Cornflakes Mixture | Cornflakes Chivda Recipe | Easy Diwali Snacks Recipes

Cornflakes Mixture, cornflakes chivda or namkeen is easy mixture made with cornflakes but not with the breakfast cereal, these cornflakes are the one that we fry in oil and it's makes a wonderful namkeen or mixture and get paired along with anything. Cornflakes are very crunchy and light to eat and with nuts and spices it's makes great snack for Diwali or even for tea time, I always keep stock of these yummy cornflakes for tea time.

Sama Ke Mungfali Chawal | Kuthiravali Peanut Rice | Navratri Vrat Recipes

Falahari Sama Ke Mungfali Chawal , Samvat mungfali chawal or Swang Fali Ke Chawal, Kuthiravali Peanut Rice, Kuthiravali verkadalai sadam, falahari peanut rice is made from sama chawal also known in English as Barnyard Millets, Kuthiravali in Tamil, Udalu in Telugu, Shyama in Bengali, Khira in Oriya, Swank in Punjabi, Kavadapullu in Malayalam, Oodalu in Kannada plus other names for Samwat chawal are bhagar, varai chawal, vari chawal,saanwa, saunfiya, samkiye, swang, samvat.

Shevgyachya Bhaji Recipe | Maharashtrian Drumstick Curry Recipe

Shevgyachya Bhaji is Maharashtrian style Drumstick Curry recipe made with simple ingredients and there is no onion, no garlic, no tomato in this recipe just minimal things makes this curry so delicious. I have tried Shevgyachya Bhaji last year for the first time and from then on this simple curry is very regular at home as it's goes well with both rice and roti. Though the curry may not be very appealing in look but you will love it once you taste this.

Coconut Peanut Chutney Recipe (for Idli, Dosa)

Coconut peanut chutney is easy, quick chutney recipe with minimal ingredients, it's different from normal coconut chutney here we use peanut instead of roasted gram or daliya and peanuts brings sweetness and flavors to this chutney. I have already posted peanut chutney normally which I make with red chilies and roasted gram too but one can adapt this chutney recipe remove coconut and make it as peanut chutney too.

Rava Upma | Upma Recipe | No Onion No Garlic Recipe

Rava Upma or upma is one of the popular, easy, quick breakfast option when we don't have any idea on what to make for breakfast then upma comes very handy and like any other recipe there are various way we can make upma and jazz it up too. Today I am posting easy upma recipe without onion so this comes handy if you don't get onion or if you ran out of onion you can still make upma.

Broccoli Beans Stirfry (Thoran, Poriyal) | Broccoli Recipe

Broccoli poriyal/thoran or stir fry is very common in our place and I do most of the time stir fry with broccoli and this time I added beans with broccoli for this broccoli beans stir fry, thoran or poriyal whatever we may call it.  After all the diwali recipes, a much needed break from all the sweets and savory snacks is with this healthy and delicious stir fry.

Phalahari Mungfali Til Chutney | Peanuts Sesame Chutney | Navratri Vrat Recipes

Phalahari Mungfali Til Chutney, Vrat Ki Chatni, Peanut Sesame Chutney is delicious chutney suitable for fasting (vrat/upwas) or with idli-dosa or any tiffin items. If you like peanut chutney then you will love this one too, sesame makes this chutney creamy and tasty. This is another chutney that I make often other than my peanut chutney, onion tomato chutney. The best thing about this chutney is it's suitable for everyday and also while fasting (vrat/upwas).

Karamani Sundal | Lobia Sundal Recipe | Ganesha Chaturthi Naivedyam Recipes

Lobia or Karamani Sundal is simple, easy salad recipe made often during Ganesh Chaturthi or Navratri.  Lobia, green chili, coconut and seasoning makes this  sundal or salad tasty, healthy and filling snack.  We have make sundals with various legumes like black chickpeas, white chickpeas, sweet corn, peanut, val beans, green gram (moong dal), bengal gram (chana dal), rajma, green peas even with soya and many more.

Besanwali Bhindi Sabzi | Okra Recipes

Besanwali Bhindi Sabzi is similar to bharwa bhindi in this we just don't stuff okra but rather cook the masala or chickpeas flour mixture along with okra/bhindi.  You can say it's easy version of bharwa bhindi as it's taste something similar and we don't have to do the stuffing part making it easy and quick. When I don't have much time in hand or just want to try something for a change then I make this bhindi sabzi with besan (chickpeas flour).

Bharwa Bhindi | Gujarati Bhinda Sambhariya | Okra Recipes

Bharwa Bhindi means mostly is stuffing with chickpeas flour/besan but here in Gujurati Sambhariya Bhindi stuffing is made of coconut, peanuts and spices. It's a great change from usual okra recipes or even from stuffing okra, a very good combination with paratha/roti or even with rice.  It can be done in jiffy other than the okra cutting and stuffing part.  For this sambhariya recipe try to use fresh tender small lady's fingers if not use tender long ones and cut in half for stuffing.  

Broken Wheat Vegetable Upma | Oil Free Cooking

As I mention in my broken wheat pongal post I am working on reader request for healthy recipes so one more on the series is this broken wheat upma and guess what it's Oil Free.  Don't worry you will not miss oil a bit, it very filling and taste delicious.  Along with cracked wheat goodness we have lots of vegetables and also moong dal to increase our humble upma's nutrition value.

The recipes seems long cause I tried to take each step picture but it's actually quite a easy recipe to treasure.  Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or lunch box, the choice is yours.  For all the weight watchers I guess you  going to love this one.  Did I mention this upma doesn't get sticky even without oil? So let's not waste any more time and check out the recipe.

Ingredients for Broken Wheat Upma [Serves 3-4]

Broken Wheat - 1 Cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Green Chilli - 3
Minced Ginger - 1 tsp
Grated Carrot - 1 cup
Chopped beans - 1/2 cup
Chopped capsicum - 1/4 cup
Peanuts - 1tbsp
Urad & Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
Yellow Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - few
Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp
Water - 4 cups
Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Slice onion, chill and dice tomato.
2. In a pan roast wheat until light brown and aromatic.

3. Now roast moong dal until light brown and keep aside.

4. Roast peanuts and keep aside, you can remove peanut skin if wish.

5. In same pan add channa & uard dal and roast until light brown, add onion, green chilli, ginger.

6. And saute until onion becomes soft around 2 minutes in medium flame. Add beans and saute for 2 minutes.

7. Add tomato, capsicum mix well, cover pan & cook until tomato gets mashed.

8. Now add grated carrot, peanuts, roasted moong dal, curry leaves ( I didn't use curry leaves) and  mix well.

9. Add roasted cracked wheat and stir well.

10. Add 4 cups of water, salt, bring it to boil.
11. Cover and cook for 20 minutes in medium flame or until wheat is cooked well.
~ You may cook little less or more than 20 minutes depending on your flame level, so keep a eye after 15 minutes.

12. Off flame, Add cilantro & stir to mix everything.  Cover pan again and leave it for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with with curd, any chutney or curry, I had it with curd and peanut chutney.

Have a nice day ~~

Eggplant Tomato Curry Recipe

After all the cakes and cookies recipes taking a break with this is a simple eggplant curry with lots of tomato,  it’s tangy and addition of peanuts and sesame seeds adds wonderful flavorful to this simple dish, this curry goes well with rice or roti.  If you are looking for change from your usual brinjal/eggplant curry then you should try this it's delicious and different.  Stay tune to know what I did with leftover of this curry.

Ingredients for Eggplant Tomato Curry [Servers 3-4 people]

Eggplant/Brinjal - 400 gms
Onion - 3 [1 cup chopped]
Tomato - 4 large [2 cup chopped]
Green Chilies - 6
Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chilli - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil -  4 tbsp
Water - 1/2 Cup
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop onion, tomato and green chilies.
2.  Heat 1 tsp oil in pan or wok and sauté peanuts until light brown, add sesame seeds and sauté for 2 minutes, keep aside until cool and grind into powder.
3. In same wok add 1-2 tbsp oil and sauté eggplant until light brown, keep aside.

4. In the same wok add remaining oil, add mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves, dry red chili and allow to splutter.  Add minced ginger-garlic and sauté until light brown.
4. Add onion and sauté until translucent.

5. Add turmeric, coriander seeds and red chili powders and mix well, cook for a minute.

6. Add tomato and cook until mashed.  Add crushed kasoori methi and cook for a minute.

7. Now add salt, cover and cook until tomatoes get mash fully. 

8. Add sautéed brinjal pieces and mix gently, add water and bring it a boil.

9. Add powdered peanuts and sesame and mix well, simmer for 2 minutes and off flame. 

Serve with rice or roti/paratha, it taste great with anything.

Have a nice day ~~

Aval Mixture| South Indian Mixture | Diwali Recipes

I made this mixture along with namak para and omapodi.  Mixture or as it's mostly call South Indian mixture is one versatile recipe, a mixture (combination) of different things which makes it a delicious tea time or festival recipe.  You can add anything of your choice like sev, murukku, boondi, corn flakes.  I make corn flakes mixture so I don’t add that with this recipe.  I normally like to add raisins if you don’t like then you can skip that.  If you have ompodi or sev in hand then this mixture can be done in jiffy or you can buy sev and do rest of things at home, its still a great idea.  Try and everyone will love this mixture, it also hits with kids as it’s not spicy.
 

Before moving to recipe, if you looking for some home decoration ideas for diwali including rangoli, table, wall deco along with some floating candles theme then click here.  How about some homemade/painted diyas/lamps, some easy designs to keep your kid busy and occupied plus what a wonderful way to use old diyas in new avatar, interested?  Check my this post.  I have few  more ideas but I am not doing this year so perhaps next year I will try to show you guys that.  If you have other ideas for decorations or diyas or you want your creative ideas to be feature here then let me know.

Ingredients:

Ompodi/Sev - 1 Cup
Namak Para - 1/2 Cup [optional]
Rice Flakes/Poha - 1 Cup
Peanuts/Mungfali - 1/2 Cup
Roasted Gram - 1/2 Cup
Halved Cashew nuts - 1/4 Cup
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 2 Sprig
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil - For Deep Fry

Method:

1.  Deep fry rice flakes in batches, using a sieve helps a lot as rice flakes gets cooked very fast and while collecting from oil it wont get burn.  Deep fry peanuts, roasted gram, cashews and curry leaves. Drain excess oil in kitchen tissue.

2.  Take all the fried ingredients in a large bowl and immediately add red chili, turmeric powder and salt (don’t add too much of salt as we already having salt in sev).
3. Now add rest of ingredients ompodi or sev, raisins, namak para (if using).  Give a good stir to fix everything well. 


Once cooled stored in air tight containers, it stay good for month if it lasts until then.  Easy right?

Variations ~

~ You can add boondi, ribbon pakoda, murukku etc.
~ You can replace red chili powder with pepper powder.
~ You can also add gathiya instead of ompodi or sev.
~ You can change proportions of ingredients to suits your taste.

Have a nice day ~~

Kutchi Dabeli | Chaat Recipes

If you like chaat then Dabeli is no exception though not popular in South India, Dabeli is one of best chaat recipe.  All the chutneys, potato filling, pomegranate and peanuts makes it sweet, tangy, spicy and crunchy, a very filling sandwich.   Originated from Kutch region of Gujarat and that’s why it’s called Kutchi  Dabeli.  Dabeli means pressed or in hindi dabana is pressing, so its basically do the filling, press and eat :) 


Dabeli was introduced to me by DH and in his place there are some very good Dabeli road side vendors.  I made this time dabeli everything from scratch, that is including the pav, sev, dabeli masala etc, you can get ready made stuff too.  If you want to make dabeli  from scratch my advice is make pav a day or two before, keep all the chutney, dabeli masala ready too by previous day.  On the day make potato filling, do the assembly and enjoy this delicious chaat, otherwise you might end up doing so many things that, it will be tiring.  Have these as breakfast, evening snack or dinner the choice is yours but whenever you going to eat this you are going to enjoy.  It’s makes a great party or potluck recipe, as I said just do the prep work before.  Though word of caution is you can’t stop at one, so be prepared for it.  So here is my version of Dabeli for you. 



Ingredients:

For Filling
Oil - 1 tbsp
Potatoes - 4 Large
Onion - 1 medium
Dabeli Masala -  1 tbsp [Click on link for recipe]
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - To Taste

For Assembly
Ladi Pav/Burger Buns - 6-8 [Click on link for recipe]
Butter - For Spreading [ I didn’t use]
Green (mint) Chutney - 1/2 Cup [Click on link for recipe]
Garlic Chutney - 1/2 Cup [Click on link for recipe]
Sweet Chutney - 1/4 Cup [Click on link for recipe]
Finely Chopped Onion - 1 Cup
Pomegranate Seeds - 1 Cup
Sev - 1 Cup [Click on link for recipe]
Spicy Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 Cup [ I used plain ones]
Chopped Cilantro - 1/4 Cup [ I didn’t use]



Method:

For Filling
1.  Boil, peel and mash potatoes, finely chop onion.  In a pan heat oil add onion and saute until translucent. 


2. Add Dabeli Masala and mix well.  Add sugar and cook for a minute.

3. Add mashed potato and mix everything well, cook for 2 minutes.

4.  Add salt, lemon juice and mix.  Cook for another minute and off flame.

Our filling is ready,  transfer it into a plate and spread evenly.   Gather all other ingredients for assembly.



For Assembly
1.  Sprinkle little chopped onion, pomegranate seeds, peanuts, sev and cilantro (if using) over potato filling. 

2. Heat a griddle or tava, cut pav in centre apply butter, place butter side on pan and cook until golden brown.  Repeat same for rest.  [ I didn’t do this]
3. Spread 1tsp or as required mint and garlic chutney on one side of pav and sweet chutney on other.  Place 1-2 tbsp of prepare dabeli potato filling or you can make small round of filling, pat it and then keep it. 

4. Sprinkle little of pomegranate seeds, onion, sev, peanuts and cilantro (if using).  Repeat same for rest. 

Serve immediately and enjoy these delicious Dabeli.


You can also make it as open sandwich for that use any bread or baguette.  Apply all chutney, keep filling and sprinkle rest of ingredients.



Notes ~

~ Spread all chutney according to your taste.  I use more of spicy garlic chutney and less of sweet chutney.
~ Same goes for pomegranate , onion and sev too.

Have a nice day ~~