Aloo and cheese paranthas with yogurt dip

One dish dinners are my favourite…..err….dishes that dont use rice or pasta too can be one dish right?? On week nights when minimum fuss needs to be endowed upon the kitchen, aloo paranthas to the rescue….they used to be a rare treat when we were growing up, but thanks to that wonder product called aloo mash, and if you have chappati dough on hand, these can be whipped up in no time at all….i added a little grated cheddar cheese to these paranthas because I was feeling particularly happy with the yoghurt dip I churned up……i’d been eying anitha’s recipe for ages now…but as always got down to making it at a time that i least expected to……..it was thick and yummy and i think will make agreat bread spread too…that i guess i will keep for another day!!……..Piping hot, straight off the griddle, aloo paranthas always disappear faster than I give them credit for…..

The paranthas are off to Valli’s roti mela…..its going to be a stampede at the round up!!

Express breakfasts? Do not fear when upma is near!!

I know it is a corny ditty, but upma has been my succor in times when hunger strikes….the unassuming preparation, used to be very infamously dubbed “international paste” by brother and i!! upma, read more about it here…

Simple to make with as many or as little ingredients as are on hand, easily adapting to semolina, cracked wheat or vermicelli, upma is fast food at its best, nutritiously laden with carbs, it is my fix for midnight hunger pangs, days when the fridge is almost empty and when I am in no mood to ponder over a meal….ready in less time than it takes to boil an egg…the only thing to master here is, to add the semolina in a steady stream while mixing continuously to ensure there are no lumps….that can be a bummer!!

For this time, I added 2 tablespoons of chopped tomato along with 1 tablespoon of chopped onion…..even a simple tadka minus onion and tomatoes works fine…..add finely chopped or grated veggies such as carrot, cabbage, beans and peas if you would like to increase the fibre content. Add peanuts to the tadka, or cashews if you are feeling particularly indulgent…….Garnished or bare, try upma if you haven’t already…..

this is making its way to Raaga’s edition of WBB: Express Breakfasts

besan roti

If there is one thing I would want to avoid in the kitchen, it is to make rotis…..now, don’t get me wrong….we have them every day for at least one meal….but the process of making the roti is always something that I ponder over…. Blame it on my rice eating / craving genes if you want! That being said…..i love eating rotis….scooped up with some spicy side dish or dipped into yummy dals…..stuffed paranthas never made frequent appearances at our table….but besan roti or atleast this is what we call it at home did…. i have no idea how or where my mother came upon this recipe, but she made it and we took to it big time…..what the recipe did in turn, was simplify many breakfast and dinner times….This is one of my favourite rotis….quick to rustle up, filling, nutritious and hits all the right taste buds….

Besan roti is very similar to an omelette smeared over a chappati but I guess this is the vegetarian version…..the besan and spice batter is more like a bhajjia / fritter batter…..the roti is cooked till 2/3 rd done and the batter smeared over one side and then cooked again…..i like to have it done crisp….it is best with some chilled yoghurt and spicy pickle on the side…..we had ours with avakkai.

This is off to valli’s roti mela…and also to my namesakes WBB: Express breakfasts.

WBB#22 - May Mango Madness - the Roundup is finally here!

The good doctor quizzed me on my interest in hosting WBB for may sometime in April….nothing in the chat transcript told her how much at sea I was and that I was terrified….then we both forgot about it…..or so I thought….april came and went and at the beginning of may, came april’s round up……mid afternoon bolt from the blue sms from my namesake asked me where my announcement was…..have you ever broken into a cold sweat?? I did….i know you must be thinking I am crazy….but food blogging did this to me….convinced that I was better off making anonymous comments on blogs and wondering why the hell I agreed to this……I posted the announcement…..choosing (unimaginatively because they were assaulting my senses at that time) Mangoes…..and waited with bated breath!!

In the meanwhile I went about harassing all my blogger friends, via email and chat….and made quite a job of it!! the last four weeks have been hectic…for anyone who’s been reading my blog…..K’s part of the family has been here and we were travelling…. Not to mention that the laptop decided to go kaput and then the broadband at home went on vacation….when everything settled into a not so dramatic mode……I didn’t have the time in life to do anything about the roundup…..and I have tried today to remedy it!!

breakfast being the first to go at the sacrificial altar of time…..that too with mangoes to be incorporated into it…..most of the people I know, including yours truly do nothing more than gobble them up as they are….thats the thing with mangoes…they seduce you with their flesh and leave you so impatient that you just want to grab them………

i was delighted with the entries for mango madness…..raw and ripe, they tickled the palette and made for some interesting breakfast treats……here they are….many many thanks to all those who sent in their creations……please let me know if any entry sent hasn’t been posted here…….cheers!! and what a delightful madness it has been!!

So here it is…….i’ve tried to categorise as best as i could……….

Sowmya of Creative Saga, discovers alphonsos with a vengeance……after being pretty neutral about the fruit for years…..she whips up this tangy mango delight…..now mango pulp, orange juice and whipped cream….that’s what i call an explosive start to the day!!!

Suman of Heaven’s garden sends in Mango lassi…..our desi smoothie that’s both a thirst quencher and perfect as a filling breakfast drink

another take on Mango Lassi that sings lullabies….this is from Indira of Mahanandi

Pooja of My Creative Ideas makes this breakfast in a glass…mango thick shake with mango and bananas with milk…..she was rankled for a choice….but I think she couldn’t have chosen a more fitting entry!!

Rupa of Random Musings, dear friend and endurer of much nagging thinks that food blogging is not her cup of tea…..yet I wish to tell her that we all thought the same before taking the plunge….for starters, she takes the food detour from her personal blogging just to serve us this fruit yoghurt….

Shoba of Nangil Girl’s Adventures sends in this mango banana smoothie for breakfast……might I add that I loved the glass??

Madhuram of Eggless Cooking blends in two unusual flavours of raspberries and mango to make this breakfast Raspberry Mango smoothie

Jyothsna of Curry Bazar makes this beautiful aamras, with rotis, puris, plain or as a fitting end to a meal, aamras is always a recipe for surefire praise!!

Foodyguru Srimathi of Few Minute Wonders sent in this Mango trifle pudding as her entry……now you are talking breakfast!! I love the idea of indulgence in the morning…..!!

Jan of Food with a pinch of Love sent in this elaichi aamras fruit custard taking fusion to another level…..

Sandeepa of BongMom’s Cookbook recalls how she enjoyed the hot indian summers and dishes up this interesting mix of yoghurt, poha and mango called Chire Doi aam

Meera of Enjoy Indian Food makes this Mango Shikran, she says it was never served at breakfast, but fruit and milk cannot hurt anyone…..and I absolutely agree!!

Jyothsna’s Curry Bazar brings to the breakfast table, amarkhand - mango shrikhand….served with hot puris this makes for a traditionally fabulous breakfast……psst…you can also forget the puris and dig straight into the amarkhand if you like!!

Radhika of Tickling palates sends in a tall glass of Mango Jal jeera, perfect way to beat the heat

Isha of Isha’s Kitchen sends in a blend of two popular flavours in her strawberry mango salad, the addition of cumin and red chilli powder only serves to enhance the flavours of the fruit I am sure!!

This feisty talented baker, wears many hats with much elan…..and she too did get the bugging she didn’t deserve….what can I do…I was plagued with thoughts that no one would send me any entries and I had to turn to (quite literally) to the friends I made off the blogosphere…..deeba of passionate about baking sent in this fruitilicious Mango Fruit Salad to begin the day and get me firmly off her back!!

My other namesake Arundathi of My Food Blog has this interesting breakfast of eggs and Mango Salsa between a tortilla

Asha of Foodie’s Hope baked this lovely Mango –coconut pound cake and serves it up with some great mango sauce!!

Jayashree’s experiments with food whipped up this awesome breakfast on the go, she sends in an eggless microwave bread

Kalai of Samaithu Paarkalam sent in these fabulous Mango Scones…….i’m hurrying over for breakfast lady!!

Mansi of Fun and Food bakes this delectable Mango cake with streusel topping

Shibani or Anyone can cook tells us a familiar Mommy tale of getting her little one to eat…..and comes up with a lovely Mango oats breakfast bars this am sure is a winner with the fussiest of eaters

Uma of the essence of Andhra, sends in this mango pancake…..the unique addition of mango juice to make the batter, and chilli and cumin, gives it a nicely different edge.

Kevin of closet cooking sends in these awesome mango banana pancakes which uses coconut milk and cardamom to make it flavourful.

Priya of Live to cook makes some mango potato griddle cake, otherwise called adai…..she uses an unusual combination of raw mango and potato for this and immediatelty alerted my “must try” list!!

Crepes turned out to be very popular …..Possibly because they pair rather well with mangoes….we had four servings of them…….

Mike of Mike’s table sends in these delectable mango nutella crepes…they’re what sinfully fabulous breakfasts are made of, he promises that the flavours and textures will make you crave for more

Sukanya of Hot and Sweet Bowl serves us these fabulous looking Mango Crepes, sinfully flavourful with chopped mango pieces and whipped cream!! Makes me want to crash this breakfast table!!

Priya of Priya’s Kitchen – Spices in Life brings alive this mango madness with her mango crepes

JZ of Tasty Treats sends in her version of this popular breakfast item, crepes…..she serves up some lovely mango crepes

Nandita of Saffron trail, the brain behind Weekend Breakfast Blogging, makes this too easy to believe instant microwave mango jam, that just cuts the process but not the taste or flavour

Alka’s Sindhi Rasoi dishes out the indian answer to the mother of all jams, Mango Murba takes me …back to my childhood when all kinds of jams were made to preserve and use the surplus of fruit we had…..murba was one of the star attractions….

Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen has a way with words……..how else can you explain this “Tangy chunks of mango in a thick, creamy mango juice broth surrounding soft and chewy grains of barley, topped with the mild tartness of fresh blackberries — even the most reluctant of porridge eaters will be back for a second bowl of this naturally sweet and colourful breakfast delight” she had me scurrying over to find this beautiful Mango barley porridge with blackberries…….and rarely do I call porridge beautiful!!

Aparna and her Diverse Kitchen took a leaf off none other than Nigella Lawson’s show and made up this Mango Parfait with home made granola….this dear Aparna, deserves to be on a show by itself!! Talk about a goddess dishing out balanced breakfasts!!

Revathi of Here it is sends in this innovative dish she calls Mango Something…..using bell peppers and ripe mangoes….it can be had on its own, or as an accompaniment to roti…..

Sumi… of Sumi’s kitchen is one of those who innovated with a breakfast item to suit the theme…and she came up with a poha upuma with shredded mango

Raji of Talimpu sends in this Raw Mango Upma using rice flour……the picture looks good enough to eat!

Vani of Mysoorean sends in two entries with her Mango Salad and Mango poha both the dishes have a burst of flavours and use raw mango

Srivalli of cooking 4 all seasons dishes up some quick and flavourful rice sevai with raw mango….. she could’nt decide between ripe or raw mangoes and this dish doesn’t disappoint

Roma of Roma’s Space sends us Matris, a fave north indian snack / breakfast using raw mango that was straight from her neighbor’s garden!!

Rupa of Simply Aroma sent in this tantalizing Instant Mango Pickle, a perfect accompaniment for any meal and whats more is totally fuss free!!

she also sent in this yummy chutney

Easy Crafts of Simple Indian Food sent in Maankaai thokku that’s a versatile side dish for idlis, dosas, chapattis and rice too!!

The Jugalbandits from where else….Jugalbandi send in this mango and coconut chutney that accompanied their crazy upma!!

Sia of Monsoon Spice sent in another mango chutney she calls Spicy Mango chutney…she tells a lovely story of a childhood spent in bliss and mangoes contributed in a large dose to this!!

Sireesha of mom’s recipes sends in this mango coconut chutney perfect to accompany dosas, chapattis or even steamed rice with ghee

My namesake of the Singing Chef sent me not one, not two….hold your breath, three terrific entries to boost my confidence of hosting mango madness…..i think she is a true foodie….thanks girl…..check out her Chickpeas Sundal, Kairi Panha and Mango Muffins…..

raaga is also the hostess of this month’s edition of WBB with Express breakfasts being the theme, the deadline is the 30^th of june

And Lastly, my own entry…… raw mango and coconut chutney.……

Thanks again Nandita, for sending WBB over to Escapades…….thank you all who sent in your entries (please let me know if i have missed any) and am so sorry for the long delay in posting the roundup!!

cheers!!

Pav bhaji grilled sandwiches

the thing about being an over enthusiastic cook (over enthu cutlet, in the words of a dear friend) is that we sometimes cook more than what can be had at one meal……..if this is by design, then great cos you have cooked for another meal and saved yourself some trouble…but if it happens by default, then mentally you arent prepared to have leftovers and dealing with that can be daunting……..

A few weeks ago, we had pav bhaji for dinner made from the recipe from one of the hottest stoves in the cyberworld…..following nupur’s instructions to the T has gained me many wah wah’s on all the occassions i have made it……. I made more than what we could finish for dinner….i stuck the remanants in the fridge and that was that…two days later….the eternal question of “what shall we have for breakfast” was asked….and the answer any one is dishing up meals dreads to hear “anything” was heard….in no particular mood to do any elaborate cooking, the leftover pav bhaji came to my rescue…..while I am not particularly fond of leftovers, I am equally unwilling to trash perfectly good food….i also refuse to leave stuff to languish and go all fuzzy and green….

Toasted sandwiches are a big draw in our family….it used to be the only travel food we ate for almost all the years we travelled by train….and more importantly when the indian railways didn’t always have food to be served during the journey…..the versatility of the sandwich ensured we didn’t get bored of it…it was easy to make, carry and totally mess free to eat…..we have a contraption which is used on the stove top…..the one I have is courtesy my mom and I have no clue where she bought it….it is non stick….and can turn bread from blah to wah in a couple of minutes…..

I have also stuffed pita bread and pizza bases and toasted them this way….all times the end result is excellent…this time i used the pav bhaji…..any other spicy semi dry curry of choice, egg bhurjee, slices of cucumber, tomato, cheese………the fillings can be anything that tickles your fancy …..they all work great…….

needless to say, we had a satiating breakfast…..and this is also my entry to the Sandwich Festival on at Anupama’s Food n More……

pav bhaji grilled sandwich (serves 2)

8 slices bread ( i used whole wheat)

16 T pav bhaji made using Nupur’s recipe (or any other filling of choice)

lay the grill with a slice of bread, put 1-1 1/2 T of filling in it, cover with another slice of bread, close the grill, toast on both sides for 30-45 seconds till golden brown. remove from toaster / grill, cut diagonally and served hot with sauce of choice.

Dahi vada

When amma is here with me, I always try and make some stuff which she loved to make and feed us as kids, but now because of her eyesight she can’t…..she loves watching me in the kitchen and will stay perched on a morra while I keep up with the experiments….all the while talking nonstop….filling me in on family gossip, stories that are a blast from the past and just about anything else…..she refuses to sit quietly….offering her help while I shoo her into a corner….she claims that shes not used to ‘idle time’ …infact given half an opportunity, she will insist on making atleast one meal per day….. each time she stays with me, I discover something about her that I was totally blind to earlier….i know that’s shocking considering how long we’ve lived together, and the relationship we share….but sometimes, we take for granted the things closest to us….people and relationships more importantly…..on one of her trips, I discovered she totally digs Dahi vadas…..i mean like, she can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner…. I never had noticed this…ever!! I swear!! The last thing I’d have guessed was that dahi vada can make my mother almost loony!! Since I am a little watchful about deep fried stuff, I sacrifice items like puris and papads to fry these orbs of delight for my mother atleast once during each of her stays…though it needs a little preparation; they are well worth the effort.

thanks mansi for suggesting that i send this over to your Monthly Mingle….this month is all about appetizers and hors’deouvres . Dahi vada is a sure fire party hit!! MM is the brainchild of Meeta and this month hops over to Fun and Food

Shake it the Sharjah way!!

the thing about living in a hostel when you are a student living too far away from your hometown to be able to go back and forth during long weekends is, it exposes you to many things…..some good, some not so….but everything teaches you a lesson that you will never forget for the rest of your life……so the longish weekends I’d have at my disposal, I spent accepting every invitation from friends and classmates to visit their homes……the memories and experiences and some of the pictures that I managed are priceless……it also gave me the fabulous opportunity to partake of many meals lovingly prepared, many conversations and a peek into other people’s lives……..

The first time I visited kerala, was on one such weekend…..i remember it was the easter weekend….and I had my first full scale exposure to the heat, humidity, food, people and festivals of this state…..i was in love!! I can recall almost everything that I did those three days…..the food I ate and the walks on the beaches…..i also first sipped a milkshake in a beer mug!! Sharjah shake …… I don’t know how this drink got this name……I have asked around and checked on the internet….haven’t found any conclusive information….suffice to say that the intriguing name apart, this is one must do – must taste when one is in God’s own country…….apparently the birth of this drink happened in Calicut, circa unknown….and its popularity is spreading all over the state….. the ingredients are simple and available in abundance……made of milk and bananas, and frozen milk that gives it an amazing consistency, it makes for a refreshingly cool

indulgence that good for your bones too……sharjah shake is my entry to Beautiful Bones: an Osteoporosis Food Event, hosted by the lovely Food blogga Susan……the event calls for a calcium rich recipe to be made and posted in the month of may which is the osteoporosis awareness month…….milk is a rich source of calcium and so are bananas…..so Susan, this is being whipped up specially for you!!

To make the Sharjah Shake to serve two in regular glasses or one in a beer mug!!

(This is my version with lesser sugar)

500 mls frozen milk (I used low fat)

2 ripe bananas (about 1 cup of slices)

1-2 t sugar

A pinch of powdered cardamom seeds

1T bournvita (substitute with boost/ drinking chocolate or any malt / chocolate based drink)

In a blender jar, add all of the above ingredients and blend till everything is well incorporated and liquefied. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

WBB#22 Announcement - May Mango Madness

all images in this post courtesy wikimedia commons

Melting moments of May have turned up the heat a notch higher…..Weekend Breakfast Blogging, the event started by the lovely doctor at Saffron trail, stops by at Escapades this month. Yes!! WBB# 22 will spring to you from here…..

The brightest spot in the scorching summer is reserved for the king of fruits – the mango!! That’s what makes the summer all so worth it……summers become mango centric…..when life is all about harvesting, storing, buying, pickling, ripening and digging into this luscious fruit……

Weekend Breakfast Blogging #22 – May Mango Madness

Mangoes – the national fruit of India (and Pakistan, Bangladesh and Philippines – source Wikipedia), is said to have a mention in the Ramayana and Mahabharata…..the mango is believed to be a native of india though it is prolifically grown in most south Asian countries…..a tropical fruit with more than 30 species, the mango is a rich source of nutrients, particularly high vitamins A, C and E and is also a rich source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates. While pages and pages can be written about the taste and texture of the luscious ripe fruit, the raw form of the fruit is also put to use in pickles, chutneys , dried and used as a souring agent (aam chur) etc.

So put fish out your thinking caps then (I doubt it will be needed though)…..and join me in the may mango madness…..send in your recipes which have mangoes as the focal point in a breakfast preparation(vegetarian including eggs)….cooked, raw, sliced, grated, pulped, pureed, cut or squashed….Mangoes of any variety, used in any form…..cakes, muffins, breakfast breads, cookies, beverages, salads, chutneys, salsas…..and am sure much much more that can be done with this king of fruit….. Bring it on….the rules for WBB#22 – May Mango Madness are as below. There is no limit on the number of entries…so go ahead…flood my inbox!!

Guidelines:

• The deadline is Saturday, May 31st and I’ll post the round up on Wednesday, June 4th 2008
• Post a breakfast recipe in the month of May, with Mango in any of its avatars as the main ingredient
• Send in your entries with the following details to arundati.rao(at)gmail(dot)com, with WBB#22 - May Mango Madness in the subject line
• Do send me your name, blog name, the name of the recipe, permalink of the post and a picture of your creation
• Do link back your post to this announcement and feel free to use the logo

For the roundup of WBB#21 - microwave cooking head over here hosted by 100% Microwave Cooking

all images in this post courtesy wikimedia commons

Lemon Vermicelli

There are times when I get tired of the idli dosa combos and crave something different for breakfast….K isn’t too happy at these times and I have to mask something I like with atleast one element of a dish that he likes to get him to even look at it…(bah!! And people complain only about fussy kids!!) i love vermicelli, but K doesn’t care much for it….. one such discovery was lemon semia….i have never eaten this anywhere else, though I am sure I haven’t exactly pioneered it to shout out eureka!! This is inspired by the lemon idiappam I have had that my MIL makes…..i’ve just substituted vermicelli instead of idiappam….its done in a jiffy and if you have lemons or lemon juice at hand, can be made in as much time as it takes to boil the vermicelli!! So for the days when you need a really quick snack or breakfast, this is a good option. I use the pre roasted vermicelli, it gives it a different flavor and more importantly doesn’t stick together like a stubbornly gummy vermicelli.

this can be made on the stove top and microwave…here is the microwave version…which is off to WBB - microwave foods, hosted this month by Easycrafts ….. WBB is the spell on blogging breakfasts, first cast by the good doctor Nandita at Saffron Trail

Lemon Semia

(To serve 2)

1 cup roasted vermicelli

1 t oil

½ t mustard seeds

1 t urad dal (shelled black gram)

1 t channa dal (split bengal gram)

A few curry leaves

1 T cashew nuts (broken into pieces, totally optional)

A pinch of turmeric

Salt to taste

2 T lemon juice

2 green chillies slit lengthwise

1 T freshly grated coconut for the garnish

in a microwave safe bowl, place 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cuproasted vermicelli, salt to taste. cover, and microwave on high for 5-6 mins (that’s how long it takes in my oven, check and adjust the time accordingly). the semia will be just cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.

in another microwave safe bowl, add the oil, mustard seeds, urad and channa dals, turmeric, curry leaves, green chillies, cashew nuts (if using) and zap covered on high for a minute till the mustard splutters. take out, add the lemon juice, cooked vermicelli, grated coconut, mix well. Serve hot with pickle / chutney or plain. yes….the method ends here…it is that simple!!

adai - dosa’s cousin

i first had this at my in laws….amma makes it a point to cook up all of K’s favourites while we are visiting…and rest be assured that adai will be on the breakfast menu atleast twice….initially, for someone who felt even rava dosa was a contamination of dosas, it was a shock!! (ofcourse, now K claims that i can make a dosa out of water even!!………….quite a compliment me thinks!!) …..the flavours and texture of adai was so different from what i was used to….then i tried making friends and savouring the flavours instead of battling them…..i also don’t quite get the formula right because for me it is a matter of what is easily available on hand….so this isn’t true to the recipe that amma follows….I just throw together 2-3 dals in equal proportions with ½ cup of rice that’s it….it’s also a great way of using up the small measures of leftover dals….i love the convenience of a dal dosa, because there is no process of fermentation. the dals have to be soaked for a couple of hours and the batter when ground is ready to use immeditely. not just this, since it is full of lentils, it is high on proteins and makes for a filling a nutritious breakfast…..i also looked at and was immediately hooked on to shyam’s tomato chutney.… this is what we had the adai with, and a spot of kobbari kaaram….the combination is great and the tangy sharpness of the chutney really enhanced the flavour of the adai. So here goes…this one’s off to the dosa mela….in a sense I am kind of dreading the roundup….being the dosa freak that I am….i might want to try them all out!!