in love with food: 2008

December 29, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!

Wishing all of you wonderful friends out there a very Happy and prosperous New Year!

CHEERS TO BLOGGING!!!

December 28, 2008

SIMPLE CURRIED POTATOES

This is probably the simplest,easiest and most satisfying of all potato curries.The use of curry leaves brings out the flavour of the potatoes and the tomatoes add a tang to it!

It is so simple that I am not specifying the quantity of ingredients also, just toss in according to your liking!

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pressure cooker, add 1/2 tsp of cumin and mustard seeds, some asafoetida and a pinch of deggi mirch(cayenne pepper), next add 1 roughly chopped tomato to it alongwith 1/2 tsp sambar masala and a few curry leaves.

Add 2 large roughly chopped potatoes and 1/2 cup water, close lid and give 2 whistles, let pressure drop by itself, season with salt and pepper.You can stir in some curd also into it at this time.

Vary ingredients according to taste, ENJOY!

Delicious with puris and paranthas!!!

Technorati Tags: simple curried potatoes,potatoes

December 2, 2008

KITCHEN GARDENING

It is after almost a gap of 8 months that I am writing a post today, all I can say is that have been waiting for this day :).

I have relocated from Delhi to Punjab, yes! glorious Punjab, where the food, the culture, the people, you got to see to believe, everything is so amazing, right down to heavenly mustard fields!

Here we have cultivated a small kitchen garden ,snapshots of which I am sharing with you all….

Technorati Tags: kitchen gardening

March 13, 2008

"My favourite things- Chinese food" roundup

How time flies!!!.... it has been an extremely busy month what with work taking priority over everything else and the Computer conked off and my sister in the hospital with severe gastroentritis and the maid down with jaundice!!!!!, you can only just imagine what I went through :), as a result everything else took a back seat and I ended up with a mere three posts for the entire month -sob!...and not a single one for Chinese food which I love so much ,guess will post that one after the roundup here!

Thus the delay in posting this round up and also a short break for "My favourite things event too", which really makes me sad but it will be back soon, anyways let's get down to some really fabulous Chinese here!

Mansi Desai's superb Vegetarian Schezuan hakka noodles

Zlamushka's delicious Traditional Chinese leek pancakes

Meera's mouth-watering Tofu Hakka Noodles

Happy Cook's yummy Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

Kalai's lip-smacking Chilly Chicken

Asha's must-try Chinese Chilli oil on scrambled eggs

Easy Crafts lovely Gobhi Manchurian

Homecooked delicious Vegetable Hot and Sour Soup

Dhivya's exotic Goreng Pisang

Dhivya's lovely PF Changs Vegetarian lettuce wraps

Thank you all once again for such great must-try recipes, I am drooling here!!!

What about you?????

Technorati Tags: chinese food roundup

February 15, 2008

SPICY CHICKEN WINGS (Chicken winglets marinated in pomegranate juice)

I am forever on the lookout for some good snacks, since my hubby is the kind of person who is really into finger foods!,this recipe was an instant hit in the house, read on and you will know why!!

Ingredients-

Fresh chicken wings- 1/2 kg
pomegranate juice- 1/2 cup
Ginger and garlic paste- 1/4 tsp
Red chilli flakes- 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Refined oil -to deep fry
Star-anise a pinch
Cinnamon -a pinch

Method-

Marinate the chicken in the above ingredients and leave covered in the refrigerator overnight, next day blot on kitchen towels and deep fry in hot oil till crisp. I served these with a store brought thai sweet chilli sauce and a fresh salad on the side dressed with just olive oil and lemon juice, delicious!

These are off to Sra for AFAM-pomegranate and to Sunita for Think spice- star anise, thanks for hosting to both of you!

Technorati Tags: spicy chicken wings

February 8, 2008

"These are a few of my favourite things" Cakes and Muffins roundup and announcing new theme for FEB 08

                          "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
                           Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
                           Brown paper packages tied up with strings
                           These are a few of my favourite things"

                          "Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels
                          Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
                          Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
                          These are a few of my favourite things"

                          "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
                          Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
                          Silver white winters that melt into springs
                          These are a few of my favourite things"

                          "When the dog bites
                          When the bee stings
                          When I'm feeling sad
                          I simply remember my favourite things
                          And then I don't feel so bad"

Another month has whizzed by, another mouthwatering roundup and another favourite theme! For this month I have chosen an all time favourite with all of us "CHINESE FOOD!! Looking forward to your participation.....

Cook...click and post and send it to me at- bindiyasingh7@gmail.com with the subject line- My favourite things-Chinese food , before the 7th of March 08 alongwith a picture (240x180) of the same and a link to this post.

Now for the- "CAKES AND MUFFINS" JAN 08 roundup

Banana chocolate loaf by Happy Cook

Chocolate enrobed cake by Rachel

Chocolate banana muffins by Superchef

Chunky monkey cake by Meera

Quick Cocoa fruit cake by me

Fruit and nut bread by Shella

Lemon muffins by Lisa

Papaya muffins by Bharathy

Pound cake by Lavanya

Raspberry roll cake by Mansi Desai

Roulade cake by Zlamushka

Walnut fudge cake- Johanna

Cranberry orange muffins-Kalai

Blueberry muffins -Dhivya

Clown cake -Namratha

Peach and cranberry cake by Maya

Coconut raspberry layer cake by Asha

Vegetable muffins by Renuka

Chocolate cake- Renuka's second entry

Layered cake- Namratha

Lemon raisin cake-Arundati

Thanks to all the participants, you guys simply rock!!!

If for any reason you are unable to view the pics, simply right click and choose "show picture" option.

Technorati Tags: cakes and muffins roundup

February 2, 2008

SPRING ONION GRAVY CHICKEN (Hare pyaaz wala murg)

Don't we all just adore these fresh spring onions?, I try to use them as a substitute for regular onions as much as I can, and with excellent results!.If however you do not have them at hand then use regular onions instead, both yield excellent results!This recipe is a very rustic home-style one which is very good with chapatis or rice-but I love it with a slice of crusty bread soaking up the gravy!!

Fresh Spring Onions

Ingredients-

Fresh chicken- 1
Spring onions-3-4
Tomato puree- 1/2 cup
Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Pure desi ghee- 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves- a handful
Fresh cream- 1 tbsp.
Green cardamom-2-3
Salt and pepper to taste

Method-

Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan, add the washed chicken pieces and fry till they start turning crisp and golden,remove and keep aside(they will be however partially cooked).

In the same ghee add ginger and garlic paste and the sliced spring onions, fry till they turn pale, add the tomatoes and cook till it leaves sides of pan, transfer to a pressure cooker, add the chicken ,the garam masala and 1/2 cup hot water along with the salt, cardamom(crushed) and pepper,close lid give one rapid whistle and remove immediately , put under running water, transfer to a serving pan and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and some fresh cream if desired.

Spring onion chicken (hare pyaaz wala murg)

This chicken goes to Radhi for JFI-Onion

Technorati Tags: spring onion gravy chicken,hare pyaaz wala murg

January 26, 2008

RAW PAPAYA PARANTHAS

I am not a great fan of papaya, but at times I feel like having it especially on days I feel I should be eating healthy!, sometimes however I really enjoy some chilled sweet ripe papaya and feel how could I not like this??A very long time ago I had tasted kacche papita ka parantha (raw papaya parantha) and I remember I liked the taste so I thought of making these today.

Apart from being an excellent source of Vitamin A, it also contains the digestive enzyme-"papain", raw papaya is very good for tenderizing meat and if applied on the skin leaves it smooth and acne free!

Grated raw papaya -ready for stuffing into paranthas

Ingredients-

Raw papaya- 1 medium sized
Coriander leaves- a handful, chopped
Garam masala- 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Ajwain -1/4 tsp.
Salt to taste
Wheatflour for dough

Method-

Grate the papaya and squeeze out excess water, add all the other ingredients, mix well and keep aside.

Knead dough the usual way , stuff with the prepared raw papaya stuffing, cook on a hot griddle (tawa), smear with some pure ghee on both sides cook till golden brown.

Raw papaya paranthas -ready to eat with pickle, yellow butter and curd

These paranthas turned out so delicious it was hardly possible to discover it's basis, and I can bet that if you don't tell someone what they are stuffed with, no one can guess!

These are off to lovely Nags for AFAM-Papaya

Technorati Tags: raw papaya paranthas

January 23, 2008

QUICK COCOA FRUIT CAKE

I have been thinking of baking a fruit cake for ages, but somehow all the recipes of those gorgeous fruit cakes are so lengthy maybe really great for once in year kind of Christmas baking but what if you want a delicious fruit cake in a jiffy, this is exactly that kind of of Cake and the best part is that it keeps fresh for several weeks!

Quick Cocoa Fruit Cake

Ingredients-

Flour, sifted-1 1/2 cups
Sugar- 1 cup
Cocoa- 3 tbsp.
Salt- 1/2 tsp.
Egg- 1, well beaten
Soda- 1 tsp.
Butter(melted) / Refined oil- 5 tbsp.
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Milk- 3/4 cup
Vinegar- 1 tbsp.
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup chopped mixed fruit, dredged with flour

Method-

Take a large bowl and add all the ingredients, and mix together very well for 10 minutes.Preheat oven to 180 deg.C and bake for 45 mins. in a well greased and lined pan.

Cover immediately after removing from oven so that the cake remains soft, store in an airtight box.

This recipe yields one large cake, we really enjoyed it with Fruit Ice-Cream!.