Pasta with Tomato Sauce And Chickpeas Herbs Salad

Pasta in tomato sauce and chickpeas salad was Sunday lunch for me and my friend whom visited us last week from India. I was so bored of cooking every time rice, pulav, paratha for him so thought of making pasta instead for a change (perhaps more for myself ;)) One thing is he is quite a picky eater....he don't eat this and that. I really had to be very careful with what I cook.. since now I became the host ! Isn't is so difficult to think of menu for a week including breakfast, lunch and dinner?? I was running out of ideas especially when my refrigerator was empty most of times.

Saturday Lunch with Dal, Chawal and Kareli (Bittergourd) and Awards

I'm tend to prepare simple food for Saturdays lunch and that goes every week. Now a days resolution is to cook without using onion, green chilli and trying to cut down on garlic too [only for sat'day lunch ofcoz]


My sister loves khichidi for sat'day lunch and she will be so much happy with it :-)...but my DH prefers dal and chawal instead of khichidi so I'm doing that.


Last Saturday I prepared rice, dal with tempering of jeera, dry red chili and garlic and bitter gourd fry.

For Bitter gourd Fry/Stir Fry:


Ingredients:


Bitter ground - 4
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Dry Mango Powder /Amchur - 1/2 tsp [optional]
Salt - to taste


Method:


1. Wash and peel bitter gourd and cut in thin slices. 

2. Marinate with little salt and turmeric powder and leave it for 10-20mins. 
 If you wish you can squeeze out the water from bittergourd [I don't squeeze ]

3.  In a pan heat oil, add cumin seeds, add bitter gourd and fry on low flame until it turn black/brown in colour & become crisp.
If using amchur then add 2 minutes before turning off the flame.

Here is the platter with rice, dal, bittergourd fry, pickle and papad :-)





Now coming over to award...Dear JaiShreeji has share with me these lovely and awards...Thanks a lot ...am so glad to receive them ....


Also Swapna from Cooking with Swapna has share with me Great Buddy Award ..thanks Swapna for sharing this with me...now we are buddies ;)




Here sharing these awards with few of my friends, enjoy gals...


Aru from Gourmet Affair
Raji from Rak's Kitchen
Purva from Purva's Dawaat
Ramya from Ramya Cooks
Vani from Illatharasi
Lakshmi from Taste of Mysore
Priyanka from Asan Khana
Sukanya from Sukanya's Musings
Sowmya from Creative Saga
Anisheetu from My Kitchen

Happy Holi with Dahi Vada, palak panner with parata

Wish you all colourful and joyful Holi....

It's not much of Holi here in SG, though now a days lot of events are organized for Holi get-together. This is our first Hoii ;) and am composing this post...funny isn't it. It's more like wishing people in the blog world for festival than in real :).......

So come back to Holi ....it's been ages since I played Holi....wish the breakthrough comes soon...

Today the recipe is simple ones...Dahi Vada, Palak Panner with instant parata.

For Dahi Vada

Urad Dal/Black Gram Lentil - 1 cup
Oil - for deep frying
Salt - to taste
Curd/yogurt - 2 cup (beaten)

For tempering:
Dry red chili - 3-4
Green chilli - 2-4 (chopped)
Curry leaves - few
Jeera/Cumin powder - 1tps
Method:

1. Soak washed urad/black gram dal over night. Wash again the dal and grind into smooth paste in mixi without any water. Add salt or 1tps of water if required.

2. Transfer the paste into a bowl and beat it with hand. Add salt per taste.

3. Take small portion of it and give desire shape. You can use plastic sheet to make shapes.

4. Deep fry in oil until golen brown. This can be server as deliciosu snack.

4.a Add some chopped onion and green chili to dal paste and deep fry them to make it as snack.

5. Soak the fried vadas in warm water for 3-4 mins.

6. Meanwhile whisk the curd add salt. Remove the vadas from water and soak it in curd.

7. Top it up with tempering of dry red chili, green chili and curry leave in little oil. Garnish with cumin powder.

Also made Palak Paneer, for recipe click here

And here is Kedar's plate.

All these goes to FestiveFood: Holi Hai event hosted by dear Purva


And sending Vada and Dahi Vada to Ashwini's Lentils Mela

...

Mix Veggie Curry with Sambar and a Award

Now a days am tied up with work so much that it's getting difficult to blog :-( so made something gud for a change one of these day and that was..longbeans, potato, drumstick together in onion and tomato gravy and that's make yummy Mix Veggie Curry. Along with it made brinjal and drumstick sambar, cucumber & carrot salad for full meals :)

For Mix Veggie we need:

Drumsticks - 1-2
Potato - 1 large
Longbean - 8-10
Onion - 2 large
Tomato - 1 large
Green Chili - 3-4 ( I used red chili)
Redchili powder - 1 tps
Turmeric - 1 tps
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tps
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbs
Water - 1 cup

Method:

1. Cut the potato in cubes, longbeans in small pieces and drumstick too.
2. I have pressure cook drumsticks.
3. Cook the longbeans & potato in microwave for 5mins.
4. Chop the onion, green chilli and tomato.
5. In a pan heat oil, add chopped onion, green chilli and saute them for 2-3 mins.
6. Add curry leaves and all the masala powder and mix well, cook for 2 mins.
7. Add potato, long beans and drumstick mix well and cook for 3-4 mins with lid on.
8. Now add the chopped tomato and cook with lid on for 2-3 mins.
9. Add salt and water and mix well.
10. Cook for 5-6mins with lid on or everything is done and the water due to half.

It's a simple curry with lot of nutrition due to the veggie and also I used only 1tbs of oil to cook.

Next is Brinjal & Drumstick Sambar

For that we need:

Tuar Dal - 1 cup (cooked)
Drumstick - 1
Brinjal/Egg plant - 4-5 ( I used the small ones)
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Green Chili - 2-3
Curry Leaves - few
Tamarind - small lemon size
Redchili powder - 2 tps
Sambar powder - 1 tps (optional, if using sambar powder use red chilli only 1 tsp)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tps
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tps
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbs
Coriander leaves - 2 tps (chopped)
Oil - 2-3 tps
Ghee - 2-3 tps (optional)
Water

Method:

1. Wash tuar dal and pressure cook with 1/2 turmeric powder.
2. Cut the brinjal and drumstick, either boil them or pressure cook then too.
3. Slice onion, chopped green chili, tomato and coriander leaves.
4. Soak the tamarind in water for 10-15mins and squeeze the puree out of it.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add half of the mustard, cumin seeds and allow them to splutter.
5. Add onion slices and saute them. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chili and curry leaves and mix.
6. Add the chopped tomato and and cook for 2mins. Now add chili powder and mix.
7. Add the brinjal and drumsticks (add any other vegetable as wish) and cook them together for 2mins.
8. Now add the tamarind puree and bring it to boil.
9. Add the cooked dal and and water as required, mix everything and bring it to boil again. Add the sambar powdeer and boil for 5mins.
10. Serve the sambar as it or use other half of mustard and cumin seeds, dry red chilli, and temper them in Ghee. Pour over the sambar and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve the thali with mix veggie curry, sambar, cumcumber & carrot salad with rice.