Instant Sooji Uttapam or Semolina Pancakes

To start with, I love uttapams. And if it is instant uttapams best part is I can make them whenever I feel like eating them. They taste just like time consuming one's and you don't have to prepare for them ahead.

When I was a kid, I always used to order uttapam in a south-indian restaurant because that was the only thing I loved. Now I become a little experimental and like to try new things.But uttapam is and will always be my favorite. :)

They are so light that you can serve them as a snack for guests or you can have them as a whole meal in itself too. Please do try these and let me know how they turned out. Any comments or suggestions are most welcome.


Ingredients:

2 cups semolina flour
1.5 cups yogurt
1 inch piece of ginger - finely chopped
2 green peppers - finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes - finely chopped
1 large onion - finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions - finely chopped
crushed black pepper
2 tbsp mustard seeds
salt to taste
1 cup water
2 tbsp oil

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl add semolina flour and yogurt. Mix properly so that no lumps are formed.
2. Add water to this mixture a little at a time. Mix properly in between to avoid any lumps. Adjust amount of water added to achieve thick pouring consistency. It should not be very thin or thick, in either case your uttapam won't come out good.
3. Add ginger, green pepper and salt to taste and mix well. Keep this mixture aside inside switched off microwave for about 15 to 30 min.

4. After 30 minutes, take a sauce pan. Add 1/2 tsp oil per pancake, once heated over medium heat add pinch of mustard seeds.

5. When mustard seeds start crackling, pour a big laddle of semolina mixture and flatten it according to the thickness of the pancake you like.
6. Add all the vegetables (onions, tomatoes, spring onions). You can add any vegetable you like as grated carrots/cabbage etc.

7. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on top of it since we haven't added any salt in the vegetables.
8. Once cooked from one side flip it carefully and cook on other side until vegetables are cooked.

9. Take it out of pan once cooked and serve with any kind of chutney or sambhar.

Paneer Makhani or Cottage Cheese in a creamy gravy

Being from northern part of India, this a recipe which we make on special occasions. Be it a birthday or wedding, this goes well with anything. It is a little rich for sure but richness comes from cashews which in itself is a very good source of anti oxidants. So even though it is rich, it provides you good nutrition without any guilt.

This recipe has everything good and tasty in it. Be it cottage cheese or cashew nuts. If you want you can add raisins or sugar too. It gives it a hint of sweetness which I really like.

Please try this recipe and let me know how do you like it. Any kind of suggestions or comments are welcome. :)

Ingredients:

100gm Paneer/Cottage Cheese - cut in cubes
1/2 cup cashew nuts - finely grind
4 tomatoes - puree'd
1 green chili - finely chopped
2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
coriander - finely chopped
2 cups water
1 tbsp butter and little drizzle of oil to stop butter from burning.

Spices:

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp of garam masala powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of red chili powder
pinch of asafoetida
1 tbsp of dried kasuri methi
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

Recipe:

1. Take a deep pan, add butter and oil. Let it heat over medium heat.
2. Add ginger garlic paste, cook for a minute until raw smell goes out.
3. Add cumin seeds,asafoetida, turmeric powder, red chili powder and green chili.
4. After 15 seconds, add salt, tomato puree' and grind cashew nuts together and cook it until oil starts to separate out from the mixture.

5. Once that is done, add 2 cups water ( adjust according to the consistency you want) and add cottage cheese. (you can fry cottage cheese too before hand. I prefer not too because I try to avoid access oil because of it )

6. Boil it until it reaches the desired consitency.
7. Add sugar, kasuri methi and coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or poori/roti/chappati.

Egg Curry

All of egg lovers try to find ways to eat them in unique ways. We all have our own different recipes to make eggs. For me, I love any kind of egg preparation. Be it boiled, half fry, fried, poached . You name it I like it.

So when I get a chance to have egg in a curry, that is just like eating every good thing in a little bowl of egg curry. If you eat egg and haven't tried egg curry yet. You should try it. It will give a very different taste of what eating egg bread tastes like. And this you can have with roti or rice, anyway you like.

This is a no onion recipe, if you want you can add a small onion to the recipe. But I like egg gravy a little creamier that is why do not add it in the gravy. But it is all up to you. If you want to add it, please by all means add them.

Please do try it and let me know in comments below how was it. Do leave any suggestions you have for me to try out.

Ingredients

6 hard boiled Eggs
3 large tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
2 green chili's
1/2 cup green onion - cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cream
21/2 cups water
A knob of butter
1 tbsp oil

Spices:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp black pepper

Recipe:

1. Take eggs and cut them into halves. Season them with salt and pepper.
2. Take a flat pan, add butter and let it heat over medium heat.
3. Once heated, place eggs flat side down in a clockwise direction. (this helps in timing which one you placed first)
4. Once it gets golden brown color on them, flip each one of them and wait till it gets colored on other side too. But do not color them too much on skin side.
5. Take it out, and keep them aside for later.

6. Prepare ginger-garlic paste and tomato puree with green chili in it.
7. Take a deep pan, add oil in it. Once heated add cumin seeds. When it starts to crackle add ginger-garlic paste.
8. When  you see ginger-garlic paste is cooked and not raw add tomato puree.
9. Let it cook until it is all dried up and starts to separate oil. At this moment add green onion and all the spices except garam masala and cook them for couple of minutes.
10. Now add water and garam masala to this mixutre. Let it come to a boil and then cook it for 10 minutes on medium low heat.




11. Add cream after 10 minutes and cook it until cream starts to thicken the gravy and it comes to the consistency you like.

12. Switch off the flame.

Serving:
1. Take a bowl, place egg halves in it and pout hot gravy over them.
2. Best when server hot.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Bread butter pudding is a British cuisine and is sometimes also referred to as "Poor's Food" because it is made with stale bread. But, in modern times version of it, we use lots of rich food items in it.

In the recipe below, I used milk and cream both. You can replace or increase/decrease the amount of either according to how heavy or how light you want your bread butter pudding to be. You can also add your choice of dry fruits or fresh fruits you like. But just keep in mind, try to avoid fresh fruits which have lots of juices because it will ruin the pudding consistency and it will also be quite tough for it to be set.

There are lots of variations of bread and butter pudding out there. You can play with it too. Custard used in the pudding, you can make it the way you like. I prefer not making cooked version of it, only because uncooked version is very quick and easy to make. And it is going to get cooked anyways in the oven.

Please do try it and let me know below in the comments if you liked it or not. Or any suggestions or different variation you have for me to try out. Happy Cooking!!!!

Ingredients:

3 Cups bread - each slice cubed in 9 pieces
1 Cup milk
3/4 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter - melted at room temperature
1 tbsp Vanilla Essence
pinch of cinnamon powder
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup nestle chocolate bits
1/4 cup apple - cut into small pieces

Recipe:

1. Take a baking dish and coat it with butter.
2. Add bread cubes, raisins, chocolate and apple pieces to it.
3. In a stand mixer or if you don't have it, do this with your hands in a large bowl. Add eggs and sugar and beat it until a creamy light yellow mixture is ready and all sugar is incorporated.
4. Add milk, heavy cream, vanilla essence and cinnamon powder.
5. Add butter. Do not worry if you see butter threads in the mixture. It is anyways going to melt in the oven.
6. Pour this mixture over bread and soak all the breads properly. If your bread is 4-5 days stale, then leave this mixture for 5-10 minutes to allow bread to get soaked in.
7. Put the dish in the oven for an hour.
8. After an hour, check by inserting a toothpick if it is cooked. Toothpick should come out clean if cooked properly.
9. Leave it over the counter for 30 minutes.
10. Server it hot, at room temp or cold. It tastes good any way :)