Indian Food

Ingredients: 600 gm Baby potatoes 3 tbsp + 1 tbsp Mustard oil* A large pinch Asafoetida 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp Nigella seeds A pinch Fenugreek seeds 2 medium Onions, grated 4 medium Tomatoes 2 tsp Garlic, crushed 2 tsp Ginger paste 2 tsp Red chilly powder 2 tsp Coriander powder 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 4 nos Whole red chilies 2 tbsp Tomato purée  (readymade, optional) 2 tbsp Vinegar 1.5 cups Water 2 tsp Sugar Salt to taste 2 tbsp Coriander, chopped, for garnish. Spice mix**: 1 tbsp Mustard seeds 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 1 tbsp Nigella seeds 1 tbsp Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds Method: Dry roast seeds given in Spice Mix. Cool and grind into a fine powder. Keep aside. Blanch and purée the tomatoes. Boil baby potatoes. Peel them and immediately sprinkle some salt on them. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non- stick pan and gently saute the baby potatoes till golden. Heat remaining oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add Asafoetida and crackle mustard seeds. Then add fennel, nigella ,fenugreek seeds and whole red chilies. Once they brown a little add grated onion and garlic. Fry onions till brown. Tip in tomato purée (step 2) and ginger paste. Fry for 2 minutes. Add 5 tsp of spice mix, red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat till oil separates. Add readymade tomato purée and sugar. Mix well. Add 1.5 cups of water and baby potatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes till all the flavours are well blended. Add vinegar. Mix well. Adjust salt. Garnish with chopped coriander . Serve hot with an Indian bread of your choice. Note: Check gravy before serving. You can adjust the quantity of water as per your liking of consistency of gravy. I prefer it to be thick. if you don’t like mustard oil, use a vegetable oil of your choice.* Remaining spice powder can be stored in an airtight bottle for future use** Read the original post here.

Hi All, send in your delicious entries to the Ramadan Friendly Recipes event hosted at my other food blog the halal foodieLooking forward to your contributions :)

7° Brauhaus proudly presents “SUMMER LOVE REDUX”, an Energetic Dance Night of Progressive Tech & Break Beat Melt with AMALGAMATES DJ Ajit Sarathi + Ankit Verma & in House ace DJ Sam. Join in for an evening of exhilarating excitement, and dance the night away!! With the Summer blaze is clearing up now… the clear skies, the warm sun, the gentle summer breeze, a…nd the lazy afternoons flavor the season with passion and warm love. Summer tends to have that effect on people. This is truly the time for Summer Love! Venue:  7° Brauhaus, South Point Mall, Sec 53, Golf Course Road, Gurgeon.   Date: FRIDAY, 21th June, 2013 For Reservation call:    98117 53322 / 0124 667 2000 / 9999 486 910 / 95608 22766 About 7° Brauhaus: 7° Brauhaus, is an authentic German Microbrewery & Kitchen which offers an in-house German Micro-Brewery as an integral part of the Interiors. The beer is handcrafted by the brew-master on site – hence called “Craft” beer. It offers quality, unfiltered fresh beer full of Proteins and yeast which is good for health. Set up in 12,500 sq ft. area in South Point Mall, Golf Course, Road, Gurgaon,7° Brauhaus ambiance and theme takes you instantly to the Bavaria region of Germany. The beer garden theme and decor is very refreshing with the large Chestnut trees that it houses. The brewery layout will completely bowl you over. The authentic German delicacies along with selected continental and Indian Flavors truly compliment the brewery. Variety of sausages made on a live grill section, schnitzels, pork chops, pork knuckles, among other items, are a specialty from the Chef’s section.

Before comming to Belgium I didn't even know there was something like Rhubarb as I have never seent them back at home. When I came here my FIL had retired and he had this veggie/fruit garden near a farm outside the city, I think he had to cycle 7 km from his home to the garden. But he loved working in the garden. MIL always complained instead of planting some 10 tomato plants he would plant

Chocolate Hour at Moevenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore – How about Swiss chocolates to drive away your blues? Bangalore 18th June, 2013 Switzerland has always been synonymous with the decadent smoothness of Swiss chocolates and what better way to celebrate this legacy, than a whole hour devoted to treat your taste buds! Moevenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore, the city’s favorite hotel with a Swiss connection, that has been bestowed with many awards including the recently won TripAdvisor 2013 Certificate of Excellence, has gone a step further to celebrate its Swiss passion with a new initiative, the Chocolate Hour. Between 5 pm – 6 pm every day, hotel guests are treated to delicately-made Swiss chocolates, handcrafted by the hotel’s own pastry chefs. Traditional Swiss chocolate truffles, macaroons, little shot glasses full of the ultimate chocolate mousse, Swiss chocolate fondue and chocolate almond drops apart from a host of other treats, are available for any guest. This indulgence comes at no cost. Whether one is a hotel guest, or visiting one of award-winning restaurants or attending a meeting, being a part of this Moevenpick tradition is a must! Prominently displayed in the main lobby area of the hotel, guests just need to walk up to the table and pick any of (and as many of!) the heavenly tasting chocolates.  The hotel’s pastry chef is readily available to quickly concoct macaroons with toppings as per choice or answer any questions one might have about these chocolates. The Chocolate Hour is followed worldwide by all the hotels of the Swiss hotel management company, Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts. This is one of USP’s of the hotel and no other hotel in the world can boast of this tradition. The hour showcases the intrinsic values of the Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts brand- quality, reliability and care, all with the personalized touch! The highly successful and popular initiative also reiterates the founder of Moevenpick, Ueli Prager’s famous words, “We aren’t doing anything extraordinary; we are simply successful because we are doing quite normal things in an extraordinary manner.” Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, Moevenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore reiterated, “Even though this is a Moevenpick Hotel & Resorts concept, we have made it our own by keeping in mind the varying and discerning tastes of our guests in Bangalore and the distinctive techniques utilized by our pastry chefs. Guests and chocolate connoisseurs alike will appreciate this unique initiative. There is nothing like a good Swiss chocolate to uplift your mood. Just for an hour every day, guests can leave behind their worries and stress and indulge in a little decadence. This will be nothing like you have experienced before!” So why not treat yourself to an indulgent, lip-smacking divine experience of Swiss Chocolates! The Chocolate Hour is held between 5 pm – 6 pm every day at the Lobby of Moevenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore. About Moevenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, an international upscale hotel management company with over 16’000 staff members, is represented in 24 countries with 78 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers currently in operation. More than 30 properties are planned or under construction, including Soma Bay (Egypt), Chiang Mai and Koh Samui (Thailand), Palawan (Philippines), Dubai (UAE), Sanya (Hainan Island, China) and Djerba (Tunisia). Focusing on expansion in its core markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts specialises in business and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts, all reflecting a sense of place and respect for their local communities. Of Swiss heritage and headquartered in Zurich, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is passionate about delivering premium service and culinary enjoyment – all with a personal touch. Committed to sustainable environments, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has become the most Green Globe certified hotel company in the world. The h

We have an onomatopoeic adjective to describe ravyache ladoo. We call it ravyache "bhusssss" ladoo. Probably this word came from the Marathi word - bhusbhusheet meaning crumbly. Unlike Raghavdas ladoo, these simple ladoos do not have coconut and hence, they get crumbled very easily. So they are known as "bhusssss" ladoos. I love them nevertheless. My job was to recreate the recipe on a small or rather minuscule scale. In today's times of expanding waistlines, dietary precautions of less sugar/ghee and portion control, I make everything on a small scale. I like to make and feed traditional food to my family so when there are only 4-5 ladoos in the pantry, there is no question of overeating it. ;-) Ravyache "bhusssss" Ladoo - (count 5) Semolina Balls Ingredients 1/2 cup fine rava/semolina 1/2 cup powdered sugar/peethi saakhar 2 tbsp ghee/toop/clarified butter Garnish 2 cardamoms, peeled & freshly powdered A pinch of nutmeg powder, preferably freshly grated 5 raisins Method 1. Melt clarified butter in a heavy bottomed kadhai/wok. Fry raisins and set aside. 2. Add fine semolina and roast on low flame. 3. Switch off the gas. When the rawa is still warm, add sugar, raisins, cardamom and nutmeg powders. 4. Grease hands with clarified butter. Roll into ladoos of uniform shapes. Note- 1. Do not let semolina burn. Make sure to roast on the low flame. Print Page

According to Ayurveda, all foods are either 'hot' or 'cold' - meaning they either heat the body or cool it when consumed. Yogurt is 'cooling' and therefore, the perfect summer food to eat or cook with. I love a bowl full topped with frozen berries or just plain sugar as dessert in the warmer months!...Read Full Post

Ingredients: 250 gm Butter 250 gm Sugar (See Note 1) Vanilla (Half a bean or 1 tsp essence) 5 Eggs Pinch of Salt 125 ml Milk 375 gm Flour (Maida) 1 tsp Baking Powder 3 tbsp Cocoa 1 tbsp Sugar Method: Preheat oven to 190°C Grease a 9 inch/23 cm baking tray With a hand mixer beat the soft butter with the sugar and vanilla until foamy. Add one egg at a time and keep mixing. Add part of the milk and part of the flour and baking powder, keep mixing until all the ingredients are used up. Fill half of the dough in the prepared baking tray, add the cocoa powder and sugar to the other half and mix well. Scoop the brown dough on top of the white one and pull your spoon in an up-down motion to mix them slightly and create the marble effect. Smooth out the surface and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until done. (The cake is done when an inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean). Remove from the baking tray and let it cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar or coat with melted chocolate. Notes: if the grains are big, put it in the food processor to make it finer This cake freezes well.

THE POWER OF T Typhoo presents a talk on the healing powers of Tea By renowned nutritionist Naini Setalvad   Tea is one of the oldest and most popular drinks in the world. From Buddhist monasteries to English parlors, tea has also long been recognized for its healing properties, from the antioxidants in green and white tea to the restorative properties of various herbal blends. In an in-depth talk on the healing powers of Tea held at the Cha Bar today by Typhoo, renowned nutritionist Naini Setalvad said, “We are all aware of the fact that antioxidants present in tea offer numerous health benefits including cancer prevention, cholesterol reduction, and protection against stroke and heart attack. But tea has more to offer and is one of the healthiest beverages available.” “Scientists have shown a correlation between green tea consumption and reduced cancer risk, weight loss, and improved heart health. Teas are also rich in manganese and potassium, B-vitamins and flouride. More importantly teas are calorie-free and help increase your metabolism and aid in weight reduction,” adds Naini. Present at the occasion, Typhoo spokesperson Ms. Renu Kakkar said, “In today’s day and age when there are unhealthy beverage options out there, it is important to remember that tea while also keeping you hydrated offers numerous health benefits along with great flavour. Typhoo has 16 varieties to offer from its premium teas to its flavoured and green tea range. The best part is if one feels like having a cold glass to quench thirst in the summer heat, Typhoo has a fruit infusion range free from sugar, caffeine, preservatives and artificial flavouring”. So the steaming cup of tea you relax and enjoy every day is more than a beverage, it’s a full healing experience.

For the final day of making Indian Sweets with Chocolate Twist, I selected Kajjikayalu or Somas. I had recently made Somas with the regular Dry Coconut, Fried Gram filling. This is the most common filling used in this sweet when made in south. In North, they also use Khoya as filing. However this coconut, fried gram filling is very sweet on it's own. So I decided to go ahead with this.Infact I had saved up some filling from the previous batch and used Dark Chocolate to blend with it. The dark chocolate after being mixed with the filling, wasn't so dark as such. For a moment I was thinking if I should mix in the cocoa powder to the dough. Then decided that will be too much. As expected this was an instant hit and I have requests for this to be made again. Anyways I realized that we have lot of potential to twist the Indian Sweets with Chocolate. I rather assume that kids these days would love chocolate in any way if offered.I thoroughly enjoyed making this theme and I knew this was one theme that was taken up and done ahead of time as I knew the results was going to be rocking! The recipe is same as the Somas I recently made. I halved the recipe and got about 15 Somas. The chocolate blend tasted like a truffle. I have a seriously thought of making a laddo or a truffle with the remaining filling and dark chocolate Chocolate Kajjikayalu | Chocolate Somas Recipe For the Outer Covering: Maida / All purpose flour - 1 cups Melted ghee - 2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Water to mix For layering Melted ghee - 2 – 3 tbsp Maida for dusting How to make the outer dough Take the flour in a wide bowl, mix flour, salt & ghee with enough warm water to knead to a smooth dough. Sprinkle a little water, cover with a damp cloth and keep for 30 mins Knead again and make 3 small balls of uniform size & roll out 3 chapathis of about the same size - 8-9” Apply a little melted ghee uniformly on one side of a chapathi, sprinkling a little dry flour & place a second chapathi over it. Follow the same procedure again. Roll the 3 chapathis into a tight roll. Cut into equal sized pieces. For the Filling: Refer the filling that I made for Somas Dark Chocolate - 50 gms How to make the filling: Heat a non stick pan, quickly warm pottukadalai along with grated copra, poppy seeds. After couple of mins, remove and allow to cool. In a mixer, take the sugar, roasted ingredients, run for couple of minutes to get a fine powder. Mix all ingredients together. Once the filling is ready, mix it with dark chocolate and blend well. Making of Kajjikayallu Roll out the dough into a disc and place it on the mould. In the centre, place a spoon full of the filling and fill forward and ensure you seal it well. Continue with the rest and keep it ready. Heat oil and when it is hot, gently in 4 somas and fry in batches. Decrease the flame & splash oil on them from around with the ladle. When cooked on one side, turn over & fry. You must fry on a low fire, turning them over a few times, till the bubbles subside completely. When cooked on low flame, the somas become crisp. When the somas are cooked on both sides, drain to a kitchen towel. Notes:If you cannot get copra, dry the freshly grated coconut well in a microwave on a plate on medium high till crisp & powder.Don’t over stuff the somas, since the filling tends to come out when dropped in oil.To make sure the sides are sealed well, you can make a paste of flour and water and spread on one side and enclose well. SomasNuvullu Kajjikayalu KajjikaPappulu Kajjikayalu Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 29