Owl Cupcakes and A month long marathon!

My weight bothers me a lot. It bothers my family even more. I am the only one from both my parent’s side as well my husband’s, who is almost clinically obese (just a few decimals away).

I start every single day with a resolution to control what I eat. And every single night I tell myself,”from tomorrow for sure!”

In short, I am not very proud of myself in this matter.

But, the feeling is totally different when you set about something and you meet your goal successfully. The goal for April was to blog continuously for thirty days as part of Blogging Marathon. And all of us did that, successfully.

I have thirty recipes for the month of april and I am as proud as a peacock showing off. Congratulations to everyone who participated and completed this task. And a special thanks to Valli for setting about doable themes, unending patience and putting all the effort to keep the group motivated. In fact, we are actually taking her support and enthusiasm as granted by now :-)

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to know who and all participated.

For me, personally, this 30 day marathon wasn’t that scary, because by April, I had about 35 recipes in my drafts section. So i was done even before BM started! Except for very few recipes (for matching the theme), I hardly made anything specific for BM 27.

And these recipes accumulate over a period of months. Like this post, for instance. I had to skip a BM for some reason, though the posts were done. It was for a Kids Delight theme of Cooking From storybook (hosted by Archana).

I had made an easy to make Owl cupcakes from Winnie the Pooh theme, a pancake from the book Eddie likes to Eat and a stuffed Empanada recipe (basically bread) from the book Little Red Hen.

I posted the pancake recipe a couple of days back. The bread recipe got posted long time back, but the owl cupcakes are still there in the drafts section. Hubby told it doesn’t resemble an owl in any possible way, so I was hesitant.

Anyway, I had ready-made cupcakes for the base. Oreo or any chocolate cream biscuit for eyes and chocolate chips for eyeballs and nose.

The above picture of glasses and cookie cutters and bowls are from a shopping spree at currimbhoys Adyar branch. The entire stuff cost me about 1000/- rupees (20 USD, approx.) and I had about 15 single items to show for it.

Anyway, let me close the last post of BM 27 on a big note : Thank You Everyone!

Pazham Pori- Banana Fritters

The mail came sometime in December with a request for response within two weeks. And I replied almost two months later, that too after getting a reminder.

I am talking about the mail from Pallavi, who blogs at Cook-Eat-Burrrp regarding this space being featured in her series ‘Beyond the URL‘.

Yeah, you read it right. This space( ie, My Kitchen Trials) being featured in her space!!

First I thought it was spam, then I decided it was a mistake. But still,the mail took my vanity to a whole new level. Coming to think of it, I don’t think I even sent a proper response to her mail, I was that shocked!

Soon, I started pondering over the questionnaire. ”Tell us something about yourself”, it read. And I wrote “My name is Rajani”.

So, now you know why I took two months to finish off the entire thing! It was ‘one word a day’ for a long time :-).

In case you are interested in reading the whole (errrr…..) interview (I can’t believe it even now!!Really!), head out to Pallavi’s space and read it at leisure.

I am serving ‘Beyond the URL’ along with a plate of Pazham pori, something you can never say ‘No’ to! Check out the recipe and the link when you have time. And check out the Blogging Marathon page to know what other participants are doing!

Ingredients:

• Ripe bananas. : 2
• Maida(AP flour) : 1 cup
• Sugar. : 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
• Oil. : to deep fry

Method:
For this recipe, the nendran variety of bananas are used. And the riper it is(without being mushy), the better.

Prepare the batter first. Mix the flour, sugar, turmeric powder with a pinch of salt. Add about a cup of water and make a batter which is a bit thinner than idly batter or cake batter consistency.

The batter should coat the banana slices without falling off totally. You might have to add a bit more of water if the batter is thick or a bit of flour if it is too thin.

Heat oil for deep-frying.

Peel and cut the banana into two. Cut each piece lengthwise into four pieces. So totally, you will have 8 thin, kind of rectangular, pieces.

Dip one sliced piece in the prepared batter and deep fry till golden. Repeat with other pieces.

Serve hot with a steaming cup of tea.

Patra

Kiddo’s annual summer vacation started last Wednesday. And the very next day, I packed my bags, dumped in all of kiddo’s toys in it and headed home.

My brother, SIL and my two-year old niece, Bhagus, were already here when I reached. Kiddo was really looking forward to playing with Bhagus and has been talking only about her for the past one week.

Bhagus was also looking for ‘anna…anna…anna..’ in the whole house from the day she came.

So happiness was in the air when these two met. A lot of hugging, kissing, excitement and offering of toys to each other happened.

Exactly an hour later, kiddo came to me and said:”I don’t want Bhagus for my cousin!”. I could hear a faint:”Anna docha venda” (translated by her mom as: Don’t give dosa to anna”), sound from the kitchen.

And so the summer vacation started. At moment there is a break since my niece has left for Bangalore. I am looking forward to the events that will take place when she will be back a month later.

Coming to the recipe here, its Patra(or Paatra), an anytime snack  made with gram flour and colocasia leaves. This post is under the traditional recipes for Blogging Marathon 27. Check out the others here at the Blogging Marathon page.

Recipe Source: Ribbon’s To Pasta’s

Serves :    4 – 6

Ingredients:

• Colocasia leaves         :        4
• Gram flour (besan)   :       1 cup
• Chilli Ginger paste.  : 1/2 tsp
• Chili powder             : 1/2 tsp
• Jaggery                      : 1/2 cup
• Tamarind                  : 2-3 tbsp
  Salt

Method:

• Prepare the leaves first. Wash the leaves thoroughly and then carefully slice off thick veins, if any,on the backside of the leaf. Make sure not to tear the leaf while doing this.
• Mix everything except the leaves in a big bowl and add water to make a thick paste. Add salt to taste.
• The paste should not be runny, it should be of a dosa batter or cake batter consistency.
• Apply this paste on the backside of the colocasia leaves. You have to fold both the sides by two inches to the centre. Fold two inches from the top. Then roll the leaf into a tight roll, like a Swiss roll.
• Steam for about 8-10minutes till done. Once its cool, slice these. Prepare a tadka of curry leaves, mustard leaves and sesame seeds in about a tablespoon of oil. Add this to the sliced paatra and serve.

Goan Sol Kadhi without Coconut Milk (Futi Kadhi)

New recipes at the dining table is not the only thing I have gained through blogging. Bonding with a whole new set of vibrant, food-happy friends is my greatest gain through blogging.

And new recipes through them is even more valuable :-). This is one such recipe. The recipe is from a very close Mad Scientist’s Kitchen and the kokum I have used came from a very dear Pumpkin Farm. And the toaster is a gift from Veena when we had met at the Citi centre mall sometime back.

Everything about this recipe is close to my heart. It brings back fond memories of our BM 25 Meet! And how we exchanged gifts, how excited all of us were and what a nice time we had! And I can never stop without mentioning Vaishali’s (and her whole family’s, actually) warm hospitality!

And yes, the kokum I have used is from Pradnya’s gift set. And I referred Archana’s space for the recipe.

So, raising a toast to all my BM friends!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to know who we are and what we are serving today!

Recipe Source : Futi Kadhi @ The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen

Makes : 2 Glasses

Ingredients:

• Kokum            :         10-12 dried ones
• Water              :           2 – 3 glasses (400 – 500 ml)
• Sugar               :           1 tbsp
• Salt                   :           per taste
• Hing                 :          a pinch
• Garlic               :          2 crushed
• Chilli                :          1 chopped
• Coriander leaves :    1 tbsp, chopped

Method:

1. Soak kokum for 3-4 hours in 2 glasses of water. Strain and discard the pulp.
2. Add the sugar, salt, hing. Mix till the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the crushed garlic, chopped chillies and coriander leaves. Do a taste test and adjust seasonings or add more water accordingly.
4. This drink will tickle your sweet, sour, tangy and spicy taste buds! Sip in and enjoy!

Goan Banana Fritters (Filos)

I made these pancakes for my son’s lunch yesterday. Now, if you knew the state of affairs in the morning time at my place (crazy crazy time!), you will understand the stress under which I clicked these before packing them in the lunch box.

Peace reigns the minute after the man and the child leave home for work and school. The house might look as if a hurricane has hit us, but then I am in a much better state of mind to face the day by that time.

Yet, the post is a day late and I am posting this in a hurry-burry fashion. But these Goan style banana pancakes (or so the internet says!) deserve to be enjoyed at leisure. So please relax, get yourself a cup of tea, check out the recipe and savor these!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for more bloggers and more recipes!

Recipe Source: Filos

Makes : 6-8 small pancakes

Ingredients:

• Ripe Bananas     :      2
• Eggs                     :       2 (I used only one)
• AP Flour              :      1/4 cup
• Milk                      :      1/4 cup
• Sugar                    :      2 tbsp
• Cardamom          :      a pinch (optional)
• Ghee                     :      abt 1/2 tsp per pancake

Method:

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl until no lumps remain. Add the egg and mix with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the sugar, a pinch of salt, milk, flour and cardamom. Mix till it forms a pancake like batter. You can adjust the consistency by adding the milk and flour accordingly.
3. Heat a tawa and add a teaspoon of ghee. When the ghee is hot, pour a ladle ful of batter. Once the bottom side is cooked, flip and cook the top too.
4. Serve hot with a cup of tea.

Vegetable Manchurian

‘India is going to burn and we are all going to die! My classmate told me.’ Kiddo informed me, while travelling to my home town for Christmas Vacation. (That was his classmate’s version of the Mayan Calender).

‘What else did he say?’ I asked.

‘My friend told me that we will die, but God will bring us back.’ : Kiddo

‘Why do you want to come back, Shreyas?’: Me.

‘So that I can play with my toys!!’ Silence, lost in deep thought and then ‘Mummy, is God powerful?’

‘Yes, Shreyas. God is very powerful.’ : Me.

‘Is He more powerful than Way Big?’ ,asked the Ben 10 fan.

‘Oh Yes! God is there everywhere – just like air! Why, God is there inside everyone. All you have to do  is listen to your mind and God will tell you what is right and wrong.’ Me.

Kiddo got busy with some other things, but he hasn’t forgotten the conversation yet. Because, even now, I get  a lot of ‘Mummy, God is telling my mind that I need to eat chocolate (or play in the park or not to go to school and what not!)’.

But then, the God inside the mother always wins ;-)

Blogging Marathon 24 is here and so here I am. This week’s theme is Cooking From Restaurants. Its an interesting theme with the participants having to choose from one of the online take away menus. I have chosen starter, noodles and a side dish all from the Chinese menu section of ‘Akbar’s Indian Restaurant’.

The virtual menu card and the real meal experience was a nice, since I hardly make a whole meal in restaurant style at home. The menu for the day was Spring rolls, Veg Hakka Noodles and Veg Manchurian.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for more themes and more recipes from the participants.

Making of the dishes turned out to be more easier than I thought it to be. I did take some short cut methods, by keeping the spring roll filling and the vegetable Manchurian balls the same. I did the deep frying of the balls and the rolls also together, so I could finish both the dishes at the same time.

Vegetable Manchurian Recipe, adapted from Tarla Dalal.

Serves Two

Ingredients:

Filling:

• Bean sprouts                                     :        1/2 cup
• Minced Mixed veggies                  :        2 1/2 cups (Carrot/Cabbage/Capsicum)
• Spring onions                                    :        1/4 bunch (1/4 cup each of white and green)
• Corn Flour & AP Flour                  :        2 tbsp each ( Will have to adjust a bit if the balls don’t come together)
• Salt & Pepper & Chili flakes
• Oil for deep fry

For Sauce:

• Spring onion white                                   :        1/4 cup 
• Capsicum, chopped fine                        :        1/4 cup
• Green chilies                                               :        2 (I didn’t add)
• Ginger                                                            :        1″ piece, shredded (I didn’t add)
• Water                                                            :         1 cup
• Maida/Corn flour                                    :         2 tsp mixed with 1/2 cup water
• Soya sauce                                                   :        1 tbsp
• Salt & Pepper
• Oil

Method: 

1. First prepare the balls. Heat a pan and add a tbsp of oil. Saute the vegetables and the sprouts for 3-5 minutes. This step is optional, but since I was using the same filling for spring rolls, I did it. Add chili flakes, salt and pepper. Check the seasonings.
2. Take off the heat and once cool, add the corn flour, AP flour. Take a spoonful of the mix and shape it into a ball. You can sprinkle a little of water to bring it together.
3. Heat oil for deep frying and fry these balls till they are cooked. Set aside to drain.
4. Prepare the sauce. Saute the spring onion whites in 2 tsps of oil in a pan. Add the shredded ginger and after a couple of minutes of sauteing, add capsicum and chilies. Cook for two minutes and add one cup of water.
5. Add the soya sauce, salt (be careful here since the soy sauce may have salt in it!), corn flour mix and bring it to a boil. Do a taste test and adjust the seasonings. Drop the manchurian balls into the gravy and cook for a minute or two. Serve hot with Noodles or Fried rice.

Veg Hakka Noodles:

• Cook noodles per the packet instructions and keep it aside.
• Heat a tbsp of oil and add two tsp of crushed garlic in it. Add one tbsp of chili flakes and cook for a few seconds. Add shredded vegetables – I used a combination of cabbage, carrot, capsicum and spring onions, and cook for 2-3 minutes. The vegetables should not loose its crunchiness, but since we like it a bit soft, I cooked these a bit more. 
• Add salt and the cooked noodles. Mix nicely. Add spring onion greens. Serve with veg manchurian on the side.

Parippu Vada

The minute you say parippu vada, my mind pictures the roadside chayakkada (tea stall) with people sitting on wooden benches and eating the vada, holding tea in the other hand and sharing the day’s gossip.

We were never the vada making kind of family (no deep fried items in general), but amma used to buy this from her office canteen now and then. I used to prefer the soft Uzhundu vada over this one, but then taste changes with time and now I love this version too. Or in fact any version, if someone else makes them for me ;-)

Last week of Blogging Marathon 22 and here I am with a set of Chana-based recipes. Kicking off with parippu vada, two more recipes to follow. Check out the Blogging Marathon page to see posts from other participating bloggers.

I have no idea what is wrong with the pictures here, but then sometimes you just have to let it go when things go wrong!

Enjoy the vadas!

Ingredients:

• Chana dal (Gram dal)          :      2 cups
• Onion                                      :      1
• Ginger                                      :      1″ piece
• Green chilies                          :      2-3
• Curry leaves                           :      1 sprig
• Asafoetida                              :       a pinch
• Salt
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Wash and soak chana dal for 2-3 hours. Once its soaked, drain off water completely. I let the dal sit in a wide bowl for sometime so that the moisture will be gone.
2. Meanwhile, chop the onions, chilies, ginger and the curry leaves fine .
3. Pulse the dal in a mixer couple of times, without adding any water. Do not make a paste out of it, it should be just crushed.
4. Transfer the crushed dal into a bowl or plate and add the chopped items. Add salt, a pinch of asafoetida and mix. Take about a heaped tablespoon of the dal mix, roll it into a ball and then shape it into a patty. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
5. Heat oil and deep fry the parippu vadas in batches. Serve with hot tea/chaya.

Linked to:

• Blogging Marathon, under Cooking with Chana Dal theme
• Susan’s MLLA, hosted this month by Simone of Briciole
• Dish name starts with ‘P’
• Gayathri’s Walk Through the Memory Lane, hosted by Preeti of Preeti’s Kitchen Life

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

After taking a short break, I am now back in action with a very hungry caterpillar for the third week of Blogging Marathon. Theme for this week is Storybook Recipes. Check out the other participants here in Blogging Marathon page.

I would love to go on and on about my son’s reading habit, but now with all the books packed and kept inside (too much of dust in the new place), there is hardly any reading going on.

But The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes out of the shelf now and then, to be read and enjoyed. Its not only my son’s favorite, it is a bit hit with me too! So thought of starting this theme with a hungry caterpillar cheese sandwich.

Recipe inspired from : The Very Tasty Caterpillar

Ingredients:

• Bread Slices          :     8 (or as many as required)
• Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Cabbage leaves
• Olives for eyes
• A small tomato wedge for mouth

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, if you are planning to grill the cheese, its optional.
2. Cut all the slices, but one, of the bread with a small round cookie cutter or with a vessel with sharp edges. I used my hubby’s cylindrical stainless steel pickle dabba for this.
3. Cut the face with a bigger cutter or a bigger lid or vessel. Using the same big cutter, cut through a slice of cheese and a leaf of cabbage.
4. Cut through the cheese to get a long cylindrical piece, and then thinly slice for the body of the caterpillar.
5. Slice the tomatoes and  cut the cabbage leaves with the same cutter.
6. On your baking tray, place a parchment paper. Arrange the bread in the form of a caterpillar, keep the head on top.
7. Layer the cabbage leaves so that the bread doesnt become soggy. Keep the tomatoes on top of the cabbage leaves and the top it with the cheese slice.
8. Gril for 2-3 minutes. Once done, keep the olives for eyes and a tomato wedge for mouth. I used the edges of the cheese slice for ‘horns’ and legs.
9. Season as per wish and serve with ketch up.

Note: I grilled for 5 minutes and wasnot around to check on them, so the cheese melted and was a gooey mess when I returned. I had to use fresh cheese slice for the face, as the previous slice had just sunk in and was not looking good at all. I took off the excess melted cheese away and transferred the caterpillar to another parchment sheet.

This recipe is off to Srivalli’s Kid’s Delight - Cooking From storybook hosted by Archana

Black Urad Vadai

 

The sun comes up, the day begins. The milk is delivered, the paper boy slips the paper under the door. The maid comes in.  The milk is boiled, tea is prepared. My niece is awake.

The day has started.

And I am still under the covers. Its only when my SIL finishes making the breakfast and is done with feeding my niece, that I get up from the bed usually. At times, she might have even left for work.

And on this particular day, she was done with all the regular jobs and was half way through frying these vadas.

 That’s when I jumped into action, pushed her aside and then started making the rest. Else how can I feature them here, without me being involved at all!?

Posting under ‘Navarathi Special’ for the last week of Blogging Marathon 21. Check out the other participants here.

Makes about 12-14 medium vadas

Ingredients:

• Black Urad dal             :            1 cup
• Pepper corns                :            5-10
• Chilies                              :            1
• Curry leaves                 ;             2-3 sprigs
• Coriander leaves        ;             a handful
• Salt
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Wash and soak the dal for 30 – 40 minutes. Drain the water completely and grind along with the other ingredients. If required add water in tablespoons.
2. The batter will be greenish in color. It has to be light and fluffy.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use. Heat oil for deep-frying. Take a tablespoon of the batter in a plastic sheet and shape the vadas (a piece of banana leaf is used traditionally). Deep fry them. Depending on the size of the vessel and of the vadas, you can fry 3-4 vadas at the same time.
4. While the vadas are cooking, keep the batter back in fridge, or better the freezer. This helps in keeping the batter thick and makes it easy to shape them.
5. Make vadas with the rest of the batter and have them with chutney or as such.

Apple Cheese Sandwich

We (read – Hubby) gave in to our kiddo’s pestering about Bay Blade and got him one.

We bought it from the store at 2:30PM, reached home that day by 4 PM and kiddo lost it by 4:30 PM. He had taken it to the park to show off to his friends and lost it in a bushy area. The only solace for him was the fact that half of the items in the lost blade was his friend’s. So his friend was equally miserable.

I told the kids that we will search for it together and they took me to the area where the blade had landed. There were some 7-8 bushes about 6 feet high. I entered the bushes, expecting the kids to follow me, but - aha - no. No one was coming after me. They were both standing right outside.

‘The leaves are sharp, my eyes will get hurt. But you search, Aunty’ : Kiddo’s friend said.

‘Its a jungle. There will be tiger, lion and red ants inside. So you go in, Mommy.’ Kiddo chipped in.

It took me a whole day to get kiddo come with me finally. But he enjoyed it a lot. After all, he got to wear sunglasses (to avoid the sharp leaves), wear shoes(to stop the red ants from biting) and carry a thread. He would hold one end of the thread and I would hold the other end, so as not to get lost in the deep dark jungle (I am referring to those 7 bushes, of course!).

And the less said about the discussion about tigers and lions and red ants in the forests, the better!

Similarly, the less said about my delay in posting the recipes for Blogging Marathon 21, the better! But still, I am here finally. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for recipes from fellow bloggers who, of course, posted everything on time.

Recipe Source: Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

• Caramelized apples             :  5-6 slices
• Cheese slice                          :  1 slice
• Bread slices                          :  2 slices

Method:

1. To caramelize apples, peel, core and slice an apple thin. Heat a tablespoon of butter in medium flame amd add a tablespoon of sugar.
2. Add the apple slices and cook for 5-6min, turning them frequently to prevent burning an even coating of the caramel sauce. Take of the heat, cool. This can be refrigerated for a week.
3. For assembling a sandwich, take two slices of bread. Add a layer of caramelized apples on one slice, and a cheese slice on the other.
4. Heat a panini/sandwich maker and place these in it until done. You can do this in the stovetop too, adding a spoon of butter and cooking both the sides till the cheese melts.