mayurisjikoni

creamy and buttery    Anyone who has been to an Indian restaurant or dhaba, has heard of or tasted dal makhani. Its a famous Punjabi dal, usually served along with naan, parathas, vegetables and rice. The original dal makhani is cooked over a low heat charcoal furnace or in the naan furnace overnight. Very slow cooking makes the dal tasty. The following day all the spices, homemade butter and cream are added to make it thick, creamy and buttery. In this fast world, I seriously do not have the patience of cooking it over low flame overnight. I think, fire hazard, not fuel efficient, what if it burns etc etc. My version of the recipe is not loaded with fat and is easily made in our normal kitchens which may not have a furnace or jiko. updated 11/01/2016 DAL MAKHANI 6 servings 1 cup whole black grams (urad)   ¼ cup red beans 5 cups water ½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi) 2 tsps cumin seeds 2 tbsps clarified butter(ghee) or oil 1½ cups finely chopped onions 2 tbsps garlic paste 2...

theplas and gujaratis.... My regular followers may think but she has already blogged one thepla recipe. Has she forgotten, has she run out of recipes? Nothing like that my friends. These are normal theplas. The one I had blogged earlier were farari theplas to have on days of fasting. Theplas are a regular feature in most gujarati homes either for breakfast or as a snack with some pickles or as a light dinner or lunch fare with potato curry. I love making theplas because you can use up your leftover rice, pilau, biryani, khichdi. Use up a tiny piece of leftover doodhi, cabbage, or  a bit of leftover mashed potato. Anything goes in the thepla. However, because of the vegetables, rice etc in the thepla, these do not stay good for too long time. Maximum 2 days. The leftover theplas can be put away in the fridge. Warm it up under the grill, in the micro or on a tava. THEPLAS  Makes 10 to 12 2 cups wholewheat flour (atta) 1 cup cooked rice ½ cup chopped fresh fenugreek (methi) ½ cup...

2 favourite combinations Avocados are in abundance at the moment in Kenya so I am taking full advantage and making more and more salads with avocado. I don't like avocado milkshake as I prefer to have it with salt and pepper. My two favourite together, avocado and potato. Lovely combination and a great salad for all those who are getting their jikos ready for BBQ. This is one salad where I have not prepared a separate dressing. As you go through the recipe you will understand why. ROASTED POTATO AVOCADO SALAD 4 Servings 12 baby potatoes 1 medium avocado ½ cup cucumber chunks 3 tbsps olive oil 1¼ tsp salt 1 tsp coarse pepper powder 1 tsp dry rosemary 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp mustard paste Wash the potatoes well. Parboil them in salted water (about 2 tsps salt). Remove from the water. Cut into half if you like. Mix in the olive oil, rosemary, pepper and 1 tsp salt. Roast in the oven under the hot grill for 10 to 15 minutes or at 180°C till done. Remove from the oven and let it cool a ...

a century... my 100th recipe Cannot believe that I have actually posted 99 recipes and this one will be the 100th one. Wow! However, at the same time feeling a bit sad as its nearly the end of June and I have only 100 recipes blogged. Will I meet my target of 366? My ever optimistic daughter, Nami says I will. I rather believe her than to feel too bad. I still have loads of recipes not tested and tried or some which I need to try because I need to formulate the measurements. So obviously there is no shortage of recipes. Its just that I need to find time to try them, blog them.By blogging these recipes I have earned a new title of a  recipe developer. Many recipes that I have tried out especially from the internet, I have had to make changes. Its a challenge but one that I am thoroughly enjoying. I get very positive responses on my facebook and by emails. Wish more of you would put them on the blog. So far my blog has been reviewed 3,600 times. Very encouraging, but would love your ...

healthy and nutritious    Upma is a south indian dish usually served as breakfast. Its made from semolina. Non south Indians serve upma anytime, be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack. I usually make it either for brunch, as a snack or as a light meal. I prefer to use the coarse semolina as the fine one makes it into one gooey mass. In south India special semolina is available for upma. Its coarse and light brown in colour. Most places serve upma with just a few vegetables that you can actually count or none at all. I prefer to add more vegetables and for a bit of sour taste I add sour yogurt. Very healthy and a satisfying dish.  updated 19/02/2016 UPMA  4 servings 1 cup coarse semolina (sooji, rava) 3 cups warm water 1 cup mixed boiled vegetables ½ cup finely chopped onion 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai) 1 tbsp white urad dal (split skinless black gram lentils) 1 tbsp raisins 2 tbsps cashew nut pieces 10 curry leaves (kari patta, limbdi) ¼ cu...

absolute luxury Special Theme:Redo Old Posts BM#78 Week 4 Day 2    What is a salad? A salad is a cold dish of raw or cooked vegetables mixed with meat, fish, fruits and served with a dressing. The dressing can vary from a simple drizzle of lemon juice over the salad to more flavourful ones. Dressings can be creamy or light watery type. I remember when I was growing up salad meant a mixture of tomato, carrot, lettuce, cucumber and not else. Sometimes radish were added. A sprinkle of salt and a bit of pepper and salad was served in this manner for every meal.            Its when I was browsing through Tarla Dalal cook books and a Hamlyn published cookbook that I realised that salads can be so exciting. During the weekend I had to help mum in the kitchen(we were a huge family) and I took on the task of making the salad. I would add some fruit or a few chopped coriander, chilli or add ginger to the salad and loved the praises. Slowly, I began to ...

  heavenly yogurt Raita is a yogurt based dish which is usually served as an accompaniment to a main dish. Raita can be made using many vegetables like cucumber, radish, fruits like banana, pomegranate, grapes and savoury bundi. I made this traditional raita after such a long time. I say traditional because that's the raita my mum use to make and when I got married, Nunu use to make it. Raita is a very cooling dish to have with parathas, on its own or with a full indian meal. My grandfather always use to say, 'there should be enough mustard powder in the raita so that when we eat it, the mustard should be able to tickle our nose'. What he really meant was that it should be loaded with mustard powder. I don't make it so pungent as I would like to taste the other ingredients too. BANANA CUCUMBER RAITA Gives 4 servings 1½ cups thick yogurt 1 cup grated cucumber 2 medium bananas ½ tsp salt 1½ tsp sugar 1 tsp cumin powder (jeera powder) 3 tbsp fresh chopped coriander 1 chill...