Coriander (Cilantro) Rice - Simple, Tasty N Healthy

Mom's presence is weaving all the magic in the kitchen and the creeping bulges in my body are merrily making the most of it :P There is definitely something about her cooking that is prompting me to binge like there is no tomorrow. Guess the child in me has awakened. The sad part is my parents  are leaving tomorrow and the kitchen will miss her zesty touch. On a happier note, me donning the apron will hopefully keep the weighing scales dainty :D

Remember the  Mint & Cilantro Pulao, my hearth dishes out regularly. While that involves a considerable time, my mom's version without onion,tomato & garlic is a breezy preparation.

Coriander or Cilantro is a much loved herb in my hearth and its medicinal properties are well documented. Also, the herb's versatility needs no description.
Do you know that coriander is also regarded as an aphrodisiac ?

Tips & Useful Pointers :-

1.	The spread/relish/thogayal need not be very fine in texture. A slightly coarse paste gives the mix a good pep.
2.	The green relish with the herbs also doubles up as a spread for sandwiches or also can be used as an accompaniment to Indian Flat-bread/Rice.
3.	Any leftover rice can also get a dainty makeover with this spread-y paste.

Here's How :-


Warm a skillet and dry roast urad dal and red chillis. Let them turn a golden hue and take them off flame.Tip in the roasted ingredients along with the tamarind paste and the coriander leaves in to a blender. Grind them to a paste of spreadable consistency with required water. Add  salt and mix well. In the same skillet, tip in the oil and let the mustard seeds crackle. Dump the ground paste and let it come to a boil. On a low flame let the paste simmer till the raw smell of the mix evaporates and the oil starts separating. The spread/relish/thogayal is ready.


 In a mixing bowl tip in the cooked rice and add the herby relish as required and mix well. Sprinkle the powdered groundnuts.The rice is ready to be devoured. Serve hot with choice accompaniments.

E.N.J.O.Y

Methi Paratha (Indian Flat Bread with Fenugreek Leaves)

I am having a jolly good time with my parents and guess what ? Yours truly is spending very little time in kitchen as the hearth is literally stormed by mommy dearest. And we often end up making dishes that get scant attention in my kitchen. Methi Parathas for instance is one such dish. 

The fenugreek leaves are well-liked but often end up getting a step-motherly treatment in my hearth. However, they are one of my mom's favourite greens. She constantly uses the leaves to rustle up stir-fries, or peps up rice varieties or makes rotis around it with other ingredients. She often tells me about the nutritive value of these greens and the dietary fibre it is loaded with. Rich in antioxidants and iron content, including these greens in the diet regularly is a health boon.

The spiced parathas with these greens was a winner.

What's in it :-

• Fenugreek/Methi Leaves - a small bunch
• Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) - 1 big cup
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp - to taste
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as required (for kneading)
• Oil/Ghee - as required (for cooking)

How :-

Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop them up  roughly. In a mixing bowl, tip in the chopped greens along with all the other ingredients and give it a good mix. Add water slowly and as required to knead  it to a pliable dough. Divide it in to equal sized balls and roll out each one of them as thinly as possible.

Warm the tawa/griddle and place the rolled thin. Let it cook for a few seconds. As the surface starts showing brown spots, apply oil/ghee and flip it over. Let it cook till golden brown. Smear ghee/oil as required. Once both sides are cooked well remove from flame.


Serve hot with choice accompaniments. I served it with curd, pickle and some spinach dal.


enjoy !

Baked Onion & Amaranth Greens Pakodas with Creamy Cauliflower Dip & Happy Republic Day

Freedom in Mind,

Faith in Words,
Pride in our Heart,
Memories in our Souls.
Lets Salute the Nation on
REPUBLIC DAY."

(Message Courtesy : Rediff)

With the patriotic fervor played to the hilt, my daughter looked forward to something different to spend her afternoon satiated. I could only think of Priya Mahadevan's Baked Pakodas & Cauliflower dip that not only was an indulgence uber healthy but also surprisingly tasty. 

Priya by the way is the Blogger of the Month at my space. It was a perfect opportunity for me to showcase two of the bookmarked recipes from her versatile blog.

Verdict :- That my daughter, a certified fried-food junkie gulped down the baked stuff with the dip, goes to prove that the snack is kid-friendly and the dip totally yum ; it goes without saying that I merrily indulged :))

Baked Amaranth Greens & Onion Pakodas (Fritters)

(Quantity : 10)

• Whole Wheat Flour - 70 to 75 grams approx (sifted)
• All Purpose Flour - 70 to 75 grams approx  (sifted)
• Baking Powder -  3/4 tbsp to1 tbsp
• Onion - 1 small - finely chopped
• Amaranth Greens (Mulai keerai) - a fistful - finely chopped
• Olive Oil - a generous splash
• Cheese - as required - optional - grated
• Milk - as required
• Chillis - 1 to 2 - to taste
• Salt - to taste

Here's How :-

In a bowl add the sifted flours and mix baking powder & salt. Add the chopped onion, chillis & the amarnath greens and mix well. Add grated cheese and tip in the olive oil & required milk to make it a lightly mushy dough (pakoda batter consistency).

Preheat the oven to 205 C/400 F and grease the muffin tray/individual muffin liners. Scrape in a tablespoon of the dough/batter in to the muffin pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or till you see the browning of the top.

Enjoy hot with tomato sauce/dip of your choice. I served them with creamy cauliflower dip.

Creamy Cauliflower Dip

• Cauliflower - 1 big head
• Milk - 1 cup (I used full cream milk)
• Garlic - 3 pods
• Salt - to taste
• Pepper Powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp
• Olive Oil - a dribble or two
• Almonds/Pine nuts - Toasted (For Garnish)

Here's How :-

Cut the head in to small florets and let it soak in salinated hot water for a few minutes. In, the meanwhile warm a pan and add milk, along with pepper powder & garlic and bring it to a boil. Add the drained florets and let it cook till they turn sufficiently cooked & tender.

Toast some almonds or pine nuts and set aside.

Once the florets cool, grind it to a fine paste along with required salt and scoop it in to a serving bowl. Garnish with toasted nuts and enjoy with savoury snacks/pita/sandwich spread/steamed veggies

Enjoy !


Linking the Cauliflower dip to Siri's Healing foods- cauliflower ; guest hosted by Vardhini

Spinach & Potato Koftas in Green Gravy - Virtual Bridal Shower for Nithya

The dreams of a dashing life partner and the perfect soul mate begins for a girl when she barely comprehends full sentences.Knight in shining armor sweeping them off their feet and getting married in the most beautiful wedding are part of many a girl's growing up fantasy.When I heard the news of  a fellow blogger entering in to wedded bliss in November, there were many nostalgic moments of my dreams and the eventual marriage to my soul-mate !


It's celebration time in blogger world- one of our fellow pal Nithya who pours her heart out @ 4th Sense Cooking is getting married. A very talented blogger and a great photographer, Nithya is known for her clicks that is sheer poetry !

I once read that Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day , ah - now that's a real treat  - Nithya here's wishing you & the man of your dreams all love, happiness & success !

While it is impossible for everyone to be actually present for the wedding, we a group of 12 bloggers headed by Anamika are joining in for virtual celebrations & to raise a toast to the sassy bride ! A virtual bridal shower for Nithya by recreating dishes from her blog is our small way of expressing joy & wishes - Hope you like it Nithya !

I decided to make Palak Kofta Curry from her space for the occassion. A few alterations to the recipe dictated by our taste buds was done.The dish signified hearty & exotic and it tasted YUM

Ingredients :

For Kofta :-

• Spinach (palak) - a small bunch - finely chopped
• Potatoes - 2 - big - boiled & mashed
• Bread slices - 3
• Onion - 1
• Green chillies - 2
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Mango powder - a pinch
• Coriander leaves(Finely chopped) - 2 tblsp
• Salt - for taste
• Oil - for deep frying

For Gravy :-

• Spinach - 1 big bunch
• Whole Spices - cinnamon,Mace,Cardamom- little of each
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Onions - 2 - chopped roughly & ground to a fine paste along with whole spices
• Ginger & Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp of each
• Chilly powder - for taste
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Dry mango powder(aamchur) - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Butter - 2 tsp

Method 

Wash the green well and finely chop them.Pressure cook the potatoes, peel and mash them well.Chop the onion, chillies and coriander finely.Dip the bread in water, squeeze and mix it along with mashed potatoes, chopped spinach,onions,chillies, coriander leaves, garam masala, mango powder and salt. Mix them well and pinch out a lemon sized quantity and roll it into a fine ball. Repeat the same for the rest of the mix.Deep fry the balls in hot oil. Keep the flame low and fry for few mins till they turn into golden brown color.Place them on kitchen tissues to remove excess oil. 

For the gravy,Wash the greens well. Put them in a pan with little water and let it cook/boil for a few minutes till they all wilt. Now drop them in to a bowl of cold water immediately.This not only stops further cooking but also helps maintain the color of the greens. Take it off flame and allow it to cool. Grind the greens  into a smooth paste. 

Heat butter in a pan and fry onion-spices mix till the onions turn golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste to it and let the mix sizzle for a while.Now add the salt, chilly powder, mango powder, garam masala and turmeric powder to it. Let the contents boil for a while.Add the ground spinach and the milk slowly, stirring it continuously. Now let it simmer till it becomes thick and creamy.Add the above done koftas just before serving the curry. Yummy and healthy spinach kofta curry is ready to eat. Serve hot with chapathi, roti or ghee rice - Enjoy 


The recipe is also featured in Honest Cooking

Also head over to other bloggers hosting this virtual feast & celebrations

Anamika Arun - Taste Junction

Archana - The Mad Scientist Kitchen

Krithi - Krithi's Kitchen

Priya Mitharwal - Nharo Rajasthan Recipes

Priya Mahadevan -  Now Serving

Priya Suresh - Easy N Tasty Recipes

Radhika Subramaniam - Tickling Palates

Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7stages of life
Revathy - Kaarasaram

Sanjeeta - Different Strokes

Vardhini - Zesty Palette


Enjoy !


It's off to Nancy's YBR-October

Amaranth Greens & Mixed Veg Pulao

A busy week for me with my daughter's school work & extra curricular activities hogging the lime-light and am glad weekend's here - Phew ! Though the weekends are also packed with whole lot of other activities, I look forward to the break from lunch-box packing . My hubby teases me that  I have never sweated for anything else as much as for - what to pack for lunch-box ? And he is not wrong entirely, it is one tough challenge to keep my picky eater hooked to her lunch box !
In my endeavour to keep her afternoon meal @ school appealing n healthy, I made this rice with amaranth greens & a few veggies which was well received. Instead of amaranath use spinach or any other greens if you wish !

Amaranath Greens are a store house of nutrients and are rich in essential minerals & fibres ! Include them more in your menu to reap benefits !!


What's in it :-

• Cooked Rice - 1 big cup
• Amaranth Greens - 1 bunch of leaves washed thoroughly
• Onion - 1 - sliced
• Potato - 1 - cut in to wedges
• Bell Pepper - 1 sliced
• Green Peas - a fistful
• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Garlic Pods - 2 to 3 - chopped
• Curry leaves - a few 
• Green Chillis - 1 to 2 - halved & slit - to taste
• Kitchen King - 1 to 2 tbsp - to taste - else use garam masala

How :-

In a wok, add  olive oil and let the fennel crackle & sizzle. Now add garlic  & curry leaves and stir fry it for a few seconds. Add sliced onions and as it turns pink tip in the green peas & potato wedges. Cook for a few minutes. Add the amaranth greens and stir fry it till it wilts. At this point, add the kitchen king and salt to taste and mix well.





Now finally mix the cooked rice and serve hot after adjusting seasonings. Enjoy !





Linking it to Anamika's HCC- Lunch Box ; event announcement by Smitha

Mint N Cilantro Pulao

Cooking is one happy song when the ingredients in hand are your darlings - Mint & Cilantro the two versatile herbs are easily my favourite greens. They add the necessary spunk to any dish and rightly so ! The aromatic & very refreshing mint is a superstar in my hearth as it finds its way in to all n sundry like salad, soups,gravies,beverages, etc . Its invigorating smell just lifts up the spirits and spells fun while the sweet & pungent coriander /cilantro leaves adds flavour to any dish. Also the health & medicinal uses of mint & cilantro are widely documented. Do you need any more reason to join the fan club of these herbs ??

It is no suprise that this mint & cilantro pulav is my favourite and I dish out different versions of this regularly - my version of this pulav for today's lunch was happily gulped down by kids.The herbs did not overpower the dish but its fragrance wafted all around n taste lingered.For added effect, I shallow fried succulent cubes of cottage cheese & added to the rice. It was a winner all the way ! 

What's in it :-


For the masala paste :-

•  Mint & Coriander leaves - a bunch - washed
• Green chillis-  3 to 4 - to taste
• garlic Pods - 2 (large)
• Ginger - a small piece
• Coconut - few pieces
• Lemon - one or two  squeeze (helps retain its colour) , optional

Other ingredients :-

• Raw Rice - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 large - diced
• Green Peas - a fistful
• Baby Corn - 1 - diced
• Cottage Cheese - 150 gms - cubed in to small pieces

To temper :-

• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Whole Spices - cinnamon, bay leaf, aniseed, mace,cardamom- to taste
• Cashew nuts - a few

How :-


Add little water and grind all the ingredients for the masala in to a paste & set aside.

Wash the rice and keep it aside. In the meanwhile shallow fry the pieces of cottage cheese to be added later.
In a wok , add olive oil and as it warms up tip in the whole spices and let it spread across its buzz. Add the cashewnuts & fry it golden brown. Now add the diced onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the green peas & baby corn and stir fry. Add the ground paste and mix well. Saute this for a few minutes adding little water if the mix gets too dry. 

Season it with salt and add the rice with enough water and let it cook. In case of using  a pressure cooker wait for 2 beeps from it; otherwise close the pan and let it simmer on low-medium flame till done. Finally add the paneer pieces and mix well.
Serve hot with choice accompaniments.





Enjoy !

Watermelon & Assorted Salad

I made myself a hearty bowl of watermelon and assorted items salad that was so filling and a fun way to watch the finals of the Cricket World Cup! The huge bowl finished in no time and was enjoyed thoroughly. The spectacular win by the men in blue further heightened the excitement and the i decided to make it the following day. A bowl of cut watermelon was given a nice makeover by adding leaves of Chinese cabbage & mint, onion, pitted olives and shavings of mozzarella cheese. Sesame seeds,olive oil and pepper joined the party to create a wholesome dish .

What goes:-

• Watermelon - 1 bowl (seeds removed & cut in to chunky triangles)
• Chinese Cabbage - 2 to 3 leaves (washed & sliced roughly)
• Fresh Mint Leaves - a fistful (chopped roughly)
• Onion - 1 (very thinly sliced)
• Lemon  - 1
• Black Olives - a fistful (pitted)
• Pepper Powder - to taste
• Mozzarella Cheese - to taste (grated)
• Olive Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp
• Sesame Seeds - a fistful - to taste

How:-

Once the watermelon is cut in to chunky pieces refrigerate it for a little while and in the meantime ready the other items for the salad.

To the cut melons add the pitted olives and the roughly chopped greens. To it add the very thinly sliced onions and dribble in the juice of a lemon. Dribble in the olive oil and add the required pepper powder. 

Add the sesame seeds to give it that crunch and finally shave in the cheese.

Toss it with a fork and just enjoy !


Linking it to Priya's Only Fusion Recipes event announcement by Pari

Broccoli - Chinese Cabbage Rice

A quick-fix lunch box idea was an instant hit with my daughter's friends and she told me the other day that her friends were asking for the Green Rice to do another entry to the school. I am glad because the rice,subtly spiced contains all the goodness of the vegetable and the leafy greens too ! Care should be taken to cook broccoli the right way ! Over-cooking makes it mushy thereby losing all its nutrients.

What goes:-

•  Broccoli Florets - 1 cup (washed & immersed in hot water and then rinsed in cold water)
• Chinese Cabbage - 2 to 3 leaves (washed & chopped finely)
• Rice - 1 cup (washed)
• Onion - 1 (large) - (finely chopped)
• Green Chillis - 2 - to taste  (sliced diagonally)
• Garlic - 3 to 4 pods (sliced)
• Mace - little
• Cardamom pods- 2 to 3
• Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tsp
• Kitchen King - 1 tbsp

How:-

In a pressure pan, add butter and lightly saute fennel seeds. Now add mace and the cardamom pods and give it a quick stir. Add chopped onion & green chillis and fry till it turns translucent.

Now add salt to taste as well as the kitchen king (or garam masala) and let the raw smell of the masala evaporate.Add the chopped greens and stir fry till  it starts wilting. Finally add the florets and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the washed rice with required amount of water.

Pressure cook till 3 whistles. Serve hot with choice accompaniments. 

Enjoy !

Linking it to Nivedita's Only Original Recipes event announcement by Pari

Noodles Salad

A breezy dish on a lazy afternoon , the noodles salad was also a  good way of including the leafy chinese cabbage that was sitting in my fridge.Coming home after school, my  daughter was delighted that i made noodles and she did not mind the greens present in the dish ! 

I created  a mini picnic style buzz in the verandah where she happily wolfed down the noodles washing it away with a Lemon-Ginger Cooler !

What goes in :- (Source: Nigella Lawson)

To the Dressing -  (adjust the quantity to taste)

• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
• Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
• Lemon Juice - 1  lemon fully squeezed
• Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato Sauce - a few drizzles
• Peanut Butter - 2 tbsp

To the Salad

• Noodles - 200 gms
• Coriander Leaves - fistful (finely chopped)
• Celery leaves - a few snips from the stalks (finely chopped)
• Chinese Cabbage - 2 leaves (thinly sliced)
• Red Onions - 1 (diced- u can also use scallion)
• Sesame Seeds - a generous sprinkling
• Green Bell Pepper  - 1 (julienned) - add red or yellow to make it a rainbow platter

How:-

A look at my cluttered workplace--

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk it thoroughly. Let it rest for a while and the flavours blend !

Cook the noodles as per instruction on the pack. Drain the water, add little oil and fluff the noodles with fork and let it cool for a while. 

Toss the noodles with the chopped veggies and greens. Dribble in the salad dressing

Sprinkle sesame seeds all over.  Mix well and serve !

The crunchiness of the sesame seeds and the subtle but persistent flavour of the peanut butter added a whole new zing to the salad . It was filling and thoroughly enjoyed !

Enjoy !


Linking it to Aipi's Bookmarked Events : Tuesday event announcement by Priya



Also linking it to Girlichef's Hearth n Soul Blog Hop : 35



Also to Torview's Food Palette : Brown