Kashi halwa[Kumbala kai halwa}

This is a famous recipe from Karnataka and my moms best sweet which is my altime favorite.All in our family love this.....It has so intense flavour and texture is simply so good.Hmm simply the name makes my mouth to water its simple and devine thats all i have to say.This is a best sweet for those who are of my types i.e trying to avoid adding fat...The winter melon/ash guard what we get is a rich source of iron content and other essential minerals which our body requires.We ayurvedic doc's prepare a leha caled khushmanda avaleha out of this hmm ....spicy and sweet at the same time which acts as general tonic,helps to gain body weight,helps in lactating mothers .....So so many medicinal property all will be combined with your halwa also.So its best in all ways.

Ingredients:
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Winter melon- 2 pounds
Sugar - 2 cups[as per taste]
cardammom - 1/2 tsp
powder
edible food color- a pinch dissolved in water
saffron -[optional]
ghee -3 tsp
Cashew nuts-1 tsp
raisins -1 tsp


Method:
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1.Peal up the wintermelon ,remove all the seeds and grate it and keep aside.
2.Take a heavy bottom pan,add 1 tsp of ghee, add the grated wintermelon to it and saute till it almost becomed dry.
3.Mean while roast the dry fruits in little ghee
4.Now add the sugar and saffron and keep stirring till all the liquid evaporates and comes out as a single mass.The add cardammon powder and 2 tsp of ghee.roasted dry fruits and stir properly
5. Remove from the fire and serve hot or after cooling .Simple yummy....hmm...

Crispy Quesadilla

This is a simple recipe for a busy day.Yummy veggies blended in a spicy tomato base and cheese added as a topping and baked to a crunchy yummy Quesadilla...I and my hubby enjoy the Mexican food a lot.So bought some corn tortilla's and kept in my freezer to quench our crave for mexican food .These corn tortilla's are the best way of hidding some veggies in a form of stuffing to fill the cranky kids stomach with nutritional veggies.Corn is very healthy and contains a lot of fibres , vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:
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Tomatoes-1 large
Corn Kernnels- 1 cup
Capsicum - 1 small
Black Bean -1/2 cup well cooked
Cellery - 1 leaf
Olives- 5-6
Jalapaneo-1 large
Olive oil-1 tsp
Onion-1/4 cup
Barbeque sauce-1 tsp
Salt
Sambal-oelek-1 tsp
Tomato paste- 1 tsp
Corn tortilla-2-4



Method:-
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1.Take a pan add olive oil
2.Then add onions and fry them till they turn transparent.
3.Then add tomato paste , barbeque sauce,samba sauce,salt and mix properly , add all the veggies and cover and cook for 1-2 mins untill they turn tender and soft.
4..Then take a corn tortilla and add this stuffing in one side ,top it with a little bit of cheese on the top and cover by folding and grill it or bake it in a tava for 2 mins till the cheese starts to melt and the tortilla's turn crisp.Enjoy when hot....

Spicy Plantain peal palya

This is a easy way to use up even the wastes.It tastes so good that you would prefer the peal rather than the actual fruit.Its nutritious as well as a rich source of fibres and vitamin B also.Has a combination of all tastes in it.Well i had prepared plantain chips and had these peals left out.So i thought why not prepare this spicy yummy dish and here it is in front of your eyes.Well now you can tell i am not a fool to waste such a tasty and nutricious peal and after all i have paid for the whole plantain isnt it..
Ingredients:
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Plantain peals- out of 4[unripe]
1tsp - mustard seeds
1/2 tsp - cumin seeds
1/2 tsp - urad dal
2 dry - red chilly
1 string - curry leaves
3-4 - chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp -tamarind pulp water
1 tsp -jaggery grates
1/4 tsp - turmeric powder
1.5 tsp - chilly powder
1.5 tsp - coconut grates[optional]



Method:
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1.Take a heavy bottomed pan ,ad oil,cumin seeds,mustard seeds,red chilly broken,urad dal and wait till it splutters.
2.Then add curry leaves,fry for 10 secs,then add chopped peal and saute for 1 min.
3.Add turmeric,chilly powder and season with salt and add the tamarind pulp.Then add little water to cook the plantain peal properly and cover and cook for 10 mins with occasional stirring.
4.Add jaggery and mix properly.Then add coconut grates and mix and ad 1/2 tsp of oil and mix properly and cook for another 5 mins.
5.Serve hot with rice at the side.Eat with ghee added the top.

Yummy wheat peda's

This is a simple nutricious recipe prepared out of very few ingredients .Me and my hubby both love dharwad pedas a lot.Well wanted to eat them badly.so i thought of preparing something similar but with less calories.So here is my own creation of recipe which is healthy and nutritious well dont ask about the taste i can say its much better than the pedas too.You need not feel bad or guilty after eating a couple of these as it contains minimal fat in it.Enjoy the weekend with my this recipe friends.....

Ingredients:
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1.5 cup - wheat flour
1 cup - sugar
1/2 - cup milk
3-4 tsp - ghee
1/2 tsp- cardammom powder


Method:
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1.Take a heavy bottomed pan.Add 1-2 tsp of ghee and add the flour and fry for about 3-4 mins in medium flame or untill it smells good.
2.Then add sugar as per your taste and allow it to mix well with the flour.
3.Then add milk and continue stirring untill it forms a single mass and leaves the bottom when you stir.
4.Take a clean tray or plate and grease it with ghee.
5.Pour the mixture into this tray and aloow it to cool a bit .Then slowly apply ghee to your hand and start rolling into small balls and keep aside.
6.Spread some powdered sugar/cane sugar on a plate and roll the ball so that its coated with sugar all over .Then fill them into a airtight container .This will remain for about a month .But believe me will get empty by then as they are irresistable.Enjoy....

Menthe Ganjji

This is a simple yet a nutritious recipe prepared out of rice and methi seeds.The richness of coconut milk adds an extra flavour to this dish.Very rich and smooth,tastes so greatat the same time healthy too.Methi is a rich source of vit-B and contains essential oil for the skin.It improves the complexion of the skin and gives proper nutrition to bring up the glow of the skin.Its good for rgulating the menstruation cycle and also reduces the pain abdomen during MC.Well other than this it also cuts down the bad fat and even helps to reduce joint pain when taken regularly.This act as good source of thiktha and kashaya rasa of our daily food components which i have mentioned in my other ayurvedic blog..Coconut milk helps in maintaining moiture content of the skin,also improvest the hair growth and helps in regulating the shine in the hair.Good for hair.So why not try this when its so great.

Ingredients:-
----------
Rice - 2 Cups
Water -5 cups
Methi seeds-2 tsp
Coconut milk- 4 oz/3/4 cup
Salt


Method:
--------
1.Pressure cook rice adding water and methi seeds for aabout 3-4 whistles.
2.Take a heavy bottomed pan and add cooked rice to it.Then seson with enough salt ,bring to a boil.
3.Add 1/2 cup water and coconut milk to it and again bring to another boil.
4.You can even add jaggery to this if you like sweet taste.It tastes better even that way.I have avoided jaggery.
5.Serve hot or cold with your favorite pickles at the side.Enjoy...

Recipes tried out of blogger friends blogs

This weekend i like to make a roundup of a portion of the dishes which i had tried and like a lots from my fellow bloggers/my dear friends.Well i really appreciate every one for sharing such wonderful recipes and new creative ideas from thier kitchen to thier lovely blogs.Im happy to be in this lovely cirle of blogger friend.Although im here from 4 -5 months i feel we all know each othe r from a long time.Well thanks for all the appreciations and lovely comments which all of you have written in both of my blogs.

Out of Seema's [Akka] blog;-
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1.Banana Dosa
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2.Watercress soup
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3.Butter biscuits
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4.Coconut parata
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5.Spicy baked biscuits:
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From Saffron Hut:
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1.Besan Burffee,Which i have altered a bit and i named it Besan vanilla bites :
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2.Spinach bread/sipanch and kale Stromboli
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-Well again i have changed it a bit.

-Here is my version of spinach roll.I have used following ingredients,prepared every thing from the scratch..with alittle bit of alterations.



Ingredients:
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Pizza dough- home made with 1.5 cups[reffer pizza post for base recipe]
Spinach - 1 bunch
Paneer grates- 2 tbsp
Green chillies-3
Basil- 8-10 fresh leaves
Cashewnuts- 2 tsp
Garlic- 2-3 cloves
Olive oil- 3 tsp+ for brushing
Chilly flakes-1/2 tsp
Salt



Method;
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1.Clean and chop up the spinach into thin strips and sprikle with little water ,add salt and chilly flakes and cook in microwave for 3 mins.Then drain off excess liquid and keep it aside for cooling.
2.Instid of pesto i made a similar sauce using basil, 1 garlic clove,olive oil,green chillies,salt and cashew nuts.Blend everything to form a fine paste and keep ready.
3.Roll out the pizza dough into very thin sheets rectangular in shap and then cut it lenth wise into two equal portion.
4.Grate up about 2 tbsp of panner and add it to the paste.Chop up the remaining garlic very finely and add it to spinach.
5.Smear the pizza dough which is rolled into a sheet with olive oil ,then with the paste leaving about 2 cms of all the four edges .
6.Drop down equal portion uniformly over the sheets.Then rollover the sheets creafully from one lenghtwise side to the other.Then place it in a cookie sheet and smear with olive oil.well i like mine very crunchy so baked it in a pre heated oven of 350 deg for 30 mins.Enjoy with basil tomato sauce.

Jatpatt Spinach rotti

Here is a simplest recipe of yummy palak rotti .As usual i was chatting with my mom and she said that she had prepared this rotti and the way she described it i felt like eating it very badly.She had prepared it out of 'basale' that is the chineese spinach.But as we get it very rarely over here in California i thought of trying it out with the spinach and believe me it came out so good and tasted,simply very good .It is crunchy as well as silky smootn because of the spinach.Its very heathy as there is the spinach which is rich in iron , vitamin-B & Vit-A.The base is wheat flour which is rich in fibres , protien & vit-B .Well all may feel that its like parata ,but no friends its not like that and taste is so promising indeed.Do give a look at the pictures and then try.See it for yourself.

Ingredients:
-----------
Wheat flour- 2 cups
Spinach - 1 bunch
Chilly powder- 2 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Jeera-1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 pinch
water


Method:
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1.Take the flour and salt in a big vessel and mix.Then add thinly chopped spinach to it.
2.season with chilly powder,salt ,turmeric and jeera .
3.Add enough water to make a wet dough just enough to roll out the balls roughly.It will be very stick .,
4.Heat the pan ,then make a big ball out of this wet dough and flaten it a bit and place it in the centre of the pan and press and make a small round shaped rotti out of it.Dip your hand in cold water after each rotti so that your hand wont get burnt.
5.Cover and cook for 1 min .Then smear the upper surface with coconut oil then flip up the opposite side and then smear this side and roast till it turns crisp.This can be eaten as it is or with spicy pickle added at the side.Enjoy...