INSTANT OATS IDLI

A healthy breakfast to kick start your day. These instant savoury idlis are made with roasted Oats and semolina and require no fermentation. 

It is packed with fibre and nutrients and is very filling. The best part is that there isn't much pre preparation required.

Instant Oats Idli

Ingredients: 

• Rolled oats 1 cup 
• Semolina (Rava) 1/2 cup
• Yoghurt 1/2 cup
• Baking soda (Eno salt) 1/4 tsp
• Carrot 1 no. (Grated) 
• Salt to taste
• For tempering: oil, mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Urad daal 1/2 tsp, Asafoetida (hing) 1/4 pinch, green chillies 2-3 no.s, Curry leaves, coriander leaves 

Method of preparation: 

1. Dry roast the oats for a few minutes and grind to a fine powder when cool. 
2. In a pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add urad daal, when it turns golden brown, add the chopped green chillies and curry leaves. 
3. Now add the grated carrot, stir and sprinkle the asafoetida on top. 
4. When it is almost sautéed add the semolina/Rava and coriander leaves. Roast for a few minutes, switch off flame and leave it to cool. 
5. In a bowl, mix the powdered oats, roasted semolina mix and curd. Add salt to taste. Mix well, add water if required. The consistency would be same as that of idli batter. 
6. Add baking soda or Eno salt and mix well. 
7. Grease the idli moulds with little oil and pour the idli batter into each mould with a ladle. 
8. Steam for a few minutes and serve warm with Sambhar or chutney. 

Note: You can add finely chopped vegetable of your choice. Baking soda is added to get fluffy idlis.

FISH ROE (EGG) MASALA FRY

Fish roe or fish eggs is an excellent source of healthy fatty acids and micronutrients. It is really tasty, totally different to the taste of fish. Seasonally, you get to buy fish roe separately from the fish market. 

Here I am sharing the recipe of spicy fish egg fry masala (Kerala style) which is simple to make and can be served with rice, rotis etc.

Fish Roe masala

Ingredients: 

🍛Fish roe 1/2 kg
🍛Onion 1 no.
🍛Ginger & garlic paste 2 tbsp
🍛Tomato 1 no.
🍛Green chillies 2-3 no.s
🍛Curry leaves 2 sprigs
🍛Kashmiri chilli powder 2-3 tsp
🍛Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
🍛Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
🍛Garam masala 1/2 tsp
🍛Lemon juice 1/2 tsp
🍛Mustard seeds & fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp each

Preparation: 

1. Wash the fish roe taking care to keep the shape intact. Drain and pat dry. Marinate the roe with little salt, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and a pinch each of turmeric and pepper powder. Squeeze in some lemon juice. Keep this aside for an hour. 
2. Heat oil in a wide mouthed pan and splutter the mustard and fenugreek seeds. Add the ginger garlic paste, sauté for a bit, then add sliced onion and green chillies. When this turn soft and transluscent, add chopped tomato and stir. 
3. Now add the rest of the spice powders and roast till the raw smell leaves. When the oil starts separating from the spice mix, slowly add the marinated fish roe and give a gentle stir. Add some water and cover and cook for a few minutes. 
4. When it is almost cooked, flip the other side and cook for 3-4 minutes. Now the water would have disappeared and the fish roe will be roasting in the masala. Leave it to roast in low flame for a few minutes. 
5. Add the curry leaves, remove from flame and serve hot.

BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

Bread and Butter pudding is something from the British cuisine, a traditional type of bread pudding. This is made by using buttered bread, milk and eggs. Usually stale bread or croissants are used to prepare this. 

Since this is simple to prepare and the ingredients are easily available, you can prepare this dessert for lunch when guests turn up at short notice.

Bread & Butter pudding 

Ingredients:

• Bread slices 8 no.s (white bread, medium sliced)
• Butter 1 tbsp (for greasing & buttering)
• Milk 300 ml
• Eggs 3 no.s (size 7 - medium sized)
• Caster sugar 60 grams
• Cream 100 ml (optional)
• Vanilla extract 1 tsp
• Sultanas (Raisins) 50 grams
• Nutmeg powder - a small pinch

Preparation:

1. Remove the crusts from the bread and butter the slices. Take half of the slices and cut diagonally into triangle shape.
2. Butter a shallow wide mouthed oven proof dish. Arrange a layer of square shaped bread slices with the buttered side up. Sprinkle some nutmeg and raisins on top. Arrange the remaining pieces of bread on top and sprinkle the rest of the raisins on top.
3. Beat the eggs, whisk the caster sugar in followed by milk, cream and vanilla extract. When it is combined well, pour it over the bread slices by straining it through a sieve. Leave it to stand to allow the bread to soak up the custard, may be around half an hour. Preheat the oven to 160 deg Celsius.
4. Sprinkle some butter and sugar on top of the soaked bread. Bake it until well set (at 160 deg C for 30-35 minutes). When the bread becomes golden brown and lightly toasted around the edges, switch off the oven.

Yummy bread and butter pudding is ready. This can be served hot or cold. Try adding little vanilla ice cream to warm, gentle pudding.

RABRI/ RABDI

Rabri is a milk based Indian sweet. This is prepared by boiling milk in low heat for a long period of time till it becomes dense and changes its colour. 
This can be served chilled on its own or by adding jalebi, boondi etc. to give it a special twist.

Rabri

Ingredients: 

• Full fat milk 1 litre 
• Sugar 2 tbsp 
• Saffron strands a pinch 
• Rose water 1/4 tsp 
• Cardamom - crushed 1 tsp 
• Crushed almonds, pistachio etc 2 tsp

Preparation: 

1. Soak the saffron strands in 2 tsps of milk and keep it aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, bing the milk to boil. 
2. Lower the heat, keep stirring the milk while it gently boils. Scrap the sides of the saucepan with a ladle every 10 minutes or so. 
3. When the milk is reduced to less than half of the original quantity, add the crushed cardamom, sugar, soaked saffron and rose water. Leave it to simmer for a few more minutes. 
4. Transfer the Rabri to earthen pots, add the crushed dried nuts (almonds & pistachio) and keep in the refrigerator to chill. 

Serve after a couple of hours. 

KESAR SHAHI TUKDA

This is a delicious Indian bread pudding flavoured with saffron and enriched by adding Rabri (condensed dense sweet milk). It is very rich in flavours and makes a perfect sweet for any occasion. 

SHAHI TUKDA

Ingredients: 

• Bread slices 4 no.s 
• Rabri 1 cup (please see previous post for recipe https://mviverakitchen.blogspot.com/2018/11/rabri-rabdi.html) 
• Ghee/ Oil 
• Crushed dried nuts - almonds, pistachio & cashew 
• Sugar syrup - water 1 cup, sugar 3/4 cup, crushed cardamom 1 tsp, saffron strands 1 pinch 

Preparation: 

1. At first, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling the water and sugar in a pan. Add the cardamom and saffron strands and simmer it till the sugar syrup reaches one string consistency. Keep it aside. 
2. Take the bread slices, cut the edges off and slice them into triangle shapes. Fry these bread pieces in ghee till golden brown and crisp. Here I have shallow fried, in original recipe it is deep fried. 
3. Soak the fried bread pieces in sugar syrup for a minutes, remove and arrange in a platter. 
4. Pour the chilled Rabri over the fried bread slices and garnish with chopped nuts. 

This can be served warm or cold, we generally prefer serving chilled. 

VEGETABLE UPMA

This is a colourful and tasty breakfast, and healthy too because of the nutritious vegetables added. This is simple to prepare, the procedure followed is the same as that of Rava Upma. There isn't much pre-preparation required and is fuss-free, which is quite handy during busy mornings.

Ingredients: 

• Rava (Semolina) 1 cup
• Onion 1 no. 
• Ginger 1" piece 
• Green chillies 2-3 no.s 
• Green beans 4-5 no.s 
• Carrot 1 small 
• Green peas 1/4 cup 
• Ghee 1/2 tsp 
• Salt & water - as required 
• For seasoning of the Upma: Oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, red chillies, asafoetida (hing)

Preparation: 

1. In a pan, dry roast the semolina till aromatic. Finely chop the onion, ginger, green chillies and vegetables. Keep both aside. 
2. In a frying pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Now add the curry leaves, dried red chillies, urad dal and hing. To this add the chopped onion, ginger and green chillies. Sauté for a few minutes, add the vegetables, sprinkle salt to taste and cook uncovered for a couple of minutes.
3. Note: You can add the vegetables of your choice like potato, cauliflower, broccoli etc. 
4. To this add 2 cups of water, add ghee when the water starts boiling. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat and add roasted semolina little by little, stirring continuously. Ensure that no lumps are formed. Cook in medium heat till the water is absorbed. Stir occasionally to ensure the Upma is cooked evenly. 

Tasty vegetable Upma is ready, serve with chutney and/or papad. Here it is served with tomato chutney.

BEETROOT PICKLE

This Pickle is made with Beetroot and dates; usually served with biryani, pulao etc. This dish takes a little more than a day to process for the flavours to settle in and traditionally this is how it is prepared. 

Beetroot Pickle

Ingredients: 

• Beetroot 1 no. 
• Dates 8 no.s (seedless) 
• Red chilli powder 1 tsp 
• Garlic 4-5 cloves 
• Green chilly 1-2 no.s 
• Vinegar 1/2 cup 
• Salt - for taste 

Method of preparation: 

1. Clean and grate the beetroot. Finely chop or grate or crush the dates and garlic cloves. 
2. Take a clean, dry bowl and mix together the grated Beetroot, garlic, dates, thinly sliced chilli and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with your fingers to make sure all ingredients are combined. 
3. Leave this to rest for 24 hours for the ingredients to soak in vinegar and salt. Check the salt before serving. 

This Pickle is ready to be served after one day's marination. This can be stored in a clean container in the fridge for a few days. 

TOMATO CHUTNEY

This is one of the basic side dishes served with popular South Indian breakfast like Idli, Dosa etc. Tomato chutney tastes tangy and mildly spicy. 

The preparation may vary between regions, however the basic ingredients include tomatoes, onion and red chillies. Here, I have added some whole cashew nuts which gives enriches the texture and flavour of the chutney.

TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingredients for this chutney: 

• Tomatoes 3 no.s
• Onions 2 no.s (medium)
• Dried red chillies 4 no.s
• Cashew nuts 6-8 no.s (whole)
• Urid dal 1 tsp
• Chana dal 1 tsp
• Garlic 2 cloves
• Cumin 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder a pinch
• Salt as required
• For tempering: Mustard seeds, urid dal, curry leaves

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan, splutter the cumin seeds and sauté the sliced onion and garlic. Add the cashew nuts and dals, fry well.
2. Add the turmeric powder, dried red chillies and sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle adequate salt. When the tomatoes turn soft and mushy, switch of flame and leave it to cool down. (You can substitute the chillies with red chilli powder).
3. In a blender, grind this until smooth and creamy. Since the ingredients are soft and moist, no water is required while grinding. You could sprinkle some water if needed. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.
4. In a pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and the rest of the ingredients for tempering. Pour this to the chutney.

Serve with Dosa, Idli, Paniyaram etc.

PANEER GULSHAN

Paneer Gulshan is a semi-dry dish made with paneer and capsicum cooked in rich flavourful spice mix. This can be had with rice, rotis, phulkas etc. 

PANEER GULSHAN

Ingredients: 

• Paneer 1 cup 
• Onion 2 no.s (big) 
• Ginger 1" piece
• Garlic 5-6 pods 
• Capsicum 1 no. 
• Tomato 2 no.s (medium) 
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Red chilly powder 1/2 tsp
• Cumin 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Channa masala 1/2 tsp
• Kasuri methi 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves (for garnishing) 

Preparation: 

1. Slice the paneer lengthwise into long strips, slice capsicum too the same way. Finely chop onion and tomatoes. 
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. Add onion slices and sauté well. Now add the freshly crushed ginger garlic and sauté till raw smell is gone. 
3. Gradually add the spice powders and stir. 
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and capsicum, mix well so those pieces are coated with the masala. 
5. Add salt to taste, sprinkle little water, cover and cook for a few minutes in low flame. When the gravy thickens, oil will start floating on the top. 
6. Add paneer strips, chopped coriander leaves and crushed kasuri methi. Combine well and cook for another minute or so. 

CHILLI PANEER

This is an Indo-Chinese fusion recipe for paneer. Chilli Paneer can be served as a starter or as a side for fried rice, naan etc. 

Given below is a quick an easy recipe for preparing dry chilli paneer.

CHILLI PANEER

Ingredients: 

• Paneer 250 gms (cubed) 
• Capsicum 1 no. 
• Onion 1 no. (big) 
• Garlic pods 3-4 no.s 
• Green chilli 3-4 no.s 
• Chilli sauce 1 tbsp
• Soya sauce 1 tbsp 
• Tomato sauce 1/2 tbsp 
• Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice 2 tsp
• Coriander leaves 2 tbsp (chopped) 
• Salt and oil - as required 
• To prepare batter to fry the paneer cubes: All purpose flour/ maida 1.5 tbsp, Corn flour 1.5 tbsp, salt.

Preparation: 

1. Prepare batter to coat the cubed paneer pieces, the consistency should be not too thick or watery. The paneer pieces are to be well coated. In a pan, heat oil, fry these batter coated paneer pieces and set aside. 
2. Cube the onion and capsicum. Crush the garlic pods and slice the green chillies lengthwise. 
3. In a pan, gently fry the green chillies and crushed garlic. Add the onion pieces and fry till translucent. Now add the capsicum pieces followed by the sauces, pepper powder and salt. Mix well. 
4. Add the fried paneer pieces, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice in and toss well. When everything is blended evenly, remove from fire and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves.

Shiny chilli paneer is ready.

RUSK PUDDING

I saw the interesting recipe of RUSK PUDDING shared in a foodie group in Facebook a while ago. Since then I have been wanting to try this as it seemed a simple and easy recipe. I made this for one Sunday evening and turned out really well. 

I have tweaked it a bit to suit my taste, sharing the recipe here.

RUSK PUDDING

Ingredients: 

• Rusk (Suji / wheat rusk) 6 pieces
• For sugar syrup: Water 1 cup, Sugar 1/2 cup, Cardamom powdered 1/2 tsp, Lemon juice 1 tsp
• For the custard: Milk 2 cups, Sugar 1/3 cup, Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp (adding 1/2 cup condensed milk is optional, if using reduce the quantity of sugar). 
• Garnish while serving: Almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, raisins, Tutti frutti

Preparation: 

1. In a pan, mix the sugar with water and bring to boil. Add the cardamom powder and leave it to simmer for a few minutes. Then remove from flame and stir in the lemon juice. Sugar syrup is ready. 
2. Custard preparation: Mix the custard powder in little milk, without any lumps. In a heavy bottomed pan, mix the sugar and the rest of the milk and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, gently stir in the custard mix and stir continuously to avoid the mix becoming lumpy. Add the powdered cardamom. When the custard is cooked and mixture is thick in consistency, switch off flame and leave it to cool. 
3. In a tray or serving dish, arrange a layer of rusk and drizzle some sugar syrup on it. Arrange another layer on top of this and drizzle the sugar syrup. Now pour the custard on top of the arranged rusks in sugar syrup. Garnish with the nuts and dried fruits. 
4. Keep this in the fridge for 2-3 hours and serve chilled.

Yummy rusk pudding is ready. Enjoy. 

MATAR PANEER

The combination of fresh, sweet green peas and soft paneer makes this dish one of its kind. Now that it is spring here, plenty of fresh snow peas are available in the market. Matar Paneer is one of the most popular paneer curry prepared by simmering together Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and Matar (green peas) in a rich gravy of tomatoes, spices and onions. 

Here I have added some ground cashews too which makes the curry creamier. 

MATAR PANEER

Ingredients: 

• Paneer 250 gms 
• Green peas 1/2 cup 
• Tomatoes 2 no.s, large sized 
• Raw whole cashews 10 no.s 
• Yoghurt 2 tsp
• Onion 2 no.s medium sized 
• Garlic cloves 4-5 no.s 
• Ginger 1" piece
• Green chillies 2-3 no.s 
• Whole spices - green cardamom 2 no.s, peppercorns 1/2 tsp, cumin seeds 1/2 tsp, bay leaf 1
• Spice powders - Red chilli powder 1/4 - 1/2 tsp, Coriander powder 3/4 tsp, Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp, Cumin powder 1/4 tsp
• Cilantro, ghee, oil, salt to taste
• Sugar 1/4 tsp optional
• Methi leaves a pinch 

Method of preparation: 

1. Make paneer cubes and set it aside. Soak the raw whole cashews in little warm water. 
2. In a pan, gently fry the green cardamom pods, black pepper corns and cumin seeds. When the spices are fragrant, add the finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When sautéd, add the chopped tomatoes, cover and cook for a few minutes. When the tomatoes turn soft, remove from heat and set it aside to cool down. Grind this mixture with the soaked cashews to a smooth paste. 
3. In a pan, heat oil and add the bay leaf followed by the red chilli powder. Add the ground onion tomato paste to this and stir well. Now add the rest of the spice powders, adequate salt and sugar (optional). Stir well and let it cook, gently whisk in the yoghurt. 
4. Add adequate water (enough for the gravy) and leave it to boil in medium flame for a few minutes. Add the paneer cubes and the green peas, and then the crushed methi leaves. Cover and cook till the peas is cooked, the gravy starts thickening. 
5. Sprinkle some garam masala on top and garnish with cilantro. 

Serve warm with hot rotis, chapathis, phulkas, rice etc. 
(Note- instead of yoghurt, you can stir in a dash of fresh cream when the curry is almost ready) 

AVAL MILK

This is an authentic, flavourful milkshake unique to the Malabar region, Northern Kerala. It is a combination of a dessert and milkshake, made by combining ripe bananas, roasted rice flakes, dried fruits and nuts topped with ice cream. 

It makes a healthy and filling treat for kids. Let us have a look at the recipe.

AVAL MILK

Ingredients: 

• Rice flakes (brown)/ Aval 1 cup 
• Chilled milk 1 glass
• Ripe bananas 1 no. (Chiquita banana) 
• Sugar 2 tsp 
• Cashew nuts, pistachio & almonds 1 tsp each 
• Tutti fruiti 1 tsp 
• Ice cream 1 scoop 
• Cherry & raisins - for garnishing (optional)

Directions: 

1. In a pan, gently roast the aval/ rice flakes till it turns aromatic and crispy. 
2. Peel the bananas and smash it gently with the back of a spoon. 
3. Take a tall glass or a tumbler to serve and place the smashed banana pieces at the bottom. 
4. Add the roasted rice flakes on the top. Now add the nuts and fruit bits on top of it. Mix the sugar in the milk and pour it on top of the banana & aval. 
5. Add a scoop of ice cream to the top and garnish with nuts and tutti fruiti. 

Rich and healthy aval milk is ready.

SEMIYA UPMA (with boiled egg)

Semiya or Vermicelli Upma is a simple breakfast which does not require much prior preparations, it is very easy to make. I have shared the recipe of simple vermicelli Upma before, this one is loaded with vegetables and is served with boiled egg which makes it wholesome & delicious. 

This would be ideal for young kids for breakfast or for school lunchbox. 

Semiya upma - with egg

Ingredients: 

• Roasted vermicelli 1 cup 
• Onion 1 no. medium sized 
• Tomato 1 no. large 
• Carrot 1 no. medium 
• Green peas 1/4 cup 
• Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Chilly powder a small pinch 
• Cashew nuts 1 tsp 
• Cilantro 2 tbsp 
• Oil, salt, water - as required
• Boiled eggs 1-2 no.s 

Method of preparation: 

1. Heat ghee or oil in a pan and roast the cashew nuts. Set this aside, then roast the Semiya till golden brown. Keep this aside. 
2. In the same pan, sauté the diced onions. When it turns translucent, add the ginger garlic paste. Green chillies are optional, if using add it now. 
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes, when it turns soft add the diced carrot and green peas. Sprinkle some salt and the turmeric and chilli powders. Cover and cook for a few minutes. 
4. Add 2 cups of water, bring it to boil, add the roasted Semiya and cover and cook for a few minutes. Add salt if required. When the water evaporates, stir well, add the roasted cashew nuts and coriander leaves. 

Semiya Upma is ready. Squeeze in some tomato ketchup and serve with boiled eggs. 

CHILLI SOYA

Soya chunks or nuggets are considered to be healthy, rich in protein and a good alternate for those who don't eat meat. 

Today I am sharing a simple, semi-dry chilli soya dish which goes great with rice and chapathi. 

CHILLI SOYA

Ingredients: 

• Soya chunks 2 cups 
• Onions 1 large
• Ginger, garlic -chopped - 1 tsp each 
• Capsicums 1 no. 
• Green chilli 2-3 no.s
• Vinegar 2 tsp
• Tomato sauce 2 tbsp
• Red chilli sauce 1 tbsp
• Dark soya sauce 1 tsp
• Green chilli sauce 1 tbsp
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Spring onion 1 tsp 
• For marinating soya chunks: ginger garlic paste 1 tsp, cornflour 1 tbsp, salt 
• Oil, salt to taste 

Preparation: 

1. Cooking the soya chunks - boil water in a pan and add the soya chunks to the bubbling water. Switch off the flame and cover and keep. After 15-20 minutes, drain the water and squeeze the chunks with your palm to drain the excess water. 
2. Marinate the soya chunks for around 5 minutes. Heat oil in a pan, add the marinated soya chunks and fry till golden. Keep this aside.
3. In the same pan, add the chopped onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies, sauté well. Add the chopped capsicum (you can use different colours) and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add in sugar, salt, vinegar and the sauces, mix well. 
4. Leave it to cook for a few minutes, now add the fried soya chunks and toss well. Cook this for a couple more minutes. 
5. Remove from fire, garnish with spring onions and serve warm. 

Chilli soya is ready. 

BREAD RAVA KESARI

Kesari is an Indian sweet prepared by cooking sooji/Rava/semolina in sugar syrup with ghee. It is very soft and a mild sweet, usually served after festive lunches. 

Here I am sharing a recipe in which bread crumbs are also used with Rava in the preparation of kesari, tried the recipe in Instagram posted by "the food feed", tweaked it a bit.

BREAD RAVA KESARI

Ingredients: 

• Rava/sooji 1/2 cup
• Bread slices 4 no.s 
• Sugar 3/4 to 1 cup (to suit your taste) 
• Ghee 2 tbsp
• Cardamom powdered 1 tsp
• Cashew nuts & raisins 1 tsp each
• Saffron strands a pinch 
• Food colour - orange (optional) 

Preparation: 

1. Remove the crust from the bread slices and powder it in a mixer to make coarse bread crumbs. Soak the saffron strands in little warm milk. 
2. Heat ghee in a pan, roast the raisins and cashew, set it aside.
3. Gently Roast the Rava and the breadcrumbs separately in ghee. 
4. In a thick bottomed, boil little water and add the Rava to it. Stir in the powdered cardamom. When it is almost cooked, add the sugar and stir well. 
5. When the sugar is melted completely and the mixture thickens, add the roasted bread crumbs. After a couple of minutes, stir in the ghee and the soaked saffron strands. 
6. At this stage, add the food colour if you are using it. Stir well and cook till the kesari reaches the right texture. Add the roasted raisins and cashew nuts and serve warm. 

CHILLI CHICKEN

Chilli chicken is an Indo-Chinese dish where the combination of Indian spices and Chinese style cooking creates magic. This is a very popular Non vegetarian side dish, usually served with fried rice, rotis etc. This delicacy is simple to prepare and almost all the ingredients are readily available. 

Now a look at the detailed recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• Chicken (Boneless) 500 grams 
• Onion 2 medium no.s 
• Capsicum (bell pepper) 1 no. 
• Ginger & garlic 2 tsp chopped 
• Cornflour 4 tbsp
• Egg 1 no. 
• Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
• Sauces - tomato 1 tbsp, soya sauce 3/4 tbsp, Chilli sauce 1 tbsp 
• Green chillies 2-3 no.s 
• Spring onion 1 tsp for garnishing 
• Oil & salt 

Method of preparation: 

1. Clean and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. 
2. Beat the egg, add the cornflour, pepper powder and salt, and make this into a paste. Marinate the chicken pieces in this for around 15-20 minutes. Mix 1/2 tbsp of corn flour to half cup of water and prepare a thick solution. 
3. Finely chop the ginger and garlic. Chop the onion and capsicum into 1" pieces. 
4. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till golden brown. Set it aside. 
5. In the hot oil, add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies and sauté well. Now add the onion and capsicum pieces, sprinkle salt and cook in high flame for a couple of minutes. 
6. To this add the sauces and a cup of water, mix well. Now add the fried chicken pieces with a pinch of pepper powder and bring to boil. To this add the cornflour mixed in water, this is for the gravy to obtain a thick consistency. 
7. When the ingredients are cooked and the gravy thickens, remove from the flame. Garnish with spring onion. 

Yummy chilli chicken is ready to be served. 

POHA (AVAL) UPMA

Aval Upma is made from flattened rice (beaten rice - poha) and has all the goodness of rice. It is a delicious breakfast and/or snack and is very easy to prepare. It is a common breakfast mainly in South India and is ideal for kids' lunch boxes. 

POHA UPMA

Ingredients: 

• Aval (poha) 2 cups 
• Onion 1 no. 
• Ginger 1 small piece
• Tomato 1 no.
• Potato 1 no. 
• Carrot 1 small 
• Green peas 1 tsp
• Green chillies 2-3 no.s 
• Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
• Urad daal 1 tsp
• Chana daal 1 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing) 1 small pinch
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves 2 springs 
• Coriander leaves a bunch 
• Lemon juice 1/2 tsp 
• Oil, salt, water

Directions: 

1. Wash Aval a couple of times and strain to remove excess water. Here I have used thick white rice flakes.
2. In a pan, roast the peanuts and keep it aside. Add oil to the pan, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add chana dal, urid dal and curry leaves; roast till the lentils are golden brown in colour. 
3. Now add the chopped onion, ginger and green chillies, sauté well. Add the turmeric powder and hing, followed by the chopped potato and carrot pieces, sprinkle salt and little water; cover and cook. Alternatively you can cook the potato & carrot separately first and then add the chopped pieces. When the vegetables are half cooked, add the tomato pieces and green peas. Stir well. Cook till the tomato pieces turn soft. Adding vegetables are optional. 
4. Add the drained poha, salt to taste and stir well so that all ingredients are mixed evenly. When it is cooked, add the roasted peanuts, give a stir and remove from flame. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, drizzle some lemon juice and serve warm. 

Delicious poha Upma is ready. Serve plain or with chutney & Pickle. 

FRENCH TOAST STICKS

This French toast sticks would make the absolute lazy weekend brunch. French toast is made by gently frying bread pieces soaked in eggs and milk. 

French Toast sticks

Ingredients: 

• Multigrain/ Wholemeal bread 4 slices
• Milk 1/4 cup
• Eggs (size 7) 2 no.s
• Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Cinnamon powder 1/5 tsp
• Butter 1 tsp
• For serving - berries, maple syrup

Preparation:

1. At first, beat the eggs with a pinch a salt in a bowl. Add the milk, sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon powder and whisk it together.
2. Heat a flat pan and place a piece of butter on it.
3. Cut the bread pieces into strips, dip the pieces in the egg-milk mixture ensuring that each piece is saturated with the mix. Place these pieces into the frying pan and cook until golden brown. Once done, flip over and cook other side.
4. Place the fried toast sticks on a plate, drizzle maple syrup and serve with a handful of berries. Sprinkle some caster sugar after plating.

Here I have served the French toast sticks with caramelised banana and a bowl of strawberries & blueberries in cream. 

FRENCH TOAST

This is easy to make at home and I would say the perfect breakfast for weekend and weekday alike. As mentioned in my earlier post, French toast is made with bread soaked in milk and egg, then gently fried with butter.

Here the fluffy French toast is served with maple syrup, berries, fresh cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

French Toast

Ingredients: 

• Bread slices 4 no.s (Thick slices) 
• Eggs 2 no.s 
• Milk 1/4 cup
• Cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp
• Vanilla extract 1 tsp
• Sugar 1/2 tsp
• Salt a pinch

Preparation:

1. Mix the ingredients for the batter in a bowl, whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. 
2. Place a griddle on stove. Place a little butter on the pan and let it melt. 
3. Take the bread slices one at a time and soak both sides in the batter. Place the soaked pieces on to the hot griddle with melted butter. 
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip the bread slice with a spatula and cook the other side.
5. When both sides are cooked, place the toast pieces on a serving dish, drizzle maple syrup and add the berry toppings. 

Serving with cream is optional. 

Enjoy the light and fluffy French Toast.