Tips to grow Methi / fenugreek at home

Ingredients:

Fenugreek seeds - 1 cup
Water 

Method:

1) Wash the dry fenugreek seeds.
2) Fill the water just above the fenugreek seeds and soak them overnight.
3) Rinse well and keep it in a air tight container with its lid 3/4 covered for over 1 days.
4) Clean the soil and keep it ready.
5) Sow the soaked fenugreek and cover it up with soil on top. Make sure the seeds are placed such that the gap between them is around 1 inch.
6) Water it slowly everyday for around week or two. Fenugreek leaves would start showing up.

Note:

1) Same method can be followed to grow cilantro at home.

Savoury mini Phyllo bites

Ingredients:

Mini Phyllo Tarts - 1 pack, 15 numbers
Mozrella Cheese - 1 pack
Brown chana - 1/2 cup (Boiled)
Boiled poatatoes - 1 medium
Onion - 1/2 cup (Finely chopped)
Green chillies - 1 
Salt - As required
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1/4 tbsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup (Finely chopped)

Method: 

1) Mash potato in to smooth paste. Add onion, chopped green chillies, chana, cilantro, red chilly powder, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.
2) Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F.
3) Line the tart cups in a baking tray or cookie sheet. Divide the potato mixture among the tart cups. 
4) Top it up with cilantro and mozrella cheese.Bake for 7-8 minutes.
5) Remove from oven and Serve immediately.

Note:

1) Pre-baked mini phyllo tarts are available in the freezer section of your local grocery. There is no need to thaw them before baking.
2) Potato mixture and cheese can be replace with any Jam and cream cheese and top it up with thyme  or rosemary.

Tomato juice

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 3 medium
Lemon - 1 tbsp
Mint leaves - few
Tabasco habañero sauce - Dash of
Worcestershire sauce - Dash of (Optional)
Salt - Pinch

Method:

Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Enjoy a spicy, mildly tangy drink

Note:

Red chilly powder can also be added instead of sauce.

Mixed greens rice

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup (washed)
Water - 2 cups 
Peas - 1/4 cup
Palak / Spinach - 2 cup (chopped finely)
Methi / Fenugreek leaves - 1 cup (chopped finely)

Dill leaves - 1 cup (chopped finely)
Onions - 1 (chopped)
Tomatoes - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 big pods
Ginger - 1/2  inch
Green Chillies - 4 (according to your taste)
Bay leaf - 1 
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch 
Cardamom - 1
Oil - 3 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp
Salt - as required
Mustard - 1/4 tbsp
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp
Chana dal - 1/4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp
Hing - 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves - 6
Shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp (Optional)

Method:

1) Grind ginger, garlic, green chillies and tomato into smooth paste.
2) Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, jeera, hing, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon one by one.Fry until golden brown.
3) Now add chopped onions and fry until golden brown.
4) Now add Palak, dill, and fenugreek leaves and Mushroom and fry for around 2 mins.
5) Add the paste grinded and fry for 5 minutes.
6) Now add peas and fry for next 3-4 minutes.
7) After 4 mins add turmeric, salt, washed rice and fry for around 3 mins. Now add Water to cook rice. 
8) When water starts boiling check for salt and adjust if necessary. 
9) Allow the rice to cook completely. When rice is cooked, add shredded coconut and lemon juice. 

Tasty Mixed greens rice is ready to be served with raita, coconut chutney or just as it is.

Note:

1) You can substitute peas with avarekalu or chick peas.
2) Garam masala can also be added.
3) Lemon juice is optional and can be avoided.
4) Any green leafy vegetables can be added.
5) Mushroom can be substituted with shallow fried paneer / Cottage cheese.

Bele Obattu

Ingredients:

All purpose flour / Maida - 1/2 cup
Semolina / Rava - 1 cup
Oil - As required
Salt - As required
Toor dal -1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Salt - as required
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tbsp
Turmeric - A Pinch

Method:

1) Mix maida, rava, 1/4 tsp of salt, Pinch of turmeric in enough water (1 1/2 Cup of Water) and keep it aside atleast 4 hours. Make sure to add more oil on top before resting.
2) Boil toor dal and mash it into smooth paste.
3) Add jaggery, cardamom powder to toor dal paste and grind it.
4) Add this grinded mixture to pan and stir until thick enough to make balls. (Not too hard)

5) Take small portion of rava, maida mixture and Spread flat.

6) Insert toor dal mixture balls and cover it with the maida and rava mixture.

7) Spread as thin as possible or thick (As desired).

8) Smear some oil on tava, and roast the obattu until golden brown.

Delicious Bele / toor dal obattu is ready to be served.

Note:

1) Maida and rava mixture must not be too tight / stiff. Make sure you add more oil on top of it before leaving it for resting. 

Spicy watermelon salad

Ingredients:

Homemade masala powder - 1/4 tbsp

Watermelon pieces - 1 bowl

Method:

Sprinkle masala powder on top of cut fruit and serve it immediately.

Note:

Refer Tasty Masala Powder

Potato obattu / Khara obattu

Ingredients:

Rava - 1 cup

Maida / all purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Salt - As required

Oil -  As required

Potatoes - 4 medium

Red chilly powder - 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp

Method:

1) Mix maida, rava, 1/4 tsp of salt with a pinch of turmeric in enough water and keep it aside atleast 4 hours.

2) Boil potato, peel and mash it into smooth paste.

3) Add red chilly powder, salt, turmeric powder to mashed potato and mix well. Make small balls out of the mixture.

4) Take small portion of rava, maida mixture and Spread flat.

5) Insert potato mixture balls and cover it with the maida and rava mixture.

6) Spread as thin as possible or thick (As desired).

7) Smear some oil on tava, and roast the obattu until golden brown.

Delicious Potato / Khara obattu is ready to be served.

Note:

1) Maida and rava mixture must not be too tight / stiff. Make sure you add more oil on top of it before leaving it for resting. (Same like for bele obattu)

2) Potato must be mashed such that it it possible to make small balls.

3) Finely chopped green chillies can also be added.

Cooking tips - Part 9

There are several such tips which i myself was surprised to see when i started writing it down.

To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 1
                                  Cooking tips - Part 2
                                  Cooking tips - Part 3
                                  Cooking tips - Part 4
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 5
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 6
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 7
                                   Cooking Tips - Part 8


161) Add some gram flour or semolina to wheat flour to make crisp poori's.

162) To enhance the flavour of coffee, add a pinch of salt to it.

163) To keep the biscuits fresh for long time. Take a air tight box,put some rice at the bottom. Place a tissue paper on it and put the biscuits. Cover it again with tissue paper. Close the lid.

164) while cutting ladies finger apply some lemon juice on the knife edge.Ladies finger will not be sticky.

165) while removing outer cover of the sweet corn, make a deep cut on the upper part. Cover will fall off easily.

166) While roasting papad in microwave apply some oil on the papad.Papad will be crisp like fried ones.

167) During power cuts to prevent idli batter from becoming sour keep it in a tray of water and cover it with wet cloth.Let the edges of the cloth too dip in the water.

168) To reuse oil,fry some finely chopped ginger in it.It will take away the smell.Fry large chunks of potato all the residue will stick to it.

169) While making ghee from butter put some rice in the pan.Ghee will not overflow. 

170) Always set ice cream in a aluminium vessel and cover it with foil to make it creamy.

171) Cut bread slices with a string while making sandwich. Cuts will be clean and wastage will be minimum. 

172) To sharpen blunt knife rub it on the edge of the bottom of a clay coffee mug.

Cooking tips - Part 8

There are several such tips which i myself was surprised to see when i started writing it down.

To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 1
                                  Cooking tips - Part 2
                                  Cooking tips - Part 3
                                  Cooking tips - Part 4
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 5
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 6
                                  Cooking Tips - Part 7


141) While making gravy for a kofta or paneer dish, use milk instead of water for smoother gravy.

142) If asafoetida becomes too hard, then keep a green chilli with it.

143) If you are short of tomatoes to make gravy, then add some tomato ketchup.

144) Add a little Bounvita to coffee for a delicious twist in the taste.

145) Grease leftover dough with some oil or ghee before covering and storing it in the refrigerator.

146) Add a little glycerine to the cake batter to make it more soft and moist.

147) Add some routine spices and bread to leftover rice, mash the mixture well and make crispy fritters.

148) After making cottage cheese/paneer, don't throw the whey. Use it to make roti dough or use in any curry.

149) Add a pinch of dried mint powder in tomato soup to make it more flavourful.

150) Keep an apple by potatoes. They will stay fresh and will not sprout easily.

151) If facing difficulty in rolling aloo parantha, add some dry roasted gram flour or some bread crumbs to the filling; it will not come out while rolling.

152) Try to add whole curry leaf spring in the dish. It will be easy to remove after cooking.

153) Use scissors to chop green chillies and coriander for better n fine chopping.

154) While boiling potatoes, add some salt or vinegar in the water, to avoid cracking while boiling.

155) Use white tooth powder or paste to clean your silverware and silver jewellery.

156) If you have added extra salt to a dish, don't worry; just add a peeled raw potato or a ball of wheat flour dough and boil for a minute, then discard the potato or flour ball.

157) If your rice gets burnt, don't worry; just put a slice of bread in the pan for 10 minutes. The bread will absorb the burnt flavour.

158) Freeze leftover coffee in an ice tray; and the next time you make cold coffee, use these cubes instead of plain ice cubes.

159) To remove worms from cauliflower, add some white vinegar or turmeric in the water and soak the flowerets in it for 10 minutes.

160) Add 1 t.s white vinegar to idli batter to make softer idlis.


To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 9

Cooking tips - Part 7

There are several such tips which i myself was surprised to see when i started writing it down.

To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 1
                                  Cooking tips - Part 2
                                  Cooking tips - Part 3
                                     Cooking tips - Part 4
                                 Cooking Tips - Part 5
                                     Cooking Tips - Part 6



121) Add pinch of sugar while cooking palak to retain green colour.

122) Add little milk while cooking cauliflower and cabbage to retain white colour. 

123) Apply oil before roasting tomato and Brinjal. It helps to remove skin easily.

124) Adding peanut powder or ajwain or kasuri methi improves taste of cabbage.

125) Soak palak leaves in sugary water before making palak paneer.

126) Apply salt to methi bhajji before cooking and after 10 mins squeeze the extra water.It reduces bitterness.

127) Adding sugar or lime juices speeds up the cooking of potato. 

128) Stuffed Brinjal, bitter gourd and bhindi tastes great when peanut powder is added to stuffing.

129) To prevent bhindi from becoming black add aamchur powder while cooking.

130)  Add 1 tbls of fruit jam to a glass of cold milk, blend well and a quick delicious fruit shake is ready for your kids.

131) Add 2 tbls pickle masala, 2 tbls pickle oil and a pinch of salt to a cup of wheat flour to make delicious achari poori's for breakfast and as a travel food.

132) Add 1 tbls leftover pickle masala to regular subzi to make achari aloo, achari bhindi, achari brinjal or any dry curry of your choice.

133) Add kiwi fruit, green apple, oranges, berries or any sour or over-ripe fruit to make coriander chutney more nutritious.

134) While making coriander chutney, add a few nuts of your choice to make it more nutritious and to increase its shelf life.

135) If you have added too much chilli powder in a gravy, then add some curd, lemon juice or 2 t.s ghee to it for balance.

136) If your gulab jamuns turn out hard, don't worry; just put them in the pressure cooker with sugar-syrup and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat and then serve warm with a smile.

137) While making potato chips, mix some alum powder in the water and soak the chips in it before boiling.

138) While grinding red chili powder, add a little mustard oil to it to get a bright red colour.

139) It is much easier to grind small cardamom if you add some sugar to it while grinding.

140) Add 1 tbls gram flour in semolina to make your sooji halwa delicious.



 To check More, Click Cooking tips - Part 8

Masala Chai powder

Ingredients:

Pudina powder - 1/4 tbsp
Ginger - 1/2 tbsp (powder)
Cardamom - few
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Cloves - 4
Pepper - 10
Nutmeg - small piece (Optional)
Tulsi powder- 1/4 tbsp (Optional)

Method:

1) Crush all the ingredients using hand motor.


Note:

1) Take 1 inch Ginger and grate to add to the tea, instead of dried.
2) Fresh mint(4 leaves) and tulasi (4) leaves can also be used.

Basics

Cooking sona masoori rice
Tamarind Pulp Extraction
Slice and Eat Star fruit
Potato Sagu powder
All about Rice
Mint flakes
Urad Dal Powder
Sprouting Fenugreek
Ellu Bella
Cooking Basmati Rice in Pressure cooker
Cooking Basmati Rice in Pan Over stove top
Cooking Basmati Rice in Rice Cooker
Cooking Basmati Rice with excess water over stove top
Spicy Tasty masala powder
Homemade Paneer
Apple jam
Instant jalebi
Strawberry jam
Kale Puree
Spinach / Palak Puree