Pori Upma/Puffed Rice Upma

Serves 1
Ingredients:

Pori(Puffed Rice) - 4 cups

Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped 

Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 cup, chopped
Tomato - 1 small, chopped

Green chilies - 2

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chili powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Cashews - 2 tbspns, broken

Curry leaves - a sprig

Salt to taste

Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Chopped Coriander leaves - 2 tbspns

Method:
Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering add cashews, urad dal and curry leaves. Add the onions and green chilies and fry until translucent. Now add the bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook well. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder and let it cook. Wash the puffed rice under running water(use a strainer). Do not soak. It will become soggy. Squeeze the excess water and add it to the cooked onions and tomatoes.

Mix well and allow to cook not more than 2 minutes.

Switch off the flame and add lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot.

Fruit Salad with Custard Powder

Ingredients:

Banana – 2

Apple – 2

Seedless Grapes - 1 cup

Strawberries - 10

Blueberries - 1 cup

Blackberries - 10

Orange - 1 big, only the flesh

Pomegranate - 1 big

Milk – 1/2 litre or 17 ounces or 2 cups

Sugar – 1 and 1/4 Cup

Vanilla flavored Custard Powder – 2 tbspns

Note: Add in any fruits you like.

Method:

Cut all the fruits listed – Banana, Apple, Strawberries into small pieces and transfer to a bowl. Peal off Pomegranate, extract seeds and transfer them to the fruit bowl along with the other fruits. Sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar immediately into the fruit bowl and mix well (sugar helps to prevent the change of color in the fruits like Banana and Apple and to maintain the freshness in the fruits. Keep it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Take the vanilla flavored custard powder in a small bowl. Add 2 tbspns of boiled milk and mix it well. Now add 2 tbspns of cooled milk, mix well without any lumps. Keep aside.

Boil the remaining milk in a vessel. Add sugar to the boiling milk and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves completely. Now add the vanilla custard paste to the boiling milk and stir for 5 minutes until the whole mixture turns thick. Remove from the flame. Make sure you leave the mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Now add the fruits mixture to the custard paste and mix well.
If the custard mixture becomes thick add little more milk.

Keep it in the refrigerator for alteast 1 hour. Serve chill.

Roasted Jalapeno Soup

Ingredients:

4 green jalapeno peppers

1/2 cup carrots, peeled and chopped (roughly 2 carrots)

1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped (roughly 1 small onion)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

2 tbspns olive oil

3 tbspns butter, softened

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups veg stock or water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or whole milk

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut each jalapeno in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membrane. Place them face down onto the cookie sheet. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until slightly darkened. When cool enough to handle, chop.

In a medium sauce pot, heat the olive oil. When hot, saute the carrots, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the carrots and onions start to soften. Now add the mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in the tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour until everything is coated. Stir in the chopped jalapenos. Slowly stir in the veg stock and bring to a boil. Then stir in the heavy cream or milk and bring back to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook until the soup has thickened, about 5-7 minutes. If you feel that your soup isn’t thick enough, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

When the soup has thickened, turn off the heat. If using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pan. If using a regular blender, add about half the mixture then puree until smooth. Add the rest of the soup then puree until smooth. Pour back into the sauce pan.  Reheat if necessary.

Recipe Courtesy: Chocolate Moosey
Linking it to : Cooking with SJ announcement and simplyvegetarian777 announcement for the Soups with SS event

Aloo Chana Chat

Ingredients:

Chickpeas - 1 cup, boiled

Potatoes - 1 cup, boiled and cubed

Onion - 1 small, chopped finely

Green Chilies - 2, chopped finely

Coriander Leaves/Mint Leaves - 1 tbspn, finely chopped

Yogurt - 1/2 cup, beaten

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Tamarind Chutney - 1 tbspn

Chat Masala - 1 tbspn

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and serve.

Red Velvet Cupcakes for Two

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon sour cream

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon red food coloring

1 egg white*

3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt.

Cream Cheese frosting for two:

2 oz. cream cheese- softened

2 tablespoons of butter- softened

1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

*From a medium or large egg. If using a jumbo or extra large egg, don't use the entire white, it will change the texture of the cake.

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a second small bowl or spouted measuring cup, combine the melted butter and sugar. Stir until well-combined.

Add the sour cream, vanilla, vinegar, food coloring and egg white, and mix until smooth and creamy.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir till combined- being careful not to over-mix.

Divide batter between two cupcake liners Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

For the Frosting:

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. add the vanilla and powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time and mix until frosting is free of lumps, creamy and spreadable.

Recipe Courtesy: The Baker Chick

Sending this to Valentine's Day Special event hosted by Priya.

Orange Pulao

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups

Orange Juice - 3/4 cup, discard the seeds

Coconut Milk  - 3/4 cup

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Onion - 1 medium, thin sliced

Green chili - 3, slit lengthwise

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Cashews - 10 -12, broken

Saffron - a few strands soaked in 1 tsp warm milk

Orange Pulp - 2 tbspns, for garnishing

Cilantro - 2 tbspns, finely chopped

Oil - 2 tbspns

Ghee - 1 tbspn

Salt as needed

Whole Garam Masala:

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch piece

Bay Leaf - 1 piece

Clove - 2 Nos

Cardamom - 1

Method:

Wash the rice and drain it. Let the rice rest for 30 minutes. Heat a pan and add a tsp of ghee. Roast the rice for few minutes or until the moisture dries off. Keep it separate.

Heat the pan, add in oil and ghee. Add the whole garam masala, fry for 2 minutes.

Drop cashews in it and add sliced onion, saute it for till it turns transparent pink. Add the green chilies, ginger garlic paste to it and stir till the raw smell leaves from it.

Now add coconut milk in the rice mix, stir for about 4 minutes. Add orange juice, continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Add in the water and required salt and stir.

Cook covered on slow flame for about 20-25 minutes or till you find pulao is ready with perfect consistency.

Or else if you are using the rice cooker, add the sauteed masalas, rice, orange juice, coconut milk, water and required salt. Give a stir and switch on.

Garnish with orange pulps and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve it with raita.

Green Bell Pepper and Green Chili Pickle

Ingredients:

Mustard - 1 tsp

Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Jaggery - 2 tbsp or small piece

Salt - to taste

Gingelly oil/Sesame oil - 3 tbsp

For grinding:

Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1 big (cut to squares)

Green chilli - 5 -7(depending upon the spiciness)

Tamarind juice - 3 tbsp (thick juice)

Method:

Heat a pan and add few drops of sesame oil. Add the green chilies and the cut capsicum.

Saute it for few minutes, until you get rid of the raw smell. When it starts to turn light brown in color, switch off the stove. Let it cool.

Once it is cool, transfer to a blender and make fine paste by adding the tamarind juice. (Do not add water)

Now heat a pan, add sesame oil. Then add mustard seeds. Let it splutter and add hing and fenugreek seeds. Now add the capsicum and the chili paste. 

Stir it for few mins and add salt and turmeric powder.

Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Once the oil oozes out, add the jaggery.

Let it cook for about 2 minutes and remove from flame when thick. 

Goes well with curd rice, dosa and idli.

Recipe Courtesy: Kavi's Kitchen