Pepper Mushroom

Here is a spicy recipe with mushroom. This pepper mushroom is very tasty, delicious and really spicy. It will really tempt you to have this pepper mushroom, just by looking into it.

Ingredients:

Mushroom - 250 gms (sliced)
Onion - 1 medium (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (slitted)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Cilantro/Corriander leaves - to garnish

Method:

1) Heat a pan, add oil. Also add cumin seeds and chopped onions.

2) Saute it for a minute and add ginger galic paste. Also add the green chillies.

3) Saute it very well and add the mushrooms.

4) Then add the salt and let it cook, by covering with lid. If necessary just srinkle few drops of water. Finally add the pepper powder and cook for about 2 mins.

5) Finally garnish with cilantro/corriander leaves.

Hot and spicy pepper mushroom is now ready to taste.

Thukkada

Thukkada, this is one my all time favorite snack, which I had been snacking from my childhood days. I learnt this from my mom. In my childhood days, I enjoy helping my mom in this, by making squares, by rolling the tool to cut this.  This is not very common and known snack for all. But if you try this once, you will get attracted by its taste and make again and again for sure.

Everybody who tastes this will get addicted to its taste. Many of my school and college friends are great fan of this. During festival times, my friends prefer only this thukkada, not anyother sweets. That much it is very crispy and tasty. Even kids love this, as it is not much spicy. Also we can give them this, as it does not absorb much oil.

It has a long shelf life and you can have it with same taste and crispness for weeks. Just put this in an air tight container and use it for many days. You can even maintain its crispness by placing in air tight containers.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 cup + 1/4 cup
Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 2 cups (for deep frying)

Method:

1) Add all the ingredients, except water and 1/4 cup wheat flour, in a wide bowl.

2) Add water little by little and knead the flour. Make soft dough of it, as we make for chapathi.

3) Make small balls (lemon size), similar to that of chapathi.

4) Spread the small dough, by applying some flour (remaining 1/4 cup flour) on both the sides. Spread it as much thin as you can, so that you can get very crispy chips. You need not bother much about the size, as we are going to cut this.

5) Make small squares of it.

6) This is a special tool for making this, which I brought from my hometown. I think you can find this in any stores in southern part of India. Even if you don't have this, its not a tedious work. You can use your knife or even pizza cutter to cut this.

7) By using this tool, we can get small squares, with curves, like this.

8) Once you make squares, keep it seperated one from the other, so that it does not get stuck with each other.

9) Heat oil and drop the cut squares and deep fry it. (If you are using wide pan for deep frying, put about cut squares from 2 chapathis, else put about 1 chapathi's squares at a time, as it may become too clumpsy and get sticky)

10) It takes less than a minute to get it done. Take it out, when it turns golden brown. You can see, it puffed up very well.

Thukkada is all set to snack. It tempts me a lot and can't stop having this, anytime.

Puffy, crispy and tasty snack is ready in minutes, with just 3 or 4 handy ingredients.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Eggless)

My daughter love cookies a lot. So thought of making it at home. The end result was too good and the cookies were just watering in the mouth. The cookies shape was really funny, but the taste was really too good and was very soft and crunchy.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup
Butter - 6 tbsp about 3/4th stick (softened)
Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup

Note:
If you are using eggs, take about 2 eggs and skip using oil.

Method:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees celsius.

2) In a bowl, take all purpose flour, salt and baking soda. Sift it and keep aside.

3) In a bowl, take butter, sugar, brown sugar, oil and blend it well, until its creamy.(While using eggs, beat the eggs with butter and then add both the sugar)

4) Add vanilla extract and blend it very well.

5) Add the sifted flour to the butter mixture.

6) Blend it very well and add the choco chips. Mix it gently after adding the choco chips.

7) Grease a cookie tray with cooking spray or with little butter, else spread a parchment paper over the tray.  Use a round tablespoon or scoop, to place the mixture in the cookie sheet. Leave enough space between each of them. (I used round spoon to scoop the mixture, so i couldn't get round shaped cookies. If you can, use icecream scoop to place, so you can get round shaped cookies)

8) Place it in the oven and bake for about 8 to 10 mins or until it turns light brown. Just check if its done by inserting a tooth pick or a fork. Cool it and remove from the sheet.

You can see the crispness on the cookies.

Crunchy and yummy cookies are ready. It was just watering on the mouth. Especially my daughter loved this a lot and enjoyed this homemade cookies.

French Fries

French fries, one of the famous and well known snack preferred by most of us. Many think that French fries originated from France, but actually they are from Belgium. These fries got this name based on the process of being deep fried, which was a part of French culinary.

Ingredients:

Potato - 3 (large)
Oil - 2 cups
Salt - just to sprinkle

Method:

1) Wash the potatoes very well and peel the skin.

2) Make thin potato strips of about 1/2 inch thickness.

3) Soak the potato strips in cold water for about 15 mins.

4) Pat dry them by placing in paper towel. See that there are no water drops, as we are going to deep fry them.

5) Heat oil and put the potato strips few at a time and deep fry them, until it gets light golden brown color. It takes about 5 to 6 mins to get it done.

6) Finally sprinkle some salt over the potato fries, when they are hot.

7) Serve hot fries with tomato sauce/ketchup.

Hot and crispy french fries are ready for snacking.

French Beans Green Gram Curry

Green gram has lots of vitamins and minerals. Also the sprouted green gram has lots of nutritious value and has high fiber content. Previously, while I was in India, one of my neighbour (grandma) taught me this recipe. She used to give me lots of recipes and tips too. She will be more than 70, but for her age she does all the work. I got motivated from her a lot. She cooks really very fast and the dish will be really delicious.

This can be had with white rice or with chappathi even. If you are making this for rice, make it little thin and just mix with rice and have it. For chappathi, just make it thick. But making these kind of recipes, we can make kids eat some healthy and nutritious foods.

Ingredients:

Green gram/Mung bean (Pachai payaru) - 1 cup
Green beans/French beans - 10 (cut to 1 inch length)
Onion - 2 (1 chopped lengthwise & 1 finely chopped)
Tomato - 2 medium (cut to cubes)
Red Chilli - 2 or 3
Dhania/Corriander powder - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Cilantro/Corrinader leaves - few (to garnish)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1) Heat a kadai and add the green gram. Dry roast it until it gets light brown color, just to get rid of the raw smell.

2) Transfer this to a pressure cooker. Also add the beans, 1 chopped onion and tomatoes.

3) Add about 2 1/2 to 3 cups water and add the turmeric powder.

4) Pressure cook it for about 5 or 6 whistles. Once its done, remove the lid and just smash with a smasher or with any wooden spoon.

5) Now heat a pan and add oil to it. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the urad dal, red chillies and finely chopped onion.

6) Saute it for a minute, until the onion becomes translucent and add the curry leaves.

7) Now add the green gram mixture to this.

8) Add the spices, chilli powder, corriander powder and also add the salt.

9) Let it boil for about 3 to 5 minutes. Finally garnish with cilantro.

Healthy and delicious beans green grams curry is now ready.

Ven Pongal (Spicy Pongal)

Many of us like pongal a lot. But most of the time, it does not come out in correct consistency. Making proper proportions of all ingredients will result in a tasty and delicious pongal. Pongal, chutney and sambar (Idli Sambar) really a delicious food to have for breakfast or dinner. Should have it when it is really hot.

Ingredients:

Raw rice (Pacharisi) - 3 cups
Moong dal (Paasi Paruppu) - 1 cup
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 2 tbsp (make to pieces)
Ginger - 1 tsp (finely chopped) (optional)
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

1) In a pan, slightly dry roast the moong dal.

2) Add the roasted dal to the rice, Rinse it thoroughly. Then add the pepper and cumin to the rice mixture. Also add water. For 1 cup of rice add about 2 1/2 cups of water. Also add salt and pressure cook it for about 5 to 7 whistles or can use for electric cooker. (you can also crush cumin and pepper and add it)

3) Once the rice is done, heat a pan and roast the cashews in the 2 tbsp of ghee and add it to the rice.

4) Then roast the curry leaves in the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and add to the rice mixture.

5) Mix it very well and serve it.

Tastes very good when it is hot.

Hot pongal can be had with coconut chutney and sambar, similar to the one we make for idli (Refer to my post for this Idli Sambar recipe).