Cucumber and Onion Raita

Preparation time - 5 minutes

Serving - 2

Ingredients

1 Cucumber

1/2 red onion/ white onion

2 Green chilies

Salt to taste

2 cups Yogurt 

Coriander leaves to garnish 

Procedure 

1. Finely chop the cucumber, onions and chilies.
2. Beat the yogurt ina cup and add some water if its to thick.
3. Add salt and garnish with coriander leaves .
4. Mix everything together.

Ready to serve with Mint rice, Briyani or and rice item as side

Hara Bhara Pudina Pulao

Pudina or Mint is one of my favorite herbs. It has a lot of health benefits and is very good for digestion. This pulao is very easy to make and is very flavorful. It is a good rice item for boxed lunch since it very tasty and easy to make in the morning rush. I like the color and strong flavors of the herbs and spices. My husband is not a big fan of this but the kids are ok with it when served with raitha. Some time we also have to make things we like to eat rite?? so here we go a very easy to make rice item.

Preparation time - under 40 minutes

Serving - 4

Ingredients

1 big onion (finely chopped)
1 medium size potato ( medium long pieces)
1 big tomato (finely chopped)
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cups basmathi rice or long grain rice
2 Tbp Cooking  Oil
 1/4 Tsp cumin seeds
 1 Tbp Salt


 To grind 

 1/2 bunch Mint leaves
1/4 bunch coriander leaves (optional)
1 inch piece ginger
2-3 garlic pods
2 chilies
little water

 Procedure

1. Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes in water.
2. Grind all the ingredients in the  to grind list in to a fine paste in a blender.
3. Heat a pan add oil, cumin seed and let it fry for a minute.
4. Add onions  to the oil and saute till transparent.
5. Add the tomato and saute for  2 minutes
6. Add the potato and peas and saute for 2 minutes.
7. Pour the ground mint/ coriander paste in to the pan and now add the salt.
8. Cover with a lid and cook in medium flame  for 5 minutes or until the raw smell goes.
9. Drain the rice and add to the pan mix the whole thing together.
10. Add 6 cups of water and transfer the mix to a pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles. 
11. Open the lid  mix once and serve hot with raitha

Sometimes I cook with lid closed at low flame in the pan itself until the rice is completely cooked or in the rice cooker. Depending on the time I have to make the rice. Trust me if u like the smell of mint u will love this rice. the whole house smells so good and it tastes so good.
It tastes good with Raitha.

keywords: mint rice

Crispy Gobi/ Cauliflower Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian is a very famous Indo-chinese street food. Growing up this was one of my favorite appetizers we would order when we go to the restaurant. Now my daughter loves it and we order it everytime we go to the Indian Restaurant here. So i decided to try it at home to make it without the MSG and also alter the spice levels so the kids can enjoy. After a few failed attempts, this recipe from http://www.bharatzkitchen.com/recipe/94 looked perfect to adapt to my taste. Kirthana said this was one of the best manchurian she ever ate.

Preparation time - 45 minutes

Serving - 4-6

Ingredients

1 Big Cauliflower(about 35-40 pieces)

2 Tsp Ginger-galic paste

2 Tsp Corn flour

1 Tsp Pepper Powder 

Salt little

Water enough to boil the cauliflower

Turmeric 

Oil for deep frying

The manchurian gravy

2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste

2 Big Onions

5 sprigs Spring onion

2-3 Green chillis

1 Capsicum

1/2 Tsp Pepper powder( Add more if want to make it spicy)

1/4 Tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

The sauce for the Gravy

3 Tsp Corn flour

2 cups water

3 Tsp Tomato Ketchup

3-4 Tsp Soya sauce

2 Tsp Vinegar (optional)

2 Tsp Chilli sauce ( I like the Chings Green chilli sauce)

The batter

1 Cup All purpose flour/ Maida

1/2 cup Corn flour

salt 

Water

Procedure

1. Finely chop or break the cauliflower in to small bite size florets.
2. Boil water in a big pot add some turmeric, salt and add the cauliflower florets  and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain the water using a colander. Run it under running water to stop them from being over cooked.
4. Transfer the florets to another vessele add ginger garlic paste, corn flour, pepper powder and little salt. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Finely chop all the ingrediants in the gravy list.
6. Keep the sauce mix ready by mixing all the ingredients in the sauce for the grevy list in water. Make sure there are no lumps.
7. In a wide bowl add maida, corn flour, salt, add water and mix well to make a slightly thin batter. 
8. Add the cauliflower florets from the fridge to this batter and mix well to coat all te florets with batter
9. Heat oil in a pan and when it gets heated, put the florets one by one and fry them in medium flame till they are almost cooked. Drain them in a tissue.
10.  Now let the oil to reheat for some more time and again add the cauliflower florets. ( double frying the cauliflower will make them crispy)
11.  Deep fry them till they turn golden brown and crispy. Drain them on to a tissue to absorb excess oil
12.  In another pan heat 2 Tsp oil add the finely chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, spring onions, pepper, salt and sugar and fry.
13. Add the prepared sauce to the pan and let it cook till it reduces to half.
14. Switch off the stove and let it cool for 5 min
15. Add the crispy cauliflower to this gravey and garnish with spring onions and serve.

You can add the cauliflower pieces to the gravy when it is on the stove and mix everything together n serve its optional. If we allow the gravy to cool and mix it then it remins crispy for longer. 

Serve hot and enjoy!!

  

Mullangi Sambar/ Radish Sambar

Sambar is a lentil-based vegetable stew made with tamarind popular in South India. I like my sambar with any one of the vegetables as the base - that way the sambar gets the taste and aroma of that vegetable. I made this last evening and the kids loved it with some okra fry and some chips on the side. I was making it after along time since my kids didn't like the smell of Mullangi (ముల్లంగి Telugu, मूली Hindi) when I made it awhile ago. Specially Adi is really picky and doesn't like trying new things. He said "super amma" and I was really happy.  

Preparation time - 45 min

Serving 6-8 people

Ingredients  
250gm Radish
1 small Tomato
1 small Onion (sliced lenght wise)
2 green chillies   

1 1/2 cups Toor dal 

1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 

1 small lemon size Tamarind 

1 1/2 Tsp Sambar powder

Jaggery a pinch

Salt to taste

 For Seasoning (Popu)

1 tsp Cooking oil

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/4 tsp methi seeds

2-3 pinches Hing/ asafetida 

1-2 red chillies

1/4 Turmeric powder

Curry leaves few

coriander leaves to garnish 

Procedure

1. Soak the tamirind and extract the juice.
2. Peel the radish, cut it in half and cut it in to 1/2 inch semi circles.
3. Pressure cook the toor dal with 2 cups of water for 3 whistles on medium flame . I place the radish is a seperate dish and pressure cook it with the turemeric powder.
4. In a pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, methi seedss, red chillies and asafetida.Then add the onions slices, green chilles, curry leaves, turmeric, sambar powder and saute till onions turn transperent.
5. Add the tamarind extract, salt, jaggery and boil for 2-3 minutes.
6. Mash the pressure cooked toor dal mix in the radish and add it to the pan.
7.  If the mixture is to thic then add some water. 
8. Now let it all simmer together for 8-10 minutes.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Enjoy this with hot rice. I also use this as a side for idly or dosa. I like my sambar a little thick but u can adjust the water depending on the consistency u like.