I dont know what is the connection b/n me and Upma. The simplest and the yummiest of all the dishes made out of semolina. That is my comfort food. The different vareity of upmas that you can make. oh! that awesome deja-vu feeling i get when i put a hot spoonful of upma into my mouth that just melts and slides and leaves a trail of ghee and a flavour of cocnut....yummm!! I simply cant tell you how much I adore this simple concoction ;-)
You can do quite a few variations of this with different veggies and masala and you can really play around them.
A personal favourite is the upma that my papa makes.
It is so simple yet so delicious - you have to taste it to know what I am talking about - This one tops it all and simply takes the cake.
He just makes a plain upma - with seasoning (jeera, mustard, toor dal, asafoetida, green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves)
a little roasted semolina+salt+water and the most delicious, mouth-watering dish- (FOR ME- comfort food of sorts is ready to eat)
Over the years, I have learnt to do a few vareities of this comfort food.
Just onion - My mother in law makes the best.
Onion+tomato+chilly - bland+sour+spicy - the best combination in the world
Brinjal with a different kind of Masala - by my mother - yumm..slurp...
Mixed veggie - my mouth is literally watering
Just Capsicum upma -ummm- I think I will definitely have an earth-shattering orgasm over this dish one day!!!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Pot Luck - 2011
I had just joined Accenture and was not even a 2 weeks old there. We had the admin week celebrations that week. We had various activities all week. One of them was Pot Luck lunch.
I had taken a veg stir-fry and Carrot Halwa
I used the theme of colorful presentation - used a lot of colorful veggies in the stir fry.
I am a great fan of extra virgin olive oil. I took 3 colored capsicum, broccoli, brinjal, carrot, mushrooms, red cabbage and some zucchini.
Cut them all into small pieces stir-fried it in the oil. added a little tobasco sauce, some dry herbs, a lil salt for taste. The brinjal was made differently. I had sliced them thinly, marinated them in oil, salt & chilli powder. roasted it on a open pan, then shred them and mixed it with the other veggies. It was a smashing hit.
The carrot halwa was also an Instant hit. I did not even give it to anyone at homefor taste but it had turned out yummilicious!!
I had taken a veg stir-fry and Carrot Halwa
I used the theme of colorful presentation - used a lot of colorful veggies in the stir fry.
I am a great fan of extra virgin olive oil. I took 3 colored capsicum, broccoli, brinjal, carrot, mushrooms, red cabbage and some zucchini.
Cut them all into small pieces stir-fried it in the oil. added a little tobasco sauce, some dry herbs, a lil salt for taste. The brinjal was made differently. I had sliced them thinly, marinated them in oil, salt & chilli powder. roasted it on a open pan, then shred them and mixed it with the other veggies. It was a smashing hit.
The carrot halwa was also an Instant hit. I did not even give it to anyone at homefor taste but it had turned out yummilicious!!
Creamy Pazzzzzzzta!!
The other day, my cousin was asking me to cook something nice for him. I asked him to come home. I had whole-wheat pasta at home. I decided I will make a pasta with white sauce for him and his wife.
I boiled the water and pured the pasta in it with a little oil so they dont stick to each other.
I heated a little butter in the pan, added a tea spoonful of garlic and sauteed it for a few seconds.
Once they browned a little i put in the milk heated it, brought it to a boil. T
Then let it simmer for a while, added the dry herbs and salt.
Put in a cube of cheese. Then put the pasta in it. Mixed it and took it off the stove.
I served it to him and he went hmmm....
The best compliment he gave me was - " I ate the same in Eurasia and this was much better than what I ate there"!! :-)))
I boiled the water and pured the pasta in it with a little oil so they dont stick to each other.
I heated a little butter in the pan, added a tea spoonful of garlic and sauteed it for a few seconds.
Once they browned a little i put in the milk heated it, brought it to a boil. T
Then let it simmer for a while, added the dry herbs and salt.
Put in a cube of cheese. Then put the pasta in it. Mixed it and took it off the stove.
I served it to him and he went hmmm....
The best compliment he gave me was - " I ate the same in Eurasia and this was much better than what I ate there"!! :-)))
Cooking?? Me a Chef??
There were times in my life wen I wanted to cook, bake, fry, roast the best dishes anybody had prepared and serve it my 3 best friends. We have tried so many different varieties of dishes. They were always there - my guinea pigs to taste everything I made and would only have good things to say about the dishes. I miss them tremendously these days and I need so much of inspiration even to cook a regular dishe for breakfast. There was so much enthu in life earlier to make something new, yummy & delicious.
These days I dont try out anything at all as even my daughter has aversion to good food.
I have accumulated so many cook books over the years but I hardly look at them now... I need my Inspiration! I need my friends! please come back to me all of you - so I can cook you all a joyous feast!!
I miss those days People!!!
These days I dont try out anything at all as even my daughter has aversion to good food.
I have accumulated so many cook books over the years but I hardly look at them now... I need my Inspiration! I need my friends! please come back to me all of you - so I can cook you all a joyous feast!!
I miss those days People!!!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Raw Mango & corn Salad with Crackers
When we moved into this house, I invited a few of my cousins home for dinner. I wanted to make something easy but different & tasty.
I have been trying to feed my daughter healthy food as far as I can try & persuade her to do so...So, I had got this Britannia whole wheat crackers which she had rejected for the very salty & buttery chaska maska.
I came up with a plan....anyways it was the start of the Mango season, you saw raw mangoes everywhere. I got a few raw mangoes and some corn on the cob. grated the mangoes, de-husked the corn & out came the golden corn kernels. I mixed them up with a little bit of olive oil, salt, Oregano seasoning & tabasco sauce. And then bought 2 packets of the crackers, arranged them on the plate, topped the cracker up with this raw mango-corn salad. Needless to say that this recipe was a hit with my cousins. They gorged on the starter and also it was super-duper healthy.
I came up with recipe from the Monaco toppings (biscuits) that were so famous sometime ago..
I have been trying to feed my daughter healthy food as far as I can try & persuade her to do so...So, I had got this Britannia whole wheat crackers which she had rejected for the very salty & buttery chaska maska.
I came up with a plan....anyways it was the start of the Mango season, you saw raw mangoes everywhere. I got a few raw mangoes and some corn on the cob. grated the mangoes, de-husked the corn & out came the golden corn kernels. I mixed them up with a little bit of olive oil, salt, Oregano seasoning & tabasco sauce. And then bought 2 packets of the crackers, arranged them on the plate, topped the cracker up with this raw mango-corn salad. Needless to say that this recipe was a hit with my cousins. They gorged on the starter and also it was super-duper healthy.
I came up with recipe from the Monaco toppings (biscuits) that were so famous sometime ago..
Easy, Fast Food
I am proud to say my cooking is making waves in the office these days. My collegues want to follow my style of cooking.... From the time my daughter started full day school, I have been struggling to cook and pack her something nutritious and a substancial meal in itself. Packing 2 boxes and keeping it ready by 7.45am is no joke. And one day all of a sudden my husband says - "I want a packed lunch too"...I was a lil worried thinking about cooking for him & my daughter. If I slogged a little in the morning I could pack lunch for me tooo....So, I told him I wud. So, I started making these different varieties of rices for lunch with 3 main bases - pudina-green chilly, Tomato-onion & Garam Masala-chilli powder. It has been more than a month and it has been a sail.
As I have bin taking the same stuff to office, when i share it with collegues, they appreciate it and ask for the recipe. When i tell them, they are like - "thats it?? it seems way too easy!" I will make it at home too...
One day, I told the recipe of Tomato Rice to my collegue, who is in a nuclear family. She went home and made it. The next day she came to tell me - " I cooked it last nite for my husband in 15 minutes and he asked me when did Tomato rice become a fast food??" - This was the real compliment for the cook in me. But, not many know that I adapted to this style because of my husband's eating habits! ;-). The other day, I was cribbing to my husband about getting up at 5.30am & cooking saying it was so difficult to finish everything on time and he told me - "But you managed!!" - This was the highest order of praise coming from my dearest hubby!!!
As I have bin taking the same stuff to office, when i share it with collegues, they appreciate it and ask for the recipe. When i tell them, they are like - "thats it?? it seems way too easy!" I will make it at home too...
One day, I told the recipe of Tomato Rice to my collegue, who is in a nuclear family. She went home and made it. The next day she came to tell me - " I cooked it last nite for my husband in 15 minutes and he asked me when did Tomato rice become a fast food??" - This was the real compliment for the cook in me. But, not many know that I adapted to this style because of my husband's eating habits! ;-). The other day, I was cribbing to my husband about getting up at 5.30am & cooking saying it was so difficult to finish everything on time and he told me - "But you managed!!" - This was the highest order of praise coming from my dearest hubby!!!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Pizza from Scratch!
I am talking about those ancient days when you did not have Pizza Hut, Pizza Corner, US Pizza & Papa Johns in every gullys of bangalore and you did not even get the pizza base in super markets and also they were days when people did not eat out that much. In our home we had this monthly ritual where the whole family would go out on one sunday afternoon for a family meal and that too north indian. There were no Chinese outlets like now when they have sprung up like mushrooms (the same one they use to make so many of their dishes) in all of the city.
So one fine summer mornng the 3 of us decided to make a pizza from scratch. We had got hold of a recipe in one of the magazines.
So, we went to just one super mart that was available in our area during those days - bought yeast.
RS took the initiative of dissolving the yeast in the warm water.
And S as usual took to chopping tomatoes. I chopped onions and capsicums. Then the yeast had dissolved by this time but it was stinking up the whole kitchen and her dining area.
We could not tolerate the stench but had to continue with the pizza. We made the dough with the yeast but promised ourselves that we wont make it again!
RS rolled the dough and made it big enough to fit into the pressure cooker ( she got to roll the pizza as she was an expert at making rotis :-)). We got some sand from a house construction sight poured it into the cooker. Put the pizza on a plate and spread some tomato sauce on it. Next went the veggies and some more sauce and finally the cheese which was also bought from the one and only super market.
We waited for more than 45 minutes for the pizza to get cooked and ate it with relish. That was one delicious Pizza and we savoured every bite of it. didnt we ladies??
So one fine summer mornng the 3 of us decided to make a pizza from scratch. We had got hold of a recipe in one of the magazines.
So, we went to just one super mart that was available in our area during those days - bought yeast.
RS took the initiative of dissolving the yeast in the warm water.
And S as usual took to chopping tomatoes. I chopped onions and capsicums. Then the yeast had dissolved by this time but it was stinking up the whole kitchen and her dining area.
We could not tolerate the stench but had to continue with the pizza. We made the dough with the yeast but promised ourselves that we wont make it again!
RS rolled the dough and made it big enough to fit into the pressure cooker ( she got to roll the pizza as she was an expert at making rotis :-)). We got some sand from a house construction sight poured it into the cooker. Put the pizza on a plate and spread some tomato sauce on it. Next went the veggies and some more sauce and finally the cheese which was also bought from the one and only super market.
We waited for more than 45 minutes for the pizza to get cooked and ate it with relish. That was one delicious Pizza and we savoured every bite of it. didnt we ladies??
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