a soup stick.This is always a safe bet when you are confused with other soup choices in the menu card.I love to add some carrots to my tomato soup as it gives rich color to the soup.This is a very simple and easy to make soup.Here goes the recipe for rich,creamy tomato soup.

Serves: 3-4 bowls

Ingredients

1. Tomatoes-4 medium/Large sized(Blanched)
2. Carrot-1 (chopped)
3. Garlic - 4 pods
4. Bay leaf-1
5. Cornflour-1 tsp
6. Salted Butter-1 tbsp *I used amul salted butter
7. Salt to taste
8. Water-as needed.

Seasoning

• Fresh Cream-1 tsp (Optional) *You can use amul fresh cream
• Pepper powder-to taste
• Bread-sliced into small squares.
• Butter-2 tsp

Method

1. Pressure cook carrot and garlic for just 1 whistle so that they become soft. 

2. Grind the carrot,garlic and blanched tomatoes in a mixer at high speed.Keep this puree aside. 

3. Heat butter in a pan,put bay leaf in the pan and saute for a minute. 

4. Now, pour the ground puree in the above pan and keep stirring. 

5. Mix cornflour with 2 tbsp of water and pour it in the above puree mixture. 

6. Add salt and keep stirring for 5 mins.

7. Remove the bay leaf from the soup.Once the soup reaches a slightly thick consistency,switch off the flame.

8. Now, toast the bread slices with butter till it becomes crispy and brown on both sides. 

9. Season the tomato soup with the toasted bread croutons,fresh cream and some pepper powder. 

10. The tomato soup is now ready to be served hot.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

• Depending on the soup consistency required,adjust adding water.Tomato soup tastes best when it is thick and creamy.Hence,ensure you don't add too much water.
• Olive Oil can be used as a healthier substitute to Butter for a vegan option without  using fresh cream.

Vegetable Pulao

Are your kids bored of traditional style cooking,you have guests coming up and you don't know what to prepare,well the best solution is to go for a Vegetable Pulao. Goodness of all the veggies combined in one meal.This is a very common and standard menu in any of the restaurant menu cards.This can also be a very good weekend menu where your family wants a break from traditional cooking of sambhar and rasam. Though there are several ways of preparing vegetable pulao, I always prefer it to be mild yet more aromatic.My style of making pulao has been very much appreciated and my friends too love it. Hence,I am confidently posting the recipe here.Here goes the recipe for milk aromatic vegetable pulao.

serves:3

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Ghee - 3 tsp
3. Green Chilies-2 (slit lengthwise)
4. Garam masala powder-1 tsp
5. Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp
6. Lemon extract-1 tsp
7. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
8. Salt to taste
9. Turmeric - 1 tsp

Masala Ingredients

1. Star anise(anaachi poo)-2-3 
2. Cinnamon stick-1 inch
3. Cloves-2-3
4. Green Cardamom-2
5. Pepper powder-2 tsp
6. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
7. cumin seeds - 1 tsp
8. Bay Leaf-1
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Vegetables Used (Can be anything of your choice)

• Beans - 10-15
• Carrot – 2
• Onions -1 medium sized
• Cauliflower florets-6-7
• Peas - 2 tbsp

                                     

Method:

1. Soak basmathi rice in water and keep it aside for 30 mins.

2. Cut all the vegetables lengthwise (Except cauliflower,Peas). Boil all the veggies with pinch of salt and turmeric in a pan for about 5 mins. 

3. In a pan, heat some ghee and add all the masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins.

4. Now, add onions,chili and saute until the onions become transparent.

5. Now, add turmeric and ginger garlic paste.Saute till the raw flavor of ginger and garlic goes off.


6. Next, add all other vegetables to the pan.

7. Strain the soaked basmathi rice completely and add it to the pan.

8. Add garam masala and mix evenly and gently in low flame till the rice is fully covered with masala mixture and evenly coated.

9. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure cooking.

10. Add salt and lemon extract to rice and pressure cook the rice as mentioned here.

11.  Garnish with fresh tender coriander leaves.

12. The Vegetable Pulao is now ready to be served hot with papads or raitha.