Cauliflower- Potato curry

Preparation time: 30 min.
Ingredients:
Cauliflower: 1 medium sized
(Separate cauliflower into medium sized florets. If you do this in the night times it saves a lot of time during cooking)
Potato: 1 large
(peel and cut into cubes)
Onion: 1 medium
(slice it into small pieces)
Tomato: 1 medium
Mustard: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 4 or 5
Cloves: 2
Ginger- garlic paste: 2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Grind cumin and cloves. To this add tomato and grind into a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add mustard and curry leaves.
Add onions and saute until they turn golden brown.
Add potato. Saute for 2 min.
Add turmeric and red chili powder.
Add water and let it boil.
When potatoes are half boiled, add cauliflower florets.
When the florets are 3/4Th done, add tomato paste and salt.
Mix well.
Cook until done. That takes around 5 more min.
Serve hot with rice/ roti.

Pesarattu

The most famous Andhra Breakfast is Pesarattu and Upma with ginger chutney. That is what this picture shows. As I have already given the recipes of Upma and ginger chutney, I am giving the recipe of Pesarattu over here.

Working time: 30min.

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

Moong Dal: 1 cup

Rice: 1 tbsp
Onion: 1

Green chilies: 3

Ginger: 1"

cumin seeds: 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil : 2tbsp

Method:

Soak moong dal & rice overnight.

Drain water.

Grind them into a fine paste adding water.

Grind green chilies and ginger separately.

Add this paste to moon dal paste.

Add salt and cumin seeds.

Mix well.

Now pour the batter as described in dosa.

After spreading the batter, sprinkle onion pieces over the batter.

Remove from heat when it is done.

Serve hot with any chutney but ginger chutney is usually the combination.

Mandarin Orange Cake

I felt it as an instant food. Buy everything and mix all. But quick and easy to make.

Preparation time: 1 hour and 30 min.

Working time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

For cake:

Yellow cake mix: 1 package

Eggs: 4

Oil: 1/2 cup

11 ounce can of mandarin oranges: 1

For frosting:

8 ounce can of crushed pineapple: 1

4 ounce package of vanilla instant pudding mix: 1

12 ounce whipped cream:1

Method:

Cake:

Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in a mixing bowl. Beat well.

Add mandarin oranges with juice.

Beat just until oranges are slightly chopped and mixture is smooth.

Pour into greased and floured cake pan.

Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake is done.

Insert a tooth pick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it indicates that cake is done.

Do not over bake.

Chill.

For frosting:

Drain pineapple juice reserving 1/3 cup juice.

Pierce top of cake with fork.

Pour reserved juice over cooked cake while it is cooling.

Blend pudding mix and whipped cream in a large bowl.

Stir in pineapple.

Apply this frosting over the cake.

Refrigerate.

Cake is ready to eat on second day.

Upma

This is an easy to make breakfast. Does not require elaborate preparations like soaking overnight, grinding etc. The same dish can be prepared with either sooji/ cracked wheat ( goduma ravva).

Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients:

Sooji/Cracked wheat: 1 and 1/2 cups

Onion: 1 medium ( make long slices)

Green chilies: 3-4

Seasoning:

Mustard: 1 tsp

Cumin: 1 tsp

Ginger: 1" ( finely chop)

Chana dal: 2 tbsp

Curry leaves: 5-6

Salt to taste

Oil: 1 tbsp

Ghee: 1 tbsp (optional)

Water: 2 cups

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard, cumin, chana dal, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves and onions.

Saute until onions turn light golden brown.

Add water to the pan.

Add salt.

Keep the lid.

Let the water boil.

Add the sooji/ cracked wheat gradually to the boiling water while stirring it simultaneously.

If the consistency is too thick, add little amount of water.

Keep the lid.

Keep stirring in between.

When it is 3/4 th done, add ghee and stir.

Cook for 2 min. and remove from heat.

Serve it either as a single dish or with any pickle.

Some kids love to eat this upma with sprinkled sugar on it.

Janthikalu

Those who know the name 'Janthikalu' does not require any introductions for this dish. It is a tasty, easy to make and great snack. Only problem is, it requires a specific instrument which I have shown.

Preparation time: 45 min.

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 3 cups

Split black gram (urad dal): 1 cup

Tapioca (sabu dana): 2 tbsp

Carom seeds (Ajwain/ Vamu): 3 tsp

Unsalted butter: 2 tsp

Salt

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Grind Tapioca into smooth powder.

Dry roast black gram until the gram turns light golden brown. When it cools grind into a smooth powder. We can also get gram flour from groceries. It saves time and energy.

In a mixing bowl, add rice flour, gram flour, carom seeds, butter, salt and tapioca flour.

Mix well.

Make it into a smooth paste with consistency between semi smooth to thick.

Heat oil.

Take the 'Janthikalu maker'. It contains different variety of plates with holes. Select one of them. Fix this plate in the bottom of the maker.

Keep the dough in the bottom vessel.

When oil is hot, place the top vessel on the bottom vessel as if placing a lid with very light pressure.

Now keeping this maker above the hot oil, press hard so that the dough leaks through the holes.

Move the maker in a small circle while simultaneously pressing the dough.

If this seems to be hard, grease a plastic wrap/ aluminium foil, press the dough onto it. Carefully transfer this into oil.

Remove this circular dough after it turns golden brown from oil.

These are called Janthikalu.

When they are cool, transfer them into an airtight vessel.

Do not refrigerate.

They would be fresh for a week.

Quesadilla

This is a good recipe to utilize the left overs. The extra ingredients required are flour tortillas, cooked rice and shredded cheese.
preparation time: 10 min.
if the stuffing is already present.
Serving size: 3 persons
Ingredients:
Flour tortillas (soft): 2
Cooked rice: 1 cup (not compulsory)
Shredded cheese: 1 cup
Salsa: 3tbsp (optional and if it is at home)
Left overs like cooked beans, any curry from last night's dinner. I have used the stuffing used for black bean sandwich. (The recipe is already present in this blog)
Salt and pepper or any seasoning that is present at home. (optional of course)
Method:
Quesadilla can be prepared in 2 ways by using either 2 tortillas to make a round shaped quesadilla which is shown in the picture or half moon shaped using one tortilla. Stuffing can be placed on half side of the tortilla and the other half is covers the stuffing.
I am explaining the round shaped one.
Place a tortilla on a flat surface. Spread salsa on it.
Spread the left over curry in generous amounts if you want to finish it off but not even too thick.
Spread a layer of rice.
Sprinkle the seasoning.
Spread a thick layer of shredded cheese.
Cover with another tortilla.
Close the edges with the help of cheese.
Grease a pan by using a cooking spray and heat it.
Place the quesadilla.
Cook on both sides until cheese melts.
Cut them into wedges and serve hot.

Plantain (aratikaya) bajji and chat

Whenever I go to my hometown, I always go to 'chat bandi' and eat Mirchi bajji chat, Aratikaya bajji chat and so many other chats. I know that nothing can beat that taste but still I tried to imitate that.

Preparation time: 40 min.

Ingredients:

For bajji:

Plantain: 1

gram flour: 1 cup

Rice flour: 1 cup

Baking soda: pinch

Salt to taste

Red chili powder: 1 tsp

Oil for deep frying

For chat:

Onion: 1 big (finely chopped)

Lime juice: of 2 big lime

Roasted peanuts: 1/2 cup

Tomato: 1 big (finely chopped)

Pepper powder: 1 tsp

Red chili powder: 1 tsp (optional)

Coriander leaves: 1/2 cup (finely copped)

Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

I) Bajji:

Heat oil in pan.

Peel the plantain and cut into thin, round slices.

Mix all of the bajji ingredients except plantain and oil.

Add water to make a semi solid paste.

Add plantain pieces to this paste. Make sure that all the pieces are completely coated with the paste before transferring them into hot oil.

When oil is hot, add the plantain pieces coated with flour paste.

Fry them until they turn golden brown.

Remove from oil.

Keep them aside.

II) Chat:

In a mixing bowl, add all the chat ingredients.

When bajji is cool enough to handle, cut them into 1"x1" pieces.

Add these to the mixing bowl.

Mix well.

Adjust taste.

Serve the dish as a Sunday evening snack