You are invited to my very first event!!

You are invited to my very first event!! 

The Let’s Get stuffed Event!!

 I was pretty excited when Vatsala announced her event LGSS –Lets Get Stuffed Series and was over the moon when she said I can host it this month!!

Source Wikipedia

So let’s not waste time and start stuffing Bell peppers or Capsicum with anything vegetarian!

  

Please read the following rules before sending your entries. 

1.    Stuff capsicum with anything vegetarian you please. Paneer, mushrooms, potato… The list is endless and post it on your blog with pictures.

2.     You can send multiple entries. Your entries can be from your archives. All you need to do is repost it with a link to this announcement.Please link your entry to this page and Vatsala's announcement page here.

3.    Using the logo is mandatory.

4.     The entries should be vegetarian. No eggs allowed.

5.    Send me your entries themadscientistskitchen@gmail.com with the following details:

         Your Name:

         Dish Name:

         Blog’s Name:

         Post URL:

         Picture of the Dish:

6.     Please send me a picture not more than 400px.

7.     Non Bloggers need not to get upset. Email your recipe along with the picture. We will post it on your behalf and include it in the round up.

Looking forward to all the wonderful recipes.

 

Garlicky Cheese Toast

It is raining in Goa. It does not get cold but after coming back from work inspite of the raincoat you are a bit wet and want something warm.  

What more than a warm veggie soup and toast? Toast that has garlicky cheese spread on it and grilled crisp?

I will tell you about the toast first.  

Ingredients:

2 heaped tblspn cheese spread

5 slices cheese

½ tblspn tomato sauce

2-3 cloves garlic

1 packet of chili flakes (I did not use this but will taste lovely)

¼ tsp Basil (optional)

¼ tsp oregano

Bread slices

Method:

1.       In a medium bowl add the cheese spread, cheese slices, crushed garlic, tomato sauce, chili, oregano and basil.

2.       Microwave on high for 20 seconds or till the cheese slightly melts. Mix well and microwave again till the cheese melts fully. About 20-30 seconds.

3.       Spread on the bread and grill till the bread is crisp.( A few that I grilled were not crisp. This is my FIL's plate picture)!

I was called kanjoos as I spread this mixture thin.

Once we have also added olives slices to this cheese. It tasted yummy.

Archana

Egg-less Chocolate Cake 2 Or Whole Wheat Egg-less Chocolate Cake

The Egg-less Chocolate Cake! This is how tall it was!!

Amazed at this gargantuan cake! Well I was too and it has a story behind it…

My friend Vidya came around the other day on her way out for her evening walk and left behind a container for me to microwave as hers was for repairs. She said it was a cake and to just microwave it for 10 minutes. She had also left behind a sachet of Eno’s fruit salt to be used if needed. I used it!!

Since all my micro containers were for a wash I took out the microwave rice cooker that I rarely use and just store my extra dish cloth in it and used it. Boy was I glad I did it, the cake was huge anything else and I would have spent the evening moping the oven floor and cursing her (especially since she was on her way to a party by then)!!

Of course she shared the recipe with me!! We do that regularly. What more you use regular gehu ka atta to make it.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour (yes whole wheat /Gehu ka atta)

1 ½ cup sugar

½ tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tblspn cocoa

1 tblspn drinking chocolate

½ tsp instant coffee (my addition)

½ tsp vanilla essence

2 tblspn butter (I used salted butter)

½ cup curd

½ + 1/3 cup milk (I used 1 cup)

2.5 grms Eno’s salt

Method:

1.       Melt the butter totally add the curds and milk. Mix well and keep aside.

2.       Mix all the dry ingredients except the Eno’s salt in a big bowl.

3.       Add the butter mixture. Mix well. It is okay if the mixture is soft dough consistency the sugar will melt. Keep aside for 4 hours.

4.       Grease a huge container. Mix the Eno’s salt in the batter and transfer to the container.

5.       Microwave for 10 minutes or till the knife inserted comes out clean.

Sending this to Pari's 'Only Series' of events is here at Tamalapaku this month and this time it would be

'Only - Baked'

  

 Archana

Egg-less Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

Stuffed Karela

I love Karela or Bitter gourd. In fact it is my favourite vegetable. So when Vatsala here decided to hold an event “Lets Get Stuffed” I could not help stuffing myself. For my husband the man who suffers most of my experiments steered clear off the table. J Don’t blame him he just tolerates the bitter gourd!! : 0

This recipe is by no means original so if you have any suggestions please send me a line.

I am sure it will taste very nice if you can get the small bitter gourds since my “sabji walla “gets only these huge ones I used them! But mind you they are bitterer than the smaller ones.

I had some of the ground paste left over from the paneer bhindi masala which I had frozen which I used to make this veggie and hence it was super quick.

Ingredients:

2 bitter gourd/ karela

2 big potatoes, boiled

½ cup Left over masala paste  

Salt

Oil

Method:

1.       Make a slit in the bitter gourd and scoop out all the seeds. You can use a teaspoon if needed.

2.       Rub salt in the bitter gourd sprinkle salt on the gourd and the seeds.

3.       Let the gourd rest covered for at least 12 hours.

4.        Mash the potatoes add a pinch of salt and mix with the fried paste.

5.        Soak the bitter gourd in water for about 10 minutes then squeeze the water out.

6.       Next since I am not a fan of deep frying I transferred the bitter gourd in a microwave proof dish with just sufficient water to cover the gourd and micro for 2 minutes or till the colour of the gourd changes. Again squeeze out the water carefully. This is optional step.

7.       Stuff the gourd with the fried paste and potatoes mixture and fry in a kadhai/wok using oil as required.

8.       Here I served it in a bed of cabbage and some tomatoes.

 Sending this to Vatsala's Event.

Sabudana-che-Khichdi or Sago ~ with Onion

Thanks you all of you my friends for the support that you gave me when my Dad was not well. Thanks to all your prayers he is better and has agreed that he needs to follow-up his investigations. Three quarters of the battle won!! J

Now coming to the post long pending!

 This is the picture of sabudana-che-khichdi! So what‘s new you will ask and have you not blogged it?  Yes I have but this one is different I have used onion in making this khichdi. 

Short Break

I am taking a short break again. I know I had said I will not but my dad is not too well. I will view all the recipes but please excuse me if I do not comment or I appear short.I am a tiny bit worried.

Thanks folks
I know the whole thing is minor and I am making a mountain but....

Alu Vadi or Taro Leaf Roll

My mother in law was an expert in making what is called Alu Vadi in Marathi! You could call it Taro leaf roll. In Kannada it is called Shavi yelli.

MIL used to grow her own alu for making this dish. Once I remember asking/telling her that one of the leaves leaf was big and why was she not cutting it. She told me that she was waiting for the other 2 to become a bit bigger so that she could make Alu Vadi and not to worry this one would not wither off before they were sizable. She was correct they were exactly the same size when she finally cut them.

At my request she showed me the method of making them. I try to imitate her but “Abhi Deli bhout door hai”!

Reposting For Events-- Healthy Snacks Grilled Paneer Grilled Elephant's Foot Grilled Baby Corn

Every thing that is tasty does not have to be unhealthy.

Try my Grilled Paneer Grilled Elephant's Foot Grilled Baby Corn!
I was surprised when the girls liked Elephant foot grilled and even Baby the Corn hater ate the Grilled Baby Corn!!


Reposting for Grilled Paneer Grilled Elephant's Foot Grilled Baby Corn for DD's event here

And to  Vardhini's kitchen who is hosting Fast food is not Fat food  started by Priya of Now Serving.

Grilled Paneer, Grilled Elephant's Foot, Grilled Baby Corn

This time 27^th June, our anniversary was on a Monday and the girls being girls, who want to eat out at the drop of the hat, were taken out on Sunday, for lunch and ice cream in the local restaurant.  

The next day they wanted me to make something different for dinner.

 Now since both of them are not there for food during the day and   I, good mamma that I am  want them to eat something healthy without complaints I made  what the girls call tikkas.

The Perfect Pound Cake- A Sweet Punch

The July Sweet Punch was pound cake.

 I must thank the Sweet Punch Team for making me sit up and look again at the recipe.  My basic recipe was 2 cups each of maida, sugar, ghee and 4 eggs.  The ingredients re the same but the way the whole mixing is unique.

Check the cake out!!

Never has my pound cake disappeared so fast in 1 hour!!!! Mind you I have made the same cake twice. I barely managed to get the pictures both the times!!

 Here is the recipe as it is on the Sweet Punch blog. I made absolutely no changes.

  Surprised are you not? 

Well the first time I was testing the recipe and the second time I realised I cannot change perfection!!

Perfect Pound Cake as on the Sweet Punch Blog


Ingredients
3 tablespoons Milk

3 large Eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour**(see below)
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened [184 gms]

Method:

1.    Preheat your oven to 350 F. Butter an 8 inch by 4 by 2.5 inch loaf pan, or any six cup loaf or fluted tube pan.

2.     Lightly whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.

3.     Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until blended.

4.    Add the butter and half the egg mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are moistened.

5.     On medium speed, beat for one minute. This will aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down sides.

6.     Add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape down sides.

7.    Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula.

8.    Bake for 55-65 minutes (35-45 minutes if baking in a fluted tube pan), until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a greased wire rack. If using a loaf pan, flip the cake over so the top is up.

**For making Cake flour at home - Take one cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it. Replace the 2 tbsp flour with cornflour and sift together 2-3 times. Cake flour is ready to use.

Upit/Upma

I just cannot think why I have not posted this simple recipe for so long. I had made this version when onions were expensive! Ha Ha so long! You have forgotten all about the onion prices haven’t you?

What reminded me of this recipe? Well, it reminded me about itself every time I went to see my pictures but I was sure no one will be interested then as onion prices had normalised.

So how are you interested now? Elementary my dear Watson, if “Upit”/Upma can make or break a cookery contest winner everyone is interested in the different versions of it!!

Yes I am referring to the Contest where Floyd Cardoz, a celebrated Chef   made this simple dish and went to win the contest!!  

Spring Onion Stir Fry or Kanda Path Bhaji

I am finding it difficult to post anything! Is this the writer’s block or that I still have to read 200 posts that are lying in my reader?

  One break and so many posts I just cannot seem to catch-up.

Should remind myself next time I take a break.

Anyway here is a simple stir fry that I make out of spring onions often. Not only is it tasty it is also ready in a jiffy.  J