COATED MASALA PEANUTS

Cruncy munchy masala peanuts makes a perfect evening snack and accompaniment for drinks. It is very easy to make and hardly takes any time. You can make these and store in an air tight jar to serve in your parties as a knick-knack...

Ingredients:
Peanuts ... 1 cup
Gram flout / besan .. 2 tbsps
Rice flour ............. 1 tbsp
Salt ...... to taste
Red chilli powder .. 1 tsp (add more if you like them spicier)
Cumin powder ..... 1 tsp
Oil ... to fry

Method:
1. Spread the peanuts in a plate. Sprinkle a little water over them.
2. Now sprinkle all the mentioned spice powders and salt. Mix with your fingers. If needed sprinkle a little more water so that the peanuts get coated with the dry mix.
3. Heat oil in a pan and fry them, first on a medium flame until crunchy.
4. Cool them and store in an air tight jar.

The recipe is adapted from "You Too Can Cook " with changes in the ingredients to suit my taste buds.

Pin for later

You may also like:

Masala Peanuts

Makhana Namkeen

Murmura Namkeen

PRAWN CURRY WITH SPINACH

As greens are very important in our daily menu I few leaves to most of the curries everyday. Even the non vegetarian dishes really taste good with spinach. I tried out prawn curry with spinach and it really tasted very nice.

Ingredients:
Prawns .. 500  gms
Onion .. 1
Tomato . 1
Green chillies .. 2-3
Garlic ......  6-7 cloves
Ginger ...... 1 small piece
Coconut ... 1/4 cup (grated)
Spinach .... handful
Turmeric powder .. 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder .. 1 tsp
Garam Masala .... 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder .. 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice ... 1 tbsp.
Salt ..... to taste
Oil .... 4-5 tbsps

Method:
1. Clean and de-vein the prawns, Marinate them with lemon juice, salt and turmeric.
2. Grind together coconut, green chillies, garlic and ginger.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion. Saute until translucent.
4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and fry until they are cooked.
5. Now add the marinated prawns and stir fry until the colour of the prawns changes and the water is dried up.
6. Add the chopped spinach leaves and simmer for a minute.
7. Now add the ground masala paste and the spice powders. Add a little salt.
8. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until the masala gets cooked.
9. Add 1 cup of water and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

 Note:Water quantity depends on the consistency of the gravy you like. You may also make it dry if serving with rotis.

Pin for later

You may also like:

Chingudi Tarakaree / Odia Style Prawn Curry

Chemmeen Masala (Kerala Style Prawns

Camarao Baiana (Brazilian Prawn Curry)

AMBA JI KHEERNI / MANGO KHEERNI / SABUDANA KHEER WITH MANGO

Kheerni is a traditional Sindhi kheer made on all the auspicious and festive days in most of the Sindhi homes. Today I given it a little twist by adding thick mango pulp for a change. 

Ingredients:
Milk ....... 1 litre
Sabudana/sago ... 1/2 cup (soak with enough water to cover for 2-3 hours)
Green cardamom... 4-5
Sugar ............... 3/4 or 1 cup (depending on how sweet you want it )
Kesar/saffron ..... 7-8 threads
Salt ........... half a pinch
Ghee ....... 1/4 tsp.
Pistachios & almonds (unsalted)... a few (chopped)
Mango pulp .. 1 cup

Method:
1.In a pan boil the milk.(If using full cream milk, add a cup of water)
2. Add in the soaked sabudana, cardamoms (slightly crushed) saffron, half a pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp. ghee.
3. Let it simmer and keep stirring from time to time until the sabudana are cooked.
4. Meanwhile take the mango pulp in a thick bottomed saucepan and cook it by continuously stirring with a spatula until it is reduced to half and is quite thick in consistency.
5. Now mix the sugar well and simmer again for a minute.
6. Switch off the gas and let it cool. Now stir in the mango pulp and mix well.
7.  Garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot or chilled.

See the video

Pin for later

You may also like:

Kheerni 

Sheer Khurma

Makhane ki  Kheer

MOVING TO OWN DOMAIN

Dear Friends,
Happy to announce that Food Mazaa has moved to Dot Com Domain. (shobhasfoodmazaa.com)
It will now be - Shobha's Food Mazaa
You will be able to access all the recipes with the old links also. When you click on any link you will automatically be directed to the same post on the new page.
Thank you for all your support and encouragement which inspired me to move to my own domain and I hope you shall always continue doing so. Together we shall explore,cook and enjoy  many more dishes in the coming years.

Thank you once again.
Shobha

HOME MADE PANEER WITH MILK POWDER

Having lived outside India most of my life in various countries I have learnt to make things from whatever stuff available. In Nigeria there used to be scarcity of many things during the time I was living there. We made use of milk powder to make all the diary products like yogurt, paneer, and  mithais, desserts, kulfis, ice-creams etc etc .. I find it very convenient and easy too.
Here is how I make my paneer at home. Use any kind of full cream milk powder available like Nido, Amulya. etc etc.

Ingredients:
Milk powder ... 500 gms (about 5 cups)
Vinegar or lemon juice ..   as needed
Water ........ 7 to 8  cups

Method:
1. Mix the milk powder and water together with a whisk clearing all the lumps.
2. Bring it to a boil in a pan. Keep stirring with a spoon or whisk to avoid burning.
3. When the milk starts to boil add the vinegar and keep stirring until it curdles.
4. Now drain the water and separate the paneer.
5. Tie it in a muslin cloth and hang it to remove all the excess water.
6. Carefully fold the cloth around the paneer and place a heavy vessel on it to set.
7. Cut it into pieces and use the way you like it.
8. If you want to freeze it just fry it lightly and store in a plastic container. It really comes handy when you need it or even for a party.
You get  500 gms of paneer from this quantity.. same as the milk powder used

























Note: Do not throw the water that you strained. Use it for curries or kneading your dough for rotis.

Check out the video of this recipe:

Pin for later

Some Paneer Recipes to try out:

Methi Malai Paneer

Butter Paneer

Paneer Tikka 

POONDU KUZHAMBU / GARLIC CURRY

This is a tangy and spicy curry from South India made with whole garlic pods and shallots..  You can make a vaariety of curries following the same recipe.... for example, with fish, prawns, brinjals or boiled eggs. It tastes really nice with just plain boiled rice and maybe fried appalams (papads) to go with it.

Ingredients:
Garlic cloves ... 15 - 20
Shallots ........ 10
Tomato ... 1 small
Coconut .... 1/2 cup (grated)
Tamarind ... lemon sized
Dry red chillies .. 5-6 (add more if you like spicy curry)
Red chilli powder .. 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder .. 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder ... 1 tsp
Pepper corns .. 1 tsp
Fenugreek/ methi seeds ...1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds ... 1 tsp
Curry leaves .. 1 sprig
Asafoetida ... 1 pinch
Oil .. as needed

Method :
1. Soak the tamarind in half cup of water for about half an hour . Squeeze and remove the thick juice.
2. Peel the garlic and shallots.
3. Grind the coconut to a fine paste.
3. Dry roast and grind dry red chillies, methi seeds, pepper corns and cumin seeds.
4. Grind the Tomato with 5 shallots and 5 garlic cloves.
5. Add the ground spices to this and a little water. Grind together to make the masala paste.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, Broken red chillies and curry leaves.
7. When they crackle, add the whole garlic cloves and shallots. Saute for 2 minutes.
8. Add the ground masala paste and the coconut paste and saute adding the salt and spice powders.
9.Now add the tamarind extract and sufficient water to cook. ( quantity of water could be 1 cup or more if you like more gravy.)
10. Simmer until done.

Note: If you like you can do the tempering in the end when the curry is ready. I do iit in the beginning to avoid more oil.

Recipe Source - You Too Can Cook

Pin for later

You may also like:

Vatha Kuzhambu Masala Powder

Meen Kuzhambu / Fish curry from Tamilnadu

Raw Mango Pulusu

ONION RASAM

Onion rasam made without adding any dal. I would never have imagined of making any kind of rasam without dal in it until I saw this recipe in Divya Pramil's blog. It was really very nice and easy to make too. 
Recipe Source - You Too Can Cook

Ingredients:
Shallots ... 10-12
Tomato .. 1
Tamarind .. lemon size soaked in water
Dry red chillies . 1-2
Coriander leaves .. handful
Curry leaves .. few
Garlic ... 2-3 cloves
Cumin seeds .. 1 tsp
Mustard seeds .. 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida ... 1 pinch
Rasam powder .. 2 tsps
Turmeric powder .. 1/8 tsp
Salt ... to taste
Oil ... 1-2 tbsps

Method:
1. Extract juice from the soaked tamarind and set aside.
2. Grind together the shallots, curry leaves, garlic, and cumin seeds coarsely.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and asafoetida.
4. Add the broken red chillies and the ground mixture. Saute for 2 minutes on medium flame.
5. Add the salt, rasam powder, chopped tomato and turmeric powder. Stir fry for a minute.
6. Now add the turmeric water and additional 2 cups or little more water according to your preference. Simmer for a few minutes.

Note: If you cannot find shallots then you can use the normal onion of medium size.

Pin for later

You may also like:

Ginger Rasam 

Apple Rasam

Rajma Rasam

CABBAGE ROLLS

Try out these delicious and cheesy cabbage rolls. Everyone is surely going to like them especially kids.

Ingredients:
Potatoes .............. 4 (boiled)
Onion ................... 1 (chopped very finely)
Cabbage ............... 1 cup (chopped very finely)
Bread ................... 3 slices (Soaked and squeezed)
Cheese ................. grated 1/4 cup
Green chillies ....... 2-3 chopped finely
Coriander leaves .... finely chopped
Salt to taste
White flour 1/2 cup
Bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Method:

1. Mash the potatoes well and add bread (soaked and squeezed), cheese, onion, cabbage, chillies, coriander leaves and salt. Mix well.

2. Make a thin batter with white flour and about 3/4 th cup water.
3. Shape into rolls (or cutlets).
4. Dip each roll in the batter and roll in bread crumbs.

5. Deep fry and serve hot.

Pin for later

You may also like:

Noodles Stuffed Potato Rolls

Veg Nargisi Kabab

Khumb Kakab 

RIBBON PAKODA / RIBBON MURUKKU / RIBBON CHAKLI

Delicious crunchy munchy ribbon murukkus for tea time snack.I have made these adding mashed potato and find them lighter than the other chaklis as there is no oil added to the dough while kneading. Try out and I am sure you will love them.

Ingredients:
Potatoes .... 2 medium sized.
Gram flour / besan .. 1/2 cup
Maida / APF ...... 1/2 cup
Rice flour .......... 1/2 cup
Cumin powder ... 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder.. 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida .... 1 pinch
Salt .................. to taste
Oil .... to fry

Method:
1. Boil the potatoes and mash them well. It should be about 1 cup.
2. Mix the three flours, asafoetida, cumin-chilly powders and salt and knead it. You will not require any water for this.
3. Heat oil. Oil the chakli mould and put a small chunk of dough.
4. Drop the ribbon murukkus in the hot oil.
5. Fry them on medium flame until crunchy.

Pin for later

You may also like:

Palak Chakli

Murukkus 

Mini Chaklis